Health & Wellness

Animal model suggests that exposure to frequent social disruption induces structural changes in the brain

Science Daily
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 18:24 UTC

© Nature/Reuters
A Princeton University and National Institutes of Health study suggests that our response to stressful situations originates from structural changes in our brain that allows us to adapt to turmoil. Adult rats with disruptions in their social hierarchy produced far fewer new neurons in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for certain types of memory and stress regulation. They also reacted to the disruption by favoring the company of familiar rats. Their behavior manifested six weeks after social disruption, during which time brain-cell growth, or neurogenesis, had decreased by 50 percent. The photo shows adult hippocampal neurons that are less than two weeks old.

People who experience job loss, divorce, death of a loved one or any number of life's upheavals often adopt coping mechanisms to make the situation less traumatic.

While these strategies manifest as behaviors, a Princeton University and National Institutes of Health study suggests that our response to stressful situations originates from structural changes in our brain that allow us to adapt to turmoil.

A study conducted with adult rats showed that the brains of animals faced with disruptions in their social hierarchy produced far fewer new neurons in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for certain types of memory and stress regulation. Rats exhibiting this lack of brain-cell growth, or neurogenesis, reacted to the surrounding upheaval by favoring the company of familiar rats over that of unknown rats, according to a paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

EpiPen offers 50% discount after 500% price hike, Killary gets the credit?

RT
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 16:50 UTC

Makers of the EpiPen auto-injector said they would offer a 50 percent discount after public outrage over a 500-percent price hike. Hillary Clinton was among those calling for the price reduction - and her supporters were quick to give her all the credit.

EpiPen administers a quick dose of epinephrine to counter a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. The easy-to-use injector is made by West Virginia-based Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which bought the rights to it in 2007. Since then, the price of the EpiPen has skyrocketed, going from $100 to $600.

On Thursday, Mylan announced that it would introduce a savings card that will cover up to $300 of the cost of the EpiPen 2-pack for patients previously paying list price, which "effectively reduces their out-of-pocket cost exposure by 50 [percent]." The company is also increasing the eligibility for its patient assistance program, which will"eliminate out-of-pocket costs for uninsured and under-insured patients and families as well."

Comment: Offering a discount is just a clever way to do damage control, if they actually cared they'd simply reduce the price to something that is reasonable. Killary getting the credit is also patently ridiculous, especially considering the amount of donations she gets from pharmaceutical companies. Heck, Mylan was a donor and partner during the period of extreme price hikes, which means Killary directly benefited from dollars gouged from those hikes.

"We recognize the significant burden on patients from continued, rising insurance premiums and being forced increasingly to pay the full list price for medicines at the pharmacy counter. Patients deserve increased price transparency and affordable care, particularly as the system shifts significant costs to them," Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said in a statement.

Comment: Basically what we have here is Killary using her friends to outrage the public and then pretending to care by advocating for some 'discount offer' which really does nothing but act as a placebo. Even with the discount, the price is still inflated and the profits continue to flow to the 1%

How to kill fat cells, fix your mitochondria, grow superfoods & much more: An interview with Dr. Mercola

Ben Greenfield
Ben Greenfield Fitness
Thu, 25 Aug 2016 16:37 UTC

There are very few people who I consider to be personal mentors, extremely trustworthy individuals in my life who I can look to for fitness, health and longevity advice, or people who I think put out truly "cutting-edge" health information.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is one of those people.

Dr. Mercola is a board certified family physician who had seen tens of thousands of patients before transitioning to a full time internet journalist, as he felt he could help far more people than he could in private practice.

It turns out he was right...because every month he has ten million unique visitors and 80 million unique visitors each year. Mercola.com has been the most visited natural health site for the last 12 years and is now translated into six different languages.

Plant medicine: Ingredients in essential oils could treat lung and liver conditions caused by air pollution

EurekAlert
Tue, 23 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC

Certain ingredients in essential oils made from plants such as cloves, anise, fennel and ylang-ylang could serve as a natural treatment of lung and liver conditions caused by air pollution. This is according to Miriana Kfoury of the Unité de Chimie Environnementale et Interactions sur le Vivant, Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale in France and the Lebanese University in Lebanon. She is the lead author of a study in Springer's journal Environmental Chemistry Letters. It is the first of its kind to evaluate the value of using certain essential oil compounds to treat inflammation caused by the fine particles that are typical of hazy, polluted air, and that are known to be carcinogenic.

