Ayahuasca And Mushrooms For Alcoholism And Depression

Ayahuasca for alcoholism and depression may be effective, according to a survey of almost 100,000 people.

Ayahuasca for alcoholism and depression may be effective, according to a survey of almost 100,000 people.

Ayahuasca — a psychedelic drug traditionally used in South America — may help treat depression and alcoholism, research suggests.

The survey of over 96,000 people around the world found that ayahuasca users reported higher well-being and lower problems with alcohol abuse.

Ayahuasca for alcoholism

Ayahuasca contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is a powerful psychedelic that acts over a short period.

In the 60s it was known as the ‘businessman’s trip’ because its effects last between 5 and 15 minutes, instead of the hours resulting from LSD or magic mushrooms.

Dr Will Lawn, the study’s first author, said:

“These findings lend some support to the notion that ayahuasca could be an important and powerful tool in treating depression and alcohol use disorders.

Recent research has demonstrated ayahuasca’s potential as a psychiatric medicine, and our current study provides further evidence that it may be a safe and promising treatment.

It is important to note that these data are purely observational and do not demonstrate causality.

Moreover, ayahuasca users in this survey still had an average drinking level which would be considered hazardous.

Therefore, randomised controlled trials must be carried out to fully examine ayahuasca’s ability to help treat mood and addiction disorders.

However, this study is notable because it is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest survey of ayahuasca users completed to date.”

Mushrooms for alcoholism

Of over 96,000 people who answered the online survey, 527 people said they used ayahuasca, while 18,138 used magic mushrooms or LSD.

Most users of ayahuasca took it with a healer or shaman.

Professor Celia Morgan, who co-authored the study, said:

“Several observational studies have examined the long-term effects of regular ayahuasca use in the religious context.

In this work, long-term ayahuasca use has not been found to impact on cognitive ability, produce addiction or worsen mental health problems.

In fact, some of these observational studies suggest that ayahuasca use is associated with less problematic alcohol and drug use, and better mental health and cognitive functioning.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Lawn et al., 2017).

Alcohol Kills Brain Stem Cells And Slows Neurogenesis

Alcohol kills brain stem cells and without them, new brain cells cannot be produced.

Alcohol kills brain stem cells and without them, new brain cells cannot be produced.

Alcohol kills stem cells in the brain, research finds.

Stem cells are responsible for making new cells — known as neurogenesis — and are key to maintaining normal cognitive function.

Females are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol on their brains, the study on mice found.

Chronic alcohol abuse is known to cause severe brain damage and neurodegeneration.

It was thought for a long time that the body did not produce any new brain cells after early life, but relatively recently it has been shown that neurogenesis does occur in the brain.

Professor Ping Wu, who led the study, said:

“The discovery that the adult brain produces stem cells that create new nerve cells provides a new way of approaching the problem of alcohol-related changes in the brain.

However, before the new approaches can be developed, we need to understand how alcohol impacts the brain stem cells at different stages in their growth, in different brain regions and in the brains of both males and females.”

Alcohol kills brain cells

The study on adult mice found that repeated alcohol consumption damaged many parts of their brains.

However, the areas that were most susceptible were in two regions that are responsible for the production of new brain cells.

The study used cutting-edge methods to tag brain stem cells and watch how they migrate and develop over time.

The study was published in the journal Stem Cell Reports (McGrath et al., 2017).

The Common Drink That Reduces Stress And Heart Attack Risk

People who drank this were at a 20 percent lower risk of having a heart attack.

People who drank this were at a 20 percent lower risk of having a heart attack.

A moderate intake of alcohol helps to protect the heart by reducing stress signals to the brain, a study finds.

Moderate alcohol intake is between 1 and 14 drinks per week.

For the study, the brains of 752 people were scanned, focusing on the amygdala, a structure associated with stress and fear.

People who drank alcohol moderately were at a 20 percent lower risk of having a heart attack (or ‘major event’ as doctors like to call it now).

They were also likely to have lower activity in the amygdala.

Dr Kenechukwu Mezue, the study’s first author, explained:

“We found that stress-related activity in the brain was higher in non-drinkers when compared with people who drank moderately, while people who drank excessively (more than 14 drinks per week) had the highest level of stress-related brain activity.

The thought is that moderate amounts of alcohol may have effects on the brain that can help you relax, reduce stress levels and, perhaps through these mechanisms, lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease.”

Another study by the same research team found that exercise has a similar beneficial and protective effect on the heart.

The more exercise people did, the lower was their stress-associated brain activity.

Dr Mezue said:

“The current study suggests that moderate alcohol intake beneficially impacts the brain-heart connection.

However, alcohol has several important side effects, including an increased risk of cancer, liver damage and dependence, so other interventions with better side effect profiles that beneficially impact brain-heart pathways are needed.”

Alcohol causes brain damage

Although an interesting study, if you are trying to choose between moderate drinking and exercise to protect your heart and health, then there is no contest: exercise wins.

Here are some of the things that alcohol does to the brain:

The study was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 70th Annual Scientific Session (Mezue et al., 2021).

6 Ways Alcohol Is Good For Mind And Brain

How alcohol affects cognitive function, changes how you appear to others and even lowers the risk of some diseases.

How alcohol affects cognitive function, changes how you appear to others and even lowers the risk of some diseases.

1. Better cognitive function

Moderate consumption of wine is linked to higher performance on cognitive tests, research has found.

The study followed 5,033 people in Norway who were tracked for over 7 years.

