From smartphones, iPads, and laptops to desktops and television, everyone in today’s society uses technology daily. Technology is a large part of our lives now and it has become something that we can’t live without. Unfortunately, the blue light emitted from these screens can be detrimental to eye health. However, since it’s nearly impossible to avoid digital screens today, it’s important to make yourself aware of the dangers and practice caution while using digital devices.

How Nutrients Protect the Macular from Blue Light Damage

It’s ironic that it’s near impossible to see in the dark, yet light is what may cause your vision to get worse. Here’s why: your eyes are a magnet for harmful blue light rays emitted from light sources, most notably from sunlight and digital screens. Every time your eyes are exposed to light, you absorb radiation that can cause oxidation and free radical damage.

Over a lifetime, this damage could accumulate and gradually take its toll on your vision. It’s like skin that’s been subjected to sunburn repeatedly over many years; the resulting damage puts you at a greater risk for severe skin damage.

As it turns out, the part of your eye most vulnerable to harmful blue light damage is the central portion of the retina, which contains the macula. This part of the eye plays a key role in making high resolution and central vision possible. Over time, harmful light rays can cause the macula to degenerate, hurting your central vision and making objects appear less crisp. It’s not only the retina and macula that can be damaged by blue light, the lens on your eye can suffer too. It’s no surprise that when your lenses aren’t clear they can’t collect and focus light on the retina, which can further impair your vision.

So how do you protect your eyes from damaging blue light rays? Your body already knows how. Your eyes have their own natural blue light protection in nature because plants use different types of pigment to reflect and absorb sun rays. These pigments, which can be red, yellow, blue or green, are called carotenoids. Researchers estimate that over 700 different carotenoids exist in nature.

However, there are only three specific ones found in significant concentration in the macula. These yellow colored antioxidant pigments are lutein and two forms of zeaxanthin called RR-zeaxanthin and RS-zeaxanthin. Together they combine to form a protective shield in the macula against harmful light rays. Lutein is most prominently found in the outer area of the macula, RR-zeaxanthin in middle area and RS-zeaxanthin in the inner or central area.

In particular, these nutrients help filter out harmful blue light before it can damage the retina and act as antioxidants to prevent oxidation damage. Unlike plants, your body doesn’t produce these nutrients, so your eyes depend on you to provide them from food and supplements. Surveys show that very few folks are getting the optimal amounts of lutein, RR-zeaxanthin and RS-zeaxanthin needed to help protect eyesight. Green vegetables are a good source of lutein… But what about zeaxanthin?

A 2009 study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis analyzed the lutein and zeaxanthin content in 50 commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.The researchers found that the best sources for lutein are spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, zucchini, broccoli and asparagus. For example, cooked spinach typically provides about 4.5mg of lutein per serving and cooked kale was found to provide 10.3mg of lutein per serving. However, contrary to popular belief, neither RR-zeaxanthin nor RS-zeaxanthin was found in any of these vegetables.

The only vegetables with a meaningful amount of zeaxanthin were yellow peppers (1.6mg of RR-zeaxanthin) and to a lesser extent corn (0.2mg of RR- zeaxanthin per ear). But even these two vegetables provide only RR-zeaxanthin – not RS-zeaxanthin. This is because many plants don’t have the enzymes needed to make RS-zeaxanthin. So how else can you get RR-zeaxanthin and RS-zeaxanthin? One option is egg yolks, which provide only about 0.2mg of total zeaxanthin  per yolk. Chicken and other meat products also have only trace amounts of zeaxanthin, therefore they only provide minimal nutrients. The only other food rich in both RR-zeaxanthin and RS-zeaxanthin is fish with RS-zeaxanthin being mostly in the fish skin.

There are definitely challenges to getting adequate amounts of lutein, RR-zeaxanthin and RS-zeaxanthin into your diet each day. Ideally, you want to consume about 10mg of lutein, 1mg of RR-zeaxanthin and 1mg RS-zeaxanthin daily. If you don’t regularly provide your body with these three nutrients, your eyes may be more vulnerable to blue light damage. Therefore, taking a supplement that contains these nutrients is a good “insurance policy”.

Natural forms of these nutrients can be obtained from high quality extracts of the Marigold flower. Marigolds are orange yellowish sun-loving flowers that resemble carnations. This flower uniquely contains all three of the hard to-get nutrients. While some supplements contain lutein and RR-zeaxanthin extracted from marigolds, many do not provide RS-zeaxanthin, which is more challenging (and costly) to deliver. Be sure to choose a vision supplement that contains RS-zeaxanthin as well as lutein and RR-zeaxanthin!

