Day: 09/25/2015

Risk of Stroke at the Time of Carotid Occlusion

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Importance  Many patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis are offered carotid stenting for the prevention of carotid occlusion. However, this treatment may be inappropriate if the risk of stroke is low at the time of occlusion and with intensive medical therapy.

Objectives  To determine the risk resulting from progression to occlusion among patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis and to assess the role of severity of carotid stenosis or the presence of contralateral occlusion as factors that may predict the risk of stroke or death after occlusion of a previously asymptomatic carotid stenosis.

Design, Setting, and Participants  We conducted a retrospective analysis of data collected from patients at the Stroke Prevention Clinic of Victoria Hospital from January 1, 1990 (when annual surveillance with carotid ultrasonography first began), through December 31, 1995, or the Stroke Prevention at University Hospital from January 1, 1995, through December 31, 2012. The last date of follow-up was August 26, 2014.

Exposures  A new carotid occlusion during annual monitoring with carotid duplex ultrasonography (index occlusion).

Main Outcomes and Measures  Ipsilateral stroke or transient ischemic attack, death from ipsilateral stroke, or death from unknown cause.

Results  Among 3681 patients in our clinic database with data on sequential annual carotid ultrasonographic examinations during the study period, 316 (8.6%) were asymptomatic before an index occlusion that occurred during observation. Most of the new occlusions (254 of 316 [80.4%]) occurred before 2002, when medical therapy was less intensive; the frequency decreased by quartile of years (P < .001, χ2test). Only 1 patient (0.3%) had a stroke at the time of the occlusion, and only 3 patients (0.9%) had an ipsilateral stroke during follow-up (all before 2005). In Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, neither severity of stenosis (P = .80, log-rank test) nor contralateral occlusion (P = .73) predicted the risk of ipsilateral stroke or transient ischemic attack, death from stroke, or death from unknown cause at a mean (SD) follow-up of 2.56 (3.64) years. In Cox proportional hazards regression analyses, only age (P = .02), sex (P = .01), and carotid plaque burden (P = .006) significantly predicted risk of those events.

Conclusions and Relevance  The risk of progression to carotid occlusion is well below the risk of carotid stenting or endarterectomy and has decreased markedly with more intensive medical therapy. Preventing carotid occlusion may not be a valid indication for stenting.

The ‘human phantom’: Woman was cut into 5,000 slices and scanned

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  • The unnamed woman was a 59-year-old housewife from Maryland who died of a heart attack 20 years ago
  • Her body has been painstakingly reconstructed online to produce the most detailed digital model of a human
  • Researchers are using it to conduct dangerous experiments that would not be possible on living humans 
  • In one example they modelled what would happen to a metal hip implant in the magnetic field of an MRI scanner 

It is the most detailed picture of the human body ever achieved – an obese woman who died of a heart attack 20 years ago has been cut into more than 5,000 slices and scanned.

The high-resolution images, which show a cross-section of her cadaver a third of a millimetre at a time, have been used to create a digital version of the woman’s body, dubbed the ‘human phantom’.

Scientists behind the painstaking process, known as the Visible Human Project, hope it will provide a new way for researchers to conduct experiments too dangerous to perform on living humans.

A 59-year old woman from Maryland, whose body was donated to science by her husband, has been cut into more than 5,000 slices and scanned, allowing researchers to create an online reconstruction that is being used as a realistic digital model of the human body. The image above shows the woman's torso and her arms

A 59-year old woman from Maryland, whose body was donated to science by her husband, has been cut into more than 5,000 slices and scanned, allowing researchers to create an online reconstruction that is being used as a realistic digital model of the human body. The image above shows the woman’s torso and her arms

The woman, who was 59-years-old and from Maryland, is the second person to have had their body documented in this way. Her body was donated to the project by her husband.

Previously researchers pieced together scanned images of a 38-year-old Texas murderer called Joseph Paul Jernigan. His body was cut into slices 1mm thick.

However, the unnamed woman’s body provides far greater detail after being scanned at a higher resolution and using thinner slices.

The images of the scans, which reveal layers of tissue and organs from the woman’s head to her toes, were combined with MRI and CT scans taken shortly before she died.

Scientists are using the data to study human anatomy in greater detail than was previously possible but it is also allowing them to recreate the human body online so they can conduct experiments that would not be allowed on living humans. A cross section of the woman's head, showing her brain inside, is shown above

Scientists are using the data to study human anatomy in greater detail than was previously possible but it is also allowing them to recreate the human body online so they can conduct experiments that would not be allowed on living humans. A cross section of the woman’s head, showing her brain inside, is shown above

WHAT IS THE VISIBLE HUMAN PROJECT?

Launched in the mid-1989s, researchers aimed to build fully digitised versions of human bodies.

Using the body of Joseph Paul Jernigan, a convicted murderer who was was put to death by letha injection, they were able to reconstruct his body on a computer using 1mm thick slices of his body.

His body was first scanned using MRI and CT before being preserved in gelatine, frozen and then cross-sectioned slice by slice.

However, his body was missing an appendix, a testicle and several teeth, which researchers had to add using MRI and CT scans of living volunteers.

In fact, researchers revealed they ended up replacing Jernigan’s penis and both testicles to ensure ‘everything matched’.

Researchers have now completed scans of an unnamed American housewife whose body was donated to the project by her husband, using higher resolution scans and thinner slices than Jernigan.

However, there are 14 small body parts missing from her body too, including nose cartilage.

The project is allowing researchers to create realistic models, animations and simulations of the human body.

Her body was then encased in a combination of gelatine and water before tiny amounts were progressively sliced away, allowing researchers to photograph the cross sections revealed.

Professor Sergey Makarov, a computer engineer at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, who has been leading the project, presented the findings at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer’s Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society meeting in Milan, Italy.

According to New Scientist, he said: ‘It needs to be anatomically correct.’

Already the project has allowed researchers to spot several errors in anatomical text books, such as the shape of a muscle in the pelvic region and the location of the urinary bladder.

Scientists are now using the data to create a digital ‘model’ of the human body, with 231 tissue parts, including the windpipe and eye balls, which can be manipulated.

