Eating this healthy snack can treat depression, says study

This is really effective!

Depression is certainly a critical mental condition that requires medication and constant counselling. But there is enough evidence available to prove that certain food items also have a positive impact on the mind and can help uplift your mood.

Researchers have recently unlocked the perfect breakfast treat that can help beat depression and that is YOGURT!
 
We all know that yogurt is a healthy food that prevents you from getting indulged in unhealthy and junk foods. It is packed with different kinds of nutrients and now we have got another reason to eat this probiotic for breakfast. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that this probiotic may also help combat depression.

The study was carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Study author Assistant Professor Alban Gaultier said that the treatments available for relieving the symptoms of depression are not very good as they come with numerous side effects. So, it is important to have another effective alternative treatment.

For the study, the researchers exposed mice to higher levels of stress until they began to show symptoms of depression. Then they did a before and after comparison of the levels of gut bacteria. They found a clear connection between the level of gut bacteria and mental health.

It was revealed that the level of Lactobacillus (friendly gut bacteria) in the gut influences the level of a blood metabolite called kynurenine, which is linked with the development of depression. When Lactobacillus supplement was added in their diet, they recovered instantly.

Lactobacillus help to balance the levels of kynurenine in the blood. When the level of Lactobacillus decreases in the gut, you begin to see the symptoms of depression.

The bottom line

The research is still at an early stage and more detailed study is required in this direction. Also, it has only been tested on mice and we can only observe the symptoms of depression as they cannot reveal how they are feeling. Till that time you can have yogurt to improve your mood. Yogurt is also effective in losing weight and treating other seasonal allergies. 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Simple blood test will tell you if you are approaching menopause

Menstrual cycle patterns are generally used as an indicator to predict the onset of menopause in women. This approach, however, is severely inaccurate and can pinpoint the beginning of menopause only within a window spanning across four years. In a new study that has been published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers have developed a blood test that can forecast the commencement of menopause with relatively better accuracy.

The study found that measuring levels of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) can predict when a woman’s final menstrual period will occur. AMH serves as an indicator of how many eggs a woman has remaining. Women are born with their lifetime supply of eggs, and the supply decreases as women approach menopause.

“Establishing a way to measure time to the final menstrual period has long been the holy grail of menopause research,” said co-lead author of the paper Nanette Santoro, M.D., of the University of Colorado Medical School in Aurora, Colorado.

“Using bleeding patterns or previously available tests to predict the time to menopause can only help us narrow the window to a four-year period, which is not clinically useful. Women can make better medical decisions with the more complete information offered by new, more sensitive anti-Mullerian hormone measurements.”

For women who are determining whether to have surgery to manage fibroids or whether it is safe to stop using birth control, having an AMH measurement can provide additional information about the timing of menopause, Santoro said. A low AMH level in a woman who is more than 48 years old indicates that menopause is likely approaching.

A part of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), this research analyzed blood tests conducted on 1,537 women between the ages of 42 and 63. The long-term SWAN study monitored changes in women’s health as they went through the menopausal transition. For this study, participants’ blood samples were tested for AMH levels as well as follicle-stimulating hormone, another reproductive hormone.

Researchers used a more sensitive test than what has been available previously to measure the participants’ AMH levels. This process made it possible to predict the final menstrual period’s timing within 12 to 24 months in women in their late 40s and early 50s. “Researchers have long thought AMH would be a superior marker of the time to menopause, but tests haven’t been sensitive enough to detect the very, very low levels that occur in the year or two leading up to menopause,” said co-lead author Joel S. Finkelstein of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass.

“It took a cohort like the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), which followed the same women year after year from well before menopause until well after, to get the kind of data necessary to be able to demonstrate the predictive value of AMH.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Developing Alzheimer's diseases could be due to disrupted sleep

Losing a night's sleep can be the reason behind developing Alzheimer's, study reveals.

The interrupted sleep schedule for even a night increases the level of tau protein in a young male's body thus increasing the chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.

According to CNN, the report was published on Wednesday in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology

"Our study focuses on the fact that even in young, healthy individuals, missing one night of sleep increases the level of tau in blood suggesting that over time, such sleep deprivation could possibly have detrimental effects," said study author Dr Jonathan Cedernaes, a neurologist at Uppsala University in Sweden.

As defined by the Alzheimer's Association, tau is the name of a protein that helps in stabilizing the internal structure of the brain's nerve cells. An abnormal build-up of tau protein in the body can end up in causing interior cells to fall apart and eventually developing Alzheimer's.

"When you get more of that deep sleep and you get the REM sleep in the normal amounts, that improves clearance of abnormal proteins which we think is good," said Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr Donn Dexter, not the study author but a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

Earlier studies have also shown that getting deprived of sleep can allow higher tau development and accumulation. Thus that poor sleep can hasten the development of cognitive issues.

