by Al Sears, MD

Of the top 10 causes of death in America, Alzheimer's disease is the only one that can't be prevented, cured or slowed.

At least that's what mainstream doctors in the West will tell you…

But try telling that to the people of Bali.

The galangal root is similar to ginger, but it has a bit more bite. Some people describe it as "piney" or "woodsy."

You see, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is extremely rare in Bali. And the majority of people living on Bali who DO have Alzheimer's are expats from the West.

Part of the reason why the Balinese don't get AD may lie in one incredible plant that they've been using to treat a wide variety of medical conditions for generations.

It's called galangal. The root of the galangal plant has been used in Southeast Asia cooking and traditional medicine for thousands of years.

And studies show it's a powerful brain booster.

Indian scientists caused Alzheimer's-type amnesia in mice. Treating mice with an extract from greater galangal (called galangin) greatly reduced the effect. The treated mice had lower levels of free radicals. And they showed better performance in remembering their way through a maze.1 In other words, galangal boosted their brain power and memory.

Part of the reason galangal may help stop AD is because studies show galangin is a potent acetylcholinesterase (AChEl) inhibitor.2

AChEl is an enzyme that breaks down a chemical called acetylcholine in your body. This chemical helps send messages between nerve cells.

But people with Alzheimer's have lower levels of acetylcholine in their brains. They also have fewer nerve cells that use acetylcholine. Low levels of acetylcholine and a loss of these nerve cells are linked to more severe symptoms.

So in other words, galangal helps stop the breakdown of this important chemical.

But galangal may help in other ways, too. Studies have shown that it helps increase blood flow to the brain.3 That helps prevent the onset of dementia and other brain disorders.

My friends in Bali also use galangal as a digestive aid. They say it helps treat:

Indigestion
Stomach ache
Motion and morning sickness
Hiccups
Nausea
Chronic gastritis
Ulcers

But that's not all. Galangal also has antibacterial and antiviral qualities.4 That's why it's often used to boost the immune system, treat flu and colds, and reduce fever. And multiple studies show galangal contains several compounds that prevent and kill cancer cells.5

Spice up your health

The people in Bali use galangal as a spice in their meals. White galangal root is what gives Thai soups their distinctive flavor.

You can find fresh galangal at Asian markets and specialty stores, but I recommend the dried root. It keeps longer.

Cooking with galangal is easy. You can crush the dried root and use it as a spice, or cut up the dried root and add it to your soups. It also adds a distinctive flavor to fish dishes and helps cut down the "fishy" taste.

Or, if you're a tea drinker like me, you can also make a tea using dried roots infused in hot water. Just take one teaspoon of dried, ground galangal root and steep it in two cups of boiling water. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

Galangal is also available in capsule form, as a powder, and in tinctures mixed with ginger. If you choose to supplement, I recommend taking 100 mg twice a day.

Galangal truly is a remarkable root. I've been so impressed with its healing powers that not only did I devote an entire chapter to it in my book Healing Herbs of Paradise, I also added it to one of my new supplements.

References:

1. Singh H et al. "Neurotransmitter Metabolic Enzymes and Antioxidant Status on Alzheimer's Disease induced Mice Treated with Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd." Phytother Res. 2011; (7): 1061-7.

2. Guo, Ava J.Y. "Galangin, a flavonol derived from Rhizoma Alpiniae Officinarum, inhibits acetylcholinesterase activity in vitro." Chemico-Biological Interactions. 187 (2010) 246–248.

3. Aggarwal B et al. "Identification of Novel Anti-Inflammatory Agents from Ayurvedic Medicine for Prevention of Chronic Diseases." Curr. Drug Targets. 2011 Oct 1;12(11): 1595-1653.

4. Middleton E, Kandaswami C. "The impact of plant flavonoids on mammalian biology: Implication for immunity, inflammation and cancer." In: Harborne J. "The flavonoids: Advances in Research since 1980." London, Chapman and Hall. 1993. Pp.6190652.

by Vanessa Allen

Children whose parents are married have significantly higher self-esteem, according to research unveiled recently.

Teenagers of married couples were more confident than those in single-parent families or youngsters whose parents lived together in a stable long-term relationship, it found.

Overall, boys with married parents had the highest self-esteem, while girls with co-habiting parents had the lowest.

Previous research has found that confidence and happiness in childhood has a significant impact on future life chances and is more important than factors such as income.

The latest study contradicts previous claims that children are unaffected by their parents' marital status.

It found that children whose parents were in stable, long-term co-habiting relationships reported the same levels of self-esteem as those from single parent households.

By contrast, children whose parents were married reported higher levels of self-esteem.

The study, from the Marriage Foundation, was based on data from 3,822 children polled in British Household Panel Survey. Harry Benson, research director at the foundation, said: 'Conventional wisdom has it that child outcomes depend on parents staying together rather than marital status.

'This new finding shows that assumption to be false.

'In terms of self-esteem, teenagers living with parents who are together but not married are no better off than children living with lone parents.

'Family income makes no difference. Marriage alone provides the boost. A number of studies have shown that self-esteem is closely related to how secure people feel in their relationships.

by Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
(Jeremiah 1:5 NIV).

Friend to Friend

I want to know God's will for my life. Don't you? However I have learned that identity comes before activity. In other words, I must have a proper perspective of who I am before I can grasp what God wants me to do. This was true of Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5). He didn't choose Jeremiah after he proved himself worthy of the task, but before he was even born. That was true for Joshua (Joshua 1:6-9), Gideon (Judges 6:12), and Mary (Luke 1:28)—and that is true for you.

God didn't throw up His hand when you were born and say, "Now what am I going to do with this one?" He had a plan and a purpose for you before you were born. Isn't that exciting? David wrote this about God:

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be"
(Psalm 139:16 NIV).

