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Hearing about the gut-brain axis—the bidirectional health pathway that sends signals between the central nervous system (CNS) and enteric nervous system (ENS)—is becoming increasingly common. Now, as more people begin listening to their gut, it makes sense that scientists are exploring a slew of gut axes that highlight the connections or pathways between the microbiome of the gut and other major body systems such as the lungs, immune system and skin.

Consumers are beginning to understand a direct line connects the gut not just to the brain, but also to most of the other major organs in the body. And suppliers and manufacturers are in lockstep with solutions to help consumers meet their wellness goals.

Vicky Mak, ChildLife Essentials’ technical writer, hinted at a gut-brain-immune connection, saying the gut plays a pivotal role in supporting the mental and physical health of children. “The gut-brain axis is deeply intertwined with the immune system, which defends and protects the brain and

gut from environmental substances; researchers have identified [this] … as the brain-immune-gut triangle.” 1

For starters, she said the first 12 months of life are the most important period of rapid brain development and dynamic microbial colonization of the gut. 2

“In this regard, the gut acts like an ‘information superhighway.’ The microbiota in the gut regularly comes into contact with sites in the gut called the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), which contain many immune cells critical for supporting immune homeostasis, Mak said. 3 “The GALT has important roles in protecting against pathogens and regulating nutrient intake.”

She further noted ongoing research suggests the gut-immune system is important in the development of autoimmune diabetes. “The gut-immune system has a key role in controlling insulin-specific immunity induced by dietary insulin,” she said. 4 “Indications for aberrant function of the gut-immune system have been reported in type 1 diabetes, such as intestinal immune activation and increased intestinal permeability.”

For those new to gut-organ theory, a gut-immune axis may seem far-fetched. Imagine it as “a line connecting two distant entities to each other,” quipped Paul Schulick, a master herbalist and formulator at For the Biome. He maintained that a deeper understanding of the gut-immune relationship reveals the distance is closer than assumed.

“[The] immune system is virtually inseparable from your gut,” he explained. “The organs [have] a symbiotic relationship and communicate through receptors. They support each other’s functioning to support the health of the entire body. Your gut and your immune system need each other!”

Schulick likened the gut-immune dynamic to weeding a garden: “Your immune system supports the gut by helping it to maintain a balance of beneficial microbes (good bacteria), and by discriminating and eliminating harmful bacteria.”

The phrase “healthier-looking skin starts from within” has never been truer. A more recent discovery than some of the other gut-organ relationships, the gut-skin axis links healthy skin to a balanced gut microbiome—the skin has its own microbiome, but it also appears to be influenced by the microbiome in the gut.

“There has been substantial research and data showing the direct relationship between the health of the gut and that of the skin,” reported Stuart Ashman, CEO of SkinBio Therapeutics. 5 “Just think what happens when we eat foods that we’re allergic to and the resultant hives we see on the skin surface.”

According to Ashman, naturally reversing skin damage starts with healthy microbiota benefitted by select strains of “friendly bacteria” communicating through the gut-skin axis to reveal healthy skin. 6

“The health of the gut is more interactive with the rest of the body than just sending information back and forth,” he noted. “I’d say it was more like a conductor in an orchestra in directing the body’s health.”

This excerpt was taken from a longer feature in the “Diverse microbiomes and digestive health ” digital magazine. Click the link to access both.

Brenda Porter-Rockwell has a diverse background writing about nutraceuticals and healthy foods for a variety of trade and consumer publications, both print and online. She lives in North Carolina and can be reached at brenda@writeonporter.com .

References

1 Szabo A and Rajnavolgyi E. “The Brain-Immune-Gut Triangle: Innate Immunity in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders.” Curr Immunol Rev. 2013;9(4):241-248.

2 Ihekweazu FD and Versalovic J. “Development of the Pediatric Gut Microbiome: Impact on Health and Disease.” Am J Med Sci. 2018;356(5):413-423.