The unnamed woman's body had slices 0.33mm thick removed, and each was scanned in high resolution, allowing scientists to stitch the sections back together again online with all the tissues, organs and body parts. A section view of the woman's feet is pictured

The unnamed woman’s body had slices 0.33mm thick removed, and each was scanned in high resolution, allowing scientists to stitch the sections back together again online with all the tissues, organs and body parts. A section view of the woman’s feet is pictured

Researchers have also been able to use this virtual human body to conduct tests they could never do on a living person.

Professor Makarov told the meeting that his team had experimented by giving their ‘human phantom’ a metal hip replacement or a metal femur.

They then modelled what would happen if they put it in an MRI scanner, which can cause metal implants to heat up in the powerful magnetic field.

Professor Makarov told the meeting: ‘Electrical properties of bone and muscle tissues surrounding the implant are significantly different.’

The results could help doctors develop safer and more effective ways of scanning patients with implants.

This section through a human had was obtained from the earlier scans of a man who was a convicted murderer from Texas. They were scanned at far lower resolution and the sections used were three times thicker, meaning less detail could be obtained

This section through a human had was obtained from the earlier scans of a man who was a convicted murderer from Texas. They were scanned at far lower resolution and the sections used were three times thicker, meaning less detail could be obtained

The phantom human, which is freely available online, could also help to improve breast cancer screening and could also be used to assess the impact of long-term mobile phone use on the brain by simulating exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

Ara Nazarian, an orthopaedic surgeon at Harvard Medical School who has been collaborating on the Visible Human Project, said: ‘The phantom gives us a great opportunity to study human tissues without having to do human studies, which are lengthy and expensive.

‘Creating the phantom took a lot of work, but now anyone can run an experiment on their laptop.’

The cross sections show the position of the internal organs including the liver, lungs, heart, bladder and kidneys, but also show how other tissues like muscle and fat are organised through out the human body, like in this cross section above

The cross sections show the position of the internal organs including the liver, lungs, heart, bladder and kidneys, but also show how other tissues like muscle and fat are organised through out the human body, like in this cross section above

 

She May Solve One of the Oldest Problems in Surgery .

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Maria Pereira’s surgical glue could completely revolutionize modern medicine

Wherever Maria Pereira goes these days—her office in Paris, a conference in Boston, or back home to Portugal—she carries around a thumb-size vial of glue. That vial, a good-luck charm, may contain the solution to one of surgery’s oldest problems: how to seal wounds and holes in the body without damaging the body itself.

The ancient Egyptians and Greeks faced the same dilemma, and coarse stitches from catgut and silk were their method of choice. The modern physician relies on a more refined technique of suturing wounds, yet it can still result in infection, irritation and scarring. Pereira, the head of research at Paris-based medical-device startup Gecko Biomedical, plans on changing that. “Innovation in science is the key to improving people’s lives,” says the 30-year-old, who grew up in the Portuguese city of Leiria and moved to Paris in October 2013 to join Gecko. The company closed its first round of funding at the end of that year, raising $11 million to advance work on surgical glues and patches for wound closure.

Pereira’s journey began more than seven years ago, after she was awarded a scholarship from the MIT-Portugal Program to pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering in Boston. “From day one, Maria was all in on all levels,” says Jeff Karp, her former research supervisor. “Because of her passion for learning and for making the world a better place, she really exhibited the steepest learning and growth curve of anyone I’ve ever seen.”

next-generation-leaders-maria-nunes-pereira-2
Adam Ferguson for TIME

When Karp was approached by Boston Children’s Hospital in 2009 to come up with an alternative to sutures for addressing congenital heart defects, Pereira was the obvious choice to lead the research. There was a desperate need for a better solution: nearly 1 in every 100 babies is born with a congenital heart defect, and it’s a leading cause of infant deaths in the U.S. A child’s heart, merely the size of its own fist, is so fragile that suturing tissue can create additional tears; as the heart grows, more revision procedures are required, causing further damage.

Pereira’s goal was to develop a glue that could stick in the body’s harshest environment: the heart, which pumps what she describes as “a hurricane of blood” 60 times a minute. An adhesive that could attach under such wet and dynamic conditions must be elastic enough to expand and contract with each beat of the heart, and be hydrophobic (to repel blood away from the surface), biodegradable and nontoxic. In 2012, Pereira designed a material that met all those criteria and more: her glue adheres into place only when the surgeon shines a light on it, giving them control of the delivery process.

The material was so promising that Karp, together with established scientists and entrepreneurs, co-founded Gecko Biomedical in Paris and appointed Pereira to progress that medical technology from the lab into clinics. Within a year, her team managed to produce industrial quantities of the glue, up from just five grams in the lab. “Maria doesn’t just get things done, she makes things happen,” says Christophe Bancel, Gecko’s CEO.

With clinical trials due to start at the end of this year, the material could reach operating theaters as early as 2017. Pereira’s dream is to completely revolutionize modern surgery. So far, she hasn’t skipped a beat.

We bet you didn’t know this: Why babies really smile ?

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Babies often smile with a goal in mind: to make the person they are with smile in return, according to a new study.

There’s a new study on baby smiling habits, and why babies smile and why we too end up smiling back at them. For starters, smiling is not necessarily an emotional behavior for babies. According to a new study out of UC San Diego smiling is first and foremost a social and relational act destined to make the mother smile in return.

Babies often smile with a goal in mind: to make the person they are with smile in return. To prove this hypothesis, a team of computer scientists, roboticists and developmental psychologists from the University of California – San Diego programmed a toddler-like robot to behave like the babies they studied and had the robot interact with undergraduate students.

Their conclusions, published in the September 23 issue of PLOS ONE, reveal that the robot got the undergraduates to smile as much as possible while smiling as little as possible.

A mix of developmental psychology and robotics, this innovative study used the robot as a tool for scientific research. Scientific teams already use it to better understand nonverbal communication between children and adults, particularly in cases involving autism.

“If you’ve ever interacted with babies, you suspect that they’re up to something when they’re smiling. They’re not just smiling randomly,” said Javier Movellan, a research scientist in the Machine Perception Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, and one of the study’s authors. “But proving this is difficult.”

