Sunday, September 14, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Alcohol consumption shrinks the brain

Published 31 August 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Reducing alcohol consumption leads to better cognitive, neurological, and mental health.
2 minute read

Reducing alcohol consumption is one of the most effective ways to promote cognitive and neurological health, both in the short and long term, and research also shows that the effects of alcohol vary by age.

In a new report Alcohol and the Brain, researchers from the University of Victoria in Canada, Berkley in the United States, the Karolinska Institute and Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, among others, have compiled and analyzed some 150 scientific studies on the subject. The report emphasizes that alcohol affects the brain throughout life

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is already known to be harmful, and the researchers now confirm that the studies show this.

– We have not been able to find a safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy Even sperm function can be affected, so the man should also take a break when the couple is trying to have children, Sven Andréasson, professor emeritus at the Karolinska Institute, told Bonnier owned newspaper DN.

In addition, alcohol consumption can influence the decisions of young adults, according to the compilation The brain is particularly sensitive until it is fully developed, which does not happen until the age of 23 to 24, and can therefore be negatively affected by alcohol. Andréasson also says that “binge drinking in adolescence” is a risk factor for dementia later in life.

Increased risk of mental health problems

In adults up to the age of 65, research shows that there is a strong link between alcohol and mental health problems It is the ethanol in alcohol that poisons brain cells by bypassing the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain It can also impair memory and intellectual capacity and accelerate brain aging For example, a 50-year-old who increases his drinking from 1 unit/day to 2 units/day may, after a few years, have a brain that is two years older than it would otherwise be.

As you get older, the brain becomes even more sensitive to alcohol because it can also raise blood pressure and cause strokes. The consequences of long-term alcohol use become more apparent with age, and the brain shrinks as more alcohol is consumed over a lifetime.

Reducing or stopping binge drinking may be one of the best things you can do to improve your cognitive health.

– Drinking less or not drinking at all may be the most effective way to improve cognitive, neurological and psychological health at any age, says Andréasson.

This is the tenth report produced by an international group of alcohol researchers, at the initiative of several international NGOs and academic institutions, with the aim of raising public awareness of the consequences of alcohol and informing policy-makers about measures that can help reduce alcohol-related harm.

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Study: Ultra-processed food impacts men’s reproductive ability

Published today 11:23
– By Editorial Staff
In just three weeks, the health of young Danish men deteriorated markedly, a new study shows.
2 minute read

Just three weeks of ultra-processed food is enough to worsen young men’s sperm quality and testosterone levels, shows a new study from the University of Copenhagen. The men also gained weight compared to when they ate regular food – despite identical calorie intake.

Ultra-processed food is, in short, food that is industrially manufactured and contains a range of different ingredients, and is often a large part of especially Western diets today. Everything from bread, cereals, protein powder to candy, chips and ready meals can be classified as ultra-processed food. Previous studies have linked ultra-processed food to cardiovascular disease, depression, weight gain as well as nutritional deficiency.

Three weeks is enough

In the study, which was published in Cell Metabolism, 43 Danish men between 25 and 30 years old participated. First, the men ate only ultra-processed food for three weeks, then followed three weeks with minimally processed food. Both diets contained the same amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat and calories – the only difference was the degree of processing. Some of the men received a calorie intake adapted to their weight, while others received a surplus of about 500 calories. Between the two diets, the men had a 12-week break where they ate their usual diet.

The results show clear health deteriorations after the period with ultra-processed food, compared to when they ate less processed food. The men gained about one kilogram in body fat and their cardiovascular health deteriorated – regardless of which calorie intake they had. Additionally, the men had worse sperm quality and their testosterone levels dropped.

We are shocked by the results, says one of the researchers behind the study, Romain Barrés, professor at the University of Copenhagen at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research to forskning.no and continues:

It’s really alarming to think about what happens if you eat such food year after year. The consequences can be serious and chronic.

The study supports previous research that points to ultra-processed food potentially being harmful to health, but also strengthens the hypothesis that this type of food contains calories that are more fat-forming compared to home-cooked food. The researchers now hope that the study will influence politicians when they make decisions about diet and health for Danes.

These products, which harm our health, are everywhere in our supermarkets, says Barrés.

Study: More health problems at higher radiation levels

Published yesterday 10:35
– By Editorial Staff
The most common symptoms were fatigue, headaches, increased irritability, sleep problems and anxiety.
2 minute read

People exposed to higher levels of microwave radiation report more health symptoms, shows a new Indian study. The correlation was particularly clear for fatigue, headaches and sleep problems.

The study, which was published in Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, examined 183 people between 18 and 80 years old who had lived in the same home for at least one year in the city of Shillong in northeastern India. Researchers from Mizoram University in India measured microwave radiation in each residence and then divided participants into three groups based on the measured values.

The first group had the lowest levels (0–3,000 μW/m²) and included 43 participants. The second group had medium levels (3,000–5,000 μW/m²) with 49 participants, while the third and largest group had the highest levels (5,000–8,000 μW/m²) with 91 participants.

All participants answered a questionnaire about over 20 different symptoms.

The results showed that people in the highest exposure group reported significantly more health problems than the other groups. Even the medium group reported more symptoms than the lowest group. The researchers also discovered that people under 40 years old reported more inflammation-related symptoms.