3 Mörbe UM et al. “Human gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT); diversity, structure, and function. ” Mucosal Immunol. 2021;14(4):793-802.

4 Vaarala O. “The Gut Immune System and Type 1 Diabetes.” Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002;958(1):39-46.

5 Sinha S et al. “The skin microbiome and the gut-skin axis.” Clin Dermatol. 2021;39(5):829-839.

6 Salem I et al. “The gut microbiome as a major regulator of the gut-skin axis.” Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1459.

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( Natural News ) Regular exercise is key to your overall well-being because it can help you maintain a healthy weight.

According to a study, exercising for at least 150 minutes or two and a half hours every week can also help reduce your risk of getting infected with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

The study findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine . Regular exercise and COVID-19 prevention

According to research, physical activity is important when it comes to reducing the chance of severe illness because it helps boost your immune system.

Experts also believe that staying fit can help protect against COVID-19 after reviewing over a dozen international studies. The data revealed that 150 minutes or more of moderate exercise like brisk walking or dancing every week reduced the risk of a coronavirus infection by 11 percent. (Related: Study: Walking for an extra 10 minutes daily can increase your life expectancy .)

The same protective effect was observed in those who exercised for at least 75 minutes or more of vigorous exercise weekly. Activities include running and swimming or sports like football and rugby.

Those who exercised regularly were also at least 43 percent less likely to die or get severe COVID-19 compared to their peers.

The research team hopes that their findings could help guide “a public health strategy” that would encourage people to exercise regularly. The experts believe that regular physical activity helps the body fight off COVID-19 before it penetrates the body by increasing white blood cell and antibody counts. Exercise as a public health strategy

Data suggests that the pandemic was linked to a significant increase in the number of people exercising in general. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average Briton now spends 25 minutes per day exercising, which is six minutes more than in 2014 and 2015.

The National Health Service (NHS) advised people to engage in moderate activity for 75 minutes. Alternatively, people can exercise vigorously for at least 150 minutes per week to maintain overall health.

In the latest study, researchers analyzed 16 studies carried out in Brazil, Canada, Iran, Palestine, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The studies were conducted between November 2019 and March 2022. Only studies that used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and had exercise data were included in the analysis.

Overall, more than 1.8 million participants were involved in the study. The physical activity levels of the participants were recorded through self-reported questionnaires or data from wearing heart rate monitors and other activity-tracking devices.

Most of the studies controlled for other factors, like obesity and smoking , that could affect coronavirus infection. Overall, the studies suggest that exercising regularly reduced the risk of infection by 11 percent and serious illness, defined as needing intensive care or a ventilator, by as much as 34 percent.

Physical activity also helped reduce the chance of hospitalization from all causes by 36 percent and death by 43 percent.

Yasmin Ezzatvar, a nurse at the University of Valencia who lead the research team, explained that the findings confirm how effective regular physical activity is at protecting against coronavirus. “Regular physical activity seems to be related to a lower likelihood of adverse COVID-19 outcomes,” wrote the study authors.

The results also emphasized the protective effects of regular exercise as “a public health strategy, with potential benefits to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 .”

The research team explained that exercise could help reduce the chance of getting severe coronavirus by reducing the chance of developing diabetes , obesity and high blood pressure. These three conditions have been linked with reacting more strongly to the virus.

Data is scarce on why exercise limits the chances of actually catching COVID-19, but the researchers think physical activity could help increase the body’s immune defense.

Other studies suggest that exercise helps the body produce more antibodies and white blood cells, which are key to the body’s response to infection. Physical activity also reduces the release of the stress hormone cortisol that can reduce the number of disease-fighting white blood cells produced in your body. How does regular exercise benefit your immune system?

A healthy immune system helps protect you from different disease-causing bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

Here are several ways physical activity can help boost your immune system : It can reduce your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and other diseases

Exercise can help reduce cardiovascular risk factors, prevent or delay the development of Type 2 diabetes , increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol and lower resting heart rate.

