Category: Persuasion

A pinch of this spice puts your immune system on guard.

A pinch of this spice puts your immune system on guard.

Consuming even a tiny amount of pungent ginger compounds could strengthen the immune system.

The spice is traditionally considered an anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory natural remedy.

Ginger contains natural compounds such as gingerol, paradol, zingerone, and shogaol, which are known for their antioxidant activities and boosting the immune system.

Recent laboratory tests carried out by Professor Veronika Somoza and colleagues at Leibniz Institute in Germany, confirms the stimulating effect of ginger on the immune system.

The results show that drinking ginger tea enhanced the white blood cell response against bacterial infection.

Apparently, within 30 to 60 minutes after drinking a litre of ginger tea, a considerable amounts of pungent compounds entered the bloodstream.

The highest levels belonged to [6]-gingerol (gingerol) with a concentration of seven to 17 micrograms per litre (µg/l) in the blood.

Gingerol is a compound responsible for the sharpness of taste and smell of ginger.

How gingerol works

To see how gingerol works, the researchers first identified key receptors on neutrophils.

Neutrophils make up the majority of white blood cells that fight bacteria entering the body.

Next the team discovered that even a small amount of gingerol (equivalent to 15 µg/l) was enough to increase the vigilance of white blood cells.

The results revealed that the cells stimulated with gingerol had a 30 percent stronger response to a bacterial infection.

Dr Gaby Andersen, the study’s first author, said:

“Thus, at least in experiments, very low [6]-gingerol concentrations are sufficient to affect the activity of immune cells via the TRPV1 receptor.

In blood, these concentrations could theoretically be achieved by consuming about one liter of ginger tea.”

Professor Veronika Somoza, study senior author, said:

“So, our results support the assumption that the intake of common amounts of ginger may be sufficient to modulate cellular responses of the immune system.

Nevertheless, there are still many unanswered questions at the molecular, epidemiological and medical levels that need to be addressed with the help of modern food and health research.”

Related

The study was published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (Andersen et al., 2023).

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Why some memories last a lifetime and others are quickly forgotten.

Why some memories last a lifetime and others are quickly forgotten.

Memories that last a lifetime need to be linked to lots of other memories, plus they need to be a bit weird.

These are the two key components of memories that have the potential to last a lifetime.

Professor Per Sederberg, an expert on memory, thinks the idea of peculiarity is vital to understanding memory:

“You have to build a memory on the scaffolding of what you already know, but then you have to violate the expectations somewhat.

It has to be a little bit weird.”

This ‘scaffolding’ means connections to other memories.

For example, memories of our childhoods are linked to lots of other memories about our families and the places we lived.

And which are the stories we remember best — the ones that stand out?

Of course, it is the ones where something unusual happened: when Grandad told you he was in a band years ago and astonished you by playing the guitar.

It is when you were cycling home and happened to pass your mother in the street wearing a dragon costume and holding a cricket bat.

How memories are stored and retrieved

In one of Professor Sederberg’s studies people wore smartphones around their necks for a month.

These automatically took photos at random intervals.

Later, they relived these memories in the brain scanner so researchers could see where and how the memories were stored and retrieved.

Think of all your memories as being like a vast network, Professor Sederberg said:

“If we want to be able to retrieve a memory later, you want to build a rich web.

It should connect to other memories in multiple ways, so there are many ways for our mind to get back to it.

You want to have a lot of different ways to get to any individual memory.”

Memorable experiences often happen in familiar contexts, but have some peculiar, unpredictable aspect, said Professor Sederberg:

“Those peculiar experiences are the things that stand out, that make a more lasting memory.”

This is why some memories last a lifetime and others are quickly forgotten.

Professor Sederberg was speaking at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in France on June 19. The study referenced was published in the journal PNAS (Nielson et al., 2015).

Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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From the boardrooms to the bedroom, your voice pitch makes a surprising difference.

From the boardrooms to the bedroom, your voice pitch makes a surprising difference.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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People with this personality type have higher crystallised intelligence.

People with this personality type have higher crystallised intelligence.

Being open to experience is a sign of high intelligence, research reveals.

People who are open to experience are more interested in things that are complex, new and unconventional.

They are sensitive to their feelings, intellectually curious and seekers of variety.

Curiosity and an appreciation of beauty are particularly strong signs of crystallised intelligence, the study found.

Crystallised intelligence roughly equates to general knowledge: knowing many things about the world.

It is natural that people who are curious and interested in new things tend to pick up more general information.

The conclusions come from a study of around 500 people who were given tests of intelligence and personality.

