Category: Persuasion

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).

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Study participants lost weight without dieting or making other lifestyle changes.

Taking a vitamin D supplement is repeatedly linked to weight loss by studies.

People taking vitamin D lose weight without dieting or making other lifestyle changes.

Adding in dieting and exercise can help to boost weight loss even more.

One study has shown that people drinking more milk, which contains vitamin D and calcium, can double weight loss.

The new study included 50 overweight and obese women.

Half of them received doses of vitamin D equivalent to almost 10,000 IU per day over six weeks.

The study’s authors write:

“Previous studies had shown that the vitamin D deficiency is more prevalent in obese people and there was an inverse association between vitamin D, body mass index, and weight.”

The other half received a placebo that they were told was vitamin D, but was in fact inert.

The researchers measured people’s weight, waist and hip circumference, cholesterol and other biological markers, before and after supplementation.

The results showed that people taking vitamin D lost 3.5 pounds after taking vitamin D for six weeks.

The study’s authors explain the results:

“The findings of this double-blind clinical trial study in obese and overweight women aged 20–40 years showed that supplementation of the vit D with dozes 50,000 IU/w for 6 weeks reduced significantly the mean BMI [body mass index], weight and on the other hand, it increased significantly the level of vit D in comparison with the control group.”

The average weight loss was around 3.5 pounds in the vitamin D group compared with no change in the control group.

Around half the world’s population is deficient in vitamin D.

Foods that are rich in vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

The study was published in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine (Khosravi et al., 2019).

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Episode 1742 Scott Adams: Late And Sleepy But Here For The Simultaneous Sip

Content:

• Blue Check context-adding option
• PolitiFact FAKE NEWS, rate vs raw number
• 31% trust the political news?
• Baby formula shortage
• Bad For Babies
• Russian military vs modern technology
• If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

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Episode 1743 Scott Adams: Study Says Hormone Turns Male Democrats Into Republicans, Testosterone

Content:

• No malarkey President and 9 inflation explanations
• Mark Elias steps down from BLM board
• CA turns down desalination plant in drought crisis?
• Michael Shellenberger’s rational solutions
• Every CNN headline is about Russia losing
• Degrading Russia’s military with 40 billion
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The foods boosts fluid intelligence, which is the speed at which the brain works.

Eating organic food is linked to a higher IQ, a study finds.

School-age children who ate more organic food had higher scores on tests of fluid intelligence and working memory.

Fluid intelligence refers to the speed at which the brain works.

It is like the raw power of an engine or the speed at which a computer can process information.

Working memory, meanwhile, is vital to holding pieces of visual, verbal or other information in your mind while you manipulate them.

Better working memory has been linked to improved learning, attention and other vital outcomes.

The higher levels of nutrients in organic foods may account for the boost to IQ, said Dr Jordi Júlvez, study co-author:

“Healthy diets, including organic diets, are richer than fast food diets in nutrients necessary for the brain, such as fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, which together may enhance cognitive function in childhood.”

In contrast, eating fast food, being exposed to tobacco smoke and house crowding were all linked to lower scores on tests of fluid intelligence.

Children’s brains are sensitive

The results come from over one thousand children aged 6 to 11-years-old in six different European countries, including the UK and Spain.

The research examined 87 factors that the unborn child might be exposed to along with another 122 factors that could affect them during childhood.

The brain is still developing in childhood, so it is particularly sensitive to toxicity.

Low levels of toxicity that may have little affect on the adult brain can still influence children’s brains.

Dr Jordi Júlvez, study co-author, explained the main predictors of higher IQ:

“In our study, we found better scores in fluid intelligence and working memory with higher organic food intake and lower fast food intake.”

As for the predictors of lower IQ, Professor Martine Vrijheid, study co-author, said:

“We observed that several prenatal environmental pollutants (indoor air pollution and tobacco smoke) and lifestyle habits during childhood (diet, sleep and family social capital) were associated with behavioral problems in children.”

