Then and now, LSD is followed by controversy. Considered mind-altering, some proponents believe it lowers brain barriers and opens consciousness.

But, it’s illegal, and not without risk. It can cause hallucinations that can persist and may be linked to schizophrenia, rapid heart rate, increased body temperature, delusions and even psychosis.

That hasn’t stopped researchers from exploring the potential health benefits of the drug. It’s been tested as a treatment for stroke-related brain damage as well as for depression, anxiety and addiction — because it can shift blood flow in the brain, reduce negative emotions and induce blissful states.

Obviously, it would be great if there were a way to get the benefits of LSD without any of the risks. One research team may be onto how — and it’s literally as easy as breathing…

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Breathwork could reduce psychological distress

Use of breathwork as a therapeutic tool for psychological distress is becoming more popular because some versions of it can lead to altered states of consciousness (ASCs) similar to those evoked by psychedelic substances like LSD.

High-ventilation breathwork (HVB), which involves gradually increasing the rate and depth of ventilation, has strong potential as a non-pharmacological alternative for treating psychological distress.

However, the neurobiological mechanisms and subjective experience underlying HVB’s impact on taking the mind to an altered state haven’t been studied extensively.

To fill this information gap, Amy Amla Kartar of Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom and colleagues characterized ASCs induced by HVB in experienced practitioners. They did so by analyzing self-reported data from 15 individuals who participated online, eight who participated in the lab, and 19 who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

They participated in a 20- to 30-minute session of cyclic breathing without pausing while listening to music. Then they answered a series of questionnaires within 30 minutes of finishing the breathwork session.

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The results were impressive. During all experimental sessions, participants reported reduced fear and negative emotions, with no adverse reactions. Across participants and experimental settings, HVB reliably enhanced ASCs dominated by Oceanic Boundlessness (OBN).

OBN is a term describing a set of feelings that include spiritual experiences, insightfulness, a blissful state, positively experienced depersonalization, and the experience of unity. It’s considered a defining aspect of ASCs evoked by psychedelics like psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms.”

The intensity of ASCs evoked by HVB caused a profound decrease in blood flow to parts of the brain implicated in representing the internal state of the body, including breathing, while increasing blood flow to brain regions involved in the processing of emotional memories. These blood flow changes correlated with psychedelic experiences, meaning they may be the source of the positive effects of the breathwork.

Interestingly, the intensity of HVB-induced ASCs was proportional to cardiovascular sympathetic activation, as indicated by a decrease in heart rate variability. This suggests a potential stress response, indicating that the positive changes induced by ASCs may occur even while the body’s stress response is activated.

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Getting started with breathwork

In short, this type of breathwork, combined with music, appears to induce altered states resembling those of psychedelics, calming negative emotions while reshaping brain activity.

The researchers caution that more research is needed. Still, the research—the first to use neuroimaging to map the neurophysiological changes caused by breathwork—indicates that breathwork may be a powerful tool in addressing psychological conditions.

You can find plenty of information online to practice breathwork. However, it’s not recommended to practice high-ventilation breathwork on your own, at least not until you have become adept at it.

It’s more intense, and without an experienced therapy guide during a session, you could experience dizziness, hyperventilation, fainting, or even become emotionally overwhelmed.

Seek a referral from a functional medicine clinic, specialist, counselor or wellness spa in your area to connect with a knowledgeable therapist  — and get ready to feel the bliss.

Sources:

Scientists reveal how breathwork unlocks psychedelic bliss in the brain — ScienceDaily

Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music — PLOS One

LSD — Drugs.com

What is ‘breathwork’? And do I need to do it? — University of Wollongong Australia

High ventilation breathwork practices: An overview of their effects, mechanisms, and considerations for clinical applications — Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

The post Unlock bliss to relieve anxiety, depression and more appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I had to read that statistic twice before it sank in.

Surely if a safe and highly effective smoking cessation remedy were available, pharmaceutical companies would jump at the chance to produce it and get it into people’s hands.

It’s been a while since I had to report to you on Big Pharma’s greed machine and how it makes us sicker.

But now I’ve got a doozy for you.

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The natural substance that could double your chances of quitting

Cytisine is a plant-based compound that eases smoking withdrawal symptoms. It’s been used in Eastern Europe as a low-cost stop-smoking aid since the 1960s.

