Wednesday, June 30, 2010
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Love—no matter how it's offered or when it comes—can build a bridge to something better.
Enjoy. Take time towatch the very lastsentence!!
If you seek to cheat others, you end up cheating yourself!
A minute read.......
Read this story, and
Follow the recommendation at
The end...
As I was walking
Down life's highway
Many years ago
I came upon a
Sign that read
Heavens Grocery Store..
When I got a
Little closer
The doors swung
Open wide
And when I came
To myself
I was standing
Inside..
I saw a host of
Angels.
They were
Standing everywhere
One handed me a
Basket
And said 'My
Child shop with care..'
Everything a
Human needed
Was in that
Grocery store
And what you
Could not carry
You could come
Back for more
First I got some
Patience.
Love was in that
Same row.
Further down was
Understanding,
You need that
Everywhere you go.
I got a box or
Two of Wisdom
And Faith a bag
Or two.
And Charity of
Course
I would need some
Of that too.
I couldn't miss
The Holy Ghost
It was all over
The place.
And then some
Strength
And Courage to
Help me run this race.
My basket was
Getting full
But I remembered
I needed Grace,
And then I chose
Salvation for
Salvation was for
Free
I tried to get
Enough of that to do
For you and me..
Then I started to
The counter
To pay my grocery
Bill,
For I thought I
Had everything
To do the Masters
Will.
As I went up the
Aisle
I saw Prayer and
Put that in,
For I knew when I
Stepped outside
I would run into
Sin.
Peace and Joy
Were plentiful,
The last things
On the shelf.
Song and Praise
Were hanging near
So I just helped
Myself.
Then I said to
The angel
'Now how much do
I owe?'
He smiled and
Said
'Just take them
Everywhere you go.'
Again I asked
'Really now,
How much do I
Owe?'
'My child' he
Said, 'God paid your bill
A long long time
Ago.'
This poem has
Been sent to you
With love and for
Blessings.
It originated in
The Netherlands
And has been
Around the world 9 times.
The blessing has now
Come to you and
You will receive
Showers of blessings
You will receive
Showers of blessings in the mail
Within six days
Of receiving this letter
Providing you
Sent it out to someone else.
Do not send money
As this message
Has no price. Do
Not keep this letter
But send it on to
Someone who
Needs blessings.
A minute read.......
Read this story, and
Follow the recommendation at
The end...
As I was walking
Down life's highway
Many years ago
I came upon a
Sign that read
Heavens Grocery Store..
When I got a
Little closer
The doors swung
Open wide
And when I came
To myself
I was standing
Inside..
I saw a host of
Angels.
They were
Standing everywhere
One handed me a
Basket
And said 'My
Child shop with care..'
Everything a
Human needed
Was in that
Grocery store
And what you
Could not carry
You could come
Back for more
First I got some
Patience.
Love was in that
Same row.
Further down was
Understanding,
You need that
Everywhere you go.
I got a box or
Two of Wisdom
And Faith a bag
Or two.
And Charity of
Course
I would need some
Of that too.
I couldn't miss
The Holy Ghost
It was all over
The place.
And then some
Strength
And Courage to
Help me run this race.
My basket was
Getting full
But I remembered
I needed Grace,
And then I chose
Salvation for
Salvation was for
Free
I tried to get
Enough of that to do
For you and me..
Then I started to
The counter
To pay my grocery
Bill,
For I thought I
Had everything
To do the Masters
Will.
As I went up the
Aisle
I saw Prayer and
Put that in,
For I knew when I
Stepped outside
I would run into
Sin.
Peace and Joy
Were plentiful,
The last things
On the shelf.
Song and Praise
Were hanging near
So I just helped
Myself.
Then I said to
The angel
'Now how much do
I owe?'
He smiled and
Said
'Just take them
Everywhere you go.'
Again I asked
'Really now,
How much do I
Owe?'
'My child' he
Said, 'God paid your bill
A long long time
Ago.'
This poem has
Been sent to you
With love and for
Blessings.
It originated in
The Netherlands
And has been
Around the world 9 times.
The blessing has now
Come to you and
You will receive
Showers of blessings
You will receive
Showers of blessings in the mail
Within six days
Of receiving this letter
Providing you
Sent it out to someone else.
Do not send money
As this message
Has no price. Do
Not keep this letter
But send it on to
Someone who
Needs blessings.
Teens who snack may weigh less
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who have snacks throughout the day are less likely to be overweight or obese than their peers who limit themselves to larger meals, a new study suggests.
The study, of 5,800 U.S. teenagers included in a government health survey, found that rates of obesity, and abdominal obesity specifically, declined with the number of snacks kids had each day.
Of teens who said they did not snack, 39 percent were overweight or obese; that compared with rates of 30 percent, 28 percent and 22 percent among their peers who consumed two, three or four or more snacks in a day, respectively.
Similarly, the rate of abdominal obesity was 24 percent among non-snacking teens, while the lowest rate -- 11 percent -- was seen in the four-snack-a-day group.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to a conflicting body of research on whether snacking is good or bad for the waistline.
Some studies have linked snacking to lower body weight, while others have not. And while there is some evidence of metabolic benefits in having more-frequent, smaller meals throughout the day -- in managing cholesterol levels and diabetes, for instance -- it is not clear whether such eating patterns help prevent weight gain or promote weight loss.
What's more, if people do not balance their snacking by eating less at meal time, that between-meal "grazing" could help pack on the pounds.
In one recent study, researchers found that U.S. children increased their snacking between 1977 and 2006 -- downing an average of three snacks per day in the most recent year. Desserts and sugary drinks were the top sources of snack calories, the researchers found, and they speculated that this trend "toward constant eating" may be one of the reasons for the rise in childhood obesity.
In the new study, however, "snackers" were the thinner ones.
When the researchers accounted for a number of other factors -- including exercise habits (active teens may need more snacks for energy), time spent in front of the TV or computer, ethnicity and family income -- snacking itself remained linked to a lower risk of being overweight or obese.
