Resveratrol & Healthy Aging

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Resveratrol & Healthy Aging

Resveratrol is the compound found in red grapes, and thus in red wine, that have resulted in red wine being sometimes touted as a heart-healthy drink.

However, at the levels contained in red wine, you’d need to drink 100–1000 glasses of wine per day (depending on the wine) to get the dose of resveratrol that was associated with heart health benefits in mouse studies.

Which also means: if you are not a mouse, you might need to drink even more than that!

Further reading: can we drink to good health?

Resveratrol supplementation

Happily, resveratrol supplements exist. But what does resveratrol do?

It lowers blood pressure:

Effect of resveratrol on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

It improves blood lipid levels:

Consumption of resveratrol decreases oxidized LDL and ApoB in patients undergoing primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a triple-blind, 6-month follow-up, placebo-controlled, randomized trial

It improves insulin sensitivity:

Resveratrol retards progression of diabetic nephropathy through modulations of oxidative stress, proinflammatory cytokines, and AMP-activated protein kinase

It has neuroprotective effects too:

Resveratrol promotes clearance of Alzheimer’s disease amyloid-beta peptides

Is it safe?

For most people, it is generally recognized as safe. However, if you are on blood-thinners or otherwise have a bleeding disorder, you might want to skip it:

Antiplatelet activity of synthetic and natural resveratrol in red wine

You also might want to check with your pharmacist/doctor, if you’re on blood pressure meds, anxiety meds, or immunosuppressants, as it can increase the amount of these drugs that will then stay in your system:

Resveratrol modulates drug- and carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes in a healthy volunteer study

And as ever, of course, if unsure just check with your pharmacist/doctor, to be on the safe side.

Where to get it?

We don’t sell it, but here’s an example product on Amazon for your convenience

Enjoy!

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  • Olive oil is healthy. Turns out olive leaf extract may be good for us too

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    Olive oil is synonymous with the Mediterranean diet, and the health benefits of both are well documented.

    Olive oil reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and premature death. Olives also contain numerous healthy nutrients.

    Now evidence is mounting about the health benefits of olive leaves, including from studies in a recent review.

    Here’s what’s in olive leaves and who might benefit from taking olive leaf extract.

    mtphoto19/Shutterstock

    What’s in olive leaves?

    Olive leaves have traditionally been brewed as a tea in the Mediterranean and drunk to treat fever and malaria.

    The leaves contain high levels of a type of antioxidant called oleuropein. Olives and olive oil contain this too, but at lower levels.

    Generally, the greener the leaf (the less yellowish) the more oleuropein it contains. Leaves picked in spring also have higher levels compared to ones picked in autumn, indicating levels of oleuropein reduce as the leaves get older.

    Olive leaves also contain other antioxidants such as hydroxytyrosol, luteolin, apigenin and verbascoside.

    Antioxidants work by reducing the oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress causes damage to our DNA, cell membranes and tissues, which can lead to chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

    Are olive leaves healthy?

    One review and analysis combined data from 12 experimental studies with 819 participants in total. Overall, olive leaf extract improved risk factors for heart disease. This included healthier blood lipids (fats) and lowering blood pressure.

    The effect was greater for people who already had high blood pressure.

    Most studies in this review gave olive leaf extract as a capsule, with daily doses of 500 milligrams to 5 grams for six to 48 weeks.

    Another review and analysis published late last year looked at data from 12 experimental studies, with a total of 703 people. Some of these studies involved people with high blood lipids, people with high blood pressure, people who were overweight or obese, and some involved healthy people.

    Daily doses were 250-1,000mg taken as tablets or baked into bread.

    Individual studies in the review showed significant benefits in improving blood glucose (sugar) control, blood lipid levels and reducing blood pressure. But when all the data was combined, there were no significant health effects. We’ll explain why this may be the case shortly.

    Olive leaf tea in glass cup on counter, olive leaves in front of cup
    Olive leaves can be brewed into tea. Picture Partners/Shutterstock

    Another review looked at people who took oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol (the antioxidants in olive leaves). This found significant improvement in body weight, blood lipid profiles, glucose metabolism and improvements in bones, joints and cognitive function.

    The individual studies included tested either the two antioxidants or olive leaf incorporated into foods such as bread and cooking oils (but not olive oil). The doses were 6-500mg per day of olive leaf extract.