If you’ve ever interacted with babies, you suspect that they’re up to something when they’re smiling. They’re not just smiling randomly,” said Javier Movellan, a research scientist in the Machine Perception Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, and one of the study’s authors.

This is why the team turned to optimal control theory, a tool often used in robotics. This method allowed the researchers to design and program a robot to perform a specific behavior based on specific goals. For the purpose of this study, the researchers used the method to reverse engineer what the babies’ goals were based on their behavior.

The team used data from a previous study that observed the face-to-face interactions of 13 pairs of mothers and infants under the age of four months, including when and how often the mothers and babies smiled.

The researchers were surprised that the control theory data analysis found that 11 out of the 13 babies in the study showed clear signs of intentional smiling.

So the researchers developed a program that mimicked the babies’ actions and transferred it onto Diego San, a toddler-like robot that Movellan’s team had used for similar studies in the past.

Diego San interacted with 32 UC San Diego undergraduates individually during three-minute sessions, and when Diego San behaved like the babies in the study, the undergraduate students behaved like the babies’ mothers: they smiled a lot even while the robot didn’t have to smile that much.

“What makes our study unique is that previous approaches to studying infant-parent interaction essentially describe patterns,” said study co-author Dan Messinger from the University of Miami. “But we couldn’t say what the mother or infant is trying to obtain in the interaction. Here we find that infants have their own goals in the interaction, even before four months of age.”

Apple Cider Vinegar – 23 Research Backed Benefits (11 is a must read)

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Apple Cider Vinegar has a plethora of useful and medicinal properties. There have been resources written on all the amazing benefits that Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) has regarding multiple physical ailments as well as cleaning and DIY purposes.

ACV is a cheap and effective multi-purpose cleaner, you can add it to your water, tea and salad dressings for a refreshing zing and capitalize on the multiple health benefits you’ll be receiving.

Home-Made-Apple-Cider-Vinegar

Why All The Fuss Over Apple Cider Vinegar?

The word vinegar translates to vin aigre, is french for “sour wine”. The medicinal uses of vinegar date way back to when it was discovered in 5000 BC by a courtier in Babylonia.

Apple Cider Vinegar has a plethora of useful and medicinal properties. There have been resources written on all the amazing benefits that Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) has regarding multiple physical ailments as well as cleaning and DIY purposes.

ACV is a cheap and effective multi-purpose cleaner, you can add it to your water, tea and salad dressings for a refreshing zing and capitalize on the multiple health benefits you’ll be receiving.

Why All The Fuss Over Apple Cider Vinegar?

The word vinegar translates to vin aigre, is french for “sour wine”. The medicinal uses of vinegar date way back to when it was discovered in 5000 BC by a courtier in Babylonia.

MD’s during the 18th century used it as a multi purpose treatment for ailments like dropsy, stomach ache and even for managing diabetes (1).

Columbus had barrels of apple cider vinegar on his ships to prevent scurvy. Apple cider vinegar was used during the civil war to disinfect wounds and Japanese Samurai’s drank it for strength and power.

Hippocrates used vinegar to treat seventeen different conditions (2) ranging from ulcers to fractures.

Apple Cider Vinegar is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, it’s various enzymes help with digestion and 1 Tbs equals is just 3 calories.

1. Cleaning

ACV combined with 2 parts water makes an effective natural disinfectant solution for all surfaces (3).

It’s amazingly affordable compared to commercial natural cleaning products and the smell is really pleasant, you could add a few drops of thieves oil and have a great antibacterial spray for countertops, bathroom, kitchen and carpet deodorizer.

2. Hair rinse

There’s a new hair craze on the rise and it relies on the simple method of using baking soda as a shampoo and ACV as a conditioning hair rinse.

Instead of spending loads on junk free shampoos and conditioners, this “no poo” (short for shampoo, not the other stuff) method of hair care works really well and makes your hair super soft.

Thanks to the pH balancing effects that ACV has, anecdotal reports claim it can add shine, softness and break down build up from other hair products.

3. Dandruff and Thinning Hair

The high acidity and powerful enzyme in ACV kill the bacteria responsible for dandruff and hair loss, bottle bacilli, and stimulates our hair natural oils to secrete more effectively and moisturize our scalps better. I also recommend using coconut oil for a dry scalp treatment.

Saturate the scalp with ACV and let it sit for a few hours if you can, use the same treatment for thinning hair and itchy scalp (4).

4. Pets

ACV is a great remedy for repelling fleas from your dogs skin, it’s totally safe to use so you don’t have to worry about your pet getting sick from licking afterwards.

It works on pets the same way that it works on humans, re-establishing the proper acid mantle of the skin to repel microbes and other pests.

You can also add Apple Cider Vinegar to your pets food to keep a healthy pH balance in their gut and to prevent allergies, deter parasites, ringworm, ticks, fungus and other microbes from invading.

A 50 lb. dog would get about 2 tsp per day with food, and if you wanted to use ACV externally you could mix it 50:50 with water and put it in a spray bottle, saturating the dogs coat once per day (5).

5. Skin Toner

Most skin care products are on the alkaline side of the pH scale, some people try everything for their skin problems but nothing seems to work! The issue is most products are harming the acid mantle, a protective layer on our skin.

ACV is great because it’s acidity is closer to the natural pH of our skin, which keeps the acid mantle intact to do its job, protecting against germs and foreign bacteria which can be perpetuating the skin problem.

If you want to try ACV as a toner, just combine one part ACV with two to three parts water, you’ll want to add more water for very sensitive skin.

Apply this concoction to your face after cleansing and allow it to absorb into your skin.

6. Detoxifying

In a world filled with so many toxins, we should all be taking precautionary measures by incorporating protective foods into our diets. We’ve discussed many of the sources of toxins in previous articles so we won’t be overly redundant in this article.

The unique acids in ACV bind to toxins and allow us to release them more effectively.

You can also utilize the medicine of ACV by adding a cup to a hot bath with some epsom salts, to kickstart your lymphatic system into releasing toxins (6).

