Mind Gym – by Gary Mack and David Casstevens
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While this book seems to be mostly popular amongst young American college athletes and those around them (coaches, parents, etc) its applicability is a lot wider than that.
The thing is, as this book details, we don’t have to settle for less than optimal in our training—whatever “optimal” means for us, at any stage of life.
The style is largely narrative, and conveys a lot of ideas through anecdotes. They are probably true, but whether they occured entirely as-written or have been polished or embellished is not so important, as to to give food for thought, and reflection on how we can hone what we’re doing to work the best for us.
Nor is it just a long pep-talk, though it certainly has a motivational aspect. But rather, it covers also such things as the seven critical areas that we need to excel at if we want to be mentally robust, and—counterintuitively—the value of slowing down sometimes. The authors also talk about the importance of love, labor, and ongoing learning if we want a fulfilled life.
Bottom line: if you are engaged with any sport or sport-like endeavor that you’d like to be better at, this book will sharpen your training and development.
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Lifespan vs Healthspan, And The Spice Of Life
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small
❝Great newsletter. Am taking turmeric for inflammation of hips and feet. Works like magic. Would like to know how it works, and what tumeric is best combined with – also whether there any risks in longterm use.❞
Glad you’re enjoying! As for turmeric, it sure is great, isn’t it? To answer your questions in a brief fashion:
- How it works: it does a lot of things, but perhaps its most key feature is its autoxidative metabolites that mediate its anti-inflammatory effect. This, it slows or inhibits oxidative stress that would otherwise cause inflammation, increase cancer risk, and advance aging.
- Best combined with: black pepper
- Any risks in long-term use: there are no known risks in long-term use ← that’s just one study, but there are lots. Some studies were prompted by reported hepatotoxicity of curcumin supplements, but a) the reports themselves seem to be without evidence b) the reported hepatoxicity was in relation to contaminants in the supplements, not the curcumin itself c) clinical trials were unable to find any hepatotoxicity (or other) risks anyway. Here’s an example of such a study.
You might also like our previous main feature: Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
❝This push for longevity is appealing but watching my mother in her nineties is a life I’m not looking forward to. Healthy longevity, yes, but longevity for the sake of a longer life? No thank you.❞
Yes, you’re quite right, that’s exactly the point! Assuming we live to die of age-related conditions (i.e., we do not suffer a fatal accident or incident in our younger years), those unfun last years are coming whether they come at 75 or 95. Or earlier or later, because that can absolutely happen too!
For example: nearly 10% of Americans over 65 have difficulty with self-care
As a rule, and we’ve covered some of the science of this previously, having at least 4 out of 5 of the “big 5” lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, sleep, low-or-zero alcohol, not smoking) not only extends life, but specifically extends the healthspan, i.e. the count of healthy life-years that precedes final age-related decline.
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53 Studies Later: The Best Way to Improve VO2 Max
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VO2 max measures maximum oxygen usage during intense exercise and reflects overall health and performance. To have a high VO2 max, efficient functioning of lungs, heart, red blood cells, muscles, and mitochondria is crucial. So, how to get those?
Let’s HIIT it!
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) outperforms moderate-intensity exercise, by a long way. Further, based on the data from the 53 studies mentioned in the title, we can know which of the protocols tested work best, and they are:
- 15×15 Interval Training: 15 seconds sprint (90–95% max heart rate) + 15 seconds active rest (70% max heart rate), repeated 47 times.
- 4×4 Interval Training: 4 minutes sprint (90–95% max heart rate) + 3 minutes active rest (70% max heart rate), repeated 4 times.
Whichever you choose, it is best to then do that 3x per week.
Note that “sprint” can mean any maximum-effort cardio exercise; it doesn’t have to be running specifically. Cycling or swimming, for example, are fine options too, as is jumping rope.
For more on each of these, plus how the science got there, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
How To Do HIIT (Without Wrecking Your Body)
Take care!
