Once-A-Week Strategy to Stop Procrastination – by Brad Meir
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Procrastination is perhaps the most frustrating bad habit to kick!
We know we should do the things. We know why we should do the things. We want to do the things. We’re afraid of what will happen if we don’t do the things. And then we… don’t do the things? What is going on?!
Brad Meir has answers, and—what a relief—solutions. But enough about him, because first he wants to focus a little on you:
Why do you procrastinate? No, you’re probably not “just lazy”, and he’ll guide you through figuring out what it is that makes you procrastinate. There’s an exploration of various emotions here, as well as working out: what type of procrastinator are you?
Then, per what you figured out with his guidance, exercises, and tests, it’s time for an action plan.
But, importantly: one you can actually do, because it won’t fall foul of the problems you’ve been encountering so far. The exact mechanism you’ll use may vary a bit based on you, but some tools here are good for everyone—as well as an outline of the mistakes you could easily make, and how to avoid falling into those traps. And, last but very definitely not least, his “once a week plan”, per the title.
All in all, a highly recommendable and potentially life-changing book.
Grab Your Copy of “Once-A-Week Strategy to Stop Procrastination” NOW (don’t put it off!)
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Starfruit vs Lemon – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing starfruit to lemon, we picked the starfruit.
Why?
It’s close!
In terms of macros, there’s really nothing between them. Nominally, starfruit has very slightly more carbs, but it’s 2.5g/100g difference, and they’re equal on protein and fiber, so we’re calling this round a tie.
In the category of vitamins, starfruit has more of vitamins A, B3, B5, K, and choline, while lemons have more of vitamins B1, B2, B6, and C, meaning a marginal 5:4 win for starfruit.
Looking at minerals, starfruit has more copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc, while lemons have more calcium, iron, and phosphorus, meaning a 5:3 win for starfruit this time.
Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for starfruit, but by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?
Enjoy!
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Unprocessed – by Kimberly Wilson
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First, what this is not: hundreds of pages to say “eat less processed food”. That is, of course, also advisable (and indeed, is advised in the book too), but there’s a lot more going on here too.
Though not a doctor, the author is a psychologist who brings a lot of data to the table, especially when it comes to the neurophysiology at hand, what forgotten micronutrients many people are lacking, and what trends in society worsen these deficiencies in the population at large.
If you only care about the broadest of take-away advice, it is: eat a diet that’s mostly minimally processed plants and some oily fish, watch out for certain deficiencies in particular, and increase dietary intake of them where necessary (with taking supplements as a respectable next-best remedy).
On which note, a point of criticism is that there’s some incorrect information about veganism and brain health; she mentions that DHA is only found in fish (in fact, fish get it from algae, which has it, and is the basis of many vegan omega-3 supplements), and the B12 is found only in animals (also found in yeast, which is not an animal, as well as various bacteria in soil, and farm animals get their B12 from supplements these days anyway, so it is arguable that we could keep things simpler by just cutting out the middlecow).
However, the strength of this book really is in the delivery of understanding about why certain things matter. If you’re told “such-and-such is good for the brain”, you’ll up your intake for 1–60 days, depending on whether you bought a supermarket item or ordered a batch of supplements. And then you’ll forget, until 6–12 months later, and you’ll do it again. On the other hand, if you understand how something is good or bad for the brain, what it does (for good or ill) on a cellular level, the chemistry and neurophysiology at hand, you’ll make new habits for life.
The style is middle-range pop-science; by this we mean there are tables of data and some long words that are difficult to pronounce, but also it’s not just hard science throughout—there’s (as one might expect from an author who is a psychologist) a lot about the psychology and sociology of why many people make poor dietary decisions, and the things governments often do (or omit doing) that affect this adversely—and how we can avoid those traps as individuals (unless we be incarcerated or such).
As an aside, the author is British, so governmental examples are mostly UK-based, but it doesn’t take a lot to mentally measure that against what the governments of, for example, the US or Canada do the same or differently.
Bottom line: there’s a lot of great information about brain health here; the strongest parts are whether the author stays within her field (psychology encompasses such diverse topics as neurophysiology and aspects of sociology, but not microbiology, for example). If you want to learn about the physiology of brain health and enjoy quite a sociopolitical ride along the way, this one’s a good one for that.
Click here to check out Unprocessed, and make the best choices for you!
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A ketamine nasal spray will be subsidised for treatment-resistant depression. Here’s what you need to know about Spravato
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
An antidepressant containing a form of the drug ketamine has been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), making it much cheaper for the estimated 30,000 Australians with treatment-resistant depression. This is when a patient has tried multiple forms of treatment for major depression – usually at least two antidepressant medications – without any improvement.
From May 1, a dose of Spravato (also known as esketamine hydrochloride) will cost $A31.60 and $7.70 for concession card holders.
However, unlike oral antidepressants, Spravato can’t be taken at home. Here’s how it works, and who it’s expected to help.
WPixz/Shutterstock What is Spravato?
The chemical ketamine is used as an anaesthetic. In this formulation it combines both the right-handed (designated “R”) and left-handed (called “S”) forms of the molecule.
