Spiced Pear & Pecan Polyphenol Porridge

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Porridge doesn’t have to be boring; in fact, it can be a real treat. And while oats are healthy by default, this version has extra layers of benefits:

You will need

Per person:

  • 1 cup milk (your choice what kind; we recommend almond for this)
  • ½ cup oats
  • 1 pear, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • ¼ cup toasted pecans, chopped
  • 2 tbsp goji berries
  • 1 tsp sweet cinnamon

Method

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

1) Soak the goji berries in a small amount of hot water. If you have an espresso cup or something of a similar size, that’s a great “bowl” for this task. A ramekin will suffice, otherwise, but use only as much water as is absolutely necessary to cover the goji berries (excess water will just leech polyphenols from the berries, reducing their nutritional value).

2) Combine the pear and cinnamon in a saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of water, and simmer for 5 minutes.

3) Combine the oats and milk in a separate saucepan (we imagine you know how to make porridge, but we’d be remiss to not include the step), and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring as necessary.

4) Drain the goji berries and the pear, if there is water remaining outside of the fruits.

5) Assemble: we recommend the order: goji berries, porridge, pear, pecans.

Alternative method: simply layer everything in a slow cooker, in the following order: goji berries (no need to pre-soak), oats, milk (stir it a little to ensure oats are all wet), pear-dusted-with-cinnamon (no need to pre-cook), pecans. Put it on the lowest heat with the lid on, and leave for a couple of hours.

Alternative alternative method: layer everything as we just said, but this time in portions of 1 jar per person, and leave it overnight, per overnight oats. Then, in the morning, gently warm it (if you like) by putting it in the microwave (lid removed!) for 2 minutes on medium power.

These latter methods are increasingly better nutritionally, as they won’t wash away some of the polyphenols from the goji berries and the lower temperatures keep the glycemic index of the oats lower, but we appreciate you won’t always have the time to do it this way.

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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  • Good Health From Head To Toe

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    It’s Q&A Day!

    Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

    This newsletter has been growing a lot lately, and so have the questions/requests, and we love that! 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

    Q: I am now in the “aging” population. A great concern for me is Alzheimers. My father had it and I am so worried. What is the latest research on prevention?

    Very important stuff! We wrote about this not long back:

    (one good thing to note is that while Alzheimer’s has a genetic component, it doesn’t appear to be hereditary per se. Still, good to be on top of these things, and it’s never too early to start with preventive measures!)

    Q: Foods that help build stronger bones and cut inflammation? Thank you!

    We’ve got you…

    For stronger bones / To cut inflammation

    That “stronger bones” article is about the benefits of collagen supplementation for bones, but there’s definitely more to say on the topic of stronger bones, so we’ll do a main feature on it sometime soon!

    Q: Veganism, staying mentally sharp, best exercises for weight gain?

    All great stuff! Let’s do a run-down:

    • Veganism? As a health and productivity newsletter, we’ll only be focusing veganism’s health considerations, but it does crop up from time to time! For example:
    • Staying mentally sharp? You might like the things-against-dementia pieces we linked to in the previous response!
      • It’s also worth noting that some kinds of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, can begin the neurodegenerative process 20 years before symptoms show, and can be influenced by lifestyle choices 20 years before that, so it’s definitely never too early be on top of these things!
    • Best exercises for weight gain? We’ll do a main feature one of these days (filled with good science and evidence), but in few words meanwhile: core exercises, large muscle groups, heavy weights, few reps, build up slowly. Squats are King.

    Q: I am interested in the following: Aging, Exercise, Diet, Relationships, Purpose, Lowering Stress

    You’re going to love our Psychology Sunday editions of 10almonds! You might like some of these…

    Q: I’d like to know more about type 2 diabetic foot problems

    You probably know that the “foot problems” thing has less to do with the feet and more to do with blood and nerves. So, why the feet?

    The reason feet often get something like the worst of it, is because they are extremities, and in the case of blood sugars being too high for too long too often, they’re getting more damage as blood has to fight its way back up your body. Diabetic neuropathy happens when nerves are malnourished because the blood that should be keeping them healthy, is instead syrupy and sluggish.

    We’ll definitely do a main feature sometime soon on keeping blood sugars healthy, for both types of diabetes plus pre-diabetes and just general advice for all.

