What Anxiety Does to Your Brain And How You Can Beat it Naturally

Dr. Joseph Mercola | Mercola.com

Image: www.dealanxietyattacks.com

Anxiety is a natural, normal response to potential threats, which puts your body into a heightened state of awareness.

When felt appropriately, anxiety is beneficial and can keep you out of harm’s way… the anxiety you may feel while hiking near a steep drop-off, for instance, will cause you to be more careful and purposeful in your movements.

For an estimated 40 million US adults, however, anxiety may occur even when there’s no real threat, causing unnecessary stress and emotional pain. While many believe anxiety and stress to be the same, persistent anxiety actually evokes quite a different experience in your brain.

Anxiety in Your Brain: What Happens When Anxiety Attacks?

Anxiety does evoke the same “fight or flight” response that stress does, which means, like stress, anxiety will trigger a flood of stress hormones like cortisol designed to enhance your speed, reflexes, heart rate, and circulation. However, stress can occur with feelings of anger, sadness, or even happiness and excitement.

Anxiety, on the other hand, virtually always involves a sense of fear, dread, or apprehension. And while stress may occur due to an external source (like an argument with your spouse), anxiety tends to be a more internal response.

Further, brief anxiety may coincide with a stressful event (such as speaking in public), but an anxiety disorder will persist for months even when there’s no clear reason to be anxious. While the exact causes for anxiety disorders are unknown, your brain is actively involved.

The National Institute of Mental Health explains:

“Several parts of the brain are key actors in the production of fear and anxiety… scientists have discovered that the amygdala and the hippocampus play significant roles in most anxiety disorders. 

The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that is believed to be a communications hub between the parts of the brain that process incoming sensory signals and the parts that interpret these signals. It can alert the rest of the brain that a threat is present and trigger a fear or anxiety response. 

The emotional memories stored in the central part of the amygdala may play a role in anxiety disorders involving very distinct fears, such as fears of dogs, spiders, or flying. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that encodes threatening events into memories.”

Your Brain May Become Wired for Anxiety

It’s thought that anxiety disorders may result from a combination of nature (your genetics) and nurture (your environment). For instance, if you grow up in an environment with frequent yelling or abuse.

It might make you prone to looking out for potential threats, even when they’re no longer there. In a sense, your brain becomes “wired” for anxiety, such that any potentially undesirable event or emotion becomes cause for alarm.

Worse yet, some people are so used to feelings of anxiety that they don’t realize there’s a problem and simply suffer in silence. As anxious feelings intensify, it can lead to social isolation, physical symptoms, and related mental health problems, like depression.

Despite this, it’s estimated that only one-third of people with anxiety disorders receive treatment, which is highly recommended if you’re struggling with anxiety — but keep in mind “treatment” doesn’t necessarily mean drugs.

Unfortunately, most people who suffer with anxiety either do nothing or resort to pharmaceutical drugs – many of which are ineffective and capable of destroying your health and sanity further. Commonly prescribed drugs include benzodiazepine drugs like Ativan, Xanax, and Valium.

They exert a calming effect by boosting the action of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the same way as opioids (heroin) and cannabinoids (cannabis) do. This in turn activates the gratification hormone, dopamine, in your brain.

Since the identical brain “reward pathways” are used by both types of drugs, they can be equally addictive and also may cause side effects like memory loss, hip fractures, impaired thinking, and dizziness.

Ironically, the symptoms of withdrawal from many of these anxiety medications include extreme states of anxiety – some of which are far worse than the original symptoms that justified treatment in the first place.

If You’re Wired for Anxiety, Try EFT

Energy psychology techniques, such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), can be very effective by helping you to actually reprogram your body’s reactions to the unavoidable stressors of everyday life.

This includes both real and imagined stressors, which can be significant sources of anxiety. EFT was developed in the 1990s by Gary Craig, a Stanford engineer specializing in healing and self-improvement. It’s akin to acupuncture, which is based on the concept that a vital energy flows through your body along invisible pathways known as meridians. EFT stimulates different energy meridian points in your body by tapping them with your fingertips, while simultaneously using custom-made verbal affirmations.

This can be done by yourself or under the supervision of a qualified therapist, either in person or via online video services, like Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts. By doing so, you help your body eliminate emotional “scarring” and reprogram the way your body responds to emotional stressors.

Since these stressors are usually connected to physical problems, many people’s diseases and other symptoms can improve or disappear as well. If you have a severe problem, it is typically best to consult directly with an EFT professional, otherwise you might not get the relief you need.

In the following video, EFT therapist Julie Schiffman discusses EFT for stress and anxiety relief. Please keep in mind that while anyone can learn to do EFT at home, self-treatment for serious issues like persistent anxiety is dangerous and NOT recommended.

It is dangerous because it will allow you to falsely conclude that EFT does not work when nothing could be further from the truth. For serious or complex issue you need someone to guide you through the process, as it typically takes years of training to develop the skill to tap on and relieve deep-seated, significant issues.


The Major Contributor to Anxiety That Hardly Anyone Knows

Increasingly, scientific evidence shows that nourishing your gut flora with the friendly bacteria known as probiotics is extremely important for proper brain function, and that includes psychological well-being and mood control. It may sound odd that bacteria in your gut could impact emotions such as anxiety, but that is exactly what the research bears testimony to. The probiotic known as Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001, for instance, has been shown to normalize anxiety-like behavior in mice with infectious colitis.

