What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat – by Aubrey Gordon

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There are books aplenty to encourage and help you to lose weight. This isn’t one of those.

There are also books aplenty to encourage and help you to accept yourself and your body at the weight you are, and forge self-esteem. This isn’t one of those, either—in fact, it starts by assuming you already have that.

There are fair arguments for body neutrality, and fat acceptance. Very worthy also is the constant fight for bodily sovereignty.

These are worthy causes, but they’re for the most-part not what our author concerns herself with here. Instead, she cares for a different and very practical goal: fat justice.

In a world where you may be turned away from medical treatment if you are over a certain size, told to lose half your bodyweight before you can have something you need, she demands better. The battle extends further than healthcare though, and indeed to all areas of life.

Ultimately, she argues, any society that will disregard the needs of the few because they’re a marginal demographic, is a society that will absolutely fail you if you ever differ from the norm in some way.

All in all, an important (and for many, perhaps eye-opening) book to read if you are fat, care about fat people, are a person of any size, or care about people in general.

Pick Up Your Copy of “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat”, on Amazon Today!

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Recommended

  • Widen the Window – by Dr. Elizabeth Stanley
  • Gluten: What’s The Truth?
    Gluten: The Truth About It. Around 60% of voters believe gluten is bad for those with allergies or sensitivities. The rest are split between other opinions. Let’s define some terms and separate fact from fiction.

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  • The Power of Fun – by Catherine Price

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    It’s said that nobody’s dying regret is to wish they’d spent more time at the office, yet many of don’t make enough time for fun.

    This book has been published with two different subtitles:

    • Why fun is the key to a happy and healthy life
    • How to feel alive again

    One offers a sensible reason to read this book; the other offers a deeply emotional reason. Both are entirely valid.

    Catherine Price sets out in this work to identify what fun actually is (she puts it at the intersection of playfulness, connection and flow) and how to have more of it (she gives a five-step method to build and integrate it into life).

    In the category of criticism, this 334-page book is (in this reviewer’s opinion) a little padded and could have been an article instead. But the advice contained within it is sound, and the impact it can have might be profound.

    Bottom line: if you find you’ve settled into a routine that’s perhaps comfortable, but not actually that much fun, this book will help you to liven things up.

    Click here to check out The Power Of Fun, and feel more alive!

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  • How Does Alcohol Cause Blackouts?

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    Sometimes people who have never experienced an alcoholic blackout wonder “is it real, or is it just a convenient excuse to avoid responsibility/embarrassment with regard to things done while drunk?”

    In 1969 (so, still in the era of incredibly unethical psychological experiments that ranged from the 50s into the 70s), Dr. Donald Goodwin conducted a study in which intoxicated participants were asked to recall an object they had just seen. Most succeeded initially, but half were unable to remember the object just 30 minutes later, demonstrating alcohol-induced memory blackouts.

    But, is it any different from regular forgetting? And the answer is: yes, it is indeed different.

    The memories that never got stored

    Ethanol, the active compound in alcohol, is lipophilic, enabling it to cross the blood-brain barrier and disrupt brain function. It impairs all kinds of things, including decision-making, impulse control, motor skills, and, notably, memory networks—which is what we’re looking at today.

    Memory formation (beyond “working memory”, which is the kind that enables you to have an idea of what you were just doing, and carry out simple plans like “pick up this cup, raise it to my mouth, and take a sip”, without forgetting partway through) relies on a process called long-term potentiation (LTP), which strengthens neural connections to store information. Ethanol disrupts this process, preventing memory storage and causing blackouts.

    In effect, this means you didn’t just forget a memory; you never stored it in the first place. For this reason, experiences from during an alcoholic blackout cannot be retrieved in the same ways we might retrieve other memories (e.g. in regular forgetting, it’s possible that a context clue jogs our memory and then we remember the experience—because in regular forgetting, the memory was in there; we just didn’t recall it until we were reminded).

    Blackouts (in which the memory is never stored in the first place) typically occur when blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds 0.16, while lower levels can result in partial memory loss (brownouts) in which some things may be recalled, but not others. Factors such as dehydration, genetics, medications, food consumption, and age influence the likelihood of complete blackouts.

    While alcohol’s residual effects typically subside within a day, repeated over-drinking can cause permanent neuron damage, as well as of course plenty of damage to other organs in the body (especially the liver and gut).

    For more on all of this, enjoy:

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

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Drinking Alcohol

    Take care!

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  • The Sugary Food That Lowers Blood Sugars

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    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

    ❝Loved the article on goji berries! I read they are good for blood sugars, is that true despite the sugar content?❞

    Most berries are! Fruits that are high in polyphenols (even if they’re high in sugar), like berries, have a considerable net positive impact on glycemic health:

    And more specifically:

    Dietary berries, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes: an overview of human feeding trials

    Read more: Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?