    In the meantime, here’s some very good advice on keeping your feet healthy in the context of diabetes. This one’s focussed on Type 1 Diabetes, but the advice goes for both:

    !

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  • It’s On Me – by Dr. Sara Kuburic

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    This isn’t about bootstrapping and nor is it a motivational pep talk. What it is, however, is a wake-up call for the wayward, and that doesn’t mean “disaffected youth” or such. Rather, therapist Dr. Sara Kuburic tackles the problem of self-loss.

    It’s about when we get so caught up in what we need to do, should do, are expected to do, are in a rut of doing… That we forget to also live. After all, we only get one shot at life so far as we know, so we might as well live it in whatever way is right for us.

    That probably doesn’t mean a life of going through the motions.

    The writing style here is personal and direct, and it makes for quite compelling reading from start to finish.

    Bottom line: if ever you find yourself errantly sleepwalking through life and would like to change that, this is a book for you.

    Click here to check out It’s On Me, and take control of what’s yours!

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  • These Signs Often Mean These Nutrient Deficiencies (Do You Have Any?)

    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.

    These are not a necessary “if this then this” equation, but rather a “if this, then probably this”, and it’s a cue to try upping that thing in your diet, and if that doesn’t quickly fix it, get some tests done:

    • White bumps on the skin: vitamin A, omega 3
    • Craving sour foods: vitamin C
    • Restless leg syndrome: iron, magnesium
    • Cracked lips: vitamin B2
    • Tingling hands and feet: vitamin B12
    • Easy bruising: vitamin K and vitamin C
    • Canker sores: vitamin B9 (folate), vitamin B12, iron
    • Brittle or misshapen nails: vitamin B7 (biotin)
    • Craving salty foods: sodium, potassium
    • Prematurely gray hair: copper, vitamin B9 (folate), vitamin B12
    • Dandruff: omega 3, zinc, vitamin B6
    • Craving ice: iron

    Dr. LeGrand Peterson has more to say about these though, as well as a visual guide to symptoms, so do check out the video:

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    Want to know more?

    You might like this previous main feature about supplements vs nutrients from food

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    At 10almonds we are always extolling the virtues of fruits and vegetables, but how much do those benefits still exist when we’re looking at a fruit and vegetable extract supplement?

    We examined one aspect of this previously, here;

    Mediterranean Diet… In A Pill?

    This looked at getting the anti-inflammatory benefits of the Mediterranean diet, in supplement form, by providing extracts of 16 key plant extracts—which also provides an excellent shopping list, by the way, if you just want to skip the supplements and buy those plants; if nine top scientists (anti-aging specialists, neurobiologists, pharmacologists, and at least one professor of applied statistics) came to the conclusion that to get the absolute most bang-for-buck possible, those are the plants to get the phytochemicals from, then we’re not going to ignore that!

    And yes, the short answer was “it does very significantly improve anti-inflammatory markers”, by the way.

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    So, what about something more challenging, like brain benefits?

    Underrated Brain Boosters

    A European research team (Dr. Begoña Cerdá et al.) looked at the effects of polyphenol-rich nutraceuticals (plant extracts) on cognitive function and neuroprotection biomarkers.

    It was a randomized, crossover, double-blind, sex-stratified, placebo-controlled clinical trial that had people take the supplement or a placebo for 16 weeks, have a 4-week washout phase (to minimize leftover effects contaminating the data) and then switching groups (still blinded to the placebo control) for 16 weeks.

    They tested cognitive function and neuroprotection biomarkers in various ways before and after each of the testing phases (so, four testing sessions in total per person: before and after the supplement + before and after the placebo).

    The results:

    ❝The results suggested that participants who consumed the polyphenol-rich nutraceutical demonstrated significant improvements in cognitive performance compared to the placebo group.

    The Stroop Test scores indicated enhanced attention and inhibitory control, while RIST results suggested improvements in logical reasoning and memory. The Trail Making Test also revealed increased cognitive flexibility, highlighting the supplement’s potential to boost overall mental agility.

    Furthermore, the ELISA results showed a notable increase in BDNF and CREB levels among participants who took the active supplement. BDNF is a protein that is essential for neuronal growth and survival, and its levels were significantly elevated, reinforcing its role in synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation.

