Category: Natural Health

Is Your Gut Causing Sleepless Nights?

(Dr. Mercola) You share your body with trillions of microorganisms, the bulk of which reside in your gut, including your stomach and small and large intestines. There, however, they are not restricted to influencing only the goings-on of your digestive process.

Far from it, these microorganisms, collectively known as your microbiome, influence your body’s homeostasis daily and are intricately tied to other body systems via a number of complex pathways, including the gut-brain axis and a recently revealed gut-brain-bone marrow axis, the latter of which may influence your blood pressure, mood and more.

One of the most compelling avenues of study relating to your microbiome is how it relates to your sleep. It’s already known that sleep influences your gut health, in part because lack of it makes it harder for you to control your impulses and manipulates hormones linked to food intake, causing you to eat more and crave unhealthy foods.

So skimping on sleep is a remarkably good bellwether of a poor diet, the latter of which can quickly take a toll on your gut health. Now researchers are asking whether the opposite also holds true and perhaps your microbiome influences your ability to sleep as well.

Can Your Microbiome Keep You Up at Night?

Although the science is in its early stages, researchers are looking into whether improving gut health could act as a new form of sleep therapy. Michael Breus, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, told The Guardian:1

“There is no question in my mind that gut health is linked to sleep health, although we do not have the studies to prove it yet. Scientists investigating the relationship between sleep and the microbiome are finding that the microbial ecosystem may affect sleep and sleep-related physiological functions in a number of different ways: shifting circadian rhythms, altering the body’s sleep-wake cycle, affecting hormones that regulate sleep and wakefulness.”

For instance, writing in the journal Chest, researchers pointed out that changes in gut microbiota have long been linked to lifestyle behaviors such as diet, travel, exercise and disturbances to circadian rhythm.2 Meanwhile, diseases once primarily attributed to lifestyle, such as obesity, heart disease and depression, are turning out to have increasing links to microbiota. In this case, they believe that “microbial-immune cross-talk” may be playing a role in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly in fatal cases.

“[W]e posit that altered patterns of sleep and oxygenation, as seen in OSA, will promote specific alterations in gut microbiota which in turn will elicit the immunological alterations that lead to OSA-induced end-organ morbidities,” they stated. Likewise, in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, researchers evaluated the interplay between sleep dysfunction, gastrointestinal health and disease, with particular focus on how the effects of sleep and circadian rhythm disruption could affect the microbiota.3

Yet another study pointed out that partial sleep deprivation is known to alter gut microbiome, and its composition is linked to cognitive flexibility. Their study found that there could be a link between sleep quality, composition of gut microbiome and cognitive flexibility in older adults, such that “improving microbiome health may buffer against sleep-related cognitive decline in older adults.”4

Prebiotics Affect REM and Non-REM Sleep

Prebiotics, which act as food for the beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, in your gut, have already been found to influence sleep in animal studies. When young rats were fed a diet containing prebiotic fiber or a control diet for four weeks, the prebiotic group spent more time in restful and restorative non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep cycles.5

In addition, rats eating prebiotics had an increase in beneficial gut bacteria as compared to the control group and spent more time in REM sleep after being stressed, which is important for promoting recovery. The researchers noted:6

“The results of the current study demonstrate that a … diet rich in prebiotics … started in early life increases the growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and alleviates the stress-induced disruption of REM sleep, diurnal physiology and gut microbial alpha diversity.

Rats on the test diet exhibited decreased impact of the stressor, including increased REM sleep rebound following stress, attenuated disruption of the diurnal rhythm of CBT [core body temperature], and prevention of dysbiosis in all three measures of alpha diversity …

Given that sufficient NREM sleep and proper nutrition can impact brain development and function and that sleep problems are common in early-life, it is possible that a diet rich in prebiotics started in early-life could help improve sleep, support the gut microbiota and promote optimal brain/psychological health.”

