Category: Health News

Is This the Key to Managing Sarcopenia?

Written by Rob on . Posted in Anti-aging, Brain Health / Conditions, Cardiovascular Health, Disease Conditions, Exercise, Health News. Leave a Comment

Sarcopenia is recognized as an issue related to the aging process and/or immobility.

From Wikipedia, here is a description of sarcopenia:

Sarcopenia is a type of muscle loss (muscle atrophy) that occurs with aging and/or immobility. It is characterized by the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality, and strength. The rate of muscle loss is dependent on exercise level, co-morbidities, nutrition and other factors. The muscle loss is related to changes in muscle synthesis signalling pathways. It is distinct from cachexia, in which muscle is degraded through cytokine-mediated degradation, although both conditions may co-exist. Sarcopenia is considered a component of frailty syndrome.[1] Sarcopenia can lead to reduced quality of life, falls, fracture, and disability.[2][3] Obviously, remaining active as we age is a key cornerstone to optimal health however there are additional factors at play which can be modified to help to maintain muscle mass and strength/power.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Aging, it suggests that maintaining optimal NAD+ levels can be a significant factor in maintaining metabolic and physical function.

NAD+ levels decrease precipitously as we age: by the age of 50, it is down 50% and by the age of 80 it is down 90 – 96% so it is essentially gone.

One of the key functions of NAD+ is to activate the Sirtuin Longevity Genes which as the name implies are critical to healthy aging.

If these genes are not activated, it accelerates vascular aging.

If you have not yet experienced the wonders and benefits of NAD+ optimization by consuming our Pricera NAD+ precursor formulation, reach out to me.

Following is the abstract:


Healthy aging and muscle function are positively associated with NAD+ abundance in humans

Nature Aging volume 2, pages 254–263 (2022)

Abstract

Skeletal muscle is greatly affected by aging, resulting in a loss of metabolic and physical function. However, the underlying molecular processes and how (lack of) physical activity is involved in age-related metabolic decline in muscle function in humans is largely unknown.

Here, we compared, in a cross-sectional study, the muscle metabolome from young to older adults, whereby the older adults were exercise trained, had normal physical activity levels or were physically impaired. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) was one of the most prominent metabolites that was lower in older adults, in line with preclinical models.

This lower level was even more pronounced in impaired older individuals, and conversely, exercise-trained older individuals had NAD+ levels that were more similar to those found in younger individuals. NAD+ abundance positively correlated with average number of steps per day and mitochondrial and muscle functioning. Our work suggests that a clear association exists between NAD+ and health status in human aging.

Is This The Cause of MS?

Written by Rob on . Posted in Anti-aging, Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, Parasites, Brain Health / Conditions, Disease Conditions, Health News, Pain / Inflammation. Leave a Comment

Epstein-Barr virus may be the leading cause of multiple sclerosis

Summary:

A new study provides compelling evidence of causality between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. It suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that targeting EBV could lead to the discovery of a cure for MS.

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a progressive disease that affects 2.8 million people worldwide and for which there is no definitive cure, is likely caused by infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), according to a study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers.

Their findings will be published online in Science on January 13, 2022.

“The hypothesis that EBV causes MS has been investigated by our group and others for several years, but this is the first study providing compelling evidence of causality,” said Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study. “This is a big step because it suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that targeting EBV could lead to the discovery of a cure for MS.”

MS is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that attacks the myelin sheaths protecting neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Its cause is not known, yet one of the top suspects is EBV, a herpes virus that can cause infectious mononucleosis and establishes a latent, lifelong infection of the host. Establishing a causal relationship between the virus and the disease has been difficult because EBV infects approximately 95% of adults, MS is a relatively rare disease, and the onset of MS symptoms begins about ten years after EBV infection. To determine the connection between EBV and MS, the researchers conducted a study among more than 10 million young adults on active duty in the U.S. military and identified 955 who were diagnosed with MS during their period of service.

The team analyzed serum samples taken biennially by the military and determined the soldiers’ EBV status at time of first sample and the relationship between EBV infection and MS onset during the period of active duty. In this cohort, the risk of MS increased 32-fold after infection with EBV but was unchanged after infection with other viruses. Serum levels of neurofilament light chain, a biomarker of the nerve degeneration typical in MS, increased only after EBV infection. The findings cannot be explained by any known risk factor for MS and suggest EBV as the leading cause of MS.