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    • ELISA = Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays
    • BDNF = Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
    • CREB = cAMP-Response Element Binding Protein
    • cAMP = Cyclic Adenosine MonoPhosphate

    Source: Daily fruit and vegetable extracts may boost brain power ← we quoted a pop-sci article for the above summary, for easier readability while still having the critical conclusions in one place

    For those who do want to dive into the actual data and a lot more detail about the study methodology (which is well worth reading if you have the time, as it’s very good), here is the actual study:

    Impact of Polyphenol-Rich Nutraceuticals on Cognitive Function and Neuroprotective Biomarkers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

    If nothing else, be aware that the usual benchmark for statistical significance is p < 0.05, whereas the results in this study ranged from p < 0.01 to p < 0.001, in other words, ranging from 5x more significant than is required to be called “significant”, to 50x more significant than is required to be called “significant”.

    In fewer words: impressively significant

    In lay terms: the scientists are about as sure as scientists ever get about anything, that this supplement produces significant results

    What was the supplement they tested?

    Good news! It was…

    1. a commercially available supplement (JuicePlus), which is convenient, because it means we (and you, dear reader) can get it if we so choose
    2. not paid for by JuicePlus or anyone associated with them (indeed, the funding declaration on the study is “This research received no external funding”), so not subject to any conflict of interest that might introduce bias into the study

    As for why they chose that one:

    ❝A unique aspect of the polyphenol-rich nutraceutical evaluated in this study lies in its composition, which integrates a blend of fruit, vegetable, and berry juice powders.

    This product, Juice Plus+ Premium®, contains over 119 distinct polyphenolic compounds, including flavanols, anthocyanins, and flavones, as demonstrated in prior compositional analyses.

    Compared to other polyphenol-based interventions, this nutraceutical stands out due to its comprehensive formulation, combining a wide range of bioactive compounds with complementary antioxidant and neuroprotective effects.

    These characteristics ensure a more diverse interaction with neurobiological pathways, including those related to oxidative stress mitigation, synaptic plasticity, and cognitive function❞

    Source: Ibid. (it’s in the introduction)

    Want to try some?

    We don’t sell it, but for your convenience, here’s where to get JuicePlus supplements Amazon 😎

    Enjoy!

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  • How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci – by Michael J. Gelb

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    Authors often try to bring forward the best minds of the distant past, and apply them to today’s world. One could fill a library with business advice adaptations from Sun Tzu’s Art of War alone, same goes for Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings, and let’s not get started on Niccolò Machiavelli. What makes this book different?

    Michael Gelb explores the principles codified and used by the infamous Renaissance Man to do exactly what he did: pretty much everything. Miyamoto Musashi had no interest in business, but Leonardo da Vinci really did care a lot about learning, creating, problem-solving, human connections, and much more. And best of all, he took notes. So many notes, for himself, of which we now enjoy the benefit.

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  • Infections Here, Infections There…

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    ❝It’s disheartening to see so many of the same failures that emerged during the COVID-19 crisis re-emerge❞

    ~ Tom Bollyky, director of the Global Health Program at the Council on Foreign Relations

    Read in full: How America lost control of the bird flu, setting the stage for another pandemic

    Related: Cows’ Milk, Bird Flu, & You

    Alzheimer’s from the gut upwards

    Alzheimer’s is generally thought of as being a purely brain thing, but there’s a link between a [specific] chronic gut infection, and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. This infection is called human cytomegalovirus, or HCMV for short, and usually we’ve all been exposed to it by young adulthood. However, for some people, it lingers in an active state in the gut, wherefrom it may travel to the brain via the vagus nerve “gut-brain highway”. And once there, well, you can guess the rest:

    Read in full: The surprising role of gut infection in Alzheimer’s disease

    Related: How To Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk

    Walking back to happiness

    Analyzing data from 96,138 adults around the world, showed that more steps meant less depression for participants.

    You may be thinking “well yes, depressed people walk less”, but more specifically, increases in activity showed increases in anti-depressive benefits, with even small incremental increases showing correspondingly incremental benefits. Specifically, each additional 1,000 steps per day corresponded to a 9% reduction in depression:

    Read in full: Higher daily step counts associated with fewer depressive symptoms

    Related: Walking… Better.

    Take care!

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

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