Cold Medicines & Heart Health

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Phenylephrine, widely sold as a decongestant, has been declared useless

  • Pseudoephedrine, a competing drug, works—at a price. That price is elevated blood pressure, which could make it risky for some people.

    • Alternative heart-safer remedies for a stuffy nose include antihistamines, or non-drug options like neti pots, steam inhalation, and eucalyptus.

• Not everyone wants to quit alcohol. So, if you're going to drink, you might as well enjoy your drinks mindfully!

  • Today’s sponsor, Sunnyside, is an app that helps you change your relationship with alcohol, so that your choice is really your choice—not a mindless habit that you don’t even truly take joy in.

Read on to learn about these things and more…

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Can you pass the Apley Scratch Mobility Test? Here's what to do if you can't (5:45)

Can you touch your fingertips? Can you hold your other hand? Both sides?

If not, there are remedies:

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

Stretchy menu:

• 0:00 | Initial test

• 1:28 | Upper back

• 3:40 | Retest

• 4:13 | Extra stretch

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

👃 MAIN FEATURE

Cold Medicines & Heart Health

In the wake of many decongestants disappearing from a lot of shelves after a common active ingredient being declared useless*, you may find yourself considering alternative decongestants at this time of year.

*In case you missed it:

Why Is Oral Phenylephrine on the Market After Compelling Evidence of Its Ineffectiveness as a Decongestant?

It doesn’t seem to be dangerous, by the way, just also not effective:

FDA Panel Says Common OTC Decongestant, Phenylephrine, Is Useless

Good for your nose, bad for your heart?

With products based on phenylephrine out of the running, products based on pseudoephedrine, a competing drug, are enjoying a surge in popularity.

Good news: pseudoephedrine works!

Bad news: pseudoephedrine works because it is a vasoconstrictor, and that vasoconstriction reduces nasal swelling. That same vasoconstriction also raises overall blood pressure, potentially dangerously, depending on an assortment of other conditions you might have.

Further reading: Can decongestants spike your blood pressure? What to know about hypertension and cold medicine

Who’s at risk?

The warning label, unread by many, reads:

Source: Harvard Health | Don't let decongestants squeeze your heart 

What are the other options?

The same source as above recommends antihistamines as an option to be considered, citing:

But we’d be remiss not to mention drug-free options too, for example:

• Saline rinse with a neti pot or similar

• Use of a humidifier in your house/room

• Steam inhalation, with or without eucalyptus etc

See also: Inhaled Eucalyptus's Immunomodulatory and Antimicrobial Effects

Take care!

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Drink a bit less and still enjoy drinking

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So, as well as being good for your health, this app might even pay for itself!

PS: there's a free 15-day trial, so you can get to know how it works before committing 😎

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

🌍 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• Fine aroma, full body… no units: has alcohol-free wine’s moment arrived?

• Researchers identify crucial risk factors for cognitive decline after stroke

• Millions of women are suffering who don’t have to: why it’s time to end the misery of UTIs

• New Alzheimer’s drugs bring hope of slowing disease

• Air pollution linked to increased risk of stroke and dementia transition, study reveals

• Study finds clinicians rank patient views as least important in diagnosis

• Late-night eating linked to higher cardiovascular disease risk, study suggests

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Widen the Window: Training your brain and body to thrive during stress and recover from trauma – by Dr. Elizabeth Stanley

Firstly, about the title... That "window" that the author bids us "widen" is not a flowery metaphor, but rather, is referring to the window of exhibited resilience to stress/trauma; the “window” in question looks like an "inverted U" bell-curve on the graph.

In other words: Dr. Stanley's main premise here is that we respond best to moderate stress (i.e: in that window, the area under the curve!), but if there is too little or too much, we don't do so well. The key, she argues, is widening that middle part (expanding the area under the curve) in which we perform optimally. That way, we can still function in a motivated fashion without extrinsic threats, and we also don't collapse under the weight of overwhelm, either.

The main strength of this book, however, lies in its practical exercises to accomplish that—and more.

"And more", because the subtitle also promised recovery from trauma, and the author delivers in that regard too. In this case, it's about widening that same window, but this time to allow one's parasympathetic nervous system to recognize that the traumatic event is behind us, and no longer a threat; we are safe now.

Bottom line: if you would like to respond better to stress, and/or recover from trauma, this book is a very good tool.

Click here to check out Widen the Window, and widen yours!

May all be well with your heart (and indeed the rest of you),

The 10almonds Team