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Exploring the Connection Between Selenium Deficiency and Liver Health

Selenium is a non-metal chemical element that the human body requires in very small amounts. There are 13 to 20 milligrams of this mineral present in your body at any given moment. Selenium plays a role in immune health, reproductive health, DNA synthesis, thyroid hormones and more. The most notable food sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, mushrooms and organ meats. It’s also present in smaller amounts in other animal products and grain. However, the selenium content of food can vary widely depending on the food’s geographical origin, as some soils have a higher selenium content than others.

It’s important to get enough selenium. Adults over the age of 14 should get 55 micrograms daily. Pregnant women should get 60 micrograms of selenium daily,and lactating women should get 70. Taking a dietary supplement containing this nutrient can have health benefits, especially if you’re at risk for low selenium. You might be at risk for low selenium if you’re undergoing long-term hemodialysis, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, take birth control pills, or have a medical condition that causes malabsorption (such as Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, or HIV). New research indicates that there is a direct link between selenium deficiency and liver cancer.

The Link Between Selenium Deficiency and Liver Cancer

One of the most recently-discovered health benefits of selenium is that having enough in your body may help protect against liver cancer. Previous studies have already proven the antioxidant properties of selenium, which is amplified when selenium is combined with vitamin E. Possessing antioxidant properties means that this nutrient helps to protect against cell damage caused by uncharged molecules known as free radicals, which is a type of cell damage well-associated with the development of cancer.

A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that there is a relationship between selenium deficiency and liver cancer risk. These findings also extended to other biliary tract cancers, including cancers of the pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 21,000 Americans die from these cancers every year.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from about 477,000 adults over a period of a decade. Over 260 of these people developed liver cancer and other biliary tract cancers over this time span. It was found that the people who developed these types of cancer had significantly lower levels of selenium than everyone else. Compared to those with the highest selenium levels, people in the study with the lowest selenium levels were up to 10 times more likely to develop liver cancer.

Additional Health Benefits of Selenium

Having low selenium levels not only increases your risk of liver cancer, but it also increases your risk of death by any type of cancer. Scientists have also observed that selenium-rich geographical regions have lower cancer rates on average. Not very much research has been done yet on specific cancers as they relate to selenium intake. One study done in the Netherlands found that men with higher selenium levels have a lower risk of prostate cancer. Two studies to date also suggest that consuming lots of selenium can help protect against colorectal cancer.

Besides the link between selenium deficiency and liver cancer, getting enough selenium has many other health benefits. Selenium is needed for optimal reproductive health, as it contributes to sperm motility. If a man isn’t getting enough selenium, he may suffer from infertility. Selenium is also important for women’s reproductive health. There have been studies that showed that low selenium levels can decrease female fertility, affect fetal growth and possibly cause miscarriage.

Another one of the most notable health benefits of selenium is its benefits for cardiovascular health. Low selenium levels are common among heart attack patients, and severe selenium deficiency can cause heart failure. Another benefit that selenium has for heart health is that when combined with vitamin E and beta-carotene, it can help normalize cholesterol levels.

Selenium is also needed by the thyroid gland. The element is present in enzymes that activate and deactivate the various thyroid hormones. Therefore, getting enough of this nutrient is important for proper thyroid function. Studies have shown that taking a selenium supplement reduces inflammation in those with autoimmune thyroiditis as well as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Finally, studies have found that selenium levels decline as you get older. Low selenium can contribute to cognitive decline in seniors, as shown by a considerably large study that looked at nearly 1,400 people over a period of nine years. It is believed that this effect is due to the fact that selenium reduces oxidative stress (cell damage caused by free radicals), a factor that contributes to cognitive decline.

Infections and the Circadian Rhythm: Why You’re More Likely to Get Sick in the Evening

Sep 09 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

We are exposed to germs almost constantly throughout the day. However, most of us rarely get sick despite this constant barrage of pathogens. The reason for this is the action of our immune systems. Our immune systems are constantly on guard against disease-causing microbes and are usually very effective at protecting us. Yet, new research suggests that there is a connection between infections and the circadian rhythm. Like every other system in our bodies, our immune system has an internal clock that causes it to be more effective at certain times of the day.

