🎧Health Brief: A Common Air Pollutant Linked to Autism; How Light Exposure Influences Your Longevity; Study Shows Impact of Cutting Back on Blood Pressure Meds

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Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times Health Brief for Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.

I’m Bill Thomas, we have several intriguing stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.

New research disputes long-standing blood pressure treatment, scientists find a significant link between light exposure and longevity, and a simple technique targets a specific nerve in your body to help it heal by fighting both stress and inflammation.

Also, a recent study links air pollution to increasing rates of autism, and we’ll dive into how a proper diet could be your best defense against dementia.

We'll break down each of these stories one by one, but we begin with new evidence regarding medications designed to protect the heart, and it turns out, their prolonged use may actually be dangerous for some people.

Cutting Back Blood Pressure Drugs Doesn’t Raise Heart-Related Risk, Study Finds

Blood pressure medications are incredibly common, especially for the elderly. New research points out that for some individuals, cutting back on meds prescribed for hypertension could be not only safe but even beneficial.

The study, which analyzed data from over 13,000 adults over the age of 65, found that reducing or stopping high blood pressure medication did not lead to more heart attacks or strokes.

This is where it gets more serious: The research also touched on potential dangers of taking blood pressure medicine for a long time. Recent evidence indicates that long-term use of certain types of hypertension medications might cause kidney damage over time.

One expert points out that the findings of the new study could suggest that for some elderly people, the potential side effects of antihypertensive drugs—which include dizziness, fatigue, and headaches—may outweigh the benefits of tightly controlling their blood pressure.

The results of the research study do not necessarily mean everyone should just stop taking their prescribed medicines. Things like how many other medications people are on, their overall health, and even how long they’ve been taking the blood pressure meds all play a role.

Ultimately, whether it’s a new medication, a significant lifestyle change, or any other health-related decision, it is always best to first consult with your doctor.

We’ll take a minute now to share a story with you about two concepts that don’t often go hand in hand, but now research shows they’re deeply connected.

How Light Exposure Affects Longevity

A new study indicates that the amount and timing of light exposure could dramatically affect longevity. Too much light at night might increase your mortality risk by up to 34 percent, while plenty of sunlight during the day can actually reduce it by the same percentage.

Researchers analyzed a massive dataset of nearly 13 million hours of light sensor information from about 90,000 participants, tracking their exposure to light over a period of approximately 10 years.

Here’s where it gets really interesting: it all comes down to your circadian rhythms, which are those internal 24-hour cycles that control everything from your sleep to your hormone release. When you interfere with these rhythms by getting too much light at the wrong times, you’re essentially throwing your body’s natural processes into chaos.

Studies have shown that this disruption could lead to serious health issues like heart disease, diabetes, mental health problems, and obesity.

The bottom line is that sunlight is basically a natural superpower for our health. To fix your possible light exposure problem, experts recommend several lifestyle tweaks. First, try to get 15-30 minutes of sunlight early in the day to help set your circadian rhythms.

Next is light exposure at night. The key is to limit artificial light and you can do this by dimming those harsh overhead bulbs, choosing warm-tone lighting, and try to avoid bright screens such as televisions and computers at least an hour before bedtime.

In the end, the takeaway is that when you’re tempted to stay inside all day or scroll on your phone all night, remember: your light exposure isn’t just about seeing clearly—it’s about keeping your body’s internal clock ticking exactly the way it should.

We’ll turn our attention now to what some experts say may be the key to unlocking better health, sharper focus, and lasting calm.

A Simple Technique to Fight Stress and Inflammation

It turns out that stimulating the vagus nerve, which is this long nerve in the body that connects your brain to basically all your organs, could be an enormous game-changer for your health.

We’re talking about reducing inflammation, improving your mood, even boosting your brainpower by regulating the immune system, alleviating symptoms of anxiety, and improving cognitive function.

Historically, vagus nerve stimulation has been explored as a treatment method since the 1880s, but its contemporary applications now span a wide array of health conditions ranging from diabetes to long COVID.

