Oil Pulling: A Simple Way to Start Improving Your Oral and Physical Health


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Oil Pulling: Why You Should Consider It

Oil pulling or oil swishing is an ancient detoxing practice that has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine. Originating in India, this method of detoxing is done by taking 1 tablespoon or so of organic cold pressed oil and swishing it in your mouth, as you would a mouth wash, for 10-20 minutes (making sure not to swallow it) and then disposing of it by spitting it out. Rinse mouth out with warm water to get rid of any remaining residue. It is recommended to do this in the morning before eating or even brushing your teeth, but you can choose to do it anytime of the day really.

What oils should you use for oil pulling? 

Well, first off, whatever oil you choose to utilize, you want to make sure that its organic and cold pressed. You don’t want to be using oils that have chemicals and/or pesticides in them because that basically defeats the whole purpose of oil pulling in the first place. Sesame seed oil is deemed one of the best oils to use for oil pulling. This is probably due to the origins of oil pulling itself and how this oil is readily available in India and used for a multitude of things. It also contains many antioxidants but realistically oil pulling with sesame seed oil would be very expensive to keep up with on a daily basis. This is why you can also use other oils such as organic extra virgin cold pressed coconut, sunflower, and olive oil as they also contain a variety of antioxidants.

So how do you do it and exactly how will it benefit me?

Of course you would want to know that or why bother even going through the trouble right? Well, when you first put the oil in your mouth and start swishing it mixes with your saliva, turning it into a thin, white liquid. Lipids in those oils start to draw out toxins found in the saliva. As you swish around the mouth, teeth, gums, and tongue, the oil will continue “pulling” and absorbing toxins. In turn, this will progressively change the consistency of the liquid making it thicker and whiter. When this consistency is reached, it is to be spit out to avoid any reabsorption of the toxins in the body. Again, make sure you spit it out and whatever you do be careful not swallow any of it! There is an assortment of bacteria, toxins, and other residue up in there and you wouldn’t want to reabsorb any on that nastiness!

Tip: I recommend spitting this liquid out in the trash instead of the toilet or sink to avoid plumbing problems. But if you do decide to be a rebellious and spit it out into the sink, I suggest spitting it out directly into the drain while running hot water down the drain to be safe.

As far as what it does, oil pulling detoxifies the oral cavity in the same way soap cleans dirty dishes. Plant based fats are an emulsifier by nature. It cleans the dirt (toxins) out of your mouth, creating an antiseptic oral environment that can help with the appropriate flow of dental liquid needed to prevent cavities and disease.

Here’s an example of what you may experience:

List of benefits from oil pulling:

·Strengthens teeth, gums, and jaws

·Prevents bad breath

·Prevents diseases of the gums and mouth, such as cavities and gingivitis

·May remedy bleeding gums

·Prevents overall tooth decay

·Prevents dryness of the lips, mouth, and throat

·Kills flu and cold germs

·Whitens teeth

·Strengthens sensitive teeth

·May treat TMJ and general soreness in the jaw area

Oil pulling is definitely worth trying out, especially if you are dealing with anything oral related as you could see improvements in symptoms. Of course, it is something that is meant to be done on a consistent basis, as most everything is anyway, in order to see noticeable changes. Some even report seeing major differences in one week. Who knows, you may even end up incorporating this method into your daily life. If you use a mouth wash, you can even switch to oil pulling for a holistic solution to kill bacteria and bad breath since many mouthwashes that aren’t natural contain chemicals that are harmful to the body. Essential oils like peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, tea tree, or clove can also be added to the oil for their medicinal properties they carry. They provide awesome flavor that will add to your whole experience as well! Oil pulling, along with a healthy lifestyle in general, will be beneficial to your life and overall health for sure. I hope you would agree; this is certainly something you may want to consider implementing into your daily routine!

