Health & Wellness News with Byron Richards
Vitamin D Boosts Your Brain Function
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Byron Richards, CCN
Is there anything vitamin D doesn’t do? All those vitamin D receptors in your brain apparently want vitamin D so that your mind functions normally! And taking supplements for those in need (especially during winter months) is an inexpensive solution for an otherwise significant health problem. That is the conclusion of extensive new research done at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute.
By now most people have heard that vitamin D is good for their bones, boosts their immunity, and reduces colon cancer risk. Getting vitamin D from sun exposure is virtually impossible in the winter months in most U.S. states. Supplementation is the only common sense option. This new research helps to point out that a poor mood as the winter drags on is now linked to a lack of vitamin D.
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Supplements that contain vitamin D
Supplements that support bone health
Other Health News:
A study of 1373 men over a 40 year period has found that for each additional 10 grams of dietary fiber intake per day reduced coronary heart disease mortality by 17% and death from any cause by 9%.
A study looking into the effect of various flavonoids on circulatory health found that quercetin could reduce levels of endothelin-1. Endothelin-1 is a protein that constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure, compared to nitric oxide that helps relax blood vessels and lower pressure.
A significant new discovery about the importance of cholesterol to nerve and muscle health has just been made. The researchers discovered that cholesterol is vital to the structure of key proteins involved with nerve transmission. The finding is groundbreaking, its implications in the context of widespread high doses of statin drugs in the general population is alarming.
Americans once again get to watch, as industry-friendly managers at the FDA drag their feet while the health of tens of millions of American infants and children is in high danger.
A variety of new studies show beyond the shadow of a doubt that cell phone exposure alters nerve function in an adverse way, a problem that certainly increases based on exposure time and frequency of use. Data indicates that this problem will be worse in the presence of other nerve related stress, and risks can be reduced by having adequate antioxidants (like vitamin E and C). The data paints an alarming picture of risk for a young generation that has grown up attached to cell phones.
New research indicates that during intense exercise the lactic acid produced by your muscles can be used by your brain for energy production. This discovery may be of extreme significance for individuals suffering from fibromyalgia.
Smoking pot may feel good for a while, but new science shows that it lays waste to your nervous system. Researchers found that pot smokers are depleting their levels of BDNF, one of the single most important substances for brain health.
How many of us struggle with bad experiences or memories, the “old tapes” that come back to haunt us at the most inopportune times? A new study has unlocked the key to this mechanism, offering hope for improvement to everyone.
There is an epidemic of early onset cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in the American public, a public health catastrophe that will only be getting worse as the wave of baby boomers enters their 60s. A new study indicates there is a simple way for you to prevent this problem – exercise.
Click this link to view article Lack of Sleep, Stress, Adrenals, and Obesity.
- Statins Drastically Impair Healthy Muscle,
Science about the extreme adverse side effects of the widely used statin drugs for lowering cholesterol continues to leak out. The latest findings show that statins, at commonly prescribed doses, significantly interfere with the healthy rejuvenation of muscles.
- Bone Drugs and Jaw Decay – A New Warning,
Those conned into taking bone-damaging bone drugs face the reality that their jaw bone may rot, teeth will loosen, gums will stay inflamed, pain will not go away, and their will be ongoing drainage from the deteriorated jaw bone. This is the new warning issued to 50 million elderly ...
The balance of friendly flora (acidophilus) residing in your digestive tract has a profound effect on your health. A new study points out that one of the key roles of these friendly flora is to train your immune system to be competent, and not hyper-react.
Curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory nutrient with many health benefits. New research indicates that curcumin can reduce the size of blood clots.
A new study shows that a lack of friendly flora in the digestive tract can set the stage for developing incorrect immune system training that in turn causes the immune system to attack the pancreas, leading to Type I Diabetes. This problem can be prevented by having adequate friendly flora in your digestive tract.
- Statins Increase Delirium Rate After Surgery,
If you are 65 or older, taking a statin, and go in for an elective surgery of any type, you are 28% more likely to have delirium following the surgery.
Combining the nutrient carnosine with traditional Parkinson’s treatment resulted in significant improvement in neurologic symptoms and antioxidant function, with no side effects.
A new study with the nutrient acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) shows that it has a protective affect on nerves, helping to reduce significant pain while keeping nerves cells alive.
A new human study shows that zinc can activate the production of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor), a key substance needed to ward off depression and keep nerve cells alive.
Following a heart attack or a stroke, a low oxygen situation follows (tissue hypoxia) wherein massive free radical damage ensues, driving the severity of the problem. If free radicals could be stopped then damage would be reduced. Researchers looking into this issue came upon a new finding. Activation of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase reduced heart attack damage in an experimental model by 60%.
Phosphatidylserine has been shown to offset the stress of intense exercise, a finding that transfers directly to any person under intense stress.
