Good gut bacteria could provide new treatment for obesity and diabetes

Scientists have discovered a type of gut bacteria that could protect against obesity and help treat type 2 diabetes.
The breakthrough suggests foods that stimulate the production of the bacteria in the digestive system could help burn off pounds quicker than by eating less or exercising more.

A study found that the levels of gut bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila were compromised in obese and type-2 diabetic mice.

Scientists discovered that probiotics - fibres found in foods such as bananas - helped maintain gut bacteria that boost a person's metabolism

But feeding them oligofructose prebiotics - a dietary supplement to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria - boosted the bacteria back to normal levels.
This in turn led to a faster metabolism which helped the lab rodents shed weight. They also suffered less inflammation and lowered their insulin resistance, a symptom of type 2 diabetes.

The amount of chemicals called endocannabinoids that control glucose also rose, according to the findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Science: Sunlight Could Reduce Death Rate From All Causes

Heather Callaghan
Activist Post

Here's something I never thought we'd hear in this lifetime:

We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer.

A lot of us are secretly, boldly basking for reasons like vitamin D, mood enhancement, happiness, skin issues, liver health, pain and more. Now there's never a reason to fear harm or feel guilty - you could save your heart - and prevent an untimely death!

The espoused fear for about 50 years has been skin cancer rates (which continue to rise), but researchers are finally surmising that years of hiding from the sun could lead to increased heart attacks - a much sooner demise than the risk of skin cancer in later years. Sunlight does so much more than vitamin D production.

A recent landmark study could turn the modern thought on sun exposure right on its head...

Drinking Coffee Kills Pain, Lifts Mood and Sharpens the Mind

Sayer Ji
Activist Post

New clinical research confirms why office work and coffee go so closely hand in hand. The new study published in the journal BMC Research Notes found that drinking coffee reduces the development of pain during computer work. [i]

Study participants who had consumed coffee (1/2-1 cup) on average 1 hour and 18 minutes before performing a simulated computer office-work task found to provoke pain in the neck, shoulders, forearms and wrists, were found to have "attenuated pain development compared with the subjects who had abstained from coffee intake."

While the researchers attributed the observed effect to the caffeine content in coffee, we believe there is more going on here...

Death by Prescription Drugs Is A Growing Problem

Death by medicine is a twenty-first century epidemic, and America’s war on drugs is clearly directed at the wrong enemy. – Dr. Joseph Mercola [2]

Shelley White
Activist Post

I have briefly focused on mushrooms and cannabis as medicine sources. Now, it is only fair to shine the spotlight on the other side of the medicinal spectrum: prescription drugs. One could go through and list the pros and cons of each individual prescription drug or, to save some time, one could first approach prescription drugs as a whole. Doing so exposes an alarming truth, ringing louder than the individual benefits of each drug. Prescription drugs are currently responsible for more deaths annually than illegal drugs.

According to Tom Frieden, the CDC director himself, “it’s a big problem, and it’s getting worse [3].”

Out of the 783,936 annual deaths from conventional medicine mistakes, approximately 106,000 of those are the result of prescription drug use [1]. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, two-hundred and ninety people in the United States are killed by prescription drugs every day [4].

Even if prescription drugs do not literally kill a patient, though, they slowly kill their mind and body. This alters their ability to innately feel deeply and compassionately, the patient can be stripped piece by piece of their inner awareness and inner consciousness, the very essence of their being.

How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit

Sayer Ji
Activist Post

The future of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment will not be found in your medicine cabinet, rather in your kitchen cupboard or in your back yard growing on a tree.

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

A new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis confirms that pomegranate extract may prevent and/or reverse the primary pathology associated with cardiac mortality: the progressive thickening of the coronary arteries caused by the accumulation of fatty materials known as atherosclerosis.[i]

Mice with a genetic susceptibility towards spontaneous coronary artery blockages were given pomegranate extract via their drinking water for two weeks, beginning at three weeks of age. Despite the fact that pomegranate treatment actually increased cholesterol levels associated with very low density lipoprotein-sized particles, the treatment both reduced the size of the atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic sinus (the dilated opening above the aortic valve) and reduced the proportion of coronary arteries with occlusive atherosclerotic plaques.

