Neuroscience

The Incredible Human Mind is a Direct Portal to the Almighty Creator – Benzinga

LAS VEGAS, April 24, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Author Nancy J. Woolf addresses some perceived inconsistencies between intellect and spirituality in Conscious Matrix: Our Portal to God ($16.49, paperback, 9781630508586; $26.49, hard cover, 9781630508593; $8.99, e-book, 9781630508609).

Woolf spend over 30 years teaching and researching neuroscience and quantum mind theory, and she encountered many scientists who challenged people to choose between science and religion. But what if we didn't have to choose? What if the two fields of study were actually in agreement all along?

"Paradoxically, the more we understand science--how the conscious matrix within the brain is wired and how energy and matter converge at the smallest scale--the more we prove God truly exists, and that our brains evolved first and foremost to experience of God," said Woolf.

Nancy J. Woolf was an Emeritus professor in the UCLA psychology department and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the UCLA School of Medicine. Now retired, she enjoys dancing, traveling and the culinary arts.

Liberty Hill Publishing, a division of Salem Media Group, is a leader in the print-on-demand, self-publishing industry. Conscious Matrix is available online through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

SOURCE Liberty Hill Publishing

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The Incredible Human Mind is a Direct Portal to the Almighty Creator - Benzinga

Neuroscience

Opinionated Science Episode 3: The Microbiome: Gut-Brain Connections and Poo Pills – Technology Networks

Opinionated Science is Technology Networks homemade podcast, where our team of scientists-turned-journalists cut out the chewy jargon and serve up slices of the most fascinating stories from the world of science. Expect a new Opinionated Science every other Friday.

In this episode, the Technology Networks team discuss the the community of bacteria that have made our bodies their home: the microbiome. We explore how these bugs can influence our behavior and help us fight disease and whether microbiota-modifying poo pills could become a part of precision medicine in the near future.

Read more from this podcast:https://www.technologynetworks.com/cancer-research/infographics/the-microbiome-and-cancer-319758

https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/infographics/sequencing-the-microbiome-327727

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/mouse-moms-microbiota-leads-to-altered-behavior-326252

https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/articles/microbiome-medicine-takes-center-stage-308055

Listen to moreTechnology Networkspodcastshere.

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Opinionated Science Episode 3: The Microbiome: Gut-Brain Connections and Poo Pills - Technology Networks

Physiology

Partner of fallen police officer Constable Glen Humphris shares anguish – 9News

The partner of a Victoria Police officer killed in the Eastern Freeway crash has expressed his devastation over losing his "soul mate", Constable Glen Humphris.

In a powerful showcase of bravery, Todd Robinson stood up to commemorate his partner's life at a media conference today.

Mr Robinson did not shy away from his heartbreak and said he wanted Australia to know the person behind the badge, and the life he leaves behind.

"I'm still coming to terms with that door is not going to open. My soul mate has gone."

The couple met in Newcastle, before moving to Victoria. They had been together for four years.

Mr Robinson described how he said goodbye to Constable Humphris on Wednesday morning when he left for work.

He said "take care" as he left for the day, not knowing it would be last time they would see each other.

The dedicated police officer was due to arrive home at 7pm that day, but he never returned.

Mr Robinson started preparing dinner and texted him a few times, receiving no response.

When the news broke of the accident on the TV, he began to worry but believed his partner was OK.

"Family members said: 'Is everything alright?'. I said: 'I'm not sure'. I said if he's there involved, he would be just be there helping to control the scene of the accident and he can't respond to me because he's busy," Mr Robinson said.

Two hours had passed and Mr Robinson still had no heard from Constable Humphris. Then he got a knock at his front door, with five police officers delivering the dreaded news on his doorstep.

"I was shocked, I wasn't expecting it, but I knew something wasn't right," he said.

"There is a lot of hurt going on.

It was then he realised his worst nightmare had become a reality.

But putting on a brave face, Mr Robinson left an incredibly moving tribute for his partner - who was not only a loving partner, but a son, a family member, a friend, a colleague and a protector of the community as a Victoria Police officer.

Mr Robinson said he wanted Constable Humphris to be remembered for his "infectious smile".

