2019 has been a revolutionary year in the health and well-being market. Ever since the Farm Bill 2018 was released, Cannabidiol or CBD has been a buzzword in the entire US market. By the end of this year, it has been named the 2019 well-being product. A study on NY Times highlights the amazing potential of CBD in the wellbeing market.

The evergreen product has been in the news forever, but there has always been some controversy around it. Why and how to use cannabidiol to benefit from it? Let’s find out.

More commonly known as CBD, this hemp extract overshadows the benefits of all plants together. From our bottles of anti-aging cream to our vegan plates, the CBD is everywhere. In California as well as Canada, the CBD has clearly stolen the show from its twin sister marijuana.

Moreover, in the face of the legal vacuum that surrounds it, the CBD should be able to be legally consumed in many countries. For better or for worse, the wellness market has found its new favorite.

CBD in alternative medicine

The therapeutic power of the CBD is now well established and even exceeds expectations. According to a study, the World Health Organization had already announced in 2018 a very important medical potential of the molecule, without it inducing a dependence or addiction. In fact, a study noted that it is even a great way to overcome drug addiction, such as opioids, cocaine and heroin.

Remember that the CBD is not a plant but a molecule from it without any psycho-activity or intoxication. Analysis of scientific research showed that CBD has a potential for Alzheimer’s, diabetes, insomnia, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, pain and inflammation, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, addiction and depression – the list of diseases that can be treated through cannabidiol is already long and further studies are being conducted.

We all know how regular physical exercises positively affect the body. It’s amazing for our mental, emotional and physical health.

Yet, most of us knowingly take walking and exercise for granted.

Professor Sanjaya Sharma from St. George's Hospital in London explains: “None of us can escape old age – this is the law of life. But each of us can push back the time when old age knocks on our door. We can look 50 at 70 years old and easily live up to 90 years and longer.

Exercise can prolong our life by 3-7 years. And believe me, this is a lot! Exercise is the best antidepressant and it significantly improves cognitive function. I'm not talking about what scientists have long proved: physical activity significantly slows down the development of dementia".

So, we’ve put together some of the indisputable advantages of daily walks!

1. Daily walks reduce the risk of developing diabetes.

A study by Harvard scientists confirmed that the risk of developing diabetes in women who walked for at least 30 minutes a day was 30% lower than the women who didn’t.

It was also found that daily walks significantly reduce the risk of abdominal fat, which often leads to diabetes.

2. Reduces the risk of Alzheimer's.

Scientists at the Department of Health at the University of Virginia found that men aged 71 to 93 who walked at least a quarter of a mile daily were twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease than those who preferred to doze off in front of a television or relax on a bench in the garden.

3. Normalizes blood pressure.

Researchers have proven that daily walks help normalize blood pressure.

4. Contributes to better digestion.

Tara Aleichem, a physiotherapist from the Cancer Center in the United States, claims that daily walking promotes good digestion.

5. Reduces pain and improve coronary artery disease.

The American Association of Cardiology has published studies that prove that daily walks improve mobility in people with coronary artery disease.

6. Strengthens the skeletal system.

People who stroll regularly have healthier teeth. Exercise strengthens the joints and significantly reduces the risk of osteoporosis, fractures and spinal diseases.

7. Improves cognitive abilities.

Long-term studies have shown that regular walks increase cognitive abilities, both in adults and in children.

8. Promotes longevity.

Numerous experiments have proved that walks contribute to the duration and quality of life.

9. Enhances mood and optimism.

Studies were conducted that proved that daily walks for at least 20 minutes increase self-confidence, promote mindfulness and improve concentration. It’s also a great way to improve your mood and reduce irritability.

We’re inspired by the two techniques used by the Navy SEALs, the main special operations force of the US Navy, to keep your body relaxed in high pressure situations. The first is called the tactical breathing, which is applied during the stressful moments of struggle or flight. It involves all respiratory muscles, from the chest to the belly.

We exhale deeply while placing the right hand on the belly. Then we inhale through the nose, slowly dragging the breath from the belly to the upper chest. Pause and exhale from the chest descending to the belly, imagining that the navel touches the spine. Keep repeating – exhale twice as long as you inhale.

