come, stay and let's talk. it's a good day to be alive
am I blaming others
for not spreading my arm
while curled up in a boulder
fearful of shame and harm?
am I blaming my past
for my current inconvenience
even though they passed
enough amount of penance?
why blame for what cannot be controlled?
why not have a laugh and go on a stroll?
so now, take a chance
for once, let us dance
6.9.2023
Have you ever had a sip of a coffee in the morning and felt a jolt of energy that immediately woke you up? Have you wondered if there could be any lasting effects of drinking coffee? Today, we will explore the cognitive effects of drinking coffee.
Coffee is made from seeds of Coffea arabica in either its raw, roasted, whole, or grounded form. While there are 70 species of coffee, only 3 are cultivated (Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, and Coffea liberica).
Most coffees are made from roasted coffee. Raw coffee beans are added to loaders and then into a rotating drum heated to around 240 degrees. Most coffee is roasted to 3 levels: light, medium, and dark roast.
Once the coffee beans are roasted, they are grounded in various levels to suit the brewing method. Some of the most common brewing methods include pour-over, drip coffeemakers, French press, cold brew, and espresso. If you want to learn more about different brewing methods, you can explore a few recommendations, such as this one from Starbucks and another from Blue Bottle.
One of the key characteristics of coffee is its bitter taste. The coffee’s bitter taste is from the extracted coffee’s chlorogenic acid (CGA), the coffee’s main phenolic acid compound, broken down during roasting. The broken-down organic compound also contributes toward the browning of the coffee beans.
A 2021 study reports that CGA may lower blood cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein. It also has antioxidant, antibacterial, and DNA protection effects because of its ability to neutralize free radicals that damage DNA and other cell structures. A 2020 study showed that CGA in coffee showed a protective effect against cognitive impairment and prevented the build-up of amyloid beta plaques in mice that were induced to have Alzheimer’s disease.
Of course, caffeine is also one of the main components of the coffee. Caffeine affects changes in the blood level of norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, glutamate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors in phosphodiesterase enzymes in skeletal muscles and adipose tissues. This increases the breakdown of fats in the body, giving more muscle energy. This inhibition also increases the concentration of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which may increase epinephrine and dopamine. It also allows the heart and lungs to work faster.
In a 2022 cross-sectional study, theobromine and theophylline in coffee were associated with increased cognitive function, but the authors claim that more research is needed to strengthen their results. A 2017 mice study showed that theobromine and theophylline did not have a protective effect against cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease-modeled mice.
A 2013 paper reviewed articles published between 1990 and 2002 and found coffee is associated with a reduction in the incidence of diabetes and liver disease. The authors also found coffee appears to have protective effects against Parkinson’s disease and osteoporosis. This study appears to be supported by a 2020 neuroimaging study that showed that whole coffee cherry extract administration to older adults can lead to structures of neurons involved in decision-making, attention, and memory.
What part of coffee might be contributing to this improvement in cognitive function? A 2018 Japanese study suggested that roasting coffee beans is a crucial part of its role in reducing beta-amyloid plaque in humans. A 2013 study suggested that it is not caffeine but something in the coffee that contributes to neuroprotective effects. For example, a 2018 study found that phenylindanes prevent the build-up of beta-amyloid and tau build-ups for those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
If you prefer to drink tea instead of coffee, you may still benefit from similar chemicals in tea that have similar effects. A 2005 study showed that age was positively associated with tea consumption but negatively associated with coffee preference. Teas also have flavonoids, which appear to have a beneficial effect on cognitive health.
This post explored coffee’s components and how those affect our cognitive health. We hope this post has helped you understand coffee’s effects on your health. If you have a favorite way of drinking your coffee, please feel free to share it in the comment section!
one day, I walked into a ramen shop.
a college student led me to a stall.
He told me a rule of the shop:
once I’m done with the bowl, stand tall,
and shout out a dream of mine to everyone.
it was then I noticed a smile on each patron.
the bowl was greesy and salty,
yet I slurped away readily,
racing to the end of my bowl.
once I saw the bottom of my bowl, I stool tall,
and everyone looked up from their table
for once, a silence filled the air so tasteful
and I told them all, what my dreams are.
I recall my dry mouth, searching for words,
painting a picture of a perfect world,
and I wondered, if it will come true as I hoped.
6.8.2023
On June 7th, 2023, New Yorkers woke up to an unfamiliar scene: an orange-colored sky above New York City’s skyscrapers. New York Times reported that this was the historically worst air pollution in NYC. Other parts of the United States are experiencing similar air pollution due to the forest fires in Canada. Today, we will explore how exposure to air pollution could affect our cognitive health.
The current air pollution was caused by forest fires in British Columbia and Alberta in the west side of Canada and Quebec on the east side of Canada, moving south towards the United States. Half of the forest fires are caused by humans, while the other half are ignited by lightning strikes. According to the Wall Street Journal, May of 2023 was the hottest May in British Columbia and Alberta.