"I want people to remember him for the bubbly, outgoing and loving personality and nature he had. He lit up the room when he walked into it. He respected everyone's opinon. More so, he was so proud of being a Victoria policeman."

Constable Humphris was doing his Probationary Constable Extended Training Scheme (PCET) at Collingwood and undertaking a placement in the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section.

He was born and raised in Gosford on the NSW Central Coast.

After working as an apprentice carpenter, he completed a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at University of Newcastle and obtained a Masters in Exercise Physiology at the University of Sydney. He became a sports scientist and exercise physiologist.

Mr Robinson said their first date together was a 30km bike ride in Newcastle. They loved adventure and Constable Humphris was full of life.

The pair enjoyed all the usual activities that many couples do.Mr Robinson said they had adventures overseas, went out on dates and grabbed dinner. They appreciated all the small, but special day-to-day moments they can have no longer.

Most importantly, they would share each and every day together.

"He would come home after a shift and debrief, and we would talk about our days," Mr Robinson said.

"He would message me on his lunch break and let me know he was ok.

"He loved helping people and being there if someone was in trouble."

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Partner of fallen police officer Constable Glen Humphris shares anguish - 9News

Physiology

Yamaha WSBK riders had their fitness tested at Loughborough – iMotorbike News

Heres a glimpse of what the fitness tests for the riders were like at the Loughborough Sport, housed in Loughborough University, United Kingdom.

Fitness Test at Loughborough | Photo credits: Yamaha

Prior to the start of the 2020 season, Yamahas four World Superbike Championship riders headed to Loughborough Sport for a series of fitness tests in order to assess their readiness to manage the challenging physical demands of the new WorldSBK season.

Pata Yamahas two riders, Michael van der Mark and Philip Island race-winner Toprak Razgatlolu, joined GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Teams duo, Federico Caricasulo and Garrett Gerloff, to take part in a series of tests during the day. The test was widely similar to those conducted across other high-demanding sports. This includes physiology tests, strength and conditioning, and physiotherapy screening.

The tests can help determine the correlation between physical fitness and rider performance. The results allow riders to receive tailored training routines to maximise their on-track results. Sports nutritionists will also be able to advise them on the best foods and hydration methods during a typical race weekend.

Rhona Pearce, Sports Science Manager at Loughborough Sport Performance Centre, took the time to explain the aims of her team. While we have done a lot of physiology tests with riders over the past 10 to 15 years, our strength & conditioning and physio teams have done less, and this is the first year we have looked to join all our services together to support motorcycle racers.

So, we are continually looking at how we can improve this support. We are also getting feedback from the Yamaha team on the testing. The reports have been really useful in helping us to progress what we do to better support the team.

Photo credits; Yamaha

This can sometimes directly correlate with performance in sports like cycling. This is less directly relevant in motorcycle racing. However, Loughborough Sport has found after testing almost 100 riders that generally better race fitness is produced by those riders with a higher VO2max.

The team used strength and capacity tests to determine upper and lower body strength, as well as core fitness, using techniques such as the one-rep max to see the riders maximum force output.

Physiotherapy screening began with analysing the riders medical history and at what factors may affect performance. This includes any physical injury from a fall or any current or previous health conditions.

Photo credits: Yamaha

These results are important in order to understand how to stay appropriately hydrated. This is vital during a race event in somewhere like Thailand or even southern Europe in mid-summer.

Pearce explained what her team found from the results of these tests. There was quite a variation between the four riders we tested. All of them had comparable results in at least one area with good athletes from other sports. In the main, the most comparable was the strength tests.

We have had some riders in the lab with excellent physiology test results, up there with national-level runners and cyclists. But the strength element is probably more closely related to performance for motorcycle racing.

Motorcycle racing has very unique demands when compared to other sports. Riders have to withstand continuous stress on their whole bodies for more than 30 minutes during races. The riders did show impressive muscle endurance. Pearce also noted their motivation to push through discomfort during the exercises.

