The Calorie Myth – by Jonathan Bailor
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First we’ll mention: the author is not a doctor, but the book is endorsed by assorted well-known doctors in the field, and the science described is consistent with current scientific consensus (and, for that matter, consistent with what we wrote in our mythbusting feature: Are You A Calorie-Burning Machine?).
It’s often (correctly) said that “not all calories are created equal”, but how should we quantify them? He proposes his “SANE solution”, which is based around the ideas of:
- Satiety: how quickly calories fill us up
- Aggression: how likely calories are to be stored as fat
- Nutrition: how many micronutrients calories bring with them, and how much
- Efficiency: how easily calories are converted
To this end, he recommends a diet high in foods that score well on his “SANE” factors, and provides such things as recipes, meal plans etc to help, as well principles for exercising more usefully in the context of metabolic base rate, and moving (rather than fighting) one’s “set point”, which is usually associated with one’s weight but it really has more to do with metabolic base rate. In fact, Bailor recommends throwing out the bathroom scale and focusing on pursuing good health itself, rather than obsessing over changing one’s relationship with the Earth’s gravitational field.
Yes, it says “lose weight” in the subtitle, but the idea is that this will be a by-product rather than the thing actively pursued. After all, we can control our actions, so that input variable is where we should put our focus, not the output variable of the numbers on the scale which can often be misleading (muscle weighing more than fat, tendency to water weight fluctuations, etc).
The style is a little flashy and salesy for this reviewer’s personal taste (a lot of references to his own businesses and neologisms associated with such), but it doesn’t take away from the quality of the content, and in terms of science, study references come at a rate of about one per page on average.
Bottom line: if you’d like to rethink your relationship with calories, then this book can help give you a much more practical angle.
Click here to check out The Calorie Myth, and take control of your metabolic base rate!
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Dial Down Your Pain
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This is Dr. Christiane Wolf. Is than an MD or a PhD, you ask? The answer is: yes (it is both; the latter being in psychosomatic medicine).
She also teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, which as you may recall is pretty much the most well-evidenced* form of meditation there is, in terms of benefits:
No-Frills, Evidence-Based Mindfulness
*which is not to claim it is necessarily the best (although it also could be); rather, this means that it is the form of meditation that’s accumulated the most scientific backing in total. If another equal or better form of meditation enjoyed less scientific scrutiny, then there could an alternative out there languishing with only two and a half scientific papers to its name. However, we at 10almonds are not research scientists, and thus can only comment on the body of evidence that has been published.
In any case, today is going to be about pain.
What does she want us to know?
Your mind does matter
It’s easy to think that anything you can do with your mind is going to be quite small comfort when your nerves feel like they’re on fire.
However, Dr. Wolf makes the case for pain consisting of three components:
- the physical sensation(s)
- the emotions we have about those
- the meaning we give to such (or “the story” that we use to describe it)
To clarify, let’s give an example:
- the physical sensations of burning, searing, and occasionally stabbing pains in the lower back
- the emotions of anguish, anger, despair, self-pity
- the story of “this pain has ruined my life, is making it unbearable, will almost certainly continue, and may get worse”
We are not going to tell you to throw any of those out of the window for now (and, would that you could throw the first line out, of course).
The first thing Dr. Wolf wants us to do to make this more manageable is to break it down.
Because presently, all three of those things are lumped together in a single box labelled “pain”.
If each of those items is at a “10” on the scale of pain, then this is 10×10×10=1000.
If our pain is at 1000/10, that’s a lot. We want to leave the pain in the box, not look at it, and try to distract ourselves. That is one possible strategy, by the way, and it’s not always bad when it comes to giving oneself a short-term reprieve. We balanced it against meditation, here:
Managing Chronic Pain (Realistically)
However, back to the box analogy, if we open that box and take out each of those items to examine them, then even without changing anything, even with them all still at 10, they can each be managed for what they are individually, so it’s now 10+10+10=30.
If our pain is at 30/10, that’s still a lot, but it’s a lot more manageable than 1000/10.
On rating pain, by the way, see:
Get The Right Help For Your Pain
Dealing with the separate parts
It would be nice, of course, for each of those separate parts to not be at 10.
