healing the body Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Hyaluranic Acid, a Naturally Occurring Compound, Awakens Stem Cells to Repair Damaged Muscle

AHA Publisher — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 07:00:51 +0000

Ottawa Hospital via Newswise – A new study published in the journal Science reveals a unique form of cell communication that controls muscle repair. In damaged muscle, stem cells must work together with immune cells to complete the repair process, yet how these cells coordinate to ensure the efficient removal of dead tissue before making new muscle fibers has remained unknown. The scientists have now shown that a natural substance called hyaluronic acid, which is used in cosmetics and injections for osteoarthritis, is the key molecule that manages this fundamental interaction. “When muscles get damaged, it is important for immune cells to quickly enter the tissue and remove the damage before stem cells begin repair,” said Dr. Jeffrey Dilworth, senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa and senior author on the study. “Our study shows that muscle stem cells are primed to start repair right away, but the immune cells maintain the stem cells in a resting state while they finish the cleanup job. After about 40 hours, once the cleanup job is finished, an internal alarm goes off in the muscle stem cells that allows them to wake up and start repair.” Dr. Dilworth and his team identified hyaluronic acid as the key ingredient in this internal alarm clock that tells muscle stem cells when to wake up. When muscle damage occurs, stem cells start producing and coating themselves with hyaluronic acid. Once the coating gets thick enough, it blocks the sleep signal from the immune cells and causes the muscle stem cells to wake up. Using mouse and human tissues, Dr. Dilworth and his team also discovered how muscle stem cells control the production of hyaluronic acid using epigenetic marks on the Has2 gene. “Interestingly, aging is associated with chronic inflammation, muscle weakness and a reduced ability of muscle stem cells to wake up and repair damage,” said lead author Dr. Kiran Nakka, a research associate with Dr. Dilworth who conducted this research as part of his postdoctoral studies. “If we could find a way to enhance hyaluronic acid production in the muscle stem cells of older people it might help with muscle repair.” The authors note that the regenerative effect of hyaluronic acid seems to depend on it being produced by the muscle stem cells. The team is currently examining if drugs that modify the epigenetics of muscle stem cells could be used to increase their production of hyaluronic acid. To read the original article click here.

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Study Links COVID-19 Infection to Excessive Hair Loss

AHA Publisher — Mon, 02 May 2022 07:00:46 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – As the COVID-19 virus swept the globe, people got sick, then they got better, and then … they started losing their hair. That was a delayed aftereffect that no one saw coming. Stress levels were already running high with the lockdowns, illness, crazy mandates, medications, rushed vaxxes, and unrelenting controversy surrounding the pandemic. Add to that, the stress on the body from the virus itself, and you have a recipe for serious stress-related responses. A study published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science in late August 2021 found a distinct link between acute telogen effluvium – a form of temporary hair loss – and COVID-19. Researchers wanted to examine the virus’s possible effects on the human hair growth cycle and establish a relationship between this condition and COVID. Post COVID-19 Infection Associated with Excessive Hair Loss, According to New Study The insanity of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken over our lives. Reports of overcrowded hospitals, deaths, job losses, closed businesses, and resource shortages have stressed the already fearful masses. Mainstream media did a fantastic job keeping the fear-mongering going, scaring people with news about newer variants, the ever-increasing death toll, etc. So, when reports started coming in about people losing their hair months after having COVID, it was a symptom that no one saw coming. Authors Confirm Relationship Between COVID-19 Infection and Telogen Effluvium Researchers assembled 39 patients ranging from 22 to 67 years old. All of the patients had been diagnosed with COVID. Most only had mild and moderate symptoms, and none required hospitalization during their illness. Two to three months after the illness, all patients in the trial began to experience excessive hair loss. In the study, the authors confirmed the link between COVID-19 infection and acute telogen effluvium. Furthermore, the drugs used to treat the virus were excluded as a cause of hair loss. Therefore, the researchers believe it is specifically due to the so-called virus itself. But, now, let’s shift our focus to helping those in need. Support Hair Growth with These Nutrients In addition to optimal nutrition, good hydration, and good quality sleep, several supplements can support natural hair growth. Some of the top supplements include: Vitamin D: boosts immunity and combats vitamin D deficiency which can contribute to hair loss Vitamin E: a powerful antioxidant that is found in many hair growth oral supplements Biotin: vitamin B7 is a popular vitamin for hair growth and health B12: helps heal the central nervous system and helps the body better handle stress and increases blood flow Zinc: powerful promoter of hair follicle recovery Vitamin A: an essential vitamin needed by every part of the body Some natural herbal supplements have also shown success: Saw Palmetto Curcuma aeruginosa Reishi Mushroom Pumpkin Red clover Panax ginseng Fish oil (or flaxseed oil) Gotu Kola Finding the right combination for you may take some trial and error, but it is possible to regrow your hair after COVID. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov The Atlantic NIH.gov NIH.gov NIH.gov Medical News Today NIH.gov To read the original article click here.

