About Alex Pietrowski

Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and Offgrid Outpost, a provider ofstorable food and emergency kits. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.

3 Proven Ways Smartphones and Screen Time are Harming Children’s Health

For years, the cell phone industry has fought litigation and has tried to prevent warning labels from being added to their products, and in a 2017 landmark case in an Italian court, a judge even ruled that excessive cell phone use can in fact result in brain cancer. While it may take a number of years to develop, cancer is not the only negative health effect using today’s smart phones, and for children, the impacts of handheld fixation technologies are rather broad. Even Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, is well-known for not permitting his own children to use iPads, smartphones and other handheld devices, noting how addictive and openly available devices like these are in our society today. “… when he [Steve Jobs] was asked “Your kids must love the iPad?” He said “Actually we don’t allow the iPad in the home. We think it’s too dangerous for them in effect.” The reason why he said that was because he recognized just how addictive the iPad was as a vehicle for delivering things to people. That once you had the iPad in front of you, or when you took it away from the home with you, you’d always have access to these platforms that were very addictive. That were hard to resist.” ~Adam Alter, author of Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked Here are several other documented ways in which screen-time and smartphones are negatively impacting children’s health. 1. Literally Turning Them Into Addicts As Jobs says, the devices are highly addictive, meaning they re-train the brain’s pleasure and reward centers, interfering with the a child’s natural responses to the joy, while heavily distracting them from life. These devices are digital drugs, as habit-forming as cocaine and ubiquitous in our society. “This addictive effect is why Dr. Peter Whybrow, director of neuroscience at UCLA, calls screens “electronic cocaine” and Chinese researchers call them “digital heroin.” In fact, Dr. Andrew Doan, the head of addiction research for the Pentagon and the US Navy — who has been researching video game addiction — calls video games and screen technologies “digital pharmakeia” (Greek for drug). That’s right — your kid’s brain on Minecraft looks like a brain on drugs. No wonder we have a hard time peeling kids from their screens and find our little ones agitated when their screen time is interrupted. In addition, hundreds of clinical studies show that screens increase depression, anxiety and aggression and can even lead to psychotic-like features where the video gamer loses touch with reality.” [Source] Some academics even suggest that these devices are so addictive they should come with a health warning: “University of Derby finds smartphone users in study spent average 3.6 hours a day on devices, often causing severe distraction from relationships and ‘real life.’ [Source] 2. Impacts Their Mood and the Emotional System Overexposure to screen time with these devices negatively affects the mood and emotional systems of children, and as many studies [...]

2018-01-07T19:22:17-08:00By |

Kids Meditate Instead of Taking ADHD Medications, See Amazing Results

Firmly embedded into our culture now, pharmaceutical companies create so-called cures and treatments for every human condition, and modern psychiatry has become an institution that works to create lifelong dependencies on medications to help people adapt to the stress of modern life and to conform to the rigid corporate/consumer culture that has come to be known as life. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become an industry in and of itself, and it is huge. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is big business. That’s the conclusion of a new report, published by the market research firm IBISWorld, which showed that ADHD medication sales have grown 8 percent each year since 2010 and will grow another 13 percent this year [2015] to $12.9 billion. Furthermore, it projects this growth will continue over the next five years at an annualized rate of 6 percent, and take in $17.5 billion in the year 2020—making it one of the top psychopharmaceutical categories on the market. [Source] The pharmaceutical industry profits by changing people’s perceptions of what health is, then training them to believe that pills offer the most practical and convenient solution. This applies as much to statin drugs, painkillers and diabetic treatments as it does to psychiatric and psychotropic medications. The result is a nation of medication dependent people who have no idea to heal themselves naturally, and an ever-increasing corporate profit stream for pharmaceutical companies. There is a ton of money being made selling ADHD medications to people of all walks of life, but much of the growth in this industry is in prescribing these drugs to children, sometimes even to toddlers. The truth about ADHD is that to many prestigious physicians it is nothing more than a fictitious ‘disorder,’ something that describes a varying set of symptoms, contrived by the American Medical Association. “…after 50 years of practicing medicine and seeing thousands of patients demonstrating symptoms of ADHD, I have reached the conclusion there is no such thing as ADHD.” ~Dr Richard Saul READ: The Difference Between My Psychiatrist and My Shaman Over diagnosis is now commonplace even though some are beginning to acknowledge that the medications often prescribed for ADHD are chemically identical to speed, or methamphetamine, a class I illegal street drug. In the case of Adderall, Dr. Carl Hart has explained that this is in fact the case, and the explosion in recreational use of these drugs has many agreeing that ADHD medications are the real ‘gateway drug’ to addiction, not cannabis, as popular drug war propaganda would have us believe. But what if there were away to improve the behavior, mood, and concentration levels of people with symptoms similar to those described as ADHD? What if this treatment was free and led to many improvements in the patient’s life, including increased happiness, confidence and spiritual wellness? What if all it took was an improved diet, exercise and training in mental focus to overcome these symptoms? Meditation is scientifically proven to bring about many health benefits for practically [...]