In a very real sense, you have two brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut (the so-called “enteric nervous system”), and each needs its own vital nourishment. Your gut and brain actually work in tandem, each influencing the other. This is why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa; as well as the reason why your diet is so closely linked to your mental health.

Prior research has also shown that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus had a marked effect on GABA (an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is significantly involved in regulating many physiological and psychological processes) levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior.

So optimizing your gut flora with beneficial bacteria is a highly useful strategy. This is done by eliminating sugars and processed foods and eating plenty of non-starchy vegetables, avoiding processed vegetable oils, and using healthful fats. Additionally, using plenty of fermented vegetables or a high-potency probiotic would be useful to reestablish a healthy gut flora.

Your Diet Plays an Important Role in Your Mental Health

If you suffer from anxiety, it would be wise to look into nourishing your gut flora, and the best way to do this is to regularly consume traditionally fermented foods, which are naturally rich in beneficial bacteria. Pasteurized versions will NOT have the same benefits, as the pasteurization process destroys many, if not all of the naturally-occurring probiotics. So you will need to seek out traditionally fermented, unpasteurized foods like fermented vegetables, or make them yourself.

If you do not eat these types of foods regularly, then a high-quality probiotic supplement can help fill in the gap and give your gut the healthy bacteria it needs. This is the first part of the equation. The second part of the equation to optimizing your gut flora lies in avoiding the many factors that can throw your bacteria equilibrium way off balance, such as eating sugar, refined grains and other processed foods or taking antibiotics.

Additionally, your diet should include a high-quality source of animal-based omega-3 fats, like krill oil. The omega-3 fats EPA and DHA play an important role in your emotional well-being, and research has shown a dramatic 20 percent reduction in anxiety among med students taking omega-3s.

Exercise Is Frequently Helpful if You Have Anxiety

Some psychologists swear by exercise as a primary form of treatment for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders. Research has shown again and again that patients who follow regular exercise regimens see improvement in their mood — improvements comparable to that of those treated with medication.

The results really are impressive when you consider that exercise is virtually free and can provide you with numerous other health benefits, too. The benefits to your mood occur whether the exercise is voluntary or forced, so even if you feel you have to exercise, say for health reasons, there’s a good chance you’ll still benefit.

In addition to the creation of new neurons, including those that release the calming neurotransmitter GABA, exercise boosts levels of potent brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which may help buffer some of the effects of stress. Many avid exercisers also feel a sense of euphoria after a workout, sometimes known as the “runner’s high.” It can be quite addictive, in a good way, once you experience just how good it feels to get your heart rate up and your body moving.

If you struggle with anxiety, you really can’t go wrong with starting a comprehensive exercise program – virtually any physical activity is likely to have positive effects, especially if it’s challenging enough. That said, Duke University researchers recently published a review of more than 100 studies that found yoga appears to be particularly beneficial for mental health,7 although I also recommend high-intensity interval training like Peak Fitness and resistance training as well, in addition to flexibility and core-building exercises like yoga or Foundation Training.

Anxiety Can Be Crippling but You Can Still Take Control of Your Health

Anxiety disorders can be debilitating and in some cases require professional guidance, counseling and treatment. Two conventional treatments of anxiety disorders that have proven to be effective for many are psychotherapy and behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy is defined as targeting the issue through breathing exercises and small increments of exposure to what is causing your anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy on the other hand, is designed to help you deal more effectively with situations that fill you with anxiety.


By using the above-mentioned strategies, however, including exercise, EFT and dietary changes, you can often teach your body how to maintain an alert yet relaxed state, which will help strengthen your inherent coping mechanisms when faced with stressful situations that trigger your anxiety symptoms. Please do seek professional help if you need it, but also don’t underestimate your own ability to make positive, oftentimes life-changing, decisions to help you take back control of your health.

Sources: mercola.com

nimh.nih.gov

Social Connection Between People Found To Be As Essential As Food and Water

by April McCarthy | PreventDisease.com

It may be hard to believe but social networking may serve a basic human need. A growing body of research shows that the need to connect socially with others is as basic as our need for food, water and shelter.

The conclusion comes from studies in UCLA professor Matthew Lieberman's first book, “Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect,” published this week by Crown Publishers.

Image: BuzzPal.wordpress.com

“Being socially connected is our brain’s lifelong passion,” said Lieberman, a professor of psychology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science and a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral science at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. “It’s been baked into our operating system for tens of millions of years.”

Lieberman is one of the founders of social cognitive neuroscience, a discipline that analyzes how brain function underlies social thinking and social behavior. In “Social,” he explains that our predisposition to be social may explain our need to interact through social media, iPhones and gossip, as well as why people are interested in watching others’ social interactions on soap operas and reality television, for example.

The book, which cites more than 1,000 published and unpublished studies, is the story of how 250 million years of evolution have produced major differences in the brain that distinguish us from our ancestors. That evolution ultimately has made today’s humans “more connected to the social world and more dependent on the social world,” according to the book.

“Mammals are more socially connected than reptiles, primates more than other mammals, and humans more than other primates,” Lieberman said. “What this suggests is that becoming more socially connected is essential to our survival. In a sense, evolution has made bets at each step that the best way to make us more successful is to make us more social.”

By far the majority of a person's success is attributable to social, emotional intelligence. Trumping general intelligence, previous academic achievement and personality, these qualities "uniquely predict objective academic achievement."

Lieberman suggests that our institutions -- from schools and sports teams to the military and health care institutions -- would perform better if they were structured with an understanding of our social nature.

