You Are Not a Before Picture – by Alex Light

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It’s that time of year, and many of us are looking at what we’ll do in the coming days, weeks, and months to level-up our health. So… Is this a demotivational book?

Quite the opposite! It’s rather a case of an often much-needed reminder to ensure that our plans are really our own, and really are what’s best for us. Why wouldn’t they be, you ask?

Much of diet culture (ubiquitous! From magazine covers to movie stars to the models advertising anything from health insurance to water filters) has us reaching for “body goals” that are not possible without a different skeleton and genes and compromises and post-production edits.

Alex Light—herself having moved from the fashion and beauty industry into health education—sets out in a clear, easy-reading manner, how we can look after ourselves, not be neglectful of our bodies, and/but also not get distracted into unhelpful, impossible, castles-in-the-air.

Bottom line: you cannot self-hate your way into good health, and good health will always be much more attainable than a body that’s just not yours. This book can help you sort out which is which.

Click here to check out You Are Not A Before Picture, and appreciate all you and your body can (and do) do for each other!

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  • Women Rowing North – by Dr. Mary Pipher

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    Ageism is rife, as is misogyny. And those can be internalized too, and compounded as they intersect.

    Clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Pipher, herself 75, writes for us a guidebook of, as the subtitle goes, “navigating life’s currents and flourishing as we age”.

    The book does assume, by the way, that the reader is…

    • a woman, and
    • getting old (if not already old)

    However, the lessons the book imparts are vital for women of any age, and valuable as a matter of insight and perspective for any reader.

    Dr. Pipher takes us on a tour of aging as a woman, and what parts of it we can make our own, do things our way, and take what joy we can from it.

    Nor is the book given to “toxic positivity” though—it also deals with themes of hardship, frustration, and loss.

    When it comes to those elements, the book is… honest, human, and raw. But also, an exhortation to hope, beauty, and a carpe diem attitude.

    Bottom line: this book is highly recommendable to anyone of any age; life is precious and can be short. And be we blessed with many long years, this book serves as a guide to making each one of them count.

    Click here to check out Women Rowing North—it really is worth it

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  • Comfortable with Uncertainty – by Pema Chödrön

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    This book is exactly what the subtitle claims it to be: 108 teachings on cultivating fearlessness and compassion. They are short extracts, entire of themselves, taken from Chödrön’s wider work and arranged to offer her insights and advices on this one topic, in one place.

    It is worth noting, by the way, that the author is a Buddhist nun, and as such, the principles and practices are Buddhist in origin. If that’s a problem for you, then this book will not be for you. It does not, however, require that the reader be Buddhist to benefit, simply that one has a will to be calm in the face of chaos, and yet not indifferent—rather, to take on the challenges of life with a whole heart.

    And about that compassion? This is about alleviating suffering; your own, and the suffering in the world as a whole, increasingly uncertain as this world is. And being brave enough to do that, in a world that is not always gentle.

    The style is idiosyncratic, and you will likely love it or hate it. If you love it, then you will find this book at once both soothing and empowering; if not, you will put the book down and pick up a book on CBT or something instead.

    Bottom line: this book absolutely does deliver on its title/subtitle promises—provided you, dear reader, internalize it and practise it.

    Click here to check out Comfortable with Uncertainty, and get comfortable with uncertainty!

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  • Black Beans vs Fava Beans – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing black beans to fava beans, we picked the black beans.

    Why?

    In terms of macros, black beans have more protein, carbs, and notably more fiber, the ratio of the latter two also being such that black beans enjoy the lower glycemic index (but both are still good). All in all, a clear win for black beans in this category.

    In the category of vitamins, black beans have more of vitamins B1, B5, B6, E, K, and choline, while fava beans have more of vitamins A, B2, B3, B9, and C. That’s a marginal 6:5 win for black beans, before we take into account that they also have 43x as much vitamin E, which is quite a margin, while fava beans doesn’t have any similarly stand-out nutrient. So, another clear win for black beans.

    When it comes to minerals, black beans have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium, while fava beans have more manganese, selenium, and zinc. Superficially this is a 6:3 win for black beans; it’s worth noting however that the margins aren’t high on either side in the case of any mineral, so this one’s closer than it looks. Still a win for black beans, though.

