There's more to studying than simply memorization and practice. It turns out that your diet also plays a pivotal role in recalling key bits of information, while keeping you energized and focused in the process. We're not talking about those scam-ridden supplements that promise a boost in brain power, but simple natural foods such as milk, nuts, seeds, rice, and oats.

The nutrients found in these items help your study efforts by releasing natural memory enhancers called CCKs ( cholecystokinin). When CCK crosses the blood-brain barrier, it acts as a neurotransmitter associated with memory. Studies have shown that learning and memory processes are severely damaged (in rats) that genetically do not respond to the presence of CCK. And in people ...

I recommend you watch the whole video, but if you're anxious and eager to see what I'm referring to, skip to the fourth minute.

This video explains it quite well. The key hormone in question is serotonin. Serotonin is known to play a role in depression. Low serotonin levels are believed to be the reason for depression and associated symptoms of anxiety, apathy, fear, feelings of worthlessness, insomnia and fatigue. The opposite is true when a high-level of serotonin is present, you feel jovial and enthusiastic. MDMA promotes the formation of this hormone.

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Kenny is a white tiger that was ‘selectively’ inbred while in captivity in the United States. As zoos and exotic pet stores along with consumers have increased the demand for white tigers, breeders have attempted to recreate the ideal white tiger - large snout, blue eyes, white fur - by relying on a limited pool of white tigers that are in captivity.

The result? With such a limited gene pool, white tigers are born with an astoundingly high rate of deformities and health issues. For example, Kenny is mentally retarded, has significant physical limitations, and is considered the first tiger with down syndrome.


The 3 year-old male orangutan shown above also has characteristics that are similar to people with Down syndrome. It is seen from his h ...

Mad honey is a rare hallucinogenic honey that is made by the Giant Bee of Himalayas (Apis dorsata laboriosa) in Nepal. The bee lives and nests at altitudes between 2 500 and 3 000 meters, where it builds very large nests under overhangs on the south-western faces of vertical cliffs. The honey possesses hallucinogenic properties because it contains an ingredient from rhododendron nectar called grayanotoxin - a natural neurotoxin that, even in small quantities, brings on light-headedness and hallucinations. Since it is difficult to harvest and has special properties, this kind of honey is expensive and sells for about five times the price of normal honey in the foreign market. So, the honey hunters take absurd risks to get the honey from over ...