Going to the beach changes your brain for the better

You've probably noticed how spending a day at the water can make you feel more relaxed, rested and re-energized. That feeling is not all in your head, scientists say when we spend time by the water, our brain actually changes.

Our minds are sent into a restful almost hypnotic space thanks to the soothing smells and sounds of the water. Researchers refer to this as "blue space."

Here's what a visit at the beach, or really a trip to the lake or any other body of water, can do:

Boosts creativity

Being in a blue space makes you more creative, because 

it allows your brain to become relaxed, so you are more likely to drift off and imagine than you would be when thrust in the middle of the often chaotic day-to-day world.

Stress melts away

If you put your toes in the water, or go for a swim, that water is filled with naturally occurring positive ions that are known to help relieve stress and boost your mood. Some scientists believe that the positive ions given off by the many appliances we use on a regular basis can leave us feeling angry, cranky, and overworked. Naturally occurring negative ions counteract all of this.

It reduces depression

The sounds of the waves can put you into a meditative state which has been associated with reduced depression and better mental clarity.

Your perspective is changed for the better

Being in a place surrounded by beautiful scenery, the sounds of the water and simply the presence of nature is incredibly soothing to the soul. It reminds us that there are things bigger on this planet than a traffic jam or a snarky co-worker.

Also read:

• Having access to green places 'helps people live longer'
• Doctors explain how hiking actually changes our brains
• Why GARDENING is the best fitness for elderly women

Do you want a 'younger' brain? Drink beetroot juice before exercising

Combining the drink with exercise strengthens certain regions of the brain, making it appear more youthful and potentially preventing the organ's decline.

This finding could help people who are at risk of brain deterioration to remain functionally independent, such as those with a family history of dementia.

Beetroot juice's power likely lies in its nitric oxide content, which both increases blood flow to the brain and improves exercise performance. 

Study author Professor Jack Rejeski, said: 'Nitric oxide is a really powerful molecule. It goes to the areas of the body which are hypoxic, or needing oxygen, and the brain is a heavy feeder of oxygen in your body.

'Compared to exercise alone, adding a beetroot juice supplement to exercise resulted in brain connectivity that closely resembles what you see in younger adults.'

Scientists from Wake Forest University, North Carolina, studied 26 men and women aged 55 and older who did not exercise and had high blood pressure.

Some participants were given beetroot juice one hour before walking for 50 minutes on a treadmill, while others did the same exercise but without the drink. This was repeated three times a week for six weeks.

Those who drank the juice had healthier brains, including the regions involved in movement, emotion and cognitive function.

The scientists also found higher levels of nitrate and nitrite in those who drank the juice. 

Beetroot contains nitrate, which is first converted to nitrite and then nitric oxide in the body. 

This comes after researchers from Queen Mary University of London found one daily glass of 250ml beetroot juice substantially lowers blood pressure.

Also read:

• Drinking tea reduces the risk of dementia
• Want to improve your memory? Then go for a morning jog
• Teens who drink heavily have less gray matter

Taking an hour's nap after lunch can keep your brain five years younger

Taking an hour's nap after lunch can keep your brain five years younger, according to a new study.But researchers found that a longer or shorter nap did not produce the same results.

The study involved around 3,000 Chinese adults over the age of 65 - with 60 per cent reporting that they had a nap after lunch ranging from 30 to 90 minutes. 

Participants were given basic maths problems and memory tests to complete to assess their cognitive ability. 

The research, published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that people who took an hour-long nap after lunch did better on the tests compared to the people who did not nap.

In fact, those who took shorter naps, longer naps or no naps at all showed decreases in their cognitive skills that were four to six times greater than those taking hour-long naps.  

Dr Junxin Li, who led the research, said: 'These people also experienced about the same decline in their mental abilities that a five-year increase in age would be expected to cause.

'Cognitive function was significantly associated with napping. Comparisons showed that moderate nappers had better overall cognition than non-nappers or extended nappers.

'Non-nappers also had significantly poorer cognition than short nappers.'   

