SYDNEY - Moderate alcohol consumption is likely to protect accident victims from post-traumatic psychological distress, says a new study.
The study assessed 1,045 patients hospitalised after traumatic injury, for patterns of alcohol consumption before and three months after the accident.
This was compared with the level of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) one week after the accident and at three months.
Researchers from University of Adelaide (U-A) found that moderate alcohol consumption before and after the accident predicted lower levels of psychological distress.
Conversely, both abstinence from alcohol and high levels of drinking produced poorer mental health outcomes.
“Rather than suggesting abstinence following exposure to traumatic events…, the importance of moderate drinking should be emphasised as this behaviour may have some benefit in minimising distress,” says Alexander McFarlane, professor at U-A, who led the study.
A small group of patients showed a link between more severe PSTD and the emergence of alcohol abuse, suggesting “self-medication”, says an U-A release.
These findings have been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
ST. LOUIS - The brain is a complex system made of billions of neurons (nerve cells) and thousands of connections that relate to every human feeling, including one of the strongest emotions, fear. Researchers have started using computer models of the brain to study the connections.
Most neurological fear studies have been rooted in fear-conditioning experiments. Now, University of Missouri (U-M) researchers are using computational models to study the brain’s connections.
GuoshiLi, U-M electrical and computer engineering doctoral student, has discovered new evidence on how the brain reacts to fear, including important findings that could help victims of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events).
“Computational models make it much easier to study the brain because they can effectively integrate different types of information related to a problem into a computational framework and analyse possible neural (bearing on nerve cells) mechanisms from a systems perspective,” Li said.
From previous experiments, scientists have found that fear can subside when overcome with fear extinction memory, but it is not permanently lost.
Fear extinction is a process in which a conditioned response to a stimulant that produces fear gradually diminishes over time as subjects, such as rats in auditory fear experiments, learn to disassociate a response from a stimulus.
One theory has concluded that fear extinction memory deletes fear memory, and another concluded that fear memory is not lost, but is inhibited by extinction memory as fear can recover with the passage of time after extinction, says an U-M release.
For PTSD victims, the fear circuit is disrupted and they cannot retrieve the fear extinction memory. However, the fear extinction memory exists, so the fear memory dominates every time victims get a fear cue.
Anxiety is a general term for several disorders that cause nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worrying. These disorders affect how we feel and behave, and they can manifest real physical symptoms. Mild anxiety is vague and unsettling, while severe anxiety can be extremely debilitating, having a serious impact on daily life.
People often experience a general state of worry or fear before confronting something challenging such as a test, examination, recital, or interview. These feelings are easily justified and considered normal. Anxiety is considered a problem when symptoms interfere with a person’s ability to sleep or otherwise function. Generally speaking, anxiety occurs when a reaction is out of proportion with what might be normally expected in a situation.
Anxiety disorders can be classified into several more specific types. The most common are briefly described below.
What is Social Anxiety Disorder?
Social Anxiety Disorder is a type of social phobia characterized by a fear of being negatively judged by others or a fear of public embarrassment due to impulsive actions. This includes feelings such as stage fright, a fear of intimacy, and a fear of humiliation. This disorder can cause people to avoid public situations and human contact to the point that normal life is rendered impossible.
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by thoughts or actions that are repetitive, distressing, and intrusive. OCD suffers usually know that their compulsions are unreasonable or irrational, but they serve to alleviate their anxiety. Often, the logic of someone with OCD will appear superstitious, such as an insistence in walking in a certain pattern. OCD sufferers may obsessively clean personal items or hands or constantly check locks, stoves, or light switches.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is anxiety that results from previous trauma such as military combat, rape, hostage situations, or a serious accident. PTSD often leads to flashbacks and behavioral changes in order to avoid certain stimuli.
What is Separation Anxiety Disorder?
Separation Anxiety Disorder is characterized by high levels of anxiety when separated from a person or place that provides feelings of security or safety. Sometimes separation results in panic, and it is considered a disorder when the response is excessive or inappropriate.
What is Panic Disorder?
