Tasty Hot-Or-Cold Soup

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Full of fiber as well as vitamins and minerals, this versatile “serve it hot or cold” soup is great whatever the weather—give it a try!

You will need

  • 1 quart low-sodium vegetable stock—ideally you made this yourself from vegetable offcuts you kept in the freezer until you had enough to boil in a big pan, but failing that, a large supermarket will generally be able to sell you low-sodium stock cubes.
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 leeks, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced, or equivalent small carrots, sliced
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • ¼ bulb garlic, minced
  • 1 small piece (equivalent of a teaspoon) ginger, minced
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • Extra virgin olive oil, for frying
  • Optional: ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt

About the MSG/salt: there should be enough sodium already from the stock and potatoes, but in case there’s not (since not all stock and potatoes are made equal), you might want to keep this on standby.

Method

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

1) Heat some oil in a sauté pan, and add the diced onion, frying until it begins to soften.

2) Add the ginger, potato, carrot, and leek, and stir for about 5 minutes. The hard vegetables won’t be fully cooked yet; that’s fine.

3) Add the zucchini, red pepper, celery, and garlic, and stir for another 2–3 minutes.

4) Add the remaining ingredients; seasonings first, then vegetable stock, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

5) Check the potatoes are fully softened, and if they are, it’s ready to serve if you want it hot. Alternatively, let it cool, chill it in the fridge, and enjoy it cold:

Enjoy!

Want to learn more?

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

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  • We created a VR tool to test brain function. It could one day help diagnose dementia

    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 you or a loved one have noticed changes in your memory or thinking as you’ve grown older, this could reflect typical changes that occur with ageing. In some cases though, it might suggest something more, such as the onset of dementia.

    The best thing to do if you have concerns is to make an appointment with your GP, who will probably run some tests. Assessment is important because if there is something more going on, early diagnosis can enable prompt access to the right interventions, supports and care.

    But current methods of dementia screening have limitations, and testing can be daunting for patients.

    Our research suggests virtual reality (VR) could be a useful cognitive screening tool, and mitigate some of the challenges associated with current testing methods, opening up the possibility it may one day play a role in dementia diagnosis.

    Where current testing is falling short

    If someone is worried about their memory and thinking, their GP might ask them to complete a series of quick tasks that check things like the ability to follow simple instructions, basic arithmetic, memory and orientation.

    These sorts of screening tools are really good at confirming cognitive problems that may already be very apparent. But commonly used screening tests are not always so good at detecting early and more subtle difficulties with memory and thinking, meaning such changes could be missed until they get worse.

    A clinical neuropsychological assessment is better equipped to detect early changes. This involves a comprehensive review of a patient’s personal and medical history, and detailed assessment of cognitive functions, including attention, language, memory, executive functioning, mood factors and more. However, this can be costly and the testing can take several hours.

    Testing is also somewhat removed from everyday experience, not directly tapping into activities of daily living.

    Enter virtual reality

    VR technology uses computer-generated environments to create immersive experiences that feel like real life. While VR is often used for entertainment, it has increasingly found applications in health care, including in rehabilitation and falls prevention.

    Using VR for cognitive screening is still a new area. VR-based cognitive tests generally create a scenario such as shopping at a supermarket or driving around a city to ascertain how a person would perform in these situations.

    Notably, they engage various senses and cognitive processes such as sight, sound and spatial awareness in immersive ways. All this may reveal subtle impairments which can be missed by standard methods.

    VR assessments are also often more engaging and enjoyable, potentially reducing anxiety for those who may feel uneasy in traditional testing environments, and improving compliance compared to standard assessments.

    A senior woman sitting on a bed with her hand to her face.
    Millions of people around the world have dementia.
    pikselstock/Shutterstock

    Most studies of VR-based cognitive tests have explored their capacity to pick up impairments in spatial memory (the ability to remember where something is located and how to get there), and the results have been promising.

    Given VR’s potential for assisting with diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia remains largely untapped, our team developed an online computerised game (referred to as semi-immersive VR) to see how well a person can remember, recall and complete everyday tasks. In our VR game, which lasts about 20 minutes, the user role plays a waiter in a cafe and receives a score on their performance.

    To assess its potential, we enlisted more than 140 people to play the game and provide feedback. The results of this research are published across three recent papers.

    Testing our VR tool

    In our most recently published study, we wanted to verify the accuracy and sensitivity of our VR game to assess cognitive abilities.

    We compared our test to an existing screening tool (called the TICS-M) in more than 130 adults. We found our VR task was able to capture meaningful aspects of cognitive function, including recalling food items and spatial memory.

    We also found younger adults performed better in the game than older adults, which echoes the pattern commonly seen in regular memory tests.

    A senior man sitting outdoors using a laptop.
    Adults of a range of ages tried our computerised game.
    pikselstock/Shutterstock

    In a separate study, we followed ten adults aged over 65 while they completed the game, and interviewed them afterwards. We wanted to understand how this group – who the tool would target – perceived the task.

