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How To Boost Your Happiness Hormones to Live Longer

How To Boost Your Happiness Hormones to Live Longer
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The happiness hormones serotonin and oxytocin don’t only help fight depression. They also cut heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s risk by strengthening arteries, so nutrient-rich blood quickly reaches your organs.

Send some love.

Taking one minute to let someone know that you’re thinking about them can bring about an increase in your oxytocin production 

Take a scented soak.

Relaxing in a warm bath scented with rose, vanilla, jasmine, or lavender can keep your blood levels of serotonin and oxytocin elevated by soothing your brain’s anxiety center. And when your brain is relaxed, it needs less serotonin and oxytocin to function, so more of those hormones are available to cells in the rest of your body.

Take 5-HTP.

Taking 100 mg. of 5-HTP increased serotonin levels, improving mood, energy, immunity-and even fat-burning. Want to sleep more deeply? Taking 5-HTP 30 minutes before bedtime can help. Cutting calories a priority? Take 5-HTP 30 minutes before your biggest meal each day.

Consume protein at breakfast.

After a night of not eating, blood levels of amino acids- the building blocks of serotonin and oxytocin- are low. The fix: Eat a meal containing 2 oz. of amino acid-rich protein, such as eggs, meat, or cheese. It’ll rev the enzymes that keep serotonin and oxytocin levels up, cutting your risk of the blues and blood sugar woes 33%.

Eat berries and kale.

Eating two cups each of berries and leafy greens (like kale) weekly could up your serotonin levels. Both foods are rich in anthocyanins, nutrients that encourage your brain to produce and release this “happy” hormone.

Watch TV.

Getting caught up in a fun, romantic, or emotionally gripping program-enough to make you root for one of the characters- will send your oxytocin levels soaring. Your brain processes movies as if they’re happening, and the empathy you feel for a character stimulates oxytocin release.

Source: Woman’s World Specials: Reverse Aging

Cholesterol: Myths and Truths

Cholesterol: Myths and Truths
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Cholesterol is produced by almost every cell in the human body. Cholesterol in the cell membranes makes cells waterproof, so there can be different chemistry on the inside and the outside of the cell.

Cholesterol is nature’s repair substance, used to repair wounds, tears, and irritations in the arteries. Many important hormones are made of cholesterol, including hormones that regulate metabolism and blood sugar, hormones that help us deal with stress, and all the sex hormones, such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. Cholesterol is vital to the function of the brain and nervous system.

It protects us against depression: it plays a role in the utilization of serotonin, an important “feel good” chemical. Bile salts, needed for the digestion of fats, are made from cholesterol. Cholesterol is the precursor of vitamin D, which is formed by the action of ultra-violet (VV-B) light on cholesterol in the skin. It is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against free radicals in the cell membrane and, therefore, against cancer. LDL -cholesterol fights against infections and toxins.

If you are worried about heart disease and cholesterol-don’t. The unnecessary worry isn’t good for your health. Instead, avoid processed foods. Eat healthy grass-fed meats and wild-caught seafood when eating animal proteins. Do not consume a high protein diet lacking in nutrients that can deplete vitamin A and lead to heart disease. Take a cod liver oil supplement to ensure adequate levels of vitamins A, D, and K2. Maintain a healthy weight-neither too heavy or too thin. Engage in moderate exercise in the outdoors. Do not smoke and avoid exposure to environmental toxins.

There are numerous dangers of statin drugs. Modern cholesterol-lowering drugs act by inhibiting an enzyme needed for the formation of cholesterol in the liver. These statins are sold as Lipitor, Mevacor, Prevacol, Zocor, etc. There are numerous side effects of these drugs. The most common being weakness and muscle wasting.

These result from the statin interference with the production of Coenzyme Q10. The heart muscle depends on a plentiful supply of Co-Q10. Many people complain of brain fog and memory loss.

There have been limited studies out to date, but in every study with rodents thus far, statins have caused a 1500 percent higher chance of cancer than those in the control groups.

If it isn’t cholesterol causing heart disease, that what is? The deficiency of vitamins A, D, and K2 is a contributing factor to heart disease.

Lacking the vitamin B6, B12, and folate leads to elevated homocysteine levels, a marker for heart disease.