Dr. Michael Mosley, a doctor-journalist with BBC News, conducted a similar trial on himself, taking prebiotics for five days, and noticed a remarkable improvement in his sleep. Prior to the prebiotics, he spent 21 percent of his time in bed awake but this dropped to 8 percent after the prebiotics.7

Related: Insomnia – A Comprehensive Look with Natural Remedies

This isn’t definitive proof that prebiotics improve sleep, but considering the many other benefits they add to your health, there’s little harm, and potentially great gain, in adding them to your diet. If you’re interested in adding more prebiotic fiber to your diet to improve the health of your microbiome, and possibly your sleep, the following foods are good sources:8

Apples Asparagus Banana
Beetroot Breast milk Burdock root
Cashews Chicory root Couscous
Fennel bulb Garlic Grapefruit
Green peas Jerusalem artichokes Jicama
Konjac root Leeks Nectarines
Onion Persimmon Pistachios
Pomegranate Savoy cabbage Seaweed
Shallots Snow peas Tamarillo

Too Little Sleep Alters the Bacteria in Your Gut

The many ties between your microbiota, your sleep and your overall health only continue to grow. For instance, melatonin, the sleep hormone, is made from serotonin, and is normally found in abundance in your gut — even more so than in your brain. Gut bacteria affect both serotonin and melatonin production.

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Further, the composition and functions of your gut microbiome is affected by circadian rhythm disruptions, including jet lag. Researchers believe circadian rhythms play a key role in regulating the gut microbiome as well as its responses to gastrointestinal pathogens.9

If you skimp on sleep, you also prompt changes in your body’s microbial community. When men slept for just four hours a night for two nights in a row, the balance of bacteria in their gut shifted.10 Specifically, they had increased firmicutes to bacteroidetes ratio, higher abundances of the families Coriobacteriaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae and lower abundance of Tenericutes, changes that have previously been linked to metabolic disturbances. The researchers concluded:11

“Our findings demonstrate that short-term sleep loss induces subtle effects on human microbiota. To what extent the observed changes to the microbial community contribute to metabolic consequences of sleep loss warrants further investigations in larger and more prolonged sleep studies.”

The Link Between Sleep, Depression and Your Gut

Your gut microbiome plays an intricate role in your mood, and sleep plays a role in depression, raising intriguing questions about how all three — microbiome, sleep and depression — are related. Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, told The Guardian:12

“We know that people who live with depression and people who sleep poorly both have abnormal microbes in the gut, which would suggest there is a very real connection here between all three … I’ve always found that if you help someone sleep, it improves their depression, and vice versa. If we can also look after the gut, this may have an impact on both sleep disturbances and mood disorders.”

Also intriguing, a small study involving adults diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and depression found the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum provided depression relief. At six weeks, 64 percent of the treatment group had reduced depression scores compared to 32 percent of the control group that received a placebo.13

Related: Natural Remedies for Depression

Those receiving the probiotic also reported fewer symptoms of IBS and improved overall quality of life. At the end of 10 weeks, approximately twice as many in the treatment group were still reporting lower levels of depression.

Interestingly, functional MRI scans revealed a link between reductions in depression score and actual changes in brain activity, specifically in areas involved in mood regulation, such as the amygdala. As noted by Dr. Roger McIntyre, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Toronto, who was not involved in the study:14

“We know that one part of the brain, the amygdala, tends to be red-hot in people with depression, and it seemed to cool down with this intervention. It provides more scientific believability that something in the brain, at a very biological level, seems to be affected by this probiotic.”

Could Your Diet Improve Both Your Sleep and Your Gut Health?

Another common thread affecting both your sleep and your gut is your diet. One study evaluating the diets and sleep patterns of more than 4,500 people found distinct patterns:15

  • Very short sleepers (less than five hours a night): Had the least food variety, drank less water and consumed fewer total carbohydrates and lycopene (an antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables).
  • Short sleepers (five to six hours): Consumed the most calories but ate less vitamin C and selenium, and drank less water. Short sleepers tended to eat more lutein and zeaxanthin than other groups.
  • Normal sleepers (seven to eight hours): Had the most food variety in their diet, which is generally associated with a healthier way of eating.
  • Long sleepers (nine or more hours): Consumed the least calories as well as less theobromine (found in chocolate and tea), choline and total carbs. Long sleepers tended to drink more alcohol.

Further, Spector told The Guardian, “[I]f we eat badly, we sleep badly … If you wanted to improve sleep, you could try a gut-friendly regime by eating a broad and inclusive diet with real food, not processed.”16 Indeed, it’s likely that eating a varied, whole food diet is one key to normal, healthy sleep and gut health alike. If you need some help in this area, check out my nutrition plan for a step-by-step guide to optimizing your eating habits.

