In Yogic philosophy, one of the main ways to feel the connection between mind and body is through breathing. Alternate nostril breathing is a powerful technique that can balance, calm, energise the mind. It improves concentration and creates a sense of peace and clarity.

Here is a basic alternate nostril breathing exercise:

1. Sit upright in a comfortable position with your back straight. Place you left hand on your left knee.
2. Bring your right hand to your face, with your index and middle finger placed on your forehead (over your third eye area).
3. Use your thumb to close the right nostril and inhale slowly and consistently through your left nostril. Pause.
4. Close your left nostril with your ring finger. Move your thumb to open your right nostril, and exhale slowly and consistently.
5. Inhale through your right nostril, slowly and consistently. Pause.
6. Close your right nostril, open your left, and exhale through your left nostril, slowly and consistently. Pause before moving onto the right nostril.
7. Repeat this pattern for around 10 cycles. Then, release your right hand and rest it on your right knee. Return to normal breathing.

This exercise improves the connection between both sides of the brain. It reduces feelings of stress and anxiety, lowers heart rate and relieves tension, regulate the cooling and warming cycles of the body, and revitalises your mind.

Our left nostril activates the right side of our brain, and our right nostril activates the left hand side of our brain. To activate one side of your brain more often (if you are significantly dominant in either your left or right brain thinking), you can sleep on the appropriate side of your body to activate the corresponding side of your brain.

Here are two more types of alternate nostril breathing, as described by Dr Prakash C. Malshe in his book A Medical Understanding of Yoga.

Sahita Pranayama

• Inhale through the left nostril, counting up to 16.
• Hold the breath by closing both nostrils, counting up to 64.
• In this time, make a sucking in effort that creates negative pressure inside the chest cavity (uddiyana bandha).
• Then, release the breath through the right nostril, counting up to 32.
• Repeat the process with the other nostril to complete the cycle.

This builds up the anaerobic capacity of holding your breath on inhale.

Suryabhedana Pranayama

• Breathe in fully through the right nostril.
• Then, hold your breath with a lot of effort while maintaining the chin lock (jalandhara bandha).
• Hold your breath for as long as you possibly can.
• When it is time to exhale, do so out of your left nostril, slowly, continuously, and with patience.
• This should be repeated continuously.

This Pranayama is said to extend life and awakening the kundalini as well as increasing heat in the body. The conflict between the urge to breathe and voluntarily suppressing this urge raises our body temperature without the need for shivering.

It is possible to raise your body temperature enough to sweat using this method. It has been studied, and the results showed that participants started sweating after 4 cycles of this procedure (taking about 5 minutes to complete). Their body temperature rose by 2 °F in this time. Where this heat is generated from remains to be investigated because there is apparently no shivering or muscle contraction involved.

There are some advantages to this. Raising your body temperature intentionally can ward off the common cold. Inducing a higher body temperature also provides the correct temperature for immune cells to thrive.

There are also some adverse effects that can arise when we practice this type of breathing. In scientific research on suryabhedana pranayama some participants got cold sores. Herpes bacteria thrives in warmer temperatures. It was also noted that the palms of the hands of some participants grew red after practising this for a few days in a row, and the skin of their palms became dry.

Interestingly, there is no medical treatment available for excessive palm sweating, so in fact suryabhedana pranayama could be a reliable treatment method.

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Did you know we have a nasal cycle? It can help you understand your brain better, determine when you should rest or work, and tell whether your body is functioning at its best.

The Nose

The nose filters the air we breathe, makes it moist, and brings it to body temperature.

The anatomy of both nostrils is the same, and no one would ever think that each nostril would serve different purposes. However we consider it perfectly normal that the different sides of our brains serve different purposes: we understand that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa. We acknowledge that each person has a dominant eye, a dominant hand, and one ear that is more sensitive than the other. So, it is logical to expect a difference between our two nostrils.

Around 80% of people experience a nasal cycle in the congestion of their nostrils, varying from 2-7 hours in length. Also, if you lie down on your side, you will notice that the nostril closest to the surface you are lying on becomes blocked while the other one clears up. The nose deserves more credit and importance than we give it.

The Nasal Cycle

Block one of your nostrils with your finger and breathe through your nose. Now do the same with the other side.

Which nostril had a stronger air flow? That’s the nostril that is currently dominant in your nasal cycle.

When your right nostril is dominant, the left side of your brain is functioning better. Your thinking, reasoning, and learning will be better at these times. Your metabolism and digestion will also be working faster. Things you should do when your right nostril is dominant:

• Reading
• Studying and/or teaching
• Giving speeches, talking in public
• Signing important documents
• Exercising

After you eat, it is a sign of good digestion that your right nostril becomes dominant.

When your left nostril is dominant, the right side of your brain is functioning better. Your creativity and inspiration will be stronger in this case. Have you ever had those times where the information won’t sink in no matter how many times you read it? That’s probably because your left nostril and right brain were dominant. Things you should do when your left nostril is dominant:

• Listening to music
• Meditating
• Creative writing
• Socialising and relaxing
• Drawing or other creative hobbies

It is very rare to have both of your nostrils in equal dominance for any length of time.

Balancing The Nasal Cycle

What’s great is that you can actually control your nasal cycle. For example, if you need your left brain activated so you can think, you’ll need your right nostril to be dominant. Lean to the left and your right nostril will clear naturally. You can even place your hand under your left armpit at the same time because there are certain pressure points that help clear the right nostril.

Sometimes you can even feel the shift between nostrils – especially if you have a blocked nose from a cold.

