B Vitamins for Brain Health
Simple-yet-powerful nutrients to fight depression, dementia, and more B vitamins are required for just about every major function in the body, from red blood cell production, to metabolism, to brain health. There are eight different B vitamins – B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate) and…
Eat Your Antioxidants, My Dear
The healthy person’s guide to fruits and vegetables If you ask the typical American how many servings of vegetables they eat per day, they’ll likely answer, “Not enough.” And they’re right; most of us aren’t getting enough of our plant-based foods or the nutrients they contain. In their 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, theUnited States…
Melatonin, the Antioxidant Recycler
Beyond sleep, melatonin protects against free radicals Melatonin’s age-old history in supporting aerobic life Melatonin is perhaps best known for its effects in regulating circadian rhythms and supporting sleep, but these are newer features of the hormone, evolutionarily-speaking. It’s theorized that melatonin’s original purpose – and primary function to this day – was as…
Breaking Bad: Homocysteine and Aging
The role of B vitamins in cardiovascular and neurological health “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” – Eubie Blake, American composer, upon reaching the age of 100 By now it’s widely known that high blood cholesterol levels can be harmful to our health….
Selenium: A Mineral Essential for Detox/Redox
Guarding against environmental toxins Selenium is a mineral with remarkable antioxidant benefits. Although it is needed only in small amounts, selenium is vital for thyroid, reproductive and immune function, and for protecting the brain, heart, and kidneys against environmental toxins.[1] Selenium is like a battery that operates within 25 different selenium-containing proteins (selenoproteins) in…
Selenium and Thyroid Health
A trace mineral for major benefit Sitting at the front of the neck, like a butterfly spreading its wings over the throat, the thyroid is one of the most exposed glands of the endocrine system. Controlling growth, development, and metabolism, the thyroid requires proper nutrition to function and produce hormones appropriately. The changes in…
Understanding Inflammation
When too much of a good thing becomes harmful If you’ve ever scraped your knee, you’ve seen the healing power of inflammation at work. The body reacts to injury and invasion by sending a flood of white blood cells to the area to repair the damage, stop the spread of infection, and battle any…
From Childhood to the Elderly: Evidence for Melatonin
An array of clinical research shows the safety and efficacy of melatonin in healthy and compromised populations Many a time in life when the stress hormones are flying, we also have the unfortunate experience of struggling to sleep. The experience of insomnia is not uncommon, with about one-third to two-thirds of adults experiencing insomnia…
Psoriasis: A Bowel Disease?
Dr. Haines Ely’s unconventional approach to the itchy, disfiguring scales of psoriasis Psoriasis affects 7.5 million Americans, and the disfiguring disease—with its characteristic scaly, inflamed patches of flaking skin—is not only debilitating when severe, but is linked to cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, psoriatic arthritis, and depression. Characterized by skin cells that multiply…
Protecting Yourself from the Damaging Effects of Air Pollution
How to keep your cells healthy in the face of particulate matter pollution in the air The more populated our world becomes, the more the by-products of development, consumerism, and transportation become an issue. Many of the effects are obvious: we can’t avoid seeing supermarkets popping up where there once were trees, new shiny…
How Harmful Is Air Pollution?
When breathing is a health risk, what can be done? Take a deep breath in. Slowly exhale. Deep, conscious breathing can be restorative, balancing, and calming. The experience is even better in nature – a forest with trees towering overhead, or by the ocean with the sand between our toes. We take it for…
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