October 19, 2017 - Robyn O'Brien

October 19 2017

Magnesium May Boost Brain Power

With high school kids sitting the SAT and applying to colleges, we’ve been having a lot of conversations about ways to boost brain power. What we eat defines every cell in our body. It’s our input for everything, including our brains.

This article from the Nutritional Magnesium Association touches on yet another reason why it is so important to get adequate levels of magnesium. As I’ve shared before, our favorite brand that the kids love is Natural Vitality’s Natural Calm which can easily mixed into a berry spritzer, warm water or a smoothie.

This article shines another light on just how important this mineral is and why you may want to speak with your doctor about incorporating it into your daily routine.

Mice given extra doses of a new magnesium compound had better working memory, long-term memory and greater learning ability.

Before you go popping heavy doses of magnesium, however, know that much more testing is needed. Though rodent brains work similarly to ours, animal studies do not always predict what will happen in humans.

“If MgT is shown to be safe and effective in humans, these results may have a significant impact on public health,” said Guosong Liu, director of the Center for Learning and Memory at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Magnesium is an essential element found in some fruits, spinach, and other dark leafy greens. It is known to be important for the immune system. Consume less than 400 milligrams a day and you may be at greater risk for allergies, asthma and heart disease.

The element was shown brain-boosting abilities in earlier studies using cultured brain cells. But the new compound — magnesium-L-threonate (MgT) — was tested in animals and found to be effective.

“We found that elevation of brain magnesium led to significant enhancement of spatial and associative memory in both young and aged rats,” Liu said.

In young and aged rats, MgT increased plasticity among synapses, the connections among neurons, and boosted the density of synapses in the hippocampus, a critical brain region for learning and memory.

“Half the population of the industrialized countries has a magnesium deficit, which increases with aging,” Liu said. “If normal or even higher levels of magnesium can be maintained, we may be able to significantly slow age-related loss of cognitive function and perhaps prevent or treat diseases that affect cognitive function.”

The research is detailed in the Jan. 28 issue of the journal “Neuron”. Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the National Basic Research Program of China and other institutions.

Again, the brand that we love is Natural Vitality’s Natural Calm which can easily mixed into a berry spritzer, warm water or a smoothie.

October 19 2017

Turning the Titanic: The Sexual Epidemic that Must End

Robyn O'Brien Food Politics 0

I first met Frances Fisher when I was invited by Marianne Williamson to speak at one of her campaign events. Marianne was running for Congress in 2014, and like many, she was beyond frustrated that our food system wasn’t part of the health care debate. After all, true health care is directly tied to the food we put into our mouths. At that event in LA, we spoke on stage together to address it.

Frances and I then worked together on food labeling and social justice campaigns with our friends at the Environmental Media Association. She is a strong, graceful and powerful advocate.

But as I watched her social media feed over the last week, I knew that she had more to say than ever. The truth she was speaking was crystal clear, and she was saying it as an actress, a mother, and friend. She is also building a platform and stage for young women. In the past, I’d seen her stand shoulder to shoulder with Shailene Woodley at Standing Rock, but this was different – her calls to action were so unbelievably strong, a very clear voice, speaking out against horrific accusations.

Her social media feed was flooded with Hollywood stories of #metoo.

According to CBS News, more than 12 million “Me Too” Facebook posts, comments and reactions were made in 24 hours.The hashtag was tweeted nearly a million times in 48 hours, according to Twitter. Before this outpouring of stories of heart ache and terror,Tarana Burke started a “Me Too” campaign in 2007 to help sex abuse survivors know they are not alone.

So I reached out to Frances to see if she’d come on our podcast. Her daughter, Francesca Eastwood, is starring in the newly released M.F.A., a film about college campus rape. Just this week, the University of Colorado had conducted its own survey: 28% of female undergrads were sexually assaulted while in college. And what about the ones too afraid to speak, to say #metoo?

So Frances spoke. As Ashley Koff and I begin the interview, she shares with complete candor her exhaustion. The #metoo campaign triggers emotions for anyone, male and female – the experiences and memories are too close, the fact that it has happened to so many friends, family members, loved ones, of both sexes, too many times to even count, suffocates your heart. And it has to stop. And so in our interview, we discuss what it takes to advocate, the emotional and physical toll it can take, how self-care is so critical, and what we can do for each other.

My friend, Aviva Romm, MD, and another podcast guest says we must give ourselves “permission to pause.”

I hope that you will pause for a moment and listen to Frances. She is an extraordinary advocate, as well as being an incredible actress. She will be remembered for so many of her roles, especially Titanic, but in my heart, she is a true friend, a sister in this work and an incredible ally for all working towards justice in the world.

And while any one of these issues may feel like an impossible task, we have to participate, for the sake of our children and the future that they are inheriting. #Metoo is an epidemic. It is one that has to end with our generation.

And as Frances shares, it’s the words from Bob Dylan’s song, The Times They Are A-Changing, that we need to hear.

You can listen to our interview with Frances Fisher in the link below and on our iTunes podcast here.

To learn more about the #metoo survivors march on November 12, 2017, please click here.