Plants naturally contain various essential oils that are made up of different compounds. Some of these have been found to have antioxidant value, and to also be able to fight inflammation. A group of organic compounds called phenylpropanoids are found in the essential oils of some plants, and show promise as possible anti-inflammatory substances. Among these are trans-anethole (a flavor component of anise and fennel), estragole (found in basil), eugenol (which occurs in clove bud oil) and isoeugenol (contained in ylang ylang).

Kfoury and her collaborators first collected air pollutant samples containing fine particles in Beirut, Lebanon. In laboratory tests, the samples were then introduced to human cell cultures of normal bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and cancer derived hepatic cells (HepG2). The fine particle matter was found to induce inflammation in the cells - these started to secrete the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 (substances that are secreted during infections and tissue damage). Cytokin levels normally increase when the body's immune system is fighting a specific infection.

Comment: Essential oils are a gift from nature. Their many uses include the management of stress, improving mood, warding off infections, helping us deal with pain and can even help in the fight against cancer.

Minor childhood brain injuries increase risk of mental illness and premature death

RT
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 14:40 UTC

Mild childhood brain injuries could lead to mental illness, poor school attainment, unemployment and premature death, according to new research by Oxford University.

Researchers studied more than a million people born since 1973 in Sweden, and followed them to see how head injuries suffered under the age of 25 impacted their lives in coming decades.

They found people suffering even a mild traumatic head injury which left them feeling "dazed or confused" were 60 percent more likely to have died in the studied period than people who had no injury.

They were also 91 percent more likely to have been hospitalized for a psychiatric problem, 55 percent more likely to have done less well in education and 52 percent more likely to have needed disability benefits.

Comment: There is a hidden epidemic of brain injuries. Accidental falls, rough play, and contact sports can lead to brain injuries yet many of the symptoms of mild brain damage may be subtle and initially go unnoticed, gradually gaining momentum until they interfere with everyday life. Symptoms can come six months, two years, or 10 years after injury, and patients are not aware that more issues can follow.

Stress inducing lengthy commutes are widening waistlines, potentially shortening lives

Paul Gallagher
iNews
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC

© Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty
Commuting adds an average of 767 calories to travellers' diets each week, due to eating and drinking while on the move.

The annual public transport and petrol rises are bad enough but now commuters have even more problems to worry about.

Commuting adds an average of more than 700 calories - the equivalent of more than three Big Macs or five cans of coke - to people's diets every week, according to a new report.

"For an increasing number of us commuting is having a damaging effect on our health and well-being." Shirley Cramer, RSPH Chief Executive The study by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) found that travelling to and from work by rail, bus or car is associated with stress, higher blood pressure and an increased body mass index as it reduces the time available for healthy activities such as exercising, cooking and sleeping.

Comment: While the time most people have available for getting adequate exercise is shrinking, scientists have found that even minimal exercise can be beneficial:

DEET is more toxic than the Zika virus

Samantha Debbie
Natural News
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 16:34 UTC

First discovered in 1953, DEET is a common ingredient found in most commercially sold insect repellents. It's marketed as an effective way to ward off disease-carrying mosquitoes, and though it does keep insects at bay, it also poses serious health risks to humans, especially when used in conjunction with other insecticides, which is almost always the case.

Research shows DEETmay cause damage to your central nervous system and these effects are heightened when used alongside "other neurotoxin insecticides," Natural News has reported.

Scientists studying "the mode of action and toxicity of DEET" learned that the chemical disrupts important enzymes in both insects and mammals.

Comment: More on DEET:

Depression or anxiety strikes one in three teenage girls

Alexander Ward
The Daily Mail
Sun, 21 Aug 2016 23:37 UTC

© Alamy Stock
The study, undertaken by the Department for Education, involved in-depth interviews with thousands of teenagers aged 14 and 15

More than one in three teenage girls now suffer from anxiety or depression.

