🌱 Ginger May Help Treat Autoimmune Disorders
These supplements have shown promise with specific autoimmune diseases
Health Squeeze
September 29, 2023
In This Newsletter
😴 What is “sexsomnia” and what you should know about it and other sleep disorders.
🫚 New hope for autoimmune disease sufferers with this natural supplement.
📲 Disturbing findings about teens and their smartphone use and why it may interfere with their mental health.
Health Q and A
How many chromosomes do humans have?
Answer at the bottom
😴 What to Know About “Sexsomnia” and “Sleep Eating”
People often associate sleepwalking with clumsy nighttime wanderings, but recent research suggests it can involve more complex behaviors. Sleepwalkers might engage in activities like having sex (known as 'sexsomnia'), eating junk food, cooking, chatting, or even attempting to drive.
Jennifer Mundt, lead researcher and assistant professor of sleep medicine, psychiatry, and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, highlights the wide range of sleepwalking behaviors, some harmless and others potentially dangerous.
Unlike sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or insomnia, there are no established guidelines for treating "arousal disorders" or "parasomnias," according to a recent review in the journal Sleep Medicine.
Mundt and her team conducted this review to assess the current treatment approaches for these disorders. They discovered 72 papers published between 1909 and 2023, most of which were case reports or uncontrolled clinical trials.
Parasomnias, typically occurring during deep sleep, involve parts of the brain being awake while others are asleep. This partially awake state allows people to perform actions that appear as if they are awake. However, they usually have no memory of these actions.
Approximately 7% of people experience sleepwalking, 10% have sleep terrors, 7% engage in sexsomnia, and 4.5% have sleep-related eating. Some behaviors, like sleepwalking, can be hazardous when people attempt complex activities like cooking or using sharp objects.
Childhood parasomnias like sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and confusional arousals tend to decrease with age. On the other hand, adult-onset parasomnias like sexsomnia and sleep-related eating often persist into adulthood.
A combination of genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors such as stress, sleep deprivation, alcohol, medications, or external stimuli can trigger these parasomnias. While medications can be used for severe cases, most treatments focus on non-pharmacological approaches.
Additionally, it's crucial to address underlying medical conditions that may contribute to sleep disturbances, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or acid reflux.
Mundt recommends seeking evaluation at a sleep clinic if sleepwalking behaviors are concerning or disruptive, as sometimes they may indicate underlying conditions like epilepsy that require different treatment approaches.
🫚 Ginger May Help Treat Autoimmune Disorders
Ginger supplements have shown promise in helping individuals with specific autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis manage inflammation, according to recent research.
This study provides further evidence of ginger's impact on white blood cells, particularly a type known as neutrophils. The researchers focused on neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, also called NETosis, and its role in controlling inflammation.
The research revealed that when healthy individuals consume ginger, their neutrophils become more resistant to NETosis. NETs, microscopic web-like structures, contribute to inflammation and clotting, both of which are associated with various autoimmune diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Kristen Demoruelle, senior co-author and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, noted, "There are many diseases where neutrophils are abnormally overactive. We found that ginger can help to restrain NETosis, and this is important because it is a natural supplement that may be helpful to treat inflammation and symptoms for people with several different autoimmune diseases."
In a clinical trial involving healthy volunteers, a week of daily intake of 20 mg of gingerols elevated a chemical called cAMP inside neutrophils, which subsequently inhibited NETosis in response to disease triggers.
Dr. Jason Knight, another senior co-author from the University of Michigan, emphasized, "Our research, for the first time, provides evidence for the biological mechanism that underlies ginger's apparent anti-inflammatory properties in people."
The research team's future plans include conducting clinical trials in patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and COVID-19.
📲 The Trouble with Teens and Their Phones
A recent study sheds light on the pervasive presence of smartphones in the lives of teenagers. Common Sense Media's findings reveal that teens use their phones constantly, from the moment they wake up until bedtime, often interfering with their mental health and daily activities.
According to the study, teenagers receive an average of 237 daily notifications, constantly diverting their attention and negatively affecting their well-being. Common Sense Media's founder and CEO, Jim Steyer, characterizes this as an "arms race for kids' attention," with smartphones coming out as the victors.
More than two-thirds of teenagers admit to struggling to put down their phones, indicating a potential addiction issue. On a typical day, American kids and teens spend around five hours on their smartphones, which equates to approximately one-third of their waking hours.
The study highlights the following key findings:
Social media apps, YouTube, and gaming consume the most of teens' screen time.
Teens check their phones over 100 times a day on average.
Over 50% of teens use their phones during school nights.
TikTok stands out for its "ease" and high usage frequency.
Teens frequently access inappropriate content such as pornography or sports betting apps via their smartphones.
Individual teens in the study received up to a staggering 4,500 notifications daily, a situation Steyer considers "insane." Snapchat and Discord were the apps with the highest notification rates.
Study participants interacted with only about a quarter of the notifications they received, and roughly the same percentage arrived during school hours.
There is no definitive age at which a child should receive their first smartphone, but approximately half of U.S. children receive one by age 11. Research indicates that about 90% of teens possess their own smartphones.
Steyer, a parent himself, suggests delaying the decision to provide a smartphone to children and advocates for setting limits, maintaining open dialogues about digital media habits, and modeling appropriate cellphone behavior.
📝 Health Snippets
COVID Vaccine and Bleeding. A recent study has revealed that non-menstruating women, including those who have gone through menopause or are using contraceptives, were more likely to experience unexpected vaginal bleeding after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo examined data from over 21,000 responses in a population health survey, suggesting a potential connection to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the vaccines.
Dangerous Children’s Toy. Water beads, often sold as toys or sensory aids for children, are coming under scrutiny as they pose health hazards to kids. These tiny, super-absorbent gel pellets can lead to choking or intestinal blockage if ingested, and some children have inserted them into their noses or ears, causing damage as the gel expands. In severe cases, beads have ended up in children's lungs. Concerns have prompted recalls, with incidents of injuries and even fatalities reported.
Carb Quality Matters. A new study suggests that middle-aged individuals can avoid weight gain without making complicated changes to their diet. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 137,000 people over two decades and found that those who consumed more whole grains, fruit, and nonstarchy vegetables while reducing their intake of refined grains, starchy vegetables, and sugary drinks experienced less weight gain. The study emphasizes that the quality of carbohydrates in one's diet matters more than the quantity.
Stem Cell Breakthrough for MS. A recent study provides strong evidence that stem cell transplants can effectively send multiple sclerosis (MS) into remission for years, and in some cases, even reverse disability. Of the 174 MS patients who received stem cell transplants using their own blood cells, two-thirds showed no disease activity over 10 years, which means no relapses, worsening disability, or new brain tissue damage. Over half of the patients who had existing disabilities before the transplant experienced improvements.
Answer
Humans typically have 23 pairs of chromosomes, or 46 chromosomes in total. Chromosomes comprise long strands of DNA, which contain all the body's genes.
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