Hunter Holistic Therapies

19/08/2025

Yes massage of the neck and face is very therapeutic and feels wonderful....

🧠 Scientists figured out how to *double* brain waste clearance just by massaging the skin.

The discovery may be the future of Alzheimer's prevention.

Scientists have discovered a non-invasive way to enhance the brain’s natural waste-clearing system, which could open new doors for treating neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) demonstrated in mice that gently stimulating lymphatic vessels beneath the skin of the face and neck significantly boosts cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow—a critical mechanism for flushing out harmful substances from the brain. Using a specially designed mechanical stimulator, the team was able to double CSF outflow and restore drainage levels in aged mice, without drugs or surgery.

This breakthrough offers a potential new approach for safely improving brain health in aging populations.

The researchers also identified previously unknown drainage routes from the brain to superficial lymph nodes through facial lymphatics—routes that remain functional even in older animals. These findings complete the anatomical map of CSF outflow and suggest the feasibility of wearable or clinical devices to enhance brain waste clearance. While more research is needed to determine its long-term effects and application in human patients, the team is optimistic that this gentle mechanical approach could be developed into a therapeutic tool to prevent or slow neurodegenerative disease progression.

paper
Nature. Increased CSF drainage by non-invasive manipulation of cervical lymphatics, June 4, 2025.

12/08/2025

Our amazing heart, ❤️

Your heart literally has a mind of its own.

It sends more signals to the brain than vice versa, and greatly influences how you feel.

For decades, medical science has treated pain as a phenomenon created and controlled entirely by the brain. But new research suggests that the heart — long considered the seat of human emotion — may also have a direct role in how we perceive and regulate pain.

In a review of emerging evidence, researchers highlight the “intrinsic cardiac nervous system,” sometimes called the heart’s “little brain,” first identified in 1991 by Dr. Armour.

This network of roughly 40,000 neurons resembles brain cells and communicates with the central nervous system through multiple channels, including the vagus nerve.

Remarkably, the heart sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends back, influencing key brain regions involved in emotion and sensation.

Techniques that target the heart, such as vagus nerve stimulation or heart-rhythm coherence training, have been shown to affect pain-processing centers in the brain, potentially altering not just the sensory experience of pain but also its emotional and cognitive dimensions.

This research suggests that the heart is far more than a mechanical pump — it may act as a moderator of pain perception. Scientists say this finding could reshape how we approach pain management, opening the door to therapies that focus not only on the brain but also on the heart’s own neural network.

Source: Alshami, A. M. (2019). Pain: Is It All in the Brain or the Heart? Current Pain and Headache Reports, 23(10).

31/07/2025

Yes ...eating eggs is good for you....

Eggs lower cholesterol.

That’s right. A study just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [https://bit.ly/45dCF4C] finds that eating two eggs a day LOWERS LDL cholesterol, if in a diet not high in saturated fat. The study compared different diets and the diet high in saturated fat did raise LDL cholesterol.

Those who have followed my writings will know that, since my fist book in 1981, I have told the truth about eggs: a) they never raise cholesterol, nor heart disease risk – in fact they lower it and b) that cholesterol isn’t the problem in the first place. I have a whole chapter on this in my book Say No to Heart Disease.

Heart disease is a ‘disease’. High cholesterol is not. While high LDL cholesterol is associated, weakly, with more cardiovascular disease, if above about 7mmol/l, this is more because of the things that raise LDL cholesterol, namely a high sugar/carb diet and low vitamin C, than cholesterol\s ‘fault’. The old rule was you’re Ok if your cholesterol is below 6. Some would say 7. But, in order to sell statins, this was changed to 5.2mmol/l, for which the evidence is lacking.

The other main problem is that what’s measured as ‘LDL cholesterol’ includes Lipoprotein(a). It is part of that low density lipoprotein family. Lp(a) goes up when vitamin C goes down. In a perfect world you’d also be told how much of that LDL cholesterol is Lp(a).

