The New Menopause – by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
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The author is most famous for “The Galveston Diet”, which book is astonishingly similar in its content, chapters, format, etc to Nikki Williams’ “It’s Not You, It’s Your Hormones” which came out a few years previously but didn’t get the same marketing.
Nonetheless, this time Dr. Haver has something new to add, and we think it’s worth a read.
The general theme of this book is a comprehensive overview of the menopause, experientially (subjective to the person going through it) and empirically (by science), from start to finish and beyond. This book’s more about human physiology, and less about diet than the previous.
Dr. Haver also discusses in-depth how estrogen is thought of as a sex hormone (and it is), to the point that people consider it perhaps expendable, and forget (or are simply unaware) that we have estrogen receptors throughout our bodies and estrogen is vital for maintaining many other bodily functions, including your heart, cognitive function, bone integrity, blood sugar balance, and more.
(in case you’re wondering “why don’t men fall to bits, then?”, don’t worry, their testosterone does these things for them. Testosterone is orders of magnitude less potent than estrogen, mg for mg, so they need a lot more of it, but under good conditions they produce plenty so it’s fine)
But, the amount of testosterone available to peri/postmenopausal women is simply not enough to do that job (and it’d also result in a transition of secondary sex characteristics, which for most people would be very unwanted), so, something else needs to be done.
Dr. Haver also discusses in detail the benefits and risks of HRT and how to get/manage them, respectively, with the latest up-to-date research (at time of going to print; the book was published in April 2024).
Bottom line: if you want to know what’s going on with your peri- or post-menopausal body and how it could be better (or if you want to know what’s going on with someone else approaching/experiencing menopause), then this is a top-tier book.
Click here to check out The New Menopause, and know what’s going on and what to do about it!
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Quick Healthy Recipe Ideas
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!
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
“It was superb !! Just loved that healthy recipe !!! I would love to see one of those every day, if possible !! Keep up the fabulous work !!! ”
We’re glad you enjoyed! We can’t promise a recipe every day, but here’s one just for you:
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No-Exercise Exercise!
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Do you love to go to the gym?
If so, today’s article might not be for you so much. Or maybe it will, because let’s face it, exercise is fun!
At least… It can be, and should be 😎
So without further ado, here’s a slew of no-exercise exercise ideas; we’re willing to bet that somewhere in the list there’s at least some you haven’t tried before, and probably some you haven’t done in a while but might enjoy making a reprise!
Walking
No surprises here: walking is great. Hopefully you have some green spaces near you, but if you don’t, [almost] any walking is better than no walking. So unless there’s some sort of environmental disaster going on outside, lace up and get stepping.
If you struggle to “walk for walking’s sake” give yourself a little mission. Walk to the shop to buy one item. Walk to the park and find a flower to photograph. Walk to the library and take out a book. Whatever works for you!
See also: The Doctor Who Wants Us To Exercise Less, And Move More
Take the stairs
This one doesn’t need many words, just: make it a habit.
Treat the elevators as though they aren’t there!
See also: How To Really Pick Up (And Keep!) Those Habits
Dance
Dance is amazing! Any kind of dance, whatever suits your tastes. This writer loves salsa and tango, but no matter whether for you it’s zouk or zumba, breakdancing or line dancing, whatever gets you moving is going to be great for you.
If you don’t know how, online tutorials abound, and best of all is to attend local classes if you can, because they’re always a fun social experience too.
Make music
Not something often thought of as an exercise, but it is! Most instruments require that we be standing or siting with good posture, focusing intently on our movements, and often as not, breathing very mindfully too. And yes, it’s great for the brain as well!
Check out: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession – by Dr. Daniel Levitin
Take a stand
If you spend a lot of time at a desk, please consider investing in a standing desk; they can be truly life-changing. Not only is it so much better for your back, hips, neck, and internal organs, but also it burns hundreds more calories than sitting, due to the no-exercise exercise that is keeping your body constantly stabilized while on your feet.