Also read:

• Clean sleeping - the latest preachy trend
• Lack of sleep WILL make you sick
• Women's brain power is 'boosted by a good night's rest while men can get away with napping'
• A single poor night’s sleep can age you

Eating broccoli, spinach and egg yolks can preserve your memory in old age

Adults who have high levels of lutein are better able to recall skills and information they learnt many years ago, a new study found.

The protective compound can be found in a range of green leafy vegetables and helps to preserve 'crystallized intelligence'.  

It is believed to accumulate in the brain, where it has a protective effect on the region responsible for memory.

Researchers from the University of Illinois tested 122 adults between the age of 65 and 75 on their crystallized intelligence. 

Blood samples were also collected to determine levels of lutein and MRI scans were conducted to analyse brain structures.

They focused on parts of the temporal cortex, a brain region that other studies suggest plays a role in the preservation of crystallized intelligence.

They found participants with higher blood serum levels of lutein tended to do better on the tests.

While they also tended to have thicker grey matter in the brain region that crystallized intelligence can be found - the parahippocampal cortex.

Lead researcher Aron Barbey said: 'We can only hypothesize at this point how lutein in the diet affects brain structure.

'It may be that it plays an anti-inflammatory role or aids in cell-to-cell signaling.

'But our finding adds to the evidence suggesting that particular nutrients slow age-related declines in cognition by influencing specific features of brain aging.'

Previous research has found lutein also helps to ward off vision loss.

A Florida International University study found it helps to prevent age-related macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness in the developed world. 

While it is also believed that the compound helps to ward off wrinkles as people grow older by keeping the skin flexible and hydrated. 

The new study was published in the journal Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience. 

[dailymail]

Also read:

• Want to improve your memory? Then go for a morning jog
• Teens who drink heavily have less gray matter
• Cinnamon may help us learn new information quicker
• Garlic slows aging and protects the brain from disease
• Blend of 30 vitamins and minerals may reverse aging of the brain

Want to improve your memory? Then go for a morning jog

Going for an early morning run could help to keep you alert for the rest of the day, scientists claim.

Part of the brain responsible for decision-making and planning is activated during a jog, a study found.

It is known that playing a musical instrument can stimulate the same region - the frontal cortex - but this is the first time scientists have linked it to running.

While the new research also found it helped to improve memory, attention spans and kept the senses sharp. 

Researchers from the University of Arizona studied 11 competitive, male runners aged between 18 and 25 and another 11 young men who said that they had not exercised in the past year. 

They focused on men because it is difficult to study women due to the effects of the menstrual cycle on their minds and bodies.

Questionnaires and mathematical formulas were used to figure out the men's physical activity levels and estimate their aerobic fitness. 

They then had each volunteer lie in an MRI scanner while the machine measured levels of activity in their brains.

It turned out that the runners' brains showed increased connectivity in areas of the brain needed for higher-level of thought.

But the brains of inactive men didn't show quite the same levels.

Increased connectivity between brain regions is known to improve memory, the ability to multi-task.

And interestingly, there was less brain activity in the part of the runners' brains that indicate lack of focus and mind wandering.

'To me, this suggests that running may not be such a simple activity after all,' said Professor Gene Alexander, who co-led the study. 

'It requires complex navigational skills plus an ability to plan, monitor and respond to the environment, juggle memories of past runs, and also continue with all of the motor activities of running, which are very complicated.'

The study cannot prove that running actually caused the differences in the men’s thinking, only that runners had certain patterns of thought.

And it is unclear whether running, alone, has these effects, or if other endurance sports, like cycling and swimming, would be similar.  

The findings were published in the journal, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.  

[dailymail]


Also read:

• EXERCISE is the fountain of youth
• Regular exercise in old age could keep the mind young
• Doctors explain how hiking actually changes our brains

Teens who drink heavily have less gray matter

Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have less gray matter, an important brain structure that aids in memory, decisions, and self-control, according to a Finnish study.

The study was observational, so it is impossible to say whether heavy drinking caused this stunted brain development. 

People may have less brain matter due to genetic factors, and this abnormality may make them more likely to abuse alcohol, the researchers write in the journal Addiction.

'Substance use has been found to be connected to social exclusion, mental health problems and lower educational attainment,' said lead author Noora Heikkinen of the University of Eastern Finland.