    As for goji berries specifically, they’re very high indeed in polyphenols, and also have a hypoglycemic effect, i.e., they lower blood sugar levels (and as a bonus, increases HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels too, but that’s not the topic here):

    ❝The results of our study indicated a remarkable protective effect of LBP in patients with type 2 diabetes. Serum glucose was found to be significantly decreased and insulinogenic index increased during OMTT after 3 months administration of LBP. LBP also increased HDL levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. It showed more obvious hypoglycemic efficacy for those people who did not take any hypoglycemic medicine compared to patients taking hypoglycemic medicines. This study showed LBP to be a good potential treatment aided-agent for type 2 diabetes.❞

    • LBP = Lycium barbarum polysaccharide, i.e. polysaccharide in/from goji berries
    • OMTT = Oral metabolic tolerance test, a test of how well the blood sugars avoid spiking after a meal

    Read: Practical Application of Antidiabetic Efficacy of Lycium barbarum Polysaccharide in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

    For more about goji berries (and also where to get them), for reference our previous article is at:

    Goji Berries: Which Benefits Do They Really Have?

    Take care!

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Related Posts

  • Widen the Window – by Dr. Elizabeth Stanley
  • The Recipe For Empowered Leadership – by Doug Meyer-Cuno

    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.

    This is not a “here’s how to become a leader, you young would-be Machiavelli”; it’s more a “so you’re in a leadership role; now what?” book. The book’s subtitle describes well its contents: “25 Ingredients For Creating Value & Empowering Others”

    The book is written with the voice of experience, but without the ego-driven padding that accompanies many such books. Especially: any anecdotal illustrations are short and to-the-point, no chapter-long diversions here.

    Which we love!

    Equally helpful is where the author does spend a little more time and energy: on the “down to brass tacks” of how exactly to do various things.

    In short: if instead of a lofty-minded book of vague idealized notions selling a pipedream, you’d rather have a manual of how to actually be a good leader when it comes down to it, this is the book for you.

    Pick Up The Recipe For Empowered Leadership On Amazon Today!

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  • How To Boost Your Memory Immediately (Without Supplements)

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    How To Boost Your Memory (Without Supplements)

    While we do recommend having a good diet and taking advantage of various supplements that have been found to help memory, that only gets so much mileage. With that in mind…

    First, how good is your memory? Take This 2-Minute Online Test

    Now, that was a test of short term memory, which tends to be the most impactful in our everyday life.

    It’s the difference between “I remember the address of the house where I grew up” (long-term memory) and “what did I come to this room to do?” (short-term memory / working memory)

    First tip:

    When you want to remember something, take a moment to notice the details. You can’t have a madeleine moment years later if you wolfed down the madeleines so urgently they barely touched the sides.

    This goes for more than just food, of course. And when facing the prospect of age-related memory loss in particular, people tend to be afraid not of forgetting their PIN code, but their cherished memories of loved ones. So… Cherish them, now! You’ll struggle to cherish them later if you don’t cherish them now. Notice the little details as though you were a painter looking at a scene for painting. Involve more senses than just sight, too!

    If it’s important, relive it. Relive it now, relive it tomorrow. Rehearsal is important to memory, and each time you relive a memory, the deeper it gets written into your long-term memory until it becomes indelible to all but literal brain damage.

    Second tip:

    Tell the story of it to someone else. Or imagine telling it to someone else! (You brain can’t tell the difference)

    And you know how it goes… Once you’ve told a story a few times, you’ll never forget it later. Isn’t your life a story worth telling?

    Many people approach memory like they’re studying for a test. Don’t. Approach it like you’re preparing to tell a story, or give a performance. We are storytelling creatures at heart, whether or not we realize it.

    What do you do when you find yourself in a room and wonder why you went there? (We’ve all been there!) You might look around for clues, but if that doesn’t immediately serve, your fallback will be retracing your steps. Literally, physically, if needs be, but at least mentally. The story of how you got there is easier to remember than the smallest bit of pure information.

    What about when there’s no real story to tell, but we still need to remember something?

    Make up a story. Did you ever play the game “My granny went to market” as a child?

    If not, it’s a collaborative memory game in which players take turns adding items to a list, “My granny went to market and bought eggs”, My granny went to market and bought eggs and milk”, “my granny went to market and bought eggs and milk and flour” (is she making a cake?), “my granny went to market and bought eggs and milk and flour and shoe polish” (what image came to mind? Use that) “my granny went to market and bought eggs and milk and flour and shoe polish and tea” (continue building the story in your head), and so on.

    When we actually go shopping, if we don’t have a written list we may rely on the simple story of “what I’m going to cook for dinner” and walking ourselves through that story to ensure we get the things we need.