How to Protect your Eyes from Blue Light Emissions

Wear Blue-Light-Filtering Glasses

Along with causing digital eye strain, retina damage and macular degeneration, blue light can also cause headaches and disrupted sleep patterns, which leads to fatigue, trouble focusing and irritability. These symptoms greatly impact how productive and happy we are, so it’s important to do anything possible to limit your interaction with unnatural blue light emissions day and night.

Although you can’t avoid technology and blue light entirely, there are items you can use to combat blue light’s negative effects. Firstly, you can buy blue light filtering glasses, which have the ability to protect your vision by blocking and filtering out harmful ultraviolet rays and scattered blue light emissions. Blue light glasses safeguard against the wavelengths that are most harmful to your retinas while still allowing light from the beneficial light ranges.

Turn your Brightness Down

Not only does blue light radiate from your digital screens, but its main source is actually sunlight. The amount of high energy visible light (HEV) that digital screens give off is relatively small compared to the amount emitted by the sun. However, direct engagement with a digital device and a user’s close distance to screens will end up surpassing that of direct sunlight.

Interestingly, if you’re in a naturally lit environment, it’s considered okay to have your brightness all the way up because your eyes are already exposed to the natural blue light emissions from the sun. Contrarily, if you are in a dark, enclosed space with little to no natural light, it’s suggested you turn your brightness down so as to not shock your eyes with digital blue light.

Use Night Shift Mode

Night Shift mode is a built in feature on smartphones and computers that changes the color temperature of the display to the warm or cool part of the color spectrum, which reduces some of the blue light being emitted from the screen.

At night, blue light plays tricks on your eyes. Your brain gets confused by the bright blue light because it mimics the brightness, ultra violet radiation and blue light emissions from the sun. This causes your brain to stop producing melatonin, which is the chemical that informs your body that it’s tired. Laptop, smartphone, iPad and television light can all disrupt your sleep cycle when used right before bed, making it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. It’s suggested to avoid using digital devices 1-2 hours before bed in order to avoid difficulty, and if you have to use a screen, be sure to turn on Night Shift.

Limit Screen Time

As we are in the midst of the digital age, it’s almost impossible to limit screen time when it’s the basis of your professional and personal life. We use technology for work, school and social interactions, which means we need to work around it, not against it.

Considering the amount of time we spend using screens, it’s important to break up screen time if possible. For example, try following the “20-20-20” rule, which suggests that you look away from the screen every 20 minutes, at something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds. It’s also suggested to massage your eyes periodically; disrupting focus from time to time can provide lasting eye strain relief.

The Pomodoro Technique is also very effective when trying to avoid staring at a digital screens for long periods of time such as when you’re at work or while you’re studying. The technique suggests that you work for 25 minutes and then take a five minute break and repeat. This allows you to be engaged for an appropriate amount of time, as well as disengaged for an appropriate amount of time, which gives your eyes a break.

It’s been made clear that there is no escaping digital devices in our everyday lives. However, there are multiple things you can do to combat the negative effects that blue light has on our eyes. By practicing these protection methods, you can preserve your eyesight and avoid falling victim to the other side effects of blue light such as inability to sleep, fatigue, irritability, headaches and more.

Microvascular dysfunction is a type of non-obstructive coronary artery disease that causes the small blood vessels feeding the heart muscle to not work as they should and is an early sign of cardiovascular disease. A new study has found that microvascular endothelial dysfunction may be associated with a two-fold increased risk of solid-tumor cancer.

The researchers looked at the data for 488 people who were assessed for microvascular endothelial dysfunction between 2006 and 2014. Of those, 221 were diagnosed with microvascular endothelial dysfunction, meaning they had a tonometry index at or below 2. All the participants were followed for an average of 6 years.

During the follow-up period, 9.7% of the participants previously diagnosed with microvascular endothelial dysfunction were diagnosed with solid-tumor cancer. In comparison, only 3.7% of the participants diagnosed as not having microvascular endothelial dysfunction were diagnosed with solid-tumor cancer. These findings held even after adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, and smoking status.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Mayo Clinic. It was published online ahed of print on October 31, 2019 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Many anxiety disorders can negatively affect sleep, and poor sleep can increase feelings of anxiety, resulting in a vicious cycle. A new study suggests that non-REM slow-wave sleep is the stage of sleep needed to calm the brain and reduce anxiety, and that poor sleep may result in up to a 30% increase in anxiety the following day.