The clear links between dental health and heart disease just got a lot stronger, which may now be a motivational factor for many people to improve oral hygiene. People with bleeding gums allow entry of up to 700 different types of bacteria directly into their circulation, increasing the risk for a heart attack.
A new understanding of Helicobacter pylori and its mode of operation may save numerous Americans from stomach ulcer and general heartburn and indigestion.
In a study that rocks the wobbly foundation of the low fat diet for heart health paradigm (which is of course a major fraud), LDL cholesterol was lowered by 8% when participants ate 20% of their calories per day from pistachios (34% fat diet).
It is one thing to kill the microbe, and it is another to clean up the battle field. New research says that if the battle field is not cleaned up properly, with remnants of the previous intruder still hanging around even though it is not infectious anymore, then your immune system may not recognize what is going on and you will be much more likely to get sick again.
Mothers who consume the most fish during pregnancy and lactation as well as nurse their child for longer than 10 months significantly improve the healthy development of their child.
In women ages 25 – 45 a clear link has been established between stress and breast cancer risk. Women with two or more traumatic events had a 62% greater risk, whereas women who were able to maintain a positive and optimistic outlook had 25% less risk.
- B12 Levels Predict a Healthier Brain,
A new study analyzing the vitamin B12 levels in elderly individuals (age 61-87) found that higher B12 levels were associated with more normal brain size. On the other hand, those with the lowest levels of B12 had the most brain atrophy (six times more likely to have a problem).
Those of us living in the Northern states have gotten our first dose of thyroid shock. Unseasonably cold temperatures have many people feeling that winter is coming too soon – a subconscious perception that is sure to throw many into thyroid distress.
In new research scientists grew human colon cells in folate-depleted and folate-enriched tissue culture. A lack of folate was clearly linked to DNA damage, as well as numerous other gene-related changes favorable to cancer.
A new study shows that quercetin significantly reduces susceptibility to the flu, great news for everyone as we head into the flu season.
- Flu Shot Does Not Reduce Risk of Death,
The new research shows that flu shots provide no statistically significant reduction in mortality.
Big Pharma has illegally targeted the elderly and children with the off label marketing of its powerful anti-psychotic schizophrenia drugs, raking in billions in mostly taxpayer-funded fraud while killing the elderly and damaging children for life. This travesty is beyond barbaric.
Brand new research has established that when leptin registers properly in your brain, signifying nutritional adequacy, an energetic gene switch is thrown called TORC1. TORC1 then activates multiple genes associated robust energy use, including genes that enable a woman to become pregnant (KISS1).
N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) is an antioxidant that helps build cellular levels of glutathione, the primary antioxidant within cells that protects the cell from damage. Two new double blind placebo controlled studies show that NAC is quite helpful as a supportive treatment for both Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia.
A new animal study shows that if a mother is lacking DHA during pregnancy she is much more likely to suffer from postpartum depression.
- Fish Oil Helps Heart Patients – Statins Don’t,
In yet another blow to the statin marketing machine, Crestor was found to be of no help at all in reducing mortality in heart failure patients, despite lowering lowering LDL cholesterol.
Many people have come to associate excess cortisol with a fat stomach, which happens to be true. However, there are several sides to the cortisol coin worth understanding. Several new studies highlight the vital need for cortisol in health and help to shed light on what goes wrong.
Infants born premature are at high risk for cerebral palsy, a type of brain injury that has a profound effect on movement and coordination. A new study shows that IV infusions of magnesium given to the mother in early labor have a profound affect on reducing the amount and severity of cerebral palsy. This study has far reaching implications for magnesium as a general anti-inflammatory nutrient for your brain.
1000 mg of olive leaf extract per day was helpful in lowering mildly elevated blood pressure and reducing LDL cholesterol.
Postmenopausal women have another good reason to do everything they can to help maintain healthy bone density – the failure to do so is now linked to an increase in plaque in the carotid artery
In a major shot fired across the bow of the statin marketing machine, the levels of LDL cholesterol that are the artificial targets of “health” promoted by the American Heart Association (AHA) are now found to be associated with a significant increased risk of cancer and death.
- 15% of Population at High Risk for Statin Injury,
The New England Journal of Medicine reports on a detailed analysis of the human genome in those with statin-induced muscle damage. Scientists have uncovered an alteration in a gene that causes statin drugs to be more readily absorbed by the liver, thereby making the drug very toxic. 15% of our population has the risk-related gene variant.
A new study shows that fat around your arteries is a direct predictor of plaque within your arteries.
A new study in mice indicates that a diet too high in fat programs several generations of mice to be at higher risk of diabetes even if they do not eat a high fat diet.
