Superfood Energy Balls
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They are healthy, they are tasty, they are convenient! Make some of these and when you need an energizing treat at silly o’clock when you don’t have time to prepare something, here they are, full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, good for blood sugars too, and ready to go:
You will need
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup raw mixed nuts
- ¼ cup goji berries
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp chili flakes
Naturally, you can adjust the spice level if you like! But this is a good starter recipe.
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Blend all the ingredients in a good processor to make a dough
2) Roll the dough into 1″ balls; you should have enough dough for about 16 balls. If you want them to be pretty, you can roll them in some spare dry ingredients (e.g. chopped nuts, goji berries, chili flakes, seeds of some kind, whatever you have in your kitchen that fits the bill).
3) Refrigerate for at least 1–2 hours, and serve! They can also be kept in the fridge for at least a good while—couldn’t tell you how long for sure though, because honestly, they’ve never stayed that long in the fridge without being eaten.
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Dates vs Figs – Which is Healthier?
- Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts!
- Goji Berries: Which Benefits Do They Really Have?
- The Sugary Food That Lowers Blood Sugars
- Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain
- Capsaicin’s Hot Benefits
Take care!
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What’s Lurking In Your Household Air?
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As individuals, we can’t do much about the outside air. We can try to spend more time in green spaces* and away from traffic, and we can wear face-masks—as was popular in Tokyo and other such large cities long before the pandemic struck.
*The well-known mental health benefits aside (and contrary to British politician Amber Rudd’s famous assertion in a televised political debate that “clean air doesn’t grow on trees”), clean air comes mostly from trees—their natural process of respiration scrubs not only carbon dioxide, but also pollutants, from the air before releasing oxygen without the pollutants. Neat!
See also this study: Site new care homes near trees and away from busy roads to protect residents’ lungs
We are fortunate to be living in a world where most of us in industrialized countries can exercise a great degree of control over our home’s climate. But, what to do with all that power?
Temperature
Let’s start with the basics. Outside temperature may vary, but you probably have heating and air conditioning. There’s a simple answer here; the optimal temperature for human comfort and wellbeing is 20℃ / 68℉:
Scientists Identify a Universal Optimal Temperature For Life on Earth
Note: this does not mean that that is the ideal global average temperature, because that would mean the polar caps are completely gone, the methane stored there released, many large cities underwater, currently hot places will be too hot for human life (e.g. outside temperatures above human body temperature), there will be mass extinctions of many kinds of animals and plants, including those we humans require for survival, and a great proliferation of many bugs that will kill us. Basically we need diversity for the planet to survive, arctic through to tropical and yes, even deserts (deserts are important carbon sinks!). The ideal global average temperature is about 14℃ (we currently have about 15℃ and rising).
But, for setting the thermostat in your home, 20℃ / 68℉ is perfect for most people, though down as far as 17℃ / 61℉ is fine too, provided other things such as humidity are in order. In fact, for sleeping, 18℃ / 62℉ is ideal. This is because the cooler temperature is one of the several things that tell our brain it is nighttime now, and thus trigger secretion of melatonin.
If you’re wondering about temperatures and respiratory viruses, by the way, check out:
The Cold Truth About Respiratory Infections: The Pathogens That Came In From The Cold
Humidity
Most people pay more attention to the temperature in their home than the humidity, and the latter is just as important:
❝Conditions that fall outside of the optimal range of 40–60% can have significant impacts on health, including facilitating infectious transmission and exacerbating respiratory diseases.
When humidity is too low, it can cause dryness and irritation of the respiratory tract and skin, making individuals more susceptible to infections.
When humidity is too high, it can create a damp environment that encourages the growth of harmful microorganisms like mould, bacteria, and viruses.❞
~ Dr. Gabriella Guarnieri et al.
So, if your average indoor humidity falls outside of that range, consider getting a humidifier or dehumidifier, to correct it. Example items on Amazon, for your convenience:
Humidity monitor | Humidifier | Dehumidifier
See also, about a seriously underestimated killer:
Pneumonia: Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Now, one last component to deal with, for perfect indoor air:
Pollution
We tend to think of pollution as an outdoors thing, and indeed, the pollution in your home will (hopefully!) be lower than that of a busy traffic intersection. However…
- The air you have inside comes from outside, and that matters if you’re in an urban area
- Even in suburban and rural areas, general atmospheric pollutants will reach you, and if you’ve ever been subject to wildfire smoke, you’ll know that’s no fun either.
- Gas appliances in the home cause indoor pollution, even when carbon monoxide is within levels considered acceptable. This polluting effect is much stronger for open gas flames (such as on gas cookers/stoves, or gas fires), than for closed gas heating systems (such as a gas-powered boiler for central heating).
- Wood stoves/fireplaces are not an improvement, in fact they are worse, and don’t get us started on coal. You should not be breathing these things, and definitely should not be burning them in an enclosed space.
- That air conditioning, humidifier, dehumidifier? They may be great for temperature and humidity, but please clean/change the filter more often than you think is necessary, or things will grow there and then your device will be adding pathogens to the air as it goes.