    Adding up the sections makes for an easy overall win for black beans, but by all means, enjoy either or both—diversity is good!

    Want to learn more?

    You might like to read:

    Eat More (Of This) For Lower Blood Pressure

    Take care!

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Related Posts

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  • Eating disorders don’t just affect teen girls. The risk may go up around pregnancy and menopause too

    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.

    Eating disorders impact more than 1.1 million people in Australia, representing 4.5% of the population. These disorders include binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa.

    Meanwhile, more than 4.1 million people (18.9%) are affected by body dissatisfaction, a major risk factor for some types of eating disorders.

    But what image comes to mind first when you think of someone with an eating disorder or body image concerns? Is it a teenage girl? If so, you’re definitely not alone. This is often the image we see in popular media.

    Eating disorders and body image concerns are most common in teenage girls, but their prevalence in adults, particularly in women, aged in their 30s, 40s and 50s, is actually close behind.

    So what might be going on with girls and women in these particular age groups to create this heightened risk?

    Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock

    The 3 ‘P’s

    We can consider women’s risk periods for body image issues and eating disorders as the three “P”s: puberty (teenagers), pregnancy (30s) and perimenopause and menopause (40s, 50s).

    A recent report from The Butterfly Foundation showed the three highest prevalence groups for body image concerns are teenage girls aged 15–17 (39.9%), women aged 55–64 (35.7%) and women aged 35–44 (32.6%).

    We acknowledge there’s a wide age range for when girls and women will go through these phases of life. For example, a small proportion of women will experience premature menopause before 40, and not all women will become pregnant.

    Variations in the way eating disorder symptoms are measured across different studies can make it difficult to draw direct comparisons, but here’s a snapshot of what the evidence tells us.

    Puberty

    In a review of studies looking at children aged six to adolescents aged 18, 30% of girls in this age group reported disordered eating, compared to 17% of boys. Rates of disordered eating were higher as children got older.

    Pregnancy

    During pregnancy, eating disorder prevalence is estimated at 7.5%. Almost 70% of women are dissatisfied with their body weight and figure in the post-partum period.

    A pregnant woman sitting on a couch in a consultation room.
    Pregnancy can represent a major change in identity and self-perception. Pormezz/Shutterstock

    Perimenopause

    It’s estimated more than 73% of midlife women aged 42–52 are unsatisfied with their body weight. However, only a portion of these women would have been going through the menopause transition at the time of this study.

    The prevalence of eating disorders is around 3.5% in women over 40 and 1–2% in men at the same stage.

    So what’s going on?

    Although we’re not sure of the exact mechanisms underlying eating disorder and body dissatisfaction risk during the three “P”s, it’s likely a combination of factors are at play.

    These life stages involve significant reproductive hormonal changes (for example, fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone) which can lead to increases in appetite or binge eating and changes in body composition. These changes can result in concerns about body weight and shape.

    These stages can also represent a major change in identity and self-perception. A girl going through puberty may be concerned about turning into an “adult woman” and changes in attitudes of those around her, such as unwanted sexual attention.

    Pregnancy obviously comes with significant body size and shape changes. Pregnant women may also feel their body is no longer their own.

    While social pressures to be thin can stop during pregnancy, social expectations arguably return after birth, demanding women “bounce back” to their pre-pregnancy shape and size quickly.

    Women going through menopause commonly express concerns about a loss of identity. In combination with changes in body composition and a perception their appearance is departing from youthful beauty ideals, this can intensify body dissatisfaction and increase the risk of eating disorders.

    These periods of life can each also be incredibly stressful, both physically and psychologically.

    For example, a girl going through puberty may be facing more adult responsibilities and stress at school. A pregnant woman could be taking care of a family while balancing work and other demands. A woman going through menopause could potentially be taking care of multiple generations (teenage children, ageing parents) while navigating the complexities of mid-life.

    Research has shown interpersonal problems and stressors can increase the risk of eating disorders.

    A woman resting her head on the shoulder of another.
    Body image concerns and eating disorders are not limited to teenage girls. transly/Unsplash, CC BY

    We need to do better

    Unfortunately most of the policy and research attention currently seems to be focused on preventing and treating eating disorders in adolescents rather than adults. There also appears to be a lack of understanding among health professionals about these issues in older women.