As for how to support a healthy microbiota, which could do more to improve your sleep than is currently appreciated, it isn’t very complicated, but you do need to take proactive steps to encourage its health while avoiding factors known to cause harm. This includes:

Do Avoid
Eat plenty of fermented foods. Healthy choices include lassi, fermented grass-fed kefir, natto (fermented soy) and fermented vegetables. Antibiotics, unless absolutely necessary, and when you do, make sure to reseed your gut with fermented foods and/or a high-quality probiotic supplement.
Take a 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 an exception if you don’t eat fermented foods on a regular basis Conventionally raised meats and other animal products, as CAFO animals are routinely fed low-dose antibiotics, plus GE grains loaded with glyphosate, which is widely known to kill many bacteria.
Boost your soluble and insoluble fiber intake, focusing on vegetables, nuts and seeds, including sprouted seeds. Chlorinated and/or fluoridated water. Especially in your bathing such as showers, which are worse than drinking it.
Get your hands dirty in the garden. Exposure to bacteria and viruses can help to strengthen your immune system and provide long-lasting immunity against disease.

Getting your hands dirty in the garden can help reacquaint your immune system with beneficial microorganisms on the plants and in the soil.

 Processed foods. Excessive sugars, along with otherwise “dead” nutrients, feed pathogenic bacteria.

Food emulsifiers such as polysorbate 80, lecithin, carrageenan, polyglycerols, and xanthan gum also appear to have an adverse effect on your gut flora.

Unless 100 percent organic, they may also contain GMOs that tend to be heavily contaminated with pesticides such as glyphosate. Artificial sweeteners have also been found to alter gut bacteria in adverse ways.17
Open your windows. For the vast majority of human history, the outside was always part of the inside, and at no moment during our day were we ever really separated from nature.

Today, we spend 90 percent of our lives indoors. And, although keeping the outside out does have its advantages it has also changed the microbiome of your home.

Research shows that opening a window and increasing natural airflow can improve the diversity and health of the microbes in your home, which in turn benefit you.18

 Agricultural chemicals, glyphosate (Roundup) in particular is a known antibiotic and will actively kill many of your beneficial gut microbes if you eat foods contaminated with it.
Wash your dishes by hand instead of in the dishwasher.

Research has shown that washing your dishes by handleaves more bacteria on the dishes than dishwashers do, and eating off these less-than-sterile dishes may actually decrease your risk of allergies by stimulating your immune system.

How to Avoid Plastics

(OLM) Many manufacturers have stopped using BPA to harden plastics, replacing it with “BPA-free” alternatives like the most common replacement, BPS (Bisphenol S).

Our research showed that low levels of BPS had a similar impact on the embryo as BPA. In the presence of either BPA or BPS, embryonic development was accelerated. Additionally, BPA caused premature birth.” –Nancy Wayne

You probably can’t avoid plastics. Even if you go to another planet plastic is going to take you there and contaminate that ecosystem. But you can limit plastic consumption and keep your body in a homeostasis state that detoxifies itself at all times.  And the good news is that with the right diet and a healthy body, BPA and BPS can be flushed out of your system quickly, some say within 24 hours. A properly working body can process and dispel a lot of toxins. An unhealthy body rids itself of toxins at a slower rate than the toxins are consumed and produced.

Ways to Limit Plastic Contamination & Plastic Use

  1. Keep your home clean, and vacuum regularly
  2. Filter tap water
  3. Always avoid artificial fragrances
  4. Stay away from warm or hot plastics, don’t even breathe near them
  5. Avoid canned foods
  6. Avoid conventional personal care products like shampoos, soaps, moisturizers, makeup
  7. Avoid conventional and big-ag produce (pesticides and herbicides have plastic residues)
  8. Cook your own foods using whole-food ingredients
  9. Stop using plastic straws, even in restaurants
  10. Purchase food, like cereal, pasta, and rice from bulk bins and fill a reusable bag or container
  11. Use paper or your own reusable shopping bags, bulk goods bags, and bring your own mesh produce bags (FYI: I suspect that many paper bags contain BPA and BPS)
  12. No more chewing gum, it’s made of plastic
  13. Buy boxes and glass instead of plastic bottles whenever possible
  14. Use a reusable bottle or mug for your beverages or coffee and soda refills (but you don’t drink that crap, do you?)
  15. Boycott any restaurant that still uses styrofoam – Why is that still a thing?
  16. Use matches or invest in a refillable metal lighter – avoid the plastic disposable ones
  17. Eat real, whole foods – fresh foods equates to less packaging and less previous plastic contact
  18. Don’t use plasticware ever, bring your own if need be
  19. Use cloth diapers – disposable diapers are extremely toxic to the environment and your baby
  20. Make your own cleaning products
  21. Pack your lunch in glass containers and reusable bags.
  22. Use a razor with replaceable blades instead of a disposable razor
  23. Find other disposal products that can be replaced by their non-disposable counterparts
  24. Avoid seafood
  25. Avoid cheap supplements and be wary of sports supplements

