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| Guided Meditation video | Source: Amazon.com |
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Guided Meditation Video
The "Guided Meditation for Relaxation, Stress Relief, and Anxiety with Katrina Repman" video is a startlingly good meditation guide. I listened to it while walking and noticed some pronounced changes in my body's arousal state. I don't want to say that I now feel sleepy, but rather quite relaxed. I have listened to some meditation tapes before, but Katrina's voice and style are pleasantly effective. I hope this is something I can keep exploring.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Stimulating the Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is the longest autonomic nerve in the human body. The autonomic nervous system regulates largely unconscious processes like heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, sexual arousal, urination, and pupillary response.
The vagus nerve is the prime component of the parasympathetic nervous system, or the system that oversees the resting body (colloquially called the "rest and digest" or "feed and breed" response). The countering autonomic nervous system is the sympathetic nervous system which regulates the body's response when it is under threat (the "fight or flight" response).
Some suggestions for stimulating the vagus nerve and along with it the parasympathetic nervous system include humming or singing, meditation, laughing, being around people you enjoy, deep breathing, yoga, physical activity, massage, cold water, probiotics, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and so on.
The vagus nerve sends signals among many body systems; a branch of the nerve even controls muscles of the larynx and thus effects speech.
The vagus nerve is the prime component of the parasympathetic nervous system, or the system that oversees the resting body (colloquially called the "rest and digest" or "feed and breed" response). The countering autonomic nervous system is the sympathetic nervous system which regulates the body's response when it is under threat (the "fight or flight" response).
Some suggestions for stimulating the vagus nerve and along with it the parasympathetic nervous system include humming or singing, meditation, laughing, being around people you enjoy, deep breathing, yoga, physical activity, massage, cold water, probiotics, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and so on.
The vagus nerve sends signals among many body systems; a branch of the nerve even controls muscles of the larynx and thus effects speech.
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Smoothie How To's
There are a lot of amazing smoothie recipes out there. It's such a simple way to give your body something healthy and delicious. Here is one smoothie how-to-guide on Pinterest. There are, of course, many good ideas out there. One of my favorite smoothies is made with apple, cucumber, spinach, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, yogurt, blueberries (warmed from frozen), pasteurized egg whites, stevia, and sometimes flaxseed. Yum.
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| "How to Make Healthy Smoothies" Pin Source: realsimplegood.com via Pinterest.com |
Monday, January 14, 2019
"It Takes Guts" Documentary
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| "It Takes Guts" Documentary Source: Amazon.com |
"It Takes Guts" is a 53 minute 2016 documentary available on Amazon. It features the thoughts and appearances of nine or so field leaders on the topics of microbes, our gut, and our health with a special focus on obesity.
Some key take-aways are the impact of gut microbe diversity on leanness, how microbes communicate to each other and to our body, how fiber allows nutrition to reach microbes deeper in our digestive track, etc. When we eat, we eat for much more than just ourselves; our diverse microbe ecosystem also lives on what we ingest and sends signals that communicate with other parts of our body. These signals may even impact what we crave and how we behave. Other environmental factors also impact our gut microbiome including breastfeeding, antibiotic treatments, and more.
Professor Tim Spector has taken a special interest in researching various diet choices. His current gut-friendly diet includes cutting out processed foods, eating vegetables and fruits (prebiotic fiber), unpasteurized cheese and yogurt (probiotics), and reducing antibiotic meat. He has also increased the diversity of his diet to include 20 to 30 different types of food every week. Many of the researchers were actively looking at different types of food choices and how they impact the gut microbiome and the results.
Researchers on the program included:
Dr. Arya Sharma
Professor of Medicine & Past-Chair in Obesity Research and Management
University of Alberta
@DrSharma
Tim Spector
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology
Author of “The Diet Myth”
@timspector
Ed Yong
Science writer, The Atlantic
@edyong209
Anthropologist Jeff Leach
Dr. Emma Allen-Verco
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of Guelpth
Dr. Krista Power
Agriculture Canada
Dr. Martin Blaser
Author, “Missing Microbes”
Dr. Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello
NYU School of Medicine
Prof. Rob Knight
UC San Diego
The film was produced, directed, and written by Leora Eisen
Friday, January 11, 2019
Breast Milk: The Market and Some Basics
Apparently there is a black market for breast milk. According to the Medical Confession podcast episode "All About Breastmilk" the liquid gold can go for $1.50 an ounce. A woman's production can vary, but typically at four to five weeks a baby will consume 30 oz of breast milk a day.
Due to a lack of safety and sanitary controls, however, this black-market milk may be contaminated with bacteria or could be fraudulently mixed with cow’s milk.
Fortunately, there are legit human milk banks that are subject to strict safety standards. The Human Milk Bank Association of North America (HMBANA), for example, provides FDA and CDC designed guidelines to its member milk banks.