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Here Is How to Regenerate Your Bodily Tissues Through Nutrition

AHA Publisher — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:00:05 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – “You only get one body, so treat it right!” You’ve likely heard this at least once in your life and probably from the mouth of a reputable healthcare professional. And while that statement is true, for the most part, there are areas of your body that can not only heal but regenerate. In fact, regeneration is the natural state for many cells and tissues throughout the body. These Six Areas of the Body Have Powerful Ability to Regenerate There have been numerous studies exploring how the body manages disease and healing. Researchers are leaving Western medicine searching for ways to return the body and healing practices to the natural state. Six areas of the body have huge regenerative properties, and it just so happens that these areas are essential to the body’s overall health. Regenerating these areas not only improves health but can extend life. This means more efficient disease management that results in eradication, not just control and keeping symptoms at bay. It means that the entire body is healthier. It means a decreased need for medical care – and the conventional medical community is running scared. These are the key areas that have strong regenerative properties and the substances that support them: Nerves: Curcumin, lion’s mane mushroom, Apigenin, blueberry, ginseng, huperzine, natto, red sage, resveratrol, royal jelly, theanine, ashwagandha, trigonelline (coffee) Liver: Carvacrol, curcumin, Korean ginseng, rooibos, vitamin E Beta-Cells: Gymenna sylvestre, nigella sativa, vitamin D, curcumin, arginine, avocado, barbering, bitter melon, chard, corn silk, stevia, sulforaphane Cardiac cells: Resveratrol, Siberian ginseng, red wine extract, geum japonicum, N-acetyl-cysteine Cartilage, Joint, and Spine: Boswellia, curcuma, resveratrol, turmeric, baicalin/catechin, glucosamine/chondroitin/quercetin, fish oil/nettle/vitamin E You will notice that each of these areas is integral to sustaining life and makes up the body’s infrastructure. Blunt TRUTH: Our Ability to Regenerate Healthy Cells (Naturally) Threaten the Profit Potential of Western Medicine Unfortunately, a cultlike reliance on Western medicine has robbed many of us of our body’s regenerative potential. The practice is rife with drugs containing chemicals that not only have no regenerative potential; instead, they strip away any potential, blocking the body’s self-renewal processes – all in the name of symptom relief. It doesn’t stop there, though. Many practitioners of Western medicine frown on natural remedies and nutritional healing. They often discourage patients from pursuing a more natural means of healing – methods that address the root of the problem and not just the symptoms – encouraging instead drugs, surgery, and invasive procedures that focus on the symptoms. Bottom line, natural remedies and the regeneration of key body components threaten the economic standing of the medical community. Again, it comes down to dollars and cents. Feeding Your Body for Regeneration Feeding the body the right foods, the foods it needs to restore its natural regenerative properties, is the first step in bringing it to that optimal state of wellness. In addition, different tissues and cells respond to different substances, so incorporating foods and supplements rich in specific compounds will feed those areas, and you will reap the rewards of a healthier you. In addition, regular exercise is very beneficial to the body. It helps with flexibility, mobility and circulation while helping to maintain a healthy body weight. However, specific exercises like Tai Chi have been shown to be exceptionally beneficial for people with osteoarthritis, heart failure, and COPD. Maintaining a healthy, balanced (organic) diet is the foundation for good health. Incorporating the foods containing these substances and adding supplements as needed will give your diet a nutritional boost. For instance, celery contains Apigenin which is essential for nerve regeneration. Likewise, broccoli sprouts contain sulforaphane that helps to regenerate beta-cells, as do Swiss chard and avocado. Supplements round out the program, providing vital compounds beneficial to the body and stimulating regeneration of the tissues and cells. Regenerative (functional) medicine is the missing component to a long, healthy life and the dramatic reduction or even eradication of chronic disease and even certain cancers. The stronger and healthier the body is, the better able it is to fight disease. Bottom line: the stronger the body’s infrastructure is, the stronger it is as a whole. If you need “extra help,” seek coaching advice from an integrative healthcare provider and/or health coach. Sources used for this article: Herbs.news To read the original article click here.

