Health & Fitness

In the December 2019 interview, "Irregulators vs. FCC: Exposing and Prosecuting a Vast, Illegal Financial Scandal in Telecommunications,"¹ Josh del Sol — who directed the documentary films "Take Back Your Power" (a film detailing the dangers of smart meters) and "InPower Episode 1: A Mass Action of Liability" (which reveals how you can refuse smart meters) — talks to Bruce Kushnick and W. Scott McCollough, Esq. about their lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Vast Corruption Uncovered

Kushnick, a telecom analyst, and attorney McCollough, a former Texas assistant attorney general, are part of a group called The Irregulators, which has exposed a vast and illegal financial scandal in the telecommunications industry. Kushnick and McCollough are spearheading the organization's lawsuit against the FCC. As noted on del Sol's website:²

"[Kushnick and McCollough are] leading experts in the telecom industry who have mapped a pathway to restore the Internet to the human-friendly, benevolent ideals from which it started. As part of this redirection, they're not afraid to call out the corruption of those who have hijacked it.

Bruce and Scott lead the IRREGULATORS,³ a group of telecom industry experts and insiders who are taking the FCC to federal court in January [17], 2020, armed with evidence — of an estimated $1 trillion scandal — and strategy that could very well pave the way to a great restructuring of telecom and dissolution of the 5G agenda."

Disrupting the Funding That Drives 5G Deployment

As explained by McCollough, the aim of the lawsuit is to get the FCC "to recognize the fact that basic telephone rate payers — wire line customers — have been funding deployment of wireless in general, and now 5G in particular, through their basic phone bills."

If the prosecution is successful, the FCC will either have to eliminate this illegal subsidy to the wireless industry, or "step aside and allow individual states decide whether they want to do so," McCollough says. Nationwide, this redirection of funds amounts to about $1 trillion over the past 15 years, and without this money, 5G would not have been possible.

Were the wireless industry forced to pay its fair share of construction and maintenance, local (i.e., wired) phone rates would go down while the cost to wireless providers would rise, as they'd have to pay far more for the fiber optic cables needed to continue the expansion and advancement of wireless, thus making 5G uneconomical as a consumer product.

In other words, this lawsuit has the potential to alter the telecommunications industry from the ground up. As noted by McCollough, the lawsuit "is a knife in the heart of the economics that currently drive 5G … 5G cannot sustain itself on an economic basis if it has to pay its own way."

The full story behind the lawsuit is detailed in Kushnick's book, "The Book of Broken Promises: $400 Billion Broadband Scandal & Free the Net," available on Amazon⁴ in paperback and Kindle. A free PDF version of the book is also available for download.⁵

In his book, Kushnick breaks down what state utilities are, the history of telecommunications and how we've gotten to this point with advanced wireless and 5G. It's fodder and ammunition for anyone wanting to help stop the implementation of 5G and redirect us back to the far safer alternative of fiber optic broadband.

Broken Promises

In the interview, Kushnick explains how wired customers ended up paying for our wireless infrastructure. The telephone wires that telephone companies use to provide service are part of a state utility.

These copper wires were installed across the U.S. starting in the 1930s until the 1970s, so that no matter where you went in the U.S., there was a phone available. Ma Bell owned most of the state utilities until 1984, when its monopoly was broken up into regional Bell companies.

In 1992, Vice President Al Gore campaigned on a promise that everyone in America would have fiber optic wire through their home and office by 2010. State utilities agreed to set aside a small amount from each customer's bill to fund the nationwide conversion to fiber optics.

However, by 2000, virtually none of the fiber optic wiring had been done. As noted by Kushnick, "they basically pocketed the money." By the end of 2000, California alone was supposed to have 5.5 million households finished, at a projected cost of $16 billion.

In 1998-1999, the FCC started tracking broadband, but they left out the states' financial commitments. In other words, Kushnick says, they covered up the fact that state utilities had collected money for the implementation of fiber optics that was never actually done.

According to Kushnick, between 1993 and 2004 alone, state utilities overcharged customers a total of $200 billion for fiber optics wiring that was promised but never installed. As noted by McCollough:

"We had a bait and switch. We paid for a bunch of fiber to the home, and now we're getting 5G instead. We started this accounting thing not because we wanted to kill 5G, but because it was the right thing to do, once we figured out how badly local and intra-state wireline ratepayers were getting screwed."

An Even Bigger Accounting Scandal

But this is only half of the scandal. The Irregulators discovered an even bigger fraud. Financial documents obtained from Verizon New York (New York's official telecom utility), reveal wireless service providers are stealing funds from wireline rate payers to the tune of $60 billion per year in New York alone, and FCC rules are what allow for this theft.

In a simplified nutshell, the FCC froze its cost-accounting rules in 2000, and by so doing, allowed telecom companies to manipulate their books in such a way that local service revenues (i.e., monies collected for wired phone services) could be allocated to pay for the buildout of wireless infrastructure.

For example, the expenses telecoms paid in 2019 were based on the same expense percentage as in 2000. Twenty years ago, local service, meaning the wired phone service, provided a majority of the revenue and paid a majority (65%) of the expenses, such as construction and maintenance.

In 2019, Verizon New York's local service accounted for a mere 21% of the utility's revenue, yet still accounted for more than 60% of the company's expenses.

The FCC's policies, Kushnick and McCollough explain, have created and allowed for a cross-subsidy practice in which wireless services are being paid for by wireline customers, while wireless companies are paying only a fraction of the expenses they incur.

What's more, McCollough points out that whatever fiber optic wiring was in fact deployed is now being repurposed for wireless services. So, in that sense, the two fraud scenarios are interrelated.

What this has all led to is that, on the books, wired telephone service appears to be very expensive and unprofitable when, in reality, wireless is less expensive simply because it's been illegally subsidized.

If wireless companies were no longer allowed a free ride, there would be billions of dollars available in each state, each year, to install broadband fiber optics, which would eliminate the need for wireless 5G.

Now, the reason all of this corruption and fraud has been allowed to occur is because the FCC is a captured agency — and has been for decades, McCollough says. The wireless industry has taken over the very agency that is supposed to regulate and oversee it, and without oversight, the foxes have raided the henhouse.

For more details, see Irregulators.org,⁶ where you can find an audio recording of McCullough's January 17, 2020, oral arguments before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. If you'd like to make a donation to help fund this legal fight, you'll find a link to that at the top of the page as well.

The Way Forward: Taking Back Our Utilities

McCollough and Kushnick are optimistic about our ability to block 5G. In the interview, they sum up how, by teaming up with our local officials, residents in all states can fight back by demanding their state telecom utility return the misappropriated funds and allocate them back into broadband fiber optics.

"All these officials hear … is news coming down from the top, and from the feds, and from industry, [saying], 'There is nothing you can do. Your hands are tied. We have tied your hands,'" McCollough says.

"Well your hands are not tied. I mean, there may be a piece of string around one of your fingers. Yes, you have a finger that is tied — but you've still got nine other fingers! They [local officials] may not be able to stop the tower… but they can stop the fiber that goes to the tower."

The key goal, and the answer to the 5G dilemma, McCollough points out, is to upgrade to fiber optic wiring across the nation. It's not only fast, but also far safer, from a health standpoint, than wireless. And, as noted by Irregulators.org, 5G still requires fiber optic wiring, so why not just stop there?

Fiber optics is certainly safer than 5G — and we already paid for it. It's time we demand our state utilities return the stolen money and make good on their promise to bring fiber optics into every home and office. As noted on Irregulators.org:⁷

"5G is the newest in a long line of tech services that are supposed to change our lives for the better. But this service has a range of a few city blocks, requires a fiber optic wire, and there are health concerns with small cell antennas too close to homes.

Truth is, 5G is really designed to get rid of the wired regulations and obligations, and have wireline phone customers pay — cross-subsidize, the wireless companies' business."

We've Been 'EMF*D'

Over the past decade, I've written many articles discussing the evidence of biological harm from nonionizing electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation, which I believe is one of the greatest challenges to public health facing us today. For a refresher, see my previous article, "Reduce EMF Exposure."

