Health Tip ~ Memory Boosting Pill

Memory Boosting Pill, Which Suppresses PKR Molecule, Could Be Coming Soon

Imagine the horror of a failing memory: you can't remember your children's names, where you live, or what year it is. But what if a pill could instantly restore your memory?

While the idea may seem like something out of science fiction, new research out of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, suggests it could soon be a reality, the Vancouver Sun reported.

The study, led by neuroscientist Mauro Costa-Mattioli, discovered that suppressing a molecule called PKR in mice brains improved the rodents memory function.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Costa-Mattioli said that when PKR is "genetically surpressed" in the mice, the immune molecule known as gamma interferon increases communication between neurons, improving memory and brain function.

Costa-Mattioli described the memory tests the mice were given in an article published by ScienceDaily:

"For instance, when the authors assessed spatial memory (the memory for people, places and events) through a test in which mice use visual cues for finding a hidden platform in a circular pool, they found that normal mice had to repeat the task multiple times over many days in order to remember the platform's location. By contrast, mice lacking PKR learned the task after only one training session."

Even more exciting is the team's discovery that the process could be "mimicked" by a PKR inhibitor, essentially creating a "memory-enhancing drug."

"It is indeed quite amazing that we can also enhance both memory and brain activity with a drug that specifically targets PKR," Costa-Mattioli said, according to the ScienceDaily report. She added that the next step is translate the improved brain function in mice to humans suffering from memory loss.

The discovery comes after a similar break through in July in which scientists found that by lowering levels of a brain chemical called cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) the nerve connections in monkeys' prefrontal cortexes were strengthened, which reverses memory loss.

After working with monkeys from three different age groups, researchers found that the brain cells of older monkeys were able to hold signals better and "fire" just like those of younger monkeys.

According to TIME, researchers have begun conducting a trial in humans to see if the drug has the same effect.

Prayer of the Day~

Intention of the Day~

Stay realistic in what can be accomplished this day~

Sunday Reflection

Secret Santa~

The other day I read an inspiring story about a woman in Indianapolis who paid for several  KMart customer's layaways. She chose families with children. Apparently, there are secret santas sprouting up throughout the country visiting KMarts and paying off layaways before Christmas.

How cool is that?

For years now, the kids and I have been able to gift to a family for Christmas. There were many years when the kids were younger that we were unable to give. We struggled just to make ends meet.   During those years, we would visit nursing homes or homeless shelters. I believe that Christmas is not about what we receive, but what we give. Giving, with an open and generous heart, knowing that the act of kindness inspires hope in those who are struggling, less fortunate or alone.

If inspired, visit your local KMart. We did. I cannot begin to tell you the joy -- the tears that flowed from the employees and the recipients who were called and told that a  "secret santa" had paid off their layaway. One young lady was a single mom, working at KMart and waiting in the layaway line to pay down on her purchases. She could not believe that we paid for the rest of her layaway. She hugged Zoe and I crying and said "That was the sweetiest thing anyone has ever done for me." Of course, Zoe and I were crying too!

Most special for me was watching my daughter ball her eyes out knowing that she was truly experiencing the 'spirit of Christmas'.

Saturday Blog Share~

Professor Brené Brown discusses the importance of opening up oneself and feeling vulnerable~
TED

My entire research career has been fueled by a commitment to bring to light the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that we all experience but never discuss -- to find patterns and connections in our experiences so that we can learn more about the journey from fear and scarcity to love, belonging, and worthiness.

The most difficult and most rewarding challenge of my work is how to be both a mapmaker and a traveler. My maps, or theories, on shame resilience, wholeheartedness, and vulnerability were not drawn from the experiences of my own travels, but from the data I've collected over the past dozen years -- the experiences of thousands of men and women who are forging paths in the direction that I, and many others, want to take our lives. As I discussed in the talk, I'm a surefooted and confident mapmaker. As a traveler, however, I stumble and fall, and I constantly find myself needing to change course.