How Viruses Infect Cells

There are thousands of types of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to Ebola. However, they all infect our bodies in similar ways. A virus first enters through a break in the skin, our mouths, or another portal into the body. From there, they attach to cells and inject the contents of their genome. They then use cell machinery to manufacture more viruses. The infected cell bursts open and new viruses are spilled into the bloodstream.

Our bodies have a variety of complex ways to deal with a potential viral infection. Our immune systems produce macrophages that engulf and deactivate viral particles when they are found in our bloodstream, preventing them from infecting cells. In addition, T lymphocytes can recognize cells infected with viruses and kill them before more viruses can be made. Interestingly, these processes appear to be less effective in the morning, according to recent studies.

Infections and the Circadian Rhythm

Researchers studied groups of mice who were exposed to viruses at different parts of the day. Those who were exposed just before their resting phase (equivalent to evening for humans) had faster viral replication and more symptoms of illness than mice infected at the beginning of their waking phase (equivalent to morning for humans). This difference was not a small one; mice infected in their evening exhibited 10 times as much viral replication as those infected at another point in the day.

This is not the first time researchers have found a link between the severity of infections and the circadian rhythm; previous studies have found that people who have a disrupted or absent circadian rhythm are more likely to get sick, more likely to miss work on a regular basis and even more likely to develop serious and life-threatening diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The Circadian Rhythm of Your Immune System

There are many theories about how your circadian rhythm may affect your immune system. Memory T cells, which are important in recognizing viruses we have encountered before, appear to replicate rapidly in slow wave sleep. This means that we will be able to mount a quicker response to viruses immediately following sleep, which is consistent with the results of this study. In addition, our bodies undergo vital cell repair processes while we sleep, which can improve our immune systems and also help us to recover more quickly from illnesses. Regardless of the exact reason for the link between infections and the circadian rhythm, the evidence is clear: Getting exposed to a virus in the hours before we go to bed is more likely to lead to illness and even cause a more severe illness than if we had been exposed earlier in the day.

Getting Sick Too Much? Sleep May Help

Obviously getting sleep can help give our immune system a needed boost, which is more important than ever as we approach flu season. However, for many people this is easier said than done. Chronobiology experts suggest lowering lights before bed, keeping roughly the same bedtimes every night and taking a melatonin supplement if necessary. On the other hand, even these behavioral changes may not be enough for shift workers and other people whose lives don’t allow healthy sleep patterns. Researchers involved in these recent studies linking infection and circadian rhythm suggest that people who work evenings or nights make sure they get their flu vaccination to ensure they have all the immunity that they can get.

Chronotherapy and Disease: Harnessing the Circadian Rhythm for More Effective Treatment

Sep 02 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Around 60 percent of American adults take a prescription drug and even more take over-the-counter medications as well. Could recognizing the link between the time of day we take our medications and their efficacy in treating disease, a groundbreaking practice called chronotherapy, make our meds more effective?

Your prescription bottle lists the name of your medication, dosage and whether the medication is to be taken with food or not. However, many medications work best when taken at certain times during the sleep-wake cycle. In fact, new studies indicate that timing of administration may be one of the most important factors in determining how well many medications work and how often we suffer from side effects. In the future, your prescription bottle may soon tell you when to take your meds for the best effects.

What Is Chronotherapy?

In simple terms, chronotherapy is the science of timing medications so they are present at the times of day when they are likely to be the most effective and/or cause the fewest negative effects. Our bodies run by internal clocks that control not just when we sleep and wake but also when we make lipids, when our cells divide and more. Timing medications when they are present during crucial parts of our metabolism can mean more therapeutic effects at lower doses.

