We all know that plastic pollution is a huge problem. It’s in our oceans, our landfills, and now, according to a new study, it’s in our breast milk. That’s right—researchers have found microplastics in human breast milk for the first time. And while we don’t yet know the full extent of the health impacts of…
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Fungi in Gut Linked to Mild Cognitive Decline Can Be Reduced Through Modified Mediterranean Diet
Specific fungi in the gut associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and found in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be altered in a beneficial manner by eating a modified Mediterranean diet, researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have found. The small study is published in the current online edition of…
Autism severity can change substantially during early childhood
“IQ is considered to be the strongest predictor of symptom severity for children with autism, As IQ scores increased from age 3 to age 6, symptom severity levels decreased” Waizbard-Bartov et al. (2020). UC Davis MIND Institute study Around 30 percent of young children with autism have less severe autism symptoms at age 6 than…
Eating fruit during pregnancy boosts babies’ brain development, new study confirms
” The idea that nutrition may also impact mental health and cognition has only recently started to gain traction,” Rachel Ward-Flanagan co author of study University of Alberta A follow-up to a University of Alberta study done in 2016 confirms that pregnant women who eat more fruit during pregnancy may be giving their babies’ cognitive development a…
Learn Parentese For Chattier Children
“We’ve known for some time that the use of parentese is associated with improved language outcomes,” Patricia Kuhl, I-LABS co-director and professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW Babies benefit when parents are fluent in baby talk referred to as motherese or parentese (to be referred to as parentese). At 18 months, children of coached…
Study: Watching TV Helps Picky Eaters
The study found children who watched a cooking program that featured healthy foods were more than twice as likely to choose them for a snack than children who watched a cooking show featuring unhealthy foods. Watching TV Cooking Programs: Effects on Actual Food Intake Among ChildrenFrans Folkvord, PhD et al. Who’d a thunk it that…
Study: Baby and adult brains sync up during play
Have you ever played with a baby and felt a sense of connection, even though they couldn’t yet talk to you? New research suggests that you might quite literally be “on the same wavelength,” experiencing similar brain activity in the same brain regions. I just read this study and thought this would be very interesting…
Piracetam could harm users, study warns
New research led by Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School and his colleagues reported in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday that piracetam is listed as an ingredient on the labels of five supplements for sale online. Side Effects Side effects of piracetam are numerous and include anxiety, and depression, hyperkinesia, or even severe cognitive…
New Breakthrough In Understanding Apraxia
“People struggle to understand what they say, which has major negative long-term effects on their ability to form social relationships, self-esteem, academic achievements and quality of life.” MCRI speech pathologist Prof Angela Morgan Murdoch Children’s Research Institute The breakthrough isn’t just regarding the FoxP2 gene but prior to sharing the study as it includes information…
Gut Bugs Talk To Your Brain
Is diet the answer to future treatments and even cures for some special needs conditions including apraxia? Research continues to turn up remarkable links between our gut bugs, also known as our microbiome, and the brain. Scientists are finding evidence that microbiome may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, autism, and…