For a recap on the additional hazards brought on by 5G, see "5G Apocalypse: The Extinction Event," which features a documentary by the same name, or "Scientific American Warns: 5G Is Unsafe."

My new book, "EMF*D," is an attempt to inform you about the hidden harms of EMF and what you need to do to protect yourself and those you love. I also reveal the reasons why you've been left in the dark about this serious health threat. In it, you'll learn:

• How EMFs are impacting your body and mind
• Where you can find them in your daily life
• How they can cause disease and speed up aging
• How to repair the damage done by EMFs at the cellular level
• Practical strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones from EMFs

>>>>> Click Here <<<<<

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Your body temperature is regulated by complex communication with your hypothalamus, vascular system and skin.¹ It is a measure of how well you can make and release heat. The objective is to maintain your body at a consistent temperature to provide your organs, enzymes and hormones an optimal environment. When your body temperature rises (hyperthermia) or falls (hypothermia) it can be dangerous or life threatening.²

On average, the temperature taken in your rectum or ear may be slightly higher than one that is taken across your forehead or under your arm. When taken in your mouth it will lie between one taken rectally and one under your arm.

Your temperature may fluctuate during the day and across different areas of your body. For instance, it may rise or fall by 1 degree Fahrenheit (F) depending upon your activity level and environmental temperature. Temperature is also sensitive to hormonal levels, which helps women estimate ovulation by taking their temperature before getting out of bed in the morning.

Body temperature has become an integral part of measuring illness, yet the origin of the generally accepted 98.6 F as a normal temperature is linked to a single study.³ Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich is credited with the clinical application of a thermometer and the determination of a normal temperature.

Normal Temperatures Have Dropped to Lower Than 98.6

Researchers from Stanford University⁴ undertook a massive study⁵ to evaluate whether the norm established in 1850 still was accurate. They found the average temperature is not what it once was. Dr. Julie Parsonnet, professor of medicine, says, "What everybody grew up learning, which is that our normal temperature is 98.6, is wrong."

Personnet and her team evaluated three datasets over different historical periods: from military service medical and pension records of U.S. Army Veterans of the Civil War; from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1971 to 1975; and from the Stanford Translational Research Integrated Database Environment pulled from 2007 to 2017.

In total there were 677,423 measurements from which they developed a model to find trends. They determined that men born in the early to mid-1990s had temperatures averaging 1.06 F lower than men born in the 1800s. The average temperature of women born in the 1990s was 0.58 F lower than that of women from a century earlier.

The numbers reflected an average decrease of 0.05 F every 10 years. The researchers also questioned if the drop was the result of better instrumentation. However, they found a similar decline in temperatures in men in the veteran's dataset with each decade where the same instruments were used. Parsonnet commented on the results of the study:

"Physiologically, we're just different from what we were in the past. The environment that we're living in has changed, including temperatures in our homes, our contact with microorganisms and the food that we have access to. All these things mean that although we think of human beings as if we're monomorphic and have been the same for all of human evolution, we're not the same. We're actually changing physiologically."

The researchers postulated the reductions may be a result of different ambient environments. However, Kenneth Welch, Ph.D., who was not involved in the study, proposed that many of the medications people in the U.S. are taking, such as ibuprofen and statins, affect temperature measurement.⁶

Thinking along that line, Civil War veterans would not have consistently taken medications as people currently do. Although the results are interesting, Welch doesn't believe it will make a difference in the day-to-day lives of individuals. He believes an alteration in normal or average temperatures is important to note, but it is crucial to discern when a change may indicate a serious condition.

Is a Fever Still a Fever?

Welch commented that even infections without any significant symptoms may trigger a small rise in temperature. Body temperature increases may be caused by environmental factors, infections, reactions to vaccinations or medication, or even an allergy.⁷

Rising body temperature is called a fever, even when the increased measurement is not caused by a viral or bacterial infection. However, this type of high temperature doesn't usually trigger the same body aches or headaches you experience with an infection.

Conversely, hypothermia (low body temperature) is what happens when you lose heat faster than your body can create it. This is a medical emergency.⁸ As your body temperature drops, your organs and vital systems can't do their job; this has to be treated immediately or it will be fatal.

To regulate temperature your hypothalamus communicates with your skin, body fluids, salt concentrations, blood vessels and sweat glands⁹ in a process called thermoregulation.¹⁰ When you experience a fever, it's a natural response to an external stimulus, such as infection, allergy or a reaction to a medication. In other words, something is out of the ordinary.

In adults, a temperature at 103 F or higher is cause for medical attention. However, in infants and toddlers, even low rises in temperature may indicate a serious infection.¹¹ Symptoms that may accompany a fever, depending on the trigger, may include:

Sweating and chills	Weakness	Muscle aches
Headache	Irritability	Loss of appetite

Can Temperature Variation Predict Mortality?

Another research team designed a six-year study observational to determine if variations in individual body temperature were correlated with measurements of health.¹² From 2009 to 2014 they enrolled 35,488 patients from outpatient clinics at a large teaching hospital who presented without infection, fever or having been prescribed antibiotics at the visit.

The group consisted of 64% women and 41% who were of a nonwhite race. The study was designed to examine any correlations among medical health conditions, demographics and one-year mortality rate.

The researchers measured each individual's temperature in a room where the ambient temperature was the same for all participants. A total of 243,506 temperatures were taken. Interestingly, the mean (average) temperature of the large patient cohort was 97.88 F, similar to the decline in average temperatures found in the Stanford study.

The researchers also found that demographically, those with the lowest temperatures were older, while those with the highest were black women. When physical conditions were considered, participants with lower temperatures were more likely to have hypothyroidism, while those with higher temperatures were more likely to have a higher body mass index or a diagnosis of cancer.

After controlling for variables, the researchers determined that an unexplained temperature fluctuation should be taken seriously:

"Baseline temperatures correlated with demographics, comorbid conditions, and physiology, but these factors explained only a small part of individual temperature variation. Unexplained variation in baseline temperature, however, strongly predicted mortality."

How to Take an Accurate Temperature

You have several different options for taking a temperature at home.¹³ A digital thermometer can be used in the mouth or rectum or under the arm. Purchase disposable protective sleeves to help keep things clean and to make sure you're not passing germs from person to person.

If you plan to take both oral and rectal temperatures, have a separate thermometer for each use and make sure they're labeled accordingly. While rectal thermometer readings are most accurate for infants younger than three months, talk with your pediatrician before doing this because it can perforate (poke a hole in) the rectum.¹⁴ When taking an oral temperature, wait at least 15 minutes after consuming anything to avoid an inaccurate reading.

A tympanic thermometer takes a digital reading from the inside of the ear canal. It must be positioned correctly to get an accurate and quick reading. You'll find earwax and small canals interfere with accuracy, as will age. That's why this type of thermometer isn't recommended for use with newborns.

A temporal artery thermometer may be labeled as a forehead thermometer; this type uses an infrared scanner to test the temporal artery temperature. While this is more accurate for children three months and older, it is also more expensive and must be placed over the artery to get an accurate reading.

One type that may be useful in children is built into a pacifier. The time it takes to get an accurate reading from a digital pacifier thermometer is variable, from two to four minutes. Data show the temperature taken with a digital pacifier thermometer should be adjusted upward by 0.5 F to approximate a reading from a rectal thermometer.^15,16 While glass mercury thermometers were once a staple, they are no longer recommended because mercury is toxic.

The type of thermometer you choose may not be as important as following the manufacturer's directions to achieve an accurate reading, ensuring you don't pass germs with use and you don't rely on a temperature alone to determine how sick you may be. Consider additional symptoms, especially dehydration, lethargy and confusion.

Should You Feed a Fever, Starve a Cold or Vice Versa?

The question of whether to feed a fever and starve a cold (or the reverse) has been the subject of much debate.¹⁷ Since you may experience a fever anytime during the year, not just during cold and flu season, be on the lookout for symptoms of illness.

