The Family Institute

Tackling Inflammation to Fight Age-Related Ailments

December 29, 2019

Specialists in the biology of aging have identified a rarely recognized yet universal condition that is a major contributor to a wide range of common health-robbing ailments, from heart disease, diabetes and cancer to arthritis, depression and Alzheimer’s disease. That condition is chronic inflammation, a kind of low-grade irritant that can undermine the well-being of virtually every bodily system.

But modern medical science is now gradually closing in on what might realistically enable people to live longer, healthier lives — if they are willing to sacrifice some popular hedonistic pleasures.

Source: Tackling Inflammation to Fight Age-Related Ailments – The New York Times

When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves

November 1, 2018

Researchers are particularly concerned with marijuana use among the young because THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, most sharply affects the parts of the brain that develop during adolescence.

Source: Study: Laying Off Pot Improved Teens’ Learning : Shots – Health News : NPR

A diet guru explains why you should eat dinner at 2pm

October 14, 2018

We focus nearly obsessively on the question of what to eat. Should I eat avocados or steak? Should I eat quinoa or pasta? Should I eat more fat? Should I eat less fat? Should I eat less protein? Should I eat more protein? Let’s face it, the answer changes every few years, according to whom you ask.

But an equally important question lies almost completely unanswered. What effect does meal timing have on obesity and other metabolic parameters? Quite a lot, it turns out. Having a well defined fasting period is likely very important. The strategy of eTRF, and intermittent fasting more generally now gives exhausted dieters a new hope.

Source: Jason Fung explains why intermittent fasting and ADF diets work — Quartz

When is stress good for you? How stress works in the human body, to make or break us

March 4, 2018

The subtle flows and toxic hits of stress get under the skin, making and breaking the body and brain over a lifetime.

Source: How stress works in the human body, to make or break us | Aeon Essays

We need new ways of treating depression

March 4, 2018

The World Health Organization, the leading medical body in the world, explained in 2011: “Mental health is produced socially: The presence or absence of mental health is above all a social indicator and therefore requires social, as well as individual, solutions.” The United Nations’ special rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Dainius Pūras — one of the leading experts in the world on mental health — explained last April that “the dominant biomedical narrative of depression” is based on “biased and selective use of research outcomes.”

Experts are now looking to the social and environmental causes of the disorder affecting millions.

Source: We need new kinds of antidepressants, in addition to pills – Vox

Mindfulness of breathing meditation

March 3, 2018

A SIMPLE, SHORT ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO MEDITATION.
Let your mind be as vast as space. This guide takes you through mindful breathing, noticing feelings and sensations in the moment, and not punishing yourself when your thoughts wander. You will be mindful as you read.

Source: Mindfulness of breathing meditation – Medium

Mindfulness Meditation: Guided Practices

March 3, 2018

4 GUIDED MEDITATION PRACTICES (on SoundCloud): Body Scan. Compassion. Breath Awareness. Body Scan for Kids.

Guided mindfulness practices from Mark Bertin, MD, author of Mindful Parenting for ADHD.

Source: Mindfulness Meditation: Guided Practices – Mindful

The Danger of Putting Youth on Antidepressants

January 1, 2018

Why medication shouldn’t be the default treatment for our kids’ mental health.

On World Health Day this year, Dainius Pūras, a doctor and a representative for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, made a powerful statement. By focusing so intently on the biomedical model of treating depression, he argued, we are diverting resources from the “social and underlying determinants” that may have a larger and more lasting effect on mental health: economic injustice, political oppression, social violence. “Mental health services, policymakers, medical students,

Source: The Danger of Putting Youth on Antidepressants · The Walrus