YOU & YOUR HEALTH
Research round up
NEW FRONTIERS NEW FRONTIERS:
RESEARCH ROUND UP
INTERESTING NEW RESEARCH OF INTEREST TO HOLISTIC THERAPISTS AND THEIR CLIENTS… BRAIN AND BEHAVIOUR: A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OPIOID SYSTEM AND EATING BEHAVIOUR Finnish researchers at the University of Turku have discovered that there is a connection between the function of the opioid system and food craving triggered by appetitive external stimuli. Previously, animal studies have shown that the brain’s opioid and endocannabinoid systems are important in regulating eating behaviour and mediate the food reward experience. Malfunctions in this signalling system have been associated with obesity. The Finnish study concluded that the function of the opioid system is connected to eating triggered by external stimuli. The fewer the number of binding sites there were for the opioids, the greater was the tendency to eat in response to external stimuli, such as seeing appetizing food. It is thought that the opioid system could be a potential target for antiobesity drugs. Ref: 10.1038/s41398-021-01559-5
is known to have an important role in the prevention of these issues. However, so far, little is known about the impact of sedentary behaviour, breaks in sitting, and standing on insulin resistance. The researchers observed that standing is associated with better insulin sensitivity independently of the amount of daily physical activity or sitting time, fitness level, or being overweight. Ref: 10.1016/j.jsams.2021.08.009
ADHD AND DEMENTIA: A LINK ACROSS THE GENERATIONS A large study conducted by a research team at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet shows that parents and grandparents of individuals with ADHD were at higher risk of dementia than those with children and grandchildren without ADHD. This suggests that there are common genetic
and/or environmental contributions to the association between ADHD and dementia. The study looked at more than two million people born in Sweden between 1980 and 2001, of whom around 3.2 percent were diagnosed with ADHD. Using national registries, the researchers linked these persons to over five million biological relatives, including parents, grandparents and uncles and aunts, and investigated to what extent these relatives developed dementia. The researchers found that parents of individuals with ADHD had 34 percent higher risk of dementia than parents of individuals without ADHD. The risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, was 55 percent higher in parents of individuals with ADHD. Individuals with ADHD were more likely to have parents with early-onset dementia than late-onset.
STANDING ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER INSULIN SENSITIVITY More research from the University of Turku has established a connection between standing more and better insulin sensitivity and may have a role to play in preventing chronic lifestyle diseases. Insulin function is known to be adversely affected by being overweight, leading to decreased insulin sensitivity and an increased risk level for developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle has a strong impact on insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes, and regular physical activity
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HOLISTIC THERAPIST 2021
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