The Squat Bible – by Dr. Aaron Horschig

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You probably know the following three things about squats:

  1. Squatting is great for the health in many ways
  2. There are many different ways to squat
  3. Not all of them are correct, and some may even do harm

Dr. Aaron Horschig makes the case for squats being a movement first, and an exercise second. To this end, he takes us on a joint-by-joint tour of the anatomy of squatting, so that we get it right from top to toe.

Or rather: from toe to top, since he starts with the best foundation.

What this means is that if you’ve struggled to squat because you find some discomfort in your ankles, or a weakness in the knees, or you can’t get your back quite right, Dr. Horschig will have a fix for you. He also takes a realistic look about how people’s anatomy varies from person to person, and what differences this makes to how we each should best squat.

The explanations are clear and so are the pictures—we recommend getting the color print edition (linked), as the image quality is better than the black and white and/or Kindle edition.

Bottom-line: squats are one of the single best exercises we can do for our health—but we can miss out on benefits (or even do ourselves harm) if we don’t do them well. This book is a comprehensive reference resource for making sure we get the most out of our squatting ability.

Click here to check out The Squat Bible, and master this all-important movement!

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  • Healthy Harissa Falafel Patties

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    You can make these as regular falafel balls if you prefer, but patties are quicker and easier to cook, and are great for popping in a pitta.

    You will need

    For the falafels:

    • 1 can chickpeas, drained, keep the chickpea water (aquafaba)
    • 1 red onion, roughly chopped
    • 2 tbsp chickpea flour (also called gram flour or garbanzo bean flour)
    • 1 bunch parsley
    • 1 tbsp harissa paste
    • Extra virgin olive oil for frying

    For the harissa sauce:

    • ½ cup crème fraîche or plant-based equivalent (you can use our Plant-Based Healthy Cream Cheese recipe and add the juice of 1 lemon)*
    • 1 tbsp harissa paste (or adjust this quantity per your heat preference)

    *if doing this, rather than waste the zest of the lemon, you can add the zest to the falafels if you like, but it’s by no means necessary, just an option

    For serving:

    • Wholegrain pitta or other flatbread (you can use our Healthy Homemade Flatbreads recipe)
    • Salad (your preference; we recommend some salad leaves, sliced tomato, sliced cucumber, maybe some sliced onion, that sort of thing)

    Method

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

    1) Blend the chickpeas, 1 oz of the aquafaba, the onion, the parsley, and the harissa paste, until smooth. Then add in the chickpea flour until you get a thick batter. If you overdo it with the chickpea flour, add a little more of the aquafaba to equalize. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes.

    2) Heat some oil in a skillet, and spoon the falafel mixture into the pan to make the patties, cooking on both sides (you can use a spatula to gently turn them), and set them aside.

    3) Mix the harissa sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

    4) Assemble; best served warm, but enjoy it however you like!

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in more of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • AC: The Power of Appetite Correction – by Dr. Bert Herring

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    “Appetite Correction” is an intriguing concept, and so it intrigued us sufficiently to read this book. So what’s it about?

    It’s about modifying our response to hunger, and treating it as a messenger to whom we may say “thank you for your opinion” and then do as we already planned to do. And what is that?

    Simply, this book is about intermittent fasting, specifically, 19:5 fasting, i.e., fast for 19 hours and eat during a 5hr window each day (the author proposes 5pm–10pm, but honestly, go with what works for you).

    During the fasting period, drinking water, or consuming other non insulin-signalling things (e.g. black coffee, black tea, herbal tea, etc) is fine, but not so much as a bite of anything else (nor calorific drinks, e.g. with milk/cream or sugar in, and certainly not sodas, juices, etc).

    During the eating period, the idea is to eat at will without restriction (even unhealthy things, if such is your desire) during those 5 hours, with the exception that one should start with something healthy. In other words, you can line up that take-out if you want, but eat a carrot first to break the fast. Or some nuts. Or whatever, but healthy.

    The “appetite correction” part of it comes in with how, after a short adjustment period, you will get used to not suffering from hunger during the fasting period, and during the eating period, you will—paradoxically—be more able to practise moderation in your portions.

