12/8/23: Bees fight cancer, tree tech, and koala protection

Planet Health

• 🐌 SNAIL SCOOPER: Scientists at Cornell University are developing a new robot design inspired by snails to gather ocean microplastics. "We were inspired by how this snail collects food particles to engineer a device that could possibly collect microplastics in the ocean or at a water body's surface," says one of the professors of biology at Cornell, referencing the undulating "foot" of a particular Hawaiian snail that creates suction to "slurp" up food.

• 🌲 SPROUTING HOPE: In the Redwood forests of California, recent wildfires and drought conditions prompted fears that many 2k-year-old charred trees wouldn't recover. Surprisingly instead, resilient new growth is shooting out of the blackened ground to researchers' amazement. Carbon dating of the fresh boughs revealed "the average age of the sugar molecules was 21 years—meaning the tree was using energy it generated over two decades ago to power new growth." We have a lot to learn from these slow-growing giants!

• 🐨 KOALA CORRIDORS: Volunteer-driven conservation group Bangalow Koalas has successfully planted 336k trees on 119 properties in Australia since 2019, creating safe forested passage for the iconic marsupial. This supports their "increasingly fragmented habitat," and boosts genetic diversity among koalas. "Our corridors are trying to get them away from humans, from cars, from dogs," said Linda Sparrow, president of Bangalow Koalas. The group aims to plant an additional 500k trees by 2025.

   

Human Health

• 💤 SLEEP VARIABILITY: A recent study reveals how variability of sleep can impact cognitive decline. "We expected that people whose sleep got shorter over time would be at an increased risk of cognitive decline. But we didn’t see this," the author of the study states. Researchers discovered that the "variability in self-reported sleep duration– the changes and fluctuations in sleep patterns over time– was a more noticeable feature than consistent increases or decreases in sleep duration." Though requiring more research, it supports the overall notion that sleep health is a critical pillar of mental and physical longevity and wellbeing.

• 🐝 HONEY BEE VENOM: Did you know the molecule in bee venom that creates the stinging pain sensation is also responsible for "highly selective cell death" of cancer cells? A study reveals the venom bees release into our bodies— melittin— may be toxic to melanoma, lung, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. Dr. Ciara Duffy, research lead, says “we found that melittin can completely destroy cancer cell membranes within 60 minutes.”

• 🍄 LION'S MANE MAGIC: Preliminary findings from a small randomized controlled trial show that 4 weeks of supplementing Lion's Mane powder (a powerfully antioxidant-rich fungi) resulted in "improved selective attention, processing speed, cognitive flexibility, executive functions like planning and decision making, and less perceived stress." This is the first study to show cognitive function improvement from Lion's Mane in young, healthy participants.

   

🎄 Holiday bloat

The holidays can wreak havoc on our bodies…

Alcohol, sugary treats, stress…loads of temptation and the occasional indulgence.

And before we know it…

Our body is stuck in “holiday auto-bloat.”

I call it “auto-bloat” when your body automatically stores fat in your belly, instead of burning the fat like it's supposed to…(which happens a lot over the holidays – even to the best of us).

[Take a few seconds each day to use THIS and support your health.]

A huge part of your body parking itself into “auto-bloat” is when your levels of fat-causing toxins start to build up…

Processed foods and your mom’s Christmas cookies can send you into a fat-storing mode, which leads to lethargy, less motivation to exercise, and a bit of a downward spiral.

One tool I’ve been exploring lately is what’s known as the “Master of all antioxidants”: Glutathione.

It has anti-aging, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. That’s a nice list of “shields” that you may want when traveling and if you’re indulging a bit to enjoy any year-end celebrations.

You’ve probably heard me talk about the benefits of “liposomal” supplements because they absorb significantly better.

You can get a Buy 1 Get 1 just in time for the holidays HERE.

Creature Feature

• 🐛 GALAXY CATERPILLAR: This common fruit-eating moth, eudocima phalonia, is often found in tropical places in Asia and Africa. It appears endearingly cute in its caterpillar stage (like a cartoon galaxy) but the adult is considered "an agricultural pest, causing damage to many fruit crops by piercing it with its strong proboscis in order to suck the juice."

Nutrition 101

• 🧬 DIPEPTIDYL PEPTIDASE IV (DPP-4): DPP-4 is a digestive enzyme that's responsible for breaking down casein and gluten, and DPP-4 inhibitors have been shown to decrease BG levels in Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. "Inhibitors prevent the degradation of glucose-dependent peptides, lowering blood glucose levels." Many commercial pharmacological DPP-4 inhibitors exist on the market, but this review covers many natural sources of plants, herbs, fruits, and leaves (like quinoa, blackberries, berberis bark, guava, and ayurvedic herbs) containing phytochemicals that have a similar effect. Hooray for plant power!

   

Last poll’s results

Is desalination practical?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (71.7%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No (28.3%)