Immunity – by Dr. William Paul
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This book gives a very person-centric (i.e., focuses on the contributions of named individuals) overview of advances in the field of immunology—up to its publication date in 2015. So, it’s not cutting edge, but it is very good at laying the groundwork for understanding more recent advances that occur as time goes by. After all, immunology is a field that never stands still.
We get a good grounding in how our immune system works (and how it doesn’t), the constant arms race between pathogens and immune responses, and the complexities of autoimmune disorders and—which is functionally in an overlapping category of disease—cancer. And, what advances we can expect soon to address those things.
Given the book was published 8 years ago, how did it measure up? Did we get those advances? Well, for the mostpart yes, we have! Some are still works in progress. But, we’ve also had obvious extra immunological threats in years since, which have also resulted in other advances along the way!
If the book has a downside, it’s that sometimes the author can be a little too person-centric. It’s engaging to focus on human characters, and helps us bring information to life; name-dropping to excess, along with awards won, can sometimes feel a little like the book was co-authored by Tahani Al-Jamil.
Nevertheless, it certainly does keep the book from getting too dry!
Bottom line: this book is a great overview of immunology and immunological research, for anyone who wants to understand these things better.
Click here to check out Immunity, and boost your knowledge of yours!
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What Your Brain Is Really Doing When You’re Doing “Nothing”
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Unless we are dead, our brain is never truly inactive. And it’s not just a matter of regulating autonomic functions, either…
Default Mode Network
When the brain is at rest but not necessarily asleep, the Default Mode Network (DMN) engages. This makes up for around 20% of the brain’s overall activity, and contributes to complex cognitive processes.
What constitutes “at rest”: the DMN activates when external tasks stop and is engaged during self-reflection, mind-wandering, and relaxed memory recall (i.e. reminiscing, rather than answering questions in a difficult test, for example).
As for its neurophysiology, the DMN is connected to the hippocampus and plays a key role in episodic, prospective, and semantic memory (memories of experiences, future plans, and general knowledge), as well as being involved in self-reflection, social cognition, and understanding others’ thoughts (theory of mind). The DMN thus also helps integrate memories and thoughts to create a cohesive internal narrative and sense of self.
However, it doesn’t work alone: the DMN interacts with other networks like the salience network, which switches attention to external stimuli. Disruptions between these networks are linked to psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, depression), in various different ways depending on the nature of the disruption.
Sometimes, for some people in some circumstances, the option to disrupt the DMN is useful. For example, research shows that psilocybin disrupts the DMN, leading to changes in brain activity and potential therapeutic benefits for depression* and other psychiatric disorders by enhancing neuroplasticity.
*Essentially, kicking the brain out of the idling gear it got stuck in, and into action
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
- The Wandering Mind – by Dr. Michael Corballis ← a book, largely about the DMN and how to use it beneficially
- Taking A Trip Through The Evidence On Psychedelics ← for a shorter read, touching on psilocybin
Take care!
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The Brain’s Way of Healing – by Dr. Norman Doidge
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First, what this book isn’t: any sort of wishy-washy “think yourself better” fluff, and nor is it a “tapping into your Universal Divine Essence” thing.
In contrast, Dr. Norman Doidge sticks with science, and the only “vibrational frequencies” involved are the sort that come from an MRI machine or similar.
The author makes bold claims of the potential for leveraging neuroplasticity to heal many chronic diseases. All of them are neurological in whole or in part, ranging from chronic pain to Parkinson’s.
How well are these claims backed up, you ask?
The book makes heavy use of case studies. In science, case studies rarely prove anything, so much as indicate a potential proof of principle. Clinical trials are what’s needed to become more certain, and for Dr. Doidge’s claims, these are so far sadly lacking, or as yet inconclusive.
Where the book’s strengths lie is in describing exactly what is done, and how, to effect each recovery. Specific exercises to do, and explanations of the mechanism of action. To that end, it makes them very repeatable for any would-be “citizen scientist” who wishes to try (in the cases that they don’t require special equipment).
Bottom line: this book would be more reassuring if its putative techniques had enjoyed more clinical studies… But in the meantime, it’s a fair collection of promising therapeutic approaches for a number of neurological disorders.
Click here to check out The Brain’s Way of Healing, and learn more!
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Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook – by Sarah Raven
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Note: the US Amazon site currently (incorrectly) lists the author as “Jonathan Buckley”. The Canadian, British, and Australian sites all list the author correctly as Sarah Raven, and some (correctly) credit Jonathan Buckley as the photographer she used.
First, what it’s not: a gardening book. Beyond a few helpful tips, pointers, and “plant here, harvest here” instructions, this book assumes you are already capable of growing your own vegetables.
She does assume you are in a temperate climate, so if you are not, this might not be the book for you. Although! The recipes are still great; it’s just you’d have to shop for the ingredients and they probably won’t be fresh local produce for the exact same reason that you didn’t grow them.
If you are in a temperate climate though, this will take you through the year of seasonal produce (if you’re in a temperate climate but it’s in for example Australia, you’ll need to make a six-month adjustment for being in the S. Hemisphere), with many recipes to use not just one ingredient from your garden at a time, but a whole assortment, consistent with the season.
