Vibration Plate, Review After 6 Months: Is It Worth It?

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Is it push-button exercise, or an expensive fad, or something else entirely? Robin, from “The Science of Self-Care”, has insights:

Science & Experience

According to the science (studies cited in the video and linked-to in the video description, underneath it on YouTube), vibration therapy does have some clear benefits, namely:

  • Bone health (helps with bone density, particularly beneficial for postmenopausal women)
  • Muscle recovery (reduces lactate levels, aiding faster recovery)
  • Joint health (reduces pain and improves function in osteoarthritis patients)
  • Muscle stimulation (helps older adults maintain muscle mass)
  • Cognitive function (due to increased blood flow to the brain)

And from her personal experience, the benefits included:

  • Improved recovery after exercise, reducing muscle soreness and stiffness
  • Reduced back pain and improved posture (not surprising, given the need for stabilizing muscles when using one of these)
  • Better circulation and (likely resulting from same) skin clarity

She did not, however, notice:

  • Any reduction in cellulite
  • Any change in body composition (fat loss or muscle gain)

For a deeper look into these things and more, plus a demonstration of how the machine actually operates, enjoy:

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

Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

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  • Should You Go Light Or Heavy On Carbs?

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    Carb-Strong or Carb-Wrong?

    A bar chart showing the number of people who are interested in social media and heavy carbs.

    We asked you for your health-related view of carbs, and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses

    • About 48% said “Some carbs are beneficial; others are detrimental”
    • About 27% said “Carbs are a critical source of energy, and safer than fats”
    • About 18% said “A low-carb diet is best for overall health (and a carb is a carb)”
    • About 7% said “We do not need carbs to live; a carnivore diet is viable”

    But what does the science say?

    Carbs are a critical source of energy, and safer than fats: True or False?

    True and False, respectively! That is: they are a critical source of energy, and carbs and fats both have an important place in our diet.

    ❝Diets that focus too heavily on a single macronutrient, whether extreme protein, carbohydrate, or fat intake, may adversely impact health.

    ~ Dr. Russel de Souza et al.

    Source: Low carb or high carb? Everything in moderation … until further notice

    (the aforementioned lead author Dr. de Souza, by the way, served as an external advisor to the World Health Organization’s Nutrition Guidelines Advisory Committee)

    Some carbs are beneficial; others are detrimental: True or False?

    True! Glycemic index is important here. There’s a big difference between eating a raw carrot and drinking high-fructose corn syrup:

    Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?

    While some say grains and/or starchy vegetables are bad, best current science recommends:

    • Eat some whole grains regularly, but they should not be the main bulk of your meal (non-wheat grains are generally better)
    • Starchy vegetables are not a critical food group, but in moderation they are fine.

    To this end, the Mediterranean Diet is the current gold standard of healthful eating, per general scientific consensus:

    A low-carb diet is best for overall health (and a carb is a carb): True or False?

    True-ish and False, respectively. We covered the “a carb is a carb” falsehood earlier, so we’ll look at “a low-carb diet is best”.

    Simply put: it can be. One of the biggest problems facing the low-carb diet though is that adherence tends to be poor—that is to say, people crave their carby comfort foods and eat more carbs again. As for the efficacy of a low-carb diet in the context of goals such as weight loss and glycemic control, the evidence is mixed:

    ❝There is probably little to no difference in weight reduction and changes in cardiovascular risk factors up to two years’ follow-up, when overweight and obese participants without and with T2DM are randomised to either low-carbohydrate or balanced-carbohydrate weight-reducing diets❞

    ~ Dr. Celeste Naud et al.

    Source: Low-carbohydrate versus balanced-carbohydrate diets for reducing weight and cardiovascular risk

    ❝On the basis of moderate to low certainty evidence, patients adhering to an LCD for six months may experience remission of diabetes without adverse consequences.

    Limitations include continued debate around what constitutes remission of diabetes, as well as the efficacy, safety, and dietary satisfaction of longer term LCDs❞

    ~ Dr. Joshua Goldenberg et al.

    Source: Efficacy and safety of low and very low carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes remission

    ❝There should be no “one-size-fits-all” eating pattern for different patient´s profiles with diabetes.

    It is clinically complex to suggest an ideal percentage of calories from carbohydrates, protein and lipids recommended for all patients with diabetes.❞

    ~Dr. Adriana Sousa et al.

    Source: Current Evidence Regarding Low-carb Diets for The Metabolic Control of Type-2 Diabetes

    We do not need carbs to live; a carnivore diet is viable: True or False?

    False. For a simple explanation:

    The Carnivore Diet: Can You Have Too Much Meat?

    There isn’t a lot of science studying the effects of consuming no plant products, largely because such a study, if anything other than observational population studies, would be unethical. Observational population studies, meanwhile, are not practical because there are so few people who try this, and those who do, do not persist after their first few hospitalizations.