After eating, leaning to the left or even lying down on your left will aid digestion by making your right nostril dominant. It also makes use of gravity, so that the waste in your body can travel through the colon and encourage a healthy bowel movement. What’s more, lying on your left reduces acid reflux, improves circulation, encourages lymph node drainage, and encourages the movement of cerebrospinal fluid. Sleeping on your left is ideal for all of these reasons.

Our nasal cycle should rotate every few hours from left to right, but for some people one nostril always seems to be more dominant than the other. If our nostrils don’t balance regularly, it’s a sign of an imbalance in our systems. There are some very simple things we can do to restore balance:

• If your right nostril is more dominant, you may find that your mind and/or mind is overactive and you may have trouble sleeping. Fall asleep on your right side when you go to bed.
• If your left nostril is more dominant, you may find that you have trouble concentrating, making decisions, and your digestion may be sluggish. Fall asleep on your left side when you go to bed.

Alternate nostril breathing is also a great way to restore your natural nasal cycle.

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Cerebrospinal fluid plays a vital role in our overall health and well-being. CSF flow can be regulated voluntarily to ensure a healthy brain system. One of these ways is through conscious breathing techniques like Pranayama.

What Is Cerebrospinal Fluid?

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear liquid produced by specialised cells in the brain. The brain produces about 500mL of CSF per day (25mL per hour), but there is only about 125-150mL of CSF in your body at any given time. This is because it is reabsorbed by the body continuously.

Cerebrospinal fluid is found in the membrane surrounding the brain, as well as in the cavities inside your brain and spinal cord (the ventricular system). Cerebrospinal fluid serves multiple purposes:

• Buoyancy – the average brain weighs roughly 1.5kG, but the net weight suspended in CSF is around 50G. This helps the brain maintain its density without damaging itself by its own weight.
• Protection – Cerebrospinal fluid is a shock absorber for the brain. It protects the brain tissue from damage if it is hit.
• Homeostasis – The dynamic balance of internal chemical and physical systems is regulated by CSF. It allows substances to pass between brain cells and the cells that release hormones into the blood (neuroendocrine cells). If homeostasis is disturbed, it can cause problems like dizziness or even damage to the nervous system.
• Clearing waste – Cerebrospinal fluid plays a vital role in the brain’s lymphatic system by removing waste products from the brain. The waste is diffused into CSF, moved from the brain, and reabsorbed (as CSF) by the bloodstream.

How Does CSF Flow Through The Spinal Cord?

Breathing moves CSF through the body thanks to the pressure in the veins of our chest. These veins on the chest vertebrae column (the vertebrae at the same level as your ribs) transmit pressure upwards, to the brain.

When you breathe, the chest rises and falls. This creates a change in pressure that flows upwards to the CSF around the brain. When you breathe in, chest pressure decreases and CSF flows down the spine. When you breathe out, chest pressure increases and CSF flows up the spine into the head.

This means breathing creates a rhythmic CSF flow up and down the spinal cord.

Studies have shown that the deeper or shallower we breathe, directly influences the movement of CSF through the brain. Deeper breathing encourages CSF further up into the brain. There has also been research to show that holding your breath increases CSF flow.

CSF and Health

The movement of CSF is really important to our health. CSF flow decreases with age, which means it can collect impurities and slowly create a toxic environment. This results in impaired brain function like fatigue, depression, cognitive decline, and is possibly linked with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

The research on CSF flow and breathing supports the reported benefits of Pranayama.

What’s more, the activation of the sympathetic nervous system is linked to reduced CSF flow, while parasympathetic activation is associated with increased CSF flow. This goes to show just how effective SOMA breathing techniques are for brain health.

Optimise CSF Flow for Brain Health

This is all about enhancing your body’s natural functions and supporting the health of your brain and body, making it a vital part of achieving balance and wellness. Here are some of the most effective ways to achieve this flow of clean, healthy CSF fluid.

• Yoga – Yoga increases relaxation through conscious stretching, breathing, and mindfulness, promoting CSF circulation.
• Good posture – Correct posture results in optimal alignment of the head and spine, ensuring a proper CSF flow through the system.
• Meditation – Relaxing and focussing on the breath creates a rhythmic CSF flow through the body.
• Exercise – Exercise gets the lymphatic systems pumping, blood circulation going, and CSF flow increases and is more effective.

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Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that are classed as polyunsaturated fatty acids.

There are three most nutritionally important omega-3 fatty acids:

• Alpha-linolenic acid
• Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Alpha-linolenic acid cannot be created by your body, so it must be made from the food we eat. However, your body then creates EPA and DHA from alpha-linolenic acid – the food we eat is vitally important for this process!

Benefits of a Diet High in Essential Fatty Acids

A diet high in essential fatty acids can:

• Help prevent the growth of cancer cells.
• Reduce inflammation in your body.
• Help prevent blood clots and thrombosis.
• Increase strength and fluidity of your cell membranes.
• Lower bad lipids in your blood such as bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
• Help to inhibit the thickening of arteries and help arteries to relax and dilate.
• Stimulate the secretion of leptin helping your body to respond to insulin that helps regulate food intake body weight and metabolism.
• Help reduce the degeneration and aid the growth and function of healthy nerve and brain cells.
• Help the absorption of fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, K

Essential Fatty Acids and Cell Membranes

Every cell in the body is surrounded by a cell membrane, which is formed mainly from fatty acids. The cell membrane serves highly important functions such as allowing the proper amounts of essential nutrients to enter the cell and making sure waste products are quickly removed by the cell. Epigenetics experts such as Dr Bruce Lipton have shown in studies that the cell membrane is the true brain or intelligent center of the cell.

