#((so i added ' and neurological disorders ' upon suggestion))

[iwillchangemymind]

the doctors and the divineWhat do we learn when we diagnose genius? BY STEFANY ANNE GOLBERG

In her Histoire de Ma Vie, the author George Sand describes an encounter with Frédéric Chopin upon returning one night from a trip to Palma. Chopin was playing a melody on the piano, in the grip of a strange delirium. “He saw himself drowned in a lake,” she wrote:

heavy and ice-cold drops of water fell at regular intervals upon his breast, and when I drew his attention to those drops of water which were actually falling at regular intervals upon the roof, he denied having heard them. He was even vexed at what I translated by imitative harmony…. His genius was full of mysterious harmonies of nature, translated by sublime equivalents into his musical thought, and not by a servile repetition of external sounds.

The work that Chopin was playing that night — according to “The hallucinations of Frédéric Chopin,” an article published recently in the journal Medical Humanities — is thought to be the Prelude in D flat major, or Prelude in F sharp minor, or even Prelude in B minor. But for the authors of the article — Manuel Vázquez Caruncho and Franciso Brañas Fernández — the exact piece Chopin was playing, or how it got composed, is less interesting than what might have been happening in Chopin’s mind while he was composing.

The diagnosis is distinctly medical. Chopin was having “hallucinations”. What many have read in Sand’s words to be an example of Chopin’s mysterious genius are in truth the result of a neurological condition. Caruncho and Fernández present a laundry list of possible diagnoses that could account for the Chopin’s hallucinations: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, fever, migraine. Eventually, the authors decide that the best explanation for Chopin’s hallucinations is temporal lobe epilepsy.

What does this say about the work of Chopin? The answer, the authors admit, is nothing. But they think the question is beside the point. What drives Caruncho and Fernández comes in their conclusion: “We doubt that another diagnosis added [to] the already numerous list will help us understand the artistic world of Frédéric Chopin, but we do believe that knowing he had this condition could help to separate romanticized legend from reality…” The particulars of Chopin’s compositions are somewhat outside the scope of the authors’ purview. Their conclusion, though, hints that Caruncho and Fernández are not even that interested in the specifics of Chopin’s physical hallucinations. Their real focus is how these hallucinations affect the story we tell of Chopin. They are interested in the mythology of Chopin’s genius.

For all the sickly Romantic geniuses out there who purportedly succumbed to the wild thrall of their passions — Robert Schumann, Edgar Allan Poe, William Blake, etc. — there have been as many doctors, psychologists, and literary Darwinists itching to diagnose them. Chopin’s exact diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy has also recently been given to Poe, Gustave Flaubert, Philip K. Dick, Sylvia Plath, Lewis Carroll, and others. “The hallucinations of Frédéric Chopin” is thus in the tradition of what some call neurotheology, the attempt to medically explain spiritual experiences. The not-always-subtle subtext is that unexplainable visions, or other divine madnesses, have no place in our enlightened, modern world. Neurotheologists have never been comfortable with the idea that romantic visions exist, and far less comfortable with madness as the catalyst for works of genius. The impetus behind these diagnoses is a desire to secularize genius, or to democratize it, and in some cases, to do away with the notion of genius altogether. The aberrant experiences of our great artists and writers have, as a result, often landed them in the loony bin (think Schumann or Robert Walser) or, at the very least, raised serious questions about whether we can distinguish between their illness and their work.

In short, “The hallucinations of Frédéric Chopin” is an attack on the romantic notion of genius. In “Genius and Taste,” a 1918 essay from The Nation, the critic Irving Babbitt discusses the two notions of genius—the neoclassical and the romantic—that are played out so nicely in the exchange between Chopin and Sand above. Whatever our personal opinions about genius are, they likely derive, in part, from one of these camps.

On the neoclassical side of the ring, we’ve got Voltaire and Kant, who defined genius as “only judicious imitation” (that was Voltaire). This means that genius is deliberate and that ideas come from somewhere, rather than from nowhere. When Sand walks into the room and calls Chopin’s playing “imitative harmony,” she’s representing the neoclassical position. “His composition of this evening was indeed full of the drops of rain which resounded on the sonorous tiles of the monastery.” Sand implies that Chopin can hear something extraordinary in the drops of rain that most people can’t hear. His genius is that he can imitate these raindrops and make them his own. (It also implies that he is working in the tradition of other great, rain-loving composers.)

The romantics, on the other hand, replaced judgment and grace with imagination and originality: “The power of acting creatively under laws of its own origination,” in the words of Coleridge. Notice that, genuine romantic that she is at heart, Sand backtracks when Chopin himself protests against the suggestion that he’s just monkeying the sound of the rain. She says, “His genius was full of mysterious harmonies of nature, translated by sublime equivalents into his musical thought, and not by a servile repetition of external sounds.” Both writer and composer agree it is Chopin’s wild reverie (or hallucination) that actually birthed the composition he was playing. Chopin was not just tinkling around to the sound of the rain; he had been seized by the sublime.

In its romantic form, genius is irrational and beyond our control. In fact, true genius requires a loss of control. In a way, the romantics shift genius away from what we do and toward what we feel, from what we create to what we are experiencing. Thought of this way, genius is really a state of being, closer to a state of ecstasy.

Whether we call them reveries or hallucinations, (mostly) everyone agrees that Chopin had extraordinary visions of some kind that corresponded with distinct physical effects. Romantics and neoclassicists alike — along with Caruncho and Fernández — would agree that these experiences played some role in the work Chopin produced. The hallucinations and the man and the music are all one package. What is exciting, then, about the work of Caruncho and Fernández is not their dismissal of the sublime in Chopin’s experience, but rather, their engagement with the physical experience of genius.

In the end, Caruncho and Fernández say they want to separate romance from reality, but their diagnosis leads to a conclusion no less romantic, and no less religious, than the legend: that our own bodies can generate within us a sensation of the divine. From this, maybe the romantics and neoclassicists can be brought together for a new notion of genius, one that allows for, and sometimes necessitates, ecstatic irrational reveries that must still be grounded in practice if good works are to be produced. After all, visions alone are not enough. If Chopin hadn’t practiced his piano, he may never have gotten past the Polish border. But his experience of the sublime, whatever its cause, was a real factor in his ability to compose as well.

Even William Blake might have approved of this synthesis. “As a man is, so he sees,” Blake wrote. “As the eye is formed, such are its powers.” Likewise, just because great ideas might come from somewhere doesn’t always mean that genius can be, or should be, explained away. • 15 February 2011

[angela-thompson]

WHAT IS CBD OIL?  WHY SHOULD I USE IT?

CBD oil or cannabidiol oil has risen up as a chartbuster of late in herbal science. However, most people, when enquiring about the oil end up on the negative side in terms of the image of CBD oil due to its linkage with Cannabis & Marijuana. The reason being an endless list of queries which includes – is it addictive? Does it have side-effects? Does it cause any sense of reverie? Can my pet use it too? How long can it be used & so on… When these questions get answered then an individual finally comes to the decision of actually accepting & adapting it for usage.

In a short span of time, the product has gained a lot of traction among not just medical practitioners but normal individuals as well who research on it everywhere & consult the experts finally adapting it into their line of treatment. The ability of CBD oil to cover various sorts of ailments all in one form of availability (now increasing too), should be given credit for its eminence among people. Also, the fact that it’s a part of the Cannabis & Marijuana family which are mostly looked upon with grey eyes despite THC (a derivative from them used in medical science too) being already present & popular for healing ailments brings the prospect users of CBD in a state of dilemma. But, this dilemma is easy to swim out of with lots of supporting evidence, studies & researches to prove its mettle as a powerful herbal healer which has come up into the good books of the present times after being buried deep down in history for around over 4500 years.

What is CBD oil?

CBD oil is a herbal oil that’s made from the extracts called Cannabinoid found in Cannabis, Marijuana & Industrial Hemp plants. These plants have a plethora of over 104 extracts & terpenes of which, 40% concentration is inhabited by CBD. Out of these extracts, THC or tetrahydrocannabinol had been a more popular remedy until some time ago when CBD made its way back from a historic exile that continued for generations (rediscovered in 1940). One of the best things that CBD brings to the table is the lack of intoxication effect unlike its sister extract THC. This makes it a more preferred option as compared to THC. This feature also keeps it miles away of being used for recreational purposes. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported – “cannabidiol is not likely to be abused or create dependence as for other cannabinoids (THC)”.

However, post discovery, it has been shaking off splatters of the stigma that it has carried due to its belongingness to the Cannabis family. It has been a tough journey with medical practitioners finally switching to it for treatment of ailments due to its magical healing abilities & less-serious side-effects as compared to anxiolytics & other pharmaceutical drugs. Besides, it has also gained legalisation in developed countries like USA & UK at different levels which shall help it spread its wings finally throughout the world as a natural way out of various ailments. This legalization has given hopes to a deeper research among the practitioners of the trade.

What are the benefits?

As mentioned earlier, CBD oil brings with it a bunch of benefits. The best part being all-round abilities for curing various ailments which makes it a very powerful healer in terms of efficiency & effectiveness. Not just the anti-intoxication property but also proven benefits in other ailments continues adding to its extensive range of applications.

The various benefits are as follows:

the CBD is more effective than vitamin C and E as a neuroprotective antioxidant and can ameliorate skin conditions such as acne.

RELIEF FROM PAIN If we peep in to history, it would be a surprising revelation that marijuana was used as a pain killer as far back as 2900 B.C. Recent studies have shown that CBD helps in relief from pain due to its effect on the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). The human body itself produces endocannabinoids (neurotransmitters that bind to Cannabinoid receptors in the nervous system) to regulate the various physiological activities like sleep, appetite, pain & the immune system. It was found that CBD h

The science here is as simple as the English alphabets.Our human body has a specialized system named the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This, in turn, regulates various functionalities like sleep, appetite, pain & immune system response. The body itself produces Endocannabinoids- neurotransmitters that bind to Cannabinoid receptors in the nervous system. According to the studies, CBD helps reduce chronic pain by influencing the Endocannabinoid receptor activity as a result of which inflammation reduction was seen.

Also, using THC & CBD in combination, helps in treating pain related to multiple sclerosis (estimated 400,000 diagnosed cases in Americans) & arthritis (estimated 54 mn diagnosed cases in American adults).

ANXIETY & DEPRESSION – THE FALL CBD has also been claimed as a means to help manage anxiety. Researches have pointed that CBD affects the brain receptors’ ability to respond to serotonin more popularly known as the ‘happy hormone’. Lower levels of serotonin lead people to depression & anxiety. A study proved that CBD assisted people suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) to deliver better speech as compared to the other group who didn’t take any such dose. The former group that received CBD showed lesser anxiety, cognitive impairment & discomfort during the speech. CBD oil  has as many benefits as there are losses & side-effects of usual pharmaceutical drugs like insomnia, agitation, headache & so on.

ANTI-CANCER SHIELD Surprisingly, CBD may provide to be helping hand to reduce symptoms not just related to cancer but the side effects related to cancer treatment, like nausea, vomiting & pain as well.

A study on 177 people experiencing cancer-related pain was conducted to find the effect of CBD & THC on pain alleviation during treatment. It was found that those treated with the extract containing both CBD & THC experienced a significant reduction in pain as compared to those who were treated with only the THC extract. During chemotherapy, CBD was also seen aiding lower nausea & vomiting (two very common side-effects)

Though alternatives are there, having a back-up plan doesn’t harm either. Not just this but certain in vitro & animal studies have assessed that CBD might be a possible healer with anti-cancer properties. For example, a test-tube study concluded death in human breast cancer cells with the use of concentrated CBD.

ACNE REDUCTION & SKIN BENEFITS Application of CBD oil, lotion, etc has been seen to repair damage to skin caused due to UV-rays & environmental pollutants. This is probably because cannabinoid receptors are present in the skin & hence the application of CBD products on skin aids in the regulation of oil production in the sebaceous glands. Such CBD-based topical products are hence being developed in many parts of the world to treat related issues from acne to psoriasis & faster healing of damaged skin.

There are known cases of melanoma & carcinoma type cancers being cured by the use of CBD extracts through topical application. Rick Simpson’s example is quite famous because he cured his basal cell carcinoma with cannabis oil and now has his widely distributed line of products.

