Building the Alternative Health Community

08/06/2025

08/06/2025

You carry a "second brain" in your body—and it’s in your gut. Known as the enteric nervous system (ENS), this complex network of over 500 million neurons lines your digestive tract and can function independently of your brain and spinal cord.

It controls digestion, nutrient absorption, and even communicates with your brain through what’s called the gut-brain axis.

The ENS is so sophisticated that it can regulate intestinal movement, enzyme release, and reflexes without any input from the central nervous system. It’s why your gut can “keep working” even when you’re unconscious.

It also helps explain gut-related emotions—like butterflies in your stomach or gut instincts—since the ENS is deeply linked to mood and mental health via chemical messengers like serotonin, 90% of which is produced in the gut.

This “backup brain” isn’t thinking in words, but it’s constantly sensing, responding, and keeping your body balanced—quietly managing life from the inside out.

REFERENCES
📌 Alessandra Donato from the Hilliard Lab, "Enteric nervous system", Queensland Brain Institute

📌 Mark A Fleming II et al, "The Enteric Nervous System and Its Emerging Role as a Therapeutic Target", Gastroenterology Research and Practice (2020)

08/06/2025

Leptin, Not Just Insulin, May Hold the Key to Diabetes Treatment

A decade-old discovery is gaining new attention as researchers confirm that leptin, a hormone tied to energy balance, can reverse diabetic ketoacidosis without insulin.

The brain’s misinterpretation of low leptin levels initiates a dangerous metabolic response, leading to hyperglycemia and elevated ketones.

When leptin was administered directly to diabetic rodents, it stabilized their blood sugar long-term.

This suggests the brain—not just the pancreas—plays a pivotal role in regulating diabetes.

Scientists now believe targeting brain pathways could lead to more effective treatments.

Human trials are on the horizon, opening the door to a new paradigm in diabetes management.

08/05/2025

Irregular Sleep Linked to 172 Diseases

Irregular sleep could be silently damaging your health, according to a new study linking disrupted sleep timing to over 170 diseases.

Researchers found that even small deviations in bedtime or circadian rhythm can raise the risk for serious conditions like liver disease and gangrene.

Objective sleep tracking revealed that many people who report “long sleep” are actually sleeping poorly but spending extra time in bed.

This misclassification may explain why previous studies overstated the health risks of long sleep duration.

The study calls for a broader view of sleep health that includes regularity, not just hours slept. These insights could reshape future public health guidance and sleep intervention strategies.

08/05/2025

Online Hate Speech Resembles Mental Health Disorder Language

Researchers have identified striking similarities between hate speech language and speech associated with certain psychiatric conditions, particularly Cluster B personality disorders.

These include borderline, narcissistic, and antisocial personality types, often characterized by difficulties with empathy and emotional regulation.

The study used advanced AI models to translate user posts into mathematical speech patterns and compare them across different online communities.

Although hate speech mirrored these traits, the authors stress that the findings don’t imply a clinical diagnosis among participants.

Rather, exposure to hate-driven discourse may encourage behaviors and language patterns that resemble those seen in some mental health disorders.

This understanding could lead to more effective strategies for addressing harmful online behavior.

08/05/2025

Cycling Boosts Brain Function in Parkinson’s Disease

This new study sheds light on how physical exercise may offer more than symptomatic relief for Parkinson’s—it may help restore damaged neural pathways.

Brain activity from implanted DBS electrodes showed significant shifts after participants completed 12 cycling sessions using adaptive bikes.

These brain signal changes were observed in regions responsible for motor function, suggesting the potential for broad neuroplastic benefits.

The researchers believe this dynamic, feedback-driven movement could activate a wider brain circuit than previously thought.

Importantly, the study suggests that consistent exercise could promote deep, lasting improvements in brain function.

As one participant noted, the changes extended beyond tremor relief to improved gait, energy, and confidence.