Try This Easy Recipe for Oil Chews: Make it Fun for the Whole Family

 Coconut Oil Pulling Chews

Ingredients you will need:

1/2 cup coconut oil

20-30 drops of therapeutic grade essential oil (peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, clove, tea tree oils etc.- check with a doc or midwife if you are pregnant, nursing, or before using on children)

Instructions:

1.Melt the coconut oil until just barely liquid.

2.Remove from heat and add essential oils.

3.Pour into silicon candy molds and put in the fridge or freezer to harden.

4.When done, remove from molds and store in a jar.

Use one per day or as needed, to use for your oil pulling needs.

Sources:

-http://www.spiritofhealthkc.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/OIL-PULLING-The-Health-Benefits-of-Oil-Pulling.pdf

-http://wellnessmama.com/7866/oil-pulling/

-http://draxe.com/oil-pulling-coconut-oil/

Article written by: Tia & Tara AhQuin



Amazing Bone Broth

 
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You've heard the old adage "Chicken soup heals the soul". There's actually a considerable amount of truth to this old saying! Most of us haven't even given much thought as to why it was true. Little did we know, the "Chicken Soup" that was spoken about was “Bone Broth”, which, in the present day we are again rediscovering. These old adages came from the era our great-great-grandmothers were raised in. They learned from their mothers, as small children, how to cook one of the main staple meals- chicken soup! I say chicken soup only because, back in that time, chicken was the most affordable cut of meat. Few were even able to afford that. They had much appreciation for what little they had. Since vegetables and animals were their primary source of nutrition, they practiced the method of extracting and demineralizing nutrients through gentle cooking. Therefore, they made it a regular practice to use every part of the vegetable and every piece of an animal. Including the parts of the animal we wouldn’t dream of using. In other words, they had a no-waste mentality and understood the benefits and nutrients that were contained within these foods. Many families kept a pot of broth continually simmering on the hearth at all times. This provided a nourishing base for many meals and it was also a way to keep the broth fresh since this was before the invention of refrigerators. They made broths and stocks to stretch meals. Preparing nutritious soups and stews was the most efficient way to feed a family in that time. This was the context and time frame from whence that familiar adage was taken from.

The practice of making stocks and broths from all varieties of animal parts has been used for centuries. This method of boiling, simmering, demineralizing, and extracting every bit of nourishment as possible, was passed on since ancient times, through all cultures of people from generation to generation.

As the Bible says “there's absolutely nothing new under the sun, what has been will be again.” (Ecc.1:9-10) It's so true! There really is nothing new that we are learning today that wasn't already known long ago by our ancient ancestors, especially when concerning the application of strategies and tools straight out of creation to assist the body in healing. Modern culture is finally catching up to what traditional cultures have known for years… that broth is an inexpensive and versatile source full of nutrients and medicinal properties!

Bone broth may quite possibly be one of the oldest meals on record. Hippocrates was known to extol its value and importance with gut healing. As he once said " Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your Food".

The Incredible Health Benefits of Bone Broth 

Besides the exquisite flavor that bone broth imparts into any savory dish, it also;

  • Has an abundance of minerals

  • Fortifies the immune system

  • Enhances digestion

  • Aids in healing and sealing the gut

  • Is a great source of essential amino acids

  • Nourishes all body parts related to collagen. This means joints, tendons, ligaments, skin, mucus membranes, and bone

Additional benefits of bone broth include the following:

  1. Reduces joint pain and inflammation: Courtesy of chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and other      compounds extracted from the boiled down cartilage and collagen.

  2. Inhibits infection: Has medicinal properties to prevent cold and flu viruses from forming.

  3. Boosts Immune System: Recent studies on cartilage, which is found abundantly in homemade broth, show it supports the immune system in a variety of ways.

  4. Combats inflammation: Amino acids such as glycine, proline, and arginine all have anti-inflammatory effect on the body.