Openness to experience is one of the five major aspects of personality.

Openness also has a number of facets of its own, the study authors explain:

“The Openness to Experience construct involves the tendency to fantasize (Fantasy), aesthetic sensitivity (Aesthetics), awareness of one’s emotions (Feelings), preference for novelty (Actions), intellectual curiosity (Ideas), and preference for non-traditional values (Values).”

The results revealed that more intelligent people were particularly appreciative of beauty: they had a strong aesthetic sense.

They were also likely to be intellectually curious and to have an interest in ideas for their own sake.

These two facets of openness were most strongly linked to higher crystallised intelligence.

The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Ashton et al., 2000).

Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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The activity has a surprising cognitive edge over other types of workout.

The activity has a surprising cognitive edge over other types of workout.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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Lower blood pressure linked to one of the most popular drinks in the world.

Lower blood pressure linked to one of the most popular drinks in the world.

Coffee is one of the most common drinks around the world yet due to its natural stimulant effect, caffeine has been controversial.

Caffeine can cause a short spike in blood pressure by affecting adenosine production, a compound that relaxes blood vessels.

However, antioxidants in coffee reduce this effect, helping the blood vessels to widen and improve blood flow.

Phenolic compounds in coffee have antioxidant activity that can provide anti-inflammatory benefits and improve insulin sensitivity.

Contrary to what many believe, a study has found that drinking coffee helps maintain low blood pressure.

Participants who consumed two or three cups of coffee every day had notably lower blood pressure than those who did not drink coffee.

The research team observed that moderate coffee consumption was associated with lower peripheral and central (aortic) systolic blood pressure (SBP).

Elevated central aortic pressure is a strong indicator of cardiovascular disease.

Professor Arrigo Cicero, the study’s first author, said:

“The results obtained show that those who regularly drink coffee have significantly lower blood pressure, both on peripheral and central levels, than those who do not drink it.

This is the first study to observe this association in the Italian population, and the data confirm the positive effect of coffee consumption on cardiovascular risk.”

Despite the side effects linked to its powerful stimulant effect, several studies show that people who drink coffee regularly, but in moderation, are less likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and certain neurodegenerative conditions.

Professor Cicero said:

“Caffeine is only one of the several coffee components and certainly not the only one with an active role.

Positive effects on human health have indeed been recorded even among those who consume decaffeinated coffee.

We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to counterbalance this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure levels.”

To find out the impact of coffee on blood pressure, the study compared central and peripheral BP values in 1,503 Italian adults.

Participants’ coffee drinking habits (the amount and how often) and blood pressure levels were recorded.

Professor Cicero said:

“The results are very clear: peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in individuals consuming one to three cups of coffee a day than in non-coffee drinkers.

And for the first time, we were also able to confirm these effects with regard to the central aortic pressure, the one close to the heart, where we observe an almost identical phenomenon with entirely similar values for habitual coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers.”

Their data shows that coffee drinkers had lower values in central aortic pressure, peripheral circulation, SBP, and pulse pressure suggesting the beneficial health effects in lowering cardiovascular disease risk.

The study was published in the journal Nutrients (Cicero et al., 2023).

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People with this personality trait tend to have better health habits and more stable jobs and marriages.

People with this personality trait tend to have better health habits and more stable jobs and marriages.

People who are conscientious and careful live the longest lives, research finds.

Conscientious people tend to be self-disciplined and they aim for achievement.

Two aspects of conscientiousness have the strongest link to a long life:

1. A preference for order,
2. and an orientation towards achievement.

Careful people are also less likely to smoke or drink and experience lower levels of stress.

In more bad news for people trying to enjoy their lives, happiness seems to have little connection with a long life.

The reason is that cheerful, laid-back people tend to be more careless about their health.

Persistent and conscientious people, though, get that check-up.

The conclusions come from an analysis of 20 different studies which included over 8,900 people in many countries.

Being more conscientious was consistently linked to living a longer life.

It is probably because conscientious people tend to have better health habits and more stable jobs and marriages.

Conscientiousness is one of the five major aspects of personality, along with agreeableness, extraversion, openness to experience and neuroticism.

Professor Howard S. Friedman, the study’s co-author, said:

“The major finding is that this conscientiousness aspect of personality is indeed reliably predictive of mortality risk across studies.

This seems to be as important as most commonly assessed medical risk factors, few of which are psychological.”

If you are not that conscientious, there is still hope, said Dr Margaret L. Kern, study co-author:

“There is some evidence that people can become more conscientious, especially as they enter stable jobs or good marriages.