For your cell membrane to have optimum function it must maintain its integrity and fluidity. If this goes, then your cells lose their ability to hold water and vital nutrients. Your cells ability to communicate with other cells becomes greatly diminished too. Scientists have shown how the loss of cell-to-cell communication could actually be a precursor for cancer.

The majority of your cell membrane is made up of fat, which means the integrity and fluidity of your cell membrane is down to the type of fat you eat. Omega-3 fats produce cell membranes with a high level of fluidity, but if you are deficient in them and are consuming more poor quality fats found in processed foods and refined cooking oils, you develop cell membranes that are harder and less fluid.

Many in-vitro studies have shown how the incorporation of Omega-3 fatty acids into cell membranes can prevent and reduce cancer, and even kill cancer cells. They have also shown how the function of a cell can be optimized as a result, whereas poor quality fats lead to the production of weak, poor functioning, and even cancerous cells.

The Importance of Omega-3’s

Omega-3’s are essential for the production of prostaglandins that are powerful hormone like substances. Prostaglandins regulate highly important functions such as inflammation, allergic responses, nerve function, and blood pressure. Prostaglandins also regulate blood clotting, kidney function, digestion, and even the production of other hormones.

Omega-3 fatty acids produce different kinds of prostaglandins from Omega-6 fatty acids, with opposing physiological effects. All types of prostaglandins are considered beneficial, but an imbalance can be caused by eating more than one type of Omega fatty acids. For example, a high consumption of Omega-6 in processed and refined foods can lead to health problems. This is why it is important to have the right ratio of Omega essential fatty acids.

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The world is full of natural remedies that can treat physical conditions – plants with anti-inflammatory properties, roots that fight cancer, fermented foods that protect your gut. But some plant medicines carry an extra punch…

The first humans that came across psychedelic plant medicines might have experienced more than they bargained for! Eating some species of plants or fungi can induce a powerful psychedelic experience, sending the forager on a journey through completely trippy states of mind.

Psychedelic plant medicines have long been used for personal and spiritual growth – see EntheoNation’s plant medicine course for an extensive guide. Indigenous peoples all over the world have used psychedelic plant medicines as a core part of their healing practices, and many still do today.

Now, on the brink of a wave of psychedelic legalization, we can begin to understand the pharmacology of the ancient psychedelic plants that have been used for healing for thousands of years.

This article will explore four of the most popular psychedelic plant medicines in the world, and what their pharmacology can tell us about their potential to improve our lives.

What are Psychedelic Plant Medicines?

Psychedelic plants all produce a psychedelic “trip” once ingested. Most people experience changes in perception and thoughts; such as seeing bright colors and complex geometry, and feeling intense emotions or revisiting childhood memories.

Some psychedelic plants can just be eaten raw for their psychedelic effects to take hold… while others require precise preparation, such as mixture with other ingredients, to unleash their potential.

Of the many psychedelic plants that grow in the world, these are some of the most well known:

Ayahuasca

One of the most famous psychedelic plant medicines is ayahuasca. This is a brew created from the mixture of a number of different plants, but the most well-known version uses the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria viridis leaf. The combination of these two plants produces a unique psychedelic experience, lasting several hours, and it is used for many healing purposes by Amazonian peoples.

The psychoactive component in P. viridis, DMT (dimethyltryptamine), is not normally active when you ingest it orally. However, the combination with B. caapi in a typical ayahuasca brew produces a unique pharmacology that prevents DMT being broken down by your stomach enzymes. This allows DMT to reach your brain and causes a psychedelic trip that can be used for mental healing.

Traditional ayahuasca use involves an experienced and highly trained shaman diagnosing your spiritual or physical ailments, and crafting a healing ceremony to address your problems. They might request you to follow a special diet involving abstinence from certain foods, sex, and digital media, in the days leading up to the ceremony.

During an ayahuasca ceremony, the shaman may use medicine music (icaros), work with spiritual energies, or simply reassure the participant to guide them through the experience and facilitate their healing.

Magic Mushrooms

Other plant medicines don’t require any mixture or preparation. Magic mushrooms (although technically a fungus, not a plant) are probably one of the most widespread psychedelic plant medicines in the world. You can find them growing on almost every continent, in damp wooded areas. They have been used by indigenous peoples for centuries.

Some evidence suggests that magic mushrooms were used by indigenous Australian peoples over 12,000 years ago. Aztec and Mayan art was heavily influenced by magic mushrooms, and priests used them in divination and healing. They are still used traditionally by many Mexican groups, and one unique species of psychedelic mushroom is an integral part of several branches of Siberian shamanism.

Magic mushrooms contain the psychoactive substances psilocybin and psilocin. There are over 200 species of magic mushrooms that contain these substances. These psychedelic mushrooms can be eaten fresh or dried, or brewed into tea, to induce an experience lasting a few hours.

Peyote and San Pedro

Peyote and San Pedro are two types of psychedelic cactus that have been used in healing ceremonies for thousands of years. They were among the first psychedelic plant medicines to be introduced to North America, and are still used in sacred healing practices today.

They both contain the psychedelic substance mescaline, and are usually prepared by boiling pieces of cactus in a tea. The cactus can also be eaten fresh.

The traditional use of these psychedelic cacti was thought to originate in a number of indigenous North American peoples, around Mexico and Texas. It has been used traditionally as a treatment for pain and physical ailments, but its ceremonial use has now evolved to focus on the treatment of addiction and spiritual issues.

San Pedro grows much faster than peyote, and as such people recommend using San Pedro over peyote due to sustainability concerns.

Salvia

Salvia divinorum, known colloquially as Salvia, is a plant that contains the world’s most potent naturally-occurring psychedelic. It has been grown by Mazatec shamans for countless generations, and relatively small doses hold great healing potential.

