Rise And (Really) Shine!

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Q&A with 10almonds Subscribers!

Q: Would love to hear more ideas about effective first thing in the morning time management to get a great start on your day.

A: There are a lot of schools of thought about what’s best in this regard! Maybe we’ll do a main feature sometime. But some things that are almost universally agreed upon are:

  • Prepare your to-do list the night before
  • Have some sort of buffer between waking up and getting to productivity.
  • For me (hi, your writer here) it’s my first coffee of the day. It’s not even about the caffeine, it’s about the ritual of it, it’s a marker that separates my night from the day and tells my brain what gear to get into.
    • Others may like to exercise first thing in the morning
    • For still yet others, it could be a shower, cold or otherwise
    • Some people like a tall glass of lemon water to rehydrate after sleeping!
    • If you take drinkable morning supplements such as this pretty awesome nootropic stack, it’s a great time for that and an excellent way to get the brain-juices flowing!
  • When you do get to productivity: eat the frog first! What this means is: if eating a frog is the hardest thing you’ll have to do all day, do that first. Basically, tackle the most intimidating task first. That way, you won’t spend your day stressed/anxious and/or subconsciously wasting time in order to procrastinate and avoid it.
  • Counterpart to the above: a great idea is to also plan something to look forward to when your working day is done. It doesn’t matter much what it is, provided it’s rewarding to you, that makes you keen to finish your tasks to get to it.

Have a question you’d like to see answered here? Hit reply to this email, or use the feedback widget at the bottom! We always love to hear from you

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  • The Daily Stoic – by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman
    Get your copy of The Daily Stoic at Amazon today! A modern take on Stoic philosophy, with daily lessons and reflections to help you get the most out of life.

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  • Retinoids: Retinol vs Retinal vs Retinoic Acid vs..?

    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.

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    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 😎

    ❝I’m confused about retinol, retinal, retinoin, retinoids, etc, and of course every product claims to be the best, what’s the actual science on it?❞

    Before we get into these skincare products, let’s first note that for most people, what’s best for the skin is good sleep and hydration, a plants-centric whole foods diet, and good stress management:

    See for example: Of Brains And Breakouts: The Brain Skin Doctor

    However, the world of potions and lotions can be an alluring one, and there is some merit there too. So, in a nutshell:

    • Retinoids are the overall class of chemicals, and not a specific type
      • Retinoic acid is the strongest form of this chemical and is prescription-controlled in most places
        • Retinoin” is probably tretinoin (all-trans retinoic acid) with the “t” having fallen off; we can only find it being used as a product name, not an actual substance
      • Retinal, when it’s not an adjective referring to the retina (the part of the eye that receives refocussed light) and is instead a noun, is a less potent retinoid than the prescription-only kinds, but still stronger than retinol
      • Retinol is a much less potent form, and is the most widely found in skincare products

    All of them work the same way; it is only how serious they are about it that differs.

    The mechanism of action is that they speed up the turnover (shedding cycle) of skin, so that cells are replaced sooner. As with any non-cancerous human tissue, this means that the tissue itself (in this case, your skin) will be biologically younger than if it had been replaced later.

    The downside, of course, of this is that—while trying to make your skin healthier and more beautiful—the first thing that will happen is skin shedding. Depending on the retinoid type, dose, and the health of your skin to start with, this may mean anything from needing to exfoliate in the morning, to having to go to hospital with what looks like the world’s worst sunburn. For this reason, it is recommended to start with weaker products and lower doses, and work up carefully.

    A note on doses: the recommended doses for these products are always truly tiny, like “use a pea-sized amount of this 0.05% serum on your face”. Take them seriously until you’re absolutely sure from experience that your skin can handle more.

    Also, a tip: wear gloves when you apply any of the above products. This is because your fingers are also covered in skin, and if you don’t use gloves, then half the product that you intended for your face will be absorbed into your fingers instead. On the bright side, you’ll have beautifully rejuvenated fingertips, though.

    You can learn more about the science of retinoids here, in our article about tretinoin, the usually prescription-only form of retinoic acid:

    Tretinoin: Undo The Sun’s Damage To Your Skin

    Want to try some?

    We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product of retinal (stronger than retinol) on Amazon 😎

    Take care!

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  • What causes the itch in mozzie bites? And why do some people get such a bad reaction?

    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.

    Are you one of these people who loathes spending time outdoors at dusk as the weather warms and mosquitoes start biting?

    Female mosquitoes need blood to develop their eggs. Even though they take a tiny amount of our blood, they can leave us with itchy red lumps that can last days. And sometimes something worse.

    So why does our body react and itch after being bitten by a mosquito? And why are some people more affected than others?

    Arthur Poulin/Unsplash

    What happens when a mosquito bites?

    Mosquitoes are attracted to warm blooded animals, including us. They’re attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale, our body temperatures and, most importantly, the smell of our skin.

    The chemical cocktail of odours from bacteria and sweat on our skin sends out a signal to hungry mosquitoes.

    Some people’s skin smells more appealing to mosquitoes, and they’re more likely to be bitten than others.

    Once the mosquito has made its way to your skin, things get a little gross.