(or, if you’re like this writer: on your foot. I do have two feet, I just spend an inordinate amount of time at my desk standing on one leg at a time; I’m a bit of a flamingo like that)
See also: Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World – by Kelly Starrett and Glen Cordoza
Sit, but…
Sit in a sitting squat! Sometimes called a Slav squat, or an Asian squat, or a resting squat, or various other names:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Alternatively, sitting in seiza (the traditional Japanese sitting position) is also excellent, but watch out! While it’s great once your body is accustomed to it, if you haven’t previously sat this way much, you may cut off your own circulation, hurt your knees, and (temporarily) lose feeling in your feet. So if you don’t already sit in seiza often, gradually work up the time period you spend sitting in seiza, so that your vasculature can adapt and improve, which honestly, is a very good thing for your legs and feet to have.
Breathe
Perhaps the absolute most “no-exercise exercise” there is. And yes, of course you are (hopefully) breathing all the time, but how you are breathing matters a lot:
The Inside Job Of Fixing Our Breathing: Exercises That Can Fix Sinus Problems (And More)
Clean
This doesn’t have to mean scrubbing floors like a sailor—even merely giving your house the Marie Kondo treatment counts, because while you’re distracted with all the objects, you’re going to be going back and forth, getting up and down, etc, clocking up lots of exercise that you barely even notice!
PS, check out: The Life-Changing Manga Of Tidying Up – by Marie Kondo
Garden
As with the above, it’s lots of activity that doesn’t necessarily feel like it (assuming you’re doing more pruning and weeding etc, and less digging ditches etc), and as a bonus, there are a stack of mental health benefits to being in a green natural environment and interacting with soil:
Read more: The Antidepressant In Your Garden
Climb
Depending on where you live, this might mean an indoor climbing wall, but give it a go! They have color-coded climbs from beginner to advanced, so don’t worry about being out of your depth.
And the best thing is, the beginner climbs will be as much a workout to a beginner as the advanced climbs will be to an advanced climber, because at the end of the day, you’re still clinging on for dear life, no matter whether it’s a sizeable handhold not far from the ground, or the impression of a fingernail crack in an overhang 100ft in the air.
Video games (but…)
Less in the category of Stardew Valley, and more in the category of Wii Fit.
So, dust off that old controller (or treat yourself to one if you didn’t have one already), and get doing a hundred sports and other physical activities in the comfort of your living room, with a surprisingly addictive gaming system!
Sex!
You probably don’t need instructions here, and if you do, well honestly, we’re running out of space today. But the answer to “does xyz count?” is “did it get your heart racing?” because if so, it counts
Take care!
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Why does squishing NeeDoh, slime, or putty feel so satisfying?
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NeeDoh is the latest squishy sensory toy to go viral. Social media is reporting how these blobs of gel are flying off the shelves, and are in short supply.
But squishy sensory toys have been around much longer than this latest fad. You might remember putty, slime or stress balls.
So why are these products so popular? And when are sensory objects more than just toys?
Instagram What are these products?
NeeDoh is one of many stress-ball-esque, pliable, squeezable products.
They’re mainly made from a type of rubber or polymer. And their composition affects their consistency, pliability, texture and ability to form shapes.
For instance, they can be soft, stretchy and oozy while still being able to hold a shape. Some form into a ball and can bounce.
Often, the products are said to be non-toxic, durable and satisfying to squeeze repeatedly.
Why do people like them?
People find such products appealing for a number of reasons. This might depend on their personal preference, sensory sensitivity among neurodivergent people, energy levels, or a combination. They might:
- enjoy the tactile experience
- find it makes them feel calm
- allows them to focus more easily
- use these products to avoid other behaviours, such as nail biting.
Neuroscience helps explain some of this.
Brain regions associated with planning and emotional regulation are activated when adults squeeze a soft or medium density stress ball. This might explain why some people can feel calm or say they can focus on a task more easily.
