Author: Avisoscuba

(Opinion analysis) The Clean Label Project is engaged in dangerous scientific fraud that misleads consumers into thinking perfectly safe protein powders are wildly contaminated with toxic heavy metals. That’s my conclusion after reviewing the Clean Label Project’s wildly unscientific attack on protein products such as VEGA, where the Clean Label Project seems to insinuate that “detectable” levels of elements somehow means the products are scandalous. Note that I am the very person who pioneered heavy metals testing of protein products back in 2013, raising the alarm over relatively high levels of lead and cadmium found in certain products that used…

Contrary to the claims of his critics, President Trump is moving full-steam ahead with keeping his campaign promise to reign in prescription drug costs. And according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, the president’s plan is actually the “most comprehensive” in presidential history. President Trump himself has been vocal on this issue in recent days, emphasizing that he wants to see real reform as opposed to the typical smoke and mirrors. The Trump administration says it’s already developed a plan of attack towards that end, and that once it’s enacted the results will be…

If digestion is your gateway to health, then its destruction is single handedly the most apocalyptical event that can happen inside your body. Unfortunately, billions of people encounter situations in which their gut health takes one blow after another, until the symptoms become a regular nagging occurrence that ultimately diminishes their quality of life. The unfortunate part is that your digestion is not sequestered from the other critical functions of your body, so as your digestion goes downhill, eventually your liver, gall bladder, kidneys, pancreas, adrenals, thyroid, heart, and brain health do too. Like a stack of dominoes, once one…

Having trouble sleeping? While there are a number of things that can affect your sleep quality, most mainstream doctors are quick to dole out prescription medications that will drug you into slumber. But what if a nutritional supplement could help adjust your sleeping patterns just as well (or really, even better) than some pharmaceutical monstrosity. Research has consistently pointed to magnesium as a natural sleep aid — and its a nutrient that a surprising number of people are deficient in. Magnesium is one of 24 essential nutrients and it plays a role in a variety of bodily functions. In addition…

The idiom “gut feeling” takes on a whole new meaning after Canadian researchers released their findings on the gut microbiome. They claim that gut bacteria can affect the way that person’s brain works, an article from the BBC states. It will be a long while before experts finish identifying all of the microbes in our bodies and their effect on our health. However, studies have shown that autism, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases are linked to these tiny residents of our body. A growing number of researchers are now invested in “psychobiotics,” the addition of mood-affecting probiotic microbes to alter mental health.…

In recent years, tai chi has made it to many lists of the most popular meditation techniques, and for good reason. No matter how old or active you are, this ancient Chinese practice offers many health benefits, including disease prevention and pain relief. Data from 2016 reveal that more than three million people practice tai chi in the U.S. alone, putting it among the most commonly exercised meditation techniques along with yoga. Its apparent popularity, however, has not rendered it immune to misconceptions. The most popular of these is the idea that it is only for older people. Research does show that…

When going out on dates or meeting people, our perception of them often depends on how we see them physically. Are they good looking? Do they smell good? Are they dressed decently? Does their breath smell nice – the questions just go on. However, a recent study suggests that there is another part of our bodies that determine whether we connect with another person or not. About ten years ago, evolutionary psychologists hinted that the human body evolved and was able to develop the first line of defense against illnesses called the behavioral immune system. Activating this immune system is…

Vegetables like arugula, beets, and spinach are packed with nitrates, and consuming these leafy greens can help bring down blood pressure and boost the efficiency of the endothelial cells that line the inside of the heart and blood vessels. In an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, an Australian study shows that nitrate-rich vegetables can even reduce the mortality risk from atherosclerosis-related diseases. The long-term study was led by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA). They were interested in the link between the nitrates we get from consuming vegetables and deaths related to atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD).…

In 2015, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) mandated all educational institutions under its wings to provide protective headgear for their girls’ lacrosse team. It was meant to reduce the number of injuries players get during games; however, a study has shown that the preventive measure led to an even higher injury rate. Dr. Daniel Herman, the lead author of the study, hinted that the use of protective headgear might have caused the increase of concussion and musculoskeletal injury rates in high school girls’ lacrosse. (Related: Just ONE head injury increases your risk of Parkinson’s by 56 percent.) Three years…

If you find walnuts tasty, you’re not alone. The bacteria in your gut do, too, according to new research. The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, discussed the prebiotic nature of walnuts and how the nuts aid in keeping your stomach – and you – healthy. The researchers found that incorporating walnuts into your diet can have a variety of positive effects on your body, including reduced inflammation and lower cholesterol levels. They also discovered that regular nut consumption can have an impact on your microbiome, the microorganisms living in your gut and that this effect could be one…

The problem we have with diabetes isn’t going away anytime soon. Based on the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 400 people around the world have the condition, and 1.6 million deaths per year are directly caused by diabetes. The most common is Type 2 diabetes. In the past three decades, reported cases have skyrocketed. To make things worse, at least one in three adults over 18 years old is overweight, which increases the likelihood of getting the disease. That said, there isn’t a lack of literature on how to manage diabetes; however, most only talk about living with…

