(NaturalNews) Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have found in a lab study that amino acids are highly effective at restoring cognitive function and balancing neurochemical levels in those who have undergone brain trauma. Conducted on mice who had been inflicted with traumatic brain damage, the study holds promising potential for humans with similar injuries.
The study appeared in the online journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In it, researchers fed brain-injured mice leucine, isoleucine, and valine, three branched chain
amino acids (BCAAs) that have been shown to heal severe brain
injuries. The result was that the brain-injured mice demonstrated a full cognitive recovery, visibly responding the same as uninjured mice following their treatment.
The BCAAs used in the study are the precursors to two important neurotransmitters, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which jointly balance proper
brain activity. Damage to the hippocampus, the portion of
the brain that sustains memory and higher learning, is typical during a traumatic brain
injury (TBI) and results in reduced BCAA levels. Supplementation with BCAAs has proven to rejuvenate the brain and restore it to normal function.
Intravenous nourishment with BCAAs has been done before, however in this study the BCAA mixture was added to the mice's drinking water. Dr. Akiva Cohen, Ph.D. and author of the study, recommends dietary supplementation with BCAAs for human TBI treatment. He believes oral rather than intravenous supplementation is preferable because, rather than flood the brain with too high a dose intravenously, drinking BCAAs will provide a more sustained dose with increased benefits.
Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
This is interesting
research because it shows how dietary
supplements can give the brain the raw materials it needs to heal itself. The fact that this process exists at all is considered utterly impossible by
the FDA, which maintains the ridiculous position that there is no such thing as a
nutritional supplement that has any therapeutic effect on the human body whatsoever.
If BCAAs actually worked, the
FDA says, they would be "drugs" instead of supplements. And they would be regulated and available only by prescription. The FDA cannot tolerate the existence of a nutritional
supplement that actually works to accelerate healing while being freely available to anyone who wants to buy it.
Reality, however, stands in contrast to the FDA. In the real world, nutrients do help the brain heal. In the real world,
food is medicine. The FDA, to its own embarrassment, continues to deny this simple fact of human physiology.
Sources for this story include:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/with-amino-acid-diet-mice-improve...
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Friday, February 19, 2010
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