-
More Evidence of the Importance of Microbiome Diversity
Recent research has confirmed a correlation between gut microbiome composition and the markers of health and disease across thousands of people.
-
Does Sugar Weaken the Immune System?
The short answer: it depends. The immune system is continually responding to endogenous and exogenous stimuli. Whether from the foods we eat, our sleep and exercise habits, stress, relationships, or the air we breathe, the body is always looking for ways to maintain homeostasis. A 2018 review showed that 83 research studies concluded that a…
-
Minimal Weight Loss Can Help Promote Healthy Blood Sugars
Losing around 4.5 to 6.5 pounds of weight and increasing physical activity over two years can help support healthy blood sugar levels for those diagnosed with prediabetes, according to recent research.
-
Health-Boosting Benefits of Exercising in the Cold
Did you know that working out in the cold weather comes with extra advantages? So there are even fewer excuses to skip your morning run in winter. Plus, with lockdown restrictions still in place in parts of the world, getting to the gym can be extra challenging. So, if your goal is to stay fit…
-
Does Mindfulness Really Help with Stress?
According to recent research, dispositional mindfulness may not affect people during the experience of active stressors, solely their perspective of the experience afterward.
-
8 Lesser-Known Powerful Herbs for Detox
Nature is filled with herbs that have a wide range of health-promoting properties, many of which are perfect for detoxification. You’ve probably heard of a lot of great detox herbs like parsley, dandelion or Hibiscus. This article won’t be covering these commonly known detoxification herbs, but instead will dive deep into ancient herbs that are…
-
A New Study Reveals the Science Behind Beauty Sleep
In a study published in Nature Cell Biology, Body Clock Biologists from the University of Manchester looked at how sleep helps the body perform through the rigors of the day. Lead author Professor Karl Kadler and his team discovered that the body’s extracellular matrix is made of two types of fibrils – thick fibrils and…
-
9 Signs That You’re Over-Toxed (and Need a Detox)
Detoxification is a subject contested by a lot of people perhaps due to conflicting marketing messages online. The thing is, our bodies detox naturally, every single day. However, if we overburden the human organism with toxins, this can result in an over-toxified system that simply needs a break. Toxins are lurking everywhere in modern society.…
-
Is Vitamin D the Secret to Staying Healthy This Winter?
This year people have spent more time indoors than normal, due to the pandemic. So ensuring your vitamin D levels are high this winter is more important than ever. Vitamin D levels play a role in all systems of our body, including mood. Therefore, ensuring that your vitamin D levels are topped up is a…
-
Study Reveals Body’s Detox Mechanism to Cleanse Pollution
Research published in Toxicological Sciences exposed a new mechanism whereby small toxic particles from diesel fumes can exaggerate the inflammatory response. The collaborative study was carried out by researchers in Japan, the US, and Germany, from Hiroshima University, the University of California and the Leibniz Research Institute.
-
Could the “Green” Mediterranean Diet Be Healthier?
A recent study suggests that a greener version of the Mediterranean diet could further benefit the cardiometabolic state and reduce cardiovascular risk beyond the effects of the original diet.
-
How to Make 2021 Your Best Year Yet
New Year’s resolutions, though often derided, offer an excellent opportunity for self-improvement, according to research on human behavior. However, we are gradually developing a deeper understanding of how to make them work better for us.
-
A Positive Attitude Can Boost Immunity
A meta-analysis of more than 300 studies covering 30 years of inquiry into the connection between stress and the immune system found that stressful events can change immune system functioning. The report explains the type and duration of stress determines the type of change that occurs. Acute time-limited stress, such as public speaking, triggers an…
-
Nutrients Depleted When You Are Stressed (and What to do About It)
It is almost an understatement to say that 2020 has been a stressful year. A pandemic, financial worries, and an inflammatory political drama have all significantly increased the stress we are dealing with every day. You might find yourself emotionally and physically exhausted by these demands.
-
Cannabinoid Type-1 CB1 Receptors Impact Motivation for Exercise
A 2019 study published in JCI Insight used a two-step operant choice protocol to identify a neurobiological mechanism that may contribute to sedentary behavior. The study was designed on the premise that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may play a pivotal role in setting the rewarding properties of rodent wheel running, and in turn, human exercise.…
-
7 Tips to Reduce Stress this Holiday Season
The holiday season has traditionally come with loads of stress, and now we’re adding the complications of a pandemic to the mix. Overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Holiday stress is a real thing, particularly magnified this year, but something that can be managed with a few tips and tricks.
