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1. The Anti-Smartphone Revolution – (13:23) ColdFusion

2. Gravitas Plus: Explained: The China-Taiwan conflict (9:11)

HEALTH NEWS

Astonishing effects of grapes, remarkable potential for health benefits
Frequent nut consumption associated with less inflammation
Body posture affects how oral drugs absorbed by stomach [why not supplements too?] 
Lifting Weights Beats Out Cycling, Swimming For Vegans Wanting Stronger Bones
Perfectionism Linked To Burnout At Work, School And Sports, Research Finds 
Mindfulness Therapy Better Than Antidepressants

Astonishing effects of grapes, remarkable potential for health benefits

Western New England University, August 8, 2022

Recent studies released by Dr. John Pezzuto and his team from Western New England University show “astonishing” effects of grape consumption and “remarkable” impacts on health and on lifespans.

Published in the journal Foods, one study showed that adding grapes in an amount equal to just under two cups of grapes per day to a high-fat diet, typically consumed in western countries, yielded reductions in fatty liver and extended lifespans.  Noting that these studies add an entirely new dimension to the old saying ‘you are what you eat,’ Pezzuto, who has authored over 600 scientific studies, said that the work with grapes showed actual changes in genetic expression. “That is truly remarkable.”

Adding grapes to a high-fat diet also increased levels of antioxidant genes and delayed natural death.  Acknowledging that it is not an exact science to translate years of lifespan from a mouse to a human, Pezzuto said that his best estimate is the change observed in the study would correspond to an additional 4-5 years in the life of a human.

Another study by Dr. Pezzuto and his team published in the journal Antioxidants, reported that grape consumption altered gene expression in the brain and had positive effects on behavior and cognition that were impaired by a high-fat diet. 

Frequent nut consumption associated with less inflammation

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, August 1, 2022

In a study of more than 5,000 people, investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have found that greater intake of nuts was associated with lower levels of biomarkers of inflammation, a finding that may help explain the health benefits of nuts. The results of the study appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“Population studies have consistently supported a protective role of nuts against cardiometabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and we know that inflammation is a key process in the development of these diseases,” said corresponding author Ying Bao, MD, ScD, an epidemiologist in BWH’s Channing Division of Network Medicine. “Our new work suggests that nuts may exert their beneficial effects in part by reducing systemic inflammation.”

In the current study, the research team performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study, which includes more than 120,000 female registered nurses, and from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which includes more than 50,000 male health professionals. The team assessed diet using questionnaires and looked at the levels of certain telltale proteins known as biomarkers in blood samples collected from the study participants. They measured three well-established biomarkers of inflammation: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL6) and tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2).

After adjusting for age, medical history, lifestyle and other variables, they found that participants who had consumed five or more servings of nuts per week had lower levels of CRP and IL6 than those who never or almost never ate nuts. In addition, people who substituted three servings per week of nuts in place of red meat, processed meat, eggs or refined grains had significantly lower levels of CRP and IL6.

Peanuts and tree nuts contain a number of healthful components including magnesium, fiber, L-arginine, antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids such as α-linolenic acid. 

Body posture affects how oral drugs absorbed by stomach [why not supplements too?] 

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, August 8, 2022

A common, economic, and easy method of administering drugs is orally, by swallowing a pill or capsule. But oral administration is the most complex way for the human body to absorb an active pharmaceutical ingredient, because the bioavailability of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract depends on the medication’s ingredients and the stomach’s dynamic physiological environment.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine employ a biomimetic in-silico simulator based on the realistic anatomy and morphology of the stomach—a “StomachSim”—to investigate and quantify the effect of body posture and stomach motility on drug bioavailability.

“”When the pill reaches the stomach, the motion of the stomach walls and the flow of contents inside determine the rate at which it dissolves. The properties of the pill and the stomach contents also play a major role.

Stomach contents, motility, and gastric fluid dynamics all play a role in a drug’s bioavailability, and stomach contractions can induce pressure and generate complex pill trajectories. This results in varying rates of pill dissolution and nonuniform emptying of the drug into the duodenum and, sometimes, gastric dumping in the case of modified-release dosage.