Other types of air pollution include smog (a form of air pollution when combusted fossil fuels react with sunlight), pollen/mold (exposed within a residential apartment/house), and asbestos.
Such wild forest fires produce gaseous pollutants (such as carbon monoxide), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]), water vapor, and particle pollution. Particle pollution is a term used to describe a mixture of solid and liquid droplets suspended in the air.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, particles in particle pollution can be made up of different elements, such as biological materials (e.g., pollen and mold spores), acids (e.g., sulfuric acid), inorganic compounds (e.g., ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and sodium chloride), organic chemicals, soot, and metals.
You will often see in news articles notations such as PM10 or PM2.5. PM10 means particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter, PM2.5 is particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. PM2.5 is generally described as fine particles. AQI is another acronym that is often used to indicate air pollution level. AQI stands for Air Quality Index. It was a range of values. For example, good air quality AQI ranges from 0 to 50, moderate air quality ranges between 51 and 100, and unhealthy for sensitive groups ranges between 101 and 150. There are more ranges with higher AQI values.
A 2014 study conducted by Columbia University researchers showed that when pregnant mothers are exposured to PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), the likelihood of the child developing Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder increased. A 2022 study in China showed similar results. Other types of disorders due to prenatal exposures to air pollution include lower birth weight, smaller brain size, autism spectrum disorder, and lower IQ score.
For older adults, exposure to air pollution may lead to cognitive decline, neurodegenerative diseases, and osteoporosis. Following about 4000 people from 1978 to 2018, a 2021 study found that higher 10-year average exposure to air pollution increases the risk of all types of dementia. Another study published in 2020 followed about 60 million people from 2000 to 2016 and found increased likelihood of having a Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease among those who had a higher exposure to air pollution. A 2023 study found that postmenstrual women who were exposed to air pollution were more likely to have osteoporosis.
A 2020 study cites multiple studies to explain why air pollution might be associated with cognitive decline. The authors explain that proteins such as Tau and beta-amyloid deposits in the brain, which have been found to be associated with neurodegenerative diseases, are also linked to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, in turn, are associated with stroke and cerebrovascular diseases. The author suggests that air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and ozone may cause inflammation in the brain and cause cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases. A 2014 study showed an association between exposure to nitrogen oxide and cognitive impairment among older adults in Los Angeles, California.
Exposure to air pollution may vary depending on the neighborhood socioeconomic status. A 2022 study that followed 12,000 participants for more than 50 years showed that living in a lower neighborhood socioeconomic status could increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment. A 2022 study with Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study between 2011 and 2015 found small effect of air pollution on cognitive decline.
If you would like to learn more about the effects of air pollution on your health, please feel free to visit the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’s web page.
In order to check the air quality in your area, you can utilize tools like the EPA’s air pollution monitor, AirNow. You can stay indoors, where the central air system has a higher quality air filters such as High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter.
A 2020 study showed that consuming omega-3-rich foods can have protective effect against brain shrinkage among older women.
We looked into what are components of air pollution. We then explored what could be health effects of inhaling air pollutants. Although it is unfortunate that there is limited activities we can do to immediately reduce the air pollution, we can take steps to prevent deteriorative health effects. If you have health concerns, please contant your physicians for concrete evidence and detail of your care.
Disclaimer: This web post is for information purposes. If you have medical needs, please contact your primary care physician
I can’t recall when it all started
to enjoy biting another
and to be bitten.
All I did was to walk the walk
that was dark when it was dark
and walk the bright one when it was bright
yet there’s that lingering feeling
as if my hands are not clean before this meal.
언제부터인지는 기억이 나지 않는다.
서로를 물어 뜯고
물어 뜯기는걸 즐기게 되었는지는.
어두울 때는 어두운 길을 걷고
밝을 때는 밝은 길을 걸었을 뿐인데
걷고 난 후엔 무엇인가 바뀐 느낌이
식사전 손씻지 않은 찝찝함처럼 있다.
6.7.2023
Today we will explore the benefits of eating dark chocolates! Dark chocolates are not just delicacies but also abundant with nutrition beneficial for our health. In this blog post, we will explore the cognitive benefits of eating dark chocolates!
Have you realized that the higher number of chocolates consumed in a country is correlated with the higher number of Nobel laureates? Of course, this is based on a study demonstrating correlation is not equivalent to causation (i.e., a country that is consuming more dark chocolate does not cause the country to produce more Nobel laureates; it happens to be that countries that are consuming more dark chocolates happened to have more Nobel laureates). But in all seriousness, some studies investigated the effects of consuming more dark chocolates.
Elizabeth Mostofsky from Harvard School of Public Health reported in 2017 that moderate chocolate intake could lower the risk of heart arrhythmias. Atrial fibrillation, one of the most common types of heart arrhythmias, is said to be associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline, dementia, and stroke.
A 2022 Japanese study found that consuming 5 pieces of dark chocolate (635mg of cocoa polyphenol) per day for 28 days led to an increased volume of gray matter in the brain (measured via MRI), improved memory and executive function, and reduced fatigue.