With regard to the physical side of pain, this is not Dr. Wolf’s specialty, but we have some good resources here at 10almonds:
- The 7 Approaches To Pain Management
- 10 Tips To Reduce Morning Pain & Stiffness With Arthritis
- Science-Based Alternative Pain Relief: When Painkillers Aren’t Helping, These Things Might
When it comes to emotions associated with pain, Dr. Wolf (who incidentally is a Buddhist and also a teacher of same, and runs meditation retreats for such), recommends (of course) mindfulness, and what in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is called “radical acceptance” (in Buddhism, it may be referred to as being at one with things). We’ve written about this here:
“Hello, Emotions”: Radical Acceptance In CBT & DBT
Once again, the aim here is still not to throw the (often perfectly valid) emotions out of the window (unless you want to), but rather, to neutrally note and acknowledge the emotions as they arrive, á la “Hello, despair. Depression, my old foe, we meet again. Hello again, resentment.” …and so on.
The reason this helps is because emotions, much like the physical sensations of pain, are first and foremost messengers, and sometimes (as in the case of chronic pain) they get broken and keep delivering the message beyond necessity. Acknowledging the message helps your brain (and all that is attached to it) realize “ok, this message has been delivered now; we can chill about it a little”.
Having done that, if you can reasonably tweak any of the emotions (for example, perhaps that self-pity we mentioned could be turned into self-compassion, which is more useful), that’s great. If not, at least you know what’s on the battlefield now.
When we examine the story of our pain, lastly, Dr. Wolf invites us to look at how one of the biggest drivers of distress under pain is the uncertainty of how long the pain will last, whether it will get worse, whether what we are doing will make it worse, and so forth. See for example:
How long does back pain last? And how can learning about pain increase the chance of recovery?
And of course, many things we do specifically in response to pain can indeed make our pain worse, and spread:
Dr. Wolf’s perspective says:
- Life involves pain
- Pain invariably has a cause
- What has a cause, can have an end
- We just need to go through that process
This may seem like small comfort when we are in the middle of the pain, but if we’ve broken it down into parts with Dr. Wolf’s “box method”, and dealt with the first two parts (the sensations and the emotions) as well as reasonably possible, then we can tackle the third one (the story) a little more easily than we could if we were trying to come at it with no preparation.
What used to be:
“This pain has ruined my life, is making it unbearable, will almost certainly continue, and may get worse”
…can now become:
“This pain is a big challenge, but since I’m here for it whether I want to be or not, I will suffer as I must, while calmly looking for ways to reduce that suffering as I go.”
In short: you cannot “think healing thoughts” and expect your pain to go away. But you can do a lot more than you might (if you left it unexamined) expect.
Want to know more from Dr. Wolf?
We reviewed a book of hers recently, which you might enjoy:
Outsmart Your Pain – by Dr. Christiane Wolf
Take care!
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Your Future Self – by Dr. Hal Herschfield
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How do you want to be, one year from now? Five years from now? Ten years from now?
Now, how would you have answered that same question one, five, ten years ago?
The reality, according to Dr. Hal Herschfield, is that often we go blundering into the future blindly, because we lack empathy with our future self. Our past self, we can have strong feelings about. They could range from compassion to shame, pride to frustration, but we’ll have feelings. Our future self? A mystery.
What he proposes in this book, therefore, is not merely the obvious “start planning now, little habits that add up”, etc, but also to address the underlying behavioral science of why we don’t.
Starting with exercises of empathy for our tomorrow-self (literally tomorrow, i.e. the day after this one), and building a mindset of “paying it forward”—to ourself.
By treating our future self like a loved one, we can find ourselves a lot more motivated to actually do the things that future-us will thank us for.
The real value of this book is in the progressive exercises, because it’s a “muscle” that most people haven’t exercised much. But when we do? What a superpower it becomes!
Bottom line: if you know what you “should” do, but somehow just don’t do it, this book will help connect you to your future self and work as a better team to get there… the way you actually want.
Click here to check out Your Future Self, and start by gifting this book to future-you!
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What is hyaluronic acid – and is it OK for kids and teens to use this common skincare ingredient?
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Earlier this month, Kmart pulled a “hyaluronic acid cleansing balm” from its shelves, after a teen who used the skincare product was hospitalised, reporting eye pain and blurred vision. It’s unclear what ingredient caused this reaction.
