‘The Light Switch' Episode 6: Kratom collision course
You might have heard of kratom – but it's more likely you've seen it, or at least the word – written in neon on the front of a smoke shop — or on a little bottle next to the checkout at a convenience store.
Technically, kratom is not a drug, but some people use it like one. In many cases, they're using it to help them get off of drugs, like highly addictive opioids.
But there are other kratom stories, and they don't have happy endings.
There are two bills being debated in the Louisiana Legislature – one seeks to ban kratom entirely, and the other would regulate how it's packaged and sold, keeping it available for people who say it's changed their lives for the better.
In this episode, Illuminator editor Greg LaRose explores both sides of the kratom issue. You'll hear from the people it affects, good and bad and explore the science behind substance and the disputes over it.
Plus, we'll chip away at the misinformation that surrounds the political debate – here in Louisiana and in other states that have chosen to regulate, ban and un-ban the substance.
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Yahoo
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This study investigated the association using postmortem brain tissue from a community-based sample of older adults and further investigated whether the association of the MIND diet with dementia diagnosis close to the time of death was mediated by HS. "Overall, this study supports that among older adults, adhering to a healthy dietary pattern, such as the MIND diet, is associated with reduced likelihood of hippocampal degeneration of aging, as indicated by HS, HS with LATE-NC and hippocampal neuronal loss," the researchers explained. "Our findings also support that the association of the MIND diet with hippocampal health may partially explain the association of a healthy diet with reduced dementia risk. "Further studies should investigate potential neurobiological mechanisms explaining these links, including neuroinflammation and brain oxidative stress, proposed mechanisms for the association of diet with dementia." Do you have a health story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about Alzheimer's? Let us know via health@ Reference Agarwal, P., Agrawal, S., Wagner, M., Cherian, L. J., Aggarwal, N. T., James, B. D., Holland, T. M., Bennett, D. A., Barnes, L. L., Leurgans, S. E., & Schneider, J. A. (2025). MIND diet and hippocampal sclerosis among community-based older adults. JAMA Network Open, 8(8). Wilson, R. S., Yang, J., Yu, L., Leurgans, S. E., Capuano, A. W., Schneider, J. A., Bennett, D. A., & Boyle, P. A. (2019). Postmortem neurodegenerative markers and trajectories of decline in cognitive systems. Neurology, 92(8), e831–e840.