    Most of the book is given over the dealing with psychological difficulties/objections, as well as some social objections, but he does also explain some of the science at hand too (i.e. how intermittent fasting works, on a physiological level). On which note…

    The style is on the very light end of pop-science, and unusually, he doesn’t cite any sources for his claims at all. Now, no science that he claimed struck this reviewer as out of the ordinary, but it would have been nice to see a good few pages of bibliography at the back.

    Bottom line: this is a super quick-and-easy read that makes a strong (albeit unsourced) case for intermittent fasting. It’s probably best for someone who would like the benefits and needs some persuading, but who is not very interested in delving into the science beyond being content to understand what is explained and put it into practice.

    Click here to check out AC: The Power of Appetite Correction, and get yours where you want it!

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  • Pear vs Prickly Pear – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing pear to prickly pear, we picked the prickly.

    Why?

    Both of these fruits are fine and worthy choices, but the prickly pear wins out in nutritional density.

    Looking at the macros to start with, the prickly pear is higher in fiber and lower in carbs, resulting in a much lower glycemic index. However, non-prickly pears are already low GI, so this is not a huge matter. Whether it’s pear’s GI of 38 or prickly pear’s GI of 7, you’re unlikely to experience a glucose spike.

    In the category of vitamins, pear has a little more of vitamins B5, B9, E, K, and choline, but the margins are tiny. On the other hand, prickly pear has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, and C, with much larger margins of difference (except vitamin B1; that’s still quite close). Even before taking margins of difference into account, this is a slight win for prickly pear.

    When it comes to minerals, things are more pronounced; pear has more manganese, while prickly pear has more calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc.

    In short, both pears are great (so do enjoy the pair), but prickly pear is the clear winner where one must be declared.

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Apple vs Pear – Which is Healthier?

    Take care!

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Related Posts

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  • 12 Things Your Urine Says About Your Health (Test At Home)

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    Urine has been used to assess health since Ancient Egypt (fun fact: because of Egyptian language having multiple sounds that get transliterated to “a” in English, the condition of passing blood in one’s urine was known as “Aaaaa” ← this word has three syllables; “Aa-a-aa”).

    Modern techniques are more advanced than those of times past (for example, diabetes is no longer diagnosed by a urine taste-test), but basic urine inspection is still a very useful indicator of many things. Recognizing changes in urine can even help detect life-threatening conditions early:

    Traffic lights?

    How urine works: water that we consume is absorbed into the bloodstream and filtered by the kidneys. Urine is essentially blood with actual the blood cells filtered out and/or broken down. The yellow color comes from urochrome, produced during red blood cell breakdown. Here’s how things can happen a little differently:

    1. Fluorescent yellow: caused by excess vitamin B2 from supplements; harmless.
    2. Red urine: can indicate blood (bladder cancer, UTIs), hemoglobin, or myoglobin; seek medical attention.
    3. Dark brown/tea-colored urine: may result from muscle damage or blood cell destruction; requires evaluation.
    4. Orange urine: caused by dehydration, medications, or liver/bile duct issues (if paired with pale stools).
    5. Purple urine: UTI bacteria produce pigments that can cause this; treatable with antibiotics.
    6. Green urine: rare; caused by medications or dyes like methylene blue.
    7. Frothy/foamy urine: indicates high protein levels, often from kidney damage (e.g. per diabetes and/or hypertension).
    8. Crystal-clear urine: suggests overhydration, which can dangerously lower sodium levels.
    9. Dark yellow/amber urine: may mean dehydration; drink more water to maintain a light yellow color.
    10. Not peeing enough: may indicate severe dehydration or kidney failure; urgent medical attention needed.
    11. Peeing too much: often linked to diabetes or excessive water intake; can lead to dehydration or low sodium.
    12. Color-changing urine: port wine color signals porphyria; black urine indicates alkaptonuria (oxidation of homogentisic acid). Both are serious.

    Bonus: if you eat a lot of beetroot and then your urine is pink/red/purple, that’s probably just the pigments passing through. If it persists though, then of course, see above.

    For more on each of these, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Why You Don’t Need 8 Glasses Of Water Per Day

    Take care!

