Mothers-to-be who eat a diet rich in fatty acids such as those found in fish, walnuts and flaxseed can reduce the baby’s chances of developing food allergies, researchers say. The research found that if a mother’s diet contains a certain group of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), the baby’s gut develops differently. The PUFAs are thought to improve how gut immune cells respond to bacteria and foreign substances, making the baby less likely to suffer from allergies.

“There is intense research interest in maternal diet during pregnancy. In the western diet, the group of polyunsaturated fatty acids that we have shown to help gut function are actually disappearing – our dietary intake of fish and nut oils is being replaced by corn oils which contain a different kind of fatty acid”. Said Dr Gaelle Boudry, of the INRA research institute in Rennes, France. “Our study identifies that a certain group of polyunsaturated fatty acids – known as n-3PUFAs – causes a change in how a baby’s gut develops, which in turn might change how the gut immune system develops. These changes are likely to reduce the risk of developing allergies in later life.” The team found that supplementing a mother’s diet with n-3PUFA caused the newborn’s gut to become more permeable.

A more permeable gut enables bacteria and new substances to pass through the lining of the gut into the bloodstream more easily. These new substances then trigger the baby’s immune response and the production of antibodies. “The end result is that the baby’s immune system may develop and mature faster – leading to better immune function and less likelihood of suffering allergies,” added Dr Boudry. The study has been published in The Journal of Physiology.

In an article published online on July 29, 2014 in Molecular Psychiatry, Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, and her colleagues report a benefit for positive lifestyle practices in combating the negative effects of stress on telomeres: protective caps at the ends of chromosomes whose rate of shortening is viewed as a marker of aging.

By following 239 healthy postmenopausal women, researchers at UC San Francisco uncovered a significantly increased decline in white blood cell telomere length in association with every major life stressor that occurred over the previous year. However, those who reported greater levels of positive health factors at four time points, including a consuming a healthy diet, engaging in physical activity and experiencing quality sleep, appeared to be protected from stress’s adverse effects.

“The study participants who exercised, slept well and ate well had less telomere shortening than the ones who didn’t maintain healthy lifestyles, even when they had similar levels of stress,” reported lead author Eli Puterman, PhD, who is an assistant professor at the university’s department of psychiatry. “It’s very important that we promote healthy living, especially under circumstances of typical experiences of life stressors like death, caregiving and job loss.”

“This is the first study that supports the idea, at least observationally, that stressful events can accelerate immune cell aging in adults, even in the short period of one year,” he announced. “Exciting, though, is that these results further suggest that keeping active, and eating and sleeping well during periods of high stress are particularly important to attenuate the accelerated aging of our immune cells.”

• Tired for no reason?
  Having trouble getting up in the morning?
  Feeling run down and stressed?
  Dragging yourself through each day?
  Craving salty or sweet snacks?
  Struggling to keep up with life’s daily demands?
  Unable to bounce back from stress or illness?
  Not having fun anymore?
  Simply too tired to enjoy life?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, you may be experiencing adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue occurs when adrenal gland function becomes less than optimal—usually as a result of stress. It is not the same as Addison’s disease. An estimated 80% of people experience adrenal fatigue and the physical symptoms of stress at some point in their lives, yet it is frequently overlooked and misunderstood by the medical community.

 In 1998, Dr. James L. Wilson coined the term ‘adrenal fatigue’ to identify a specific kind of chronic tiredness that many people experience. It can affect anyone who undergoes frequent, persistent or severe mental, emotional or physical stress. Adrenal function can also be an important factor in health issues ranging from allergies to obesity.

What is adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms, known as a syndrome, that results when the adrenal glands function below the necessary level. Most commonly associated with intense or prolonged stress, it can also arise during or after acute or chronic infections, especially respiratory infections such as influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia. As the name suggests, its paramount symptom is fatigue that is not relieved by sleep but it is not a readily identifiable entity like measles or a growth on the end of your finger. You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness or “gray” feelings. People experiencing adrenal fatigue often have to use coffee, colas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.

Adrenal fatigue can wreak havoc with your life. In the more serious cases, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that you may have difficulty getting out of bed for more than a few hours per day. With each increment of reduction in adrenal function, every organ and system in your body is more profoundly affected. Changes occur in your carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, and even sex drive. Many other alterations take place at the biochemical and cellular levels in response to and to compensate for the decrease in adrenal hormones that occurs with adrenal fatigue. Your body does its best to make up for under-functioning adrenal glands, but it does so at a price.

