Practicing hatha yoga three times a week for eight weeks improved sedentary older adults’ performance on cognitive tasks that are relevant to everyday life, researchers report. The findings involved 108 adults between the ages of 55 and 79 years of age, 61 of whom attended…
by Dr. David Juan No matter where you look in the health industry, it seems vitamin D is hot right now. And it makes sense, because the best source of it is sun exposure and it is, after all, summertime. Not a week goes by…
Testosterone, a steroid hormone, is well known to contribute to aggressive behavior in males, but the neural circuits through which testosterone exerts these effects have not been clear. Prior studies found that the administration of a single dose of testosterone influenced brain circuit function. Surprisingly,…
by Dr. David Juan I love a good nap. In fact, I try to take one every day around 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. The computer gets shut down, my phone is set to “do not disturb,” and I stretch out for a 15- to 20-minute…
Workplace stress can have a range of adverse effects on health with an increased risk of cardio-vascular diseases in the first line. However, to date, convincing evidence for a strong association between work stress and incident Type 2 diabetes mellitus is missing. Risk of diabetes…
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in older people, according to the most robust study of its kind ever conducted. An international team, led by Dr David Llewellyn at the University of Exeter Medical School, found…
A class of medications previously linked to cognitive impairment in older adults also appears to negatively affect their physical functioning according to investigators from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, the University of East Anglia and several other United Kingdom institutions….
University of Iowa study shows link between TV programming and children’s learning and development. Parents, turn off the television when your children are with you. And when you do let them watch, make sure the programs stimulate their interest in learning. That’s the advice arising…
by Dr. David Juan Here’s a newsflash for you: the world can function just fine without you. Now, it might not be able to run as smoothly for more than a week or so without your involvement, but don’t worry; if you want to take…
A study published today has confirmed a link between antipsychotic medication and a slight, but measurable, decrease in brain volume in patients with schizophrenia. For the first time, researchers have been able to examine whether this decrease is harmful for patients’ cognitive function and symptoms,…
by Laura Jane An underlined assumption in our society is that everyday waking consciousness is the truest expression of how things are in “objective” reality. We assume it to be more valid than say dream states or other forms of Altered States of Consciousness (ASC)…
by Dr. Victor Marchione When’s the last time you bought a watermelon in the winter? I know I can’t answer that question, but I’ll tell you what: ever since summer hit, it’s been a regular part of my diet. There are some foods that just…
Mindfulness meditation has become an increasingly popular way for people to improve their mental and physical health, yet most research supporting its benefits has focused on lengthy, weeks-long training programs. New research from Carnegie Mellon University is the first to show that brief mindfulness meditation…
Dr. Gabor Mate. Photo by Jay Black. By Heather Callaghan This is presented as alternative way of viewing addiction. One that does not wage war on the addict with shame and punishment from the so-called “War on Drugs.” Is addiction entirely due to genetic predisposition? That’s…
by Dr. K.J. McLaughlin Let me ask you a question. Did you ever think that your heart and your brain could be connected? There is an overabundance of information currently available regarding heart disease and how to avoid it or manage it. There is also…
by Dr. Victor Marchione The typical American diet doesn’t get much slack—it’s been linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and a slew of other conditions that nobody wants. Now, researchers are adding another ingredient to the list of this dietary disaster: mental illness. I…
Strategy-based cognitive training has the potential to enhance cognitive performance and spill over to real-life benefit according to a data-driven perspective article by the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. The research-based…
by Dr. Kelly Brogan Every functional medicine psychiatrist has case stories of the ‘probiotic cure’ – of a patient with debilitating symptoms, often obsessive compulsive range, whose symptoms remitted completely with dietary change and probiotic supplementation. Is this voodoo or is it based on a…
Elderly people with high serum vitamin E levels are less likely to suffer from memory disorders than their peers with lower levels, according to a study published recently in Experimental Gerontology. According to the researchers, various forms of vitamin E seem to play a role…
Green space in towns and cities could lead to significant and sustained improvements in mental health, finds a new study published in the journal of Environmental Science & Technology. Analysing data that followed people over a five year period, the research has found that moving…