You can tell the difference between a cold and flu by the severity of your symptoms and how high your fever gets. The rule of thumb is that if you feel hungry, then eat, regardless of your temperature. The caveat to consider is whether you are vomiting; see my tips on what to do when this happens.

As it turns out, what you have been eating may make a difference in how sick you get — or not. In one animal study,¹⁸ mice fed a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet had a lower inflammatory response and an improved ability to withstand flu. Those fed a standard diet were all infected with the virus after exposure, as compared to 50% of those eating a ketogenic diet.¹⁹

The researchers discovered the immune system in the group eating a keto diet promoted gamma-delta T cells in the lungs. These cells increase mucus production to protect from viral infection by trapping the virus and keeping it from spreading.

To eat a ketogenic diet, aim for 50% to 85% of your daily calories from healthy fats. In addition, seek to limit net carbohydrates to 20 to 50 grams each day. Your net carbohydrates are measured by subtracting grams of fiber from your total carbohydrates. You may improve this limitation by cutting out carbohydrates from grains and all forms of sugar, including fruit high in fructose.

Add healthy sources of fat to your daily intake, such as avocados, coconut oil, butter, seeds, olives, olive oil and fatty fish. Macadamia nuts and pecans are high in healthy fat and low in protein, making them ideal to add into your meals or as snacks.

Seek to include organic, pastured egg yolks, grass fed animal products, MCT oil and raw cacao to raise your level of healthy fats. Avoid all trans fats and vegetable oils as they trigger more cellular damage than excess carbohydrates. For more benefits, seek to incorporate a cyclical ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting to support your immune system and overall health.

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Scientists have developed a new TREE method (an acronym short for transient reporter for editing enrichment, or TREE), which allows for bulk enrichment of DNA base-edited cell populations -- and for the first time, high efficiency in human stem cell lines.

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A new review calls for recognition of 'take-home' exposures -- exposures to toxic contaminants inadvertently brought home from a family member's work -- as a public health hazard.

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On January 21, the first case of the Wuhan coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, was diagnosed in the United States. The virus has killed at least 17 people in China and sickened hundreds, primarily in Asian countries. Coronaviruses (CoVs) in bats have been linked to that outbreak, as well as outbreaks of diseases like SARS and MERS. Next-generation sequencing may be used to monitor the virus and how it spreads. This study describes a targeted NGS approach that can increase sensitivity and reduce cost. Researchers say this approach can help them maintain a library of genetic material from emerging CoVs, and track the origin and evolution of CoVs that cause outbreaks.

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Previous studies have shown how the SARS virus (SARS-CoV) interacts with animal and human hosts in order to infect them. The mechanics of infection by the Wuhan coronavirus appear to be similar.

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New modeling research estimates that up to 75,800 individuals in the Chinese city of Wuhan may have been infected with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as of Jan. 25, 2020. The authors caution that given the lack of a robust and detailed timeline of records of suspected, probable, and confirmed cases and close contacts, the true size of the epidemic and its pandemic potential remains unclear.

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The Institut Pasteur has sequenced the whole genome of the coronavirus known as '2019-nCoV', becoming the first institution in Europe to sequence the virus since the start of the outbreak.

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The circadian clock system allows the organisms to adjust to periodical changes of geophysical time. Today, increasing evidence show that disturbances in our internal clocks stemming from frequent time zone changes, irregular working schedules or ageing, have a significant impact on the development of metabolic diseases including type-2 diabetes. Using a molecule extracted from lemon peel, researchers have succeeded in 'repairing' the disrupted cellular clocks.

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Thanks to new research, a drug capable of reversing a common form of heart failure known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) may soon be available. The researchers show that a drug already approved for the treatment of some forms of cancer can reverse HFpEF symptoms and improve the heart's ability to pump blood in an HFpEF animal model.

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The lens of the human eye comprises a highly concentrated protein solution, which lends the lens its great refractive power. Protective proteins prevent these proteins from clumping together throughout a lifetime. A team of scientists has now uncovered the precise structure of the alpha-A-crystallin protein and, in the process, discovered an important additional function.

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Researchers have shown that cannabidiol (CBD) alters the brain activity in people with psychosis during memory tasks, making it more similar to the activation seen in people without psychosis during the same tasks.

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Colorectal cancer, one of the most common cancers in the developed world, is intrinsically resistant to many drug therapies. In an attempt to identify novel treatment strategies, researchers examined the contribution of serine racemase (SRR) to colorectal cancer metabolism. The researchers showed that SRR is required for cancer cell proliferation, and that inhibition of SRR in mice halted tumor progression, paving the way for future drug development.

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Study finds most restaurant meals eaten by Americans are of poor nutritional quality; minimal changes over 14 years.

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Hearing is a complex sense that provides us with awareness of environmental sounds and, more importantly, the ability to communicate. The ear is the organ responsible for perceiving sound, but it may not be so obvious that the brain is responsible for processing the sound. It is necessary that both organs work properly for hearing to occur.

The link between hearing loss and cognition is not fully understood

In recent years, there has been extensive research examining how age-related hearing loss and brain function (cognition) are associated. There are some general concepts that might contribute to the association between hearing loss and cognition. One theory is that hearing loss leads to a decreased input to the brain, so there is less processing that occurs, which contributes to cognitive decline (a “bottom-up” approach). Another theory is that early cognitive deficits may impact a person’s ability to process sound, and thus contribute to hearing loss (a “top-down” approach). Irrespective of which theory is correct, it is clear that the association between hearing and cognition is very real. This association emphasizes the need to improve our approach to testing and treating hearing loss.

How is hearing loss measured, and what’s considered a deficit?

Most audiologists and otolaryngologists define normal hearing as someone being able to hear any level above 25 decibels. This value is somewhat liberally designated, and largely based on the average range below which most people in a population experience hearing trouble. Most clinicians who manage patients with hearing loss will admit that conventional hearing tests are imperfect, despite the important information they provide. The imperfections in conventional hearing tests are due to the fact that it is a simple measure that is trying to quantify a complex process. For example, hearing tests present simple tones and words, but hearing in real-life situations involves sentences, speech, and language, which is much more complicated to hear and would require more complicated testing to evaluate.

Researchers and clinicians who specialize in hearing loss have considered that the current standard for normal hearing may be too liberal. Additionally, research suggests there may be a role for new definitions of normal hearing that account for people who are experiencing symptoms of hearing loss, but are considered to have normal hearing by current standards. These people might be considered as having “borderline hearing loss” or “subclinical hearing loss.”

New research highlights the need to improve our approach to subclinical hearing loss

A recent article in JAMA Otolaryngology highlights this need. In this article, researchers reviewed two large population databases of 6,451 people who had had hearing and cognitive testing. The research showed that those who were 50 or older had cognitive scores that seemingly declined even before they reached clinically defined hearing loss (subclinical hearing loss). The research also noted that the association between hearing and cognition is stronger among subjects with normal hearing compared to those with hearing loss. For example, in the population they analyzed, cognition scores dropped in the normal hearing population faster than in the population with hearing loss. This result is somewhat counterintuitive, and suggests that maybe what we currently define as normal hearing may in fact include some people with hearing deficits. It also challenges what clinicians have accepted as standard classifications for hearing loss on hearing tests.

What does this mean if you are concerned about hearing loss?

First, it is worth clarifying that the new research does not in any way suggest that hearing loss is going to lead to cognitive decline. Just because these things are associated, does not mean they are causally related. Next, what these findings make clear is that it is important to have hearing tested if you notice problems with your hearing, such as challenges hearing when in social settings, requiring the radio or television at higher volumes, or constantly requiring people to repeat themselves.

The coordinated functions of the ear and the brain place a new priority on addressing hearing loss

Do not ignore symptoms of hearing loss, because you do not want to miss an opportunity to address hearing deficits. In addition, do not hesitate to ask your provider specific details about your hearing results. Often patients can be afraid to ask for details about their results because they do not want to admit that they do not understand the result, and it is important to raise concerns about your hearing even if your hearing test is normal. By taking care of your hearing, you are addressing an obvious issue (hearing loss) with not-so-obvious consequences (cognition).