“Some day, we will look back and wonder how we ever had lives, work and schools that weren’t guided by the principles of the social brain,” he writes.

Remarkably, over the last 50 years, opportunities for children to play freely have declined continuously and dramatically in the United States and other developed nations; and that decline continues, with serious negative consequences for children’s physical, mental, and social development. There is mounting research suggesting a correlation between the decline of free play and socializing in developed nations and the rise of depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism in children, teens, and young adults.
For example, Lieberman explains that middle school education could be dramatically improved by tapping the brain’s social potential. The book notes that U.S. students’ interest in school tends to wane when they reach the seventh and eighth grades -- an age when humans become extremely social.

“But our school system says to turn off that social brain,” Lieberman said. “We typically don’t teach history by asking what Napoleon was thinking; we teach about territorial boundaries and make it as non-social as possible. Too often we take away what makes information learnable and memorable and emphasize chronology while leaving out the motivations.

“Eighth graders’ brains want to understand the social world and the minds of other people. We can tap into what middle school students are biologically predisposed to learn, and we can do this to improve instruction in history and English, and even math and science.”
Research also suggests that students are more likely to remember information when they take it in socially. Schools could apply that lesson by having older students tutor younger ones.

“If you have an eighth grader teach a sixth grader, the eighth grader’s motivation is social: to help this other student and not embarrass himself,” Lieberman said. “Getting everyone to be both teacher and learner would create enthusiasm for learning.”

In the book, Lieberman also suggests that business leaders might benefit from understanding people’s social motivations. Studies by other researchers have shown that feeling liked and respected in the workplace activate the brain’s reward system in the same way that financial compensation does--and that social rewards might be at least as effective as money in motivating workers. And a study by Lieberman demonstrated that people were usually willing to return money that had been given to them if it meant that others would write kind words about them.

The book also describes a study of 60,000 leaders which found that less than 5 percent excel at both achieving important results and building social relationships. “Not many people effectively combine the two,” Lieberman said.

“Social” also gives real-life context for research by Lieberman and colleagues that used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that neural mechanisms make us profoundly social beings.
The importance of social connection is so strong, he writes, that when we are rejected or experience other social “pain,” our brains “hurt” in the same way they do when we feel physical pain.

“Social and physical pain are more similar than we imagine,” Lieberman said. “We don’t expect someone with a broken leg to ‘just get over it.’ Yet when it comes to the pain of social loss, this is a common -- and mistaken -- response.”

Our social nature is so powerful that it even may dictate how effective we are in developing new innovations and producing major societal changes. “We’re wired to see things and think, ‘How can I use this to help other people that I know?’” Lieberman said. “I can have the most brilliant idea for an invention, but if I can’t convey that to other people in a way that they’ll help me build it and market it to other people, it’s just an idea in my head. If we’re not socially connected, even great ideas wither.”

April McCarthy is a community journalist playing an active role reporting and analyzing world events to advance our health and eco-friendly initiatives.

Source: preventdisease.com

First physical evidence of why you're a morning or night person

They say the early bird catches the worm, but night owls may be missing far more than just a tasty snack. Researchers have discovered the first physical evidence of structural brain differences that distinguish early risers from people who like to stay up late. The differences might help to explain why night owls seem to be at greater risk of depression.

Image: I fucking love science

Around 10 per cent of people qualify as morning people or larks, and a further 20 per cent are night owls – with the rest of us falling somewhere in between. Your lark or night owl status is called your chronotype.

Previous studies have suggested that night owls experience worse sleep, more tiredness during the day and consume greater amounts of tobacco and alcohol. This has prompted some to suggest that they are suffering from a form of chronic jet lag.

To investigate further, Jessica Rosenberg at RWTH Aachen University in Germany and colleagues used diffusion tensor imaging to scan the brains of 16 larks, 23 night owls and 20 intermediate chronotypes. They found a reduction in the integrity of night owls' white matter – brain tissue largely comprised of fatty insulating material that speeds up the transmission of nerve signals – in areas associated with depression.

"We think this could be caused by the fact that late chronotypes suffer from this permanent jet lag," says Rosenberg, although she cautions that further studies are needed to confirm cause and effect.

Skewed body clocks

Although the team controlled for tobacco and alcohol use, it's possible that gene variants that skew people's body clocks towards nocturnal living could affect the structure of the brain. It's also not clear whether the structural changes have any implications for people's health.

"It's interesting that there are individual differences, but we need to understand what is causing them and find ways of creating environments in which those differences can be attenuated," says Derk-Jan Dijk, director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre in Guildford, UK, who was not involved in the study.

Rosenberg suggests that people's work schedules should change to fit in with their natural sleep patterns, but Djik says there may be an easier way. For example, research published last month suggests that night owls who cut their exposure to artificial light and boosted their exposure to sunlight found their body clocks shifted towards earlier waking and sleeping (Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.06.039).

Journal reference: Neuroimage, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.086

Source: newscientist.com

3 Ounces of This Food a Day May Be Harming Your Brain

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By Dr. Mercola

Eating wheat may not be beneficial to your health. Among many other reasons, each grain contains about one microgram of Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA). Even in small quantities, WGA can have profoundly adverse effects. It may be pro-inflammatory, immunotoxic, cardiotoxic … and neurotoxic.

Image: Raw For Beauty

According to an article on Green Med Info:
“WGA can pass through the blood brain barrier (BBB) through a process called ‘adsorptive endocytosis’ … WGA may attach to the protective coating on the nerves known as the myelin sheathand is capable of inhibiting nerve growth factor which is important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of certain target neurons. WGA binds to N-Acetylglucosamine which is believed to function as an atypical neurotransmitter functioning in nocioceptive (pain) pathways.”