Salvia contains the psychedelic substance Salvinorin A, and only micrograms of it are required to have a psychedelic effect in people. It binds to only one type of receptor, which is very rare for natural psychedelic plants – and ingesting it results in a very unusual and disorienting experience.

Traditionally, the leaves of the Salvia plant are either chewed raw, or brewed into a tea. In contemporary western use, it is most commonly smoked in highly-concentrated extracts, producing an intense but very short psychedelic experience lasting only a few minutes.

Shamans use it to treat physical ailments, and consider it a route to connect with spirits or deities. Due to Christian colonial influences, one of its traditional names is Ska Maria Pastora, meaning “The leaves of [Saint] Mary the Shepherdess.”

How do psychedelic plant medicines work?

Psychedelics all cause a profound change in consciousness (when taken at a high enough dose). This change in consciousness, alongside their pharmacological properties, has been shown to be a potential treatment for conditions such as depression, addiction, and anxiety.

Different psychedelic plants work differently, but we’re starting to understand more about the root of their healing effects.

The Serotonin System

Ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, peyote and San Pedro all contain psychedelic chemicals known as “classic” psychedelics. They all work mainly through activation of serotonin receptors in the brain.

The increase in serotonin that these psychedelic plants can cause is thought to be the route of their effects on perception – such as visual hallucinations and changes in thoughts. Serotonin is also considered the main neurochemical route of treatments of depression, and that could be why these substances have so much antidepressant potential.

Both ayahuasca and magic mushrooms have been studied in extensive clinical trials showing that a single dose of these substances can have significant and lasting antidepressant effects in people suffering from severe depression.

Although peyote and San Pedro have not been studied as extensively, it’s likely they would have similar antidepressant effects. Their key psychedelic component, mescaline, also activates serotonin receptors in a very similar way to ayahuasca and magic mushrooms.

We don’t know why the activation of the serotonin system in the brain can fight depression – but most contemporary antidepressant medications also boost serotonin levels, suggesting that it’s an effective way to treat the condition.

The kappa opioid system

Salvia contains a unique psychedelic substance that activates only one very specific receptor in the brain, and its pharmacology suggests that it could be a powerful anti-addictive medicine.

Salvinorin A, the main psychoactive substance in Salvia, activates the kappa opioid receptor (KOR). Although this is an opioid receptor, it actually carries out a role you might not expect – it helps prevent addiction.

Studies have shown that if you activate the KOR in lab rats at the same time as giving them access to unlimited quantities of cocaine, the rats are less likely to show addictive behaviors.

These findings have given researchers hope that Salvia could help them develop an anti-addiction medication – one that could not only help people go through withdrawal, but also prevent addiction to highly dependent substances like cocaine or heroin.

Studies have also shown that Salvia could be an effective painkiller. Mice who are given Salvinorin A are less likely to experience discomfort when sitting on a steadily warming surface. The prospect of developing a non-addictive painkiller is very exciting for sufferers of chronic pain.

Scientists are attempting to develop chemical analogues of Salvia that could fight addiction or pain without causing you to trip!

The Mystical Experience

Although we’re learning more about the pharmacology of these healing plants, their unique effects on the mind sets them apart from other natural remedies. People describe having intense mystical experiences with these plants, that give them a fresh perspective on life. The intensity of the psychedelic experience has been directly linked to the healing benefits of these plant medicines – so there’s possibly more than just chemistry happening behind the scenes.

In studies on depression and tobacco addiction, where magic mushrooms have been used to effectively treat these health conditions, researchers found that the people who reported the most mystical experiences were also more likely to be healed.

A mystical experience is considered a state of mind that is very hard to describe – and involves a sense of realization or awakening, an encounter with some kind of universal truth or entity, and a sense of interconnectedness or timelessness. People often report mystical experiences giving them a fresh perspective on life, helping to give them new purpose or motivation to make positive changes.

So how can we make the mystical experience happen?

Unfortunately there’s no simple answer. We can’t directly link the mystical experience to pharmacology – some people have a mystical experience on very low doses of psychedelic plants, while others need very high doses! It can also arise spontaneously without the input of any substance whatsoever.

It seems as if the combination of psychedelic plants with holistic practices such as meditation, journaling, introspection, prayer, yoga or outdoor exercise is most likely to produce a mystical experience. Like the attainment of enlightenment through meditation, achieving a true mystical experience probably requires practice and patience.

How can you use psychedelic plant medicines?

There are many ways to use psychedelic medicines in your life – and you don’t even have to trip if you don’t want to.

Although the healing benefits of psychedelic plants have been discovered during high-dose experiences, it’s also possible to use tiny doses in your daily life to gain some of the positives too.

Additionally, there are a number of holistic practices you can use to amplify the benefits of a single psychedelic experience, potentially making one trip all you need to significantly change your life.

In the next part of this series, we will explain the easiest ways to use the healing benefits of psychedelic plant medicines while staying as safe as possible. Stay tuned!

Guest Post by Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith is a writer and biologist who has worked in the psychedelic community for several years. He writes about the scientific and cultural aspects of psychedelic plants for the educational platform EntheoNation.

The post The Pharmacology of Psychedelic Plant Medicines appeared first on The Renegade Pharmacist.

Zinc is an essential mineral involved in numerous aspects of cellular metabolism. It is found naturally in many foods such as seafood like crabs and oysters, beef, chicken, almonds, cheese, yoghurt, and peas.

Phytates found in many grains, cereals, and legumes bind to zinc inside the gut and prevent its absorption. Meat provides much higher levels of this essential mineral than vegetables, which means vegetarians and vegans should pay attention to their zinc consumption.

What is Zinc Deficiency?