What causes adrenal fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is produced when your adrenal glands cannot adequately meet the demands of stress. The adrenal glands mobilize your body’s responses to every kind of stress (whether it’s physical, emotional, or psychological) through hormones that regulate energy production and storage, immune function, heart rate, muscle tone, and other processes that enable you to cope with the stress. Whether you have an emotional crisis such as the death of a loved one, a physical crisis such as major surgery, or any type of severe repeated or constant stress in your life, your adrenals have to respond to the stress and maintain homeostasis. If their response is inadequate, you are likely to experience some degree of adrenal fatigue.

During adrenal fatigue your adrenal glands function, but not well enough to maintain optimal homeostasis because their output of regulatory hormones has been diminished – usually by over-stimulation. Over-stimulation of your adrenals can be caused either by a very intense single stress, or by chronic or repeated stresses that have a cumulative effect.

Who is susceptible to adrenal fatigue?

Anyone can experience adrenal fatigue at some time in his or her life. An illness, a life crisis, or a continuing difficult situation can drain the adrenal resources of even the healthiest person. However, there are factors that can make you more susceptible to adrenal fatigue. These include certain lifestyles (poor diet, substance abuse, too little sleep and rest, or too many pressures), chronic illness or repeated infections such as bronchitis or pneumonia, prolonged situations that you feel trapped or helpless in (bad relationships, stressful jobs, poverty, imprisonment), or maternal adrenal fatigue during gestation.

How can I tell if my adrenals are fatigued?

You may be experiencing adrenal fatigue if you regularly notice one or more of the following:

 

• You feel tired for no reason.
• You have trouble getting up in the morning, even when you go to bed at a reasonable hour.
• You are feeling rundown or overwhelmed.
• You have difficulty bouncing back from stress or illness.
• You crave salty and sweet snacks.
• You feel more awake, alert and energetic after 6PM than you do all day.

 

Are there health conditions related to adrenal fatigue?

The processes that take place in any chronic disease, from arthritis to cancer, place demands on your adrenal glands. Therefore, it is likely that if you are suffering from a chronic disease and morning fatigue is one of your symptoms, your adrenals may be fatigued to some degree. Also, any time a medical treatment includes the use of corticosteroids, diminished adrenal function is probably present.  All corticosteroids are designed to imitate the actions of the adrenal hormone, cortisol, and so the need for them arises primarily when the adrenals are not providing the required amounts of cortisol.

Can people experiencing adrenal fatigue feel their best again?

Yes, with proper care most people experiencing adrenal fatigue can expect to feel good again. For detailed information about how you can help support your adrenal glands, promote healthy adrenal function and maintain your health during stressful times

• One-third of people who drink four or more caffeinated products a day are at increased for sleep apnea.
• When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop for a split second—including your heart and lungs.
• The average red blood cells lives for 120 days
• Due to our current obesity rates (among other things), the current generation of children will be the first ever to live shorter lives than their parents.
• One-third of all cancers are preventable.
• There are six facial expressions that are used worldwide—happiness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust and sadness.
• Your brain is made up of 80 percent water.
• One in 20 people have an extra rib—and it’s usually a man.
• Worth the risk? Researchers have modified the HIV virus and used it to reprogram the white blood cells of cancer patients to attack and kill the cancer.
• Skip the Nutella®! Gram for gram, it is less nutritious than chocolate frosting
• Skip the dryer. Using a paper towel reduced bacteria by 45-60 percent, while hand dryers increase bacteria on your hands by up to 255 percent, due to blowing out bacteria that already exists in the warm moist atmosphere. 

The British Medical Journal published the results of a meta-analysis on June 17, 2014 which indicate having a higher level of vitamin D is associated not only with a lower risk of dying from any cause over follow-up, but also with a reduction in the risk of dying from cancer among those with a history of the disease.

Despite levels of 25(OH)D strongly varying with country, sex, and season, the association between 25(OH)D level and all-cause and cause-specific mortality was remarkably consistent

Researchers analyzed data from seven cohorts belonging to the Consortium on Health and Ageing: Network of Cohorts in Europe and the United States plus participants in the third US National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were restricted to nonsmokers with enrollment serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] data available. Among 6,695 deaths that occurred over up to 15.8 years of follow-up, 2,624 were due to cardiovascular diseases and 2,227 to cancer.

 For men and women whose serum vitamin D levels were among the lowest one-fifth of subjects, there was a 57% higher risk of dying from any cause in comparison with those whose levels were among the top fifth.

Among those with the lowest vitamin levels who did not have a history of cardiovascular disease, the risk of cardiovascular mortality was 41% greater than subjects whose levels were highest, and for those with a history of the disease, the risk was 65% higher.

 

When the risk of dying from cancer was examined, a different picture emerged. While subjects with no history of cancer whose vitamin D levels were lowest had the same risk of dying as those whose levels were highest, for those with a history of the disease, the risk was 70% greater for those in the lowest vitamin D category, indicating that the vitamin may play a role in improving prognosis.