In a statement, Kmart said it was removing the product while conducting an investigation. The retailer also said:
We want to assure our customers that our cosmetics are designed to ensure that they comply with both Australian and European requirements on ingredients.
Hyaluronic acid – despite the name – is a gentle ingredient commonly used in skincare products.
But what does hyaluronic acid do to your skin as a skincare ingredient? And is it safe for tweens and teens?
Sabinayro/Shutterstock What is hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan – a sugar-based molecule found naturally in the skin, eyes, joint fluid and connective tissue.
It plays a key role in hydrating the skin and tissues, lubricating our joints and supporting tissue repair.
Beyond cosmetics, hyaluronic acid is used in drug delivery, regenerative medicine, wound repair, and to treat conditions such as atherosclerosis (where the arterial walls harden and narrow) and osteoarthritis (a degenerative joint disease).
It is also a key ingredient in many eye drops and contact lens care solutions.
How is it used in skincare?
While the word “acid” might suggest it is harsh and potentially damaging to the skin, hyaluronic acid is not used in its acidic form in skincare products. It is usually used in its salt form, sodium hyaluronate.
In skincare, active acids such as salicylic acid usually lower the skin’s pH and exfoliate it by breaking the bonds between dead skin cells.
Hyaluronic acid, in contrast, is used to hydrate the skin. It is a humectant, an ingredient that attracts and retains water molecules.
Hyaluronic acid has three qualities that make it suitable for skincare: it’s soluble (can be dissolved in water), biocompatible (meaning it’s not harmful to the body), and biodegradable (naturally breaks down into non-toxic, simpler substances).
It is usually safe and well-tolerated, meaning it has very few side effects.
In skincare products, hyaluronic is used in different forms. Smaller hyaluronic molecules can penetrate deeper into the skin and hydrate the lower levels. In products this is often advertised as “anti-ageing”, because it stimulates the production of collagen (a structural protein in the skin), and helps to improve elasticity and reduce the appearance of fine lines.
Larger hyaluronic acid molecules remain on the skin’s surface and have an immediate hydrating effect, preventing water evaporation from the skin.
Hyaluronic acid helps the skin attract and retain water molecules for hydration. Art_Photo/Shutterstock Any risks?
Hyaluronic acid is generally a safe ingredient, even for sensitive skin. But products advertised as “hyaluronic acid skincare” may contain other ingredients which can cause irritation.
In particular, fragrances, preservatives and surfactants (ingredients that produce foam and help wash away oil and dirt) may be safe for skin but burn or otherwise irritate the eyes.
This is because the cornea and conjuctiva (the thin membrane covering the eye) are much more sensitive than the skin.
How are skincare ingredients regulated?
Unlike medicines and products used for therapeutic reasons, which are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), general cosmetic products do not require pre-market safety testing or approval.
Instead, companies need to register their business with the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme and verify that their ingredients are not banned or restricted in Australia.
This creates a potential gap where defective products remain on the market, only to be recalled after adverse reactions occur.
Are these products appropriate for children?
Most scientific research on active ingredients – including hyaluronic acid – has been evaluated in older populations. This leaves a gap in understanding how they affect teen and preteen skin.
Many products are designed for ageing and/or specific skin types, and are largely unnecessary for children and younger people.
In some cases, they can potentially be harmful to their skin. For example, unless prescribed by a dermatologist, it’s advisable for young people to avoid retinoid products (containing retinol or retinal) as they can cause redness, peeling and drying.
Similarly, products with alpha hydroxy acids can cause irritation, itching, redness and may worsen acne in young skin.
So, what should younger people look for?
Preteens and teens should avoid products containing active ingredients such as retinol, vitamin C, alpha- and beta- hydroxy acids, and peptides, as well as those labelled with terms such as anti-ageing, wrinkle-reducing, brightening, or firming.
To keep skin clean and protected, teenagers can use a good cleanser, a simple moisturiser and a broad spectrum SPF 30 or 50 sunscreen.
It’s best to opt for gentle, fragrance-free cleansers and moisturisers suitable for all skin types. Consulting with a pharmacist can provide personalised recommendations based on individual skin needs.
