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The Decision to Eat May Come Down to These Three Neurons

The AHA! Team — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 06:38:18 +0000

Rockefeller University via Newswise – Speaking, singing, coughing, laughing, yelling, yawning, chewing—we use our jaws for many purposes. Each action requires a complex coordination of muscles whose activity is managed by neurons in the brain. But it turns out that the neural circuit behind the jaw movement most essential to survival—eating—is surprisingly simple, as researchers from Rockefeller University recently described in a new paper in Nature. Christin Kosse and other scientists from the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, headed by Jeffrey M. Friedman, have identified a three-neuron circuit that connects a hunger-signaling hormone to the jaw movements of chewing. The intermediary between these two is a cluster of neurons in a specific area of the hypothalamus that, when damaged, has long been known to cause obesity. Strikingly, inhibiting these so-called BDNF neurons not only leads animals to consume more food but also triggers the jaw to make chewing motions even in the absence of food or other sensory input that would indicate it was time to eat. And stimulating them has the opposite effect, reducing food intake and putting a halt to the chewing motions, resulting in an effective curb against hunger. The simple architecture of this circuit suggests that the impulse to eat may be more similar to a reflex than has been considered—and may provide a new clue about how the initiation of feeding is controlled. “It’s surprising that these neurons are so keyed to motor control,” says study first author Christin Kosse, a research associate in the lab. “We didn’t expect that limiting physical jaw motion could act as a kind of appetite suppressant.” More than a feeling? The impulse to eat is driven not just by hunger but by many factors. We also eat for pleasure, community, ritual, and habit; and smell, taste, and emotions can impact whether we eat too. In humans, eating can also be regulated by the conscious desire to consume more or less. The causes of obesity are equally complex, the result of a dynamic interplay of diet, environment, and genes. For example, mutations in several genes—including those coding for the hunger-controlling hormone leptin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—lead to gross overeating, metabolic changes, and extreme obesity, suggesting that both factors normally suppress appetite. When Friedman’s team began this study, they sought to pinpoint the location of the BDNF neurons that curtail overeating. That’s eluded scientists for years, because BDNF neurons, which are also primary regulators of neuronal development, differentiation, and survival, are widespread in the brain. In the current study, they homed in on the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), a deep-brain region linked to glucose regulation and appetite. It’s well-documented that damage in the VMH can lead to overeating and eventually obesity in animals and people, just as mutated BDNF proteins do. Perhaps the VMH played a regulatory role in feeding behavior. They hoped that by documenting BDNF’s impact on eating behavior, they could find the neural circuit underpinning the process of transforming sensory signals into jaw motions. They subsequently found that BDNF neurons in the VMH—but not elsewhere—are activated when animals become obese, suggesting that they are activated when weight is gained in order to suppress food intake. Thus, when these neurons are missing, or there is a mutation in BDNF, animals become obese. Chewing without food In a series of experiments, the researchers then used optogenetics to either express or inhibit the BDNF neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus of mice. When the neurons were activated, the mice completely stopped feeding, even when they were known to be hungry. Silencing them had the opposite effect: the mice began to eat—and eat and eat and eat, wolfing down nearly 1200% more food than they normally would in a short period of time. “When we saw these results, we initially thought that perhaps BDNF neurons encode valence,” Kosse says. “We wondered if when we regulated these neurons, the mice were experiencing the negative feeling of hunger or maybe the positive feeling of eating food that’s delicious.” But subsequent experiments disproved that idea. Regardless of the food given to the mice—either their standard chow or food packed with fat and sugar, like the mouse equivalent of a chocolate mousse cake—they found that activating the BDNF neurons suppressed food intake. And because hunger is not the only motivation to eat—as anyone unable to skip dessert can attest—they also offered high-palatable food to mice that were already well fed. The animals chowed down until the researchers inhibited the BDNF neurons, at which point they promptly stopped eating. “This was initially a perplexing finding, because prior studies have suggested that this ‘hedonic’ drive to eat for pleasure is quite different from the hunger drive, which is an attempt to suppress the negative feeling, or negative valence, associated with hunger by eating,” Kosse notes. “We demonstrated that activating BDNF neurons can suppress both drives.” Equally striking was that BDNF inhibition caused the mice to make chewing motions with their jaw, directed at any object in their vicinity even when food was not available. This compulsion to chew and bite was so strong that the mice gnawed on anything around them—the metal spout of a water feeder, a block of wood, even the wires monitoring their neural activity. The circuit But how does this motor-control switch connect to the body’s need or desire for food? By mapping the inputs and outputs of the BDNF neurons, the researchers discovered that BDNF neurons are the linchpin of a three-part neural circuit linking hormonal signals that regulate appetite to the movements required to consume it. At one end of the circuit are special neurons in the arcuate nucleus (Arc) region of the hypothalamus that pick up hunger signals such as the hormone leptin, which is produced by fat cells. (A high amount of leptin means the energy tank is full, while a low leptin level indicates it’s time to eat. Animals with no leptin become obese.) The Arc neurons project to the ventromedial hypothalamus, where their signals are picked up by the BDNF neurons, which then project directly to a brainstem center called Me5 that controls the movement of jaw muscles. “Other studies have shown that when you kill Me5 neurons in mice during development, the animals will starve because they’re unable to chew solid foods,” says Kosse. “So it makes sense that when we manipulate the BDNF neurons projecting there, we see jaw movements.” It also explains why damage in the VMH causes obesity, Friedman says. “The evidence presented in our paper shows that the obesity associated with these lesions is a result of a loss of these BDNF neurons, and the findings unify the known mutations that cause obesity into a relatively coherent circuit.” The findings suggest something deeper about the connection between sensation and behavior, he adds. “The architecture of the feeding circuit is not very different from the architecture of a reflex,” says Friedman. “That’s surprising, because eating is a complex behavior—one in which many factors influence whether you’ll initiate the behavior, but none of them guarantee it. On the other hand, a reflex is simple: a defined stimulus and an invariant response. In a sense, what this paper shows is that the line between behavior and reflex is probably more blurred than we thought. We hypothesize that the neurons in this circuit are the target of other neurons in the brain that convey other signals that regulate appetite.” This hypothesis is consistent with the work of early 20th century neurophysiologist Charles Sherrington, who pointed out that while cough is regulated by a typical reflex, it can be modulated by conscious factors, such as the desire to suppress it in a crowded theater. Kosse adds, “Because feeding is so essential to basic survival, this circuit regulating food intake may be ancient. Perhaps it was a substrate for ever-more complex processing that occurred as the brain evolved.” To that end, in the future the researchers want to explore the brainstem area known as Me5 with the idea that the jaw’s motor controls might be a useful model for understanding other behaviors, including compulsive, stress-related mouth actions such as gnawing on a pencil eraser or strands of one’s hair. “By examining these premotor neurons in the Me5, we might be able to understand whether there are other centers that project into the region and influence other innate behaviors, like BDNF neurons do for eating,” she says. “Are there stress-activated or other neurons that project into there as well?” Journal Link: Nature To read the original article click here.

