Videos:
- 1. The slow creep of ugliness into the language of public debate is impossible to ignore | Neil Oliver (10:35)
- 2. Tulsi Gabbard Testifies on the Weaponization of Federal Government (5:00)
- 3. Clips from film “My Dinner with Andre” (1:00)
- 4.why did you shave your head (1:00)
- 5. Jordan Peterson on GENDER EQUALITY in Work-Force (1:00)
- 6. Ricky Gervais Pushes Back On Woke Culture & Things Being “Offensive” (1:00)
- 7. Joe Rogan, with this generation is somthing wrong! (1:00)
- 8. My Experience of Riding Along With a White Police Officer (1:00)
9. 2Pac Court (Shock G) (1:00)
Vitamin B3 nicotinamide riboside improves muscle mitochondria and gut microbiota composition
University of Helsinki (Finland), February 10, 2023
The newest vitamin B3 family member, nicotinamide riboside (NR) has been found to have beneficial effects on mitochondria in the human muscle. Currently, mitochondrial dysfunction cannot be treated. Recent findings from the University of Helsinki encourages further investigation of whether this vitamin B3 form could serve as a potential therapeutic option for mitochondrial dysfunction. In a recent twin study at the University of Helsinki, it was found that nicotinamide riboside (NR) increased the number of mitochondria in the muscle after long-term administration. In addition, NR improved the gut bacterial composition and increased the blood NAD+ concentrations. Different forms of vitamin B3, such as niacin, nicotinamide and NR, boost cellular energy metabolism, as they serve as precursors for the important molecule for mitochondria, NAD+. “NAD+ precursors are currently the focus of active research world-wide, as NR has been found to improve mitochondrial function as well as to alleviate metabolic syndrome and obesity in rodents,” Associate Professor Eija Pirinen says. “Our study demonstrated the beneficial effects of long-term supplementation of NR on NAD+ metabolism, and particularly on muscle mitochondria and gut microbiota in humans for the first time,” Pirinen says. The beneficial effects of NR were observed in both leaner and heavier co-twins. In other words, NR supplementation is likely to benefit all individuals regardless of their weight. NR was also found to affect several muscle tissue functions. It increased the differentiation of muscle stem cells and modified gene expression by modulating DNA methylation, i.e., an incorporation of methyl groups to DNA. Based on the findings, NR supplementation appears to be a promising therapeutic option to be studied in diseases characterized by gut microbiota imbalance and/or muscle mitochondrial dysfunction, such as sarcopenia, which is age-related muscle loss.
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Meta-analysis affirms association between omega-3 fatty acid intake and lowered inflammation
Zhejiang University (China), February 10, 2023.
A review and meta-analysis published in the journal PLOS One adds evidence to a reduction in pro-inflammatory eicosanoid levels in association with supplementation with marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) by adults. “Previous studies have shown that inflammation plays a significant role in a number of widespread and destructive chronic diseases, including autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and non-autoimmune chronic diseases including obesity and insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease,” write Duo Li and colleagues at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. ” Several arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids exert their significant influence on the inflammatory response. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is involved in the classic signs of inflammation and possesses both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory actions; thromboxane A2 (TXA2) (precursor of TXB2), formed by platelets, macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes, can induce vasoconstriction and promotes aggregation of platelets as well as adhesiveness of polymorphonuclear nutrophils; leukotriene B4 (LTB4) can not only increase vascular permeability and enhance local blood flow by stimulating neutrophil secretion, but also stimulate other inflammatory substances.” The researchers selected 18 randomized controlled trials involving a total of 826 subjects for their systematic review. Trials included those that evaluated the effects of fish oil (which contains EPA and DHA) or EPA alone on neutrophil levels of prostaglandin E2, thromboxane B2 or leukotriene B4. The meta-analysis uncovered a significant association between omega-3 supplementation in reduction in thromboxane B2 among participants at high risk of cardiovascular disease and in leukotriene B4 among unhealthy subjects. Reductions in leukotriene B4 occurred only with 14 or more weeks of treatment with omega-3 fatty acids. The authors conclude that “High quality randomized controlled trials are needed to explore the effects of marine-derived omega-3 PUFA on different eicosanoids in subjects with different health status.”