Having less gray matter may cause similar problems, as gray matter contains most of the brain's neurons and plays an important role in memory, emotions, decision-making, and self-control.

'Brain structural changes might be one factor that contributes to the social and mental problems among substance-using individuals,' Heikkinen told Reuters Health.

To explore the effect of alcohol use on developing teenage brains, the researchers studied 62 young adults who were participating in the Finnish Youth Wellbeing Study.

Between 2013 and 2015, the participants filled out questionnaires, answering questions about how often they drank and how many drinks they consumed.

The participants had all completed similar questionnaires five and 10 years earlier, starting at age 13.

As teens, 35 of the participants fell into the category of heavy drinkers. 

For example, they drank four or more times a week, or they drank less often but when they did, they drank heavily. 

The other 27 young adults in the study were considered light drinkers.

No one in either group showed symptoms of depression or other serious mental illnesses. 

Heavy and light drinkers had similar rates of anxiety, personality disorders, and drug use. Heavy drinkers were significantly more likely to smoke cigarettes than light drinkers, however.

But when participants underwent brain scans to look at gray matter and other brain structures that may be affected by alcohol use, the heavy drinkers had smaller volumes of gray matter in several brain areas when compared with the light drinking group.

Specifically, those areas are known as the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, the right orbitofrontal and frontopolar cortex, the right superior temporal gyrus and the right insular cortex.

The frontal section of the brain, which helps people plan and make decisions, continues developing until people reach their early 20s, said Samantha Brooks, a lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa who studies the effects of drinking on adolescents.

During this period of brain development, teens are in a 'vulnerability window' where they may be more likely to develop substance use problems, said Brooks, who was not involved in the study. 

In addition, if teens drink heavily during this sensitive time, they may cause damage to their brains that can make their drinking behavior worse and cause other problem behaviors like missing school or having unsafe sex, Brooks said.

'Parents and teachers must be alert to the vulnerability window during adolescence, and seek help as early as possible, to prevent more serious damage to the brain,' Brooks said by email.

Stopping alcohol use can increase gray matter volume when it is done early enough, Heikkinen noted. 'However, when alcohol use has continued for a long time, some structural changes become irreversible,' Heikkinen warned.

'Teenage years are very important for brain development, and alcohol can tamper with this process,' Heikkinen said.

Also read:

• Drinking too much when you are young can trigger 'serious health problems' for the rest of your life
• What drinking alcohol REALLY does to your skin
• A single poor night’s sleep can age you

Doctors explain how hiking actually changes our brains

While it may seem obvious that a good hike through a forest or up a mountain can cleanse your mind, body, and soul, science is now discovering that hiking can actually change your brain… for the better!

Hiking in nature can stop negative, obsessive thoughts

Aside from the almost instant feeling of calm and contentment that accompanies time outdoors, hiking in nature can reduce rumination. Many of us often find ourselves consumed by negative thoughts, which takes us out of the enjoyment of the moment at best and leads us down a path to depression and anxiety at worst. But a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that spending time in nature decreases these obsessive, negative thoughts by a significant margin.

To conduct this study, researchers compared the reported rumination of participants who hiked through either an urban or a natural environment. They found those who walked for 90 minutes in a natural environment reported lower levels of rumination and they also had reduced neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain related to mental illness. Those who walked through the urban environment, however, did not report decreased rumination.

The researchers noted that increased urbanization closely correlates with increased instances of depression and other mental illness. Taking the time to regularly remove ourselves from urban settings and spend more time in nature can greatly benefit our psychological (and physical) well-being.

Hiking while disconnected from technology boosts creative problem solving

A study conducted by psychologists Ruth Ann Atchley and David L. Strayer found that creative problem solving can be drastically improved by both disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with nature. Participants in this study went backpacking through nature for about 4 days, during which time they were not allowed to use any technology whatsoever. They were asked to perform tasks which required creative thinking and complex problem solving, and researchers found that performance on problem solving tasks improved by 50% for those who took part in this tech-free hiking excursion.