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Candida Diet: The Foods & Supplements to Eat (and Avoid) to Treat Candida

The AHA! Team — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:19:38 +0000

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CN via Dr. Axe – When it’s at proper levels in the body, candida is a fungus that aids with nutrient absorption and digestion, but when candida overproduces, it can then become a serious concern that causes a wide variety of negative and serious health problems. A yeast-free candida diet is one of the best ways to reduce and eliminate candida symptoms, but what exactly do you need to eliminate from your diet? Read on and I’ll tell you exactly what to take out of your diet and what to add to get rid of candida for good. What Is the Candida Diet? Candidiasis, commonly referred to as “candida,” is a fungal infection that can affect men and women of all ages in various parts of the body. It most commonly occurs in the mouth, ears, nose, toenails, fingernails, gastrointestinal tract and vagina. Possible symptoms comprise a true laundry list ranging from bad breath to persistent heartburn to arthritis. Due to its many and varied symptoms, candida is often ignored, undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. If you have candida or know someone who does, the good news is that there are many candida natural treatments. The main natural treatment is a change in your diet to discourage the overgrowth of yeast. Before embarking on your new diet, though, it’s a good idea to start with a candida cleanse to help rid the body of excess candida through flushing the digestive tract. You have two options for a cleanse: a liquids-only cleanse or a more gentle cleanse with food. You can also start with the step one cleanse and then move to the step two cleanse. Cleansing Step 1: Liquids-Only Candida Cleanse (Duration 1–2 Days) Start by making a vegetable broth from organic onions, garlic, celery, kale, sea salt and pure water. Let it simmer and strain. Discard the vegetables, and refrigerate the broth. Throughout the day, sip on warm broth. It’s imperative that you drink lots of water to help your body expel all the toxins in your system. While this is not a long-term cleanse, it can be repeated as needed every few weeks. It can also be used as a jump-start to the food cleanse below. Cleansing Step 2: Steamed Vegetables (Duration 3–5 Days) By eliminating grains, sugars, fruits, starches and alcohol from your diet for three to five days, you can make great headway in your fight against candida overgrowth. What can you eat on a candida diet? You should mostly eat: Fresh, organic vegetables that have been steamed. For this cleanse stage, keep away from any starchy vegetables like carrots, radishes, beets, sweet potatoes and white potatoes, which may contribute to excess sugar levels and feed the candida. Continue to drink plenty of pure water, a minimum of 72 ounces per day, to help flush the candida and byproducts from your system. During this time, no more than once a day, you can eat salads made from leafy greens (like romaine) or bitter greens (like chard) and topped with just a bit of coconut oil and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice). During either of the candida cleanses above, you can use bentonite clay to help surround the toxins and efficiently remove them from your system. Once you’re done with the cleansing stage, you can then move on to an antifungal diet that doesn’t just discourage candida — it helps your body get rid of candida for good! Here are the dietary steps I recommend for a candida-free diet: Diet Step 1: Remove the Problem Foods Now you know what to eat, but you are likely wondering what not to eat on a candida diet. First and foremost, you need to continue to remove the foods from your diet that literally feed the candida and encourage it to flourish in your body. The top offenders include: sugar white flour yeast alcohol These items are believed to promote candida overgrowth. If you avoid eating sugar and white flour, then you will easily cut out most processed foods, which tend to be higher in calories and unhealthy ingredients and low in nutrition. Avoiding sugar in all of its various forms is truly key to fighting candida. The candida yeast cells need sugar to build their cell walls, expand their colonies and switch into their more virulent, fungal form. This is why a low-sugar diet is such a necessary part of your candida treatment. If you need some help, here’s how to kick your sugar addiction. Going forward, you want your diet to be centered on: vegetables high-quality protein foods gluten-free grains (like brown rice and millet) Avoiding fruit at this time is also commonly recommended because even though fruit is very healthy, it does get turned into sugar in the body. In terms of vegetables, you also want to avoid these somewhat sweet, starchy varieties: potatoes carrots sweet potatoes yams beets peas parsnips These vegetables are banned from a strict anti-candida diet because of their high carbohydrate content, but they’re certainly nutrient-dense and can be reintroduced later on in your treatment. Diet Step 2: Up the Intake of Candida Killers and Boost Your Immune System You want to make sure you include the items from my top 10 list below on a daily basis, including: apple cider vinegar green veggies green drinks coconut oil Manuka honey garlic ground chia and flaxseeds unsweetened cranberry juice cultured dairy spices (like turmeric and cinnamon) How long do I need to eat like this? In order to have success with the candida diet, it will take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. It really depends on the individual and a few key variables: how strictly you follow this diet the intake and effectiveness of probiotics and antifungals the severity of your candida Diet Step 3: Reintroducing Off-Limit Foods Once you’re free of your candida symptoms and the candida itself, then what? As I’m sure you guessed, going back to your old habits and ways of