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Are humans really beings of light

Facts about Ageing

Facts about ageing

Ageing like everything else will come on your way....it’s a FACT and you cannot avoid it, whether you like it or not.

I remember, when I was on my teen years...I wanted to get older, why? So I can have my own life, my own house, my own job and my own money....until I reached the prime of my life in my 30’s, I once told myself....I wish I just stay on my teen years...why? So I don’t have any obligation in life, no own life to think about, no monthly mortgages, no job to work hard, no worries on how I look, and most of all I don’t have to think about money, I can ask money from my parents anyway! But life is not like that; we will grow old and will have a life of our own.

The question like what others are always asking is...How can I handle ageing? They say there aint no formula in ageing, I say yes...there is no formula, but there are ways to age without noticing it.

According to Professor Thomas Kirkwood, CBE Associate Dean for Ageing, Newcastle University, UK the Top Ten Facts about ageing are:

1. Life expectancy in most developed countries is increasing by 5 or more hours each day
In many developing countries the rate is even faster as these countries catch up.

2. Human ageing is much more malleable than used to be thought
Factors such as healthy lifestyles, better public health and education all contribute to the fact that on average we now age much better than in the past.

3. There is no biological programme driving our bodies to age
Our bodies are programmed for survival. However in earlier times, when life was much more hazardous, it was a higher priority for our genes to reproduce than to build a body that could last forever. We age and die through the gradual accumulation of damage in our cells and organs.

4. Older people make a large positive contribution to the national economy
There are some costs associated with population ageing but the net effect is strongly positive.

5. Although ageing brings increased vulnerability to disease, many people aged 85 and above rate their quality of life highly

6. Population ageing contributes much less to increasing health costs than is commonly perceived
The most expensive period for health care in each of our lives is our terminal illness, whether we die young or old. Because most people are now old when this cost is incurred, a false impression is often gained that it is population ageing itself that is costly.

7. There is no fixed point at which ageing begins
Indeed, the biological process of ageing begins very early in life, when we are still in the womb.

8. Adherence to healthy nutritional patterns results in longer, healthier lives

9. Longevity does run in families but the contribution from our genes is only a quarter of what determines length of life
The genes responsible for above-average longevity include genes influencing body maintenance.

10. The biological mechanisms responsible for ageing are complex but beginning to be understood
This knowledge will help medical scientists better to understand the many age-related diseases for which age is the single strongest cause. In time this knowledge will lead to new ways to prevent and treat these diseases, possibly by acting on the ageing process itself.

There you go....always be aware about some of the facts of ageing and don’t be scared to face the reality that everyone of us will aged...just enjoy life...live a healthy lifestyle and stop worrying too much about life...remember; we only have one life and we will only lived once, so make sure you make out of it and live it to the fullest!.

Supplied by Monica Brillo

Dr Mercola Inflamation and Depression

Dr. Mercola Inflamation & Depression

The notion that inflammation in your gut could be linked to your symptoms of depression may sound far-fetched, but it actually makes perfect sense when you understand the intricate connection between your brain and your digestive tract.

Perhaps the simplest example to use is getting butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, thus your thoughts, i.e. brain, are manifesting symptoms in your gut. But another route of connection is via low-grade inflammation, which is a significant contributing factor to numerous diseases that often occur alongside depression, and may, in fact, be manifesting your depressive symptoms.

Is Depression the Result of Chronic Inflammation?

A recent review has pointed out several mechanisms by which gastrointestinal inflammation may play a critical role in the development of depression.

Among them:

1.Depression is often found alongside gastrointestinal inflammations and autoimmune diseases as well as with cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, type 2-diabetes and also cancer, in which chronic low-grade inflammation is a significant contributing factor. Thus researchers suggested "depression may be a neuropsychiatric manifestation of a chronic inflammatory syndrome."
2.Research suggests the primary cause of inflammation may be dysfunction of the "gut-brain axis." Your gut is literally your second brain -- created from the identical tissue as your brain during gestation -- and contains larger amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with mood control.

It's important to understand that your gut bacteria are an active and integrated part of your body, and as such are heavily dependent on your diet and vulnerable to your lifestyle. If you consume a lot of processed foods and sweetened drinks, for instance, your gut bacteria are likely going to be severely compromised because processed foods in general will destroy healthy microflora and sugars of all kinds feed bad bacteria and yeast, as well as promote systemic inflammation.