The researchers of this study noted that both technology and urban noise are incredibly disruptive, constantly demanding our attention and preventing us from focusing, all of which can be taxing to our cognitive functions. A nice long hike, sans technology, can reduce mental fatigue, soothe the mind, and boost creative thinking.

Hiking outdoors can improve ADHD in children

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is becoming more and more common among children. Children who have ADHD have a difficult time with impulse control and staying focused, they get distracted easily, and exhibit excessive hyperactivity.

While raising children who have ADHD can be difficult for parents, the usual solution — opting for prescription medication — may be doing more harm than good, particularly when natural solutions can work just as well. A study conducted by Frances E Kup, PhD, and Andrea Faber Taylor, PhD, found that exposing children with ADHD to “green outdoor activities” reduces symptoms significantly. The results of this study suggest nature exposure can benefit anyone who has a difficult time paying attention and/or exhibits impulsive behavior.

Hiking in nature is great exercise and therefore boosts brainpower

We already know that exercising is fantastic for our overall well-being. Hiking is an excellent way to burn between 400 – 700 calories per hour, depending on your size and the hike difficulty, and it is easier on the joints than other activities like running. It has also been proven that people who exercise outside are more likely to keep at it and stick to their programs, making hiking an excellent choice for those wishing to become more active on a regular basis.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia found that aerobic exercise increases hippocampal volume — the part of the brain associated with spatial and episodic memory — in women over the age of 70. Such exercise not only improves memory loss, but helps prevent it as well. Researchers also found that it can also reduce stress and anxiety, boost self esteem, and release endorphins. Many people take medication to solve each and every one of these issues, but the solution to these ills may be a lot simpler than you think!

How can you begin to start hiking?

Luckily, hiking is one of the easiest and least expensive sports to get involved in, and it can have great benefits for the whole family, including grandma! Start out small and test your abilities. Do what works for you — if that means just walking through trails in a park, that’s fine. Any exercise outdoors is better than none. You can easily find maps of trails around your home online, and there are plenty of smartphone apps to map them out, too. I recommend turning off your signal and your phone while hiking though, so you can reap the most benefits of the hike (though it may be wise to at least carry it with you in case of emergency).

Make sure you have some good sturdy hiking shoes, a hat, and a water bottle, and be sure to layer your clothing so you can take things on or off easily as you warm up and cool down. You may want to consider using trekking poles as well, which can increase your speed and take some of the pressure off your knees. Now, can you just do one thing for me?

Go take a hike!

Also read:

• Having access to green places 'helps people live longer'
• Shinrin-Yoku: Forest Bathing Therapy
• Silence is much more important to our brains than we think

Is young blood the secret to eternal youth?

The blood of young people may hold compounds that benefit the brains of older people with Alzheimer's disease, so scientists are now looking at whether transfusions may help people with the condition.

Research in animals has shown that the blood of the young may counter some of the effects of aging in older brains. For instance, it might help to improve learning and memory, as well as generate new brain cells. Now, the scientists want to see if the benefits hold true in people.

"The possibility that one or many proteins in young human blood can rejuvenate a diversity of organs [including the brain] is a tantalizing one that should spur further research," Tony Wyss-Coray, a professor of neurology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote in the Aug. 3 issue of the journal JAMA Neurology.

In experiments, researchers connected the blood vessels of young and old mice, so that two animals shared a blood supply. They found that, following an injury, the older mice saw greater improvements in the repair of muscle and bone compared with older mice not connected to younger mice.

Later experiments showed that older mice that were exposed to young blood saw an increase in the number of new brain cells in a part of the brain linked with memory.

In addition, a 2014 study found that injecting blood plasma from young mice into older mice for three weeks improved their learning and memory. (Plasma is the liquid portion of blood — it is devoid of blood cells, but contains proteins and other molecules.) In the experiments, the older mice that were given young blood were more easily able to find a hidden platform in a water maze, compared with mice given older blood.

Researchers speculated that "messengers" in the blood, such as hormones and growth factors, may be responsible for some of the rejuvenating effects seen in these mouse studies. 

Young blood contains more of the compounds that are involved in the repair and maintenance of tissues than older blood does, Wyss-Coray said.

