Ultra-Processed People – by Dr. Chris van Tulleken

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It probably won’t come as a great surprise to any of our readers that ultra-processed food is—to make a sweeping generalization—not fabulous for the health. So, what does this book offer beyond that?

Perhaps this book’s greatest strength is in showing not just what ultra-processed foods are, but why they are. In principle, food being highly processed should be neither good nor bad by default. Much like GMOs, if a food is modified to be more nutritious, that should be good, right?

Only, that’s mostly not what happens. What happens instead is that food is modified (be it genetically or by ultra-processing) to be cheaper to produce, and thus maximise the profit margin.

The addition of a compound that increases shelf-life but harms the health, increases sales and is a net positive for the manufacturer, for instance. Dr. van Tulleken offers us many, many, examples and explanations of such cost-cutting strategies at our expense.

In terms of qualifications, the author has an MD from Oxford, and also a PhD, but the latter is in molecular virology; not so relevant here. Yet, we are not expected to take an “argument from authority”, and instead, Dr. van Tulleken takes great pains to go through a lot of studies with us—the good, the bad, and the misleading.

If the book has a downside, then this reviewer would say it’s in the format; it’s less a reference book, and more a 384-page polemic. But, that’s a subjective criticism, and for those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing that they like.

Click here to check out Ultra-Processed People, and understand better what you are putting in your body!

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    Your fitness after 50: Focus on lifelong habits over temporary goals. Age with health, not decline. Want specifics? We’ve got them.

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  • How Does One Test Acupuncture Against Placebo Anyway?

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    Pinpointing The Usefulness Of Acupuncture

    We asked you for your opinions on acupuncture, and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of answers:

    • A little under half of all respondents voted for “It’s well-backed by modern science, per neurology, cardiology, immunology, etc”
    • Slightly fewer respondents voted for “We don’t understand how it works, but it works!”
    • A little under a fifth of respondents voted for “It may have some limited clinical applications beyond placebo”
    • One (1) respondent voted for for “It’s placebo at best”

    When we did a main feature about homeopathy, a couple of subscribers wrote to say that they were confused as to what homeopathy was, so this time, we’ll start with a quick definition first.

    First, what is acupuncture? For the convenience of a quick definition so that we can move on to the science, let’s borrow from Wikipedia:

    ❝Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body.

    Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientific knowledge, and it has been characterized as quackery.❞

    ~ Wikipedia

    Now, that’s not a promising start, but we will not be deterred! We will instead examine the science itself, rather than relying on tertiary sources like Wikipedia.

    It’s worth noting before we move on, however, that there is vigorous debate behind the scenes of that article. The gist of the argument is:

    • On one side: “Acupuncture is not pseudoscience/quackery! This has long been disproved and there are peer-reviewed research papers on the subject.”
    • On the other: “Yes, but only in disreputable quack journals created specifically for that purpose”

    The latter counterclaim is a) potentially a “no true Scotsman” rhetorical ploy b) potentially true regardless

    Some counterclaims exhibit specific sinophobia, per “if the source is Chinese, don’t believe it”. That’s not helpful either.

    Well, the waters sure are muddy. Where to begin? Let’s start with a relatively easy one:

    It may have some clinical applications beyond placebo: True or False?

    True! Admittedly, “may” is doing some of the heavy lifting here, but we’ll take what we can get to get us going.

    One of the least controversial uses of acupuncture is to alleviate chronic pain. Dr. Vickers et al, in a study published under the auspices of JAMA (a very respectable journal, and based in the US, not China), found:

    ❝Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option. Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo.

    However, these differences are relatively modest, suggesting that factors in addition to the specific effects of needling are important contributors to the therapeutic effects of acupuncture❞

    Source: Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

    If you’re feeling sharp today, you may be wondering how the differences are described as “significant” and “relatively modest” in the same text. That’s because these words have different meanings in academic literature:

    • Significant = p<0.05, where p is the probability of the achieved results occurring randomly
    • Modest = the differences between the test group and the control group were small

    In other words, “significant modest differences” means “the sample sizes were large, and the test group reliably got slightly better results than placebo”

    We don’t understand how it works, but it works: True or False

    Broadly False. When it works, we generally have an idea how.