Teens who reported having four or more snacks in a day were 60 percent less likely to overweight or obese, and similarly less likely to have abdominal obesity, than their peers who reported no snacking.
The researchers also looked at whether the teens had been trying to lose weight. Logically, people trying to shed pounds might cut out snacks, and that could account for the higher rate of obesity among non-snackers, explained lead researcher Dr. Debra R. Keast, of Food & Nutrition Database Research Inc., in Okemos, Michigan.
But weight-loss attempts did not explain the connection between teenagers' more-frequent snacking and a lower risk of excess pounds, Keast told Reuters Health.
The findings do not prove that snacking itself helps kids control their weight. A key limitation of the study, Keast pointed out, is that teenagers were surveyed at one point in time; all were part of a government health and nutrition survey conducted between 1999 and 2004, in which they were asked to recall everything they had eaten in the past 24 hours.
To help confirm a connection between snacking and lower weight, Keast said that studies should follow kids over time -- seeing whether those who report frequent snacks are less likely to become overweight in the future.
For now, the bottom line for parents is to encourage their kids to have healthy snacks, according to Keast. That means foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy -- the types of foods, Keast said, "that we know kids are not getting enough of."
Cutting out sugary beverages is another wise move. Keast noted that she and her colleagues did not consider sugar-sweetened drinks to be "snacks" in this study; other studies have, however, and that may be one reason her team's findings differ from those of some past research.
The current study was partially funded by Frito-Lay Inc.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/hat24m American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online June 16, 2010.
The study, of 5,800 U.S. teenagers included in a government health survey, found that rates of obesity, and abdominal obesity specifically, declined with the number of snacks kids had each day.
Of teens who said they did not snack, 39 percent were overweight or obese; that compared with rates of 30 percent, 28 percent and 22 percent among their peers who consumed two, three or four or more snacks in a day, respectively.
Similarly, the rate of abdominal obesity was 24 percent among non-snacking teens, while the lowest rate -- 11 percent -- was seen in the four-snack-a-day group.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, add to a conflicting body of research on whether snacking is good or bad for the waistline.
Some studies have linked snacking to lower body weight, while others have not. And while there is some evidence of metabolic benefits in having more-frequent, smaller meals throughout the day -- in managing cholesterol levels and diabetes, for instance -- it is not clear whether such eating patterns help prevent weight gain or promote weight loss.
What's more, if people do not balance their snacking by eating less at meal time, that between-meal "grazing" could help pack on the pounds.
In one recent study, researchers found that U.S. children increased their snacking between 1977 and 2006 -- downing an average of three snacks per day in the most recent year. Desserts and sugary drinks were the top sources of snack calories, the researchers found, and they speculated that this trend "toward constant eating" may be one of the reasons for the rise in childhood obesity.
In the new study, however, "snackers" were the thinner ones.
When the researchers accounted for a number of other factors -- including exercise habits (active teens may need more snacks for energy), time spent in front of the TV or computer, ethnicity and family income -- snacking itself remained linked to a lower risk of being overweight or obese.
Teens who reported having four or more snacks in a day were 60 percent less likely to overweight or obese, and similarly less likely to have abdominal obesity, than their peers who reported no snacking.
The researchers also looked at whether the teens had been trying to lose weight. Logically, people trying to shed pounds might cut out snacks, and that could account for the higher rate of obesity among non-snackers, explained lead researcher Dr. Debra R. Keast, of Food & Nutrition Database Research Inc., in Okemos, Michigan.
But weight-loss attempts did not explain the connection between teenagers' more-frequent snacking and a lower risk of excess pounds, Keast told Reuters Health.
The findings do not prove that snacking itself helps kids control their weight. A key limitation of the study, Keast pointed out, is that teenagers were surveyed at one point in time; all were part of a government health and nutrition survey conducted between 1999 and 2004, in which they were asked to recall everything they had eaten in the past 24 hours.
To help confirm a connection between snacking and lower weight, Keast said that studies should follow kids over time -- seeing whether those who report frequent snacks are less likely to become overweight in the future.
For now, the bottom line for parents is to encourage their kids to have healthy snacks, according to Keast. That means foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy -- the types of foods, Keast said, "that we know kids are not getting enough of."
Cutting out sugary beverages is another wise move. Keast noted that she and her colleagues did not consider sugar-sweetened drinks to be "snacks" in this study; other studies have, however, and that may be one reason her team's findings differ from those of some past research.
The current study was partially funded by Frito-Lay Inc.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/hat24m American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online June 16, 2010.
How to Stop Menopause Misery
Menopause may be a natural sign of aging, but there’s no reason you have to suffer through hot flashes, little leaks and dryness down there. Here’s how to tame 4 common symptoms. Plus, test your women’s health IQ with our quiz...
Your best friend swears by black cohosh herb for hot flashes; the doctor recommends hormone replacement therapy. Your mother? She just sweated it out.
But you don’t have to.
“Not every woman approaching menopause has problems, but many do,” says Anita L. Nelson, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “These problems may not be considered serious because they’re not life-threatening, but they do cause considerable misery and deserve treatment.”
Here are the top expert-recommended ways women can escape menopause misery and get relief for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, low libido, bone loss and incontinence:
1. Hot Flashes
Most menopausal women are all too familiar with the sudden rush of heat to the face and upper body, the sweating and the facial flush: About 75% of them feel hot flashes, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Hot flashes are caused by a drop in estrogen levels, which affects the hypothalamus, the gland that regulates body temperature.
Although common, hot flashes are different for every woman. You can get them during the day, at night or both. They can be mild or severe. Some last only seconds; others stick around for a half hour or longer.
Some women have them for only a few months; for others, “hot flashes can continue for decades,” says Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D., co-founder of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and director of the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine at Columbia University.
No matter how hot flashes affect you, relief is at hand.
