The Power of When – by Dr. Michael Breus

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The 10almonds Team

There’s a lot more to one’s circadian rhythm than just when one wakes and sleeps. This book goes into that quite deeply!

For example, those items in the subtitle? You could do them all at the same time, but it probably wouldn’t be optimal (although honestly, that does sound like quite a good life!). Rather, there are distinct times of day that we’re going to be better at certain things, and there are distinct times of day when certain things are going to be better for us.

Of course, some items are not so simple as a one-size fits all, so Dr. Breus outlines for us how to figure out our own chronotype (within four main schemas), and how to make that work for us as well as possible.

They style is easy-reading pop-science, with frequent summaries, bullet-points, quizzes, and so forth, making it easy to understand, learn, and apply.

Bottom line: if you feel like your sleep could use a do-over, then this book can help you get it into order—and the rest of your daily activities too!

Click here to check out The Power of When, and optimize your health!

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  • Protein vs Sarcopenia

    The 10almonds Team

    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.

    Protein vs Sarcopenia

    This is Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. A medical doctor, she’s board-certified in family medicine, and has also engaged in research and clinical practice in the fields of geriatrics and nutritional sciences.

    A quick note…

    We’re going to be talking a bit about protein metabolism today, and it’s worth noting that Dr. Lyon personally is vehemently against vegetarianism/veganism, and considers red meat to be healthy.

    Scientific consensus on the other hand, holds that vegetarianism and veganism are fine for most people if pursued in an informed and mindful fashion, that white meat and fish are also fine for most people, and red meat is simply not.

    If you’d like a recap on the science of any of that:

    Nevertheless, if we look at the science that she provides, the advice is sound when applied to protein in general and without an undue focus on red meat.

    How much protein is enough?

    In our article linked above, we gave 1–2g/kg/day

    Dr. Lyons gives the more specific 1.6g/kg/day for adults older than 40 (this is where sarcopenia often begins!) and laments that many sources offer 0.8g/kg.

    To be clear, that “per kilogram” means per kilogram of your bodyweight. For Americans, this means dividing lbs by 2.2 to get the kg figure.

    Why so much protein?

    Protein is needed to rebuild not just our muscles, but also our bones, joint tissues, and various other parts of us:

    We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

    Additionally, our muscles themselves are important for far more than just moving us (and other things) around.

    As Dr. Lyon explains: sarcopenia, the (usually age-related) loss of muscle mass, does more than just make us frail; it also messes up our metabolism, which in turn messes up… Everything else, really. Because everything depends on that.

    This is because our muscles themselves use a lot of our energy, and/but also store energy as glycogen, so having less of them means:

    • getting a slower metabolism
    • the energy that can’t be stored in muscle tissue gets stored somewhere else (like the liver, and/or visceral fat)

    So, while for example the correlation between maintaining strong muscles and avoiding non-alcoholic fatty liver disease may not be immediately obvious, it is clear when one follows the metabolic trail to its inevitable conclusion.

    Same goes for avoiding diabetes, heart disease, and suchlike, though those things are a little more intuitive.

    How can we get so much protein?

    It can seem daunting at first to get so much protein if you’re not used to it, especially as protein is an appetite suppressant, so you’ll feel full sooner.

    It can especially seem daunting to get so much protein if you’re trying to avoid too many carbs, and here’s where Dr. Lyon’s anti-vegetarianism does have a point: it’s harder to get lean protein without meat/fish.

    That said, “harder” does not mean “impossible” and even she acknowledges that lentils are great for this.

    If you’re not vegetarian or vegan, collagen supplementation is a good way to make up any shortfall, by the way.

    And for everyone, there are protein supplements available if we want them (usually based on whey protein or soy protein)

    Anything else we need to do?

    Yes! Eating protein means nothing if you don’t do any resistance work to build and maintain muscle. This can take various forms, and Dr. Lyon recommends lifting weights and/or doing bodyweight resistance training (calisthenics, Pilates, etc).

    Here are some previous articles of ours, consistent with the above:

    Take care!

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  • Superfood Broccoli Pesto

    The 10almonds Team

    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.

    Cruciferous vegetables have many health benefits of their own (especially: a lot of anticancer benefits). But, it can be hard to include them in every day’s menu, so this is just one more way that’ll broaden your options! It’s delicious mixed into pasta, or served as a dip, or even on toast.

    You will need

    • 4 cups small broccoli florets
    • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
    • ½ cup pine nuts
    • ¼ bulb garlic
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    • 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
    • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
    • ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt

    Method

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

    1) Steam the broccoli for 3–5 minutes. Allow to cool.

