1. John Mearsheimer | THE US CREATES CONFLICT FOR THE WORLD (10:00)
2. Neil Oliver ‘…if you thought that was scary just wait & see what’s coming now’ (10:00)
3. I get calls every day from the same people saying the same exact thing as this rightfully bloody angry lady (1:50)
4. 3 Million More Disabled American (1:40)

Greater intake of vitamin D linked to lower risk of diabetes among prediabetics

Tufts University, February 6 2023. 

A review and meta-analysis published in Annals of Internal Medicine found a 15% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes among prediabetic men and women who received vitamin D supplements.

Researchers analyzed data from three randomized trials that examined the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the risk of type 2 diabetes among a total of 4,190 participants who met the criteria for prediabetes (impaired glucose tolerance, hemoglobin A1c and/or fasting glucose). The trials compared the effects of a placebo to 20,000 IU vitamin D3 per week, 4,000 IU vitamin D3 per day or 0.75 micrograms per day of the vitamin D analog eldecalcitol. 

During an average 3-year follow-up, 22.7% of participants who received vitamin D and 25% of those who received a placebo were diagnosed with new-onset diabetes, resulting in an adjusted 15% reduction in risk in the treated group. 

Among participants treated with vitamin D3, maintenance of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at 40-50 ng/mL during follow-up was associated with a 62% lower risk of developing diabetes compared to the risk experienced by those who maintained their levels at 20-29 ng/mL. “These results suggest that the blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D level needed to optimally reduce diabetes risk may be near and possibly above the range of 125 to 150 nmol/L (50 to 60 ng/mL) that the 2011 Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D provided as the range corresponding to the tolerable upper intake level (UL) of 4000 IU/d for vitamin D,” Anastassios G. Pittas, MD, and colleagues wrote.

They estimated that supplementation with vitamin D by prediabetics might delay the development of diabetes among over 10 million individuals worldwide.

Chamomile Oil For Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Iran), February 7, 2023

Research reveals that topical use of chamomile oil may have positive effects for those experiencing pain from carpal tunnel syndrome. As a natural and easily obtained substance, chamomile oil could prove to be an inexpensive option for those suffering from this common ailment.

Chamomile oil, an ancient herbal remedy used to treat a variety of ailments, may have a new use for individuals suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a fairly common condition caused by a pinched nerve in the arm or wrist and is characterized by tingling or numbness in the hand or arm.

The apparent efficacy of chamomile oil on CTS symptoms could greatly reduce the incidence of surgery and other invasive or expensive treatment options.

Research has shown that chamomile oil, known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, may be useful in relieving pain associated with CTS when used topically and combined with the use of a splint.

Eighty-six patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome were enrolled in a study that revealed chamomile oil may effectively reduce pain and increase functionality in patients with mild to moderate CTS after only four weeks. This wasn’t the first study of chamomile oil’s effects on reducing CTS symptoms, and other double-blind, placebo-controlled trials found similar results even in patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome.[ii]

Chamomile oil’s 28 terpenoids and 36 flavonoids contained in the flower’s essential oil are what contribute to the herb’s therapeutic value. These compounds act synergistically when applied topically by reducing inflammation, promoting wound healing and providing antimicrobial properties, among other benefits. The researchers believe that chamomile and other herbal medicines may be the key to reducing the effects of neuropathy due to their lower complications in comparison with synthetic drugs and may have more protective effects.

Acts of Kindness Can Make You Happier

University of California at Riverside, January 24, 2023

Performing small acts of kindness and gratitude can make people happier, researchers believe, but how this occurs is more of a puzzle.

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, has studied happiness for more than 20 years. She and others know that positive activities boost positive emotions, thoughts and behavior, in turn improving well-being.

Now, how people can deliberately change their thinking and practices to bliss out to the max is her focus.

Reviewing past studies on happiness, including some of her own research, Lyubomirsky concluded there is no single prescription for happiness-boosting acts of kindness.

How often you perform the behaviors influences happiness, Lyubomirsky found, but not always in the way you may think. Studying the effect of counting your blessings on happiness, for instance, she found doing so once a week was ideal for making people happier.

“Doing it three times a week gave no extra benefit,” she said.

Her research found that performing other positive acts once a week led to the most happiness. That could be because many routines, such as worshipping and even TV, occur weekly, she said.

Performing a variety of kind and grateful behaviors helps maximize happiness, too, whereas repeatedly doing the same act of kindness may lose its ability to boost happiness, she said.

“We did one study where we had people do acts of kindness over 10 weeks,” she said. The acts could be similar or varied. For instance, someone who usually refused to take out the trash might offer to do so. That made them happier initially, she said, but it worked better in terms of happiness when they varied the activity.

Picking your own positive behavior, such as performing an act of kindness, promises to make you more likely to vary the activity, she also found.

Feeling you have social support for your actions also influences how much positive behaviors, such as expressing gratitude, will boost your happiness, she said. And gaining support through social media works as well as face-to-face “hurrahs,” she added.