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For Seniors With Hoarding Disorder, a Support Group Helps Confront Stigma and Isolation
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A dozen people seated around folding tables clap heartily for a beaming woman: She’s donated two 13-gallon garbage bags full of clothes, including several Christmas sweaters and a couple of pantsuits, to a Presbyterian church.
A closet cleanout might not seem a significant accomplishment. But as the people in this Sunday-night class can attest, getting rid of stuff is agonizing for those with hoarding disorder.
People with the diagnosis accumulate an excessive volume of things such as household goods, craft supplies, even pets. In extreme cases, their homes become so crammed that moving between rooms is possible only via narrow pathways.
These unsafe conditions can also lead to strained relationships.
“I’ve had a few relatives and friends that have condemned me, and it doesn’t help,” said Bernadette, a Pennsylvania woman in her early 70s who has struggled with hoarding since retiring and no longer allows guests in her home.
People who hoard are often stigmatized as lazy or dirty. NPR, Spotlight PA, and KFF Health News agreed to use only the first names of people with hoarding disorder interviewed for this article because they fear personal and professional repercussions if their condition is made public.
As baby boomers age into the group most affected by hoarding disorder, the psychiatric condition is a growing public health concern. Effective treatments are scarce. And because hoarding can require expensive interventions that drain municipal resources, more funding and expertise is needed to support those with the diagnosis before the issue grows into a crisis.
For Bernadette, the 16-week course is helping her turn over a new leaf.
The program doubles as a support group and is provided through Fight the Blight. The Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, organization started offering the course at a local Masonic temple after founder Matt Williams realized the area lacked hoarding-specific mental health services.
Fight the Blight uses a curriculum based on cognitive behavioral therapy to help participants build awareness of what fuels their hoarding. People learn to be more thoughtful about what they purchase and save, and they create strategies so that decluttering doesn’t become overwhelming.
Perhaps more importantly, attendees say they’ve formed a community knitted together through the shared experience of a psychiatric illness that comes with high rates of social isolation and depression.
“You get friendship,” said Sanford, a classmate of Bernadette’s.
After a lifetime of judgment, these friendships have become an integral part of the changes that might help participants eventually clear out the clutter.
Clutter Catches Up to Baby Boomers
Studies have estimated that hoarding disorder affects around 2.5% of the general population — a higher rate than schizophrenia.
The mental illness was previously considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but in 2013 it was given its own diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5.
The biological and environmental factors that may drive hoarding are not well understood. Symptoms usually appear during the teenage years and tend to be more severe among older adults with the disorder. That’s partly because they have had more time to acquire things, said Kiara Timpano, a University of Miami psychology professor.
“All of a sudden you have to downsize this huge home with all the stuff and so it puts pressures on individuals,” she said. In Bernadette’s case, her clutter includes a collection of VHS tapes, and spices in her kitchen that she said date back to the Clinton administration.
But it’s more than just having decades to stockpile possessions; the urge to accumulate strengthens with age, according to Catherine Ayers, a psychiatry professor at the University of California-San Diego.
Researchers are working to discern why. Ayers and Timpano theorize that age-related cognitive changes — particularly in the frontal lobe, which regulates impulsivity and problem-solving — might exacerbate the disorder.
“It is the only mental health disorder, besides dementia, that increases in prevalence and severity with age,” Ayers said.
As the U.S. population ages, hoarding presents a growing public health concern: Some 1 in 5 U.S. residents are baby boomers, all of whom will be 65 or older by 2030.
This population shift will require the federal government to address hoarding disorder, among other age-related issues that it has not previously prioritized, according to a July report by the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, chaired then by former Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.).
Health Hazards of Hoarding
Clutter creates physical risks. A cramped and disorderly home is especially dangerous for older adults because the risk of falling and breaking a bone increases with age. And having too many things in one space can be a fire hazard.