3.An increasing number of clinical studies have shown that treating gastrointestinal inflammation with probiotics, vitamin B, vitamin D and omega-3 fats may also improve depression symptoms and quality of life by attenuating proinflammatory stimuli to your brain.

What this all boils down to is that chronic inflammation in your body disrupts the normal functioning of many bodily systems, and can wreak havoc on your brain. But it appears inflammation may be more than just another risk factor for depression; it may in fact be THE risk factor that underlies all others. Although this refers to postpartum depression, the inflammatory response is the same in its impact on all forms of depression.

Published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, researchers stated:

"The old paradigm described inflammation as simply one of many risk factors for depression. The new paradigm is based on more recent research that has indicated that physical and psychological stressors increase inflammation. These recent studies constitute an important shift in the depression paradigm: inflammation is not simply a risk factor; it is the risk factor that underlies all the others.

Moreover, inflammation explains why psychosocial, behavioral and physical risk factors increase the risk of depression. This is true for depression in general and for postpartum depression in particular.

Puerperal women are especially vulnerable to these effects because their levels of proinflammatory cytokines significantly increase during the last trimester of pregnancy -- a time when they are also at high risk for depression.Moreover, common experiences of new motherhood, such as sleep disturbance, postpartum pain, and past or current psychological trauma, act as stressors that cause proinflammatory cytokine levels to rise."

This is Why Sugar is Also a Major Factor in Depression

There's a great book on this subject, The Sugar Blues, written by William Duffy more than 35 years ago, that delves into the sugar-depression link in great detail. The central argument Duffy makes in the book is that sugar is an extremely health-harming addictive drug, and that simply making that one dietary change -- eliminating as much sugar as possible -- can have a profoundly beneficial impact on your mental health. He even advocated eliminating sugar from the diet of the mentally ill, stating it could be an effective treatment in and of itself for some people.

It's become increasingly clear that one route by which sugar is so detrimental to your mental health is because sugar consumption triggers a cascade of chemical reactions in your body that promote chronic inflammation. Further, excess sugar and fructose will distort the ratio of good to bad bacteria in your gut, which also plays an integral role in your mental health. Sugar does this by serving as a fertilizer/fuel for pathogenic bacteria, yeast and fungi that negatively inhibit the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

For instance, recent research showed the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus was found to have a marked effect on GABA levels in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior. But if you consume a lot of processed foods and sweetened drinks (which are typically fructose-heavy), your gut bacteria are likely going to be severely compromised and so is your mental health! So the dietary answer for treating depression is to severely limit sugars, especially fructose, as well as grains.

It's worth noting that sugar can also lead to excessive insulin release that can lead to hypoglycemia, which, in turn, causes your brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, panic attacks and an increase in suicide risk.

So radically reducing your sugar intake, especially fructose, to less than 25 grams per day will be one of the most powerful interventions for dealing with depression, as well as fighting chronic inflammation and supporting healthy gut bacteria. Consuming more than 25 grams of fructose a day will clearly push your brain biochemistry, and your overall health, in the wrong direction.

Relieving Gastrointestinal Inflammation May Ease Your Depressive Symptoms

We discussed the importance of limiting sugar and fructose, which is one of the primary ways to treat gastrointestinal inflammation, above. You will also want to be sure your gut is regularly "reseeded" with good bacteria, or probiotics, which are the foundation of a healthy gastrointestinal tract.

My recommendations for optimizing your gut bacteria are as follows:

Fermented foods are still the best route to optimal digestive health, as long as you eat the traditionally made, unpasteurized versions. Healthy choices include lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink, traditionally enjoyed before dinner), fermented raw (unpasteurrized) grass-fed organic milk such as kefir, various pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots, and natto (fermented soy).

If you regularly eat fermented foods such as these that, again, have not been pasteurized (pasteurization kills the naturally occurring probiotics), your healthy gut bacteria will thrive.

Probiotic supplement. Although I'm not a major proponent of taking many supplements (as I believe the majority of your nutrients need to come from food), probiotics are definitely an exception. I have used many different brands over the past 15 years and there are many good ones out there.
If you do not eat fermented foods, taking a high-quality probiotic supplement certainly makes a lot of sense considering how important they are to optimizing your mental health.