NEUROPROTECTIVE PROPERTY Researchers suggest that CBD’s ability to influence the endocannabinoid system & other brain signaling systems towards the positives may prove helpful for those with neurological disorders. Also, it has been found to be more beneficial neuroprotective antioxidant as compared to Vitamin C & E.

Studies on CBD treating neurological disorders like epilepsy & multiple sclerosis are new but the results are positive. Another study revealed that CBD oil significantly reduced seizure activity in children with Dravet syndrome, a complex childhood epilepsy disorder, compared to a placebo group. Not just this, treatment with CBD has helped improve quality of life & sleep quality for those having Parkinson’s disease.

How does it feel?

Since CBD oil is used as a cure to various problems, it will also have an effect on how an individual feels after using it. The benefits talked about above are the various tasks which it does. However, what needs to be known is how it feels to have a few drops of CBD oil as a dosage. How it feels has been illustrated in the pointers below:

It has been reported by users of not inducing the ‘high’ effect as is feared. Rather, it has been considered to ease heartbeats of people using it & calm their senses down gradually after within half an hour of basic dosage. The best thing is its influence of making way to mental relaxation starting from physical relaxation.

CBD oil eases the person’s anxiety. It will make people less anxious & hence more open to imbibe in other feelings around them which already existed, thus placing them in a more happy & comfortable zone.

CBD oil helps people to stay energetic too. This can be credited to its ability to interact with the neurotransmitters & receptors in the brain besides making the brain more attentive. This is simply because it balances other problems like anxiety, stress in such ways that the brain can focus properly on other activities thus making things better with energy level.

CBD oil eases the brain’s thinking ability.Hence, as per accounted experiences, the overthinking & toss-&-turn phase of unsettled minds comes down which helps people sleep longer, better & peaceful.

It has also been reported by users that usage of CBD oil added a feeling of “better mood” in them. For this, we can simply credit it for setting up tandem with serotonin hormone levels & hence improving the mood of the user.

Any room for side-effects?

Quite naturally, despite having such positive sides of helping in ailments & relaxation in people, there are certain side-effects associated with it too. However, compared to other medications of all categories, the side-effects are quite less in magnitude, but this being said, it is important to mention that the research is still on & there is an ocean of findings to do.

The various side-effects are as below:

Tiredness, Diarrhea & Changes in both weight & Appetite

According to a review published in the journal Cannabis & Cannabinoid Research documents in 2017, the safety & side effects of CBD were laid down. The review discussed the use of CBD within numerous clinical studies out of which, most were related to epilepsy & psychotic disorders. As per the journal’s conclusions, the most common side effects of CBD usage appeared to be tiredness, diarrhea & changes in both weight & appetite.

However, another review published in the journal Current Drug Safety stated that CBD had no adverse effects upon physiological parameters which included heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, psychological & psychomotor functions.

Liver drug metabolism

CBD interferes with drug metabolism within the liver. This makes it of special consideration &* re-thinking for use for those who are on pharmaceutical medications. CBD interacts well with drug-metabolising enzymes like cytochrome P450 family. 60% content of all pharmaceutical drugs is metabolised by the CYP3A4 enzyme. Coincidentally, this enzyme is responsible for the metabolism of CBD as well. High dose of CBD can temporarily neutralize the liver enzymes, thus interfering with the ways in which this drug affects the body.

Certain pharmaceutical drugs inhibit this enzyme, which may slow the breakdown of CBD & increase its physiological activity. Apart from this, other pharmaceuticals raise the levels of this enzyme resulting in a faster than normal breakdown of CBD. it is hence advisable to consult a physician before taking any dose of pharmaceutical drugs. But, this coin also has two sides as CBD helps liver enzymes in enhancing the levels of enzyme CYP1A1, which plays an important role in breaking down cancer-causing substances like benzopyrene.

Pregnancy

In a study it was found that short-term exposure to CBD increased the permeability of the placental barrier, thus placing the foetus at risk from certain substances. This was reported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) who cautioned pregnant women & nursing mothers to avoid CBD use due to possible adverse developmental effects to their foetus.

Dry Mouth

This is probably an expected side-effect given CBD’s relation to the cannabis family. The salivary glands also act as an abode of the cannabinoid receptors of the endocannabinoid system. CBD interacts with these receptors & hence causes inhibition of saliva secretion due to which the mouth dries up. CBD oil hence decreases saliva secretion. This, however, can be easily remedied with a glass of water or juice.

Movement disorders

In a 2009 study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience documents, CBD was given to patients with dystonic movement disorders. For 6 straight weeks, oral doses of the cannabinoid between 100–600 mg per day were given to prospects alongside standard medications.

As expected there were improvements in movement disorders in all patients. Still, certain side effects were observed such as hypotension (low blood pressure), dry mouth, psychomotor slowing, lightheadedness & sedation. With doses over 300 mg per day, hypokinesia & resting tremor rose up. This drew researchers to the conclusion that CBD has Parkinsonism-aggravating effects in humans.

Legality CBD has been recently legalized in the US & the UK.  In U.K, it has been legalised from November, 18 while in the US, it has been legalised in the following month of December in the same year.

While in UK, CBD is legal as it is extracted from non-drug strains of cannabis – industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is the approved variety of the cannabis plant. For CBD to be legal in the UK, it has to be as per the norms of the European Union (EU), i.e.n  it should have naturally high levels of cannabidiol but only trace amounts – 0.2% of the legally-regulated, psychoactive ingredient known as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which is found in medical marijuana. Since CBD does not stimulate the psychoactive receptors (CB1 and CB2) which are targeted by marijuana, it does not cause a high & is therefore legal to take.

The same thing applies in the US too where industrial hemp is legal as a part of the Farm Bill. Here also, only CBD derived from industrial hemp will be considered legal. Even industrial hemp was illegal in USA.

The herb of the future With governments accepting the way towards cure from many troubles & ailments with the help of this magic herb, the road to popularity & research has grown by many lanes for CBD. This has come as a major breakthrough to become legal after a long long time given its discovery way back in 1940. Also, given the fact that TCH was discovered 20 years after it & continued to be more popular than CBD also added to CBD’s following of trail. However, it has emerged at the top of the game again & hopefully, with more research & findings after being legalised, CBD & related products would see better days & gift humanity & life better prospects. An immediate effect can be seen as a multiplication in its form of availability like sprays,capsules, gums apart from being available as an oil.

With all this being discussed, it won’t be wrong to say that probably, CBD has finally been put on the right track, better to say that CBD has put humanity back on the right track.

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[blockgeni]

Robots for improving Social and Cognitive Skills

Moxie Is the Robot Pal You Dreamed of as a Kid IT’S HARD TO imagine anything less personable than a vacuum cleaner—until you give it a mind of its own. Almost as soon as iRobot released the Roomba into the world, a community of autonomous vacuum enthusiasts started giving their Roombas names, backstories, and custom wardrobes. One of the company’s early TV ads acknowledged this unlikely bond, featuring people talking about their Roomba like it was a person. It’s a big emotional investment in a tool whose sole purpose is to suck up filth, but Paolo Pirjanian, former CTO of iRobot, totally gets it. “There’s something innate in our mind that triggers when we see something move on its own,” says Pirjanian. “Our experience tells us that it’s a living thing with a life and a consciousness all its own.” It’s the same reason why we mourn the "death" of a Mars rover or laugh when Atlas doesn’t quite land a backflip. We can’t help seeing agency, even when we know full well these machines are just following coded instructions. Our attachment to these automatons is all the more remarkable because they weren’t designed to forge human connections; they were built to do a job. But what if we could tap into our natural empathy for the unnatural and build robots whose job is connecting with humans? In 2016, Pirjanian cofounded Embodied with the roboticist Maja Matarić to build a better social robot. (Matarić left Embodied in 2018 to focus on her research at the University of Southern California.) This week the company started accepting preorders for Moxie, its first automaton, which will ship this autumn. Whereas other companion robots like the household assistant Jibo or Paro the robotic seal are designed for adults or the elderly, Moxie is built to foster social, cognitive, and emotional development in children. These are skills that are typically imparted to kids by their parents, teachers, and other adults, but Pirjanian noticed that many families want some extra help. “Studies have shown that the current generation of children are falling behind on their social, emotional, and communication skills, relative to previous generations,” he says. “It’s partially attributed to a lot of screen time and social media, but also pressures at school that add to anxiety, depression, and so on. Every child can benefit from advancing their social and emotional skills.” Moxie, whose teardrop-shaped head is perched upon a cylindrical, baby blue body, is a cross between a videogame, a pet, and a teacher. It’s main purpose is to help children improve basic social skills (like making eye contact) and cognitive skills (like reading comprehension) as they complete tasks supplied by a gamified narrative. Moxie’s backstory is that it has been dispatched from a secret laboratory on a mission to learn how to be a better friend. The child becomes Moxie’s mentor, and Pirjanian’s idea is that they will also improve their own cognitive, emotional, and social skills by teaching the robot.

Robots are well suited for the kinds of repetitive skill-building activities that would quickly wear down a human teacher. They can’t totally replace human interaction (yet), but they may be able to augment it. “There’s evidence to support the idea that social robots can help with skill development in children,” says Kate Darling, a research specialist at MIT Media Lab and an expert in human-robot interaction. “I would call it preliminary evidence, but very promising.” A growing body of research suggests that companion robots are especially effective for children with neurological disorders like autism. For example, children with autism often struggle with eye contact and reading facial expressions, so it helps to practice with a robot’s exaggerated emotions. Pirjanian says Moxie was originally developed for kids on the spectrum, but during testing, “parents who also had a neurotypical child were like, ‘Why can’t we use this for them as well?’ Overall it seems like there is a great need for helping children advance their social and emotional skills.” But for all their promise, designing and building effective companion robots is a major challenge. The reason for this, says Erik Stolterman Bergqvist, a professor of human-computer interaction at the University of Indiana Bloomington, is because “social robots don’t have an obvious function.” They’re designed to be your friend, but companionship is a metric that defies easy quantification. This makes Moxie very different from robots that have a clear job. If you want to know if a Roomba worked, just look for the dirt. “What a lot of designers are struggling with is that as soon as you leave the design of things that have an obvious purpose, everything becomes more complicated,” says Stolterman Bergqvist. “You’re asking: ‘How do people relate to people?’ But they relate to each other in complex and diverse ways.” To meet these challenges, Pirjanian and his colleagues relied on a heavy dose of artificial intelligence. Moxie’s head is packed with microphones and cameras that feed data to machine-learning algorithms so that the robot can carry on a natural conversation, recognize users, and look them in the eye. With the exception of Google’s automated speech-recognition software, all the data is crunched by Moxie’s onboard processor. The more a child interacts with Moxie, the more sophisticated those interactions become, as the robot learns to recognize the child’s face and his or her speech patterns and developmental needs. Each week, Moxie is updated with new content based on a certain theme like “being kind” or “making mistakes.” It then sends the child on thematic missions and asks them to report back about their experiences. For example, it might have a child write a nice note for their parents or make a new friend. Pirjanian says he considers Moxie a “springboard” to improve social interactions in day-to-day life. “We don’t want to just binge on this, because five hours of games each day doesn’t help,” he says. “The robot encourages children to go out and practice things in the real world and report back, because that’s where we want them to succeed.” Pirjanian says that Moxie’s rampant appetite for data is key to the robot’s effectiveness. Not only does the data allow the robot to tailor its interaction to individual kids, but it is also critical for providing feedback to parents. While the robot “sleeps,” it crunches the data from the day’s interaction, measuring things like the child’s reading comprehension and language use, and the amount of time they spent on various tasks. It sends that data to an app that parents can use to monitor their child’s progress on those tasks and overall social, cognitive, and emotional development as determined by Moxie’s algorithms. Over time, the robot also provides recommendations. For example, if Moxie notices a recurring verbal tic, it might suggest that the parents take their child to a speech pathologist.