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Microrobots Show Promise for Treating Tumors

The AHA! Team — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

California Institute of Technology via News Wise – “These micromotors can penetrate the mucus of the digestive tract and stay there for a long time. This improves medicine delivery,” Gao says. “But because they’re made of magnesium, they’re biocompatible and biodegradable.” Targeting medical treatment to an ailing body part is a practice as old as medicine itself. A Band-Aid is placed on a skinned knee. Drops go into itchy eyes. A broken arm goes into a cast. But often what ails us is inside the body and is not so easy to reach. In such cases, a treatment like surgery or chemotherapy might be called for. A pair of researchers in Caltech’s Division of Engineering and Applied Science are working on an entirely new form of treatment–microrobots that can deliver drugs to specific spots inside the body while being monitored and controlled from outside the body. “The microrobot concept is really cool because you can get micromachinery right to where you need it,” says Lihong Wang, Caltech’s Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. “It could be drug delivery, or a predesigned microsurgery.” The microrobots are a joint research project of Wang and Wei Gao, assistant professor of medical engineering, and are intended for treating tumors in the digestive tract. The microrobots consist of microscopic spheres of magnesium metal coated with thin layers of gold and parylene, a polymer that resists digestion. The layers leave a circular portion of the sphere uncovered, kind of like a porthole. The uncovered portion of the magnesium reacts with the fluids in the digestive tract, generating small bubbles. The stream of bubbles acts like a jet and propels the sphere forward until it collides with nearby tissue. On their own, magnesium spherical microrobots that can zoom around might be interesting, but they are not especially useful. To turn them from a novelty into a vehicle for delivering medication, Wang and Gao made some modifications to them. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWK3gg6J8ng First, a layer of medication is sandwiched between an individual microsphere and its parylene coat. Then, to protect the microrobots from the harsh environment of the stomach, they are enveloped in microcapsules made of paraffin wax. At this stage, the spheres are capable of carrying drugs, but still lack the crucial ability to deliver them to a desired location. For that, Wang and Gao use photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT), a technique developed by Wang that uses pulses of infrared laser light. The infrared laser light diffuses through tissues and is absorbed by oxygen-carrying hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells, causing the molecules to vibrate ultrasonically. Those ultrasonic vibrations are picked up by sensors pressed against the skin. The data from those sensors is used to create images of the internal structures of the body. Previously, Wang has shown that variations of PACT can be used to identify breast tumors, or even individual cancer cells. With respect to the microrobots, the technique has two jobs. The first is imaging. By using PACT, the researchers can find tumors in the digestive tract and also track the location of the microrobots, which show up strongly in the PACT images. Once the microrobots arrive in the vicinity of the tumor, a high-power continuous-wave near-infrared laser beam is used to activate them. Because the microrobots absorb the infrared light so strongly, they briefly heat up, melting the wax capsule surrounding them, and exposing them to digestive fluids. At that point, the microrobots’ bubble jets activate, and the microrobots begin swarming. The jets are not steerable, so the technique is sort of a shotgun approach–the microrobots will not all hit the targeted area, but many will. When they do, they stick to the surface and begin releasing their medication payload. “These micromotors can penetrate the mucus of the digestive tract and stay there for a long time. This improves medicine delivery,” Gao says. “But because they’re made of magnesium, they’re biocompatible and biodegradable.” Tests in animal models show that the microrobots perform as intended, but Gao and Wang say they are planning to continue pushing the research forward. “We demonstrated the concept that you can reach the diseased area and activate the microrobots,” Gao says. “The next step is evaluating the therapeutic effect of them.” Gao also says he would like to develop variations of the microrobots that can operate in other parts of the body, and with different types of propulsion systems. Wang says his goal is to improve how his PACT system interacts with the microrobots. The infrared laser light it uses has some difficulty reaching into deeper parts of the body, but he says it should be possible to develop a system that can penetrate further. To read the original article click here.

