The Gary Null Show

The Gary Null Show - Interview With Michael Hudson

Dr. Michael Hudson is one of our nation’s finest and most important economists and Wall Street financial analysts. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts has called Michael “the world’s best economist.” He is the President of The Institution for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends, and a distinguished research professor of economics at the University of Missouri. He was the Chief Economic Policy Advisor for the Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s 2008 presidential campaign and has served as an adviser to the White House, State and Defense departments and served as an economic advisor to other governments including Iceland, Latvia and China.  Michael has written many books and important papers and articles. His most recent must-read book is "The Destiny of Civilization: Finance Capitalism, Industrial Capitalism or Socialism" which explains the reason for crisis in the US and other Western nations due to a drainage o income, indebtedness and a collapse of industrialization. His website is Michael-Hudson.com
 

The Gary Null Show - 11.01.22

Videos:
Dad STUNS School Board When He Reads Aloud DISGUSTING Book From Library (3:37)
RFK : The Real Anthony Fauci Clip (1st clip 5:50 – 2nd Clip 4:37)
Dr. Michael Hudson Interview 
Neil Oliver: We are expected to forget those promising to fix the disaster caused it (10:28)
Almonds can help support the gut microbiome, study claimsKings College London, October 31, 2022A new study finds that eating 56 grams of almonds daily — the equivalent of approximately 46 almonds — can improve gut health by promoting levels of butyrate.The research involved three groups replacing their regular snacks with whole almonds, ground almonds, or an energy-equivalent control muffin.The authors conclude that incorporating almonds into the diet could be a way of increasing fiber intake without triggering gut symptoms.An important player in gut health appears to be butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that supports the health of the microbiome itself.
Dr. Alice Creedon explained to Medical News Today: “Butyrate is important to gut health, as it acts as the primary source of fuel for the cells of the colon, allowing them to function correctly and optimally. It is also involved in signaling to the gut to initiate the process of nutrient absorption.”
“In addition,” said Dr. Creedon, “butyrate produced in the gut can enter the bloodstream where it is involved in the regulation of health in other areas of the body, such as the liver, brain, and lungs.”
The study demonstrates that eating a healthy handful of almonds each day promotes the production of butyrate.
Dr. Creedon’s research documents the benefits of eating about 56 grams, or 2 ounces, of almonds daily — that amounts to about 46 almonds.
“Butyrate supports the gut barrier, which keeps bacteria and other microbes from entering your blood. In doing so, butyrate can help to reduce inflammation, manage conditions like IBS [irritable bowel syndrome], and decrease gastrointestinal discomfort like bloating.
“Butyrate is produced through the fermentation of fiber in the colon. Therefore, increasing fiber in the diet, such as in almonds, increases butyrate levels, which has a positive effect on our gut health,” said Tallman.
Additional benefit of omega-3 fatty acids for the clearance of metabolites from the brain
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, October 23, 2022
New research published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, could improve the function of the glymphatic system, which facilitates the clearance of waste from the brain, and promote the clearance of metabolites including amyloid-β peptides, a primary culprit in Alzheimer’s disease.
To make this discovery, scientists first used transgenic fat-1 mice, which express high endogenous omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the brain, to investigate the effect of omega-3 PUFAs on the clearance function of the glymphatic system. Compared to the wild-type mice, the fat-1 mice with enriched endogenous omega-3 PUFAs significantly promote the clearance function of the lymphatic system, including the Aβ clearance from the brain. Wild-type mice were supplemented with fish oil, which contains high concentrations of omega-3 PUFAs, and found that fish oil-supplemented mice also improved the clearance function of the glymphatic system compared to the control mice without fish oil supplementation. Omega-3 PUFAs help maintain the brain homeostasis, which may provide benefits in a number of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and sleep impairment, among others.
“These now-famous fatty acids have been the subject of major studies both in academia and industry. Just when we thought we had heard everything, here is something new, and it is provocative indeed,” said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. “This study should not turn attention away from the roles of these substances in maintaining vascular health, but neither should they restrict our view. The brain is an extremely vascularized organ, while we might also bear in mind that omega-3 fatty acids may impact neurons, glia, and astrocytes themselves.”
Are our brains physically shaped by life experiences?
University of Ottawa, 23 October 2022
The notion that an experience external to the body – not something we have ingested, that has been affected by disease or damaged through physical injury – can measurably change the physical properties of an organ as intrinsic to our functioning as the brain is revelatory. But can we prove cause and effect?
Tracy Vaillancourt, a psychologist at the University of Ottawa, Canada, who has conducted a range of studies into the emotional and psychological effects of bullying – as well as the neurobiological impact of bullying – finds it frustrating the media, public and policy makers are more inclined to pay attention to research on the subject if researchers can demonstrate biological damage.
“When I show that something is biological, it makes headlines,” she told The Boston Globe. “For some reason I think humans are more compelled to believe biological evidence than someone saying, ‘Oh I’m depressed. I don’t feel good about this.’ I’m hoping that that is a policy changer.”
Vaillancourt found that while bullied boys have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than their non-bullied peers, bullied girls have much lower levels of cortisol compared with their peers.
She also found that bullied teens score less well on tests of verbal memory than their peers, suggesting that the abnormal cortisol levels may be killing neurons in the hippocampus, leading to memory problems.
As part of an ongoing, long-term study, Vaillancourt has been following teenagers – some of whom have a history of being bullied by their peers – and assessing their cognitive functioning every 6 months. Vaillancourt is also using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of the teens for evidence of damage to the hippocampus.
In a previous study, neuroscientist Martin Teicher scanned the brains of 63 young adults, as part of a study into verbal victimization.
Teicher found that, among the subjects who reported being the victims of verbal bullying, there were abnormalities in the corpus callosum. This region of the brain consists of a bundle of fibers connecting the brain’s left and right hemispheres and is known to be important in visual processing and memory.
The neurons in the corpus callosums of the bullied subjects were found to have less of the myelin coating that boosts communication between brain cells.
It has been suggested that these brain abnormalities might make it difficult for victims to process what is happening around them and respond appropriately. It might also explain some of the cognitive impairments associated with being bullied – poor memory, attention and concentration – and could even contribute to the anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts experienced by many victims.
The impact of childhood maltreatment, more generally, on neurobiology has been explored in several studies. Previously, the results of neuroimaging studies in abused children have been considered to be inconsistent.
The researchers found that the participants who had been exposed to maltreatment exhibited significantly smaller volumes of grey matter in several brain regions.
“Childhood maltreatment acts as a severe stressor that produces a cascade of physiological and neurobiological changes that lead to enduring alterations in the brain structure,” says author Joaquim Radua.
The researchers found that the participants who had been exposed to maltreatment exhibited significantly smaller volumes of grey matter in several brain regions.
‘Processed meats have same cancer risk as cigarettes’World Health Organization, October 23, 2022
Bacon, ham and sausages have the same cancer risk as cigarettes, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a media report said.
WHO listed processed meat as a carcinogenic substance, while fresh red meat is also expected to join the encyclopaedia of carcinogens’ and is likely to be regarded as bad for health.
The classifications, by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, are believed to regard processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans”, the highest of five possible rankings, shared with alcohol, asbestos, arsenic and cigarettes, the daily added.
Studies have shown that people who eat a lot of red meat tend to eat fewer plant-based foods that protect against cancer.
The WHO report follows a meeting of scientists from 10 countries who reviewed all available evidence.
Processed meat is made by smoking, curing, salting, or adding chemicals. Examples include ham, bacon, pastrami and salami, as well as hot dogs and some sausages. Burgers are also expected to be included in the WHO list of carcinogens.
Early supplementation may help offset early-life stress on the adult brain
University of Amsterdam, October 25, 20229
Early-life stress has been shown to impair learning and memory in later life, but new research, published online in The FASEB Journal, suggests that improved nutrition may help offset the negative effects of this stress. Specifically, using mice, scientists focused on essential micronutrients, including methionine, vitamins B6 and B12, and folic acid, none of which are made by the body and need to be ingested through diet. They found that early-life stress reduces the levels of these nutrients in mouse pups, but supplementation prevented the reduction of methionine levels and even prevented some of the lasting negative effects of early-life stress on later learning and memory in adult offspring.
To make their discovery, Korosi and colleagues mimicked a stressful early-life environment during the first week after birth (postnatal days 2-9) for newborn mice and their mothers. Control mice and their mothers were housed in a normal environment. During the stress period, half of the mouse mothers (control and early-life stress) received a standard rodent diet, the other half received a diet that was supplemented with essential micronutrients. The lactating mouse mothers ate the diet and thereby developed elevated micronutrient levels in maternal milk and subsequently in the blood and the brains of their pups. After the initial stress period, all mice received a standard diet and environment. Once the mice became 4 months old, their learning and memory skills were tested in various cognitive/behavioral tasks. Mice that were previously exposed to early-life stress performed worse than control animals and demonstrated poor learning and memory skills. However, stress-exposed mice from mothers that received the supplemented diet performed equally well as the control mice did.
“The field of postnatal nutrition has sometimes taken a back seat to research on the maternal-fetal axis, but of course we cannot ever ignore either,” said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. “Here we see strikingly beneficial cognitive effects of a sound postnatal diet. The nutrients tested were familiar ones, but the results speak for themselves.”
Cold Homes Increase The Risk Of Severe Mental Health Problems – New StudyUniversity of Adelaide (Australia), October 31, 2022
Concerns about fuel poverty and people not being able to heat their homes adequately are not new in the UK, but these worries have been heightened by significant increases in energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis. And as winter approaches, things are about to get a lot worse.
Colder temperatures suppress the immune system. But we know relatively little about the effects on mental health. Our new research shows that living in a cold home is a significant mental health risk.
Living in a cold home can affect your mental health in several ways. For many, heating costs are a source of stress and financial strain. Not being able to keep your home and family comfortably warm reduces feelings of control and autonomy over your environment. People who are unable to heat their home often adopt coping mechanisms that limit socialising – for example, not inviting friends over and going to bed early to keep warm. And many people are just worn down by the drudgery of a whole winter of being uncomfortably cold.
Using data from a large representative sample of adults in the UK, we followed people over many years and tracked the effect of being unable to keep your home warm on mental health.
When people’s homes became cold, their risk of severe mental distress significantly increased. For people who previously had no mental health problems, the odds of severe mental distress doubled when they had a cold home, while for those who had some (but not severe) mental health symptoms, the risk tripled . We found these effects even after taking into account many other factors associated with mental health, including income.