The brain also wants fingers and hands to fidget and tinker, even when doing sedentary activities like reading. So rather than using hands for less accepted behaviours, such as skin picking or nail biting, they can be used to squish these objects. It can be comforting when we see others fidgeting too as it makes it more socially acceptable.
But not everyone likes how these squishable objects make them feel. Others find the sensation unpleasant or even painful.
We have neural circuits in our body and brain responsible for perceiving and processing incoming sensory information from the world around us, such as light, sound, pressure and temperature.
These circuits form a loop between our brain and body to work out if we find these sensations pleasant or unpleasant. If there is too much sensory input at one time, we can even find these sensations painful.
The serious side of sensory products
Sensory objects are more than a marketing gimmick. They are increasingly used in schools, but with mixed results.
There have been no formal studies on the educational benefits of NeeDoh. However, we can look at studies on fidget tools, such as fidget spinners or fidget cubes, in the classroom.
Some studies in primary school-age children show fidget tools increase on-task behaviour, decrease hyperactivity movements for children with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). However, the results differ based on the type of fidget tool. There’s also limited evidence to show these tools help students accurately complete school work, such as answering a maths question.
Different children may also benefit from different types of fidget tool, depending on their needs and how stimulating their environment is. So it’s best to consult a health-care professional who will usually recommend a specific tool for a specific therapeutic purpose.
For instance, a wobble stool may be recommended to reduce hyperactive movement for one child or to increase movement and energy levels for a different child.
But the real benefit from the increased use of sensory objects in classrooms is this can increase acceptance of neurodivergence and make it more acceptable for those who once felt they had to mask their use.
Sensory tools are also being trialled in higher education. Our first-year students at Bond University set up “sensory toolboxes” to help the on-campus experience for neurodivergent students.
These boxes included items in a variety of textures and pliability. Items were “no sound” to reduce noise reverberation, which some people find unpleasant. Items included those that were smooth, bendy, stretchy, tactile and squishy. NeeDoh cubes were the most popular.
But these items weren’t only popular with students. Some educators said they also enjoyed the sensory stimulation of holding items from the box as they taught classes.
In a nutshell
If you enjoy their texture, and how they make you feel, there’s no harm in using squishable objects like NeeDoh.
These remind us that people experience textures and use their hands in different ways, and for different reasons.
But if you or your child want to use sensory tools therapeutically, check in with a health professional and your child’s inclusive-education teacher to match you with the right type. This may not be a squishable one.
Susan Rowe, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Bond University; Amy L. Kenworthy, Professor of Management, Bond University, and Daniel Brennan, Assistant Professor, Transformation CoLab, Bond University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits?
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A spoonful of pepper makes the… Hang on, no, that’s not right…
We know that spices are the spice of life, and many have great health-giving qualities. But…
- How much is the right amount?
- What’s the minimum to get health benefits?
- What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?
That last one always seems like a scary question, but please bear in mind: everything is toxic at a certain dose. Oxygen, water, you-name-it.
On the other hand, many things have a toxicity so low that one could not physically consume it sufficiently faster than the body eliminates it, to get a toxic build-up.
Consider, for example, the €50 banknote that was nearly withdrawn from circulation because one of the dyes used in it was found to be toxic. However, the note remained in circulation after scientists patiently explained that a person would have to eat many thousands of them to get a lethal dose.
So, let’s address these questions in reverse order:
What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?
In the case of the spices we’ll look at today, the human body generally* has high tolerance for them if eaten at levels that we find comfortable eating.
*IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have (or may have) a medical condition that may be triggered by spices, go easier on them (or if appropriate, abstain completely) after you learn about that.
Check with your own physician if unsure, because not only are we not doctors, we’re specifically not your doctors, and cannot offer personalized health advice.
We’re going to be talking in averages and generalizations here. Caveat consumator.