Zinc deficiency leads to a loss of appetite and impaired immune function. The more severe it gets, zinc deficiency can cause hair loss, diarrhoea, impotence, and eye and skin lesions.

Who Experiences Zinc Deficiency?

Vegetarians are at greatest risk of zinc deficiency, but alcoholics and people with digestive issues and poor stomach acid are also highly at risk. Some side effects of medications can produce zinc deficiency and low levels of almost all essential nutrients. Women who take birth control pills or undergo hormone replacement therapy have a greater risk of zinc deficiency.

Over indulgence in sex and even excessive masturbation – more than 5 times a week – can cause serious zinc deficiency, as the sexual fluids in both men and women are high in this essential mineral. Just the very act of ejaculation uses up a lot of zinc as so much energy is required in the process. Zinc is also heavily involved in the natural production of dopamine, and you get a surge of dopamine release during sex and ejaculation.

What is the Opposite of Zinc Deficiency?

Optimum zinc levels have the following benefits:

Improved athletic performance 

Having optimum zinc levels in the body helps boost the production of the three most important anabolic hormones: testosterone, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). You need these to develop good muscle tone and strong bones.

Supports reproductive health 

Low zinc in men impairs testosterone production, puts them at risk for developing prostate cancer, and causes infertility. Zinc deficiency has also been linked to low libido. If women are zinc deficient, the egg won’t mature properly and ovulation will be affected, causing infertility. Adequate zinc allows women to use estrogen and progesterone more efficiently, supporting reproductive health and ensuring that estrogen does what it’s supposed to do in the body.

Prevents cancer and boosts the immune system

Evidence links zinc deficiency to cancers of the breast, colon, ovaries, lungs, skin, and leukemia. Zinc deficiency affects the immune system because low zinc causes disrupted T-cell function. T-cells elevate the body’s immune system when viruses, bacteria, or challenges to health arise. Older people are at greater risk of zinc deficiency and there’s strong evidence that a need for more zinc may increase with age to counter inflammation, support the immune system, and ensure healthy cell function.

Improved cardiovascular health

Zinc deficiency leads to high cholesterol buildup and inflammation.

Increased insulin sensitivity and prevention of diabetes

Zinc is needed for the healthy function of most hormones, including insulin. Zinc actually plays a major role in the healthy functioning of insulin. Inadequate zinc levels can often lead to diabetes.

Increased brain health, treating ADHD & depression

Zinc plays an essential role in neurotransmitter function and helps maintain brain structure and health. Zinc is also involved in the formation of healthy cell membranes, especially in your brain. Studies show that children with ADHD tend to have lower zinc than healthy children and supplementation with zinc can help with ADHD symptoms. Dopamine, which zinc is involved with, is an important hormone that boosts energy, mood, and reward-driven learning. Low dopamine levels are linked to depression, and in some cases of depression zinc can be a wonder supplement.

How To Ensure You Get Enough Zinc

You can top up your zinc levels through high quality supplementation, but be aware that there is an upper limit to zinc levels too. Zinc toxicity can lead to immune problems and even infertility, the same as having too little zinc.

The post Zinc and Zinc Deficiency appeared first on The Renegade Pharmacist.

As humans, there’s a lot we want from life. More money, a beautiful home, a better lifestyle, a promotion at work… But it all comes down to one thing: we want to be happy. Our pursuit of happiness is caught between two pillars of modern life: our desire to buy happiness, and our desire to fight against depression, stress and anxiety. The latest scientific studies are showing that there is a promising, effective new way to reach our happiness goals: engaging in activities, thoughts and behaviours that develop our feelings of gratitude.

Feeling Grateful Has a Physical Effect on the Structure of Your Brain

So, what are the facts? Research coming out of UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Centre is showing some exciting results that give us insight into how to achieve a happier life, and the answer is that it’s an internal journey rather than an external pursuit.

“Having an attitude of gratitude changes the molecular structure of the brain, keeps grey matter functioning and makes us healthier and happier”.

Not only are feelings of gratitude an emotional response, they’re a physical response too. One that trains your brain into transforming its physical structure as well as boosting mental and physical health. When you feel gratitude, research shows that “The central nervous system is affected. You are more peaceful, less reactive and less resistant”.

What Does this Mean for Mental Health Treatment and Self-Care?

Currently, there is a strong focus in the mental healthcare industry on traditional Western medicine. Specifically, treating mental health conditions with drugs, non-surgical treatments like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and psychological counselling. These treatments, other than the counselling, carry certain risks for patients. They can cause negative side effects ranging from drowsiness to nausea, to anxiety and suicidal thoughts. These are serious side effects, and patients can find themselves on multiple, costly prescriptions for the rest of their lives.

The issue of mental illness itself is serious and expensive one, costing the United Kingdom almost £35bn a year in treatment, lost productivity and social support. A study by Oxford Economics showed that around 181,600 people are prevented from working due to their mental health issues, and that mental health problems were the third most common reason for taking sick leave.

There is good reason to re-evaluate how we treat mental health and address the underlying factors of our hyper-materialistic society. This research may be key to addressing both these issues. Enhancing the way we care for patients with mental health issues, how we can work to protect ourselves more effectively from these conditions, and how we can achieve that all-important goal of happiness without making it all about money.

The great news is that this study isn’t the only one providing strong scientific support for the benefits of happiness. In the last decade, many studies from renowned universities and research centres around the world have demonstrated that practicing gratitude strengthens bonding and relationships, boosts physical wellness, strengthens psychological health, helps you sleep better, improves self-esteem and overall makes you more likely to feel happy and satisfied with your life and less likely to struggle with depression, stress and anxiety.