  5. Promotes strong, healthy bones: Contains surprisingly low amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals, but "it plays an important role in healthy bone formation because of its abundant collagen. Collagen fibrils provide the latticework for mineral deposition and are the keys to the building of strong and flexible bones." –Donna Gates

  6. Helps with Hair, Nail,Wrinkles, Stretch Marks, and Cellulite: Contains collagen to make your skin supple and radiant. This delicious, mineral-rich broth can be used to make soup to support smooth, strong skin and reduce cellulite.

Drinking bone broth makes skin supple. Cellulite is not a result of carrying excess fat. Haven’t you ever seen a thin person with cellulite? It’s common! Most people are taught to choose skinless and boneless cuts of meat and to fear animal fats. This is why even those who are slender will not be able to shake cellulite until they change their diet.

  • Cellulite comes from a lack of connective tissue.

  • The smoothness of skin is from an abundance of connective tissue.

  • Collagen-rich bone broth will supply your skin with the tools that it needs to support itself.

  • Adding feet, animal joints, and knuckles to a bone broth will increase the amount of collagen available.

Not sure what kind of bones to use? 

Any kind will do. You can even use an assortment of different animals. Just make sure that all bones are sourced from animals that are organic and grass-fed or pastured and free-range. Remember, everything that the animal ate, how it lived, and where it lived all factor into the health benefits of your broth!

You can purchase bones ready to cook, or you can collect bones from meals and store them in your freezer until you have enough to build a good stock. Remember to only use bones and feet from animals that are grass-fed/finished or free range.

Make sure the bones, especially large bones, are cut into small pieces. This reduces cooking time and allows more material to become a part of the broth.

Basic Bone Broth Recipe

Cooking Suggestions-

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bones on baking pan to roast for 30-45 mins.

  • Place bones into a crock pot or large stock pot and fill with filtered water just till bones are covered’

  • Add two-three tablespoon of Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, 32 Ounce - to water prior to cooking. Acid is necessary component in order to extract important nutrients and minerals from the bones.

  • At this time add a good amount of sea salt (The Spice Lab's - ( Food Grade ) Himalayan Crystal Salt - Dark Pink - (Coarse) - Optional Add-ins: fresh or dried herbs, free range egg shells (calcium), seaweeds (dried wakame, kombu, dulse, nori (mineral and iodine) also added collagen and gelatin can be added (Brands such as Great Lakes Gelatin, Collagen Hydrolysate (Beef Kosher). Vital Proteins are reliable sources use only from grass fed cows)

  • Heat slowly. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low to simmer for at least 6 hours. Remove scum as it arises.

  • Cook long and slow. Chicken bones can cook for 12-48 hours, if you have a good amount of bones. Beef bones can cook for 12-72 hours. A long and slow cook time is necessary in order to fully extract the nutrients in and around bone.

  • After cooking for 12-24 hours you have the option of removing meat, marrow, and fat pieces from bones. That can be used in broth, soups, or in other dishes. Place bones back in pot or crockpot and continue cooking bone broth for the duration of time.

  • When broth is finished cooking, remove bones and other additions. Strain broth out with strainer and then pour into glass quart size Mason jars, to cool. Tip: In some cases, it is possible to reuse some bones for next batch especially in the case of the larger beef bones. If the bones haven’t been completely demineralized to the point of becoming brittle and crumbly. Add them to your new bones when making a new batch of broth.

  • There will be a layer of fat that will harden on top of each jar. You have the option to use this layer of fat to flavor up your broths, soups, stews, and gravies. Also can be removed and used for other recipes, sautéing vegetables, frying eggs or omelets, sautéing meats etc. Use to cook with, like you would with any other type of healthy oil or fat. Note: This layer of fat is extremely beneficial in healing and sealing the gut. A great source of EFAS, vitally important nutrient for brain and heart health.

  • Important note: If broth will not be used within a week or so, freeze broth in Ball Regular Mouth Quart Jars with Lids and Bands, quart size Mason jars. When freezing broth in glass jars, only fill 3/4 of the jar to leave room for expansion. Otherwise the jar will crack and explode.

