Cannabis and the oral microbiome
Researchers are leaning towards THC as the culprit (and specifically not CBD) when it comes to the offending bacteria A. Meyeri that is found in oral microbiome of frequent cannabis users; leading to harmful neurological effects. Unnatural changes in the oral microbiome, known as dysbiosis, can allow harmful bacteria to thrive in the mouth and even enter the bloodstream, damaging other organs, such as the brain (EBioMedicine study 2021).
Mice orally exposed to A. meyeri for six months showed increased inflammation and more amyloid-beta proteins in their brains. These proteins are thought to be linked to long-term memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
Could this be why/how smoking weed leads to memory impairment?
Source: Neuroscience News
Visiting green spaces deters mental health drug use
Visits to parks, community gardens and other urban green spaces may lower city dwellers’ use of drugs for anxiety, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, research from Finland has found.
Only three to four visits a week cuts people’s chances of turning to drugs for mental health problems or high blood pressure by a third, and for asthma by about a quarter.
Source: BMJ
Green bananas can reduce cancers by more than 50%
A major cancer preventive effect from resistant starch (also known as fermentable fibre), has been found in a range of foods such as oats, cooked and cooled pasta and rice, peas and beans and slightly green bananas.
A regular dose of resistant starch was taken for two years and was shown to reduce a range of cancers by over 60%. The effect was particularly pronounced for upper gastrointestinal cancers including oesophageal, gastric, biliary tract, pancreatic and duodenum cancers. And the effect lasted for 10 years after taking this in supplement form.
The dose used in the trial is equivalent to eating a daily banana; before they become too ripe and soft, the starch in bananas resists breakdown and reaches the bowel where it can change the type of bacteria that live there.
Source: Cancer Prevention Research
Eco-Friendly ways to keep garden bugs out
Chemicals may be an effective short-term solution but they damage your plants, soil and kill off helpful insect species, not to mention the impact on your health!
Plant clover to help fix the nitrogen in your soil and use compost. Crop rotation naturally keep predatory species at bay through simple physical distance. In some areas you can purchase friendly bugs like ladybugs that will eat the pests in your garden. Then plant a garden that is inviting for them to stay and select plants that ward off unwanted pests directly.
Cull dead, dying, infested, or diseased plants because a dying plant will often become a feeding ground for certain pests.
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