The Gary Null Show - 10.31.22

Videos:
Member of The FDA Vax Panel Said “We Are Killing More People Than We Are Saving With The Shots”
RFK : The Real Anthony Fauci Clip (1st clip 5:50 – 2nd Clip 4:37)
Dr Shoemaker – C19 vaxx – lethal short and long term 10/22/22 (13:00)
Clare Daly Latest Top 7 Contributions in the EU. (Start @ 4:32)
Neil Oliver: We are expected to forget those promising to fix the disaster caused it (10:28)
MASSIVE GLACIER MELTDOWN THREATENS CIVILIZATION | Countdown to Armageddon (7:42)
Chlorophyllin shows promise for inflammatory bowel disease
Sichuan University (China) & Cedars Sinai Medical Center, October 28 2022. 
The August 2022 issue of the American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology reported research which found that supplementation with chlorophyllin suppressed intestinal inflammation in a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 
Chlorophyllin is a water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll, the pigment that gives green plants their color. “Consuming green-colored vegetables or green pigment supplement such as chlorophyllin might help people with inflammatory bowel disease,” senior author Xiaofeng Zheng, PhD, of Sichuan University West China Hospital in Chengdu, China predicted. 
Current treatments for inflammatory bowel diseases include immunosuppressant medications and surgery, both of which are associated with potentially serious adverse effects. “The study was designed to determine the effect of safe agents that are easily available to have a beneficial effect in inflammatory bowel disease,” commented report coauthor Stephen J. Pandol, MD, of Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The team induced colitis in mice by administering dextran sulfate sodium. They found that supplementing the animals’ diets with chlorophyllin or directly administering the compound suppressed intestinal inflammation and downregulated disease-associated autophagy in the intestine. 
“What we found in the study was that the agent used, chlorophyllin, would inhibit the inflammation and tissue damage that occurs in an experimental model of colitis,” Dr Pandol commented. “In this case it was in a mouse model. The results were promising in an experimental model, and those can justify a clinical trial.”
Curcumin Prodrug Shows Promise As Cancer Treatment Without Toxic Side Effects
Kyoto University (Japan), October 30, 2022
Curcumin, the biologically active compound found in turmeric, has shown lots of promise in clinical cancer research. A new study from Kyoto University adds more evidence that supports its use in clinical-care settings. Researchers are developing a curcumin prodrug called TBP1901 that demonstrates anti-tumor effects without adverse toxicities.
Curcumin is an appealing compound for oncology researchers, as many current pharmacological treatments lead to significant side effects in patients. Thus far, anecdotal findings report strong efficacy when taken orally among cancer patients. However, until this recent development, curcumin’s low bioavailability and instability has put limitations on its clinical use.
Kanai and team have maneuvered their way around this by successfully identifying the enzyme GUSB, which may activate curcumin to increase its bioavailability. The enzyme plays a crucial role in TBP1901 conversion to curcumin. However, the research team hypothesized that the conversion wouldn’t be observable in mice with genetically-weakened GUSB enzyme.
Further, they were able to confirm through analysis with CRISPR-Cas9 screening that curcumin may also have additional specific therapeutic targets. “The high conversion rate of TBP1901 to curcumin in bone marrow warrants its clinical application for diseases growing in the marrow like multiple myeloma and leukemia,” states Kanai.
Now that scientists have begun to crack the code with curcumin, the cancer field may start to put things into motion as more targets and enzymatic processes are explained. 
Study Reveals How Turmeric Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth
University of California Los Angeles, October 23, 2022
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer around. While treatment is often considered futile in this highly lethal form of cancer, a new study indicates a turmeric extract could provide a reasonable chemotherapy alternative.
Research published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Anticancer Research found liposomal curcumin was able to inhibit pancreatic cancer cell proliferation in vitro and when administered to mice three times a week for four weeks, it was able to suppress tumor growth when compared with control groups.
Liposomal curcumin is curcumin delivered by encapsulation in liposomes, or a prepared carrier with a lipd (fat) layer. Because curcumin is fat soluble and is resistant to water solubility, this liposomal vehicle increases its bioavailability, sending it through a barrier in the liver that would normally block it.
The study used a dosage of 20 mg/kg of the liposomal curcumin, an amount that would be the equivalent of 1,360 mg for a 150 lb. adult.
The study abstract concludes:
“These data clearly establish the efficacy of liposomal curcumin in reducing human pancreatic cancer growth in the examined model,” concluded the researchers. “The therapeutic curcumin-based effects, with no limiting side-effects, suggest that liposomal curcumin may be beneficial in patients with pancreatic cancer.”
One study published in the journal PLoS One found that curcumin has the power to inhibit the growth of esophageal cancer cell lines, while other research from UCLA actually found curcumin to decrease brain tumor size by a whopping 81%.
Fermented foods and fiber may lower stress levels, says new study
APC Microbiome Ireland & University College Cork, October 28, 2022
When it comes to dealing with stress, we’re often told the best things we can do are exercise, make time for our favorite activities or try meditation or mindfulness.
But the kinds of foods we eat may also be an effective way of dealing with stress, according to research published by me and other members of APC Microbiome Ireland. Our latest study, now published in Molecular Psychiatry, has shown that eating more fermented foods and fiber daily for just four weeks had a significant effect on lowering perceived stress levels. 
The mechanisms underpinning the effect of diet on mental health are still not fully understood. But one explanation for this link could be via the relationship between our brain and our microbiome (the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut). It means that the emotional and cognitive centers in our brain are closely connected to our gut.
To test this, we recruited 45 healthy people with relatively low-fiber diets, aged 18–59 years. More than half were women. The participants were split into two groups and randomly assigned a diet to follow for the four-week duration of the study.
Around half were assigned a diet  which would increase the amount of prebiotic and fermented foods they ate. This is known as a “psychobiotic” diet, as it included foods that have been linked to better mental health.
They were told they should aim to include 6–8 servings daily of fruits and vegetables high in prebiotic fibers (such as onions, leeks, cabbage, apples, bananas and oats), 5–8 servings of grains per day, and 3–4 servings of legumes per week. They were also told to include 2–3 servings of fermented foods daily (such as sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha). Participants on the control diet only received general dietary advice, based on the healthy eating food pyramid. 
Intriguingly, those who followed the psychobiotic diet reported they felt less stressed compared with those who followed the control diet. There was also a direct correlation between how strictly participants followed the diet and their perceived stress levels, with those who ate more psychobiotic foods during the four-week period reporting the greatest reduction in perceived stress levels.
Interestingly, the quality of sleep improved in both groups—though those on the psychobiotic diet reported greater improvements in sleep. Other studies have also shown that gut microbes are implicated in sleep processes, which may explain this link. 
The psychobiotic diet only caused subtle changes in the composition and function of microbes in the gut. However, we observed significant changes in the level of certain key chemicals produced by these gut microbes. Some of these chemicals have been linked to mental health, which could potentially explain why participants on the diet reported feeling less stressed.
Sedentary lifestyle and sugary diet more detrimental to men, study finds
University of Missouri, October 27, 2022
A new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine is the first evidence in humans that short-term lifestyle changes can disrupt the response to insulin of blood vessels. It’s also the first study to show men and women react differently to these changes.
Vascular insulin resistance is a feature of obesity and type 2 diabetes that contributes to vascular disease. Researchers examined vascular insulin resistance in 36 young and healthy men and women by exposing them to 10 days of reduced physical activity, cutting their step count from 10,000 to 5,000 steps per day. The participants also increased their sugary beverage intake to six cans of soda per day. 
The results showed that only in men did the sedentary lifestyle and high sugar intake cause decreased insulin-stimulated leg blood flow and a drop in a protein called adropin, which regulates insulin sensitivity and is an important biomarker for cardiovascular disease. 
“These findings underscore a sex-related difference in the development of vascular insulin resistance induced by adopting a lifestyle high in sugar and low on exercise,” said Manrique-Acevedo. 
“To our knowledge, this is the first evidence in humans that vascular insulin resistance can be provoked by short-term adverse lifestyle changes, and it’s the first documentation of sex-related differences in the development of vascular insulin resistance in association with changes in adropin levels.” 
Spearmint can significantly improve memory, concentration, and brain function
St Louis University School of Medicine,  October 25, 2022
Around 64 percent of Americans start their day with a cup of coffee (or several). And, many health article mention that this popular beverage can actually improve memory? But, does it really?  And, is there a healthy alternative?
The caffeine in coffee causes a brain release of noradrenaline along with an energy boost and cognitive stimulation. However, this is inevitably followed shortly by a “caffeine crash” as the noradrenaline is depleted.
Research is showing there’s a more effective alternative to caffeine and it’s called spearmint. Long used medicinally for its stimulating and uplifting effects, it can provide a healthier and more reliable energy boost. Even better, spearmint has also been found to improve memory, sharpen concentration and support overall brain health.
Research shows spearmint dramatically improves brain function in older individuals
The benefits of spearmint are particularly beneficial for cognitive functioning. It offers an enticing combination of relaxation as well as an almost immediate boosting of cognitive function.
Two studies confirm and quantify the powers of spearmint’s ability to support brain health and boost memory. The study results also showed improvements to concentration, attention span, planning capacity and overall brain functioning.
The subjects took memory and cognition tests that assessed their ability to concentrate, pay attention and plan. A single dose of spearmint extract showed significant improvements within the four hours following the dose. At the four hour mark, participants showed a stunning improvement in their memory performance ranging from 46 percent to 121 percent. Planning abilities improved by 39 percent four hours after taking the spearmint extract.
Long-term tests after the 30-day study period showed significant overall improvements in all areas. Reasoning abilities improved by 35 percent, and concentration and attention were 125 percent higher. Planning capacity was better by 48 percent.
Another spearmint study published in the journal Neurology looked at 90 subjects with an average age of 59. All participants showed age-associated memory impairment at the study outset. Subjects received either 600 mg or 900 mg of spearmint extract daily. They all showed dramatic improvements in spacial working memory as well as their sleep patterns.
Other health benefits of spearmint include improved digestion and relief from sore throat, toothache, cramps, arthritis symptoms, headache, fatigue and the common cold.