2018-01-07T19:31:24-08:00By |

Iceland’s Approach to Teen Substance Abuse is Something America Needs Now

As the U.S. largely ignores an epidemic opioid crisis fueled by the pharmaceutical industry and a rush of available heroin resulting from the war on drugs, Iceland is receiving international acclaim for its approaches in helping to keep teens off drugs. Primarily addressing the issue of underage drinking and binge-drinking, a need for a new plan to confront teen substance abuse in Iceland has achieved extraordinary results, turning around the dangerous trend. Employing both a ‘radical and evidence-based’ approach, community leaders first looked at stress as a causal factor in substance abuse, then looked at why people become addicts, then offered practical solutions which have thus far worked. “Today, Iceland tops the European table for the cleanest-living teens. The percentage of 15- and 16-year-olds who had been drunk in the previous month plummeted from 42 per cent in 1998 to 5 per cent in 2016. The percentage who have ever used cannabis is down from 17 per cent to 7 per cent. Those smoking cigarettes every day fell from 23 per cent to just 3 per cent.” [Source] What is the Icelandic solution? Harvey Milkman, an American psychology professor who teaches for part of the year at Reykjavik University, wrote his doctoral dissertation on drug use as a form of stress reduction, concluding that teens were surprisingly likely to turn to either amphetamines or heroin, depending on how they chose to deal with stress. “Heroin users wanted to numb themselves; amphetamine users wanted to actively confront it,” says Milkman. While at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado, Milkman pursued the idea that people are largely developing behavioral addictions and becoming addicted to changes in brain chemistry, the sort of thing that happens when a person experiences the rush of something risky, dangerous or exciting. Building on this philosophy, his team developed programs to teach kids other things which can produce dramatic changes in brain chemistry, providing access to ecstatic experiences such as dance, music, art, hip-hop and martial arts, activities which also teach self-confidence and self-mastery. “Young people aren’t hanging out in the park right now, Gudberg explains, because they’re in after-school classes in these facilities, or in clubs for music, dance or art. Or they might be on outings with their parents.” [Source] Spending time speaking in Iceland won him the support of community members and even the government itself, leading to nationally funded and implemented programs. “State funding was increased for organised sport, music, art, dance and other clubs, to give kids alternative ways to feel part of a group, and to feel good, rather than through using alcohol and drugs, and kids from low-income families received help to take part.” [Source] Another major factor in this success story is the enactment of child curfew laws, rejected by most other nations, which legislated that children between the ages of 13 and 16 were not allowed outside alone after 10pm in winter months, and after midnight in the summer time. The end result has been the development of [...]

