B’S and Omega-3’S: Better Together For Brain Health
Too often, we look at the physiological effect of different nutrients in isolation, however, more and more research is uncovering the synergistic benefits of nutrients in combination. Take omega-3s and B vitamins, for example. An unlikely pair, they have been shown to work better together when examining brain health and cognition. Research has already determined that B…
Exercise May Prevent Stress-induced Immunosuppression
By Yi Sun, Ph.D., and Jeffrey A. Woods, Ph.D., FACSM Vaccination is one of the most successful public health interventions to prevent infectious diseases and reduce the associated mortality and morbidity rates. However, chronically stressful situations can reduce the immune responses to vaccination and lead to decreased vaccine efficacy. Physical activity is known to be…
Magnesium Boosts Power of Vitamin D
by Matthew Kadey, MS, RD You may believe you’re getting ample vitamin D, but you won’t get the full benefit if your diet lacks magnesium. A study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association found that vitamin D is not properly metabolized when magnesium levels are low. Thus, it remains largely inactive in the body,…
Why We Eat Too Much at Night
It’s 10 p.m., you’re catching up on email, and it suddenly hits you: a Goliath-sized craving for chocolate-chunk ice cream. Findings in the International Journal of Obesity show why the evening hours pose such a high risk for overeating and unhealthy munching. For the study, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recruited 32 adults with…
Effective Strategies for High-Intensity Mental Training
Ours is a world wired for distraction. Online information and social media constantly compete for our attention, thwarting efforts to focus on a single goal. The results are scattered thoughts, shorter attention spans, and a rewiring of our brains, all of which prevent us from performing at our very best in whatever we do. For…
A Golden Gem For Brain Health
We are constantly stressed with deadlines and pressured to produce tasks faster and with more efficiency. In today’s workforce, our mental clarity plays a major role in delivering quality work. Practices to help think more clearly may include better sleep, control anxiety, and brain supplements. One such “brain supplement” with research bragging rights is curcumin,…
Vagus Nerve In Vogue
What happens in the vagus… Actually, what happens in the vagus nerve doesn’t stay in the vagus nerve. It leaves, taking information about the body’s organs to the brain via “afferent fibers”, and is considered the reason why we have a gut-brain connection. Much attention is being given to this key connector in treating gastrointestinal…
A Roller Coaster In The Bloodstream
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels can be complex and unyielding. In addition to food and beverages, our blood glucose levels fluctuate in response to a variety of other factors. Exercise, emotional stress, the previous night’s rest, and genetics all play a role in the body’s attempt to tightly regulate the levels of glucose circulating in…
New Study Shows Microbiome Influences Antibody Production
Because the microbiota is so complex, containing hundreds of different bacterial species, it was not known how the presence of microbes in the intestine shaped the antibodies that are present even before we are challenged by an infection. Researchers have now shown how beneficial microbes reprogram white blood B cells that produce antibodies and how…
Get Focused
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV, the presence of six or more of a list of symptoms, including inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity for at least six months (with onset prior to seven years of age), and with symptoms being more severe than that of peers at a similar developmental age, defines ADHD. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V broadened…