eating will likely just bring the candida back all over again. However, you can gradually reintroduce certain foods into your new candida diet. Low-sugar fruits like green apples are a great example of a smart choice. If the reintroduced foods don’t cause flare-ups of candida symptoms, you can move on to reintroducing more foods that you have been avoiding. I recommend doing this reintroduction slowly and one item at a time. Top Foods Here are some of the foods you should eat on the candida diet. 1. Apple Cider Vinegar The acid and enzymes in apple cider vinegar have been shown to help to kill and get rid of excess yeast in the body. 2. Green Veggies and Green Drinks Leafy green vegetables help alkalize the body, which fights against the acidic nature of yeast overgrowth. Research suggests that greens contain no sugars but have high amounts of magnesium that naturally detox the body, vitamin C to build the immune system, chlorophyll to cleanse the body, B vitamins to energize the body and iron to give the body full support. 3. Coconut Oil Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties, and studies show that the combination of lauric acid and caprylic acid found in coconut oil kills off harmful candida through ingestion and topical application. 4. Stevia We know that sugar feeds candida. That’s why it’s important to use different sweeteners, and stevia is the perfect choice for those on a candida diet. Studies indicate that not only is stevia an antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic agent, but it also helps balance the pancreas, which is often compromised when someone has candida. 5. Garlic Garlic contains a large number of sulphur-containing compounds that have extremely potent, broad-spectrum antifungal properties. Animal studies conclude that raw garlic benefits the fight against candida specifically. 6. Ground Flaxseeds and Chia Seeds Polyphenols found in flaxseeds and chia seeds have been found to support the growth of probiotics in the gut and may also help eliminate yeast and candida in the body. 7. Unsweetened Cranberry Juice Cranberry juice without added sugar has been shown to help correct the pH levels of urine, helping prevent the overgrowth of fungi like candida. 8. Kefir Goat milk kefir has displayed antibacterial and anti-candida effects in animal studies. 9. Spices like Turmeric and Cinnamon Turmeric contains an active component called curcumin that has been shown to completely inhibit the growth of Candida albicans (as well as lots of other fungal strains). Cinnamon can treat oral thrush because studies have shown that people who supplement with cinnamon generally suffer from less candida overgrowth than those who don’t. 10. Cooked Vegetables Non-starchy, cooked vegetables — such as broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus — provide valuable nutrients that fight candida. 11. Organic Meat Protein plays a key role in candida. If you get your protein from factory-farmed meats, you could actually feed candida, while research suggests that foods high in healthy fats and protein protect against candida. That’s why it’s so important to consume only organic, free-range meat. 12. Bone Broth Bone broth benefits so many different aspects of our health, and you can add treating candida to the list. In fact, it’s one of the best food sources to destroy candida due to its positive effects on gut health. 13. Pau D’arco Tea Pau d’arco tea is probably the No. 1 thing to add to your candida diet. It helps the body fight candida the natural way. That’s because it’s proven to have antifungal compounds like lapachol, which has been shown to combat candida. Foods to Avoid Here are the foods to avoid on the candida diet. 1. Sugar and Sugar Alternatives These sweet items feed yeast, so you should avoid them at all costs. 2. Fruit and Fruit Juice Even though fruit is generally healthy, it’s high in sugar and can make candida worse. 3. Alcohol Most alcohol contains yeast so it’s not surprising that it produces more of it when consumed. It should be avoided. 4. Grains Grains break down into sugar and can feed candida, yeast and bad bacteria. 5. Vinegar All types of vinegar should be avoided with candida overgrowth, except for apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is the only vinegar that provides an alkalizing benefit for the body and actually causes candida to die. 6. Peanuts Peanuts can often carry mold, which only encourages the growth of candida. Plus, the peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies on the planet, providing another reason to avoid peanuts. 7. Dairy Unless it’s fermented, you ideally want to avoid dairy at least in the early stages of your cleansing. Milk contains lactose, which is a sugar. 8. Food Intolerances Some yeast infections are due to food allergies. Try to avoid foods that cause negative reactions of any kind. If you think you have a food allergy or sensitivity, try an elimination diet to figure out what foods are causing intolerances. Other foods to avoid include: Dried fruits Bananas Ice drinks Essential Oils for Candida Some of the best oils to fight candida are: oregano oil myrrh oil lavender oil clove oil These help kill a variety of parasites and fungi, including candida, in the body. Lavender oil has been proven to inhibit the growth of candida and is effective at preventing the spread of the infection. By mixing a couple of drops of clove oil or lavender oil with coconut oil during your cleanse, you can help to kill off the offending candida. However, since these essential oils are powerful, they should only be taken internally for 10 days or less. For oral thrush, you can use three drops of clove oil with one tablespoon of coconut oil and swish the mixture in your mouth for 20 minutes. This oil pulling is excellent for killing candida and overall detoxification of the body. Best Supplements These supplements can help aid your candida diet: 1. Probiotics (50 billion units daily) Give your body healthy bacteria, which can help reduce the presence of yeast. 2....

