Vitamin D may have direct effect on brain development, social behavior and autism

Vitamin D may have direct effect on brain development, social behavior and autism

Vitamin D could have a 'critical influence' levels of serotonin in the brain and may directly effect social behaviors associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), according to new research.

Writing in The FASEB Journal, the study suggests that adequate levels of vitamin D may be required to produce serotonin in the brain where it shapes the structure and wiring of the brain, acts as a neurotransmitter, and affects social behavior.

    

Led by Professor Bruce Ames of Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) in the US, the study demonstrates that serotonin, oxytocin, and vasopressin three brain hormones that affect social behavior are all activated by vitamin D.

“We present evidence that vitamin D hormone (calcitriol) activates the transcription of the serotonin synthesizing gene tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) in the brain at a vitamin D response element (VDRE) and represses the transcription of TPH1 in tissues outside the bloodbrain

barrier at a distinct VDRE suggesting a causal link between the sunshine vitamin, serotonin and autism,” wrote Ames and his colleagues.

Isotonix Vitamin D with K2

They noted that autism, which is characterized by abnormal social behavior, has previously been linked to low levels of serotonin in the brain and to low vitamin D levels, but no mechanism has linked the two until now.

Indeed, Ames and his team suggested that their study sheds light on, and offers a mechanism to explain many of the known, but previously not understood facts about autism.

“This mechanism explains how low vitamin D hormone levels result in aberrant serotonin synthesis, subsequently leading to abnormal brain development,” wrote the research team. “Low vitamin D hormone levels during foetal and neonatal development could result in poor TPH2 expression and subsequently reduced serotonin concentrations in the developing brain.”

They added that such a suggestion may mean that adequate vitamin D hormone levels during pregnancy, as well as nutritional intake of tryptophan and vitamin D during early childhood, “may have a critical influence on brain serotonin levels and, thus, on the structure and neural wiring of the brain.”

Learn more here by Nathan Gray 

DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment Before and After testimonial

You need to see these amazing results with the new DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment 
– Below you’ll find an amazing testimonial about the DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment, along with some photos that show the dramatic results of this incredible product. 

Before

Before DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment

After

After DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment

DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment is a nontoxic formula strong enough to soothe and yet gentle enough for the softest skin. Using natural ingredients like willow herb, shea butter and coconut oil, this ointment protects your child’s sensitive skin while locking in much-needed moisture. DNA Miracles Natural Soothing Ointment helps keep your baby’s skin healthy and hydrated while providing soothing comfort.  Try it Here

eGifts for Valentine’s Day

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Something for everyone, anytime!
eGifts are the easy and quick gift giving option that are perfect for anyone this Valentine’s Day! With eGifts, you can personally select gifts for your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend; the perfect eGift is waiting for ANYONE you’re shopping for! Choose from millions of products from Market America brands and SHOP.COM OneCart Stores!

Using eGifts is easy!

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The best part is, this last minute gift is emailed to the recipient with the eGiftannouncement within minutes of the purchase!  Don’t stress this Valentine’s Day about finding the perfect gift! We’ve done the work for you! Get your eGift today! 

Mass-Marketed Energy Drinks Full Of ... Calories and Sugars

Mass-Marketed Energy Drinks Full Of … Calories and Sugars

In a world where everything is moving so rapidly, most people are always on the lookout for something to give them a boost. Many have turned to the fast-growing energy drink/energy shot market.

According to market statistics, energy drinks and shots are expected to become a $21.5 billion business by the end of the decade. The promises of instant energy in a convenient form is alluring to many – from teens and college students looking for an extra pick-me-up, to professionals trying to power through their hectic days, and even older adults looking to keep up with the younger generations.
Problem is, most of those energy drinks on the market are offering consumers more than they bargain for; namely, a ton of empty calories and sugars. These products have come into question over the last few months, as health professionals and media outlets have questioned the legitimacy of these mass marketed products.
 