Having one or more of these conditions may make it more difficult for your immune system to protect you against infections and viral illnesses like COVID-19. It can reduce stress and other conditions like depression

Working out after a long day can help reduce your stress. Specifically, moderate-intensity exercise can slow down the release of stress hormones while also positively influencing the neurotransmitters in your brain that affect mood and behavior.

Additionally, regular physical activity may offer a protective benefit against stress. This means that if you exercise regularly, you can proactively handle stressors with more resilience and a better mood.Data suggests that stress and depression can significantly affect the regular function of your immune system, which can cause a low chronic inflammation status that favors infections, diseases and other illnesses. It can help you sleep better If you have trouble sleeping at night, exercising regularly can help improve both sleep quantity and quality. This is good because sleep loss can negatively affect certain parts of the immune system.Study findings suggest that a higher risk of infection and development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders may be linked to a reduction in antibodies and the production of inflammatory cytokines in those with a modest amount of sleep loss.Improve your health condition and protect yourself against COVID-19 by engaging in moderate exercise for at least two hours and 30 minutes every week.Watch the video below for tips on how to become self-disciplined in health fitness . No compatible source was found […]

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( Natural News ) Several studies have found that resveratrol, a compound found in grapes, berries, peanuts and red wine, can help protect brain cells by stimulating the destruction of specific proteins .

A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation showed that resveratrol supplementation reduced cognitive and functional decline in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.

Resveratrol is a natural substance produced by several types of plants as a response and defense against stress, fungi, toxins or ultraviolet radiation. Because of its protective nature, resveratrol is classified as a flavonoid antioxidant and has been the subject of much scientific scrutiny for its health-promoting qualities.

One such quality is its ability to support brain and nervous system health. Resveratrol is unique among antioxidants because it can cross the blood-brain barrier – meaning, it can be beneficial to neural health. (Related: A balancing act for Alzheimer’s: Researchers explore resveratrol’s antioxidant effects and the risks of alcohol consumption .)

According to Dr. David Sinclair, Harvard Medical School professor of genetics, resveratrol induces autophagy, which is a type of cellular defense that targets old, damaged proteins for destruction and recycling.

A 2018 study published in Biomedicine supported this claim as researchers found that resveratrol has neuroprotective effects . They reported that the compound promotes the clearance of beta-amyloid peptides, thus reducing beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.

Resveratrol was also found to reduce neuronal apoptosis, where a neuron orchestrates its own destruction. It also provides neuroprotection to healthy individuals and helps protect cognitive function into old age.

Moreover, a 2015 clinical trial on high-dosage resveratrol published in Neurology found that long-term resveratrol treatment of individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s appeared to stop, or at least slow, the progress of the disease.

As per the study, in people who took resveratrol, the Abeta40 (main component of the amyloid plaques) levels remained stable, whereas the placebo group’s levels dropped. However, research team leader Dr. R. Scott Turner warned: “This is a single, small study with findings that call for further research to interpret properly.” Resveratrol offers joint support and helps ease arthritic inflammation

A clinical study conducted in 2018 found that resveratrol also offers a helpful company for people who are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Scientists found the compound to have anti-inflammatory properties, so a study was conducted to see if it could suppress arthritic inflammation in humans. The study involved patients with varying degrees of RA.

The controlled study published in Clinical Rheumatology included a group that was provided one gram of supplemental resveratrol with conventional treatment daily for three months, and another group that was given the conventional treatment only.

The investigators found that the resveratrol group experienced less swelling and tenderness in joints and also had lowered levels of pro-inflammatory substances, including the “usual suspects” such as C-reactive protein, matrix metalloproteinase-3, necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6.

It also helps to know how much resveratrol is right for a person and what could be the adverse effects if taken over the dosage prescribed.