08/05/2025

Your Genes Influence What You Smell

The sense of smell may hold more medical value than previously thought.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers mapped the genetic basis for odor detection, identifying ten regions of the genome that influence how people perceive everyday smells.

They found sex-specific differences in three of these regions, which may explain why women report heightened olfactory sensitivity during hormonal changes.

A surprising discovery was a genetic overlap between poor smell perception and increased Alzheimer’s disease risk.

By analyzing scent identification alongside DNA data from thousands of individuals, scientists found strong evidence linking smell, hormones, and brain health.

With follow-up studies involving over 200,000 people underway, these results could lead to early-warning tools for neurodegenerative conditions.

08/02/2025

The Whole Person: “In Ida Rolf’s view, much physical discomfort could be addressed by realigning the fascial sheets that support the human body. The fascia is a network of collagen, unique in its elastic properties. It can stretch to 10% of its original length without sustaining any damage. It not only surrounds and joins every muscle and bone; it also serves the same role for nerve fibers and even blood vessels. Fascia is what connects us internally. Rolf believed that by applying what she called energy, meaning pressure, to key points of the fascia, she could realign or even add structure to the body. It is a practice that looks similar to massage, and as she wrote in her book “Rolfing and Physical Reality,” “there was nothing metaphysical about it.”

- Zachary Shore

The sum of our parts. Image Credit: Tumeggy/Science Photo Library

discourse.magazine

- - -

http://www.secretlifeoffascia.com/

08/02/2025

Empathy Can Be Emotionally Conditioned

In a clever series of experiments, researchers showed that humans can learn empathy by linking someone else's joy to their own reward.

Participants viewed cartoon characters going through everyday experiences, with their own points increasing or decreasing depending on the scenes.

Those who gained points when a character was happy later showed more empathy and generosity toward that character.

Even when it cost them rewards, they made decisions that aligned with the character’s preferences.

This learned empathy affected both how they felt and how they behaved.

The findings reveal that emotional bonds can be shaped through shared reinforcement, with implications for everything from AI design to team-building.

08/02/2025

What You Expect Shapes How Much Pain You Feel

Not all reassurance leads to the same kind of pain relief. In this study, external cues and placebo treatments both helped reduce pain, but they worked through distinct brain systems.

Cues influenced neural markers linked to actual pain perception, while placebo explanations activated regions involved in belief and evaluation.

Interestingly, when both were used together, the effects didn’t always add up—sometimes, they even weakened each other.

This means your brain may process "seeing is believing" and "believing is healing" along separate channels.

The research suggests that how clinicians communicate—visually or verbally—can shape pain outcomes in different ways.

07/31/2025

Oxytocin May Treat the Social Deficits of Psychopathy

A recent review investigates how oxytocin might mitigate the social deficits seen in psychopathy by improving facial emotion recognition.

While individuals with F1 traits tend to show blunted emotional responses and poor empathy, those with F2 traits may overreact to threat-related cues.

Oxytocin appears to modulate these patterns—enhancing social salience in F1 and reducing hyperarousal in F2.

Studies show oxytocin increases eye contact, pupil dilation, and neural responsiveness to emotional faces.

These effects mirror the core dysfunctions in psychopathy, even though no direct studies currently exist.

The findings support targeted oxytocin-based interventions as a promising area for future research.

07/28/2025

*Updated*

America’s most widely consumed cooking oil causes genetic changes in the brain

Researchers found that soybean oil consumption leads to genetic changes in the mouse brain that may influence neurological health.

The affected genes include those involved in inflammation, metabolism, and oxytocin signaling—implicated in social behavior and autism spectrum disorders.

Interestingly, even when linoleic acid levels were reduced in the oil, the same gene disruptions were observed.

Other soy products, such as soy sauce or tofu, did not show these effects, suggesting the culprit is specific to soybean oil.

While these findings were observed in mice and not humans, they highlight potential dietary risks to brain development.

The study raises important questions about how common food oils might subtly impact gene expression over time.