New Frontiers

NEW FRONTIERS NEW FRONTIERS: RESEARCH ROUND UP

THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF INTEREST TO HOLISTIC THERAPISTS AND THEIR CLIENTS…

MENTAL HEALTH: HIGH-DOSE VITAMIN B6 TABLETS OFFERS BENEFITS

Researchers at the University of Reading report that taking high level doses of Vitamin B6 for a month resulted in young adults feeling less anxious and depressed. One group of participants in the test received approximately 50 times the normal RDA in each dose. Recent theories have connected mood disorders and some other neuropsychiatric conditions with a disturbance of the brain’s neurochemical balance, often in the direction of raised levels of brain activity. Vitamin B6 helps the body produce a specific chemical messenger that inhibits impulses in the brain, reducing anxiety.

Ref: 10.1002/hup.2852

PAIN: A BETTER WAY THAN PAIN SCALES

One of the difficulties facing both clients and holistic therapists is the difficulty in conveying the nature and severity of pain being experienced. A study in Frontiers of Pain Research suggests that using pain scales alone “displaces the patient’s own story, sidesteps the issue of pain’s private meaning, and disrupts the potential for humane communication between patient and doctor.”

The research team found that using pain cards, a set of laminated images representing aspects of pain that feature images and poetry, can encourage patients to volunteer descriptions of their experience without solicitation by the practitioner. They rely less on language and more on visual imagination and could help patients from different backgrounds to better express how they feel.

Similarly, creating pain portraits -- a visual description of pain -- could help patients relay information and help clients make sense of their

pain. Ref: 10.3389/fpain.2022.895443

NUTRITION: EATING MORE ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS INCREASES DEMENTIA RISK

People who eat the highest amounts of ultraprocessed foods may have a higher risk of developing dementia than those who eat the lowest amounts, according to a new study in Neurology. Researchers also found that replacing ultra-processed foods in a person’s diet with unprocessed or minimally processed foods was associated with a lower risk. The study does not prove that ultra-processed foods cause dementia. It only shows an association. Ref: 10.1212/

WNL.0000000000200871

GUT HEALTH: GREEN TEA EXTRACT LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR

A study from Ohio State University suggest that consuming green tea extract for four weeks can reduce blood sugar levels and improves gut health by reducing inflammation and decreasing leaky gut in those with metabolic syndrome. The extract dosage was equivalent to five cups of green tea.

Results showed that fasting blood glucose levels for all participants were significantly lower after taking green tea extract compared to levels after taking the placebo. Researchers also noted decreased gut inflammation and that small intestine permeability favourably decreased. Ref:

10.1093/cdn/nzac068.010

HEALTH COSTS OF ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’

Daily exposure to a class of chemicals - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - used in the production of many household items may lead to cancer, thyroid disease, and childhood obesity, a new study shows. The resulting economic burden is estimated to cost Americans a minimum of $5.5 billion and as much as $63 billion over the lifetime of the current population. PFAS are a group of over 4,700 human-made chemicals that have been found in human blood for several decades. The chemicals are used in the production of water- and oil-resistant clothing, electronics, and non-stick cookware, and people are thought to ingest them as food comes into contact with packaging. The substances are believed to disrupt the function of

hormones. Ref: 10.1007/s12403-022-00486-0 n