Most people believe that grains are a wholesome part of a healthy diet, particularly whole grains, such as whole wheat. Whole grains are also one of the relatively few foods that are allowed to make health claims on their labels, relating whole grains with a reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

Unfortunately, there’s a large body of evidence indicating that whole grains, and whole wheat in particular (yes even organic), can contribute to significant health problems—both physical and mental. This evidence, however, has not registered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—the first two of which developed the dietary guideline to consumer three or more ounces of whole grain products per day.

When you begin to review the evidence stacked up against whole grains, it becomes rather self-evident that our reliance on wheat and other grains may be one of the primary culprits for the poor health of so many.
Here, my primary focus will be on the mental health impacts of wheat, but for even more information about why wheat isn’t the health food you’ve been lead to believe, please review the two articles referenced above, and the long list of related studies.

The Side Effects of Wheat Consumption—It’s Not Just about Celiac Disease

Many of you may be familiar with Celiac Disease (CD), a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by intolerance to wheat gluten. According to statistics from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, an average of one out of every 133 otherwise healthy people in the United States suffers from CD. However, an estimated 20-30 percent of the world’s population may carry the genetic susceptibility to celiac disease—and the way to avoid turning these genes ‘on’ is by avoiding gluten.
When you consider that undiagnosed CD is associated with a nearly four-fold increased risk of premature death, the seriousness of this food sensitivity becomes quite evident. The primary disease mechanism at play is chronic inflammation, and chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions are endemic to grain-consuming populations.

However, other rampant health afflictions include depression, ADD/ADHD, and Alzheimer’s disease, just to name a few. As it turns out, excessive wheat consumption may play a significant role here as well. In fact, there’s evidence suggesting that gluten sensitivity may be at the root of many neurological and psychiatric conditions.

The Toxic Effects of Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)

Wheat contains high amounts of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA); a glycoprotein classified as a lectin, which is largely responsible for many of wheat’s ill effects. Other grains high in lectins include rice, spelt, and rye.
Interestingly enough, the highest amounts of WGA is found in whole wheat, including its sprouted form, which is touted as being the most healthful form of all…  Aside from high amounts of WGA, wheat also contains a number of other potentially health-harming components, including:

Gliadin (an alcohol soluble protein component

Gliadomorpin (exorphins, or group of opioid peptides that form during digestion of the gluten protein)

Enzyme inhibitors

The traditional ways of addressing many of these anti-nutrients is by sprouting, fermenting and cooking. However, lectins are designed to withstand degradation through a wide range of pH and temperatures. WGA lectin is particularly tough because it’s actually formed by the same disulfide bonds that give strength and resilience to vulcanized rubber and human hair.

Furthermore, because lectins are so small, and hard to digest, they tend to bioaccumulate in your body, where they can interfere with biological processes. WGA is particularly troublesome in this regard. Studies indicate it has a number of health-harming characteristics and activities:

read more at MERCOLA.COM

Source: rawforbeauty.com

Studies Show That These Prescriptions Make Your Brain Stop Working

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Drugs commonly taken for a variety of common medical conditions negatively affect your brain, causing long term cognitive impairment. These drugs, called anticholinergics, block acetylcholine, a nervous system neurotransmitter.

They include such common over-the-counter brands as Benadryl, Dramamine, Excedrin PM, Nytol, Sominex, Tylenol PM, and Unisom.

Other anticholinergic drugs, such as Paxil, Detrol, Demerol and Elavil are available only by prescription.

Physorg reports:

“Researchers … conducted a six-year observational study, evaluating 1,652 Indianapolis area African-Americans over the age of 70 who had normal cognitive function when the study began … ‘[T]aking one anticholinergic significantly increased an individual’s risk of developing mild cognitive impairment and taking two of these drugs doubled this risk.’”

Many view over-the-counter (OTC) drugs as safe because they don’t require a prescription. Well nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, many OTC drugs were previously carefully monitored prescription drugs. Many people are not aware that while I was in college in the 1970s, I worked as a full time pharmacy apprentice and helped sell drugs to patients all day long.

Motrin was the first non-salicylate prescription NSAID. Now it is a popular OTC ibuprofen option. Similarly, anti-ulcer drugs like Tagamet, Zantec, and Prilosec used to be carefully controlled. Now they can all be easily purchased in a smaller “OTC strength” that nearly doubles the number of pills required to equal the prescription dose.

Just because a drug is available without a prescription does not make it any less dangerous. It is still a chemical, which in no way, shape, or form treats the cause of the problem and can lead to complications that can seriously injure, if not kill, you or someone you love.

So this is clearly important information that can help you or someone you love reduce your risk of dementia as you get older. Based on the findings of this study, I would strongly recommend that seniors in particular avoid all anticholinergic drugs, like Benadryl (generic is diphenhydramine) which is a pervasive and commonly used in virtually all of the OTC sleeping pills.

Researchers will continue studying the matter to see whether anticholinergic-induced cognitive impairment can be reversed, but don’t hold your breath. Avoidance is really the best solution.

What are Anticholinergic Drugs?Anticholinergic drugs block a nervous system neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease typically have a marked shortage of acetylcholine.