    These seniors told us they found the game user-friendly and believed it was a promising tool for screening memory. They described the game as engaging and immersive, expressing enthusiasm to continue playing. They didn’t find the task created anxiety.

    For a third study, we spoke to seven health-care professionals about the tool. Overall they gave positive feedback, and noted its dynamic approach to age-old diagnostic challenges.

    However, they did flag some concerns and potential barriers to implementing this sort of tool. These included resource constraints in clinical practice (such as time and space to carry out the assessment) and whether it would be accessible for people with limited technological skills. There was also some scepticism about whether the tool would be an accurate method to assist with dementia diagnosis.

    While our initial research suggests this tool could be a promising way to assess cognitive performance, this is not the same as diagnosing dementia. To improve the test’s ability to accurately detect those who likely have dementia, we’ll need to make it more specific for that purpose, and carry out further research to validate its effectiveness.

    We’ll be conducting more testing of the game soon. Anyone interested in giving it a go to help with our research can register on our team’s website.The Conversation

    Joyce Siette, Research Theme Fellow in Health and Wellbeing, Western Sydney University and Paul Strutt, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Western Sydney University

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

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  • Walnuts vs Brazil Nuts – Which is Healthier?

    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.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing walnuts to Brazil nuts, we picked the walnuts.

    Why?

    Talking macros first, they are about equal in protein, carbs, fats, and fiber; their composition is almost identical in this regard. However, looking a little more closely at the fats, Brazil nuts have more than 2x the saturated fat, while walnuts have nearly 2x the polyunsaturated fat. So, we’ll declare the macros category a moderate win for walnuts.

    The category of vitamins is not balanced; walnuts have more of vitamins A, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, and choline, while Brazil nuts have more of vitamins B1 and E. A clear and easy win for walnuts.

    The category of minerals is interesting, because of one mineral in particular. First let’s mention: walnuts have more iron and manganese, while Brazil nuts have more calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium. Taken at face value, this is a clear win for Brazil nuts. However…

    About that selenium… Specifically, it’s more than 391x higher, and a cup of Brazil nuts would give nearly 10,000x the recommended daily amount of selenium. Now, selenium is an essential mineral (needed for thyroid hormone production, for example), and at the RDA it’s good for good health. Your hair will be luscious and shiny. However, go much above that, and selenium toxicity becomes a thing, you may get sick, and it can cause your (luscious and shiny) hair to fall out. For this reason, it’s recommended to eat no more than 3–4 Brazil nuts per day.

    There is one last consideration, and this is oxalates; walnuts are moderately high in oxalates (>50mg/100g) while Brazil nuts are very high in oxalates (>500mg/100g). This won’t affect most people at all, but if you have pre-existing kidney problems (including a history of kidney stones), you might want to go easy on oxalate-containing foods.

    For most people, however, walnuts are a very healthy choice, and outshine Brazil nuts in most ways.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts

    Take care!

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  • From Cucumbers To Kindles

    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.

    You’ve Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers!

    Q: Where do I get cucumber extract?

    A: You can buy it from BulkSupplements.com (who, despite their name, start at 100g packs)

    Alternatively: you want it as a topical ointment (for skin health) rather than as a dietary supplement (for bone and joint health), you can extract it yourself! No, it’s not “just juice cucumbers”, but it’s also not too tricky.

    Click Here For A Quick How-To Guide!

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Related Posts

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  • Plant vs Animal Protein

    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.

    Plant vs Animal Protein: Head to Head

    Some people will obviously have strong ideological opinions here—for vegetarians and vegans, it’s no question, and for meat-eaters, it’s easy to be reactive to that and double-down on the bacon. But, we’re a health science newsletter, so we’ll be sticking to the science.

    Which is better, healthwise?

    First, it depends on how you go about it. Consider these options:

    • A piece of salmon
    • A steak
    • A hot dog
    • A hot dog, but plant-based
    • Textured soy protein (no additives)
    • Edamame (young soy) beans

    Three animal-based protein sources, three plant-based. We could render the competition simple (but very unfair) by pitting the hotdog against the edamame beans, or the plant-based hot dog against the piece of salmon. So let’s kick this off by saying:

    • There are good and bad animal-based protein sources
    • There are good and bad plant-based protein sources

    Whatever you choose, keep that in mind while you do. Less processed is better in either case. And if you do go for red meat, less is better, period.

    Picking the healthiest from each, how do the nutritional profiles look?

    They look good in both cases! One factor of importance is that in either case, our bodies will reduce the proteins we consume to their constituent amino acids, and then rebuild them into the specific proteins we actually need. Our bodies will do that regardless of the source, because we are neither a salmon nor a soybean, for example.