Parents might be queasy about letting an internet-connected robot collect data on their kid. Although there are lots of laws on the books governing how companies can collect and use data from children, some researchers are concerned that they’re not equipped to handle the deluge of intimate personal data—including photos and conversations—that will be generated as social robots become more common. “Children are a particularly vulnerable population in terms of not fully appreciating the risks of their data being collected,” says Jason Borenstein, associate director of the Center for Ethics and Technology at Georgia Tech. “There certainly needs to be more discussion at various levels about what kinds of data can and should be collected from children when they’re interacting with robots.” Pirjanian says Embodied has emphasized privacy and data security in Moxie from the beginning. Parents must consent to their child using the robot, and most of the data collected by Moxie is processed locally on a computer inside the robot. “There was no way in hell we were going to let any images leave the robot,” says Pirjanian. He says only audio data is sent over the internet, so that it can be transcribed using a speech-to-text algorithm. When Moxie “sleeps,” it analyzes these transcriptions and other data from the day, encrypts it, and sends it to a parent’s app. Pirjanian says this means that not even Embodied has access to an individual child’s data; the company only sees aggregated anonymized data from all its robots. But addressing technological problems was only half of the challenge of creating Moxie. The other half was overcoming the psychological barriers involved with human-robot interactions, which can be even trickier than teaching a robot how to talk. Although people readily ascribe agency to autonomous machines, there’s a limit to how human we like our robots to be. If a robot acts and looks too much like us, it will evoke the revulsion that characterizes the uncanny valley. But if it’s not like us at all, users might not form a connection with the robot in the first place. There’s an ongoing debate among roboticists about how humanlike to make companion robots. So far, most have erred on the side of caution and limited the use of human features. Robots like Jibo and ElliQ have more abstract shapes and are about as faithful to the human form as a Picasso portrait. To the extent that a robot is endowed with eyes or a mouth, they are typically static or animated on a flat screen, which detracts from their humanness. With Moxie, Pirjanian and his colleagues bucked many of these trends. Moxie’s teardrop head is fronted with a rounded screen that always displays two cartoonishly large eyes and a mouth. By using machine vision, Moxie can make direct eye contact with its user. “When you put eyes on a robot, you have a responsibility to use those eyes in a way that’s not creepy,” Pirjanian says. “Eye contact is a big part of that.” Moxie can’t move around on its own, but it can tilt its head and bow at its middle. Unlike most companion bots, Moxie also comes with two flipper-like arms that it uses to accentuate its speech. Each of these design traits was carefully chosen to foster a connection between the robot and its user based on research from fields as diverse as animation and developmental psychology. Unlike the Roomba, everything about Moxie, from the color of its body to the algorithms in its head, is designed to foster connections with its users. And if it succeeds, it might just foster better connections between users too. This article has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. #Moxie#RobotPal#Kid#Roombasnames#backstories#customwardrobes#artificialintelligence#machinelearningalgorithms#roboticists#news#blockgeni Source link Read the full article

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

What It's Like to Live With a Disease Everyone Assumes is Fake

New blog post! Imagine that every time you walk into a restaurant, you’re putting your life in the chef’s hands. Imagine having to give the same medical spiel – “I have celiac disease. Even a crumb of gluten will make me extremely sick” – anytime you order food. And imagine telling the waiter you need a strictly gluten free meal…only for him to look and you and say, “Gluten free? Now, do you really need it?” If you can put yourself in those shoes, you know a little about what it’s like to be me – or any of the one in 133 Americans with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which ingesting gluten damages one's intestines. You might think that the hardest part about celiac disease is the diet – and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. However, partially thanks to the gluten free fad taking over our favorite restaurants, Hollywood celebrities and soccer moms, being taken seriously with celiac disease – a condition people often assume is fake or just a fad – is an even bigger challenge. Doctors Say: “It’s All In Your Head.” The challenge to legitimize your very real disease begins at the doctor’s office. I recently chatted with Shelley Case, R.D., who is the renowned author of “Gluten Free: The Definitive Resource Guide” and serves on the medical advisory boards for the Celiac Disease Foundation, Gluten Intolerance Group and Canadian Celiac Association. “Unfortunately the majority of individuals with celiac disease remain undiagnosed,” she says. “Also, many are misdiagnosed with other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome to name a few.” I’ve even heard heartbreaking stories of patients whose doctors told them: “It’s all in your head!” As already mentioned, celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which one’s intestines cannot properly digest gluten. This means that if you eat gluten, you get some nasty side effects…and if you keep eating gluten, you can experience major (and possibly fatal) health complications, such as nutritional deficiencies, neurological issues and cancer. However, celiac disease is way more complicated than that. For one thing, no one knows what causes celiac disease. It can be genetic but the odds of developing celiac disease increase if the gene becomes active. For example, my father has the celiac gene but it has never become active while my own celiac gene activated when I was a senior in high school. Possible triggers of celiac disease include surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, infection or extreme emotional distress. If that doesn’t convince you, celiac disease is also what Shelley Case calls a “multi-system, multi-symptom disease,” which is why it is often so difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. Instead of being just a gastrointestinal disease, celiac’s symptoms are all over the map. Sure, you can get the “typical” symptoms of gas, bloating, constipation or vomiting. Or, you can be a special snowflake and instead exhibit weight loss, fatigue, delayed growth or behavioral problems. Symptoms can be even trickier in women – and at least  60 to 70% of currently diagnosed celiacs are women. In fact, while research is conflicting, some studies suggest that four to eight percent of women with unexplained infertility are undiagnosed celiacs. Besides affecting a woman’s chances to have children, undiagnosed celiac disease can also cause complications during pregnancy (including miscarriage and low birth weight) and increase a woman’s risk of low bone mass density. What does that mean for you? Basically, if you have celiac disease but a doctor thinks your symptoms are “all in your head,” you aren’t the only one being put in danger. Celiac’s “fake” reputation is possibly hurting your future children too. You Fit The “White, Skinny B*Tch” Stereotype At the time I was diagnosed, I lived in San Diego, California. On the positive side, this means there were lots of “hip” restaurants making some bang for their buck on the gluten free trend. On the negative side? As celiac kept stealing more and more pounds from my already-thin frame, I fit the Cali girl stereotype – White, skinny and a “gluten free” aficionado – to a T. Four months after my diagnosis, I had adopted a strict gluten free diet, but I was still sick. When I was finally hospitalized, I weighed 83 pounds as a 5’3″ freshman in college. The doctors had no idea why I wasn’t healing like a “normal” celiac – and my fellow classmates couldn’t relate to wanting to gain a pant size. I’ll never forget when, during my first week of college, I went to the caf with my hall mates. While they loaded up on pizza, I relied on my college’s meager “gluten free” section, which basically featured salad, veggies and lean proteins. As I looked enviously at the other girls’ plates, one gorgeous blonde stared back at mine, saying, “I wish I had celiac disease so I could be skinny like you.” At the time, I was so shocked I didn’t say anything. I probably just laughed awkwardly, stabbed at one of the olives in my salad and pretended it was the girl’s face instead. The longer I’ve been diagnosed, though, the more I’ve realized that the Pizza Incident (as I like to call it) isn’t unusual. Although only 1% of Americans have celiac disease, reportedly 1 in 5 Americans are eating gluten free. One of the most common motivations? Weight loss. So, it’s not unusual for the college janitor to watch me make my “special” food and ask, “You so skinny. Is it…diet? Or, gene?” Or for a family friend to offhandedly comment, “Well, at least you’re not obese” while I’m watching the rest of our dinner party devour the restaurant’s free bread basket. The saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” probably rose to popularity because people tend to do just that: judge by appearance. And, by appearance only, it’s easy for people to assume I’m eating gluten free for weight loss…and not just to survive. Sometimes You Have To “Fake It” As A Celiac. I’ll be honest, though. Sometimes, it’s not just others assuming that my disease is a fake fad. Sometimes, I have to misrepresent myself in restaurants just to make sure I can eat without being sick for days later. Shelley Case, who also has celiac disease, can relate to the struggles of eating out safely, saying, “People working in restaurants often do not understand the seriousness of this autoimmune disorder.” So, when I walk into Chipotle, I don’t hold up the line any longer than I have to by giving the entire spiel on what celiac is and what gluten will do to me. Instead, I simply say, “I have a gluten allergy” and watch as workers wash their hands, change gloves and fix me a safe burrito bowl. Is it sad that celiacs – or gluten intolerants – often have to misrepresent themselves as a safety mechanism? Completely. But that isn’t the only part of restaurants’ gluten free protocols that need to change. As Case explains: “When you ask for the gluten-free menu, servers may indicate they have ‘gluten aware,’ ‘gluten friendly,’ or ‘no added gluten’ options instead. This makes it difficult for people with celiac disease to know whether their meal will be safe based on these menu terms.” Not only that, but “gluten free” doesn’t mean “celiac safe.” I’ve read accounts by restaurant staff that have made my stomach curl…mostly because my server might be just as (dangerously) clueless. One waitress shares how, one day, a chef accidentally placed garlic bread on a plate with a gluten free order. She picked it up, removed the garlic bread, and gave it to the customer. “What happened to that poor person??” she later asked herself. “This never would have happened with shellfish or nuts in the case of an allergy.” Although celiac can also be fatal, I’ve always been grateful I don’t have an allergy. If I do eat a crumb of gluten, I’ll suffer for it – but it won’t kill me upon contact. In some ways, though, I’m jealous. With celiac, I have to constantly prove that I “really” need a gluten free diet. I don’t see people asking the same questions to those with peanut or egg allergies. Fad Dieters Don’t Know What A Gluten Free Life Looks Like I wouldn’t dare say that I hate the gluten free fad. As Shelley Case points out, the good news is that, nowadays, “there’s a greater awareness about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet among health professionals and the general public.” There are even more gluten free products available that, crazily enough, don’t taste like cardboard. In fact, now it seems like every retailer is trying to get a toe into the “gluten free” market, whether by labeling their naturally gluten free water or changing their formula, like Cheerios. While the gluten free fad has received a lot of media attention, Case is right when she says that one of the biggest concerns for those with celiac disease right now is not “being taken seriously because of those jumping on the gluten free band-wagon. There is a huge difference between those who must follow a gluten-free diet out of medical necessity verses those adopting the diet as a lifestyle choice!”” As a celiac, I don’t just eat gluten free – I live it. That means that I don’t just go to a cafe, order a salad and eat around the croutons. Living with celiac disease involves:

Getting used to bringing your own “safe” food to every party, outing or workday.

Learning how to politely tell dates that they must brush their teeth before kissing me goodnight. (My first boyfriend and I quickly learned that kissing after he ate gluten killed my intestines and the mood!)

Paying 242% more for gluten-free products than regular, wheat-filled products.

Getting “glutened” (or accidentally digesting wheat or wheat-contaminated food) despite all my precautions. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, stomach problems, rashes, extreme abdominal cramps, vomiting, headaches and everything in between. My symptoms usually last for a week.

Learning how to balance going to school, working and cooking all my own meals after my college cafeteria couldn’t provide celiac-safe meals.

I have hope that, one day, living with celiac disease will be easier. Clinical trials are testing a pill that would decrease intestinal damage caused by cross contamination. Researchers are also investigating alternative treatments ranging from enzyme therapies to preventing celiacs’ inflammatory response to gluten to a vaccine, says Shelley Case. The first step to improving celiacs’ lives, however, is a cultural one. Everyone needs to realize that eating gluten free isn’t just a diet; for celiacs, it’s a life-saving form of medicine. So the next time you see someone ordering a gluten free meal, don’t assume that they’re a fad dieter. Celiac disease is real – and so are its effects on a person’s health. And celiac disease needs to start receiving the recognition that every disease deserves. *Although I wrote this post, it first appeared at Entity Magazine. Check out my other Entity articles here!*

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2jZnpnz

#Blogger #college #celiac #gluten free #coeliac #celiacs #paleo #primal #foodporn #foodart

[ellymackay]

How To Use Beauty Sleep to Look Younger

How To Use Beauty Sleep to Look Younger was originally seen on https://www.ellymackay.com

I talk a lot about the benefits of sleep–from improved cardiovascular health to increased concentration, lower levels of depression and even benefits for your sex life. But one thing sleep experts tend to talk less about is the cosmetic side of sleep–the so called concept of beauty sleep.

You don’t have to know much about sleep to have heard the term, beauty sleep. Chances are you’ve come across the idea of beauty sleep more on the covers of magazines or scrolling through social media than in sleep research journals.