About the recipes: they (which are 450 in number) are (as you might imagine) very plant-forward, but they’re generally not vegan and often not vegetarian. So, don’t expect that you’ll produce everything yourself—just most of the ingredients!
Bottom line: if you like cooking, and are excited by the idea of growing your own food but are unsure how regularly you can integrate that, this book will keep you happily busy for a very long time.
Click here to check out Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook, and level-up your home cooking!
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Black Bean Hummus Panini
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A recipe for a sandwich? Try it once, and you’ll see why. Welcome to your new favorite!
You will need
- 1 cup cooked-and-rinsed black beans (canned is fine)
- ⅓ cup hummus (you can use our Hero Homemade Hummus recipe)
- 4 thin slices of eggplant (or more if you like it meaty)
- 4 sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 slices of your favorite bread (you can use our Delicious Quinoa Avocado Bread recipe)
- A little olive oil, ideally sprayable
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Grill the eggplant slices until soft.
2) Spread hummus generously on one side of both slices of bread.
2) Add the black beans on top of one slice (the hummus will help them stay in place), followed by the sun-dried tomatoes and then the eggplant. Top with the other slice of bread, hummus-side down.
3) Coat (carefully, please) the inside of the panini press (both interior sides) with olive oil. If you don’t have sprayable oil, using a sheet of kitchen roll to apply the oil is a good way to do it without making a mess.
4) Grill the assembled sandwich, until the bread starts to brown and the insides are warm; this should take about 4 minutes.
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Three Daily Servings of Beans?
- Chickpeas vs Black Beans – Which is Healthier?
- Lycopene’s Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More
Take care!
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Tribulus Terrestris For Testosterone?
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(Clinical) Trials and Tribul-ations
In the category of supplements that have enjoyed use as aphrodisiacs, Tribulus terrestris (also called caltrop, goat’s head, gokshura, or puncture vine) has a long history, having seen wide use in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and in Ayurveda.
It’s been used for other purposes too, and has been considered a “general wellness” plant.
So, what does the science say?
Good news: very conclusive evidence!
Bad news: the conclusion is not favorable…
Scientists are known for their careful use of clinical language, and it’s very rare for a study/review to claim something as proven (scientists leave journalists to do that part), and in this case, when it comes to Tribulus’s usefulness as a testosterone-enhancing libido-boosting supplement…
❝analysis of empirical evidence from a comprehensive review of available literature proved this hypothesis wrong❞
Strong words! You can read it in full here; they do make some concessions along the way (e.g. mentioning unclear or contradictory findings, suggesting that it may have some effect, but by an as-yet unknown mechanism if it does—although some potential effect on nitric oxide levels has been hypothesized, which is reasonable if so, as NO does feature in arousal-signalling), but the general conclusion is “no, this doesn’t have androgen-enhancing properties”:
Pro-sexual and androgen enhancing effects of Tribulus terrestris L.: Fact or Fiction
That’s a review though, what about taking a look at a representative RCT? Here we go:
❝Tribulus terrestris was not more effective than placebo on improving symptoms of erectile dysfunction or serum total testosterone❞
As a performance-enhancer in sport
We’ll be brief here: it doesn’t seem to work and it may not be safe:
Insights into Supplements with Tribulus Terrestris used by Athletes
From sport, into general wellness?
Finally, a study that finds it may be useful for something!
❝Overall, participants supplemented with TT displayed significant improvements in lipid profile. Inflammatory and hematological biomarkers showed moderate beneficial effects with no significant changes on renal biomarkers. No positive effects were observed on the immune system response. Additionally, no TT-induced toxicity was reported.
In conclusion, there was no clear evidence of the beneficial effects of TT supplementation on muscle damage markers and hormonal behavior.❞
About those lipids…
Animal studies have shown that it may not only improve lipid profiles, but also may partially repair the endothelial dysfunction resulting from hyperlipidemia:
Want to try some?
In the unlikely event that today’s research review has inspired you with an urge to try Tribulus terrestris, here’s an example product on Amazon
If on the other hand you’d like to actually increase testosterone levels, then we suggest:
Topping Up Testosterone? ← a previous main feature did earlier this year
Take care!
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Red Lentils vs Oats – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing red lentils to oats, we picked the oats.
Why?
In terms of macros, oats have more protein, carbs, fiber, and even a little fat—mostly healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, thus making them the more nutritionally dense. That said, red lentils have the lower glycemic index, (low GI compared to oats’ medium GI) which offsets that, so we’ll call this category a tie.
In the category of vitamins, red lentils have more of vitamins B6, B9, and choline, while oats have more of vitamins B1, B2, and B5. Another tie!
When it comes to minerals, however, we have a tiebreaker category: red lentils have more selenium, while oats have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. An easy win for oats this time!
So, thanks to the minerals, oats are the clear winner in total. But by all means, enjoy either or both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
The Best Kind Of Fiber For Overall Health? ← it’s β-glucan, the kind find in oats!
Enjoy!
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