Study Shows Glyphosate Messes With the Ecosystem

Study Shows Glyphosate Messes With the Ecosystem

A study in the Journal of Applied Toxicology showed that frog embryos that were exposed to glyphosate developed deformities.[ref url=”https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jat.3811″]

This study is one of a growing body of research that shows that glyphosate not only affects plants and soil systems that were directly sprayed. It also affects the surrounding life.

Other ways that glyphosate disrupts the biology of humans and ecosystems in and surrounding agricultural areas:

  • Glyphosate harms bees. Glyphosate isn’t a pesticide, so it doesn’t kill bees outright. Instead, researchers found that it disrupts bees’ gut bacteria, which makes entire bee colonies more susceptible to deadly diseases.[ref url=”https://www.pnas.org/content/115/41/10305″] Flowering plants cannot reproduce without bees, so the decline of bee populations directly affects the food supply.
  • Glyphosate affects the health of earthworms, which affects the integrity of the soil. Even the glyphosate that ran off from a simulated light rainfall was enough to cause a significant change.[ref url=”https://www.nature.com/articles/srep05634?hc_location=ufi”]
  • Glyphosate is linked with cancers such as lymphomas. More and more cancer patients are bringing lawsuits against the manufacturers of glyphosate, and winning. You can read about the billion dollar verdict here.
  • Glyphosate is toxic to human cells and DNA. Even though the government says it’s safe, researchers have found that glyphosate kills human cells in laboratory studies.[ref url=”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300483X12003459″][ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00204-012-0804-8″]

RELATED: Why Eating Organic Really Does Matter

Avoid glyphosate when you can

The Bulletproof Diet recommends organic food as much as possible. Organic farming practices are more sustainable than massive agricultural operations, and they keep toxic chemicals out of our soil and your body. It also builds healthier, more nutrient-rich soil, and healthy soil grows more nutritious vegetables for your plate.

Glyphosate destroys soil bacteria, which disrupts the balance of beneficial bacteria and insects that help your food grow. Organic food is glyphosate-free, free of antifungals and antibiotics, and it supports healthy soil way more than conventionally-grown food.

Glyphosate doesn’t stay where farmers put it. Support small, sustainable farms — your dollar decides who stays in business and who has to change their practices or close up shop. As much as possible, keep glyphosate away from your skin, your food, and your soil.

 

9 Reasons to Have More Sex

[tldr]

  • It’s all too easy to come up with an excuse not to have sex, but sex is worth prioritizing.
  • It benefits your body, your brain, and your relationship — with your partner and with yourself.
  • Benefits of sex include strengthens immunity, lowers stress, boosts mood, protects your heart, and increases intimacy.
  • Read to the end for sex hacks to supercharge your performance, in every area of your life.

[/tldr]

It’s all too easy to come up with an excuse not to have sex. You’re too tired; you don’t have time; your partner always works late; you have your period; and the most common one: you simply don’t feel like it. The thing is, sex is worth prioritizing. It benefits your body, your brain, and your relationship — with your partner and with yourself.

“[Sex] directly impacts your performance, in ways you might not realize,” writes Bulletproof Founder Dave Asprey in his new book, “Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life”.

Read on for the benefits of sex, and how sex can supercharge your performance, in every area of your life.

Download this guide to upgrade your brain and body with advice, recipes, and meal plans

9 benefits of sex

1. Lowers stress 

Sex can help you feel more zen.

Scientists consider sex a form of gentle exercise, and working out lowers stress hormones in the body, namely cortisol and adrenaline. Exercise also floods your body with endorphins, aka mood-boosting hormones.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11148895″]

Sex also strengthens parts of the brain weakened by stress. In one study done on rats, daily sex for two weeks created new neurons (or brain cells) in the hippocampus, an area of the brain particularly sensitive to stress.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11148895″]

Sex can also lower your blood pressure, which eases stress (people show higher blood pressure readings when they’re under physical or emotional stress[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2560868/”]). In one study, men and women who had intercourse every day for two weeks had lower stress-related blood pressure than those who only masturbated or fooled around with their partners without penetration.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15961213″]

2. Strengthens your immune system

Sex can boost your immune system. A 2004 study of 112 college students found that those who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that serves as your body’s first line of defense against an illness.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15217036″] The study also found that those who were in longer-term, committed relationships had more IgA.

