Optimal Being

Summary:  A new study unveiled a crucial role of sleep: brainwaves facilitating the cleansing of the brain by flushing out waste. This discovery not only underscores the brain’s non-dormant state during sleep but also highlights a sophisticated system where neurons’ synchronized activity powers the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, effectively removing metabolic waste and potentially neurodegenerative disease-causing toxins. This insight opens up possibilities for enhancing brain cleaning processes to combat neurological diseases and improve sleep efficiency, hinting at a future where optimized sleep could lead to better health outcomes. Key Facts: Brainwaves Propel Cleansing Fluids : During sleep, neurons coordinate to produce rhythmic waves that drive the movement of fluid through the brain, washing away waste. Potential for Disease Prevention : Understanding and enhancing this cleansing process could delay or prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s by ensuring the effective...

If addicted opiate users are undergoing withdrawal treatment, supplementation with an extract of  Passiflora incarnata  reduces the symptoms of withdrawal . Psychiatrists at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran published a small human trial in 2001 in which they tried to help 65 opiate users overcome their addiction. They gave all subjects clonidine for 2 weeks to reduce the side effects of withdrawal. Some of them also used 60 drops of a liquid supplement containing   Passiflora incarnata   every day. The researchers do not provide details about the product. Results The subjects who received  Passiflora incarnata  in addition to clonidine suffered as much from the physical effects of withdrawal as the subjects who only took clonidine. However, supplementation did reduce the mental effects of withdrawal - and consequently the overall withdrawal scores Conclusion Supplementation with   Passiflora incarnata   did not reduce physical withdra...

Stimulating the sleeping brain may ease suffering from memory loss, stroke or mental health problem. It was late, and Sonia was alone in an unfamiliar town, trying to find her way home. The map showed a route through a dark forest lit by an occasional lantern. She viewed it with foreboding but, seeing other people also using this passage, took it. Walking fast, she neared a couple ahead of her—a man and a woman—who suddenly stopped, turned and grabbed her. The man covered her face with a cloth. She found herself on a stage with a ceiling spanned by a mirror. A crowd of men armed with guns and knives encircled her; she was about to be tortured and killed. Sonia picked up a stone and threw it at the ceiling, which shattered. Pieces of glass rained down, piercing her shoulder and foot. She fled into the forest, pursued by the couple, who could read each other's minds. The woman saw where Sonia was running and informed the man—Sonia knew she would be hunted down. This nightmare and sim...

People in their sixties who experience their lives as purposeful have fewer inflammatory factors such as CRP in their blood than people in their sixties who think that their lives have no purpose. Because high CRP levels are bad for just about every facet of your health, living a purposeful life makes you healthier. Canadian psychologists at Concordia University followed 129 adults aged 63-91 for 6 years. The researchers used questionnaires every 2 years to determine how meaningful the study participants thought their lives were. The researchers also determined the concentration of the inflammatory protein CRP in the blood of the study participants. A  lifestyle   that lowers the concentration of inflammatory proteins such as CRP reduces the risk of premature death or chronic disease. The researchers wondered whether psychological factors also play a role in the activity of inflammatory proteins. They suspected that experiencing meaning and purpose in life reduces CRP con...

Injections of no-longer-used growth hormone derived from cadavers may have “seeded” Alzheimer’s in some people, small study suggests. Researchers say they have uncovered more evidence to support a controversial hypothesis that sticky proteins that are a signature of Alzheimer’s disease can be transmitted from person to person through certain surgical procedures. The authors and other scientists stress that the research is based on a small number of people and is related to medical practices that are no longer used. The study does not suggest that forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease can be contagious. Still, “we’d like to take precautions going forward to reduce even those rare cases occurring”, says neurologist John Collinge at University College London who led the research, which was published in  Nature Medicine  on 29 January. For the past decade, Collinge and his team have studied people in the United Kingdom who, during childhood,  received growth hormone d...

The number of days that top athlete with a runny nose, nasty cough or overly relaxed intestines are sick at home and cannot train partly determines whether they win or lose. According to a human study, the number of sick days is drastically reduced if elite athletes ta ke a shot with turmeric, vitamin C and vitamin D every da y. Physiologists from Nottingham Trent University gave 23 professional football players a bottle of a turmeric-based shot every day for 16 weeks. Each bottle contained 17.5 grams of turmeric root extract, good for 700 milligrams of curcumin. The bottle also contained 200 milligrams of black pepper. This in turn provided 10 milligrams of piperine, a substance that  increases the absorption of curcumin . In addition, each bottle contained 1000 milligrams of vitamin C and 3000 IU of vitamin D3 - that is 75 micrograms of vitamin D3. The researchers use Immune Support Vitamin C + D, a product from The Turmeric.   [ theturmeric.co] During the supplementation p...

Summary :  Researchers discovered a link between educational attainment and biological aging, using data from the Framingham Heart Study. Their findings, utilizing the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock on genomic data, reveal that higher levels of education are associated with a slower pace of aging and a reduced risk of mortality. This landmark study highlights the potential of educational interventions to promote healthy longevity, underscoring education as not just a socio-economic benefit but a key factor in biological resilience and lifespan extension. By focusing on upward educational mobility and sibling comparisons, the study offers robust evidence that the benefits of education extend deeply into our biological makeup, influencing our health trajectories and mortality risks. Key Facts: Link Between Education and Aging : Two additional years of schooling were found to correlate with a 2-3% slower pace of aging, as measured by the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock. Educational Mobilit...