So the question is: is beauty sleep real?

I’ll tell you what you need to know about the advertising and claims behind beauty sleep, the sleep science behind sleep and appearance, and how you can optimize your sleep to look younger and more refreshed–no expensive lotions or creams required.

What is Beauty Sleep?

First, don’t confuse beauty sleep with the sleeping beauty diet and its dangers.

Beauty sleep doesn’t have a scientific definition, but the concept is simple: you need rest to look better. Look it up in the dictionary and you’ll get “sleep considered to be sufficient to keep one looking young and beautiful.”

Skeptical? Me too.

The way beauty sleep is used, too often, is like a quick fix diet. And as I’ve written, even popular diets like paleo and keto have complex connections to sleep, and are not quick fixes; the same is true for sleep.

Ways Beauty Sleep is Real

While I reject the pop culture definition of beauty sleep, sleep can, in fact, affect our appearance. Here’s how, and the sleep science behind beauty sleep:

Sleep Removes Skin-Damaging Free Radicals

We know that sleep is critical for neurological function. Research published in PubMed and subsequent studies have shown that during sleep, brain cells are repaired from damage caused by free radicals. But that also has implications beyond our brain health.

Free radicals and toxic waste can damage not only our brains but also our skin. Free radicals speed up our skin’s aging process and cause a drop in antioxidant enzymes which are important for retaining skin health and a more youthful appearance.

While much research focuses on the impact of environmental free radicals and skin health, such as UV light, pollution, and smoke, sleep actually repairs by releasing a chemical called sebum. Sebum, in turn, helps form a protective layer from environmental free radicals as you sleep.

Beauty Impact

You can’t sleep away skin damage from years before but you can prevent further skin damage, repair cells, and protect against further damage; by getting enough restorative sleep. When you do, you’ll be less quickly impacted by environmental free radicals, meaning your skin will stay looking younger for longer.

Sleep May Help You Be Perceived as More Attractive

Not only is sleep deprivation linked to early death; research suggests that others can tell when you haven’t been getting enough sleep.

A small experiment published in BMJ, a leading British peer reviewed journal, took photos of  participants that were described as sleep deprived, and of those with adequate sleep.

Observers were randomly assigned to rate photos based upon health and attractiveness. Overall, those who were sleep deprived were rated as less healthy and attractive, while those with adequate ‘beauty’ sleep were seen as more attractive.

Beauty Impact

Of course more research needs to be done, but the message is clear: sleep could make you seem more healthy, youthful and beautiful, even if nothing else about your appearance has changed.

Want a way to work on looking better and also stay cool, even as you sleep? Try adding performance sleepwear to your bedtime routine, start with something like these moisture wicking pajamas. Available in different styles and with cutting edge fabric technology to help you sleep, you’ll never want to go back to cotton again.

Lack of Sleep is Linked to More Wrinkles

Another reason that beauty sleep is real has to do with those pesky wrinkles and fine lines. Trust me, I wish that I could tell you that a good night’s sleep could erase them or prevent them entirely. But there is evidence that the more you put off sleep, the more wrinkles you’re likely to have.

University of Hospitals Case Medical Center studied 60 women for a month. Those who slept five or less hours consistently had more wrinkles and even sun spots than those who regularly slept seven or more hours. That makes sense, because sleep repairs our cells, including our skin cells. Less sleep can also mean less skin elasticity.

Beauty Impact

Sleeping more can’t prevent skin damage or aging, but restorative sleep really can be beauty sleep for fine lines and wrinkles.

The complication? Not only are some of us more or less susceptible to wrinkles, but your sleep position can make a difference too. Another pro tip: reduce the amount of friction your skin gets from tossing and turning.

You can do that by giving yourself the proper nutrition and supplementing when you need to. Magnesium in particular can be healthful: I trust Jigsaw Health Magnesium. Of course, you should always consult a physician before starting any supplement regime.

Sleep Reduces Puffy, Dull Skin

Ever wake up and find your cheeks or skin look puffy? Or do you feel like your skin’s been looking just a bit dull? Chances are lack of sleep could be to blame.

In fact, sleep deprivation is tied to decreased blood flow in your cheeks, causing a lack of color and vibrancy and leading to that dreaded dull appearance. Insomnia can also be linked to blood vessels under your eyes to dilate, leading to dark circles and that dreaded puffiness.

Beauty Impact

This one’s pretty obvious, but dull and puffy skin makes us look tired, less engaged, and perhaps less attractive and even older than we really are. While there are makeup products to cover puffy and dark eyes, this is a quick fix for an underlying problem.

How to Make the Most of Beauty Sleep

So hopefully I’ve convinced you that beauty sleep is real, but also not a magic solution or quick fix. Instead, think of sleep as an investment and a way to keep a more vibrant and youthful appearance without spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on skin products and treatments. Here are a few quick tips to make the most out of beauty sleep.

Create a Healthy Sleep Environment

Part of beauty sleep isn’t just the sleep itself, but where you’re sleeping. Change your sheets regularly, set the thermostat to around 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and consider curtains to black out light from disturbing your sleep.

Get that Snoring Checked Out

Dark circles, puffy eyes, and premature wrinkles aren’t just about appearance–they could be signs of an underlying sleep disorder. This is especially true if you or your partner is a snorer. Take my snoring quiz to get started.

Battle Insomnia-Induced Dull Skin

First of all, you need to be able to get to sleep and stay to sleep. You’ll also want to stay hydrated throughout the day. Both can keep skin looking refreshed and vibrant.

Invest in Your Mental Health

You can get all the sleep in the world, have glowing, youthful skin and still not feel attractive. Part of beauty isn’t just about good skin, but the energy you give out. I recommend also keeping a journal–my go to is the Best Self Journal –to jot down thoughts, feelings, and whatever you need to if you find yourself struggling during the day or if you wake up in the middle of the night. Regular exercise, staying connected, and seeking therapy may also be good steps.

The post How To Use Beauty Sleep to Look Younger appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

from Your Guide to Better Sleep https://thesleepdoctor.com/2020/08/01/how-to-use-beauty-sleep-to-look-younger/

from Elly Mackay - Feed https://www.ellymackay.com/2020/08/01/how-to-use-beauty-sleep-to-look-younger/

[biohackerblogger-blog]

Want to get ahead in life and live forever? Biohack your brain and body today!!

Welcome back reader. My previous blog discussed what biohacking is and some aspects of human biology that can be tweaked to great returns. Biohacking is basically tweaking your biology to improve your life.

In my self-improvement adventures I use scientific research to justify whatever changes I make to my lifestyle whenever I can. If the science says something shows promise in improving x, y and z—I test it out for myself and if it works, I keep it. I’ve found that Reddit, the popular discussion platform, is a great place to find aggregations of links to relevant literature and is in of itself a repository of anecdotal evidence.

As promised, I’m going to be going more in-depth into my personal biohacking experience in this article, talking about the specific improvements I’ve made to better myself and the scientific justifications behind them.

Supplementation

My primary goal mentioned in my previous blog was optimising cognition. Supplementation seemed like a good way to tackle this issue.

To begin, I started with the basics. Well-researched, basic micronutrients that many people lack in their diets and provide clearly defined improvements. I went to the lab near my house and got bloodwork done, testing for everything (Thank you Belgian insurance).

Omega 3/6 Fatty Acids

These are one of the most well-researched, beneficial classes of molecules that are lacking in our diets today. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in plant oils such as flaxseed and canola, is an essential fatty acid—meaning your body cannot synthesize it independently so it needs to come from your diet. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (found in fish) can be produced by conversion of ALA but in minimal amounts—so practically you’re better off getting these from your diet/supplement also.

Omega acids are a critical component of the membranes that make up the surface of each of your cells. They regulate the fluidity of these membranes, the signaling between cells and also maintain cell structure. They’re also involved blood pressure maintenance, the nervous system, regulating inflammation and have been linked to the prevention of alzheimer's (so cognitive benefits too). This study goes more in depth as to the physical benefits these molecules provide.

People don’t eat enough fish especially in western diets to get enough of these on a daily basis so I would strongly recommend a supplement—this is the one I get. The ratio between the amount of omega-3 to omega-6 is also important and is discussed in this study.

Vitamin D

Our skin produces its own vitamin D when exposed to sunlight regularly. A problem with living in a northern country like England is that there’s not a whole lot of sunlight to go around. This isn’t helped by the fact that we’re not naked cavemen anymore who stand outside all day in the sun. Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption into the bones which is why a deficiency can cause malformations such as rickets. Deficiencies can also cause depressive symptoms and exacerbate mental health issues. Decreased sunlight during winter can also increase the incidence in a temporary depressive disorder known as seasonal affective disorder (also known as SAD—ironic, I know). Light therapy has proven an effective way of increasing vitamin D and treating SAD.

I take it on the reg to stave off the winter blues as a supplement-if I’m happier my brain is happier too. When possible, Vit D from sunlight is a much better source than from a supplement. This is the one I take.

Vitamin B complex

B vitamins consist of 8 different vitamins. B12 is likely the most well known and is involved in neurological function and production of DNA. B9 regulates cell division and formation of blood cells. Each vitamin has specific roles in the body that a deficiency could significantly interfere with. Natural sources are typically animal products and high protein plants.

You can conveniently get supplements that contain all 8 in one which simplifies things immensely. They have been linked to reduction of stress, anxiety and depression and I thought that would be of use to me. I take this one.

Zinc, Magnesium, Calcium and others

Each mineral has a different purpose when it comes to human health but all are important. Zinc plays roles in immune function, DNA synthesis, inflammation and much more. It also boosts testosterone, a hormone providing many health benefits for men (and some for women) that I touched upon in the previous article.

Magnesium can significantly improve your sleep if you get enough of it (and good sleep just improves everything) and calcium is important for bone health. These are all very important micronutrients so make sure you’re getting enough in your diet or supplement them.

Probiotics

You know those icky bacteria lining every inch of your body and intestines? What if I told you that they actually affect your life a whole lot more than you think—Especially your mood.

Research into the gut microbiota (community of microorganisms in the gut) is an incredibly hot topic right now. The presence or lack thereof of certain bacteria in the gut can affect your digestion, risk of developing diseases, even your position on the autism spectrum. It sounds crazy but the research is substantial. Many digestive problems and others can be solved by rectifying the ratios of different bacteria in the gut, by introducing healthy bacteria. I’ve tagged along to a couple of conferences with my psychiatrist mother discussing the interaction between the gut microbiota and health (physical and mental) and have also had several assignments on the topic during my time at university.

I now take a probiotic supplement every morning. Probiotics are basically pills containing millions of live, healthy bacteria.

Creatine

This one maybe isn’t as important for most people but I’ll mention it because it’s part of my daily regime. It’s a very well-researched supplement used by athletes to increase performance by increasing water retention in the muscles. With the added benefit of making your muscles look bigger, creatine can improve strength and endurance during sport. I take it to improve my workouts which itself benefits my life. Optimum Nutrition has some really good products, I go with them. Here’s another review article if you’re interested.

Other cognition-enhancing compounds

(I’m not recommending anyone take any of the following as I am not qualified to be giving out advice on scarcely researched compounds but hey, if you do your own digging, decide the science is sound and there’s no risk, you do you.)

Described above are the supplements I use to benefit my life currently. They are all well-researched staples with plenty of studies to support their efficacy. There are, however, less researched compounds that could be potentially beneficial that are hidden from the public eye.

There exist a number of alternative medicines like St. John’s Wort to treat depression that can have beneficial effects on health. Some medicines are alternative for a reason, we don’t really know enough about them to know how they work but we just know that they do for the most part.

Withania somnifera (Ashawagandha) is a herb that reduces stress and has anxiolytic (anxiety reducing) properties by reducing cortisol, the stress hormone. It’s also implicated in helping with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzeimer's disease but more large scale studies are needed to prove it’s therapeutic potential. Lion’s mane mushroom is another cool one thought to also help with cognition that I’ve been looking into recently

Nootropics (cognition enhancing compounds) are quite popular in the biohacking community. Many people take so-called “stacks” of supplements that synergize and work well together. A simple example of a stack would be taking L-theanine and caffeine, (caffeine is the most well-known nootropic) where the caffeine works to give you energy and the L-theanine smooths out the “edge” of caffeine, eliminating the crash you get.