Photo credits: Yamaha

Photo credits: Yamaha

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Yamaha WSBK riders had their fitness tested at Loughborough - iMotorbike News

Embryology

Now Hatching: Check Out The CSU Chick Cam Live Stream – CBS Denver

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) The Colorado State University Chick Cam is back and the eggs are hatching now!

The CSU Extension of Arapahoe County is running a Virtual Embryology Program, complete with video lessons families can watch to learn all about the life cycle of a chicken.

Check it out at https://arapahoe.extension.colostate.edu/chick-cam/.

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Now Hatching: Check Out The CSU Chick Cam Live Stream - CBS Denver

Embryology

Suspension of fertility treatment having a devastating effect – The Irish Times

Sir,

Im writing this letter to raise awareness of the countless women and men whose hopes of having a family are currently on hold due to the cancellation of all fertility treatments.

All fertility clinics in Ireland have ceased providing any treatment that could result in pregnancy. This is in line with recommendations from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), and with fertility treatments not being deemed an essential service.

Two main reasons have been given. Firstly, clinics have said they are taking a precautionary approach given the limited data on how the coronavirus could affect women and babies in early pregnancy; and secondly, treatments have been stopped in an effort to prevent any additional burden fertility patients may place on the healthcare system.

Im 42 years of age, and more than two years ago, I started down the precarious road of fertility treatment. After three rounds of IVF, countless diagnostic tests, and three early miscarriages, two weeks ago I was due to have my fourth embryo transferred.

A few days before the procedure, I got a call from my fertility clinic to say it was cancelled indefinitely. My hopes of having a baby in 2020 shattered, and with all treatments stopped, there is no sight of when I will get to try again.

People speak about fertility treatments as elective procedures, much like they would of breast implant surgery or a face lift, yet fertility treatment is anything but. The World Health Organization recognises infertility as a disease and fertility procedures as a treatment.

The American College of Reproductive Medicine in one of its recent Covid-19 updates continues to emphasise that infertility is a disease and infertility care is not elective. Elective procedures generally refer to surgery that can be delayed for a period of time without undue risk to the patient, and this is not the case with fertility treatment.

We know a womans age is the single most important factor when it comes to fertility. Any delay, even a month, can mean the difference between success and failure.

For me, one of the hardest and most frustrating parts of the IVF process has been my inability to translate into words the sheer desperation and sense of urgency I feel. If I was drowning, someone would throw me a life line. If I was starving, someone would find me food.

For me, the longing and desire to have a child is just as strong and instinctual as wanting to survive or eat, yet when it comes to infertility, it is somehow okay to say, sorry your treatment has been cancelled indefinitely. Would we tell a person with depression that their treatment has been put on hold?

While the reason for cancellation of taking a precautionary approach is a noble one, surely if this was being taken seriously as a real threat, like the Zika virus, our radio and TV screens would be filled with experts advising all women to avoid pregnancy, not just women undergoing fertility treatment.

This is not the case.

Currently, to my knowledge, there is not one governing body advising fertile women to avoid pregnancy. Only women requiring assistance are being asked to avoid pregnancy. As a fertility patient reliant on treatment, the talk of a baby boom in nine months time is agonising.

As regards to the intent of reducing any unnecessary burden on the healthcare system: in Ireland, fertility clinics are run as private entities and therefore operate outside the realm of public health. It is estimated that 5,000-6,000 women undergo fertility treatments in Ireland each year.

Many of these women will not interact with the public system until they are 12 weeks pregnant. Early pregnancy complications are a concern in both fertility patients and women who conceive naturally.

However, is it really equitable to say to fertility patients, we are not providing treatments as we dont want you to be a burden, yet we accept we will be treating the complications of fertile women?

As a someone who works in healthcare, I am acutely aware of the current situation and truly sorry for the tragedy that will befall so many. I know our Government is fighting fires and doing the best it can during this very uncertain time.

However, as the powers that be get to grips with the situation, I am pleading with them to strongly consider the time-sensitive nature of this treatment.

It is well published and widely accepted that a womens fertility begins to decline after the age of 35. At 42, fertility takes a nosedive. Women my age have about a 6 per cent chance of success per IVF treatment. Just one month could determine if I become a parent, one of the most natural miracles of our existence, or live for the rest of my life wondering.