7. Allergies and Congestion

Not only does ACV help break up mucous, it also has a natural anti-histamine effect.

Whether your suffering from seasonal allergies, environmental or pet related, ACV can lessen the sneezy, wheezy, uncomfortable symptoms (7).

8. Candida

If you aren’t familiar with candida overgrowth, consider yourself lucky. Candida is a parasitic bacteria which cause yeast overgrowth leading to low energy, poor digestion, yeast infections, canker sores and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Candida overgrowth occurs often when a person has a poor diet, high in refined sugar and carbohydrates, and it can take over when the gut flora compromised by antibiotic use or birth control.

ACV is an effective tool in the kit of someone trying to rid themselves of draining candida. You can also look at lemon water as a possible solution when treating Candida.

It works by helping promote better digestion and an acid/alkaline balance more aligned with promoting healthy bacteria to once again thrive in the gut (8).

Vinegar has been used since time eternal as a cure for foot fungus and is great for killing molds.

Since yeast is a fungus it makes sense that ACV would help in keeping the parasite at bay, even though to date there hasn’t been any specific analysis of ACV directly as a candida killer.

9. Reduces Heart Burn and Acid Reflux

One of the most common health complaints people have is heart burn. It’s a symptom of the SAD (Standard American Diet) lifestyle because acid reflux only occurs when we’re depleted inhydrochloric acid (HcL).

HcL production is low in people who have sub optimal gut flora, meaning the aren’t eating enough cultured/fermented foods and have likely taken some sort of antibiotic in the past which has killed off the natural beneficial bacteria.

Stomach acid is the first line of defense against microbes, but when the stomach pH isn’t low enough, pathogens may grow around the esophageal sphincter and paralyze the muscle, allowing food to relax back up the esophagus (9).

Taking a Tbs of raw ACV with each meal ensures that the stomach acid will be acidic enough to do it’s job in making sure to kill off harmful microbes and start the process of digestion (10).

10. Effective in Treating High Cholesterol

There has yet to be a study done on effects of ACV on humans with high cholesterol but a study in 2006 found rats fed ACV for 19 days had drastic reduction in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels (11).

There’s also an antioxidant called chlorogenic acid present in ACV which has been found to LDL cholesterol particles from becoming oxidized (12).

11. Antiglycemic Effect

Plenty of human studies have been done on the effect vinegar has on insulin response and blood glucose levels after a meal (13). I think it’s important that everyone understands what insulin is and does in our bodies. Insulin plays a critical role in the way our body uses food. The primary function is decreasing the concentration of glucose (sugar) in your blood stream.

Every time you eat your body begins to break down the food into glucose, which goes into your blood stream. Your pancreas reacts to the surge in glucose by releasing insulin which cleans the the sugar from your blood. A portion of the glucose runs through the liver where it’s converted to glycogen to be used by your muscles.

Then insulin converts any left over glucose into fatty acids stored in the form of fat cells as an energy source later. Our bodies crave sugar, and so much of what we buy in the grocery store has added sugar as a result.

Many are developing a resistance to insulin which means that your body has has so much insulin secreted that it starts to ignore it and the sugar stays in the blood stream which is not a good thing. This can develop into diabetes and permanent health damages.

Vinegar also has the effect of suppressing the appetite and increasing feeling of satiety. (14)

ACV may also lower the glycemic response to starchy carbohydrates (15).

With diabetes being as prevalent as it is today it’s comforting to know that something as simple as vinegar may perhaps be an effective treatment.

12. Preventative

Cancer is devastating and debilitating, almost all of us have loved ones who have been affected by this heinous disease. There’s so much research in the realm of cancer prevention, a healthy diet and lifestyle are of the utmost importance.

The acetic acid present in ACV has been found in a number of cell and animal studies to have anti-tumor properties (16). We are in no way claiming that apple cider vinegar is a cure for cancer or tumors, ongoing research and testing is a step in the right direction.

The amazing thing is that we can incorporate disease preventative foods like this one easily into our daily regime, there are no harmful side effects, and no risk of overdose, so why not?

MD’s during the 18th century used it as a multi purpose treatment for ailments like dropsy, stomach ache and even for managing diabetes (1).

Columbus had barrels of apple cider vinegar on his ships to prevent scurvy. Apple cider vinegar was used during the civil war to disinfect wounds and Japanese Samurai’s drank it for strength and power.

Hippocrates used vinegar to treat seventeen different conditions (2) ranging from ulcers to fractures.

Apple Cider Vinegar is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, it’s various enzymes help with digestion and 1 Tbs equals is just 3 calories.

1. Cleaning

ACV combined with 2 parts water makes an effective natural disinfectant solution for all surfaces (3).

It’s amazingly affordable compared to commercial natural cleaning products and the smell is really pleasant, you could add a few drops of thieves oil and have a great antibacterial spray for countertops, bathroom, kitchen and carpet deodorizer.

2. Hair rinse

There’s a new hair craze on the rise and it relies on the simple method of using baking soda as a shampoo and ACV as a conditioning hair rinse.

Instead of spending loads on junk free shampoos and conditioners, this “no poo” (short for shampoo, not the other stuff) method of hair care works really well and makes your hair super soft.

Thanks to the pH balancing effects that ACV has, anecdotal reports claim it can add shine, softness and break down build up from other hair products.

3. Dandruff and Thinning Hair

The high acidity and powerful enzyme in ACV kill the bacteria responsible for dandruff and hair loss, bottle bacilli, and stimulates our hair natural oils to secrete more effectively and moisturize our scalps better. I also recommend using coconut oil for a dry scalp treatment.

Saturate the scalp with ACV and let it sit for a few hours if you can, use the same treatment for thinning hair and itchy scalp (4).

4. Pets

ACV is a great remedy for repelling fleas from your dogs skin, it’s totally safe to use so you don’t have to worry about your pet getting sick from licking afterwards.

It works on pets the same way that it works on humans, re-establishing the proper acid mantle of the skin to repel microbes and other pests.

You can also add Apple Cider Vinegar to your pets food to keep a healthy pH balance in their gut and to prevent allergies, deter parasites, ringworm, ticks, fungus and other microbes from invading.