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Gut Microbiota Influences the Ability to Lose Weight

AHA Publisher — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:00:21 +0000

American Society for Microbiology (ASM) via Newswise – Washington, D.C. – September 14, 2021 – Gut microbiota influences the ability to lose weight in humans, according to new research. The findings were published this week in mSystems, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. “Your gut microbiome can help or cause resistance to weight loss and this opens up the possibility to try to alter the gut microbiome to impact weight loss,” said lead study author Christian Diener, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington. To conduct their research, Dr. Diener and colleagues focused on a large cohort of individuals who were involved in a lifestyle intervention study. Instead of a specific diet or exercise program, this intervention involved a commercial behavioral coaching program paired with advice from a dietician and nurse coach. The researchers focused on 48 individuals who lost more than 1% of their body weight per month over a 6 to 12 month period and 57 individuals who did not lose any weight and had a stable body mass index (BMI) over the same period. The researchers relied on metagenomics, the study of genetic material recovered from blood and stool samples. The individuals analyzed blood metabolites, blood proteins, clinical labs, dietary questionnaires and gut bacteria in the two groups. After controlling for age, sex and baseline BMI, the researchers identified 31 baseline stool metagenomic functional features that were associated with weight loss responses. These included complex polysaccharide and protein degradation genes, stress-response genes, respiration-related genes, cell wall synthesis genes and gut bacterial replication rates. A major finding was that the ability of the gut microbiome to break down starches was increased in people who did not lose weight. Another key finding was that genes that help bacteria grow faster, multiply, replicate and assemble cell walls were increased in people who lost more weight. “Before this study, we knew the composition of bacteria in the gut were different in obese people than in people who were non-obese, but now we have seen that there are a different set of genes that are encoded in the bacteria in our gut that also responds to weight loss interventions,” said Dr. Diener. “The gut microbiome is a major player in modulating whether a weight loss intervention will have success or not. The factors that dictate obesity versus nonobesity are not the same factors that dictate whether you will lose weight on a lifestyle intervention.” Research has already shown that if you change your diet, you can alter the composition of bacteria in your gut. According to Dr. Diener, if someone has a composition of gut bacterial genes that confers resistance to weight loss, then perhaps you can alter their diet to shift to a composition that would help them lose weight. To read the original article click here.

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