Exactly one year ago, I received an email from the curators of TEDxHouston congratulating me because my talk was going to be featured on the main TED website. I knew that was a good thing, a coveted honor even, but I was a little nervous. In a culture of reflexive cynicism, I felt safer in my career flying right under the radar. Looking back, I'm not sure how I would have responded to that email had I known that having a video go viral on vulnerability and the importance of letting ourselves be seen would leave me feeling so uncomfortably (and ironically) vulnerable and exposed.

This past year has been an experience that I can only describe as equal parts terrifying and exciting. There's been unbelievable support, long overdue debate and discourse about these silenced topics, and -- the thing that makes me the most excited -- the development of new communities committed to cultivating more conversations about the emotional landscape of our lives. For better and for worse, there have also been some tough lessons on finding balance, asking for help, and seeking out constructive, respectful debate and feedback without letting in too much of the downright mean-spiritedness that’s rampant in our culture.

The way I see it, 2010 was the year of the TEDxHouston talk, and 2011 was the year of walking the talk -- literally. As I crisscrossed the country talking to folks about my work -- some as enthusiastic as me about my topics and others totally resistant -- I confess that there were times when I thought to myself, "What was I thinking? I'm ready to trade in my new 'vulnerable and open' mantra for that old, reliable family motto of 'lock and load.'"

But as hard and, frankly, as weird as it's been at times, I didn't trade in my mantra, nor did I give up on what I learned from the research: Vulnerability is not weakness, nor is it optional. We can't opt out of the uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks that are woven through our daily experiences. Like it or not, vulnerability is coming, and we have to decide if we’re going to open up to it or push it away.

The only choice we really have is how we're going to respond to feeling vulnerable. And contrary to popular belief, our shields don't protect us. They simply keep us from being seen, heard, and known.

If there's anything I've learned over the past decade and experienced firsthand over the last year, it's this: Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose.

Even if letting ourselves be seen and opening ourselves up to judgment or disappointment feels terrifying, the alternatives are worse: Choosing to feel nothing -- numbing. Choosing to perfect, perform, and please our way out of vulnerability. Choosing rage, cruelty, or criticism. Choosing shame and blame. Like most of you reading this, I have some experience with all of these alternatives, and they all lead to same thing: disengagement and disconnection.

One of my favorite quotes is from theologian Howard Thurman. He writes, "Don’t ask what the world needs; ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive." Vulnerability is not easy, but it’s the surest sign that we’ve come alive.

Friday celebration~

Standing in line at the post office with 3 HUGE boxes. Why am I celebrating? Because I actually made the deadline -- today -- for packages to arrive before Christmas. Wahoo!!!!!!

Spiritual Guidance - Self-compassion

Increase Your Self-Compassion

Health Tip - Hazards of Microwave Popcorn

Did you know? Microwave popcorn gives off a toxic, lung-damaging gas when cooked

Monday, December 12, 2011

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger


(NaturalNews) You might be reassured to learn that the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn typically comes from a chemical actually found in butter, but you shouldn't be. This chemical, called diacetyl, is so toxic that it commonly destroys the lungs of workers in microwave popcorn factories, afflicting them with the crippling and irreversible disease known as bronchiolitis obliterans. Bronchiolitis obliterans is so rare outside of this context that it has become more commonly known as "popcorn lung," after the primary cause of the disease.

Regulators and health professionals have known of this risk for decades, but always assumed that it would only affect people breathing in especially high concentrations in factory settings. Then in 2007, a man who regularly ate two bags of microwave popcorn every day was diagnosed with popcorn lung, indicating that diacetyl enters the air and lungs when microwave popcorn is cooked. Anxious to reassure consumers, most microwave popcorn companies phased out diacetyl -- only to replace it with chemicals that have the same effects.

Today, you can still find diacetyl in many flavored snack foods and even in some so-called "natural" foods. Make sure you read the ingredients of any food you intend to consume, and make sure it contains no diacetyl (and no "yeast extract" for that matter, either).


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews/

Quote of the day~

"The past has no power to stop you from being present now. Only your grievance about the past can do that." -Eckhart Tolle

Intention of the Day~

Open to the manifestation that awaits birth in the field of possibilities~