Probiotics have a direct effect on brain chemistry, transmitting mood- and behavior-regulating signals to your brain via the vagus nerve, which is yet another reason why your intestinal health can have such a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa. Two other important factors to treat gastrointestinal inflammation and also help relieve depression are:

Animal-based omega-3 fats: These not only regulate inflammatory processes and responses, but also positively influence outcome in depressive disorders. So if you are currently struggling with depression, taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat supplement like krill oil daily is a simple and smart choice.
Vitamin D: Most people are not aware that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation and depression. One previous study found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 11 times more prone to be depressed than those who had normal levels, so you will want to be sure your levels are in the healthy range by getting proper sun exposure or using a safe tanning bed. As a last resort, you can also take a high-quality vitamin D3 supplement, but make sure you have your levels monitored if you choose this route.

There's a wealth of evidence showing gastrointestinal involvement in a variety of neurological disease. With this in mind, it should also be crystal clear that nourishing your gut flora with good bacteria is extremely important, from cradle to old age, because in a very real sense you have two brains, one inside your skull and one in your gut, and each needs its own vital nourishment.

Green Superfood Moringa

The superfood known as moringa (from the moringa tree) contains several thousand times more of the powerful anti-aging nutrient zeatin than any other known plant — and that it also has 2 compounds that prevent cancer and stop tumor growth.

The moringa is a genus of trees indigenous to Southern India and Northern Africa. It is a short, slender, deciduous, perennial tree that grows about 30 feet tall.

Once grown only in India, Africa and the Himalayas, it is now cultivated in Central and South America, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The leaves, flowers, bark, wood and roots of the moringa tree are used all over the world for a wide variety of medicinal, pharmacological and nutritional purposes. But it’s the leaves of the species called moringa oleifera, in particular, which have become recognized in recent years as being highly beneficial to human health.

Compared to other green superfoods like spirulina, wheat grass and chlorella, moringa oleifera has been relatively unknown until recent years when reports appeared in mainstream scientific journals describing its medicinal and nutritional properties.

Moringa, The “Miracle Tree” Multiple Health Benefits

Moringa, which has been called the “Miracle Tree” in many indigenous cultures, contains more than 90 essential nutrients. Folk medicine practitioners and anecdotal reports suggest moringa’s great value in reducing tumors or retarding their growth.

Studies show that 2 compounds that are present in moringa cause a dramatic reduction of skin tumors, and even inhibit tumors in lab mice that are bred to be susceptible to tumors. This has earned moringa the reputation of being a cancer preventative plant.

Over the past 40 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been studying and using the moringa plant as a low-cost health-enhancing food for third world countries where malnutrition and hunger are widespread.

India’s natural Ayurvedic medicine uses moringa leaves to prevent and treat over 300 diseases. The leaves contain complete proteins, which are rare to find in the plant kingdom.

This should come as good news for vegetarians, as well as those who are trying to limit their meat and dairy consumption — without compromising their protein intake.

A Bureau of Plant Industry report states that, gram per gram, moringa leaves contain: twice the protein content of 8 ounces of milk (and 4 times the calcium); the Vitamin C equivalent of 7 oranges; the potassium content of 3 bananas; 3 times the iron of spinach; and 4 times the Vitamin A of carrots.

Moringa leaves’ rich combination of nutrients, amino acids, antioxidants, as well as anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties could fill an entire book. But perhaps the most fascinating discovery about moringa leaves is that they are rich in zeatin.

Zeatin is a member of the plant hormone family known as cytokinins. Cytokinins induce cell division and growth, and delay cell aging. A study published in Rejuvenation Research shows the undeniable youth-preserving effects of zeatin on aging human skin.

Zeatin has recently become increasingly sought after because of its powerful anti-aging properties. It defends cells against free radical damage, protects healthy cells from the effects of stress, helps the body replace dying cells more rapidly, and strengthens living cells… thereby slowing the aging process.

No plant has a greater abundance of zeatin than the moringa plant. In fact, moringa has several thousand times more zeatin than any other known plant.

The human body has approximately 19 million skin cells at any given time. However, 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells die every minute. New skin cells make their way to the upper skin layers as old skin cells flake off and die.

With the zeatin contained in moringa, new skin cells grow at a faster rate than old skin cells die. This results in a marked reduction of wrinkles on the face and other parts of the body, and a more youthful skin appearance.

Moringa dietary supplements are available in the following forms: moringa leaf powder, moringa leaf capsules and moringa condensed powder tea.