"We think when we treat an old organism … with young blood, we give it a boost of these young messengers, and that this recharges the old brain, and possibly other organs, and makes them function like younger ones again," Wyss-Coray said in a talk at the World Economic Forum.

In fact, a protein called CCL11, which is more common in older mice, has been shown to impair memory and brain cell generation when it is given to younger mice. In contrast, a growth factor called GDF11 increases brain cell generation in older mice.

Researchers still have a lot to learn about the effects of young blood, and it's not clear if humans will benefit at all from the treatment.

Still, "with no current treatment for debilitating diseases like Alzheimer disease, and given the relative safety of blood plasma products, an appealing approach may be to supply older patients with young plasma to repair damage wrought by the disease," the researchers wrote in their article.

A study testing blood plasma transfusions in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease began last year. The participants are receiving transfusions from young blood donors once a week, and will be examined for improvements on several cognitive tests.

Dr. Marc L. Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, New York, said the new article "raises some intriguing questions" but that these ideas "need a lot more research to see if they would bear fruit."

First, researchers don't know if the findings in mice will translate to people, Gordon said. And even if factors in blood can help generate new neurons in older brains, this may not have an effect on a person's thinking ability, Gordon added.

There is also a concern that factors that promote cell growth and differentiation could lead to cancer in people, Gordon said, so it will be important to test the safety of the treatment.

Wyss-Coray co-founded a biotechnology company called Alkahest Inc. to conduct trials of young blood on Alzheimer's patients.

[livescience]


Also read:  

• Russian scientist injects himself with ancient 'immortality' bacteria
• Anti-aging study finds how human skin cell batteries burn out
• Scientists find a way of rejuvenating old cells to make them young again

Cinnamon may help us learn new information quicker

Scientists claim cinnamon could actually make us smarter by improving our understanding. A study has found slow learners who consumed the household spice could process new information quicker by affecting proteins in the brain.

Little is known about why some people don't understand concepts as quick as other people, or how the brain's ability can be improved. But experts believe understanding lies in the hippocampus - a small part of the brain which generates, organizes and stores memory.

Slow learners tend to have less CREB - a protein involved in memory and learning - in their hippocampus than good learners. They also have more GABRA5 - a protein which prevents new information from going into the brain. 

But a new study by the Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, conducted on mice, found cinnamon balanced out the protein levels to those found in good learners.

Mice in the study were fed ground cinnamon, which their bodies converted into sodium benzoate - a chemical used in drugs to treat brain damage. When the sodium benzoate entered their brans, it increased the amount of CREB and decreased GABRA5. These changes in turn led to improved memory and learning among the mice.

Professor Kalipada Pahan, lead researcher of the study, said: 'This would be one of the safest and the easiest approaches to convert poor learners to good learners.

'Understanding brain mechanisms that lead to poor learning is important to developing effective strategies to improve memory and learning ability.' 

Researchers used a Barnes maze - a standard elevated circular maze consisting of 20 holes - to identify mice with good and bad learning abilities. 

After two days of training, the mice were examined for their ability to find the target hole. They were then tested after one month of eating cinnamon.

The researchers found after consuming the spice, the mice deemed as poor learners had improved their memory and learning to a level found similar to those with good learning abilities.

However, they did not find any significant improvement among good learners. 

Professor Pahan added: 'We have successfully used cinnamon to reverse biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with poor learning.

'Individual difference in learning and educational performance is a global issue.

'We need to further test this approach in poor learners. If these results are replicated in poor learning students, it would be a remarkable advance.'  