Sip on the broth or use as the base in a nutrient-dense soup, stew, chili, steamed vegetables, steaming ancient soaked grains etc. Use bone broth to perform a nutrient dense healing liquid fast, an incredible ancient medicinal strategy (we will discuss this in a future blog post).

Sources: Article- "Heal your guts and lose cellulite" Donna Gates-Body Ecology Diet



 

3 Different New Year's Eating Plans! *FREE DOWNLOADS GALORE*

Do you have big goals for the New Year?


Have you ever been motivated to make a change in your diet, only to find that there is SO MUCH information out there that it's hard to make a decision and you end up doing nothing? Let us help you this year!

Here are some of our favorite meal-plans from the Institute for Functional Medicine, complete with a Comprehensive Guide, Recipes, Weekly Planner, and more. Here is a short description of each, feel free to look at all 3 Comprehensive Guides in order to determine which is the best fit for you!



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IFM Detox Food Plan - This plan puts a focus on specific nutrients and anti-inflammatory foods to support your body's natural detoxification pathways. Supporting detox could be a great start to the New Year!

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IFM Elimination Diet - This is a classic anti-inflammatory/autoimmune Elimination Diet that cuts out gluten, dairy, red meat, and several more potentially inflammatory foods and then teaches you how to re-introduce them 1-by-1 to see which foods you could be reacting to. It's not as strict as Whole30 or Autoimmune Paleo Diet but still very effective!

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IFM Mito Food Plan - this is a lower carb, gluten-free food plan that combines food with intermittent fasting principles to support your body's MITOCHONDRIA, which produce all of your cellular energy for thoughts, immune function and detoxification, and these mitochondria get damaged over time by poor diet, high stress, inflammation, and especially toxin exposure. This is Dr. Taylor's favorite of all 3!













Mind Your Melatonin - 5 Steps to Boost Melatonin and Deep Sleep

 
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Mind Your Melatonin - 5 Steps to Boost Melatonin and Deep Sleep

By Dr. Taylor Krick

If your sleep cycles are disrupted, everything in your life can be disrupted. Your energy is gone, you can’t concentrate, and if this zombie state lasts long enough it can lead to serious disease. One of the most important factors in your sleep cycles is your body’s production of a hormone called melatonin, which is produced at night in a 24-hour cycle called a Circadian Rhythm. For more information, please check out our other articles and watch our webinar “How To Sleep Better.”

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain that is better known as an over-the-counter sleep aid than a powerful antioxidant with cancer-fighting effects. Known as ‘The Darkness Hormone’, melatonin production works on a natural cycle to control your sleep, and when it begins to rise in the evening it tells your body that it’s time to go to bed. If your melatonin production is disrupted, you will be wired at night and won’t be able to fall asleep and your sleep cycles will become even more disrupted. You want to maximize melatonin production AND melatonin sensitivity!

Your body’s sleep cycles are controlled in what is called your Circadian Rhythm, making your body awake and alert in the morning then tired and sleepy in the evening. These daily rhythms are regulated by hormones like cortisol and melatonin. Cortisol, which is released by the adrenal glands, is known for being your body’s main stress hormone. Cortisol should be highest in the morning and gradually fall off as the day goes on. Stress (mental, physical, chemical) throws off cortisol production and can disrupt normal cortisol rhythm, which over time will often cause someone to feel tired in the morning and wired at night, which negatively affects sleep and further compounds the problem. 

Science has now discovered that Circadian Rhythms control much of your physiology, and circadian disruption is a hallmark feature of metabolic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. Over ⅓ of your genes are controlled by circadian mechanisms, and work around these mechanisms won the 2017 Nobel Prize.

Melatonin alone controls over 500 genes in your genome. Melatonin is the hormone that the brain produces to tell the body it is night and time to go to sleep, and it peaks during the night.  As the sun sets and the light becomes orange and then dark, your eyes detect these changes in light (darkness) and begin to tell your body to get tired. The eyes send messages through an area called the Supra Chiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus and then to the pineal gland. The pineal gland then secretes melatonin into the bloodstream, which causes you to become drowsy. 