Zoe Porter, Lecturer, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, Monash University and Laurence Orlando, Senior Lecturer, Product Formulation and Development, Analytical Methods, Monash University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Social connections, service access, language: how disability can make things even harder for refugees
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Settling in a new country as a refugee comes with a variety of opportunities and challenges, from forming social connections, to navigating government services, and many others. The challenges can be greater for refugees with disability, our new research shows.
We don’t have concrete data on how many refugees with disability have settled in Australia. But we know numbers have increased in recent years after a 2010 parliamentary inquiry recommended a policy change to reduce barriers to refugees with disability settling in Australia.
Still, there’s a significant research gap on the intersection of disability and migration in Australia. There’s also little international research on refugees with disability.
Through surveys and interviews, we explored the experiences of settlement and integration for refugees with disability in Australia.
Our 75 survey respondents were permanent residents who had lived in Australia for an average of 4.3 years. They were mostly from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
For the survey, we used questions from our previous research with refugees conducted by Western Sydney University and Settlement Services International (SSI). This allowed us to put the experiences of refugees with disability into context, comparing them with refugees more broadly.
Our findings suggest intersecting issues – across domains including social connections, housing, and English language learning – influence the settlement and integration trajectories of refugees with disability in Australia.
FG Trade Latin/Getty Images Some good news
Among refugees with disability, 72% of respondents said they felt part of the Australian community always or most of the time. Some 65% rated their overall settlement experience in Australia as good or very good.
These two percentages are lower than what refugees in general reported in our previous research in 2021, wherein 87% felt part of the community and 83% had an overall positive settlement experience.
Our new research also indicates refugees with disability gain important support from their own communities.
They were more likely to feel supported or given comfort by their national and ethnic community (54%) than refugees in general (38%) in our previous research.
In their religious communities, 46% of refugees with disability felt supported. This is compared to 27% of refugees generally in our earlier research.
As Haneen, a proxy respondent for and sister of Jamal, a 56-year-old man with disability from Iraq, explained:
I go to the church on Sundays, every Sunday and Wednesday. Majority of time I try not to miss it and Jamal also joins me. My sisters and her friends, they say if you don’t bring Jamal, don’t come, we want to see Jamal be with you, they like to have him there.
A nuanced picture
Developing connections outside their own communities posed significant challenges for refugees with disability. Most found it hard or very hard to make friends in Australia (77%), to talk to their Australian neighbours (76%) and to understand Australian ways or culture (68%).
These figures were much higher than what refugees more broadly reported in our previous research: 29%, 31% and 25% respectively.
Refugees with disability said English language difficulties, compounded by experiences of disability, hampered opportunities to develop mixed social networks.
Generally, they also faced significant difficulties accessing government services. Reported reasons for this included language barriers (75%), problems using government mobile apps such as Medicare and MyGov (62%), long wait times for appointments (60%) and transport difficulties (58%). These were much higher rates than for refugees generally in our previous research.
Refugees appreciated the range of disability supports available in Australia. At the same time, they reported challenges navigating these services. Even when they accessed them successfully, some faced challenges such as inadequate hours of support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Adnan, from Afghanistan, described what would have helped him and his brother, Yazan, who has cerebral palsy:
NDIS should have a team of people [to work with refugee] families with […] a person with disability […] they should have a team that meets this person and sees the needs of this person directly, and to help […] the family to find the proper provider. Because we don’t know […] as a refugee we came with no knowledge, no experience.
Refugees with disability we spoke to described a range of challenges. Eden Connell Our respondents shared similar difficulties finding housing as other refugees. However, they were less satisfied with various aspects of their homes (for example, the number, size and accessibility of rooms).
Refugees with disability appeared strongly motivated to learn English, yet reported barriers accessing adult learning programs such as the Adult Migrant English Program. These barriers included unsuitable delivery options (for example, online-only classes), being unable to sit for long periods, and trouble with memory and learning.
Breaking down barriers
The disability royal commission highlighted that refugees with disability face a range of challenges when trying to access disability and mainstream services. As the review from the commission notes:
many organisations have policies or programs to support inclusion of people with disability and also people from CALD [culturally and linguistically diverse] backgrounds, but these policies often do not intersect, nor do they intersect with other initiatives around inclusion.