    Placebo is, of course, the main explanation. And even in examples such as the above, how is placebo acupuncture given?

    By inserting acupuncture needles off-target rather than in accord with established meridians and points (the lines and dots that, per Traditional Chinese Medicine, indicate the flow of qi, our body’s vital energy, and welling-points of such).

    So, if a patient feels that needles are being inserted randomly, they may no longer have the same confidence that they aren’t in the control group receiving placebo, which could explain the “modest” difference, without there being anything “to” acupuncture beyond placebo. After all, placebo works less well if you believe you are only receiving placebo!

    Indeed, a (Korean, for the record) group of researchers wrote about this—and how this confounding factor cuts both ways:

    ❝Given the current research evidence that sham acupuncture can exert not only the originally expected non-specific effects but also sham acupuncture-specific effects, it would be misleading to simply regard sham acupuncture as the same as placebo.

    Therefore, researchers should be cautious when using the term sham acupuncture in clinical investigations.❞

    Source: Sham Acupuncture Is Not Just a Placebo

    It’s well-backed by modern science, per neurology, cardiology, immunology, etc: True or False?

    False, for the most part.

    While yes, the meridians and points of acupuncture charts broadly correspond to nerves and vasculature, there is no evidence that inserting needles into those points does anything for one’s qi, itself a concept that has not made it into Western science—as a unified concept, anyway…

    Note that our bodies are indeed full of energy. Electrical energy in our nerves, chemical energy in every living cell, kinetic energy in all our moving parts. Even, to stretch the point a bit, gravitational potential energy based on our mass.

    All of these things could broadly be described as qi, if we so wish. Indeed, the ki in the Japanese martial art of aikido is the latter kinds; kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy based on our mass. Same goes, therefore for the ki in kiatsu, a kind of Japanese massage, while the ki in reiki, a Japanese spiritual healing practice, is rather more mystical.

    The qi in Chinese qigong is mostly about oxygen, thus indirectly chemical energy, and the electrical energy of the nerves that are receiving oxygenated blood at higher or lower levels.

    On the other hand, the efficacy of the use of acupuncture for various kinds of pain is well-enough evidenced. Indeed, even the UK’s famously thrifty NHS (that certainly would not spend money on something it did not find to work) offers it as a complementary therapy for some kinds of pain:

    ❝Western medical acupuncture (dry needling) is the use of acupuncture following a medical diagnosis. It involves stimulating sensory nerves under the skin and in the muscles.

    This results in the body producing natural substances, such as pain-relieving endorphins. It’s likely that these naturally released substances are responsible for the beneficial effects experienced with acupuncture.❞

    Source: NHS | Acupuncture

    Meanwhile, the NIH’s National Cancer Institute recommends it… But not as a cancer treatment.

    Rather, they recommend it as a complementary therapy for pain management, and also against nausea, for which there is also evidence that it can help.

    Frustratingly, while they mention that there is lots of evidence for this, they don’t actually link the studies they’re citing, or give enough information to find them. Instead, they say things like “seven randomized clinical trials found that…” and provide links that look reassuring until one finds, upon clicking on them, that it’s just a link to the definition of “randomized clinical trial”:

    Source: NIH | Nactional Cancer Institute | Acupuncture (PDQ®)–Patient Version

    However, doing our own searches finds many studies (mostly in specialized, potentially biased, journals such as the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies) finding significant modest outperformance of [what passes for] placebo.

    Sometimes, the existence of papers with promising titles, and statements of how acupuncture might work for things other than relief of pain and nausea, hides the fact that the papers themselves do not, in fact, contain any evidence to support the hypothesis. Here’s an example:

    ❝The underlying mechanisms behind the benefits of acupuncture may be linked with the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (adrenal) axis and activation of the Wnt/β-catenin and OPG/RANKL/RANK signaling pathways.