Seizures are not only frightening for those who experience them and those who witness them; they can also be extremely dangerous when sufferers lose consciousness or control and fall down. Unfortunately, doctors have yet to find a way to stop them entirely. However, a new study is giving a lot of people hope after finding that taking CBD caused a significant drop in the number of seizures experienced by people who have a severe form of epilepsy. Researchers from the NYU School of Medicine reached this conclusion after carrying out a randomized, double-blind, large-scale study that involved people with Lennox…

Do you struggle with an irrational fear, like acrophobia (fear of heights)? Or does your phobia come from within, like the fear of being imperfect? If you’re always stressed about being perfect or if you’re paralyzed by the constant need to be perfect, you could have atelophobia. Atelophobia is an extreme form of perfectionism that can severely impact quality of life and your overall well-being. The symptoms of atelophobia Like other irrational fears, atelophobia is categorized as an anxiety disorder and individuals with this disorder are called atelophobes. Atelophobes are afraid of not being good enough and they constantly feel that everything they…

Getting enough sleep is crucial for overall health since our bodies recuperate during this time. Understandably though, many of us are involved in different activities – working, taking care of the family, exercising, hanging out with friends – that we always tend to sacrifice a good night’s sleep. However, this type of neglect is costing us our health and if we don’t address it soon, it may lead to irreversible damage. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least a third of our adult population reported getting less than seven hours of sleep. This statistic is…

A new study has found that people who have just had the flu are up to six times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack. In the biggest study to look at stroke and heart attack risk from specific respiratory infections, researchers found that some of the organisms that can cause a respiratory infection also raise a person’s risk of these adverse events. According to the study, which was published in the European Respiratory Journal, a person’s chances of having a heart attack are higher in the week after a flu or pneumonia infection, while their stroke risk…

With close to 1.4 billion inhabitants, China is the country with the single biggest population on the planet. It is also an incredibly industrialized and polluted country, and a recent study has found that the combination of pollutants being pumped into the air by factories, power plants, vehicles and apartment heating systems, is creating a “toxic cocktail” that is literally killing people. It is not just the volume of pollutants but also their variety which is causing grave concern among experts. Chinese smog is like a toxic soup of both heavy particulates of the type that blanketed industrial cities in…

Whether we like it or not, all of us get older. Yet there are people who don’t look their biological age, causing some of us to mutter and wonder why these people should be so lucky. “It’s just not fair,” we say, wondering why our face is filled with wrinkles and crow’s feet. “Maybe it’s because of genetics. Surely, they just won the jackpot in that sense.” But epidemiological evidence suggests that diet has more influence on how we look than we realize. Nutritionists are concluding that a deficiency in vitamin K2 can lead to uneven skin tone and dry, ageing…

Bitter melons may taste unpleasant to some people, but its health benefits cannot be denied. In particular, a study in China suggested that oil extracts from bitter melon seeds have the potential to support weight loss. The results of the study, published in the Journal of Nutrition & Intermediary Metabolism, also pointed out that consuming bitter melon seed oil could restore the balance between lipid intake and metabolism. The study, led by researchers from the Hefei University of Technology and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, built on popular knowledge on the health benefits of bitter melons. Earlier studies have also looked at the correlation…

As antifungal drug resistance grows increasingly common, a number of scientists have turned to plant-derived essential oils for a solution. To that end, researchers from the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) have developed a new screening method to identify the antimicrobial qualities of these volatile substances. They dubbed their method the vapor-phase-mediated susceptibility (VMS) assay, which they based on the vapor?phase?mediated patch assay. Both were intended to assess the vapor-phase-mediated antimicrobial activities of particular substances, or the inhibitory antimicrobial activity of a molecule after its evaporation and migration through the vapor-phase. For their study, the researchers utilized a 96-well microplate. “We…

There have been numerous studies linking gut health to all kinds of diseases, including – but not limited to – diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. Leaky gut among psoriasis patients can be added to that growing list, courtesy of a study published in Scientific Reports. For their study, the researchers used 52 patients who’d been diagnosed with plaque psoriasis. Of the 52 patients, 13 were identified as positive for bacterial translocation (BT), which is the passage of bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to other parts of the body. Genome sequencing allowed the team to identify and analyze the intestinal…

A married couple from Germany were left paralyzed and fighting for their lives in intensive care for about five months after eating some home-canned green beans. The anonymous husband and wife were diagnosed with botulism, an extremely rare but life-threatening bacterial illness. Botulism is caused by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria which grow on food and produce lethal neurotoxins. When ingested, these toxins can leave the body in a vegetative state. The same deadly toxin can be found in botox injections, but in much smaller doses to paralyze facial muscles. The wife suffered dizziness, double vision, drooping eyelids, and struggled to speak when she was admitted to the hospital.…

You wouldn’t happen to know where that fat you shed goes, would you? If you don’t, you’re not alone. According to an article in The Conversation, 98 percent of health professionals failed to explain the process of weight loss. Out of 150 doctors, dietitians, and personal trainers surveyed, only three gave the right answer. And no, it was not “fat turns into energy,” as most people think. Neither was it “fat turns into muscle.” It’s not “it is expelled through the colon,” either. So what is the answer? The answer is that fat breaks down into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water.…