It’s critical to keep your melatonin production high and your hormone sensitivity high! If anything disrupts melatonin production, your body doesn’t get fully tired and you can’t fall asleep or stay asleep. 

While it can be helpful in the short-term to reset normal rhythms (jet lag as a good example), supplementing with melatonin is not the best long-term answer. What research has found is that taking supplemental melatonin doesn’t necessarily cause your body to stop producing melatonin on its own, but it does affect your hormone sensitivity - meaning your body has to try to produce more and more to have the same effect. The answer is to naturally do everything you can to boost melatonin production while eliminating anything you may be doing to interfere with melatonin. Here are 4 crucial steps to maintain healthy melatonin levels. (#4 is the most important!)

1.) EAT A MELATONIN-BOOSTING DIET

There are many healthy foods which can help maximize melatonin production, but the #1 rule to follow is to EAT REAL FOOD, because processed foods with high sugar content and damaged fats cause inflammation which decreases hormone sensitivity and causes stress on the body, which will then ultimately disrupt hormone cycles like melatonin and cortisol. Eating only real food is step #1. After you are eating a real food diet, then there are some advanced strategies you can try. 

Many foods have natural melatonin content, including orange bell peppers, almonds, raspberries, and goji berries to name a few. One of the best foods to naturally boost melatonin are tart cherries, or tart cherry juice (the tart part is important! Tart cherries have 50x the melatonin that sweet cherries contain).

In a study published in 2012 in the European Journal of Nutrition, researchers supplemented people with tart cherry juice and monitored their circulating blood melatonin along with their sleep duration and quality. The group ingesting the cherry juice (the other group drank a kool-aid placebo) saw significant differences in every metric - time in bed, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency total. They also measured melatonin in the blood and found that the group taking the cherry juice had increased their circulating melatonin!1 (Be careful of spiking blood sugar before bed though!! This would NOT WORK with #5 below….)

The immediate precursor to melatonin is serotonin, the neurotransmitter known most for its effect on the mood (most antidepressants work on serotonin pathways), so another way to boost melatonin is to eat foods rich in serotonin. Many healthy foods including pumpkin seeds, strawberries, and tomatoes can boost serotonin and melatonin circulating blood levels in a single serving. 

Many natural foods contain neurotransmitters - spices, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables -  so the most important thing is to eat a balanced, plant-based real food diet with lots of variety, focusing on bright colors and strong flavors.

2.) EXERCISE EARLY

Exercising regularly helps modulate your body’s cycles such as sleep, stress, and temperature. Although everyone is different, there is research to support that exercising early helps boost melatonin production in the later evening. In this particular study, one group exercised in the morning, one group exercised in the evening, and the control group did not exercise. Melatonin was measured at day 1 and day 6. In this graph, day 1 are the open circles and day 6 are the closed circles. 

 
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You can see the rise from day 1 to day 6 (open to closed circles) the highest in the morning exercise group. 2

Other studies have shown that you don’t need to exercise only in the morning, but at least getting a quick workout in first thing can help reset circadian rhythms, even if you exercise again later in the day. I believe everyone is different and the most important thing is exercising regularly, but these findings could be helpful to someone trying to regulate melatonin and get their sleep cycles back on track. 

3.) KEEP YOUR CORE COLD
Another body cycle that rises and falls throughout the day is your core body temperature, reaching its max during the day and its minimum at night. Thermoregulatory processes have long been shown to initiate sleep, and that is one of the mechanisms of how melatonin makes you sleepy. In fact, studies have demonstrated that when supplemented melatonin during the day (when the body is not naturally producing any) it still has the same temperature-lowering effects.3,4 

Your body’s core temperature should reach its lowest during the night. In fact, abnormally high body core body temperature is associated with insomnia. For this reason, it is crucial that your sleeping environment be cold. Studies suggest a sleeping environment of between 60 and 68 degrees is optimal. 