For most people, unless you are taking the spice in such quantities that you are folding space and seeing the future, or eating them as the main constituents of your meal rather than an embellishment, you should be fine. Please don’t enter a chilli-eating contest and sue us.
What is the minimum to get health benefits and how much should we eat?
The science of physiology generally involves continuous rather than discrete data, so there’s not so much a hard threshold, as a point at which the benefits become significant. The usefulness of most nutrients we consume, be they macro- or micro-, will tend to have a bell curve.
In other words, a tiny amount won’t do much, the right amount will have a good result, and usefulness will tail off after that point. To that end, we’re going to look at the “sweet spot” of peaking on the graph.
Also note: the clinical dose is the dose of the compound, not the amount of the food that one will need to eat to get that dose. For example, food x containing compound y will not usually contain that compound at 100% rate and nothing else. We mention this so that you’re not surprised when we say “the recommended dose is 5mg of compound, so take a teaspoon of this spice”, for example.
Further note: we only have so much room here, so we’re going to list only the top benefits, and not delve into the science of them. You can see the related main features for more details, though!
The “big 5” health-giving spices, with their relevant active compound:
- Black pepper (piperine)
- Hot pepper* (capsaicin)
- Garlic (allicin)
- Ginger (gingerol)
- Turmeric (curcumin**)
*Cayenne pepper is very high in capsaicin; chilli peppers are also great
**not the same thing as cumin, which is a completely different plant. Cumin does have some health benefits of its own, but not in the same league as the spices above, and there’s only so much we have room to cover today.
Black pepper
- Benefits: antioxidant, anti-cancer, boosts bioavailability of other nutrients, aids digestion
- Dosage: 5–20mg for benefits
- Suggestion: ½ teaspoon of black pepper is sufficient for benefits. However, this writer’s kitchen dictum in this case is “if you can’t see the black pepper in/on the food, add more”—but that’s more about taste!
- Related main feature: Black Pepper’s Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)
Hot Pepper
- Benefits: anti-inflammatory, metabolism accelerator
- Dosage: 6mg gives benefits, 500mg is a common dose in capsules
- Suggestion: if not making a spicy dish, consider using a teaspoon of cayenne as part of the seasoning for rice or potatoes
- Related main feature: Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation
Garlic
- Benefits: heart health, blood sugar balancing, anti-cancer
- Dosage: 4–8µg for benefits
- Suggestion: 1–2 cloves daily is generally good. However, cooking reduces allicin content (and so does oxidation after cutting/crushing), so you may want to adjust accordingly if doing those things.
- Related main feature: The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic
Ginger
- Benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-nausea
- Dosage: 3–4g for benefits
- Suggestion: 1 teaspoon grated raw ginger or ½ a teaspoon powdered ginger, can be used in baking or as part of the seasoning for a stir-fry
- Related main feature: Ginger Does A Lot More Than You Think
Turmeric
- Benefits: anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer
- Dosage: 500–2000mg for benefits
- Suggestion: ¼ teaspoon per day is sufficient for benefits; ½ teaspoon dropped into the water when cooking rice will infuse the rice with turmeric (which is very water-soluble), turn the rice a pretty golden color, and not affect the flavor. Throw in some black pepper as it increases the bioavailability of curcumin up to 2000%
- Related main feature: Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
Closing notes
The above five spices are very healthful for most people. Personal physiology can and will vary, so if in doubt, a) check with your doctor b) start at lowest doses and establish your tolerance (or lack thereof).
Enjoy, and stay well!
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The Other Alzheimer’s Risk Factor
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The usually-listed 7 known risk factors of dementia (in general, not just Alzheimer’s) do not include today’s item. For a recap, those were:
The 7 Known Risk Factors For Dementia
The bonus risk factor
This idea is not completely novel; it’s been known for a while that traumatic brain injury (TBI) can increase the risk of dementia, but it has generally been chalked up to “if you damage an organ, then that organ does not function so well afterwards”.