The study is notable because of its comprehensive approach to a huge range of variables, said Professor Vrijheid:

“One of the strengths of this study on cognition and the earlier study on behavioral problems is that we systematically analyzed a much wider range of exposure biomarkers in blood and urine to determine the internal levels in the model and that we analyzed both prenatal and childhood exposure variables.”

→ Other dietary changes linked to high IQ include nuts, a diet low in sugars, fats and processed foods, fruits and vegetables,

The study was published in the journal Environment International (de Bont et al., 2021).

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Bloating is a frequent symptom of irritable bowel syndrome and is triggered by specific types of diet.

A low-fibre diet can help to reduce the stomach discomfort, pain, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhoea linked to irritable bowel syndrome, research finds.

Typical foods to avoid include:

• garlic,
• artichokes,
• onions,
• Brussels sprouts,
• cabbage,
• peas,
• cereals,
• soy beans,
• celery,
• beans,
• cauliflower,
• leeks,
• bread and pastries made of wheat,
• corn,
• broccoli,
• bananas,
• carrots,
• grapes,
• peaches and figs.

All these foods are known technically as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols or FODMAPs.

FODMAPs are resistant to digestion and tend to absorb water.

These fermentable foods are components of what is known as a “flatulogenic” diet.

This tends to increase intestinal gas production due to changes in the microbiota, the microorganisms living in the human body.

FODMAPs are used by gut bacteria as a fuel, resulting in the production of the hydrogen and methane gas responsible for bloating in some people.

They also produce hydrogen sulfide, which produces a similar smell to rotten eggs.

On the other hand, healthy people’s gut microbiota remains unaffected or less disturbed by this type of food.

Professor Giovanni Barbara, one of the microbiota experts who presented this topic at the Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit in Miami, said:

“Recent findings suggest that IBS is linked to clearly detectable gut microbiota alterations.

Additionally, bloating can be related to specific kinds of diet, thus opening up promising paths towards an efficient disease management.”

For many years, conditions such as bloating and IBS were considered a psychological disorder mostly affecting young females with anxiety.

As a result, it seemed to be an imaginary illness and so patients were not treated seriously.

Today around 20 percent of the population in Western countries suffer from IBS, with the most common complaint being bloating.

Diarrhoea, sudden urges to have bowel movements, discomfort and abdominal pain are symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

Professor Barbara said:

“We now know for sure that diets containing low fiber content improve these symptoms significantly.

Recent research results suggest that, compared to a normal Western diet, a diet low in so-called FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) reduces symptoms of IBS, including bloating, pain and passage of wind.”

The study was published in the journal PLoS One (Sloan et al., 2019).

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Episode 1744 Scott Adams: Headlines And Coffee

Content:

• Woke Yale law students
• David Sacks endorses Michael Shellenberger
• President Putin’s health
• Elon Musk tweets how to ditch Twitter’s algorithm
• Matt Walsh film, What Is a Woman?
• Abortion and freedom of religion
• If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

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Drinking this beverage is linked to unhealthy levels of lipids in the blood.

Regular drinking of sugary beverages will increase levels of triglycerides and decrease high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, known as the “good” cholesterol, a study has found.

Adults in this study who had one sugary drink per day had a 98 percent greater risk of low HDL and a 53 percent increased risk of developing high triglycerides.

Triglycerides are fats carried in the blood and abnormal levels of these fats (lipids) combined with high LDL (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, known as “bad” cholesterol) or low HDL cholesterol can build up in the arteries.

Half of American adults have dyslipidemia, which is the medical term for abnormal levels of lipids in the blood.

Dyslipidemia can lead to atherosclerosis and possible consequences are heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Dr Nicola McKeown, study co-author, said:

“The results suggest that high intake of drinks with added sugar, such as soda, lemonade or fruit punch, may influence risk for dyslipidemia as we age.

One dietary strategy to help maintain healthier blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels may be to avoid drinks with added sugars.”

The research team also checked if diet drinks or 100 percent fruit juice would be a better option than sugar-sweetened beverages.