One thing you can do to manipulate your temperature is take a warm bath 90 minutes before bedtime. This will raise your core body temperature, then when you get out of the bath the drop in body temperature will stimulate sleepiness. Soak in a warm bath of epsom salts, as the Magnesium in epsom salt has also been shown to help aid sleep as well. 

4.) CONTROL YOUR LIGHT EXPOSURE

Controlling the light that your eyes are exposed to is the best way to regulate and stimulate melatonin production.

Melatonin cycles are controlled by light exposure, so being exposed to the wrong wavelengths of light can disrupt melatonin production. In today’s society,-filled with sitting under artificial fluorescent lighting and staring at the screens of our devices all day - our light exposure is not natural and it leads to abnormal decreased melatonin production and disrupted sleep cycles. 

Think about this - during the day the sun is bright, the sky is blue, and your body is designed to be awake. At night the sun sets, which is orange, and night falls, which is completely dark and your body goes to sleep. This is the way your body is designed! 


During the day it is incredibly important to remind your eyes and brain that it is day time. One of the best practices is to watch the sunrise, but that’s not always an option for everyone. At the very least you should try to be exposed to sunlight as early as possible and be exposed as often as possible throughout the day, even if that means looking through a window. The best exposure however  is real daylight hitting your eyes and hitting your skin. 


Artificial light from screens and monitors produces blue light, which tells your body it is daytime and not to produce melatonin. The worst thing for your melatonin production is looking at blue or white light (LED Devices) before bed! These blue wavelengths can be easily blocked by wearing Blue Blocker sunglasses or getting a blue-blocking screen on your phone. This blocks blue light from getting to your eyes while watching TV or looking at a computer. I personally wear blue-blockers nearly every night! 

 
 

Even if you are blocking the blue wavelengths, it’s important to turn off electronic devices at least 60 minutes before bed, as they are stimulatory and will keep your brain awake. 

In our house we also have amber wavelength light bulbs in several lamps, and when it is getting time to wind down we turn off the lights, turn off the tv, and turn on the amber lamps.

Once in bed, you want complete and total darkness. Even a dim light or flipping on a lamp will immediately decrease melatonin production.5


5.) PRACTICE INTERMITTENT FASTING (AKA TIME-RESTRICTED FEEDING)

If melatonin is controlled by these 24-hour cellular “clocks” called circadian rhythms, what controls the “clocks”? Light exposure is a big one - the sun tells us it’s day and the lack of light (darkness) tells us it’s night, but another “external cue” is when you EAT. 


Popularly referred to as Intermittent Fasting, Time-Restricted Feeding is a more accurate term, because you don’t need to restrict calories to practice TRF, you just eat during certain times and you don’t eat during certain times. Eating during a certain “window” means that the rest of the day you are “fasting” - if you eat from 10am-6pm you had an 8-hour “eating window” and a 14-hour “fasting window”. Restricting your meals to 6-10 hours of the day can help reset circadian rhythms and boost melatonin and deep, restorative sleep. In fact the team at Oura Ring (watch my Sleep webinar!) has said that blocking blue light at night and stopping eating sooner are THE TWO BIGGEST FACTORS for increasing deep sleep, based on the millions of hours of data they now have on sleep quality!

The action steps are simple - stop eating sooner. If you eat dinner at 7pm, do you have a pre-bed snack? Do you have a nightcap drink? STOP. (The #1 thing that disrupts my sleep on my Oura ring is alcohol consumption) Can you stop eating by 7pm? Can you move dinner to 5pm and be done by 6pm? The key is to eat all of your calories in a specific window, 6, 8, 10 hours and then STOP and see how your sleep changes over time. Watch our Intermittent Fasting or Time-Restricted Feeding Webinar to learn more!