Ascherio says that the delay between EBV infection and the onset of MS may be partially due the disease’s symptoms being undetected during the earliest stages and partially due to the evolving relationship between EBV and the host’s immune system, which is repeatedly stimulated whenever latent virus reactivates.

“Currently there is no way to effectively prevent or treat EBV infection, but an EBV vaccine or targeting the virus with EBV-specific antiviral drugs could ultimately prevent or cure MS,” said Ascherio.

Other Harvard Chan School researchers who contributed to this study include Kjetil Bjornevik, Marianna Cortese, Michael Mina, and Kassandra Munger.

Funding for this study came the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health (NS046635, NS042194, and NS103891), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (PP-1912-35234), the German Research Foundation (CO 2129/ 1-1), the National Institutes of Health (DP5- OD028145), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

  1. Kjetil Bjornevik, Marianna Cortese, Brian C. Healy, Jens Kuhle, Michael J. Mina, Yumei Leng, Stephen J. Elledge, David W. Niebuhr, Ann I. Scher, Kassandra L. Munger, Alberto Ascherio. Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis. Science, 2022 DOI: 10.1126/science.abj8222

  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Epstein-Barr virus may be leading cause of multiple sclerosis.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 January 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220113151342.htm>.

Can Nerve Damage Be Reversed With a Food Compound?

Written by Rob on . Posted in Anti-aging, Brain Health / Conditions, Diet, Disease Conditions, Health News. Leave a Comment


Let me introduce you to the concept of “neuritogenic” compounds: molecules that are known to regenerate nerve tissue and help repair damaged brains.

The Green Med Info website has a great database for published papers on different topics.

When using the search term “neuritogenic” some of the compounds that come up include:

  • Ubiquinol – CoQ 10
  • EGCG – as from green tea
  • Puerarin
  • Cannabinoids
  • Green Coffee Bean
  • Jujube
  • Lion’s Mane
  • Gensenosides
  • Curcumin

One key neuritogenic compound is sulforaphane with broccoli sprouts being the best source.

Part of the content for this article comes from an article published on the Natural News website


Further from the Natural News article:

Green Med Info has also published an overview of sulforaphane and its brain repair mechanisms as documented in published science. From that story:

The researchers determined the optimal concentration range of sulforaphane in promoting neural stem cell (NSC) growth without harming neurons. The researchers determined that “Concentrations of less than 5 mM did not induce cytotoxic e?ects, but rather potentially promote the growth of NSCs.”

Green Med Info has also published an overview of sulforaphane and its brain repair mechanisms as documented in published science. From that story:

The researchers determined the optimal concentration range of sulforaphane in promoting neural stem cell (NSC) growth without harming neurons. The researchers determined that “Concentrations of less than 5 mM did not induce cytotoxic e?ects, but rather potentially promote the growth of NSCs.” The term 5 mM means 5 milli-molar which is a reference to the concentration of sulforaphane in blood. 5 milli-molar is 5 thousands of a Mole. A Mole is a set number of molecules in one liter of a solution, regardless of molecular weight.

Although this depends a lot on body weight, we think it wouldn’t require much consumption of broccoli sprouts to achieve 5 mM concentrations in the blood of a person.

When neural stem cells were exposed to sulforaphane, they transformed into neurons

From the Green Med Info article:

…exposing NSCs to sulforaphane resulted in their differentiation [into] neurons, lending powerful support to the hypothesis that sulforaphane could stimulate brain repair.

This means that sulforaphane is a kind of molecular “activator” that causes neural stem cells to become neurons. This is how damaged brain cells are regrown.

How to grow your own sulforaphane for mere pennies

Because God and Mother Nature gave us all the medicine we need, you can “manufacture” your own sulforaphane for mere pennies and literally transform air into sulforaphane through the use of broccoli sprouts.

  1. Buy broccoli sprouts, a mason jar and a sprouting lid (see image below).
  2. Put about a tablespoon of broccoli spouting seeds into a mason jar, rinse with water, affix the sprouting lid and turn it upside to drain the water.
  3. Keep the sprouting jar upside down. Once a day, rinse with water and drain.
  4. In a few days, you have broccoli sprouts with loads of sulforaphane.

You can then eat the sprouts, use them in salads, blend them into smoothies, drop them into soups or whatever you want to do. Sulforaphane is a very robust molecule and it’s somewhat difficult to destroy, so don’t think you have to treat it like a delicate, fragile substance. Blending sprouts does not destroy their molecules. That’s because these molecules are very, very small.