But they didn’t find enough evidence that these drinks will reduce the risk of developing dyslipidemia.

Dr McKeown said:

“We are better off quenching our thirst with water.

The emerging research on long-term consumption of diet soda on health is inconclusive, so it is prudent to say diet drinks should only be an occasional indulgence.

As for 100% fruit juice, best to limit consumption and consume whole fruits when possible, as recommended by the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

The study analysed dietary data of 5,900 American adults as well as changes in their blood cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations based on frequency and the types of beverages they drank.

Dr McKeown concluded:

“Our findings show that what we put in our glass may contribute to greater risk of cardiovascular disease via worsening of lipid levels.

Managing blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels is an important goal and a promising strategy for preventing heart attack and stroke,”

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

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It boosts our ability to regulate our emotions, avoid temptations and control bad habits.

Just ten minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, like running, is enough to improve mental health, a study finds.

This amount of exercise is enough to boost blood flow to various areas of the bilateral prefrontal cortex.

These areas of the brain are important to how we feel and control our actions.

The study suggests that even this small amount of exercise boosts our ability to regulate our emotions, avoid temptations and control bad habits.

Professor Hideaki Soya, study co-author, said:

“Given the extent of executive control required in coordinating balance, movement, and propulsion during running, it is logical that there would be increased neuronal activation in the prefrontal cortex and that other functions in this region would benefit from this increase in brain resources.”

For the study 26 people were given tests of their mood and brain function before and after they did 10 minutes on a treadmill.

The results showed that people felt better after running,

Chorphaka Damrongthai, the study’s first author, said:

“This was supported by findings of coincident activations in the prefrontal cortical regions involved in mood regulation.”

Not only this, but their brains demonstrated improved performance in areas related to mood and inhibitory control.

Inhibitory control is people’s ability to stop themselves from temptations, such as eating unhealthy food or any other habits that might otherwise be difficult to avoid.

It is also involved in controlling unwanted thoughts and directing attention efficiently.

The mental benefits of exercise

Exercise has been linked to a huge range of mental benefits, including that it:

• increases stress resilience,
• reduces anxiety,
• lowers the risk of dementia,
• speeds up the mind,
• fights depression,
• consolidates long-term memory,
• and much more…

→ Related: Exercise: 20 Mental Benefits Of Physical Activity

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Damrongthai et al., 2021).

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People high in this trait are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia.

Self-disciplined and highly organised people are at a reduced risk of dementia.

These are both aspects of conscientiousness, one of the five major aspects of personality.

Conscientious people tend to be goal-directed and hard-working as well as responsible and organised.

People who are high in conscientiousness are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to dementia, researchers have found.

In contrast, being emotionally unstable is linked to an increased risk of dementia.

Known as neuroticism, the personality trait is linked to anxiety and depression as well as a greater experience of negative emotions.

Dr Tomiko Yoneda, the study’s first author, said:

“Personality traits reflect relatively enduring patterns of thinking and behaving, which may cumulatively affect engagement in healthy and unhealthy behaviors and thought patterns across the lifespan.

The accumulation of lifelong experiences may then contribute to susceptibility of particular diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, or contribute to individual differences in the ability to withstand age-related neurological changes.”

The study involved almost 2,000 people enrolled in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a long-term study tracking older adults in Illinois.

The results showed that higher conscientiousness was linked to a lower risk of dementia and higher neuroticism was linked to an increased risk of dementia.

Dr Yoneda explained:

“Scoring approximately six more points on a conscientiousness scale ranging 0 to 48 was associated with a 22% decreased risk of transitioning from normal cognitive functioning to mild cognitive impairment.

Additionally, scoring approximately seven more points on a neuroticism scale of 0 to 48 was associated with a 12% increased risk of transition.”

Eighty-year-olds high in conscientiousness were likely to live around two years longer without cognitive impairment.

They were also more likely to recover to normal cognition after receiving a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.

High neuroticism, though, was linked to a year less living without cognitive impairment.

The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Yoneda et al., 2022).

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