Before the study began the women underwent extensive brain MRI studies and brain activity tasking response analyses. Then the women consumed the probiotic or placebo milk for four weeks, followed by repeated testing. Along with the MRI testing, the researchers tested brain responses to emotional faces, as well as during rest. They utilized analyses that tests emotional response.
After the four weeks, those women who drank the probiotic milk had significantly different brain activity changes. Their task-related responses increased, and their activity within the sensory cortex regions changed, which was dramatically illustrated during rest periods. Their midbrain connectivity increased, which the researchers concluded probably explained their task-related response increases. Their altered brain activity also illustrated changes in the brain signaling pathways for emotional responses among the women.
The probiotics in the fermented milk included Bifidobacterium animalis, Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactococcus lactis. Each of these species has been shown in other clinical studies to improve health among other organs and tissue regions of the body.
QUANTUM HEALTH TIP: The complexity of the human biome is just starting to be understood, but it is clear that having a good relationship with friendly bacteria and viruses is a key to robust health. Our Plantadophilus probiotic formula is designed for even the most sensitive gut, and derived from plant sources that will help to create a vibrant sense of well-being.
Gratitude is Good for the Heart, Literally
Dr. Paul Mills of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has been researching the connection between mental health and heart health for decades. A positive attitude is associated with lower heart disease risk because it reduces stress, anxiety and depression, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease.
But what about gratitude and your heart? To answer this question, Mills designed a study. He recruited 186 men and women with heart disease and came up with a gratitude questionnaire. What he learned was, the more grateful people are, the healthier they are. Mills also performed blood tests to measure inflammation levels. Inflammation strongly correlates with the buildup of arterial plaque and the development of heart disease. Interestingly, the most grateful individuals showed the lowest inflammatory markers.
Mills then dug in deeper with a follow-up study involving gratitude journaling. After two months, individuals with a history heart disease who kept gratitude journals enjoyed a decrease in their overall cardiac risk, whereas a non-journaling group did not. Mills isn't certain how gratitude helps the heart but believes the key may be reduced stress. These results aren't surprising in light of previous studies linking negative emotional states with increased risk of heart attack and stroke. A 2012 review of 200 studies by the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that optimism and happiness do indeed reduce cardiovascular risk.
Robert A. Emmons heads up a long-term research project designed to create and disseminate scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes and potential consequences for human health and well-being. Neuroscientist Emiliana Simon-Thomas, the science director of Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at UC Berkeley, works alongside Emmons in the study of gratitude. Simon-Thomas reports:
"After eight weeks of practice, brain scans of individuals who practice gratitude have stronger brain structure for social cognition and empathy, as well as the part of the brain that processes reward."
Simon-Thomas has also seen gratitude relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress and helps individuals with PTSD recover more quickly. Studies involving trauma survivors (Vietnam vets and 9/11) have found gratitude to be a significant factor in healing from trauma.
QUANTUM HEALTH TIP: We have several mood enhancing formulas that set the stage for feelings and expressions of gratitude. Clean Sweep dissolves away any negative energies in a space including emotions; E-1 addresses anxiety by balancing the hormonal system; and the Meditation Elixirs assist with clearing the blocks to realizing a higher state of being. Gratitude is the attitude!
Good germs we are...
There are deep-seated "mutations" in our genome, some of which do things like limit the production of the active form of folate (a B Vitamin), known as 5-methylenetetrahydrafolate. These defects can have a are associated with a wide range of health problems related to this type of folate deficiency. There is, however, a well known strain of Lactobacillus helviticus found in fermented dairy products that produces the missing folate metabolite for us in our gut. Examples like this show that the microbiome can fill genetic gaps within our bodies, literally plugging holes with "epigenetic glue" in what would otherwise be the sinking ship of the languid adaptability of the human genome.
Moreover, remarkable research last year shows that there is a human strain of bacteria in the microbiome capable of synthesizing vitamin C, essentially challenging the prevailing view that humans are incapable of producing vitamin C. Also last year, a chlorophyll metabolite found in the gut known as pyropheophorbide-a was found to "super charge" our mitochondria in producing the energy enzyme ATP (without the concomitant increase in free radicals), essentially disproving the long-held assumption that humans can not directly harvest sunlight and convert it into metabolic energy like plants; it turns out we can! So many apple carts are being overturned, thanks to our growing awareness of the seeming miraculous capabilities of the microbiome and its metabolites.
Increasingly, research on the microbiome and its ability to extend our genetic/epigenetic capabilities giving us "supra human" powers, such as profoundly enhanced digestion, assimilation, immunity, synthesis of vitamins, is accumulating in the biomedical literature.
The human genome, after all, contains approximately 23,000 protein-coding genes, while the human microbiome contributes about 42,000,000 such genes by the trillions of bacteria and viruses. Together, they exert far more influence via epigenetic mechanisms than the primary sequences in our DNA. The point, of course, is to humble ourselves to the realization that we are more "germ" than "human" as far as both the number, and genetic capabilities, of these microbes.
QUANTUM HEALTH TIP: We're on the verge of understanding that perhaps the human body's best genius lies in its ability to recruit the bacteria and viruses it needs to adapt to suddenly changing environments. Help it along with our probiotic Plantadophilus formula, and with our E-4 Foundation formula that adds energy to the immune system.
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"Stone of Regeneration"
Emotionally: Inspires love and devotion. Dissolves ingrained behavior patterns. Fortifies, activates and strengthens the survival instinct, inspires love and devotion, alleviates emotional disharmony.
Mentally: Helps to release useless, old, or obsolete ideas.
Physically: May help regenerate the body and stimulate the metabolism. May assist spinal and cellular disorders. May purify and reenergize blood, heart, and lungs, may help regenerate DNA.
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Did you know that there"s a natural antidepressant in soil? It"s true. Mycobacterium vaccae is the substance under study and has indeed been found to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide. The bacterium is found in soil and may stimulate serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier. Studies were conducted on cancer patients and they reported a better quality of life and less stress.
"That is the key benefit to yoga: It neutralizes negative experiences, or at least allows us to recover from them faster," said David R. Vago, associate psychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "It puts a pause button between the stressor and the reaction," he said. "It gives you that moment of stillness to say, 'Wait a second. Am I going to do the same pattern, or let it go and use my breath?'" Yoga is a form of meditation that involves movement, specific postures, and a focus on the breath.
When the right ear lobe is gently squeezed with the left thumb and left index finger with the thumb outside, it produces the necessary energy connection. This connection causes the left brain and pituitary gland to become energized and activated. Similarly, when the left ear lobe is gently squeezed with the right thumb and right index finger with the thumb outside, it produces the necessary energy connection, which causes the right brain and pineal gland to become energized and activated. For energizing and activating the Left Brain and the Right Brain, the left arm must be inside while the right arm must be outside. The correct arm position is important for energizing and activating the brain.
This new application of subtle energy infusion into a 