How to Practice Gratitude

Your brain has evolved and adapted over your lifetime to react certain ways and develop certain behaviours, so getting the full benefits of gratitude and rewiring your brain to be happier takes effort and patience – it’s all about retraining your brain and making those physical changes permanent.

Practicing gratitude is like practicing mindfulness and can take many forms, so you can explore different options to discover which ones you can include in your daily life. This may be:

• Writing letters of thanks to the loved ones in your life

• Taking the time each night to think of ten things you’re grateful for that occurred that day

• Practicing the cookie test by resisting impulse buys and rewarding yourself with something more special in the long term

• Keeping a journal and reflecting on each day

• Volunteering at a charitable organisation that resonates with you. Or volunteer somewhere that can benefit from your specific skills

• Expressing thanks to others when they’ve done a good job, at home or in the workplace

The post Change Your Brain with Gratitude appeared first on The Renegade Pharmacist.

I’m always so shocked by the fact that in my seminars, speaking engagements, and courses I give all over the world, people seem to treat sex as some kind of afterthought in their relationship.

Whether it’s prudishness, shyness, or unfamiliarity with talking about it, so few people seem to grasp how very important a healthy sex life is not only for a loving relationship but for your own personal health and well-being, too. Indeed, if you want to have a happy relationship and life, then there is no better way than sex to help make that happen.

Why Is Sex So Powerful?

On a biological level, sex changes your brain chemistry and acts as a powerful antidepressant thanks to the rush of dopamine and oxytocin that orgasm brings. In addition, studies have shown that enjoyable, regular sex is known to build Natural Killer cells that fight cancer. Even when we’re way past the age where we want to have children, sex also offers an anti-aging effect. Our reptilian brains believe that if we’re still having sex, there might be a chance of a baby—so it keeps us young to look after it!

Orgasms improve circulation, provide lymphatic drainage, help your body to detoxify, improve digestion, improve mood, prevent disease, help to repair tissues, improve brain function, keep skin healthy, release endorphins into the body that flush out cortisol (the hormone that helps your body respond to stress or danger), boosts infection-fighting cells by up to 20 percent, and elevate pain thresholds (getting your body ready for childbirth) so things such as migraines decrease in intensity.

So you see, orgasms make you younger and healthier.

With all those wonderful health benefits—which are totally natural and free—you’d think happy couples would be having sex all the time, wouldn’t you? But anyone who has been in a long-term relationship knows that sustaining a robust sex life can be vexingly difficult. However, too many people accept that to be the case and simply give up on sex in exchange for a long-term partnership. And along with it, they give up all those wonderful health benefits I mentioned above.

Love Vs. Great Sex

What love needs to thrive is intimacy, absolute trust, safety, and certainty. This is what makes going through life with a supportive, long-term partner so great—you know they will be there for you.

However, great sex needs mystery, drama, thrill, surprise, suspense, the unknown, and even some risk. In fact, our bodies are known to become even more aroused—and our reproductive systems more fertile—when we have sex with someone new and unknown to us.

So the two seemingly cancel each other out, don’t they? If intimacy is the enemy of eroticism how are we supposed to sustain long-term relationships with good sex? The answer is simple: fantasy.

Fantasy: The Key To Your Perfect Romance?

People often blush when I say this, but I’ve seen so many couples reinvigorate their sex lives—and thus their entire relationships—by integrating fantasy in some way.

Indeed, even if you haven’t engaged in explicit fantasy, most couples admit that they often have better sex when they are in a hotel room or on holiday because the newness and novelty of the occasion makes them feel sexier. They have no chores, no kids, no place to be—and all of a sudden they feel like they want to have sex. Fantasy works in the same way, but you don’t have to spend money on going on holidays just to have sex!

Another reason people are sometimes resistant to fantasy is that they see it as akin to cheating—as though admitting that they may want to have sex with a fireman or a librarian is admitting that they want to have sex with someone who is not their partner. But it doesn’t have to be seen that way!

Fantasy is inherently exciting, and if you give each other permission to use your imagination and admit you have extramarital desires (everyone does), it can be a great way to sustain your sex life, together.

The fact of the matter is that people don’t often cheat because they are looking for a brand new person and life: men leaving their wives for a mistress is the exception, not the rule. They cheat because they are looking for a new experience. You can put that new experience into your relationship. If your partner’s fantasy is different than yours, you can make a pact to indulge each other’s desires and come from a place of respect, curiosity, acceptance, and exploration.

This is not about having a perfect body or looking amazing. In fact, the sexiest organ you have is your brain, and thankfully your brain cannot tell the difference between real and fantasy. If you can combine sexual novelty with your longtime partner, your relationship is much, much more likely to go the distance.

And once you love yourself unconditionally, and you love your partner, and you have a healthy and exciting sex life—then you will have achieved what so few people are able to. Your life will be all the richer for it.

Authored by Marisa Peer, the UK’s Number 1 Therapist, founder of Rapid Transformational Therapy, and author of the bestselling book, I Am Enough.

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Whilst helping people break through their problems, grow and self actualize, and live better, more fulfilled lives is a huge reason so many people choose a career as a hypnotherapist, money is also obviously a massive consideration for anyone when they’re choosing what they want to do with their lives.

After all, everyone needs to be comfortable, and you’re not going to be able to help anyone if you can’t afford to pay your bills, are you!

But don’t worry. As a profession, and approached correctly, hypnotherapy can be extremely lucrative, especially in ways that you might not have considered. Here’s why.

What does a hypnotherapist do?

First, it’s important to establish what a hypnotherapist does.