Frontiers publishes systematic review on the effects of yoga on major psychiatric disorders

Duke University, January 25, 2023

Yoga has positive effects on mild depression and sleep complaints, even in the absence of drug treatments, and improves symptoms associated with schizophrenia and ADHD in patients on medication, according to a systematic review of the exercise on major clinical psychiatric disorders.

Published in the open-access journal, Frontiers in Psychiatry, the review of more than one hundred studies focusing on 16 high-quality controlled studies looked at the effects of yoga on depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, sleep complaints, eating disorders and cognition problems.

Benefits of the exercise were found for all mental health illnesses included in the review, except for eating disorders and cognition problems as the evidence for these was conflicting or lacking.

Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, a professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center, US, and author of the study, explained that the emerging scientific evidence in support of the 5,000 year old Indian practice on psychiatric disorders is “highly promising” and showed that yoga may not only help to improve symptoms, but also may have an ancillary role in the prevention of stress-related mental illnesses.

The review found evidence from biomarker studies showing that yoga influences key elements of the human body thought to play a role in mental health in similar ways to that of antidepressants and psychotherapy. One study found that the exercise affects neurotransmitters, inflammation, oxidative stress, lipids, growth factors and second messengers.

While there has been an increase in the number of medications available for mental health disorders, many of which can be life saving for patients, there remains “a considerable unmet need,” according to Dr. Meera Balasubramaniam, lead author of the study, who is also based at Duke University, US. Poor compliance and relapse as well as treatment resistance are growing problems, and medications are expensive and can leave patients with significant side effects.

“The search for improved treatments, including non-drug based, to meet the holistic needs of patients is of paramount importance and we call for more research into yoga as a global priority,” said Doraiswamy. “If the promise of yoga on mental health was found in a drug, it would be the best selling medication world-wide,” he added.The authors also note that while the results are promising, the findings should be viewed as preliminary because all studies of yoga to date have consisted of small samples, and more rigorous research will be needed before the exercise can be applied to help patients with mental health disorders.

Qigong Improves Quality of Life for Breast Cancer Patients, Study Suggests

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, February 2, 2023 

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found qigong, an ancient mind-body practice, reduces depressive symptoms and improves quality of life in women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer. 

The study, published in the journal Cancer, is the first to examine qigong in patients actively receiving radiation therapy and include a follow-up period to assess benefits over time. Even though individual mind-body practices such as meditation and guided imagery appear to reduce aspects of distress and improve quality of life, questions remain about their effectiveness when conducted in conjunction with radiation therapy.

“We were also particularly interested to see if qigong would benefit patients experiencing depressive symptoms at the start of treatment,” said Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D. “It is important for cancer patients to manage stress because it can have a profoundly negative effect on biological systems and inflammatory profiles.”

For the trial, Cohen, the corresponding author, and his colleagues enrolled 96 women with stage 1-3 breast cancer from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center in Shanghai, China. Forty-nine patients were randomized to a qigong group consisting of five 40-minute classes each week during their five-to-six week course of radiation therapy, while 47 women comprised a waitlist control group receiving the standard of care.

The program incorporated a modified version of Chinese medical qigong consisting of synchronizing one’s breath with various exercises.

Patients in the qigong group reported a steady decline in depressive symptom scores beginning at the end of radiation therapy with a mean score of 12.3, through the three month post-radiation follow-up with a score of 9.5. No changes were noted in the control group over time.

The study also found qigong was especially helpful for women reporting high baseline depressive symptoms, Cohen said.

“We examined women’s depressive symptoms at the start of the study to see if women with higher levels would benefit more,” Cohen said. “In fact, women with low levels of depressive symptoms at the start of radiotherapy had good quality of life throughout treatment and three months later regardless of whether they were in the qigong or control group. However, women with high depressive symptoms in the control group reported the worst levels of depressive symptoms, fatigue, and overall quality of life that were significantly improved for the women in the qigong group.”

As the benefits of qigong were largely observed after treatment concluded, researchers suggest qigong may prevent a delayed symptom burden, or expedite the recovery process especially for women with elevated depressive symptoms at the start of radiotherapy.

Cohen notes the delayed effect could be explained by the cumulative nature of these modalities, as the benefits often take time to be realized.

Phthalate exposure may increase diabetes risk in women

University of Michigan, February 8, 2023

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in plastics may contribute to diabetes risk in women, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Phthalates are chemicals widely used in plastics such as personal care products, children’s toys, and food and beverage packaging. Phthalate exposure is associated with reduced fertility, diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

“Our research found phthalates may contribute to a higher incidence of diabetes in women, especially White women, over a six-year period,” said Sung Kyun Park, Sc.D., M.P.H., of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, Mich. “People are exposed to phthalates daily increasing their risk of several metabolic diseases. It’s important that we address EDCs now as they are harmful to human health.”

The researchers studied 1,308 women from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation-(SWAN) over six years to see if phthalates contributed to incident diabetes in this population. About 5% of the women developed diabetes over six years.

These women had concentrations of phthalates in their urine similar to middle-aged women in the U.S. in the early 2000s, when the urine samples were collected. White women exposed to high levels of some phthalates had a 30-63% higher chance of developing diabetes, while the harmful chemicals were not linked to diabetes in Black or Asian women.