“I like to say ‘An orgasm a day’ is like ‘An apple a day,’” says sex therapist Megan Fleming, PhD, a clinical instructor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College.

3. Lowers risk of prostate cancer in men

Research shows that frequent ejaculation — from either sex or masturbation — lowers a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer (the most common cancer among men, after skin cancer).[ref url=”https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer.html”] A long-term study of nearly 30,000 men over the course of 18 years found that those who reported ejaculating 21 times a month or more reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 20 percent compared to men who ejaculated between four and seven times a month.[ref url=”https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/198487″]

4. Increases intimacy

Touch and orgasm releases oxytocin — “the love hormone” — which strengthens trust and bonding between you and your partner. In a series of four studies that looked at couples in a committed relationship, having sex increased affection (such as holding hands or kissing on the cheek), and the more affection they had, the more they had sex.[ref url=”https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312260169_More_Than_Just_Sex_Affection_Mediates_the_Association_Between_Sexual_Activity_and_Well-Being”]

5. Improves sleep

Man sleeping in bed

You may feel too tired to get it on with your partner, but research shows that sex can improve sleep. That goes for masturbation, too. An orgasm releases oxytocin and other feel-good endorphins, and at the same time lowers cortisol (aka “the stress hormone”), relaxing you and making it easier to fall asleep.[ref url=”https://www.cqu.edu.au/cquninews/stories/research-category/2016/can-sex-be-repositioned-as-a-sleep-therapy”]

6. Powers your brain and improves memory

Having sex can boost brain power as you get older. In a study of men and women between the ages of 50 and 89, those who were sexually active at least once a week had stronger verbal fluency (for instance, saying as many words as possible that start with the letter “B”) and visuospatial ability (how you make sense of the world around you).[ref url=”https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/74/1/47/3869292″]

In another study of 6,000 adults over the age of 50, those who had regular sex had better memory recall than those who weren’t as sexually active. This was especially true for the older participants in the study.[ref url=”https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10508-018-1193-8″]

7. Protects your heart

Having a heart attack during sex may be a common Hollywood trope, but the chances of going into cardiac arrest are actually very slim.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10899274″][ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14609618″] In fact, having sex can actually have a protective effect on the heart, especially if you’re a man. In a longitudinal study of more than 1,100 men aged between 40 and 70 years, those who had sex two to three times a week were 45 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those who had sex just once a month.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20102917″]

8. Relieves pain

Sex can lower pain. In a 2013 German study, researchers found that having sex can lead to partial and even total relief from migraines and cluster headaches. More than half of migraine sufferers reported an improvement in their symptoms, with more than 90 percent of those with cluster headaches finding relief. Some male migraine sufferers even said they used sex as a therapeutic tool to relieve their pain.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23430983″]

Sex also releases oxytocin, which studies show can increase tolerance to pain.[ref url=”https://journals.lww.com/clinicalpain/Abstract/2014/05000/Oxytocin_and_Pain__A_Systematic_Review_and.10.aspx”]

9. Boosts mood

Sex makes you feel good. When you orgasm, your body releases a strong dose of so-called happiness hormones, including estrogen, which, along with oxytocin, fill you with a sense of well-being.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11148895″] Sex, particularly orgasm, also floods the reward center of your brain with dopamine, the same neurotransmitter that gets released when you take drugs or listen to rock and roll.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7770195″]Sex triggers this pleasurable high, causing you to want more of it.  

