In a study, researchers took a group of people with dust mite allergies and directed half of them to watch a Charlie Chaplin video and the other half to watch the Weather Channel. The researchers then injected all subjects with dust mite poop. In the subjects who watched the humorous video, their allergic response was significantly reduced and this reduction lasted for a matter of hours. This suggests that “the induction of laughter may play some role in alleviating allergic diseases.”
Is there a chance that it might suppress our immune system too much? Apparently not. In fact, if you have people watch a comedian for an hour, their natural killer cell activity goes up, compared to watching nothing. Their white blood cell count, the number of immune cells in their bloodstream, also goes up. The level of immune-boosting interferon and antibody production go up as well and even stay up the next day. So, your body is actually pumping out more antibodies because you saw a funny video the day before. In short, humor seems to offer the best of both worlds at preventing over-reactive allergic responses, while also boosting immune protection.
There is a catch, though. You actually have to laugh. And the more you laugh, the better your natural killer cell activity gets. Exposure to a humorous video without laughing did not significantly affect immune function. Those who didn’t physically laugh did not benefit. This reinforces that it is not the funny video that improved immune function, but our laughter in response. Natural killer cells play a significant role in viral illness and various types of cancer. So, being able to significantly increase the activity of these cells using a brief and non-invasive method could be clinically important the next time you have a cold or cancer.
Laughter, like music or healthy food, offers potential benefits without any risks. Or…almost no risks. You’ve heard of side-splitting laughter? In a rare case, a 67-year-old woman attended laughter therapy sessions where, evidently, rapture led to rupture. Thankfully, you can’t actually laugh your head off, but you can laugh until you wet yourself. “Giggle incontinence,” as it’s called in the medical literature, is actually quite common in women, and is no laughing matter.
Does this mean that the next time you are entertained, you should choose the comedy over the tear-jerker? Not necessarily. The tear-jerker also successfully reduced the allergic response, but only in those whose tears were actually jerked. So, when it comes to improving allergies, laughing and crying both work, if you actually do them.
—Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, December 5th, 2017
In the twenty-first century, we are seeing an explosion of accumulated toxin-related diseases like cancer, auto-immune dysfunction, brain disorders like autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, nerve disorders and other common ailments like depression, learning disabilities and fatigue. It can become relatively easy to overwhelm your body’s ability to remove many of these toxins. How do we even attempt to ease these symptoms?
Chlorella, a single-celled, micro-algae, is one of the most powerful detoxification tools to eliminate accumulated toxins, including mercury, in your body. Whole Chlorella is completely indigestible, so in order to work as a detoxifier, its cell wall must be broken down during manufacturing process to be effective. It is packed with all the B vitamins, vitamins C and E, amino acids, beta-carotene, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium, rare trace elements and fatty acids.
Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF) is a phytonutrient that stimulates and promotes tissue repair and healing. CGF contains RNA and DNA which can provide the building blocks for repair and healing of our own genetic material.
Chlorella also contains over 12 percent chlorophyll (the largest amount in any plant gram for gram), which rapidly improves blood oxygenation and helps cleanse the body and its ability to bind to and remove toxins.
Unfortunately some brands of Chlorella have been found to be contaminated with toxic metals and pesticides that seep into the water it is grown in. It needs to be grown in fresh water, free from fillers, binders, coatings and preservatives. After all, it is a natural food.
For a good detoxification effect, Chlorella should be taken on its own 30 minutes before food. A greater and more palatable effect is to take Chlorella with Lemon juice and water once a day and building up to three times a day, prior to each meal.
The recommended combination is: half a teaspoon Chlorella powder, half a lemon juiced, added to half a glass of water.
Recipe of the Month
Carob Buckwheat
1 c soaked and blended dates
1 T carob powder
1 c buckwheat
½ c coconut
3 c water
1 t vanilla
1 t salt
200ml can coconut cream
In a saucepan, place the buckwheat, water and salt and simmer for 30-45 mins.
Add carob powder, coconut, coconut cream, dates and vanilla.
Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavours to blend.
Variations:
Replace coconut cream with dairy-free milk.
Replace buckwheat with short grain rice. Will need to cook rice for about 1 hour.