    This is because our memory thrives (and depends!) on connections. Literal synapse connections in the brain, and conceptual contextual connections in your mind. The more connections, the better the memory.

    Now imagine a story: “I went to Stonehenge, but in the background was a twin-peaked mountain blue. I packed a red suitcase, placing a conch shell inside it, when suddenly I heard a trombone, and…” Ring any bells? These are example items from the memory test earlier, though of course you may have seen different things in a different order.

    So next time you want to remember things, don’t study as though for a test. Prepare to tell a story!

    Try going through the test again, but this time, ignore their instructions because we’re going to use the test differently than intended (we’re rebels like that). Don’t rush, and don’t worry about the score this time (or even whether or not you saw a given image previously), but instead, build a story as you go. We’re willing to bet that after it, you can probably recite most of the images you saw in their correct order with fair confidence.

    Here’s the link again: Take The Same Test, But This Time Make It Story-Worthy!

    Again, ignore what it says about your score this time, because we weren’t doing that this time around. Instead, list the things you saw.

    What you were just able to list was the result of you doing story-telling with random zero-context images while under time pressure.

    Imagine what you can do with actual meaningful memories of your ongoing life, people you meet, conversations you have!

    Just… Take the time to smell the roses, then rehearse the story you’ll tell about them. That memory will swiftly become as strong as any memory can be, and quickly get worked into your long-term memory for the rest of your days.

    Don’t Forget…

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  • The Problem With Active Listening

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    The problem with active listening

    Listening is an important skill to keep well-trained at any age. It’s important in romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, friendships, and more.

    First, for any unfamiliar or hazy-of-memory: active listening is the practice of listening, actively. The “active” side of this comes in several parts:

    1. Asking helpful questions
    2. Giving feedback to indicate that the answer has been understood
    3. Prompting further information-giving

    This can look like:

    • A: How did you feel when that happened?
    • B: My heart was racing and I felt panicked, it really shocked me
    • A: It really shocked you?
    • B: Yes, because it was so unexpected; I’d never imagined something like this happening
    • A: You’d never expect something like that
    • B: No, I mean, I had no reason to

    And… As a superficial listening technique, it’s not terrible, and it has its place

    But unfortunately, if it’s one’s only listening technique, one will very quickly start sounding like a Furby—that children’s toy from the 90s that allegedly randomly parroted fragments of things that had been said to it. In fact this was a trick of programming, but that’s beyond the scope of this article.

    The point is: the above technique, if used indiscriminately and/or too often, starts to feel like talking to a very basic simulacrum.

    Which is the opposite of feeling like being listened to!

    A better way to listen

    Start off similarly, but better.

    Ask open questions, or otherwise invite sharing of information.

    People can be resistant to stock phrases like “How did that make you feel?”, but this can be got around by simply changing it up, e.g.:

    • “What was your reaction?” ← oblique but often elicits the same information
    • “I’m not sure how I’d feel about that, in your shoes” ← not even a question, but shows active attention much better than the “mmhmm” noises of traditional active listening, and again prompts the same information

    Express understanding… But better

    People have been told “I understand” a lot, and often it’s code for “Stop talking”. So, avoid “I understand”. Instead, try:

    • “I can understand that”
    • “Understandable”
    • “That makes sense”

    Ask clarifying questions… Better

    Sometimes, a clarifying question doesn’t have to have its own point, beyond prompting more sharing, and sometimes, an “open question” can be truly wide open, meaning that vaguer is better, such as:

    • “Oh?”
    • “How so?” ← this is the heavy artillery that can open up a lot

    Know when to STFU

    Something that good therapists (and also military interrogators) know: when to STFU

    If someone is talking, don’t interrupt them. If you do, they might not start again, or might skip what they were going to say.

    Interruption says “I think you’ve said all that needs to be said there”, or else, if the interruption was to ask one of the above questions, it says “you’re not doing a good enough job of talking”, and neither of those sentiments encourage people to share, nor do they make someone feel listened-to!

    Instead, just listen. Passive listening has its place too! When there’s a break, then you can go to one of the above questions/prompts/expressions of understanding, as appropriate.

    Judge not, lest they feel judged

    Reserve judgement until the conversation is over, at the earliest. If asked for your judgement of some aspect, be as reassuring as you can. People feel listened-to when they don’t feel judged.

    If they feel judged, conversely, they can often feel you didn’t listen properly, or else you’d be in agreement with them. So instead, just sit on it for as long as you can.

    Note: that goes for positive judgements too! Sit on it. Expressing a positive judgement too soon can seem that you were simply eager to please, and can suggest insincerity.

    If this seems simple, that’s because it is. But, try it, and see the difference.

    Don’t Forget…

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