The Gary Null Show - 10.28.22

Researchers find Cordyceps used in traditional medicine can fight cancerShanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, October 23, 2022
Chinese scientists have found evidence that a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine widely sought by the public for its healing powers, also carries anti-cancer benefits.
The scientists found there was an interaction between two anti-cancer compounds in the fungus Cordyceps militaris.
The first, cordycepin, was noted in Cordyceps militaris in 1950, but how it interacted remained unknown. The second, pentostatin, was first identified from a bacterium and was developed as a commercial drug to treat leukemia and other cancers in the 1990s.
“For the first time, we decoded the biosynthesis mechanism of cordycepin in the fungus, and during the research we unexpectedly discovered pentostatin,” said Wang Chengshu, head of the research team at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, a branch of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“These two compounds coexist in fungal cells in the form of a protector and protege – that is to say, cordycepin is synthesized with the coupled production of pentostatin to protect the stability of the former,” he said.
Their research also showed that the fungus initiates a detoxification process when the cordycepin in the body reaches an excessively high level, which can be toxic.
Cordyceps fungi are popular in China for their widely believed immunity-enhancing and energy-strengthening properties. Their uses in medical treatment date to the Compendium of Materia Medica, a book widely deemed the encyclopedia of traditional Chinese medicine written in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Omega-3 fatty acid could boost IQ for preterm babiesSouth Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, October 27, 2022
New research from SAHMRI has found a link between the omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and increased IQ among children born prematurely.
Preterm children are more likely to have lower IQ scores and cognitive impairments compared with term-born children.
Dr. Jacqueline Gould, who led the study now published in the New England Journal of Medicine, says infants born at the earliest gestations are deprived of the natural supply of DHA that normally builds up in the brain during the last trimester of pregnancy. “These babies have low concentrations of DHA in their brain tissue, which may contribute to poorer cognitive outcomes,” Dr. Gould said.
The study followed 323 infants born before 29 weeks’ gestation, who were given 60mg of DHA/kg per day via enteral or control tube feeding.
They were compared with 333 children in the control group, who received an emulsion with no DHA. At five years old, children in both groups underwent the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) IQ test.
“On average, those in the DHA group scored 3.5 points higher on the IQ scale than those in the control group,” Dr. Gould said.
“These very promising results suggest DHA has the potential to improve cognitive performance when administered via emulsion for infants born before 29 weeks’ gestation.”
Crossword puzzles beat computer video games in slowing memory lossColumbia University Irving Medical Center & Duke University, October 27, 2022
A new study by researchers from Columbia University and Duke University published in the journal NEJM Evidence shows that doing crossword puzzles has an advantage over computer video games for memory functioning in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
In a randomized, controlled trial, led by D.P. Devanand, MD, professor of psychiatry and neurology at Columbia, with Murali Doraiswamy, MD, professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke, researchers determined that participants (average age 71) trained in doing web-based crossword puzzles demonstrated greater cognitive improvement than those who were trained on cognitive video games.
“This is the first study to document both short-term and longer-term benefits for home-based crossword puzzles training compared to another intervention,” said Dr. Devanand, who oversees brain aging and mental health research at Columbia. “The results are important in light of difficulty in showing improvement with interventions in mild cognitive impairment.”
To conduct their study, researchers at Columbia and Duke randomly assigned 107 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at the two different sites to either crossword puzzles training or cognitive games training with intensive training for 12 weeks followed by booster sessions up to 78 weeks. Both interventions were delivered via a computerized platform with weekly compliance monitoring.
The most striking findings of the trial were:
Crossword puzzles were superior to cognitive games on the primary cognitive outcome measure, ADAS-Cog, at both 12 weeks and 78 weeks. Crossword puzzles were superior on FAQ, a measure of daily functioning, at 78 weeks.Crossword puzzles were superior for participants at a later disease stage but both forms of training were equally effective in an earlier stage.Brain shrinkage (measured with MRI) was less for crossword puzzles at 78 weeks.“The benefits were seen not only in cognition but also in daily activities with indications of brain shrinkage on MRI that suggests that the effects are clinically meaningful,” Dr. Devanand said.
The study also highlights the importance of engagement. Based on remote electronic monitoring of computer use, participants at a later stage of impairment may have better engaged with the more familiar crossword puzzles than with computerized cognitive games.
Atherosclerosis, ED, low vitamin D levels linkedGuizhou Medical University (China), October 24 2022.
A study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology evaluated the associations between lower serum levels of vitamin D, erectile dysfunction (ED) and an increased risk of atherosclerosis.
The investigation included 163 men aged 30 to 60 years who received physical examinations at the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and other factors. Carotid intima-media thickness, an indicator of atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries, was measured using ultrasound. International index of erectile function-5 (IIEF-5) scores were graded as mild, moderate or severe according to ED severity. Thirty-nine participants whose IIEF-5 scores indicated no ED served as control subjects.
Serum vitamin D levels were lower and carotid intima-media thickness values were higher among men with moderate and severe ED compared to the control group. Carotid intima-media thickness was significantly higher among men with severe ED compared with those who had mild ED. After adjustment, significant correlations were found between IIEF-5 scores, carotid intima-media thickness and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
In their discussion, authors Jun-hao Zhang of Soochow University and colleagues remarked that vitamin D may affect erectile function via its interaction with the endothelial cells of the corpora cavernosa, which is the spongy tissue within the penis that fills with blood during an erection. Vitamin D may affect the production and release by endothelial cells of nitric oxide, a compound that helps relax the blood vessels, thereby improving erectile function. The vitamin may also help decrease damage to endothelial cell function caused by oxidative stress.
“Serum vitamin D level should be analyzed in men with ED, especially in patients with vasculogenic ED, and supplementation is recommended for those who were with vitamin D deficiency,” the authors wrote.
Carnitine supplementation could improve cold tolerance and moreUniversity of Utah, October 23 2022
Cell Metabolism reported research findings from the University of Utah School of Medicine that reveal a role for carnitine in the body’s response to cold temperatures.
“Cold-induced thermogenesis is an energy-demanding process that protects endotherms against a reduction in ambient temperature,” Judith Simcox, PhD, and colleagues write. “We found that the liver undergoes a metabolic switch to provide fuel for brown fat thermogenesis by producing acylcarnitines.”
“Cold stimulates white adipocytes to release free fatty acids that activate the nuclear receptor HNF4α, which is required for acylcarnitine production in the liver and adaptive thermogenesis,” they continue. “Once in circulation, acylcarnitines are transported to brown adipose tissue, while uptake into white adipose tissue and liver is blocked.”
Acylcarnitines are fatty acyl esters of L-carnitine that were found to increase in young mice during cold adaptation. “It was surprising to see acylcarnitines in the bloodstream,” Dr Simcox remarked.
With aging comes a decline in the ability to adapt to cold exposure. In the current study, researchers found that a single dose of L-carnitine or palmitoylcarnitine improved aging-related cold sensitivity in mice. Because activating cold adaptation burns calories, improving the process be useful for more than the ability to tolerate cold environments.
Feeling chirpy: Being around birds is linked to lasting mental health benefitsKing’s College London, October 27, 2022
New research from King’s College London has found that seeing or hearing birds is associated with an improvement in mental well-being that can last up to eight hours.
This improvement was also evident in people with a diagnosis of depression—the most common mental illness worldwide—indicating the potential role of birdlife in helping those with mental health conditions.
Lead author Ryan Hammoud, Research Assistant at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, said: “There is growing evidence on the mental health benefits of being around nature and we intuitively think that the presence of birdsong and birds would help lift our mood. However, there is little research that has actually investigated the impact of birds on mental health in real-time and in a real environment.
The study took place with 1,292 participants completing 26,856 assessments. Participants were recruited worldwide.
The app asked participants three times a day whether they could see or hear birds, followed by questions on mental well-being to enable researchers to establish an association between the two and to estimate how long this association lasted.
Researchers showed that the links between birds and mental well-being were not explained by co-occurring environmental factors such the presence of trees, plants, or waterways.
Our study provides an evidence base for creating and supporting biodiverse spaces that harbor birdlife, since this is strongly linked with our mental health. In addition, the findings support the implementation of measures to increase opportunities for people to come across birdlife, particularly for those living with mental health conditions such as depression.”

The Gary Null Show - 10.27.22

Videos:
A.I. Is Making it Easier to Kill (You). Here’s How. | NYT (10:00)
Disturbing simulation shows power, terror of killer robots (7:46)
Fear Psychosis and the Cult of Safety – Why are People so Afraid? (13:25)
 
Peanuts Linked to Lower Breast Cancer Risk
Washington University in St. Louis & Harvard University, October 22, 2022
Girls ages 9 to 15 who regularly ate peanut butter or nuts were 39 percent less likely to develop benign breast disease by age 30, according to a new study.
Benign breast disease, although noncancerous, increases risk of breast cancer later in life.
“These findings suggest that peanut butter could help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women,” says senior author Graham Colditz, professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and associate director for cancer prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, the findings are based on the health histories of 9,039 US girls enrolled in the Growing Up Today Study .
When the study participants were 18 to 30 years old, they reported whether they had been diagnosed with benign breast disease that had been confirmed by breast biopsy.
Participants who ate peanut butter or nuts two times each week were 39 percent less likely to have developed benign breast disease than those who never ate them.
The study’s findings suggest that beans, lentils, soybeans, and corn also may help prevent benign breast disease, but consumption of these foods was much lower in these girls so the evidence was weaker.
Past studies have linked peanut butter, nut, and vegetable fat consumption to a lower risk for benign breast disease. However, participants in those studies were asked to recall their high school dietary intakes years later.
Perinatal Brain DHA Concentration Has a Lasting Impact on CognitionNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism October 20, 2022
A new study on Proteomics is now available. According to news out of Bethesda, Maryland, research stated, “Premature infants are deprived of prenatal accumulation of brain docosahexaenoic acid [DHA (22: 6n-3)], an omega-3 fatty acid [omega-3 FA (n-3 FA)] important for proper development of cognitive function. The resulting brain DHA deficit can be reversed by omega-3 FA supplementation.”
“The objective was to test whether there is a critical period for providing omega-3 FA to correct cognitive deficits caused by developmental omega-3 FA deprivation in mice. Twelve timed-pregnant mice were fed an omega-3 FA-deficient diet containing 0.04% a-linolenic acid, and their offspring were fed the same deficient diet (Def group) or changed to an omega-3 FA-adequate diet containing 3.1% ALA at 3 wk, 2 mo, or 4 mo of age. In parallel, 3 E14 pregnant mice were fed the adequate diet and their offspring were fed the same diet (Adeq group) throughout the experiment. Brain FA composition, learning and memory, and hippocampal synaptic protein expression were evaluated at 6 mo by gas chromatography, the Morris water maze test, and western blot analysis, respectively.
Maternal dietary omega-3 FA deprivation decreased DHA by > 50% in the brain of their offspring at 3 wk of age. The Def group showed significantly worse learning and memory at 6 mo than those groups fed the adequate diet. These pups also had decreased hippocampal expression of postsynaptic density protein 95 (43% of Adeq group), Homer protein homolog 1 (21% of Adeq group), and synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa (64% of Adeq group).
Changing mice to the adequate diet at 3 wk, 2 mo, or 4 mo of age restored brain DHA to the age-matched adequate concentration. However, deficits in hippocampal synaptic protein expression and spatial learning and memory were normalized only when the diet was changed at 3 wk.”
The research concluded: “Developmental deprivation of brain DHA by dietary omega-3 FA depletion in mice may have a lasting impact on cognitive function if not corrected at an early age.”
At risk for diabetes? Cut the carbs, says new studyTulane University, October 26, 2022
While low-carb diets are often recommended for those being treated for diabetes, little evidence exists on whether eating fewer carbs can impact the blood sugar of those with diabetes or prediabetes who aren’t treated by medications.
Now, according to new research from Tulane University, a low-carb diet can help those with unmedicated diabetes—and those at risk for diabetes—lower their blood sugar.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, compared two groups: one assigned to a low-carb diet and another that continued with their usual diet. After six months, the low-carb diet group had greater drops in hemoglobin A1c, a marker for blood sugar levels, when compared with the group who ate their usual diet. The low-carbohydrate diet group also lost weight and had lower fasting glucose levels.
“The key message is that a low-carbohydrate diet, if maintained, might be a useful approach for preventing and treating Type 2 diabetes, though more research is needed,” said lead author Kirsten Dorans, assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
The study’s findings are especially important for those with prediabetes whose A1c levels are higher than normal but below levels that would be classified as diabetes. Approximately 96 million Americans have prediabetes and more than 80% of those with prediabetes are unaware, according to the CDC. Those with prediabetes are at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart attacks or strokes and are usually not taking medications to lower blood sugar levels, making a healthy diet more crucial.
How early fears play a role in future anxiety, depressionUniversity of Texas at Dallas, October 26, 2022
A recent imaging study led by a scientist at The University of Texas at Dallas has identified early risk factors linked to children’s temperament and a neural process that could foretell whether an individual might develop depression and anxiety in adolescence and early adulthood.
The study, published Oct. 26 in JAMA Psychiatry, tracked a cohort of 165 individuals from 4 months old, between 1989 and 1993, through age 26.
Dr. Alva Tang, assistant professor of psychology in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and corresponding author of the study, found that people who are more inhibited in early childhood and who also don’t respond typically to potential rewards as adolescents are vulnerable to developing depression later in life, more so than anxiety.
When babies are exposed to novel objects, people or situations, some react positively and approach them without fear, whereas others respond with wariness or avoidance. This differentiation defines uninhibited versus inhibited behavior.
“We know that inhibited children are more likely to have anxiety disorders later, particularly social anxiety, that begins in late childhood to adolescence,” Tang said. “Less has been known about depression, which generally has a later onset, in young adulthood. But we do know that people who have had an anxiety disorder are 50% to 60% more likely to have depression later in life, so inhibited children should have higher risk for depression as well.”
The researchers found that the association between inhibition at 14 to 24 months of age and worsening depressive symptoms from ages 15 to 26 was present only among those who also showed blunted activity in the ventral striatum as adolescents. There was no similar association with anxiety.
“We found that behavioral inhibition was related to worsening depressive symptoms into adulthood. This supports the assertion that this temperament shows a stronger relation to developing anxiety in adolescence, but in adulthood it is tied more strongly to depression. However, not all inhibited children develop anxiety or depression,” Tang said. “It was particularly the inhibited children who showed blunted striatal activity who were more likely to become more depressed in young adulthood.”
Pressure chamber therapy is effective in the functional improvement of autism, study findsTel-Aviv University (Israel), October 26, 2022
A new Tel Aviv University study succeeded in significantly improving social skills and the condition of the autistic brain through pressure chamber therapy. The study was conducted on animal models of autism. In it, the researchers identified changes in the brain, including a reduction in neuroinflammation, which is known to be associated with autism.
Moreover, a significant improvement was found in the social functioning of the animal models treated in the pressure chamber. The study’s success has many implications regarding the applicability and understanding of treating autism using pressure chamber therapy.
Fischer and Barak explain that hyperbaric medicine is a form of therapy in which patients are treated in special chambers where the atmospheric pressure is higher than the pressure we experience at sea level, and in addition are delivered 100% oxygen to breathe.
Dr. Barak says that “the medical causes of autism are numerous and varied, and ultimately create the diverse autistic spectrum with which we are familiar. About 20% of autistic cases today are explained by genetic causes, that is, those involving genetic defects, but not necessarily ones that are inherited from the parents.”
“Despite the variety of sources of autism, the entire spectrum of behavioral problems associated with it are still included under the single broad heading of ‘autism,’ and the treatments and medications offered do not necessarily correspond directly to the reason why the autism developed.”
Dr. Barak says that they “discovered that treatment in the oxygen-enriched pressure chamber reduces inflammation in the brain and leads to an increase in the expression of substances responsible for improving blood and oxygen supply to the brain, and therefore brain function. In addition, we saw a decrease in the number of microglial cells, immune system cells that indicate inflammation, which is associated with autism.
“To our surprise, the findings showed a significant improvement in the social behavior of the animal models of autism that underwent treatment in the pressure chamber compared to those in the control group, who were exposed to air at normal pressure, and without oxygen enrichment.”
Study reveals connection between microbiome and autoimmune disordersUniversity of Calgary, October 23, 2022
Published in Cell, a study by Santamaria and Kathy McCoy, PhD, from the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) reveals a new mechanism in the gut microbiome that regulates pro- and anti-inflammatory cells. “We found that a protein expressed by gut bacteria called Bacteroides works to prevent IBD by rapidly recruiting white blood cells to kill a cell of the immune system that is responsible for orchestrating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD),” says McCoy. “We think that this mechanism is likely involved in preventing most people from developing IBD.”
However, there is a flipside to the protein’s call for help. “In some people, the white blood cells overreact to the presence of the IBD bacteria. This is what causes problems like IBD—it’s not the bacteria itself, but the immune system’s severe reaction triggered by the protein. These same overstimulated white blood cells are also the cells that cause other autoimmune disorders like diabetes,” says Santamaria.
“This discovery demonstrates the effect the gut microbiome has on the immune system and unearths a novel mechanism via which changes in the gut microbiome can increase the risk of autoimmune disorders. While we looked specifically at IBD, it is likely there are many proteins in the gut that contribute to the development of other autoimmune disorders via similar mechanisms.”