Researchers caution that the study is small and inconclusive, and acknowledged they were not able to determine what the increased levels might mean.

"This study raises more questions than answers," agreed Dexter on a concluding note, sharing, "What this is telling us is that we have to dig more deeply. Despite something we do for a third of our lives, we know so little about sleep and we're learning every day, particularly when it comes to sleep and dementia."

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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New Alzheimer’s blood test 94 per cent accurate: Know how to manage symptoms naturally

Imagine how it feels when your near and dear ones lose the ability to think and react, do every day task by themselves and even remember who they are, if not others. Alzheimer’s disease,a form of dementia, can be crippling. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disorder yet. But now researchers  bring a ray of hope to patients and caregivers alike. They have developed a blood test that is 94 per cent accurate at detecting Alzheimer’s disease. And this too before people develop memory loss and confusion.

This blood test can measure tiny levels of amyloid beta protein in the blood. They then use levels to predict how much of this protein has accumulated in the brain. The causes of Alzheimer’s are still unknown. But the disease leads to a build-up of sticky amyloid plaques in the brain. This prevent neurons from communicating with each other, setting off a cascade of further damage.

But scientists now know that amyloid starts building up in the brain up to 20 years before any symptoms show. This can be seen on brain scans. According to them, when blood amyloid levels are combined with two other major risk factors – age and the presence of the gene mutation APOE4 – scientists could spot the disease before it emerged. The test is important because many scientists now believe the brain damage of Alzheimer’s is irreversible. They think that preventive drugs will help. And if scientists knew who would get the disease they could carry out trials on preventive drugs which could stop the condition from ever developing.

FOOD MATTERS, SAY EXPERTS

You might be familiar with the statement, ‘you are what you eat’. The food you consume could also impact your memory, suggests a new study. A team of researchers discovered that cholecystokinin (CCK), a satiety hormone which is highly expressed in memory formation, could, at higher levels, decrease a person’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 65 per cent, said the study.

CCK is found in both the small intestines and the brain. In the small intestines, CCK allows for the absorption of fats and proteins. In the brain, CCK is located in the hippocampus, which is the memory-forming region of the brain. The regulation of when and how much we eat can have some association with how good our memory is. What we eat and what our body does with it affects our brain. This may help to shed further light on how satiety hormones in the blood and brain affect brain function. Researchers hope this study will encourage others to look into the nutritional aspect of diets.

They say that by looking at the nutritional aspect, they can tell if a certain diet could prevent Alzheimer’s disease or prevent progression of the disease. Using data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the team looked at CCK in 287 people.

NATURAL WAYS TO MANAGE ALZHEIMER’S

It is almost next to impossible for a layman to learn about the intricacies of human brain and accordingly treat a condition as devastating as Alzheimer’s disease. But we do have a list of natural ways to keep the symptoms under check and lead a better life. Alongside the scientists working on unearthing some breakthrough cure for Alzheimer’s, let us find out the natural ways of healing it.

Mediterranean diet, the best fit for Alzheimer’s disease

Food is the master healer for all ailments. All you need to know is the right diet for Alzheimer’s disease. A study conducted by University of California and Los Angeles (UCLA) states that Mediterranean diet plays a vital role in cracking through the mystery knots in brain. This was published recently. This diet prevents your brain from developing plaques, a pile of toxic protein – beta amyloid filling up the spaces between your brain nerve cells and tangles which are knotted threads of tau protein within brain cells. Plaques and tangles are known to be the key signs of Alzheimer’s syndrome. Let us go through some of the  Mediterranean diet rich foods.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, more specifically the leafy greens like spinach and kale

Non-starchy vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower, artichokes, tomatoes and fennel

Olive oil, almonds and sesame seeds, lentils, chickpeas, oregano, rosemary and parsley

Whole grains

Wild caught fish, seafood twice in a week

Good quality poultry, eggs, cheese, goat milk and probiotic rich yogurt (to be consumed in moderation)

Red meat once a week

Lots of fresh water, some coffee or tea

A regular glass of red wine.

Be physically active

For those who are physically active, there are lesser scopes of developing plaques and tangles in the brain leading to Alzheimer’s syndrome. Burst training or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great way to keep yourself physically active on a daily basis. Your target should be to get into a healthy body mass index (BMI) range and you can tackle your brain triggers better.

Don’t neglect your job

From now on no more excuses for keeping off from work. Certain professions can act as an anti-Alzheimer drug, showed a study. Not just that, co-working with your colleagues instead of just dealing with data safeguards your brain from Alzheimer’s, revealed the same study. Getting involved in a social setting leads to  better cognitive functions and makes your brain stronger.

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