Psychobiotics: Bacteria For Your Brain?

(GreenMed Info) By Dr. Kelly Brogan, M.D.

Every functional medicine psychiatrist has case stories of the 'probiotic cure' – of a patient with debilitating symptoms, often obsessive compulsive range, whose symptoms remitted completely with dietary change and probiotic supplementation. Is this voodoo or is it based on a growing understanding of the role of the microbiome in mental health and behavior? For two decades now, pioneering researchers have been substantiating inflammatory models of mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.  Research has focused on markers that indicate immune distress in an important subset of patients, many of whom are labeled "treatment resistant." Through this body of literature, we have identified that depression can be induced, in animals and in humans through inflammatory agents, that it is correlated with blood levels of inflammatory markers, in a linear way (more markers = worse depression), and that symptoms can be reversed through pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories.

Cattail: Learn How to Harvest and Utilize This Wild Aquatic Plant During the Best and Worst of Times

One of the most common wild plants found throughout the world, cattail is astoundingly versatile. So much so that it can make the difference between life and death if lost in the wilderness or when food is in short supply. But this humble plant is also extremely handy in ordinary, day-to-day situations too. If you have access to an area with cattail, an exceptional survival resource is right at your fingertips.

Judge Overturns Mexico GMO Maize Ban in Tragic Ruling

Mexico’s XII District Court has overturned a 2013 ruling that prevented biotech companies, including Monsanto and Syngenta, planting genetically modified (GM) maize in Mexico.

The decision has been appealed by Acción Colectiva del Maíz and will not come into force until the appeal/s have been heard and ruled on.

The tragic ruling follows two years of 93 appeals by the Biotech Industry after the planting of GMO Maize was banned in September 2013 by the Twelfth Federal District Court for Civil Matters of Mexico City. Judge Jaime Eduardo Verdugo J. cited “the risk of imminent harm to the environment” as the basis for the decision.

Essential Oils and Brain Injuries — What You Are Not Being Told

Did you know that our sense of smell is the only sense directly tied to the limbic area of the brain, which is considered the emotional control center? This means that when essential oils are inhaled, they go directly to the brain. Our other four senses — taste, sight, touch and hearing — are first routed through the thalamus before reaching designated areas of the brain. Because the limbic system is directly connected to the parts of the brain that control heart rate, blood pressure,breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormone balance, therapeutic-grade essential oils can have unbelievable physiological and psychological effects.

Labels Demanded for Frack-Irrigated Food

SACRAMENTO (CN) - A California lawmaker Monday introduced legislation requiring farmers, producers and retailers to label food products irrigated with recycled fracking wastewater.  Assembly Bill 14 , by Rep. Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, would require farmers and manufacturers to inform buyers that the product was grown with water used in oil and gas field activities, including hydraulic fracking. It would require retailers to place conspicuous signs informing customers of products containing ingredients irrigated from recycled wastewater.

$300 Underground Greenhouse Grows Produce Year-Round, Even in Severe Climates

With staggering food prices and shortages looming, there's no better time to grow your own produce. Sadly, most greenhouses are expensive to build and impractical to heat during cold, wintery conditions. Thankfully, a solution is found with the Walipini. Developed for South American mountainous regions over twenty years ago, it allows edibles to be grown year-round - even in the most inhospitable weather. As an added bonus, it's also outrageously inexpensive to construct.

"We Will Drive a Stake Through the Heart of the DARK Act" — Blumenthal Joins Advocates In Push To Label Genetically Engineered Food

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal joined advocates Thursday at the Hartford Farmer’s Market to urge support for the Genetically Engineered Food Right-To-Know Act.

The legislation, which was introduced in February, would require the Food and Drug Administration to clearly label genetically engineered foods “so that consumers can make informed choices about what they eat,” Blumenthal said.

Last month, the U.S. House passed H.R. 1599, which has been dubbed the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act by its opponents. It passed the House by a vote of 275 to 150.