The Gary Null Show - 10.26.22

Videos :
Robby Soave: PayPal Threatens To Take $2,500 From Users Who Promote ‘Misinformation’ (9:26)
ED DOWD: COVID AND THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL COLLAPSE: A TALE OF CATASTROPHES AND COVER-UPS (32:50 – 42:50)
Tidal energy could be huge – why isn’t it? (4:00)
Back To the Future of Wind Energy Technology with Paul Gipe (7:23)
No, this angry AI isn’t fake (see comment), w Elon Musk. (3:24)
Dr. Bhakdi Clip (7:27)
 
Study shows inexpensive, readily available chemical (GABA) may limit impact of COVID-19
University of California, Los Angeles, October 25, 2022
Preclinical studies in mice that model human COVID-19 suggest that an inexpensive, readily available amino acid might limit the effects of the disease and provide a new off-the-shelf therapeutic option for infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants and perhaps future novel coronaviruses.
A team led by researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA report in Frontiers in Immunology that an amino acid called GABA, which is available over-the-counter in many countries, reduced disease severity, viral load in the lungs, and death rates in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice. This follows up on their previous finding that GABA consumption also protected mice from another lethal mouse coronavirus called MHV-1. In both cases, GABA treatment was effective when given just after infection or several days later near the peak of virus production. The protective effects of GABA against two different types of coronaviruses suggest that GABA may provide a generalizable therapy to help treat diseases induced by new SARS-CoV-2 variants and novel beta-coronaviruses. 
Their previous studies showed that GABA administration protected mice from developing severe disease after infection with a mouse coronavirus called MHV-1. To more stringently test the potential of GABA as a therapy for COVID-19, they studied transgenic mice that when infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop severe pneumonia with a high mortality rate. “If our observations of the protective effects of GABA therapy in SARS-CoV-2-infected mice are confirmed in clinical trials, GABA could provide an off-the-shelf treatment to help ameliorate infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants. GABA is inexpensive and stable at room temperature, which could make it widely and easily accessible, and especially beneficial in developing countries.”
The researchers said that GABA and GABA receptors are most often thought of as a major neurotransmitter system in the brain. Years ago, they, as well as other researchers, found that cells of the immune system also possessed GABA receptors and that the activation of these receptors inhibited the inflammatory actions of immune cells. Taking advantage of this property, the authors reported in a series of studies that GABA administration inhibited autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis in mouse models of these ailments.
Other scientists who study gas anesthetics have found that lung epithelial cells also possess GABA receptors and that drugs that activate these receptors could limit lung injuries and inflammation in the lung. The dual actions of GABA in inflammatory immune cells and lung epithelial cells, along with its safety for clinical use, made GABA a theoretically appealing candidate for limiting the overreactive immune responses and lung damage due to coronavirus infection.
Working with colleagues at the University of Southern California, the UCLA research team in this study administered GABA to the mice just after infection with SARS-CoV-2, or two days later when the virus levels are near their peak in the mouse lungs. While the vast majority of untreated mice did not survive this infection, those given GABA just after infection, or two days later, had less illness severity and a lower mortality rate over the course of the study. Treated mice also displayed reduced levels of virus in their lungs and changes in circulating immune signaling molecules, known as cytokines and chemokines, toward patterns that were associated with better outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Thus, GABA receptor activation had multiple beneficial effects in this mouse model that are also desirable for the treatment of COVID-19.
Yoga as effective as traditional pulmonary rehab in patients with COPD 
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (India), October 19, 2022
Researchers from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, studied the effects of yoga as a form of pulmonary rehabilitation on markers of inflammation in the body. Results from this study showed yoga exercises provide improvements that are just as effective as traditional pulmonary rehabilitation methods in improving pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and indices of systemic inflammation.
Sixty patients with COPD were randomly divided into two groups, one of which was taught yoga exercises while the other underwent a structured pulmonary rehabilitation program. These groups were tested on shortness of breath, serum inflammation, and lung function tests. Each group participated in 1 hour of training twice a week for the first 4 weeks, then training every 2 weeks for 8 weeks, and the remaining weeks were at home. Results showed that yoga and pulmonary rehabilitation exercises resulted in similar improvements in pulmonary function, 6-minute walk distance, Borg scale, severity of dyspnea, quality of life, and levels of C-reactive protein after 12 weeks of training.
“This study suggests yoga may be a cost-effective form of rehabilitation that is more convenient for patients,” said Mark J. Rosen, MD, Master FCCP, CHEST Medical Director. “The authors recommended adoption of yoga programs as an option as part of long-term management of COPD. These findings should be confirmed in new studies and the potential mechanisms explored.” 
Resveratrol can help correct hormone imbalance in women with PCOS
University of California, San Diego, October 19, 2022
Resveratrol–a natural compound found in red wine and grapes–can help address a hormone imbalance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility in women, according to a  study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Women who have PCOS produce slightly higher amounts of testosterone and other androgen hormones than average. Although these reproductive hormones are typically associated with men, women also have small amounts. The elevated levels in women with PCOS can contribute to irregular or absent menstrual periods, infertility, weight gain, acne or excess hair on the face and body. Women who have PCOS also face a higher risk of developing other health problems, such as diabetes.
“Our study is the first clinical trial to find resveratrol significantly lowers PCOS patients’ levels of testosterone as well as dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), another hormone that the body can convert into testosterone,” said the study’s senior author, Antoni J. Duleba, MD, of the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, CA. “This nutritional supplement can help moderate the hormone imbalance that is one of the central features of PCOS.”
Thirty women with PCOS completed the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland. The women were randomly assigned to either take a resveratrol supplement or a placebo pill daily for three months. The participants had blood samples drawn at the beginning and end of the study to determine levels of testosterone and other androgen hormones. 
The researchers found total testosterone levels fell by 23.1 percent among the women who received the resveratrol supplement. In comparison, testosterone levels increased 2.9 percent in the placebo group. DHEAS declined by 22.2 percent in the resveratrol group, while the placebo group experienced a 10.5 percent increase in DHEAS levels.
In addition to moderating androgen hormones, the women who received resveratrol showed improvement in diabetes risk factors. Among the resveratrol group, fasting insulin levels dropped by 31.8 percent during the three-month study. The researchers also found the women who received resveratrol during the study became more responsive to the hormone insulin over the course of the study.
Fluoridated water calcifies your arteries: study
University of Zaragoza (Spain), October 22, 2014
 A major promoter of heart disease in the U.S. today could be a chemical that the government has been intentionally dumping into the water supply for decades on the premise that it prevents tooth decay. Fluoride, according to a study published in the journal Toxicology, shows demonstrated cardiotoxic effects, which include the calcification and hardening of arteries.Researchers from the University of Zaragoza in Spain looked at the effects of water fluoridation on the progression of vascular calcification in renal (kidney) disease. The team used real-world concentrations of fluoride as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for optimal oral health — 1.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) — administering this amount to rats via water in the same way humans would receive it.It was observed that, for five days, the rats, all of whom had experimental chronic kidney disease (CKD), experienced calcification of their aortic smooth muscle cells. The rats also experienced further declines in renal function as a result of exposure to fluoride, demonstrating the nephrotoxicity of this common water additive.“[F]luoridation of drinking water… dramatically increased the incipient aortic calcification observed in rats with experimental chronic kidney disease,” wrote the authors. “[T]he WHO’s recommended concentrations in drinking water become nephrotoxic to CKD rats, thereby aggravating renal disease and making media vascular calcification significant.”
Previous research, as noted in the new study, has confirmed that 90 percent or more of digested fluoride is absorbed through the intestines and distributed throughout the body to soft tissues, calcified structures and blood plasma. At WHO-recommended doses, fluoride can still get lodged throughout the body and remain there for many years.
In healthy individuals, plasma fluoride is cleared through the dual action of calcifying tissues and expelling through the kidneys. But in those with renal disease, the kidneys are not up to the task of removing fluoride from the body, greatly amplifying both the calcification process and the advancement of renal failure.
Lower magnesium levels linked with increased mortality risk during up to 40 years of follow-up
Jiao Tong University School of Medicine  (China), October 20 2022.
 In an article in the journal Clinical Nutrition, Xi Zhang of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and colleagues reported an association between decreased serum levels of magnesium and a greater risk of dying from any cause during a follow-up period of up to 40 years.
The study included data from 14,343 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study. 
There were 9,012 deaths during a median follow-up of 28.6 years. In comparison with subjects whose serum magnesium levels were between 0.8 and 0.89 micromoles per liter (mmol/L), having a deficient level of less than 0.7 mmol/L was associated with an adjusted 34% greater risk of dying over follow-up. Those with magnesium levels of less than 0.7 mmol/L had more than two and a half times the risk of dying from stroke than subjects with magnesium levels of 0.8-0.89 mmol/L. Further analysis found the strongest protective association for magnesium in men.
“Several mechanisms may explain the beneficial effects of magnesium, including maintaining glucose and insulin homeostasis, improving lipid metabolism, enhancing the vascular or myocardial contractility and vasodilation, and providing antiarrhythmic and antiplatelet effects,” the authors write. “Moreover, several small secondary prevention randomized trials have shown that oral magnesium supplementation improved endothelial function, reduced thrombosis, and increased cardiopulmonary function and left ventricular ejection fraction among cardiovascular disease patients.”
“Our findings support the hypothesis that serum magnesium may be clinically useful for predicting long-term health outcomes and mortality in the general population,” they conclude.
Anxiety Makes It Harder to Listen to Your Intuition
Freie Universität Berlin, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, University of Basel,  October 19, 2022
As an anxious person, I find the mantra “go with your gut” endlessly frustrating. What’s so trustworthy about my gut instinct, which has, at various times, convinced me I’m dying of brain cancer, or about to get on an airplane doomed to crash, or destined to be alone forever? My therapist has had to remind me many times over that my so-called instincts have been wrong before and will be wrong again. But I’ve remained somewhat convinced that there is a “real” gut instinct somewhere beneath all my fake ones, and if only I knew how to access it, I would finally be perfectly wise, centered, and calm.
A new study suggests this is probably not the case. In their study, researchers attempted to examine and compare the intuitive decision-making abilities of anxious, neutral, and optimistic people. More than a hundred participants were randomly assigned to each of these three groups, and “inducted” into the corresponding mood by viewing a series of emotionally coded sentences and images. For example, participants in the optimism group read: “The affection of those we love makes us feel particularly safe and confident. There is always someone who loves us,” and were then shown a picture of a smiling young couple with a shark mascot. (Huh.) Those in the anxious group read: “Safety is not guaranteed neither in our neighborhoods nor in our own homes,” followed by a picture of a man with his arm hooked around a woman’s neck. I’m anxious just reading about it.
Once the mood was set, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to assess their tendency to make intuitive decisions, and how effectively they did so. While the researchers found that the decision-making abilities of the positive and the neutral mood groups were relatively unaffected by their moods, the anxious group showed a significantly reduced ability to use their intuition. 
The researchers hypothesized that anxiety’s effects on our decision-making is damaging for several reasons: Anxiety makes us risk-averse, pessimistic, and less confident — all qualities which make us likelier to choose what we perceive as the most safe, routine, and unchallenging decision.
In some cases, anxiety can also effectively paralyze us, resulting in no decision made at all. Using one’s intuition, the researchers argue, requires confidence and trust in oneself. If anxious people don’t have that confidence and trust, they may be more likely to ignore subtle emotional or bodily cues which indicate a “hunch.” BFor many anxious people, the psychosomatic symptom possibilities are endless, and only infrequently indicate that something is actually wrong. In many cases, it’s wiser for us to ignore these “signs” and symptoms than to take them seriously.