Menopause solutions: The most effective way to get rid of hot flashes and other menopausal miseries is also the most controversial: hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Is it a good idea to restore estrogen, progesterone and/or other hormones as a woman ages? The answer depends on whom you ask.
Some physicians, like breast health expert Dr. Susan Love, believe HRT (including bio-identicals) may not be safe, a conclusion backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2002.
At the time, the federal agency abruptly ended a major clinical trial within its Women’s Health Initiative because it found a higher risk of breast cancer, clots, stroke and heart attacks in postmenopausal women using a combination of estrogen and progestin (synthetic progesterone, which women produce in their bodies too).
Millions of women dropped HRT, but later the NIH’s conclusions were questioned, mainly because the average age of the participants was 63 — 12 years after the average onset of menopause, when most women are suffering its symptoms.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) stands behind HRT, although it advises women to take the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible.
Nelson agrees with the FDA: “I tell women to relax and enjoy the relief [HRT] provides,” she says.
The way you take hormones may reduce the risk. The best option is a transdermal estrogen patch that’s applied to the skin, because “there appears to be no increased risk of blood clots," says Andrew M. Kaunitz, M.D., professor and associate chair in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville.
But if HRT isn’t for you, there’s still no need to suffer through hot flashes.
Researchers are investigating other remedies, including low doses of antidepressants and gabapentin, an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy, says JoAnn V. Pinkerton, M.D., medical director of the Midlife Health Center, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and vice chair of academic affairs at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
Even in low doses, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants reduce hot flashes by about 50%; with gabapentin, there’s a 70% decrease, Nelson says.
For a non-drug approach, natural methods − meditation, yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture and paced breathing − also help, Pinkerton says.
So does the herb black cohosh and soy products, according to Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and author of A Woman’s Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause (Yale University Press).
For black cohosh, she recommends Remifemin. The standardized extract of the herb has been shown to work better than a placebo and other similiar supplements in European and American studies.
Vitamin E also works, but it cuts down on hot flashes by only one a day, according to a Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation study.
Dietary changes also can combat hot flashes, including avoiding caffeine and alcohol, says Isaac Schiff, M.D., chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
But steer clear of magnet therapy, reflexology, homeopathy and the herbs dong quai, ginseng, licorice and red clover, Pinkerton adds. Studies show that they don’t relieve hot flashes any more than a placebo does.
2. Vaginal Dryness and Low Libido
Not only are you struggling with hot flashes, but menopause can put the kibosh on your sex life too. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive Sex and Menopause survey of more than 1,000 women 35 years and older, 44% reported a decrease in sex drive; more than half the women surveyed cited vaginal dryness as a problem.
Again, the culprit is lower estrogen levels, which cause thinner, drier and less-elastic vaginal tissue and decrease blood flow down there.
Menopause solutions: To tame these symptoms, HRT is the most effective approved medicine to relieve vaginal dryness, the FDA says.
It will also help reverse a low libido, Pinkerton points out.
But you don’t have to resort to oral hormones, Schiff says. He recommends these tips:
Have more sex. “If women continue to have an active sex life, vaginal dryness is not so much of a problem” because it increases blood flow to the area.
Lube up. Try a water-soluble lubricant, such as K-Y or Astroglide, he says. But don’t use an oil-based product, which can dissolve latex condoms and compromise the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Try local treatment. Estrogen delivered in a ring, cream or gel that's inserted into the vagina, works where it’s applied and not much of the hormone is absorbed systemically.
Solving the dryness problem might take care of your low libido too. “If sex life improves, then libido usually follows,” Schiff says.
Various over-the-counter products also help women increase their sex drive, including Avlimil, ArginMax and Xzite. Pinkerton also recommends ginkgo biloba and the nutritional supplement Kyo-Green, a powdered drink made from barley leaves, wheat grass and other ingredients.
Check out 10 Natural Aphrodisiacs to Turn Up the Heat.
One warning: Don’t take any supplement without consulting your doctor.
3. Incontinence
Those little leaks when you cough, sneeze or giggle are no laughing matter. You may also feel a sudden urge to go - fast. Menopause isn’t the cause, but it can make it worse.
As we age, our pelvic muscles weaken and lower levels of estrogen exacerbate the problem by thinning the urethra’s lining.
“About 40% of post-menopausal women might note some urine leakage,” says NAMS President Cynthia Stuenkel, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Menopause solutions: Although diminishing hormone levels are one cause of incontinence, the relief is not in HRT but in shedding excess weight and exercise. Both significantly reduce abdominal pressure on the bladder, Stuenkel says.
Obese and overweight women who participated in a 6-month weight-loss program lost an average of 8% of their weight and cut incontinence episodes by nearly half, according to a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
NAMS also advises women to stop smoking cigarettes; avoid bladder irritants, such as spicy foods and citrus fruits; limit fluid intake; and do Kegel exercises, which strengthen the muscles you use to start and stop urination.
Other solutions include:
Medications such as oxybutynin, tolterodine, trospium, solifenacin and darifenacin, which reduce the frequency and urge to go and relax the bladder's muscles.
Therapies (electrical stimulation to strengthen pelvic muscles)
Surgery for severe cases
4. Bone Loss
This is one symptom that you can’t feel and it can be dangerous: Lower estrogen levels diminish bone density, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.
If you’re slender, a smoker or using cortisone-like medications, you’re at risk for osteoporosis, Kaunitz says.
And look into your family tree: Did Mom or Grandma have a hunchback? If so, you face a higher risk and should start bone density checks in your 50s or earlier.
Without risk factors, “women can hold off on until age 65,” Kaunitz says.
But don’t confuse osteoporosis with osteopenia (low bone density). “I see a lot of women being treated for osteopenia, when their risk for bone fractures is too low to warrant prescription medication.”
Menopause solutions: Hormone therapy may slow and prevent bone loss, the FDA says. So will exercise and taking calcium and vitamin D.
