Dark Chocolate Vs. Stress – The Dark Side Wins!
Dietary preferences influence basal human metabolism and gut microbiome activity that in turn may have long-term health consequences. The present study reports the metabolic responses of free living subjects to a daily consumption of 40 g of dark chocolate for up to 14 days.
A clinical trial was performed on a population of 30 human subjects, who were classified in low and high anxiety traits using validated psychological questionnaires. Biological fluids (urine and blood plasma) were collected during 3 test days at the beginning, midtime and at the end of a 2 week study. NMR and MS-based metabonomics were employed to study global changes in metabolism due to the chocolate consumption.
Read the rest of this page »
Enjoyed this article?
Nutrition, Brain Aging, and Neurodegeneration – A Role for Supplementation
Read the rest of this page »
The onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases superimposed on a declining nervous system could enhance the motor and cognitive behavioural deficits that normally occur in senescence. It is likely that, in cases of severe deficits in memory or motor function, hospitalisation and/or custodial care would be a likely outcome. This means that unless some way is found to reduce these age-related decrements in neuronal function, health care costs will continue to rise exponentially.
Enjoyed this article?
Food Colours Linked to Adverse Behaviour, Lowered – EFSA Ruling
Read the rest of this page »
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued recommendations that the acceptable daily intakes (ADI) for three of the questionable food additives should be lowered — but rather strangely, not because of their effect on childrens’ behaviour.
Enjoyed this article?
Pain Killers Adversely Inhibit Vaccination Benefits
Read the rest of this page »
The questions concerning the benefits Vs risks of vaccination in light of the recent global approach to H1N1 (novel influenza) vaccine recommendations has thrown this area of medicine under a very bright spotlight. Leaving aside the question ‘to vaccinate or not’ a recent article has raised a simple and useful question. If I take a non steroidal pain killer (NSAID’s) to reduce post vaccine discomfort, or are ingesting them for other reasons does it affect my vaccine promoted immune response?
Enjoyed this article?
LGG (Culturelle) Resolves Bloating and Distension
Functional gastrointestinal disorders, a group of functional conditions characterised by the presence of symptoms attributable to the mid or lower gastrointestinal tract, include functional abdominal bloating, which is dominated by a feeling of abdominal fullness or bloating without sufficient criteria for another functional gastrointestinal disorder.
Diagnostic criteria are the presence, for at least 12 weeks, that need not be consecutive, in the preceding 12 months of;
- A feeling of abdominal fullness, bloating, or visible distension; and
- Insufficient criteria for a diagnosis of functional dyspepsia, IBS, or other functional disorders.[1]
Read the rest of this page »
Enjoyed this article?
Confused About Abdominal Bloating? – No More!
Michael Ash BSc(Hons).DO. ND. FDipION reviews the current understanding behind bloating and distension.
The unpleasant symptoms of bloating and abdominal distension are common and bothersome, affecting up to 96% of patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (such as IBS) and an estimated 30% of the general population. Clear pathophysiologic explanations have been lacking and available treatment options can appear contradictory and ineffective. Treatments will be explored in a follow up review.
Read the rest of this page »
Enjoyed this article?
Dissolve Biofilms With Fibrinolytic Enzymes: Autism Support
A Novel Approach to Chronic Infection in Autism Spectrum Disorders
An Interview with Peta Cohen, M.S., R.D., founder of Total Life Center in Northern New Jersey. Cohen specializes in treating children with autism using a biomedical / nutritional model. Cohen received her Masters in Clinical Nutrition from New York University and has been a Defeat Autism Now! practitioner for the past ten years.
Read the rest of this page »
Enjoyed this article?
Blastocystis hominis. Is It Really A Problem?
Blastocystis hominis cyst-like forms in a wet mount stained in iodine
Problem?
Michael Ash BSc DO ND FDipION reviews the latest studies on this pathogen.
Blastocystis is an unusual enteric protozoan parasite of humans and many animals. It has a worldwide distribution and is often the most commonly isolated organism in parasitological surveys. The parasite has been described since the early 1900s, but only in the last decade or so have there been significant advances in the understanding of Blastocystis biology.
Read the rest of this page »
Enjoyed this article?
Are Sea Vegetables the Cure for the Iodine Deficiency Epidemic?
Iodine deficiency epidemic
Although most of us believe we are not deficient in iodine since the fortification of salt with iodine, the fact is most people are deficient and don’t know it. Due to changes in food intake, eating patterns and food production methods, iodine intake has been decreasing in the U.S. since the early 70’s. Even worse, we are exposed to increasing levels of environmental toxins that either block the absorption of iodine or block its actions in the body.
Author: Joseph Pizzorno, ND Source: Vitamin Retailer Magazine, November 2009
Read the rest of this page »
Enjoyed this article?
Accuracy of Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures Reported by Physicians
Read the rest of this page »
The question of independence of decision making from financial benefits in medicine and other areas of healthcare remains an ongoing problem. It exists, it is being more exposed, it is insidious and it affects important decision making processes. No discipline is free of the pernicious influence of commercial pressure – how this translates into risk Vs benefit is a more complex question.
