VALO'S ARCHIVE

Opioids attach to receptors in the brain. Normally these opioids are the endogenous variety that are created naturally in the body. Once attached, they send signals to the brain of the "opioid effect" which blocks pain, slows breathing, and has a general calming and anti-depressing effect. The body cannot produce enough natural opioids to stop severe or chronic pain nor can it produce enough to cause an overdose. opioids can activate receptors because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter. This similarity in structure "fools" receptors and allows the drugs to lock onto and activate the nerve cells. Although these drugs mimic brain chemicals, they don't activate nerve cells in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being transmitted through the network. Opioids target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions o...

What are bleeding disorders? In people with bleeding disorders, the clotting process doesn’t work properly. As a result, people with bleeding disorders can bleed for longer than normal, and some may experience spontaneous bleeding into joints, muscles, or other parts of their bodies. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that affects approximately 1 in 10,000 people. People with hemophilia do not have enough clotting factor VIII or IX in their blood. As a result, they can bleed for longer than normal. The most common bleeding disorder is von Willebrand disease ( VWD ). It is generally less severe than other bleeding disorders. Many people with VWD may not know that they have the disorder because their bleeding symptoms are very mild.  Rare clotting factor deficiencies are disorders in which one of several clotting factors is missing or not working properly. Less is known about these disorders because they are diagnosed so rarely. In fact, many have only been discove...

Zinc has so many health benefits that it’s almost impossible to cover them all in one post.  Zinc is important for balancing immunity, decreasing inflammation, as an antioxidant, cognitive function and so much more! Introduction Zinc is an essential mineral found in all organs, tissues, and fluids in the body ( R ). As the second most abundant trace mineral in the body after iron, zinc plays a pivotal role in a variety of biological processes ( R , R2 ). Zinc is required for catalytic activity of more than 300 enzymes involved in the synthesis and metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, nucleic acids, and other micronutrients ( R ). Zinc also plays roles in stabilizing cell and organ structures, immune function, wound healing, cell division, growth, blood clotting, thyroid function, vision, taste and smell ( R ). Despite having such critical functions, zinc is not stored in the body and requires a regular dietary intake ( R ). Good dietary sources of zinc inclu...