Try these proven sex hacks

Quantifying Sex for Better Performance _More orgasms make women perform better

Now that you know how good sex is for you, give these science-backed sex hacks a try.

  • Learn how to orgasm. If you’re a woman, learning how to orgasm and how to increase the intensity of your orgasms will help you reap the benefits that sex has to offer. Learn all about the female orgasm here.
  • Schedule in sex. It may sound unromantic, but sex therapists suggest scheduling sex into your diary, much as you would any other appointment. That ensures it doesn’t fall to the bottom of the list of priorities. “You plan the time, then you decide in that moment what you want to do,” says Fleming, adding that sex doesn’t have to be spontaneous to be fulfilling. “Some people don’t like things to happen unexpectedly, so scheduling sex helps them get into the right headspace.”
  • Take maca. This Peruvian root is a powerful aphrodisiac that gets both men and women in the mood. Learn more here about how maca can boost your sex drive. Aim for 1 to 2 tablespoons of maca powder a day.

Looking for more tips? Get started with this Biohacker’s Guide to Better Sex. And why not try this Bulletproof 7-Day Sex Challenge and start reaping the benefits of sex today. 

 

Two Hours in Nature a Week Makes You Happier and Healthier, Finds Study

Spending two hours a week in nature can make you healthier and happier, according to a new study. 

The report, led by the University of Exeter and published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that people who spent at least 120 minutes in nature per week were healthier and expressed a greater sense of wellbeing than people who didn’t get outside at all. 

The study looked at data from nearly 20,000 people in the UK who took part in a government-led survey about how they engage with the natural environment. They were asked about their general health, and how satisfied they were with life. 

It didn’t matter whether they spent 120 minutes outside at one time, or whether they achieved the goal with a number of shorter visits. The benefits were also true for everyone — men and women, young and old, and those living in rich or poor areas. 

Spending less than two hours a week did not have a significant effect on health or wellbeing, and spending more than five hours offered no extra benefits. 

“It’s well known that getting outdoors in nature can be good for people’s health and wellbeing but until now we’ve not been able to say how much is enough,” said Dr. Mat White, of the University of Exeter Medical School, who led the study. “Two hours a week is hopefully a realistic target for many people, especially given that it can be spread over an entire week to get the benefit.”

Nowadays, many people live in a domesticated environment. They get up, drive to work, sit in front of a computer all day, maybe squeeze in a gym workout on the way home, eat dinner, and go to bed. That’s a far cry from how your ancestors went about their day.

Your body evolved feeling the cold, sweating in the sun, touching plants, seeing trees, and eating real food. Spending time in nature increases your performance and makes you healthier, stronger, and fitter. Read on for ways to get more of the natural world into your daily life. 

Easy ways to reap the benefits of nature: 

  • Stay local: The study found that most of the people visited greenspaces within two miles of their home, so even going to your local park carries benefits. 
  • Take a daily walk outdoors: Just half an hour a day will help you achieve the two-hour quota a week. 
  • Eat outside: Instead of eating lunch at your desk, head over to a park and take in the scenery. 
  • Pay attention to fractals: Take time to look up at clouds passing by, or tree branches swaying in the breeze. Nature is full of fractals — patterns that repeat over and over again in smaller magnification. Studies show that simply looking at fractals lowers stress by up to 60%. Learn more about fractals here. 
  • Try forest bathing: Forest bathing means immersing yourself in nature, ideally by taking a gentle scroll under a canopy of trees. Forest bathing carries numerous benefits, including reduced stress, improved mood, and increased energy.  

 

7 Most Powerful Anti-Aging Superfoods

The Truth About Superfoods: What Really Makes Them “Super”?

You’ve seen the buzz around foods like acai berries, salmon, avocados, and kale, all celebrated as “superfoods.” But what does it actually mean for a food to be “super”? The term “superfood” is often used as a marketing tactic to suggest that a food is packed with nutrients that can boost your health and performance. While it sounds impressive, the label can be overused, with everything from snacks to smoothies claiming superfood status.