The Caffeine Issue 
No one questions caffeine, in moderation, can have a natural energy-boosting effect. According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins University, caffeine can help the brain retain information during a period of up to 24 hours subsequent to consuming it.You may not know it, but much of the rush you receive from mass-marketed energy products comes from the sugar contained in them. Some top-selling energy products on the market contain as much as 20 grams of sugar – as much as you would find in a regular sized candy bar.Many mass-marketed energy products have another secret: a lot of calories. According to nutritional facts, the most widely-consumed energy drinks on the market today have anywhere between 100 and 220 calories per serving.In that study, participants were asked to study images presented to them and five minutes later received either a placebo or 200 milligrams of caffeine, which is the average daily intake of caffeine in various forms for 80 percent of adult Americans (many health professionals and agencies, including the FDA, state that 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is a safe amount for adults).The caffeinated group was more capable of telling which images were similar to the ones they had viewed, instead of mistaking them as being the same – an ability known as “pattern separation”: being able to recognize difference between similar items, a marker of memory retention. So if the amount of caffeine isn’t the issue, what is?The arguments in this debate center on consumption by teens who are naturally drawn to energy products through mass marketing efforts and endorsement deals with athletes and celebrities. A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics reports that more teens are downing energy drinks; in 2003, 16% regularly consumed the drinks, while in 2008, that percentage jumped to 35%.And it’s not just the consumption of such drinks; it’s the quantities they are consuming. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, adolescents should not consume more than 100 mg of caffeine a day. Just one energy drink nearly doubles that intake, and the addition of sodas and other caffeinated products adds up to an unhealthy amount.

Sugar, Sugar, SugarWhile all that sugar makes these energy products taste better, they come with one major pitfall: Sugar and fructose, both found in energy drinks, spike your insulin level for a brief amount of time, which translates into an infusion of energy. But it is short lived. When the sugar is used up, your insulin level will plummet and you will experience fatigue.According to the Pediatrics journal study, individuals who consume multiple energy drinks daily “could be taking in 120 mg to 180 mg of sugar,” or up to six times the maximum recommended daily intake. According to Men’s Health magazine, one leading energy drink contains nearly as much sugar as six glazed doughnuts. The study’s authors also noted that adolescents who consume energy drinks could be at risk for obesity and dental problems.

Awake Energy Shot

Unwanted Calories Pile Up
Even these companies’ low-calorie or low-sugar options have upwards of 20 calories per serving. Someone who consumes these types of drinks regularly – twice or even three times a day – could be adding nearly 700 calories to their diets, or nearly 35 percent of the USDA’s recommended caloric intake. And that’s without eating.

Possible Option 
Awake Energy Shots provide much needed fuel and promote mental focus without the crash later. With 200 milligram of caffeine, combined with amino acids and B-vitamins, Awake Energy Shots provide long lasting physical and mental energy without any sugars or calories found in leading energy products on the market. Take Charge with Awake, available exclusively at SHOP.COM.

Hot Deals for the Holidays Shopping in December 2013

Hot Deals for the Holiday Shopping in December!

Our partner store team has been working on some great deals to help you make the most of the holiday shopping season with SHOP.COM. We’re hosting an incredible Holiday Giving Extra Cashback Event, with amazing extra cashback deals from stores like Barnes and Nobel, Bloomingdales, Groupon and many more.  Leverage the power of SHOP.COM this holiday season with these amazing extra cashback offers!  Share them with your friends, family, team, and customers, so they can take advantage of these amazing deals too!

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Bromelain Benefits Have Power to Heal

Bromelain Benefits 
Have Power to Heal

Research suggests that this pineapple-sourced ingredient can help you protect, repair and recover from injury and illness. 
By Deedra Mason, N.D., Clinical Faculty Member 

Fruits have always brought with them a plethora of health benefits. Vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients and more come from just about any fruit imaginable. And yet, science is always finding new, amazing benefits around every corner.

Take the pineapple. Not only is the fruit rich in vitamins and minerals, but its stem contains a mixture of enzymes known as bromelain — one of the most researched ingredients in the nutritional supplement world over recent years thanks to its variety of benefits.