As a hypnotherapist, you’ll be inducing a hypnotic trance in your clients and helping them deal with the problems and issues they face. That list of problems is huge, and can cover things that might seem relatively mundane such as overcoming a fear of public speaking for an upcoming work even, all the way to crippling and destructive depression or addiction problems.

However, that’s just the physical, nuts and bolts aspect of the career.

What you actually do is let people overcome the barriers that hold them back from becoming the person they wish they can be.

That’s an incredibly valuable skill, and if you can actually help people, the amount of joy and freedom you’ll be bringing your clients is almost incalculable.

Ignoring that slightly hyperbolic statement, how much do hypnotherapists actually make? To answer this, we”ll be looking at the average wage in both the USA and the UK.

The national average wage for a hypnotherapist in the USA

According to the American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists (AAPH,) the national average wage for hypnotherapy is $85 an hour, but this figure can fluctuate depending on where you are in the country, and how qualified you are. (1)

For example, on both coasts, in more urban states, you could be looking at hourly rates as high as $150, dropping to around $60 when you’re talking about more centralised states. This makes sense, especially considering the differing economies and costs of living each state can have.

The national average wage for a hypnotherapist in the UK

According to JobZoo, the wages of a hypnotherapist in the UK can vary wildly based on experience and length of practice, but vary between £50 and £300 per session. (2)

A newly registered hypnotherapist obviously earns more, and there are forms of treatment which pay much higher than others, but after a few years, apparent yearly salaries can excess £70,000.

How to earn more as a hypnotherapist

First things first, bear in mind that some forms of treatment are worth a whole lot more to you than others.

As an example, hypnotherapy sessions to stop clients smoking can be charged at double or more the usual rate. A lot of therapists actually base the costs of these types of sessions on how much money they’re going to save a client. And when you consider a smoking habit can cost someone thousands every single year for the rest of their lives…

Second, as with everything, what you can charge is based heavily on experience and qualifications.

The longer you’ve been working and the higher your experience level, the more you can comfortably charge because you’re going to be more comfortable in your role, confident of your skills and capable of dealing with any situation put in front of you.

When it comes to certifications, there are a few certification bodies to look out for. Generally, the National Council of Hypnotherapy (NCH) National Hypnotherapy Society or General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC) are what you should be looking for. These bodies are government certified so you know a teacher or training class certified by any of them is legitimate and effective.

What can a career in hypnotherapy lead to?

As hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy, it can be safely used alongside other forms of therapy to supplement and strengthen your practice. As you progress in your career, you might be inclined to certify in psychology or other forms of complementary therapy,

You should also consider other avenues of income. As examples, businesses will pay good money for anyone who can make their employees more effective, and hypnotherapy techniques for calmness and mindset can easily be adapted into a business setting. There’s also teaching to consider, as well as information products like books and video courses.

The most effective method to learn hypnotherapy

As we’ve discussed, when you’re looking for a hypnotherapy course, you should be looking for certain things. You’re probably perceptive enough that you’ve realised what most of these are, but here’s the list, condensed into a handy format:

• Accredited certification from a nationally recognised governing body like the NCH or GHSC. This is incredibly important as there’s no actual law against teaching uncertified hypnotherapy, so make sure that your teacher is legitimate before you begin.
• A syllabus that is wide reaching, but also goes deep into the mindset and effects of hypnosis. Hypnosis is a hugely influential subject that can be taken as far and as deep as you’d like to take it. After all, the more you understand the inner workings of the mind and why people act the way they do, as well as how our minds work and process problems, the better equipped you will be to help your clients with their lives and problems.
• If possible, your course should cover more than just hypnotherapy. As we’ve discussed, hypnotherapy is a fantastic tool, but it’s better when used alongside other complementary therapies.

In our opinion, there’s only one hypnotherapy teacher right now who offers all of this. That’s Marisa Peer.

Her revolutionary method of hypnotherapy, Rapid Transformational Therapy, is a full spectrum, wide reaching treatment practice created from all of the knowledge and experience of her 30 years of teaching and healing.

Fully certified, fully accredited and recognised by the highest teaching authorities, with support from Marisa herself, there is no single course out there that offers more or will turn you into a more effective hypnotist or therapist.

• http://aaph.org/industry/career_info/how-profitable-career-hypnotherapy
• http://www.jobzoo.co.uk/choosing_a_job/job_path/therapy/jobs/hypnotherapist/salary/

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“Being in love with yourself is a lifelong romance that never fades, tires or disappoints you.”

Marisa Peer, author

The paradox of relationships is this: If you date, marry, or live with someone who believes they are unloveable, it is very hard to have a healthy relationship or to love them back.

Bad relationships can take many, many forms but the people who stay in them tend to have something in common: They are afraid to end the relationship—no matter how bad it is—because they are terrified of not being loved outside of it.

It is such a tragedy to see someone wasting away in a bad relationship because they feel that no one else would love them if they leave. The truth is that a feeling of lovability cannot come from another person; it has to come from within. It is imperative to love yourself unconditionally.

If the idea of learning to love yourself unconditionally seems impossible to you, consider the fact that once upon a time, you already did love yourself unconditionally. When you were a baby, you clearly communicated your needs (by crying, mostly) and you happily accepted all the love and care that came your way because you instinctively knew you deserved it. You simply knew you were enough. It was only when you became older and learned otherwise that you started to tolerate being with someone that didn’t love you as you deserve to be loved.

Are We Really Unloveable?

So, how did this happen? How did we learn that we aren’t loveable? Usually, it comes from comparison, or as I like to call it—being loved with conditions. Our parents might have said to us: “Oh you’re so clever for getting those good grades, I love you for it” or, “I love you, you’re so handsome/pretty/helpful.” With these subtle statements, we learn that love is contingent on being clever, or funny, or attractive and so we stop believing that we can be loved just as we are.