How does this work in real life? Consider, for example, the common example of medications for hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. Blood pressure has its own circadian rhythm, typically peaking in the morning, when cortisol is at its highest. But in many people with high blood pressure, their blood pressure also fails to decrease at night. Because of this, many people may benefit from taking their hypertension medications at bedtime for best effects. In fact, a study of hypertension medications found that taking at least one anti-hypertensive medication at bedtime can improve control of hypertension and reduce the risk of a future cardiovascular event. Hypertension medications are not the only ones that may have a greater effect when taken at certain times; treatments for osteoarthritis, heartburn and other medications have been found to work best when taken at certain times of the day.

When Does Timing Matter?

The time of day affects much more than whether we are awake or sleeping. Every cell in the human body runs on a circadian, or 24-hour, clock. When our eyes stop perceiving light, our bodies make melatonin that helps us to sleep and also tells the body that it is time for critical repair of our cells and DNA. In the early light of dawn, our bodies begin to make cortisol, a hormone associated with stress but also involved in wakefulness and mental function.

What does this mean for our medications? Medications that are meant to target rapidly multiplying cells, such as immune cells and cancer cells, may work best when taken when these cells are dividing most rapidly. In addition, as seen in the example of hypertension medications, taking meds at the point in our daily hormonal cycle that we need them most may allow patients to get the same effects with a lower dosage and with fewer side effects. We have only just begun to discover how timing may affect the efficacy of medications, leading many researchers and physicians to request further study in this area.

Timing Is Everything

In medications, as in comedy, timing may indeed be an important factor in how we respond to treatments that both make us more comfortable and extend our lifespans. Timing also is important when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle. People who eat late at night, for example, reset the circadian clocks in their livers and pancreases. This can mess up their circadian rhythms for days to come.

Taking medications at the wrong time may have the same effect, although this matter definitely needs more study in order to get a definitive answer. Our circadian rhythm affects the cells of our body, but our cells also affect our circadian rhythm. The communications between different cells and systems are so well-regulated that even small changes can have huge systemic effects. Stifling the liver by eating at odd times of day can lead to increased lipids in the bloodstream and thus to higher cholesterol and triglycerides, which in turn can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels. The cells in our bodies function independently but also as parts of a whole. Understanding this back-and-forth play between different systems will be essential to figuring out how chronobiology may improve our lives in the future.

Most of us do not plan to be dependent on prescription medication, but most of us will be taking it at some point in our lives. New discoveries on how timing affects medication metabolism and effects may allow us to take lower doses and get more effects in the very near future. Chronotherapy just may be the future of pharmacology.

Promising New Connections Between Melatonin and Migraines

Aug 31 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Migraines are one of the most daunting problems facing modern medicine. There are medications that may help prevent migraines and others that can help with the headaches when they do occur. However, these are not always effective and can have various side effects. This leaves millions of people suffering from the pain, nausea, auras and other effects of this common condition, with no relief in sight. So what is a migraine sufferer supposed to do? According to new research, promoting healthy levels of the sleep hormone melatonin may be the answer for some.

What Is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone produced in your pineal gland and released when your eyes do not sense light. Melatonin is responsible for regulating our sleep cycles and inducing sleep. However, it has a variety of other effects on our bodies as well. Melatonin has been implicated as playing a major role in GI health and may even help protect against certain types of cancer.

More important for migraine sufferers, it has been found to be effective at soothing minor pain and is beginning to be used to help in cases of cluster headaches. Melatonin appears to have a modulating effect on nerve pathways that carry pain signals, preventing overactivity in these circuits.

Links Between Melatonin and Migraine

Sleep plays an important role in migraines. Migraine sufferers who have disrupted sleep are more likely to get headaches more often and to suffer from worse pain when they have these migraines. There is significant evidence that people who get migraines often have sleep disorders linked to a lack of melatonin. People who have low levels of melatonin have a lower stimulation threshold in their trigeminal nerve, which is the nerve that is most commonly implicated in migraine pain. The link between melatonin and migraine is clear, but could promoting healthy levels of this natural substance really help?

Could Sleep and Melatonin Help Your Migraines?