The modeling appears to be the first of its kind to couple gastric biomechanics of posture with pill movement and drug dissolution to quantify an active pharmaceutical ingredientpassing through the pylorus into the duodenum. The model enabled the researchers to calculate and compare the emptying rate and the release of a dissolved active pharmaceutical ingredient into the duodenum for a variety of physiological situations.

Lifting Weights Beats Out Cycling, Swimming For Vegans Wanting Stronger Bones

Medical University of Vienna (Austria), August 2, 2022

When it comes to bone health, a new study finds people on a plant-based diet should grab the dumbbells. Researchers in Austria have found that lifting weights is the best form of exercise for vegans – trumping cycling and swimming.

The team found that vegans who do resistance training once a week – such as machine-work, free weights, or bodyweight resistance – have stronger bones than plant-based eaters who do other forms of exercise.

The new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found vegans who did resistance training had similar bone structure to omnivores — people who eat both meat and vegetables.

For at least five years, authors followed 43 men and women on a plant-based diet and 45 men and women who eat meat as well.

“Our study showed resistance training offsets diminished bone structure in vegan people when compared to omnivores.”

Perfectionism linked to burnout at work, school and sports, research finds 

York St. John University (UK), July 31, 2022

Concerns about perfectionism can sabotage success at work, school or on the playing field, leading to stress, burnout and potential health problems, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. 

In the first meta-analysis of the relationship between perfectionism and burnout, researchers analyzed the findings from 43 previous studies conducted over the past 20 years. It turns out perfectionism isn’t all bad. One aspect of perfectionism called “perfectionistic strivings” involves the setting of high personal standards and working toward those goals in a pro-active manner. These efforts may help maintain a sense of accomplishment and delay the debilitating effects of burnout, the study found. 

The dark side of perfectionism, called “perfectionistic concerns,” can be more detrimental when people constantly worry about making mistakes, letting others down, or not measuring up to their own impossibly high standards, said lead researcher Andrew Hill, an associate professor of sport psychology at York St. John University in England. Previous research has shown that perfectionistic concerns and the stress they generate can contribute to serious healthproblems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, fatigue and even early mortality. The study was published online in the Personality and Social Psychology Review.

The study found that perfectionistic concerns had the strongest negative effects in contributing to burnout in the workplace, possibly because people have more social support and clearly defined objectives in education and sports. A student can be rewarded for hard work with a high grade, or a tennis player can win the big match, but a stellar performance in the workplace may not be recognized or rewarded, which may contribute to cynicism and burnout. 

“People need to learn to challenge the irrational beliefs that underlie perfectionistic concerns by setting realistic goals, accepting failure as a learning opportunity, and forgiving themselves when they fail,” Hill said. “Creating environments where creativity, effort and perseverance are valued also would help.” 

Mindfulness Therapy Better Than Antidepressants

University of Exeter (UK), July 31, 2022 

Antidepressants are big business.  But for the same money, and without the side effects, a little mindfulness can do the same job. 

A new study from the University of Exeter in the UK suggests that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is just as good as drugs – and maybe even better

MBCT is a structured training program for the mind and body.  It was developed to help people deal with repeated bouts of depression.  It teaches them skills to recognize and respond constructively to the thoughts and feelings associated with relapse.  In other words, it helps patients re-focus their thoughts as a way to avoid falling back into depression.

Prior studies have shown that MBCT reduces the risk of relapse or recurrence of depression by about 34% compared to usual care or placebo.  B

The research published in The Lancet  followed a group of 424 depressed patients for two years. The patients had all suffered three or more previous major depressive episodes.  And they were all taking a maintenance course of antidepressants.

The MBCT group attended eight group therapy sessions in which they learned mindfulness practices and cognitive-behavioral skills, and participated in group discussions.  

After two years, relapse rates were worse in the drug group.  The drug group relapsed at the rate of 47% compared to only 44% for the mindfulness group. 

The researchers concluded that MBCT may be an effective alternative to antidepressants for prevention of depressive relapse with no significant difference in cost. And it may be a good alternative for people who choose not to use drugs.  But they also suggested MBCT was more beneficial than drugs in preventing relapses in patients who were at highest risk of relapse especially those who reported severe childhood abuse.