As a nation we have made great strides to acknowledge and address mental health issues, and so I would ask ESHRE, the National Public Health Emergency Team, our Government, the Medical Council and the clinics to take into consideration the massive unintended psychological distress this action has already caused, and will continue to have, if fertility treatments are not resumed.

Fertility Network UK has reported a 50 per cent increase in the use of its counselling helpline, and psychologists in the UK have said the shutdown is having a devastating impact on IVF patients. The Hippocratic Oath says, first, do no harm. Are we doing more harm by doing nothing?

Sarah K is not the writers real name. It has been changed to protect her privacy

Originally posted here:
Suspension of fertility treatment having a devastating effect - The Irish Times

Embryology

NHS’s oldest IVF clinic at risk of closure amid increasing privatisations – The Guardian

The UKs oldest NHS fertility clinic is at risk of closure and another has been put out to private tender, as IVF provision is increasingly privatised and rationed.

Hospital bosses want to close the internationally renowned department of reproductive medicine at St Marys hospital, Manchester, saying they cannot afford to fund a 10m upgrade of the unit, the Guardian has learned.

In Leeds, the entire NHS provision of fertility and other gynaecology services was put out to tender earlier this year, with private clinics invited to bid for a 10-year contract estimated at 70m to provide reproductive care.

Two years ago North Bristol NHS trust sold off its IVF clinic to a private provider, saying it was no longer feasible because of a reduction in NHS-funded patients.

In England, the proportion of fertility treatment funded by the NHS dropped from 39% in 2012 to 35% in 2017, according to figures published last year by the regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). This is at odds with the rest of the UK, where public funding has remained stable or increased.

When it opened in 1982, four years after the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in nearby Oldham, St Marys was the UKs first fully NHS funded IVF unit. It now performs over 2,000 fertility treatments every year, including around 1,200 IVF cycles, and offers highly specialised fertility preservation for cancer patients. It is also a top research centre, which led on the use of ovarian reserve tests to guide ovarian stimulation, the development of stem cell lines from human embryos, and the effects of IVF on baby birth weights.

The Manchester University NHS foundation trust (MFT) said no decisions had been made over the units future. But staff were briefed last month that the HFEA and local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) had been told that all licensed treatment and research on the site may end by April 2021 if an alternative solution cannot be found.

MFT, which runs the hospital, is also exploring options including redeploying services and some of its 107 staff including many highly specialised roles but confirmed to staff that closure was a possibility.

The Guardian spoke to 10 members of staff at St Marys aware of the mooted closure. One said they understood the matter to be settled: St Marys have taken a proposal to the MFT group board to discontinue the IVF service and the group board have said, Yes, OK. How they discontinue it is what they need to decide next, they said.

If the change goes ahead, CCGs, which fund fertility treatment, will have to pay private clinics to carry out IVF and other fertility services. But staff at St Marys warn that the private sector will not be able to carry out some of the most specialised services currently offered by the NHS.

We offer highly specialised procedures in the NHS which private providers wont touch because they dont make money and are too difficult. For example, we aim to see women diagnosed with cancer within a week who want to freeze their eggs before they start chemotherapy. Many of these women are already very poorly and need really high quality anaesthetic care during egg collection, and that is just not available in the private sector because of the medical complications, said one source.

They added: Private clinics are also unlikely to help patients with kidney problems or heart problems. But when they come to us, we can address these issues before they begin IVF: a huge advantage of being part of a multi-disciplinary NHS Trust. Those patients will be disadvantaged if this happens.

They also expressed concerns about screening procedures in the private sector. In the NHS, anyone applying for fertility treatment undergoes a series of stringent checks, including an assessment of the welfare of the child: Our checks and ethics advisory committee often flag issues including prison sentences, a serious history of domestic violence, even people on the sex offender register. At private clinics they dont do anything like the same background checks.

A number of separate proposals were put to MFT to try to save some or all of the clinic, including turning the service into a social enterprise and forming a partnership with a private provider, as is being proposed in Leeds.