    Putting aside the “Carnivore Diet” as a dangerous unscientific fad, if you are inclined to meat-eating, there is some merit to the Paleo Diet, at least for short-term weight loss even if not necessarily long-term health:

    What’s The Real Deal With The Paleo Diet?

    For longer-term health, we refer you back up to the aforementioned Mediterranean Diet.

    Enjoy!

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  • Great Sex Never Gets Old – by Kimberly Cunningham – by Kimberly Cunningham

    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.

    Here some readers may be thinking “after 40? But I am 70 already” or such, so be assured, there’s no upper limit on the applicability of this book’s writings. The number of 40 was chosen more as the start point of things, because it is an age after which the majority of hormonal declines happen (and with them, often, sex drive and/or physical ability). But, as she explains, this is by no means necessarily an end, and can instead be an exciting new beginning.

    She kicks things off with a “wellness check”, before diving into the science of the menopause—and yes, the andropause too.

    She doesn’t stop there though, and discusses other hormones besides the obvious ones, and other non-hormonal factors that can affect sex in what for most people is the later half of life.

    Nurse Cunningham, much like most of modern science, is strongly pro-HRT, and/but doesn’t claim it to be a magic bullet (though honestly, it can feel like it is! But here we’re reviewing the book, not HRT, so let’s continue), or else this book could have been a leaflet. Instead, she talks about the side-effects to expect (mostly good or neutral, but still, things you don’t want to be taken by surprise by), and what things will just be “a little different” now if you’re running on exogenous bioidentical hormones rather than ones your own body made. A lot of this comes down to how and when one takes them, by the way, since this can be different to your body making its own natural peaks and troughs.

    But it’s not all about hormones; there are also plenty of chapters on social and psychological issues, as well as medical issues other than hormones.

    The style is very light and conversational, while also casually dropping about 30 pages of scientific references. Like many nurses, the author knows at least as much as doctors when it comes to her area of expertise, and it shows.

    Bottom line: if your sex has ever hit a slump, and/or you simply recognize that it could, this book could make a very important difference.

    Click here to check out Great Sex Never Gets Old, and enjoy the best of life in the bedroom too!

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  • Sticky Jackfruit Burgers

    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.

    All the taste and experience of pulled pork, without the increased risk of cancer and metabolic disease. On the contrary, jackfruit introduces lots of fiber, vitamins, carotenoids, and flavanones. We’ll have to do a main feature about jackfruit sometime; it’s an unusual fruit especially for its protein content, but for now, let’s get cooking!

    You will need

    • 1 can (14oz/400g) green jackfruit, drained (the flesh will not, in fact, be green—this is referring to the fruit being unripe and thus still firm in texture, which is what we want. The outside of the fruit, which will not be in the can, will have been green)
    • 1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced
    • 1/2 carrot, grated
    • 6 mangetout, thinly sliced
    • 2 tbsp mayonnaise (your preference what kind, and yes, vegan is fine too)
    • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tbsp gochujang paste (if you can’t find gochujang paste locally, you can either order it online (here it is on Amazon) or substitute with harissa paste, which is not the same—it uses different spices—but will do the same job here re texture, umami taste, and level of spiciness)
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
    • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
    • 1 tsp garlic paste
    • 1 tsp tomato paste
    • 1 tsp ginger paste
    • 1 tsp chili flakes
    • 3½ fl oz water
    • 2 burger buns (unless you make them yourself, burger buns will probably not be healthy; you can, however, also look for small round wholemeal breads—the name of which varies far too much by region for us to try to get a catch-all name here—and use them in place of burger buns)

    Method

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

    1) Combine the garlic paste, ginger paste, tomato paste, gochujang paste, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and chili flakes in a saucepan

    2) Boil the 3½ fl oz water we mentioned; add it to the saucepan, mixing well, turn on the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes or until it is thick and sticky (it will thicken more as it cools, too, so don’t worry if it doesn’t seem thick enough yet). Set it aside.

    3) Dry the jackfruit (using strong kitchen paper should be fine), add the olive oil to a skillet and bring it to a high heat; add the jackfruit and fry on both sides for a few minutes, until it looks cooked (remember, while this may look like animal meat, it’s not, so there’s no danger of undercooking here).

    4) When the jackfruit looks a nice golden-brown, add two thirds of the sauce from the saucepan, and break apart the jackfruit a bit (this can be done with a wooden/bamboo spatula, so as to not damage your pan), When it all looks how you’d expect pulled jackfruit (or pulled pork) to look, take it off the heat.