Many grocery stores that offer sprouts typically also offer broccoli sprouts.

Other benefits of sulforaphane

Sulforaphane also exhibits powerful anti-cancer properties. GreenMedInfo lists the best properties of this molecule as reflected in published medical literature. It shows that sulforaphane is documented to help with:

  • oxidative stress
  • inflammation
  • prostate cancer
  • breast cancer
  • colon cancer
  • autism
  • pancreatic cancer
  • diabetes type-2
  • DNA damage
  • bladder cancer
  • insulin resistance

… and many other conditions.

Brain function is of course a key concern for many people these days and consuming foods which contain sulforaphane can help to maintain brain health.

Earthing: Parasympathetic, Inflammation Downreguation, Improved Sleep & More

Written by Rob on . Posted in Anti-aging, Blood Sugar, Brain Health / Conditions, Cardiovascular Health, Digestion / Gut Health, Disease Conditions, Health News, Male Conditions / Issues, Pain / Inflammation. Leave a Comment

I was reminded this morning of the significant potential health benefits of earthing/grounding while watching a program on GAIA.

If you are not familiar with GAIA, it is similar to Netflix but with more of an emphasis on topics such as integrative health, spirituality etc.

In fact I enjoy the content available on GAIA that I rarely watch Netflix any more.

Here is a link to the episode that I watched this morning on earthing/grounding which you can watch for free

Here is an example of what the published research has to say about the potential health benefits of earthing/grounding:
Environ Public Health. 2012; 2012: 291541. Published online 2012 Jan 12. doi: 10.1155/2012/291541 PMCID: PMC3265077PMID: 22291721

Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons

Gaétan Chevalier, 1, 2 ,*Stephen T. Sinatra, 3 James L. Oschman, 4 Karol Sokal, 5 and Pawel Sokal 6

Abstract

Environmental medicine generally addresses environmental factors with a negative impact on human health. However, emerging scientific research has revealed a surprisingly positive and overlooked environmental factor on health: direct physical contact with the vast supply of electrons on the surface of the Earth.

Modern lifestyle separates humans from such contact. The research suggests that this disconnect may be a major contributor to physiological dysfunction and unwellness. Reconnection with the Earth’s electrons has been found to promote intriguing physiological changes and subjective reports of well-being. Earthing (or grounding) refers to the discovery of benefits—including better sleep and reduced pain—from walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the Earth’s electrons from the ground into the body. This paper reviews the earthing research and the potential of earthing as a simple and easily accessed global modality of significant clinical importance.

2.1. Sleep and Chronic Pain

2.3. Earthing Reduces Electric Fields Induced on the Body

2.4. Physiological and Electrophysiological Effects

4.4. Heart Rate Variability

4.5. Reduction of Primary Indicators of Osteoporosis, Improvement of Glucose Regulation, and Immune Response

4.6. Altered Blood Electrodynamics

Table 1

Subjective sleep, pain, and well-being feedback.

CategoriesTest subjects*Control subjects**
SameImprovedSameImproved
Time to fall asleep4 = 15%23 = 85%20 = 87%3 = 13%
Quality of sleep2 = 7%25 = 93%20 = 87%3 = 13%
Wake feeling rested0 = 0%27 = 100%20 = 87%3 = 13%
Muscles stiffness and pain5 = 18%22 = 82%23 = 100%0 = 0%
Chronic back and/or joint pain7 = 26%20 = 74%23 = 100%0 = 0%
General well-being6 = 22%21 = 78%20 = 87%3 = 13%

*Reports not received from three participants.

**Reports not received from seven participants.

4. Conclusion

De Flora et al. wrote the following: “Since the late 20th century, chronic degenerative diseases have overcome infectious disease as the major causes of death in the 21st century, so an increase in human longevity will depend on finding an intervention that inhibits the development of these diseases and slows their progress” [33].

Could such an intervention be located right beneath our feet? Earthing research, observations, and related theories raise an intriguing possibility about the Earth’s surface electrons as an untapped health resource—the Earth as a “global treatment table.” Emerging evidence shows that contact with the Earth—whether being outside barefoot or indoors connected to grounded conductive systems—may be a simple, natural, and yet profoundly effective environmental strategy against chronic stress, ANS dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, disturbed HRV, hypercoagulable blood, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease. The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.