    In research I (Gemma) led with women who had experienced an eating disorder during menopause, participants expressed frustration with the lack of services that catered to people facing an eating disorder during this life stage. Participants also commonly said health professionals lacked education and training about eating disorders during menopause.

    We need to increase awareness among health professionals and the general public about the fact eating disorders and body image concerns can affect women of any age – not just teenage girls. This will hopefully empower more women to seek help without stigma, and enable better support and treatment.

    Jaycee Fuller from Bond University contributed to this article.

    If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For concerns around eating disorders or body image visit the Butterfly Foundation website or call the national helpline on 1800 33 4673.

    Gemma Sharp, Professor, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow & Senior Clinical Psychologist, The University of Queensland; Amy Burton, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Technology Sydney, and Megan Lee, Assistant Professor, Psychology, Bond University

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

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  • Heart Health vs Systemic Stress

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    At The Heart Of Good Health

    This is Dr. Michelle Albert. She’s a cardiologist with a decades-long impressive career, recently including a term as the president of the American Heart Association. She’s the current Admissions Dean at UCSF Medical School. She’s accumulated enough awards and honors that if we list them, this email will not fit in your inbox without getting clipped.

    What does she want us to know?

    First, lifestyle

    Although Dr. Albert is also known for her work with statins (which found that pravastatin may have anti-inflammatory effects in addition to lipid-lowering effects, which is especially good news for women, for whom the lipid-lowering effects may be less useful than for men), she is keen to emphasize that they should not be anyone’s first port-of-call unless “first” here means “didn’t see the risk until it was too late and now LDL levels are already ≥190 mg/dL”.

    Instead, she recommends taking seriously the guidelines on:

    • getting plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein
    • avoiding red meat, processed meats, refined carbohydrates, and sweetened beverages
    • getting your 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise
    • avoiding alcohol, and definitely abstaining from smoking

    See also: These Top Five Things Make The Biggest Difference To Health

    Next, get your house in order

    No, not your home gym—though sure, that too!

    But rather: after the “Top Five Things” we linked just above, the sixth on the list would be “reduce stress”. Indeed, as Dr. Albert says:

    ❝Heart health is not just about the physical heart but also about emotional well-being. Stress management is crucial for a healthy heart❞

    ~ Dr. Michelle Albert

    This is where a lot of people would advise mindfulness meditation, CBT, somatic therapies, and the like. And these things are useful! See for example:

    No-Frills, Evidence-Based Mindfulness

    …and:

    How To Manage Chronic Stress

    However, Dr. Albert also advocates for awareness of what some professionals have called “Shit Life Syndrome”.

    This is more about socioeconomic factors. There are many of those that can’t be controlled by the individual, for example:

    Adverse maternal experiences such as depression, economic issues and low social status can lead to poor cognitive outcomes as well as cardiovascular disease.

    Many jarring statistics illuminate a marked wealth gap by race and ethnicity… You might be thinking education could help bridge that gap. But it is not that simple.

    While education does increase wealth, the returns are not the same for everyone. Black persons need a post-graduate degree just to attain similar wealth as white individuals with a high school degree.

    ~ Dr. Michelle Albert

    Read in full: AHA president: The connection between economic adversity and cardiovascular health

    What this means in practical terms (besides advocating for structural change to tackle the things such as the racism that has been baked into a lot of systems for generations) is:

    Be aware not just of your obvious health risk factors, but also your socioeconomic risk factors, if you want to have good general health outcomes.

    So for example, let’s say that you, dear reader, are wealthy and white, in which case you have some very big things in your favor, but are you also a woman? Because if so…

    Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis

    See also, relevant for some: Obesity Discrimination In Healthcare Settings ← you’ll need to scroll to the penultimate section for this one.

    In other words… If you are one of the majority of people who is a woman and/or some kind of minority, things are already stacked against you, and not only will this have its own direct harmful effect, but also, it’s going to make your life harder and that stress increases CVD risk more than salt.

    In short…

    This means: tackle not just your stress, but also the things that cause that. Look after your finances, gather social support, know your rights and be prepared to self-advocate / have someone advocate for you, and go into medical appointments with calm well-prepared confidence.

    Take care!