2021-01-18T19:32:25-08:00By |

Dietary Changes Now Proven to Effectively Treat Major Depression

More than 15 million Americans suffer from serious depression, and it is estimated that globally some 350 million people are struggling with the challenging mental disorder. While the causes of depression are varied and largely unidentifiable, since the 1950’s the pharmaceutical industry has been developing a broad range of antidepressants, and it now estimated that 8-10% of the American population is taking some type of antidepressants. The problems with antidepressants are wide-ranging including addiction, costs, and a host of unfavorable side-effects including emotional numbness and even an increased risk of suicide. While antidepressants may very well help some people cope with the overwhelming effects of depression in the short-term, pharmaceutical treatments do not cure depression. Pondering the reasons for such a major increase in depression in our society over the last couple of decades, many have speculated that a combination of lifestyle, social disconnectedness in a technologically advanced society, lack of exercise, environmental pollutants, and increased consumption of nutritionless and heavily processed foods are to blame. Yet, medical science has been slow to fully acknowledge and recommend lifestyle changes to patients, often preferring the recommendation of pharmaceuticals. A world-first study, however, recently conducted by Deakin University in Australia has shown unequivocally that major depression can be conquered with the right dietary changes. “We’ve known for some time that there is a clear association between the quality of people’s diets and their risk for depression. This is the case across countries, cultures and age groups, with healthy diets associated with reduced risk, and unhealthy diets associated with increased risk for depression. However, this is the first randomised controlled trial to directly test whether improving diet quality can actually treat clinical depression.” ~Professor Felice Jacka, Director of Deakin’s Food and Mood Centre The study looked at adults with major depression, evaluating their progress with specific dietary changes over a three-month period, revealing the types of foods which help the most. “The dietary group received information and assistance to improve the quality of their current diets, with a focus on increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, legumes, fish, lean red meats, olive oil and nuts, while reducing their consumption of unhealthy ‘extras’ foods, such as sweets, refined cereals, fried food, fast-food, processed meats and sugary drinks.” [Source] Final Thoughts In addition to the quality of one’s diet, depression is now also scientifically linked to inflammation in the body, as well as the health of the body’s microbiota, both of which are heavily influenced by the foods one chooses to consume. The Deakin University study adds another crucial piece to the puzzle, and is an extremely important contribution to the ever-growing body of anecdotal evidence of people who have beaten their depression by taking control of many aspects of their lifestyle.   This article (Dietary Changes Now Proven to Effectively Treat Major Depression) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Alex Pietrowski and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this [...]

2018-01-07T19:30:58-08:00By |

More Doctors and Scientists Now Agree: Depression is a Physical Illness

For those looking for a way out of depression, recent research offers a totally different approach than is what is being offered by most doctors and psychiatrists. It centers around the findings in a host of new research which suggests that many cases of depression may be physical in nature, rather than rooted in a chemical imbalance or psychological disturbance. Some 13 million Americans suffer from some form of depression, and some 350 million people worldwide are thought to have it. Typically, medical treatment centers around the restoration of certain chemicals in the brain which are believed to be required for happiness, even though it has already been acknowledged that this link has not been clearly identified. To understand what imbalance is, we must know what balance looks like, and neuroscience, to date, has not characterized the optimal brain state, nor how to even assess for it.   A New England Journal of Medicine review on Major Depression, stated:   ” … numerous studies of norepinephrine and serotonin metabolites in plasma, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid as well as postmortem studies of the brains of patients with depression, have yet to identify the purported deficiency reliably.” [Source] At issue in the latest research is the body’s immune system, and some now believe the major cause of depression is over-active immunoresponse which causes chronic inflammation in the body. With this understanding, treatment may be much more effective if it revolves around the treatment of chronic inflammation, which may include changes to diet and anti-inflammatory medications. “The immune system triggers an inflammatory response when it feels it is under threat, sparking wide-ranging changes in the body such as increasing red blood cells, in anticipation that it may need to heal a wound soon.   Research has also shown that people who have suffered severe emotional trauma in their past have inflammatory markers in their body, suggesting their immune system is constantly firing, as if always on guard against abuse.” [Source] In speaking about the wide-ranging potential causes for depression, Dr Alan Carson, Reader in Neuropsychiatry, at the University of Edinburgh, remarks: “All psychiatric and neurological disorders are based in brain and brain is not static but structurally and functionally responsive to a range of biological, psychological and social issues.   Yet institutionally we use an outmoded code which separates brain disorders into psychiatric ‘f’ codes and neurological ‘g’ codes which holds back both scientific and clinical progress.” [Source] This take on depression is not new, however, but is just coming into focus as a number of research papers and new evidence point to the same conclusion. Add to this recent research indicates that consumption of sugar may play a major role in developing depression, and research into the idea that an unhealthy gut microbiota also plays a heavy role, and we have a much more modern and comprehensive understanding of depression. Dr. Kelly Brogan offers this three-fold advice on recovering from depression: Exercise — Depression can result from chronic ongoing stress and exercise acts like a biological insurance [...]