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  • Semaglutide for Weight Loss?

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    Semaglutide for weight loss?

    Semaglutide is the new kid on the weight-loss block, but it’s looking promising (with some caveats!).

    Most popularly by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, it was first trialled to help diabetics*, and is now sought-after by the rest of the population too. So far, only Wegovy is FDA-approved for weight loss. It contains more semaglutide than Ozempic, and was developed specifically for weight loss, rather than for diabetes.

    *Specifically: diabetics with type 2 diabetes. Because it works by helping the pancreas to make insulin, it’s of no help whatsoever to T1D folks, sadly. If you’re T1D and reading this though, today’s book of the day is for you!

    First things first: does it work as marketed for diabetes?

    It does! At a cost: a very common side effect is gastrointestinal problems—same as for tirzepatide, which (like semaglutide) is a GLP-1 agonist, meaning it works the same way. Here’s how they measure up:

    As you can see, both of them work wonders for pancreatic function and insulin sensitivity!

    And, both of them were quite unpleasant for around 20% of participants:

    ❝Tirzepatide, oral and SC semaglutide has a favourable efficacy in treating T2DM. Gastrointestinal adverse events were highly recorded in tirzepatide, oral and SC semaglutide groups.❞

    ~ Zaazouee et al., 2022

    What about for weight loss, if not diabetic?

    It works just the same! With just the same likelihood of gastro-intestinal unpleasantries, though. There’s a very good study that was done with 1,961 overweight adults; here it is:

    Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity

    The most interesting things here are the positive results and the side effects:

    ❝The mean change in body weight from baseline to week 68 was −14.9% in the semaglutide group as compared with −2.4% with placebo, for an estimated treatment difference of −12.4 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], −13.4 to −11.5; P<0.001).❞

    ~ Wilding et al., 2021

    In other words: if you take this, you’re almost certainly going to get something like 6x better weight loss results than doing the same thing without it.

    ❝Nausea and diarrhea were the most common adverse events with semaglutide; they were typically transient and mild-to-moderate in severity and subsided with time. More participants in the semaglutide group than in the placebo group discontinued treatment owing to gastrointestinal events (59 [4.5%] vs. 5 [0.8%])❞

    ~ ibid.

    In other words: you have about a 3% chance of having unpleasant enough side effects that you don’t want to continue treatment (contrast this with the 20%ish chance of unpleasant side effects of any extent)!

    Any other downsides we should know about?

    If you stop taking it, weight regain is likely. For example, a participant in one of the above-mentioned studies who lost 22% of her body weight with the drug’s help, says:

    ❝Now that I am no longer taking the drug, unfortunately, my weight is returning to what it used to be. It felt effortless losing weight while on the trial, but now it has gone back to feeling like a constant battle with food. I hope that, if the drug can be approved for people like me, my [doctor] will be able to prescribe the drug for me in the future.❞

    ~ Jan, a trial participant at UCLH

    Source: Gamechanger drug for treating obesity cuts body weight by 20% <- University College London Hospitals (NHS)

    Is it injection-only, or is there an oral option?

    An oral option exists, but (so far) is on the market only in the form of Rybelsus, another (slightly older) drug containing semaglutide, and it’s (so far) only FDA-approved for diabetes, not for weight loss. See:

    A new era for oral peptides: SNAC and the development of oral semaglutide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes ← for the science

    FDA approves first oral GLP-1 treatment for type 2 diabetes ← For the FDA statement

    Where can I get these?

    Availability and prescribing regulations vary by country (because the FDA’s authority stops at the US borders), but here is the website for each of them if you’d like to learn more / consider if they might help you:

    Rybelsus / Ozempic / Wegovy

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  • ‘I keep away from people’ – combined vision and hearing loss is isolating more and more older Australians

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    Our ageing population brings a growing crisis: people over 65 are at greater risk of dual sensory impairment (also known as “deafblindness” or combined vision and hearing loss).

    Some 66% of people over 60 have hearing loss and 33% of older Australians have low vision. Estimates suggest more than a quarter of Australians over 80 are living with dual sensory impairment.