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  • Why the WHO has recommended switching to a healthier salt alternative

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    This week the World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines recommending people switch the regular salt they use at home for substitutes containing less sodium.

    But what exactly are these salt alternatives? And why is the WHO recommending this? Let’s take a look.

    goodbishop/Shutterstock

    A new solution to an old problem

    Advice to eat less salt (sodium chloride) is not new. It has been part of international and Australian guidelines for decades. This is because evidence clearly shows the sodium in salt can harm our health when we eat too much of it.

    Excess sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, which affects millions of Australians (around one in three adults). High blood pressure (hypertension) in turn increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, among other conditions.

    The WHO estimates 1.9 million deaths globally each year can be attributed to eating too much salt.

    The WHO recommends consuming no more than 2g of sodium daily. However people eat on average more than double this, around 4.3g a day.

    In 2013, WHO member states committed to reducing population sodium intake by 30% by 2025. But cutting salt intake has proved very hard. Most countries, including Australia, will not meet the WHO’s goal for reducing sodium intake by 2025. The WHO has since set the same target for 2030.

    The difficulty is that eating less salt means accepting a less salty taste. It also requires changes to established ways of preparing food. This has proved too much to ask of people making food at home, and too much for the food industry.

    A salt shaker spilling onto a table.
    There’s been little progress on efforts to cut sodium intake. snezhana k/Shutterstock

    Enter potassium-enriched salt

    The main lower-sodium salt substitute is called potassium-enriched salt. This is salt where some of the sodium chloride has been replaced with potassium chloride.

    Potassium is an essential mineral, playing a key role in all the body’s functions. The high potassium content of fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the main reasons they’re so good for you. While people are eating more sodium than they should, many don’t get enough potassium.

    The WHO recommends a daily potassium intake of 3.5g, but on the whole, people in most countries consume significantly less than this.

    Potassium-enriched salt benefits our health by cutting the amount of sodium we consume, and increasing the amount of potassium in our diets. Both help to lower blood pressure.

    Switching regular salt for potassium-enriched salt has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death in large trials around the world.

    Modelling studies have projected that population-wide switches to potassium-enriched salt use would prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from cardiovascular disease (such as heart attack and stroke) each year in China and India alone.

    The key advantage of switching rather than cutting salt intake is that potassium-enriched salt can be used as a direct one-for-one swap for regular salt. It looks the same, works for seasoning and in recipes, and most people don’t notice any important difference in taste.

    In the largest trial of potassium-enriched salt to date, more than 90% of people were still using the product after five years.

    A female nurse taking a senior man's blood pressure.
    Excess sodium intake increases the risk of high blood pressure, which can cause a range of health problems. PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock

    Making the switch: some challenges

    If fully implemented, this could be one of the most consequential pieces of advice the WHO has ever provided.

    Millions of strokes and heart attacks could be prevented worldwide each year with a simple switch to the way we prepare foods. But there are some obstacles to overcome before we get to this point.

    First, it will be important to balance the benefits and the risks. For example, people with advanced kidney disease don’t handle potassium well and so these products are not suitable for them. This is only a small proportion of the population, but we need to ensure potassium-enriched salt products are labelled with appropriate warnings.

    A key challenge will be making potassium-enriched salt more affordable and accessible. Potassium chloride is more expensive to produce than sodium chloride, and at present, potassium-enriched salt is mostly sold as a niche health product at a premium price.

    If you’re looking for it, salt substitutes may also be called low-sodium salt, potassium salt, heart salt, mineral salt, or sodium-reduced salt.

    A review published in 2021 found low sodium salts were marketed in only 47 countries, mostly high-income ones. Prices ranged from the same as regular salt to almost 15 times higher.

    An expanded supply chain that produces much more food-grade potassium chloride will be needed to enable wider availability of the product. And we’ll need to see potassium-enriched salt on the shelves next to regular salt so it’s easy for people to find.

    In countries like Australia, about 80% of the salt we eat comes from processed foods. The WHO guideline falls short by not explicitly prioritising a switch for the salt used in food manufacturing.

    Stakeholders working with government to encourage food industry uptake will be essential for maximising the health benefits.

    Xiaoyue (Luna) Xu, Scientia Lecturer, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney and Bruce Neal, Executive Director, George Institute Australia, George Institute for Global Health

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

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