Anticholinergic drugs are available both over-the-counter and by prescription, as medications used for a variety of symptoms can have this effect. Examples include night-time pain relievers, antihistamines, and other sleep aids, such as:

    Excedrin PM
    Tylenol PM
    Nytol
    Sominex
    Unisom
    Benadryl
    Dramamine

Prescription drugs with anticholinergic effects include certain antidepressants, medications to control incontinence, and certain narcotic pain relievers.

Examples of prescription meds in these categories include:

    Paxil
    Detrol
    Demerol
    Elavil

A Special Note for Aspartame ‘Reactors’

Many of the drugs listed here, as well as a long list of additional ones, contain diphenhydramine. As an important side note, you need to beware that chewable tablets and rapidly disintegrating tablets that contain diphenhydramine may be sweetened with aspartame

If you have the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), you must be particularly careful to avoid these types of drugs and all other types of aspartame-sweetened foods and beverages in order to prevent mental retardation.

But many other people also suffer detrimental health effects from aspartame, so you should know that this is yet another potential source of this toxic sweetener.

Anticholinergic Drugs Increases Dementia in the Elderly

I’ve previously written about the health dangers of many of these individual drugs. Paxil, for example, is an addictive antidepressant that is well known to increase the risk of suicide in children and teens. It is also known to increase violent behavior.

Benadryl and Sominex have previously been found to cause hallucinations in the elderly, and a number of the drugs on the list also promote dental decay.

The results of this study indicate that drugs with anticholinergic effects may be yet another piece of the puzzle that might explain the sharp rise in dementia and cognitive decline.

According to the University of Michigan, dementia strikes about 50 percent of people who reach the age of 85. Of those, about 60 percent go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

In this study, the researchers tracked the intake of anticholinergic drugs and monitored the cognitive abilities of 1,652 African-American seniors, aged 70 and older, for six years. All of the participants had normal cognitive function at the outset of the study.

Fifty-three percent of the participants used a ‘possible anticholinergic,’ and 11 percent used a ‘definitive anticholinergic’ drug.

They found that those who took drugs classified as ‘definite anticholinergics’ had a four times higher incidence of cognitive impairment.

In those who were not carriers of the specific gene, APOE ε4 allele, the risk was over seven times higher. (The APOE ε4 gene is known to influence many neurological diseases, and is considered a high risk factor for Alzheimer’s.)

Taking two of these drugs further increased the risk of cognitive impairment.

PhysOrg reports:

“Simply put, we have confirmed that anticholinergics, something as seemingly benign as a medication for inability to get a good night’s sleep or for motion sickness, can cause or worsen cognitive impairment, specifically long-term mild cognitive impairment which involves gradual memory loss.

As a geriatrician I tell my Wishard Healthy Aging Brain Center patients not to take these drugs and I encourage all older adults to talk with their physicians about each and every one of the medications they take,” said Malaz Boustani, M.D., IU School of Medicine associate professor of medicine, Regenstrief Institute investigator and IU Center for Aging Research center scientist.”
Even More Reasons to Ditch the Sleep Meds

In 2008, Americans filled more than 56 million prescriptions for sleeping pills and spent more than $600 million on over-the-counter sleep aids. But anticholinergic sleep medications in particular may be causing far more harm than good, especially long term, without providing any benefit at all.

In a recent article, CBC News reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has had data for 15 years which shows that over-the-counter sleep aids like Tylenol PM and Excedrin PM do not offer any significant benefit to patients.

There’s no explanation for why the FDA took 15 years to evaluate the industry’s research, but upon final analysis “the data suggests the combination products are statistically better than a placebo but not by much,” CBC News reported.   

I guess it can be chalked up as yet another vibrant example of how industry research frequently amounts to little more than corporate wishes and good PR fodder.

Another analysis of sleeping pill studies from 2007 (financed by the National Institutes of Health) found that sleeping pills like Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata reduced the average time to go to sleep by just under 13 minutes compared with fake pills — hardly a major improvement.
   
Yet, the participants believed they had slept longer, by up to one hour, when taking the pills.

This may actually be a sign of a condition called anterograde amnesia, which causes trouble with forming memories. When people wake up after taking sleeping pills, they may, in fact, simply forget that they had been unable to sleep!

You would be far better off putting your money toward authentic solutions to help you sleep than on sleeping pills, as it’s now clear that they do next to nothing to help you sleep – in fact, they may actually make it more difficult for you to get a good night’s rest naturally – and may significantly increase your risk of dementia.

Sleeping Pills are NOT a Safe Solution for Sleepless Nights

Understand that resorting to sleep medications is risky business, and that these pills do not address the underlying reasons why you’re having trouble sleeping in the first place.

In addition to the long-term problems already discussed, there are other serious, not to mention bizarre, risks involved.

For starters, these pills are notorious for being addictive, which means that once you want to stop taking them, you’ll likely suffer withdrawal symptoms that could be worse than your initial insomnia. Some, such as Ambien, may also become less effective when taken for longer than two weeks, which means you may find yourself needing ever higher dosages.

Ambien may also make you want to eat while you’re asleep — and I don’t mean sneaking down to grab a piece of fruit. The sleep eating can include bizarre foods such as buttered cigarettes, salt sandwiches, and raw bacon.

Sleeping pills, and again Ambien in particular, are also known to increase your risk of getting into a traffic accident. Ambien actually ranks among the top 10 drugs found in the bloodstreams of impaired drivers, according to some state toxicology labs.

Among the elderly, using sleeping pills may increase the risk of nighttime falls and injuries, and anyone who takes them may find they wake up feeling drowsy if the effects of the drug have not worn off yet.