According to safe storage standards, Mom's can save their expressed milk for up to six months in a freezer. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for the first six months of a child's life.
Breast milk contains all the major macronutrients such as fat, carbs, and protein as well as important vitamins and minerals. Breast milk also contains antibodies from the mother that can provide newborns immunity protections. Babies who are breastfed are at 73% reduced chance of SIDS, show increased intelligence, contract fewer middle ear infections, colds/flu, etc.
Top health agencies like WHO, NIH, the American Academy of Pediatric Physicians, etc. are huge supporters of breastfeeding.
The production of breast milk is initiated by the hormones prolactin and oxytocin. According to the Medical Confessions podcast, men can also produce breast milk, called witches’ milk, that is surprisingly similar to a woman’s breast milk if given the proper milk-producing hormones.
There is both an art and a science to breast milk production. Some environmental and biological agents can help increase breast milk production. One of the hosts mentions Fenugreek as being particularly helpful, though she noticeably gave off the aroma of maple syrup. Mom’s must also be aware that what they ingest and what is in their system can be passed to their child.
Due to a lack of safety and sanitary controls, however, this black-market milk may be contaminated with bacteria or could be fraudulently mixed with cow’s milk.
Fortunately, there are legit human milk banks that are subject to strict safety standards. The Human Milk Bank Association of North America (HMBANA), for example, provides FDA and CDC designed guidelines to its member milk banks.
According to safe storage standards, Mom's can save their expressed milk for up to six months in a freezer. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for the first six months of a child's life.
Breast milk contains all the major macronutrients such as fat, carbs, and protein as well as important vitamins and minerals. Breast milk also contains antibodies from the mother that can provide newborns immunity protections. Babies who are breastfed are at 73% reduced chance of SIDS, show increased intelligence, contract fewer middle ear infections, colds/flu, etc.
Top health agencies like WHO, NIH, the American Academy of Pediatric Physicians, etc. are huge supporters of breastfeeding.
The production of breast milk is initiated by the hormones prolactin and oxytocin. According to the Medical Confessions podcast, men can also produce breast milk, called witches’ milk, that is surprisingly similar to a woman’s breast milk if given the proper milk-producing hormones.
There is both an art and a science to breast milk production. Some environmental and biological agents can help increase breast milk production. One of the hosts mentions Fenugreek as being particularly helpful, though she noticeably gave off the aroma of maple syrup. Mom’s must also be aware that what they ingest and what is in their system can be passed to their child.
Midwife rang today: mum who survived breast cancer is due next week.🤰Within 1 h we had plan for donor milk! #helpingothers @milk_foundation pic.twitter.com/t9wsJdnH0f
— Hearts Milk Bank (@heartsmilkbank) August 3, 2018
Friday, January 4, 2019
Rush Hour II: Heaven on Earth Fight Scene
YouTube video:
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Rush Hour II movie starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker
Heaven on Earth Fight Scene, Source: YouTube.com
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Thursday, January 3, 2019
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson on Femsplainers
Canadian clinical psychologist and professor Dr. Jordan B. Peterson was a guest on Femsplainers with Christina Hoff Sommers and Danielle Crittenden. The podcast was hosted live on December 13, 2018 at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Dr. Peterson and the shows hosts heartily discuss his own life and work as well as "the secrets of a long marriage, the problems with dating apps, how to handle a belligerent toddler, and the motivation of [his] radical feminist critics."
One piece of research I have heard Dr. Peterson mention before that I find particular intriguing is the difference between the male and female orientation to things vs. people. According to Dr. Peterson there is one standard deviation difference between the genders. For example, a man would have to be in the 85th percentile of men to have the same interest in people as the 50th percentile of woman. And likewise, a woman would have to be in the 85th percentile of women to have the same interest in things as the 50th percentile of men. The details are at minute 33:30.
Dr. Peterson, of course, has additional research and stories to share.
More articles:
Stanford Medicine: Two minds: The cognitive differences between men and women
Dr. Peterson and the shows hosts heartily discuss his own life and work as well as "the secrets of a long marriage, the problems with dating apps, how to handle a belligerent toddler, and the motivation of [his] radical feminist critics."
One piece of research I have heard Dr. Peterson mention before that I find particular intriguing is the difference between the male and female orientation to things vs. people. According to Dr. Peterson there is one standard deviation difference between the genders. For example, a man would have to be in the 85th percentile of men to have the same interest in people as the 50th percentile of woman. And likewise, a woman would have to be in the 85th percentile of women to have the same interest in things as the 50th percentile of men. The details are at minute 33:30.
Dr. Peterson, of course, has additional research and stories to share.
It was fun. https://t.co/NuhldCT30B
— Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) January 3, 2019
More articles:
Stanford Medicine: Two minds: The cognitive differences between men and women
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