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

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

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

How to Be Creative

January 11, 2018

Everyone – adults and children alike – has a creative streak. But while most of us have a spirit of invention, major or minor, for too many of us it lies dormant even though it can be awakened with the simplest of acts. Follow these steps to find your inner writer, composer, finger painter, chef, lyricist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, comedian, politician or professional Tweeter.

Source: How to Be Creative – A year of living better Guides – The New York Times

Why post-sex cuddles and pillowtalk count for more than orgasm

December 30, 2017

Afterglow

The intensity of orgasm is sublime, but the gentle love cocktail that follows is what helps relationships to endure

Source: Why post-sex cuddles and pillowtalk count for more than orgasm | Aeon Essays

To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine 

December 30, 2017

Where pain lives

Fixing chronic back pain is possible only when patients understand how much it is produced by the brain, not the spine

“We always thought of it as acute pain that just goes on and on – and if chronic pain is just a continuation of acute pain, let’s fix the thing that caused the acute, and the chronic should go away,’ … ‘That has spectacularly failed. Now we think of chronic pain as a shift to another place, with different mechanisms, such as changes in genetic expression, chemical release, neurophysiology and wiring. We’ve got all these completely new ways of thinking about chronic pain. That’s the paradigm shift in the pain field.”

Source: To treat back pain, look to the brain not the spine | Aeon Essays