    5) Combine the carrot, cabbage, and mangetout in a small bowl, adding the apple cider vinegar and mixing well; this will be the coleslaw element

    6) Mix the remaining sauce with the mayonnaise

    7) (optional) toast the burger buns

    8) Assemble the burgers; we recommend the following order: bottom bun, pulled jackfruit, coleslaw, gochujang mayo, top bun

    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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  • Healing Arthritis – by Dr. Susan Blum

    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.

    We previously reviewed another book by this author, her Immune System Recovery Plan, and today it’s more specific: healing arthritis

    Of course, not all arthritis is rooted in immune dysfunction, but a) all of it is made worse by immune dysfunction and b) rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease, affects 1% of the population.

    This book tackles all kinds of arthritis, by focusing on addressing the underlying causes and treating those, and (whether it was the cause or not) reducing inflammation without medication, because that will always help.

    The “3 steps” mentioned in the subtitle are three stages of a plan to improve the gut microbiome in such a way that it not only stops worsening your arthritis, but starts making it better.

    The style here is on the hard end of pop-science, so if you want something more conversational/personable, then this won’t be so much for you, but if you just want the information and explanation, then this does it just fine, and it has frequent references to the science to back it up, with a reassuringly extensive bibliography.

    Bottom line: if you have arthritis and want a book that will help you to get either symptom-free or as close to that as is possible from your current condition (bearing in mind that arthritis is generally degenerative), then this is a great book for that.

    Click here to check out Healing Arthritis, and heal yours!

    Don’t Forget…

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    Learn to Age Gracefully

    Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:

  • 10 Great Exercises to Improve Your Eyesight

    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.

    If your eyesight has been declining a bit, all is not lost. Just like many other muscles in the body, the muscles of the eye—including those responsible for changing the focal length of your vision—can atrophy without exercise. So, without further ado, here are the exercises recommended:

    The eyes (still) have it

    1. Blink for a minute: blink rapidly for 30–60 seconds to regulate blood circulation, lubricate your eyes, and prevent dryness.
    2. Rotate your head while staring ahead: turn your head in a circular motion while keeping your gaze straight ahead. This improves blood circulation to your eyes.
    3. Look to your right and left: slowly move your gaze from right to left while breathing. This one relaxes and stretches the eye muscles.
    4. Close your eyes and relax: close your eyes for at least 30 seconds to relax and strengthen your photoreceptor cells.
    5. Move your gaze in different directions: shift your gaze right-left, up-down, in circular motions, and trace a figure 8 with your eyes. This improves visual perception for both near- and far-sightedness.
    6. Close and open your eyes: tighten your eyes shut for 3–5 seconds, then open them. Repeat seven times to improve blood circulation and relax your eye muscles. ← 10almonds note: the duration makes this different from #4, so do try both!
    7. Push against your temples with your fingers: gently press your temples with your fingers for two seconds, then release. Repeat 4–5 times to improve fluid circulation in your eyes.
    8. Draw geometric figures with your gaze: use your eyes to trace shapes such as triangles, squares, and circles to enhance your eye coordination and muscle strength.
    9. Move your eyeballs up and down: close your eyes and slowly move your eyeballs up and down five times to stretch and relax the muscles ← 10almonds note: this seems to be the same as part of #5 and has a considerable overlap with #8, but we’re listing it anyway, or else everyone will wonder where #9 went!
    10. Strengthen near and far focusing: focus on your thumb 10 inches away for 10–15 seconds, then switch focus to an object 10–20 feet away. Repeat five times to improve focus adjustment ability.

    By practicing these exercises daily, we are told that you can improve eye health and vision within a week.

    For more on all these, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Vision for Life, Revised Edition – by Dr. Meir Schneider

    Take care!

    Don’t Forget…

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  • Does Ginseng Increase Testosterone Levels?

    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.

    ❓ Q&A With 10almonds Subscribers!

    Q: You talked about spearmint as reducing testosterone levels, what about ginseng for increasing them?

    A: Hormones are complicated and often it’s not a simple matter of higher or lower levels! It can also be a matter of…

    • how your body converts one thing into another
    • how your body responds (or not) to something according to how the relevant hormone’s receptors are doing
    • …and whether there’s anything else blocking those receptors.

    All this to say: spearmint categorically is an anti-androgen, but the mechanism of action remains uncertain.

    Panax ginseng, meanwhile, is one of the most well-established mysteries in herbal medicine.

    Paradoxically, it seems to improve both male and female hormonal regulation, despite being more commonly associated with the former.

    But it also…

    Bottom line: Panax ginseng is popularly taken to improve natural hormone function, a task at which it appears to excel.

    Scientists are still working out exactly how it does the many things it appears to do.

    Progress has been made, and it clearly is science rather than witchcraft, but there are still far more unanswered questions than resolved ones!

    Don’t Forget…

    Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!

    Learn to Age Gracefully

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