This is gonna be an iffy one to talk about in a uni assignment but I already gave my disclaimer at the top of this section. Microdosing is an increasingly popular trend popularized by big innovators such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates—It involves taking sub-perceptual doses of psychoactive compounds.

Psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA have become very hot topics of research particularly in the psychiatric field. There is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest their utility in treating addiction, depression and anxiety when paired with psychotherapy. Psychedelics have a very impressive safety profile despite the bad rep they get.

David Nutt, a prominent researcher into the field collated the answers of a panel of experts (from law enforcement to doctors) to attempt to objectively rank common drugs in terms of addictive potential and harm. LSD and Ecstasy are significantly less harmful than the legal substances tobacco and alcohol. The 2017 Global Drug Survey also supports this claim.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some risks to psychedelics if used irresponsibly (such as triggering the onset of schizophrenia in those genetically predisposed to it) but overall, they have untapped potential in research as they significantly increase brain plasticity (ability of brain to adapt and change) and connectivity of neural networks. Microdosing them can increase productivity/creativity and allow the formation of novel neural pathways (which is probs why they help with addiction). I was actually considering psychedelic research as a career path as lots of big names like John Hopkins University are heavily involved in research into the field.

Anyway, some may say that all these supplements are a bit excessive, and maybe they’re right. But I say eh, works for me.

Habits and Lifestyle changes

I discussed the benefits of meditation in my last blog already but that is a very useful meta-tool for improving on all aspects of life. There are small ways we can all change our environments to improve our lives depending on our goals.

Procrastination in particular is a huge issue that many people face, students in particular. Many people struggle to understand why we do this but they aren’t aware that our biology isn’t designed to be able to cope with the huge amounts of stimuli that have arisen from the invention of the internet and social media. It’s now well-known that willpower functions similarly to a muscle—we don’t have an unlimited supply of it, it can get tired. What we can do to get around that is reduce the need to strain that muscle by changing our environment.

I’ve personally deleted all forms of social media I’ve found to not contribute anything meaningful to my life and with the rest I’ve unfollowed/unsubscribed to anything I thought would distract me too much. When studying, I use earplugs to block out as much stimuli as possible and I keep my phone off for most of the time.

This is what my phone’s home screen looks like:      

Simple, practical, not distracting. All the distracting applications like social media are kept on a different screen so I have to put in more effort to get to them. My phone’s also in greyscale but the screenshot doesn’t pick that up. Greyscale removes all the bright colors from your phone screen, significantly reducing the addictive potential of your phone. If you find yourself checking your phone too often, this might help you out.

This article from lifehacker talks about it in more detail. Many phone manufacturers have rolled out updates to help people curb their screen time, adding options to put time limits on your apps and overall screen time.

These are only some of the small changes I’ve implemented.There’s plenty of things you could be doing to make your environment facilitate your goals, you just have to be a bit creative.

That's pretty much an overview of my personal experience with biohacking. I hope you found this interesting and informative and it inspired you in some shape or form to read into science more and improve your life in every way you can.

Thanks for reading,

Alex

Stock images all courtesy of google images

Supplements:

Omega acids -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004MASMXG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Vitamin D -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072L235Z5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Vitamin B Complex -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Z70OUQS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[newstfionline]

From moms to medical doctors, burnout is everywhere these days

By Jenny Rough, Washington Post, March 30, 2019

A common ailment is going around, and you probably know someone plagued by it. Caused in part by social media, the 24-hour news cycle and the pressure to check work email outside of office hours, it could hit you, too--especially if you don’t know how to nip it in the bud.

Burnout is everywhere.

Books are being published about it, high-powered medical groups are raising alarms and ordinary people are feeling it. A recent report from Harvard and Massachusetts medical organizations declared physician burnout a public health crisis. It pointed out the problem not only harms doctors but also patients.

“Burnout is associated with increasing medical errors,” the paper said.

Ninety-five percent of human resource leaders say burnout is sabotaging workplace retention, often because of overly heavy workloads, one survey found. Poor management contributes to the burnout epidemic.

“Organizations typically reward employees who are putting in longer hours and replace workers who aren’t taking on an increased workload, which is a systematic problem that causes burnout in the first place,” says Dan Schawbel, research director of Future Workplace, the firm that conducted the survey along with Kronos.

“Mommy Burnout,” a book published last year by psychologist Sheryl Ziegler, resonated with women who had run themselves into the ground trying to be super mom (and dads made it clear they were burned out, too).

A new book, “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle,” by sisters Emily Nagoski (a health educator) and Amelia Nagoski (a choral conductor who was hospitalized for burnout) aims to help women, in particular, live a more balanced life.

Burnout is a term easily tossed around, the way somebody might claim to be starving when they’re simply hungry, or freezing when cold. That’s harmless if a person is describing a tired day or week. But somebody who is actually burned out should be prepared to take serious action because it’s a condition that needs attention.

Amelia Nagoski was juggling the demands of a doctoral program when she experienced such severe abdominal pain she was hospitalized. Doctors concluded it was “just stress” and told her to relax. Turns out, she had stress-induced inflammation from burnout.

Ziegler defines burnout as “chronic stress gone awry.” The big three symptoms are emotional exhaustion, cynicism and feeling ineffective, according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), a survey designed to measure employee burnout in the workforce. Other symptoms can include frequent colds or sicknesses, insomnia and a tendency to alleviate stress in unhealthy ways, such as with too much alcohol or online shopping.

Part of the difficulty of pinpointing true burnout may be because burnout is a nonmedical term--at least in the United States. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders doesn’t list it as an illness. But other countries including France, Denmark and Sweden, do recognize burnout syndrome and consider it to be a legitimate reason to take a sick day from work.

“Everybody intuitively recognizes what burnout feels like in their bodies and their feelings and their thoughts,” Emily Nagoski says. “It’s like art: You know it when you see it.”

Even without an official diagnosis--or agreed upon definition--American researchers have studied burnout for decades. Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger popularized the term in the 1970s, basing it on his work with drug addicts where he witnessed their veins burn out from needle injections and their cigarettes burn down. Soon after, psychologist Christina Maslach developed the MBI.

Burnout is caused by chronic stress, not stressors, the Nagoskis say in their book. It’s important to differentiate the two. Stressors are external: to-do lists, financial problems or anxiety about the future. Stress, on the other hand, “is the neurological and physiological shift that happens in your body when you encounter [stressors],” the Nagoskis write.

To fix burnout, people need to address the stress itself. They must allow their body to complete its stress response cycle. Instead, people tend to focus on stressors. “They assume their stress will go away if they’re on top of things, if they’re accomplishing things and constantly checking things off their to-do list,” Emily Nagoski says.

That’s a lesson Paula Davis-Laack learned the hard way.

Davis-Laack practiced commercial real estate law before the Great Recession of the late 2000s. The fast-paced environment gave her a constant adrenaline high as she closed deals and kept so busy that she barely left time to grab a handful of peanuts for lunch. Her frequent headaches, stomach aches and colds threatened to drag her down, but no doctor could give her a diagnosis.

One day, drafting a document in her office, she says she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She bolted out of her chair and raced to a nearby health clinic. “Help me!” she gasped. She was having a panic attack. After two more medical crises landed her in the emergency room, she feared a mental or physical collapse if she kept going. She decided to walk away from the law.

“It was like a 50,000-pound weight lifted off my shoulders,” she says.

Still unsure of what was wrong, she poked around the Internet doing research of her own when she came across information on burnout. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is exactly what happened to me!’ “

Davis-Laack traces the beginning of her burnout back to her teenage years.

“There were a lot of messages to be a high achiever,” she says. “Those check-the-box matrix measurements were important to me. I internalized them.”

The messages took an even stronger hold once she started working.

She returned to graduate school to study well-being, the effects of stress and their effect on the workplace. In 2013, she opened the Davis Laack Stress & Resilience Institute in Wisconsin. She now teaches workshops on burnout.

For those who suspect they might be on the road to burnout, there are practical tools to mitigate it. Among others: physical exercise, sleep and positive social connection (the real kind, not the Facebook kind). The importance of balance and self-care to prevent burnout likely isn’t surprising to most.

“There’s nothing fancy about what it would take to turn things around,” says Ziegler, the “Mommy Burnout” author. “But it’s a huge shift in the cultural mind-set. That’s the challenge.”

Plus, fixing burnout can feel like adding more stressors. An employee who takes a lunch break in a park (time in nature reduces stress) might feel pressured to stay late at the end of the day. A yoga class or walk is another item to squeeze into the calendar. A mom can’t quit her parenting job. To address time-management issues, the Nagoskis provide work sheets in their book to help readers reprioritize activities. Ziegler suggests setting boundaries with social media. Use the Internet for help, such as ordering groceries, but limit scrolling to 10 minutes a day. Also, it’s okay to remove activities from the calendar (or quit them completely) so you can exercise.

Gender might play a role in burnout, too.

Researchers from the University of Montreal questioned 2,026 people, half women, in 63 different workplaces. Their work, published in the Annals of Work Exposure and Health, found that women reported higher levels of burnout.

One reason was because women have more work-and-family conflicts. The women’s rights movement was “supposed to give women choices,” Ziegler says. “Sounds awesome, but it became you need to do it all. You need to run your house and be the perfect wife and mom and work. The stress on women got higher.”

Other studies have shown that rates of burnout are more or less equal among genders, although males and females experience it differently. A study published in BMC Public Health showed that female physicians are susceptible to burnout from emotional exhaustion while male physicians to burnout because of cynicism.

Steven Manning remembers the night he realized he had become pessimistic about practicing medicine. One Wednesday at his family care practice in Williamston, N.C., he worked on electronic medical records well past 9 p.m. His wife and kids waited for him at home. He had seen about 30 patients that day but felt he hadn’t given a single one the highest level of care because the appointment times were too short. Yet the hospital and insurance companies kept pressuring him to see more patients a day, not fewer.

“I began to think, ‘I’m burned out. How did I get to this point? I don’t enjoy coming into work.’” It wasn’t too late to make a change. Within a year, Manning started a direct primary care practice, a model where patients pay a membership fee, negating the need for insurance billing. Without mounds of paperwork, he had time to do what he truly wanted: help patients.

“It brought back the joy of medicine I felt I was missing,” he says. “Before, I barely had time to address my patients’ diabetes, hypertension and heart failure, let alone spend time taking a mental and spiritual inventory.”

Now, he talks with patients about depression, anxiety and stress and notices many patients are burned out, especially mothers of young kids.

Lawyer and mom Anna Swain knows the feeling.

She poured her heart and soul into fixing the troubled lives of criminals who had messed up with drugs and violence only to wind up devastated when her hard work seemed pointless.

“I’d call my mom every day on my way home from the office crying,” she says. “I was either sad over a client who was having her third meth-addicted baby or crying over a shockingly rude email by opposing counsel.” When she added motherhood to the mix, her feelings of failure increased. “I didn’t know what I was doing. Nobody does with a first child.”

Burned out on “doing the next thing I was supposed to do to be a good girl and get ahead,” she knew she needed downtime, but she was afraid to take a step back from the hamster wheel. “Boredom goes against everything we’re told to do to succeed, achieve and be proactive,” Swain says. “Even when I clean the house, I think, ‘Well, I should take the opportunity to listen to a podcast. Maybe I can grow as a person.’ Honestly, I’d grow more if I chose to be in silence and let my mind wander.”

She tried it. Rocking her baby to sleep, she wanted to watch the TV series “Game of Thrones” or scroll through her phone. But she couldn’t. One wrong move--or the glow of a screen--would wake her baby up. At first, Swain felt angry and resentful at the lack of distractions, but the stillness gave her an opportunity to daydream. That opened the door to creativity.

“I started creating little poems and rhymes in my head. I felt exhilarated,” she says. Eventually, Swain wrote a children’s book. “I felt a sense of purpose again,” she says.

The Nagoskis agree that daydreaming during low-demand tasks, having a creative outlet and engaging with something larger are three more keys to preventing burnout. They suggest writing your own obituary to find out what is meaningful to you.

“It sounds dark,” Amelia Nagoski says. “But it makes you think about who you are and what’s important to you.”