For their study, researchers from University of California, Berkley used functional MRI and polysomnography to scan the brains of 18 young adults. The scans took place while the participants watched emotionally stimulating videos after a full night of sleep and then again after a poor night of sleep. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire was used to measure anxiety levels following each viewing session. The researchers conducted a second, identical intervention with 30 additional participants.

The researchers also administered an online study. During this study, 280 participants recorded quality of sleep and anxiety levels for four consecutive days.

Results from the first two phases of the study showed that anxiety levels decreased significantly after a full night of sleep. Anxiety levels decreased the most in participants who obtained more non-REM slow-wave sleep. The brain scans showed that, after a sleepless night, a shutdown occurred in the area of the brain that normally helps regulate anxiety.

The online portion of the study revealed that even small reductions in sleep over a few nights resulted in increases in anxiety on the following days. 

The study was published on November 4, 2019 in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner, it’s time to start focusing on your family’s upcoming feast. Roasted turkey, warm mashed potatoes, melt-in-your-mouth stuffing, and the delicious taste of pumpkin pie — could it really get any better? The answer is yes.

Thanksgiving dinner isn’t only good for its great taste, it’s also good for your overall health. Although this holiday is typically perceived as the ultimate diet-destroyer, the dishes you normally gobble down aren’t as bad for you as you might think. Contrary to popular belief, certain traditional Thanksgiving foods pack more health benefits than they’re often given enough credit for. From sweet potatoes to apples topped with cinnamon, your typical holiday spread has proven to be positively impactful for different areas of your health. So, instead of spending countless hours at the gym preparing for this day of indulgence, learn about all of the vitamins and nutrients that come from the ingredients found in your favorite Thanksgiving staple foods.

Turkey

Let’s start with one of the most popular dishes, the classic Thanksgiving turkey. Whether you prefer to eat white or dark meat, turkey has proven to be a powerhouse for proteins. Depending on your preferred choice of white or dark meat, your body can receive differing health benefits. For example, white meat is considered to be the leaner option between the two as it has fewer calories and reduced fat content. On the other hand, dark meat has higher amounts of zinc, and thiamin, both of which regulate your body’s immune system and metabolism. Additionally, darker meat contains vitamins B6 and B12, giving your body more nutrients to support your blood cells and nervous system.

Despite the differences in white and dark meat, the proteins found in turkey are still valuable for your hair, nails, teeth, and skin as these parts of the body are all made up of protein. Additionally, the proteins found in turkey can help to suppress Ghrelin, the “hunger hormone” of your body. According to health experts, high-protein foods, like turkey, promote fullness by stabilizing blood sugar levels and signaling the release of appetite-restricting hormones, like Leptin, throughout the body. Because of these hormones, your body becomes triggered to become fuller, more quickly.

Pumpkin

For many of us, finding an adequate solution to treat our sexual health issues can sometimes be extremely difficult. Some women may seek out a prescription medication to restore female libido, while some men may resort to generic Viagra to treat common sexual health conditions like erectile dysfunction. On top of taking your prescription, there are foods that will also help lead you to more satisfying results. Take the ingredient pumpkin, for example.

Not only can a slice of pumpkin pie be a savory-sweet treat to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day, but it can also be a simple, yet powerful tool for treating sexual health issues; regardless of whether you identify as a male or female. This is because pumpkin contains omega 3 essential fatty acids, which act as a precursor of prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances that are important for your sexual health. Along with this, pumpkin is also rich in zinc, a chemical element that promotes the health of the male prostate gland by increasing testosterone production. Zinc can be beneficial for females as well as it can boost a female’s libido. Over time, a diet filled with pumpkin may even result in enhanced potency, sexual drive, and fertility. So bring on the pumpkin year-round!

Carrots

If pumpkin isn’t something you typically enjoy, don’t fret. You can still reap the sexual health benefits with carrots! Roasted, shredded, glazed, or steamed — carrots can be another way for you to boost libido. This is because the delicious-tasting vegetable is full of vitamin E. Comparable to vitamin A, vitamin E is also fat soluble nutrient that can positively impact all parts of your body. But with this antioxidant specifically, it’s well-known for enhancing libido in both males and females.

For men, eating carrots can increase testosterone levels and sperm motility with its unique ability to improve blood circulation and oxygenation of the body. As a result, this allows men to improve their stamina and sexual desire. By contrast, vitamin E can heighten sexual arousal in women by improving blood flow circulation to the clitoris and vulva during arousal.

Apples With Cinnamon

Fortunately, for us, apples with cinnamon — perhaps one of the most anticipated sweets of the season — comes packed with another powerful antioxidant, vitamin C. Found in the cinnamon spice, vitamin C works to repair tissue and the enzymatic production of certain neurotransmitters.