The deadline to apply to run the Leeds service was 23 March, the day the government announced the coronavirus lockdown in the UK. Shortly afterwards, clinics stopped all new treatments and the HFEA ordered private and NHS clinics to stop treating patients in the middle of an IVF cycle by 15 April.

A spokesperson for the MFT, which runs St Marys hospital, said no decision had been taken to shut the clinic permanently.

They said: Services provided by the department of reproductive medicine at St Marys hospital are regularly reviewed as part of a usual cycle to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible care and treatments for all our service users. No decisions have been made, therefore it would be inappropriate to provide any further detail before the outcome of any review has been finalised.

The HFEA said it could not disclose informal discussions between clinics and inspectors.

Many St Marys staff are worried not just about their patients and their jobs, but the logistics of closing down the clinic. Moving thousands of sperm samples and embryos held in freezers, for use in both treatment and research, was a mind-boggling challenge, said one.

One staff member said: Although possible relocation was mentioned, the fact that no viable alternative has been identified and that the cost was described as being too high left us thinking that this is not being explored and that closing the unit is the direction of travel. We are worried for our jobs but our biggest concern is for our patients, particularly those with the most complex needs who cannot be served elsewhere without high costs.

IVF provision has been put under pressure, nationally, by NHS funding cuts over the past decade leading to a postcode lottery of provision. Now only a minority of English CCGs offer the recommended three funded IVF cycles, with some refusing to fund any NHS fertility treatment at all.

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NHS's oldest IVF clinic at risk of closure amid increasing privatisations - The Guardian

Embryology

STANTON: Humans Are Not Expendable To Save Earth – The Daily Caller

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Via Shutterstock/ Holli

On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day launched the modern environmental movement to protect and power positive change for people and planet, and purportedly this continues to be the mission.

However, the environmental movements genuine aim stands in stark contrast to their child spokesperson and well-orchestrated public professions about saving future generations of human beings. The environmental movements leadership, priorities and standards have consistently demonstrated a singular reverence for and desire to protect the earth at the expense of humankind, and the movements distorted belief that abortion is a legitimate strategy to control population growth exemplifies this harmful and flawed principle of their world order.

Earth Days founder and hero of the environmental movement, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson, explicitly advocated for limits to population growth, especially through abortion; he viewed abortion simply as a highly effective method in the armory of population control. During a CNN town hall event in September, Senator Bernie Sanders echoed Nelsons belief that abortion is an essential mechanism to prevent human reproduction and battle human overpopulation, and confirmed it is a key feature of his Green New Deal to save our species from climate catastrophe.

Environmentalists may not put a dollar figure on human life, but they do attach an equivalent environmental value (e.g., a carbon factor). Environmental metrics unfailingly reward those lawmakers who advance population control measures vis-a-vis abortion (e.g., federal funding for abortion) and dole out negative scores to those who vote yes on matters that safeguard unborn human lives (e.g., a vote to confirm Justice Kavanaugh). Interestingly, climate advocates were nearly unanimous that Sanders plan was the best among the field and Greenpeace gave Sanders the only A on their 2020 climate scorecard.

This notion that abortion is pro-environment (for people and planet) depends upon fake science, the scientifically inaccurate premise that human reproduction occurs at birth and thus some human beings are not fully human (i.e., instead there are pre-persons, potential-persons)and as such are expendable. Unfortunately, this absurd idea has spread to many people and has infected humankind. According to a recent poll, 44% of Americans do not know that a human fetus is a human being and it is estimated since 1980 more than 1.5 billion human lives have been ended by abortion.

Contrary to the environmental movements dehumanization narrative, science knows that in sexual reproduction a human being begins to exist at fertilization not at birth and then he or she continues to grow and develop as the same, fully human organism throughout the continuum of human life. Birth does not transform a human being into a more fully human being or a bunch of cells into a new member of the human species. Human embryologists know that birth is merely a dramatic event during development resulting in a change of environment.

Thus, a human embryo or a human fetus is a whole, individual and living human being, and if the accurate objective science is used instead of the science propagated by the likes of Earth Day et al., then clearly all existing human beings are human persons, including all living human embryos and human fetuses.