There is a great deal of solid research demonstrating that cytisine is a more efficient smoking cessation aid than nicotine — and that it is safe. (The obvious advantage, of course, is that it doesn’t put the same addictive substance back into the body).

For example, a study published just last year pooled the results of eight randomized control trials comparing cytisine with a placebo.

Among the 6000 patients involved, the results showed that cytisine more than doubles the chance that a person will successfully stop smoking.

And in an earlier study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, cytisine was compared with a nicotine-replacement aid such as the patch.

At the one-month point, 40% of the 1310 subjects had continuously refrained from smoking, as opposed to only 31% of those on nicotine-replacement therapy.

Why you can’t get cytisine in the U.S.

With these kinds of results, why can’t smokers in the United States get their hands on cytisine?

“It should be available to patients in the U.S.,” says Dr. Maher Karam Hage, professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Lisa Fucito agrees.

Dr. Fucito is a professor at Yale School of Medicine. She is also the director of the Tobacco Treatment Service at nearby Smilow Cancer Hospital.

“The challenge in the U.S.,” Dr. Fucito says, “is that you need a pharma company behind a med.”

And therein lies the rub.

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You see, since cytisine is a naturally occurring compound, it can’t be patented, any more than, say, oregano can be patented.

So there’s really very little incentive (read monetary gain) for a big drug manufacturer to try and push it through the very complex — and costly — FDA approval process.

In other words, there’s no money to be made by producing cytisine and making it available to those who need it, so Big Pharma simply won’t do it.

In 2017, Canada’s version of the FDA approved cytisine as a natural health product, meaning it’s available over the counter.

Why hasn’t that happened in the U.S.? If the pharmaceuticals can’t make money from cytisine, why not release it to the natural health market so millions of people can use it?

I don’t have an answer for that.

Limited safe options currently available

So what should you do if you’re trying to kick the habit?

I’ll tell you one thing you shouldn’t do.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine took a look at the effects of e-cigarettes on your health.

What they found is that it’s not worth it.

On the other hand, one study found that placing a drop of black pepper and angelica essential oils on a tissue and inhaling it whenever you have the urge to smoke can significantly reduce the strength and frequency of your cravings.

Partnering up with someone can make you almost six times more successful — and that’s backed by research!

So however you do it, don’t go it alone. If you don’t have a friend who’s able to commit their support, check out the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking program.

Sources:

Want to quit smoking in 2024? Cytisine can help … if you live in the right country —Eureka Alert

There’s a Pill That Helps People Quit Smoking. Why Isn’t It Sold in the U.S.? — Slate

Evaluation of the effectiveness of cystine for the treatment of smoking cessation: A systematic review and meta-analysis — Addiction

The post The safe, effective quit-smoking pill Americans can’t get appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But even though we know they’re bad for our health, we still crave them.

So much so that you might even think that sugar hijacks your brain, causing you to eat more and more of it.

Well, according to the latest research, you’d be correct.

Eating fats and sugars just makes you eat more

“Our tendency to eat high-fat and high-sugar foods, the so-called Western diet, could be innate or develop as a result of being overweight. But we think that the brain learns this preference,” says Dr. Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah of the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany.

Along with other scientists from the Institute, Dr. Thanarajah tested her hypothesis that eating high-sugar and high-fat foods changes our brain in ways that make us eat more of those foods instead of choosing healthier ones.

To test this hypothesis, the researchers gave one group of volunteers a small pudding containing a lot of fat and sugar once a day for eight weeks, in addition to their regular diet.

They measured volunteers’ brain activity before and during the eight-week period.

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Brain changes were observed in the group that ate the puddings. Specifically, it activated the dopaminergic system, the region in the brain responsible for motivation and reward.

Dr. Marc Tittgemeyer, the study’s lead author, explains:

“Our measurements of brain activity showed that the brain rewires itself through the consumption of [fat and sugars]. It subconsciously learns to prefer rewarding food. Through these changes in the brain, we will unconsciously always prefer the foods that contain a lot of fat and sugar.”

Even if you’re a healthy eater, it won’t take much to affect your brain

Even if you’re not a habitual candy and chip eater, these researchers warn that all it takes is one binge to create these changes in your brain.

