CHILD ABUSE AND ASTHMA

African-American women who grew up in abusive homes have a 20% higher risk of having asthma as an adult.

Constant stress uses up cortisol that would otherwise be used to control inflammation that can set off an asthma attack.  Read more…

SOURCE:  Science Daily

 

Why Is Gut Dysbiosis So Bad for You?

Why Is Gut Dysbiosis So Bad for You?Gut dysbiosis is an imbalance of good vs. bad bacteria, yeast and other pathogens in your intestines. This is important because most of our immune system is located in our gastrointestinal tract, as most pathogens enter our bodies through our mouths.

Gut dysbiosis can cause lowered dopamine and lowered serotonin, as well as an inability to remember something in the short term, because most neurotransmitters are made in the intestines.

It can also cause leaky gut (intestinal permeability) which means that waste products that should be pooped out are not and are instead leaking out and causing an immune response.

Gut dysbiosis also causes nutritional deficiencies and can lower thyroid function, as well as cause lowered excretion of waste through the kidneys.

In addition, it causes increased ghrelin and lowered leptin, making you feel hungrier than you should, thereby contributing to weight gain.

Toxins produced by gut pathogens impairs your liver’s ability to detoxify, and because they are stressors, your adrenal glands will produce more cortisol, leading to fatigue and an inability to handle stress.

Gut dysbiosis causes inflammation and oxidative stress, as well as damage mitochondria, thereby increasing fatigue and lowering glutathione, the body’s powerful antioxidant.

 

DEPRESSION AND INFLAMMATION

Here’s a great article about the connection between depression and inflammation.  “Depression (and anxiety) are associated with multiple markers of inflammation in the body, though a source for inflammation is often not apparent.

Mere exposure to psychological stress can cause elevations in pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the ability of stress to drive inflammation is increased in depressed individuals.”  Read more…

SOURCE:  Evolutionary Psychiatry

 

SUGAR AND CHRONIC DISEASES

“A growing body of research suggests that sugar and its nearly chemically identical cousin, HFCS, may very well cause diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, and that these chronic conditions would be far less prevalent if we significantly dialed back our consumption of added sugars.

Big Sugar used Big Tobacco-style tactics to ensure that government agencies would dismiss troubling health claims against their products.  This decades-long effort to stack the scientific deck is why, today, the USDA’s dietary guidelines only speak of sugar in vague generalities.”  Read more…

SOURCE:  Mother Jones

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN AUTISM AND INFLAMMATION

The Connection Between Inflammation and AutismLearn about the connection between inflammation and autism in this audio interview of Maria Rickert Hong by Lynette Louise, host of “A New Spin on Autism”.

INFLAMMATION AND CANCER

High levels of chronic inflammation can cause cancer.  “This research shows that when interleukin-15 is present in high amounts in the body for prolonged periods, such as during chronic inflammation, it can cause certain immune cells called large granular lymphocytes to become cancerous.”  Read more…

SOURCE:  Science Daily