Bromelain Infographic - Try it Here

Healing, Inflammation Benefits
Therapeutic doses of bromelain have been shown to “[reduce] edema, bruising, pain and healing time following trauma and surgical procedures” until the body has completely healed, according to published studies in Alternative Medicine Review.
As a treatment for injuries such as muscle strains and torn ligaments, bromelain proved to be successful in “[reducing] swelling, pain at rest and during movement, and tenderness” while also reducing “effects of unaccustomed exercise and accelerate [the] recovery of muscle tissue.”
Bromelain’s inflammation benefits go beyond sore muscles and exercise, though. Those with sinusitis, an inflammation of the sinus cavity due to infection, allergies or autoimmune issues, have also benefited from bromelain. One study found that 85 percent of individuals who took bromelain “had complete resolution of [sinusitis] and complete resolution of breathing difficulties.”

Arthritis Benefits
Numerous studies have been conducted
on the benefits of bromelain as it relates to arthritis; in particular, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. And, with more than 50 million Americans affected by some form of arthritis, it’s not hard to find someone looking for relief. For many of those people,

bromelain could be a key to rediscovering their old selves.
Researchers have found that bromelain research “looks promising” and “may provide a safer alternative or adjunctive treatment for osteoarthritis.” 

One study found that a four-week regimen of bromelain supplementation “resulted in significant decrease in pain and stiffness in patients with knee osteoarthritis.”

Cancer Benefits
Perhaps most promising is bromelain’s potential for cancer patients. This exciting research — while still in its infancy — could provide the basis for new non-invasive treatments that can help millions upon millions struggling with the variety of forms this disease takes on.
For example, research out of Norway has found bromelain demonstrates the ability to “significantly and reversibly reduce adhesion, migration and invasion” of primary brain tumors, or gliomas. The study’s authors wrote that, “to hinder the migration of the invasive glioma cells without negative impact on neighboring bystander cells represents an attractive treatment approach ... [Bromelain] may provide a complementary treatment strategy in combination with surgical removal.”

Another recent study supports the hypothesis that bromelain does more than support
more conventional cancer therapies; rather, it directly affects a specific genetic marker associated with cancerous inflammation. According to researchers, bromelain causes
cancer cells to die while not affecting healthy, outlying cells.
This is due to bromelain’s properties as
a protease enzyme, which helps dissolve non-needed structures, such as scab
material once healing has occurred. Cancer cells “protect” themselves from detection by shielding themselves in a protein layering. Protease enzymes like bromelain help break down that layer, thus making it easier for your body to fight off the cancerous cells. These enzymes activate a so-called “cellular house cleaning” important to the maintenance of cellular health.
The potential benefits of bromelain are astounding. Helping everything from
daily aches and pains to some of modern medicine’s most concerning health conditions, bromelain can provide not only a treatment, but a preventative measure that can keep us healthy day in and day out. 

Doubling Daily Intake of Protein Promotes Weight Loss while Saving Muscle- Its a Win Win!

Typically when people think of weight loss, they think of restricting calories or food groups, such as carbs. And many may think that adding more protein to their diet will pack on muscle, which may lead to weight gain. But in addition to be satiating, increasing your protein intake may help you lose weight while maintaining fat-burning muscle, according to new research. 

The latest research, published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, finds that doubling one’s daily intake of protein will prevent the loss of muscle mass while promoting fat loss during short-term weight loss.

According to researchers at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, who conducted the study, the 31-day regimen followed three groups: Those who took the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of protein, those who doubled that amount, and those who tripled their protein intake.

What is the RDA of Protein?

Protein RDAs are calculated using 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. A 175-pound man should, according to this calculation, take in approximately 63.5 grams of protein each day.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has simplified the equation into basic requirements.  According to the CDC, the average adult man should take in 56 grams of protein a day, while the recommendation for the average adult woman is 46 grams of protein a day.

The Protein Study

After observing all groups and controlling their diet and exercise regimens, they concluded that the group that doubled their RDA saw increased muscle mass and fat-burning benefits compared to the group following the U.S.-recommended protein intake.

The group whose protein intake was tripled did not see added benefit beyond the group that doubled their RDA, researchers concluded. According to lead researcher Dr. Stefan Pasiakos:

We believe that the RDA for protein should be based on a level to optimize health, as well as prevent deficiencies, and our data demonstrate a potential inadequacy of the current RDA for sparing muscle mass during weight loss, which may affect a significant portion of the population. 