2018-01-07T19:30:47-08:00By |

Young People Explain the Side-Effects and Consequences of Taking ADHD Meds

America is being flooded with prescription pharmaceuticals, and in many cases, as we continue to learn, their stated benefits end up being overshadowed by costly side-effects and even lasting damage. The medical and pharmaceutical industries profit immensely, often knowingly causing harm, yet sadly, this is often considered an acceptable cost of doing business. One of the greatest travesties in this regard is the fact that so many American school children are being told by their doctors that the only way for them to fit in and conform to the standardized rigors of schooling is to take medications for attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder, a ‘disease’ that some professional consider to be a made up, including one of the world’s leading pediatric neuroscientists, Dr. Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. Research now suggests medications for ADHD don’t actually help kids to get better grades, yet annual prescriptions continue to rise, including prescriptions to toddlers and very young children. Doctors have even admitted to putting kids on ADHD meds for the sole purpose of helping kids to conform in public school, for matters of ‘social justice.’ What’s most notable about ADHD and children is the fact there are many natural alternatives to pills for helping kids to concentrate and control their naturally high energy levels. A proper diet and sufficient exercise are crucial, and in a recent experiment, researchers even found that teaching kids to meditate instead of taking medications yields amazing results. One facet of this discussion, perhaps the very most important one, is the actual experience of taking these kinds of medications, and what children actually think about it. See for yourself in the following videos from youth who felt compelled to speak their truth to the world. First Hand Accounts of Living on ADHD Meds Produced by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, in this video, Daniel tells his story of being required to take ADHD medications from the age of 5 years-old, re-counting the experience of his doctors yelling at his mother when she tried to stop after noticing her son was behaving strangely, in a distant and spaced-out manner. Daniel goes on to explain how his forced medication as a child led to severe psychological issues growing up included long suicidal episodes. In this video, a young man named Albert describes the effects of Adderall, a widely popular and incredibly potent stimulant which is chemically similar to crystal meth, a highly dangerous and illegal street drug. Albert describes the unnatural affects of Adderall on his attention span and focus, causing him to perform like a machine while robbing him of sleep.   ‘Minimum Max’ is a short film created by high school student Josh Ovalle, presenting the modern day dilemma that many kids are faced with, an overly rigorous, over-scheduled, and over-tested schooling environment. He speaks about how his medication became a personality crutch and how it took the joy out of everyday living, referring to ADHD meds as, ‘mental handcuffs.’   Final Thoughts Max’s story, more so than the others, gets [...]

2018-01-07T19:30:32-08:00By |

Latest Research Explains Why a Low-Fat Diet Can Actually Kill You

One of the great myths of the American diet has just been shattered. It’s one that prompted an explosion in the market for processed foods which substituted chemical concoctions for natural fats in processed foods. And now, finally, the fat-free craze can be safely put to rest. A study of 135,000 adults, conducted by Lancet, overturns decades of conventional wisdom and warns us that a low-fat diet may actually be killing us. In short, the findings suggest that this type of diet could raise the risk of early death by almost 25%, a number significant enough to challenge current trends in dietary wisdom. “The study, which has been published in The Lancet, found people with the highest 20 per cent intake of total fat – getting around a third of their calories from fate – had about 23 per cent reduced risk of death compared to those with the lowest 20 per cent of fat intake. Consuming more fat, whether that was saturated, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated were all associated with lower mortality. The study also found that compared to those taking in the lowest 20 per cent of carbohydrates, those who ate the highest 20 per cent had a 28 per cent increased risk of death.” [Source] The biggest part of the problem with such low-fat diets is primarily the types of foods that people eat in order to replace the calories found in fatty foods. In particular, people tend to eat diets containing much higher levels of carbohydrates such as breads, rice, pasta, and other starchy foods which are commonly fortified with sugars. “Participants eating the highest levels of carbohydrates – particularly refined sugars found in fizzy drinks and processed meals – faced a 28 per cent higher risk of early death.” [Source] What’s even more interesting in this is the fact that the study also found that higher fat diets appear to actually lower the risk of having a stroke. In other words, everything that you’ve been told your whole life about dieting, consuming, fats, and heart health may be completely wrong. The American Heart Association (AHA) is wrong, especially so in their recent condemnation of coconut oil. The Flip Side Of course, the flip side of this revelation is that a high fat diet is actually very good for. That is, if you consume the right kind of healthy fats. In fact, at the cutting edge of dietary research these days is the exploration of a ketogenic diet, which is a low-carb, low-protein, high-fat diet which forces the body to burn fat as fuel, offering a number of health benefits. “A ketogenic diet — which is very low in net carbohydrates and high in healthy fats — is key for boosting mitochondrial function. Healthy fats also play an important role in maintaining your body’s electrical system. When your body is able to burn fat for fuel, your liver creates water-soluble fats called ketones that burn far more efficiently than carbs, thereby creating fewer reactive oxygen species (ROS) and secondary [...]