You’re far better of finding safe and natural solutions that will actually address the underlying causes of your sleepless nights instead of just cover up the resulting symptoms.

Source: Raw For Beauty




Mercola

What Happens When You Are Asleep

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We spend about one-third of our lives asleep. But far from being wasted time, from the moment we slide into unconsciousness, a whole raft of functions takes place to make sure that we get optimal benefit from our nightly rest. >Sleep is the time the body can undergo repair and detoxification. Poor sleep patterns are linkedto poor health - and those who sleep less than six hours a night have a shorter life expectancy than those who sleep for longer. So sleep has a profound effect on our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. 

Here, Daily Mail writer Angela Epstein explains how the body works on when we drift off. 

The brain 

Sleep may seem to be a passive and dormant state, but even though activity in the cortex - the surface of the brain - drops by about 40 per cent while we are in the first phases of sleep, the brain remains highly active during later stages of the night.

A typical night's sleep comprises five different sleep cycles, each lasting about 90 minutes. The first four stages of each cycle are regarded as quiet sleep or non-rapid eye move-ment (NREM). The final stage is denoted by rapid eye movement (REM).

During the first stage of sleep, brain waves are small undulations. During stage two these intersperse with electrical signals called sleep spindles - small bursts of activity lasting a couple of seconds which keep us in a state of quiet readiness.

As stage two merges into stage three, the brain waves continue to deepen into large slow waves. The larger and slower the brain wave, the deeper the sleep. Stage four is reached when 50 per cent of the waves are slow.

At this point, we are not taxed mentally and 40 per cent of the usual blood flow to the brain is diverted to the muscles to restore energy. However, during the REM that follows there is a high level of brain activity.

This is the stage associated with dreaming and is triggered by the pons - the part of the brain stem that relays nerve impulses between the spinal cord and the brain - and neighbouring structures.

The pons sends signals to the thalamus and to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for most thought processes. It also sends signals to turn off motor neurons in the spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis and so preventing us from acting upon our dreams.

REM sleep is thought to help consolidate memory and emotion, as at this point in sleep blood flow rises sharply in several brain areas linked to processing memories and emotional experiences. In areas involving complex reasoning and language, blood flow declines. 

The eyes 
Though covered by lids, the movement of the eyes denotes the different stages of sleep.

On first falling into semi-consciousness, the eyes roll. But as we move into deeper sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) occurs when the eyes twitch and dart about.

This REM occurs within about 90 minutes of falling asleep and recurs about every 90 minutes throughout the night. It denotes a time when most dreaming is done.

Although brain activity is high at this point, the muscles of the body are relaxed to a point of virtual paralysis. Some experts suggest that this is a device to allow the mind to explore the realms of subconscious without acting upon events occurring in dreams. 

Hormones 
During our waking hours, the body burns oxygen and food to provide energy. This is known as a catabolic state, in which more energy is spent than conserved, using up the body's resources.
This state is dominated by the work of stimulating hormones such as adrenaline and natural cortisteroids. However, when we sleep we move into an anabolic state - in which energy conservation, repair and growth take over. Levels of adrenaline and corticosteroids drop and the body starts to produce human growth hormone (HGH).
A protein hormone, HGH promotes the growth, maintenance and repair of muscles and bones by facilitating the use of amino acids (the essential building blocks of protein). Every tissue in the body is renewed faster during sleep than at any time when awake.

Melatonin is another hormone produced to help us sleep. Secreted by the pineal gland deep in the brain, it helps control body rhythms and sleep-wake cycles.

Levels of melatonin rise as the body temperature falls, to encourage feelings of sleepiness. The opposite occurs to wake us up.
It is mostly during sleep that the sex hormone testosterone and the fertility hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone and leuteinising hormone, are secreted.

Immune system 

Research suggests that sleeping more when fighting infectious illness aids recovery.

This may be due to the immune system's increased production of certain proteins during sleep, as the levels of certain agents which fight disease rise during sleep and drop when we are awake.
Getting enough sleep can also help resist infection, as some studies of healthy young adults have shown that moderate amounts of sleep deprivation reduce the levels of white blood cells which form part of the body's defence system.

A cancer killer called TNF - tumour necrosis factor - also pumps through our veins when we are asleep. Research has shown that people who stayed up until 3am had one-third fewer cells containing TNF the next day, and that the effectiveness of those remaining was greatly reduced. JUST as the world is governed by light and dark, human beings also have an inbuilt body clock called the circadian rhythm.

Housed in the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, it causes 24 hour fluctuations in many bodily activities. It also governs the body's daily alternation between sleep and wakefulness, and works on a 24-hour cycle to let the body 'know' when sleep is coming.
The circadian rhythm regulates all the processes of the body, from digestion to cell renewal. All these body rhythms are triggered by an action of a network of chemical messengers and nerves which are controlled by the circadian clock.

Ensuring regular periods of sleep at night lets the bodyclock regulate hormone production, so that you feel wakeful and alert during the day and ready to enjoy restorative sleep at night. 
Body temperature 

In the evening, body temperature, along with levels of wakeful hormones such as adrenaline, start to drop. Some sweating may occur, as the body is immobile and tries to combat losing heat.
Body temperature continues to fall throughout the night. By about 5am it has dropped to about one degree centigrade below the temperature it was in the evening. 

At the same time, our metabolic rate drops too. This is the time of day when you would feel most tired, as the low temperature coincides with adrenaline at its lowest level.

Low body temperatures increase your likelihood of sleeping deeply and so give the body chance to rest and rebuild. As body temperature starts to rise, it remains more difficult to stay in a deep sleep. 