Making space in our lives so we’re not so hurried and harried isn’t easy, especially in a culture that shames slow living, Amelia Nagoski says. Preventing burnout requires hard decisions. Everyone has the same amount of time in a day: 24 hours. To rest--whether with a walk, an extra hour of sleep or a talk with a friend--means something else drops off the schedule.

At first, you might panic that you’re not “accomplishing” something. But before long, you may notice you’ve moved farther away from a breaking point. Your downward spiral will change directions.

#burnout #stress

[dinakaplan]

Why Your Gut Health Is More Important Than You Probably Think

Learn why your relationship with your gut and your gut health is more important for your health and well-being than you may realize.

By Ocean Robbins • Adapted from Ocean Robbins’ forthcoming book 31-Day Food Revolution (Grand Central Life & Style, February 5, 2019)

Deep in your gut, 40 trillion chemists are hard at work helping you digest your meals, making essential nutrients you can’t produce on your own, protecting you from disease, and even shaping which parts of your DNA manifest and which remain dormant.

These talented creatures are fungi, bacteria, and other single-celled organisms. And they are a bigger part of who you are than you have probably ever imagined!

While your body includes about 22,000 human genes, it also hosts as many as two trillion microbial genes that are technically not “you,” but rather benevolent guests working in exquisite harmony with your body. Some of these microbes flourish on your skin, but the vast majority take up residence in your digestive tract.

Study of the microbiome — the community of microorganisms living inside your body — could well be the most compelling frontier of health science.

The digestive process breaks down food and beverage particles so that your body can absorb the nutrients it wants and excrete the rest. Trillions of organisms join in the effort.

These microbes also play a critical role in shaping your appetite, allergies, metabolism, and neurological function. In fact, scientists have found that gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, all of which play a key role in determining your mood.

Studies suggest that your gut microbiota may factor into your risk of developing neuropsychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

In other words, the bacteria living in your gut have a huge impact on the way you feel.

Which One Are You Feeding?

There’s an often-told story, reportedly from Cherokee folklore, about a Cherokee elder who is teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he says to the boy. “It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, and ego.

The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, and compassion. The same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thinks for a minute and then asks, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee replies, “The one you feed.”

When it comes to the bacteria in your gut, every time you eat, you are feeding somebody. Unfortunately, the modern industrialized diet is all too often feeding the bad guys and, just as important, starving the good.

To put it simply, “bad” bacteria tend to feed on sugar and unhealthy fats (yes, I’m talking about you, junk food!). And the single most important nutrient that good bacteria need to thrive inside you is fiber.

When they have plenty of fiber, they can do their job — and your digestion, mental function, and even your mood reap the benefits.

It’s clear that fiber is critical to gut health. But less than 5% of Americans get the recommended 25 to 30 grams per day.

It’s estimated that our Paleolithic ancestors got an average of up to 100 grams per day. Compare that to the average Brit, who gets only 18 grams per day, and the average American, who gets even less — just 15.

Most of us are literally starving the good bacteria that would, if we only gave them the chance, be digesting our food and making the brain-boosting chemicals we need to thrive.

How to Nurture the Good Guys and Support Your Gut Health

We know that junk food, lack of fiber, glyphosate, antibiotics, and other toxins can compromise the bacteria upon which your digestion and brain health depend. Is there anything you can do about it?

Yes! There’s a lot you can do to nurture a healthy microbiome and to support a flourishing collection of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.

1) Don’t kill the good ones.

When you steer clear of unnecessary antibiotics, glyphosate, and environmental toxins, you help to create the conditions for microbial health. Organic food, anyone?

2) Don’t feed the bad ones.

A diverse population of health-promoting flora protects your gut from the less helpful strains. But not all flora are good for you. A diet high in sugar, unhealthy fat, and processed food can feed the very kinds of flora that will cause gas, discomfort, bloating, and chronic inflammation.

3) Feed the good ones.

Probiotics are the so-called “good” microorganisms inside your gastrointestinal tract. They aid in digestion and keep your tummy happy. Like all living things, probiotics must be fed in order to remain active and vibrant.

Prebiotics are the food that probiotics need to thrive. They’re a type of plant fiber that humans can’t digest and that take up residence inside your large intestine. The more of these prebiotics you feed to your probiotics, the more efficiently they’ll do good work inside you.

The simplest way to think of it is this: If you want to nurture good bacteria, eat lots of fiber. Whole plant foods — especially fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains — have the most.

As New York Times personal health columnist Jane Brody writes, “People interested in fostering a health-promoting array of gut microorganisms should consider shifting from a diet heavily based on meats, carbohydrates, and processed foods to one that emphasizes plants.”

If your probiotic bacteria were in charge of the menu, they’d want abundant sources of prebiotic fibers like inulin and oligofructose, as well as pectin, beta-glucans, glucomannan, cellulose, lignin, and fructooligosaccharides (FOS). If you don’t know how to pronounce these names, don’t worry. Luckily, you don’t need a degree in biochemistry to eat good food.

Some top superfoods that provide an abundance of the best microbe-fueling nutrients include gum arabic (sap from the acacia tree, often sold as the supplement acacia fiber), chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, baobab fruit, dandelion greens, garlic, leek, onion, asparagus, wheat bran, banana, jicama, apples, barley, oats, flaxseed, cocoa, burdock root, yacon root, and seaweed.

4) Eat the good ones.

The word probiotic comes from the Greek for “support of life.” The two main ways to consume probiotics are in dietary supplements and in fermented foods. Probiotics have been found to be helpful in treating irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, colitis, acne, and eczema.

But they don’t always work. A lot of people are taking probiotic supplements that are pretty much just a waste of money.

The challenge is that the vast majority of probiotic bacteria are active and effective in the lower portions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but to get there, they must survive the corrosive and highly acidic environment of your stomach.

When are the odds the best — on an empty stomach, or with a meal?

Researchers attempted to settle this question with a study reported in the journal Beneficial Microbes in 2011. (Yes, although it may never rival People magazine for newsstand popularity, that really is the name of a journal!)

The team built a fake digestive tract with a fake stomach and intestines, but complete with real saliva and digestive enzymes, acid, bile, and other digestive fluids. They put probiotic capsules into this stomach “empty” and with a variety of foods, and tested how many survived the trip.

What did they find? Probiotic bacteria had the highest rates of survival when provided within 30 minutes before or simultaneously with a meal or beverage that contained some fat.

This makes sense. Consuming probiotics with food provides a buffering system for the bacteria, helping to ensure safe passage through the digestive tract. But consuming them after a large meal could slow everybody down, making bacteria more likely to die in the corrosive stomach environment before reaching their intended new home in the lower intestine. So right before, or with, a meal that includes some fat seems the best way to go.

Which Probiotic Supplements Are Best?

There are thousands of probiotic products on the market, with each company or retailer telling you theirs is best.

The factors I look at in evaluating a probiotic supplement are:

Price. No one likes to waste money.

CFUs (Colony-forming units). This is the total count of all the bacteria in the probiotic. There’s a huge range, with brands offering anywhere from 1 billion to 100 billion CFUs per dose. The bigger the number, the more beneficial bacteria you get.

Strains. The total number of different types of bacteria in each probiotic varies greatly. Diversity is good. Every expert has a favorite combination, but the reality is that we know very little about how the various strains interact with the human body. A broad spectrum of different kinds is likely to give you the best odds of success.

Expiration date. Some probiotic supplements get so old that the bacteria are literally dead by the time they reach the consumer. Check expiration dates.

One probiotic supplement that’s also a food is a coconut water kefir made by inner-ēco. It’s a naturally effervescent and mildly sweet refrigerated product that provides 50 billion CFUs per tablespoon. I often take a tablespoon with breakfast or dinner. It has the added benefit of being delicious.

What About Fermented Foods?

Fermentation helps to preserve food and creates beneficial enzymes, B vitamins, and numerous strains of probiotics.

Natural fermentation has been shown to preserve nutrients and to break some foods down to a more digestible form.

The most studied is kimchi, a traditional Korean food made from fermenting salted cabbage with a variety of vegetables and spices (sometimes salted shrimp or anchovy is included, as well).

In addition to, or perhaps in part because of, its probiotic properties, studies have shown that kimchi can help fight cancer, obesity, effects of aging, and constipation while contributing to your immune system, skin health, and brain health.

Other popular fermented foods include sauerkraut, yogurt (which can be made from cow, soy, coconut, or almond milk), kefir, miso, natto (made by boiling and fermenting soybeans with bacteria), beet kvass (a fermented beet drink), vinegar, and kombucha.

Some fermented foods are used in condiments, while others make a tasty snack or topping. Remember not to cook them if you want to preserve the probiotics.

Keep in mind that some probiotic kefirs and yogurts come loaded with added sugar. Even if there are beneficial bacteria in these probiotics, the sugar will feed “bad” bacteria already in your gut. Always check labels for sugar content.

If you want to do your own fermentation, I recommend finding a good book or website to guide you. A book to consider is Fermented Vegetables by Christopher and Kirsten Shockey.

Some people using homemade fermented foods are experiencing great benefits.

Like Emily Iaconelli, for example. At the age of 17, after growing up on the modern industrialized diet, Emily developed irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, and emergent arthritis. She suffered from massive bloating and chronic pain, and became resigned to a life of embarrassing pain and urgent bathroom runs.

After 20 years of misery, she joined a Food Revolution Network event I was hosting and decided to turn her kitchen upside down.

Emily began enjoying a whole-food, plant-powered diet that featured an abundance of fermented foods, such as kimchi, fermented vegetables, tempeh, homemade almond milk yogurt, and miso. Her fiber consumption went up dramatically, providing abundant nourishment for the probiotics now streaming into her body every day.

The journey was difficult. Emily had to squeeze in all her learning and food preparation while working full-time and raising a two-year-old daughter. But every step she took seemed to give her more energy and stamina, which fueled her actions as well as her determination.

Eventually, her irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, and emergent arthritis all disappeared. And her daughter, now five, loves to cook and has decided that her favorite food is… broccoli!

Listen to Your Gut

True gut instincts can provide an essential source of wisdom, clarity, and discernment. Does your gut tighten when you confront danger, or soften in the presence of an epiphany?

Whatever your relationship is with your gut, and however clearly it does or doesn’t speak to you, I’d like to invite you to consider a possibility.

What if you didn’t think of your gut as being yours alone? What if you conceived of it as being home, also, to trillions of microbes that can tell you what’s good for you or let you know when you’re hungry (because they are)?

When you’re in a symbiotic relationship with the community of critters inside you, you can feel pride in feeding the good ones. You can feel gratitude for how they help you digest food, secrete brain-boosting neurotransmitters, and protect you from harm. And you can feel it’s your responsibility to protect and work in harmony with them for your own ultimate well-being along with theirs.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Ocean Robbins’ forthcoming book, 31-Day Food Revolution: Heal Your Body, Feel Great, Transform Your World (Grand Central Life & Style, February 5, 2019). Order your advance copy here today!

Tell us in the comments:

Does this help you understand gut health?

What is your experience with healing your gut or keeping your gut happy?

[Read More ...] https://foodrevolution.org/blog/gut-health/

[toxsoup]

Detox from just about everything with Advanced TRS by Coseva

Today is officially 4 weeks for our entire family using this product to detox!   I’d learned so much about this product from a Facebook group a friend of mine added me to, back in early April, and decided to give it a try for my boys and for my husband and I.  We started on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, in the hopes that managing some toxins and eliminating some heavy metals would help us all to feel better and to function better day to day.  

My two older children (10 and 7), as I’ve noted, have high functioning Autism (ASD), ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and PANS/PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder as the result of Streptococcal infection).  My youngest child (3) is allergic to eggs and milk and has Reactive Airway Disease. It became apparent that we needed to detox my children some time ago, and we’ve been working to do so.  We started with detox baths, and have continued on down the line, researching anything and everything I could find to support their bodies’ natural ability to detox.  With that said, I’d love to share what I’ve learned about heavy metal detoxification!

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS

Since investing a ton of time into researching toxins and issues associated with them, I’ve uncovered just how extensive the environmental toxins are in within the US. Just when you think you might be safer living far away from a major city, it becomes apparent that you really are not sheltered from toxins in your environment, no matter where you live.  