A 50 lb. dog would get about 2 tsp per day with food, and if you wanted to use ACV externally you could mix it 50:50 with water and put it in a spray bottle, saturating the dogs coat once per day (5).

5. Skin Toner

Most skin care products are on the alkaline side of the pH scale, some people try everything for their skin problems but nothing seems to work! The issue is most products are harming the acid mantle, a protective layer on our skin.

ACV is great because it’s acidity is closer to the natural pH of our skin, which keeps the acid mantle intact to do its job, protecting against germs and foreign bacteria which can be perpetuating the skin problem.

If you want to try ACV as a toner, just combine one part ACV with two to three parts water, you’ll want to add more water for very sensitive skin.

Apply this concoction to your face after cleansing and allow it to absorb into your skin.

6. Detoxifying

In a world filled with so many toxins, we should all be taking precautionary measures by incorporating protective foods into our diets. We’ve discussed many of the sources of toxins in previous articles so we won’t be overly redundant in this article.

The unique acids in ACV bind to toxins and allow us to release them more effectively.

You can also utilize the medicine of ACV by adding a cup to a hot bath with some epsom salts, to kickstart your lymphatic system into releasing toxins (6).

7. Allergies and Congestion

Not only does ACV help break up mucous, it also has a natural anti-histamine effect.

Whether your suffering from seasonal allergies, environmental or pet related, ACV can lessen the sneezy, wheezy, uncomfortable symptoms (7).

8. Candida

If you aren’t familiar with candida overgrowth, consider yourself lucky. Candida is a parasitic bacteria which cause yeast overgrowth leading to low energy, poor digestion, yeast infections, canker sores and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Candida overgrowth occurs often when a person has a poor diet, high in refined sugar and carbohydrates, and it can take over when the gut flora compromised by antibiotic use or birth control.

ACV is an effective tool in the kit of someone trying to rid themselves of draining candida. You can also look at lemon water as a possible solution when treating Candida.

It works by helping promote better digestion and an acid/alkaline balance more aligned with promoting healthy bacteria to once again thrive in the gut (8).

Vinegar has been used since time eternal as a cure for foot fungus and is great for killing molds.

Since yeast is a fungus it makes sense that ACV would help in keeping the parasite at bay, even though to date there hasn’t been any specific analysis of ACV directly as a candida killer.

9. Reduces Heart Burn and Acid Reflux

One of the most common health complaints people have is heart burn. It’s a symptom of the SAD (Standard American Diet) lifestyle because acid reflux only occurs when we’re depleted inhydrochloric acid (HcL).

HcL production is low in people who have sub optimal gut flora, meaning the aren’t eating enough cultured/fermented foods and have likely taken some sort of antibiotic in the past which has killed off the natural beneficial bacteria.

Stomach acid is the first line of defense against microbes, but when the stomach pH isn’t low enough, pathogens may grow around the esophageal sphincter and paralyze the muscle, allowing food to relax back up the esophagus (9).

Taking a Tbs of raw ACV with each meal ensures that the stomach acid will be acidic enough to do it’s job in making sure to kill off harmful microbes and start the process of digestion (10).

10. Effective in Treating High Cholesterol

There has yet to be a study done on effects of ACV on humans with high cholesterol but a study in 2006 found rats fed ACV for 19 days had drastic reduction in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels (11).

There’s also an antioxidant called chlorogenic acid present in ACV which has been found to LDL cholesterol particles from becoming oxidized (12).

11. Antiglycemic Effect

Plenty of human studies have been done on the effect vinegar has on insulin response and blood glucose levels after a meal (13). I think it’s important that everyone understands what insulin is and does in our bodies. Insulin plays a critical role in the way our body uses food. The primary function is decreasing the concentration of glucose (sugar) in your blood stream.

Every time you eat your body begins to break down the food into glucose, which goes into your blood stream. Your pancreas reacts to the surge in glucose by releasing insulin which cleans the the sugar from your blood. A portion of the glucose runs through the liver where it’s converted to glycogen to be used by your muscles.

Then insulin converts any left over glucose into fatty acids stored in the form of fat cells as an energy source later. Our bodies crave sugar, and so much of what we buy in the grocery store has added sugar as a result.

Many are developing a resistance to insulin which means that your body has has so much insulin secreted that it starts to ignore it and the sugar stays in the blood stream which is not a good thing. This can develop into diabetes and permanent health damages.

Vinegar also has the effect of suppressing the appetite and increasing feeling of satiety. (14)

ACV may also lower the glycemic response to starchy carbohydrates (15).

With diabetes being as prevalent as it is today it’s comforting to know that something as simple as vinegar may perhaps be an effective treatment.

12. Preventative

Cancer is devastating and debilitating, almost all of us have loved ones who have been affected by this heinous disease. There’s so much research in the realm of cancer prevention, a healthy diet and lifestyle are of the utmost importance.

The acetic acid present in ACV has been found in a number of cell and animal studies to have anti-tumor properties (16). We are in no way claiming that apple cider vinegar is a cure for cancer or tumors, ongoing research and testing is a step in the right direction.

The amazing thing is that we can incorporate disease preventative foods like this one easily into our daily regime, there are no harmful side effects, and no risk of overdose, so why not?

13. Improves Digestion

Apple Cider Vinegar in its raw form is an excellent digestive tonic, it’s so rich in living enzymes that help to break food down to its bare components, making it far easier to assimilate.

As I mentioned before it’s an important source of acid which enables the first step of digestion to work effectively, stirring up those digestive juices helps immensely with the rest of the digestive processes.

The acetic acid present in ACV has also been shown to help with mineral absorption, enabling us to get the most out of the foods we eat (17).

14. Prevents Muscle Fatigue After Exercise

Muscle fatigue can often be a symptom of mineral and electrolyte depletion. To make sure the body has ample electrolyte stores take a Tbs of ACV with water before a workout. The natural pH of our bodies when it’s in balance create an environment where elimination of excess lactic acid in the muscles easily occurs, this stasis also plays a crucial role in oxygenating our bodies during exercise (18).