Just before Jesus began his earthly ministry, he traveled to the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John. As soon as he came up out of the water, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended, and God spoke.

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased"
(Matthew 43:17)

Before Jesus performed the first miracle, preached the first sermon, or called the first disciple, God made sure that his identity was clear. He was accepted, approved, and completely loved. So many Christians are trying to earn an acceptance and approval that Jesus already earned for them. God's acceptance of you is not based on your performance. That doesn't mean that we stop trying to do our best to live a God-honoring life. But it does mean that we stop trying out for a position or role God's already given you. As someone once said, "The audition has been canceled. You've already got the part." You have nothing to prove because you have already been pre-approved.

Not only does God accept you just as you are; not only does He love you just as you are; but He also likes the person that you are. Yes! He likes you.

If this were not so, none of us would qualify. God's love and acceptance of you is based solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ for you and His presence in you. It is based on your true born-again identity as His child.

This is My Son.
Whom I love.
With him I am well pleased.

Allow God to baptize you in this affirmation of your true identity.

You are His daughter/son.
Whom He loves.
With you He is well pleased.

Before God called you to do something, He called you to be somebody. And it is only when you know who you are, that you can clearly know what to do. The truth is: you are who God says you are.

Let's Pray

Father, I am in awe that You have a plan and a purpose for my life. Help me to remember that I am who You say I am: Your daughter/son, who You love, with whom You are well pleased.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

By Dr. Travis Bradberry

Research shows that most people complain once a minute during a typical conversation. Complaining is tempting because it feels good, but like many other things that are enjoyable - such as smoking or eating a pound of bacon for breakfast - complaining isn't good for you.

Your brain loves efficiency and doesn't like to work any harder than it has to. When you repeat a behavior, such as complaining, your neurons branch out to each other to ease the flow of information.

This makes it much easier to repeat that behavior in the future - so easy, in fact, that you might not even realize you're doing it.

You can't blame your brain. Who'd want to build a temporary bridge every time you need to cross a river? It makes a lot more sense to construct a permanent bridge.

So, your neurons grow closer together, and the connections between them become more permanent. Scientists like to describe this process as, "Neurons that fire together, wire together."

Repeated complaining rewires your brain to make future complaining more likely. Over time, you find it's easier to be negative than to be positive, regardless of what's happening around you. Complaining becomes your default behavior, which changes how people perceive you.

And here's the kicker: complaining damages other areas of your brain as well. Research from Stanford University has shown that complaining shrinks the hippocampus - an area of the brain that's critical to problem solving and intelligent thought. Damage to the hippocampus is scary, especially when you consider that it's one of the primary brain areas destroyed by Alzheimer's.

Complaining Is Also Bad for Your Health

While it's not an exaggeration to say that complaining leads to brain damage, it doesn't stop there. When you complain, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol shifts you into fight-or-flight mode, directing oxygen, blood, and energy away from everything but the systems that are essential to immediate survival. One effect of cortisol, for example, is to raise your blood pressure and blood sugar so that you'll be prepared to either escape or defend yourself.

All the extra cortisol released by frequent complaining impairs your immune system and makes you more susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. It even makes the brain more vulnerable to strokes.

It's Not Just You...

Since human beings are inherently social, our brains naturally and unconsciously mimic the moods of those around us, particularly people we spend a great deal of time with. This process is called neuronal mirroring, and it's the basis for our ability to feel empathy.

The flip side, however, is that it makes complaining a lot like smoking - you don't have to do it yourself to suffer the ill effects. You need to be cautious about spending time with people who complain about everything. Complainers want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves.

Think of it this way: If a person were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the second-hand smoke? You'd distance yourself, and you should do the same with complainers.

The Solution to Complaining

There are two things you can do when you feel the need to complain. One is to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. That is, when you feel like complaining, shift your attention to something that you're grateful for. Taking time to contemplate what you're grateful for isn't merely the right thing to do; it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23%.

Research conducted at the University of California, Davis, found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood and energy and substantially less anxiety due to lower cortisol levels. Any time you experience negative or pessimistic thoughts, use this as a cue to shift gears and to think about something positive. In time, a positive attitude will become a way of life.

The second thing you can do - and only when you have something that is truly worth complaining about - is to engage in solution-oriented complaining. Think of it as complaining with a purpose. Solution-oriented complaining should do the following:

Have a clear purpose. Before complaining, know what outcome you're looking for. If you can't identify a purpose, there's a good chance you just want to complain for its own sake, and that's the kind of complaining you should nip in the bud.

Start with something positive. It may seem counterintuitive to start a complaint with a compliment, but starting with a positive helps keep the other person from getting defensive. For example, before launching into a complaint about poor customer service, you could say something like, "I've been a customer for a very long time and have always been thrilled with your service..."

Be specific. When you're complaining it's not a good time to dredge up every minor annoyance from the past 20 years. Just address the current situation and be as specific as possible. Instead of saying, "Your employee was rude to me," describe specifically what the employee did that seemed rude.

End on a positive. If you end your complaint with, "I'm never shopping here again," the person who's listening has no motivation to act on your complaint. In that case, you're just venting, or complaining with no purpose other than to complain. Instead, restate your purpose, as well as your hope that the desired result can be achieved, for example, "I'd like to work this out so that we can keep our business relationship intact."

Bringing It All Together

Just like smoking, drinking too much, and lying on the couch watching TV all day, complaining is bad for you. Put my advice to use, and you'll reap the physical, mental, and performance benefits that come with a positive frame of mind.

About the Author:

Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, 'Emotional Intelligence 2.0', and the co-founder of TalentSmart, a provider of emotional intelligence tests and training services to Fortune 500 companies. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, The World Ecomonic Forum, and The Huffington Post.