Also read:

• Garlic slows aging and protects the brain from disease
• Eat spinach to stay sharp: Two helpings a day knocks 11 YEARS off your brain age
• Essential oils and brain injuries

Essential oils and the brain

Did you know that our sense of smell is the only sense directly tied to the limbic area of the brain, which is considered the emotional control center? This means that when essential oils are inhaled, they go directly to the brain. Our other four senses — taste, sight, touch and hearing — are first routed through the thalamus before reaching designated areas of the brain. Because the limbic system is directly connected to the parts of the brain that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormone balance, therapeutic-grade essential oils can have unbelievable physiological and psychological effects. Each of the essential oils has therapeutic stimulating, calming, sedative, balancing  properties. When we inhale an essential oil molecule, it travels through the nasal passage to a receptor neuron that transports it up to the limbic brain, especially the hypothalamus.  The limbic center in your brain is responsible for controlling all the physical, psychological, and emotional responses that your body performs based on stimulus coming from the outside. Thus, the ability of essential oils to target your limbic center, make them a powerful tool in treating many health ailments

When essential oils are inhaled through the nose, tiny nerves send an immediate signal to the brain and go straight to work on the systems that moderate our minds and bodies. Inhalation can be the most direct delivery method of these incredibly nurturing components in essential oils, since the chemical messengers in the nasal cavity have direct access to the brain.

In studies performed at Vienna and Berlin Universities, researchers discovered that sesquiterpenes, a natural compound found in essential oils of Vetiver, Patchouli, Cedarwood, Sandalwood and Frankincense, can increase levels of oxygen in the brain by up to 28 percent (Nasel, 1992). Such an increase in brain oxygen may lead to a heightened level of activity in the hypothalamus and limbic systems of the brain, which can have dramatic effects on not only emotions but on learning, attitude, and many physical processes of the body such as: immune function, hormone balance, and energy levels. High levels of sesquiterpenes also occur in Melissa, Myrrh, Cedarwood, and Clove essential oils.

In 1989, Dr. Joseph Ledoux , at New York Medical University, discovered that the amygdala plays a major role in storing and releasing emotional trauma. From the studies of Dr. Hirsch and Dr. Ledoux we can conclude that aromas may exert a profound effect in triggering a response.

Essential oils can provide many benefits to the human body without side effects, whether it is through diffusing or simply inhaling the aroma straight from the bottle. Proper stimulation of the olfactory nerves may offer a powerful and entirely new form of therapy that could be used as an adjunct against many forms of illness. Therapeutic essential oils, through inhalation, may occupy a key position in this relatively unexplored frontier in medicine.

The ability of essential oils and its molecular properties to affect both physical and psychological functions in the body is one reason why it is currently being evaluated for brain injury treatments.

Frankincense Essential Oil and Your Brain

The human brain is the most complex organ within the body.  Injuries to the brain range from mild concussions to more serious head trauma. Usually,  various brain injuries are slow to heal, but frankincense oil can aid greatly in this process. Frankincense works by aiding oxygenation of blood going to the brain.  This, in turn, will aid in oxygen absorption.  When oxygen is absorbed effectively, it allows the brain to process and retain information, heal, and function correctly.

Frankincense is the Essential Oil of choice for any kind of brain disorder. Frankincense has a molecular makeup that includes sesquiterpenes, that is able to cross the blood/brain barrier. These sesquiterpenes stimulate the limbic system of the brain and other glands within the brain, promoting memory and releasing emotions. Frankincense slows down and deepens the breath. The therapeutic properties of Frankincense oil are antiseptic, astringent, carminative, cicatrisant, cytophylactic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative, tonic, uterine, vulnerary and expectorant.

Research from the universities of Berlin and Vienna found that sesquiterpenes increase oxygenation around the pineal and pituitary glands. This allows for ideal balance of emotion-regulating and memory-stimulating hormones.

The bottom line is that essential oils can penetrate not only the blood-brain barrier, but they can also penetrate the skin, follow nerve pathways, follow the meridians, and provide healing and balance even at the cellular level such as cellular memory and DNA.

Diffusing and Inhaling

Diffusing certain  oils using a cold air diffuser may have these benefits according to research:

• Relax the body, clear the mind, and relieve tension.
• Help with weight management.
• Reduce bacteria, mold, fungus, and odors.
• Improve hormonal balance.
• Improve the secretion of antibodies that fight candida.
• Relieve headache.
• Stimulate neurotransmitters.
• Improve concentration, mental clarity and alertness.
• Stimulate secretion of endorphins.
• Improve digestive functions.
• Stimulate growth hormone production and receptivity.

Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils

The level of purity and therapeutic value of an oil is closely tied to its chemical constituents, which can be affected by such things as the soil from which the plant was grown, the soil condition, fertilizer (organic or chemical) climate, distillation process, etc.