A new study published in JAMA is sure to have an unintended result – dramatically boosting the sales of colloidal silver around the country as a powerful immune support mineral. The study was actually about the use of silver-coated tubes in hospital patients, and it showed a 36 percent reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), with a 48% reduction over the first 10 days (the common length of tube use for many).
Candida albicans overgrowth can form biofilms in your oral cavity that coat the subgingival area and drive the process of periodontal infection. A recent study of 53 otherwise healthy patients with periodontitis found that 40% of them had such a problem with Candida.
- Candida Helps Cause Asthma and Eczema,
A new study associates Candida albicans allergenic byproducts with asthma (52% of patients) and eczema (54% of patients).
A new study clearly associates vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk of hip fracture, dispelling any uncertainty about this link.
A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that eating oily fish at least once per week cuts the risk for developing age-related macular degeneration in half.
Before the dust settles on the Bernie Mac tragedy it is important for everyone to understand two things:
1) It is abnormal to die from pneumonia at age 50.
2) There are millions of Americans with autoimmune problems of one type or another at risk for the same fate as Bernie Mac.
- Thyroid and Cholesterol,
It is well established in the scientific literature that subclinical hypothyroid as well as frank hypothyroid are associated with increased levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a).
The impact of thyroid function on arterial stiffness and consequent elevation in blood pressure is a new finding helping to explain yet another adverse consequence of poor thyroid function on cardiovascular health. Researchers showed that correcting sluggish thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroid) enabled a return of better blood pressure function.
Several studies now point out that sluggish thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroid) is associated with early adverse changes in the electrical function of the heart.
- Running Over Age 50 Cuts Death Rate in Half,
A 20-year study has shown that running has profound health benefits, cutting the rate of early death by more than half. Researchers found that running slowed cardiovascular disease, cancer deaths, cognitive decline, and poor immunity. The runners experienced no more wear and tear to their joints than non-runners.
Women who have sluggish thyroid function, meaning that they are not hypothyroid by lab test but have many of the symptoms of poorly functioning thyroid and their thyroid scores are close to lower limits of “normal,” have 57% increased risk for developing heart disease. This relationship does not exist after age 65, which is also an interesting point.
A new study finds that women in the sluggish thyroid category had more than double the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
New research is proposing overactive thyroid is protective against breast cancer because of the extra free radicals the condition generates that induce cell death in breast cancer cells. Conversely, a sluggish thyroid would have less ability to exert such influence on cancer cells, thus the higher rate of breast cancer.
Several articles in recent months have called attention to the severity of the statin fraud....
- Herbs and Spices Protect Against Blood Sugar Damage,
Researchers found that common herbs and spices from the grocery store had potent antioxidant activity which they showed helped protect against the damage caused by elevated blood sugar.
Not only does your heart and circulatory system love DHA, so does your brain. A variety of new animal studies illustrate the brain power of DHA.
Japanese men have half the heart disease compared to any other industrialized country in the world. This is true even though they smoke more and have similar rates of cholesterol problems, blood pressure issues, and diabetes. Living in Japan, they eat fish every day and their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA/EPA) are twice as high as Japanese men living in America and white American men.
A new study identifies early adverse brain changes in the healthy children of Alzheimer patients, long before any symptoms appear.
One year ago JAMA published a major breakthrough article explaining that nonfasting levels of triglycerides (fat blobs) was an independent and highly predictive indicator of true cardiovascular disease risk. In the past year these finding have been widely agreed upon…
We now know the real reason so many of our kids can’t finish high school. They have been fed too much high fructose corn syrup and they have become dumb.
The average processed food travels 1500 miles before it is consumed. On top of that, individuals in the U.S. are consuming 1000 to 1500 more calories per day of this garbage than they should, making themselves fat while raising health care costs for everyone.
- Soy Foods Lower Sperm Counts,
On a paltry ½ serving of soy per day men lower their sperm count 25% -50%. This is the first human study to show the adverse affect of soy intake on men.
A newly published review of the state of the science regarding brain health shows that nutrients match or exceed pharmacological drug benefits in double-blind, randomized, controlled trials, with superior safety.
A new study clearly shows that a lack of key vitamins sets the stage for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).
A new study shows that 4 or more cups of coffee per day have a significantly adverse affect on B vitamin status. The researchers found that folic acid levels were lowered by 11.7%, B6 by 14.1%, and B2 by 5.5%. At the same time the arterial plaque forming homocysteine was elevated by 6.8%.
A new study shows that sedentary older people age 60-75 who followed an endurance exercise training program of one hour of aerobics 3-5 times per week for eleven months were able to rejuvenate their heart’s ability to utilize glucose – a major improvement in heart health.
By now you have certainly seen the ads – take plant sterols and lower your cholesterol. These wild cholesterol-lowering claims, which the FDA is ignoring because Cargill is pushing them, are associated with various health risks. A new study shows they may be quite dangerous for your heart.
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