Trivia for Health

[Selerik]

A thread to collect tidbits that are not common knowledge, but extremely helpful to know, pertaining to health. I'll start this off.

Vitamins C and B compete with stimulants in the body, but your body can't distinguish between them very well. This is why most people who get juice energy drinks report them having no apparent effect, the caffeine in the juice is watered down by having ingredients that directly compete for absorption.

Coffee Jitters? Take some OJ, and it'll probably balance you out, but it will also make the caffeine start to leave your system more rapidly.

Corollary: This also means that supplementing with such while on a medication that is a stimulant, particularly ones typical of ADHD and similar treatment, can cause the drugs to lose effectiveness.

[Selerik]

Vitamin A is very common as a deficiency in third world countries, but in developed countries, the more common issue is having too much in your diet. Many of the foods we get are loaded with vitamin A, and if you take a supplement you're probably pounding that home.

This is called Hypervitaminosis A, and you can read more about it below.
https://www.healthline.com/health/hypervitaminosis-a

Going beyond that article, research dating back to the 1990s has been finding Hypervitiminosis A has a partial relationship with chronic fatigue conditions, including Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That means it is a documented cause of some sufferers, but the science isn't developed enough to determine how many or how often. The method for testing is part of the problem, since the only proven relationships were on those studies that caused Hypervitaminosis A while being performed.

If you do a yearly checkup, you might think this is covered in your regular bloodwork. It isn't. There is a test, but it is designed to detect deficiency, and has proven to be unreliable for testing toxicity.

This is one of those issues where awareness is key, since it is something you can only really detect and correct in your diet.

[Kanye Qwest]

you probably think you need WAY more protein than you do. Unless you are an Olympic level athlete, this is likely the case.

intermittent fasting is great for blood sugar/insulin resistance. It has halted and reversed pre-diabetes in people.

('murica disclaimer)
chances are your doctor's knowledge of nutrition comes from a short course they had to take in medical school and whatever the FDA is able to/being paid to say.

aluminum in antiperspirant has been linked to breast cancer. the research is not widely validated but a woman who worked on the study that found the link said "i know i am personally never using aluminum based ap again, take that as you will'

[Auspice]

Be mindful of medication/food/supplement interactions.

I'm on synthroid. It was years before a doctor explained to me that I needed to be taking it on an empty stomach and avoid dairy and anything high in iron for at least two hours after taking it.

If you have hypothyroidism, avoid raw vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kale) that are high in iron. Always cook them. Otherwise you can have a negative impact on your thyroid.

(Yes, this makes things hard on those who also have anemia -- like me! -- but an iron supplement with folic acid taken, say, in the evening can help a lot esp. since the folic acid helps with absorption.)

[Snackness]

The flu shot does not prevent the stomach flu, because the stomach flu isn't actually the flu or anything like it.

[Selerik]

@Kanye-Qwest said in Trivia for Health:

aluminum in antiperspirant has been linked to breast cancer. the research is not widely validated but a woman who worked on the study that found the link said "i know i am personally never using aluminum based ap again, take that as you will'

Antiperspirant is further linked to a range of minor health issues from over-use, and can cause health risks related to overheating. If you expect to be in the sun and active, that is the worst time to have an antiperspirant. Instead, consider a deodorant.

[TNP]

Grapefruit juice can react very badly if mixed with the wrong drugs, either negating them or increasing the toxicity. Google for more info.

[Darren]

@TNP said in Trivia for Health:

Grapefruit juice can react very badly if mixed with the wrong drugs, either negating them or increasing the toxicity. Google for more info.

I learned the hard way that my blood pressure meds and grapefruit juice do not mix

[Kestrel]

Chocolate and kale are period magic. Load up on iron-rich leafy vegetables and you won't get cramps.

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"Inflammation" has become a buzzword lately but very few people actually seem to understand what this means and why it's important. Inflammation is more than just a rash. Inflammation causes everything from headache to stomach ache to joint problems to cancer. Markers for inflammation are part of the normal process by which we age. Everyone has it, whether you can see/feel it or not.

It doesn't matter if you don't have a rash or a stomach-ache right this second. You want anti-inflammatory foods in your diet all the time. They will literally help you live longer.