    In summary, strong evidence may still come from prospective and well-designed clinical trials to shed light on the potential role of acupuncture in preserving bone loss❞

    Source: Acupuncture for Osteoporosis: a Review of Its Clinical and Preclinical Studies

    So, here they offered a very sciencey hypothesis, and to support that hypothesis, “strong evidence may still come”.

    “We must keep faith” is not usually considered evidence worthy of inclusion in a paper!

    PS: the above link is just to the abstract, because the “Full Text” link offered in that abstract leads to a completely unrelated article about HIV/AIDS-related cryptococcosis, in a completely different journal, nothing to do with acupuncture or osteoporosis).

    Again, this is not the kind of professionalism we expect from peer-reviewed academic journals.

    Bottom line:

    Acupuncture reliably performs slightly better than sham acupuncture for the management of pain, and may also help against nausea.

    Beyond placebo and the stimulation of endorphin release, there is no consistently reliable evidence that is has any other discernible medical effect by any mechanism known to Western science—though there are plenty of hypotheses.

    That said, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, and the logistical difficulty of testing acupuncture against placebo makes for slow research. Maybe one day we’ll know more.

    For now:

    • If you find it helps you: great! Enjoy
    • If you think it might help you: try it! By a licensed professional with a good reputation, please.
    • If you are not inclined to having needles put in you unnecessarily: skip it! Extant science suggests that at worst, you’ll be missing out on slight relief of pain/nausea.

    Take care!

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  • Ikigai – by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles

    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.

    Ikigai is the Japanese term for what in English we often call “raison d’être”… in French, because English is like that.

    But in other words: ikigai is one’s purpose in life, one’s reason for living.

    The authors of this work spend some chapters extolling the virtues of finding one’s ikigai, and the health benefits that doing so can convey. It is, quite clearly, an important and relevant factor.

    The rest of the book goes beyond that, though, and takes a holistic look at why (and how) healthy longevity is enjoyed by:

    • Japanese people in general,
    • Okinawans in particular,
    • Residents of Okinawa’s “blue zone” village with the highest percentage of supercentenarians, most of all.

    Covering considerations from ikigai to diet to small daily habits to attitudes to life, we’re essentially looking at a blueprint for healthy longevity.

    For a book whose title and cover suggests a philosophy-heavy content, there’s a lot of science in here too, by the way! From microbiology to psychiatry to nutrition science to cancer research, this book covers all bases.

    In short: this book gives a lot of good science-based suggestions for adjustments we can make to our lives, without moving to an Okinawan village!

    Click Here To Check Out Ikigai on Amazon Today!

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  • Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan – by Dr. Mark Williams & Dr. Danny Penman

    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 authors, with their PhDs in psychology and biochemistry, respectively, bring the science that you might expect (and some that you might not!) to this book about mindfulness meditation and mindfulness in everyday life.

    The book’s realism comes not just from studies, though, but also from a realistic perspective on modern life, in which many of us have sufficient responsibilities to afford us only limited downtime, and we certainly cannot all take time off for a mountaintop retreat.

    What we can do, however, is enjoy this eight-week program for finding peace in a frantic world, while still going about our necessary business in that frantic world on a daily basis.

    The eight weeks go as follows:

    1. Waking up to the autopilot
    2. Keeping the body in mind
    3. The mouse in the maze
    4. Moving beyond the rumor mill
    5. Turning toward difficulties
    6. Trapped in the past or living in the present?
    7. When did you stop dancing?
    8. Your wild and precious life

    …with meditations, as well as reframes and other tools, for each.

    The style is very easy-reading, with neither scientific jargon nor spiritual arcana, just clear explanations, instructions, and guidance.

    Bottom line: if you’re the sort of person who tries to take each day as it comes, but sometimes several days gang up on you at once, then this book can help get things into order.

    Click here to check out Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World, and indeed find peace in a frantic world!

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Related Posts

  • The Science-Backed Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners – by Dr. Yasmine Elamir & Dr. William Grist
  • Scheduling Tips for Overrunning Tasks

    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.