    We need 20 specific amino acids, for our bodies to make the proteins we will use in our bodies. Of these, 9 are considered “essential”, meaning we cannot synthesize them and must get them from our diet,

    Animal protein sources contain all 9 of those (just like we do). Plant based sources often don’t, individually, but by eating soy for example (which does contain them all) and/or getting multiple sources of protein from different plants, the 9 can be covered quite easily with little thought, just by having a varied diet.

    Meats are #1!

    • They’re number 1 for nutritional density
    • They’re number 1 for health risks, too

    So while plant-based diet adherents may need to consume more varied things to get all the nutrients necessary, meat-eaters won’t have that problem.

    Meat-eaters will instead have a different problem, of more diet-related health risks, e.g.

    • Cardiovascular disease
    • Metabolic disorders
    • Cancers

    So again, if eating (especially processed and/or red) meat, moderation is good. The Mediterranean Diet that we so often recommend, by default contains small amounts of lean animal protein.

    Which is better for building muscle?

    Assuming a broadly healthy balanced diet, and getting sufficient protein from your chosen source, they’re pretty equal:

    (both studies showed that both dietary approaches yielded results that showed no difference in muscle synthesis between the two)

    The bottom line is…

    Healthwise, what’s more important than whether you get your protein from animals or plants is that you eat foods that aren’t processed, and are varied.

    And if you want to do a suped-up Mediterranean Diet with less red meat, you might want to try:

    A Pesco-Mediterranean Diet With Intermittent Fasting: JACC Review Topic of the Week

    ^This is from a review in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and in few words, they recommend it very highly

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  • 5 Ways To Make Your Smoothie Blood Sugar Friendly (Avoid the Spike!)

    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.

    At 10almonds, we are often saying “eat whole fruit; don’t drink your calories”. Whole fruit is great for blood sugars; fruit juices and many smoothies on the other hand, not so much. Especially juices, being near-completely or perhaps even completely stripped of fiber, but even smoothies have had a lot of the fiber broken down and are still a liquid, meaning they are very quickly and easily digestible, and thus their sugars (whatever carbs are in there) can just zip straight into your veins.

    However, there are ways to mitigate this…

    Slow it down

    The theme here is “give the digestive process something else to do”; some things are more quickly and easily digestible than others, and if it’s working on breaking down some of the slower things, it’s not waving sugars straight on through; they have to wait their turn.

    To that end, recommendations include:

    1. Full-fat Greek yogurt which provides both protein and fat, helping to slow down the absorption of sugar. Always choose unsweetened versions to avoid added sugars, though!
    2. Coconut milk (canned) which is low in sugar and carbs, high in fat. This helps reduce blood sugar spikes, as she found through personal experimentation too.
    3. Avocado which is rich in healthy fats that help stabilize blood sugar. As a bonus, it blends well into smoothies without affecting the taste much.
    4. Coconut oil which contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are quickly absorbed for energy without involving glucose, promoting fat-burning and reducing blood sugar spikes.
    5. Collagen powder which is a protein that helps lower blood sugar spikes while also supporting muscle growth, skin, and joints.

    For more on all of these, enjoy:

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    Want to learn more?

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    Take care!

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  • Exercise and Fat Loss (5 Things You Need To Know)

    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 easy to think “I’ll eat whatever; I can always burn it off later”, and if it’s an odd occasion, then that’s fine; indeed, a fit and healthy body can usually weather small infrequent dietary indiscretions easily. But…

    You can’t outrun a bad diet

    Exercise can create a calorie deficit, but over time, the body balances this out by adjusting one’s metabolism, leading to a plateau in fat loss—and as you might know, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. On the contrary, dietary adjustments are crucial for fat loss and body recomposition.

    About that calorie deficit in the first place, by the way: extreme calorie deficits through exercise alone can lead to muscle loss, reduced energy, and thus sabotage long-term fat loss because having muscle mass increases one’s base metabolic rate (while having fat does not).

    Another thing to bear in mind about exercise is that longer workouts without adequate rests in between can cause burnout, injury, or weight gain due to the body doing its best to conserve energy.

    So, a good diet is a necessary condition for both muscle maintenance and fat loss.

    Five Key Diet Tips:

    1. Include foods you love: don’t feel obliged cut out favorite foods that are a little unhealthy; incorporate them in moderation for sustainability.
    2. Keep adjustments small: avoid making drastic dietary changes all at once; make gradual tweaks to prevent feeling deprived.
    3. Prioritize protein: focus on including a protein source in every meal to increase satiety and aid in muscle building.
    4. Avoid low-calorie diets: drastically cutting calories can lead to muscle loss, metabolic adaptation, and overeating.
    5. Embrace diet evolution: changes may not feel sustainable at first, but adjustments over time help achieve long-term balance. You can always “adjust course” as you go.

    For more on all of this, enjoy:

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    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Are You A Calorie-Burning Machine?

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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