“The traditional recommendation of 400 IU [international units] of vitamin D daily is inadequate” for menopausal women, Kaunitz says. Until age 65, women should get 1,000 IU daily; if you’re older, 2,000 IU is appropriate, he says.
Women’s Health: How Much Do You Know?
How you take care of yourself has a huge impact on your future, affecting everything from your ability to have children to your risk of heart disease. There's no substitute for good health, and when it's gone, it's often gone for good. Don't let it pass you by. Test your smarts with this women's health quiz.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
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Some women have them for only a few months; for others, “hot flashes can continue for decades,” says Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D., co-founder of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and director of the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine at Columbia University.
No matter how hot flashes affect you, relief is at hand.
Menopause solutions: The most effective way to get rid of hot flashes and other menopausal miseries is also the most controversial: hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Is it a good idea to restore estrogen, progesterone and/or other hormones as a woman ages? The answer depends on whom you ask.
Some physicians, like breast health expert Dr. Susan Love, believe HRT (including bio-identicals) may not be safe, a conclusion backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2002.
At the time, the federal agency abruptly ended a major clinical trial within its Women’s Health Initiative because it found a higher risk of breast cancer, clots, stroke and heart attacks in postmenopausal women using a combination of estrogen and progestin (synthetic progesterone, which women produce in their bodies too).
Millions of women dropped HRT, but later the NIH’s conclusions were questioned, mainly because the average age of the participants was 63 — 12 years after the average onset of menopause, when most women are suffering its symptoms.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) stands behind HRT, although it advises women to take the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible.
Nelson agrees with the FDA: “I tell women to relax and enjoy the relief [HRT] provides,” she says. \
The way you take hormones may reduce the risk. The best option is a transdermal estrogen patch that’s applied to the skin, because “there appears to be no increased risk of blood clots," says Andrew M. Kaunitz, M.D., professor and associate chair in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville.
But if HRT isn’t for you, there’s still no need to suffer through hot flashes.
Researchers are investigating other remedies, including low doses of antidepressants and gabapentin, an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy, says JoAnn V. Pinkerton, M.D., medical director of the Midlife Health Center, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and vice chair of academic affairs at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
Even in low doses, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants reduce hot flashes by about 50%; with gabapentin, there’s a 70% decrease, Nelson says.
For a non-drug approach, natural methods − meditation, yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture and paced breathing − also help, Pinkerton says.
So does the herb black cohosh and soy products, according to Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and author of A Woman’s Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause (Yale University Press).
For black cohosh, she recommends Remifemin. The standardized extract of the herb has been shown to work better than a placebo and other similiar supplements in European and American studies.
Vitamin E also works, but it cuts down on hot flashes by only one a day, according to a Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation study.
Dietary changes also can combat hot flashes, including avoiding caffeine and alcohol, says Isaac Schiff, M.D., chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
But steer clear of magnet therapy, reflexology, homeopathy and the herbs dong quai, ginseng, licorice and red clover, Pinkerton adds. Studies show that they don’t relieve hot flashes any more than a placebo does.
2. Vaginal Dryness and Low Libido
Not only are you struggling with hot flashes, but menopause can put the kibosh on your sex life too. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive Sex and Menopause survey of more than 1,000 women 35 years and older, 44% reported a decrease in sex drive; more than half the women surveyed cited vaginal dryness as a problem.
Again, the culprit is lower estrogen levels, which cause thinner, drier and less-elastic vaginal tissue and decrease blood flow down there.
Menopause solutions: To tame these symptoms, HRT is the most effective approved medicine to relieve vaginal dryness, the FDA says.
It will also help reverse a low libido, Pinkerton points out.
But you don’t have to resort to oral hormones, Schiff says. He recommends these tips:
Have more sex. “If women continue to have an active sex life, vaginal dryness is not so much of a problem” because it increases blood flow to the area.
Lube up. Try a water-soluble lubricant, such as K-Y or Astroglide, he says. But don’t use an oil-based product, which can dissolve latex condoms and compromise the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Try local treatment. Estrogen delivered in a ring, cream or gel that's inserted into the vagina, works where it’s applied and not much of the hormone is absorbed systemically.
Solving the dryness problem might take care of your low libido too. “If sex life improves, then libido usually follows,” Schiff says.
Various over-the-counter products also help women increase their sex drive, including Avlimil, ArginMax and Xzite. Pinkerton also recommends ginkgo biloba and the nutritional supplement Kyo-Green, a powdered drink made from barley leaves, wheat grass and other ingredients.
Check out 10 Natural Aphrodisiacs to Turn Up the Heat.
One warning: Don’t take any supplement without consulting your doctor.
3. Incontinence
Those little leaks when you cough, sneeze or giggle are no laughing matter. You may also feel a sudden urge to go - fast. Menopause isn’t the cause, but it can make it worse.
As we age, our pelvic muscles weaken and lower levels of estrogen exacerbate the problem by thinning the urethra’s lining.
“About 40% of post-menopausal women might note some urine leakage,” says NAMS President Cynthia Stuenkel, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Menopause solutions: Although diminishing hormone levels are one cause of incontinence, the relief is not in HRT but in shedding excess weight and exercise. Both significantly reduce abdominal pressure on the bladder, Stuenkel says.
Obese and overweight women who participated in a 6-month weight-loss program lost an average of 8% of their weight and cut incontinence episodes by nearly half, according to a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
NAMS also advises women to stop smoking cigarettes; avoid bladder irritants, such as spicy foods and citrus fruits; limit fluid intake; and do Kegel exercises, which strengthen the muscles you use to start and stop urination.
Other solutions include:
Medications such as oxybutynin, tolterodine, trospium, solifenacin and darifenacin, which reduce the frequency and urge to go and relax the bladder's muscles.
Therapies (electrical stimulation to strengthen pelvic muscles)
Surgery for severe cases
4. Bone Loss
This is one symptom that you can’t feel and it can be dangerous: Lower estrogen levels diminish bone density, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.