There is significant research maintaining healthy levels of melatonin through supplementation and other means may be helpful for many migraine sufferers. Melatonin has been shown to be more effective than popular preventive medications, and it comes with a much lower risk of harmful side effects. In addition, taking melatonin at the onset of a migraine may help reduce some of the symptoms once they have begun. Melatonin slightly lowers the rate of nerve firing in the neural pathways that carry pain signals, especially those in the head, face and neck. This includes the trigeminal pathway, which has been repeatedly implicated as a major source of migraine pain.

These discoveries were made after scientists observed that people who suffer from migraines are less likely to get them at night and also have lower levels of pain during night migraines. If the melatonin made by our brains protects us partially from the symptoms of a migraine, it’s possible that a melatonin supplement could have the same effect. In addition, melatonin is safe and has no side effects for many people.

Stopping Migraines the Natural Way

If you suffer from migraines and are trying to find natural solutions that might be helpful, there are a few things that you can try. First, even low dose melatonin taken at night before sleep may have a positive effect, especially on your quality of rest. In addition, taking measures to improve your own melatonin production without supplements also can help. Reduce your light exposure at night and practice good sleep hygiene, including going to bed at the same time every night. These measures may help protect against a migraine, but also leave you feeling better rested in the morning. As with all lifestyle changes, it is important to discuss these changes with your doctor before making them.

Research suggests that supporting healthy melatonin production and getting a good night’s rest are both a potential solution for many people who have been suffering from this debilitating disorder.

Got Zinc? How Even a Minor Zinc Deficiency Can Harm Your Health

Aug 26 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

People in the Western world have plenty of food, often more than we truly need. However, this does not make us exempt from nutritional deficiencies. When it comes to what we eat, quantity does not always make up for a lack of quality. Further compounding the issue is the fact that food grown by Western agriculture is often deficient in trace elements and other nutrients that the human body needs to thrive. The Western diet may be full of calories, but it is often deficient in nutrients and minerals like zinc. New research suggests that mineral deficiencies, especially zinc deficiency, may have more of an effect on our health than we previously realized.

The Role of Zinc in Your Body

Zinc plays a variety of vital roles in the human body. Studies have found that zinc is essential to immune cell development and function, in addition to the metabolic roles it plays in every cell of the body. Whether you are suffering from an autoimmune disease or getting sick often from a lack of immunity, a lack of zinc may be the problem.

For example, people who are infected with HIV and also have a zinc deficiency are likely to see an increase in their viral load and thus have more symptoms. People with low zinc are also less responsive to chemotherapy drugs for cancer and other medications intended to lengthen or sustain life. While zinc makes up only one small component of our dietary needs, it nonetheless is a very important part.

However, zinc does not act merely as a stimulant for the immune system. It appears to work as a modulating agent that maintains a moderate path between immune system over-activity and total lack of immunity. People who have high amounts of zinc in their bloodstream have lower risk of asthma, allergies and even transplant rejections, all of which can be caused by inappropriately high immune system activity. Zinc also appears to act as a protective factor towards cells, protecting us from oxidation while improving cellular repair processes. Zinc seems to be an important element in how our cells react to threats, and even how they react to no threats at all.

Clearly, zinc is important for a variety of cell functions. So what happens when people are deficient—even a little deficient–in this essential element?

Symptoms of a Zinc Deficiency

Many people are deficient in zinc without even knowing it. The symptoms of a zinc deficiency are so subtle that many people, even doctors, miss the obvious. Even mild deficiencies of this essential element can cause problems with the digestive system. Because the pancreas requires zinc to adequately digest food, even a small lack of this element can slow digestion and cause symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea. In addition, slowing of digestion due to a lack of zinc may lead to accumulation of undigested food and thus bloating.

Are You Getting Enough Zinc?

How can you make sure that you are getting enough zinc? This trace element can be difficult to obtain from food in adequate amounts. It is found in significant amounts in shellfish like oysters and lobster. Red meat also often has large amounts of zinc.