In addition to vitamin C’s skin benefits, this nutrient can also be great for building collagen, which is the most abundant protein in your body. Collagen is a building block for your skin, allowing your complexion to look more supple and firm. Furthermore, the antioxidant properties found in vitamin C can help your skin is able to speed up cell-regeneration, which can decrease acne and brightens skin tone. Even though it can fend off acne, it is still able to add hydration to skin as well.

Cranberries

Like other Thanksgiving foods, cranberries are a highly effective solution for your skin and your sexual health. When it comes to skin, the antioxidants and antiseptic properties found in cranberries offer a practical way for you to eliminate acne and freshen skin. Similar to apples with cinnamon, cranberries also contain vitamin C antioxidants. Despite the fact that we are already aware of the ways vitamin C can benefit our skin, it’s not the only health factor recognized in cranberries. In particular, the antiseptic properties in cranberries can also help to alleviate acne by reducing an oily substance known as sebum, leading to clearer pores and minimize breakouts.

Apart from its skin benefits, cranberries can also aid in your sexual health. For women especially, the antioxidants of this fruit can prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). This is because of antioxidants like A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs), which stop harmful bacteria from interfering with your bladder wall. In turn, this reduces the likelihood of developing this type of infection.

Sweet Potatoes

It doesn’t matter if they are incorporated as a side dish or dessert for your Thanksgiving feast, eating a form of sweet potatoes can be valuable for your hair health. Even if you’re struggling to overcome thinning hair or hair loss, thanks to the beta-carotene nutrient, sweet potatoes can actually stimulate hair growth. When the plant-based compound, beta-carotene, is ingested, it converts to vitamin A, another antioxidant nutrient that is necessary for tissue development and cell growth.

Vitamin A is especially imperative for hair growth, as your hair is one of the fastest growing tissues in your body. Vitamin A can be useful for your scalp as well since it creates sebum in your skin glands. From its ability to produce sebum, it’s much easier to grow out your hair because the sebum that’s created allows your scalp to stay nourished and protected. For this reason, the protective layer caused by the consumption of vitamin A can also reduce the breakage of your hair. Given the useful hair hacks that come from this antioxidant you might feel encouraged to add an extra scoop of that creamy sweet potato casserole, or perhaps try out a vitamin A supplement to attain your desired results more quickly. However, while it’s typically okay to pile on that extra scoop, you should refrain from taking vitamin A in the form of a pill unless you have a vitamin A deficiency or have received permission from your healthcare provider. Because this antioxidant is a fat-soluble vitamin, it has the ability to store itself in your body and be used on a different day, so consuming too much of it may reverse its effects. To ensure this doesn’t happen, make sure to check with a doctor first about your daily vitamin A intake before you refer to any sort of supplement.

(Turkey) Wrap-Up

As you can see, indulging in your favorite Thanksgiving foods isn’t as unhealthy as you’ve been led to believe. If you’re trying to maintain your figure, remember that everything is always better in moderation. Regardless of all of the wonderful health advantages that are attributed to some basic ingredients, it’s important to be considerate of the calorie-intake of certain Thanksgiving recipes. If you’re aiming to maintain your figure throughout the holiday season, just make sure that you are choosing dishes that align with your health and wellness goals.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the build-up of extra fat in liver cells that is not caused by alcohol. Risk factors include obesity, gastric bypass surgery, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. A recent study has found that supplementation with curcuminoids and piperine may help improve liver health in those with NAFLD.

Seventy people participated in the study.  All had been diagnosed with NAFLD via an ultrasound. They took 500 mg of curcuminoids together with 5mg of piperine or a placebo daily for 12 weeks. The researchers measured NAFLD severity and liver function at the beginning and end of the study.

At the end of the study, NAFLD severity was significantly improved in the supplement group compared to the placebo group. Significant improvement was also seen in several liver function measurements, including serum concentrations of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase.

The study was conducted by researchers from Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences. It was published online ahead of print on June 6, 2019 in theJournal of Cellular Biochemistry.

Physical activity can help the brain by increasing blood flow and increasing chemicals that protect the brain. According to a new study, high intensity interval training may help improve memory performance better than moderate continuous training or stretching.

Sixty-four sedentary older adults participated in one of three interventions: high-intensity interval training, moderate continuous training, or stretching (this group acted as the control). They performed the exercises three times per week for twelve weeks.

The researchers tested high-interference memory at baseline and after 12 weeks using a Mnemonic Similarity task. They also tested executive function using Go Nogo and Flanker tasks.