If you’re slender, a smoker or using cortisone-like medications, you’re at risk for osteoporosis, Kaunitz says.
And look into your family tree: Did Mom or Grandma have a hunchback? If so, you face a higher risk and should start bone density checks in your 50s or earlier.
Without risk factors, “women can hold off on until age 65,” Kaunitz says.
But don’t confuse osteoporosis with osteopenia (low bone density). “I see a lot of women being treated for osteopenia, when their risk for bone fractures is too low to warrant prescription medication.”
Menopause solutions: Hormone therapy may slow and prevent bone loss, the FDA says. So will exercise and taking calcium and vitamin D.
“The traditional recommendation of 400 IU [international units] of vitamin D daily is inadequate” for menopausal women, Kaunitz says. Until age 65, women should get 1,000 IU daily; if you’re older, 2,000 IU is appropriate, he says.
Women’s Health: How Much Do You Know?
How you take care of yourself has a huge impact on your future, affecting everything from your ability to have children to your risk of heart disease. There's no substitute for good health, and when it's gone, it's often gone for good. Don't let it pass you by. Test your smarts with this women's health quiz.
\
Your best friend swears by black cohosh herb for hot flashes; the doctor recommends hormone replacement therapy. Your mother? She just sweated it out.
But you don’t have to.
“Not every woman approaching menopause has problems, but many do,” says Anita L. Nelson, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “These problems may not be considered serious because they’re not life-threatening, but they do cause considerable misery and deserve treatment.”
Here are the top expert-recommended ways women can escape menopause misery and get relief for hot flashes, vaginal dryness, low libido, bone loss and incontinence:
1. Hot Flashes
Most menopausal women are all too familiar with the sudden rush of heat to the face and upper body, the sweating and the facial flush: About 75% of them feel hot flashes, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Hot flashes are caused by a drop in estrogen levels, which affects the hypothalamus, the gland that regulates body temperature.
Although common, hot flashes are different for every woman. You can get them during the day, at night or both. They can be mild or severe. Some last only seconds; others stick around for a half hour or longer.
Some women have them for only a few months; for others, “hot flashes can continue for decades,” says Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D., co-founder of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and director of the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine at Columbia University.
No matter how hot flashes affect you, relief is at hand.
Menopause solutions: The most effective way to get rid of hot flashes and other menopausal miseries is also the most controversial: hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Is it a good idea to restore estrogen, progesterone and/or other hormones as a woman ages? The answer depends on whom you ask.
Some physicians, like breast health expert Dr. Susan Love, believe HRT (including bio-identicals) may not be safe, a conclusion backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2002.
At the time, the federal agency abruptly ended a major clinical trial within its Women’s Health Initiative because it found a higher risk of breast cancer, clots, stroke and heart attacks in postmenopausal women using a combination of estrogen and progestin (synthetic progesterone, which women produce in their bodies too).
Millions of women dropped HRT, but later the NIH’s conclusions were questioned, mainly because the average age of the participants was 63 — 12 years after the average onset of menopause, when most women are suffering its symptoms.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) stands behind HRT, although it advises women to take the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible.
Nelson agrees with the FDA: “I tell women to relax and enjoy the relief [HRT] provides,” she says.
The way you take hormones may reduce the risk. The best option is a transdermal estrogen patch that’s applied to the skin, because “there appears to be no increased risk of blood clots," says Andrew M. Kaunitz, M.D., professor and associate chair in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville.
But if HRT isn’t for you, there’s still no need to suffer through hot flashes.
Researchers are investigating other remedies, including low doses of antidepressants and gabapentin, an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy, says JoAnn V. Pinkerton, M.D., medical director of the Midlife Health Center, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and vice chair of academic affairs at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
Even in low doses, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants reduce hot flashes by about 50%; with gabapentin, there’s a 70% decrease, Nelson says.
For a non-drug approach, natural methods − meditation, yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture and paced breathing − also help, Pinkerton says.
So does the herb black cohosh and soy products, according to Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and author of A Woman’s Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause (Yale University Press).
For black cohosh, she recommends Remifemin. The standardized extract of the herb has been shown to work better than a placebo and other similiar supplements in European and American studies.
Vitamin E also works, but it cuts down on hot flashes by only one a day, according to a Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation study.
Dietary changes also can combat hot flashes, including avoiding caffeine and alcohol, says Isaac Schiff, M.D., chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
But steer clear of magnet therapy, reflexology, homeopathy and the herbs dong quai, ginseng, licorice and red clover, Pinkerton adds. Studies show that they don’t relieve hot flashes any more than a placebo does.
2. Vaginal Dryness and Low Libido
Not only are you struggling with hot flashes, but menopause can put the kibosh on your sex life too. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive Sex and Menopause survey of more than 1,000 women 35 years and older, 44% reported a decrease in sex drive; more than half the women surveyed cited vaginal dryness as a problem.
Again, the culprit is lower estrogen levels, which cause thinner, drier and less-elastic vaginal tissue and decrease blood flow down there.
Menopause solutions: To tame these symptoms, HRT is the most effective approved medicine to relieve vaginal dryness, the FDA says.
It will also help reverse a low libido, Pinkerton points out.
But you don’t have to resort to oral hormones, Schiff says. He recommends these tips:
Have more sex. “If women continue to have an active sex life, vaginal dryness is not so much of a problem” because it increases blood flow to the area.
Lube up. Try a water-soluble lubricant, such as K-Y or Astroglide, he says. But don’t use an oil-based product, which can dissolve latex condoms and compromise the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Try local treatment. Estrogen delivered in a ring, cream or gel that's inserted into the vagina, works where it’s applied and not much of the hormone is absorbed systemically.
Solving the dryness problem might take care of your low libido too. “If sex life improves, then libido usually follows,” Schiff says.
Various over-the-counter products also help women increase their sex drive, including Avlimil, ArginMax and Xzite. Pinkerton also recommends ginkgo biloba and the nutritional supplement Kyo-Green, a powdered drink made from barley leaves, wheat grass and other ingredients.