According to Optima of Africa, Ltd., 25 grams of moringa leaf powder could provide these astounding percentages of recommended daily allowances:

Protein: 42%
Calcium: 125%
Magnesium: 61%
Potassium: 41%
Iron: 71%
Vitamin A: 272%
Vitamin C: 22%

Moringa powder and capsules are sold by many online retailers such as World’s Choice Products (brand: Supreme Moringa), as well as several health food stores. Type any of the following keywords in any search engine: “moringa leaf powder” or “moringa capsules”.

Dr Mercola Chlorella

Dr Mercola -- Chlorella

Chlorella, a single-celled fresh-water algae, is one of the most heavily researched algae in the world. It's often referred to as a near-perfect food as research through the years have identified an astounding range of health benefits. While being well known for its ability to detoxify your body by binding to toxins and carrying them out of your system, that's certainly not all it's good for.

Chlorella's Impressive Range of Health Benefits

As you will see, chlorella seems to fit the description of a "wonder nutrient" that serves far more than just one function. Here's a sampling of some of the health benefits associated with this green algae:

Repairing nerve tissues	Increasing your energy levels
Enhancing your immune system	Normalizing your blood sugar
Improving digestion	Normalizing your blood pressure
Promoting healthy pH levels in your gut, which in turn helps good bacteria to thrive	Removing potentially toxic metals from your body
Enhancing your ability to focus and concentrate	Eliminating bad breath

Chlorella can also be of benefit to vegetarians and vegans looking for proteins and B vitamins from a non-animal source. About 60 percent of it is protein, and because it contains all the essential amino acids your body needs, it's considered to be a "complete protein."

Chlorella also rich in:

GABA
Folate
Vitamin B12
Iron

Six Health Conditions Chlorella May Help Prevent or Treat

As mentioned earlier, chlorella has and still is being researched for a number of health conditions. Here's a list of six common health problems and diseases where chlorella may be of particular benefit:

Insulin resistance—Earlier this year, researchers discovered that chlorella has the ability to improve fructose-induced insulin sensitivity. As I’ve discussed on numerous occasions, excessive fructose consumption is the number one cause of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. In this animal study, after being fed fructose-rich chow for four weeks, the rats were then given chlorella three times a day for five days, which brought their elevated glucose-insulin values back to normal.

The authors concluded that: “Oral administration of chlorella has the ability to improve insulin sensitivity, which may be used as an adjuvant therapy for patients with insulin resistance.”
Detoxification. Is particularly helpful when used in conjunction with an infrared sauna and taken two hours before you go in the sauna. This way the chlorella will be in your intestine and read to bind to the toxins that are released when you are in the sauna. It will bind irreversibly to the toxins and be safely excreted when you have your bowel movement.
Diabetes—Additional evidence supporting the theory that chlorella can improve insulin sensitivity can be found in an earlier study. Here, the algae was found to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake in the liver in type 1 diabetic rats. The authors suggest chlorella’s hypoglycemic effects may be due to improved glucose uptake in the liver and the soleus muscles. Another mechanism may be related to decreased levels of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), since insulin sensitivity is usually blunted by elevated NEFA in type 1 diabetes.
Hypertension—The results from a placebo-controlled, double-blind study published two years ago suggest that chlorella can significantly decrease high-normal blood pressure and borderline hypertension. The authors proposed that it may be a beneficial dietary supplement for preventing hypertension, with no apparent adverse side effects.
Anemia, proteinuria and edema in pregnant women—Pregnancy-induced hypertension and anemia are common, and potentially dangerous. One of the primary causes for these conditions is the woman’s nutritional status. A study published last year found that chlorella may help improve both of these conditions in pregnant women, likely due to its high folate, B12 and iron content.

Subjects took six grams of chlorella per day, starting somewhere between the 12th to the 18th week of gestation, until delivery. The chlorella group had significantly lower rates of anemia compared to the control group. They also had fewer incidences of proteinuria and edema; two symptoms associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension. Here too, the authors concluded that: “Chlorella supplement may be useful as a resource of natural folate, vitamin B-12 and iron for pregnant women.”
Fibromyalgia—Although the individual results were varied, it may be worth considering chlorella if you suffer with fibromyalgia. A study published in 2000 tested the effectiveness of two commercially available chlorella-based products on patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and the overall results showed a 22 percent decrease in pain intensity. However, while seven patients reported improvement in their fibromyalgia symptoms, six reported no effect at all, and five claimed their symptoms had worsened during the trial... So keep that in mind if you decide to try it. While it may help some, it might not work at all for others.
Liver cancer—A study published in 2009 discovered that chlorella triggers cell death (apoptosis) in rat liver cancer cells, which suggests it may be useful in the prevention of liver cancer. The authors concluded that: “Our study shows that chlorella has definite chemopreventive effect by inducing apoptosis via decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 and increasing the expression of caspase 8 in hepatocarcinogenesis-induced rats.”