The second technique proposed is called box breathing and elite soldiers use it to sharpen their concentration and remain calm in a stressful state. It involves inhaling, retaining, exhaling and retaining while following the same time pattern every time. It starts by breathing the air out of the chest and keeping the lungs empty while counting to four. Then the breathing begins, inhaling through the nose while we count to four and then drawing the air from the belly to the chest. The movement must feel fluid and free. In five minutes, the author assures that you will increase the strength of the breath by putting all the muscles involved in shape.

Controlling breathing is the fastest and most effective way to trigger a relaxation response, allowing us to think more clearly and perform better under pressure. We take better care of our phones than ourselves. If the battery turns red, we immediately stop and recharge; when our body that turns red, we keep pushing it. Living in the red zone means living in a state of exhaustion that makes us vulnerable to anxiety or depression. These little breaks to breathe help us recharge ourselves with energy.

When you go to sleep, something much deeper happens than closing your eyes. The brain, through the glymphatic system, eliminates toxins a deep cleaning process. This cleaning could be the key to avoiding mental illness or cognitive impairment. Let’s look more into these interesting findings by some scientists from the Rochester Medical Center in the United States.

Sleep is one of the great pleasures of life and a necessity. Resting well every night is essential to live, replenish energy and give your body a chance to heal. Several studies have highlighted how sleep is important for memory, stress management, heart health, diabetes control, weight control and a beautiful skin.

Scientists have spent many years analyzing what happens when we close our eyes and temporarily disconnect from this world. A very interesting finding is a group of researchers from the Rochester Medical Center in New York – they discovered that during sleep the space between brain cells increases. This would allow a washing mechanism in the brain to eliminate toxins that accumulate during the hours we stay up.

The study, published in the journal Science and conducted in mice, shows the existence of a brain cleaning system and evidences the change in the brain's cellular structure during sleep.

When we sleep, we activate a kind of hydraulic system, which controls the flow of cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This system, as observed in the experiment, triggers during sleep to allow fluid to circulate rapidly in the brain.

The research was conducted in a group of rats who had a dye injected into the fluid in the brain cavity to see how it circulated in the brain. Simultaneously, they monitored the brain’s electrical activity. The authors were surprised to see the difference in dye circulation during sleep. Specifically, it was found that the liquid circulated rapidly during the sleep phase.

Likewise, brain monitoring showed that the space between brain cells increased by 60 percent when the rats slept.

Previous studies have suggested that toxic molecules that play a determining role in the development of degenerative disorders of the brain accumulate in the space between brain cells. Interested in knowing what the role of the glymphatic system is in this process, the researchers studied mice with Alzheimer's disease to measure how long it lasted in the brain while they were asleep and awake. It was observed that the protein disappeared quickly in the mice when they were asleep, which suggests that sleep cleans toxins from the brain while resting.

 These results open new doors to important findings about the development of neurological disorders. The cells that regulate the glymphatic system could be the center of attention when treating a wide variety of mental illnesses.

No one likes to shower with cold water and yet it can change your life. Among its great benefits is its power against aging.  In addition, it helps you lose weight, improves depression states (as endorphins increase) and helps improve productivity. Of course, you have to do it first thing in the morning for best results.

If you want to remember that pleasant feeling we have after exercising seriously, when you feel the blood flow and the skin shine, take a good cold shower to start the day. You may think that this statement is exaggerated, but it is not, or at least that is what the supporters of "cold therapy" advocate.

How to start this morning ritual?

The first ten days of this therapy can start with 2 minutes under cold water. You will see that you will feel a feeling of happiness and adrenaline. Once past the first ten days, you will begin to enjoy this healthy torture: it is similar to when you start physical activity and, although you know that the beginning will cost you a lot of work, you continue anyway because the feeling is worth it.

Our lifestyle has made us lazy in terms of sensations, but our body is prepared to withstand the extreme cold and heat, as our ancestors did. These cold showers strengthen us. A decision like this helps us to leave behind the social control and pressure that our preferences imply, including the idea of ​​ "I like it" and "I don't like it". The cold shower is not something we like, but if you welcome the break of day with this ritual, you can learn to eliminate these obstacles, and above all, extrapolate the experience to other decisions in our lives. Here are some amazing benefits of cold showers:

1. Improves your circulation

When we expose our body to low temperatures, it begins to increase your blood flow to warm the internal organs and tissues. This will generate better blood circulation.

