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- Michael Moore ‘Optimistic’ About Democratic Midterm Chances Because He Doesn’t ‘Live in a Bubble’ and Millions of Americans Aren’t ‘Very Bright’ (3:05)
- Dem Party Turns On Anti-War Democratic Primary Winner (2:16 to 5:28)
- Society is going to COLLAPSE -Neil Oliver ( 5:24)
- Fear Psychosis and the Cult of Safety – Why are People so Afraid? – Academy of Ideas (13:25)
Study reveals the powerful pain-relieving properties of ashwagandha
Nizam Institute of Medical Science (India), October 30, 2022
People experiencing knee joint pain and discomfort, particularly those with knee osteoarthritis, may find relief in an Ayurvedic medicine called ashwagandha(Withania somnifera). A study published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine found that the root and leaf extracts of ashwagandha relieve knee pain and discomfort caused by osteoarthritis.
In the search for safe and effective natural pain relief treatments, researchers from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) evaluated the efficacy and safety of the root and leaf extracts of ashwagandha in patients with knee joint pain and discomfort. Ashwagandha is known to contain analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and chondroprotective properties.
In the study, the researchers recruited 60 patients with knee joint pain and discomfort. These participants received placebo capsules, 125 milligrams (mg) of ashwagandha extract, or 250 mg of ashwagandha extract twice a day for 12 weeks.
The results revealed that participants who received doses of ashwagandha extracts experienced great reductions in pain, stiffness, and disability. Those who received the higher dose of ashwagandha, which was 250 mg, experienced even greater and faster effects than those who received the 125 mg dose. In addition, the ashwagandha treatment did not cause any side effect. Overall, both doses of ashwagandha extract caused significant reductions in pain, stiffness, and disability of patients in a dose-dependent manner without causing any side effect.Ashwagandha Root Supports Thyroid Hormone Levels
Sudbhawana Hospital (India), October 31, 2022
Eight weeks of supplementation with Ashwagandha root extract were associated with normalization of the thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH), serum thyroxine (T4) and serum triiodothyronine (T3) in people with elevated TSH levels.
“The results of the present study are in accordance with previous studies,” wrote the researchers in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. “The results indicate a possible role for ashwagandha in regulating HPT axis. The anti-stress and cortisol-lowering effect of ashwagandha may provide a suitable explanation for the current outcome.”
Ashwagandha has been used traditionally as an adaptogen to rejuvenate health, maintain homeostasis, sustain normal thyroid function and maintain hormonal balance in human body. However, very few modern published papers have reported ashwagandha’s beneficial effects on thyroid function. This is the first clinical study that supports the traditional claim of ashwagandha as a thyroid modulator.
The new double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study involved 50 people with elevated TSH levels. So called subclinical hypothyroidism is described as a thyroid disorder with no obvious symptoms of thyroid deficiency. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either ashwagandha supplements (600mg daily) or placebo for eight weeks.
Results showed that ashwagandha significantly improved serum TSH, serum T4 and serum T3 levels, achieving change toward normalization of 19%, 45% and 21% respectively.
“The outcome of the present study highlights the beneficial role of ashwagandha root extract for normalizing thyroid hormone levels in subclinical hypothyroid patients; however, further studies are required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of ashwagandha,” concluded the researchers.
Enzyme in Broccoli, Cucumbers and Avocados Reverses Aging In Cells
Washington University School of Medicine, October 31, 2022
Researchers have zeroed in on an enzyme — found in natural foods like broccoli and cucumbers — that can slow the chronic conditions that come with age.
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that supplementing healthy mice with a natural compound called NMN can compensate for this loss of energy production, reducing typical signs of aging such as gradual weight gain, loss of insulin sensitivity and declines in physical activity.
The compound, called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), is involved in producing another compound that is critical for energy metabolism. When they gave normal aging mice infusions of NMN, they made more of that energy-fueling compound and some of the biological problems associated with aging went away. The NMN-treated animals did not gain as much weight, they were able to convert food into energy more efficiently, their blood sugar was better–even their eyesight improved. The mice receiving NMN were also able to prevent some of the genetic changes associated with aging.
“We have shown a way to slow the physiologic decline that we see in aging mice,” said Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD, a professor of developmental biology and of medicine. “This means older mice have metabolism and energy levels resembling that of younger mice. Since human cells rely on this same energy production process, we are hopeful this will translate into a method to help people remain healthier as they age.”
With age, the body loses its capacity to make a key element of energy production called NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). Past work by Imai and co-senior author Jun Yoshino, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, has shown that NAD levels decrease in multiple tissues as mice age. Past research also has shown that NAD is not effective when given directly to mice so the researchers sought an indirect method to boost its levels. To do so, they only had to look one step earlier in the NAD supply chain to the NMN compound.
“It’s clear that in humans and in rodents, we lose energy with age,” says Imai. “We are losing the enzyme NMN. But if we can bypass that process by adding NMN, we can make energy again. These results provide a very important foundation for the human studies.”