Also, Avoid BPA receipts!

Did you know that some receipts contain 250 to 1,000 times the amount of BPA typically found in a can of food?  If that isn’t scary enough, BPA transfers readily from the receipt to skin and cannot be washed off. Different types of receipts contain varying levels of BPA. If you aren’t sure whether or not a merchant uses BPA in their receipts, either ask directly or let them know early in the transaction that you will not need your receipt. Gas station receipts are particularly notorious for containing huge amounts of BPA.” – Home Maker Chic

This article is an excerpt from How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors, original published on OLM.

Is the MMR Vaccine a Fraud or Does It Just Wear Off Quickly?

(Dr. Mercola) In 1986, public health officials stated that MMR vaccination rates for kindergarten children were in excess of 95 percent and that one dose of live attenuated measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) would eliminate the three common childhood diseases in the U.S.1In 1989, parents were informed that a single dose of MMR vaccine was inadequate for providing lifelong protection against these common childhood diseases and that children would need to get a second dose of MMR.2

Today, 95 percent of children entering kindergarten3 have received two doses of MMR vaccine, as have 92 percent of school children ages 13 to 17 years.4

In some states, the MMR vaccination rate is approaching 100 percent.5 Despite achieving the sought-for MMR vaccination rate for more than three decades, which theoretically should ensure “herd immunity,” outbreaks of both measles and mumps keep occurring — and many of those who get sick are children and adults who have been vaccinated.

Mumps Is Making a Comeback

As recently reported by Science Magazine6 and The New York Times,7 mumps is making a strong comeback among college students, with hundreds of outbreaks occurring on U.S. campuses over the past two decades. Last summer, the Minnesota Department of Health reported its largest mumps outbreak since 2006.8

According to recent research,9 the reason for this appears to be, at least in part, waning vaccine-acquired immunity. In other words, protection from the MMR vaccine is wearing off quicker than expected. Science Magazine writes:

“[Epidemiologist Joseph Lewnard and immunologist Yonatan Grad, both at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston] compiled data from six previous studies of the vaccine’s effectiveness carried out in the United States and Europe between 1967 and 2008. (None of the studies is part of a current fraudulent claims lawsuit against U.S. vaccine maker Merck.)

Based on these data, they estimated that immunity to mumps lasts about 16 to 50 years, or about 27 years on average. That means as much as 25 percent of a vaccinated population can lose immunity within eight years, and half can lose it within 19 years … The team then built mathematical models using the same data to assess how declining immunity might affect the susceptibility of the U.S. population.

When they ran the models, their findings lined up with reality. For instance, the model predicted that 10- to 19-year-olds who had received a single dose of the mumps vaccine at 12 months were more susceptible to infection; indeed, outbreaks in those age groups happened in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1989, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added a second dose of the vaccine at age 4 to 6 years. Outbreaks then shifted to the college age group.”

Related: MMR Vaccine Causes Seizures in 5,700 U.S. Children Annually, Says Study

A Third Booster Shot May Be Added

According to public health officials, the proposed solution to boosting vaccine-acquired mumps immunity in the U.S. population is to add a third booster shot of MMR vaccine at age 18.

Unfortunately, adding a booster for mumps means giving an additional dose of measles and rubella vaccines as well, as the three are only available in the combined MMR vaccine or combined MMR-varicella (MMRV) vaccine. At present, a third MMR shot is routinely recommended during active mumps outbreaks, even though there is no solid proof that this strategy is effective.

Considering two doses of the vaccine are failing to protect young adults from mumps, adding a third dose, plus two additional doses of measles and rubella vaccines, seems like a questionable strategy, especially in light of evidence that the mumps vaccine’s effectiveness may have been exaggerated to begin with.