What to Really Look for in a Superfood

A true superfood goes beyond just having vitamins and minerals; it’s loaded with antioxidants. These powerful compounds fight oxidation and inflammation, helping to protect your cells from aging prematurely. The more antioxidants you include in your diet, the better it is for your long-term health.

Maximize Your Antioxidant Intake

Fill your plate with a colorful variety of fruits, vegetables, and even seafood to boost your antioxidant intake. The vibrant colors often signal high concentrations of these beneficial nutrients.

Explore the top 7 antioxidant-rich superfoods to keep you fit, resilient, and youthful. Read on to discover the foods that pack the most powerful anti-aging benefits.

Download this list of the top anti-aging superfoods to add to your diet now 

Top antioxidant-rich superfood list

To index every superfood here would leave you with a hefty shopping list, but fortunately, the National Institute on Aging developed a ranking system. The ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) scale measures the antioxidant capacity of different foods. Foods with high ORAC scores boast potent antioxidants in lab tests, and include leafy greens, colorful fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, and certain spices, herbs, and teas.

Antioxidant-rich superfoods usually contain several antioxidant compounds, with one or two making up the brunt of their composition. Here, the top superfoods to keep you fit, resilient, and young.

1. Glutathione

If there’s one antioxidant you remember, make it this one: Nicknamed the “master antioxidant” for its free-radical-busting superpowers, glutathione is crucial to detoxing and boosting performance in every cell of your body. This powerful antioxidant is your body’s natural detox agent: it protects against inflammation, oxidation and toxins, while supporting your mitochondria, boosting immunity, and recharging other antioxidants and enzymes. (It’s even great for hangovers!)

While your cells produce some themselves, today’s polluted, high-stress world can quickly sap your glutathione stores. It’s a good idea to take a supplement, or give your body the raw building blocks to build its own, from n-acetyl-l-cysteine, glutamine, alpha-lipoic acid, or grass-fed whey.

2. Co-enzyme Q10

CoQ10 is another potent antioxidant produced in your body, and used to protect all cell membranes. Its antioxidant abilities make it necessary for cell communication, mitochondrial function, and ATP formation. Low CoQ10 levels are associated with a range of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative, muscular and cardiac diseases, as well as diabetes and cancer. CoQ10 also helps re-fuel other antioxidants, keeping you young and resilient. As you age, your body has a tougher time converting CoQ10 into its active form, ubiquinone, so consider adding supplements or ubiquinone-rich foods like organ meats and fatty fish.

3. Vitamin C

On top of being vital for collagen formation and a big immunity-booster, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is also a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin C easily donates electrons to neutralize free radicals, and help prevent oxidation in your body. [8] It’s also used to manufacture glutathione, another big name antioxidant.

Load up your plate with vitamin C-rich foods, including broccoli, spinach, and sweet potatoes. It can be hard to get enough vitamin C from food, so supplement with at least 500mg per day.

4. Vitamin E

Vitamin E (tocopherol) is a fat soluble antioxidant, and protects the fats in your cell membranes from oxidation and damage. It plays a big role in protecting your skin from damage and aging caused by the free radicals that form with UV exposure. There are 8 forms of vitamin E, although your body’s preferred form is ?-tocopherol. You can up your vitamin E intake by incorporating more nuts, seeds, and olive oil in your diet.

5. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)

Lipoic acid is known as the “universal antioxidant” for its ability to ease oxidative stress throughout the body. Studies show that ALA supports lowering glucose levels in diabetic conditions, boosts mitochondrial function, and fights premature aging. ALA also has neuroprotective and cancer-fighting effects, and acts as an anti-inflammatory. On top of its own benefits, ALA can also help recharge vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione to be useful again as antioxidants. Your body makes some ALA to cover basic functions, but higher amounts are needed to tap into its potential as an antioxidant. You can boost your ALA intake from muscle and organ meats, or supplements. Aim for between 300 and 600mg a day. 