    So what can we make of these studies overall? They show olive leaf extract may help reduce blood pressure, improve blood lipids and help our bodies handle glucose.

    But these studies show inconsistent results. This is likely due to differences in the way people took olive leaf extract, how much they took and how long for. This type of inconsistency normally tells us we need some more research to clarify the health effects of olive leaves.

    Can you eat olive leaves?

    Olive leaves can be brewed into a tea, or the leaves added to salads. Others report grinding olive leaves into smoothies.

    However the leaves are bitter, because of the antioxidants, which can make them hard to eat, or the tea unpalatable.

    Olive leaf extract has also been added to bread and other baked goods. Researchers find this improves the level of antioxidants in these products and people say the foods tasted better.

    Sprig of olive leaves
    Olive leaves can taste bitter, which can put people off. But you can bake the extract into bread. Repina Valeriya/Shutterstock

    Is olive leaf extract toxic?

    No, there seem to be no reported toxic effects of eating or drinking olive leaf extract.

    It appears safe up to 1g a day, according to studies that have used olive leaf extract. However, there are no official guidelines about how much is safe to consume.

    There have been reports of potential toxicity if taken over 85mg/kg of body weight per day. For an 80kg adult, this would mean 6.8g a day, well above the dose used in the studies mentioned in this article.

    Pregnant and breastfeeding women are recommended not to consume it as we don’t know if it’s safe for them.

    What should I do?

    If you have high blood pressure, diabetes or raised blood lipids you may see some benefit from taking olive leaf extract. But it is important you discuss this with your doctor first and not change any medications or start taking olive leaf extract until you have spoken to them.

    But there are plenty of antioxidants in all plant foods, and you should try to eat a wide variety of different coloured plant foods. This will allow you to get a range of nutrients and antioxidants.

    Olive leaf and its extract is not going to be a panacea for your health if you’re not eating a healthy diet and following other health advice.

    Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Reverse Inflammation Naturally – by Dr. Michelle Honda

    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.

    This book is in some ways not as marketable as some; it doesn’t have lots of colorful healthy food on the cover; it doesn’t even have a “woman laughing alone with salad” (you know the stock photo trope), let alone someone looking glamorous in a labcoat with a stethoscope draped over their shoulder despite listening to hearts not being a regular part of their job as an immunologist or such.

    What it does have, instead, is a lot of very useful information, and much more than you’ll usually find in a book for laypeople.

    For example, you probably know that for fighting inflammation, a green salad is better than a cheeseburger, say, and a black coffee is better than a glass of wine.

    But do you know about the roles, for good or ill, of prostaglandins and linoleic fats vs dietary fats? How about delta-6-desaturase? Neu5Gc and arachidonic acid?

    Dr. Honda demystifies all of these and more, as well as talking about the impacts of very many foods and related habits on various different inflammation-based disease. And of course, almost all disease involves some kind of inflammation (making fighting inflammation one of the best things you can do for your overall disease-avoidance strategy!), but she singles out some of the most relevant, as per the list on the front cover.

    She also talks a lot of “pharmacy in your kitchen”, in other words, what herbs, spices, and plant extracts we can enjoy for (evidence-based!) benefits on top of our default healthy diet free (or at least mostly free, for surely none of us are perfect) from inflammatory agents.

    Not content with merely giving a huge amount of information, she also gives recipes and a meal plan, but honestly, it’s the informational chapters that are the real value of the book.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to reduce your body’s inflammation levels (and/or perhaps those of a loved one for whom you cook), then this book will be an invaluable resource.

    Click here to check out Reverse Inflammation Naturally, and reverse inflammation naturally!

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  • 10 “Harsh” Truths You Probably Need to Hear

    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.