2020-09-28T17:13:25-07:00By |

The Only Way to Ensure That You’re Drinking Clean, Chemical-Free Water

People believe that the FDA and the food companies will ensure that we have healthy and nutritious foods. They also put their trust in government officials and municipalities to provide clean water. As a result, it has become perfectly acceptable to drink water contaminated with chemicals. Equally, people eat mainstream foods filled with chemical additives, further increasing the need to detox. Chemicals in food and water raise concerns among many health-conscious individuals. Sadly, these people are often called quacks or conspiracy theorists, while in reality, they simply realize the fact that clean water and real food are vital components to a healthy body and mind. Clean Water Does a Body Good Water is particularly important because it accounts for up to 65% of the human body. Some organs contain an even larger percentage. For example, water makes up 73% of the heart and brain, and babies are born at about 78% water. Water allows cells to grow and reproduce, and it regulates the body’s temperature, delivers oxygen all over, and aides in the digestion and elimination processes. In addition, it acts as a shock absorber for our joints, brain and spinal cord. Just because water is considered potable does not mean that it is free of chemicals that can slowly destroy your health. Because of the prevalence of these chemicals in what’s thought to be safe drinking water, all homes need an effective water filtration system that will remove organic and inorganic contaminants, as well as sediment and metals. There are many affordable in-home systems, such as the counter-top Big Berkey Drinking Water Filtration System or the Aquasana Under Counter Water Filter System. If you are concerned about fluoride, you can add a Fluoride Removal Filtration System to your water line. Personal products, such as the LifeStraw Go Water Bottle, allow you to refill your water bottle from nearly any source and ensure you are always drinking clean water. Chemicals in Municipal Water Systems It is common for anyone distributing water on a mass scale to use chemicals in order to ensure a certain cleanliness and safety standards. Even if there is no malicious intent behind chemically-treating water, the results can be dangerous. Here are some examples of what is used in most municipal water systems: Chlorine is used to combat microbial contamination, but it can react with organic matter in the water and form dangerous, carcinogenic Trihalomethanes. According to Dr. Joseph M. Price, MD, in Moseby’s Medical Dictionary, “Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times. It is an insidious poison.” (source) The substance labeled “Fluoride” that we use in dental practices, toothpaste and water fluoridation is the hazardous waste substances caught in the wet scrubbers of the phosphorus industries. This extremely toxic, hazardous chemical is illegal to dump and would cost companies a hefty price tag to properly dispose of, instead it is SOLD to cities and towns where it is then dumped into water supplies, legally. (source) The sodium fluoride added to U.S. water supplies is contaminated with the toxic elements lead, tungsten [...]