However, in the case of Alzheimer’s, it seems there’s something deeper at play. Specifically, a study that found…
❝…traumatic brain injury alters the small vessels in the brain, resulting in an accumulation of amyloid beta—a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
The findings suggest that vascular dysfunction could be an early driver in neurodegenerative disorders rather than being caused by neuronal damage.❞
This association held true even in quite young patients!
The study from Sweden looked at brain tissue from TBI patients (who had had to have brain tissue removed for medical reasons due to bleeding and swelling), and found that the (traumatic) changes to the vascular smooth muscle cells were associated with increased aggregation of amyloid-β.
In terms of establishing cause and effect: since it could be safely concluded the amyloid-β had not caused the TBI (which all had external explanations such as “car crash” or such), it can be deduced that almost* certainly the TBI caused the amyloid-β aggregation.
*because little to nothing in science is every truly certain. As in life in general, really; the difference is that scientists admit it!
You may be wondering: what was the control? It would be a very generous group of citizens indeed who would volunteer bits of their brains that hadn’t needed removing. However, the answer is that the control brain bits came from a biobank, and were from uninjured patients with no history of TBI or neurodegenerative disorders, and who had died from systemic, unrelated causes. Having been dead for a matter of hours, and the fixation time for the brain bits from the living people taking long enough that everybody’s brain bits had been out of their respective living bodies for a similar length of time, this was deemed an acceptable, if imperfect, control.
You can read the study in its entirety here; it is fascinating:
The practical take-away
The practical take-away, of course, is: look after your brain
Not just in the sense of eat fiber, get healthy fats, move more, get good sleep, stay intellectually stimulated, etc*, but also in the sense of “keep your brain physically safe”.
Now, you may think that you already try not to get into car crashes, and perhaps you do not compete in contact sports, but do be aware that one of the leading causes of TBI in older people is, ignominiously, falling down.
And if you think “that only happens to older/other people”, then be aware: there’s a first time for everything and you are not immune. With that in mind, do check out:
Fall Special! ← the seasonal title notwithstanding, this is about not falling down in the first place, and being less injurable if you do fall down
*This was a modest and vague list for brevity’s sake, so for much more detail, enjoy:
How To Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk ← this is rather more comprehensive
Want to know more?
Here you can read about the largest study of its kind into lifestyle factors and Alzheimer’s disease:
Alzheimer’s Causative Factors To Avoid ← the methods and conclusions of Dr. David Snowdon’s famous “Nun Study”
Take care!
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True Age – by Dr. Morgan Levine
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Yesterday’s book review (Counterclockwise) was about psychological factors affecting physical aging (progression or reversal thereof); today we have a book about the physiological factors affecting physical aging (progression or reversal thereof).
Dr. Levine is first and foremost a gerontological epigeneticist, and a lot of this book touches on her research in that field and that of her colleagues.
She does also discuss direct environmental factors also though, and—as you might well expect—lifestyle factors.
Regular readers of 10almonds are unlikely to gain anything new in the category of lifestyle matters, but a lot of the other material will be enlightening, especially with regard to the things that might at first glance seem set in stone, but we can in fact modify, and thus “choose our own adventure” when it comes to how the rest of our life plays out, healthwise (so: choose wisely!).
The book is mostly an overview on the (at time of writing: 2022) current state of affairs in the world of longevity research, and although it’s not a “how to” manual, there is plenty in the category of practical takeaways to be gleaned too.
The style is is mostly light pop science, but with a lot of hard science woven in—she is a good explainer, and has clearly made a notable effort to explain complex concepts in simple ways, while still delivering the complex concepts too (i.e. not overly “dumbing down”).
Bottom line: if you’d like to know about what can be done to increase your healthspan and general longevity, this book has a lot of answers!
Click here to check out True Age, and shift yours in the direction you prefer!
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