    What do you think? Are they actually harsh? We’re not convinced, but either way they are helpful, which is the important part:

    10 Helpful Truths

    Here they are:

    1. Simple isn’t easy: simplicity doesn’t guarantee ease; focus on small, manageable habits that meet you where you are.
    2. Hard habits: the changes we resist most are often the ones we need most to grow.
    3. We stand in our own way: doubt and lack of commitment hinder progress; believe in possibilities and take consistent action.
    4. Success is failure: failure is often part of the route to success; it provides valuable lessons if we embrace and reflect on it.
    5. Nothing works forever: adapt and evolve as circumstances change; clinging to outdated habits can hinder progress.
    6. Effort doesn’t equal outcome: feeling like you’re working hard doesn’t always mean you’re making effective progress.
    7. Someone always has it easier: comparisons are inevitable but unhelpful; focus on your own unique path and progress.
    8. There’s no one best thing: results depend on creating systems that fit your lifestyle, not chasing a single magic solution.
    9. Mindset matters most: success requires examining your mindset, lifestyle, and priorities, not just physical actions.
    10. Do it anyway: push through resistance, especially on tough days; discipline and consistency create success.

    For more on all of each of these, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    How To Really Pick Up (And Keep!) Those Habits

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  • Shame and blame can create barriers to vaccination

    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.

    Understanding the stigma surrounding infectious diseases like HIV and mpox may help community health workers break down barriers that hinder access to care.

    Looking back in history can provide valuable lessons to confront stigma in health care today, especially toward Black, Latine, LGBTQ+, and other historically underserved communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and HIV.

    Public Good News spoke with Sam Brown, HIV prevention and wellness program manager at Civic Heart, a community-based organization in Houston’s historic Third Ward, to understand the effects of stigma around sexual health and vaccine uptake. 

    Brown shared more about Civic Heart’s efforts to provide free confidential testing for sexually transmitted infections, counseling and referrals, and information about COVID-19, flu, and mpox vaccinations, as well as the lessons they’re learning as they strive for vaccine equity.

    Here’s what Brown said.

    [Editor’s note: This content has been edited for clarity and length.]

    PGN: Some people on social media have spread the myth that vaccines cause AIDS or other immune deficiencies when the opposite is true: Vaccines strengthen our immune systems to help protect against disease. Despite being frequently debunked, how do false claims like these impact the communities you serve?

    Sam Brown: Misinformation like that is so hard to combat. And it makes the work and the path to overall community health hard because people will believe it. In the work that we do, 80 percent of it is changing people’s perspective on something they thought they knew.

    You know, people don’t even transmit AIDS. People transmit HIV. So, a vaccine causing immunodeficiency doesn’t make sense. 

    With the communities we serve, we might have a person that will believe the myth, and because they believe it, they won’t get vaccinated. Then later, they may test positive for COVID-19. 

    And depending on social determinants of health, it can impact them in a whole heap of ways: That person is now missing work, they’re not able to provide for their family—if they have a family. It’s this mindset that can impact a person’s life, their income, their ability to function. 

    So, to not take advantage of something like a vaccine that’s affordable, or free for the most part, just because of misinformation or a misunderstanding—that’s detrimental, you know. 

    For example, when we talk to people in the community, many don’t know that they can get mpox from their pet, or that it’s zoonotic—that means that it can be transferred between different species or different beings, from animals to people. I see a lot of surprise and shock [when people learn this]. 

    It’s difficult because we have to fight the misinformation and the stigma that comes with it. And it can be a big barrier.

    People misunderstand. [They] think that “this is something that gay people or the LGBTQ+ community get,” which is stigmatizing and comes off as blaming. And blaming is the thing that leads us to be misinformed. 

    PGN: In the last couple years, your organization’s HIV Wellness program has taken on promoting COVID-19, flu, and mpox vaccines to the communities you serve. How do you navigate conversations between sexual health and infectious diseases? Can you share more about your messaging strategies?

    S.B.: As we promoted positive sexual health and HIV prevention, we saw people were tired of hearing about HIV. They were tired of hearing about how PrEP works, or how to prevent HIV

    But, when we had an outbreak of syphilis in Houston just last year, people were more inclined to test because of the severity of the outbreak. 

    So, what our team learned is that sometimes you have to change the message to get people what they need. 

    We changed our message to highlight more syphilis information and saw that we were able to get more people tested for HIV because we correlated how syphilis and HIV are connected and how a person can be susceptible to both. 

    Using messages that the community wants and pairing them with what the community needs has been better for us. And we see that same thing with COVID-19, the flu, and RSV. Sometimes you just can’t be married to a message. We’ve had to be flexible to meet our clients where they are to help them move from unsafe practices to practices that are healthy and good for them and their communities.