Panic Disorder is a type of anxiety characterized by brief or sudden attacks of intense terror and apprehension that leads to shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea, and difficulty breathing. Panic attacks tend to arise abruptly and peak after 10 minutes, but they then may last for hours. Panic disorders usually occur after frightening experiences or prolonged stress, but they can be spontaneous as well. A panic attack may lead an individual to be acutely aware of any change in normal body function, interpreting it as a life threatening illness - hypervigiliance followed by hypochondriasis. In addition, panic attacks lead a sufferer to expect future attacks, which may cause drastic behavioral changes in order to avoid these attacks.
What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic disorder characterized by excessive, long-lasting anxiety and worry about nonspecific life events, objects, and situations. GAD sufferers often feel afraid and worry about health, money, family, work, or school, but they have trouble both identifying the specific fear and controlling the worries. Their fear is usually unrealistic or out of proportion with what may be expected in their situation. Sufferers expect failure and disaster to the point that it interferes with daily functions like work, school, social activities, and relationships.
What is a Phobia?
A Phobia is an irrational fear and avoidance of an object or situation. Phobias are different from generalized anxiety disorders because a phobia has a fear response identified with a specific cause. The fear may be acknowledged as irrational or unnecessary, but the person is still unable to control the anxiety that results. Stimuli for phobia may be as varied as situations, animals, or everyday objects. For example, agoraphobia occurs when one avoids a place or situation to avoid an anxiety or panic attack. Agoraphobics will situate themselves so that escape will not be difficult or embarrassing, and they will change their behavior to reduce anxiety about being able to escape.
WASHINGTON - The prevalence of anxiety, depression and drug dependency may be twice as high as the mental health community has been led to believe.
Duke University psychologists Terrie Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi and colleagues used a long-term tracking study of more than 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to the age 32 to conclude that people vastly under-report the degree of mental illness they have suffered.
But such self-reporting from memory is the basis of much of what we know about the prevalence of anxiety, depression and alcohol dependence.
Longitudinal studies like the Dunedin Study in New Zealand that track people over time are rare and expensive, Moffitt said.
“If you start with a group of children and follow them their whole lives, sooner or later almost everybody will experience one of these disorders,” said Moffitt, professor of psychology at Duke.
The Great Smoky Mountains Study, a similar effort based at Duke, tracked 1,400 American children from age 9-13 into their late 20s and found similar patterns, said JaneCostello, professor of medical psychology at Duke.
“I think we’ve got to get used to the idea that mental illness is actually very common,” Costello said. “People are growing up impaired, untreated and not functioning to their full capacity because we’ve ignored it.”
Similarly, the survey studies have reported a six to 17 percent lifetime rate of alcohol dependence between the ages 18-32, versus nearly 32 percent in the Dunedin Study.
Moffitt and Caspi’s findings appeared online in Psychological Medicine.
St. John’s wort is one of the most commonly used herbs in the United States. It’s a shrubby perennial plant with bright yellow flowers. St. John’s wort got it’s name because the flowers were said to bloom for the first time around June 24, the birthday of St. John the Baptist. The word “wort” means “plant” in Old English.
St. John’s wort has long been used as a folk remedy for emotional disorders. It was once thought to rid the body of evil spirits. St. John’s wort has also been used for wound healing and for a variety of other conditions.
There is debate about the active ingredient in St. John’s wort. St. John’s wort extracts are often standardized to hypericin, which led to the widespread belief that hypericin is the sole active compound. Another constituent called hyperforin has also been found to have antidepressant effects. A growing number of experts consider hyperforin to be the primary antidepressant compound. Recent research suggests other plant components called flavonoids and tannins may also have a medicinal effect. More research is needed.
St. John’s wort can be found in a variety of forms, including capsule, tablet, liquid extract, dry herb and tea. Oil and oil-based ointments and lotions can also available. Products are typically standardized to contain 0.3% hypericin or 2 to 5% hyperforin.
Why Do People Use St. John’s Wort?
St. John’s wort is best known as a natural remedy for mild to moderate depression, but it’s also being studied for other conditions.