Participants in the high-intensity group had greater improvements in memory performance, compared to the moderate continuous and stretching groups. Participants in both the high intensity and moderate continuous groups saw improvements in executive function, compared to the stretching group.

The study was conducted by researchers from McMaster University. It was published online ahead of print on October 21, 2019 in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.

Following menopause, women lose bone from the spine at a rate that is several times faster than that in men of the same age or premenopausal women. A new study has found that a probiotic supplementation that contains three Lactobacillusstrains may help minimize spine bone loss in postmenopausal women.

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg recruited 249 health, postmenopausal women to participate in the study. Half of them received a probiotic treatment containing Lactobacillus paracasei DSM 13434, Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 15312, and Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 15313 once daily for 12 months. The other half received a placebo. Lumbar spine bone mineral density was measured at baseline and at the end of the study period.

Participants in the control group saw a significant loss of lumbar spine bone mineral density (0.72%). In comparison, participants in the probiotic group saw no loss of bone mineral density.The study was published on November 1, 2019 in the journalLancet Rheumatology

Not getting enough sleep may increase the risk of obesity, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart attack. A recent study has found a link between gut microbiome diversity and a good night’s sleep.

Twenty-six male adults wore an Actiwatch for 30 days. The Actiwatch recorded quality and duration of sleep by measuring bedtime, get up time, time in bed, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and the number of awakenings during the night. Microbiome diversity, including richness, Shannon diversity, and Inverse Simpson diversity, was assessed via fecal swabs.

The researchers found that all three measurements of microbiome diversity were positively associated with sleep efficiency and total sleep time. They were also negatively associated with wake after sleep onset, although only Shannon diversity was significant. These findings suggest that diversity of gut microbiome may help promote healthier sleep.

The study was conducted by researchers from Nova Southeastern University. It was published on October 7, 2019 in the journal PLOS One.

Prolonged and extensive physical activity, such as training for and running a marathon, may increase the risk of upper respiratory infections. A new study suggests that consumption of Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) may help improve immune and inflammatory response in marathon runners.

Researchers from Federal University of São Paulo conducted the study, which included 42 male marathon runners. Participants were assigned to consume a fermented milk containing 40 billions of LcS or a placebo unfermented milk for 30 days prior to running a marathon. 

Immune and inflammatory parameters in nasal musoca and serum, concentrations of salivary secretory IgA, and antimicrobial peptides in saliva were measured at baseline, and immediately, 72 hours, and 14 days after the marathon.

Participants in the control group had higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines in nasal mucosa and serum immediately after the marathon, compared to participants in the LcS group. They also had lower levels of salivary secretory IgA and antimicrobial peptides. Reduced levels of salivary secretory IgA are associated with an increased risk of upper respiratory symptoms.

The study was published on July 22, 2019 in the journal Nutrients.

Eating a healthy diet and getting exercise are key to managing type 2 diabetes. According to a recent study, weight loss of 10% or more in the first five years after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes increases the probability of remission.

Participants in the study included 867 people between the ages of 40 and 69 with newly diagnosed diabetes. Weight change, diet, physical activity, and alcohol consumption were assessed at baseline and 1 year after diagnosis. Blood sugar levels and weight were assessed again after five years.

The researchers found that 30% of the participants had achieved diabetes remission after five years. Participants who had lost 10% of more of body weight were found to be twice as likely to be in remission compared to those who maintained the same weight. The participants in remission were able to achieve this without intensive lifestyle restrictions or extreme calorie restrictions.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine. It was published online ahead of print on September 3, 2019 in the journal Diabetic Medicine.

The Fitzpatrick Skin Type is a skin classification system used to measure the amount of pigment in the skin and tolerance to sun. Types I and II are skin that is very pale and always burns in the sun. A recent study has found that almond consumption may help reduce wrinkles in postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin types I and II.

Twenty-eight healthy, postmenopausal women with Fitzpatrick skin type I or II participated in the study. Half the participants consumed 20% of their daily calories (approximately 2 ounces) in the form of almonds for 16 weeks. The other half consumed 2 ounces of a nut-free snack daily.

Facial wrinkles were evaluated for depth and severity at baseline, week 4, week 8, week 12, and week 16 using high-resolution facial imaging and 3-D facial modeling. Transepidermal water loss and sebum production were measured at baseline, week 8, and week 16.

At the end of the study, participants in the almond group had a 10% decrease in wrinkle width and a 9% decrease in wrinkle severity compared to the control group. No differences were seen in transepidermal water loss or sebum production. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis. It was published on October 1, 2019 in the journal Phytotherapy Research.