- Plug-in air-freshening devices? They may smell clean, but they are effectively spraying cleaning fluids into your lungs. So please don’t.
So, what of air purifiers? They can definitely be of benefit. for example:
But watch out! Because if you don’t clean/change the filter regularly, guess what happens! That’s right, it’ll be colonized with bacteria/fungus and then be blowing those at you.
And no, not all of them will be visible to the naked eye:
Is Unnoticed Environmental Mold Harming Your Health?
Taking a holistic approach
The air is a very important factor for the health of your lungs (and thus, for the health of everything that’s fed oxygen by your lungs), but there are more things we can do as well:
Seven Things To Do For Good Lung Health!
Take care!
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The End of Stress – by Don Joseph Goewey
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So, we probably know to remember to take a deep breath once in a while, and adopt a “focus on what you can control, rather than what you can’t” attitude. In this book, Goewey covers a lot more.
After an overview of how we have a brain wired for stress, what it does to us, and why we should rewire that, he dives straight into such topics as:
- Letting go of fear—safely!
- Number-crunching the real risks
- Leading with good decisions, and trusting the process
- Actively practicing a peaceful mindset (some very good tips here)
- Transcending shame (and thus sidestepping the stress that it may otherwise bring)
The book brings together a lot of ideas and factors, seamlessly. From scientific data to case studies, to “try this and see”, encouraging us to try certain exercises for ourselves and be surprised at the results.
All in all, this is a great book on not just managing stress, but—as the title suggests—ending it in all and any cases it’s not useful to us. In other words, this book? It is useful to us.
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Pneumonia: Prevention Is Better Than Cure
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Pneumonia: What We Can & Can’t Do About It
Pneumonia is a significant killer of persons over the age of 65, with the risk increasing with age after that, rising very sharply around the age of 85:
While pneumonia is treatable, especially in young healthy adults, the risks get more severe in the older age brackets, and it’s often the case that someone goes into hospital with one thing, then develops pneumonia, which the person was already not in good physical shape to fight, because of whatever hospitalized them in the first place:
American Lung Association | Pneumonia Treatment and Recovery
Other risk factors besides age
There are a lot of things that can increase our risk factor for pneumonia; they mainly fall into the following categories:
- Autoimmune diseases
- Other diseases of the immune system (e.g. HIV)
- Medication-mediated immunosuppression (e.g. after an organ transplant)
- Chronic lung diseases (e.g. asthma, COPD, Long Covid, emphysema, etc)
- Other serious health conditions ← we know this one’s broad, but it encompasses such things as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer
See also:
Why Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Is More Likely Than You Think
Things we can do about it
When it comes to risks, we can’t do much about our age and some of the other above factors, but there are other things we can do to reduce our risk, including:
- Get vaccinated against pneumonia if you are over 65 and/or have one of the aforementioned risk factors. This is not perfect (it only reduces the risk for certain kinds of infection) and may not be advisable for everyone (like most vaccines, it can put the body through its paces a bit after taking it), so speak with your own doctor about this, of course.
- See also: Vaccine Mythbusting
- Avoid contagion. While pneumonia itself is not spread person-to-person, it is caused by bacteria or viruses (there are numerous kinds) that are opportunistic and often become a secondary infection when the immune system is already busy with the first one. So, if possible avoid being in confined spaces with many people, and do wash your hands regularly (as a lot of germs are transferred that way and can get into the respiratory tract because you touched your face or such).
- See also: The Truth About Handwashing
- If you have a cold, or flu, or other respiratory infection, take it seriously, rest well, drink fluids, get good immune-boosting nutrients. There’s no such thing as “just a cold”; not anymore.
- Look after your general health too—health doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and nor does disease. Every part of us affects every other part of us, so anything that can be in good order, you want to be in good order.
This last one, by the way? It’s an important reminder that while some diseases (such as some of the respiratory infections that can precede pneumonia) are seasonal, good health isn’t.
We need to take care of our health as best we can every day along the way, because we never know when something could change.
Want to do more?
Check out: Seven Things To Do For Good Lung Health!
Take care!
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Melatonin: A Safe, Natural Sleep Aid?
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Melatonin: A safe sleep supplement?
Melatonin is a hormone normally made in our pineal gland. It helps regulate our circadian rhythm, by making us sleepy.
It has other roles too—it has a part to play in regulating immune function, something that also waxes and wanes as a typical day goes by.
Additionally, since melatonin and cortisol are antagonistic to each other, a sudden increase in either will decrease the other. Our brain takes advantage of this, by giving us a cortisol spike in the morning to help us wake up.
As a supplement, it’s generally enjoyed with the intention of inducing healthy, natural, restorative sleep.
Does it really induce healthy, natural, restorative, sleep?
Yes! Well, “natural” is a little subject and relative, if you’re taking it as a supplement, but it’s something your body produces naturally anyway.
Contrast with, for example, benzodiazepines (that whole family of medications with names ending in -azopan or -alozam), or other tranquilizing drugs that do not so much induce healthy sleep, but rather reduce your brain function and hopefully knock you out, and/but often have unwanted side effects, and a tendency to create dependency.