    Your Questions, Our Answers!

    Q: Often I schedule time for things, but the task takes longer than I think, or multiplies while I’m doing it, and then my schedule gets thrown out. Any ideas?

    A: A relatable struggle! Happily, there are remedies:

    • Does the task really absolutely need to be finished today? If not, just continue it in scheduled timeslots until it’s completed.
    • Some tasks do indeed need to be finished today (hi, writer of a daily newsletter here!), so it can be useful to have an idea of how long things really take, in advance. While new tasks can catch us unawares, recurring or similar-to-previous tasks can be estimated based on how long they took previously. For this reason, we recommend doing a time audit every now and again, to see how you really use your time.
    • A great resource that you should include in your schedule is a “spare” timeslot, ideally at least one per day. Call it a “buffer” or a “backup” or whatever (in my schedule it’s labelled “discretionary”), but the basic idea is that it’s a scheduled timeslot with nothing scheduled in it, and it works as an “overflow” catch-all.

    Additionally:

    • You can usually cut down the time it takes you to do tasks by setting “Deep Work” rules for yourself. For example: cut out distractions, single-task, work in for example 25-minute bursts with 5-minute breaks, etc
    • You can also usually cut down the time it takes you to do tasks by making sure you’re prepared for them. Not just task-specific preparation, either! A clear head on, plenty of energy, the resources you’ll need (including refreshments!) to hand, etc can make a huge difference to efficiency.

    See Also: Time Optimism and the Planning Fallacy

    Do you have a question you’d like to see answered here? Hit reply or use the feedback widget at the bottom; we’d love to hear from you!

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  • Macadamias vs Hazelnuts – Which is Healthier?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our Verdict

    When comparing macadamias to hazelnuts, we picked the hazelnuts.

    Why?

    In terms of macros first, hazelnuts have 2x the protein, and slightly more carbs and fiber. We call this a win for hazelnuts.

    When it comes to vitamins, macadamias have more of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, while hazelnuts have more of vitamins A, B5, B6, B7, B9, C, and E. Notably, 28x more vitamin E, so that’s not inconsiderable. Also 10x the vitamin B9, and 5x the vitamin C, and the rest, more modest wins. In any case, clearly a strong win for hazelnuts here.

    In the category of minerals, macadamias have more selenium, while hazelnuts have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Another clear win for hazelnuts.

    In short, hazelnuts win in all categories. However, by all means enjoy either or both (unless you have a nut allergy, in which case, obviously don’t).

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts

    Take care!

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  • Revealed: The Soviet Secret Recipe For Success That The CIA Admits Put The US To Shame

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    Today’s edition of 10almonds brings you a blast from the past with a modern twist: an ancient Russian peasant food that became a Soviet staple, and today, is almost unknown in the West.

    Before we get to that, let’s take a sneaky look at this declassified CIA memorandum from near the end of the Cold War:

    (Click here to see a bigger version)

    The take-away here is:

    • Americans were eating 2–3 times more meat than Soviets
    • Soviets were eating nearly double the amount of grain products and potatoes

    …and both of these statistics meant that nutritionally speaking, the Soviets were doing better.

    Americans also consumed more sugar and fats, which again, wasn’t the best dietary option.

    But was the American diet tastier? Depends on whom you ask.

    Which brings us to a literal recipe we’re going to be sharing with you today:

    It’s not well-known in the West, but in Russia, it’s a famous national comfort food, a bastion of health and nutrition, and it rose to popularity because it was not only cheap and nutritious, but also, you could eat it for days without getting sick of it. And it could be easily frozen for reheating later without losing any of its appeal—it’d still be just as good.

    In Russia there are sayings about it:

    Щи да каша — пища наша (Shchi da kasha — pishcha nasha)

    Shchi and buckwheat are what we eat

    Top tip: buckwheat makes an excellent (and naturally sweet) alternative to porridge oats if prepared the same way!