Many clinical trials have used resveratrol up to five grams per day and found no toxic side effects. But in some research studies, amounts of over 2.5 grams a day caused side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

There has also been a paradoxical finding concerning resveratrol, with some studies suggesting that resveratrol can sometimes behave more like a pro-oxidant than an antioxidant – even causing DNA damage and oxidative stress.

Researchers speculated that this phenomenon seems related to the amount consumed – and perhaps to the individual’s age – with more research clearly needed. Before supplementing with resveratrol, consult a natural health practitioner to find the safest and most beneficial amount for you.

Learn more about natural treatments for Alzheimer’s at Alzheimers.news .

Watch the below video that talks about the benefits in brain power, health and longevity of resveratrol . No compatible source was found for this media.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories:

Resveratrol and exercise found to attenuate fracture risk in mice with Alzheimer’s disease .

Resveratrol and exercise found to reduce risk of bone fractures in elderly patients with Alzheimer’s .

Cause-and-effect: Resveratrol’s ability to reduce blood pressure could explain why it’s a potent antioxidant .

Compound in red wine can slow down aging . Sources include:

NaturalHealth365.com

PubMed.NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the superolateral branch of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB), which is linked to reward and motivation, revealed metabolic brain changes over 12 months post-DBS implantation, making it a strong potential therapy for treatment-resistant depression according to researchers at UTHealth Houston .

The results of the study, which included 10 patients, were published today in Molecular Psychiatry .

“This is something that people have been trying to do for a long time, but we have not always been very successful with using DBS for psychiatric illnesses,” said first author Christopher Conner, MD, PhD, a former neurosurgery resident in the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “But this PET study shows that we’re altering how the brain is functioning long term and we are starting to change the way brain starts to organize itself and starts to process information and data.” Conner is currently a fellow with the University of Toronto.

For years, DBS has been used to treat patients suffering from movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, tremor, and dystonia, and studied as a possible treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression. In DBS, electrodes are implanted into certain brain areas, where they generate electrical impulses to affect brain activity.

However, finding what part of the brain needs to be targeted to treat depression long term has been challenging.

“We targeted a bundle of fibers that leave this small area in the brainstem to travel to other areas throughout the brain,” Conner said. “The PET scans indicated that this small target area has very diffuse downstream effects. It’s not one single effect because there’s not one single area of the brain linked to depression. The whole brain needs to be changed and through this one small target, that’s what we were able to do.”

Researchers performed an initial PET scan before the DBS procedure on the 10 patients in the study for a baseline image. They performed additional PET scans at six and 12 months to assess changes after treatment. Scans of 8 of the 10 patients showed a response.

“A responder to the treatment means that your depression potentially decreases at least 50%; you’re feeling much better,” said co-author João de Quevedo , MD, PhD, professor in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School. “So, for patients with severe chronic treatment-resistant depression, decreasing our symptoms by half is a lot. It’s the difference between being disabled to being able to do something. Correlating with the PET image changes, our patients reported that their depression lessened after the treatment.” De Quevedo also serves as director of the Translational Psychiatry Program and the Treatment-Resistant Depression Program, part of the Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders.

Reference: Conner CR, Quevedo J, Soares JC, Fenoy AJ. Brain metabolic changes and clinical response to superolateral medial forebrain bundle deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. Mol Psychiatry . 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01726-0

This article has been republished from the following materials . Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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(Photo credit: Richard Watts/NIH Image Gallery) New research published in the journal Biological Psychology revealed that people who exercise more show increased brain activity when receiving an unexpected reward, specifically in the right medial orbitofrontal cortex. These findings may suggest that regular exercise alters the reward-circuit function, potentially reinforcing exercise behavior.

The physical and mental health benefits of exercise are widely known, yet finding the motivation to exercise can be a challenge. The authors of the study said that a look inside the brain may shed light on how people can be encouraged to maintain healthy exercise habits. More specifically, the dopamine reward system may play a role in motivating people to exercise, and the study authors proposed that regular exercise might alter the brain reward response.