Remarkably, the researchers also found that pomegranate extract treatment resulted in the following beneficial effects:

The Evidence Against Aspirin And For Natural Alternatives

Sayer Ji
Activist Post

As far back as the 5th century BC the Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about the use of a bitter powder extracted from willow bark that reduced fevers and eased aches and pains. Native Americans also used an infusion of willow bark for similar purposes. What was this remarkable "healing" principle within the bark that relieved disease?

Known as salicylic acid (from the Latin salix, willow tree), this pain-killing compound is widely distributed throughout plants, where it functions as a hormone. The more vegetables and fruits you consume, the more likely you are to have a physiologically significant concentration of salicylic acid in your blood. This is why, for instance, vegans and vegetarians generally have higher levels than most grain- and meat-based consumers. [1]

The chemical acetyl-salicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin, is a synthetic form of salicylic acid, a compound which is formed when salicin, a bitter compound naturally found within plants like white willow bark, is broken down within the human body. Salicylic acid can also be synthesized endogenously from benzoic acid, and its urinary metabolite, salicyluric acid, has been found to overlap levels in patients on low-dose aspirin regimens. Cell research indicates that salicylic acid compounds (known as salicyclates) actually compare surprisingly well to aspirin in reducing inflammatory activity.[2]

'For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted' Published: 5 hours ago

(NATUREWORLDNEWS) — What has become ubiquitous with age – gray hair – may soon become a thing of the past. Forget about trips to the hair salon, or buying box dye to cover up those roots, a team of European researchers say.

In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal people who go gray develop massive oxidative stress via accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes hair to bleach itself from the inside out.

The report notes that the enormous accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be cured with a proprietary treatment developed by the researchers described as a topical, ultraviolet B-activated — sunlight — compound PC-KUS, a modified pseudocatalase.

Read the full story ›

35 Reasons You Should Never Be Without Vinegar

Gaye Levy

Activist Post

I love vinegar. It is non-toxic, inexpensive and with the addition of a few drops of essential oil, it even smells good. Of course you can not use it in cooking that way but heck, cooking with vinegar is way down there on my list of uses.

My favorite use? Easy. Vinegar is the key component in my all purpose DIY cleaner aptly named, Peppermint Juice. More about that later.

But first, I am thrilled to share an article from Joe Marshall also known as ‘Above Average’ Joe at SurvivalLife.com. This article is all about vinegar and the 35 reasons why any respectable prepper needs vinegar – and lots of it – in their survival pantry. Follow along and of course, if you see something missing from this list, leave a comment and share your tip with the rest of the Backdoor Survival readers.

35 REASONS YOU SHOULD NEVER BE WITHOUT VINEGAR

Whether you are storing up supplies for hard times or just want to save a little grocery money on cleaning supplies, one thing you should never be without is vinegar.

Doctors warn that antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea could be 'worse than AIDS'

Doctors are warning that an antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhoea, now considered a superbug, has the potential to be as deadly as the AIDS virus.

Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in North America.

This particular strain of gonorrhea, known as HO41, was discovered in Japan two years ago in a 31-year-old female sex worker who had been screened in 2009. The bacteria has since been found in Hawaii, California and Norway.

In a bid to avoid contracting gonorrhea, in particular the HO41 strain, people are encouraged to practice safe sex

HO41 has so far proved resistant to current antibiotic treatment and so it has been placed in the superbug category.

‘This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the short run because the bacteria is more aggressive and will affect more people quickly,’ Alan Christianson, a doctor of naturopathic medicine told CNBC.

Nearly 30 million people have died from AIDS related causes worldwide, but Christianson believes the effect of the gonorrhea bacteria is more direct.