Trans fatty acids are linked to heart disease. Mineral deficiencies of magnesium, copper, and vanadium have also been linked to heart disease. Heart attacks often occur after a period of stress, which depletes the body of many nutrients, especially vitamin A.

St. John's Wort
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When people whose only knowledge of herbs comes from popular media think about the properties of St. John’s wort, they see it as an antidepressant. It’s not a new idea as the herb was used traditionally to drive away evil spirits and relieve melancholy, mental illness and epilepsy. However, to think of St. John’s wort as simply an antidepressant is to do injustice to the uses of this versatile herbal remedy.
A closely related signature of St. John’s wort is found in the plant’s Latin name, Hypericum perforatum. Perforatum refers to the fact that the leaves have tiny holes in them, like someone poked or perforated them with a pin. If you hold up a leaf to the light, sunshine passes through these holes. So, we might say that St. John’s wort “let’s in the light” or makes one more “sensitive to the light.” Add these two signatures to the fact that it produces bright sunny yellow blooms and we can easily see how it could be used to lift the “darkness” of depression and bring in the “sunshine” of joy and happiness.
The effects of St. John’s wort, however, go far beyond lifting a person out of the melancholy of mild to moderate depression. St. John’s wort is an even better remedy for anxiety. It helps to calm the nerves and relieve stress and tension.
St. John’s wort helps to regulate the solar plexus, more technically known as the celiac plexus. This is a bundle of nerves in the center of the body’s trunk that radiate outward to all the body’s major organs. This plexus is a major are for experiencing “gut instincts.” St. John’s wort helps to enhance the function of these nerves and helps one be more attuned to one’s gut instincts. It also helps regulate digestion.
When nerves are injured, St. John’s wort is one of the best remedies for helping stimulate their regeneration and repair. It has been called the “arnica of the nervous system,” having been used to treat spinal injuries, concussions and nerve damage. It is used both homeopathically and as an herbal remedy for this purpose.
As a tissue healer and vulnerary, St. John’s wort has been used topically to treat bruises, sprains, lacerations, cuts, puncture wounds and other acute injuries. It is helpful for the inflammation associated with frozen shoulder, which is often associated with feeling burdened or overwhelmed (as in being unable to shoulder one’s responsibilities). It eases the pain, improves range of motion and aids the underlying emotional feelings.
As an antiviral agent, St. John’s wort has been shown to have effects against Herpes simplex viruses (type I and type II), mononucleosis and influence. It is usually combined with other antiviral herbs to aid these conditions. There is also some research suggesting it may be helpful with HIV and AIDS patients.
St. John’s wort is used as a flower essence to help people who feel overly vulnerable. It can help children with disturbed sleep and bedwetting, which can be a sign of fear and insecurity. St. John’s wort can also improve sleep and the quality of one’s dreams (making them more positive and “light”).
For external uses an oil tincture is made by crushing the flowers and putting them in olive oil. This combination is put in the sun for two weeks, at which time the stock of flowers is renewed. This oil is blood red and very healing. It can be applied to hard tumors, swollen breasts, sciatic pain, ulcers, old sores and wounds. It can also be used for neuralgia, numbness of the nerves and other nerve damage. Combined with the oil of mullein flower and garlic bulb, it has also been used as eardrops for easing earache pain.
A decoction of St. John’s wort can also be used as a mouthwash to heal diseased gums and eliminate mouth odors. Other conditions that have been treated with St. John’s Wort include: anemia, animal bites, bleeding of the lungs, cancer, colic, coughs, diarrhea, dribbling urination, dysentery, exhaustion, gastroenteritis, hemorrhoids, inflammation, insect bites, insomnia, jaundice, kidney stones, malaise, nervous irritability, pain of coccyx, phlegm in chest, PMS, pus in the urine, rabies, scrofula, sinus headaches, sprains, stomach disorders, tension, tuberculosis, ulcers, unrest, wheezing and worms. St. John’s Wort has been used homeopathically for a myriad of complaints including: asthma, concussions, bunions, bruises, hypersensitivities, meningitis, neuralgia, spasms and whooping cough.
The typical dosage of St. John’s Wort is 1-2 capsules 2-3 times a day. Teas should be made with 1-2 cups of flowers per 1 cup of boiling water. This tea can be drunk three times daily.

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