The Gary Null Show - 10.25.22

Video:
1.Putin just EXPOSED the NATO nuclear plan and they are P*SSED | Redacted w Natali and Clayton Morris 
2.Reaction To PayPal Threatening To Fine Users $2,500 Over ‘Misinformation’ (4:20)
3.The Genius Behind PayPal’s Bad Idea (7:36)
4.Clare Daly Latest Top 7 Contributions in the EU. (First 2 of 7 ) (start @ 1:56)
5. Tulsi Gabbard Speech LIVE | Tulsi Gabbard Accuses Joe Biden | US News Latest | English News LIVE
 
Polyphenol consumption in adolescents is associated with better cardiovascular healthUniversity of Barcelona (Spain), October 24, 2022
The consumption of polyphenols in adolescents is associated with a better cardiovascular health, according to a collaborative research study which includes the University of Barcelona.
The study has been published in Scientific Reports. As part of the study, the researchers analyzed the amount of polyphenols in the urine of 1,326 adolescents that took part in the SI! Program (Integral Health) of 24 secondary education schools in Madrid and Barcelona.
Polyphenols are bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties found in several plant-based foods, mainly in fruit, vegetables, nuts and olive oil. To date, there were few studies on the intake of polyphenols in children and adolescents.
“With the results of this study, we observed that a higher urinary polyphenol excretion is linearly associated with a higher cardiovascular health index in adolescents aged 11-14, specially in children. This cardiovascular health index is defined by the criteria established by the American Heart Association (AHA), which considers seven variables: body mass index, physical activity, smoking, diet, blood pressure, total cholesterol and blood glucose,” says Professor Rosa M Lamuela, director of the Institute for Research in Nutrition and Food Safety of the University of Barcelona
NAC supplements may benefit cardiovascular health: Human dataUniversity of Marburg (Germany), October 16, 2022Four weeks of supplementation with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may reduce levels of homocysteine and improve blood pressure, says a new analysis of two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.
A daily dose of 1.8 grams of NAC could lower homocysteine levels by about 12%, and may improve systolic and diastolic blood pressure, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .
Elevated levels of the amino acid homocysteine have been reported to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This has led some to point to the potential of the B-vitamins to reduce homocysteine levels and reduce the risk of CVD. B vitamins are cofactors for enzymes involved in homocysteine metabolism and therefore giving people vitamin B supplements is hypothesized to reduce homocysteine levels and therefore reduce cognitive impairment.
However, clinical trials including participants at risk of, or already suffering from, cardiovascular disease have produced null results, with some experts arguing that short term B vitamin supplementation should not be expected to reverse the long-term development of heart disease.
“Because recent analyses that controlled for confounders such as statins or folate fortification detected a benefit of folate/B-vitamins for stroke (22–24), homocysteine may conditionally be a therapeutic target,” wrote the authors of the new study, led by Prof Wulf Hildebrandt, formerly with the German Cancer Research Center and now at the University of Marburg (Germany).
“Therefore, an alternative agent for (more) effective homocysteine lowering may be desirable, especially for conditions in which B-vitamins are ineffective [e.g., in renal disease] or if a reduction in homocysteine of >25% is intended.”
There is a known link between homocysteine and NAC, and some studies have shown that NAC may reduce levels of the amino acid, but the data is somewhat mixed.
Results showed that NAC supplementation significant decreased homocysteine levels by an average of 11.7% (versus 4.1% in the placebo groups), which cysteine levels increased by an average of 28.1% (versus 4% in the placebo groups). There were no significant differences between the hyperlipidemic and normolipidemic men, and the smoking status also did not affect the results.
The researchers also found that NAC significantly decreased blood pressure in all the men. However, significant decreases in diastolic BP were observed only for the hyperlipidemic men, and not for the normolipidemic men.
Study: Late afternoon exercise helps control blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levelsHuazhong University of Science and Technology (China), October 22, 2022
Results of a study published in the journal Front Endocrinol show that exercising at around 4 to 6 p.m. helps to control blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels better than exercising in the morning, or around 9 to 11 a.m.
For the study, researchers observed 12 healthy young men. The volunteers were told to walk on a treadmill for one hour at 60 percent of their maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The volunteers were all tested during and after a week of exercising only in the morning or just in the afternoon.
After continuous 24-hour monitoring of their blood sugar levels, the total blood sugar levels of the men were lower when they exercised in the afternoon. Their blood sugar levels after meals were also lower following afternoon exercise. Most cell damage from high blood sugar is linked to a high rise in blood sugar at least one to two hours after eating a meal.
The volunteers’ triglyceride levels were also lower after afternoon exercise. This is crucial since your blood sugar level rises after you eat. If it rises too high, sugar sticks to cell membranes and damages them. That’s why diabetes can damage every cell in your body.
When your blood sugar level increases, your pancreas releases insulin to keep blood sugar levels from rising too high. Insulin lowers blood sugar by then driving sugar from the bloodstream into the liver. But if your liver is full of sugar, the liver does not accept more sugar and all the extra sugar is converted to fatty triglycerides. Having a blood triglyceride level greater than 150 indicates that your blood sugar rises too high after meals and that you are already diabetic or prediabetic.
Blood levels of the good high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were also higher after afternoon exercise.
When triglycerides rise too high, you are at increased risk for clots. To protect your body from a high rise in triglycerides, your HDL cholesterol carries the triglycerides from your bloodstream into your liver and a high rise in triglycerides causes a drop in blood levels of the HDL cholesterol. So the lower your HDL, the more likely you are to suffer a heart attack.
Scientists reveal the relationship between sugar and cancerFlanders Institute for Biotechnology, October 16, 2022
A nine-year joint research project has led to a crucial breakthrough in cancer research. Scientists have clarified how the Warburg effect, a phenomenon in which cancer cells rapidly break down sugars, stimulates tumor growth. This discovery provides evidence for a positive correlation between sugar and cancer, which may have far-reaching impacts on tailor-made diets for cancer patients. The research has been published in the leading academic journal Nature Communications.
This project main focus was the Warburg effect, or the observation that tumors convert significantly higher amounts of sugar into lactate compared to healthy tissues. As one of the most prominent features of cancer cells, this phenomenon has been extensively studied and even used to detect brain tumors, among other applications. But thus far, it has been unclear whether the effect is merely a symptom of cancer, or a cause.
Prof. Johan Thevelein (VIB-KU Leuven): “Our research reveals how the hyperactive sugar consumption of cancerous cells leads to a vicious cycle of continued stimulation of cancer development and growth. Thus, it is able to explain the correlation between the strength of the Warburg effect and tumor aggressiveness. This link between sugar and cancer has sweeping consequences. Our results provide a foundation for future research in this domain, which can now be performed with a much more precise and relevant focus.”
Living with others and community engagement are keys to reduced dementia riskUniversity of New South Wales (Australia), October 24, 2022
Research published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity provides evidence to support that living with others, community group engagement and never feeling lonely are associated with slower cognitive decline.
It is widely recognized that poor social connections such as small networks, infrequent interactions, and loneliness are modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline, with the 2020 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention estimating that tackling social isolation could prevent 4% of dementia cases worldwide.
This research, led by UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Aging (CHeBA), investigated a range of measures of social connectedness to discover which had the most robust findings in relation to risk reduction of cognitive decline—and dementia.
“We looked at a range of measures of social connections, in approximately 40,000 people across 13 international studies,” says lead author Dr. Suraj Samtani, Postdoctoral Fellow and social health expert at CHeBA. “Previous analyses of multiple international studies have many limitations.
Co-author and CHeBA Co-Director Professor Henry Brodaty said that the findings have socio-economic significance. “We found that sharing a home with one or more person[s] and weekly community group engagement had the most robust results across studies, indicating these factors are fundamental components in the link with less cognitive decline,” says Professor Brodaty. “We also identified an association between never feeling lonely and a slower rate of cognitive decline.”
Carrots Do Help Aging Eyes, Study ShowsUniversity of Utah School of Medicine, October 21, 2022
Your parents may have told you, “Eat your carrots, they’re good for your eyes,” and a new study suggests they were on to something. Pigments called carotenoids — which give red or orange hues to carrots, sweet potatoes and orange peppers, or deep greens to produce like spinach, broccoli and kale — may help ward off the age-linked vision ailment known as macular degeneration, researchers said.
“I tell my patients that fruit and vegetable consumption are very important for eye health — this study validates that notion,” said Dr. Paul Bernstein, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most common causes of vision loss, especially in the elderly. It affects the macula, the center part of the retina, and can lead to declines in sharp central vision and even blindness, experts say. Scientists have already linked a variety of factors to the condition including genetics, smoking and nutrition, said Bernstein, who was not involved in the new study. However, treatment for AMD may be limited depending on the type of macular degeneration that a person develops, he said.
In the new study, Wu’s team looked at data from health surveys that tracked people aged 50 and older — more than 63,000 women and almost 39,000 men -over a 25 year period. Participants were all nurses and other health professionals. Overall, about 2.5 percent of study participants developed either intermediate or advanced forms of the eye condition during the years of the study.
Wu’s team found that people who consumed the very highest levels of carotenoids known as lutein and zeaxanthin had a 40 percent lower risk of the advanced form of AMD compared to those who ate the very least.
“Other carotenoids, including beta cryptoxanthin, alpha carotene and beta carotene, may also play protective roles,” Wu added. People who consumed the very highest amount of these carotenoids — found in foods such as carrots and sweet potato — had a 25 to 35 percent lower risk of the advanced form of the illness, the findings showed.
Researchers did not find any link between the carotenoids and the intermediate form of macular degeneration, however.
Lutein is found in eggs and dark leafy vegetables including broccoli, kale and spinach, Bernstein said. Zeaxanthin is harder to find in the diet, he said, but you can get it from corn, orange peppers and goji berries.
Wu noted that both lutein and zeaxanthin concentrate in the macula, where they are thought to protect it from damage from oxygen and light.

