⭑ Just walnuts and flaxseed oil daily ✔ here's why it helps All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, Clicking knees. My knees have been clicking lately when I squat. I think it is tendons running over some rough bone - or something. It doesn't hurt but I did a little research on it anyway - see item #4 the exercise of the week. The most surprising news this week, aside from a landmark paper on Alzheimer's being retracted after the lead researcher admitted their data was fraudulent, was that screens in bed at night don’t wreck our sleep - see item #3. You might think of our arteries getting stiffer as we age as just "another cardiovascular" problem. But it is more than that, it can also ruin our brain —see item #2. Small things daily make a difference, whether exercise, study or diet. I found out kind of by chance that walnuts and flaxseed oil daily have significant metabolic benefits - see item #1 below, and be sure to check the note about getting the right type of flaxseed oil. // 01 The Surprising Benefits of Just Walnuts and Quality Flaxseed Oil You might be as surprised as I was when I discovered that just adding walnuts and flaxseed oil to your daily diet comes with significant metabolic benefits, e.g. better brain health, lower cholesterol and lower risk factors associated with metabolic fat. Three key benefits are linked to improved longevity and healthspan:
Furthermore, our typical Western diet tends to be high in omega-6 and low in omega-3, with a ratio of as high as 20:1. This imbalance has been found to contribute to metabolic inflammation if not balanced with omega-3 fatty acids. ⇒ Flaxseed oil is rich in ALA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid. Increasing omega-3 intake through flaxseed oil helps counteract the pro-inflammatory effects of high omega-6 intake. This balance is essential for reducing inflammation and supporting overall health. What this means for you: Adding walnuts and flaxseed oil to your diet is a simple way to improve it:
Note: Industrial processing of seed oils can introduce harmful substances, and high temperatures during extraction can degrade beneficial compounds and produce trans fats:
I use cold-pressed flaxseed oil and add it to daily shakes. Related: Too Much Omega-6 Can Harm Us, Unless We Eat More Omega-3 // 02 Why Arterial Stiffness Matters More Than You Think Important new research has clarified the link between arterial stiffness and cognitive decline. This is important to know, especially since you can take practical steps to mitigate the risk of cognitive decline caused by this stiffness. What's the connection? When arteries become stiff, they lose their ability to expand and contract effortlessly with each heartbeat. This reduced elasticity leads to increased blood pressure, particularly as each pulse of blood travels through an artery. High blood pressure damages the small, delicate blood vessels in the brain, which results in reduced blood flow, depriving your brain of the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function optimally. Over time, this damage accumulates, contributing to cognitive impairment. High blood pressure can also weaken the blood-brain barrier, a crucial protective layer that prevents harmful substances from entering our brains. Increased pressure from stiff arteries can also cause tiny tears in the brain’s blood vessels, leading to small, often unnoticed strokes or microbleeds. ⇒ These small injuries add up, leading to significant cognitive challenges such as memory loss and difficulty in thinking and reasoning. What does this mean for you? The good news is that there are relatively easy, actionable steps you can take to mitigate these risks. Regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and managing stress are key strategies to keep your arteries flexible. Additionally, monitoring and managing blood pressure through regular check-ups and medication, if necessary, can significantly reduce the risks associated with arterial stiffness. ⇒ Activities such as brisk walking, running, cycling, swimming, and aerobic classes combined with strength training are optimal for maintaining your arterial flexibility. And, of course, it's best to quit smoking and drink alcohol in moderation. Related: The Surprising Benefits of Black Tea Daily @Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life // 03 Phones in Bed Don't Harm Sleep Quality After All We've all adopted the idea that using our phones directly before going to sleep adversely affects the quality of our sleep. That may be just be an urban myth! ⇒ Gazing at a screen emitting "blue light" before bed does not appear to significantly affect sleep, according to scientists who recently reviewed the evidence. We've been told that the bright blue light from TV, phone, and tablet displays can suppress melatonin, a hormone that signals our body that it's time to rest. However, the authors of a new review stated that experiments had not found evidence of a meaningful sleep-delaying effect. "If we consider all the factors that can be detrimental to our sleep, screens are overrated," said Michael Gradisar, a clinical psychologist who co-authored the paper published in the journal Sleep. ⇒ There is no concrete evidence that screen light in the hour before bed makes it harder to fall asleep. What this means for you: The takeaways from this study suggest:
So we may be back to square one: don't eat or drink too close to bedtime, add some aerobic exercise into your evening routine, using a breathing or meditation app, and listen to some favourite music for 20 minutes or so before you drop off. Related: How Many Pistachios Should I Eat For Sleep and When? // 04 Is Knee-clicking bad? Our exercise of the week is... two for knee tendon health. Knee clicking, or crepitus, occurs for various reasons, including the movement of ligaments and tendons or the release of gas bubbles in the joint:
⇒ Generally, if knee clicking is not accompanied by pain, swelling, or other symptoms, it is usually harmless. However, if there are additional symptoms, it might indicate an underlying condition that requires medical attention. What this means for you: Improving your knee mobility not only might prevent clicks, but also reduce the risk of injuries and key pain, and ensure you can easily perform your daily activities. In general, you need to do stretching, strength exercises, balance exercises and release procedures, such as using foam rollers to improve your knee health. Glute bridges are a classic exercise for improving knee health. But since it is so well known, I am suggesting a far less well-known type of exercise called "gapping", which more directly targets clicking knees. Gapping helps open up space in the knee joint, promote forward motion of your shin, and enhance your overall knee flexion mobility (improving your ability to bend your knee fully. When your knee can bend smoothly and completely, it helps with various daily activities like walking, climbing stairs, and sitting down). Go straight to this video for a perfect demonstration. Related: Avoid Ankle Injuries And Gain Balance Better With These Four Everyday Simple Exercises Thanks for reading! P.S. If you are not yet subscribed to my free exercise app, try now ↓↓↓ Free forever. Opt-out any time. Opt-in by CLICKING HERE PLEASE SEND ME THE EXERCISES. NOTE: YOU ONLY NEED TO SUBSCRIBE ONE TIME. >> My Latest Blog Post: Energise Your Golden Years: Boosting Your Desire to Exercise with Gut-Healthy Foods About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@bodyagebuster.com '4 Most Valuable' is a weekly newsletter from Walter Adamson. If you like it, please forward to a like-minded soul. Someone forward this to you? You can subscribe from this page. Each of these weekly emails has 4MV in the subject line to help you filter them and search for previous ones. |
"I empower mid-life men and women to make the choice to live as actively and as independently as they can, for as long as they can", Walter Adamson Get access to my weekly research that I don’t share elsewhere. “My wife and I both read your articles each week, and I have to say there is so much confusing data out there, but yours is a great source, well researched, scientific and always relevant.” — Steve Ridgway, subscriber.
⭑ Doing to much too soon will derail your exercise program ✔ Take a step back⭑ Skipping warm-up and cool-down stresses your joints ✔ Allow time⭑ Plateaus are natural, longer when you're older ✔ Learn to love them⭑ Good posture and controlled movements get you the best return on exercise ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and staying active. The newsletter is a different format today, just one item, with 10 hints to avoid mistakes that can reduce your gains...
⭑ Maintaining muscle health is one key to healthspan ✔ Three tips⭑ Inflammaging - what is it and how to tame it ✔ Gets worse as we age⭑ You can track your body's capacity to resolve stress ✔ I find it interesting⭑ Healthier back shoulders and biceps with the dumbbell row ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and keeping active. Summer's here down under. We’ve had some weird nights with the highest temperature for the day at 5 am! Perhaps that's why my...
⭑ These doctors will fact-check your medical queries ✔ For free⭑ How walnuts improve your brain health and your blood pressure ✔ Research⭑ Regular bad dreams? Talk to your doctor about it, here's why ✔⭑ The squat-calf raise combo is a fabulous muscle builder - not difficult ✔ All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Hello, I trust you're well and keeping active. Ouch! Running for the train last Wednesday I tore my nearly repaired hamstring again - set me back a few months. The irony was that...