Depression
Numerous studies in Europe, and more recently in the United States, have found that St. John’s wort is more effective than a placebo and as effective as tricyclic antidepressants for the short-term treatment (1 to 3 months) of mild to moderate depression. It appears to cause fewer side effects than many antidepressants, which is one of the main reasons it has become so popular.
At least two recent studies, however, didn’t find St. John’s wort to be more effective than a placebo for major depression. Some experts consider the studies to be flawed, due to inadequate dosages and an insufficient number of participants, which led to unusual results. For example, in one of the studies, the prescription antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) had no effect on major depression. Another study found that St. John’s wort was more effective than fluoxetine (Prozac) but not a placebo. The evidence for St. John’s wort for major depression remains unclear. Until we have evidence that it works for severe depression, it should not be used as a substitute for proven treatments.
A study involving 150 people with minor depression or dysthymiafound that St. John’s wort was effective for minor depression (Hamilton Depression Scale score of up to 17), but that it wasn’t effective for people with dysthymia.
Anxiety
St. John’s wort is also being studied for anxiety because, in some studies on depression, people taking St. John’s wort also reported an improvement in anxiety. More research is needed.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
St. John’s wort has also been suggested as a possible treatment for OCD because the same medications (antidepressants) are often used for OCD, and because of promising results from a preliminary study. A later study on St. John’s wort, however, didn’t find it more effective than a placebo for OCD.
Skin Conditions
Oil of St. John’s wort, applied to the skin, was a folk remedy for skin injuries, nerve pain, burns and hemorrhoids. Although the oil is sold in some herbal stores, creams are also available. Some are standardized to hypericin or hyperforin, which are thought to have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. St. John’s wort also contains tannins, naturally occurring compounds thought to relieve skin irritations, such as those resulting from minor cuts.
Ear Pain
Some alternative practitioners recommend St. John’s wort for ear pain due to an ear infection (otitis media). In a study of more than 100 children, a combination herbal ear drop that contained St. John’s wort, garlic, calendula and mullein was found to be as effective as conventional ear drops.
Smoking Cessation
St. John’s wort is being explored for smoking cessation. Although promising, well-designed studies are needed.
Other Conditions
St. John’s wort has also been explored for conditions that can have psychological symptoms, such as insomnia, menopausal symptoms, premenstrual syndrome, seasonal affective disorder and attention deficit disorder. Further studies are needed before recommendations can be made.
Side Effects and Safety Concerns
In published studies, the most common side effects associated with short-term use of St. John’s wort supplements have included mild stomach upset; allergic skin reactions; tiredness; restlessness; anxiety; sexual/erectile dysfunction; dizziness; dry mouth and headache. If applied to the skin, St. John’s wort may cause a skin rash. St. John’s wort (both oral or topical) increases the sensitivity of skin and eyes to sunlight.
Rarely, St. John’s wort has been associated with serotonin syndrome, a potentially dangerous condition resulting from an excess of serotonin in the central nervous system. Symptoms include confusion, fever, hallucinations, nausea, loss of muscle coordination, sweating, and shakiness. Use with antidepressants, particularly SSRIs, has been associated with this. If you experience any of these symptoms, stop taking St. John’s wort and seek immediate medical attention.
Important Notes About St. John’s Wort
St. John’s wort may worsen symptoms in people with Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other mental conditions; it may also lead to psychosis or mania.
People with diagnosed or suspected depression should consult a doctor to ensure that their condition is properly assessed and treated.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women, and those trying to conceive, should avoid St. John’s wort.
St. John’s wort should not be taken by organ transplant recipients, as it may cause organ rejection.
In one small study, St. John’s wort was associated with elevated thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.
Do not stop taking prescription drugs without consulting your doctor.
Possible Drug Interactions
One of the major downsides of using St. John’s wort is that it may interact in a potentially harmful way with many common medications. It’s broken down in the liver by enzymes that also process certain medications. The result is that it can decrease the effectiveness of other medications a person is taking or increase the effect, leading to an increased risk of adverse effects.
