A new study from the Institute for Systems Biology compared people who lost 1% or more of their weight each month on a weight loss diet, compared with those whose weight didn’t budge–finding that the groups had different microbial DNA and bacteria in their microbiome. Those that lost weight had microbial DNA that allowed bacteria (especially Prevotella) to grow fast (these bacteria ate more sugar/nutrients before the body could absorb them), while the weight-loss-resistant group had…
A new study from Stanford University tested the impact that a diet high in fermented foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, kombucha, etc.) versus a diet high in fiber-rich plant foods would have on the gut and immune system. After ten weeks, the fermented food group saw significant reductions in 19 different inflammatory compounds and harbored a more diverse array of microbes in their guts–while the high-fiber group did not. This represents some…
It’s widely believed that people put on weight in middle age because their metabolisms slow down and that women have slower metabolisms than men, and menopause makes things worse (which is why women struggle with weight issues). A large, new study (6,500 people) indicates that those assumptions are flat-out wrong. Rather than metabolism slowing in middle age, there are four distinct phases of metabolic change:…
A new randomized controlled trial in the New England Journal of Medicine found that two sessions (three weeks apart) of 25 mg of psilocybin had at least as significant an impact on depressive symptoms as taking one of the most common SSRIs (escitalopram/Lexapro) daily for six weeks. The psilocybin group also reported fewer side effects and other positive emotional impacts. As the lead researcher put it,…
” A new review of studies in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that “spiritual fitness,” a new concept in medicine interweaving psychological and spiritual wellbeing, reduces multiple risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Finds that individuals with high scores on a “purpose in life” (PIL) were 2.4 times more likely to remain free of AD than individuals with low PIL—and that Kirtan Kriya, a…
In 2016, a randomized trial from NYU found that a single dose of psilocybin delivered rapid improvements in anxiety and depression in cancer patients when combined with psychotherapy. A follow-up study found that 71–100% of participants reported that the improvement in depression and anxiety had lasted five years—with participants “rating it among the most personally meaningful experiences of their lives.” ACCESS STUDY
