Healing Fingers, & Statin Side Effects By Sex

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:

• Cracked skin is a pain in the winter, but some oil-based treatments can help

  • In cases where the cracked skin is comorbid with peripheral neuropathy, lion’s mane mushroom can help repair the latter, which may have a knock-on beneficial effect for the former

• Statins can help lower LDL, but especially for women, that can come at the price of adverse side-effects

• Doesn’t it feel a bit brutal sometimes when the dentist is scraping off plaque?

  • Today’s sponsor, LIVFRESH, have developed a gel that safely dissolves plaque without harming the teeth or gums (this is such an impressive breakthrough that we included a link to the actual science in the sponsor section; check it out!)

Read on to learn about these things and more…

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Dr. André Fenton | Can you trust your memory? (6:10)

There are three kinds of memory that all work together to shape your reality. Neuroscientist Dr. André Fenton explains:

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

Prefer text? Click here to read the transcript 😎

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

❓ MAIN FEATURE

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? You can always hit “reply” to any of our emails, or use the feedback widget at the bottom!

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 😎

❝I enjoy all your information and I really wish that you could give out information about pre-work out supplements. I have a friend who is 62 that uses this pre-work supplements on a daily basis. Thank you.❞

That sounds like a topic for a main feature sometime (thank you; we love suggestions; suggestions make our work easier), but in the meantime, you might like this one we did specifically on creatine:

Creatine: Very Different For Young & Old People

❝Question. Suffer from cracked ( split) finger tips in the cold weather. Very painful, is there something I can take to ward off this off. Appreciate your daily email. ❞

Ouch, painful indeed! Aside from good hydration (which is something we easily forget in cold weather), there’s no known internal guard against this*, but from the outside, oil-based moisturizers are the way to go.

Olive oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter are all fine options.

If the skin is broken such that infection is possible, then starting with an antiseptic ointment/cream is sensible. A good example product is Savlon, unless you are allergic to its active ingredient chlorhexidine.

*However, if perchance you are also suffering from peripheral neuropathy (a common comorbidity of cracked skin in the extremities), then lion’s main mushroom can help with that.

Here’s an example product on Amazon, by the way 😎

❝I was wondering if you had done any info about statins. I’ve tried 3, and keep quitting them because they give me brain fog. Am I imagining this as the research suggests?❞

If you are female, the chances of adverse side-effects are a lot higher:

Statins: His & Hers?

As an extra kicker, not only are the adverse side-effects more likely for women, but also, the benefits are often less beneficial, too (see the above main feature for some details).

That’s not to say that statins can’t have their place for women; sometimes it will still be the right choice. Just, not as readily so as for men.

❝It’s hard to “behave” when it comes to holiday indulging…I’m on a low sodium, sugar restricted regimen from my doctor. Trying to get interested in bell peppers as a snack…wish me luck!❞

Good luck! Other low sodium, low sugar snacks include:

• Nuts! Unsalted, of course. We’re biased towards almonds ;)

  • Mixed nuts are an especially healthy way to snack, though (assuming you don’t have an allergy, obviously)

• Air-popped popcorn (you can season it, just not with salt/sugar!)

  • Cinnamon is a great sweet option with healthful properties too

• Fruit (but not fruit juice; it has to be in solid form)

  • Here’s why the sugar in fruit doesn’t hit as hard as other sources of sugar

• Peas (not a classic snack food, we know, but they can be enjoyed many ways)

  • Seriously, try them frozen or raw! Frozen/raw peas are a great sweet snack.

  • Chickpeas are great dried/roasted, by the way, and give much of the same pleasure as a salty snack without being salty! Obviously, this means cooking them without salt, but that’s fine, or if using tinned, choose “in water” rather than “in brine”

• Hummus is also a great healthy snack (check the ingredients for salt if not making it yourself, though) and can be enjoyed as a dip using raw vegetables (celery, carrot sticks, cruciferous vegetables, whatever you prefer)

Enjoy!

📊 POLL

We turn the tables and ask you a question…

We’ll then talk about this tomorrow:

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Dissolve plaque, without harming teeth/gums

LIVFRESH make some bold claims:

• ❝We have made the first breakthrough in the dental industry since 1914.❞

• ❝LIVFRESH performs 250% better at removing plaque than a market leader❞

The first claim is about using molecular nanotechnology instead of abrasion, to remove plaque. The claim is worded a little strongly, but it genuinely is a major breakthrough.

The second claim... We love randomized clinical trials! So we looked it up, and found it:

Effects of a Dental Gel Over 6 Months on Periodontal Health in Subjects with Stage II and III (Mild and Moderate) Periodontitis

Now, the sample size was small (33), but the results were overwhelmingly positive. And the test group had a worse gingival index than control, before starting—and much better afterwards:

In other words, the competition was stacked against the product, and it still won clear. With this in mind, we're very happy to recommend LIVFRESH's edathamil*-based dental gel!

*That's their patented formula that breaks down plaque on a molecular level, without damaging teeth.

It comes in multiple flavors, so you get two links today:

Peppermint Dental Gel | Wintergreen Dental Gel

If you're unsure which to go for, we recommend the peppermint, as it has fewer ingredients, and is a true gel rather than a foaming gel.

PS: 10almonds subscribers can use code DENTAL20 for 20% off at checkout 😎

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

🌍 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• Low levels of serotonin may play role in Alzheimer’s

• Study shows community-based mental health services reduce stigma and inequalities

• The association between meat and fish consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

• Machine learning reveals key markers for healthy aging, separate from chronic disease risks

• Comfort eating can impair body’s recovery from stress, study shows

• Global study reveals hypertension common among middle-aged couples

• I’m trying to lose weight and eat healthily. Why do I feel so hungry all the time? What can I do about it?

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Yoga For Stiff Birds – by Marion Deuchars

Quick show of hands, who here practices yoga in some fashion, but does not necessarily always look Instagrammable while doing it? Yep, same here.

This book is a surprisingly practical introduction to yoga for newcomers, and inspirational motivator for those of us who feel like we should do more.

Rather than studio photography of young models in skimpy attire, popular artist (and well-practised yogi) Marion Deuchars offers in a few brushstrokes what we need to know for each asana, and how to approach it if we’re not so supple yet as we’d like to be.

Bottom line: whether for yourself or as a gift for a loved one (or both!) this is a very charming introduction to (or refresher of) yoga.

Click here to check out Yoga For Stiff Birds, and get yours going!

May good health information be always at your fingertips,

The 10almonds Team