Last year, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation wrote to the Senate committee’s leadership that “hoarding conditions are among the most dangerous conditions the fire service can encounter.” The group also said that cluttered homes delay emergency care and increase the likelihood of a first responder being injured on a call.
The Bucks County Board of Commissioners in Pennsylvania told Casey that hoarding-related mold and insects can spread to adjacent households, endangering the health of neighbors.
Due to these safety concerns, it might be tempting for a family member or public health agency to quickly empty someone’s home in one fell swoop.
That can backfire, Timpano said, as it fails to address people’s underlying issues and can be traumatic.
“It can really disrupt the trust and make it even less likely that the individual is willing to seek help in the future,” she said.
It’s more effective, Timpano said, to help people build internal motivation to change and help them identify goals to manage their hoarding.
For example, at the Fight the Blight class, a woman named Diane told the group she wanted a cleaner home so she could invite people over and not feel embarrassed.
Sanford said he is learning to keep his documents and record collection more organized.
Bernadette wants to declutter her bedroom so she can start sleeping in it again. Also, she’s glad she cleared enough space on the first floor for her cat to play.
“Because now he’s got all this room,” she said, “he goes after his tail like a crazy person.”
Ultimately, the home of someone with hoarding disorder might always be a bit cluttered, and that’s OK. The goal of treatment is to make the space healthy and safe, Timpano said, not to earn Marie Kondo’s approval.
Lack of Treatment Leaves Few Options
A 2020 study found that hoarding correlates with homelessness, and those with the disorder are more likely to be evicted.
Housing advocates argue that under the Fair Housing Act, tenants with the diagnosis are entitled to reasonable accommodation. This might include allowing someone time to declutter a home and seek therapy before forcing them to leave their home.
But as outlined in the Senate aging committee’s report, a lack of resources limits efforts to carry out these accommodations.
Hoarding is difficult to treat. In a 2018 study led by Ayers, the UCSD psychiatrist, researchers found that people coping with hoarding need to be highly motivated and often require substantial support to remain engaged with their therapy.
The challenge of sticking with a treatment plan is exacerbated by a shortage of clinicians with necessary expertise, said Janet Spinelli, the co-chair of Rhode Island’s hoarding task force.
Could Changes to Federal Policy Help?
Casey, the former Pennsylvania senator, advocated for more education and technical assistance for hoarding disorder.
In September, he called for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop training, assistance, and guidance for communities and clinicians. He also said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should explore ways to cover evidence-based treatments and services for hoarding.
This might include increased Medicare funding for mobile crisis services to go to people’s homes, which is one way to connect someone to therapy, Spinelli said.
Another strategy would involve allowing Medicaid and Medicare to reimburse community health workers who assist patients with light cleaning and organizing; research has found that many who hoard struggle with categorization tasks.
Williams, of Fight the Blight, agrees that in addition to more mental health support, taxpayer-funded services are needed to help people address their clutter.
When someone in the group reaches a point of wanting to declutter their home, Fight the Blight helps them start the process of cleaning, removing, and organizing.
The service is free to those earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level. People making above that threshold can pay for assistance on a sliding scale; the cost varies also depending on the size of a property and severity of the hoarding.
Also, Spinelli thinks Medicaid and Medicare should fund more peer-support specialists for hoarding disorder. These mental health workers draw on their own life experiences to help people with similar diagnoses. For example, peer counselors could lead classes like Fight the Blight’s.
Bernadette and Sanford say courses like the one they enrolled in should be available all over the U.S.
To those just starting to address their own hoarding, Sanford advises patience and persistence.
“Even if it’s a little job here, a little job there,” he said, “that all adds up.”
This article is from a partnership that includes Spotlight PA, NPR, and KFF Health News.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for its free newsletters.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.
This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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The Osteoporosis Breakthrough – by Dr. Doug Lucas
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“Osteoporosis” and “break” often don’t go well together, but here they do. So, what’s the breakthrough here?