Avoid taking the following with St. John’s wort:
* Alcohol
* Allergy drugs, such as Allegra (fexofenadine)
* Antibiotics, such as Cipro (ciprofloxacin) and Achromycin (tetracycline)
* Antidepressants - St. John’s wort may increase the side effects of certain antidepressants, including Marplan (isocarboxazid), Nardil (phenelzine) and Parnate (tranylcypromine) and other monoamine oxidase inhibitors; Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine) Zoloft (sertraline) and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs); and tricyclic antidepressants, such as Elavil (amitriptyline) and Pamelor (nortriptyline).
* Antifungal drugs, such as Sporanox (itraconazole) and Nizoral (ketoconazole)
* Certain calcium channel blockers, such as Tiazac (diltiazem) and Adalat (nifedipine)
* Cancer medications, such as Camptosar (irinotecan), Gleevec (imatinib), Taxol (paclitaxel), Velbe (vinblastine), and Oncovin (vincristine)
* Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, such as Mevacor (lovastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), and Zocor (simvastatin)
* Dextromethorphan (DM), an ingredient in many non-prescription cough and cold products to relieve cough. Use with St. John’s wort may increase serotonin levels, resulting in a greater risk of adverse effects.
* Drugs that suppress the immune system, such as Imuran (azathioprine), CellCept, Neoral (cyclosporine), Prograf (tacrolimus), Rapamune (sirolimus), Zenapak (daclizumab)
* Digoxin – St. John’s wort may reduce its effectiveness
* Iron – St. John’s wort blocks the absorption of iron
* Imodium (loperamide) – A case report of deliurium developing in an otherwise healthy woman taking St. John’s wort and the antidiarrhea medication loperamide.
* Serzone (nefazodone)
* Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, such as Rescriptor (delavirdine) and Viramune (nevirapine)
* Oral contraceptives – St. John’s wort has been known to cause breakthrough bleeding and may decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills.
* Protease inhibitors such as Crixivan (indinavir), Norvir (ritonavir), Viracept (nelfinavir)
* Psoralen medications, such as methoxsalen or Oxsoralen (8-MOP)
* Reserpine – St. John’s wort blocks the effect of this drug
* Sedative drugs – when used together with St. John’s wort, the sedative effect may be exaggerated
* Sedative herbs, such as catnip, hops, kava and valerian
* Aerolate, T-Phyl, and Uniphyl (theophylline) – St. John’s wort may reduce the effectiveness of theophylline, a medication used for asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis
* Triptans such as Imitrex and Amerge (sumatriptan), Axert (almotriptan), Frova (frovatriptan), and Zolmig (zolmitriptan)
* Coumadin (warfarin) – St. John’s wort may reduce the effectiveness of warfarin, increasing the risk of blood clots. St. John’s wort may possibly influence the effectiveness of other anticlotting drugs or similar drugs known as antiplatelet drugs.
Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in the world. We take a look at these disorders.
Everybody feels anxious at times. Anxiety gears you up to face a threatening situation and rouses you to action. In general, it helps you cope.
But if you have an anxiety disorder, this normally helpful emotion can do just the opposite – it can keep you from coping and disrupt your daily life. Anxiety disorders aren’t just a case of “nerves”. They are illnesses, often related to the biological makeup and life experiences of the individual and they frequently run in families.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, each with its own distinct features. Many people have a single anxiety disorder. But it isn’t unusual for an anxiety disorder to be accompanied by another illness, such as depression, an eating disorder, substance abuse or another anxiety disorder.
What are the different types of anxiety disorders?
Phobias are the most common form of anxiety. (See the Post “ Phobias – 540 Common Phobias” . They are characterized by an intense, irrational and almost paralyzing fear of a specific situation or object. Adults with phobias realize their fears are irrational, but often facing, or even thinking about facing, the feared object or situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). People with GAD usually expect the worse and worry excessively about everyday life circumstances (such as their health, job, raising of children or finances), or minor matters (such as household chores or renovations - even just getting through the day becomes problematic). The person’s worries are much more than normal day-to-day anxiety. They are excessive, unrealistic, chronic and relentless.
Panic disorder. Panic attacks are characterized by a sudden rush of fear, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, shortness of breath, a choking or suffocating sensation or other physical symptoms. They often occur in response to a stressful situation or during a period of chronic emotional stress. Attacks can occur in the most familiar and seemingly non-threatening settings, at the grocery store, in church or while driving along a familiar road. Sufferers often describe a feeling of unreality during the attack. Someone experiencing a panic attack may feel on the verge of losing control or even dying.