A 2017 systematic review paper pointed out that consuming dark chocolate after a sleep disturbance may help with cognitive function and executive performance.
One of the most commonly studied components of dark chocolate is the flavonoids – a type of chemicals naturally found in plants – that contain molecules such as catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidins, which help the cardiovascular system by lowering cholesterol, reducing inflammation, and preventing blood clots. Nitric oxides, produced from the stimulation of endothelial tissues by the flavonoids, can produce effects of lowering LDL and reducing blood pressure. Studies also show improved brain blood flow, oxygen levels, and nerve function with the consumption of cocoa drinks. Our previous post about blueberries discussed how flavonoids can produce effects on neuroplasticity, cognitive decline, and improvement of cognitive functions.
Along with flavonoids, in a 100-gram (3.5 ounces) bar of 70-85% dark chocolates, there are:
Before you head over to the closest supermarket nearby to buy your stash of dark chocolate, there is something you know about recent findings about dark chocolates. There have been reports of dark chocolates contaminated with cadmium and lead – heavy metals unhealthy for you – due to polluted soil from which cacao trees are harvested and processed. Harvard Health Publishing of Harvard Medical School recommends consuming less than an ounce per day to avoid exceeding the maximum dose for at least one of the heavy metals (0.5 mcg for lead, 4.1 mcg for cadmium). The list of popular chocolate brands that contain either lead or cadmium can be found on this Consumer Reports website.
Today we explore cardiovascular and cognitive benefits of consuming dark chocolates. We also explored what is included in dark chocolates and found recent findings of heavy metals in dark chocolates. We hope that this post has helped you understand better what is included in the dark chocolate and what are risk/benefit of consuming it. If you have any health concerns with regard to consuming chocolates, please contact your physician.
Disclaimer: This web post is for information purposes. If you have medical needs, please contact your primary care physician
I stared at the sky
and wondered why
we all are fighting over another
when we can enjoy this calm together
I ran whenever I felt I wanted to
but I see others’ glares in whatever I do
regardless, I keep facing to the rhythm
singing along with what I believe in
6.6.2023
Have you had a moment when watching a drama series or a movie you realize that most of the common misunderstandings and conflicts happen because of a lack of social skills? Have you also resonated with such conflicts because of your similar personal conflict? And have you wondered how you can improve your social skills? We feel the same! In this post, we will explore ways to improve our social skills.
Continue reading “How to Improve Social Skills”
dreams don’t have to stay as dreams
wiggle your toes
focus on your breath
there are ways to make things happen.
one by one
we will make our dreams come true.
6.5.2023
I am sure you have heard many parental figures scolding their children for playing too many video/computer games. But have you considered there could be cognitive benefits to playing computer games? In this post, we will explore online-based simulation programs like computer games or electronic cognitive simulations to see the benefits of playing them.
Cognitive stimulation therapy is a non-medical treatment involving group activities to stimulate memory and language use for older adults at risk of cognitive decline. Several studies have found cognitive stimulation therapy effective in improving the quality of life for older adults with mild-to-moderate dementia. It can also improve language function, but limited evidence shows that it can improve memory or a sense of orientation. Online cognitive stimulation programs became more available during COVID-19 for older adults with difficulty walking.
One example of such clinical cognitive stimulation therapy adopted into the online platform is virtual cognitive stimulation therapy, which is conducted over a video conference platform, using similar interactive activities such as group songs, comparing images of faces, and bingo for individuals with dementia and their caregiver from countries such as Brazil, India, and Ireland. A 2022 study indicates that while there is an advantage to using virtual cognitive stimulation therapy compared to in-person cognitive stimulation therapy, it may not be as effective as in-person cognitive stimulation therapy. A 2017 study found that a computerized cognitive stimulation program for older adults with mild cognitive impairment did not improve cognitive or psychosocial functions.
What about computer games for cognitive improvement? A 2020 study conducted a randomized trial on 3-month use of AquaSnap, a cognitive training videogame developed to improve cognitive function from MyCQ. It involves using attention, working memory, episodic memory, executive function, and processing speed. The study found improvement in cognitive functions over time. A 2018 study evaluating the effect of playing a football video game among women has found improved cognitive performance and lower cortisol levels. However, we should be careful not to say that this improvement is because of the game’s impact on brain changes. A 2014 study cautions attributing better performance on cognitive tests to neurophysiological changes may be difficult because behavioral effects may have similar effects on cognitive performance. A 2018 study found that depending on the computer game we play, we may experience different influences on cognitive function levels and physiological stress levels.
Through our exploration of the literature on the effects of computer games on cognitive function, we found evidence for both arguments that it may or may not improve cognitive function levels. We also found literature that suggests improvement in cognitive performance may depend on the type of computer game. We will leave you with a qualitative study conducted in 2010 looking at the effect of playing Nintendo Wii on two elderly women who have mild cognitive impairment. The authors also cite previous studies, so please check them out!
Disclaimer: This web post is for information purposes. If you have medical needs, please contact your primary care physician.
Ralph with Coffee 
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