The Gary Null Show Notes - 12.28.22

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Study confirms the antitumor effects of pomegranates

Tiradentes University (Brazil), December 22, 2022

One of the natural products that have shown potential use as alternative treatments to cancer is the pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit. Countless studies have looked into the anticancer potential of pomegranate. However, it wasn’t until recently that researchers from Brazil were able to observe pomegranate’s anticancer properties in an in vivo study. Their findings, which were published in the Journal of Medicinal Plants Research, included the potential systemic effects of pomegranate, which were not evaluated in previous in vitro studies.

Pomegranate fruit has long been used as a traditional remedy for health problems such as sore throats, coughs, urinary tract infections, digestive disorders, skin disorders, and arthritis. With the current advancements in science, researchers were able to identify the bioactive compounds in the fruit that are potentially involved in these applications. They found that pomegranates are rich in tannins like punicalagin, punicalin, gallic acid, ellagic acid, and ellagic acid derivatives. Existing publications also attribute the healing, antimicrobial, chemopreventive, and antitumor effects of pomegranates to these compounds.

In this study, the researchers improved upon previous studies assessing the anticancer properties of pomegranates by conducting an in vivo study involving male Swiss mice that were transplanted with sarcoma tumor cells. The mice were treated with either aqueous pomegranate extracts or 5-fluorouracil, which is a conventional cancer treatment. After eight days, the researchers observed that both treatments significantly increased the number of apoptotic cancer cells. This indicates that pomegranates work against cancer by inducing programmed cell death, which will then signal immune cells to eliminate them without triggering an inflammatory response.

To determine if the treatments used in the study have unwanted toxic effects, the researchers conducted hematological, biochemical, histopathological, and morphological analyses of the tumor and organs. They found that mice treated with 5-fluorouracil suffered from a loss in body weight, spleen atrophy, and a reduced number of white blood cells, which indicate toxic effects. On the contrary, pomegranate-treated mice did not exhibit any signs of toxicity, proving that it is safe for use.

Have you heard of magnolia bark? Studies have shown it to play a beneficial role in healthy sleep

Johns Hopkins University, December 20, 2022

Magnolia (Magnolia officinalis) is a flowering tree whose bark and flowers are commonly used in traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean medicine. However, most people today are not that familiar with the herb, which is very unfortunate since it is associated with a wide variety of health benefits. One of the most common uses of the magnolia bark is to promote sleep and relaxation.

The bark of the magnolia tree is rich in bioactive compounds, such as magnolol and honokiol, that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-allergy properties. It also has many properties that contribute to its overall effectiveness as a soporific.

Scientists have observed that magnolia bark can boost the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that induces a calming effect on the brain. By increasing the amount of this neurotransmitter, you can effectively prevent insomnia, a sleep disorder associated with low GABA levels.

Adrenaline and cortisol are some of the other substances in the body that are affected by magnolia bark intake. However, unlike GABA, these two are reduced in the presence of the herb. This is beneficial for those who need more sleep since adrenaline and cortisol are associated with a state of alertness and vigilance.

Furthermore, magnolia bark contains at least one compound that increases the amount of time a person spends in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep, which are also known as active and quiet sleep, respectively. It is important to undergo these two phases since they have distinct contributions to sleep. According to a study published in the journal The Neuroscientist, the NREM phase is when the recovery of cells occurs. Meanwhile, the same article said that REM sleep allows for the selection of cells that are already in top shape since they don’t have to be fixed in the subsequent NREM phase. Unfortunately, the specific substances responsible for these activities, which also includes reducing the time needed to fall asleep, have not been identified.

Time spent in nature appears to slow Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s

Harvard School of Public Health, December 27, 2022

Living in an area with easy access to parks and rivers appears to slow the progression of devastating neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

That’s the conclusion of a new study based on more than a decade and a half tracking disease risk among nearly 62 million Americans 65 years old and up.

“Prior research showed that natural environments—such as forests, parks and rivers—can help to reduce stress and restore attention,” noted lead author Jochem Klompmaker, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “In addition, natural environments provide settings for physical activity and social interactions, and may reduce exposure to air pollution, extreme heat and traffic noise.”