15. Bad Breath

Halitosis, it’s embarrassing and can be a sign of a deeper problem but one remedy for bad breath is you guessed it, ACV.

A folk remedy that many people claim has merit is to gargle with 1/2 Tbs raw ACV diluted in water for 30 seconds, twice per day (19). Some say it also helps to whiten teeth and remove stains.

16. Body Odour

Again with the pH, ACV helps control excessive body odour by regulating the pH of the skin, something most commercial deodorants and perfumes can’t claim (20).

For foot odour as well as fungal problems, even just a 10 minute soak once a week can keep bad smells in check.

To use ACV as a deodorant simply wipe each armpit with a soaked cotton ball daily.

17. Preserving Food

Vinegars use as a preservative agent dates back to 5000 BC when it was first discovered. People soon recognized that this magical substance could allow them to store food for longer periods.

The same rules apply today, saving some of the bounty when our favorite foods are in season is a great way to eat organic local food all year long.

Instead of making pickles with white vinegar, try using ACV, it gives them a great flavor as well as the added health benefits (21).

18. Weight Loss

A huge problem those of us trying to lose weight face is those ups and downs when blood sugars spike and drop too drastically.

The blood sugar roller coaster causes us to crave “high energy” foods like refined carbohydrates, to give a short term boost but a long term plummet.

ACV has been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels, helping to curb cravings and kick extra calories out.

ACV has become an overnight sensation in the weight loss industry, they even make it in pill form, though most of the experts say it’s better to just drink the real unpasteurized stuff.

ACV can also help with weight loss by increasing satiety after a meal, always a good feeling. A study done on obese individuals who consumed 15mL or 30mL of vinegar per day for 12-weeks, showed a reduction in body fat mass and serum triglycerides (22).

19. Prevents Bladder Stones and UTI

If you’ve ever had kidney stones, or known someone who has, they are extremely painful, and totally preventable.

Stones typically form when a persons urine is very acidic and concentrated, crystals form out of uric acid, calcium oxalate and struvite and have to be passed through the urinary tract.

ACV works by alkalizing the urine, decreasing the likelihood that this ailment would ever occur, and it’s been said that it can even break down the kidney stones (23).

It makes sense seeing as we saw above just how powerful of a substance ACV is when it comes to helping the body absorb minerals.

20. Balanced pH

Dr. Theodore Baroody, in his book “Alkalize or Die,” claims ACV to have an alkalizing effect on the blood and urine. Even though ACV is an acidic food, its structure changes to alkaline through the digestive processes.

The idea of eating a diet high in alkaline foods is that disease thrives in an acidic environment (24).

Foods like refined sugar, carbohydrates and meat create an acidic environment in our bodies, it’s interesting to note that the pH of a food in its pre-digested state is very different from the chemical processes it will undergo in our bodies. Thus foods like ACV and lemon water are surprisingly alkaline forming.

21. Potassium

Said to be the mineral of youth, potassium is an essential mineral in maintaining the soft tissues of the body, keeping everything flexible and resilient (25, 26). Deficiencies in potassium can cause an array of health problems.

Nobel Scientist Dr.Alexis Carrel “was able to keep the cells of an embryo chicken heart alive and healthy for 35 years by daily monitoring it’s complete nutrition, cleansing and elimination. An chicken’s average lifespan is 7 years!

Apple Cider Vinegar was given to the chicken embryo daily for it’s full quota of potassium.” Pretty impressive seeing as Dr.Carrel did this study in 1912, proving that proper nutrition and cleansing can adjust lifespan quite drastically.

22. Corns, Callouses and Warts

Dr. Scholl was a believer in keeping feet healthy by soaking them in warm water with 1/3 C ACV for 20 minutes and rubbing with a pumice stone.

This treatment for chronic foot ailments helps to correct the pH of the feet and make it impossible for fungus and warts to imbed themselves within the skin (27).

For warts, instead of rubbing with a pumice stone after a soak, simply saturate a cotton ball, apply it to the affected areas and cover overnight.

23. Poison Ivy and Poison Oak

ACV can soothe the irritation caused by these poisonous plants. Combine 50:50 with water in a spray bottle and add a few ice cubes (28).

This cooling spray helps to draw the toxins out of the skin and provide relief from the sting.

Final Thoughts…

An apple a day keeps the doctor away and I think the same goes for a bit of apple cider vinegar a day. There’s no reason not to incorporate this healing food into your daily regimen. For those who follow our paleo diet plan this product is approved with the diet as well.

If not for any of the reasons stated above, remember that prevention is the best treatment for any disease. Although there could certainly be more research done on the potential for using ACV as a medicine, the research that has been done is promising.

We can see that it holds great potential in treating diabetes and high cholesterol in particular. On a holistic level this amazing whole food is good for every organ system.

Root microbiome engineering improves plant growth.

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Humans have been breeding crops until they’re bigger and more nutritious since the early days of agriculture, but genetic manipulation isn’t the only way to give plants a boost. Integrative biologists now present how it is possible to engineer the plant soil microbiome to improve plant growth. These artificially selected microbiomes, which can also be selected in animals, can then be passed on from parents to offspring.

Humans have been breeding crops until they’re bigger and more nutritious since the early days of agriculture, but genetic manipulation isn’t the only way to give plants a boost. In a review paper published on September 25 in Trends in Microbiology, two integrative biologists present how it is possible to engineer the plant soil microbiome to improve plant growth, even if the plants are genetically identical and cannot evolve. These artificially selected microbiomes, which can also be selected in animals, can then be passed on from parents to offspring.

Only a few published studies have looked at the effects of artificially selecting microbiomes. In their own labs, the authors–Ulrich Mueller of the University of Texas at Austin and Joel Sachs of the University of California, Riverside–have seen microbiome engineering to be successful with Arabidopsis (a close relative of cabbage and broccoli). In the Arabidopsis experiments, bacteria from the roots of the largest plants were harvested with a filter and given to other plants growing from seed. Over time, the plants, which were genetically identical and therefore could not evolve by themselves, grew better because of their evolved and improved microbiomes.