Check out 10 Natural Aphrodisiacs to Turn Up the Heat.
One warning: Don’t take any supplement without consulting your doctor.
3. Incontinence
Those little leaks when you cough, sneeze or giggle are no laughing matter. You may also feel a sudden urge to go - fast. Menopause isn’t the cause, but it can make it worse.
As we age, our pelvic muscles weaken and lower levels of estrogen exacerbate the problem by thinning the urethra’s lining.
“About 40% of post-menopausal women might note some urine leakage,” says NAMS President Cynthia Stuenkel, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Menopause solutions: Although diminishing hormone levels are one cause of incontinence, the relief is not in HRT but in shedding excess weight and exercise. Both significantly reduce abdominal pressure on the bladder, Stuenkel says.
Obese and overweight women who participated in a 6-month weight-loss program lost an average of 8% of their weight and cut incontinence episodes by nearly half, according to a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
NAMS also advises women to stop smoking cigarettes; avoid bladder irritants, such as spicy foods and citrus fruits; limit fluid intake; and do Kegel exercises, which strengthen the muscles you use to start and stop urination.
Other solutions include:
Medications such as oxybutynin, tolterodine, trospium, solifenacin and darifenacin, which reduce the frequency and urge to go and relax the bladder's muscles.
Therapies (electrical stimulation to strengthen pelvic muscles)
Surgery for severe cases
4. Bone Loss
This is one symptom that you can’t feel and it can be dangerous: Lower estrogen levels diminish bone density, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.
If you’re slender, a smoker or using cortisone-like medications, you’re at risk for osteoporosis, Kaunitz says.
And look into your family tree: Did Mom or Grandma have a hunchback? If so, you face a higher risk and should start bone density checks in your 50s or earlier.
Without risk factors, “women can hold off on until age 65,” Kaunitz says.
But don’t confuse osteoporosis with osteopenia (low bone density). “I see a lot of women being treated for osteopenia, when their risk for bone fractures is too low to warrant prescription medication.”
Menopause solutions: Hormone therapy may slow and prevent bone loss, the FDA says. So will exercise and taking calcium and vitamin D.
“The traditional recommendation of 400 IU [international units] of vitamin D daily is inadequate” for menopausal women, Kaunitz says. Until age 65, women should get 1,000 IU daily; if you’re older, 2,000 IU is appropriate, he says.
Women’s Health: How Much Do You Know?
How you take care of yourself has a huge impact on your future, affecting everything from your ability to have children to your risk of heart disease. There's no substitute for good health, and when it's gone, it's often gone for good. Don't let it pass you by. Test your smarts with this women's health quiz.
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Some women have them for only a few months; for others, “hot flashes can continue for decades,” says Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D., co-founder of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and director of the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine at Columbia University.
No matter how hot flashes affect you, relief is at hand.
Menopause solutions: The most effective way to get rid of hot flashes and other menopausal miseries is also the most controversial: hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Is it a good idea to restore estrogen, progesterone and/or other hormones as a woman ages? The answer depends on whom you ask.
Some physicians, like breast health expert Dr. Susan Love, believe HRT (including bio-identicals) may not be safe, a conclusion backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2002.
At the time, the federal agency abruptly ended a major clinical trial within its Women’s Health Initiative because it found a higher risk of breast cancer, clots, stroke and heart attacks in postmenopausal women using a combination of estrogen and progestin (synthetic progesterone, which women produce in their bodies too).
Millions of women dropped HRT, but later the NIH’s conclusions were questioned, mainly because the average age of the participants was 63 — 12 years after the average onset of menopause, when most women are suffering its symptoms.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) stands behind HRT, although it advises women to take the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible.
Nelson agrees with the FDA: “I tell women to relax and enjoy the relief [HRT] provides,” she says. \
The way you take hormones may reduce the risk. The best option is a transdermal estrogen patch that’s applied to the skin, because “there appears to be no increased risk of blood clots," says Andrew M. Kaunitz, M.D., professor and associate chair in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville.
But if HRT isn’t for you, there’s still no need to suffer through hot flashes.
Researchers are investigating other remedies, including low doses of antidepressants and gabapentin, an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy, says JoAnn V. Pinkerton, M.D., medical director of the Midlife Health Center, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and vice chair of academic affairs at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
Even in low doses, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants reduce hot flashes by about 50%; with gabapentin, there’s a 70% decrease, Nelson says.
For a non-drug approach, natural methods − meditation, yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture and paced breathing − also help, Pinkerton says.
So does the herb black cohosh and soy products, according to Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and author of A Woman’s Guide to Menopause and Perimenopause (Yale University Press).
For black cohosh, she recommends Remifemin. The standardized extract of the herb has been shown to work better than a placebo and other similiar supplements in European and American studies.
Vitamin E also works, but it cuts down on hot flashes by only one a day, according to a Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation study.
Dietary changes also can combat hot flashes, including avoiding caffeine and alcohol, says Isaac Schiff, M.D., chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
But steer clear of magnet therapy, reflexology, homeopathy and the herbs dong quai, ginseng, licorice and red clover, Pinkerton adds. Studies show that they don’t relieve hot flashes any more than a placebo does.
2. Vaginal Dryness and Low Libido
Not only are you struggling with hot flashes, but menopause can put the kibosh on your sex life too. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive Sex and Menopause survey of more than 1,000 women 35 years and older, 44% reported a decrease in sex drive; more than half the women surveyed cited vaginal dryness as a problem.
Again, the culprit is lower estrogen levels, which cause thinner, drier and less-elastic vaginal tissue and decrease blood flow down there.
Menopause solutions: To tame these symptoms, HRT is the most effective approved medicine to relieve vaginal dryness, the FDA says.
It will also help reverse a low libido, Pinkerton points out.