In aromatherapy, the quality of your oils is everything so to achieve healing benefits, it is important to use undiluted therapeutic grade essential oils. Look for the term “100% therapeutic grade essential oil” on labels. You need to understand that  essential oils may be labeled as l00%  organic essential oil, but this does not mean that they are pure.

Therapeutic quality essential oils are laboratory tested and certified to be free from impurities. A therapeutic-grade essential oil is one that is both complete in its chemical constituents, giving it a rich, deep aroma, and is kinetically alive and able to raise the frequency of the human body, restoring balance and normal function to weak body systems.  This is important, because the oil’s fragrance, frequency and chemistry all contribute to its unique therapeutic effects.  If any of these properties is compromised, as a result of poor production practices, an essential oil cannot rightly be called therapeutic-grade.

Also read: Could rosemary be the secret to living to 100?

Garlic slows aging and protects the brain from disease

Nutrient in garlic offers the brain protection against aging and disease, researchers have found.

The University of Missouri researchers found a carbohydrate in the superfood is key.

'Garlic is one of the most widely consumed dietary supplements,' said Zezong Gu, associate professor of pathology and anatomical sciences at the MU School of Medicine and lead author of the study. 'Most people think of it as a 'superfood,' because garlic's sulfur-containing compounds are known as an excellent source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection.

'Scientists are still discovering different ways garlic benefits the human body,' he said. 

'Our research focused on a carbohydrate derivative of garlic known as FruArg and the role this nutrient plays in protective responses.'

Gu's team looked at the nutrient's ability to inhibit ― and even possibly reverse ― brain cell damage caused by environmental stress.

Environmental stress could include the aging process, smoking, pollution, traumatic brain injury or excessive alcohol consumption.

'Microglia are immune cells in the brain and spinal cord that are the first and main line of defense in the central nervous system,' Gu said.

'Unlike other mature brain cells that seldom regenerate themselves, microglial cells respond to inflammation and environmental stresses by multiplying. 

'By massing themselves and migrating toward an injury site, they are able to respond to inflammation and protect other brain cells from destruction.'

However, increasing the number of microglial cells won't provide age-defying protection for the brain, Gu said. 

In fact, it can do more harm than good.

'Although important to brain cell health, microglial cells also produce nitric oxide in reaction to their function as protectors,' Gu said. 

'If we simply increased the number of microglial cells, we also would increase the amount of nitric oxide in the brain. 

'Excessive production of nitric oxide leads to brain cell damage and promotes neurodegenerative diseases such as cerebral ischemia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

However, the nutrient FruArg may provide an answer to this reactive dilemma. 

By creating a cell model of neurological stress and monitoring microglial cell function, Gu's team was able to study FruArg's contribution to brain health.

'When stress was applied to the model, there was an expected increase in microglial cells and their byproduct, nitric oxide,' Gu said. 

'However, once we applied FruArg, the microglial cells adapted to the stress by reducing the amount of nitric oxide they produced. 

'Additionally, FruArg promoted the production of antioxidants, which offered protective and healing benefits to other brain cells. 

'This helps us understand how garlic benefits the brain by making it more resilient to the stress and inflammation associated with neurological diseases and aging.'

In the future, Gu and his colleagues hope to study the effects of FruArg on other cells in the body associated with conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Also read:

• Natural remedies for memory loss
• Eat spinach to stay sharp: Two helpings a day knocks 11 YEARS off your brain age
• Blend of 30 vitamins and minerals may reverse aging of the brain

Women's brain power is 'boosted by a good night's rest while men can get away with napping'

A good night’s sleep could help boost your brain power – but only if you are a woman. And a long afternoon nap has the same effect on men, scientists have discovered.

Researchers from Germany discovered a link between women’s sleep and intelligence, and also found similar patterns for men who take afternoon naps. They believe the differences between how sleep affects the sexes could be down to how men and women’s brains are structured, as well as how hormonal changes affect the body during the day.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute in Munich analysed the sleep patterns of 160 adults with a broad range of IQs, of which 72 were women and 88 were men. 