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The health philosophy that 'watching your macros' is the most important thing is damaging, outdated science. Watch your micros. There are far more important intricacies to nutrition than just counting calories. Phytonutrients are a vital cornerstone of health that many people haven't even heard of. There's a reason you may've heard the advice to "eat the rainbow" — food is more than a breakdown of calories, carbs/fats/proteins; it's even more than just minerals and vitamins. The colours of certain fruits and vegetables correspond with antioxidant quotient and vital chemical compounds that the majority of the public is poorly educated on. Do you know that flax-seed contains a compound that prevents cognitive deterioration by protecting your grey matter? Lignan. Do you know that broccoli contains a compound that literally kills cancer cells in a petri dish? Sulforaphane. Learn more.

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Many vitamins (like A, for example) require fat to be absorbed. This doesn't mean you need to pour oil over your salad, but chop up a bit of avocado or sprinkle some nuts and seeds.

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Soy sauce is an excellent substitute for regular salt in your food. Why? It is rich in sodium, but also in peptides, an antihypertensive that counteracts the effect of regular salt on your blood pressure.

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Sugar doesn't cause diabetes. Salt doesn't cause high blood pressure. Saturated fat causes both of these things. It is build-up of fat around the cells that causes insulin resistance (preventing the homeostasis of blood sugar spikes) and constricts arteries. While those with high blood pressure need to avoid salt, and diabetics need to avoid refined sugar, this manages the symptoms; it doesn't treat the disease. A diet low in saturated fat will treat both of these long term.

[Kestrel]

I have more oh gosh.

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Season your food. Herbs and spices like oregano and cinnamon don't just make food taste better; they're incredibly rich in polyphenols, antioxidants, and all manner of nutrients that promote longevity. They cost you almost nothing in terms of calories and in dried form pack a punch, are easy to store and won't break your bank. If you have a little extra dosh, you can also freeze fresh herbs in an ice-cube tray with a bit of oil or water, then just pop it into recipes for quick prep.

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Frozen food gets a bad rap for no reason; it isn't worse than fresh food. Produce frozen in-season will not only taste better than fresh produce bought off-season, but may preserve nutritional value from when it's ripe better than fresh produce slowly losing its shine during transport, the time it's sat in the supermarket and the time it's sat in your fridge.

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In a similar vein, some nutrients become more bioavailable when cooked, so don't feel like vegetables don't count unless you're eating them fresh & raw in a salad. It's OK to chop, soupify, stew and season them. In some cases it's even better.

[Ganymede]

@Kestrel

I feel all of that.

Season your food. Dammit.

[Kanye Qwest]

@Kestrel said in Trivia for Health:

Sulforaphane

highest concentration of this in broccoli sprouts. I get them and blend them up in smoothies that are strongly flavored (like orange juice or pineapple) because the sprouty flavor is STRONK

[TNP]

@Kestrel said in Trivia for Health:

Season your food. Herbs and spices like oregano and cinnamon don't just make food taste better...

Speaking of... cinnamon lowers blood sugar. Capsules can also raise your liver functions to above normal on blood tests. Not necessarily high but noticeable.

Plants and herbs can have medicinal effects but keep in mind they're also medicine. Many/most medicines came from plants in the first place such as foxglove (digitalis) and willow bark (aspirin).

[Kestrel]

@TNP said in Trivia for Health:

Plants and herbs can have medicinal effects but keep in mind they're also medicine. Many/most medicines came from plants in the first place such as foxglove (digitalis) and willow bark (aspirin).

Oh for sure.

But medicine is something we take when we need it. Food is something we use to build and fuel healthy bodies on a daily basis and thus, hopefully, avoid needing medicine in the first place. Preventative care isn't as profitable for industry giants (at present), but it has far better outcomes for human health.

EDIT: I will focus on the example of lignan, as it's important to me. The maternal line in my family has a medical history of Alzheimer's. There is no cure for Alzheimer's, once diagnosed; it is a death sentence, and the question becomes not if, but when. Even carefully managed, just living with the disease is a horrible thing for anyone or their relatives to have to go through. But it can be prevented, like many chronic diseases, through diet and exercise; the early warning signs of Alzheimer's can be found in the brains of those suffering decades before they first show symptoms and is tied among other things to cardiovascular health.

So eat your fruits and veggies. You'll be grateful when years later you don't have to rely on a costly drug dependency to manage symptoms you would need a time machine to truly cure.

[surreality]

@Ganymede said in Trivia for Health:

@Kestrel

I feel all of that.

Season your food. Dammit.

^ This.

'Spicy' is not the only flavor out there. I am always delighted when I find things that are very seasoned but not spicy.