2. Strengthens your immune system

Before a good cold shower, our metabolism gets stimulated as a reaction and our immune system gets a kick. This boosts our immunity and helps fight infections caused by viruses.

3.  Fresh and healthy skin

A cold shower will help keep your skin smooth and healthy.

Neuroscientists have provided new evidence that coffee, tea (to a lesser extent) and chocolate contribute to the healing of the brain and make it more flexible. In 2019, several amazing scientific studies were presented that were definitely worth a read.

To begin with, we analyzed the results of a joint study by the National Institute of Aging and Johns Hopkins University, published in January in the journal Neurochemical Research. Scientists, in particular, concluded that the organic compounds of methylxanthines in tea, coffee and dark chocolate (cocoa) “affect the activity of neural networks, promote stable cognitive activity and protect neurons from dysfunction and death due to stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease".

In the same study, it was found that xanthine derivatives (chemicals produced when caffeine enters the brain) "can have a beneficial effect on brain function."

Secondly, a meta-analysis of 11 studies of the effects of coffee on brain health published in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology showed that coffee, cocoa and tea reduce the risk of developing not only Alzheimer's disease, but also brain cancer.

Finally, a revolutionary study by Okayama University in Japan “showed that the components of CA and CGA coffee enhance the antioxidant properties of glial cells and prevent rotenone-induced neuronal degeneration both in the brain and in the Auerbach plexus.”

Simply put, caffeine makes your brain more flexible and resilient. If you want to maintain normal brain function, then do not give up the use of coffee, tea and cocoa.

The right dose?

Studies have shown that the daily dose of coffee can be 6-8 cups, and preferably up to 2 hours of the day, so as not to interfere with night sleep.

If this seems to you too much, replace 1-2 cups of coffee with 30 grams of dark chocolate. It is worth noting that drinking coffee and tea is recommended without the addition of sugar. In any case, you will perfectly charge your brain.

Leaning forward can be very relaxing and bending over becomes inevitable in our daily lives. However, it’s important that you do it right – you can pull your lower back, especially if your back thighs are poorly stretched.

There are right and wrong ways to lean forward and bend over. To protect your lower back, you need to perform the slopes correctly. For this you need to pay close attention to the mechanics of your body. The key muscles that you need to pay attention to are the muscles of the back of the thigh, especially their intersection with the pelvis.

Muscles of the posterior thigh are semi-membranous and semi-tendon. Here is the basic anatomy of leaning forward: to stretch the muscles of the back of the thigh, we stretch (straighten) the knees and bend in the hips, while bending the stomach on the hips.

Working while leaned forward with straight legs, head-to-knee is the perfect way to stretch the hamstring.

The problem is that when the muscles of the back of the thigh reach the limit of their flexibility, you begin to bend either by flexing your knees or by flexing your hip joints. The extension in the hip joints means that while sitting on the floor, your short muscles of the back of the thigh will pull the ischial tubercles towards the back of the knee. Because of this, the pelvis goes back and the spine gets bent. The natural deflection in the lumbar region disappears. Rounding of the spine is a big no and you must avoid it.

If you lean forward and the muscles of the back of your thigh are not stretched, you can seriously damage the intervertebral discs or ligaments. Compression will be subjected to internal organs, such as heart, lungs and digestive organs. The tighter your hips are, the more likely you are to compress your internal organs.

Each of us knows someone who constantly complains about everything. Whether there is really a problem or not, these people will always find a reason to victimize themselves and complain to someone about it. Other times, we may be the ones who complain about everything.

There is ample evidence that when complaining becomes a habit, the consequences can be felt on health. Here are the effects of this irritating behavior that we have or that some people around us have on our brain and its well-being.

Continually giving voice to negative thoughts and emotions has health consequences that can also have serious physiological impacts – it profoundly affects certain brain functions and psychophysical well-being.

In the long run, negative thoughts completely replace positive thoughts: this has consequences not only on social relations, but also on the functioning of the brain itself. It is as if each time we complain, the brain takes this state of mind as a reference to react to similar future situations.