“Even though NAD synthesis was stopped only in the fat tissue, we saw metabolic dysfunction throughout the body, including the skeletal muscle, the heart muscle, the liver and in measures of the blood lipids,” Yoshino said. “When we gave NMN to these mice, these dysfunctions were reversed. That means NAD in adipose tissue is a critical regulator of whole body metabolism.”
Meta-analysis of the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of the vascular cognitive impairment associated with cerebral small vessel disease
Guangzhou Medical University (China), November 5, 2022
To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of the vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) associated with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD–VCI) and to provide a theoretical basis for clinical acupuncture treatment for CSVD–VCI.
Ten articles on RCTs were included, involving 761 patients, i.e., 381 in the acupuncture group and 380 in the control group. The meta-analysis results indicated that the use of acupuncture alone and acupuncture alongside other therapies for CSVD–VCI could improve the overall clinical response rate, increase the patients’ Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, and activities of daily living scores.
Conclusion: Acupuncture alone and acupuncture alongside other therapies are superior to non-acupuncture-based therapies in the treatment of CSVD–VCI. However, due to the small number of relevant available articles and their general low quality, this conclusion may be biased. More clinical RCTs with a larger sample size and higher quality are needed to support this theory.
Kids with vitamin D deficiency more likely to develop asthma: 10-year study
Telethon Kids Institute (Australia), November 1, 2022
The findings, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, showed repeated bouts of vitamin D deficiency in early childhood were linked to higher rates of asthma at aged 10, as well as allergy and eczema.
The study also found that allergic immune responses were more common in children with low vitamin D in the first few years, while children with vitamin D deficiency at 6 months of age were more likely to experience two conditions previously associated with heightened asthma risk: increased colonisation of the upper airways by harmful bacteria and increased susceptibility to severe lower respiratory infections involving fever.
“We know vitamin D plays an important role in regulating the immune system and promoting healthy lung development…But while it has been suggested that inadequate vitamin D may be a factor contributing to the surge in asthma rates over recent decades, previous studies investigating the relationship have yielded conflicting results. There has been a lack of research looking at whether vitamin D deficiency is more detrimental at certain periods in childhood.”
The study tracked vitamin D levels from birth to asthma onset, and it had shown a clear link between prolonged vitamin D deficiency in early childhood and the development of asthma. The paper states that the children were assessed at birth and at clinical follow-ups at the ages of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 years, and relationships with clinical outcomes were examined.
“Vitamin D deficiency in early childhood is associated with increased risk for persistent asthma, potentially through modulating susceptibility to early allergic sensitization, upper respiratory tract colonization with bacterial pathogens, or both. These relationships are only evident if vitamin D status is monitored prospectively and longitudinally,” the study concluded.
“Australia is one of the few developed countries that does not fortify its food supply with Vitamin D and therefore it may not be a coincidence that we have the highest rates of allergic disease, including food allergies, in the developed world. We believe that Vitamin D supplementation trials in infancy are essential to answer this important public health question,” she said.
Boost Memory, Regenerate Neurons with This Ancient Plant
GreenMedInfo, November 1st 2022
Considering the fact that gingko biloba is the oldest known tree in existence (deemed for this reason a “living fossil“), isn’t it poetic how this plant has also been used to promote long life as both a food and medicine in traditional cultures as well?
A 2006 paper published in the European Journal of Neurology described a 24-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study showing an extract of this plant was as clinically effective as the blockbuster donepezil for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease
You will find gingko has been studied to have value in over 100 different diseases, and has been identified to have at least 50 distinct beneficial physiological actions. Isn’t this amazing?
It has been known that gingko can stimulate brain-derived neutrophic factor (BDNF), a protein found in the brain and in the peripheral nervous system which is essential in the regulation, growth and survival of brain cells, and which is especially important for long-term memory. The ability to increase BDNF, therefore, implies it will improve brain and cognitive function.
Only recently a new mechanism behind gingko biloba’s brain and neurological tissue healing properties been revealed in the publication of an article in Cell and Molecular Neurobiology titled, “Ginkgo Biloba Extract Enhances Differentiation and Performance of Neural Stem Cells in Mouse Cochlea.”
In the new study researchers tested the premise that ginkgo biloba’s wide range of benefits in the treatment of neural damage and disorders is due, in part, to its ability to positively modulate neural stem cells (NSC), a subpopulation of cells within the brain that as multipotent cells are capable of generating the many different types (phenotypes) of cells that make up the brain. Their results, using mouse cochlea-derived neural stem cells, showed a number of ways that gingko biloba exact (GBE) resulted in a beneficial effect:
“Our data showed that GBE treatment promotes cell survival and NSC proliferation. In addition, GBE treatment also increases NSC differentiation to neurons and enhances the performance of mature neural networks evident by the increased frequency of calcium oscillation. Moreover, neurite outgrowth is also dramatically increased upon GBE treatment. Overall, our study demonstrates the positive regulatory role of GBE in NSC proliferation and differentiation into functional neurons in vitro, supporting the potential therapeutic use of GBE in hearing loss recovery.”
It is noted that neural stem cell stimulation and subsequent brain repair has also been observed in preclinical research with a little known component of turmeric known as ar-turmerone, which is found in whole turmeric but not in the increasingly popular 95% standardized curcumin extracts of turmeric.