“My background is in eating disorders research and those individuals frequently engage in very high amount of exercise. Before we explore the effects of exercise in that population, I wanted to study the relationship between exercise and brain reward processing, specifically dopamine-related reward processing,” said study author Guido K.W. Frank of the University of California, San Diego.

The researchers examined brain activity during a reward prediction error (RPE) task. An RPE is when a person receives an outcome of an event that is different than expected, causing dopamine neurons to send out a signal. This unexpected outcome could be positive, like receiving an expected reward, or negative, like having a reward unexpectedly taken away. The RPE is thought to reflect motivational salience — a cognitive process that drives a person’s behavior toward a positive outcome. The researchers speculated that people who exercise more often might show a stronger salience response in the dopamine system.

“The type of reward system response that we focus on responds to unexpected stimulus receipt – one could say excitement over receiving a reward unexpectedly, or unexpected stimulus omission, or disappointment over not receiving a reward that was expected,” Frank told PsyPost. “The stimuli we use are taste stimuli sucrose or water.”

A group of 111 healthy women participated in a task that evoked the dopamine-related RPE response. The task involved a classic sucrose taste-conditioning paradigm where participants learned to expect or not expect a sucrose reward. Throughout the task, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure participants’ brain activity. Additionally, the women reported how much aerobic exercise they engage in on a weekly basis.

The researchers then analyzed the fMRI data, focusing on brain responses when participants either unexpectedly received a sucrose reward, unexpectedly did not receive it, or expectedly received it. For all three conditions, increased exercise was associated with a stronger response in the right medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). But after correcting for multiple comparisons, this heightened activity was only significant during the unexpected receipt condition.

“Higher amount of cardio/aerobic exercise was associated with higher brain response (orbitofrontal cortex, an area between the eyes that is important for valuation of rewards) when participants received the sugar stimulus unexpectedly, but did not affect the response to unexpected stimulus omission or disappointment,” Frank explained. “We believe that higher amount of exercise might change your brain that receiving a reward unexpectedly is more enjoyable.”

Notably, the right medial OFC is implicated in goal-directed decision-making and the calculation of reward value. The findings may suggest that exercise strengthens this circuitry, driving higher brain activity in the OFC. Alternatively, it could be that higher activity in the OFC reinforces engagement in exercise.

“It is therefore possible that individuals who engage in more aerobic activity may be intrinsically more responsive to salient stimuli and especially stimulus receipt,” the researchers wrote, “or alternatively, engagement in aerobic exercise has modulated brain activity and dopamine signaling, which may then reflexively reinforce and functionally maintain the exercise behavior.” The authors note that both of these explanations could be true.

Overall, the results suggest a link between aerobic exercise and the brain’s response to unexpected reward. “It is possible that exercise may in particular enhance the ability to value or enjoy stimuli or experiences, which could be important for intervening on psychiatric disorders,” the authors said, adding that an “altered brain salience response is characteristic of many psychiatric Illnesses.” If exercise is found to improve motivational salience, this could reveal potential treatment options for affected individuals.

Among limitations, the study was cross-sectional, and future longitudinal studies will be necessary to draw stronger conclusions from the data. Additionally, participants self-reported their exercise levels, and it is unclear whether the findings reflect the effects of overall activity level or true aerobic exercise.

“We cannot be certain what neurotransmitters are exactly involved and a larger study sample might have indicated that higher cardio exercise is also protective of disappointment,” Frank said. “It is possible that cardio exercise helps to be happier in being able to enjoy things more and be less disappointed when something does not work out the way you thought.”

“It is important that this was a study in healthy controls and their exercise amount was within normal limits,” he added. “Excessive exercise can get in the way of healthy living and will not have a positive effect on your wellbeing because you may lose much weight and/or develop an eating disorder.”

The study, “ Associations between aerobic exercise and dopamine-related reward-processing: Informing a model of human exercise engagement ”, was authored by Sasha Gorrell, Megan E. Shott, and Guido K.W. Frank.

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