According to a lawsuit filed eight years ago, the manufacturer of mumps vaccine — which is also the sole provider of MMR vaccine in the U.S. — is accused of going to illegal lengths to hide the vaccine’s ineffectiveness. So, might this resurgence of mumps simply be the result of using a vaccine that doesn’t provide immunity to begin with?10 And, if so, why add more of something that doesn’t work? After all, the MMR vaccine is not without its risks, as you’ll see below.

Still-Pending Lawsuit Alleges MMR Fraud

In 2010, two Merck virologists filed a federal lawsuit against their former employer, alleging the vaccine maker lied about the effectiveness of the mumps portion of its MMR II vaccine.11 The whistleblowers, Stephen Krahling and Joan Wlochowski, claimed they witnessed “firsthand the improper testing and data falsification in which Merck engaged to artificially inflate the vaccine’s efficacy findings.”

According to Krahling and Wlochowski, a number of different fraudulent tactics were used, all with the aim to “report efficacy of 95 percent or higher regardless of the vaccine’s true efficacy.”12 For example, the MMR vaccine’s effectiveness was tested against the virus used in the vaccine rather than the natural, wild mumps virus that you’d actually be exposed to in the real world. Animal antibodies were also said to have been added to the test results to give the appearance of a robust immune response.13

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

For details on how they allegedly pulled this off, read Suzanne Humphries’ excellent summary,14 which explains in layman’s terms how the tests were manipulated. Merck allegedly falsified the data to hide the fact that the vaccine significantly declined in effectiveness.15By artificially inflating the efficacy, Merck has been able to maintain its monopoly over the mumps vaccine market.

This was also the main point of contention of a second class action lawsuit, filed by Chatom Primary Care16 in 2012, which charged Merck with violating the False Claims Act. Both of these lawsuits were given the green light to proceed in 2014,17,18 and are still pending.

In 2015, Merck was accused of stonewalling, “refusing to respond to questions about the efficacy of the vaccine,” according to a court filing by Krahling and Wlochowski’s legal team.19 “Merck should not be permitted to raise as one of its principal defenses that its vaccine has a high efficacy … but then refuse to answer what it claims that efficacy actually is,” they said.

There’s No Such Thing as Vaccine-Acquired Herd Immunity

This certainly isn’t the first time vaccine effectiveness has been questioned. While herd immunity is thrown around like gospel, much of the protection vaccines offer has actually been shown to wane rather quickly. The fact is, vaccine-acquired artificial immunity does not work the same way as the naturally-acquired longer-lasting immunity you get after recovering from the disease.

A majority of adults do not get booster shots, so most of the adult population is, in effect, “unvaccinated.” This calls into question the idea that a 95 percent-plus vaccination rate among children achieves vaccine-acquired “herd immunity” in a population. While there is such a thing as naturally acquired herd immunity, vaccine-induced herd immunity is a total misnomer.

Vaccine makers have simply assumed that vaccines would provide the same kind of longer-lasting natural immunity as recovery from viral and bacterial infections, but the science and history of vaccination clearly shows that this is not the case.

Related: The MMR Vaccine – A Comprehensive Overview

Vaccination and exposure to a given disease produce two qualitatively different types of immune responses. To learn more about this, please see my previous interview with Barbara Loe Fisher, cofounder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). As explained by Fisher: 

“Vaccines do not confer the same type of immunity that natural exposure to the disease does … [V]accines only confer temporary protection… In most cases natural exposure to disease would give you a longer-lasting, more robust, qualitatively superior immunity because it gives you both cell mediated immunity and humoral immunity.

Humoral is the antibody production. The way you measure vaccine-induced immunity is by how high the antibody titers are. (How many antibodies you have.) The problem is, the cell mediated immunity is very important as well. Most vaccines evade cell mediated immunity and go straight for the antibodies, which is only one part of immunity.”

MMR Does Not Work as Advertised

It’s quite clear the MMR vaccine does not work as well as advertised in preventing mumps, even after most children in the U.S. have gotten two doses of MMR for several decades. Public health officials have known about the problem with mumps vaccine ineffectiveness since at least 2006, when a nationwide outbreak of mumps occurred among older children and young adults who had received two MMR shots.20

In 2014, researchers investigated a mumps outbreak among a group of students in Orange County, New York. Of the more than 2,500 who had received two doses of MMR vaccine, 13 percent developed mumps21 — more than double the number you’d expect were the vaccine to actually have a 95 percent efficacy.