This means they are mirror images of each other, similar to how your left hand is a mirror image of your right hand. The left- and right-hand forms can have different effects in the body.
Spravato contains only the left-handed version, giving the drug its generic name esketamine.
Spravato works by increasing the levels of glutamate in the brain. Glutamate is a key chemical messenger molecule that excites brain nerve cells, lifting and improving mood. It also plays a role in learning and forming memories.
How is it taken?
Spravato cannot be taken at home.
A patient can self-administer, but it must be done at a registered treatment facility, such as a hospital, under the supervision of medical staff so they can look out for blood pressure changes and monitor potential side effects.
The drug is provided as a single-use nasal spray. This application means it’s absorbed directly through the nasal lining into the brain, so it starts to work within minutes.
Spravato must also be taken alongside an oral antidepressant. This will be a new one the patient hasn’t tried before. In clinical trials, it was usually an SNRI or SSRI medication.
When a patient first starts on Spravato, they are given the spray twice a week in the first month. It is then administered once a week for the second month, and then weekly or fortnightly after that.
Once there are signs the medicine is working, treatment is continued for at least six months.
You can use the spray yourself but it must be under medical supervision in a registered facility. Scarc/Shutterstock How effective is it?
Spravato was approved for sale in Australia based on clinical trial data from more than 1,600 patients who were administered the drug for a period of four weeks. Each was given either Spravato, or a nasal placebo, and an oral antidepressant.
Patients were given a starting dose of either 28 or 56mg, which could be then increased up to 84mg by their doctor.
By the end of the four weeks, a greater percentage of patients who were given Spravato were found to have had a meaningful response to the treatment when compared with patients who received the placebo. Patients who were taking Spravato were also found to relapse at a lower rate. For those who did relapse, it took the Spravato patients longer to relapse when compared with patients who took the placebo.
It is expected Spravato will benefit a wide range of patients. The clinical trials demonstrated effectiveness for men and women, people aged 18 to 64, and those from a range of different ethnic backgrounds.
Potential side effects
As with any medicine, Spravato may cause side effects, some of which can be serious. The most common include:
- dissociation (feeling disconnected from yourself or what is around you)
- dizziness
- nausea and vomiting
- drowsiness
- headache
- change in taste
- vertigo.
Because Spravato can potentially increase blood pressure, medical staff will monitor a patient before and after it is administered.
Usually, blood pressure spikes around 40 minutes after taking the drug, so a reading is taken around this time. After taking Spravato, if their blood pressure has stayed low, or it’s dropping, the patient is given the all-clear to go home.
Due to the potential for this and other serious side effects, Spravato carries a black triangle warning. This means medical staff are encouraged to report any problem or side effect to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. A black triangle warning is generally used for new medicines or medicines that are being used in a new way.
Who will be eligible?
To be eligible for a prescription, a patient will need to have been diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression. In practice, this means they will have unsuccessfully tried at least two other antidepressant drugs first.
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration approved Spravato for use in Australia in 2021, meaning it was available but not subsidised. Since then, the sponsoring company, Janssen-Cilag (an Australian subsidiary of the multinational Johnson & Johnson), applied to have it added to the PBS four times.
In December 2024, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended a PBS listing.
The new PBS listing, capping the price of a single treatment at $31.60, is a significant price drop. In 2023, single doses of branded Spravato were reported to cost anywhere between $500 and $900.
However, patients may still have to pay hundreds of dollars for appointments at private clinics where Spravato can be administered. Public places are available but limited.
Spravato may be suitable for you if you’ve tried different antidepressants without success. If it is suitable for you, then your doctor can discuss the next steps.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University and Shoohb Alassadi, Associate Lecturer and Registered Pharmacist, University of Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Walking: Have We Had It Backwards?
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Or rather… Should we?
Let’s take this one step at a time
Walking is, of course, great for the health: After 50, These 3 Habits Slow Aging The Most ← one of the three things is walking!
Except when it’s not: Why 10,000 Steps Might Be Making Your Pain Worse (+ What To Do Instead)
Yet still, it provides undeniable benefits in many ways, including: How To Walk Away From Alzheimer’s
So, how to make walking better?
Let’s get retro!
It turns out that walking backwards (in these studies, mostly called: retro walking) has some extra benefits that walking forwards either does not provide so well, or does not provide at all.
For example, in the case of comparing walking forwards with walking backwards when it comes to osteoarthritis (OA), participants (average age 56, mostly female) completed 10 min of supervised retro or forward walking training, 3 days/week for 6 weeks, and the study found:
❝In the intention-to-treat analysis, the retro walking group had a greater reduction in pain intensity (mean changes, 1.8 versus 1; p = 0.01) and functional disability (mean changes, 4.8 versus 2.2; p = 0.008) than the control group. Similarly, the retro walking group had a greater improvement in the quadriceps muscle strength (mean changes, 1.7 kg versus 0.7 kg; p = 0.008) and the timed up and go test (mean changes, 0.6 s versus 0.1 s; p = 0.003) than the control group.❞
Not only that, but a similar study found not only the same, but also that it improves balance more than balance training does:
❝The 6-week rehabilitation protocol comprising retro walking as an adjunct to conventional therapy resulted in greater pain reduction and enhanced functional performance of patients with OA knee. This benefits the community at large. All stakeholders should be encouraged to include retro walking in their routine life.❞
Both those studies were focused on people with knee osteoarthritis, but what about the rest of us?