    The mosquito pierces your skin with their “proboscis”, their feeding mouth part. But the proboscis isn’t a single, straight, needle-like tube. There are multiple tubes, some designed for sucking and some for spitting.

    Once their mouth parts have been inserted into your skin, the mosquito will inject some saliva. This contains a mix of chemicals that gets the blood flowing better.

    There has even been a suggestion that future medicines could be inspired by the anti-blood clotting properties of mosquito saliva.

    A pale brown mosquito
    A common pest mosquito around the world, Culex quinquefasciatus. Cameron Webb (NSW Health Pathology), CC BY

    It’s not the stabbing of our skin by the mosquito’s mouth parts that hurts, it’s the mozzie spit our bodies don’t like.

    Are some people allergic to mosquito spit?

    Once a mosquito has injected their saliva into our skin, a variety of reactions can follow. For the lucky few, nothing much happens at all.

    For most people, and irrespective of the type of mosquito biting, there is some kind of reaction. Typically there is redness and swelling of the skin that appears within a few hours, but often more quickly, after just a few minutes.

    Occasionally, the reaction can cause pain or discomfort. Then comes the itchiness.

    Some people do suffer severe reactions to mosquito bites. It’s a condition often referred to as “skeeter syndrome” and is an allergic reaction caused by the protein in the mosquito’s saliva. This can cause large areas of swelling, blistering and fever.

    The chemistry of mosquito spit hasn’t really been well studied. But it has been shown that, for those who do suffer allergic reactions to their bites, the reactions may differ depending on the type of mosquito biting.

    We all probably get more tolerant of mosquito bites as we get older. Young children are certainly more likely to suffer more following mosquito bites. But as we get older, the reactions are less severe and may pass quickly without too much notice.

    How best to treat the bites?

    Research into treating bites has yet to provide a single easy solution.

    There are many myths and home remedies about what works. But there is little scientific evidence supporting their use.

    The best way to treat mosquito bites is by applying a cold pack to reduce swelling and to keep the skin clean to avoid any secondary infections. Antiseptic creams and lotions may also help.

    There is some evidence that heat may alleviate some of the discomfort.

    It’s particularly tough to keep young children from scratching at the bite and breaking the skin. This can form a nasty scab that may end up being worse than the bite itself.

    Applying an anti-itch cream may help. If the reactions are severe, antihistamine medications may be required.

    To save the scratching, stop the bites

    Of course, it’s better not to be bitten by mosquitoes in the first place. Topical insect repellents are a safe, effective and affordable way to reduce mosquito bites.

    Covering up with loose fitted long sleeved shirts, long pants and covered shoes also provides a physical barrier.

    Mosquito coils and other devices can also assist, but should not be entirely relied on to stop bites.

    There’s another important reason to avoid mosquito bites: millions of people around the world suffer from mosquito-borne diseases. More than half a million people die from malaria each year.

    In Australia, Ross River virus infects more than 5,000 people every year. And in recent years, there have been cases of serious illnesses caused by Japanese encephalitis and Murray Valley encephalitis viruses.

    Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney

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

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  • The Orchid That Renovates Your Gut (Gently)

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    The Orchid That Renovates Your Gut (Gently)

    Dendrobium officinale is an orchid that’s made its way from Traditional Chinese Medicine into modern science.

    Read: Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Quality Control of Dendrobium officinale

    To summarize its benefits, we’ll quote from Dr. Paharia’s article featured in our “what’s happening in the health world” section all so recently:

    ❝Gut microbes process Dendriobium officinale polysaccharides (DOPs) in the colon, producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and oligosaccharides that alter gut microbial composition and improve human health.

    DOPs have been shown to decrease harmful bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus while promoting beneficial ones like Bifidobacterium.❞

    Source: The future of functional foods: leveraging Dendrobium officinale for optimal gut health and disease prevention

    We don’t stop at secondary sources, though, so we took a look at the science.

    Dr. Wu et al. found (we’ll quote directly for these bullet points):

    • DOPs have been shown to influence the gut microbiota, such as the abundance of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia, Bacteroides, and Prevotella, and provide different benefits to the host due to structural differences.
    • The dietary intake of DOPs has been shown to improve the composition of the gut microbiome and offers new intervention strategies for metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes as well as inflammatory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and colitis.
    • Compared to drug therapy, intervention with DOPs is not specific and has a longer intervention duration

    Source: Structure, Health Benefits, Mechanisms, and Gut Microbiota of Dendrobium officinale Polysaccharides: A Review

    This is consistent with previous research on Dendrobium officinale, such as last year’s:

    ❝DOP significantly increased benign intestinal microbe proportion (Lactobacillus, etc.), but reduced harmful bacteria (Escherichia shigella) (P < 0.05), and significantly increased butyric acid production (P < 0.05)❞

    Source: Dendrobium officinale Xianhu 2 polysaccharide helps forming a healthy gut microbiota and improving host immune system

    In summary…

    Research so far indicates that this does a lot of good for the gut, in a way that can “kickstart” healthier, self-regulating gut microbiota.

    As to its further prospects, check out:

    Dendrobium as a new natural source of bioactive for the prevention and treatment of digestive tract diseases: a comprehensive review with future perspectives

    Very promising!