This simple behavioral change has the potential to initiate powerful improvements in health conditions and is something that may warrant consideration for everyone.

Is This the Most Effective Weapon Against Viral Infections?

Written by Rob on . Posted in Anti-aging, Bacteria, Viruses, Fungi, Parasites, Cardiovascular Health, Disease Conditions, Health News. Leave a Comment

Story at-a-glance

  • Nebulized hydrogen peroxide is a safe, inexpensive and incredibly effective way to prevent and treat viral illnesses of all kinds
  • While hydrogen peroxide kills viruses, it also kills other pathogens that can contribute to an unhealthy gut and/or oral microbiome. As such, it may also improve your microbiome and help resolve a wide variety of other chronic ailments, including gut problems and periodontitis
  • Hydrogen peroxide is part of your body’s natural defense against pathogens. So, when you nebulize hydrogen peroxide, you’re really just augmenting your body’s natural defense system
  • Being able to treat yourself at home at the first signs of COVID-19 symptoms will also virtually eliminate your risk of long-haul syndrome. So far, medical doctors who have treated COVID-19 patients agree that if treatment begins early enough, patients almost always fully recover and have no longstanding side effects from the infection
  • Buy the required supplies before you need them, so you have everything and can treat yourself at the first signs of symptoms. Most of the time, after two or three treatments, the infection will be stopped in its tracks
  • In this interview, Dr. Thomas Levy, a board-certified cardiologist perhaps best known for his work with vitamin C, discusses nebulized hydrogen peroxide, which has become my favorite intervention for viral illnesses, including COVID-19. In his latest book, “Rapid Virus Recovery,” Levy details this treatment. Best of all, he’s giving the e-book away for free. The 321-page physical book will be available soon online. It’s also available in Spanish.

Read more

Pricera NAD+ Precursor – Healthy Aging

Written by Rob on . Posted in Anti-aging, Blood Sugar, Brain Health / Conditions, Cardiovascular Health, Disease Conditions, Health News, Pain / Inflammation, Sexual Health. Leave a Comment

I want to share with you a podcast I recently guested on that really goes into the science of NAD+, ENERGY and the benefits of Pricera – here is the link: https://lnkd.in/g-EK96G

Here is some  information on our NAD+ precursor formulation – Pricera.

– NAD+ levels decline precipitously as we age: it is down 50% by the age of 50 and down 90 – 96% by the age of 80
– one of the key functions of NAD+ is to activate the Sirtuin longevity genes which are critical for healthy aging
– when the Sirtuins are not activated, it accelerates vascular aging which will of course impact on the vascular system  but since the vascular system delivers oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body, the lack of NAD+ will have a consequential negative impact on virtually EVERY cell in the body and virtually all chronic degenerative conditions

Increased Energy Levels

Certainly reported increased energy (due to Pricera’s impact on the mitochondria) has been widely reported however that is just one reported benefit – and the report often comes in from individuals in good to excellent health.

Others key applications include:

  • Neurodegenerative conditions – such as Parkinson’s
  • Inflammation
  • Addictions
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Exercise performance and recovery
  • Immune system activation
  • Low energy/mitochondrial dysfunctions
  • Blood sugar issues
  • Hypertension
  • Elevated cholesterol levels
  • Mood disorders
  • Oxidative stress

Order Pricera now:

http://www.healthspan-formulations.com

Here are a couple of examples of typical testimonials:

Liking Pricera 🙂

Definitely boosting energy and focus.
It’s been ages since I got out in the evening for a bike ride
just because I was so knackered.

This changed within 2 days of starting the Pricera.
Also more mental clarity.

Chris Spooner, ND
Vernon, BC 

For a number of years I have been dealing with low energy and stamina, Chronic Fatigue and hand tremors. 

One of the key areas where Pricera impacts me is my energy levels – in the past, I often could only work for 4-5 hours before I felt exhausted and would have to stop. 

Some days it felt like my energy levels were so depleted that it was a struggle to get out of bed. 

Since starting on the Pricera, I have experienced a tremendous boost to my energy levels and I can now work 8-10 hours at a stretch. 

I have gained more stamina, energy and clarity and I have seen a significant improvement in my exercise capacity. 

For myself, Pricera has been a life saver, and I will not miss a single day taking it! 

Let me know if you would like any additional information or if you have any questions.

http://www.healthspan-formulations.com