    Где щи, там и нас ищи (Gdye shchi, tam i nas ishchi)

    Where there’s shchi, us you’ll see

    Голь голью, а луковка во щах есть (Gol’ gol’yu, a lukovka vo shchakh yest’)

    I’m stark naked, but there’s shchi with onions

    There’s a very strong sentiment in Russia that really, all you need is shchi (shchi, shchi… shchi is all you need )

    But what, you may ask, is shchi?

    Our culinary cultural ambassador Nastja is here to offer her tried-and-tested recipe for…

    …Russian cabbage soup (yes, really—bear with us now, and you can thank us later)

    There are a lot of recipes for shchi (see for yourself what the Russian version of Lifehacker recommends), and we’ll be offering our favorite…

    Nastja’s Nutritious and Delicious Homemade Shchi

    Hi, Nastja here! I’m going to share with you my shchi recipe that is:

    • Cheap
    • So tasty
    • Super nutritious*
    • Vegan
    • Gluten Free

    You will also need:

    • A cabbage (I use sweetheart, but any white cabbage will do)
    • 1 cup (250g) red lentils (other kinds of lentils will work too)
    • ½ lb or so (250–300g) tomatoes (I use baby plum tomatoes, but any kind will do)
    • ½ lb or so (250–300g) mushrooms (the edible kind)
    • An onion (I use a brown onion; any kind will do)
    • Salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, parsley, cumin
    • Marmite or similar yeast extract (do you hate it? Me too. Trust me, it’ll be fine, you’ll love it. Omit if you’re a coward.)
    • A little oil for sautéing (I use sunflower, but canola is fine, as is soy oil. Do not use olive oil or coconut oil, because the taste is too strong and the flashpoint too low)

    First, what the French call mise-en-place, the prep work:

    1. Chop the cabbage into small strips, ⅛–¼ inch x 1 inch is a good guideline, but you can’t really go wrong unless you go to extremes
    2. Chop the tomatoes. If you’re using baby plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), cut them in half. If using larger tomatoes, cut them into eighths (halve them, halve the halves, then halve the quarters)
    3. Chop the mushrooms. If using button mushrooms, half them. If using larger mushrooms, quarter them.
    4. Chop the onion finely.
    5. Gather the following kitchenware: A big pan (stock pot or similar), a sauté pan (a big wok or frying pan will do), a small frying pan (here a wok will not do), and a saucepan (a rice cook will also do)

    Now, for actual cooking:

    1. Cook the red lentils until soft (I use a rice cooker, but a saucepan is fine) and set aside
    2. Sauté the cabbage, put it in the big pot (not yet on the heat!)
    3. Fry the mushrooms, put them in the big pot (still not yet on the heat!)

    When you’ve done this a few times and/or if you’re feeling confident, you can do the above simultaneously to save time

    1. Blend the lentils into the water you cooked them in, and then add to the big pot.
    2. Turn the heat on low, and if necessary, add more water to make it into a rich soup
    3. Add the seasonings to taste, except the parsley. Go easy on the cumin, be generous with the rosemary and thyme, let your heart guide you with the salt and pepper.
    4. When it comes to the yeast extract: add about one teaspoon and stir it into the pot. Even if you don’t like Marmite, it barely changes the flavour (makes it slightly richer) and adds a healthy dose of vitamin B12.

    We did not forget the tomatoes and the onion:

    1. Caramelize the onion (keep an eye on the big pot) and set it aside
    2. Fry the tomatoes and add them to the big pot

    Last but definitely not least:

    1. Serve!
    2. The caramelized onion is a garnish, so put a little on top of each bowl of shchi
    3. The parsley is also a garnish, just add a little

    Any shchi you don’t eat today will keep in the fridge for several days, or in the freezer for much longer.

    *That nutritious goodness I talked about? Check it out:

    • Lentils are high in protein and iron
    • Cabbage is high in vitamin C and calcium
    • Mushrooms are high in magnesium
    • Tomatoes are good against inflammation
    • Black pepper has a host of health benefits
    • Yeast extract contains vitamin B12

    Let us know how it went! We love to receive emails from our subscribers!

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