    Where can I get it?

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

    Be warned, it is expensive though!

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Related Posts

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  • Black Bean Burgers With Guacamole

    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.

    Once again proving that burgers do not have to be unhealthy, this one’s a nutritional powerhouse full of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, as well as healthy fats and extra health-giving spices.

    You will need

    • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 cup same, cooked, drained, and rinsed)
    • 3 oz walnuts (if allergic, substitute with pumpkin seeds)
    • 1 tbsp chia seeds
    • 1 tbsp flax seeds
    • ½ red onion, finely chopped
    • 1 small eggplant, diced small (e.g. ½” cubes or smaller)
    • 1 small carrot, grated
    • 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (or if you have the “this tastes like soap” gene, then substitute with parsley)
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (adjust per heat preferences)
    • ¼ bulb garlic, crushed
    • 2 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust per heat preferences)
    • ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
    • Burger buns (you can use our Delicious Quinoa Avocado Bread recipe if you like)

    For the guacamole:

    • 1 large ripe avocado, pitted, skinned, and chopped
    • 1 tbsp lime juice
    • 1 tomato, finely chopped
    • ¼ red onion, finely chopped
    • ¼ bulb garlic, crushed
    • 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes (adjust per heat preferences)

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Process the walnuts, chia seeds, and flax seeds in a food processor/blender, until they become a coarse mixture. Set aside.

    2) Heat a little oil in a skillet, and fry the red onion, aubergine, and carrot for 5 minutes stirring frequently, then add the garlic and jalapeño and stir for a further 1 minute. Set aside.

    3) Combine both mixtures you set aside with the rest of the ingredients from the burger section of the recipe, except the buns, and process them in the food processor on a low setting if possible, until you have a coarse mixture—you still want some texture, not a paste.

    4) Shape into patties; this recipe gives for 4 large patties or 8 small ones. When you’ve done this, put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, to firm up.

    5) While you wait, make the guacamole by mashing the avocado with the lime juice, and then stirring into the onion, tomato, garlic, and pepper.

    6) Cook the patties; you can do this on the grill, in a skillet, or in the oven, per your preference. Grilling or frying should take about 5 minutes on each side, give or take the size and shape of the patties. Baking in the oven should take 20–30 minutes at 400℉ / 200℃ turning over halfway through, but keep an eye on them, because again, the size and shape of the patties will affect this. You may be wondering: aren’t they all going to be patty-shaped? And yes, but for example a wide flat patty will cook more quickly than the same volume of burger mixture in a taller less wide patty.

    7) Assemble! We recommend the order: bottom bun, guacamole, burger patty, any additional toppings you want to add (e.g. more salad, pickles, etc), top bun:

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • Pineapple vs Passion Fruit – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing pineapple to passion fruit, we picked the passion fruit.

    Why?

    Both are certainly great, and both have won their respective previous comparisons! And this one’s close:

    In terms of macros, passion fruit has about 4x the protein, nearly 2x the carbs, and more than 7x the fiber. So, this one’s a clear and overwhelming win for passion fruit.

    Vitamins are quite close; pineapple has more of vitamins B1, B5, B6, B9, and C, while passion fruit has more of vitamins A, B2, B3, and choline. So, a 5:4 marginal win for pineapple.

    When it comes to minerals, pineapple has more calcium, copper, manganese, and zinc, while passion fruit has more iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium. Superficially, this would be a 5:5 tie, but looking at the numbers, passion fruit’s margins of difference are much greater, which means it gives the better overall mineral coverage, and thus wins the category.

    Looking at polyphenols, pineapple wins this category with its variety of lignans, while passion fruit has just secoisolariciresinol, of which pineapple has more anyway. Plus, not a polyphenol but doing much of the same job of same, pineapple has bromelain, which is unique to it. So pineapple wins on the phytochemicals reckoning.

    Adding up the sections and weighting them for importance (e.g. what a difference it makes to health) and statistical relevance (e.g. greater or smaller margins of difference) makes for a nominal passion fruit win, but like we say, both of these fruits are great, so enjoy both!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Bromelain vs Inflammation & Much More

    Take care!

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  • Finish What You Start – by Peter Hollins

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    For some people, getting started is the problem. For others of us, getting started is the easy part! We just need a little help not dropping things we started.

    There are summaries at the starts and ends of sections, and many “quick tips” to get you back on track.

    As a taster: one of these is “temptation bundling“, combining unpleasant things with pleasant. A kind of “spoonful of sugar” approach.

    Hollins also discusses hyperbolic discounting (the way we tend to value rewards according to how near they are, and procrastinate accordingly). He offers a tool to overcome this, too, the “10–10–10 rule“.

    Also dealt with is “the preparation trap“, and how to know when you have enough information to press on.

    For a lot of us, the places we’re most likely to drop a project is 20% in (initial enthusiasm wore off) or 80% in (“it’s nearly done; no need to worry about it”). Those are the times when the advices in this book can be particularly handy!

    All in all, a great book for seeing a lot of things to completion.

    Get your copy of “Finish What You Start” from Amazon today!

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