Unfortunately, hearing aid use is very low despite the high incidence of hearing loss. Ask your provider about options to rehabilitate your hearing with hearing aids. Depending on the type of hearing loss you have, other options may be available to you as well, such as procedures to improve the hearing.

The post Hearing loss may affect brain health appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

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Hokkaido University scientists are getting closer to understanding how a rare hereditary disease impairs the skin's barrier function, which determines how well the skin is protected.

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New research shows that exercise addiction is nearly four times more common amongst people with an eating disorder.

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After suffering with postnatal depression and lethargy after giving birth to her second child, Rachelle Rowlings is now flaunting her new body which she credits to Pilates and a plant-based diet.

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Hokkaido University scientists are getting closer to understanding how a rare hereditary disease impairs the skin's barrier function, which determines how well the skin is protected.

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A new study on meta reinforcement learning algorithms helps us understand how the human brain learns to adapt to complexity and uncertainty when learning and making decisions. A research team succeeded in discovering both a computational and neural mechanism for human meta reinforcement learning, opening up the possibility of porting key elements of human intelligence into artificial intelligence algorithms. This study provides a glimpse into how it might ultimately use computational models to reverse engineer human reinforcement learning.

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Infertility likely stems from age-related decline of the ovaries, but the molecular mechanisms that lead to this decline have been unclear. Now, scientists have discovered, in unprecedented detail, how ovaries age in non-human primates. The findings reveal several genes that could be used as biomarkers and point to therapeutic targets for diagnosing and treating female infertility and age-associated ovarian diseases, such as ovarian cancer, in humans.

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Need some healthy dinner inspo? Try this vegetarian bowl that's packed with nourishing ingredients.

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After sequencing the Neanderthal genome, scientists discovered all present day non-African individuals carry some Neanderthal ancestry in their DNA. Now, researchers present evidence of Neanderthal ancestry in African populations too, and its origin provides new insights into human history.

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Using ultra-bright X-ray flashes, a team of researchers has tracked down a potential target for new drugs against sleeping sickness: The scientists have decoded the detailed spatial structure of a vital enzyme of the pathogen, the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. The result provides a possible blueprint for a drug that specifically blocks this enzyme and thus kills the parasite, as the team reports.

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Antibiotics are more efficient when they can act on their target directly at the site of infestation, without dilution. American scientists now describe a synthetic chemical trap that propels itself to its place of action in the body fluid and then lures the bacteria into its interior to poison them. One of the main functionalities of the microdevice is the communication with its target, says the study.

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A new study could be particularly important for those working in rehabilitation and helping people to recover after neurological conditions.

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WSU study finds that environmental transmission rather than antibiotic use explains the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in people, domestic animals and wildlife.

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For hundreds of years, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have used an herb called Stemona sessilifolia as a remedy for parasitic infections, such as those caused by pinworms and lice. Now, researchers have identified 10 compounds that might be responsible for the herb's effectiveness. But there's a twist: The insecticides are produced by symbiotic microbes that live within the plant's cells -- not by S. sessilifolia itself.

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In addition to harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, air pollution contains tiny particles that have been linked to health problems, including cardiovascular disease and asthma.

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Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health. Sensing and treating bacterial infections earlier could help improve patients' recovery, as well curb the spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Now, researchers have developed color-changing bandages that can sense drug-resistant and drug-sensitive bacteria in wounds and treat them accordingly.

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Researchers discovered consuming low-calorie sweeteners like aspartame and stevia while pregnant increased body fat in their offspring and disrupted their gut microbiota.

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Researchers have discovered that a used cigarette butt - even one that is cold to the touch - can give off the equivalent of 14% of the nicotine that an actively burning cigarette emits. They are calling this newly discovered form of cigarette exposure ''after smoke'' or butt emissions.

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Researchers discovered consuming low-calorie sweeteners like aspartame and stevia while pregnant increased body fat in their offspring and disrupted their gut microbiota.

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Chances are that you or someone you know has experienced unpleasant symptoms after a meal or snack. Maybe you experienced some degree of sneezing, wheezing, rashes, brain fog, joint pain, nausea, bloating, diarrhea, or another symptom. This may have led you to believe you have a food allergy — and maybe you do. But it’s also possible that you have a food intolerance, celiac disease, or a food sensitivity. This is important, because some of the reactions can range from just annoying to life-threatening.

Food intolerances

Food intolerance refers mostly to the inability to process or digest certain foods. The most common food reaction appears to be lactose intolerance. As we get older, our ability to digest dairy decreases. That’s because, with age, our intestines make less of the enzyme (lactase) that processes lactose, a type of sugar present in milk and dairy products. As a result, we have more lactose sitting in the digestive tract, which can cause stomach bloating, inflammation, and diarrhea. Research has found that only about 35% of people worldwide can digest lactose beyond the age of about seven or eight.

Lactose intolerance is not a serious disease, but it can be quite uncomfortable. Avoiding dairy products is a surefire way to avoid symptoms; some, like milk, tend to produce more severe symptoms than others, like yogurt and cheese. Over-the-counter lactase enzyme supplements can also help.

Food allergies

A more severe problem happens when someone develops a true allergic reaction, an overblown response by the body’s immune system against a seemingly harmless substance — in this case, a food. The classic example is the potentially life-threatening difficulty breathing and low blood pressure following exposure to peanuts or seafood. Food allergies can show up at any time in our lives, even during older adulthood.

If you think you may have a food allergy, consider allergy testing and treatment, especially if your symptoms are severe (significant rashes, feeling of passing out, facial swelling, and problems breathing). Scrupulously reading ingredient labels is wise. And carrying epinephrine shots in case of accidental ingestion or contact with the food in question is essential and can be lifesaving.

Celiac disease

Celiac disease affects about 1% of the Western population. In this autoimmune condition, the ingestion of gluten initiates a complex inflammatory reaction that can make people with celiac disease very sick. Celiac disease is not a true allergy; eating gluten once does not cause an immediate life-threatening problem. However, prolonged and continuous ingestion can cause diarrhea, weight loss, and malnutrition.

Avoiding gluten is the only solution to this problem. Gluten is found in a variety of grains, including wheat, rye, barley, semolina, bulgur, and farina. Many processed foods also contain gluten. People with celiac disease must also be careful about cross-contamination, when a gluten-free food comes into contact with a gluten-containing food.

Food sensitivities

After eating certain foods, a large part of the population experiences symptoms that are not related to food intolerances, food allergies, or celiac disease. These are referred to as food sensitivities. Though there is controversy around what exactly happens in the body of someone with a food sensitivity, it appears that exposure to specific foods may create an immune reaction that generates a multitude of symptoms. The symptoms are not life-threatening, but they can be quite disruptive and include joint pain, stomach pain, fatigue, rashes, and brain fog. Gluten is probably the best-known trigger of food sensitivities.

The best tool we have to identify food sensitivities is a process of careful observation and experimentation. Removing certain foods believed to cause reactions from the diet for two to four weeks, reintroducing them one by one, and watching for symptoms is the current gold standard to pin down what may be causing symptoms. This so-called “elimination diet” is not high-tech, and it is far from perfect. A physician or nutritionist can provide guidance for undertaking an elimination diet, and can help you understand limitations and avoid possible pitfalls. Removing certain foods can help stave off undesirable symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Food reactions, especially sensitivities, can also fade away with time. Our bodies, immune systems, and the gut microbiome are continually changing, and what may not sit well today may be fine to have later on in life. At some point, you may consider reintroducing small amounts of a food that you have been sensitive to, to see what you may be able to tolerate.

The bottom line

Though food reactions are common, they can be challenging to understand. Identifying the cause can be difficult and time-consuming, but it is worth the time and effort. Once you’ve identified the problem, and the food or foods that trigger it, a nutritionist or a physician can help you develop the most comprehensive diet that is safe for you.