And once your brain has been rewired, you’re way more likely to binge again. And again.

Your brain will reward you with a dopamine “hit” for eating that candy, while it won’t give you any such reward for a healthy meal.

It’s easy to see how this can lead you down a path of craving sweets, even if you’ve spent your life avoiding them.

How to control those cravings

Clearly, the best way to avoid eating too much sugar is not to start in the first place.

Or, if you do indulge from time to time, here’s some advice on how to keep your brain in balance and avoid sugar cravings.

Chromium supplements can help curb sugar cravings. So can cinnamon, ginger, and other herbs found right in your kitchen.

And if you do slip, here’s how you can quiet the resulting sugar cravings.

Sources:

Sweets change our brain — Science Daily

Habitual daily intake of a sweet and fatty snack modulates reward processing in humans — Cell Metabolism

The post The brain-changing effects of one more fatty, sugary treat appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the truth is that magic mushrooms have begun to take their place in modern medicine.

In fact, psilocybin, a compound found in those mushrooms has shown promise in treating issues like autism and anxiety, thanks to its power to enhance wellbeing and create positive changes in empathy.

It’s even been shown to help fill the deep well of depression by flattening” the brain’s landscape and loosening the rigidity of depressed thinking.

Now research has shown that psilocybin may have a powerful effect on alcohol dependency…

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Psilocybin: Promising mushroom therapy

Since the connection between alcohol use and depression is undeniable, it’s easy to see why researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine decided to test the power of psilocybin to overcome heavy drinking.

To do so, the team recruited men and women who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence and who consumed on average seven drinks on days when they drank.

Forty-eight patients were put in the psilocybin group and given at least one and up to three doses of the magic mushroom powerhouse. The other 45 patients received only an antihistamine as a placebo.

Then, all of the participants completed up to 12 psychotherapy sessions and were asked to report the percentage of heavy drinking days they experienced during that time and for up to 36 weeks. The researchers even took fingernail samples to ensure the participants were being truthful when they said they weren’t drinking or at least drinking less.

And guess what…

Within eight months from the start of their treatment, those who were given psilocybin reduced their heavy drinking by a whopping 83 percent compared to where they were when the study began!

Compare that to a reduction of only 51 percent in the placebo group.

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To top it off, the study showed that eight months after their first dose of psilocybin from magic mushrooms, almost half of the patients stopped drinking completely compared with less than a quarter of the placebo group.

“Our findings strongly suggest that psilocybin therapy is a promising means of treating alcohol use disorder, a complex disease that has proven notoriously difficult to manage,” says study senior author and psychiatrist Michael Bogenschutz, MD, director of the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine.

In fact, according to Bogenschutz, “Beyond alcohol use disorder, this approach may prove useful in treating other addictions such as cigarette smoking and abuse of cocaine and opioids.”

However, there were some health effects that might hinder its use in some people…

The compound also raises blood pressure and heart rate and may result in overwhelming psychological effects. For these reasons, the researchers caution that it should only be used in carefully controlled settings under the supervision of a doctor.

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Unlocking the subconscious mind to break addiction

Magic mushrooms may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And since the research is still new, doctors and therapists may not be quite ready to begin administering it as a treatment for alcohol dependency.

But there are ways to unlock the power of the subconscious mind and perhaps encourage the same type of experiences and results found with psilocybin…

• Meditation has been found to alter certain brain regions that are specifically linked with depression, something that could also help curb a craving for alcohol consumption, without the worry of a hallucinogenic trip.
•  A mindfulness technique has previously been found to help participants cut down on drinking. In a study at University College of London, mindfulness training went up against relaxation therapy for the win. You can learn more about the 11-minute trick they found tames the alcohol urge, here.

For people who smoke and drink, it helps to ditch alcohol if they ditch cigarettes first. Nicotine and alcohol increase each habit’s pleasurable effects by activating an area of the brain known as the reward center, which can lead to increased alcohol consumption.

More reason to work at stopping both of these habits: They age your brain rapidly.

Sources:

How meditation helps with depression – Harvard

Psychedelic drug therapy may help treat alcohol addiction, study finds – ScienceDaily

The post The promising mushroom treatment for alcohol dependency appeared first on Easy Health Options®.