But you don’t have to resort to oral hormones, Schiff says. He recommends these tips:
Have more sex. “If women continue to have an active sex life, vaginal dryness is not so much of a problem” because it increases blood flow to the area.
Lube up. Try a water-soluble lubricant, such as K-Y or Astroglide, he says. But don’t use an oil-based product, which can dissolve latex condoms and compromise the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
Try local treatment. Estrogen delivered in a ring, cream or gel that's inserted into the vagina, works where it’s applied and not much of the hormone is absorbed systemically.
Solving the dryness problem might take care of your low libido too. “If sex life improves, then libido usually follows,” Schiff says.
Various over-the-counter products also help women increase their sex drive, including Avlimil, ArginMax and Xzite. Pinkerton also recommends ginkgo biloba and the nutritional supplement Kyo-Green, a powdered drink made from barley leaves, wheat grass and other ingredients.
Check out 10 Natural Aphrodisiacs to Turn Up the Heat.
One warning: Don’t take any supplement without consulting your doctor.
3. Incontinence
Those little leaks when you cough, sneeze or giggle are no laughing matter. You may also feel a sudden urge to go - fast. Menopause isn’t the cause, but it can make it worse.
As we age, our pelvic muscles weaken and lower levels of estrogen exacerbate the problem by thinning the urethra’s lining.
“About 40% of post-menopausal women might note some urine leakage,” says NAMS President Cynthia Stuenkel, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Menopause solutions: Although diminishing hormone levels are one cause of incontinence, the relief is not in HRT but in shedding excess weight and exercise. Both significantly reduce abdominal pressure on the bladder, Stuenkel says.
Obese and overweight women who participated in a 6-month weight-loss program lost an average of 8% of their weight and cut incontinence episodes by nearly half, according to a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
NAMS also advises women to stop smoking cigarettes; avoid bladder irritants, such as spicy foods and citrus fruits; limit fluid intake; and do Kegel exercises, which strengthen the muscles you use to start and stop urination.
Other solutions include:
Medications such as oxybutynin, tolterodine, trospium, solifenacin and darifenacin, which reduce the frequency and urge to go and relax the bladder's muscles.
Therapies (electrical stimulation to strengthen pelvic muscles)
Surgery for severe cases
4. Bone Loss
This is one symptom that you can’t feel and it can be dangerous: Lower estrogen levels diminish bone density, leading to osteoporosis and fractures.
If you’re slender, a smoker or using cortisone-like medications, you’re at risk for osteoporosis, Kaunitz says.
And look into your family tree: Did Mom or Grandma have a hunchback? If so, you face a higher risk and should start bone density checks in your 50s or earlier.
Without risk factors, “women can hold off on until age 65,” Kaunitz says.
But don’t confuse osteoporosis with osteopenia (low bone density). “I see a lot of women being treated for osteopenia, when their risk for bone fractures is too low to warrant prescription medication.”
Menopause solutions: Hormone therapy may slow and prevent bone loss, the FDA says. So will exercise and taking calcium and vitamin D.
“The traditional recommendation of 400 IU [international units] of vitamin D daily is inadequate” for menopausal women, Kaunitz says. Until age 65, women should get 1,000 IU daily; if you’re older, 2,000 IU is appropriate, he says.
Women’s Health: How Much Do You Know?
How you take care of yourself has a huge impact on your future, affecting everything from your ability to have children to your risk of heart disease. There's no substitute for good health, and when it's gone, it's often gone for good. Don't let it pass you by. Test your smarts with this women's health quiz.
\
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate.
Becoming the Person You Were Meant to Be: Where to Start
We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be. The only problem is that there is also so much other stuff, typically fixations with how people perceive us, how to get more of the things that we think will make us happy, and with keeping our weight down. So the real issue is how do we gently stop being who we aren't? How do we relieve ourselves of the false fronts of people-pleasing and affectation, the obsessive need for power and security, the backpack of old pain, and the psychic Spanx that keeps us smaller and contained?
Here's how I became myself: mess, failure, mistakes, disappointments, and extensive reading; limbo, indecision, setbacks, addiction, public embarrassment, and endless conversations with my best women friends; the loss of people without whom I could not live, the loss of pets that left me reeling, dizzying betrayals but much greater loyalty, and overall, choosing as my motto William Blake's line that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love.
Oh, yeah, and whenever I could, for as long as I could, I threw away the scales and the sugar.
When I was a young writer, I was talking to an old painter one day about how he came to paint his canvases. He said that he never knew what the completed picture would look like, but he could usually see one quadrant. So he'd make a stab at capturing what he saw on the canvas of his mind, and when it turned out not to be even remotely what he'd imagined, he'd paint it over with white. And each time he figured out what the painting wasn't, he was one step closer to finding out what it was.
You have to make mistakes to find out who you aren't. You take the action, and the insight follows: You don't think your way into becoming yourself.
I can't tell you what your next action will be, but mine involved a full stop. I had to stop living unconsciously, as if I had all the time in the world. The love and good and the wild and the peace and creation that are you will reveal themselves, but it is harder when they have to catch up to you in roadrunner mode. So one day I did stop. I began consciously to break the rules I learned in childhood: I wasted more time, as a radical act. I stared off into space more, into the middle distance, like a cat. This is when I have my best ideas, my deepest insights. I wasted more paper, printing out instead of reading things on the computer screen. (Then I sent off more small checks to the Sierra Club.)
Every single day I try to figure out something I no longer agree to do. You get to change your mind—your parents may have accidentally forgotten to mention this to you. I cross one thing off the list of projects I mean to get done that day. I don't know all that many things that are positively true, but I do know two things for sure: first of all, that no woman over the age of 40 should ever help anyone move, ever again, under any circumstances. You have helped enough. You can say no. No is a complete sentence. Or you might say, "I can't help you move because of certain promises I have made to myself, but I would be glad to bring sandwiches and soda to everyone on your crew at noon." Obviously, it is in many people's best interest for you not to find yourself, but it only matters that it is in yours—and your back's—and the whole world's, to proceed.