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are persistent, intrusive and unwanted thoughts; compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts, often linked to obsessions. The obsessions and compulsions are distressing and time-consuming and often lead to impairment in functioning.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As a result of exposure to traumatic events, many people display symptoms such as intrusive memories of the event, nightmares, avoiding reminders of the event, feeling anxious or down, detachment from others, and a restricted range of emotions. A diagnosis of PTSD is made if these symptoms are present for more than three months and interfere with functioning.
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), also called Social Phobia, is an intense, persistent fear of being humiliated or embarrassed in social situations. Sufferers tend to think other people are very competent in public and that they are not. Small mistakes make appear much more serious than they really are. Blushing may seem painfully embarrassing, and they feel as though all eyes are focused on them. Exposure to the feared social situation or anticipation of the situation can produce an intense and immediate anxiety reaction, including physiological symptoms such as sweating and blushing.
LONDON - Memory and language tests can reliably reveal “hidden” early dementia, say UK experts.
Most dementias are missed for years as the symptoms can be elusive until considerable brain tissue is lost.
But doctors from Oxford found they were able to spot very early warning signs when they looked closely enough.
The findings in Neurology could help doctors diagnose dementia sooner, which is crucial since treatment is most effective when given early.
Over a span of 20 years, the researchers studied a group of 241 healthy elderly volunteers, giving them regular tests designed to measure their thinking or cognitive powers.
Being able to spot and measure the initial stages of dementia is a crucial challenge if we are to improve drug testing and lay the groundwork for prevention trials
When they scrutinized the test results, the doctors found subtle clues that, in retrospect, hinted at ensuing impairment.
Specifically, the patients who went on to develop mild cognitive impairment or pre-dementia stumbled on tasks involving language expression, learning and recall.
For example, they had greater difficulty remembering the name for common objects or animals and explaining the meaning of a given word.
And those who were older and who scored lower on the language or memory tests tended to deteriorate more quickly.
ProfessorDavidSmith and his team say their findings fit with what we already know about dementia.
Experts have noted that the early stages of dementia are associated with linguistic problems, such as word-finding difficulties.
Early literary works by authors who have later been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s show similar changes in language use - simpler narratives and a smaller vocabulary.
RebeccaWood of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust said: “This significant long-term study shows how subtle, but measurable, problems with language or memory can predict when a healthy elderly person is likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, which frequently develops into dementia.
“Early intervention will be crucial for future dementia treatments. Being able to spot and measure the initial stages of dementia is a crucial challenge if we are to improve drug testing and lay the groundwork for prevention trials.”
Latest work in Archives of General Psychiatry adds weight to the evidence that Alzheimer’s dementia is at least partly inherited, and that being healthy in mid-life could help lower your risk of the disease.
Dutch researchers found that people with a parental history of Alzheimer’s had higher blood pressure and indicators of arterial disease as well as different amounts of inflammatory proteins in their blood compared with those without a parental history of Alzheimer’s.
KANSAS CITY - Having a pet in your life can help you stay hale and hearty, say researchers.
Owning a four-legged, furry pet would help lower blood pressure, encourage exercise and also improve psychological health.
“Pets are of great importance to people, especially during hard economic times,” said RebeccaJohnson, associate professor from University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI).
“Pets provide unconditional love and acceptance and may be part of answers to societal problems, such as inactivity and obesity,” she added.
In a study sponsored by ReCHAI, ‘Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound and Stay Fit for Seniors’, a group of older adults were matched with shelter dogs, while another group of older adults were partnered with a human walk buddy.
For 12 weeks, participants were encouraged to walk on an outdoor trail for one hour, five times a week.
“The older people who walked their dogs improved their walking capabilities by 28 percent,” said Johnson.
“They had more confidence walking on the trail, and they increased their speed.
“The older people who walked with humans only had a 4 percent increase in their walking capabilities.
“The human walking buddies tended to discourage each other and used excuses such as the weather being too hot,” she added.