A study of 30,000 pupils found the number of girls with poor mental health rose by 10 per cent in the past decade - and they were twice as likely as boys to report symptoms.

The research also found teenagers from more affluent backgrounds were more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression than the less well-off.

Experts called for action to help pupils, saying the figures were strong evidence of a 'slow-growing epidemic' of mental health issues in schools.

Some suggested global recession could be making youngsters more stressed.

Many pupils said that pressure to achieve was hitting their self-confidence, and that they did not feel in control of their own futures.

Other experts pointed to social media for the rise in depression and anxiety, saying it stopped children 'switching off' after school.
//www.sott.net/article/326186-Depression-or-anxiety-strikes-one-in-three-teenage-girls

Comment: People who suffer from depression, both women and men would benefit greatly from daily meditation.

To discover the many benefits of meditation for yourself, visit the Éiriú Eolas breathing and meditation programme HERE.

For more information on benefits of meditation, read:

Mindfulness Meditation May Ease Fatigue & Depression in Multiple Sclerosis

Antidepressants or Meditation for Depression Relapse?

The WHO's condescending tips for EU healthcare workers to convince informed patients that vaccines are safe

Catherine J. Frompovich
Activist Post
Tue, 23 Aug 2016 18:28 UTC

Vaccines are taking a big hit on the refusal side from more and more people doing their due diligence and becoming more fully engaged in knowing what supposedly 'safe' vaccines really are about: Fraud and deceit on the part of the U.S. CDC and FDA, plus vested-interest 'tobacco science' from Big Pharma and vaccine manufacturers publishing falsified research and data, who 'export' their brand of pseudoscience. Nothing confirms that more than the documentary movie VAXXED[3] currently making the rounds in local movie theaters and on the Internet.

In view of the all the developing negative vaccine research and adverse health issues, the World Health Organization (WHO) apparently is trying to come to vaccines' rescue by publishing the 44 page 2016 document, "How to respond to vocal vaccine deniers in public."

Comment: If vaccines were so safe all of this convincing and cajoling would hardly be necessary. The products would speak for themselves.

Viral infections respond to circadian cycles and can be prevented by proper sleep

Chronobiology.com
Fri, 19 Aug 2016 17:39 UTC

Could an infection hit you hardest if you're exposed at certain times of day? New research suggests circadian rhythm affects the immune system.

Most of us have noticed that we are more likely to get sick at certain times of the year. The winter flu, spring allergies and summer cold seem to come like clockwork. However, timing can affect your illness risk in another key way. New research suggests that we are more likely to become ill when exposed to viruses in the morning than when exposed later in the day.

Comment: Instead of relying on pharmaceutical companies to create synthetic drugs which aim to mimic the beneficial effects of sleep, it would be much easier to just get in-tuned with your circadian rhythm by minding artificial light exposure at night time and going to bed earlier.

Below is some more information on the importance of sleep and the circadian rhythm:

Let's go, Brandon! Fucking asswipe, worthless, POS. Fraud! Argh! 😤

slbeaudry

I don't think this new requirement has undergone proper public review. There are procedures codified for this sort of thing. If some sort of...

Buffalo_Ken

First it will be 100 employees,then 50, then one. Masses are collectively powerful against the intolerant vocal minority and it is time to wipe...

Bezel Bub

I most certainly would not park my arse on a plane full of vaccinated people and have them infect me with their mutated virus. Whilst my...

Winternights3

What a shitty way to die.

Buffalo_Ken

Health & Wellness

Animal model suggests that exposure to frequent social disruption induces structural changes in the brain

EpiPen offers 50% discount after 500% price hike, Killary gets the credit?

How to kill fat cells, fix your mitochondria, grow superfoods & much more: An interview with Dr. Mercola

Plant medicine: Ingredients in essential oils could treat lung and liver conditions caused by air pollution

Minor childhood brain injuries increase risk of mental illness and premature death

Stress inducing lengthy commutes are widening waistlines, potentially shortening lives

DEET is more toxic than the Zika virus

Depression or anxiety strikes one in three teenage girls

The WHO's condescending tips for EU healthcare workers to convince informed patients that vaccines are safe

Viral infections respond to circadian cycles and can be prevented by proper sleep

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