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The scent of a rose improves learning during sleep
University of Freiburg (Germany), February 13, 2023
Effortless learning during sleep is the dream of many people. The supportive effect of smells on learning success when presented both during learning and sleep was first proven in an extensive sleep laboratory study. Researchers at the University of Freiburg – Medical Center, the Freiburg Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (IGPP) have now shown that this effect can be also achieved very easily outside the lab. For the study, pupils in two school classes learned English vocabulary – with and without scent sticks during the learning period and also at night. The students remembered the vocabulary much better with a scent. The study was published in the Nature Group’s Open Access journal Scientific Reports. “We showed that the supportive effect of fragrances works very reliably in everyday life and can be used in a targeted way,” said study leader PD Dr. Jürgen Kornmeier, head of the Perception and Cognition Research Group at the Freiburg-based IGPP and scientist at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Freiburg – Medical Center in Germany. For the study, several experiments with 54 students from two 6th grade classes of a school in southern Germany. The young participants from the test group were asked to place rose-scented incense sticks on their desks at home while learning English vocabulary and on the bedside table next to the bed at night. In another experiment, they also placed the incense sticks on the table next to them during a vocabulary test at school during an English test. The results were compared with test results in which no incense sticks were used during one or more phases. “The students showed a significant increase in learning success by about 30 percent if the incense sticks were used during both the learning and sleeping phases,” says Neumann. The results also suggest that the additional use of the incense sticks during the vocabulary test promotes memory. “One particular finding beyond the seminal initial study was, that the fragrance also works when it is present all night,” says Kornmeier. “This makes the findings suitable for everyday use.” Previous studies had assumed that the fragrance needs to be only present during a particularly sensitive sleeping phase. However, since this sleep phase needs to be determined by an effortful measurement of brain activity by means of an electroencephalogram (EEG) in the sleep laboratory, this finding was not suitable for everyday use. “Our study shows that we can make learning during sleep easier. And who would have thought that our nose could help considerably in this,” says Kornmeier.
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Study suggests fructose could drive Alzheimer’s disease
University of Colorado, February 13, 2023
An ancient human foraging instinct, fueled by fructose production in the brain, may hold clues to the development and possible treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, offers a new way of looking at a fatal disease characterized by abnormal accumulations of proteins in the brain that slowly erode memory and cognition. “We make the case that Alzheimer’s disease is driven by diet,” said the study’s lead author Richard Johnson, MD, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine specializing in renal disease and hypertension. Johnson and his team suggest that AD is a harmful adaptation of an evolutionary survival pathway used in animals and our distant ancestors during times of scarcity. “A basic tenet of life is to assure enough food, water and oxygen for survival,” the study said. “Much attention has focused on the acute survival responses to hypoxia and starvation. However, nature has developed a clever way to protect animals before the crisis actually occurs.” When threatened with the possibility of starvation, early humans developed a survival response which sent them foraging for food. Yet foraging is only effective if metabolism is inhibited in various parts of the brain. Foraging requires focus, rapid assessment, impulsivity, exploratory behavior and risk taking. It is enhanced by blocking whatever gets in the way, like recent memories and attention to time. Fructose, a kind of sugar, helps damp down these centers, allowing more focus on food gathering. In fact, the researchers found the entire foraging response was set in motion by the metabolism of fructose whether it was eaten or produced in the body. Metabolizing fructose and its byproduct, intracellular uric acid, was critical to the survival of both humans and animals. The researchers noted that fructose reduces blood flow to the brain’s cerebral cortex involved in self-control, as well as the hippocampus and thalamus. Meanwhile, blood flow increased around the visual cortex associated with food reward. All of this stimulated the foraging response. Johnson suspects the survival response, what he calls the “survival switch,” that helped ancient humans get through periods of scarcity, is now stuck in the “on” position in a time of relative abundance. This leads to the overeating of high fat, sugary and salty food prompting excess fructose production. Fructose produced in the brain can lead to inflammation and ultimately Alzheimer’s disease, the study said. Animals given fructose show memory lapses, a loss in the ability to navigate a maze and inflammation of the neurons. Johnson suspects that the tendency of some AD patients to wander off might be a vestige of the ancient foraging response.
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Meditation builds brain cells, Harvard study shows proof
Harvard University, February 4, 2023
Research has now demonstrated that meditation builds brain cells and increases gray matter in the brain. Using magnetic imaging (MRI), Harvard researchers found that meditation produced physiological changes in the brain’s gray matter. Some areas in the brains of the study participants thickened after only eight weeks of mindfulness practice. The research was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital by researchers from Harvard University. Research subjects spend eight weeks doing a mindfulness meditation program. For an average of 27 minutes a day, the study participants listened to audio recordings of guided meditation during the eight-week trial. The group met weekly as well. Magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI) were taken of the participants’ brains two weeks before the trial started and at the end of the eight-week program. A control group also had brain imaging (MRI) but did not listen to the audio-recorded meditation guides. Study participants reported feeling less stressed after the eight-week period. MRI scans revealed decreased gray matter in the amygdalae and increased gray matter in the hippocampus. The amygdalae are the parts of the brain that help the body deal with anxiety and stress and controls the “fight or flight” mechanism. The hippocampus, which showed an increase in gray-matter density, is the area of the brain that controls memory, learning, self-awareness, introspection and compassion. The study concluded that meditation builds brain cells. The shrinking of the amygdalae indicated a reduction in the body’s stress response, which was expressed as the feelings of relaxation and stress reduction that were reported by the study participants. With the shrinking of the amygdalae, the pre-frontal cortex around them can then thicken. The pre-frontal cortex is the decision making part of the brain and is also in charge of concentration and awareness. It has been concluded that meditation builds brain cells, increases gray matter and allows the brain to slow responses to stress, providing better concentration, learning and memory.
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Sunshine Vitamin Regenerates and Detoxifies Your Hormones
University of Vienna (Austria), February 1, 2023
Sometimes called the ‘sunshine vitamin’ because it is found in high levels in citrus fruits, vitamin C has a uniquely regenerative role in hormone health and cancer prevention that has been overlooked for over twenty years Truly groundbreaking research on the regenerative potential of vitamin C therapy for hormone health as well as cancer prevention was performed over twenty years ago, and yet still today it has received little to no attention. The molecular structure of progesterone, estrone (a form of estrogen) and testosterone is such that when exposed to differing biological and/or environmental conditions, e.g. UV light, pH, temperature, they lose electrons, becoming toxic and often carcinogenic metabolites that represent a burden on the body’s eliminative capabilities. Vitamin C is a well-known electron donor, which is to say a substance that donates electrons to another compound (i.e. a ‘reducing agent’). Vitamin C’s ability to donate electrons can have an antioxidant effect as far as neutralizing free radicals, or as is the case with transient hormone metabolites, a structurally regenerative one. “Investigations were performed using progesterone (PRG), testosterone (TES) and estrone (E1) as representatives of hormones. By irradiation with monochromatic UV light (λ=254 nm) in a media of 40% water and 60% ethanol, the degradation as well as the regeneration of the hormones was studied with each hormone individually and in the mixture with VitC as a function of the absorbed UV dose, using HPLC. Calculated from the obtained initial yields, the determined regeneration of PRG amounted to 52.7%, for TES to 58.6% and for E1 to 90.9%.”Remarkably, vitamin C was capable of almost complete regeneration of estrone and quite significant regeneration of both progesterone (52.7%) and testosterone (58.6%). Vitamin C may offer an alternative (or at least adjuvant and/or ‘drug sparing’ effect) to hormone replacement therapy, which suffers from the problem of ‘feeding the deficiency,’ i.e. negative feedback loops operative within our endocrine system can result in the down-regulation of endogenous steroid hormone production when exogenous forms are supplied.
While a preliminary study, the researchers identified two possible implications of their research to human medicine:
• Cancer Prevention/Treatment: “The regeneration of hormones by electron transfer process using a potent electron donor, such as VitC, might offer a new pathway for an efficient reduction in the formation of metabolites, also such initiating cancer among others.”
• Hormone Replacement Therapy: “The reported results concerning the ability of VitC to act as electron donor in the regeneration of hormone transients might also be of benefit in the clinical application of hormones (e.g. contraceptive, HRT).”