The skin 

The top layer of the skin is made of closely packed dead cells which are constantly shed during day. During deep sleep, the skin's metabolic rate speeds up and many of the body's cells show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins. 
Since proteins are the building blocks needed for cell growth and for the repair of damage from factors like ultraviolet rays, deep sleep may indeed be beauty sleep.

Daytime sleep will not compensate for loss of nightly 'beauty sleep' as the energy needed for tissue repair is not available during daylight because it is being used elsewhere. 

Breathing 

When we fall asleep, throat muscles relax so that the throat gets narrower each time we inhale.
Snoring occurs when the throat is narrowed to a slit and parts of the airway vibrate because of a resistance to breathing. Air is forced through the narrow air passage, causing the soft palate and uvula to vibrate.

Those who snore are more likely to have poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat, which allows the tongue to fall backwards into the airways. Being overweight or having large tonsils and adenoids also contribute to snoring.

However, impaired breathing during sleep can cause a condition called sleep apnoea.

Often caused by fat build-up, poor muscle tone or ageing, sleep apnoea causes the windpipe to collapse when the muscles relax during sleep. This blocks the air flow for from ten seconds to a minute while the sleeping person struggles for breath. 
When the person's blood oxygen level falls, the brain responds by making the person tighten the upper airway muscles and open the windpipe. This will result in a snort or gasp before snoring is resumed. 

The mouth 

Saliva is needed to lubricate the mouth and for eating, but during sleep salivary flow is reduced, so causing a dry mouth in the morning.

However, the mouth can be very active during sleep, as one in 20 adults unconsciously grinds their teeth at night. 

This is known as bruxism and occurs mainly during stages one and two of sleep. It is caused by poor alignment of the teeth within the jaw but is also thought to be nocturnal relief for daytime stresses. 
Muscles 

Though a person can change their sleeping position about 35 times a night, the muscles of the body remain relaxed. This gives the chance for tissues to be repaired and restored.
However, studies indicate that muscles might receive just as much relaxation and repair during simple rest periods and that a state of unconsciousness is not needed for this to take place. 

Blood 

The heart rate goes down by between 10 and 30 beats per minute when we sleep. This produces a decline in blood pressure, which occurs in restful sleep.

During rest, blood flows from the brain, distends arteries and makes the limbs bigger.

Some scientists believe that fatigue-induced sleep may be a mild form of blood detoxification.

This is because during the day debris from broken down tissues is thrown into the bloodstream. In the waking state, most of this waste will be eliminated through the lungs, kidneys, bowels and skin.

But there could be a saturation point. So nature warns us to reduce these waste products to replenish lost energy, and that causes us to get tired and sleep.

During sleep, the cells and tissues that break down to produce toxic waste then become less active. This gives the chance for broken-down tissue to be rebuilt. 

Digestive system 

The body requires a regular supply of energy and its key source is glucose. This is constantly burned up to release energy for muscle contraction, nerve impulses and regulating body temperature.
When we sleep, our need for these energy reserves is marginal so the digestive system slows down to a sluggish pace. The immobility of our bodies promotes this.

For this reason, eating late at night is not recommended as our inactive state will prevent enzymes and stomach acids from converting it to energy. This causes that telltale bloated feeling.

By Angel Epstein

Source : Dave Sommers, Daily Mail

Water Is Life For The Human Body

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The majority of us are chronically dehydrated and don't even know it. Did you know that when you are chronically dehydrated your body actually stops feeling thirsty? Also, often times when you feel hungry, it is just another way your body is trying to tell you it is thirsty.

It is impossible for your body to function properly while dehydrated.
You may have problems concentrating
Your blood slows down creating high blood pressure
Muscles can ache, cramp or you may even wake in the night with a Charlie Horse
Your liver does not function up to par which slows down your body's detoxification creating illness and diseases. Cancer occurs when your body cannot eliminate the toxins faster than you put them in. This is why the liver is vital for healing cancer
Your skin becomes dry and crusty. If you are looking to look younger, drinking plenty of water will help.
There are a lot of figures out there which will tell you how much water to drink but I'm going to say that if you don't drink at least 100 oz a day, your body is paying for it. Also, almost everything else you drink such as soda, coffee and alcohol all dehydrate you. This figure may sound high but your body will help you. The more water you drink the more your body tells you that it is thirsty. Build up to this number slowly if you need to. Just keep improving.

Sources: Dave Sommers, Herculean Health

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8 Foods that Boost your Brain Power

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When it comes to improving brain power, choosing the right foods is essential. The nutrients you ingest, day in, day out, will help you use your brain more efficiently. The more you are using your brain, the more it will grow new connections, new cells, and improve your ability to problem-solve and store memories.

Making sure you eat fresh, local organic produce is also crucial. This will get your brain functioning at its peak, because these foods are much closer to their natural state and have a much higher availability of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. Consuming highly processed foods that are filled with numerous chemicals are not nutritious, and can actually slow the connections and neuronal firing in your brain.

I should also mention that drinking plenty of water (at least 2 litres or more a day) is very important to help the brain function properly and to help you feel more alert. After all, your water constitutes over 85% of your brain’s weight. 

8 Foods that Boost your Brain Power

Berries (blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, red grapes, goji berries, mulberries, seabuckthorn, golden berries, boysenberries, saskatoons, etc.)