The Gary Null Show - 10.24.22

Videos:
The Old World Order Is About To Collapse – Peter Zeihan | Modern Wisdom Podcast 514 (0:20 to 20:00)
Tulsi Gabbard Speech LIVE | Tulsi Gabbard Accuses Joe Biden | US News Latest | English News LIVE
Noam Chomsky – The Crimes of U.S. Presidents
Clare Daly Latest Top 7 Contributions in the EU. (First 1 of 7 ) (start @ 0:17)
 
Carotenoids linked to lower diabetesUtrecht University Medical Center (Netherlands), October 21, 2022
A prospective study of 37,846 subjects links higher carotenoid consumption to a lower risk of diabetes.
People who consume a diet high in antioxidant-rich carotenoids have a lower occurrence of diabetes, according to a new study. The researchers linked higher intakes of beta and alpha carotene with lower risks of type 2 diabetes.
The research analyzed data from validated food frequency questionnaires from 37,846 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, which followed subjects for a mean of 10 years. They focused on dietary carotenoid intake levels consisting of beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin and the total of these six carotenoids. The study also examined how smoking (tobacco, not carotenoids) played into the subjects’ risk of developing diabetes. Thirty-one percent of the subjects smoked.
“This study shows that diets high in beta-carotene and alpha-carotene are associated with reduced type 2 diabetes in generally healthy men and women,” concluded the authors of the study, which appeared in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Disease. Smoking, according the researchers’ analysis, made no difference in the risk of diabetes.
An earlier study linked low carotenoids with increased risk of colon cancer. Animal and human studies have found that beta-carotene can enhance many aspects of immunity. Some of this research has shown that beta-carotene boosts the activity of “natural-killer” cells, a type of immune cell that fights cancer.
Melatonin and CoQ10 for migrainesUniversity of California, Los Angeles, October 20, 2022
Migraines affect about 12 percent of people in the United States, occurring more often in women, in people between the ages of 30 and 39, and within families.
A retrospective analysis of migraine sufferers found that emotional stress was a trigger for 80 percent of them, missing a meal was a trigger for 57 percent, and lack of sleep was a trigger for 50 percent.
In a study, patients who experienced migraine headaches two to eight times per month were randomly assigned to take either a placebo or 100 milligrams of CoQ10 three times per day for at least three months. The authors measured success as a greater than 50 percent reduction in the frequency of migraines. Only 14.4 percent of those who took the placebo showed this level of reduction, but 47.6 percent of those who took CoQ10 reduced their frequency of migraines by that amount.
Then there’s the B vitamin riboflavin. Another study found that 59 percent of people who took a daily dose of 400 milligrams had a greater than 50 percent reduction in the frequency of migraines, compared to 15 percent of those who took a placebo. However, it took three months for riboflavin to show this benefit.
Knowing that sleep problems increase the risk of migraines, researchers compared the effects of 3 milligrams of melatonin to the effects of the anti-depressant amitriptyline or of a placebo. After three months, 54.4 percent of people who took melatonin had a 50 percent or greater reduction in frequency of headaches compared to 39.1 percent in the amitriptyline group and 20 percent in the placebo group.
Study: Eating foods high in healthy fats helps fight off skin cancerUniversity Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands), October 21, 2022
A study has found that foods rich in healthy fats can help protect against skin cancer and boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy among skin cancer patients. Results showed that patients who followed the Mediterranean diet and received the drugs were more likely to survive and remain progression-free after 12 months.
The Mediterranean diet includes lots of superfoods like olive oil, nuts and fish, along with fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The diet is popular because it is associated with amazing health benefits such as a longer lifespan and protection against cardiovascular diseases.
For the study, researchers from the U.K. and UMCG tracked the diets of 91 patients with advanced melanoma. The volunteers were all taking Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs). ICIs have worked well for those with melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.
Researchers analyzed the patients’ progress and gave them frequent X-ray check ups. The findings revealed that the patients following a Mediterranean diet responded better to ICIs and were also most likely to not get any worse a year later.
According to the results of the study, whole grains and legumes in particular also helped reduce the likelihood of patients experiencing side effects from the immunotherapy drugs kike colitis or inflammation of the colon.Meanwhile, those who consumed a lot of red and processed meat experienced more side effects.
Exercise Matters Regardless of Genetics When it Comes to LongevityUniversity of California San Diego, October 21, 2022
A study from the University of California San Diego found that engaging in physical activity contributed to your longevity, regardless of genetic predispositions.
This study of over 5,400 postmenopausal women aged 63 and up examined the role fitness habits play in longevity. The findings? Even light activity makes a difference, correlating with a 45% reduced risk of death, compared with those leading a sedentary lifestyle. Meanwhile, moderate-to-vigorous activity was found to have an even greater impact, with a 54% reduced risk of death.
These results were consistent among the women, regardless of any specific genetic predisposition. “Even if you aren’t likely to live long based on your genes, you can still extend your lifespan by engaging in positive lifestyle behaviors such as regular exercise and sitting less,” concluded senior author and assistant professor at UC San Diego, Aladdin H. Shadyab, Ph.D.
The UC San Diego study sought to answer the question of whether this risk changes if the person is genetically predisposed to live a long life. The conclusion is that no, it does not. Exercise increased the likelihood to live longer regardless of the subject’s genetic profile, just as being sedentary increased their risk to die younger than would have otherwise been predicted based on their genes.
When accounting for activity of the subjects and adjusting for variables like race, age, BMI, smoker vs. nonsmoker and overall health status the authors found:
The highest quartile for light physical activity had a whopping 45% reduced risk of death compared to those in the lowest quartileThe highest quartile of moderate-to vigorous activity category had a 54% reduced risk of death vs. the lowestThe highest quartile for sedentary time doubled their risk of death compared to those with the lowest sedentary quartileThis association of activity and longevity carried through even with the genetic risk score taken into account, confirming that the benefit of exercise on longevity was present, regardless of genetics. Shadyab emphasized the importance of these findings and physical activity’s impact on living longer, stating, “Even if your genes predispose you to a long life, remaining physically active is still important to achieve longevity.”
Pesticide Free Organic Food Lowers Blood Cancer Risk by 86%
Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (France), October 22, 2022
Cutting out pesticides by eating only organic food could slash your cancer risk by up to 86 percent, a new study claims.
The biggest impact was seen on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma risk, which plummeted among those who shunned chemical-sprayed food, according to the survey of nearly 70,000 French adults.Overall, organic eaters were 25 percent less likely to develop any cancer, and their risks of skin and breast cancers dropped by a third.
The health benefit was far greater for obese people, they found.
However, the diet had no significant effect on bowel cancer – which is soaring in numbers globally – or prostate cancer.
‘Our results indicate that higher organic food consumption is associated with a reduction in the risk of overall cancer,’ lead author Dr Julia Baudry of the Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne, Paris said. ‘We observed reduced risks for specific cancer sites – postmenopausal breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and all lymphomas – among individuals with a higher frequency of organic food consumption.
Dr Baudry explained among the environmental risk factors for cancer there was growing evidence of a link between exposure to pesticides notably in farm workers and cancer development. ‘Because of their lower exposure to pesticide residues, it can be hypothesised that high organic food consumers may have a lower risk of developing cancer.
The cohort, who were 78 percent female and an average age of 44 were broken up into four groups according their organic diet food scores. Factoring in known cancer risks, the proportion of participants in the top quartile for eating organic food who got certain cancers was a fraction compared to those in the bottom quartile.
The most common was 459 breast cancers, followed by 180 prostate cancers, 135 skin cancers, 99 colorectal cancers, 47 non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and 15 other lymphomas.
High organic food scores were inversely associated with the overall risk of cancer being 25 percent less for those of the top quartile compared to the bottom.
WHO highlights high cost of physical inactivity in first-ever global reportWorld Health Organization, October 21, 2022
Almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity, between 2020 and 2030, costing US$ 27 billion annually, if governments don’t take urgent action to encourage more physical activity among their populations.
The Global status report on physical activity 2022, published by the World Health Organization, measures the extent to which governments are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages and abilities.
Data from 194 countries show that overall, progress is slow and that countries need to accelerate the development and implementation of policies to increase levels of physical activity and thereby prevent disease and reduce burden on already overwhelmed health care systems.
Less than 50% of countries have a national physical activity policy, of which less than 40% are operationalOnly 30% of countries have national physical activity guidelines for all age groupsWhile nearly all countries report a system for monitoring physical activity in adults, 75% of countries monitor physical activity among adolescents, and less than 30% monitor physical activity in children under 5 yearsIn policy areas that could encourage active and sustainable transport, only just over 40% of countries have road design standards that make walking and cycling safer.The economic burden of physical inactivity is significant and the cost of treating new cases of preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will reach nearly US$ 300 billion by 2030, around US$ 27 billion annually.
The report calls for countries to prioritize physical activity as key to improving health and tackling NCDs, integrate physical activity into all relevant policies, and develop tools, guidance and training to improve implementation.