“My hope is that others will become interested in optimizing methods in other systems,” says Mueller. “For agricultural applications, I would start with artificial selection of root microbiomes in a greenhouse environment, using cash crops such as lettuce, cucumber, or tomatoes, learn from these greenhouse experiments, then gauge whether any of these principles can be applied to outdoor agriculture and horticulture.”

Microbiome experiments can be tricky and affect reproducibility because of the complexity of propagating entire microbial communities between plants or between animals. The reason grasses and honeybees are attractive pilot organisms is because their microbiomes can be manipulated to be heritable. By testing this in organisms with stable genetics, it is easier to see the effects of adding specific bacterial communities.

“Selecting artificial microbiomes may be a cheaper way to help curb plant and animal diseases rather than pesticides and antibiotics or creating genetically modified organisms,” Mueller says. “The methods to generate host-mediated artificial selection on root microbiomes are super simple (all you need is a syringe and a filter), and any farmer in any location could potentially do this to engineer microbiomes that are specific to the problems of the specific location where the farmer attempts to grow food.”

What powers the pumping heart?

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A treasure trove of proteins has been discovered, which researchers say hold answers about how our heart pumps — a phenomenon known as contractility. These molecules haven’t been studied in the heart and little is known about what they do in other tissues, the investigators say.
Led by University of Toronto Physiology Professor Anthony Gramolini and his collaborator, Professor Thomas Kislinger in the Department of Medical Biophysics, the team used high-throughput methods to identify more than 500 membrane proteins on the surfaces of cardiac contractile cells, which are likely to have a critical role in normal heart function.

Researchers at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research have uncovered a treasure trove of proteins, which hold answers about how our heart pumps — a phenomenon known as contractility.

Led by University of Toronto Physiology Professor Anthony Gramolini and his collaborator, Professor Thomas Kislinger in the Department of Medical Biophysics, the team used high-throughput methods to identify more than 500 membrane proteins on the surfaces of cardiac contractile cells, which are likely to have a critical role in normal heart function. The proteins may also play a part in heart failure and abnormal heartbeat patterns known as arrhythmias.

“In addition to providing a new understanding of what makes our hearts pump, these findings could also help researchers uncover new information about how heart disease affects the signal pathways in our hearts. That might pave the way to find ways to prevent or reverse those changes,” says Gramolini.

During the study, the researchers found about 500 novel molecules that have been conserved throughout evolution. These molecules haven’t been studied in the heart and little is known about what they do in other tissues.

The group’s research focused on a protein called transmembrane protein 65 (Tmem65). By studying human stem cells and zebrafish using cell imaging and biochemical techniques, the researchers discovered that Tmem65 is involved in communication and electrical processes known as electrical coupling and calcium signaling. The team showed that Tmem65 regulates the connection point between adjacent cardiac contractile cells where it contributes to making the heart contract normally. Removing the protein had fatal consequences. The team also identified Tmem65 as the first critical tool for stem-cell researchers to monitor the maturation of cells in the heart’s two main chambers, known as ventricles.

“These proteins are theoretically targetable for intervention as well as basic study. In this study, our focus was on Tmem65, but there are 555 proteins that we identified and showed that they are present throughout many species and are conserved throughout evolution– at least in the mouse and the human — in the heart’s membrane-enriched contractile cells. Tmem65 was only the number-one candidate in our study, but theoretically, we have 554 other proteins to work through,” says Gramolini.

The study, published in Nature Communications, also provides the first resource of healthy human and mouse heart-cell proteins that will help scientists develop a better understanding the mechanisms involved in cardiac disease.

Gramolini says the findings are essential for understanding cardiac biology and hopes they open the door for further study into health and disease in his lab and others.

“We need to figure out what all of these molecules are doing. My team and I hope our research sets the stage for other people to begin to pick up some of this work,” says Gramolini. “These are molecules that haven’t been studied, but must play some role in heart function. If a protein is conserved in evolution, generally it must have a critical function. We are very excited to look at the role of a number of these new proteins.”

The 45 Greatest Films of All-Time (According to The Vatican)

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http://www.hollywood.com/movies/the-greatest-films-of-all-time-according-to-the-vatican-60400101/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hollywood.com#/ms-22502/1

Brief History Of Gluten, The Protein In Baked Goods: How ‘Wheat Intolerance’ Has Risen Over The Years

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wheat
Wheat and other whole grains contain large amounts of gluten, a protein that causes celiac disease in one in 133 Americans.

From spelt in the Bronze Age to baked goods in modern grocery stores, wheat — and its corresponding protein component, gluten — has been a prevalent component of human meals throughout the ages. Yet the gluten-free diet has become an increasingly popular trend due to fears of gluten sensitivity and digestive problems. What many people don’t realize, however, is that gluten is a natural component of most whole grains, and we’ve been consuming it since we first started cultivating said grains.

Gluten is a Latin word that means “glue,” due to its ability to hold grains like wheat, barley, and rye together. It’s a protein composite that gives pasta, bread, and other wheat products their chewy, flexible texture. It’s also critical in making dough rise in the oven, resulting in leavened bread. This distinction between leavened and unleavened bread is perhaps the most telling about gluten, as breads that don’t contain gluten are typically flat (imagine communion wafers, or Jewish unleavened bread).

Gluten seems harmless and natural enough, but to some one in 133 Americans (about 1 percent of the population), gluten can cause indigestion, headache, nausea, skin rashes, chronic fatigue, and even depression. That’s quite a few symptoms for a little glue protein. Celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder that destroys the small intestine) is enough to make gluten a major issue in the food and restaurant industry, as sufferers must avoid it at all costs in order to prevent debilitating nausea and stomach pain. And another one in seven people have some form of gluten intolerance or sensitivity — not the full-blown celiac disease, but enough for it to cause discomfort.

WheatWhole grains are made up of three parts that can be eaten: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.Pixabay

But if we’re going to look at the history of gluten and gluten intolerance, we need to understand its source: whole grains, especially wheat.

8800 BCE. The story of wheat in humanity is a long and varied one, but historians believe humans first began harvesting the grains in wild grasses in the Fertile Crescent — in ancient times consisting of Assyria, Mesopotamia, and the Nile Valley in Egypt — around 8800 BCE.