The NDIS has developed a CALD strategy for 2024–28 which outlines a series of actions to improve access by migrants and refugees with disability. This will be a positive step if implemented in full.
Although our sample size was small, our research underscores the intersecting barriers that hinder inclusion for refugees with disability. Challenges around social connections, engagement with services and other domains may be magnified by experiences of disability.
Australia has obligations under international conventions and domestic laws and policies to protect the rights of refugees and people with disability.
We urgently need policy frameworks and systems that explicitly respond to the intersecting opportunities and challenges experienced by refugees with disability.
Tadgh McMahon, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University and Gerard Goggin, Distinguished Professor, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Asparagus vs Green Beans – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing asparagus to green beans, we picked the asparagus.
Why?
Both have their strong points, but one has more:
In terms of macros, asparagus has 2x the protein (a fair feat for a plant whose last name is not “beans”!) while green beans have nearly 2x the fiber and just under 3x the carbs. With that spread of data, we say it all evens out to a tie in this round.
In the category of vitamins, asparagus has considerably more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B7, B9, C, E, K, and choline, while green beans have more vitamin B6—an overwhelming 10:1 win for asparagus.
Looking at minerals next, asparagus has more copper, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while green beans have more calcium, iron, magnesium, and manganese, yielding a modestly marginal 5:4 victory to asparagus here.
In other considerations, asparagus has a higher polyphenol content, mostly quercetin. So that’s another point for asparagus.
Adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for asparagus, but by all means enjoy either or both, as diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Fight Inflammation & Protect Your Brain, With Quercetin
Enjoy!
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Chaga Mushrooms’ Immune & Anticancer Potential
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What Do Chaga Mushrooms Do?
Chaga mushrooms, which also go by other delightful names including “sterile conk trunk rot” and “black mass”, are a type of fungus that grow on birch trees in cold climates such as Alaska, Northern Canada, Northern Europe, and Siberia.
They’ve enjoyed a long use as a folk remedy in Northern Europe and Siberia, mostly to boost immunity, mostly in the form of a herbal tea.
Let’s see what the science says…
Does it boost the immune system?
It definitely does if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any studies on humans yet. But for example:
- Immunomodulatory Activity of the Water Extract from Medicinal Mushroom Inonotus obliquus
- Inonotus obliquus extracts suppress antigen-specific IgE production through the modulation of Th1/Th2 cytokines in ovalbumin-sensitized mice
(cytokines are special proteins that regulate the immune system, and Chaga tells them to tell the body to produce more white blood cells)
Wait, does that mean it increases inflammation?
Definitely not if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any studies on humans yet. But for example:
- Anti-inflammatory effects of orally administered Inonotus obliquus in ulcerative colitis
- Orally administered aqueous extract of Inonotus obliquus ameliorates acute inflammation
Anti-inflammatory things often fight cancer. Does chaga?
Definitely if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any studies in human cancer patients yet. But for example:
While in vivo human studies are conspicuous by their absence, there have been in vitro human studies, i.e., studies performed on cancerous human cell samples in petri dishes. They are promising:
- Anticancer activities of extracts and compounds from the mushroom Inonotus obliquus
- Extract of Innotus obliquus induces G1 cell cycle arrest in human colon cancer cells
- Anticancer activity of Inonotus obliquus extract in human cancer cells
I heard it fights diabetes; does it?
You’ll never see this coming, but: definitely if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any human studies yet. But for example:
- Anti-diabetic effects of Inonotus obliquus in type 2 diabetic mice
- Anti-diabetic effects of Inonotus obliquus in type 2 diabetic mice and potential mechanism
Is it safe?
Honestly, there simply have been no human safety studies to know for sure, or even to establish an appropriate dosage.
Its only-partly-understood effects on blood sugar levels and the immune system may make it more complicated for people with diabetes and/or autoimmune disorders, and such people should definitely seek medical advice before taking chaga.
Additionally, chaga contains a protein that can prevent blood clotting. That might be great by default if you are at risk of blood clots, but not so great if you are already on blood-thinning medication, or otherwise have a bleeding disorder, or are going to have surgery soon.
As with anything, we’re not doctors, let alone your doctors, so please consult yours before trying chaga.
Where can we get it?
We don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience, here’s an example product on Amazon.
Enjoy!
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