Complaints can also have a direct impact on the capacity of memory – some magnetic resonances have recorded a narrowing of the hippocampus in people accustomed to complaining. This implies that the area of ​​the brain is affected which regulates many functions cognitive, including memory. A smaller size of the hippocampus leads to poorer memory and reduced ability to adapt to new situations.

When negative feelings are more important than positive feelings, more cortisol is released into the body: it is a hormone responsible for insomnia, depression, metabolic problems and heart disease. It is no coincidence that cortisol is also called "stress hormone".

So, if you have people around you who complain all day long, or if you've fallen into this vicious circle, just take your life in your hands and give it that touch of positivity that can turn things around for you! There’s always a reason to be optimistic.

The ketogenic diet is high in fat (90% of calories) and low in carbohydrates (2% of calories) and protein (8% of calories).  It was mainly used to treat epilepsy in children because with little carbohydrate in the blood, the liver transforms fat into ketone bodies as an alternative source of energy. As a result, it significantly modifies the metabolism of the brain, resulting in a decrease in seizures.

Several studies show, which is not surprising, that this diet makes the body more effective at burning fat – others show that it can cause significant reductions in blood glucose and insulin levels. A few studies also highlight that it can be beneficial for brain chemistry in other ways. It has been studied for its ability to help people lose weight, control diabetes and even reverse the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Preliminary research also shows that a ketogenic diet can stop cancer progression, inhibit metastasis and kill cancer cells. However, research to date has been limited mainly to a few animal studies. In human cancer patients, all cancers combined, the results showed both positive and mostly negative results. According to Professor Thomas Seyfried of Boston College, one of the main champions of the ketogenic diet against cancer, “there are still some defects to correct".

You must also choose your fat wisely, because with cancer, there is ample evidence that saturated fats can increase metastasis and spread cancer.

Experience shows me that during a cancer, the progression of the tumors is very often either regressed, stopped or slowed, compared to the period before it establishes. The side effects of conventional treatments are often mitigated with the help of a keto diet regime. You can make certain adjustments to the diet on a case-by-case basis for the chemotherapy days to minimize adverse effects. The energy boost is impressive – many are able to re-engage in sport or work while undergoing treatments.

128 chemical residues, including 47 carcinogenic substances would be absorbed by a child of ten years in a day – the study of the Future Generations Association points out the dangers of the pesticides, food additives and plastic residues that we absorb daily.

Pesticides

These products sprayed in the fields or put on stored fruits and vegetables are often found on our plates. Washing fruits and vegetables before eating does not guarantee their disappearance – some are resistant to water. A study has shown that washing with hot water is usually more effective than cold water, especially if you rub the vegetable with a cloth after.

Food additives

These are used by agri-food industries to preserve foods or give them a particular texture, taste or color. Additives should be mentioned in the ingredients on the package. By carefully looking at the composition of products, we can avoid E100 (dyes), E200 (preservatives), E300 (anti-oxygen agents) and E400 (texture agents).

Dioxins and PCBs

Dioxins are diffused into the environment in the form of particles and can be found all along the food chain. They are mostly found in water, which explains why the most contaminated food products are packaged fish.

Phthalates and Bisphenol A

To avoid phthalates, plasticizers are widely used for food packaging. We must look at the codification of plastics – plastics that are classified as 3 are to be avoided. For baby bottles and milk powders, you should prefer cardboard packaging and glass bottles. It is better not to heat the trays or plastic cutlery in the microwave.

The sources of chemical hazards in food can be divided into:

1. Naturally occurring chemical hazards such as mycotoxins, bacterial toxins, algal poisons, plant toxins and animal toxins
2. Chemical hazards caused by environmental pollution, such as heavy metals and organic matter in the environment
3. Chemicals that are intentionally added, such as preservatives, nutritional supplements, pigments, etc.
4. Chemicals that are not intended to be added, such as chemicals in agriculture, chemicals used in aquaculture, chemical substances used in the process of food production enterprises, etc.
5. Chemical hazards from food processing
6. Chemical hazards from containers, processing equipment and packaging materials
7. Chemical hazards caused by radioactive contamination