2020-09-28T17:13:46-07:00By |

Tobacco is Legal, but Cannabis Actually Kills and Prevents Lung Cancer

Cannabis kills cancer. However, decades of negative propaganda against this plant medicine still influences the way many people look at it, and it’s often compared to tobacco when considering its effect on human health. There is no doubt tobacco causes lung cancer, as well as many other chronic and deadly illness, yet it is still available everywhere while people are being locked up for using a plant that heals. Contrary to our previous understanding, it turns out that cannabis can stop and even prevent lung cancer, according to scientists from the American Association of or Cancer Research. In 2007 the association produced a report demonstrating that the psycho-active ingredient in cannabis, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), “cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread.” “In the present study, the researchers first demonstrated that two different lung cancer cell lines as well as patient lung tumor samples express CB1 and CB2, and that non-toxic doses of THC inhibited growth and spread in the cell lines. “When the cells are pretreated with THC, they have less EGFR stimulated invasion as measured by various in-vitro assays,” Preet said.” [Source] This is worth repeating: cannabis can stop lung cancer. Furthermore, Dr. Donald Tashkin, professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA, points out that while tar from cannabis smoke has a higher concentration of cancer-causing materials than tobacco smoke, there seems to be no correlation between inhalation of cannabis smoke into the lungs and the development of lung cancer, which is the opposite for tobacco. READ: All Smoke Is Not Created Equal – The Difference Between Tobacco and Cannabis “Although the researchers do not know why THC inhibits tumor growth, they say the substance could be activating molecules that arrest the cell cycle. They speculate that THC may also interfere with angiogenesis and vascularization, which promotes cancer growth.” [Source] Another important finding regarding the effect of cannabis on pulmonary health is that there appears to be no causal link between smoking cannabis and the onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a “collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease.” COPD is the most common cause of death from tobacco smoke. “Through my studies, we failed to find any positive association.” Instead, “the association would be negative, between lung cancer and the use of marijuana. The likelihood is, that despite the fact that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens, we don’t see the same heightened risks of cancers that we see in tobacco.” [Source] Interesting indeed, and perplexing enough to warrant a closer look at the positive effects of other ingredients in cannabis smoke, namely cannibidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound known to have many health benefits. “”The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer,” said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.” [Source] Final Thoughts Decades of pulmonary research is in: pot decreases [...]

2018-01-07T19:29:39-08:00By |

Toxic Chemicals in Tattoo Inks Linked to Chronic Health Conditions

Tattoos are more popular now than ever before. While they tend to signify our rebellious nature, those who ink themselves up still may want to know the very real health risks involved in embedding potentially toxic chemicals under their skin. It is estimated that some 80 million people in the U.S. today are tattooed, and simultaneously, chronic autoimmune and inflammatory illnesses are also widespread. There are a number of links between tattooing oneself and chronic health issues, and while many doctors may recognize this in their patients, there is little public awareness of this connection. Part of the problem is that tattooing is primarily unregulated, resulting in a wide-range of products being used, with little awareness by the consumer. “Pigments and tattoo inks are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. However, the Food and Drug Administration is examining tattoo inks to determine the chemical composition of the inks, learn how they react and break down in the body, how light and magnetism react with inks, and whether there are short- and long-term health hazards associated with ink formulations or methods of applying the tattoos.” [Source] Not all tattoo inks are crated equal because different colors and shades require different ingredients to create the required color. Inks by different manufacturers and of different quality grades an vary wildly, there are even vegan inks now, but the basic science of tattoo is well-established. “Tattoo inks are solutions comprised of a carrier and a colorant. The carrier is the fluid that is used to transport the colorant to the application location. It may contain glycerin, water, isopropyl alcohol, and witch hazel.   Tattoo colorants are typically pigments — intensely colored compounds that can reflect light in the visible region of the light spectrum — as opposed to dyes, which require a physical or chemical interaction to be anchored into place. In other words, dyes must react with the surface of the skin to develop their color and stay in place. Conversely, pigments provide color without needing a chemical reaction, and are held in place by intermolecular or physical forces.   Historically, pigments used in tattoo inks derived from mineral or geological sources to produce certain colors and hues. For example, carbon (carbon black) and iron oxide were used to produce a black ink. Cinnabar, a mercury sulfide compound, was used to produce red hues. Cadmium compounds, such as “cadmium red (CdSe)” or “cadmium yellow (CdS or CdZnS),” were used to produce shades of red, orange, and yellow.   For the last 20 years, ink manufacturers have moved away from primarily mineral-based pigments to organic ones. Over 80% of the colorants used today are carbon-based, and approximately 60% of these organic pigments are azo pigments. About 30% of the pigments and dyes are approved for cosmetic use, while a number of others were originally developed for industrial applications, like paints or textiles. Tattoo inks also include a number of additives, such as surfactants, binding agents, fillers, and preservatives. Many [...]

