What To Leave Off Your Table (To Stay Off This Surgeon's)

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:

• We can make small changes to how we eat, that make a big difference to the nutrition we get! These include:

  • Use vegetables as a base

  • Grind flax as needed

  • Soak or sprout beans and legumes

  • Combine fat, fibre, and protein

  • Chew your food thoroughly

• Also, our metabolism is a wonderful thing, but it can be easily tricked by modern ultraprocessed foods.

  • See today’s main feature for more about that!

• Electric bikes are cheaper, cleaner, and less stressful than cars or public transportation.

  • Today’s sponsor, Upway, is offering substantial discounts on a wide range of highest quality e-bike brands; you should definitely check them out!

Read on to learn about these things and more…

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

12 easy ways to eat more healthily

Sometimes, small adjustments in how we do things can make a big difference to the nutritional value that we get:

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

Menu

• 1:08 Use vegetables as a base

• 1:53 Put a lid on it

• 2:30 Grind flax as needed

• 3:36 Soak or sprout beans and legumes

• 4:47 Let some vegetables rest after chopping

• 5:40 Pair vitamin C with iron

• 6:35 Eat nut fats

• 7:12 Combine fat, fiber, and protein

• 7:57 Make smoothies

• 9:27 Swap your oils

• 10:29 Steam more often

• 11:00 Mindful eating

🩺 MAIN FEATURE

Why we eat too much (and how we can fix that)

This is Dr. Andrew Jenkinson. He’s a Consultant Surgeon specializing in the treatment of obesity, gallstones, hernias, heartburn and abdominal pain. He runs regular clinics in both London and Dubai. What he has to offer us today, though, is insight as to what’s on our table that puts us on his table, and how we can quite easily change that up.

So, why do we eat too much?

First things first: some metabolic calculations. No, we’re not going to require you to grab a calculator here… Your body does it for you!

Our body’s amazing homeostatic system (the system that does its best to keep us in the “Goldilocks Zone” of all our bodily systems; not too hot or too cold, not dehydrated or overhydrated, not hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic, blood pressure not too high or too low, etc, etc) keeps track of our metabolic input and output.

What this means: if we increase or decrease our caloric consumption, our body will do its best to increase or decrease our metabolism accordingly:

• If we don’t give it enough energy, it will try to conserve energy (first by slowing our activities; eventually by shutting down organs in a last-ditch attempt to save the rest of us)

• If we give it too much energy, it will try to burn it off, and what it can’t burn, it will store

In short: if we eat 10% or 20% more or less than usual, our body will try to use 10% to 20% more or less than usual, accordingly.

So… How does this get out of balance?

The problem is in how our system does that, and how we inadvertently trick it, to our detriment.

For a system to function, it needs at its most base level two things—a sensor and a switch:

• A sensor: to know what’s going on

• A switch: to change what it’s doing accordingly

Now, if we eat the way we’re evolved to—as hunter-gatherers, eating mostly fruit and vegetables, supplemented by animal products when we can get them—then our body knows exactly what it’s eating, and how to respond accordingly.

Furthermore, that kind of food takes some eating! Most fruit these days is mostly water and fiber; in those days it often had denser fiber (before agricultural science made things easier to eat), but either way, our body knows when we are eating fruit and how to handle that. Vegetables, similarly. Unprocessed animal products, again, the gut goes “we know what this is” and responds accordingly.

But modern ultra-processed foods with trans-fatty acids, processed sugar and flour?

These foods zip calories straight into our bloodstream like greased lightning. We get them so quickly so easily and in such great caloric density, that our body doesn’t have the chance to count them on the way in!

What this means is: the body has no idea what it’s just consumed or how much or what to do with it, and doesn’t adjust our metabolism accordingly.

Bottom line:

Evolutionarily speaking, your body has no idea what ultra-processed food is. If you skip it and go for whole foods, you can, within the bounds of reason, eat what you like and your body will handle it by adjusting your metabolism accordingly.

Now, advising you “avoid ultra-processed foods and eat whole foods” was probably not a revelation in and of itself.

But: sometimes knowing a little more about the “why” makes the difference when it comes to motivation.

Want to know more about Dr. Jenkinson’s expert insights on this topic?

If you like, you can check out his website here—he has a book too 🙂

Why We Eat (Too Much) - Dr. Andrew Jenkinson on the Science of Appetite

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Upway: Where Electric Mobility Meets Innovation

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Their goal is to make e-bikes affordable for everyone, which is why they offer:

• competitive pricing as standard

• discounts of up to 60% off retail

• a one-year warranty

• a 14-day return period

In short, it's cheaper, easier, and better. There's never been a better time to join the electric revolution!

Click here to check out Upway's range and take advantage of their deals!

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

🌍 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• Bamboo's hidden treasures: unveiling the possible health-boosting powers of leaf and sheath extracts

• Empowering aging adults: waist-worn sensors may revolutionize independent activity monitoring and promote healthy aging

• Bioprinting personalized tissues and organs within the body: A breakthrough in regenerative medicine

• Study reveals new insights into human gut-brain connection

• Antiphospholipid antibodies indicate higher risk for future cardiovascular events

• Why some women should receive more than mammograms to screen for breast cancer

• Diets rich in fiber, plant protein, and unsaturated fat may beneficially modulate the gut microbiota involved in weight loss

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

In Praise Of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration - by Dr. Shane O'Mara

At 10almonds we talk often of the health benefits of walking, so what's new here?

As the subtitle suggests: a new scientific exploration!

Dr. Shane O'Mara is a professor of experimental brain research—and a keen walker. Combining his profession and his passion, he offers us a uniquely well-grounded perspective.

While the writing style is very readable, there's a lot of science referenced here, with many studies cited. We love that!

We begin our journey by learning what we have in common with sea squirts, and what we have different from all other apes. What we can learn from other humans, from toddlers to supercentenarians.

As one might expect from a professor of experimental brain research, we learn a lot more about what walking does for our brain, than for the rest of our body. We've previously talked about walking and cardiovascular health, and brown adipose tissue, and benefits to the immune system, but this book remains steadfastly focused on the brain.

Which just goes to show, what a lot there is to say for the science-based benefits to our brain health, both neurologically and psychologically!

One of the things at which Dr. O'Mara excels that this reviewer hasn't seen someone do so well before, is neatly tie together the appropriate "why" and "how" to each "what" of the brain-benefits of walking. Not just that walking boosts mood or creativity or problem-solving, say, but why and how it does so.

Often, understanding that can be the difference between being motivated to actually do it or not!

Bottom line: if there's a book that'll get you lacing up your walking shoes, this'll be the one.

Click here to check out "In Praise of Walking" on Amazon, and start reaping the benefits!

Wishing you healthiest and happiest days ahead,

The 10almonds Team