Wheat is just one type of whole grain, a term that refers to entire seeds of plants, also known as kernels. Whole grains are made up of three parts that can be eaten: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm — and in their natural “whole grain” state, they contain plenty of fiber, protein, minerals, vitamins — and, of course, gluten. According to the Mayo Clinic, whole grains reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.

After 8000 BCE, the cultivation of wheat – particularly emmer wheat – began spreading to other parts of the world, hitting Greece, Cyprus, and India by 6500 BCE; and Germany by 5000 BCE.

Spelt was widespread among peasants in Europe during the Bronze Age and medieval times, but today it’s a fashionable health food. CC BY-SA 3.0

The Bronze Age (3000 BCE – 1200 BCE) to medieval times. During the Bronze Age, spelt — a species of wheat — spread through central Europe, becoming a staple in people’s diets. Spelt was introduced to Switzerland, Tyrol, and Germany during the Middle Ages. Containing gluten, a good amount of protein, fiber, carbs, vitamins, and minerals, spelt was hearty food for peasants during this time — but today has become something of a specialty health food.

The Age of Discovery (15th century). French, English, and Portuguese explorers brought wheat and other grains to North and South America, which had previously only been cultivated in the Old World.

19th century. The Industrial Revolution swept through the Western world in the 18th and 19th centuries, and it sped up the process of bread-making significantly. As a result, wheat — which had previously been available to only a small number of people — became far more widespread.

1992. The original American Food Guide Pyramid, created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1992, listed whole grains as one of the most important food groups, stating that one should eat at least 6-11 servings of whole grains per day. This further solidified the prevalence of wheat and other grains in the American diet, around the time that celiac disease cases began rising. Some researchers believe that this increase in grain consumption is parallel to the rise in gluten intolerance.

2000s. There’s no denying that modern wheat is quite different from what it was thousands of years ago — and even what it was in the 20th century. Due to cross-breeding over many years, modern wheat’s composition went through a transformation: now, it is about two feet tall with large seeds, whereas before it was much taller. Gluten structure in modern wheat has also changed somewhat, though in essence it’s still gluten; and modern wheat also contains higher levels of the starch Amylopectin A.

Some research has examined how wheat cross-breeding in recent decades may or may not have contributed to the spike in celiac disease cases. One might imagine that the rise in celiac disease or gluten sensitivities in the modern age has to do with improved diagnostic tools and awareness, but it’s also possible that wheat’s altered state has something to do with it. More research is needed on that front; scientists still aren’t sure whether this modern “wheat composition” has a negative impact on health.

Japanese rice breadToday, plenty of gluten-free products exist for the gluten-intolerant patients out there, including pseudocereals like buckwheat, chia seeds, and quinoa); as well as millet and rice. CC BY 2.5

In 2011, cardiologist Dr. William Davis published Wheat Belly, a book that argues against wheat. In the book, Davis claims that cutting wheat from your diet is the pathway to a healthier, more energetic life. Grains and gluten can make some people feel sick, he argues, and the type of grains we eat today have been so altered and modified over the years that they’re no longer what they used to be. Wheat Belly contributed to the anti-gluten wave that prevented many regular people to avoid bread, pasta, and cereal — even when they had no visible gluten sensitivity.

But some scientists agree that there’s little to no scientific evidence behind Davis’ argument that it’s harmful for everyone.

“It’s really a small group of people who have a pathological response to gluten,” Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and associate professor of health, behavior and society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Washington Post. “And for them it’s absolutely essential to eat a gluten-free diet. Everyone else may be limiting their choices unnecessarily.”

Indeed, removing bread, cupcakes, and pasta from your diet may help you lose weight — but it has nothing to do with gluten. In fact, you can eat as many gluten-free products or gluten-free junk food as you want, and you still won’t lose weight.

Does The Brain Age Faster Than The Liver? Different Organs Age At Different Rates

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A new animal study suggests aging is not a gradual decline of the entire body all at once, but a more disordered process with some organs deteriorating faster than others. How each individual organ ages depends on its cellular proteins and its physiological function in the body, new research from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies proposes.

“Aging is associated with the decline of protein, cell, and organ function,” wrote the authors in their study. “We identify 468 differences in protein abundance between young and old animals.”

Aging, in clinical terms, is a progressive deterioration of organ function as the cells and proteins within organs decline. Meanwhile, the activity levels of genes decrease as animals grow older, past studies have shown, with most genes showing similar changes across all organs. However, a recent study using state of the art technologies on mice tissue concluded the vast majority of proteins remain unchanged in number with age. These recent findings made the issue of age more confusing.

How exactly does aging affect proteins, then, if it doesn’t decrease their numbers? the scientists wondered. Do age-related changes differ from organ to organ?

The Brain vs. the Liver

Co-first authors of the study, Dr. Brandon Toyama of the Salk Institute and Dr. Alessandro Ori of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory combined genomics and proteomics in their examination of young and old rats. By focusing on both genes and proteins at once, these two researchers and their colleagues were better able to analyze cellular changes in the animals’ livers and brains. What did they discover?

First, they were able to identify 468 differences in protein abundance between the young and old animals. Second, they observed another set of 130 proteins showing age-related differences in terms of their location within cells, their phosphorylation state, or some other characteristic that would affect either the activity level or function of proteins.

Essentially, then, these discoveries expanded the list of (mammal) proteins modified by age.

The scientists most dramatic finding? Most of the age-related differences in proteins could be found in just one organ or another, with the brain aging faster than the liver. In fact, a larger proportion of proteins in the brain were affected by aging compared to the liver. The reason why, the researchers theorized, is because cells in each of these organs function uniquely. Throughout adulthood, for instance, cells in the liver are frequently replaced. By contrast, neurons in the brain are non-dividing and must survive for the entire lifetime. And so they feel the effects of aging most.

Based on their new findings, the researchers define aging as an organ-specific deterioration of the cellular proteome. Going forward, they plan to study differences between individuals, nevertheless, the researchers believe this current work provides “a rich data resource to stimulate further studies of aging.”