The Gary Null Show - 10.21.22

VIDEOS:
The Cost of Denial Clip (17:33)
Hang On, Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci just did WHAT? | Redacted with Clayton Morris (21:43)
There is nothing constructive about the pot calling the kettle black. – Clare Daly  (1:17)
Clinical trial for nicotinamide riboside: Vitamin safely boosts levels of important cell metabolite linked to multiple health benefits
University of Iowa Health Care, October 10, 2022
In a clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a newly discovered form of Vitamin B3, researchers have shown that the compound is safe for humans and increases levels of a cell metabolite that is critical for cellular energy production and protection against stress and DNA damage.
Studies in mice have shown that boosting the levels of this cell metabolite — known as NAD+ — can produce multiple health benefits, including resistance to weight gain, improved control of blood sugar and cholesterol, reduced nerve damage, and longer lifespan. Levels of NAD+ diminish with age, and it has been suggested that loss of this metabolite may play a role in age-related health decline. These findings in animal studies have spurred people to take commercially available NR supplements designed to boost NAD+. However, these over-the-counter supplements have not undergone many clinical trials to see if they work in people.
The new research, reported in the journal Nature Communications, was led by Charles Brenner, PhD, professor and Roy J. Carver Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
The human trial involved six men and six women, all healthy. Each participant received single oral doses of 100 mg, 300 mg, or 1,000 mg of NR in a different sequence with a seven-day gap between doses. After each dose, blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed to measure various NAD+ metabolites in a process called metabolomics. The trial showed that the NR vitamin increased NAD+ metabolism by amounts directly related to the dose, and there were no serious side effects with any of the doses.
“This trial shows that oral NR safely boosts human NAD+ metabolism,” Brenner says. “We are excited because everything we are learning from animal systems indicates that the effectiveness of NR depends on preserving and/or boosting NAD+ and related compounds in the face of metabolic stresses. Because the levels of supplementation in mice that produce beneficial effects are achievable in people, it appears than health benefits of NR will be translatable to humans safely.”
Consumption of a bioactive compound from Neem plant could significantly suppress development of prostate cancer
National University of Singapore, September 29, 2022
Oral administration of nimbolide, over 12 weeks shows reduction of prostate tumor size by up to 70 per cent and decrease in tumor metastasis by up to 50 per cent
A team of international researchers led by Associate Professor Gautam Sethi from the Department of Pharmacology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that nimbolide, a bioactive terpenoid compound derived from Azadirachta indica or more commonly known as the neem plant or curry leaf common in throughout Indian cuisine, could reduce the size of prostate tumor by up to 70 per cent and suppress its spread or metastasis by half.
In this research, we have demonstrated that nimbolide can inhibit tumor cell viability — a cellular process that directly affects the ability of a cell to proliferate, grow, divide, or repair damaged cell components — and induce programmed cell death in prostate cancer cells,” said Assoc Prof Sethi.
The researchers observed that upon the 12 weeks of administering nimbolide, the size of prostate cancer tumor was reduced by as much as 70 per cent and its metastasis decreased by about 50 per cent, without exhibiting any significant adverse effects. “This is possible because a direct target of nimbolide in prostate cancer is glutathione reductase, an enzyme which is responsible for maintaining the antioxidant system that regulates the STAT3 gene in the body. The activation of the STAT3 gene has been reported to contribute to prostate tumor growth and metastasis,” explained Assoc Prof Sethi. “We have found that nimbolide can substantially inhibit STAT3 activation and thereby abrogating the growth and metastasis of prostate tumor,” he added.
Mindfulness training provides a natural high, study findsUniversity of Utah, October 20, 2022
New research from the University of Utah finds that a mindfulness meditation practice can produce a healthy altered state of consciousness in the treatment of individuals with addictive behaviors. Not unlike what one might experience under the influence of psychedelic drugs—achieving this altered state through mindful meditation has the potential lifesaving benefit of decreasing one’s addictive behaviors by promoting healthy changes to the brain. The findings come from the largest neuroscience study to date on mindfulness as a treatment for addiction.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, provides new insight into the neurobiological mechanisms by which mindfulness treats addiction. Study findings provide a promising, safe and accessible treatment option for the more than 9 million Americans misusing opioids. Eric Garland is the lead author of the paper and is a distinguished professor and directs the University of Utah’s Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development.
Garland’s study builds on previous research measuring the positive effects of theta waves in the human brain. Researchers have found that individuals with low theta waves tend to experience a wandering mind, trouble concentrating or they ruminate on thoughts about themselves. Low theta waves result in a loss of self-control as the brain slips into its default mode of automatic habits. In contrast, when a person is focused, present and fully absorbed in a task, EEG scans will show increased frontal midline theta wave activity.
“With high theta activity, your mind becomes very quiet, you focus less on yourself and become so deeply absorbed in what you are doing that the boundary between yourself and the thing you are focusing on starts to fade away. You lose yourself in what you are doing,” said Garland.
Garland’s new study showed it is in this mindful, theta wave state that people begin to experience feelings of self-transcendence and bliss, and the brain changes in ways that actually reduce one’s addictive behaviors.
Garland’s research team recruited 165 adults with long-term opioid use for the study. Participants were randomly placed into either the control group that participated in supportive group psychotherapy or the experimental group taught to incorporate Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) into their daily lives.
Participants showed more than twice as much frontal midline theta brain activity following treatment with MORE, whereas those in supportive therapy showed no increase in theta. Participants in MORE who showed the biggest increases in theta waves reported more intense experiences of self-transcendence during meditation, including the sense of one’s ego fading away, a sense of oneness with the universe or feelings of blissful energy and love.
MORE also led to significant decreases in opioid misuse through the nine-month follow-up. These reductions in opioid misuse were caused in part by the increases in frontal midline theta brain waves. Garland explained that by achieving “tastes of self-transcendence” through meditation, mindfulness therapy boosted theta waves in the frontal lobes of the brain to help participants gain self-control over their addictive behaviors.
Free radicals blamed for toxic buildup in Alzheimer’s brainsRutgers University, October 11, 2022.
A study reported in Cell Death & Disease revealed a previously unknown mechanism that may contribute to traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease. While a buildup of the protein amyloid-beta has been hypothesized to be the major driver of Alzheimer’s disease, the study suggests that another protein, after undergoing oxidation by free radicals, could be a causative factor.
“Indeed, scientists have known for a long time that during aging or in neurodegenerative disease cells produce free radicals,” explained lead researcher Federico Sesti, who is a professor of neuroscience and cell biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Free radicals are toxic molecules that can cause a reaction that results in lost electrons in important cellular components, including the channels.”
Dr Sesti and colleagues determined that oxidation of a potassium channel known as KCNB1 results in a toxic buildup of this protein, leading to increased amyloid-beta production and damage to brain function. “The discovery of KCNB1’s oxidation/build-up was found through observation of both mouse and human brains, which is significant as most scientific studies do not usually go beyond observing animals,” Dr Sesti reported. “Further, KCBB1 channels may not only contribute to Alzheimer’s but also to other conditions of stress as it was found in a recent study that they are formed following brain trauma.”
Study: Maternal, paternal exercise affects metabolic health in offspringOhio State University, October 19, 2022
A mouse study by Kristin Stanford, with The Ohio State University College of Medicine at the Wexner Medical Center, provides new ways to determine how maternal and paternal exercise improve metabolic health of offspring.
This study used mice to evaluate how their lifestyles—eating fatty foods vs. healthy and exercising vs. not—affected the metabolites of their offspring.
Metabolites are substances made or used when the body breaks down food, drugs or chemicals, or its own fat or muscle tissue. This process, called metabolism, makes energy and the materials needed for growth, reproduction and maintaining health. Metabolites can serve as disease markers, particularly for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
“Tissue metabolites contribute to overall metabolism, including glucose or fatty acid metabolism, and thus systemic metabolism. We have previously shown that maternal and paternal exercise improve health of offspring. Tissue and serum metabolites play a fundamental role in the health of an organism, but how parental exercise affects offspring tissue and serum metabolites has not yet been investigated. This new data contributes to how maternal or paternal exercise could improve metabolism in offspring,” Stanford said.
This study found that all forms of parental exercise improved whole-body glucose metabolism in offspring as adults, and metabolomics profiling of offspring serum, muscle, and liver reveal that parental exercise results in extensive effects across all classes of metabolites in all of these offspring tissues.
Regular consumption of fried food before pregnancy increases risk of developing gestational diabetes
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, October 10, 2022
New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that women who eat fried food regularly before conceiving are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a complication that can arise during pregnancy, and is characterised by abnormally high blood glucose during the pregnancy (especially in the final 3 months). It can lead to increased birthweight of the child, as well jaundice and other complications. When left untreated, it can cause complications or stillbirth. Women who have GDM are more likely to later develop full blown type 2 diabetes.
The authors included 21,079 singleton pregnancies from 15,027 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II) cohort. NHS II is an ongoing prospective cohort study of 116,671 female nurses in the USA aged 25-44 years at the start of study.
For fried food consumption, participants were asked “how often do you eat fried food away from home (e.g. French fries, fried chicken, fried fish)?” and “how often do you eat food that is fried at home?” Both questions had four possible frequency responses: less than once per week, 1-3 times per week, 4-6 times per week, or daily. The researchers analysed fried food consumption at home and away from home separately, as well as total fried food consumption. In addition, they asked the participants what kind of frying fat/oils they usually used at home, with the possible responses as follows: real butter, margarine, vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, or lard.
The association persisted after further adjustments were made for varying body-mass index (BMI). After this, the risk ratios of GDM among women who consumed total fried foods 1-3, 4-6, and 7 or more times per week, compared with those who consumed less than once per week, were 1.06, 1.14, and 1.88 respectively (thus an 88% increased risk for 7 or more times per week compared with less than once per week).
The authors say: “The potential detrimental effects of fried food consumption on GDM risk may result from the modification of foods and frying medium and generation of harmful by-products during the frying process. Frying deteriorates oils through the processes of oxidation and hydrogenation, leading to an increase in the absorption of oil degradation products by the foods being fried, and also a loss of unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acids and an increase in the corresponding trans fatty acids such as trans-linoleic acids and trans-linolenic acids.”
They add: “Frying also results in significantly higher levels of dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs), the derivatives of glucose-protein or glucose-lipid interactions. Recently, AGEs have been implicated in insulin resistance, pancreatic beta-cell damage, and diabetes, partly because they promote oxidative stress and inflammation. Moreover, intervention studies with a diet low in AGEs have shown significantly improved insulin sensitivity, reduced oxidant stress, and alleviated inflammation.”
When analysed separately, the authors found that there was a statistically significant association of GDM with fried food consumption away from home, but not with fried food consumption at home. The authors say: “Deterioration of oils during frying is more profound when the oils are reused, a practice more common away from home than at home. This may partly explain why we observed a stronger association of GDM risk with fried foods consumed away from home than fried foods consumed at home.”

