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Beyond Supplements: The Real Immune-Boosters!
Plus: the ultimate mobility routine
The 10almonds Team
July 22, 2023
Today’s almonds have been activated by:
Choose Your Own Adventure: will it be “one day”, or is it “day one”?
⏰ 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:
There are things a lot more important than supplements, for our immune health!
It’s just, these things are not talked about as much, because stores can’t sell them to you
They include:
Getting good sleep
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet
Looking after your gut microbiota
Getting moderate exercise
Managing stress (there is nuance here because some stress is good and some is bad! Check out today’s main feature for more on this)
Supplements do also help too, so we have included a little appendix section on those, but really the above things are much more important.
Physical and mental wellness are inextricably linked; it’s very difficult to have one without the other
Today’s sponsor Maude are offering 10almonds subscribers a discount on their product line to take care of both at once
Read on to learn about these things and more…
A quick apology: yesterday’s email went out with the unusual subject line “Friday” and a subtitle preview reading simply “Plus:”
What happened is that your writer here (it’s me, hi) wrote what those things should have been, and then forgot to check the box that adds them to the email, so the newsletter went out with my placeholder text instead.
So, please accept my apologies for that oddity yesterday, and I’ve carefully checked the box already today!
~ N.
👀 WATCH AND LEARN
The Ultimate Mobility Masterclass
We’ve featured Liv’s videos before, and they’re always great! Her clear explanation of factors that a lot of people leave unmentioned (perhaps because they don’t know?) makes her videos much more helpful.
This one’s longer than we usually feature, so you might want to bookmark it for when you have time, but it’s really worth it!
🦠 MAIN FEATURE
The Real Immune-Boosters
What comes to your mind when we say “immune support”? Vitamin C and maybe zinc? Those have their place, but there are things we can do that are a lot more important!
It’s just, these things are not talked about as much, because stores can’t sell them to you 😉
Sleep
One of the biggest difference-makers. Get good sleep! Getting at least 7 hours decent sleep (not lying in bed, not counting interruptions to sleep as part of the sleep duration) can improve your immune system by three or four times.
Put another way, people are 3–4 times more likely to get sick if they get less sleep than that on average.
Eat an anti-inflammatory diet
In short, for most of us this means lots of whole plant foods (lots of fiber), and limited sugar, flour, alcohol.
For more details, you can see our main feature on this: Keep Inflammation At Bay!
You may wonder why eating to reduce inflammation (inflammation is a form of immune response) will help improve immune response. Put it this way:
If your town’s fire service is called out eleventy-two times per day to deal with things that are not, in fact, fires, then when there is a fire, they will be already exhausted, and will not do their job so well.
Look after your gut microbiota
Additionally, healthy gut microbiota (fostered by the same diet we just described) help keep your body pathogen-free, by avoiding “leaky gut syndrome” that occurs when, for example, C. albicans (you do not want this in your gut, and it thrives on the things we just told you to avoid) puts its roots through your intestinal walls, making holes in them. And through those holes? You definitely do not want bacteria from your intestines going into the rest of your body.
See also: Gut Health 101
Actually get that moderate exercise
There’s definitely a sweet-spot here, because too much exercise will also exhaust you and deplete your body’s resources. However, the famous “150 minutes per week” (so, a little over 20 minutes per day, or 25 minutes per day with one day off) will make a big difference.
Manage your stress levels (good and bad!)
This one swings both ways:
Acute stress (like a cold shower) is good for immune response. Think of it like a fire drill for your body.
Chronic stress (“the general everything” persistently stressful in life) is bad for immune response. This is the fire drill that never ends. Your body’s going to know what to do really well, but it’s going to be exhausted already by the time an actual threat hits.
Supplement, yes.
These are far less critical than the above things, but are also helpful. Good things to take include:
Enjoy, and stay well!
❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE
Good health and self-care go hand-in-hand
At 10almonds, we believe that physical and mental wellness come together, so to speak. Maude believe that too!
Their collection includes ultra-hydrating lubricants, top-grade silicone devices, phthalate- and paraben-free bodycare products, and an intimate grooming line, all designed with a focus on quality, simplicity, and accessibility.
In short, it's the high quality that your body deserves.
PS: 10almonds subscribers can use code “almonds” for 12% off 💕
Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
🌎 AROUND THE WEB
What’s happening in the health world…
More to come tomorrow!
📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping - by Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky
The book does kick off with a section that didn't age well—he talks of the stress induced globally by the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and how that kind of thing just doesn't happen any more. Today, we have much less existentially dangerous stressors!
However, the fact we went and had another pandemic really only adds weight to the general arguments of the book, rather than detracting.
We are consistently beset by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" as Shakespeare would put it, and there's a reason (or twenty) why many people go grocery-shopping with the cortisol levels of someone being hunted for sport.
So, why don't zebras get ulcers, as they actually are hunted for food?
They don't have rent to pay or a mortgage, they don't have taxes, or traffic, or a broken washing machine, or a project due in the morning. Their problems come one at a time. They have a useful stress response to a stressful situation (say, being chased by lions), and when the danger is over, they go back to grazing. They have time to recover.
For us, we are (usually) not being chased by lions. But we have everything else, constantly, around the clock. So, how to fix that?
Dr. Sapolsky comprehensively describes our physiological responses to stress in quite different terms than many. By reframing stress responses as part of the homeostatic system—trying to get the body back into balance—we find a solution, or rather: ways to help our bodies recover.
The style is "pop-science" and is very accessible for the lay reader while still clearly coming from a top-level academic who is neck-deep in neuroendocrinological research. Best of both worlds!
Bottom line: if you try to take very day at a time, but sometimes several days gang up on you at once, and you'd like to learn more about what happens inside you as a result and how to fix that, this book is for you!
What did you think of today's newsletter?We always love to hear from you, whether you leave us a comment or even just a click in the poll if you're speeding by! |
Wishing you a wonderfully restorative weekend,
The 10almonds Team