    Combined vision and hearing loss describes any degree of sight and hearing loss, so neither sense can compensate for the other. Dual sensory impairment can occur at any point in life but is increasingly common as people get older.

    The experience can make older people feel isolated and unable to participate in important conversations, including about their health.

    bricolage/Shutterstock

    Causes and conditions

    Conditions related to hearing and vision impairment often increase as we age – but many of these changes are subtle.

    Hearing loss can start as early as our 50s and often accompany other age-related visual changes, such as age-related macular degeneration.

    Other age-related conditions are frequently prioritised by patients, doctors or carers, such as diabetes or heart disease. Vision and hearing changes can be easy to overlook or accept as a normal aspect of ageing. As an older person we interviewed for our research told us

    I don’t see too good or hear too well. It’s just part of old age.

    An invisible disability

    Dual sensory impairment has a significant and negative impact in all aspects of a person’s life. It reduces access to information, mobility and orientation, impacts social activities and communication, making it difficult for older adults to manage.

    It is underdiagnosed, underrecognised and sometimes misattributed (for example, to cognitive impairment or decline). However, there is also growing evidence of links between dementia and dual sensory loss. If left untreated or without appropriate support, dual sensory impairment diminishes the capacity of older people to live independently, feel happy and be safe.

    A dearth of specific resources to educate and support older Australians with their dual sensory impairment means when older people do raise the issue, their GP or health professional may not understand its significance or where to refer them. One older person told us:

    There’s another thing too about the GP, the sort of mentality ‘well what do you expect? You’re 95.’ Hearing and vision loss in old age is not seen as a disability, it’s seen as something else.

    Isolated yet more dependent on others

    Global trends show a worrying conundrum. Older people with dual sensory impairment become more socially isolated, which impacts their mental health and wellbeing. At the same time they can become increasingly dependent on other people to help them navigate and manage day-to-day activities with limited sight and hearing.

    One aspect of this is how effectively they can comprehend and communicate in a health-care setting. Recent research shows doctors and nurses in hospitals aren’t making themselves understood to most of their patients with dual sensory impairment. Good communication in the health context is about more than just “knowing what is going on”, researchers note. It facilitates:

    • shorter hospital stays
    • fewer re-admissions
    • reduced emergency room visits
    • better treatment adherence and medical follow up
    • less unnecessary diagnostic testing
    • improved health-care outcomes.

    ‘Too hard’

    Globally, there is a better understanding of how important it is to maintain active social lives as people age. But this is difficult for older adults with dual sensory loss. One person told us

    I don’t particularly want to mix with people. Too hard, because they can’t understand. I can no longer now walk into that room, see nothing, find my seat and not recognise [or hear] people.

    Again, these experiences increase reliance on family. But caring in this context is tough and largely hidden. Family members describe being the “eyes and ears” for their loved one. It’s a 24/7 role which can bring frustration, social isolation and depression for carers too. One spouse told us:

    He doesn’t talk anymore much, because he doesn’t know whether [people are] talking to him, unless they use his name, he’s unaware they’re speaking to him, so he might ignore people and so on. And in the end, I noticed people weren’t even bothering him to talk, so now I refuse to go. Because I don’t think it’s fair.

    older woman looks down at table while carer looks on
    Dual sensory loss can be isolating for older people and carers. Synthex/Shutterstock

    So, what can we do?

    Dual sensory impairment is a growing problem with potentially devastating impacts.

    It should be considered a unique and distinct disability in all relevant protections and policies. This includes the right to dedicated diagnosis and support, accessibility provisions and specialised skill development for health and social professionals and carers.

    We need to develop resources to help people with dual sensory impairment and their families and carers understand the condition, what it means and how everyone can be supported. This could include communication adaptation, such as social haptics (communicating using touch) and specialised support for older adults to navigate health care.

    Increasing awareness and understanding of dual sensory impairment will also help those impacted with everyday engagement with the world around them – rather than the isolation many feel now.

    Moira Dunsmore, Senior Lecturer, Sydney Nursing School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, University of Sydney; Annmaree Watharow, Lived Experience Research Fellow, Centre for Disability Research and Policy, University of Sydney, and Emily Kecman, Postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Linguistics, University of Sydney

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

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