Nicola Dean Naturopath Herbalist

13/09/2025

Hmmmmm

13/09/2025

Creatine is great 👍🏼

11/09/2025

Great story ❤️

In 1976, doctors told Stamatís Moraitis that his time was running out. At just 60 years old, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given less than a year to live. Instead of staying in the United States for aggressive treatment, he made a bold choice—he returned to his native island of Ikaria in Greece to spend his final days surrounded by family and familiar soil.

But those “final days” stretched into years, and then into decades. Moraitis not only survived—he thrived. He lived to the remarkable age of 102, leaving scientists and doctors baffled. His secret? A lifestyle rooted in simplicity, community, and natural living.

On Ikaria, often called the “island where people forget to die,” Moraitis embraced a slower pace of life. He worked in his garden, drank local wine, ate fresh vegetables and herbs, and surrounded himself with friends and laughter. Daily naps, light physical activity, and a stress-free mindset became his medicine. Remarkably, without conventional cancer treatments, his illness seemed to vanish on its own.

His story has become a powerful example of how environment, diet, and emotional well-being can influence longevity. Researchers studying “Blue Zones”—regions where people live significantly longer—point to Ikaria’s sense of community, healthy Mediterranean diet, and low-stress lifestyle as keys to extraordinary lifespans.

Was Moraitis’s survival pure chance, or proof that how we live matters as much as medical intervention? While science may never fully explain his recovery, his life serves as a reminder: sometimes healing is found not in hospitals, but in the simple rhythms of living well.

11/09/2025

Sugar substitutes not so healthy!

Artificial sweeteners may not be the harmless alternatives to sugar that many assume, particularly when it comes to brain health, a landmark study suggests.

11/09/2025

08/09/2025

A new study suggests that only an hour of strength training a week can build muscle. See link below ⬇️

08/09/2025

More and more doctors are prescribing body-identical progesterone for premenstrual or perimenopausal mood symptoms. That’s great because for most women, it works beautifully.

But for some, progesterone can worsen mood thanks largely to its “biphasic” (Goldilocks) effect on GABA receptors, plus the fact that some women have less adaptable GABA receptors due to genetics, histamine, or inflammation.

If you’ve ever had a negative mood reaction to progesterone, consider:

⭐️ Was it actually a progestin (synthetic), not progesterone? If so, body-identical could still be fine.

⭐️ If it was natural progesterone, you may still be able to tolerate it by:
– lowering inflammation, histamine, or estrogen
– or even going up in dose, not down (but check with your clinician).

⭐️ Doses over 400 mg can knock you out—causing grogginess or even depression, especially if taken during the day.

Read my fully updated article: https://www.larabriden.com/progesterone-mood-treat-pmdd/?8Sept2025

And share your knowledge. Your story could help another woman. 💛

08/09/2025

05/09/2025

05/09/2025

That’s gotta be true! 🥨🍦🍧🎂🍫🍭🍬🍩🍪

A major 15-year study published in *JAMA Internal Medicine* has revealed that added sugar may pose a greater risk to heart health than cholesterol itself—more than doubling the chance of dying from heart disease, even in people who are not overweight.

Researchers found that individuals who consumed 25% or more of their daily calories from added sugar were over twice as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who consumed less than 10%. This risk held true regardless of age, weight, activity levels, or cholesterol numbers, making sugar intake a universal concern.

The biggest culprits include sugary drinks, desserts, candy, sweetened cereals, and fruit drinks. Excess sugar can raise blood pressure and trigger the liver to release harmful fats into the bloodstream. The American Heart Association recommends keeping daily sugar intake under 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men, but just one soda can exceed these limits. Small swaps, like fruit-infused seltzer or naturally sweetened snacks, can make a big difference in protecting your heart.

03/09/2025

A study reveals that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids significantly reduces migraine frequency and severity.

In a randomized controlled trial involving 182 adults with frequent migraines, participants followed one of three diets for 16 weeks: a control diet with typical omega-3 and omega-6 levels, a high omega-3 diet, and a high omega-3 plus low omega-6 diet.

Both intervention groups saw increased levels of the pain-reducing molecule 17-HDHA and experienced fewer headache hours and days. Specifically, the high omega-3 group had 1.3 fewer headache hours per day and two fewer headache days per month, while the high omega-3/low omega-6 group saw reductions of 1.7 hours and four days,
respectively.

While quality of life scores (HIT-6) did not differ significantly, participants in both intervention groups reported shorter and less severe headaches. Researchers suggest that shifting fatty acid intake alters pain pathways, offering a promising non-pharmacological strategy for migraine management.

Although limitations include adherence to the diet and a predominantly female sample, experts note the results rival those of recent migraine medications. These findings offer strong evidence for recommending omega-3-rich diets as a potential tool in managing chronic migraine.

Follow Science Sphere for regular scientific updates

📄 RESEARCH PAPER

📌 Christopher E Ramsden et al, “Dietary alteration of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids for headache reduction in adults with migraine: randomized controlled trial.” BMJ(2022)

03/09/2025

Healthy older adults who received aspirin experienced no significant long-term benefits against major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE); the rates of major hemorrhage were higher among users of aspirin than among users of placebo. http://ms.spr.ly/6182sw9to