A new study demonstrates the interesting relationship between genes and environment.  The study looked at genetic makeup in adolescent boys who hung out with "delinquent" peers.  The idea was that "Being antisocial, using drugs, and criminal behavior is known to be linked to having delinquent peers. And belonging to a delinquent peer group is one of the strongest predictors of criminal behavior."  

The study did indeed find a fairly consistent genetic variant in boys who hung out with "the wrong sort" (my words) from a "high-risk family environment".  In other words, if a boy had the genetic variant and came from a high-risk family, he was more likely to have high-risk peers than a boy from a similar background without the genetic variant.  If however, the boy grew up in a loving, nurturing environment with "high maternal engagement and warmth", the boy was not more likely to hang out with bums even if he had the genetic variant.

What this means for us is simple; we never know what genes our children come in with.  We do know that if we make our children a priority, and by extension make our families and relationships a priority, we can often trump genes!

Read the Yahoo! news story.

As we move through the daily grind in which we live, our brains often function reactively.  We have set "programs" that our minds use to deal with externally (from the environment) and internally (from our own bodies) generated stimuli.  Meditation allows us a chance to escape the reactive trappings of our mind.  This has been shown in many studies, and recently in Japanese Buddhist monks. What these studies show is an increase in frontal lobe activity during meditation.  The frontal lobe is the newest portion of our brain, evolutionarily speaking.  This portion of our brain allows us to discriminate, judge, and override more primal parts of our brain.  In short, it is the part of our brain that makes us human--the part that is able to rise to a moral, philosophical standard, rather than being trapped by instinct and desire.  

I bring all of this up because many believe that when meditating you are "doing nothing".  In fact, you are improving the part of you that makes you uniquely yourself!  If you wish to change yourself for the better it is crucial that you are able to choose the direction in which you wish to go, then override old programs to execute the new behavior.  I know of no more powerful tool for this than to meditate.  Read more on this subject on my Stress Reduction Page.

Read the study on Japanese monks.

One of the biggest lies in modern psychiatry is that depressed people have Prozac deficiency syndrome.  Despite physicial exam findings that can discover specific deficiencies/excesses in the brain and specific urine tests that can effectively evaluate neurotransmitter levels, the mainstays of modern psychiatry remain non-targeted antidepressant drugs.  The New York Times recently broke a story showing that as often as studies showing a benefit from antidepressants are published, studies showing that they don't work are suppressed (read the article here).

I always recommend having a neurotransmitter test done (I use a lab called NeuroScience) to pinpoint brain deficiencies and excesses in individuals with depression.  An excellent physcial exam can also reveal relevant therapeutic strategies, whether they include lifestyle changes, psychotherapy, exercise, supplements, or somatic therapies like chiropractic care. 

Two supplements are gaining attention in the treatment of depression that I would like to mention here; creatine monohydrate and whey protein.  For those of you who have worked on becoming no-neck muscle heads, these will be familiar, as they are mainstays in the world of fitness. 

Athletes use creatine monohydrate to re-energize muscle cells during workouts.  What new research shows is that that creatine does the same thing in your brain!  The study involved giving 3-5 grams of creatine monohydrate to people with "treatment resistant" depression for 4 weeks.  Astoundingly, all the patients improved significantly!  If this were a drug trial it would of headlined on every newspaper and television show in the world.  Since creatine is a cheap, non-patentable supplement, the research was only seen by people who read the journal Bipolar Disorders (you can read the study here).  One warning; the researchers gave the creatine to 2 people with bipolar disorder and they both developed hypomania/mania--people with bipolar should not use creatine.

Next, Whey protein has shown some promise in normalizing neurotransmitter levels in the brain.  Disturbances in these chemical balances is associated with depression.  One study (read it here) looked at serotonin levels and cognitive ability (memory, in this case) among people taking whey protein.  They found increases in serotonin and improvements in memory.  Another study again found increases in serotonin with use of a protein in whey protein, as well as better sleep, and "improved behavior patterns" in people who has poor sleep prior to supplementation  (see the study here).  Whey protein is a complete protein that both supplies the brain with precursors needed to create neurotransmitters, and increases the body's production of glutathione--your most potent antioxidant and detoxifier (see the whey protein page).   I offer an excellent whey protein product in my store--click here to view it.

Last, don't forget about omega-3's--you can read more about them in the treatment of depression in a separate article--click here.