The post Food allergy, intolerance, or sensitivity: What’s the difference, and why does it matter? appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

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If you're feeling tired, cranky, stressed out and overwhelmed, you're likely heading quickly down the slippery slope to burnout. Burnout, which is a term used to describe physical or emotional exhaustion that's typically the result of prolonged stress or frustration,¹ is a common human condition, but definitely not a desirable one.

 A 2018 Gallup study of nearly 7,500 full-time employees found that 23% feel burned out at work always or very often, while another 44% said they sometimes feel burned out. That amounts to about two-thirds of full-time employees feeling burnout while they're at work.² Yet, work is only one route to burnout.

Other areas of life, such as control, reward, community, fairness and values³ — and how well each of these is served in your life — also correlate with burnout, some of which are more easily tackled and changed than others. Perhaps the best lesson on burnout, however, is to take action against it before it has consumed you.

Once you're officially burned out, it can be hard to dig yourself out of the hole. But if you make proactive changes ahead of time, on a regular basis and certainly if you feel yourself start to slide downhill, you may be able to avoid burnout entirely, staying emotionally and physically strong instead.

Three Anti-Burnout Foundations: Sleep, Diet and Exercise

Taking care of your body on a physical level is the foundation of avoiding burnout, and this starts with the three pillars of health: proper sleep, diet and exercise. Data from the U.S. CDC suggests one-third of U.S. adults are not getting the recommended seven hours of sleep each night,⁴ and most people likely need closer to eight hours to be healthy.

When you don't sleep, your mood, productivity and inclination to make positive lifestyle choices can suffer, and your body's ability to handle stress will be impaired. Poor sleep lessens a person's self-control, which in turn increases the rate of selfish impulses leading to unwanted behaviors — even workplace theft.⁵

Insufficient sleep, in fact, predicts clinical burnout and combines with other risk factors, namely preoccupation with thoughts of work during leisure time and high work demands, to increase burnout risk.⁶

Not only is getting proper sleep important to avoiding burnout but it can also help you recover from burnout once it occurs.⁷ What you eat is also fundamentally important. A healthy diet that optimizes mitochondrial function and limits inflammation will bolster your body's ability resilience and ability to ward off stress, providing you with the energy for physical and mental strength.

Optimizing your omega-3, vitamin D and magnesium levels can also help reduce stress and positively impact brain health. Exercise is the third essential to avoiding burnout, and exercising three to five days a week for 45 minutes has been suggested as the "sweet spot" that leads to the greatest mental health gains.⁸

In a large study involving 1.2 million U.S. adults, participants reported their activity levels for one month along with rating their mental well-being. On average, people who exercised reported 1.5 fewer days of poor mental health in the past month compared to those who did not.⁹

This may be, in part, because exercise has been found to create new neurons designed to release the GABA neurotransmitter, which inhibits excessive neuronal firing, helping to induce a natural state of calm.¹⁰

Align Your Life With Your Personality

If you're living a lifestyle that's contradictory to your true personality or values, it can also cause mental fatigue and anguish, facilitating burnout. In The New York Times, Robert L. Bogue, co-author of "Extinguish Burnout: A Practical Guide to Prevention and Recovery," explained:¹¹

"Self-care is dependent on the individual. It is based on what helps them to feel more like they're in their natural state, which is the thing, place or feeling that would happen if there were no pressure on them — the thing they would want to do.

When you're operating outside of your natural state, you are consuming energy. The more in alignment you become, the less you're demanding of yourself and the more personal agency you build up."

Toward this end, it's important to take time to recharge in the way that feels right to you. For some, recharging may require spending time with others while some people can only regroup via solitude. Along these lines, prioritize activities that make you feel energized while avoiding those that drag you down.

This likely means you'll need to learn to say "no" and make a point to engage in activities that make you happy and create "flow." Flow, according to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is the secret to happiness and occurs when you are completely absorbed in an activity (often one that involves creativity).¹²

When you're immersed in flow, your sense of time becomes distorted because nearly all of your brain's available inputs are devoted to the activity at hand, Csikszentmihalyi states. If you're depressed and unable to fully give your attention to the present moment, and as a result find time is agonizingly slow, mindfulness-based therapies may be very helpful, particularly in cases of a depressed perception of time.¹³

As Csikszentmihalyi said, "The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times … The best moments usually occur if a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."¹⁴

Taking the time to pursue such moments can be a key to avoiding the burned out feeling that comes from excessive time spent on activities you do not enjoy or which drain you of mental and physical energy.

Work With Your Reality

To some extent, you have to learn to be happy and manage stress within your existing reality. You can take steps to start a new career or otherwise change aspects of your life that are contributing to burnout, but in the immediacy it's important to, at a bare minimum, use strategies to control your day-to-day work stress. This may include meditation, exercise or time with family and friends.

Ideally, find work that suits your personality and gives you meaning and purpose, but if you don't have that, remember that you can find purpose in nonwork pursuits including volunteering and hobbies. Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a time management coach and author of "The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment, How to Invest Your Time Like Money, and Divine Time Management," wrote in The New York Times:¹⁵

"Another alternative is to stop expecting satisfaction in these areas within your job and, instead, seek opportunities outside of work that fulfill these core needs. For example, maybe you volunteer with an organization where you feel appreciated, find the activities intrinsically rewarding, have values alignment and a strong sense of community.

Or maybe you invest time in your family or friends to cultivate a feeling of belonging, fulfillment and autonomy. When you're 'filled up' by how you invest your time outside of work, and you feel supported by people who know and care about you, you have a buffer against the drain that may exist in the office.

You may not have the ability to change everything you don't like about your job, but you do have the ability to improve how good you feel about yourself and life in general."

Foster Self-Acceptance

Self-acceptance is an important part of psychological health and involves accepting all of your attributes, both positive and negative. "Self-acceptance enables an individual to appropriately evaluate his/her efficient and inefficient features and accept any negative aspects as parts of their personality," researchers wrote in the journal PLOS One.¹⁶

Self-acceptance includes three main attitudes, including love for your body, even if you're not completely satisfied with your weight, fitness level or any other physical attribute. It also involves the ability to protect yourself from others' negative judgments, such that you don't let it phase you if other people judge you.

Self-acceptance also involves recognizing and appreciating your own capabilities and believing in yourself. People who have high levels of self-acceptance tend to also have higher levels of self-esteem and interpersonal satisfaction. They're also less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, eating disorders and obesity.¹⁷

In the video above, Julie Schiffman demonstrates a simple technique to help you love and accept yourself — something most of us can benefit from. Schiffman is a practitioner of the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), which is a form of psychological acupressure that involves tapping with the fingertips on specific meridians in order to clear negative emotions and thought patterns. This is but one way to bring more self-love into your life, akin to giving your inner critic a giant bear hug.

How to Heal Burnout

Preventing burnout is easier than recovering from it, but it's possible to get better by focusing on balance in key areas of your life, namely physical, spiritual, work and relationship aspects of your life. First, it's important to be aware of the signs of burnout and take action as soon as (or ideally before) they occur:¹⁸

• Physical exhaustion, signaled by chronic fatigue, insomnia, forgetfulness, impaired concentration, inattentiveness, physical illness and loss of appetite
• Emotional exhaustion, a "feeling of internal collapse," loss of perspective, detachment, irritability, frequent anger, loss of enjoyment, pessimism, increasing isolation, apathy and hopelessness
• Reduced performance and productivity despite best efforts, loss of self-esteem, feeling like a failure
• Depression

Burnout predicts a number of physical and psychological effects as well, including the following, which highlights the importance of preventing and healing from this deleterious condition:¹⁹

Type 2 diabetes	Coronary heart disease	Hospitalization due to cardiovascular disorder
Musculoskeletal pain	Changes in pain experience	Prolonged fatigue
Headaches	Gastrointestinal issues	Respiratory problems
Severe injuries	Mortality before the age of 45 years	Insomnia
Depressive symptoms	Use of psychotropic and antidepressant medications	Hospitalization for mental disorders
Job dissatisfaction	Absenteeism at work

In the interview above, Dr. Joseph Maroon, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and author of "Square One: A Simple Guide to a Balanced Life," speaks on the topic of burnout — something he, too, once struggled with.

