Wellness

BEAUTIFUL GREEN HEADS, SPACES & KILLERS

Courtesy of Majestic Wonders. Mossy trees.

GREEN SPACE HEAD

Green spaces are good for your head. We may have intuitively known this all along, but now, we have evidence.

UK researchers have recently found that green spaces have long-lasting benefits for mental health.

The researchers, from the University of Exeter Medical School, analyzed data that tracked people's health for 5 years after they moved to greener areas. It suggests that not only did green spaces improve mental health, but that this benefit has long term impact.

According to their findings and suggestions, published recently in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School, if we created more green spaces, such as parks and gardens, in towns and cities we’d all be much healthier for it.

After adjusting for personality differences and other factors that affect mental health over time, researchers found, on average, that those people who moved into greener areas experienced an immediate improvement in mental health. Not only that, but the benefits could last 'for at least 3 years.'

And conversely, those had less access green space experienced a drop in mental health.

Findings are important for urban planning.

GREEN TEA HEAD

According to a recent research study published in the journal Psychopharmacology, for green tea drinkers, there is greater connectivity between the brain’s frontal and parietal lobes. This means that more of your memory is in action.

It was shown that green tea can help to deliver “improved performance on the working memory tasks.” This could be a prove to be part of a preventitive care and treatment plan for dementia patients and people at risk.

This news comes on top of many other benefits. Green tea is also high in antioxidants, and has been found, in earlier studies, to aid in weight loss, prevent heart disease and stroke, and to fight prostate cancer.

GOOD GREEN KILLERS

Celery, artichokes, and some herbs (especially Mexican oregano) contain flavonoids that kill human pancreatic cancer cells. These Beautiful Green things all contain apigenin and luteolin, flavonoids that inhibit an enzyme that is critically needed by the cancer cells, according to two new University of Illinois studies.

These natural substances work well on their own to slay the cancer dragon, but when combined with chemotherapeutic drug gemcitabine they really kick cancer’s ass.

Because flavonoids and chemotherapeutic drugs may compete with each other when they’re introduced at the same time, their introduction to the body needs to be timed and staggered.

Pancreatic cancer killed Steve Jobs. It is a very aggressive and sneaky cancer. It is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with a five-year survival rate of only 6 percent. So these findings are important and have great potential.

Because pancreatic cancer patients would probably not be able to eat enough flavonoid-rich foods to raise blood plasma levels to an effective level, concentrations would need to be developed in a pill or other delivery form.

Enter this week’s BN Creative Photo Competition. Our theme this week is Beautiful Green. Deadline is 04.27.14.

Photo Credits:

Photo: Courtesy of Majestic Wonders. Mossy trees.
Photo: by JR P. Chelsea 2007 - The Japanese Moss Garden.
Photo: Courtesy of Transit Miami. Sheeps Meadow, Central Park.
Photo: by Brandie Kajino. Green Tea.
Photo: by Brandon Oh. Green Tea Fields.
Photo: Courtesy of Psychopharmacology, Springer Link. MRI scans of subjects who consumed Green Tea.
Photo: by S Demmer. Celery.
Photo: Courtesy of DemmerS. Celery.
Photo: by Four Doxn. Artichokes.
Photo: Courtesy of Central Texas Gardener Blog. Mexican Oregano.
Photo: Courtesy of Healthy Food House. Celery.