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

If your sleep cycles are disrupted, the answer won’t likely come from any of these interventions alone, but rather a shift in lifestyle combining several of these tools. Putting this all together into one day’s activities could look like this:

  • Wake Up Early

  • Exercise (even if it’s quick)

  • Watch the Sunrise or Look at Sunlight early

  • Perform Stress Reduction Techniques during the day

  • Eat only REAL FOOD all day

  • Get Sunlight Exposure during the day

  • Stop Eating Sooner

  • Blue Blocking Sunglasses after sunset

  • Electronic Devices turned off early

  • Warm Bath in Epsom Salts

  • Sleep in a Cold, Dark Bedroom


When you begin to combine these strategies, over time your circadian rhythm will regulate itself, but it will take time. Do these things on a regular basis, and try to avoid the things that can disrupt good health like processed foods and too much stress. Melatonin production is a complex network of hormones and cycles, but when your sleep and circadian rhythms are working properly and your body can heal, regenerate, and you have energy and vitality you need throughout the day - everything gets better!




1. Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality.Eur J Nutr. 2012 Dec;51(8):909-16. doi: 10.1007/s00394-011-0263-7. Epub 2011 Oct 30.  Howatson G1, Bell PG, Tallent J, Middleton B, McHugh MP, Ellis J.

2. Morning and evening physical exercise differentially regulate the autonomic nervous system during nocturnal sleep in humans Yujiro Yamanaka, et al; American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology Published 1 November 2015 Vol. 309 no. 9

3. The relationship between insomnia and body temperatures.Sleep Med Rev. 2008 Aug;12(4):307-17. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2008.02.003.  Lack LC1, Gradisar M, Van Someren EJ, Wright HR, Lushington K.

4. Thermoregulatory effects of melatonin in relation to sleepiness Kurt Krauchi et al; Centre for Chronobiology, University Psychiatric Clinics, Basel, Switzerland University Eye Clinic, Basel, Switzerland http://www.chronobiology.ch/wp-content/uploads/publications/2006_07.pdf 

5. Effects of lights of different color temperature on the nocturnal changes in core temperature and melatonin in humans.Appl Human Sci. 1996 Sep;15(5):243-6. Morita T1, Tokura H.



 

Push The Brakes On Stress With The VAGUS NERVE

 
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The 10th Cranial Nerve, or Vagus Nerve, is the longest cranial nerve and is directly related to nearly every function in the body. Called “The Relaxation Nerve” (as well as “The Wandering Nerve”), it exits from the brainstem and “wanders” throughout the body, establishing a two-way connection between the brain and major organs like the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, spleen, and the entire digestive tract (gut-brain axis). 

The vagus nerve is involved in many critical functions of the body’s Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) including digestion, breathing, hormone release, and heart rate modulation. The vagus stimulates the body’s Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), also known as the “Rest-and-Digest” Nervous System, which is the opposite of your “Fight-or-Flight” or Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). 

You can think of the SNS as your body’s “stress response gas pedal”, while the PNS is your body’s “stress response brake pedal”, so stimulating the vagus nerve is like pushing the brake pedal on your body’s stress response. 

When you consider today’s epidemic levels of stress and stress-related chronic diseases, it’s not surprising that the activity of the vagus nerve is proportionally associated with health, wellbeing, relaxation, and even emotions like empathy, while it is negatively associated with poor markers of overall health including morbidity, mortality, and stress.1

The ‘brain-body connection’ goes both ways, so stimulating vagal activity can not only impact vital bodily functions but can impact our brain function drastically as well. Vagal nerve stimulation has been shown to affect many different areas of the brain as viewed by functional MRI (fMRI) and Electroencephalogram (EEG), and is known to increase the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and endogenous opioids, which modulates brain functions such as pain processing, mood control including anxiety and depression, and even impacts neurogenesis, brain plasticity, memory, learning, and cognitive processes.1

In summary, stimulating your Vagus Nerve can decrease your body’s stress response and improve your ‘brain-body connection’, positively affecting BODILY FUNCTIONS through modulation of stress, hormone release, inflammation, digestion, detoxification and metabolism, while simultaneously impacting BRAIN ACTIVITY and affecting functions like mood and the perception of pain by altering the release of neurochemicals.