Much more important, and always measured, is your triglyceride level. This fat in the blood is created when you eat too much sugar and carbs and/or alcohol. If your level is below 1mmol/l, and your HDL is high (above 1.6mmol/l) you really have nothing to worry about, regardless of your LDL cholesterol level. Best of all is your triglyceride/HDL ratio. If this is 2 or less, eg you have no more than twice the triglycerides to HDL, your risk of cardiovascular disease is minimal.

None of this has anything to do with eggs. Do read my book Say No to Heart Disease [https://www.holfordnutrition.com/product/say-no-to-heart-disease-patrick-holford/] to get the full story. By the way, your homocysteine level predicts two thirds of heart attacks in older people and many who have heart attacks have ‘normal’ cholesterol. Don’t trust your doctor is they use the QRisk calculator from NICE, putting in your age and your cholesterol level to basically sell you statins. They do, reliably, lower cholesterol, but are remarkably ineffective in reducing heart disease risk in those, as above, not actually at risk.

24/07/2025

A July 2025 study in Nature Communications reveals something shocking: just living through the pandemic, without ever catching COVID-19, aged the average brain by 5.5 months. Researchers from the University of Nottingham found long-term stress, isolation, and lifestyle disruptions altered brain structure and function, especially in regions tied to memory and focus.

13/05/2025

This is great news. Twin studies are so interesting.

Scientists found the gut bacteria that trigger multiple sclerosis! This could let us treat (or even prevent) the disease.

In a major step toward understanding multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers have pinpointed two specific strains of gut bacteria that may play a key role in triggering the disease.

The study, led by a team from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, focused on 81 pairs of identical twins where one sibling had MS and the other did not.

This design allowed scientists to control for genetic and many environmental variables, honing in on the differences in gut microbiomes. The culprits? Two strains—Eisenbergiella tayi and Lachnoclostridium—were significantly more common in those with MS and, when transferred to mice, appeared to contribute to MS-like disease.

Though previous studies have hinted at a link between gut bacteria and MS, this is the most precise identification to date. While more research is needed, especially in humans, the findings support the growing theory that the gut-brain connection plays a role in autoimmune diseases like MS. Understanding how these bacteria influence immune responses could eventually lead to targeted treatments that prevent or slow disease progression by modifying the microbiome. The research opens new doors to how we might one day tackle MS—starting in the gut.

read the paper https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2419689122

26/04/2025

Cut out your plastics, use a wooden chopping board. Waiting for them to find out how to remove them from our bodies.

Microplastics discovered in life-threatening arterial plaque are associated with strokes. A new study found altered gene activity, too.

08/04/2025

Oral Bacteria May Help Detect Autism with 81% Accuracy

A new study has uncovered a promising link between oral microbiota and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), offering a potential breakthrough in early detection.

Researchers analyzed oral bacteria from children aged 3–6 and found significant differences between those with ASD and their neurotypical peers.

Eleven specific bacterial species were identified as strong biomarkers for ASD. Using this data, the team developed a prediction model that accurately identified autism in 81% of cases.

This method, based on a simple oral swab, offers a non-invasive and objective alternative to traditional screening methods, which rely heavily on subjective observations.

The approach could be easily integrated into routine dental visits, enabling earlier intervention when therapy is most effective.

https://neurosciencenews.com/autism-oral-microbiome-28569/

16/08/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/DMmy82Btiyvyj5Z7/?mibextid=oFDknk

17/06/2022

New article out from the "father of functional medicine," Dr. Jeffrey Bland, that you'll definitely want to have in your files! Link below. As he's always taught me, "your genes are not your destiny." I see genes as our constitutional canvas, and our lifestyle choices as the paint and design...

16/07/2021

Wonderful

They’ve been used for millennia for everything from snake bites to contraception, now traditional bush medicines sold by Indigenous groups in the Northern Territory are providing jobs and income.

27/01/2021

Simply put . Look after your gut.

The microbiota–gut–brain axis plays an important role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Commensal and pathogenic enteric bacteria can influence brain and immune system function by the production of lipopolysaccharides and amyloid. Dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiome in...

09/01/2021

Learn what the latest psychology research tells us about how to cultivate and increase your happiness and experience more satisfaction and joy.