    2) Blend the pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast.

    3) Add the broccoli, basil, olive oil, black pepper, red pepper, and MSG or salt, and blend in the food processor again until well-combined.

    4) Serve:

    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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  • The Healing of America – by Thomas Reid

    The 10almonds Team

    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.

    First let’s be clear: this is about the US healthcare system, and thus will be mostly relevant for US Americans. Still, many outside of the US may have an interest, and in fact the book does talk about the healthcare systems of many other countries (hence the subtitle mentioning “a global quest”), outlining how each works, and what the journey was that got them there.

    The author, a veteran journalist with a 60+ year-long career, notes that affordable healthcare is a social problem so complex, that only 33 out of 32 of the world’s richest countries have managed to do it. That’s a little glib and can be quibbled in the minutiae, but when it comes down to it, insulin in the US still costs 50x what it does in most places, and in pretty much all aspects of healthcare, US Americans are being fleeced at every turn.

    He examines why this happens, and what currently prevents the US from lowering healthcare costs. He finds the culprits to be the profitmongers along the way (insurance companies in cahoots with drug companies in cahoots with hospitals, etc), as well as a pervasive belief that since healthcare is so expensive, how could the richest country on Earth possibly pay for it? Many Americans will believe that the answer is that other countries have inferior care, but this tends to stem from a mistaken belief that medical treatment actually costs what Americans are billed for it. The fact is: the same quality of care can be provided for a lot less, as many countries demonstrate.

    The book doesn’t argue for any one particular solution; it doesn’t have to be entirely state-funded like the UK, or consumer-funded but seriously low price caps like in Japan; there are many other models to choose from. The argument that is made is that if so many other countries can have medical bankruptcy being a thing unheard-of instead of the leading cause of bankruptcy, then so can the US, and here’s a wide menu of methods to choose from.

    Bottom line: if you’re a US American and you’d like to think you could get the same quality of care without lining numerous corporate pockets along the way with your hard-earned cash, then this book will open your eyes to what is possible.

    Click here to check out The Healing Of America, and learn how you could get the same, for less!

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Related Posts

  • Change Your Brain, Change Your Life – by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

  • Plant-Based Alternatives for Meat Recipes

    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.

    The 10almonds Team

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    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

    ❝How about providing a plant-based alternative when you post meat-based recipes? I appreciate how much you advocate for veggie diets and think offering an alternative with your recipes would support that❞

    Glad you’re enjoying! And yes, we do usually do that. But: pardon, we missed one (the Tuna Steak with Protein Salad) because it’d be more than a simple this-for-that substitution, we didn’t already have an alternative recipe up (as with the salmon recipes such as the Chili Hot-Bedded Salmon and Thai Green Curry Salmon Burgers).

    Our recipes, by the way, will tend towards being vegan, vegetarian, or at least pescatarian. This is for several reasons:

    • Good science suggests the best diet for general purpose good health is one that is mostly plants, with optional moderate amounts of fermented dairy products, fish, and/or eggs.
    • Your writer here (it’s me, hi) has been vegan for many years, transitioning to such via pescatarianism and ovo-lacto vegetarianism, and so the skill of cooking meat is least fresh in my memory, meaning I’d not be confident writing about that, especially as cooking meat has the gravest health consequences for messing it up.

    Note on biases: notwithstanding this writer being vegan, we at 10almonds are committed to reporting the science as it stands with no agenda besides good health. Hence, there will continue to be unbiased information about animal products’ health considerations, positive as well as negative.

    See also: Do We Need Animal Products To Be Healthy?

    …as well as, of course, some animal-based classics from our archives including:

    We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of & Eggs: All Things In Moderation?

    Finishing with one for the vegans though, you might enjoy:

    Which Plant Milk? We Compare 6 Of The Most Popular

    Some previous articles you might enjoy meanwhile:

    Take care!

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  • Sprout Your Seeds, Grains, Beans, Etc

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    The 10almonds Team

    Good Things Come In Small Packages

    “Sprouting” grains and seeds—that is, allowing them to germinate and begin to grow—enhances their nutritional qualities, boosting their available vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and even antioxidants.

    You may be thinking: surely whatever nutrients are in there, are in there already; how can it be increased?

    Well, the grand sweeping miracle of life itself is beyond the scope of what we have room to cover today, but in few words: there are processes that allow plants to transform stuff into other stuff, and that is part of what is happening.

    Additionally, in the cases of some nutrients, they were there already, but the sprouting process allows them to become more available to us. Think about the later example of how it’s easier to eat and digest a ripe fruit than an unripe one, and now scale that back to a seed and a sprouted seed.