The Gary Null Show - 10.20.22

Video:
Interview with Dr. Rupert Sheldrake (41:21)
Stomach cancer cells halted with whole tomato extracts
Sbarro Institute for Molecular Medicine at Temple University  October 10, 2022
The Mediterranean diet has become regarded as highly beneficial to overall health, maintaining ideal weight and a reduced risk of cancer plus many other chronic disease conditions. One of the staples of this diet is tomatoes, especially the low-acid varieties that are grown in Italy and its impact on cancer risk is quite interesting.
Recent research by the Sbarro Institute for Molecular Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa. has confirmed that two tomato cultivars grown in Southern Italy inhibit both malignant features and cellular growth in stomach cancer cells.
For the study, whole tomato lipophilic extracts were analyzed for their ability to fight and diminish neoplastic features of stomach cancer cells. Both the Corbarino and San Marzano tomato varieties were found to inhibit the cloning behavior of malignant cancer cells as well as impede their growth.
When tomato extracts were used on stomach cancer cells, key processes related to cell development, migration and proliferation were inhibited. The tomato extracts ultimately induced apoptosis, or cancer cell death in cancer cells. The study results were published in the Journal of Cellular Physiology.
Significantly, the tomato extracts contributed to the movement of cancer cells away from the primary tumor, which resulted in their death. These anticancer effects weren’t related to just one particular compound such as lycopene. Instead, the whole tomato seemed to contribute to its anticancer effects.
Previous studies had suggested the carotenoid compound lycopene, which creates the orange-red color of tomatoes, is what fights cancer cells. While lycopene may still be a major factor, the entire tomato seemed to have a highly potent effect against cancer.
Amino Acid Arginine Found As Effective As Drugs For Glucose Metabolism And DiabetesUniversity of Copenhagen & University of Cincinnati, October 9, 2022 If you suffer from type 2 diabetes, you may want to consider snacking on nuts to treat the condition. Supplementation with the amino acid arginine, commonly found in almonds and hazelnuts, could help to improve glucose metabolism by as much as 40%, according to new research in mice. The study shows that supplementation with the amino acid significantly improves glucose metabolism in both insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant metabolisms.In new experiments, researchers from the University of Copenhagen working in collaboration with a research group at the University of Cincinnati, have demonstrated that the amino acid arginine, found in salmon, eggs, and nuts, improves glucose metabolism significantly in both lean (insulin-sensitive) and obese (insulin-resistant) mice.

”In fact, the amino acid is just as effective as several well-established drugs for type 2 diabetics,” says postdoc Christoffer Clemmensen.  As improbable as it may seem, the most important molecule in regulating the function of our arteries is nitric oxide (NO), a gas better known to us as an air pollutant. As synthesized in our arteries in tiny quantities, however, NO acts as a powerful mediator of vasodilation, the mechanism by which arteries dilate, when necessary, to lower our blood pressure and increase the flow of blood to tissues that need it. The principal source of our NO is arginine. This occurs via enzyme-catalyzed reactions that occur in endothelial cells, the thin layer of smooth, tightly “tiled” cells that line the inner walls of our arteries. 

What researchers have found is that L-arginine potentiation of glucose-induced insulin secretion occurs independently of NO.

The researchers found that arginine improves glucose metabolism significantly in both lean (insulin-sensitive) and obese (insulin-resistant) mice. “We can also see that arginine increases the body’s production of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an intestinal hormone which plays an important role in regulating appetite and glucose metabolism, and which is therefore used in numerous drugs for treating type 2 diabetes,” said Clemmensen.Supplemental dosages of 6 to 8 grams L-Arginine per day are considered safe. Although available in food, for some applications such as stimulating secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary, it is not released quickly enough as the food is digested. The supplemental doses taken on an empty stomach will arrive at the blood-brain barrier without competition. Then growth hormone secretion will be stimulated which in turn can affect glucose metabolism
Increasing green space could narrow lifespan gap between poorest and richest areas
University of Glasgow (Scotland), October 19, 2022
Increasing the amount of natural (green and blue) space and private gardens has the potential to narrow the lifespan gap between those living in the most and least deprived areas, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology of Community Health.
Each 10% increase in natural space is linked to a 7% fall in the incidence of early death among the under 65s, the findings indicate. 
It’s not clear if access to natural space might also be associated with differences in lifespan and protection against an earlier than expected death, so the researchers used the measure of “years of life lost,” or YLL for short, to try and find out.
Natural space was defined as: woodland; scattered trees; scrub; marsh; heath; open water (inland or tidal); semi natural grassland; general natural areas, such as grass on sports pitches, roadside verges, and farmland; agriculture; hard bare ground, such as rocks, boulders, and cliffs; and soft bare ground, such as sand, soil, and foreshore.
Areas with the highest income deprivation had the lowest average percentage cover of natural space and gardens (58.5%, 49–65%). People living in these areas had the highest levels of ill health.
The study found that every 10% increase in natural space cover was associated with a 7% fall in the incidence of premature death. 
Food for thought: Study finds link between depression and unhealthy diets
Macquarie University, October 18, 2022
A Macquarie University study of 169 adults aged 17 to 35 found those eating a Western-style diet were more likely to have lower levels of kynurenic acid (KA)—a small molecule important to a number of bodily functions—and report higher levels of depression than those eating diets rich in fresh fruit and vegetables.
Neuroscientist Dr. Edwin Lim and neuropsychologist Dr. Heather Francis published a paper on the findings of the study in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.
“Western-style diets high in fat, sugar and processed foods were already known to increase the risk of depression, but this is the first time a biological link involving the kynurenine pathway has been established,” Lim says.
“People from the group eating an unhealthy diet had lower levels of KA and more severe symptoms of depression. This indicates that KA may help to protect us against depression.”
The human body has a number of ways of producing important molecules and metabolites necessary to keep it functioning. One of these important molecules is tryptophan—an essential amino acid that the body can’t make itself, that is found in foods like dairy products, poultry, bananas, oats, nuts and seeds.
When tryptophan is broken down, it can produce either serotonin and melatonin—important for our mood and sleep—or it can be processed by the kynurenine pathway, which creates KA and other important metabolites linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Lim says this is the first time anyone has been able to show that Western-style diet has an effect on the way that tryptophan is metabolized in otherwise healthy young people.
“There is, however, a clear relationship between an increased risk of depression and eating an unhealthy diet that is high in fat, sugar and processed foods, giving us all the incentive to eat more fresh vegetables and fruit,” she says.
Study finds Mediterranean diet more effective cure for acid reflux than meds
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research & New York Medical College, October 8, 2022
Sticking to a Mediterranean diet is just as effective at controlling reflux as medicines prescribed to millions of people each year, research suggests.
Patients who ate primarily fish, vegetables and whole grains – and drank alkaline-heavy water – reported a greater reduction in their symptoms than those on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), the small study found.
Patients who ate fish, vegetables and whole grains reported a greater reduction in symptoms than those on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), the study found
Gastric, or oesophageal, reflux describes the traveling of stomach contents back up into the esophagus — a reversal of the normal flow. This is due to a poorly functioning lower esophageal sphincter, a ring of muscle at the top of the stomach that normally shuts to stop the contents of the stomach leaking out and up the foodpipe. 
In the study, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology – experts compared 85 patients treated with PPIs with 99 who followed a 90 percent plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet, who also drank alkaline water.
The diet consisted mostly of fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts and barely any dairy or meat including beef, chicken, fish, eggs and pork. People were also told to avoid known triggers of reflux, including coffee, tea, chocolate, fizzy drinks, greasy and fried food, spicy food, fatty food and alcohol.
Patients on the plant-based diet also lost weight and needed fewer medicines for other conditions, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
‘The results we found show we are heading in the right direction to treating reflux without medication.’
 
Shorter sleep in later life linked to higher risk of multiple diseases
University College London, October 19, 2022
Getting less than five hours of sleep in mid-to-late life could be linked to an increased risk of developing at least two chronic diseases, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
The research, published in PLOS Medicine, analyzed the impact of sleep duration on the health of more than 7,000 men and women at the ages of 50, 60 and 70, from the Whitehall II cohort study.
Researchers examined the relationship between how long each participant slept for, mortality and whether they had been diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases(multimorbidity)—such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes—over the course of 25 years.
People who reported getting five hours of sleep or less at age 50 were 20% more likely to have been diagnosed with a chronic disease and 40% more likely to be diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases over 25 years, compared to people who slept for up to seven hours.
Additionally, sleeping for five hours or less at the age of 50, 60, and 70 was linked to a 30% to 40% increased risk of multimorbidity when compared with those who slept for up to seven hours.
Researchers also found that sleep duration of five hours or less at age 50 was associated with 25% increased risk of mortality over the 25 years of follow-up—which can mainly be explained by the fact that short sleep duration increases the risk of chronic disease(s) that in turn increase the risk of death.
“Our findings show that short sleep duration is also associated with multimorbidity.
As part of the study, researchers also assessed whether sleeping for a long duration, of nine hours or more, affected health outcomes. There was no clear association between long sleep durations at age 50 and multimorbidity in healthy people.
Study finds Mediterranean diet more effective cure for acid reflux than meds
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research & New York Medical College, October 8, 2017
Sticking to a Mediterranean diet is just as effective at controlling reflux as medicines prescribed to millions of people each year, research suggests.
Patients who ate primarily fish, vegetables and whole grains – and drank alkaline-heavy water – reported a greater reduction in their symptoms than those on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), the small study found. Gastric, or oesophageal, reflux describes the traveling of stomach contents back up into the esophagus — a reversal of the normal flow. This is due to a poorly functioning lower esophageal sphincter, a ring of muscle at the top of the stomach that normally shuts to stop the contents of the stomach leaking out and up the foodpipe. 
In the study, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology, experts compared 85 patients treated with PPIs with 99 who followed a 90 percent plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet, who also drank alkaline water.
The diet consisted mostly of fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts and barely any dairy or meat including beef, chicken, fish, eggs and pork. People were also told to avoid known triggers of reflux, including coffee, tea, chocolate, fizzy drinks, greasy and fried food, spicy food, fatty food and alcohol.
Patients on the plant-based diet also lost weight and needed fewer medicines for other conditions, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
‘The results we found show we are heading in the right direction to treating reflux without medication.’