-
New Study Explores How Gut Immune System Functions
New research published in Nature by Rockefeller University on October 29, 2020, is changing the way we perceive the gut microbiota and immune system. Previously, scientists thought that the gut’s immune system was crude in its approach to population control, simply cleansing out foreign invaders with non-specific antibodies in a blanket approach to flush out…
-
7 Lifestyle Tips to Balance Blood Sugar
It can be hard to get out of the cycle of eating junk food. Feeling flat or tired can lead to one or two trips to the fridge-freezer to grab something convenient. Feeling hungry can make the best of us cranky. Which can lead to drinking coffee and soda or grabbing a bag of chips,…
-
Study Finds Anger is Amplified with Lack of Sleep
A paper first published by The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) in the Journal – Science Advances looked at the amplification of anger due to lack of sleep. Researchers instructed 202 college students to fill out a daily diary to capture a report of the previous night’s sleep. In addition, the students wrote down…
-
9 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Exercise
Poor lifestyle choices, including inactivity, reduces the quality of life for millions of Americans. A massive $117 billion is spent annually on healthcare and about 10% of premature deaths are associated with inadequate physical activity.
-
Social Connection – The Important Driver of Mental Health
A new study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry has established “social connection” as the most prominent modifiable factor impacting the risk of developing mental health issues. Additionally, they found that reducing sedentary activities like TV watching and daytime napping lowers risk of depression, and the regular use of multivitamins can provide overall mental…
-
7 Surprising Facts About Prebiotics and Probiotics
Eating a poor diet filled with processed foods, alcohol and hormones from certain meats can negatively impact the delicate balance of the gut microbiota. Stress is also another factor that can throw the balance of the gut out of whack, which can give rise to an increase in undesirable pathogenic bacteria, such as viruses, parasites…
-
New Endocannabinoid Inhibitor Connected To Fear Extinction
A new study on fear extinction out of the Netherlands has uncovered a link between the endocannabinoid anandamide and fear in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
-
How Exercise Affects Your Gut
Though it is well known that diet can certainly modulate the composition of the gut microbiota, we are only just beginning to understand how exercise affects your gut and gut microbiome. However, considering the many roles of the gut in the development and maintenance of overall health, it is not surprising that there is great…
-
Study Shows DHA Levels Affect Quality Sleep
Several studies in both animals and humans have found a bidirectional relationship between long-chain fatty acid levels and sleep duration. This is thought to be due, in part, to the fact that fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) play key roles in the pineal gland. Higher plasma ratios of DHA: AA has…
-
The Benefits of Becoming a Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner
The new lifestyle medicine (LM) diplomas and lifestyle medicine’s recent addition to the curriculum at medical schools such as Cambridge University represent its emergence as a standalone specialty. However, despite its basis in a holistic approach to health, LM is not a complementary or alternative form of medicine. It is a mainstream, evidence-based specialty that…
-
L-Theanine to Promote Relaxation
It’s no secret that life can get overwhelming at times. Anxiety is a common response to the stresses and fears of modern life. We’re continually bombarded with information, on our cell phones, television, and the internet. Not to mention in normal physical everyday situations.
-
7 Health Benefits of Nature to Humans (Backed by Science)
Why is nature so important to human health? Intuitively we’ve always known how good time in nature feels. Recently researchers have exposed the health benefits of time in both green and blue expanses.
-
Ketogenic Diet Influences Gut Fungi
How the ketogenic influences the microbiota is a favorite research topic today. Some data suggests that ketogenic diets may compromise the bacterial diversity in the gut, for example, decreasing the common Bifidobacteria. And in a recent single-center, randomized, double-blind crossover pilot study published in the journal EBioMedicine, modifiable fungi in the gut of patients with…
-
Lean Microbiota vs Obese Microbiota | Systematic Review
Obesity is a severe health problem the world over, affecting 650 million adults worldwide. Shockingly, over 124 million children are also suffering from obesity. For this reason, researchers have become increasingly fascinated with establishing the key factors that could be altered to reduce this health burden on the global human family.