    PGN: You’ve mentioned how hard it is to combat stigma in your work. How do you effectively address it when talking to people one-on-one?

    S.B.: What I understand is that no one wants to feel shame. What I see people respond to is, “Here’s an opportunity to do something different. Maybe there was information that you didn’t know that caused you to make a bad decision. And now here’s an opportunity to gain information so that you can make a better decision.”

    People want to do what they want to do; they want to live how they want to live. And we all should be able to do that as long as it’s not hurting anyone, but also being responsible enough to understand that, you know, COVID-19 is here. 

    So, instead of shaming and blaming, it’s best to make yourself aware and understand what it is and how to treat it. Because the real enemy is the virus—it’s the infection, not the people. 

    When we do our work, we want to make sure that we come from a strengths-based approach. We always look at what a client can do, what that client has. We want to make sure that we’re empowering them from that point. So, even if they choose not to prioritize our message right now, we can’t take that personally. We’ll just use it as a chance to try a new way of framing it to help people understand what we’re trying to say. 

    And sometimes that can be difficult, even for organizations. But getting past that difficulty comes with a greater opportunity to impact someone else.

    This article first appeared on Public Good News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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  • 10 Great Exercises to Improve Your Eyesight

    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.

    If your eyesight has been declining a bit, all is not lost. Just like many other muscles in the body, the muscles of the eye—including those responsible for changing the focal length of your vision—can atrophy without exercise. So, without further ado, here are the exercises recommended:

    The eyes (still) have it

    1. Blink for a minute: blink rapidly for 30–60 seconds to regulate blood circulation, lubricate your eyes, and prevent dryness.
    2. Rotate your head while staring ahead: turn your head in a circular motion while keeping your gaze straight ahead. This improves blood circulation to your eyes.
    3. Look to your right and left: slowly move your gaze from right to left while breathing. This one relaxes and stretches the eye muscles.
    4. Close your eyes and relax: close your eyes for at least 30 seconds to relax and strengthen your photoreceptor cells.
    5. Move your gaze in different directions: shift your gaze right-left, up-down, in circular motions, and trace a figure 8 with your eyes. This improves visual perception for both near- and far-sightedness.
    6. Close and open your eyes: tighten your eyes shut for 3–5 seconds, then open them. Repeat seven times to improve blood circulation and relax your eye muscles. ← 10almonds note: the duration makes this different from #4, so do try both!
    7. Push against your temples with your fingers: gently press your temples with your fingers for two seconds, then release. Repeat 4–5 times to improve fluid circulation in your eyes.
    8. Draw geometric figures with your gaze: use your eyes to trace shapes such as triangles, squares, and circles to enhance your eye coordination and muscle strength.
    9. Move your eyeballs up and down: close your eyes and slowly move your eyeballs up and down five times to stretch and relax the muscles ← 10almonds note: this seems to be the same as part of #5 and has a considerable overlap with #8, but we’re listing it anyway, or else everyone will wonder where #9 went!
    10. Strengthen near and far focusing: focus on your thumb 10 inches away for 10–15 seconds, then switch focus to an object 10–20 feet away. Repeat five times to improve focus adjustment ability.

    By practicing these exercises daily, we are told that you can improve eye health and vision within a week.

    For more on all these, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Vision for Life, Revised Edition – by Dr. Meir Schneider

    Take care!

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  • Self-Compassion In A Relationship (Positives & Pitfalls)

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    Practise Self-Compassion In Your Relationship (But Watch Out!)

    Let’s make clear up-front: this is not about “…but not too much”.

    With that in mind…

    Now let’s set the scene: you, a happily-partnered person, have inadvertently erred and upset your partner. They may or may not have already forgiven you, but you are still angry at yourself.