    A third way that sprouting benefits us is by reducing“antinutrients”, such as phytic acid.

    Let’s drop a few examples of the “what”, before we press on to the “how”:

    Sounds great! How do we do it?

    First, take the seeds, grains, nuts, beans, etc that you’re going to sprout. Fine examples to try for a first sprouting session include:

    • Grains: buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa
    • Legumes: soy beans, black beans, kidney beans
    • Greens: broccoli, mustard greens, radish
    • Nuts/seeds: almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds

    Note: whatever you use should be as unprocessed as possible to start with:

    • On the one hand, you’d be surprised how often “life finds a way” when it comes to sprouting ridiculous choices
    • On the other hand, it’s usually easier if you’re not trying to sprout blanched almonds, split lentils, rolled oats, or toasted hulled buckwheat.

    Second, you will need clean water, a jar with a lid, muslin cloth or similar, and a rubber band.

    Next, take an amount of the plants you’ll be sprouting. Let’s say beans of some kind. Try it with ¼ cup to start with; you can do bigger batches once you’re more confident of your setup and the process.

    Rinse and soak them for at least 24 hours. Take care to add more water than it looks like you’ll need, because those beans are thirsty, and sprouting is thirsty work.

    Drain, rinse, and put them in a clean glass jar, covering with just the muslin cloth in place of the lid, held in place by the rubber band. No extra water in it this time, and you’re going to be storing the jar upside down (with ventilation underneath, so for example on some sort of wire rack is ideal) in a dark moderately warm place (e.g. 80℉ / 25℃ is often ideal, but it doesn’t have to be exact, you have wiggle-room, and some things will enjoy a few degrees cooler or warmer than that)

    Each day, rinse and replace until you see that they are sprouting. When they’re sprouting, they’re ready to eat!

    Unless you want to grow a whole plant, in which case, go for it (we recommend looking for a gardening guide in that case).

    But watch out!

    That 80℉ / 25℃ temperature at which our sprouting seeds, beans, grains etc thrive? There are other things that thrive at that temperature too! Things like:

    • E. coli
    • Salmonella
    • Listeria

    …amongst others.

    So, some things to keep you safe:

    1. If it looks or smells bad, throw it out
    2. If in doubt, throw it out
    3. Even if it looks perfect, blanch it (by boiling it in water for 30 seconds, before rinsing it in cold water to take it back to a colder temperature) before eating it or refrigerating it for later.
    4. When you come back to get it from the fridge, see once again points 1 and 2 above.
    5. Ideally you should enjoy sprouted things within 5 days.

    Want to know more about sprouting?

    You’ll love this book that we reviewed recently:

    The Sprout Book – by Doug Evans

    Enjoy!

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  • What Would a Second Trump Presidency Look Like for Health Care?

    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.

    Julie Rovner

    On the presidential campaign trail, former President Donald Trump is, once again, promising to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — a nebulous goal that became one of his administration’s splashiest policy failures.

    “We’re going to fight for much better health care than Obamacare. Obamacare is a catastrophe,” Trump said at a campaign stop in Iowa on Jan. 6.

    The perplexing revival of one of Trump’s most politically damaging crusades comes at a time when the Obama-era health law is even more popular and widely used than it was in 2017, when Trump and congressional Republicans proved unable to pass their own plan to replace it. That failed effort was a big part of why Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms.

    Despite repeated promises, Trump never presented his own Obamacare replacement. And much of what Trump’s administration actually accomplished in health care has been reversed by the Biden administration.

    Still, Trump secured some significant policy changes that remain in place today, including efforts to bring more transparency to prices charged by hospitals and paid by health insurers.

    Trying to predict Trump’s priorities in a second term is even more difficult given that he frequently changes his positions on issues, sometimes multiple times.

    The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

    Perhaps Trump’s biggest achievement is something he rarely talks about on the campaign trail. His administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” managed to create, test, and bring to market a covid-19 vaccine in less than a year, far faster than even the most optimistic predictions.

    Many of Trump’s supporters, though, don’t support — and some even vehemently oppose — covid vaccines.

    Here is a recap of Trump’s health care record:

    Public Health

    Trump’s pandemic response dominates his overall record on health care.

    More than 400,000 Americans died from covid over Trump’s last year in office. His travel bans and other efforts to prevent the global spread of the virus were ineffective, his administration was slower than other countries’ governments to develop a diagnostic test, and he publicly clashed with his own government’s health officials over the response.

    Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump resumed large rallies and other public campaign events that many public health experts regarded as reckless in the face of a highly contagious, deadly virus. He personally flouted public health guidance after contracting covid himself and ending up hospitalized.

    At the same time, despite what many saw as a politicization of public health by the White House, Trump signed a massive covid relief bill (after first threatening to veto it). He also presided over some of the largest boosts for the National Institutes of Health’s budget since the turn of the century. And the mRNA-based vaccines Operation Warp Speed helped develop were an astounding scientific breakthrough credited with helping save millions of lives while laying the groundwork for future shots to fight other diseases including cancer.

    Abortion

    Trump’s biggest contribution to abortion policy was indirect: He appointed three Supreme Court justices, who were instrumental in overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.

    During his 2024 campaign, Trump has been all over the place on the red-hot issue. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Trump has bemoaned the issue as politically bad for Republicans; criticized one of his rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for signing a six-week abortion ban; and vowed to broker a compromise with “both sides” on abortion, promising that “for the first time in 52 years, you’ll have an issue that we can put behind us.”

    He has so far avoided spelling out how he’d do that, or whether he’d support a national abortion ban after any number of weeks.

    More recently, however, Trump appears to have mended fences over his criticism of Florida’s six-week ban and more with key abortion opponents, whose support helped him get elected in 2016 — and whom he repaid with a long list of policy changes during his presidency.

    Among the anti-abortion actions taken by the Trump administration were a reinstatement of the “Mexico City Policy” that bars giving federal funds to international organizations that support abortion rights; a regulation to bar Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortions from the federal family planning program, Title X; regulatory changes designed to make it easier for health care providers and employers to decline to participate in activities that violate their religious and moral beliefs; and other changes that made it harder for NIH scientists to conduct research using fetal tissue from elective abortions.

    All of those policies have since been overturned by the Biden administration.

    Health Insurance

    Unlike Trump’s policies on reproductive health, many of his administration’s moves related to health insurance still stand.

    For example, in 2020, Trump signed into law the No Surprises Act, a bipartisan measure aimed at protecting patients from unexpected medical bills stemming from payment disputes between health care providers and insurers. The bill was included in the $900 billion covid relief package he opposed before signing, though Trump had expressed support for ending surprise medical bills.

    His administration also pushed — over the vehement objections of health industry officials — price transparency regulations that require hospitals to post prices and insurers to provide estimated costs for procedures. Those requirements also remain in place, although hospitals in particular have been slow to comply.

    Medicaid

    While first-time candidate Trump vowed not to cut popular entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, his administration did not stick to that promise. The Affordable Care Act repeal legislation Trump supported in 2017 would have imposed major cuts to Medicaid, and his Department of Health and Human Services later encouraged states to require Medicaid recipients to prove they work in order to receive health insurance.

    Drug Prices

    One of the issues the Trump administration was most active on was reducing the price of prescription drugs for consumers — a top priority for both Democratic and Republican voters. But many of those proposals were blocked by the courts.

    One Trump-era plan that never took effect would have pegged the price of some expensive drugs covered by Medicare to prices in other countries. Another would have required drug companies to include prices in their television advertisements.

    A regulation allowing states to import cheaper drugs from Canada did take effect, in November 2020. However, it took until January 2024 for the FDA, under Trump’s successor, to approve the first importation plan, from Florida. Canada has said it won’t allow exports that risk causing drug shortages in that country, leaving unclear whether the policy is workable.

    Trump also signed into law measures allowing pharmacists to disclose to patients when the cash price of a drug is lower than the cost using their insurance. Previously pharmacists could be barred from doing so under their contracts with insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.

    Veterans’ Health

    Trump is credited by some advocates for overhauling Department of Veterans Affairs health care. However, while he did sign a major bill allowing veterans to obtain care outside VA facilities, White House officials also tried to scuttle passage of the spending needed to pay for the initiative.

    Medical Freedom

    Trump scored a big win for the libertarian wing of the Republican Party when he signed into law the “Right to Try Act,” intended to make it easier for patients with terminal diseases to access drugs or treatments not yet approved by the FDA.

    But it is not clear how many patients have managed to obtain treatment using the law because it is aimed at the FDA, which has traditionally granted requests for “compassionate use” of not-yet-approved drugs anyway. The stumbling block, which the law does not address, is getting drug companies to release doses of medicines that are still being tested and may be in short supply.

    Trump said in a Jan. 10 Fox News town hall that the law had “saved thousands and thousands” of lives. There’s no evidence for the claim.

    KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

    Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.

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