We think our findings can challenge people to think about their lives and what may result from the actions they do.

Even though conscientiousness cannot be changed in the short term, improvements can emerge over the long run as individuals enter responsible relationships, careers and associations.”

The study was published in the Journal of Personality (Kern & Friedman, 2008).

Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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Losing this sense is the strongest early sign of dementia.

Losing this sense is the strongest early sign of dementia.

Older people who cannot identify smells like lemons, paint-thinner and roses are at double the risk of developing dementia, research finds.

Problems with other senses, such as vision, hearing and touch, can also be indicative of dementia.

However, difficulty with smell is the biggest sensory sign of dementia.

Other early signs of dementia include changes in sense of humour, increased apathy, memory problems and being unaware of those memory problems, being unable to understand sarcasm and insomnia.

Dr Willa Brenowitz, the study’s first author, said:

“Sensory impairments could be due to underlying neurodegeneration or the same disease processes as those affecting cognition, such as stroke.

Alternatively, sensory impairments, particularly hearing and vision, may accelerate cognitive decline, either directly impacting cognition or indirectly by increasing social isolation, poor mobility and adverse mental health.”

The study included almost 1,800 people in their 70s who were tracked for up to 10 years.

Around one-in-five developed dementia during that time.

The results showed that people with poor senses were at twice the risk of developing the disease.

While previous research has focused on smell, this study added together the effects of all the senses.

Dr Brenowitz said:

“The olfactory bulb, which is critical for smell, is affected fairly early on in the course of the disease.

It’s thought that smell may be a preclinical indicator of dementia, while hearing and vision may have more of a role in promoting dementia.”

People’s whose sense of smell declined by 10 percent were at a 19 percent greater risk of dementia, the study found.

Declines in hearing touch and vision were linked to a 1-to-3 percent level of increased risk.

Dr Kristine Yaffe, study co-author, said:

“We found that with deteriorating multisensory functioning, the risk of cognitive decline increased in a dose-response manner.

Even mild or moderate sensory impairments across multiple domains were associated with an increased risk of dementia, indicating that people with poor multisensory function are a high-risk population that could be targeted prior to dementia onset for intervention.”

The study was published in the journal  Alzheimer’s and Dementia (Brenowitz et al., 2020).

Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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Discover the power of daily ‘uplifts’ – small actions that significantly improve mood and well-being.

Discover the power of daily ‘uplifts’ – small actions that significantly improve mood and well-being.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks. View all posts by Jeremy Dean

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High cholesterol can lead to heart disease and other health problems.

High cholesterol can lead to heart disease and other health problems.

When it comes to lowering cholesterol, it is wise to cut down on both white meat and red meat.

The idea that white meat, such as chicken, is healthier than red meat, such as pork, beef or lamb, is a myth.

In fact, white poultry is just as bad as red meat for blood cholesterol levels.

Eating high amounts of red meat or white meat increases the low-density lipoproteins (LDL) known as “bad” cholesterol, a new study has found.

The researchers examined 3 dietary proteins; red meat versus white meat and non-meat protein foods.

The results showed that white poultry, as well as red meat, raised blood cholesterol compared to non-meat protein sources.

Dr Ronald Krauss, the study senior author, said:

“When we planned this study, we expected red meat to have a more adverse effect on blood cholesterol levels than white meat, but we were surprised that this was not the case — their effects on cholesterol are identical when saturated fat levels are equivalent.”

They also noticed that the increased blood cholesterol was not affected by whether the diet was high in saturated fats.

LDL contains different sized particles and high amounts of saturated fat can increase concentrations of large LDL particles.

Standard LDL cholesterol levels are used to measure the chance of cardiovascular disease, but LDL cholesterol tests mainly reflect larger LDL particle levels.

Therefore, this can lead to overestimating the effect of saturated fat intake on cardiovascular disease.

In recent years, due to the link between red meat intake and increased heart disease, the consumption of poultry as a healthier option to red meat has been encouraged.

But until now there has not been any inclusive study to compare the effects of red meat, white meat and non-meat proteins on blood cholesterol, Dr Krauss said.

Non-meat proteins such as dairies, legumes and vegetables should lower bad cholesterol the most.

He also noted that the study didn’t include fish or processed meats, such as sausage or bacon.

Dr Krauss said:

“Our results indicate that current advice to restrict red meat and not white meat should not be based only on their effects on blood cholesterol.

Indeed, other effects of red meat consumption could contribute to heart disease, and these effects should be explored in more detail in an effort to improve health.”

The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Bergeron et al., 2019).

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