Get Your Beauty Sleep and Lose Weight!

Research has documented the link between obesity and sleep loss,
although no on has been able to explain why. Recent research has found
that sleep deprivation significantly decreases brain activity related to
the evaluation of appetite and affects choices of what kind of foods we
find desirable (Greer SM, et. al.,2013).

The result is an increase in the desire for food that causes weight gain
and is high in calories.

Not sleeping enough can cause you to gain weight, for these reasons.
It can also be one of the reasons why you maintain the gained weight.
If you want to stay lean or lose weight, be sure to get enough sleep. Most
people need between 7 and 8 hours.

Reference:

Greer SM, Goldstein AN, Walker MP. The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain. Nat Commun. 2013 Aug 6;4:2259. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3259.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com
Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Important facts about magnesium which may surprise you

Did you know that magnesium deficiencies have been shown to increase cardiac arrhythmias? Magnesium is one of the most important minerals because magnesium affects many functions, but this reviewed research focused on cardiovascular disease.

The research included studies of 313.041 individuals and investigated associations of circulating and dietary magnesium with cardiovascular disease and ischemic heart disease(Del Gobbo LC, et.al.,2013).
Cardiovascular disease risk decreased when circulating and dietary magnesium increased.

If you are going to supplement with magnesium, it is better to take a formula which includes other important minerals since taking only one mineral will affect the level of another one. To read more about this click here.

Reference:

Del Gobbo LC, Imamura F, Wu JH, de Oliveira Otto MC, Chiuve SE, Mozaffarian D Circulating and dietary magnesium and risk of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jul;98(1):160-73. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.053132. Epub 2013 May 29.

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com
Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Antioxidants and Optimism

The research reviewed this time is a little bit different. The researchers looked at the association between antioxidants and optimism (Boehmite JK, et.al., 2013). That participants were 982 men and women and the researchers evaluated the relationship between optimism and serum concentration of nine different antioxidants.

The results showed that optimism was associated with greater carotenoid concentration.
This was interesting since blood levels of these antioxidants were measured instead of relying on food questionnaires. We know from other studies that our biochemistry affects both physical and emotional health.

Reference:

Boehm JK, Williams DR, Rimm EB, Ryff C, Kubzansky LD. Association between optimism and serum antioxidants in the midlife in the United States study.  Psychosom Med. 2013 Jan;75(1):2-10. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31827c08a9. Epub 2012 Dec 20.

 

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com
Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.

Reduce Inflammation by Using Your Mind

Inflammation is a risk factor for all chronic diseases. Anything you can do to reduce inflammation will be beneficial to your health. This reviewed research investigated if meditation could help reduce inflammation (Rozenkranz MA, et.al.,2013).

A stress test was used to induce psychological stress. Inflammation was produced using a topical application of capsaicin cream to the forearm skin. Data was collected on cortisol (a stress hormone) and also on inflammation before and after the experiment. The study lasted eight weeks. One group of the participants were in a meditation group and the other group participated in a health enhancement program.
The results showed that both groups had comparable cortisol responses and equivalent reductions in self reported in psychological distress and physical symptoms. The interesting part was the meditation group having a significantly smaller post-stress inflammatory response.

Reference:

Rosenkranz MA, Davidson RJ, Maccoon DG, Sheridan JF, Kalin NH, Lutz A. A comparison of mindfulness-based stress reduction and an active control in modulation of neurogenic inflammation. Brain Behav Immun. 2013 Jan;27(1):174-84. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.013. Epub 2012 Oct 22. 

 

Published with permission by Didrik Sopler, Ph.D., L.Ac : www.TissueRecovery.com
Dr. Marsh has worked with and referrers patients to Dr. Sopler for co-management for years . . . He is quite simply San Diego's top functional medicine consultant.