The researchers will explore the many ways animals benefit people of all ages during the International Society for Anthrozoology and Human-Animal Interaction Conference in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 20-25.
“Research in this field is providing new evidence on the positive impact pets have in our lives,” said Johnson.
“This conference will provide a unique opportunity to connect international experts working in human-animal interaction research with those already working in the health and veterinary medicine fields.
“A wonderful array of presentations will show how beneficial animals can be in the lives of children, families and older adults,” she added.
Take this myth, for example: You should drink at least eight glasses of water per day.
Here they claim as “fact,”
“Over the years, “fluid” turned to water. But fruits and vegetables, plus coffee and other liquids count.”
Hold it right there. Coffee counts toward your daily fluid intake?
Every day you lose water from the body through urine and sweat, and this fluid needs to be replenished. Coffee is a natural diuretic, which – logically, I might add – depletes your body of fluids.
Your body is equipped with a mechanism that tells you when you need to replenish your fluid supply — it’s called thirst! So although I have stopped recommending drinking a specified amount of water per day, fulfilling your body’s request for fluids by drinking coffee is simply not going to do the job.
Without going into all the negative health ramifications that can be attributed to coffee (which I’ve reported in many previous articles, all of which you can find on my site), let it suffice to say that not only are they completely overlooking the fact that coffee simply cannot replace the biological benefits of plain water, they also fail to answer the question of: if not eight glasses of water, then how much water do you need?
Setting the Record Straight on the Water Myth
We know you can exist without food for months, but without water you can only survive for a few days. Your body is made up mostly of water, which:
Is essential for digestion, nutrient absorption and elimination
Aids circulation
Helps control your body’s temperature
Lubricates and cushions joints
Keeps your skin healthy
Helps remove toxins from your body
I have refined my recommendations to this: use the color of your urine as a guide to how much water you should be drinking.
As long as you are not taking riboflavin (vitamin B2), which fluoresces and turns your urine bright yellow (it is also in most multi-vitamins), then your urine should be a very light-colored yellow. If it is a deep yellow then you are likely not drinking enough water.
Of course, if it’s hot outside or you are engaged in exercise or other vigorous activity, you will require more water than normal so be sure to stay well hydrated in these cases. Additionally, as we grow older our thirst mechanism works less efficiently so older adults will want to be sure to drink water regularly, and again make sure their urine is a light, pale color.
More Myths Most Conventional Experts Fail to Inform You About
The myths studied and “clarified” through science in this article are not really a matter of life and death however. Fortunately, believing in them will not necessarily ruin your health in the long run.
But there are many other medical myths out there that are actually taking lives because even your doctors fail to realize they are perpetuating a myth and giving out misguided advice.
Here are a few more of my top medical myths that you REALLY need to know the real answers to:
Myth: Sun Exposure Causes Skin Cancer – This is perhaps the most pervasive and destructive myth in today’s society, reinforced by expensive media campaigns for sunscreen protection of all kinds. Unfortunately, that trend is contributing to one million unnecessary deaths each and every year, causing about 600,000 deaths from breast and colorectal cancer alone.
You also need to know that using sunscreen is NOT a good way to limit your sun exposure; in fact, sunscreen is one of the last things you want to put on your body, and sunblock does not stop skin cancer.
As natural health expert Krispin Sullivan explained during my interview with her last year, when you wear sunscreen you may not realize you’re creating sun damage because it prevents you from burning – but the damage is still being done on a cellular level — simply because now you’re staying out in the sun too long, thinking it’s okay since you’re covered in goop. Adding insult to injury, sunscreens contain many toxic chemicals that can cause additional problems in your system, and increase your risk of disease.
Myth: Milk Does Your Body Good – Another case where back-in-the-days before pasteurization, this was true. However, commercial pasteurized milk is not healthy for your body, and should be avoided if you want to be optimally healthy. For a great explanation on the differences between healthy raw milk versus pasteurized milk, don’t miss Mark McAfee’s excellent video on this subject.
And, of course there is the issue of the hormones, antibiotics and pesticides that are used in modern milk dairies, and the fact that nearly all commercial dairy cows are raised on grains, not grass, like they were designed to. This changes the composition of the fats in the milk they produce, especially the CLA content.
