Yayyyyy! A meta-analysis of 25(!) clinical trials found that cocoa "flavanols" (natural plant compounds) LOWERED blood pressure! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42679502/ That held whether they came from supplements, cocoa powder or dark chocolate. Why would cocoa do that? The likely reason is nitric oxide (N.O.) - cocoa flavanols seem to help your body make more N.O., which relaxes and widens blood vessels. When your vessels relax, your blood pressure can come down. This adds to growing research suggesting cocoa is good for your heart. Woohoo! Even better in midlife. One caveat though: this doesn’t really apply to milk chocolate. It’s usually very low in flavanols and high in sugar. (Choose good-quality dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder.) Fun. Classifying this one as a "win." 🎉 ... Study type: Meta-analysis of 25 randomized controlled trials Population: 1,167 adults, with high blood pressure (9 trials) or without hypertension (16 trials) Intervention: Cocoa extract (13 trials), chocolate (10 trials), or cocoa powder (2 trials), providing 11–1,680 mg of cocoa flavanols. The trials ranged in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months. Notable results: On average, cocoa flavanols reduced systolic blood pressure by 2.7 mmHg + diastolic blood pressure by 1.8 mmHg. Reductions were slightly greater in those with high blood pressure than in those without. In dose-response analysis, higher flavanol dosages resulted in greater blood pressure reductions (= more chocolate => more good! lol).

Are we able to work with Dr Pines privately? Is that an option? I am I tereredmin getting on a GLP1 peptide that you can get in the states but not in Canada yet

Any thoughts from the group on a fav red light LED face mask? or other colors too? (FDA approved preferred)

This is SUPER interesting! Natural medicine at work. Love it.🎉 I was writing a client this morning about this and thought I'd share with you all because I know a number of you have concerns with ALZ in the family / having APOE4 genetics. EXPLANATION: Lithium is an important but often misunderstood mineral we used to naturally get a lot more of from well water before modern filtration. It's widely known that areas with higher levels in the water have much LOWER rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, abuse/violence, etc. (There is a FASCINATING episode of the Radiolab podcast about this from years ago!) For this reason, some people supplement it at a low dose (5-10mg). [I used to as well, but it's hard to get in Canada bc it's not Health Canada-approved (ugh). So I get it from the US -> 5mg lithium orotate from PureEncapsulations or Swansons.] You may also know lithium as a prescription for bipolar disorder...but in that context, the dose is MUCH higher (200mg+) and has VERY different effects. WHY I'M POSTING THIS NOW: New research confirms researchers that areas with higher levels of lithium in the groundwater have LESS of an increase in Alzheimer’s rates compared with those that had lower levels of lithium. The study results are not a big surprise since previous studies linked lithium to a decreased risk of dementia, so this great confirmation at a large-scale population level. Promising! There are other positive studies on the link between lithium + ALZ prevention listed here: https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/lithium-a-mineral-that-affects-mood-alzheimers-disease-obesity-and-telomeres/ (I LOVE that site -> she's a geneticist who deep dives research as it relates to genetics and does an amazing job. If you can't see that page and want to, I'll share my login.) Anyway, standard low dose is 5-10mg for mood, but we don't yet know the effective dose for ALZ. (More on that latest study here.)