2018-01-07T19:29:27-08:00By |

Rhythm of Breathing Key to Controlling Fear and Emotional Behavior

We live in a fearful world with exposure to a deluge of stressors everyday. As much as fear is a result of reacting to the actual or perceived events in our lives, it is also a biological function of the human body, and when equipped with an understanding of how the body manages the emotional system, we can easily outsmart it, tricking ourselves into emotional balance. This perspective is scientifically validated by new research from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago Illinois, which discovered how the various rhythmic patterns of breath profoundly impact memory recall and the emotional body, specifically the fear response. The brain creates electrical impulses which link physical functions to emotional reactions, and the electrical activity of the brain is deeply affected by our breathing patterns. The outcome of this balance is determined by whether or not we are inhaling or exhaling, as well as if we are  breathing through the nose or the mouth, as each variable creates a different electrical response within the brain. In the Northwestern study, participants were shown images of human expressions, some frightful, while engaging in various patterns of breathing. Researchers observed that people more easily process fear, and more readily recall images, while inhaling through the nose. “One of the major findings in this study is that there is a dramatic difference in brain activity in the amygdala and hippocampus during inhalation compared with exhalation. When you breathe in, we discovered you are stimulating neurons in the olfactory cortex, amygdala and hippocampus, all across the limbic system.” ~Christina Zelano, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of the study READ: The ‘Muscle of the Soul’ may be Triggering Your Fear and Anxiety The amygdala is decisively liked to the processing of emotions, especially those related to fear, while the hippocampus is strongly linked to memory recall, and the breath, which originates with the diaphragm, plays the critical role of regulating their function. “Breathing is modulated at the diaphragm, and it is also the location where many physical symptoms associated with fear and anxiety manifest.“ ~Brett Wilbanks The differences in brain activity which occur during unique breathing rhythms were recognized by looking at brain activity during the introduction of fearful or surprising human faces, finding distinctively heightened activity during inhaling. Knowing this can be highly advantageous when you realize that your fear reaction is working overtime. “We can potentially use this fact to our advantage. For example if you’re in a dangerous environment with fearful stimuli, our date indicate that you can respond more quickly if you are inhaling through your nose.” ~Christina Zelano Furthermore, this further validates the importance of meditation, which commonly centers of developing control of the breath in order to quiet the mind and normalize physiological function in the body. The long-term results of a dedicated meditation practice include more stable and optimal emotional reactions to the world around us, indicating again that breathing [...]

2020-10-05T10:39:10-07:00By |

The Reason Why Diet and Exercise Don’t Work Like They Used To

There is a good reason why diet and exercise don’t work like they used to, and that’s because food is not at all what it used to be. Ninety percent of grocery store shelf space is dedicated to processed foods, developed by food companies who compete against each other for ‘stomach space,’ the industry term for the market share of product food companies can push down consumers throats. The foods most widely available in our culture are scientifically engineered to create physical and psychological dependency, and in the last couple of decades our cultural eating habits have been socially re-engineered to include endless mindless eating of industrialized junk food. Perfectly Engineered Food Perfectly engineered food is serious business, and as Michael Moss, author of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, points out, companies like Nestle, Pillsbury, Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Mars, employ absolutely everything at their disposal to get people to not only like their products, but to crave more and more of them. In a recent interview with National Public Radio, he offers an insider’s look into how this these corporations go about creating the most effective food products they can develop. He describes what the industry calls the ‘bliss point,’ the magical sweet spot between salt, sugar and fat that will give their products the highest allure, thereby generating the greatest possible sales, and the highest number of loyal, repeat customers. Here, he describes how the process of developing a hit product using an example from the Dr. Pepper corporation: “They would hire people like Howard Moskowitz, trained in high math at Queens College and experimental psychology at Harvard. Howard was one of the people responsible for some of the biggest icons in the grocery store. For example, he walked me through his recent creation of a new soda flavor for Dr. Pepper. … He started with no less than 59 variations of sweetness, each one slightly different than the next, subjected those to 3,000 taste tests around the country, did his high math regression analysis thing, put the data in the computer. And out comes this bell-shaped curve where the perfect amount of sweetness — not too little, not too much — is at the very top of the curve. And it’s Howard who coined the expression “bliss point” to capture that perfect amount of sweetness that would send us over the moon, their products flying off the shelf.” [Source] This strategy works extremely well, and because sugar is naturally so desirable to human beings, even products you wouldn’t think needed any sugar at all are being loaded with sweeteners in order to boost their appeal, including many well-known foods that never used to be sweet at all. “It’s not that they engineer bliss points for sweetness in things like soda, ice cream, cookies — things we know and expect to be sweet. The food companies have marched around the grocery store adding sweetness, engineering [...]

2020-09-28T17:14:52-07:00By |

Title