Author: Hill Castle
Teens aged between 15 and 19 were found to be more vulnerable to succumb to depression due to academic stress and social pressure. To combat this mental issue, experts suggest that teens run a mile daily to prevent depression. Research says, the lack of physical activity could possibly be the reason why more kids are having problems with mental health issues. This case is even more evident in secondary school as students become more sedentary. What started out as a simple initiative of primary school headteacher Elaine Wyllie in Scotland, the “daily mile” has now become a solution in more than…
Targeted memory reactivation (TMR), a procedure which presents learning-related cues during sleep, can better strengthen memory when it is accompanied with undisturbed sleep to encourage memory consolidation, according to a study in the journal Sleep Spindles & Cortical Up States. Previous studies have shown that an undisturbed short plastic period after cueing is needed for TMR to be effective. Therefore, researchers from Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium looked at the effect of verbatim or interfering auditory presentation during wakefulness or non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and its impact on memory consolidation. The researchers recruited 96 participants for the study. The…
Like many people these days, your relationship with sleep may be complicated. It creeps in during the day when you actively avoid it but eludes you at night when all you want is a long, quality rest. Before your erratic sleep cycle has you thinking of health-related worst-case scenarios, know that your inability to sleep doesn’t automatically mean there’s something wrong with your body. You probably just need to cut back on certain bad habits. Not eating right – The phrase, “You are what you eat,” might feel worn-out, but it’s still true. The food you consume, especially before you sleep, will…
Just a little more than 500 days into his first term, there are already signs that President Donald Trump will cruise to reelection in 2020. The economy is not just humming along, it’s roaring. Wall Street is up; housing starts and values are up; retirement earnings are up; unemployment is at historic lows; the U.S. military is regaining its predominance; and the president has slashed and burned scores of burdensome regulations. He’s picked the right battles in our neverending culture war. He’s delivering on his pledge to “Make America Great Again.” Now he’s set to sign off on a policy…
Can you recall the last time you were stressed? If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have to think too far back to come up with a stressful moment – or perhaps you feel that way all the time. Many of us are feeling the effects of our busy lives and the constant technological overstimulation we’re exposed to, and this can take a serious toll on your health. Getting rid of stress is easier said than done, so how can you protect yourself from the diseases this stress can cause? Scientists have found one very useful tool in the…
Tortillas are an important food for Mexicans and their neighbors, but maize lacks vital proteins. Looking for natural ways of fortifying the grain, researchers chose flour made from nontoxic Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) plants. The resulting fortified maize tortillas looked, felt, and tasted like ordinary ones while also packing more proteins. Maize is rich in calories, but it lacks lysine and trytophan. It also lacks micronutrients like iron, zinc, and various important vitamins. The combination of poverty and burgeoning population forced many Mexicans to adopt less healthy diets that rely on tortillas. To fix this, maize dough was fortified with flours from more nutritious crops.…
Aside from morphology, there are a lot of ways males are widely different from females. One of these, as discussed in an article in the journal Nature Communications, has to do with how either sex gain weight. The paper, authored by researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine, indicated that while the underlying process in the phenomenon is still unclear, understanding how the brain affects body weight control may unlock at least part of the answer. Dr. Yong Xu, the senior author of the study, wanted to figure out what role the brain plays in weight control. The sex-weight connection proposed “a novel mechanism that may contribute…
Heart attacks are fatal, and no one really knows when it will happen, but when it does, it’s vital that you know how to reverse it. In Western Australia, a 44-year-old nurse saved himself from possible death caused by a heart attack. After feeling severe chest pain and dizziness while alone on-duty, the nurse, identified as Ryan Franks, managed to attach the leads of an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine to his chest and send the results to an emergency physician, Dr. Beatrice Scicchitano, through an Emergency Telehealth Service (ETS). According to the report of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the result of the first…
It’s great that more people are becoming aware of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how it affects those who were diagnosed with it. Recently, an addition to the list of PTSD effects has been added by researchers – one that is a bit more alarming than the others. A study has shown that people who suffer from the disorder also develop a problem in recognizing positive emotions. And since perceiving emotions is an essential skill for humans, this finding is alarming. The authors of the study wanted to learn more about PTSD patients following various trauma types. In addition, they aimed to discover…
To recover faster after a strenuous workout, take high-protein supplements as post-workout supplements. A study found that elite basketball players who took a high-protein post-workout supplement experienced faster recovery after exercise. A team of researchers from the University of Taipei in Taiwan and the Competitor Institute of Sports Nutrition in Beijing recruited 15 elite basketball players between 18 and 20 years old for the study. The participants completed a one-hour cycling test at 70 percent VO2 max. VO2 max, or maximal oxygen uptake, is the measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that a person can use during intense or maximal exercise. Right after…
(Opinion analysis) The Clean Label Project is engaged in dangerous scientific fraud that misleads consumers into thinking perfectly safe protein powders are wildly contaminated with toxic heavy metals. That’s my conclusion after reviewing the Clean Label Project’s wildly unscientific attack on protein products such as VEGA, where the Clean Label Project seems to insinuate that “detectable” levels of elements somehow means the products are scandalous. Note that I am the very person who pioneered heavy metals testing of protein products back in 2013, raising the alarm over relatively high levels of lead and cadmium found in certain products that used…