The problem is that our bodies have no way of storing zinc. Unless you are eating foods rich in this element with every meal, your levels may be insufficient. If you are suffering from digestive issues such as diarrhea or skin issues like rashes on a regular basis, there is a good likelihood that you are low on zinc. This is why supplementing with zinc can be an important positive move for your health. Whether you are male or female, getting the right amount of zinc in your daily life is essential for optimal health. Luckily, there are many vitamin formulas that offer high enough amounts of zinc to ensure that you have enough left over for metabolism and other vital daily processes.

It is best to get all of your vitamins and minerals from your diet. However, food is simply different now. Many people are eating food that has been picked before it has a chance to even become ripe. We do not get a full array of vitamins in our diets but we can take supplements to make sure we have all of the elements we need to not just survive but to thrive.

Researchers Uncover the Intricate Relationship Between Sleep and Memory

Aug 24 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Many neurological processes, such as remembering to breathe without even thinking about it, are well-understood. However, there are a few areas where modern science is just beginning to discover the truth. Sleep and memory are two such areas. We know a lot about the basics of these two important activities, but there are a myriad of details that we do not totally understand. New research suggests that there may be a link between these two mysteries of the brain.

How Do We Form Memories?

On the surface, memory seems like a simple process. Humans remember vast numbers of details, from their children’s names to how to scramble an egg. However, there is a complex mechanism underlying the simple task of remembering. The first step is memory acquisition, in which we transform our perceptions into a set of sensations that can be sent to the brain. This occurs mainly in the hippocampus of our brains and places each memory in short-term memory. If we encounter the same information again and again, the memory then undergoes consolidation, during which it gets stored in our long-term memory. In consolidation, the memory is moved from the hippocampus to the prefrontal lobe. The final stage is recall, in which we pull up the memory as needed.

Not only are there different stages involved in forming a memory, but there are different types of memory as well. These memories are each stored in different ways and processed at different times. For example, declarative memory is the memory of “just the facts” and is processed in the REM and slow-wave phases of sleep. This is the type of memory that allows you to remember your address. Procedural memory is the memory of how to do something, such as how to get from your job to your home. This also is processed in REM and slow-wave sleep, although it appears to be processed at different times during these sleep phases. Because sleep is important when it comes to processing these two different types of memory, it makes sense that sleep and memory are somehow linked.

A Link Between Sleep and Memory

There have been several studies indicating a link between sleep and memory. One experiment looked at memory recall after taking a nap. People who had more REM sleep and higher levels of change in autonomic activity had better recall of a video they had seen earlier in the day. Interestingly, the change in autonomic activity such as heart rate seemed to predict memory abilities better than the amount of REM sleep.

While the waking brain is optimized to collect information, our sleeping brains appear to be best at processing and storing it. So how does lack of sleep, a condition suffered by millions in the United States alone, affect your memory?

Can Sleep Deprivation Affect Memory?

Unsurprisingly, losing sleep either from a busy lifestyle or a sleep disorder can affect your memory intensely. This appears to be due to a resulting lack of memory consolidation, the process of moving items from short-term to long-term memory. If you seem to have to look up the same information over and over or cannot remember a coworker’s name despite seeing them regularly, memory consolidation (and by extension a lack of sleep) may be the issue.

People who miss out on sleep fail to make new memories but also fail to recall old ones. Research has found that sleep can affect the function of the prefrontal lobe, and people who do not get enough sleep on a regular basis have been found to have changes in prefrontal lobe. Coincidentally, or not, these people also experience a dip in memories and begin suffering from the memory loss seen in dementia. Your sleep may be one of the most important factors in how easily you remember the details and facts that make up your memories and knowledge base.

Are you getting enough sleep? If you are like many people in the Western world, the answer is an emphatic no. However, you may not have realized that this may be causing a variety of mental and physical health issues. Getting enough sleep, both in quality and quantity, is not only essential to healthy cognitive function and memory, it’s crucial to leading a healthy and happy life.