    Likely next steps include all or any of:

    • continuing to apologise and try to explain
    • self-deprecatory diatribes
    • self-flagellation, probably not literally but in the sense of “I don’t deserve…” and acting on that feeling
    • self-removal, because you don’t want to further inflict your bad self on your partner

    As you might guess, these are quite varied in their degree of healthiness:

    • apologising is good, as even is explaining, but once it’s done, it’s done; let it go
    • self-deprecation is pretty much never useful, let alone healthy
    • self-flagellation likewise; it is not only inherently self-destructive, but will likely create an additional problem for your partner too
    • self-removal can be good or bad depending on the manner of that removal: there’s a difference between just going cold and distant on your partner, and saying “I’m sorry; this is my fault not yours, I don’t want to take it out on you, so please give me half an hour by myself to regain my composure, and I will come back with love then if that’s ok with you”

    About that last: mentioning the specific timeframe e.g. “half an hour” is critical, by the way—don’t leave your partner hanging! And then do also follow through on that; come back with love after the half-hour elapses. We suggest mindfulness meditation in the interim (here’s our guide to how), if you’re not sure what to do to get you there.

    To Err Is Human; To Forgive, Healthy (Here’s How To Do It) ← this goes for when the forgiveness in question is for yourself, too—and we do write about that there (and how)!

    This is important, by the way; not forgiving yourself can cause more serious issues down the line:

    Self-blame-selective hyper-connectivity between anterior temporal and subgenual cortices predicts prognosis in major depressive disorder

    If, by the way, you’re hand-wringing over “but was my apology good enough really, or should I…” then here is how to do it. Basically, do this, and then draw a line under it and consider it done:

    The Apology Checklist ← you’ll want to keep a copy of this, perhaps in the notes app on your phone, or a screenshot if you prefer

    (the checklist is at the bottom of that page)

    The catch

    It’s you, you’re the catch 👈👈😎

    Ok, that being said, there is actually a catch in the less cheery sense of the word, and it is:

    “It is important to be compassionate about one’s occasional failings in a relationship” does not mean “It is healthy to be neglectful of one’s partner’s emotional needs; that’s self-care, looking after #1; let them take care of themself too”

    …because that’s simply not being a couple at all.

    Think about it this way: the famous airline advice,

    “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with theirs”

    …does not mean “Put on your own oxygen mask and then watch those kids suffocate; it’s everyone for themself”

    So, the same goes in relationships too. And, as ever, we have science for this. There was a recent (2024) study, involving hundreds of heterosexual couples aged 18–73, which looked at two things, each measured with a scaled questionnaire:

    • Subjective levels of self-compassion
    • Subjective levels of relationship satisfaction

    For example, questions included asking participants to rate, from 1–5 depending on how much they felt the statements described them, e.g:

    In my relationship with my partner, I:

    • treat myself kindly when I experience sorrow and suffering.
    • accept my faults and weaknesses.
    • try to see my mistakes as part of human nature.
    • see difficulties as part of every relationship that everyone goes through once.
    • try to get a balanced view of the situation when something unpleasant happens.
    • try to keep my feelings in balance when something upsets me.

    Note: that’s not multiple choice! It’s asking participants to rate each response as applicable or not to them, on a scale of 1–5.

    And…

    ❝Women’s self-compassion was also positively linked with men’s total relationship satisfaction. Thus, men seem to experience overall satisfaction with the relationship when their female partner is self-kind and self-caring in difficult situations.

    Unexpectedly, however, we found that men’s relationship-specific self-compassion was negatively associated with women’s fulfillment.

    Baker and McNulty (2011) reported that, only for men, a Self-Compassion x Conscientiousness interaction explained whether the positive effects of self-compassion on the relationship emerged, but such an interaction was not found for women.

    Highly self-compassionate men who were low in conscientiousness were less motivated than others to remedy interpersonal mistakes in their romantic relationships, and this tendency was in turn related to lower relationship satisfaction❞

    ~ Dr. Astrid Schütz et al. (2024)

    Read in full: Is caring for oneself relevant to happy relationship functioning? Exploring associations between self-compassion and romantic relationship satisfaction in actors and partners

    And if you’d like to read the cited older paper from 2011, here it is:

    Read in full: Self-compassion and relationship maintenance: the moderating roles of conscientiousness and gender

    The take-away here is not: “men should not practice self-compassion”

    (rather, they absolutely should)

    The take-away is: we must each take responsibility for managing our own mood as best we are able; practice self-forgiveness where applicable and forgive our partner where applicable (and communicate that!)…. And then go consciously back to the mutual care on which the relationship is hopefully founded.

    Which doesn’t just mean love-bombing, by the way, it also means listening:

    The Problem With Active Listening (And How To Do Better)

    To close… We say this often, but we mean it every time: take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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