He explains that recovering from burnout (or avoiding it in the first place) boils down to finding and maintaining a balance between your work life, physical activities, relationships and spirituality or mindfulness. Only by nurturing all aspects of life can you feel truly fulfilled and centered, so if you find yourself feeling off balance, place your attention on the areas you've been neglecting. As Maroon noted:

"The point is we can't escape adversity. We can't escape stress. But what happened to me is I didn't recognize how bad off I was in a unidimensional [all work] life.

I didn't recognize it until I was working at a truck stop as a pump jockey … I think the most important thing I missed was mindfulness. I didn't have insight into where I was; insight on how I got there, when everything was lost."

Likewise, Saunders also suggests following your inner truth as a key to fulfillment: "By investing your time based on the truth of your body, personality and reality, you can reduce your risk of burnout."²⁰

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If you're like most people, chances are you're consuming unhealthy amounts of sugar on a regular basis. Even if you're not big on candy, most processed foods will provide you with an excessive amount of added sugars.

As noted in the BBC One report "The Truth About Sugar," a serving of Pad Thai noodles contains 9.5 teaspoons of sugar and a package of sweet and sour chicken with rice contains 12.5 teaspoons, which is more than a can of soda.

A can of baked beans contains 6 teaspoons of sugar, which would ideally be your grand total for the day, so it's important to realize that it's not merely cakes, cookies, candy and ice cream that get people into trouble.

Even many baby foods contain shocking amounts of sugar,^1,2 which can set your child on the path of lifelong sugar addiction and the health problems that go along with it. The idea that sugar is addictive is not new. A number of studies have shown it acts much like other addictive substances.

One of the latest studies looking at the addictive potential of sugar was published in the November 2019 issue of Scientific Reports,^3,4,5,6,7 in which they point out that "Excessive sucrose consumption elicits addiction-like craving that may underpin the obesity epidemic."

Sugar Alters Your Brain Chemistry

By using PET imaging along with beta-opioid and dopamine receptor agonists, the researchers were able to show how sucrose affects the brain chemistry in miniature pigs. The miniature pigs were chosen for the fact that they have well-defined subcortical and prefrontal cortical regions, which "enable a more direct translation to human brain function." As explained by the authors:⁸

"After 12 days of sucrose access, BPND [non-displaceable binding potentials] of both tracers had declined significantly in striatum, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, amygdala, cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex, consistent with down-regulation of receptor densities … The lower availability of opioid and dopamine receptors may explain the addictive potential associated with intake of sucrose."

Even a single exposure to sucrose produced as much as a 14% decrease in carfentanil (a beta-opioid receptor agonist) binding in the nucleus accumbens and cingulate cortex, which is consistent with opioid release.

In more layman terms, sugar consumption triggers the release of natural opioids and dopamine in your brain, thus lowering the availability of those receptors. Reduced receptor availability is a sign of overstimulation, as when your brain gets overstimulated, it downregulates the receptors in order to protect your brain from damage.

The drawback of this protective mechanism is that you now need a higher dose of the substance to get the same pleasure response, and this is a key mechanism by which addiction develops.

You can learn more about the mechanics of addiction in my interview with Dr. Pamela Peeke, author of "The Hunger Fix: The Three-Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction."

Sugar Affects Your Brain Like Other Addictive Drugs

Figure 4 from the Scientific Reports study shows how carfentanil binding potential changed from baseline levels over the course of 12 days. Figure 6 shows the change in raclopride, a selective antagonist on dopamine receptors.⁹

Figure 4: Regional analysis of carfentanil bonding potential between baseline and after 12 days of sucrose water exposure.

Figure 6: Regional analysis of raclopride bonding potential between baseline and after 12 days of sucrose water exposure.

According to the authors, "The results clearly demonstrate that sucrose affects reward mechanisms in a manner similar to that of drugs of abuse."¹⁰ In the discussion section of the paper, they further explain:

"The intake of sucrose as a palatable substance is known to release DA [dopamine] and induce dependency in rodents, with sucrose shown to be even more pleasurable than cocaine in rodents in certain contexts. Thus, rodents work more intensely to obtain sucrose than cocaine, even in the absence of food deprivation.

However, the effects of sucrose are regulated both by the homeostatic system and by hedonic reward circuits that may mediate the distinction between nutritional and hedonic aspects of sucrose action.

We opted for a one-hour per day schedule in order to promote 'binging' … Behavioral studies of food intake often target food-restricted animals, but the design may not necessarily reflect the same neural mechanisms active in obesity. Pigs in the present study were not food restricted and were fed the usual amounts of their normal diet in addition to access to sucrose.

Opioid receptors (OR) are widely expressed in the brain, specifically in structures known to modulate eating and reward processes. ORs have been shown to be important in the rewarding and relapsing effects of cocaine … Previous studies have shown that palatable food can lead to feelings of pleasure by stimulating opioid release.

After 12 days of sucrose access, we observed decreased carfentanil binding, which has several possible explanations, including endogenous opioid release and binding to μOR [beta-opioid receptors], μOR internalization as a result of increased opioid binding, and increased DA D2/3 receptor activation leading to heterologous desensitization of μOR …

In a study of acute feeding behavior in healthy men, feeding led to robust and widespread endogenous cerebral opioid release, both in the presence and absence of hedonia, suggesting that opioid release reflects metabolic and homeostatic, as well as hedonic, responses."

Other Brain Changes Triggered by Excessive Sugar

Other research has shown daily sugar consumption impairs spatial memory and inhibits neurogenesis in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory processes.¹¹

Research¹² on rats has also shown a high-sugar diet tends to alter inhibitory neurons in the prefrontal cortex, where decision-making and impulse control are centered. Aside from impaired impulse control and the inability to delay gratification, this alteration may also increase the risk of mental health problems in children and adolescents. As noted in a 2015 study:¹³

"We found that sucrose-exposed rats failed to show context-appropriate responding … indicative of impairments in prefrontal cortex function. Sucrose exposed rats also showed deficits in an on object-in-place recognition memory task, indicating that both prefrontal and hippocampal function was impaired.

Analysis of brains showed a reduction in expression of parvalbumin-immunoreactive GABAergic interneurons in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, indicating that sucrose consumption during adolescence induced long-term pathology, potentially underpinning the cognitive deficits observed.

These results suggest that consumption of high levels of sugar-sweetened beverages by adolescents may also impair neurocognitive functions affecting decision-making and memory, potentially rendering them at risk for developing mental health disorders."

Eliminating Sugar Is a Quick Route to Improved Health

Needless to say, a high-sugar diet will also take a toll on your health by packing on unwanted pounds, and the pace can be remarkably rapid. As noted in the BBC program, "The Truth About Sugar" (hyperlinked at the beginning of this article), drinking three cups of tea or coffee per day with 2 teaspoons of sugar added to each cup can result in a 9.9-pound weight gain (4.5 kilos) in a single year, provided you don't increase your physical activity to burn off the extra calories.

When you consider that most consume five or six times more added sugar than that each day, it's easy to see how obesity has become more the norm than the exception.

The World Health Organization recommends limiting your daily sugar consumption to 10% of your total intake, or better yet, 5%, which equates to about 6 teaspoons or 25 grams, if you want to really optimize your health.¹⁴

The good news is research^15,16,17 shows reducing added sugars from an average of 27% of daily calories down to about 10% can improve biomarkers associated with health in as little as 10 days — even when overall calorie count and percentage of carbohydrates remains the same.

While this sounds simple enough, it can be tricky business if your diet consists primarily of processed foods. According to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74% of processed foods under more than 60 different names. For a full list, please see SugarScience.org's "Hidden in Plain Sight" page.¹⁸

When you're trying to avoid sugar, you need to avoid any and all of these, as they all have similar effects, although processed fructose — such as high fructose corn syrup — tends to have the most adverse health effects and is a primary driver of obesity and diabetes.¹⁹

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How to Break Your Sugar Addiction

If you find yourself struggling with sugar cravings, intermittent fasting can help. For optimal results, you'll want to replace the calories from sugar and non-vegetable carbs with vegetables and healthy fats, as this will help reset your body's metabolism, allowing it to effectively burn fat for fuel again. When sugar is not needed for your primary fuel and when your sugar stores run low, your body will crave it less.