Now, if two doses of the vaccine have “worn off” by the time you enter college, just how many doses will be needed to protect an individual throughout life? And, just how many doses of MMR are safe to administer in a lifetime? Clearly there is far more that needs to be understood about mumps infection and the MMR vaccine before a third dose is added to the already-packed vaccine schedule recommended by federal health officials for infants, children and adolescents through age 18.

Must Read: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Mumps Virus May Have Mutated to Evade the Vaccine

Poor effectiveness could also be the result of viral mutations. There are a number of different mumps virus strains included in vaccines produced by different vaccine manufacturers in different countries. The U.S. uses the Jeryl-Lynn mumps strain in the MMR vaccine developed and sold in the U.S. by Merck. There’s significant disagreement among scientists and health officials about whether the mumps virus is evolving to evade the vaccine.

Two years ago, Dr. Dirk Haselow, an epidemiologist with the Arkansas Department of Health said,22 “We are … worried that this vaccine may indeed not be protecting against the strain of mumps that is circulating as well as it could. With the number of people we’ve seen infected, we’d expect 3 of 400 cases of orchitis, or swollen testicles in boys, and we’ve seen 5.”

A 2014 paper written by U.S. researchers developing a new mumps vaccine also suggested that a possible cause of mumps outbreaks in vaccinated Americans could be due to ” … the antigenic differences between the genotype A vaccine strain and the genotype G circulating wild-type mumps viruses.”23

Be Aware of MMR Vaccine Risks

If a vaccine is indeed highly effective, and avoiding the disease in question is worth the risk of the potential side effects from the vaccine, then many people would conclude that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks. They may even be in favor of an additional dose.

However, if the vaccine is ineffective, and/or if the disease doesn’t pose a great threat to begin with, then the vaccine may pose an unacceptable risk. This is particularly true if the vaccine has been linked to serious side effects. Unfortunately, that’s the case with the MMR vaccine, which has been linked to thousands of serious adverse events and hundreds of deaths. According to NVIC:24

“As of March 1, 2018, there had been 1,060 claims filed in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for injuries and deaths following MMR or MMR-Varicella (MMRV) vaccinations … Using the MedAlerts search engine, as of February 4, 2018, there had been 88,437 adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) in connection with MMR or MMRV vaccines since 1990.

Over half of those MMR and MMRV vaccine-related adverse events occurred in babies and young children 6 years old and under. Of the MMR and MMRV vaccine related adverse events reported to VAERS, 403 were deaths, with over 60 percent of the deaths occurring in children under 3 years of age.”

Keep in mind that less than 10 percent of vaccine adverse events are ever reported to VAERS.25 According to some estimates, only about 1 percent are ever reported, so all of these numbers likely vastly underestimate the true harm.

A concerning study published in Acta Neuropathologica in February 2017 also describes the first confirmed report of vaccine-strain mumps virus (live-attenuated mumps virus Jeryl Lynn, or MuVJL) found in the brain of a child who suffered “devastating neurological complications” as a result. According to the researchers:26

“This is the first confirmed report of MuVJL5 associated with chronic encephalitis and highlights the need to exclude immunodeficient individuals from immunization with live-attenuated vaccines. The diagnosis was only possible by deep sequencing of the brain biopsy.”

New Insight Into How “Gut Feelings” Affect Mental Health, Depression And Anxiety

(Natural Blaze by Alex Pietrowski) In recent years, the study of causes and treatments of depression has uncovered a link to the health of the microbiome within the body’s digestive system. The hypothesis is that the presence or absence of healthy digestive bacteria affects the way the brain functions, and new research by a Florida State University neuroscientist sheds more insight into this.

The findings by research and psychology professor Linda Rinaman point to a very important connection between the gut and the brain, identifying pathways that help to understand why so-called ‘gut feelings’ have a powerful influence on emotions, mood and decision-making.

Related: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

We expect these lines of research will help us better understand how gastrointestinal functions contribute to both normal and disordered mental function. ~Linda Rinaman

Her research looked at pathways between the gut and the brain in mammals, noting how feelings generated within the gut move into the brain, indicating that some ‘gut-feelings’ are a red flag and thereby may be a fair indicator of healthy mood and mental states.