The food we eat, the water we drink, vaccine additives, the air we breathe, the personal body products and cosmetics we use (aluminum in anti-perspirants, for example), the household cleaners we use, transportation exhaust, etc. all contribute to our toxic load.  Heavy metals lurk in all of these, and cause destruction within our bodies if not properly detoxed.

Aluminum has been found in the brains of those who have died with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Aluminum is said to be found in the brains of those with Autism.  

In a 2004 study spearheaded by EWG found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood from 10 newborn babies.

Study after study has been done connecting the rise in Autism to environmental toxins, but those commissioning those studies tend to be ostracized from their communities once the studies are published. These people lose their jobs, their esteemed status, or are called “quacks’ for pointing out links between toxins, or vaccines and Autism, which is absurd… especially given their touted knowledge and credentials prior to participation in such studies.  

Many in the Autism world already know about the link between environmental toxins and Autism behaviors.  Many already know about or use Advanced TRS to help their children to eliminate heavy metals and other toxins.  Many without this knowledge do not recognize the symptoms of heavy metal toxicity, and would be helped by performing a heavy metal detox like Advanced TRS.

  HEAVY METAL TOXICITY

Here are some of the most common heavy metals found in our environment today, and their very common sources:

·         LEAD: root canals, building materials, water, jewelry, paint (even on children’s toys!!!), auto exhaust

·         MERCURY: dental fillings (amalgams), seafood, vaccines, contact solution, broken CFL light bulbs

·         ALUMINUM: deodorant, vaccines, cookware, canned foods, aluminum foil, cosmetics

·         CADMIUM: batteries, coffee, cigarettes, hydrogenated oils

·         BISMUTH: makeup, medic

·         COPPER: cookware, copper water pipes

·         ARSENIC: conventional poultry and eggs, water, soil, air

Symptoms of heavy metal toxicity are eerily similar to those associated with some autoimmune diseases. Some examples are as follows:

·         Chronic fatigue, illness or discomfort

·         Migraines/headaches

·         Acne

·         Digestive issues

·         Brain fog

·         Dizziness

·         Depression or anxiety

·         Nervous system disorders, including numbness, tingling, burning

·         Female reproductive issues (hormonal imbalance, miscarriage, menstrual problems, infertility, preeclampsia)

·         Excess sweating

·         Weight gain around the waist

·         Intense food cravings

·         Insomnia in the middle of the night

·         Speech problems

·         Joint pain

·         Mood swings.

Once within your body, you cannot easily detox heavy metals from your body, so it’s necessary to complete a detoxification protocol regularly or following a particularly high level of heavy metal intake (such as after vaccination), to avoid heavy metal toxicity.  

According to a 2014 article in the journal Interdisciplinary Toxicology:  

Heavy metal toxicity can lower energy levels and damage the functioning of the brain, lungs, kidney, liver, blood composition and other important organs. Long-term exposure can lead to gradually progressing physical, muscular, and neurological degenerative processes that imitate diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and muscular dystrophy. Repeated long-term exposure of some metals and their compounds may even cause cancer (Jarup, 2003). CHELATION

Are you familiar with the term “Chelation?”  Chelation therapy is used in conventional medicine for removing heavy metals from the blood – most commonly for lead poisoning, but also including others, such as mercury. It involves IV injections of a chelating agent called EDTA, ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid), a synthetic amino acid.  Typical chelation strips vitamins and vital nutrients… it takes out everything, and does not discriminate between “good” and “bad.”  As a result, extra supplementation is required regularly, and the process taxes the kidneys and the liver.  In addition, I understand that the chelating agents can lose their negative charges, and therefore “drop” any toxins they have attracted, into another part of the body, causing other issues – this is known as “metal redistribution.”  I’ve looked into other chelation protocols - particularly the Andy Cutler Chelation protocol (ACC) that several have administered at home, but have been hesitant to ever head down that path with my children, due to the risks involved, as well as the required consistency to manage the dosage every 3 hours around the clock.  Thankfully, metal redistribution does not occur with Advanced TRS, and this three-hour dosing is not required.    

WHAT IS ADVANCED TRS?

Advanced TRS is a colloidal clinoptilolite zeolite that can be used at home as a safe Chelation agent, in place of more risky chelation protocols.  

Zeolite is a volcanic ash mineral.  TRS is created using a manufactured zeolite within a water molecule, created in a lab, so as to control purity.  Purity cannot be controlled within a naturally occurring zeolite.

The zeolite within TRS is a nano-sized particle suspended within a water molecule, which means that the zeolite can get anywhere within a cell where water can go.  This means that TRS can easily pass through the blood brain barrier to collect any heavy metals within brain matter.

Advanced TRS, like natural zeolite, carries a negative charge.  Most beneficial things within your body carry a negative charge (including DNA, most cell surfaces, amino acids, white blood cells, etc).  As a negatively charged mineral, zeolite attracts positively charged toxins, heavy metals, and any other impurities within the body that carry a positive charge, traps them in it’s “cage” and excretes them out with the urine within 6 hours.

Toxins, heavy metals, impurities, viruses, and pollutants generally carry a positive charge.

So, what can Advanced TRS help you to remove from your body?  

·            Heavy metals, and toxic elements including mercury (and not a problem to use if you have amalgams/fillings in your mouth), lead, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, fluoride, barium, uranium, copper

·            Pesticides, insecticides, including glyphosate

·            Toxins from mold and yeast

·            Plastic residues

·            Carcinogens from smoke and haze

·            Radioactive materials

The company cannot make medical claims or assure you that TRS can cure or heal any health issues, or that it will help your child to speak or help your child with Autism, improve behavior, etc., but it’s clear that the body would function a whole lot better without any environmental toxins or heavy metals in it. Consistent use will ensure a lot less suffering!

We are most impressed by the fact that TRS is administered as a spray into the mouth, which tastes exactly like water!  What is glorious about this, for a mom of three children who do not/will not/cannot swallow pills, have intense anxiety around needles, and who argue over any medication being dispensed, is that my children ASK for their spray. They love to get it, and since there is no taste, they don’t ever complain about it or ask for their water bottle to wash it down. We have never given them anything at all with so little resistance, including food! Haha

Advanced TRS is biologically inert, and so there is no possibility for damage to kidneys on the way out of the body.  

Advanced TRS is safe for just about anyone to use, including pregnant and nursing women, newborn babies, and up to any age. It holds GRAS (”Generally Recognized As Safe”) status from the FDA. 

Advanced TRS is recommended for daily use for at least 6 months to detox, and then a maintenance dose is suggested to deal with recurring environmental toxins, which is dependent upon lifestyle.

MORE INFORMATION:

I look forward to sharing a day by day report of our first month on Advanced TRS, and I plan to do that very soon!  Stay tuned for my updates!  Overall, we have seen awesome changes in our boys, especially, but also in the way we feel!

Would you like to learn more?  Feel free to request to be added to this Facebook group for testimonials, to get questions answered, and to learn much more about what it does and how it does it.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthyandfreeTRS/

Be sure to mention that you found the group through my blog!

Ready to order now?  Please visit: 

http://www.406140.mycoseva.com/shopline_category.html (be sure to set up an autoship to save $27 on a single bottle, or purchase the 3 pack on autoship for $150, to get the best deal on Advanced TRS!)

Had you heard of Advanced TRS before reading this? Have you ever tried to do a heavy metal detox before? Have you used Advanced TRS?  Please feel free to comment below with your experience so far, of if there is some additional information you’d like to share!

#detox #detoxification #environmental toxins #heavy metal #toxins #toxinfree #heavy metal toxicity #heavy metal detox #zeolite

[blog-truth-seeker-blog]

Warning: Strong Language

It has recently come to my “Realization” why Rothschild put Trump in the White House. And the tactics behind it are too childish for words. Hopefully, it will come through.

I came across the post about the “anti-vaccine movement” in Texas this morning, and I instantly realized that Trump was put in the Oval Office simply to “Act” like an idiot. This is what allowed us to forgive the Bush, Clinton, and Rothschild families for 9-11. Oh, well, ofcourse the “Terrorists” were able to pull it off, the President is an idiot.      Flash forward to 2017, and we seem to have another idiot as President. But, I for one, am not sold. All through his career as a “famous rich person” he has spoken intelligently. Now, as a Presidential candidate, and as President “S”elect, he seems incapable of completing one single solitary competent sentence. Don’t even ask for an entire intelligent thought. It’s not happening.

Then I thought about the fact that every once in awhile, he, Trump, makes a statement, or declares an action that I am completely in line with. Such as, “You think OUR country is so innocent?!”       Absolutely not. Or, “Trump launches “anti-vaccine movement” in Texas.” To this I say good. Past time to start an active specifically “Anti-Vaccine Movement.”

  “Great Scott”, that’s it. Idiots have been Trump’s target base during his entire election campaign. Idiots are the stage that Trump’s illegitimate Presidency is built upon. Those of us who are determined to stand our ground and keep pushing to recognize the programming, the lies, the misdirection, are failing here.

Trump is only in office to be an idiot, push through the TPP, increase the elite’s monetary flow, and initiate a percentage of positive changes on society from a skewed government authority perspective, in order to de- legitimize our very valid arguments, in the eye’s of the other idiots who blindly trust in a murderous government system.

Trump gives a boost to this movement, in Texas, where the movement is most concentrated and organized. People who have already decided the man cannot be trusted one little inch automatically write it off, as “Just him starting more shit.” The government’s idiots, however, launch an uninformed, emotional, and easily foreseeable “Idiotic” argument against vaccines because “The Medical Societal is the Devil.” Meanwhile, the “Medical Society” launches a clever, well- organized ad campaign to fully explain to the government’s “Idiots” why vaccines are good for us, and reinforce in our minds why we should blindly listen to them, and not an “Idiot” like Trump. “Public health experts warn that this growing movement is threatening one of the most successful medical innovations of modern times. Globally, vaccines prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million children every year, but deadly diseases such as measles and whooping cough still circulate in populations where enough people are unvaccinated.” By Lena H. Sun Alice Crites contributed to this report from Washington, and Eva Ruth Moravec contributed from San Antonio.

This quote, by one of The Washington Post writers, presents us all with undeniable proof that the Washington Post is definitively not a trusted source for news of any kind. They are culpable in murder through coercion, misdirection, and outright lies. Leo Kanner, Johns Hopkins University, 1943   “Since 1938, there have come to our attention a number of children whose condition differs so markedly and uniquely from anything reported so far, that each case merits – and, I hope, will eventually receive – a detailed consideration of its fascinating peculiarities.”   All of Kanners cases were born after, and began to appear following, the introduction of Eli Lilly’s new form of water-soluble mercury in the late 1920s used as an antifungal in forestry, a wood treatment product in the lumber industry and as a disinfectant and antibacterial in the medical industry under the name of “Thimerosal” that was included in vaccines.

It’s really, literally that simple. Trump is in office to not give a fuck about giving the elite everything they want. Additionally, he is in office to give a Fuck about some very serious health and safety concerns, just to give his “Idiots” a run at “exposing” these “Criminal Inner Societies,” just to fail, and in doing so, make it “Idiotic” to even question any point of the establishment.

  Health & Science Trump energizes the anti-vaccine movement in Texas

It is an often repeated fallacy that there is no research that supports the supposition that vaccines can cause autism. This talking point is most often repeated by medical personnel and public health officials who have simply never been told that these studies exist, and in some cases by those who refuse to read the information when it is offered to them, so they continue to labor under the false assumption that vaccine-autism causation is merely an “internet rumor” or a result of one paper that was published in 1998.

Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact   Leo Kanner, Johns Hopkins University, 1943   “Since 1938, there have come to our attention a number of children whose condition differs so markedly and uniquely from anything reported so far, that each case merits – and, I hope, will eventually receive – a detailed consideration of its fascinating peculiarities.”   All of

“Since 1938, there have come to our attention a number of children whose condition differs so markedly and uniquely from anything reported so far, that each case merits – and, I hope, will eventually receive – a detailed consideration of its fascinating peculiarities.”   All of Kanners cases were born after, and began to appear following, the introduction of Eli Lilly’s new form of water-soluble mercury in the late 1920s used as an antifungal in forestry, a wood treatment product in the lumber industry and as a disinfectant and antibacterial in the medical industry under the name of “Thimerosal” that was included in vaccines.