Another helpful technique, which addresses the emotional component of food cravings, is the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). If you maintain negative thoughts and feelings about yourself while trying to take physical steps to improve your health and body, you're unlikely to succeed.

While traditional psychological approaches may sometimes work, EFT has shown to be a far better, not to mention inexpensive, solution. If you feel that your emotions, or your own self-image, may be your own worst enemy when it comes to altering your relationship with food, I highly recommend you read my free EFT manual and consider trying EFT on your own.

A version of EFT specifically geared toward combating sugar cravings is called Turbo Tapping. For further instructions, please see The Epoch Times article, "Turbo Tapping: How to Get Rid of Your Soda Addiction."²⁰

My previous article, "EFT: Tapping for Weight Loss" also offers helpful guidance. To get an idea of how it works, see the video below, in which EFT practitioner Julie Schiffman demonstrates how to use EFT to fight food cravings of all kinds.

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Osteopath Fiona Hooper explains exactly what that 'popping' sound is, how it could impact existing injuries and why you should never, ever do it as a party trick. 

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There's a good chance you're not wearing the right gear if you're someone who struggles to find the motivation to run. Here are the only 5 products you need to change that.

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Jessika Power has revealed the real toll of a Married At First Sight split. 

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Although a link has been established between chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, there have been many open questions regarding how cellular senescence, a process whereby cells that stop dividing under stress spew out a mix of inflammatory proteins, affects these pathologies. Researchers report that senescence in astrocytes, the most abundant cell type in the brain, leads to damaging ''excitotoxicity'' in cortical neurons that are involved in memory.

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A new study has revealed how the gut's protective mechanisms ramp up significantly with food intake, and at times of the day when mealtimes are anticipated based on regular eating habits. Researchers found that eating causes a hormone called VIP to kickstart the activity of immune cells in response to potentially incoming pathogens or 'bad' bacteria. The researchers also found that immunity increased at anticipated mealtimes indicating that maintaining regular eating patterns could be more important than previously thought.

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Just like every virus before it, coronavirus is spreading.

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The I-don’t-have-anything-to-wear blues ramps up a notch or three in pregnancy.

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Eating all the right foods and exercising regularly but not seeing any results? Dr Libby Weaver explains why that stubborn belly fat isn't budging. 

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Dogs that are smaller, younger, non-neutered, or live in US counties with high opioid prescription rates are at higher risk of being the subjects of phone calls about accidental opioid poisoning to a poison control center.

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Researchers have established how sugar is taken up by the malaria parasite, a discovery with the potential to improve the development of antimalarial drugs.

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Researchers describe a new method for delivering neural precursor cells to spinal cord injuries in rats, reducing the risk of further injury and boosting the propagation of potentially reparative cells.

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It's known that some joint function is often permanently lost after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and re-injury is common even with intensive physical therapy, but it's unclear why.

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Experts in population mapping have identified cities and provinces within mainland China, and cities and countries worldwide, which are at high-risk from the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

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Mixing drinking water with chlorine, the United States' most common method of disinfecting drinking water, creates previously unidentified toxic byproducts.

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Researchers have developed an unrivaled, fully automated robotic screening system which allows them to rapidly test the effect of drugs and other chemicals on human sperm. The researchers are working towards finding a safe and effective male contraceptive.

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Some forms of domestic violence double victims' risk of depression and anxiety disorders later in life, according to recent research.

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British newspapers are routinely glamorizing combat by creating a moral separation between combat and non-combat injuries, according to new research.

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The adoption of children is a fundamental method of building families. However, adoptees may face subsequent adaptive challenges associated with family stress at the time of birth and during the adoption process.

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The new mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variant drastically speeds up the disease progression in a mouse model of GRACILE syndrome. This discovery provides a new tool for studies of mitochondrial diseases.

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New brain networks come 'online' during adolescence, allowing teenagers to develop more complex adult social skills, but potentially putting them at increased risk of mental illness, according to new research.

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The importance of getting enough sleep has been emphasized by hundreds of studies in recent years, and we’ve covered the topic many times on this blog.

Inadequate sleep has been linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health problems. And, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, up to 72,000 car accidents and 6,000 deaths occur each year due to sleep-deprived drivers.

But what about too much sleep? Could that be bad for you, too? According to a new study, the answer may be yes.

More sleep, more strokes?

Researchers publishing in the December 11, 2019, online issue of Neurology describe an analysis of stroke risk among nearly 32,000 adults with an average age of 62. The study’s authors compared rates of stroke with study subjects’ self-reported sleep habits.

Their findings were surprising (at least to me) and included:

• Those who reported sleeping nine or more hours each night had a 23% higher risk of stroke than those sleeping less than eight hours each night.
• Stroke risk was 25% higher among those who took midday naps for at least 90 minutes compared with those napping for less than 30 minutes.

Poor sleep quality was also linked to higher stroke risk

Combinations of these factors had an even more dramatic effect on stroke risk, including an 85% higher risk among those who slept at least nine hours each night and also took midday naps for at least 90 minutes. Similarly, an 82% higher stroke risk was observed among those who slept longer at night and also reported poor sleep quality.

Does this mean too much sleep causes strokes?

If you are a person who sleeps more than nine hours each night, takes long midday naps, and feels your sleep quality is poor, these results may be troubling. But before trying to change your sleep habits, keep in mind this study did not conclude that more sleep actually causes strokes.

This study found an association between stroke risk and longer sleep, longer midday napping, or poor sleep quality. But an association is not the same as causation. Rather than longer sleep duration causing strokes, there are other possible explanations for the findings. For example, people who sleep more at night or nap more during the day may have other risk factors for stroke, such as:

• A higher incidence of depression. Excessive sleeping or poor sleep quality may be symptoms of depression, and prior studies have noted higher stroke rates among depressed individuals.
• A more sedentary lifestyle. Those who are not active may sleep or nap more and also have more cardiovascular risk factors (such as smoking or hypertension) than those who exercise regularly. Past research has noted less favorable cholesterol levels and larger waist circumference among long sleepers and nappers.
• Sleep apnea. Longer sleep duration, more napping, and poor-quality sleep may be more common among people with sleep apnea, a condition linked to an increased risk of stroke. This new study did not ask subjects about sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.

In addition, this study had weaknesses that could call its findings into question or limit its applicability. These include reliance on self-reported sleep habits and quality, and inclusion only of middle-aged and older Chinese adults without prior cancer or cardiovascular disease; the results might have been quite different if others were included in the study.

The bottom line

Sleep is a mysterious thing. It’s often unclear why some people sleep more or less than others, or why certain sleep disorders (such as insomnia or sleep apnea) affect so many people while sparing others. At a time when there’s so much media emphasis on the importance of getting enough sleep, this new study raises the possibility that more sleep may not always be a good thing. Still, we’ll need additional research on the question of whether more sleep is hazardous before making any firm recommendations to limit sleep duration.

The post Are you getting enough sleep… or too much? Sleep and stroke risk appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

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Think pasta is your flat-belly enemy? Think again. Dietitian Simone Austin explains how the way that your cooking methods has a big impact on the way your body digests, and burns off a plate of your favourite spaghetti, penne or fusilli. 

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Data from the CDC¹ in 2017 show heart disease causes one death every 37 seconds in America and that it is the leading cause of death in the U.S. It created a financial burden of $219 billion in 2014 and 2015. Every 40 seconds someone has a heart attack. Those at higher risk are smokers and those who have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and/or diabetes.²

Since researchers believed cholesterol levels contribute greatly to heart disease, pharmaceutical companies focused on developing a drug that might be marketed to millions when they first began searching for a “cure” to what is known as “hardening of the arteries.” After a historical journey beginning in the mid-20th century,³ the first statin drug was released in 1987 — lovastatin.

