Mindfully Healing

The more of the foods they consumed, the higher their IQs. A diet low in sugars, fats and processed foods consumed at a young age may increase your intelligence, research finds. Children under 3-years-old fed diets that are packed full of nutrients and vitamins have higher IQs. The more healthily they eat, the higher their IQ. The study followed the wellbeing and health of 14,000 children born between 1991 and 1992 in the UK. What they ate was tracked up to the age of 8, when they were given an

Without stem cells, new brain cells cannot be produced. Alcohol kills stem cells in the brain, new research finds. Stem cells are responsible for making new cells — known as neurogenesis — and are key to maintaining normal cognitive function. Females are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol, the study on mice found. Chronic alcohol abuse is known to cause severe brain damage and neurodegenration. It was thought for a long time that the body did not produce any new brain cells after early life, but relatively recently it

How parents raise narcissistic children. A permissive upbringing is one way parents raise narcissistic children, research finds. Two other important factors are lack of affection from parents and exposure to violence in the home. The conclusions come from a Spanish study of 591 adolescents. Narcissistic children were likely to be aggressive towards parents when they didn’t get what they wanted. Dr Esther Calvete, the study’s first author, said: “On occasions adolescents assault their parents because the parents themselves have been violent towards the children or among themselves. Through exposure to

Strangely, there’s no evidence narcissists use the word “I” more often. Narcissists tend to use more sexual language and swearing to grab attention, research finds. Other signs of narcissism include acting more extraverted, being less agreeable and expressing negative emotions loudly. The conclusions come from a study that tracked the everyday behaviour of 80 undergraduate students. The study’s authors explain their results: “…narcissism was associated with more extraverted behavior (e.g., talking about friends), more disagreeable behavior (e.g., swearing), and more sexual language use (e.g., “nude”). Furthermore, exploitativeness/entitlement—the most maladaptive facet

Study of over 1,000 people’s brains tested whether alcohol or cannabis does the most damage. Long-term alcohol use is more damaging to the brain than long-term cannabis use, new research finds. The assumption among many scientists has been that cannabis use may be just as damaging to long-term health as alcohol. But this new study of over 1,000 people’s brains suggests otherwise. Alcohol use is linked to decreased gray matter size and lower white matter integrity, the researchers found. Cannabis, though, had no link to reductions in these critical measures

The behaviour is particularly attractive to women, although men also rate it highly. Being altruistic — helping others without thought of reward — is particularly attractive to women, research finds. But both men and women find those who are altruistic more attractive. The results come from three studies including over 1,000 people. People were asked about the behaviours they looked for in a mate. Some of the suggested behaviours included donating blood and volunteering in a local hospital. Women were more keen on these altruistic traits in a potential partner.

Watch the eyes for this sign that a partner is 50% more likely to cheat on you. Partners who spend a fraction of a second longer looking at other people they find attractive are 50% more likely to cheat, psychological research finds. The marriages of those who can’t keep their eyes in their heads are also more likely to fail. Other signs of infidelity were hidden in couple’s appearance and dating history. Less attractive women were more likely to be unfaithful, it emerged. Among men, those that reported more short-term

Missing out these simple parenting behaviours increases suicide risk in adolescents. Children who are not shown by their parents that they care are significantly more likely to contemplate suicide, research shows. The study’s authors identified three behaviours which, when lacking, were linked to suicidal thoughts in adolescence: Telling the child they are proud of them. Telling the child they have done a good job. Helping them with their homework. Adolescents who were rarely or never told by their parents they were proud of them were five times more likely to

The type of compliment that women prefer. Using metaphorical compliments makes men more attractive to women than using literal ones, new research finds. Women in the Chinese study found men more attractive if they used phrases like “Your eyes are morning dew”. On the other hand, saying things like “Your lips are so sexy”, was not the way to go. It is very clear which type of compliment is most romantic, but the use of metaphor has another subtle purpose. Metaphors require more intelligence and creativity to generate so they