Contrary to the claims of his critics, President Trump is moving full-steam ahead with keeping his campaign promise to reign in prescription drug costs. And according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, the president’s plan is actually the “most comprehensive” in presidential history. President Trump himself has been vocal on this issue in recent days, emphasizing that he wants to see real reform as opposed to the typical smoke and mirrors. The Trump administration says it’s already developed a plan of attack towards that end, and that once it’s enacted the results will be…
If digestion is your gateway to health, then its destruction is single handedly the most apocalyptical event that can happen inside your body. Unfortunately, billions of people encounter situations in which their gut health takes one blow after another, until the symptoms become a regular nagging occurrence that ultimately diminishes their quality of life. The unfortunate part is that your digestion is not sequestered from the other critical functions of your body, so as your digestion goes downhill, eventually your liver, gall bladder, kidneys, pancreas, adrenals, thyroid, heart, and brain health do too. Like a stack of dominoes, once one…
Having trouble sleeping? While there are a number of things that can affect your sleep quality, most mainstream doctors are quick to dole out prescription medications that will drug you into slumber. But what if a nutritional supplement could help adjust your sleeping patterns just as well (or really, even better) than some pharmaceutical monstrosity. Research has consistently pointed to magnesium as a natural sleep aid — and its a nutrient that a surprising number of people are deficient in. Magnesium is one of 24 essential nutrients and it plays a role in a variety of bodily functions. In addition…
The idiom “gut feeling” takes on a whole new meaning after Canadian researchers released their findings on the gut microbiome. They claim that gut bacteria can affect the way that person’s brain works, an article from the BBC states. It will be a long while before experts finish identifying all of the microbes in our bodies and their effect on our health. However, studies have shown that autism, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases are linked to these tiny residents of our body. A growing number of researchers are now invested in “psychobiotics,” the addition of mood-affecting probiotic microbes to alter mental health.…
In recent years, tai chi has made it to many lists of the most popular meditation techniques, and for good reason. No matter how old or active you are, this ancient Chinese practice offers many health benefits, including disease prevention and pain relief. Data from 2016 reveal that more than three million people practice tai chi in the U.S. alone, putting it among the most commonly exercised meditation techniques along with yoga. Its apparent popularity, however, has not rendered it immune to misconceptions. The most popular of these is the idea that it is only for older people. Research does show that…
When going out on dates or meeting people, our perception of them often depends on how we see them physically. Are they good looking? Do they smell good? Are they dressed decently? Does their breath smell nice – the questions just go on. However, a recent study suggests that there is another part of our bodies that determine whether we connect with another person or not. About ten years ago, evolutionary psychologists hinted that the human body evolved and was able to develop the first line of defense against illnesses called the behavioral immune system. Activating this immune system is…
Vegetables like arugula, beets, and spinach are packed with nitrates, and consuming these leafy greens can help bring down blood pressure and boost the efficiency of the endothelial cells that line the inside of the heart and blood vessels. In an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, an Australian study shows that nitrate-rich vegetables can even reduce the mortality risk from atherosclerosis-related diseases. The long-term study was led by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA). They were interested in the link between the nitrates we get from consuming vegetables and deaths related to atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD).…
In 2015, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) mandated all educational institutions under its wings to provide protective headgear for their girls’ lacrosse team. It was meant to reduce the number of injuries players get during games; however, a study has shown that the preventive measure led to an even higher injury rate. Dr. Daniel Herman, the lead author of the study, hinted that the use of protective headgear might have caused the increase of concussion and musculoskeletal injury rates in high school girls’ lacrosse. (Related: Just ONE head injury increases your risk of Parkinson’s by 56 percent.) Three years…
If you find walnuts tasty, you’re not alone. The bacteria in your gut do, too, according to new research. The stud壯陽藥 y, published in the Journal of Nutrition, discussed the prebiotic nature of walnuts and how the nuts aid in keeping your stomach – and you – healthy. The researchers found that incorporating walnuts into your diet can have a variety of positive effects on your body, including reduced inflammation and lower cholesterol levels. They also discovered that regular nut consumption can have an impact on your microbiome, the microorganisms living in your gut and that this effect could be…
The problem we have with diabetes isn’t going away anytime soon. Based on the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 400 people around the world have the condition, and 1.6 million deaths per year are directly caused by diabetes. The most common is Type 2 diabetes. In the past three decades, reported cases have skyrocketed. To make things worse, at least one in three adults over 18 years old is overweight, which increases the likelihood of getting the disease. That said, there isn’t a lack of literature on how to manage diabetes; however, most only talk about living with…
Seizures are not only frightening for those who experience them and those who witness them; they can also be extremely dangerous when sufferers lose consciousness or control and fall down. Unfortunately, doctors have yet to find a way to stop them entirely. However, a new study is giving a lot of people hope after finding that taking CBD caused a significant drop in the number of seizures experienced by people who have a severe form of epilepsy. Researchers from the NYU School of Medicine reached this conclusion after carrying out a randomized, double-blind, large-scale study that involved people with Lennox…