The way statin drugs work is by preventing a certain enzyme from carrying out its function in the body. This was first tested with fungi broths and then later in animals, and in both cases it lowered plasma cholesterol. Millions of people now take statins on the advice of their physicians with the hope of extending their life and reducing their risk of heart disease. One Johns Hopkins cardiologist explains a dangerous evolution of statin use:⁴

“Traditionally, statins were viewed as purely cholesterol-lowering drugs. So it made sense just to use them for people with high cholesterol. But we’ve learned that they also benefit people with lower levels of cholesterol who are at a high risk of heart disease. So we now think of statins as risk-reducing drugs.”

As mainstream medicine continues to prescribe statin medications to a growing number of patients whether they currently have cholesterol levels deemed higher than normal or not, others are warning this trend is likely placing more people at risk than it is helping.

As I have reported, a 2015 review of statin trials found that in primary prevention trials, the median postponement of death in those taking statins was just 3.2 days. In exchange for an additional 3.2 days, those taking statins may experience heart damage and have an increased risk of dementia.^5,6

Do You Experience Statin Brain?

Dr. Beatrice Golomb is a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, whose recent research has focused on statin use. In her answer to a question by a Scientific American reader, she writes about how statins affect your neurological system and, more specifically, your brain:⁷

"Between 2003 and 2012 roughly one in four Americans aged 40 and older were taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But studies show that statins can influence our sleep and behavior — and perhaps even change the course of neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia.

In 2015, my colleagues and I observed that women taking statins, on average, showed increased aggression; men typically showed less, possibly because of reduced testosterone levels. Some men in our study did experience a marked increase in aggression, which was correlated with worsening sleep."

By 2016, the recommendations for statins widened when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published new guidelines in which they indicated statins should be started in people between the ages of 40 and 75⁸ who have at least one risk factor for heart disease. This recommendation resulted in 35 million who are currently prescribed statin medications.⁹

Golomb has found the drugs produce different effects based on a person’s medical history, the drug they are taking and the dose.¹⁰ She’s found that while adverse drug reactions have been reported with statin use, there are not a lot of published studies having to do with mood and behavioral changes related to statin use.

In 12 case studies, Golomb found changes that started after statin use was begun and persisted or progressed as the drug was continued. Reports of violent ideation, suicide, irritability and depression were resolved when the drug was discontinued. A sample of the reports include:

• Suicide after simvastatin was taken for 5 days
• Depression in a woman in her 50s after taking simvastatin 10 mg for 2 weeks
• Depression and aggression in a man in his 50s after taking atorvastatin 20 mg for 1 month
• Suicide in a man in his 40s after taking atorvastatin 10 mg for several months

Other reported symptoms included suicide attempts, cognitive compromise, nightmares and anxiety. Golomb first suspected a connection between statins and mental health changes nearly 20 years ago. She found more evidence in the literature than she anticipated. She then conducted a study in Sweden, comparing the cholesterol levels of 250,000 to local crime records and commented to the BBC:¹¹

“There are lines of evidence converging. Even adjusting for confounding factors, it was still the case that people with lower cholesterol at baseline were significantly more likely to be arrested for violent crimes.”

Science Ignoring Impact of Drugs on Personality Change

While physiological changes are testable, psychological and personality changes are less objectively measured. Results from one survey¹² in 2016 demonstrated that despite media attention to normalize mental health issues, 12 million adults in the U.K. with mental health issues did not seek help, mainly because they were embarrassed.

There is evidence to support that those with naturally low cholesterol may experience greater aggression and anger. In a study¹³ of 4,852 children ages 6 to 16, researchers found that those whose cholesterol was less than 145 mg/dL were three times more likely to be suspended from school than those whose levels were higher.

The researcher speculated the stress from being suspended may have reduced cholesterol concentrations. However, other studies demonstrate that stress increases, rather than reduces, cholesterol levels.¹⁴ Lowering cholesterol levels appears to affect serotonin levels in the brain as demonstrated in animal studies involving fruit flies¹⁵ and fish.¹⁶

In the fish study, as cholesterol levels reduced, levels of serotonin altered, and the fish became more aggressive. Golomb is convinced lowering cholesterol levels by using statins influences the way your brain functions.

However, she is more concerned about the lack of interest in the science community of the impact that seemingly ordinary drugs have on personality and aggression. One pain researcher from Ohio University also noticed this issue:¹⁷

“There is a remarkable gap in the research actually, when it comes to the effects of medication on personality and behaviour. We know a lot about the physiological effects of these drugs – whether they have physical side effects or not, you know. But we don't understand how they influence human behaviour.”

The BBC reports the U.S. purchases 49,000 metric tonnes (54,013 tons) of paracetamol (acetaminophen) every year, enough for each person to take 298 tablets in a year. At the same time, Americans are spending an average of $1,200 per person on prescription drugs. As people get older, the dependence on drugs may get even worse.

Statins Increase Your Risk of Health Problems

One of the side effects of statin medications is that they deplete your body of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). This might explain some of the devastating, long-term results experienced by those taking the medication. As early as 2002 it was strongly suggested¹⁸ that the FDA should issue a black box warning to advise patients and physicians of the depletion of CoQ10, but in 2014 the FDA decided against it.¹⁹

CoQ10 is important because it can help manage heart failure.²⁰ When taking statins, you may find yourself dealing with a reduction in vitamin K2²¹ and, by extension, a higher risk of osteoporosis,²² brain disease²³ and inappropriate calcification throughout the body.²⁴

The use of statins also comes with an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases,²⁵ cataracts²⁶ and musculoskeletal disorders.²⁷ While the FDA reports liver complications are rare, one physician’s search²⁸ of the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) found 5,405 people who reported hepatitis or liver function abnormalities that were associated with only two different statin medications between 2006 and 2013.

Researchers also found that those taking statins have a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.²⁹ In one published study,³⁰ 22 professional athletes with familial hypercholesterolemia were followed for eight years and treated with different statins. Of the 22, only six tolerated at least one drug. In only three of the six could training performance continue without limitation.

Rising Number of Seniors Taking Too Many Prescriptions

In the U.K. more than 10% of the general population over age 65 takes at least eight prescribed medications every week.³¹ The New York Times³² reports the average person in their mid- to late 60s in the U.S. takes 15 prescription drugs each year, which doesn't consider the number of over-the-counter products they might also be taking.

The use of multiple prescription drugs is called polypharmacy, which is common among the elderly and especially those in nursing homes. Polypharmacy may increase hospitalizations with a high number of complications, increased rates of death and excessive health care costs.³³

One of the hidden dangers of taking drugs with significant side effects, such as statins, is that one drug is often prescribed in order to take care of the side effects of another. Drug interactions can then cause hospitalization and sometimes the interactions may lead to death.

Simple Strategies to Normalize Your Cholesterol Levels

Consider using simple strategies to normalize your cholesterol levels. I believe a total cholesterol measurement has little benefit in evaluating your risk for heart disease unless the number is over 300.

In some instances, high cholesterol may indicate a problem, provided it's your LDL or triglycerides and you have low HDL. A better evaluation of your risk of heart disease are the following two ratios in combination with other lifestyle factors, such as your iron level and diet:

• HDL/Cholesterol ratio — Divide your HDL level by your cholesterol. This ratio should ideally be above 24 percent
• Triglyceride/HDL ratio — Divide your triglyceride level by your HDL. This ratio should ideally be below 2³⁴

You have control over your health and may protect your heart and lower your risk of heart disease by following suggestions affecting your lifestyle and exposure to environmental toxins. In my article, “Cholesterol Managers Want to Double Statin Prescriptions,” I share a list of suggestions to help minimize your toxic exposure and improve your body's ability to maintain good heart health.

Additionally, in my article “Nearly Half of American Adults Have Cardiovascular Disease,” I summarize additional strategies you may use to improve microcirculation in your heart. I also talk about mitochondrial function and insulin resistance, which are related to strong heart health.

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