To build on such observations, his and his colleagues looked at hospital admissions for Alzheimer’s and related dementia, as well as Parkinson’s disease.

By focusing on hospital admission, Klompmaker stressed that his team was not assessing the initial risk for developing either disease. Instead, researchers wanted to know if increased exposure to nature lowered the odds that either disease would progress quickly.

And on that front, Klompmaker said, researchers observed significant protective links: The greener an older individual’s surrounding environment, the lower their risk of hospitalization for either neurological illness.

To explore the potential protective benefit of nature, researchers focused on seniors on Medicare living in the U.S. mainland.

About 55% were women, and about 84% were white people. All were 65 to 74 years of age when they entered the study pool.

Over the study’s 16 years, nearly 7.7 million were hospitalized for Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, and nearly 1.2 million were hospitalized for Parkinson’s.

Throughout, researchers stacked each patient’s ZIP code up against several types of geological survey data that collectively tallied a region’s overall “greenness.” That data included the amount of vegetation present, as well as the percentage of land devoted to parks and waterways.

Results were positive with respect to the movement disorder Parkinson’s: By all measures studied, living in a greener environment meant a lower risk for hospitalization.

For every increase of 16% in park coverage the risk for hospitalization due to Parkinson’s fell by 3%, for example. And living in a ZIP code in which 1% or more of the studied space was water, the risk of Parkinson’s hospitalization fell 3% relative to those in ZIP codes with fewer water bodies.

“Research shows that green spaces trigger people’s positive emotions, such as happiness, and reduce negative emotions such as anger, all related to lower stress levels,” Navarrete-Hernandez said. “Laboratory experiments also show that exposure to nature after stressful events helps reduce the body’s stress responses,” including levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

The joy of giving lasts longer than the joy of getting

University of Chicago Business School & Northwestern University, December 20, 2022

The happiness we feel after a particular event or activity diminishes each time we experience that event, a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation. But giving to others may be the exception to this rule, according to research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

In two studies, psychology researchers Ed O’Brien (University of Chicago Booth School of Business) and Samantha Kassirer (Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management) found that participants’ happiness did not decline, or declined much slower, if they repeatedly bestowed gifts on others versus repeatedly receiving those same gifts themselves.

“If you want to sustain happiness over time, past research tells us that we need to take a break from what we’re currently consuming and experience something new. Our research reveals that the kind of thing may matter more than assumed: Repeated giving, even in identical ways to identical others, may continue to feel relatively fresh and relatively pleasurable the more that we do it,” O’Brien explains.

In one experiment, university student participants received $5 every day for 5 days; they were required to spend the money on the exact same thing each time. The researchers randomly assigned participants to spend the money either on themselves or on someone else, such as by leaving money in a tip jar at the same café or making an online donation to the same charity every day. The participants reflected on their spending experience and overall happiness at the end of each day.

The data, from a total of 96 participants, showed a clear pattern: Participants started off with similar levels of self-reported happiness and those who spent money on themselves reported a steady decline in happiness over the 5-day period. But happiness did not seem to fade for those who gave their money to someone else. The joy from giving for the fifth time in a row was just as strong as it was at the start.

O’Brien and Kassirer then conducted a second experiment online, which allowed them to keep the tasks consistent across participants. In this experiment, 502 participants played 10 rounds of a word puzzle game. They won $0.05 per round, which they either kept or donated to a charity of their choice. After each round, participants disclosed the degree to which winning made them feel happy, elated, and joyful.

Again, the self-reported happiness of those who gave their winnings away declined far more slowly than did the happiness reported by those who kept their winnings.

“We considered many such possibilities, and measured over a dozen of them,” says O’Brien. “None of them could explain our results; there were very few incidental differences between ‘get’ and ‘give’ conditions, and the key difference in happiness remained unchanged when controlling for these other variables in the analyses.”

Adaptation to happiness-inducing experiences can be functional to the extent that it motivates us to pursue and acquire new resources. Why doesn’t this also happen with the happiness we feel when we give?