There isn’t one, honestly. But if we overlook the marketing choices and focus on the book itself, the content here is genuinely good:
The book offers a comprehensive multivector approach to combatting osteoporosis, e.g:
- Diet
- Exercise
- Other lifestyle considerations
- Supplements
- Hormones
- Drugs
The author considers drugs a good and important tool for some people with osteoporosis, but not most. The majority of people, he considers, will do better without drugs—by tackling things more holistically.
The advice here is sound and covers all reasonable angles without getting hung up on the idea of there being a single magical solution for all.
Bottom line: if you’re looking for a book that’s a one-stop-shop for strategies against osteoporosis, this is a good option.
Click here to check out The Osteoporosis Breakthrough, and keep your bones strong!
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Ozempic Helps People Walk Further
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There’s often a catch-22 when it comes to exercise: it’s important for good health, and/but people with ill health usually cannot exercise much.
A recent (published today, at time of writing, the 29th of March 2025, never let it be said we don’t bring you the very most up-to-date health science!) study by Dr. Neda Rasouli et al. has shown there is a possible way through that catch-22, depending on the nature of the illness.
This study followed 792 people across 112 outpatient clinical trial sites in 20 countries in North America, Asia, and Europe, with type 2 diabetes and peripheral artery disease.
What they found
Patients taking semaglutide (specifically, 1mg Ozempic) enjoyed a 21% median increase in walking distance, as well as some bonus benefits, namely:
- Weight reduction: the semaglutide group saw a greater reduction in body weight (–4.1 kg; P < 0 .0001)
- HbA1c levels: semaglutide lowered HbA1c by 1 percentage point (P < 0.0001)
- Blood pressure: systolic blood pressure decreased by 3.2 mmHg (P = 0.0042)
You may be wondering what that “P =” means: it’s the probability of this occurring by random chance, on a scale from zero (impossible outcome) to 1 (unavoidable outcome).
For example:
“We hypothesized that singing the happy birthday song before tossing a coin would result in it landing on heads. We sang the happy birthday song and tossed the coin; it landed on heads (P = 0.5)”
In science, generally speaking anything with a probability of under 0.05 (expressed as: “P < 0.05”) is considered a statistically significant result.
All this to say, the cited figures of, for example, P < 0.0001, are very significant indeed.
On which note, that 21% median increase in walking distance? P < 0.0004.
As for side effects? Serious adverse events related to the drug occurred in 1% of the semaglutide group vs 2% in the placebo group. So, that seems quite safe indeed.
You can find the paper itself here:
Want to learn more?
Check out:
- The Doctor Who Wants Us To Exercise Less, & Move More
- Walking… Better.
- 5 Ways To Naturally Boost The “Ozempic Effect”
Take care!
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Activate Your Brain – by Scott G. Halford
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We’ve reviewed a number of “improve your brain health” books over time, and this one’s quite different. How?
Most of the books we’ve reviewed have been focused on optimizing diet and exercise for brain health with a nod to other factors… This one focuses more on those other factors.
While this book does reference a fair bit of hard science, much of it is written more like a pop psychology book. As a result, most of the actionable advices, of which there are many, pertain to cognitive and behavioral adjustments.
And no, this is not a book of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It just happened to also address those two aspects.
We learn, for example, how our neurochemistry influences us—but also how we can influence our neurochemistry.
We also learn the oft-neglected (in other books!) social factors that influence brain health. Not just for our happiness, but for our productivity and peak cognitive performance too. Halford talks us through optimizing these such that we and those around us all get to enjoy the best brain benefits available to each of us.
The format of the book is that each chapter explains what you need to know for a given “activation” as the author calls it, and then an exercise to try out. With fifteen such chapters, every reader is bound to find at least something new.
Bottom line: if you want to grease those synapses in more ways than just eating some nuts and berries and getting good sleep and exercise, this book is a great resource.
Click here to check out “Activate Your Brain” and find your next level of cognitive performance!
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