Melatonin, unlike most of those drugs, does not create dependency, and furthermore, we don’t develop tolerance to it. In other words, the same dose will continue working (we won’t need more and more).
In terms of benefits, melatonin not only reduces the time to fall asleep and increases total sleep time, but also (quite a bonus) improves sleep quality, too:
Meta-Analysis: Melatonin for the Treatment of Primary Sleep Disorders
Because it is a natural hormone rather than a drug with many side effects and interactions, it’s also beneficial for those who need good sleep and/but don’t want tranquilizing:
Any other benefits?
Yes! It can also help guard against Seasonal Affective Disorder, also called seasonal depression. Because SAD is not just about “not enough light = not enough serotonin”, but also partly about circadian rhythm and (the body is not so sure what time of day it is when there are long hours of darkness, or even, in the other hemisphere / other time of year, long hours of daylight), melatonin can help, by giving your brain something to “anchor” onto, provided you take it at the same time each day. See:
- Is seasonal affective disorder a disorder of circadian rhythms?
- The circadian basis of winter depression: the case for low-dose melatonin use
As a small bonus, melatonin also promotes HGH production (important for maintaining bone and muscle mass, especially in later life):
Anything we should worry about?
Assuming taking a recommended dose only (0.5mg–10mg per day), toxicity is highly unlikely, especially given that it has a half-life of only 40–60 minutes, so it’ll be eliminated quite quickly.
However! It does indeed induce sleepiness, so for example, don’t take melatonin and then try to drive or operate heavy machinery—or, ideally, do anything other than go to bed.
It can interfere with some medications. We mentioned that melatonin helps regulate immune function, so for example that’s something to bear in mind if you’re on immunosuppressants or otherwise have an autoimmune disorder. It can also interfere with blood pressure medications and blood thinners, and may make epilepsy meds less effective.
As ever, if in doubt, please speak with your doctor and/or pharmacist.
Where to get it?
As ever, we don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience, here is an example product on Amazon.
Enjoy!
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Signs That Are Present When Someone Is Dying
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You’ve probably been there a few times, although given the emotional nature of the thing, it’s likely that you weren’t taking notes. Hospice workers, on the other hand, do take notes, so here are some things you might want to know, and if anything makes the next time even a little easier, that’ll be good:
Last stages
Here are the discussed signs of the “active dying” phase:
- Increasing unconsciousness:
- The person will be mostly unresponsive most of the time.
- Eyes may be open or partially open but not making eye contact.
- Mouth will likely remain open due to muscle relaxation.
- Cessation of food and water intake
- The person will likely not eat or drink for several days.
- This is a natural process and does not cause suffering per se (e.g. thirst, hunger).
- Dryness of mouth, however, can be treated with a little moistening, for comfort.
- Changes in breathing
- Breathing patterns will change and may be irregular.
- This is a natural metabolic response, and is not a sign of distress.
- Terminal secretions (“death rattle”) may occur:
- A gurgling sound caused by saliva buildup due to loss of swallowing reflex.
- Not painful or distressing for the person.
- Can be managed by repositioning or using medication to dry secretions.
- Skin color changes / mottling:
- First appears on fingers and toes (purple or gray discoloration).
- May spread to knees, nose, or other extremities.
- Temperature fluctuations:
- The body loses its ability to regulate temperature.
- Person may feel hot but be cold (or vice versa).
- Fevers are common—cooling measures and/or Tylenol can help.
A person in discomfort may appear restless, have a furrowed brow, or show physical agitation. If on the other hand they appear peaceful and unresponsive, they are almost certainly not in distress. At such times, it’s best to focus on just keeping them clean and comfortable.
For more on all of these, see:
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Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
Managing Mortality: When Planning Is a Matter of Life and Death
Take care!
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- Increasing unconsciousness:
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Sunflower Seeds vs Sesame Seeds – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing sunflower seeds to sesame seeds, we picked the sunflower.
Why?
In moderation, both are very healthy. We say “in moderation” because they’re both about 50% fat and such fats, while vital for life, are generally best enjoyed in small portions. Of that fat, sunflower has the slightly better fat profile; they’re both mostly poly- and monounsaturated fats, but sunflower has 10% saturated fat while sesame has 15%. Aside from fats, sunflower has slightly more protein and sesame has slightly more carbs. While sesame has slightly more fiber, because of the carb profile sunflower still has the lower glycemic index. All in all, a moderate win for sunflower in the macros category.
You may be wondering, with all that discussion of fats, what they’re like for omega-3, and sesame seeds have more omega-3, though sunflower seeds contain it too. Still, a point in sesame’s favor here.
When it comes to vitamins, sunflower has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E, and choline, while sesame is not higher in any vitamins.
In the category of minerals, sunflower has more phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while sesame has more calcium, copper, iron, and zinc. This is nominally a marginal win for sesame, but it should be noted that sunflower is still very rich in copper, iron, and zinc too (but not calcium).
Adding up the categories makes for a moderate win for sunflower seeds, but as ever, enjoy both; diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
Sunflower Seeds vs Pumpkin Seeds – Which is Healthier?
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
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