"The average male and female should be consuming approx 120 grams of protein per day"

Finding it difficult to get your optimal amount of protein?  Try a quality shake or bar.

     Protein is an integral part of any healthy diet and it should be considered just a diet food we all need protein to give our body the energy to get through the day and it plays an important role in regulating body weight

Protein keeps you full for little longer and keeps your metabolism in high gear.

One other nutrient most people aren't getting enough of is fiber.  Fiber goes far beyond digestion and regularity - fiber rich complex carbohydrates such as fruits vegetables and whole grains keeps us feeling full for longer.

Fiber stabilizes your blood sugar and gives you longer-lasting energy but not only that but fiber can help maintain healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels those are just some the reason is important to get enough protein and fiber throughout the day.  Unfortunately that's not happening for most of us because we are eating convenience foods that are sorely lacking in protein and fiber.

GLUTEN FREE

Many people are gluten sensitive and many others who can benefit from reducing the amount of gluten they consume.  Gluten is the sticky substance in wheat and other products responsible for the elastics texture of dough that can draw water out of the intestines and feed bacteria in the intestines that can cause gas, bloating and indigestion.

Gluten even a mild sensitivity to it has been shown to spark systemic inflammation.  Even the smallest amount of gluten can have a prolonged inflammatory effect in the body if you're sensitive.  Traditionally eating gluten-free means cutting back on fiber intake from whole grains or missing out on vitamins you normally get from fortified foods

Choice Protein Bars

That's what's so great about Choice Bars.

----- not only are they gluten-free but they give you the protein and fiber you need 

it's absolutely a win-win

Get your protein and lose the weight while saving your muscles.

Ingredients That Improve Bone-Joint Health

Bone and joint health is one of the most common areas of health that people deal with on a daily basis. The numbers back it up:

• The CDC reports that 30 percent of Americans experience some type of joint pain each month. That number increases depending on who’s doing the reporting.
• One in five people suffer from chronic pain and the same amount, according to the CDC, have been diagnosed with arthritis by their doctor.
• By 2030, an estimated 67 million Americans ages 18 years or older are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

These statistics have led to a surge in the bone & joint health industry, as experts predict that the sale of bone and joint supplements will exceed $9 billion globally by 2017. This booming market has led researchers to identify the top ingredients for bone and joint health – not from a marketing perspective, but to let the public know what actually works to help improve your bone and joint health.

Outside of calcium and vitamin D – long proven to benefit your bones – there are a multitude of ingredients and products claiming to improve your bone and joint health. So what works? Recently, the experts weighed in, and here’s what they found:

Vitamin K: The correlation of vitamin K to cardiovascular and bone health directly focuses on supporting proper calcium utilization. Known as the calcium paradox, it simply means getting calcium in the right place: into the structure of the bone structures instead of the artery walls). One particular form of vitamin K – vitamin K2 – promotes the synthesis of proteins involved with calcium utilization, thereby supporting bone retention and arterial health.

Magnesium: According to researchers, up to 80 percent of people do not get enough magnesium. This can have a lasting effect on bone & joint health, as magnesium is a critical component of the mineralized part of bone and supports the normal metabolism of potassium and calcium in adults. Magnesium – the fourth most abundant mineral in the body – also supports more than 300 enzyme systems, including nerve function, adaptation to stress, metabolism and more.

Glucosamine: Naturally produced by the body and a key component of cartilage, glucosamine is concentrated in joint cartilage, and has been scientifically proven to support healthy joint function and promote the normal production of synovial fluid, which lubricates your joints and regenerates cartilage.

Omega 3s: We’ve written about the benefits omega 3 fatty acids have on inflammation before, and the bone and joint health industry is catching up. The American Heart Association has recommended omega-3 fatty acids to reduce the risk of inflammation not just to improve your heart health, but your overall health, as well.

One ingredient the experts failed to mention that has been shown to help the body’s inflammatory response is Pycnogenol. Research has shown that Pycnogenol – a water-soluble, flavonoid complex extracted from the bark of the French Maritime Pine tree – may inhibit the activation of NF-kappa B and AP-1, both of which are proinflammatory mediators. In addition, studies have shown the ability of Pycnogenol to cross-link collagen fibers and strengthen connective tissue proteins.