If you've ever doubted the potential of the human mind, or simply want to be inspired by it, check out this link.  It will take you to "The Living Camera"--a video of a man with autism who, after one helicopter flight over the city of Rome, drafts a gigantic picture of city in surprising detail--every street, every building, column, and window!  Check it out--it'll blow your mind!

There has been a huge body of research in the past decade as to the relationship between the circulatory system and depression.  Here's what we know:

• There is a strong relationship between heart disease and depression.
• Inflammation is strongly related to depression.
• Many supplements that are good for circulation/inflammation are also helpful with depression, especially fish oil.

There are two reasons that come to mind for these relationships:

1. A poor circulatory system causes poor blood flow to the brain and more "silent infarcts".  It is actually considered normal now to have many small areas of dead brain tissue on MRI!  I have had several patients bring in brain MRI's showing these multiple infarcts with the explanation "my doctor said it is normal with aging."  The only reason its considered normal is that it happens to most Americans.  This line of reasoning could leave one to believe that being fat, having heart disease, and being depressed is "normal".  When your brain is less active, it becomes less effective at inhibiting, or "turning down" your sympathetic, or "fight or flight" system.  This can lead to chronic stress and depression.
2. A poorly functioning circulatory system and inflammation go hand in hand.  For regular readers, you know that the root of heart disease is inflammation, not cholesterol, and that fish oil (a potent anti-inflammatory) is helpful in the treatment of virtually all degenerative disease (read my article on omega-3's ).  Inflammatory chemicals have receptors in your brain that promote "sickness behavior"--this means lying in bed and being generally cranky.  This occurs so that if you have an injury that is undergoing an inflammatory process you'll engage in behaviors that help you to heal.  With chronic inflammation, however, the end-result is depression.

So here's what you can do with this information:

• Learn to avoid inflammatory foods and use a high dose fish oil like the one in my store (read more on how and why here).
• Exercise--putting demand on your system is necessary to improve your circulatory system--read more on my exercise page.
  
• Use potent brain antioxidants--read my Antioxidant article to find out how to do this safely.
• See your chiropractor--chiropractic adjustments affect your nervous system to produce balance.  It has been show that chiropractic can reduce inflammatory chemicals in your body, reduce blood pressure, and promote balance in your brain.

A new paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that data on antidepressants was grossly manipulated.  The researchers tracked all the studies, published and unpublished, on antidepressants such as prozac and paxil, to find out if outcomes affected publication. 

Prior to this new paper, it appeared that antidepressants held significant advantages over placebo treatments.  It was found however, that 86% of the studies that were negative were never published!  This is contrasted with 94% of the positive studies being published!  The researchers found that when all the results were accounted for, the drugs only held a slight benefit over placebo.

Recall the Marcia Angel, the former editor in chief at the New England Journal of Medicine quit her job and wrote a disturbing book about how drug companies misrepresent the efficacy of their products—the book is called The Truth About the Drug Companies, and I highly recommend you read it!

Here’s what you do with this data:  Remember that for some people antidepressants are effective—the problem is that this population is probably only about 10% of those currently taking them.  Also remember these things:

·        5-HTP, an amino acid precursor to serotonin is very effective for many people, without the side effects of the drug.  It’s available in my store.

·        Exercise is very important in overcoming depression.  The parts of your brain that make serotonin and dopamine (whose balance is essential for healthy mood) receive a great deal of input from you cerebellum—the part of your brain that processes movement.  Regular exercise “fires up” the cerebellum, and the cerebellum in turn helps stimulate healthy levels of serotonin and dopamine.

·        Omega 3’s are essential for healthy brain chemistry—read more in the omega-3 article.  An excellent omega-3 product is available in my store.

·        Stress reduction is vitally important in overcoming and preventing depression—visit my stress reduction page for techniques, inspiration, and information.

Last, if you would like to read a scary book about side-effects of antidepressants written by a Harvard psychiatrist, check out Glenmullen’s Prozac Backlash.

Link to the study here. 

Link to a write up in the New York Times here. 

Christmas is upon us, and I'm going to risk offending a few people by offering a few suggestions on what to get and what not-to-get for children.  I know I'm a little late in getting this out, but better late than never!

Before I give my holiday tips, consider the following:

• Kids are fatter than ever.  Fifteen percent of 6-19 year olds are clinically obese, triple the rate of 1980.
• Kids' scores in math, language, and science have plummeted in the past three decades.
• As of 2001, 1 in 10 children were reported to have some sort of mental health problem.
• As of 2001 autism was reported to be 20 times commoner in children than it was just a few decades before.