In the human body, the vagus nerve acts as the pathway between the brain and gut. The nerve is the body’s largest and most extensive nerve, translating and carrying messages between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain. If the gut is operating optimally, the brain is cued to respond more positively. Food and proper supplementation are important factors.

Related: Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease

Scientific and anecdotal evidence suggests a poor diet can cause those protective, cautionary signals to get out of whack, leading to altered mood and behavior. For example, Rinaman said, a high-fat diet can promote a low-grade inflammatory response in the GI tract, changing vagal signals and possibly exacerbating symptoms of anxiety, depression or other disturbed mental states.

Rinaman said the types of bacteria within your gut are shaped by your diet, and those bacteria can affect your emotional and cognitive state. [Source]

The emotional significance of the vagus nerve is discussed further:

Research indicates that a healthy vagus nerve is vital in experiencing empathy and fostering social bonding, and it is crucial to our ability to observe, perceive, and make complex decisions. Tests have revealed that people with impaired vagal activity have also been diagnosed with depression, panic disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, panic disorders, violent mood swings, fibromyalgia, early Alzheimer’s and obesity. Given the state of society today and the vast array of dis-eases associated with unhealthy Vagus Nerves, it doesn’t take a medical doctor to conclude that by healing our collective Vagus Nerves, we can heal a lot of societies woes.

Scientists have discovered that artificial Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS), through electrical impulses via a surgically implanted pacemaker like device, shows promising results in reducing depression, anxieties and even conditions such as epilepsy and obesity. VNS has also shown positive effects in promoting weight-loss as the signals to the brain of ‘fullness’ are more easily transmitted. But what if there were a less intrusive and more natural way to stimulate and heal the Vagus Nerve? ~Frank Huguenard

Related: Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

The important takeaway here is that supporting healthy gut function along with healthy function of the vagus nerve is being demonstrated to be a potentially very potent way of holistically approaching treatment of depression and anxiety.

Evidence shows that modifying the diet, perhaps by consuming probiotics, can impact your mood and behavioral state. That’s very clear in animal and human studies. ~Linda Rinaman

Adrenals 101

Our two adrenal glands are on top of the kidneys, hence, the terms “adrenal,” as in “added” to the renal glands.

This article is an excerpt from Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones.

The adrenal glands are composed of two entirely separate sections, the cortex and the medulla. Like the pituitary gland, the two sections of the adrenals evolved from two entirely different types of tissue.

Adrenal Medulla

The adrenal medulla evolved from the nervous system. The adrenal medulla works with the autonomic nervous system (the unconscious processes like breathing and digestion). The inner adrenal medulla has a direct connection to the brain.

Adrenal Medulla Hormones

The adrenal glands produce adrenaline (80%) and noradrenaline (20%), more commonly known among the medical establishment as epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones together are known as catecholamines.

The medullary hormones are not essential for life, but life without them would be difficult. Without stress, these hormones wouldn’t be necessary, but there are varying degrees of stress. The adrenal medulla hormones compensate when we stress our bodies with a simple act like standing up from a reclining or sitting position. Without these hormones, your blood pressure would drop when you stand because gravity causes your blood to pool at the feet and legs.

Adrenaline

Epinephrine, more commonly called adrenaline, can increase heart rate, contract blood vessels, dilate air passages, and get the nervous system ready for a fight or flight response. Epinephrine acts on almost every part of the body.

Noradrenaline

Norepinephrine, also known as noradrenaline, works with epinephrine and adds its own stimulus to the brain. Like adrenaline, noradrenaline responds to the fight-or-flight stimulus. Noradrenaline increases our heart rate, triggering the release of glucose from the body’s energy stores, and increasing blood flow to our muscles. Noradrenaline also affects the parts of the brain where attention and response actions are carried out. Noradrenaline is also an anti-inflammatory agent for the brain.

Adrenal Medulla Disorders

When the medulla is in trouble, so is the nervous system. Pathology of the adrenal medulla is primarily caused by neoplasm (tumors) or otherwise poor nervous system functionality, but there are many other issues that can cause too much or not enough of the two hormones. The nervous system will compensate for a lack of adrenal hormones for some time, but healing the thyroid, healing the entire adrenal gland, and if need be, healing the endocrine system as a whole, is the only way to ensure returned health to the adrenal medulla.