Clearer symptoms among heavy phone users

The most common symptoms in the most exposed group were fatigue, headaches, increased irritability, sleep problems and anxiety. The symptoms were also more pronounced among people who used mobile phones more than five hours per day or lived within 50 meters of a base station.

To put the results in perspective: the Swedish reference value from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority is 10 million μW/m², which means that all levels in the study were at least 1,250 times below this value.

The researchers concluded that exposure level was the only factor that affected the number of symptoms for all four examined health categories. The study confirms previous research that has linked health effects to radiation from mobile base stations. According to the Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation, fatigue, headaches and sleep problems are particularly common symptoms among people who live near 5G towers.

British cardiologist links royal family cancer cases to covid vaccine

The criticized covid vaccinations

Published 8 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Aseem Malhotra, it is "highly likely that the COVID vaccines have been a significant factor in the cancer cases among members of the royal family".
3 minute read

The vaccine-skeptical cardiologist Aseem Malhotra caused major controversy when he assessed during Reform UK’s conference that experimental covid vaccines were “highly likely” to have been a significant factor behind cancer diagnoses among members of the British royal family.

During his speech at the party conference in Birmingham on Saturday, Dr. Aseem Malhotra delivered extensive criticism of mRNA vaccines. The British cardiologist, who is a close friend and advisor to the US vaccine-skeptical health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., spoke to delegates on the conference’s final day.

Malhotra argued that hundreds of studies have shown harm from mRNA vaccines and that these affect people’s genes in a damaging way.

— It may be a risk factor for cancer. Many other doctors feel the same way, he said from the stage at the conference venue, linking the same vaccines to illness cases within the royal family.

— It’s highly likely that the Covid vaccines have been a factor, a significant factor, in the cancer of members of the royal family, he continued.

“No one should have been injected”

During the 15-minute speech, the doctor also argued that the covid vaccine was significantly more likely to cause serious harm than the virus itself.

— What does that mean? It is highly likely that not a single person should have been injected with this.

Malhotra also directed criticism at the World Health Organization WHO, which he claimed had been “captured” by Microsoft founder and vaccine lobbyist Bill Gates. He called for the organization to be replaced by a better and more functional system.

— Nobody is immune to medical misinformation, he proclaimed during the speech.

“Dangerous extremism”

Several British cancer organizations have distanced themselves from Malhotra’s comments, including Cancer Research UK and Blood Cancer UK, which state that there are no controlled studies showing increased cancer risk after covid-19 vaccination.

Britain’s health secretary Wes Streeting has also reacted very strongly to the statements and demands that Reform’s party leader Nigel Farage distance himself from the speaker.

— When we are seeing falling numbers of parents getting their children vaccinated, and a resurgence of disease we had previously eradicated, it is shockingly irresponsible for Nigel Farage to give a platform to these poisonous lies, Streeting thundered.

The minister urges Farage to apologize and “sever all ties with this dangerous extremism”.

A spokesperson for Reform UK notes, however, that Malhotra was invited as a guest speaker and has the right to his own opinions – even if the party does not share them.

— Dr Aseem Malhotra is a guest speaker with his own opinions who has an advisory role in the US government. Reform UK does not endorse what he said but does believe in free speech, the spokesperson explains.

Cancer rates rising rapidly among young adults in Australia

Published 8 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
More young people in the Western world are being affected by cancer, and researchers don't know what is causing the rapid increase.
2 minute read

Prostate cancer has increased by 500 percent among young Australian men. This is just the worst example of a very concerning trend – cancer cases among 30-39 year-olds have risen sharply over the past two decades.

Between 2000 and 2024, about ten different types of cancer have increased among the younger adult population. The technical term for this phenomenon is early-onset cancer, and according to data from Cancer Australia, the federal government’s cancer agency, the figures are alarmingly high.

Among other increases, kidney cancer has risen by 85 percent, uterine cancer by 138 percent, liver cancer by 150 percent, pancreatic cancer by 200 percent, and prostate cancer has increased by 500 percent in this age group. Colorectal cancer has also increased by 173 percent, a type of cancer that is often detected late, making it harder to treat.

Cancer has traditionally been a disease of aging, and bowel cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, they all increase with age, says Dorothy Keefe, chief executive of Cancer Australia, to ABC and continues:

But over the last 20 years, there’s been a real – it’s small in absolute numbers – but it is a real increase in the number of younger adults developing these cancers.

The increase is also occurring in the United States, where more and more young adults are being diagnosed with cancer.

Environmental toxins and childhood obesity

The increase puzzles researchers who cannot explain what causes it. While there are hereditary mutations that cause cancer, the younger patients do not carry these genetic changes. Researchers speculate that the increase may partly be due to environmental toxins in our surroundings.

We are exposed to a broad universe of synthetic chemicals … that our biology isn’t familiar with, and that has left a great deal of uncertainty, says Dr Christos Symeonides, who is an Australian pediatrician and also studies exposure to chemicals and microplastics.

The increase in childhood obesity is also seen as a possible explanation, as well as gut health. The proportion of cesarean sections has increased, for example, and this means that children do not receive the same microbiome as those born vaginally. This could potentially affect the development of their immune system, researchers believe.

We have lots of bacteria in our gut … and it’s that balance between good and bad bacteria that creates a healthy state, says Professor Gianluca Severi, senior cancer epidemiologist at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Paris, France.

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