Can't Sleep?  Skip the Melatonin and Grab the Magnesium!!!

As a popular sleep aid, Melatonin came on line about 12 to 15 years ago.  It was marketed as a rejuvenator, as a wonderful sleep aid, as a way to set the clock back on aging.  I mean it seemed to cover a whole host of remedies, but that it was best when taken as a sleep aid.  And the sleep that you would get from it was sold as being miraculous.  It is amazing how a story, a narrative, a theory can have a hold on you as long as you believe in it.  And one way that makes believing a story more effective is if you don't have any other experience to compare it with.  Beside milk and turkey breast, melatonin was the first sleep aid that I had ever taken.  It certainly made me feel groggy.  It wasn't quite like an anesthesia you take before surgery; it didn't put me out like that.  But it certainly made my body feel heavy.  Even in the morning when I woke up, I did not wake up feeling refreshed.  I woke up feeling groggy, even drugged.  And this was after taking a 1mg tablet.  Melatonin comes in 3 and 5 mg doses. I could not imagine taking anything stronger than a 1mg.  But given my experience with Melatonin I will never take it again.  What was that experience?

My limbs were asleep.  That's not waking up feeling refreshed.  

Only to learn that the effects of Melatonin are worse than even I had imagined:

Sylvie McCracken writes that "We do produce melatonin naturally, so I see how it can be misconstrued as a benign supplement to simply pop in your mouth and start counting sheep. Melatonin is associated with sleep because it’s produced as a stress hormone to cope with darkness.

We’re stressed by the dark —> we produce melatonin to try and sleep —> anti stress.

You say you’re feeling sleepy when taking melatonin? Well, it’s merely inducing limpness in your body where blood is restricted to the brain and heart and your general cognitive function is impaired. Um, yikes!  Deliberately slowing down the blood supply to my vital organs isn’t something I really want to be doing all that often.

Although melatonin may help induce sleep in the elderly, Emily states that there is no solid scientific evidence to support melatonin’s effectiveness for treating insomnia in young and middle-aged adults.

In The Sleep Solution, Emily outlines the possible side effects of melatonin consumption:

·         Vasoconstriction of the brain, organs, and heart.

·         Shrinks and involutes the thymus gland

·         Shrinks sex organs Increases heart rate and perpetuates the stress cycle

·         Inhibits fertility

Read more: Why I Choose Magnesium Over Melatonin for Sleep - Hollywood Homestead http://www.hollywoodhomestead.com/magnesium-over-melatonin-to-induce-sleep/#ixzz3Z6yD2Net
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So magnesium is one answer to taking melatonin.  But it's not like meltatonin is the most effective, natural sleep aid.  It's not.  Magnesium is. So are B Vitamins.  Try a B-Complex at bedtime and watch the next morning how you will absolutely wake more refreshed than your experience with Melatonin.  

THE SALES PITCH
Vitamins and minerals and supplements are always sold in terms of the problems caused by their deficiency in your system.  That's an easy sell. But what people are really looking for are specific benefits from taking this or that food, this or that supplement to remedy what ails us.  And we always have choices, but the sales pitch rarely presents us with the choices and the benefits or hazards of each.  And here I can only report on my experience which as you know is quite specific from any experience that you might enjoy or endure.  But in my experience the B vitamins provide excellent therapy for the nerves and muscles.  So does magnesium.  So, in fact, does dark chocolate.  But I have recently sworn off chocolate because of the caffeine, though mild might be its effects. Another source is Epsom salts.  I have even tried a table salt bath with regular Morton Salt and that has relaxed me beyond measure.  But I cannot reproduce the exact same benefits each time I use any of these minerals.  

The sales pitch for magnesium sounds wonderful:  "This critical mineral is actually responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions and is found in all of your tissues — but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax."  I don't know how many times I've heard that 300 number.  And when I do I think that the mineral is of vital importance.  But I must be getting enough of it, for when I take supplements of magnesium I don't exactly feel rejuvenated by the infusion.  Though I don't feel a rejuvenation from magnesium I do feel a relaxation of my muscles, usually the muscles that I use a lot, like I leg muscles, back and neck muscles.  Some might argue, "Well, you might be taking the wrong kind of magnesium or the wrong brand."  I take Advanced Research's Magnesium Orotate, considered by many to be the most absorbable form.  "For magnesium to be effective, you need to take this or that with it."  Then if that's the case, doesn't that, in effect, render all of the arguments about any mineral supplement empty?

Then the sales pitch moves from deficiency to specific medical conditions that are related to deficiency.  We comb through the list to find ourselves, and when we can't find ourselves in the list we realize that maybe we aren't deficient.  To ramp up the deficiency fear, the authors often times wax on the social problems of a deficiency.  It will sometimes read like this, "In our society, magnesium deficiency is a huge problem. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit — and about 15 percent of the general population — have magnesium deficiency."

