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- Why We're Called "10almonds", And Other Questions
Why We're Called "10almonds", And Other Questions
Plus: what *not* to do in the morning
The 10almonds Team
July 13, 2023
Today’s almonds have been activated by:
Loading Screen Tip: the steps you take don’t have to be big—they just have to be in the right direction!
⏰ 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:
Fun fact: your brain has a “tilt switch” that you can use (or abuse) in the mornings
See today’s featured video to learn about that and more!
Metabolisms can speed up or slow down, in the moment and in life in general.
There are aspects of this that are out of our control, but there are some things we can do to influence it
10 almonds (the quantity of nuts, not the company) will not do the job of two aspirins
(The company will not do the job of two aspirins either, but we like to think that, much like the nuts with their very digestible dense nutritional content, we’re beneficial to our readers!)
It’s vitally important to keep our brains sharp as we age
Today’s sponsor, Brilliant, are offering 10almonds subscribers 30 days free use of their habit-building daily learning app
Green tea compound may be used to treat uterine fibroids (which is a big deal, as they are otherwise dealt with surgically)
Read on to learn about these things and more…
👀 WATCH AND LEARN
What Not To Do In The Morning | Dr. Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist
We hear about what things are best to do first thing in the morning, but what about what not to do? Dr. Huberman gives insights:
❓ 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 😎
❝Avid coffee drinker so very interested in the results Also question Is there something that you could take or eat that would prevent the caffeine from stimulating the kidneys? I tried to drink decaf from morning to night not a good result! Thanks❞
That is a good question! The simple answer is “no” (but keep reading, because all is not lost)
There’s no way (that we yet know of) to proof the kidneys against the stimulating effect of caffeine. This is especially relevant because part of caffeine’s stimulating effect is noradrenergic, and that “ren” in the middle there? It’s about the kidneys. This is just because the adrenal gland is situated next to them (actually, it’s pretty much sitting on top of them), hence the name, but it does mean that the kidneys are about the hardest thing in the body to have not effected by caffeine.
However! The effects of caffeine in general can be softened a little with l-theanine (found in tea, or it can be taken as a supplement). It doesn’t stop it from working, but it makes the curve of the effect a little gentler, and so it can reduce some unwanted side effects.
You can read more about l-theanine here:
❝How to jump start a inactive metabolism and keep it going? THANKYOU❞
The good news is, if you’re alive, your metabolism is active (it never stops!). So, it may just need perking up a little.
As for keeping it going, well, that’s what we’re here for! We’re all in favor of healthy longevity.
We’ll do a main feature soon on what we can do to influence our metabolism in either direction, but to give some quick notes here:
A lot of our metabolism is influenced by genes and is unalterable (without modifying our genes, anyway)
Metabolism isn’t just one thing—it’s many. And sometimes, parts of our metabolism can be much quicker or slower than others.
When people talk about wanting a “faster metabolism”, they’re usually referring to fat-burning, and that’s just a small part of the picture, but we understand that it’s a focal point for many.
There really is enough material for a whole main feature on metabolic tweaks, though, so watch this space!
❝Why the name "10 Almonds?" Is this recommended by the Doctor? A daily dosage? And, if so, why? Thanks! Please answer me...I truly want to know!❞
Almonds are very nutritionally dense, and for example 20g of almonds (so, about 20 almonds) would give a 100% daily dose of zinc, amongst other nutrients.
We also do like to think that we give our readers an easily digestible dose of condensed “nutrition” in the form of health information.
However! That’s not actually the reason at all. It's a reference to a viral Facebook hoax! There was a post going around that claimed:
❝HEADACHE REMEDY. Eat 10–12 almonds, the equivalent of two aspirins, next time you have a headache❞ ← not true!
It made us think about how much health-related disinformation there was circulating online! So, calling ourselves 10almonds was a bit of a nod to that story, but also a reminder to ourselves:
We must always publish information with good scientific evidence behind it!
📊 POLL
We turn the tables and ask you a question…
We’ll then talk about this tomorrow:
What's your (health-related) perspective on plant-based vs animal-based foods? |
❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE
Keep Yourself Sharp (and Ever-Improving!) with Brilliant's Bite-Sized Learning
We all know the benefits to keeping our brains sharp, especially as we age. And yet it's very easy (and tempting!) to throw our hands in the air and leave math, computer science, and coding to "kids nowadays". But it doesn't have to be that way!
If you'd like to learn some very cool skills, Brilliant is... Well... Brilliant at teaching it.
The premise of Brilliant is: interactive learning in a way that feels almost like playing a game, but the level-ups are levelling up your actual real-life skills (including the aforementioned math, computer science, and coding—you get to choose what you learn).
Best yet, it's also designed to make it as easy as possible to make learning a bite-size daily habit. In other words, instead of a scheduling commitment for classes, it's something you can do while you drink your morning coffee.
In short, we very highly recommend it!
You don't have to just trust us though, because they offer a 30-day free trial 😎
Please do check out 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
Your Brain Is Always Listening: Tame the Hidden Dragons That Control Your Happiness, Habits, and Hang-Ups - by Dr. Daniel Amen
There are a lot of books on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), so what makes this one different?
While many CBT books have a focus (as this one also does) on controlling Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs), this one stands out in two ways:
Firstly: Dr. Amen, a medical doctor and psychiatrist, looks not just as the thoughts and feelings side of things... but also the neurological underpinnings. This makes a difference because it gives a much more tangible handle on some of the problems that we might face.
We wouldn't tell someone with Type 1 Diabetes that they are "just blaming their pancreas" for blood sugar woes. So what's with the notion of "this person is just blaming their brain"? Why would be harder on ourselves (or others) for having amygdalae that are a little out of whack, or a sluggish prefrontal cortex, or an overactive anterior cingulate gyrus?
So, Dr. Amen's understanding and insights help us look at how we can give those bits of brain what they need to perk them up or calm them down.
Secondly, rather than picture-perfect easily-solved neat-and-tidy made-up scenarios as illustrations, he uses real (messy, human) case studies.
This means that we get to see how the methods advised work in the case of, for example, a business executive who has a trauma response to public speaking, because at the age of 12 he had to stand in court and argue for why his father should not receive the death penalty.
Bottom line: if these methods can ease situations like that, maybe we can apply them usefully in our own lives, too.
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 healthy and happy day,
The 10almonds Team