What’s particularly intriguing is the role in how we respond to stress. When we’re overwhelmed, our bodies go into “fight-or-flight” mode, which shuts down the recovery process. One expert says that stimulating the vagus nerve helps the body relax, which is essential for the body to begin healing.

There is also evidence that by promoting vagus nerve health, a person can diminish inflammation, a common factor in many chronic diseases, thus paving the way for better overall health.​

The good news is that there are several self-stimulation techniques that you can easily practice every day in order to tap into the power of your vagus nerve. Breathing exercises, humming, chanting, and even gargling can all help to promote vagus nerve stimulation.

Of course, it’s always best to talk to your doctor before trying anything new, especially if you have any underlying health conditions, and we’re just doing all we can to try and help you live the healthiest life you can imagine.

We’ll change topics now, and look into new evidence that the air we breathe could be having a surprisingly negative impact on how children’s brains develop, and here’s what you need to know.

Researchers Reveal a Link Between Common Air Pollutant and Autism

Recent study points out a troubling connection between air pollution and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition which has been on the rise over the last few decades.

While nitric oxide is known to be beneficial in normal amounts, excessive exposure is believed to contribute to what is called neuroinflammation, a critical risk factor for various neurological disorders, including autism. This is especially concerning for pregnant women, as their developing babies may be more sensitive to these harmful particles.

As the research makes very clear, when pregnant women inhale polluted air, harmful particles can enter the bloodstream and reach the fetus. The researchers point out that smaller particles are especially concerning, as they can get through the placenta, affecting fetal neural development and potentially lead to conditions like autism.

It’s also important to point out that the blood-brain barrier in newborns is not fully developed, making them more susceptible to environmental toxins that can interfere with brain development.

To reduce these threats, experts recommend minimizing exposure to certain toxins during critical developmental windows, especially during pregnancy and early childhood, to help prevent autism cases which are linked to environmental factors.

However, it’s crucial to remember that other contributing causes, for example smoking, can also play a role. Overall, this study adds to the growing body of evidence that air pollution can have serious consequences for our health, particularly for the developing brain of a baby or a toddler.

Let’s turn our attention now to another important aspect of neurological health: your diet, which might be even more important for your brain than exercise.

Your Brain on Food: How What You Eat Affects Cognition

Studies indicate that adopting an anti-inflammatory, plant-based diet may be key for better cognitive function and could even lower the risk of developing dementia.​

A lot of the conversation surrounding brain health ties back into the role of chronic inflammation. This condition can damage brain cells and blood vessels, hindering the brain’s ability to remove waste, while paving the way for the formation of certain proteins called plaques that interfere with normal brain function.

You should know that what we eat affects our brains from a very young age. A study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that children who eat lots of junk food, like sugary snacks and processed foods, tend to have less brain matter. On the other hand, children who eat foods like whole grains and healthy fats tend to have better brain structure and function.

When it comes to healthy diets that promote brain health, something called the MIND diet focuses on leafy greens, nuts, whole grains, and berries. This type of diet also limits saturated fats, which are found in animal products like red meat, and processed foods like deli meats, fast food, and frozen dinners.

Research not only links adhering to this brain-healthy eating plan to improved cognitive outcomes, but also highlights a direct correlation between consuming ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of developing certain neurological disorders.

Ultimately, changing our eating habits from being meat-centric to embracing more fruits and vegetables could be a delicious, healthy, and intelligent way to enhance brain health for years to come.

And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for this edition of the Epoch Times Health Brief.

If you have any health tips you’d like to share with us, shoot an email our way and we’re at [email protected] and you can also leave comments for us on the Epoch Times app which you can download for free.

And don’t forget the Health Brief Motto: We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.

And finally, as we do each and every week on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin:

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

Franklin was an American statesman, an inventor, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

One more thing before we go—the health tip of the day: Listen to your tummy, not your cravings, and practice mindful eating.

For all of us here at the Epoch Times Health Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.

The Epoch Times Health Brief program was written today by Hristina Byrnes.

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For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.