Berries are a great food for increasing brain power because of their high antioxidant content. They have been shown to prevent nerve-related degeneration and decline in both cognitive and motor function because they reduce inflammation and improve neuronal cell longevity. The polyphenolic compounds in berries also protect against neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as well as depression.

Asparagus (and other foods rich in folic acid like okra, spinach, collards, sunflower seeds, romaine lettuce and beans)

Why are foods that are high in folic acid great for the brain? This vitamin has been found to improve memory and cognition in healthy adults aged 50-70 years old. Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin which improves cognitive functioning, especially with respect to memory and information processing speed. Consuming foods rich in folic acid like asparagus and spinach will help your brain tremendously!

Avocados

Avocados are a great healthy fat to include in your diet and they are high in vitamin E. They contain essential fatty acids which are necessary for maximum brain power as well as supporting proper brain growth and development. Omega fatty acids help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and help boost your memory and ability to learn new things!

Carrots (and other foods rich in beta carotene and vitamin C like mangos, oranges, broccoli, tomato, cantaloupe, peppers, and rainbow chard)

Beta carotene rich foods may reduce the risk of cognitive decline. Beta carotene is an antioxidant that prevents oxidative stress in the brain which normally damages brain cells leading to rapid brain aging and associated cognitive decline. In studies with groups of individuals taking beta carotene and comparing them to controls (no beta carotene), it was found that the brain was able to function much more efficiently, particularly with respect to verbal memory.

Hemp Seeds (and other healthy nuts & seeds like chia seeds, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds)

Hemp seeds are high in omega fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory and help protect the nervous system. How do they do this? To put it simply, they “feed” and repair the myelin sheaths that protect our nerves, which if not protected, can lead to serious health issues like multiple sclerosis (a disease caused by myelin sheath damage). Omega fatty acids in hemp seeds and other nuts and seeds also help lift depression and those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and can reduce the harmful effects of chronic stress.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables (think collards, kale, swiss card, beet greens, green & red leaf lettuce, dandelion greens, and dark green herbs like basil, mint, parsley, cilantro, dill, arugula, and watercress)

Dark leafy green vegetables are known for their ability to keep the brain sharp through aging. These greens are rich in folate (a B vitamin, as mentioned earlier) and can protect against cognitive decline in older adults. Folate helps reduce blood levels of homocysteine (a blood marker of cardiovascular disease), which when high, have been linked to lower cognitive test scores. Leafy green vegetables are also very mineral and vitamin dense, which help keep our brain sharp, and our thoughts clearer.

Bananas

Bananas are a great brain food. For one, they help lift depression due to their high tryptophan content (a protein that the body converts into serotonin), which helps you relax and improve mood. Secondly, they are remarkably high in potassium (same with medjool dates!) which is a mineral that helps send oxygen to the brain and thus makes you feel more alert. They are also rich in B vitamins which are very important in calming the nervous system and protecting the myelin sheath around our nerves.

Watermelon (and other water rich foods like melon, zucchini, cucumbers and celery)

Ensuring you stay hydrated is a great way to keep your memory sharp, moods balanced and motivation strong. If you are dehydrated (which more than 95% of the population normally is), you reduce oxygen flow to the brain and could temporarily shrink neurons. Consuming water rich foods like watermelon, cucumbers and celery will prevent this from happening and can help you focus better on the tasks at hand.

Source : Live Love Fruit

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Instant Energy Green Juice

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Instead of reaching for a coffee, try a green juice instead! Green plants contain a molecule called chlorophyll which helps oxygenate the blood, creating increased brain function and physical energy. Not only that, but ginger helps to open the cardiovascular system, and the combination of the two (greens & ginger) enables our bodies to release stored toxins, elevating your hemoglobin, resulting in improved blood circulation and an increase in life energy. 

Including ginger in your juices is a great way to get the most out of your juice! It improves nutrient uptake from the other ingredients and helps to illuminate and revitalize your cells! When your body receives the nutrients it needs, it can function at a higher level, and improve your ability to think clearer, and work faster - all without the jittery nervous side effects that coffee often leaves us with. 

Ingredients:

- 1 cucumber

- 5 leaves kale

- 1 bundle cilantro

- 2 green apples

- 1 bunch spinach (2-3 cups)

- 2-4 inches ginger

- 2 lemons

Juice the above ingredients & Enjoy!

Source: Live Love Fruit

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How mangoes boost your health

Mangoes are grown all around the world but are thought to originate from India.  Their amazing flavor makes them a popular fruit for snacks, cocktails, and several recipes, but the effect mangoes have on the human body may be enough reason to try these tropical delights.

• Mangoes are rich in vitamin B-6, vitamin E, and vitamin C.  Vitamin C is known as the detox vitamin and not only guards against infectious agents, but also removes free radicals that cause damage to tissue.  Vitamin B-6 is needed for GABA hormone production in the brain and controls homocystiene levels in the blood therefore reducing the risk of stroke.
• A new study has found that mango battles multiple types of cancer including colon, breast, prostate, and leukemia.  It is believed that polyphenolic antioxidant compounds contained in mangoes can guard against breast and colon cancers.
• Mangoes contain a moderate amount of copper.  Copper is vital for the production of many enzymes in the body and is also required for the creation of red blood cells.
• Vitamin A is another great nutrient found in mangoes along with flavenoids like beta carotene, alpha carotene,  beta cryptoxanthin.  Consuming fresh fruit that contains carotenes is known to reduce the risk lung and oral cavity cancers.  These compounds also have strong antioxidant properties.

Read more about mangoes http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/mango-fruit.html

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