Abortion does not prevent or terminate a potential human life. Rather, it ends the life of an actual human being during his or her embryonic or fetal period and prevents the new individual from reaching future developmental milestones, including birth and beyond. Consequently, abortion is anti-people, anti-environment and is not a valid solution in terms of curbing population growth any more than infanticide, etc. Or, are environmentalists suggesting that, for example, human adults are disposable as well?

Human beings are the most successful, influential species on the planet. Jane Goodall stated humans are the most-clever species ever to have lived. Plus, our humanity is what we all have in common, from a single-cell human being to a 100 trillion cell human adult, and we are the only species that has the innate biological capacity to save the planet. The environmental movements science denial regarding the fundamental scientific facts of human embryology is a contradiction, as well as a serious and growing threat to our species and ultimately to Earth.

While the World is chanting Stay home. Save human lives. amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and making unprecedented sacrifices accordingly, climate activists are stalling human life-saving bills (e.g., CARES Act) to advance climate-related demands and pondering how they can engender an immediate, revolutionary coronavirus-like response to the climate crisis.

It may help to recognize that this same erroneous environmental dogma, that humans are inferior, even expendable to save Earth, is the flaw that has undermined the modern environmental movement for the past 50 years, and if humans are to collectively respond to the collective threat of climate change, the environmental movement needs to develop a new paradigm: people all people over planet.

Brooke Stanton is the CEO of Contend Projects, a registered 501(c)(3) education organization spreading the basic, accurate scientific facts about when a human life starts and the biological science of human embryology.

Brooke Stanton

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STANTON: Humans Are Not Expendable To Save Earth - The Daily Caller

Physiology

University stages photo shoot with skeleton in empty library as ‘he waits for campus to reopen and students to return’ – Yahoo News

Mandy the Skeleton looks over the empty UNLV Library while students complete coursework from home. (Photo: Aaron Mayes)

A Las Vegas university is making people smile after staging a photo shoot with a figure well-known to students and alumni at one of its empty libraries on campus.

The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) is one of many universities across the country that have transitioned to online learning amid coronavirus pandemic. With students and most staff still home, UNLV officials decided to stage a photo shoot with Mandy the Skeleton, who is known to help students prepare for anatomy and physiology exams.

In a Facebook post on Monday, UNLV Libraries shared the pictures.

Mandy has a lot of free time on his hands since the COVID-19 pandemic sent the campus into a remote instruction mode. Heres a peek at how hes spending his days, following social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask out in public, as he waits for campus to re-open and students to return, the post reads.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the post has been shared at least 6,000 times, with messages from commenters who said the pictures brought a smile to their faces.

He looks good for his age, one person noted.

I love these. What a perfect laugh. I keep thinking of the person taking the pictures. I bet they were having fun and laughing, someone else commented.

These are the best....thanks for the laughs, a commenter said.

Maggie Farrell, the dean of UNLV Libraries, tells Yahoo Life that as the school has made the transition to online learning in March, they have tried different ways to keep students, staff and faculty engaged, and energized.

Humor is one way to connect in a stressful time, she says. This photo project seemed like a unique way to let students know we miss them and are supporting them during this time, while also giving them something to laugh about.

Aaron Mayes, who took the pictures of Mandy, works as a curator for visual materials in the librarys Special Collections and Archives department. Mayes tells Yahoo Life that the idea for photo shoot came from Sean Kennedy, who is the director of communications at the library.

Story continues

Mayes hoped this could bring joy during this uncertain time.

I have been working on a photograph collection for futureresearchers showing Las Vegas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he says. Those images can be a bit depressing. Being able to create something completely different, something humorous, something that can make people smile and laugh, if only for a minute, made it worth the effort.

Mayes notes that the response to the pictures has been positive and has helped to connect students and the rest of the UNLV community.

Some have noted the places in the library they can't wait to get back to enjoying, he recalls. Others remember using Mandy while finishing their studies. We've had requests for Mandy to be greeting students when we reopen. And, surprisingly, Mandy has fans now from all over the world. My favorite comment though is one that just says, Miss you Mandy! It reminds me that good libraries are not buildings, they are places for people to connect, learn, grow and laugh.