6. Astaxanthin

This powerful antioxidant comes from red marine algae, and is what gives wild salmon and crustaceans their reddish flesh. Astaxanthin is a highly potent antioxidant that prevents oxidative stress in your brain, nervous system and heart, and boosts your mitochondrial energy production.

Astaxanthin makes its mark as as an eye and skin defender. It slows and reverses age-related eye degeneration and accumulates in your skin to protect you from UVA rays and prevent wrinkles and sun damage. Load up on astaxanthin by eating wild-caught seafood (especially salmon), or supplementing with a high quality krill oil supplement.

7. Flavonoids

Flavonoids are a diverse group of antioxidant plant chemicals that promote memory, learning, and cognitive function by protecting your brain from oxidation and inflammation. You can find them in berries, teas, dark chocolate, and coffee.

Here are two especially potent flavonoid antioxidants you want to add to your diet:

  • Resveratrol: You can find resveratrol in cocoa, red wine, and the skins of grapes and blueberries. As a strong antioxidant, its anti-aging superpowers include boosting cardiovascular health, protecting skin, and defense against cancer, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.
  • Fisetin: Recent studies with mice found that the anti-aging antioxidant fisetin increases lifespan by about 10 percent and improves quality of life with age. Clinical trials are underway to see if the same is true for humans, but for now it can’t hurt to add more strawberries, apples, persimmons, and cucumber to your plate. Fisetin also shows promise in protecting from stroke, Alzheimer’s, and depression, and helps reduce inflammation-related disease by knocking out several inflammatory compounds.

Read next: Anti-Aging Hacks to Live Longer, Look Younger, and Be Stronger

 

Stellate Ganglion Block: A New PTSD Treatment Option

[tldr]

  • Researchers are testing the effectiveness of a procedure called stellate ganglion block (SGB) to treat PTSD in veterans.
  • Researchers have pointed to the increase of norepinephrine in the brain as a main mechanism of PTSD, and since SGB downregulates norepinepherine, you see a decrease in symptoms of PTSD.
  • Here’s everything you need to know, including my experience with SGB — how it felt, and how it worked for me.

[/tldr]

Researchers are testing the effectiveness of a procedure called stellate ganglion block (SGB) to treat PTSD in veterans.

SGB involves numbing your neck and using ultrasound to guide a needle toward your stellate ganglion — the bundle of nerves in the front of your neck that controls your whole body’s fight-or-flight response. The doctor injects a medication into the area to temporarily block those nerves.

If SGB becomes an accepted and common treatment for PTSD, you will see a massive impact on the mental health of veterans when they integrate back into civilian life. Veterans come back from high-conflict deployments with symptoms including:

  • Anxiety disorders
  • Rage episodes
  • Panic attacks
  • Jumpiness
  • Flashbacks
  • Nightmares
  • Sleep problems

The list goes on. The Veteran’s Administration reports 6,000 veteran suicides every year,[ref url=”https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/data.asp”] and experts think that number is under-reported for various reasons. PTSD among veterans is a widespread mental health crisis, and what’s promising about SGB is that you can feel the effects immediately.

The science is emerging, but several studies point to SGB as an effective treatment for PTSD. Two small studies report that SGB worked for most participants, but to varying degrees.[ref url=”https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.11111729″][ref url=”https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2010.00373.x”] Some participants experienced relief to the point that they were able to stop using psychiatric medications.[ref url=”ghttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2010.00373.x”]

Results are highly individual and some people may require more than one treatment to get an initial effect, or the effect could wear off over a few months or years. In others, it’s one-and-done.