In this next 6-week study, participants with mechanical low back pain were randomly divided into 2 groups:
- Group A: core-stability exercises + conventional treatment.
- Group B: retro-walking on treadmill + conventional treatment.
The results: both groups improved significantly, and/but Group B (retro-walking) enjoyed a significantly greater reduction in pain than Group A.
Why/how it works: retro-walking activates and engages muscles such as the lumbar multifidus and erector spinae more effectively, improves spinal extension, reduces disc compression, and aside from the direct benefits to the back itself, activates and engages core stabilizing more strongly, strengthening them and proofing the whole trunk better against biomechanical pain.
Read in full: Effect of Retro-walking Versus Core-stability Exercise on Pain and Function in Mechanical Low Back Pain: A Comparative Study
How to do it (safely and usefully)
While backwards walking (with or without an incline) can be done without a treadmill, it’s obviously safest and most convenient to use a treadmill for this one.
If you do want to do it outside, you might want to do it in a big open unobstructed undifferentiated space, e.g.
- Long straight road through your local farmland that doesn’t have much traffic
- Sandy beach with nobody on it and also no uneven parts
- Your conveniently-sized lawn that is free from obstructions
…and/or, have a spotter. That is to say, someone who will walk with you, but forwards, facing you, and in a position to be able to tell you if you are about to trip over a dog or something.
Much easier, however, is just to use a treadmill if that’s an option for you. There are some other important differences between using a treadmill and walking on the actual ground, and there are pros and cons, see: Treadmill vs Road
Want to learn more?
We recommend:
Enjoy!
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Beat Sugar Addiction Now! – by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum & Chrystle Fiedler
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Sugar isn’t often thought of as an addiction in the same category as alcohol or nicotine, but it’s actually very similar in some ways…
A bold claim, but: in each case, it has to do with dopamine responses to something that has:
- an adverse effect on our health,
- a quickly developed tolerance to same,
- and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when quitting.
However, not all sugar addictions are created equal, and Dr. Teitelbaum lays four different types of sugar addiction out for us:
- Most related to “I need to perform and I need to perform now”
- Most related to “I just need something to get me through one more stressful day, again, just like every day before it”
- Most related to “ate too much sugar because of the above, and now a gut overgrowth of C. albicans is at the wheel”
- Most related to “ate too much sugar because of the above, and now insulin resistance is a problem that perpetuates itself too”
Of course, these may overlap, and indeed, they tend to stack cumulatively as time goes by.
However, Dr. Teitelbaum notes that as readers we may recognize ourselves as being at a particular point in the above, and there are different advices for each of them.
You thought it was just going to be about going cold turkey? Nope!
Instead, a multi-vector approach is recommended, including adjustments to sleep, nutrition, immune health, hormonal health, and more.
In short: if you’ve been trying to to kick the “White Death” habit as Gloria Swanson called it (sugar, that is, not the WW2 Finnish sniper of the same name—we can’t help you with that one), then this book is really much more helpful than others that take the “well, just don’t eat it, then” approach!
Pick up your copy of Beat Sugar Addiction Now from Amazon, and start your journey!
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Crispy Tempeh & Warming Mixed Grains In Harissa Dressing
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Comfort food that packs a nutritional punch! Lots of protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats, and more polyphenols than you can shake a fork at.
You will need
- 1 lb cooked mixed whole grains (your choice what kind; gluten-free options include buckwheat, quinoa, millet)
- 7 oz tempeh, cut into ½” cubes
- 2 red peppers, cut into strips
- 10 baby plum tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
- 1 bulb garlic, paperwork done but cloves left whole
- 1 oz black olives, pitted and halved
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp harissa paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (ideally tamari)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Preheat the oven to 400℉ / 200℃.
2) Combine the red pepper strips with the tomatoes, garlic, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, and the MSG/salt, tossing thoroughly to ensure an even coating. Spread them on a lined baking tray, and roast for about 25 minutes. Remove when done, and allow to cool a little.
3) Combine the tempeh with the soy sauce and nutritional yeast flakes, tossing thoroughly to ensure an even coating. Spread them on a lined baking tray, and roast for about 25 minutes, tossing regularly to ensure it is crispy on all sides. If you get started on the tempeh as soon as the vegetables are in the oven, these should be ready only a few minutes after the vegetables.
4) Whisk together the remaining olive oil and harissa paste in a small bowl, to make the dressing,
5) Mix everything in a big serving bowl. By “everything” we mean the roasted vegetables, the crispy tempeh, the mixed grains, the dressing, the chia seeds, the black pepper, the red chili flakes, and the flat leaf parsley.
6) Serve warm.
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Grains: Bread Of Life, Or Cereal Killer?
- Tempeh vs Tofu – Which is Healthier?
- Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits?
Take care!
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