Farrell hopes this gesture shows students to know how much they mean to the school and its resident skeleton.

We hope students know how much we miss them and we are thinking of their academic and health needs, she says.And that Mandy will welcome students back with joy with his skinny outstretched arms when it is safe to be together again.

For thelatest coronavirus news and updates, follow along athttps://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference theCDCs andWHOsresource guides.

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University stages photo shoot with skeleton in empty library as 'he waits for campus to reopen and students to return' - Yahoo News

Physiology

Can You Improve Your Mental Health By Eating Healthier? – Theravive

A recent review published in the Journal of European Neuropsychopharmacology looked at nutritional psychiatry and whether mental health can be improved by what you eat.

Thepopular press often provide advice tothegeneral public about recommendations on how to improve ones mental health by changing what we eat specific diets, supplements or foods, review author Suzanne L Dickson told us.We are a group of researchers with much diverse yet collective knowledge on nutrition and brain health. We know when facts are clearly wrong, when they are right and alltheshades of grey in between. We wanted to settherecord straight and explain in an informed balanced manner,theactual data behind common claims and misconceptions.

Dickson is a professor in the Depart of Physiology/Endocrine at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology at the the Sahlgrenska Academy attheUniversity of Gothenburg in Sweden.

We addressed many different aspects of nutrition and brain health for some of these quite a lot is known and sotheevidence pretty much aligned to current theories proposed by scientists, Dickson told us. However, for other areas, even scientists are drawn in by assumptions, for example, that eating too much sugar exacerbates symptoms observed in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Actually,theevidence for this is very slim indeed.

The review notes that the brain requires certain nutrients in order to function properly including minerals, vitamins, lipids, and amino acids.

We read as much possible literature onthevarious topics and summarizedthekey components. We wanted to provide an explanation as to why it is difficult for scientists and nutritionists to provide proof that any dietary ingredient or food really does improve brain health, Dickson told us.We also want to explain likely ways that we can make better progress inthefuture.

In addition to nutrients the brain requires, other elements such as gut hormones, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides.

There are so many different topics inthearticle, some relating to cognitive function, some to ADHD and others to depression and anxiety disorders, Dickson told us. Essentially, for most disease areas, nutrition can have beneficial effects but oftentheeffects are marginal and we lack knowledge regarding howthenutritional change could causetheproposed effect on mental health.

There are scientific studies do show that proper nutrition is a benefit for ones mental health. Some studies link a higher intake of fresh vegetables and fruits with increased happiness.But more research is needed.

As scientists we were surprised at how scarcetheevidence is to back dietary advice for mental health, Dickson told us.We need to battle on to sort out fact from fiction regarding dietary advice for mental health and this can only be done by rigorous investigation.We need well controlled clinical studies as well as basic mechanistic studies examiningtheimpact of nutrients onthebody, on metabolism and brain.

Another study showed how depression could be reduced with a higher intake of not only fruits and vegetables but also whole grains and fish, or otherwise popularly known as the Mediterranean diet. Studies have also shown that a lack of vitamin B12 can cause lethargy, poor memory and depression. Studies have shown that adequate intake of vitamin D has a beneficial effect on memory and attention.

Be kind to your brain by making healthier food choices, Dickson told us. Theeffects of diet on mental health are likely real. Since most data on nutrition and brain health is provisional, it is important not to follow dietary advice that is not evidence-based.

Categories: Alternative Mental Health Treatment , Anxiety , Depression , Wellness | Tags: nutrition, mental health, depression

Patricia Tomasi is a mom, maternal mental health advocate, journalist, and speaker. She writes regularly for the Huffington Post Canada,focusing primarily on maternal mental health after suffering from severe postpartum anxiety twice. You can find her Huffington Post biography here. Patricia is also a Patient Expert Advisor for the North American-based,Maternal Mental Health Research Collectiveand is the founder of the online peer support group -Facebook Postpartum Depression & Anxiety Support Group - with over 1500 members worldwide. Blog:www.patriciatomasiblog.wordpress.com Email:tomasi.patricia@gmail.com

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Can You Improve Your Mental Health By Eating Healthier? - Theravive