Moderate consumptions was defined as drinking wine at least four times over a two-week period.

There was no link between drinking wines and spirits and improved cognitive function.

Women who did not drink wine actually had significantly lower scores on the tests.

2. You look more attractive

One or two glasses of wine can make the drinker look more attractive to others, a study finds.

Three or four glasses, though, does not make a person look more attractive than when they are sober.

This is different to the ‘beer goggles’ effect, which is well known: that alcohol makes other people look more attractive.

This is the first study to show that it works both ways, as the authors explain:

“The present study suggests that alcohol consumption increases ratings of attractiveness of the consumer by other people.

That is, in addition to perceiving others as more attractive, an alcohol consumer may also be perceived by others as more attractive, and therefore receive greater sexual interest from potential mates.”

3. Lower Alzheimer’s risk

One drink a day (or less) for women and 1-2 drinks (or less) for men reduces the risk of developing dementia, a study has found.

It works out to between 8 and 14 drinks per week.

The study is one of the largest — and longest — to look at the connection between alcohol and dementia.

Dr Kaycee Sink, one of the study’s authors, said:

“As of yet, we still have no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, so it is important to look for things that might help people prevent the disease.

Moderate alcohol intake has been linked to lower risk of heart attacks, stroke, dementia, and death in middle-aged adults, but there is still controversy about alcohol intake in older adults.”

4. Lower risk of depression

Wine drunk in moderation can reduce the risk of developing depression, research finds.

Moderate alcohol intake can have a similar protective effect on depression as that found for heart disease.

Professor Miguel A. Martínez-González, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Lower amounts of alcohol intake might exert protection in a similar way to what has been observed for coronary heart disease.

In fact, it is believed that depression and coronary heart disease share some common disease mechanisms.”

5. Better memory for the past

For people over 60, light or moderate alcohol intake is associated with better recall of past events, according to a study.

Links were also found between increased size of the hippocampus — the area of the brain crucial to memory — and moderate alcohol consumption.

The study, published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, used data from almost 700 people who have been followed since the 1970s.

The results showed that people who drank alcohol lightly or moderately had better memories for past events, although there was no association with overall mental ability.

6. Improved spatial memory

One to three glasses of champagne each week could slow memory loss from ageing, research finds.

Scientists have found that phenolic compounds in champagne can help improve spatial memory.

The phenolic compounds come from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier red grapes which are used alongside Chardonnay in the production of champagne.

The compounds affect the signals sent from the hippocampus to the cortex.

The compounds were found to slow the age-related decline in this signalling.

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The Drink That Shrinks Your Brain – Even At Lowest Levels (M)

Averaging four drinks a day was linked to the equivalent of 10 years of brain aging.

Averaging four drinks a day was linked to the equivalent of 10 years of brain aging.

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The Amount Of Alcohol That Raises Your Blood Pressure

This popular beverage causes high blood pressure and cardiovascular risks.

This popular beverage causes high blood pressure and cardiovascular risks.

Having more than one alcoholic drink a day increases the risk of hypertension by nearly 80 percent, a study reveals.

Moderate drinking — which is defined as 8 to 14 alcoholic drinks weekly — results in severe high blood pressure.

Researchers looked into the connection between the amount of drinking and blood pressure among more than 10,000 people with type 2 diabetes in the USA and Canada.

Subjects were divided into different groups based on alcohol consumption levels:

  • those who consumed none,
  • those who had 1 to 7 drinks a week (light),
  • those who drank 8 to 14 a week (moderate),
  • and those who drank 15 or more a week (heavy).

The unit for one alcoholic drink was 1.5 oz (45 ml) of hard liquor, 5 oz (148 ml) glass of wine, or 12 oz (355 ml) of beer.

A normal blood pressure in the study was classified as below 120/80 mm Hg, elevated was higher than 120/80 mm Hg, stage 1 hypertension ranging from 130 to 139 mm Hg/80 to 89 mm Hg, and stage 2 hypertension as 140 mm Hg/90 mm Hg or higher.

Dr Matthew Singleton, the senior study author, said:

“This is the first large study to specifically investigate the association of alcohol intake and hypertension among adults with Type 2 diabetes.

Previous studies have suggested that heavy alcohol consumption was associated with high blood pressure, however, the association of moderate alcohol consumption with high blood pressure was unclear.”

Here is a summary of their findings:

  • Light drinking didn’t cause high blood pressure.
  • The odds for high blood pressure were raised by 79 percent, stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension by 66 percent and 62 percent respectively with moderate drinking.
  • The odds for high blood pressure increased by 91 percent, stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension by 149 percent and 204 percent respectively with heavy drinking.
  • Finally, the likelihood of having severe hypertension got higher and higher with increases in alcohol consumption.

Dr Singleton said:

“Though light to moderate alcohol consumption may have positive effects on cardiovascular health in the general adult population, both moderate and heavy alcohol consumption appear to be independently associated with higher odds of high blood pressure among those with Type 2 diabetes.

Lifestyle modification, including tempering alcohol consumption, may be considered in patients with Type 2 diabetes, particularly if they are having trouble controlling their blood pressure.

People with Type 2 diabetes are at higher cardiovascular risk, and our findings indicate that alcohol consumption is associated with hypertension, so limited drinking is recommended.”

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (Mayl et al., 2020).

Very Popular Drink Linked To Brain Damage (M)

The drink was linked to shrinkage in the hippocampus, an area critical for memory and other mental functions.

The drink was linked to shrinkage in the hippocampus, an area critical for memory and other mental functions.

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