From social problems to problems of modern life . . . as though the stresses of modern life is a real thing.  Last time I checked all of the modernization and technology of modern life have made life easier.  We don't have to go to the store to buy things.  Instead, we can order online and have the product delivered to our front door.  We can communicate with anyone anywhere in the world while driving.  I mean we have voice recognition technology.  All you have to do is speak to your phone and it will find the restaurant you're looking for in Los Angeles or any other town in the world for that matter.  In spite of the ever increasing rise in prices in most commodities like food, housing, and clothing, electronic devices at least are getting ever cheaper.  And we can easily find food and vitamin supplements at discounted houses.  So the "modern life" argument is a bit specious but here it is, "In our society, magnesium deficiency is a huge problem. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit — and about 15 percent of the general population — have magnesium deficiency."  Again, the sales pitch calls us to find ourselves in that 15%, rendering your choice to supplement a very private and exclusive decision.  It's not for everybody after all; it's only for those of us who are health conscious or need to be.

Still, for specific conditions, like insomnia, I prefer magnesium or a B-Complex to melatonin.  By far.  I do not like waking up feeling like a zombie.  Sleep should rejuvenate you.  You know this intuitively from a 15 to 20-minute power nap in the afternoon.  You wake re-energized and able to produce for another 8 hours.  That should be your measure of the quality of your sleep.  

Happy dreams.

Gaming Can Improve Our Minds

Gary North writes: 

This video has been seen by fewer than two dozen people. It is new. It was recommended to me by an old friend who got all the way to an oral defense of his Ph.D. dissertation in neurophysiology, and then quit. He had been asked to provide new evidence for his dissertation, due to an external event in his department. He went on to become one of the nation's leading trial lawyers. He keeps up with the field. Within five years, this could be a game-changer, literally. Specialists are at the edge of a transformation of their understanding of the brain. With positive feedback through video games, individuals will be able to restore lost brain functions. This technique has been demonstrated to have produced astounding improvements in cognition in people age 70 and older -- restoring some functions to age 25.

TREAT KIDNEY STONES W/LEMON & OLIVE OIL

Symptoms of Kidney Stones

No symptoms will appear if the stones are extremely small, but the kidneys will not function optimally.

Sudden, severe pain that gets worse in waves. Stones may cause intense pain in the back, side, abdomen, groin, or genitals.

Nausea and vomiting.

Blood in the urine, or strange urine colors.

Inability to find a comfortable position.

Frequent and painful urination, which usually occurs when a stone lodges in a ureter, but it may also indicate a bladder infection that was caused by the stones.

---

Eliminating Kidney Stones by Sarah C. Corriher @ Healthwyze.com.

Some people have managed to pass kidney stones by eating large amounts of watermelon. However, our research has concluded that the popular lemon juice and oil combination is the most effective method. Lemon juice breaks down the stones, while oil provides lubrication to allow the stones to pass.

To perform a lemon and olive oil cleanse, blend 5 ounces of lemon juice with 5 ounces of olive oil. Extra-virgin olive oil is best because it is the healthiest, and it has a thicker consistency than most other food oils. People may wish to add a small amount of honey to improve the taste. Drink the solution as quickly as possible. Do this once in the morning, and once in the late afternoon. Continue this for several days, or until the stone passes. Drink plenty of water throughout this process, including extra lemon juice if possible.

Adrenal Glands

"The adrenal gland is the master organ of the endocrine system."

Then it seems to me then that this is the organ to care for if you want to maintain hormonal health.  The article continues:

"Through their adaptation to stress mechanisms, the adrenal glands direct the synthesis and flow of virtually all the other hormones. The adrenals also have the ability to produce hormones that are normally made by other glands. A particularly striking example of this is the hormone estrogen. After menopause, when the ovaries reduce the production of estrogen and progesterone, healthy adrenal glands can make up the difference and set the basis for a long healthy life with little or no repercussions from the loss of ovarian function.

Impotency is not primarily a problem of testicular dysfunction or testosterone deficiency. Rather, it involves an imbalance of the entire hormonal axis–pituitary gland, adrenal glands, testicles and even the thyroid gland. All of these glands are governed by the same feedback loops between the brain and the body. They function as a group and have much to do with determining our overall health. Impotency is not simply due to deficiency of testosterone–or Viagra; the treatment of impotency must involve the restoration of health. Science actually corroborates the practices of ancient physicians, who treated impotency by restoring male vigor. This is best accomplished by relieving emotional blocks, often old lingering impediments that still stand in our way, and by taking steps to restore the health of the adrenal gland."

Super Miraforte from LEF.org.

For men, one health practioner recommended Super Miraforte by Life Extension Foundation.

"In addition to the diet and the work on soul connections and our relationships, I recommend several interventions that have proven useful in treating impotency. The first is the herbal extract of Tribulus terrestris, from Mediherb. 

Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus is adaptogenic, meaning that it helps our bodies adapt to stress by improving adrenal hormonal production. A number of studies involving both animals and people indicate that the herb improves erectile function, decreases the latency period (that is the time between ejaculations), and increases the length of time that an erection can be sustained. It does not provide any testosterone, nor is it clear that it improves the ability of the testicles to produce testosterone. Rather, the herb seems to directly stimulate the adrenal glands to produce their hormonal products and therefore adapt to stress, even the stress of aging. Studies also indicate that tribulus improves cardiovascular endurance and slightly dilates the coronary arteries, thereby allowing improved oxygenation of the heart. The recommended dose is 1 tablet 3 times per day, for at least 6 months. Many men report an improvement in their potency during the third to fourth month of treatment.

In more severe cases, or with men who have lost overall vitality in addition to sexual potency, I recommend Bacopa complex, a Mediherb preparation that combines schisandra (a liver herb) and Siberian ginseng (a well-known adaptogenic herb) with bacopa (an adaptogenic herb that has a specific effect on improving memory). Together these herbs help strengthen the nervous system, liver and adrenal glands. The dose is 1 tablet 3-4 times per day for at least 6 months.

Finally, to help restore the glandular health of the entire pituitary-adrenal-testicular-thyroid axis, I use the Standard Process preparation Symplex M, which contains the proto-morphogen extracts from each of these glands. In fact, it was the genius of Royal Lee who recognized, well before it was appreciated by normal science, that effective treatment of any of these glands requires treatment of the whole group or axis, rather than treatment of each in its own fiefdom. The dose is 1-2 tablets 3 times per day for 6 months."

We Need Intelligent, Cautious Parents

Clearly, as a parent you need to fight for your kids.  For some, it comes naturally.  For others, it requires a learning curve.  One thing that is needed is situational awareness.  When you talk to an Eskimo about buying a refrigerator, know who you are talking to and what their interests are.  So that when you fight for your children, as much as their well-being is at stake, so is the public knowledge of your ability as a parent fighting for your kids' well-being.  Not to mention your ego.  You don't know everything. Community asks that you be a good father or a good mother, that you attend school functions, that you take your kid out to a park or to Disneyland, or celebrate their young lives with birthdays.  The social demands can be taxing.  You are living the life of a role function where everyone else defines it for you and assigns it the proper value . . . that is until you get smarter and learn what is best for your kid.

Perhaps the most important of all protections that a parent provides is that against illness or injury to a child.  We can't guard against every injury, of course.  We can't stifle our children's movements or adventures.  We have to let them live.  But live with some intelligent cautions. Find a way to strengthen their coordination as they develop.  Find a way to increase their love for ethical conduct, beauty, artistry, history, and science in a world that is handed down to us.

As you fight you will learn.  Your new knowledge will help address past grievances I believe. What I am thinking of are those discussions that people have with their doctors' diagnoses.  Their opinion is not infallible, as you know, but instead, it is biased.  When an orthopedic recommends surgery, stop and think "Is that recommendation biased?" or is it to generate more business so that he can pay off his medical school debt?  I don't mean to sound cynical; just practical.  Count the costs.  Can't rely on the universities to be bastions of truth and accuracy.  Not in today's world.  Not saying that there aren't intelligent people working on campuses around the country or the world.  Just saying that the information is often times agenda driven.

Here is a young family with an adorable daughter and the parents surrender their authority over their child weeping in regret and fear.  They opted to have their daughter undergo brain surgery.  They signed off on the idea that it is okay to have a portion of their child's brain removed. This is the outrage. And who led them to this conclusion before seeking alternative treatments like foods, herbs, exercises, whatnot?  Their university-trained doctors, who post every kind of certification on the wall behind their desk to coerce you into accepting their narrative and legitimacy?  

Turns out that cannabidol or CBD, one of the 85 active cannbinoids in marijuana, is an anti-seizure remedy.  Here is what Wikipedia says:

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of at least 85 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis.^[4] It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40% of the plant's extract.^[5] CBD is considered to have a wider scope of medical applications than tetrahydrocannabinol  (THC).^[5] An orally-administered liquid containing CBD has received orphan drug status in the US, for use as a treatment for Dravet syndrome, under the brand name Epidiolex.^[6]

Neurological effects [edit]

A 2010 study found that strains of cannabis containing higher concentrations of cannabidiol did not produce short-term memory impairment vs. strains with similar concentrations of THC, but lower concentrations of CBD. The researchers attributed this attenuation of memory effects to CBD's role as a CB₁ antagonist.^[8] Transdermal CBD is neuroprotective in animals.^[9]

Cannabidiol's strong antioxidant properties have been shown to play a role in the compound'sneuroprotective and anti-ischemic effects.^[10]