The researchers note that when people focus on an outcome, such as getting paid, they can easily compare outcomes, which diminishes their sensitivity to each experience. When people focus on an action, such as donating to a charity, they may focus less on comparison and instead experience each act of giving as a unique happiness-inducing event.

We may also be slower to adapt to happiness generated by giving because giving to others helps us maintain our prosocial reputation, reinforcing our sense of social connection and belonging.

Aging slowly turns the immune system into fat, study reveals

Uppsala University (Sweden), December 27, 2022

Even our immune systems tend to pack on a few extra pounds as we grow older. Now, researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden are detailing why human lymph nodes tend to gradually accumulate fat and lose their function with age, as well as how this influences the effectiveness of our immune system.

Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures which scientists consider the “headquarters” of the human immune system. Whenever someone develops an infection, for example, the lymph nodes are the sites where immune cells congregate, activate, and proliferate to put together an effective immune defense. However, as a person grows older, studies show the normal tissues in lymph nodes (the stroma) tend to gradually disappear, replaced by adipose tissue (fat). This is called lymph node lipomatosis, and, while it is very common and increases with age, there has been little research into understanding lipomatosis.

Study authors analyzed more than 200 lymph nodes, demonstrating that lipomatosis begins in the central part of the lymph node — the medulla. They also collected evidence linking lipomatosis to the transformation of the supporting cells of lymph nodes (fibroblasts) into adipocytes (fat cells). Notably, specific types of fibroblasts located in the medulla were especially prone to becoming adipocytes.

Even during the early stages of lipomatosis, researchers noted negative changes that hindered the lymph nodes’ abilities to provide effective immunity. More specifically, the specialized blood and lymphatic vessels that normally provide channels for immune cells to enter and exit the lymph node were destroyed in parts of the node where fat had formed.

Consequently, researchers theorize lipomatosis of lymph nodes, even at early stages, may be an important factor in the documented poorer response to vaccinations observed in elderly people. Eventually, fat consumes the entire lymph node, rendering it totally unable to function.

“Our study is a first step towards understanding why lipomatosis occur, and towards the longer term goal of finding ways to prevent its progression and the destruction of the lymph node,” says Tove Bekkhus, first author of the study, in a media release.

Curcumin Eases Post-Workout Muscle Soreness

Japan Institute of Sports Science, December 18, 2022

It’s no secret how effective turmeric is for easing temporary joint pain and inflammation. But if you’re still on the fence about putting down the ibuprofen and reaching for a nutritional supplement to treat muscle aches and pains, a study on curcumin may prove to be just the incentive you need to stop the harmful NSAIDs forever

A cross-functional team of Japanese researchers who had already proven the efficacy of curcumin in relieving muscle soreness brought on by strenuous exercise, endeavored to identify the most effective timing of curcumin ingestion for optimum pain relief.

Published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, the clinical study was single-blind, meaning only the investigators knew which treatment type participants received. It was conducted as a parallel study, indicating that only two types of interventions were used, and randomized to ensure more accurate results with a lower risk of bias.

Researchers assembled 24 healthy young men and had them perform a series of 30 isokinetic, eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors (an eccentric contraction is the motion of an active muscle while it is lengthening under load). An isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure the resistance of the muscles to the applied force.

A 180-milligram (mg) daily dose of oral curcumin was provided to the men in the pre-workout group for seven days before exercising. The same dose of curcumin was provided to men in the post-workout group for four days after exercise. Men in the control group received an oral placebo for four days after exercise.

Supplements of curcumin or placebo were given in twice-daily 90-mg doses, the first capsule after breakfast and the second capsule after dinner.

Muscle damage markers were measured and recorded before, immediately after and one to four days post-exercise. Researchers observed the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque of the elbow flexors, elbow joint range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity. Changes in these variables were compared over time.

Results of the study indicated that curcumin ingestion post-workout had a more beneficial effect on range of motion and muscle soreness than did pre-workout ingestion of curcumin and placebo. Torque of the elbow flexors and serum creatine kinase markers showed no significant differences among the groups.

These findings led researchers to conclude that curcumin ingestion after exercise had a more beneficial effect in attenuating muscle soreness than ingesting curcumin before exercise.

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