Welcome to the positive corner of wellness. Here’s a daily digest designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
The canola controversy
Superaging
This weekend’s challenge
Villain or Scapegoat: Canola Oil
Many fear canola oil because of concerns about omega-6 fatty acids causing health issues. Turns out omega-6 fatty acids can be good for you. A review of 42 studies found that canola oil significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, TC/HDL ratio, apolipoprotein B (Apo-B), and the Apo-B:Apo-A1 ratio compared to other oils. If you're not familiar with those terms, they are different measures that influence your cardiovascular health and they're all positive.
You might wonder what’s going on since seed oils are about as popular as the flu. For starters, the type of seed oil matters, and a lot of fear is based on animal research. Human trials suggest omega 6’s don’t increase inflammation in people as they do in animals.
More importantly, oils are easy to overeat, energy-dense (loaded with many calories), and tend to be found in many ultra-processed foods that lack nutritional benefits. So if you eat a lot of oils, you can expect worse health outcomes because you’re eating many foods that aren’t great for your health. But, that doesn’t mean any amount of canola is bad for you.
If you choose to cook some with canola oil, just know that it’s low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat (which has health benefits), and contains phytosterols, which help limit the absorption of cholesterol in your body. If you prefer cooking with other oils — such as olive or avocado— that’s still a great decision. Either way, our job is to help reduce fear and make it easier for you to be healthy without stressing about every decision.
Weekend Read: The Superagers
We all age, but we don’t all age the same. “Superagers” is a term that has been used to describe people in their 70s and 80s of average IQ, but their brains have the health of someone decades younger. This article digs into some of the things you might be able to do to become a super-age. We found this one section particularly interesting:
Siegler's lack of a strict exercise routine or dietary plan might appear counterintuitive, but Rogalski said the constant change might be why she's stayed so sharp.
"Our brains actually like change," Rogalski said. "Changing things up and having some variation helps to keep us on our toes."
You can read the entire article here.
Weekend Challenge
We have a lot of respect for Dr. Kelly Starrett. You might know him from his bestselling book (Becoming a Supple Leopard) or his brand The Ready State. Kelly is an expert at helping people move better and with less pain.
That’s why we love this challenge. It’s a squat test. But it’s not what you might think. This is about re-teaching your body to squat without difficulty and be comfortable in the bottom sitting position.
The whole video is worth a listen, but if you want to jump in where he describes the test, start at this point in the video. We love hearing from you (especially Arnold), so let us know how it goes.
Here’s wishing you all a wonderful, uplifting, and healthy weekend.
-Arnold, Adam, and DanielWelcome to the positive corner of wellness. Here’s a daily digest designed to make you healthier in less than 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
The canola controversy
Superaging
This weekend’s challenge
Villain or Scapegoat: Canola Oil
Many fear canola oil because of concerns about omega-6 fatty acids causing health issues. Turns out omega-6 fatty acids can be good for you. A review of 42 studies found that canola oil significantly reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, LDL/HDL ratio, TC/HDL ratio, apolipoprotein B (Apo-B), and the Apo-B:Apo-A1 ratio compared to other oils. If you're not familiar with those terms, they are different measures that influence your cardiovascular health and they're all positive.
You might wonder what’s going on since seed oils are about as popular as the flu. For starters, the type of seed oil matters, and a lot of fear is based on animal research. Human trials suggest omega 6’s don’t increase inflammation in people as they do in animals.
More importantly, oils are easy to overeat, energy-dense (loaded with many calories), and tend to be found in many ultra-processed foods that lack nutritional benefits. So if you eat a lot of oils, you can expect worse health outcomes because you’re eating many foods that aren’t great for your health. But, that doesn’t mean any amount of canola is bad for you.
If you choose to cook some with canola oil, just know that it’s low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat (which has health benefits), and contains phytosterols, which help limit the absorption of cholesterol in your body. If you prefer cooking with other oils — such as olive or avocado— that’s still a great decision. Either way, our job is to help reduce fear and make it easier for you to be healthy without stressing about every decision.
Weekend Read: The Superagers
We all age, but we don’t all age the same. “Superagers” is a term that has been used to describe people in their 70s and 80s of average IQ, but their brains have the health of someone decades younger. This article digs into some of the things you might be able to do to become a super-age. We found this one section particularly interesting:
Siegler's lack of a strict exercise routine or dietary plan might appear counterintuitive, but Rogalski said the constant change might be why she's stayed so sharp.
"Our brains actually like change," Rogalski said. "Changing things up and having some variation helps to keep us on our toes."
You can read the entire article here.
Weekend Challenge
We have a lot of respect for Dr. Kelly Starrett. You might know him from his bestselling book (Becoming a Supple Leopard) or his brand The Ready State. Kelly is an expert at helping people move better and with less pain.
That’s why we love this challenge. It’s a squat test. But it’s not what you might think. This is about re-teaching your body to squat without difficulty and be comfortable in the bottom sitting position.
The whole video is worth a listen, but if you want to jump in where he describes the test, start at this point in the video. We love hearing from you (especially Arnold), so let us know how it goes.
Here’s wishing you all a wonderful, uplifting, and healthy weekend.
-Arnold, Adam, and Daniel