For further information on the early evidence of a vaccine/connection, I recommend reading Dr. Bryan Jepson’s book, “Changing the Course of Autism: A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physicians,” as well as MarkBlaxill and Dan Olmseted’s new book “The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine, and a Man-made Epidemic.”      1. Hepatitis B Vaccination of Male Neonates and Autism   Annals of Epidemiology , Vol. 19, No. 9 ABSTRACTS (ACE), September 2009: 651-680, p. 659   CM Gallagher, MS Goodman, Graduate Program in Public Health, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY   PURPOSE: Universal newborn immunization with hepatitis B vaccine was recommended in 1991; however, safety findings are mixed. The Vaccine Safety Datalink Workgroup reported no association between hepatitis B vaccination at birth and febrile episodes or neurological adverse events. Other studies found positive associations between hepatitis B vaccination and ear infection, pharyngitis, and chronic arthritis; as well as receipt of early intervention/special education services (EIS); in probability samples of U.S. children. Children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) comprise a growing caseload for EIS. We evaluated the association between hepatitis B vaccination of male neonates and parental report of ASD.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study used U.S. probability samples obtained from National Health Interview Survey 1997-2002 datasets. Logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the effect of neonatal hepatitis B vaccination on ASD risk among boys age 3-17 years with shot records, adjusted for race, maternal education, and two-parent household.

  RESULTS: Boys who received the hepatitis B vaccine during the first month of life had 2.94 greater odds for ASD (nZ31 of 7,486; OR Z 2.94; p Z 0.03; 95% CI Z 1.10, 7.90) compared to later- or unvaccinated boys. Non-Hispanic white boys were 61% less likely to have ASD (ORZ0.39; pZ0.04; 95% CIZ0.16, 0.94) relative to non-white boys.   CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that U.S. male neonates vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccine had a 3-fold greater risk of ASD; risk was greatest for non-white boys.

See this full story and the other 29 reports contradicting the CDC and Medical Society in the link below.

Trump, Challenged About Putin, Says ‘Our Country’s So Innocent?’

Bill O’Reilly calls Putin a murderer in an interview with Trump on CNN, to which Trump responds “You think our countries so innocent, there’s a lot of killers in this country.”      And he was absolutely right. America has zero moral ground to stand on to accuse any other country, let alone an individual human being of any criminal action. It is well known by this point in history that the European Governments, including America, comprise the world’s only verified terroristic organizations.

Trump defence chief Mattis threatens less commitment to NATO 15 February 2017

A couple years ago NATO was condemning America for crimes against humanity over the state of water in Flint, MI, and several other states. In addition to our established record of police murdering innocent citizens.       Now they are going after Putin, and Trump threatens to pull away if the other NATO nations fail to increase their own spending in order to align with America’s Projections.

How Obama is scheming to sabotage Trump’s presidency

Former Obama Officials, Loyalists Waged Secret Campaign to Oust Flynn Sources:

Former Obama officials, loyalists planted series of stories to discredit Flynn, bolster Iran deal BY:Adam Kredo

You Are Fake News!’: Trump and CNN’s Jim Acosta Get Into Shouting Match at Presser by Justin Baragona | 12:18 pm, January 11th, 2017

Short and sweet. He is a diversion being used against us through the unadulterated force of the governments will against that of their constituents ( Bosses ). He divides us through continued fear mongering, Religious persecution, Racist profiling, Constitutionally Illegal “Laws”, Sexism, continued deterioration of employee rights…….      His moronic demeanor is nothing more than a show to lead his supporters to believe he is determined to be their

His moronic demeanor is nothing more than a show to lead his supporters to believe he is determined to be their savior, and to tell the rest of us that he can do whatever he wants, and he will wear us down, and destroy us

Appropriately Trumped Warning: Strong Language It has recently come to my “Realization” why Rothschild put Trump in the White House.

[yes-dal456]

Fecal Transplants May Improve Autism By Targeting Gut Bacteria

To treat brain disorders like autism, scientists increasingly are targeting a different part of the body: the gut. 

Imbalances in the gut microbiome ― the community of trillions of bacteria living in the digestive tract ― have been linked with mental and neurological disorders, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Parkinson’s disease. Now, medical researchers are looking into ways of improving the health and diversity of the gut’s bacterial community in order to better treat these conditions. 

New research suggests that the gut also may be an important site of intervention for autism spectrum disorders. Children with autism have been found to have a less diverse gut microbial community than neurotypical children, as well as lower levels of important strains of healthy bacteria. Scientists suspect that these differences play a role in behavioral symptoms of the disorder, like impaired social functioning. 

“The role of microbiome in autism has received a lot of attention in the last couple of years,” Dr. Mathew Pletcher, vice president and head of genomic discovery at Autism Speaks, a research and advocacy organization, told The Huffington Post. “There is a lot of data supporting a link between behavior and digestive health.”

The preliminary study, conducted by researchers at Arizona State University and published in the journal Microbiome, showed that “microbiota transfer therapy” ― aka fecal transplants ― can improve the diversity of the gut microbiome, easing gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms of austism. 

While fecal transplants aren’t yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the early results are promising. Study co-author Dr. James Adams called findings “very compelling.” 

“We completed a Phase 1 trial demonstrating safety and efficacy, but recommending such treatment and bringing it to market requires Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials,” Allen, a molecular biologist at the university, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing research on this treatment method with a larger, placebo-controlled trial in the future.”

Targeting The Gut To Treat The Mind 

For the study, the researchers recruited 18 boys and girls ages 7 to 16 who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Each participant underwent a 10-week treatment program that included antibiotics, a bowel cleanse and daily fecal microbial transplants for two months.

Fecal transplants work by introducing the fecal matter of a healthy donor to the patients. The transplanted material contains around 1,000 different strains of gut bacteria, acting like an ultra-potent probiotic to help restore the health and diversity of the recipient’s intestinal flora. 

At the end of the eight-week period, the participants showed a significant increase in the diversity of their gut microbiome, and increases in certain healthy bacteria strains thought to be deficient in children with autism. The healthy new microbes remained, even after the treatment period ended. 

These changes in the microbiome seemed to lead to significant long-term symptom reduction. The participants showed an average of 80 percent improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms (which commonly occur with autism disorders). They also showed a 25 percent improvement in behavioral symptoms, including better sleeping habits and social skills. 

”We were hoping for some improvement in autism symptoms and were pleased to see about a 25 percent improvement in only 10 weeks,” Dr. Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, a biologist and study co-author, told HuffPost. “It was great to see that autism and GI symptoms improvement remained at least eight weeks after treatment stopped.”

New Hope For Treating Autism

The next step for the team is to conduct larger, placebo-controlled trials to confirm the efficacy of the treatment.  

While fecal transplants aren’t quite ready for widespread public use, other methods of improving gut health could be of benefit to individuals with autism. A Baylor College study published in June suggested that adding one particular strain of beneficial bacteria into the gut of individuals with autism could lessen symptoms. 

Some parents have also have found success using dietary interventions to improve gut health. But so far, research is too limited to support a nutritional approach. 

“Dietary changes such as increasing fiber intake, avoiding food allergens, or taking probiotics may have some limited benefit for some individuals, but in our opinion this treatment has a lot more promise,” said Krajmalnik-Brown. “Probiotics only contain one to 10 strains of bacteria that do not normally grow in the gut, whereas human microbiota contain more than 1,000 strains.”

But it’s early days yet. Pletcher, who was not involved in the research and reviewed the findings for HuffPost, warned of the study’s small sample size. 

“I wouldn’t say these results are necessarily surprising, but with a study of this size ― we have to not over-interpret the results,” Pletcher said. “This is an encouraging first step in determining if this type of treatment will provide real benefit to the autism community.”

In other words, don’t take it upon yourself to try this one just yet. The researchers caution that improper techniques used without the guidance of a physician could result in serious harm. 

“Families, do not try this at home,” said Krajmalnik-Brown. “Microbiota should be very carefully screened and the treatment should be done under medical supervision.”

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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[imreviewblog]

Fecal Transplants May Improve Autism By Targeting Gut Bacteria

To treat brain disorders like autism, scientists increasingly are targeting a different part of the body: the gut. 

Imbalances in the gut microbiome ― the community of trillions of bacteria living in the digestive tract ― have been linked with mental and neurological disorders, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Parkinson’s disease. Now, medical researchers are looking into ways of improving the health and diversity of the gut’s bacterial community in order to better treat these conditions. 

New research suggests that the gut also may be an important site of intervention for autism spectrum disorders. Children with autism have been found to have a less diverse gut microbial community than neurotypical children, as well as lower levels of important strains of healthy bacteria. Scientists suspect that these differences play a role in behavioral symptoms of the disorder, like impaired social functioning. 

“The role of microbiome in autism has received a lot of attention in the last couple of years,” Dr. Mathew Pletcher, vice president and head of genomic discovery at Autism Speaks, a research and advocacy organization, told The Huffington Post. “There is a lot of data supporting a link between behavior and digestive health.”

The preliminary study, conducted by researchers at Arizona State University and published in the journal Microbiome, showed that “microbiota transfer therapy” ― aka fecal transplants ― can improve the diversity of the gut microbiome, easing gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms of austism. 

While fecal transplants aren’t yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the early results are promising. Study co-author Dr. James Adams called findings “very compelling.” 

“We completed a Phase 1 trial demonstrating safety and efficacy, but recommending such treatment and bringing it to market requires Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials,” Allen, a molecular biologist at the university, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing research on this treatment method with a larger, placebo-controlled trial in the future.”

Targeting The Gut To Treat The Mind 

For the study, the researchers recruited 18 boys and girls ages 7 to 16 who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Each participant underwent a 10-week treatment program that included antibiotics, a bowel cleanse and daily fecal microbial transplants for two months.

Fecal transplants work by introducing the fecal matter of a healthy donor to the patients. The transplanted material contains around 1,000 different strains of gut bacteria, acting like an ultra-potent probiotic to help restore the health and diversity of the recipient’s intestinal flora. 

At the end of the eight-week period, the participants showed a significant increase in the diversity of their gut microbiome, and increases in certain healthy bacteria strains thought to be deficient in children with autism. The healthy new microbes remained, even after the treatment period ended. 

These changes in the microbiome seemed to lead to significant long-term symptom reduction. The participants showed an average of 80 percent improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms (which commonly occur with autism disorders). They also showed a 25 percent improvement in behavioral symptoms, including better sleeping habits and social skills. 

”We were hoping for some improvement in autism symptoms and were pleased to see about a 25 percent improvement in only 10 weeks,” Dr. Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, a biologist and study co-author, told HuffPost. “It was great to see that autism and GI symptoms improvement remained at least eight weeks after treatment stopped.”

New Hope For Treating Autism

The next step for the team is to conduct larger, placebo-controlled trials to confirm the efficacy of the treatment.  

While fecal transplants aren’t quite ready for widespread public use, other methods of improving gut health could be of benefit to individuals with autism. A Baylor College study published in June suggested that adding one particular strain of beneficial bacteria into the gut of individuals with autism could lessen symptoms. 

Some parents have also have found success using dietary interventions to improve gut health. But so far, research is too limited to support a nutritional approach. 

“Dietary changes such as increasing fiber intake, avoiding food allergens, or taking probiotics may have some limited benefit for some individuals, but in our opinion this treatment has a lot more promise,” said Krajmalnik-Brown. “Probiotics only contain one to 10 strains of bacteria that do not normally grow in the gut, whereas human microbiota contain more than 1,000 strains.”

But it’s early days yet. Pletcher, who was not involved in the research and reviewed the findings for HuffPost, warned of the study’s small sample size. 

“I wouldn’t say these results are necessarily surprising, but with a study of this size ― we have to not over-interpret the results,” Pletcher said. “This is an encouraging first step in determining if this type of treatment will provide real benefit to the autism community.”

In other words, don’t take it upon yourself to try this one just yet. The researchers caution that improper techniques used without the guidance of a physician could result in serious harm. 

“Families, do not try this at home,” said Krajmalnik-Brown. “Microbiota should be very carefully screened and the treatment should be done under medical supervision.”

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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