Some of us had parents who threatened to withdraw love if we did not behave in a way that pleased them: “I won’t love you if you do that,” “You’re not loveable when you behave that way,” “I will leave if you misbehave.”

It’s important to remember that our survival as children is linked to our parents liking us, and if they appear not to we always believe it is our fault. Our young minds lack logic before the age of three and thus, we believe that if things are not happy at home, we are in the wrong and must change our own behaviour, rather than seeing the truth which is the parents are in the wrong and must change their behaviour. Small children must idealize adults because they innately know that their survival depends on adults caring for them. Thus, believing everything adults say, they then begin to adapt to try and please them.

When they hear these love-is-contingent kind of statements, they go from a state of “I am loveable,” to “Please love me”.

It’s a crucial, if subtle, shift. They then do whatever they can to ensure that their parents continue giving them the love they once effortlessly received. When it does not work they change their thinking to “You don’t love me and if you don’t love me no one else will”.

As clients unravel the long-held beliefs (untruths) that they were not loveable enough because their parents were always at work/because Dad left/Mum preferred the new husband/new baby, etc., they realise that they had added on another very unhelpful belief to the already damaging belief of being unloveable.

Another belief they added on was that “it will always be like this, it will be like this forever, for the rest of my life”. You see, the child can’t make it better and so they assume it must be their fault. Since they can’t fix it they will never be able to fix it and thus begins the damage that can last a lifetime, unless we find someone who can help us change this forever.

I think of my role as an RTT therapist as being like a detective and a dentist. The detective part gathers information, looks for clues, and works out what went wrong with my client and why. The dentist part extracts all the toxic beliefs and the poisonous old stuff (in the form of habits and behaviours) and leaves the client feeling happy, balanced, adjusted, and thriving with the knowledge that they are indeed loveable, they always have been and always will be. It’s a huge change and seeing the change in my clients gives me immense joy.

You Are Enough

As adults, a stunning number of people go searching for love and acceptance in a mindset of “Please love me,” instead of an unshakeable belief of “I’m loveable.” While a child might become a perfectionist or a class clown to ensure they stay “clever” or “funny” for their parents, as adults people tend to do whatever possible to get someone to love them—even if it’s self-destructive.

Maybe we become co-dependent, or we become a parent-like caretaker to our partner even though they’re an adult. Or perhaps we put our own careers and dreams on the back burner because our partner needs to feel more important and won’t help us raise children. These adaptations can take so many different forms, but the underlying theme is that we are not good enough to be loved on our own; we must earn it in some way. It also very often ends up with people being in unhappy relationships because they are living to please someone else rather than pleasing themselves.  

The number one way to take yourself from “Please love me,” back to “I’m loveable” and to love yourself unconditionally is to believe that you are enough.

If you are in a relationship right now that you’re struggling to make work, or you have been searching for love for ages and can’t seem to find the right person for you, it is very likely that your belief system around what you deserve could be the issue. Once you take the focus off your relationship with your other half and start to love yourself unconditionally you might just find that your relationships instantly improve. After all, the people in the happiest relationships are the people who are also happy on their own.

The Roles We Play

When we are dependent children we must belong. When we are not sure that we do belong, or that the people raising us love, value, and celebrate us just for being ourselves, we only have four ways we can behave in order to reassure ourselves that we matter and are indispensable. The four roles that we take on as children in order to convince ourselves that we are worthy of love and are significant are:

The Sick

This is so effective at gaining us attention, time, and nurturing that most people who take on this role never grow out of it and become life’s hypochondriacs. Always at the doctors or sharing their latest allergy or ailment and getting special treatment because of it. The child whose mother had to buy gluten-free foods or rub in eczema cream every night forms a belief: “I wasn’t sure you loved me but I can see I matter by the lengths you go to to keep me well.”

The Outstanding

The achiever meets their need to be indispensable by becoming outstanding at something. This can be academic or sports related. In tribes, the person who could spear an animal quicker or build a dwelling faster was always indispensable and that’s why children today act out these same needs. Unfortunately, the child that had to get straight-A grades to make a parent proud or win at everything just to get their attention grows into an adult who cannot give up this learnt behavior even though it causes them immense stress.

The Carer

This child learns to earn love, praise, and recognition by taking care of everyone’s needs above their own. They will look after their parents, look after other siblings, cook, clean, run errands, and do just about anything to make themselves indispensable to the group. As adults, they frequently become nurses, carers, and therapists. They have a belief that love must be earned, chased, and worked for and are often attracted to damaged, broken people who they work to repair only to find that person will leave them later.

The Rebel

The rebel is often the youngest child or a child of high achieving parents. Because the other three roles have usually been taken they take the only one left which is to be rebellious and difficult, in an effort to get noticed. If that doesn’t work they try to take the power away from authority figures and have the authority themselves. Long after they have left home the rebel still acts out a drive to be the centre of attention and their inability to move on from feeling unimportant in their childhood causes them tremendous stress and unhappiness.

When you understand the role you played or were assigned, you can free yourself from it, love yourself unconditionally, and take a different part as an adult in a happy, enriching relationship. My favourite expression, which I came to use after seeing this play out is this: “We play the only part we have ever known until that part becomes our own.”

My job is to show you a better, healthier part that you can play so that you can love yourself unconditionally and have your perfect relationship. You may have felt you had no choice but to play a certain role as a child, but as an adult you are free to give up that part and play the part of a loved and loveable adult.

Authored by Marisa Peer, the UK’s Number 1 Therapist, founder of Rapid Transformational Therapy, and author of the bestselling book, I Am Enough.

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