 There is a huge body of evidence on causes for these problems--here's the main culprits:

1. Sedentary lifestyle--think television, DVD's, video games, "learning gadgets" where you stare at a screen and follow prompts--remember my recent blog showing worse language skills in children watching Baby Einstein videos!
2. Lack of physicality--here I don't just mean not being sedentary, I mean practicing tasks that demand attention, coordination, timing, speed, and dexterity.  These are fundamental driving impulses for building a healthy brain.
3. Environmental pollutants--think mercury from vaccines, food preservatives and food colorings, make-up, trans fats, etc.

All that being said--here are your holiday gift-buying guidelines for kids:

• Don't buy kids things that encourage them to be sedentary--DVD's, video games, and gizmo's with batteries in general.  This year my goal was to not buy anything with batteries or a cord.  These non-gizmo toys also tend to require more human interaction--a musical instrument that requires a teacher, a bow and arrow that requires supervision etc.
• Encourage activities that demand physical participation and coordination: a basketball, a frisbee, an instrument, a gift certificate to a martial arts class, art supplies, etc.
•  Don't buy kids things that make them sick!  Candy, junk food, make-up with toxins in it (read more here), shampoos, lotions, or dyes with parabans.  Instead, buy them healthy stuff--dark chocolate, homemade cookies with quality ingredients, paraban-free body-products.

Follow these guidelines for a healthy Christmas!

We have another link (in addition to pesticides and herbicides) to diet and development of Parkinson's disease.  A new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that people who eat a "prudent" diet--one high in fruits,vegetables, and fish significantly lowered risk of Parkinson's disease.  People eating a standard Western diet ("...characterized by high intakes of red meats, processed meats, refined grains, French fries, desserts and sweets, and high-fat dairy products.") had a greatly increased risk of Parkinson's disease.  Specifically, the prudent diet resulted in a 22% reduction in Parkinson's.

 We need to take care of our bodies and brains, and what's good for one is good for the other.  Parkinson's is  essentially an oxidative process that takes place in an area of your brain called the substantia nigra.  Free radicals are caused by poor antioxidant status--please read this article on how to better your antioxidant status.  Free radicals flock to damaged brain tissue like lawyers to rich people who want a divorce.  We know of several ways brain tissue can be damaged, some obvious, and some not--here's the short list:

1. Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels--this eventually damages your brain.
2. Excitotoxins--aspartame, MSG, etc....read the book Exitotoxins: The Taste That Kills.
3. Physical trauma--don't take up boxing.
4. Mercury, lead, PCB's, herbicides and pesticides--check out the environmental pollutants page.

Lastly, read my paper on Parkinson's if you have Parkinson's--there are very effective alternative treatments that may be appropriate for you.

Read the study here.

 

Being exposed to a lot of noise at work can be a factor in causing High Blood Pressure, researchers say.  This new study examined automobile workers who were either exposed to high noise levels at work or low noise levels.  The high noise workers had much higher tension in their blood vessels (hypertension), as well as less y'ascular compliance--that means that the vessels were less elastic and more reactive to stressors.  That, my friends, is a recipe for a heart attack or stroke!

From a chiropractic perspective this makes sense--in "high noise workers" there is simply more input to the auditory system than it is designed to handle on a regular basis.  This creates an excess tone in the nervous system resulting in nervous system stress--also known as a sympathetic response--resulting in "hyper--tension".  

If you are in a situation where you cannot avoid being exposed to noise I suggest 3 things to alleviate the ill-effects:

1.  See a chiropractor--specific chiropractic adjustments inhibit the sympathetic nervous system and bring you into balance.
2. Exercise vigorously and regularly.
3. Meditate.  Chronic stress creates hormonal changes that affect your brain--these have been shown to be halted and reversed by meditation.

Link to the study here.

More and more research is demonstrating that exercise not only strengthens bone, muscle, and character, it strengthens your mind.  In particular, regular exercise greatly increases the capacity for neurogenesis, or the ability to create new neurons (nerve cells) in the brain.  

Once upon a time it was thought that neurogenesis in the brain did not occur, but research in the past several years has sown that it does occur, and that regular exercise is a key component.  Here is a link to a great piece from the New York Times on the subject.  The article also discusses other brain healthy activities and substances, such as chocolate, socialibility, diet, and stress.  Check it out.