Myth: Whole Grains are Good for You – Even though I do agree that whole grains are better for you than refined grains, whole grains are still not healthy for most people. Why? Because so many Americans are either:
Myth: Fish is Good for You – Again, prior to the industrial pollution that has now devastated the waters world wide, this was true. But not anymore. Fish (and shellfish) easily accumulate very high levels of chemical residues from the water they live in. Residues in fish can be as much as 9 million times the amount found in the water!
Sadly, due to the release of 40 TONS, or 80,000 pounds, of mercury into the air and water each year, this once healthy food has now been rendered largely unfit for human consumption. Some of the contaminants now found in fish flesh include:
Toxic metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium and arsenic
Fortunately, there are still some viable alternatives for obtaining the nutritious benefits of fish, such as regularly consuming high-quality purified krill oil or fish oil. Some wild Alaskan salmon are also still good, as well as very small fish like anchovies and sardines.
Myth: Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease – I recently published an article about this very topic. If you missed it, I’d recommend reading it in its entirety: The Truth About Saturated Fat. Saturated fats from sources like meat, dairy, some oils and tropical plants such as coconut actually provide a concentrated source of healthy energy in your diet. They also:
Provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone like substances
Slow down absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry
Act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
Are necessary for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes
Part of the scientific confusion relates to the fact that your body is capable of synthesizing saturated fats that it needs from carbohydrates, and these saturated fats are principally the same ones present in dietary fats of animal origin. However, and this is the key, not all saturated fatty acids are the same. In fact, there are more than a dozen different saturated fats with subtle differences that have profound health implications, and if you avoid eating all saturated fats you will suffer serious health consequences.
There is still a link between fat and heart disease. But it’s most likely dangerous TRANS FAT, and not saturated fats that is the problem and the missing link between fat and heart disease.
NEW DELHI - Don’t reprimand your son for sobbing over a problem he is facing or tick him off for “behaving like a sissy”. It would only make him bottle up his emotions and lead to serious implications on his overall well being. Experts say men are more vulnerable to mental illness and depression than you would imagine.
PraveenThapar, chairperson of the Sanjivni Centre for Mental Health, said while it’s true that women are more prone to depression, it’s equally true that women are better at sharing their emotions and problems than men - as a result most men keep their problems to themselves which has serious implications later.
In our society we co-relate the word man with power. From the time he is a child, a boy is told not to cry ‘like a sissy’ and be strong. Thus from an early stage he grows up with this learning that he should hide his emotions behind a serene face, Thapar told IANS ahead of World Mental Health Day Saturday.
This however can have serious implications later in life. This habit of bottling up one’s feelings and frustrations may lead to a breakdown later, she said.
AkhilaVasudev, a counselor, agreed.
“While women are more open about their problems and emotions, with men, even when they are with friends, the discussion rarely goes beyond the football match or finances. Often it’s because they have been molded that way.”
”A number of male patients that I have therefore admit that they feel much better after simply talking about their problems. It helps that I am a stranger, they say. Opening up in front of the family is harder,” said Vasudev.
Quoting an example, Thapar said at a post-retirement conference that she attended recently, all that was being discussed about was how to manage your finances.
Post-retirement phase is a different experiences altogether. You have more time on your hand, your expectations may increase, you may feel worthless and useless sitting around - but all that the men talked about was finances, she said.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), mental illness will be the biggest health risk in India by 2010.
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) further says that while 20 million Indians suffer from major mental ailments, 50 million suffer from milder forms.
Depression, anxiety, panic attacks and hysteria are all mild forms of mental illnesses which people often ignore, experts say.
According to R.C. Jiloha, head of the department of psychiatry at the Maulana Azad Medical College, among the most common form of mental disorders that men suffer from are anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Because of an increasing awareness on the issue, I have a lot of men coming to me for counselling. But the best way to tackle this is for the corrective measures to begin in the families itself,” Thapar said.
“Parents should interact more with their children and encourage them to be themselves. They should not have a different attitude towards their sons and daughters, she advised.