Participants also underwent intelligence tests which measured reasoning and problem solving.

They monitored how sleep spindles – bursts of activity in the brain – appeared during the dreamless, non-rapid eye movement state of sleep.

Sleep spindles vary in length and intensity and can ‘light up’ different parts of the brain. They have previously been associated with intelligence.

The study, presented at the FENS Forum of Neuroscience in Copenhagen, found a link between slow sleep spindles and intelligence in women, but not men.

Professor Martin Dresler said the presence of sleep spindles could indicate the quality of white matter in the brain, which connects to grey matter – the information-processing parts of the brain.

He said that integrity of white matter was associated with higher IQ scores in women, but there was no such correlation in men. 

This suggested the structure of women’s brains meant sleep which boosted this white matter could benefit their intelligence.

Researchers also examined 86 men having afternoon naps of 100 minutes – but no women were studied.

Men having naps showed the same link between slow sleep spindles and intelligence that was evident for women overnight.

The scientists said this showed there was a ‘fundamental difference’ between daytime and night-time sleeps. 

They suggested the way hormones behaved differently during the day could cause the changes.

Professor Dresler said: ‘Our results demonstrate that the association between sleep spindles and intelligence is more complex than we have assumed until now.

‘There are many factors involved in intellectual abilities, and sleep is just one of them.

‘This large study of men and women give us a more accurate framework for the next phase of research which will involve differences in individuals’ sleep patterns.’ 

[dailymail]

Blend of 30 vitamins and minerals may reverse aging of the brain

A dietary supplement containing a blend of thirty vitamins and minerals -- all natural ingredients widely available in health food stores -- has shown remarkable anti-aging properties that can prevent and even reverse massive brain cell loss, according to new research from McMaster University.

Early tests of the formula, which contains common ingredients such as vitamins B, C and D, folic acid, green tea extract, cod liver oil, have been 'dramatic,' scientists say.

They believe it could someday slow the progress of catastrophic neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

A series of studies published over the last decade and a half have shown its benefits in mice. In the latest study, those used had widespread loss of more than half their brain cells, severely impacting multiple regions of the brain by one year of age - the human equivalent of severe Alzheimer's disease. But after being fed the supplement on small pieces of bagel each day over the course of several months, their improvement was remarkable. Over time, it completely eliminated the severe brain cell loss and abolished cognitive decline.

In addition to looking at the major markers of ageing, the supplement also boosted the animals' vision, balance and motor activity. It even improved their sense of smell, the loss of which is often associated with neurological disease.

Scientists hope the cocktail of nutrients may prevent and even reverse neuron loss in patients - halting catastrophic conditions such as Alzheimer's, motor neurone disease and Parkinson's.

Professor Jennifer Lemon, of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, and lead author of the study said: 'The findings are dramatic.  'Our hope is this supplement could offset some very serious illnesses and ultimately improve quality of life.'

The idea is over-the-counter supplements might be able to stave off old age by turning ingredients commonly available in shops into an all in one pill.

Professor Lemon said: 'The research suggests there is tremendous potential with this supplement to help people who are suffering from some catastrophic neurological diseases. 'We know this because mice experience the same basic cell mechanisms that contribute to neuro-degeneration that humans do. All species, in fact. There is a commonality among us all.'

By the time regular mice reach 22 months of age, the equivalent of 70 or 80 in human years, they experience a 50 per cent decline in movement and become hunchbacked, arthritic and thin.

In a previous study, mice on the daily supplement carried on in their cages as if they were still teenagers - or at least 20-somethings - rather than being frail and elderly.

Analysis found the supplements were actually affecting the mitochondria, the power plants of cells. With the cocktail supplement, the mitochondria produced fewer 'free radicals', which are believed to be the cause of ageing.

In other tests on crickets, one naturally expected to live about 120 days lasted 257 - more than twice as long - by way of dietary restrictions and the supplement.

The next step is to test the supplement on humans to check for any side effects. This is likely to happen within the next two years, and will first be given to those already suffering from neuro-degenerative diseases.

The study is published online in the journal Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis.

Sources: dailymail / sciencedaily