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Red Light Therapy: Benefits for Mental Health, Sleeping Issues, Traumatic Brain Injuries, and More!

The AHA! Team — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – It is important to remember, however, that red light therapy can be an incredible tool when it comes to our mental and physical wellbeing, but it should be used as part of a “toolbox” of lifestyle changes if we really want to improve the way our brain and body functions. If you have followed my blogs and podcasts for a while, you will know how much I love my infrared sauna! It is an integral part of my mental self-care routine, especially with my hectic work and travel schedule, and something I recommend to everyone who asks me what I do to stay healthy. In this week’s blog and podcast, we will be discussing red light therapy, which, as numerous studies have shown, is oneway we can help heal and improve our mental, cognitive and physical health. Of course, as I have said many times before, there is no “magic bullet” when it comes to the mind and brain. Living a life of mental self-care means paying attention to all aspects of our mental and physical health, including what we think, what we eat, our sleeping patterns, how much we exercise and so on. And, as part of this balanced, mind-centred approach to living well, red light therapy can be a real plus! Wes, who works at Joovv, a company that sells red-light therapy products, describes red light as the “body’s forgotten nutrient”: it can positively impact the surface of the body, as well our internal health. The company actually began when Wes’ sister Melissa, who suffered from eczema, started using red light therapy to help heal her skin. In just 4 sessions, she noticed dramatic changes, and never looked back. Joovv now sells high quality, affordable, red light therapy products that have helped many people around the world. So, how does red light therapy work? The spectrum of light associated with red light therapy has the unique ability to stimulate our cells, and, in particular, our mitochondria (the power houses of our cells), which creates more energy in the body through increased adenosine triphosphate production, allowing it to function on a higher level. This enhanced mitochondrial function and increased blood flow can potentially lead to reduced inflammation, better sleeping patterns, healthier-looking skin, improved muscle recovery, less joint pain, better moods, enhanced memory and much more! The great thing about red light therapy is that it enhances the way our body functions, rather than adding foreign substances into the body. This is so important in today’s world, which, as Wes notes, is overloaded and overstimulated with unhealthy bright light sources from our many devices and indoor environments, which can upset our circadian rhythm. This, in turn, can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health. Healthy doses of red light, on the other hand, can potentially stimulate our serotonin levels, which can improve our mood and transition us into a para-sympathetic, non-stress state that relaxes the mind and body and can help us recover and regenerate, both mentally and physically, by improving our sleeping patterns, memory, energy levels and so on. Red light therapy can also help heal the brain and body, especially in cases associated with Traumatic brain injuries and memory loss. It does this by stimulating the body’s natural restorative powers, healing tissue damage in a shorter period of time. In fact, a growing body of research (including studies being done by Wes and his team at Joovv) suggests that red light therapy can even improve cognitive function and memory-recovery in people who suffer from Alzheimer’s and the dementias (for more on age-related memory loss and how to prevent it, see my recent blog and podcast on the topic). If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of red light therapy, I highly recommend listening to my full interview with Wes on this week’s podcast. It is important to remember, however, that red light therapy can be an incredible tool when it comes to our mental and physical wellbeing, but it should be used as part of a “toolbox” of lifestyle changes if we really want to improve the way our brain and body functions. This is why, alongside my own research and work, I have teamed up with several great companies that focus on what we put into our bodies, like Four Sigmatic, which creates superfood lattes that can help boost brain function (you can get a 15% discount off your order at foursigmatic.com/DRLEAF, or use coupon code DRLEAF at checkout), and how you use your brain, such as Blinkist, which teaches you key ideas from thousands of bestselling non-fiction books in a short period of time (for free week go to Blinkist see: https://blinkist.com/drleaf). To read the original article click here. To read more articles by Dr. Leaf click here.

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