Adrenal Cortex

The adrenal cortex is divided into three zones and produces three main types of steroid hormones.

In medical school, one way we learned to remember these three layers is: ‘Salt, sugar, sex… the deeper it goes, the sweeter it gets.’ Not important, but catchy.” – Precision Nutrition

Zona Glomerulosa & Mineralocorticoids

Mineralocorticoids (such as aldosterone, which makes up about 96% of the hormones in this mineralocorticoid group) produced in the zona glomerulosa help regulate blood pressure and electrolyte balance. Aldosterone controls water and electrolyte (sodium and potassium) concentration.

The mineralocorticoids act upon the kidneys, which under the direction of these hormones excrete sodium or potassium as required to maintain optimal balance. Adrenal adenomas (benign, actively secreting growths in the cortex) cause hyper-production of aldosterone, which may account for as much as 25% of patients with high blood pressure.

Zona Fasciculata & Glucocorticoids

Cortisol (also called hydrocortisone) makes up 95% of the glucocorticoids hormones produced, but there’s also corticosterone and cortisone.

What does cortisol do:
  • Depresses the immune system.
  • Anti-inflammatory by reducing immune system response.
  • Retards allergic overreactions, but this may slow wound healing.
  • Promotes the breakdown of protein (catabolism).
  • Promotes the conversion of triglycerides to stored fatty acids.
  • Promotes glucose formation (gluconeogenesis).
  • Promotes resistance to stress which results in higher blood pressure.

Two well-known diseases of the adrenals are Addison’s disease and Cushing’s syndrome. Addison’s disease results from acute adrenocortical insufficiency. Cushing’s syndrome is caused by excessive adrenal cortical function.

John F. Kennedy may be history’s most famous Addison’s disease patient and required regular cortisone injections to deal with stress. Since one of the side effects of cortisol injections is a “tanning” of the skin, JFK looked his best (tanned and relaxed) during times of stress — immediately after injections.” – John Barron

Full blown Addison’s disease is rare, but adrenal fatigue is extremely common. Cushing’s syndrome is rare, too.

Zona Reticularis & Androgens

Testosterone is the most well-known androgen. Androgens are masculinizing hormones. In adult males, not many of these hormones are produced in the adrenal gland. Men produce most of their androgens in the testes while women produce their androgens in the adrenal glands.

Adrenal Fatigue

Health care professionals estimate that 80% or more American adults suffer from some level of adrenal fatigue. With our addiction to caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulants and our tendency to bathe in Wi-Fi and cellular radiation, it seems likely.

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue Include

  • body aches
  • trouble concentrating
  • racing thoughts
  • moodiness and irritability
  • always feeling tired
  • feeling overwhelmed
  • hormone imbalance
  • cravings for sweet and salty foods

Nutrients that Boost Adrenal Response

How to Heal Adrenal Glands

Supplement with vitamin D3, a B complex that’s got extra B5, a fatty acid supplement with DHA and EPA, a good multivitamin powder, and a liquid mineral formula.

Get the diet right. No stimulants like coffee, caffeinated teas, energy drinks, tobacco, etc. In fact, no drugs period. Eat more fresh raw vegetables than anything else, and eliminate refined and processed foods like white rice, HFCS, and even that bag of organic, super healthy, ancient grain, non-GMO quinoa chips. If you didn’t make it, don’t eat it.

Make sure the body is working right in other areas that affect adrenals. The endocrine system as a whole, and especially the thyroid, kidneys, and hypothalamus, must be in decent working order to heal the adrenals all the way. If necessary, kill Candida and balance the gut. (it’s likely very necessary if you have adrenal fatigue with our toxic, sugar-laden, antibacterial crazed society, which is often the underlining cause of endocrine disorders).

Start grounding regularly, at least 15 minutes a day (more is better). Do some sun gazing while you’re at it (but do not look directly at the sun). Get out in nature a little every day or as often as possible (again, more is better). Avoid or compensate for Wi-Fi, cellular, and other EMFs (salt lamps help, grounding probably does, too). Learn to breathe properly by breathing in deeply in a manner that causes your stomach to expand when you breathe in.

If your symptoms don’t improve quickly, glandular supplementation can help (if you’re not vegan) and a few adaptation herbs can help as well.