( Natural News ) Believe it or not but pain can actually be a friend. It tells us something is wrong and that we should avoid it, like getting too close to the bonfire and hurting ourselves. It tells us to be careful when slicing vegetables, because we can hurt our fingers if we don’t watch out. Neuroscientists from the University of Pennsylvania concluded in a new research that animals suppress chronic pain when they are hungry , in an attempt to look for food and survive. The study zeroed in on 300 brain cells that prioritize the need for food to quell hunger, than the need to get over chronic pain. Amber L. Alhadeff, one of the researchers admitted that his team did not expect that hunger could influence the feeling of pain. But he realized it made sense. Animals must get nutrients from food first before they can even think of overcoming pain from injury. Curious about how hunger may interact with the sensation of pain, the researchers observed how mice that hadn’t eaten for 24 hours still responded to acute pain. But unlike their well-fed counterparts, hungry mice ignored pain caused by inflammation. Long-term pain from inflammation is thought to involve neural circuits in the brain. The researchers also discovered that hungry mice did not steer away from the place that brought them inflammatory pain . This made researchers wonder what part of the brain was behind the hunger-pain connection. They experimented on gouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons, which are believed to trigger hunger. They found out that mice responded less to chronic pain while retaining their reactions to severe pain. The researchers dug deeper and discovered that stimulating only a few hundred AgRP neurons markedly suppressed inflammatory pain. J. Nicholas Betley, assistant biology professor at the […]

Click here to view full article

• Exercise — Dr. Charles Kim, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine and anesthesiology and a medical acupuncturist at the the New York University Langone Medical Center says that working out produces natural painkillers like endorphins. They raise our threshold of pain and work with brain receptors to change how we perceive pain.
• Fish oil — A study showed that after 75 days, more than half of the patients with neck or back pain who took 1,200 milligrams of fish oil a day with eicosapentaenoic and decosahexanoic acid stopped taking painkillers. Order all natural fish oil here.
• Turmeric — Researchers who combined turmeric with Devil’s claw and bromelain on patients found that that the mixture relieved pain from osteoarthritis. The patients took two 650-milligram capsules twice or thrice a day. All natural turmeric available online here.
• Resveratrol in red wine, grapes and berries — Researchers reported that the substance regulates pain on the cellular level.

( Natural News ) So you’ve become a regular at the gym, turned vegan, and done almost everything in your power to stay physically healthy. What about staying mentally fit as well? Mental health is just as important as physical health. Mental fitness protects us from depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s , and other diseases. Neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Mosconi, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College , New York claims we can prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia through healthier food and lifestyle choices. In her new book Brain Food: How to Eat Smart and Sharpen your Mind , Mosconi says that while genetics plays a key role in causing dementia, lifestyle factors, like diet, are just as crucial. Maintain your sugar levels — Our brain depends mainly on glucose (sugar) and needs 62 grams of glucose daily. Before you grab that extra-large pizza though, Mosconi says our brains’ ‘sugar gates’ open when it needs sugar, but shuts down once it’s had enough. Excess glucose can’t enter the “sugar gate.” Instead, it leads to high blood sugar levels and weight gain. Know how your nutrients interact — Nutrients in your body should interact withe each other. Make sure you get a balance of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and vitamin B. Have plant-based meals — Our vegetarian ancestors knew it all along. Plant-based foods are the best. In fact, 98 percent of those who live long, healthy and dementia-free lives are vegans. Choose organic food well — You can also save on costs by choosing fruits that are in season. You can also opt for wild fish over the farmed variety, since the former tends to have less pollutants and pesticides. Always eat breakfast — Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day, because the brain needs an […]

Click here to view full article

( Natural News ) In 2015, at least 47 million people worldwide had dementia, a memory problem that often greatly affects an individual’s ability to accomplish daily tasks. While the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, other forms exist as well. Unlike other diseases that can be treated, there is no cure for dementia. However, learning about its risk factors is one way to prevent it. According to a study, older adults who have slower walking speeds could have a higher risk of developing dementia than those with faster walking speeds. A team of researchers from the U.K. analyzed the relationship among changes in walking speed, changes in the ability to think and make decisions, and dementia. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society . For the study, the researchers reviewed data from the “English Longitudinal Study of Aging” which contained information from adults aged 60 and older who lived in England. The researchers relied on information gathered from 2002 to 2015 and they assessed participants’ walking speed on two occasions: From 2002 to 2003; and in 2004 to 2005. The participants were observed once again to determine whether or not they developed dementia following the tests from 2006 to 2015. The researchers then compared the patients who had developed dementia with those who had not. (Related: Go for a brisk walk every day to protect your brain .) The researchers found out that out of the almost 4,000 older adults they observed, the ones with a slower walking speed had a higher chance of developing dementia. Additionally, individuals who experienced a faster decrease in walking speed in a two-year period were also at greater risk for dementia. Support our mission and protect your health: Organic Seeds of Life […]

Click here to view full article

( Natural News ) For some time now, mothers have been made aware of the dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA) , a chemical used in many types of containers, including baby bottles. BPA is used to harden plastics, prevent contamination of foods, and stop cans from rusting. In recent years, several studies have confirmed that BPA affects endocrine function (hormonal balance) in animals and humans, and new moms have been warned to avoid baby bottles that contain this chemical and to take other steps like not boiling polycarbonate bottles or heating them in the microwave. BPA has been linked to both male and female infertility, early puberty, hormonal breast and prostrate cancers, and metabolic disorders like polycystic ovary syndrome. Now, a shocking new study has found that by the time a baby is born it may be way too late to start actively avoiding BPA. The Scientist recently reported that the findings of the study – conducted by a research team from the University of Calgary – were presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago, Illinois, in March. After determining in 2015 that BPA causes hyperactivity and alters brain development in zebrafish, the study’s lead author, Deborah Kurrasch, and her team decided to investigate its effects on pregnant mammals. Pregnant mice were fed differing dosages of BPA over a period of time, and the effects recorded. The Scientist reported on the findings: [T]he researchers observed that even when animals were exposed to low levels of the chemical—10 or 20 times below the recommended daily intake for humans—their offspring displayed significantly accelerated early neuron development. BPA exposure increased the number, size, and the rate of proliferation of neurons in the pups’ brains, but also reduced the “stemness,” or self-renewal capability, of cells, pushing them toward a […]

Click here to view full article