A randomized trial showed that ashwaganda taken at the dose of 300 mg. twice per day was highly effective at reducing anxiety over a 12 week period.  Significant benefits were also observed in mental health, concentration, fatigue, social functioning, vitality, and overall quality of life.

In an animal experiment a potent neurotoxin that produces such brain damage that it causes Huntington’s disease was injected.  The rats given ashwaganda experienced a significant reduction in nerve decline.  The researchers showed that ashwaganda maintained antioxidant function in the brain as well as protecting the mitocondria of brain cells so that they could keep producing energy normally.

Too much stress, especially when uncomfortable anxious or nervous feelings are felt too often, is a sign of wear and tear top nerves that is sure to speed brain aging and other nerve-related problems.  Ashwaganda is an herb that may be able to help.

The study followed 27,686 patients who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. “This was a unique study because the association between Vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease has not been well-established,” says Brent Muhlestein, MD, director of cardiovascular research of the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center and one of the authors of the new study. “Its conclusions about how we can prevent disease and provide treatment may ultimately help us save more lives.”

So often we see that public health officials beat the drum for expensive drugs like statins in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.  Where are they now?  They just can’t stand promoting nutrients for the public health, it rubs their Big Pharma lined pockets the wrong way.  Statins actually reduce the production of vitamin D!  This is more data explaining why there are so many more heart attacks in the winter, when sun exposure vitamin D production is at its lowest levels. 

In an experimental animal model designed to induce nerve damage from chemical exposure that causes Alzheimer’s-like brain tangles and plaque to form, silymarin treatment following injection of the chemical dramatically reduced neurotoxicity.  Memory was maintained, free radical damage was prevented (lowering of iNOS), and brain inflammation was curtailed (lowering of TNFa).  The researchers concluded that silymarin “attenuates memory impairment through amelioration of oxidative stress and inflammatory response induced by Abeta [the drug] and may be a potential candidate for an Alzheimer’s Disease medication.”

In another animal experiment mice were exposed to a powerful toxin (ferric nitrilotriacetate) that causes kidney damage and kidney cancer.  The drug rapidly depletes antioxidants and detoxification function, in turn leading to a highly inflammatory state.  It was found that silymarin protected the kidneys against this toxin by turning down the underlying inflammatory gene signal NF-kappaB.  It also prevented the development of kidney cancer.  The scientists summarized their findings, “from these results, it could be concluded that silymarin markedly protects against chemically induced renal cancer and acts plausibly by virtue of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activities.”

Considering that our world is overloaded with chemicals that cause undue stress to multiple organs in our bodies, silymarin is a true friend.

It must be kept in mind that overeating will always make excessive triglycerides regardless of any vitamin taken.  However, there is a nasty catch 22 in that excessive triglycerides lock in excess eating patterns via leptin resistance.  To break this vicious cycle we need nutrients that can help get triglycerides down while a person uses willpower.  Once the triglycerides come down then the cravings tend to dissipate and it is much easier to stay in a healthy eating pattern. 

The current study used Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats, which are bred to become obese and diabetic so scientist can study these problems.  Feeding these rats R-alpha lipoic acid prevented fat-storing genes from activating and promoted the clearance of triglycerides from cholesterol – which is highly cardiovascular protective.  Furthermore, the liver stored sugar normally (preventing insulin resistance).

All of these finding support that notion that if a person eats well then R-alpha lipoic acid can help undue rather serious metabolic problems related to obesity and diabetes.  And the nutrient may even help get a person on track who is struggling with excessive food cravings.

The researchers tested NAC against a wide variety of problematic bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Klebseilla pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris.  Once these organisms form biofilms they are often resistance to antibiotics and very difficult to get rid of.  Too bad NAC wasn’t tested against Candida albicans biofilms, as I bet it works on them too.

The precise mechanism of how NAC works its anti-biofilm magic is unknown.  NAC is an important antioxidant that fuels the production of cellular glutathione.  NAC is known to dissolve mucous and is an excellent respiratory support nutrient.  Low levels of NAC reduce the functionality of immune troops that patrol mucosal surfaces.  However, to dissolve a biofilm there must be a direct communication into the germ gang that fools its defense shield.  Right now we don’t know how it works – we just know it works.

Taking cinnamon for 90 days enabled the treatment plus cinnamon group to lower their hemoglobin A1C by .83 percentage points, compared to .37 percentage points by the treatment alone (meaning that adding cinnamon more than doubled the effectiveness the basic treatment.)

The authors concluded, “This study gives diabetes care providers and diabetic patients an easily accessible, likely safe, and cheap alternative to help treat type 2 diabetes. According to the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, a drop of hemoglobin A1C from 7.9% to 7% lowers the risk of macrovascular disease 16%, retinopathy 17% to 21%, and nephropathy 24% to 33%; thus, a 0.83% drop in hemoglobin A1C levels in patients might be expected to yield similar reductions in morbidity.”

Adding cinnamon to a nutrient support program makes sense for any person seeking to support healthy blood sugar metabolism.

Following a 90 day treatment period animals taking Inula while consuming a high fat diet had lower LDL cholesterol, lower triglycerides, and increased HDL cholesterol.  The herb increased antioxidant activity in the liver and heart.  Adverse changes in coronary arteries from the high fat diet were reversed by Inula.

The authors conclude, “The results demonstrate the anti-atherogenic effect of Inula racemosa, thus validating the cardioprotective and anti-obesity claims in traditional medicine.”

Upon exposure to stress your brain activates its defense system, which includes a variety of antioxidants.  In this research scientists looked into the activation of an enzyme called Carnosinase, which requires carnosine in order to work.  The researchers showed that in the aging brain stress increased and antioxidants struggled to keep up.  The lower the antioxidants, the worse the brain stress and consequent aging. 

One method of coping is to increase carnosinase activity, which eventually depletes carnosine.  This is part of the key antioxidant system in your brain that must work properly – which is why carnosine is needed.

While every area of the brain was susceptible to this problem of increased stress and decreased antioxidants, this was especially important to the hippocampus (memory) and substantia nigra (nerve transmission).  The substantia nigra is rich in dopamine transmitters and is the area of the brain affected by Parkinson’s.  To a lesser extent, the shaky extremities that often occur during aging are a clear sign of inadequate antioxidants for the amount of stress an individual is under.  Carnosine may be able to help.