For additional research findings, check out Green Med Info's chlorella page, which lists more than 40 health conditions for which chlorella may be of benefit.

Chlorella—A Potent Detox Agent

Heavy metal toxicity, just like chemical toxicity, has become one of the most pressing health hazards of our day, and this is where chlorella may be profoundly useful. Its ability to bind to heavy metal toxins, allowing them to be safely excreted from your body, has been well established. It's particularly crucial for systemic mercury elimination, because the majority of mercury is rid through your stool. Once the mercury burden is lowered from your intestines, mercury from other body tissues will more readily migrate into your intestines where chlorella will work to remove it.

You can also add cilantro, which works as a synergetic detoxification aid along with the chlorella. This combination is particularly useful to take when you're consuming seafood, as most are invariably contaminated with heavy metals and chemicals. Ideally you would take it with the meal so the chlorella can bind directly to the toxins while they are in your gut, before they absorbed into your body.

In order to optimize heavy metal detox, you'll want to take at least four grams of chlorella every day, year-round.

Be aware that side effects may occur. As your body starts to detox, you may initially experience some slight nausea, and/or mild diarrhea. If these symptoms are too bothersome, you may want to lower your dose initially, and slowly increase the dose. As your body is cleansed of toxins, these side effects should disappear. Infrared saunas are another phenomenal detox approach. I seek to do a 20 minute sauna virtually every day I am home. I will be writing more about this useful tool in the near future.

The Crucial Detail that Determines Chlorella's Effectiveness

The key to chlorella's detoxing abilities lies within its membrane, but the fibrous cell wall of chlorella is actually indigestible to humans. This is why most chlorella products use the term "broken cell wall," to describe the fact that the chlorella has been rendered digestible.

If a product does not specifically tell you that the cell wall has been broken, you are likely flushing your money down the toilet as the chlorella will simply pass right through you without doing you any good. As Ginny Banks explains in this previous interview, it's in your best interest to make sure you're getting a high quality product for this reason.

How to Verify the Quality of a Chlorella Product

While there are a number of proprietary methods to break the cell wall, the key comparison you need to pay attention to is the nutritional profile of the end product. In addition to making sure it's "broken cell wall" chlorella, this is the other factor that will help you evaluate the quality of any given product. Keep in mind that, according to the legal requirements, a natural product may contain plus or minus 20 percent of the stated level of any nutritional component. Therefore, I recommend sticking with reputable companies only, as they will adhere to certain processes that increase your chances of getting the levels of nutrients stated on the label.

Recent changes to the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) guidelines and the labeling requirements now make it much easier for you to investigate and verify company claims, because companies are now required to list their phone number and website on every label. They must also maintain a paper trail showing where the material came from and any testing that has been done.

Key questions to ask when calling a company directly include:

How often do you test batches for nutritional consistency?
Ask for a specification sheet ('spec sheet'), or the Certificate of Analysis, known as the 'C of A'. These are documents that itemize every single test that the final product gets tested for.
How and where is the chlorella grown? Variations in climate and season can cause nutritional variations, but if the chlorella is grown in artificial ponds the producer has greater control over consistency. You'll also want to make sure the chlorella is grown in unpolluted areas, since chlorella binds to heavy metals.
Does the producer test for heavy metal contamination? A high quality producer will perform regular heavy metal analysis', for which there should also be a verifiable paper trail. And organic producers must adhere to even more stringent rules in order to become certified organic, which is another sign of a clean, high quality product.

Although I do not promote the use of many supplements in general, believing it is far better to get your nutrition from food, there are exceptions to this rule. In this case though, chlorella truly is a food, but it must be properly processed into supplement form in order to unlock its greatest health benefits. Whether you want to help reduce your toxic burden, prevent a particular health ailment, or just boost overall nutrition, I believe chlorella can be a phenomenal addition to a healthy diet.

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