Researchers have pointed to the increase of norepinephrine in the brain as a main mechanism of PTSD. Trauma stimulates the release of norepinephrine, which triggers arousal, startle, and encodes fear memories.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3182008/”] When those nerves become sensitized to react more readily, you end up with more norepinephrine surges, and more fear encoded into your nervous system. Rinse and repeat until you have more fear than you know what to do with.[ref url=”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987709000413″] When you can give your fear and panic response a break, you’re not constantly marinating your brain in norepinephrine, and the effect stops compounding on itself.

My experience with stellate ganglion block for PTSD

I learned in my 30s that I was experiencing PTSD as a result of having my own umbilical cord wrapped around my neck during birth. For years, I didn’t know why my reactions didn’t match what was happening. I learned that the threat during my first minutes of life heightened my stress response to everyday things. I’ve done a lot to heal from that, including neurofeedback at 40 Years of Zen.

My friend Dr. Matt Cook did an SGB procedure on me a while back. It’s mildly uncomfortable for about three minutes, but totally worth it. Here’s what to expect.

The doctor does a smaller injection in your lower neck to numb you from the sensation of the real needle. Once you’re numb, an ultrasound tech scans your neck to find the target area, and to avoid things that you don’t want to poke with a needle, like major arteries. Then, the doctor injects the medicine right into the stellate ganglion. The whole procedure only takes a few minutes.

When he first did the injection, it felt like my neck, shoulders, and chest were melting. It’s totally bizarre — I remember feeling like I couldn’t swallow, but I could. When the medicine goes in, a wave of calm sweeps throughout your whole body. Every muscle you have relaxes, and you’re immediately less emotionally reactive. It works fast — the immediate effect is why it’s so promising as a PTSD treatment.

The weird numbness and melting feeling wore off within a couple of hours, but the quieted fight or flight response persists. It’s almost like your nervous system gets a much-needed break, which gives it a chance to re-calibrate how it reacts to things.

The result? It dampens your unconscious reactions to the world around you. You’re more even keeled, and you don’t get worked up by the things that rattled you before. Think of SGB as rebooting your fight-or-flight response.

You can hear Dr. Matt go into detail about the procedure in an episode of Bulletproof Radio (iTunes). He explains that the stellate ganglion can become hyper-sensitized by any trauma, not just war trauma. He describes the mechanism behind SGB and why it works.

“In a lot of people that have had PTSD or chronic pain, the fight or flight system can be overactive. What we do is we take very powerful numbing medicine or local anesthetic and we put it into that plane and put the fight or flight nervous system completely to sleep for about four to six hours. That has a very profound effect of turning off flight or flight so that people can begin to feel what it’s like to rest and relax,” says Dr. Cook.

RELATED: The Deifinitive Guide to Stress Management

Two for one: hydrodissection of the vagus nerve

Vagus Nerve Affects Memory_headerSince the vagus nerve is in the same neighborhood, Dr. Cook uses the opportunity to treat the vagus nerve in addition to the stellate ganglion. Your vagus nerve is the two-way communication line that regulates most of your organs (read about the vagus nerve here).

Your brain tells your organs what to do through your vagus nerve, and your organs send regular status checks back. Your vagus nerve has a lot to do with your stress response as well, so you can hit them both at the same time. May as well — you’re getting poked anyway.

“When we turn the vagus nerve off [temporarily], that tends to reset the vagus nerve. Often we rest both [the stellate ganglion and the vagus nerve]. It’s fairly difficult to just get one by itself.”

If you think SGB will help you, open up a conversation with your doctor about it. Find a doctor who uses ultrasound to guide the needle, not fluoroscopy (continuous x-ray, like a movie). Ultrasound allows a more precise injection, and the doctor doesn’t have to use as much medicine.[ref url=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24760493″] Also, radiation interferes with your thyroid gland, especially if you’re in the growing population that has thyroid problems. Even though it’s a short procedure, you’re aiming for your neck, where your thyroid lives. You don’t need to give it a continuous radiation zap.

 

Start hacking your way to better than standard performance and results.

Receive weekly biohacking tips and tech by becoming a Dave Asprey insider.

By sharing your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy