Why Psyllium Is Healthy Through-And-Through
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Psyllium is the powder of the husk of the seed of the plant Plantago ovata.
It can be taken as a supplement, and/or used in cooking.
What’s special about it?
It is fibrous, and the fiber is largely soluble fiber. It’s a “bulk-forming laxative”, which means that (dosed correctly) it is good against both constipation (because it’s a laxative) and diarrhea (because it’s bulk-forming).
See also, because this is Research Review Monday and we provide papers for everything:
In other words, it will tend things towards being a 3 or 4 on the Bristol Stool Scale ← this is not pretty, but it is informative.
Before the bowels
Because of how it increases the viscosity of substances it finds itself in, psyllium slows stomach-emptying, and thus improves feelings of satiety.
Here’s a study in which taking psyllium before breakfast and lunch resulted in increased satiety between meals, and reduction in food-related cravings:
Satiety effects of psyllium in healthy volunteers
Prebiotic benefits
We can’t digest psyllium, but our gut bacteria can—somewhat! Because they can only digest some of the psyllium fibers, that means the rest will have the stool-softening effect, while we also get the usual in-gut benefits from prebiotic fiber first too:
The Effect of Psyllium Husk on Intestinal Microbiota in Constipated Patients and Healthy Controls
Cholesterol-binding
Psyllium can bind to cholesterol during the digestive process. Why only “can”? Well, if you don’t consume cholesterol (for example, if you are vegan), then there won’t be cholesterol in the digestive tract to bind to (yes, we do need some cholesterol to live, but like most animals, we can synthesize it ourselves).
What this cholesterol-binding action means is that the dietary cholesterol thus bound cannot enter the bloodstream, and is simply excreted instead:
Heart health beyond cholesterol
Psyllium supplementation can also help lower high blood pressure but does not significantly lower already-healthy blood pressure, so it can be particularly good for keeping things in safe ranges:
❝Given the overarching benefits and lack of reported side effects, particularly for hypertensive patients, health care providers and clinicians should consider the use of psyllium supplementation for the treatment or abatement of hypertension, or hypertensive symptoms.❞
Read in full: The effect of psyllium supplementation on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials ← you can see the concrete numbers here
Is it safe?
Psyllium is first and foremost a foodstuff, and is considered very safe unless you have an allergy (which is rare, but possible).
However, it is still recommended to start at a low dose and work up, because anything that changes your gut microbiota, even if it changes it for the better, will be easiest if done slowly (or else, you will hear about it from your gut).
Want to try some?
We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon
Enjoy!
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Wood fires, warm drinks, hot water bottles: 5 expert tips on how to avoid burns this winter
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It’s a cold, crisp evening and the air carries a chill that bites. As temperatures drop and houses get colder, we turn to trusted sources of warmth such as wood fires, heaters, hot water bottles and warm drinks.
But these winter comforts come with the risk of burns.
Staying warm in winter is important, but so is staying safe. So, a little caution can go a long way to prevent serious injury.
Alex P/Pexels Let’s start with children
Young children are naturally curious, and in winter, their explorations often take them dangerously close to sources of heat. One common scenario involves toddlers reaching out to touch a glowing wood-fired heater.
These are attractive to curious children because they are bright, warm and often within reach. Tragically, these burns can cause significant injuries to small hands and fingers, often requiring long recovery times and specialist care.
Scalds from hot drinks are also very common in young children. These accidents tend to happen during everyday moments, such as when a parent is trying to juggle a hot drink with a sick, unsettled child on their lap.
Seasonal colds and viruses mean children often need more comfort and physical contact, increasing the likelihood of accidents. A hot drink, even one that has cooled slightly, can cause deep burns to a child’s skin if spilled.
In many parts of Australia at this time of year, bonfires, fire pits and campfires become common. Extinguishing a fire with sand may seem safe, but embers underneath can retain enough heat to burn skin hours later.
Children running in light shoes can be unaware of where a fire has been and step directly onto it, resulting in severe burns to their feet.
Beware of hot water bottles, wheat bags
Hot water bottles are one of the most common causes of scalding and burns in both adults and children.
Hot water bottles can cause scald burns from spills when being filled, can leak or burst if cuddled or rolled on, or cause contact burns if placed directly on the skin. Always check the bottle for wear, use hot tap water instead of boiling water, and keep a layer between the bottle and the skin.
Wheat bags can also cause burns over winter, particularly when overheated or applied directly to skin without a cover. Rarely, wheat bags have caught fire, especially when overheated or re-heated repeatedly without allowing them to fully cool between use.
Older people can also be at risk
Elderly people face a unique set of risks in winter. For some, underlying health issues, such as diabetes or poor circulation, can reduce sensitivity to heat, making them unaware they have been burnt.
A classic example is burns to the lower legs caused by sitting too close to a bar heater for extended periods. These burns may go unnoticed until they become painful or infected.
In some cases, financial strain plays a role. Many older adults live on fixed incomes and may hesitate to heat their entire home to save on energy bills. Instead, they may rely on small portable heaters in closed rooms or heated blankets and hot water bottles. These workarounds are cost-effective, but can increase the risk of burns.
How can I stay safe?
Burns are preventable injuries. Here’s how to reduce the risk:
- use a barrier around heaters to protect exploring hands
- keep hot drinks out of reach when holding a child, and consider using mugs with lids for added safety
- supervise young children closely around campfires, bonfires and fire pits, and extinguish with water not sand
- ensure hot water bottles are in good condition. Never fill a hot water bottle with boiling water, use the hot tap, and do not use if there are signs of wear or damage. Don’t overheat wheat bags
- regularly check your heater is safe and is working as it should. Sit at least a metre away.
When should I seek medical care?
If a burn happens, run the burn under cool running water for at least 20 minutes, while keeping the person warm. Don’t apply ice, creams or ointments, as they can cause more damage by trapping in the heat. Remove tight clothing or jewellery. Cover the burn with a loose, clean cloth or non-stick dressing.
Seek medical attention if the burn:
- is deep, even if the person isn’t in pain
- is larger than a 20c piece or has blisters
- involves the airway, face, hands or genitals
- looks leathery, or there are patches of brown, black or white
- if the person has trouble breathing.
Lisa Martin, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Biomedical Sciences, Pathology and Laboratory Science, The University of Western Australia
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Unlock Your Air-Fryer’s Potential!
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Unlock Your Air-Fryer’s Potential!
You know what they say:
“you get out of it what you put in”
…and in the case of an air-fryer, that’s very true!
More seriously:
A lot of people buy an air fryer for its health benefits and convenience, make fries a couple of times, and then mostly let it gather dust. But for those who want to unlock its potential, there’s plenty more it can do!
Let’s go over the basics first…
Isn’t it just a tiny convection oven?
Mechanically, yes. But the reason that it can be used to “air-fry” food rather than merely bake or roast the food is because of its tiny size allowing for much more rapid cooking at high temperatures.
On which note… If you’re shopping for an air-fryer:
- First of all, congratulations! You’re going to love it.
- Secondly: bigger is not better. If you go over more than about 4 liters capacity, then you don’t have an air-fryer; you have a convection oven. Which is great and all, but probably not what you wanted.
Are there health benefits beyond using less oil?
It also creates much less acrylamide than deep-frying starchy foods does. The jury is out on the health risks of acrylamide, but we can say with confidence: it’s not exactly a health food.
I tried it, but the food doesn’t cook or just burns!
The usual reason for this is either over-packing the fryer compartment (air needs to be able to circulate!), or not coating the contents in oil. The oil only needs to be a super-thin layer, but it does need to be there, or else again, you’re just baking things.
Two ways to get a super thin layer of oil on your food:
- (works for anything you can air-fry) spray the food with oil. You can buy spray-on oils at the grocery store (Fry-light and similar brands are great), or put oil in little spray bottle (of the kind that you might buy for haircare) yourself.
- (works with anything that can be shaken vigorously without harming it, e.g. root vegetables) chop the food, and put it in a tub (or a pan with a lid) with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Don’t worry if that looks like it’s not nearly enough—it will be! Now’s a great time to add your seasonings* too, by the way. Put the lid on, and holding the lid firmly in place, shake the tub/pan/whatever vigorously. Open it, and you’ll find the oil has now distributed itself into a very thin layer all over the food.
*About those seasonings…
Obviously not everything will go with everything, but some very healthful seasonings to consider adding are:
- Garlic minced/granules/powder (great for the heart and immune health)
- Black pepper (boosts absorption of other nutrients, and provides more benefits of its own than we can list here)
- Turmeric (slows aging and has anti-cancer properties)
- Cinnamon (great for the heart and has anti-inflammatory properties)
Garlic and black pepper can go with almost anything (and in this writer’s house, they usually do!)
Turmeric has a sweet nutty taste, and will add its color anything it touches. So if you want beautiful golden fries, perfect! If you don’t want yellow eggplant, maybe skip it.
Cinnamon is, of course, great as part of breakfast and dessert dishes
On which note, things most people don’t think of air-frying:
- Breakfast frittata—the healthy way!
- Omelets—no more accidental scrambled egg and you don’t have to babysit it! Just take out the tray that things normally sit on, and build it directly onto the (spray-oiled) bottom of the air-fryer pan. If you’re worried it’ll burn: a) it won’t, because the heat is coming from above, not below b) you can always use greaseproof paper or even a small heatproof plate
- French toast—again with no cooking skills required
- Fish cakes—make the patties as normal, spray-oil and lightly bread them
- Cauliflower bites—spray oil or do the pan-jiggle we described; for seasonings, we recommend adding smoked paprika and, if you like heat, your preferred kind of hot pepper! These are delicious, and an amazing healthy snack that feels like junk food.
- Falafel—make the balls as usual, spray-oil (do not jiggle violently; they won’t have the structural integrity for that) and air-fry!
- Calamari (vegan option: onion rings!)—cut the squid (or onions) into rings, and lightly coat in batter and refrigerate for about an hour before air-frying at the highest heat your fryer does. This is critical, because air-fryers don’t like wet things, and if you don’t refrigerate it and then use a high heat, the batter will just drip, and you don’t want that. But with those two tips, it’ll work just great.
Want more ideas?
Check out EatingWell’s 65+ Healthy Air-Fryer Recipes ← the recipes are right there, no need to fight one’s way to them in any fashion!
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Get Better Sleep: Beyond “Sleep Hygiene”
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Better Sleep, Better Life!
This is Arianna Huffington. Yes, that Huffington, of the Huffington Post. But! She’s also the CEO of Thrive Global, a behavior change tech company with the mission of changing the way we work and live—in particular, by challenging the idea that burnout is the required price of success.
The power of better sleep
Sleep is a very important, but most often neglected, part of good health. Here are some of Huffington’s top insights from her tech company Thrive, and as per her “Sleep Revolution” initiative.
Follow your circadian rhythm
Are you a night owl or a morning lark? Whichever it is, roll with it, and plan around that if your lifestyle allows for such. While it is possible to change from one to the other, we do have a predisposition towards one or the other, and will generally function best when not fighting it.
This came about, by the way, because we evolved to have half of us awake in the mornings and half in the evenings, to keep us all safe. Socially we’ve marched onwards from that point in evolutionary history, but our bodies are about a hundred generations behind the times, and that’s just what we have to work with!
Don’t be afraid (or ashamed!) to take naps
Naps, done right, can be very good for the health—especially if we had a bad night’s sleep the previous night.
Thrive found that workers are more productive when they have nap rooms, and (following on a little from the previous point) are allowed to sleep in or work from home.
See also: How To Nap Like A Pro (No More “Sleep Hangovers”!)
Make sure you have personal space available in bed
The correlation between relationship satisfaction and sleeping close to one’s partner has been found to be so high that it’s even proportional: the further away a couple sleeps from each other, the less happy they are. But…
Partners who got good sleep the previous night, will be more likely to want intimacy on any given night—at a rate of an extra 14% per extra hour of sleep the previous night. So, there’s a trade-off, as having more room in bed tends to result in better sleep. Time to get a bigger bed?
What gets measured, gets done
This goes for sleep, too! Not only does dream-journaling in the morning cue your subconscious to prepare to dream well the following night, but also, sleep trackers and sleep monitoring apps go a very long way to improving sleep quality, even if no extra steps are consciously taken to “score better”.
We’ve previously reviewed some of the most popular sleep apps; you can check out for yourself how they measured up:
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Going to the dentist is expensive. Here are 3 things you can do to protect your oral health – and 3 things to avoid
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Around one in three Australians delayed their visit to a dentist in the last financial year – or didn’t go at all – due to cost.
Given it doesn’t look like dental treatment is being added to Medicare any time soon, what can you do?
Most oral and dental diseases are preventable, if you take care of your teeth and mouth. In-between visits to the dentist, here’s what you can do to avoid preventable issues – and blow-out costs.
Jiri Hera/Shutterstock What causes diseases in your mouth?
More than 1,000 species of microbes live in the mouth. Most dental and oral diseases are due to an imbalance or overgrowth in these microbes within the plaque (or “biofilm”).
Plaque gathers on the hard surfaces inside the mouth (your teeth), as well as soft surfaces (such as your tongue). Removing plaque manually with brushing and flossing is the most effective way to maintain oral health.
Plaque starts to form immediately after brushing, which is why you should remove it regularly.
Things to do
1. Brush twice a day
Use a toothbrush with soft bristles (either electric or manual). Soft bristles remove plaque without damaging the teeth or gums. A fluoridated toothpaste will help strengthen the teeth.
Brush for at least two minutes, using a sweeping and scrubbing motion, away from the gums. It’s a good idea to start at the back teeth and work your way through to the front teeth. Don’t forget to scrub the biting surface of the teeth.
2. Floss
Don’t skip this step – it’s crucial to clean in-between the teeth where a toothbrush can’t reach. Once a day should be enough.
Whether you use floss, a pick, a bottle brush or other devices may depend on the space between your teeth.
3. Clean your tongue
To completely remove the microbes, it’s also important to clean your tongue regularly (twice daily). You can use a toothbrush while you’re already brushing, or a special tongue scraper – just don’t brush or scrape too hard.
Brushing twice a day is important to remove bacteria in the mouth and on the teeth. PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Things to avoid
1. Sugary drinks and refined food
What we eat and drink can affect the mouth’s pH.
When bacteria in the mouth break down sugars, they produce acids. The acidity can dissolve minerals in the teeth and lead to decay.
Refined foods – such as white bread, cakes and pastries – can easily be broken down by the mouth’s bacteria. So, having a lot of them, as well as sugary drinks, can damage the teeth and cause cavities.
Water is the best choice to drink with your meals. Sparkling and soda water are acidic and can lead to mineral loss from the teeth, even when they are unflavoured. There is evidence flavoured sparkling water can be as harmful as orange juice.
2. Tobacco and vaping
Smoking or using smokeless tobacco (such as chewed tobacco or snuff pouches) is linked to oral cancer.
Nicotine is also known to increase the severity of gum diseases – even when inflammation isn’t visible.
This is true for both smoking and smokeless tobacco (such as chewed tobacco or snuff pouches).
Vaping also increases your risk of developing cavities and gum disease.
3. Too much alcohol, tea and coffee
Drinking a lot of coffee, tea or red wine can stain your teeth. So if you’re concerned about your teeth appearing yellow or brown, it’s best to limit your intake.
Drinking alcohol is also linked to an increased risk of developing oral cancers, which most commonly affect the tongue, floor of the mouth, cheek and palate.
Drinks that are fizzy and sugary can damage the teeth. Svetlana Foote/Shutterstock Your mouth’s health is linked to your overall health
Leaving oral diseases untreated (such as gum disease) has been linked to developing other conditions, such as liver disease, and pre-existing conditions getting worse.
This is particularly evident if you have diabetes. Evidence shows it’s easier to manage blood sugar levels when gum diseases are properly treated.
You can keep an eye on symptoms such as bleeding gums, which may be an early sign of gum disease. If symptoms worry you, talk to your GP or diabetes educator. They may be able to refer you to a dentist if needed.
Dileep Sharma, Professor and Head of Discipline – Oral Health, University of Newcastle
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Are berries safe to eat? How worried should I be about the pesticide dimethoate?
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Australia’s regulator has suspended use of a common pesticide used on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries known as dimethoate.
But this year-long suspension isn’t due to any new information about the pesticide itself. Rather, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) says it’s because we’re eating more berries so our potential exposure has increased.
In particular, it says children aged two to six years may be at increased risk of exceeding maximum limits.
Here’s what we know about dimethoate and whether berries are still safe to eat. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dds_-BiSng4?wmode=transparent&start=0
Alexander Sinn/Unsplash What is dimethoate?
Dimethoate is a pesticide that has been used in Australia since 1956. It belongs to a class of pesticides that inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. This prevents the breakdown of a key neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) and so paralyses an insect’s nervous system, killing it.
Mammals, including humans, also have the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, and can be poisoned by this class of pesticide.
So careful regulation of both application of dimethoate and levels of dimethoate residues on food are required so we are not exposed to harmful levels.
The amount of maximum permissible residues depends, in turn, on how much someone is exposed to from their food.
To do this, you need to have estimates of how much residue is on food and how much food we eat.
How much is too much?
The APVMA has a maximum limit for how much dimethoate we should be exposed to from our food. This is known as the acute reference dose (or ARfD), which is 0.02 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
This maximum dose includes a safety factor of ten. In other words, the maximum dose allowed is ten times lower than the lowest dose that has no effect.
This dose was set in 2017. But it is consistent with current World Health Organization limits and Canadian regulations. Australia’s maximum dose is lower than limits from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
So, what’s changed?
But our dietary habits have changed. Australian consumption of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries has increased substantially since the APVMA last assessed dimethoate. Consumption is up 285–962% compared to levels considered for its 2017 assessment.
Eating more berries is a good thing. But this means that current trace levels of dimethoate on berries (0.0033 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day for a toddler) might potentially exceed the maximum limit for children aged two to six years.
The APVMA states:
The level of residues detected are unlikely to pose a serious risk to human health, but has proposed suspension of these specific dimethoate products as a precautionary measure.
What can you do?
Don’t give up on berries. Eating berries is an important part of a balanced diet. And the APVMA is at pains to emphasise the risk of harm is low.
The simplest approach is to wash your berries. You should be washing fruit and vegetables anyway. Washing helps get rid of soil, and potentially harmful microorganisms.
Washing berries will not remove all dimethoate, but can substantially reduce the levels so you can continue to enjoy them and their benefits.
Ian Musgrave, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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The Sugar That Blocks COVID
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Vaccines are considered the “gold standard” against COVID and similar pathogens, for their very high rate of efficacy, clear science, and at least moderately lasting effects (i.e., it’s not something like handwashing*, which must be redone very frequently). Since vaccines are not without their popular misunderstanders, we have written a little about that, here: Vaccine Mythbusting
*See also: The Truth About Handwashing ← for another mythbusting edition, covering what actually works against what, and what doesn’t—as well as the disparity between people’s self-reports of handwashing, and how often/well they actually wash their hands!
These are not the only things we can do; consider for example: Beyond Supplements: The Real Immune-Boosters! ← most people don’t know these things and the huge difference they make
And for that matter: Why Some People Get Sick More (And How To Not Be One Of Them) ← for a very prophylactic approach
So… What’s this about a sugar that blocks COVID?
A sweet distraction
What if, rather than triggering immune responses as vaccines do, we could provide a physical shield?
Of course, masks do that, but are more important on an epidemiological level than personal (i.e. they protect society more than they protect the wearer), and they are impractical in many circumstances, and use of them is very low in most countries. So in other words: they’re good! But may be a lost cause at least for the time being.
See also: Mythbusting The Mask Debate
And, for that matter: Do We Simply Not Care About Old People?
So… How about a nanotech version, that you can squirt up your nose and then it’s done, you’re protected?
Researchers (Dr. Daniela Niemeyer et al.) have developed a synthetic sugar-coated polymer nanoparticle that blocks Covid-19 from infecting human cells!
How it works: it’s two things in one:
- a decoy
- a trap
The particle mimics the virus’s natural target (sialic acid chains) acting as a decoy. It then binds to the virus’s spike protein 500 times more strongly, preventing it from binding with cells (something the virus needs to do in order to replicate itself).
How well it works: at low doses, reduced infection in human lung cells by 98.6%, working against both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the D614G variant.
Now, there are two things to bear in mind here.
Firstly, you may be wondering: what about the other 1.4%? And well, nothing is perfect, but 98.6% is good, and assuming you do have a functioning immune system, your immune system will be much more likely to throw off a pathogen that is able to affect only a few cells at a time, than one that is infecting almost every cell it touches, and multiplying exponentially as it does so.
Secondly, about those human lung cells: they were in a petri dish, so we can’t say for sure yet that this will be safe and effective in vivo (i.e. in actual humans). However, the researchers are cautiously optimistic and are looking forward to the next testing stage.
You can read the paper itself, here: Polysialosides Outperform Sulfated Analogs for Binding with SARS-CoV-2 ← not the most exciting title
Lastly, you may be wondering: doesn’t this mean I will be left with live COVID viruses in my respiratory tract, stuck in these molecular traps? And the answer is: sort of, at least for a while. The virus will still be theoretically active insofar as it remains viable, not destroyed, but as it’s already bound to something it can’t infect, it can’t do any harm. Further, a virus that has been trapped in this fashion is much easier for our own immune system to locate and destroy, or even just locate and remove. Think of it like a fly trapped on a flypaper. It’s technically still viable, but it’s not going anywhere, and is easy to get rid of.
On the flipside, that does raise an extra question of how long the protection will last—it’s currently being posited as a medium-term solution, but the timescales have not yet been worked out, as that’ll need to be studied in vivo.
Want to learn more?
Check out:
The Minerals That Neutralize Viruses (While Being Harmless To Humans) ← for a similar approach with a very common food additive
Take care!
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