And, secondly, you are probably going to have to deal with whatever fugitive anger still needs to be examined—it may not look like anger; it may look like compulsive dieting or bingeing or exercising or shopping. But you must find a path and a person to help you deal with that anger. It will not be a Hallmark card. It is not the yellow brick road, with lovely trees on both sides, constant sunshine, birdsong, friends. It is going to be unbelievably hard some days—like the rawness of birth, all that blood and those fluids and shouting horrible terrible things—but then there will be that wonderful child right in the middle. And that wonderful child is you, with your exact mind and butt and thighs and goofy greatness.
Dealing with your rage and grief will give you life. That is both the good news and the bad news: The solution is at hand. Wherever the great dilemma exists is where the great growth is, too. It would be very nice for nervous types like me if things were black-and-white, and you could tell where one thing ended and the next thing began, but as Einstein taught us, everything in the future and the past is right here now. There's always something ending and something beginning. Yet in the very center is the truth of your spiritual identity: is you. Fabulous, hilarious, darling, screwed-up you. Beloved of God and of your truest deepest self, the self that is revealed when tears wash off the makeup and grime. The self that is revealed when dealing with your anger blows through all the calcification in your soul's pipes. The self that is reflected in the love of your very best friends' eyes. The self that is revealed in divine feminine energy, your own, Bette Midler's, Hillary Clinton's, Tina Fey's, Michelle Obama's, Mary Oliver's. I mean, you can see that they are divine, right? Well, you are, too. I absolutely promise. I hope you have gotten sufficiently tired of hitting the snooze button; I know that what you need or need to activate in yourself will appear; I pray that your awakening comes with ease and grace, and stamina when the going gets hard. To love yourself as you are is a miracle, and to seek yourself is to have found yourself, for now. And now is all we have, and love is who we are.
How do you become the person you were meant to be? Where do you start? Writer Anne Lamott tackles the question: how do we become ourselves?
Here's how I became myself: mess, failure, mistakes, disappointments, and extensive reading; limbo, indecision, setbacks, addiction, public embarrassment, and endless conversations with my best women friends; the loss of people without whom I could not live, the loss of pets that left me reeling, dizzying betrayals but much greater loyalty, and overall, choosing as my motto William Blake's line that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love.
Oh, yeah, and whenever I could, for as long as I could, I threw away the scales and the sugar.
When I was a young writer, I was talking to an old painter one day about how he came to paint his canvases. He said that he never knew what the completed picture would look like, but he could usually see one quadrant. So he'd make a stab at capturing what he saw on the canvas of his mind, and when it turned out not to be even remotely what he'd imagined, he'd paint it over with white. And each time he figured out what the painting wasn't, he was one step closer to finding out what it was.
You have to make mistakes to find out who you aren't. You take the action, and the insight follows: You don't think your way into becoming yourself.
I can't tell you what your next action will be, but mine involved a full stop. I had to stop living unconsciously, as if I had all the time in the world. The love and good and the wild and the peace and creation that are you will reveal themselves, but it is harder when they have to catch up to you in roadrunner mode. So one day I did stop. I began consciously to break the rules I learned in childhood: I wasted more time, as a radical act. I stared off into space more, into the middle distance, like a cat. This is when I have my best ideas, my deepest insights. I wasted more paper, printing out instead of reading things on the computer screen. (Then I sent off more small checks to the Sierra Club.)
Every single day I try to figure out something I no longer agree to do. You get to change your mind—your parents may have accidentally forgotten to mention this to you. I cross one thing off the list of projects I mean to get done that day. I don't know all that many things that are positively true, but I do know two things for sure: first of all, that no woman over the age of 40 should ever help anyone move, ever again, under any circumstances. You have helped enough. You can say no. No is a complete sentence. Or you might say, "I can't help you move because of certain promises I have made to myself, but I would be glad to bring sandwiches and soda to everyone on your crew at noon." Obviously, it is in many people's best interest for you not to find yourself, but it only matters that it is in yours—and your back's—and the whole world's, to proceed.
And, secondly, you are probably going to have to deal with whatever fugitive anger still needs to be examined—it may not look like anger; it may look like compulsive dieting or bingeing or exercising or shopping. But you must find a path and a person to help you deal with that anger. It will not be a Hallmark card. It is not the yellow brick road, with lovely trees on both sides, constant sunshine, birdsong, friends. It is going to be unbelievably hard some days—like the rawness of birth, all that blood and those fluids and shouting horrible terrible things—but then there will be that wonderful child right in the middle. And that wonderful child is you, with your exact mind and butt and thighs and goofy greatness.
Dealing with your rage and grief will give you life. That is both the good news and the bad news: The solution is at hand. Wherever the great dilemma exists is where the great growth is, too. It would be very nice for nervous types like me if things were black-and-white, and you could tell where one thing ended and the next thing began, but as Einstein taught us, everything in the future and the past is right here now. There's always something ending and something beginning. Yet in the very center is the truth of your spiritual identity: is you. Fabulous, hilarious, darling, screwed-up you. Beloved of God and of your truest deepest self, the self that is revealed when tears wash off the makeup and grime. The self that is revealed when dealing with your anger blows through all the calcification in your soul's pipes. The self that is reflected in the love of your very best friends' eyes. The self that is revealed in divine feminine energy, your own, Bette Midler's, Hillary Clinton's, Tina Fey's, Michelle Obama's, Mary Oliver's. I mean, you can see that they are divine, right? Well, you are, too. I absolutely promise. I hope you have gotten sufficiently tired of hitting the snooze button; I know that what you need or need to activate in yourself will appear; I pray that your awakening comes with ease and grace, and stamina when the going gets hard. To love yourself as you are is a miracle, and to seek yourself is to have found yourself, for now. And now is all we have, and love is who we are.
How do you become the person you were meant to be? Where do you start? Writer Anne Lamott tackles the question: how do we become ourselves?
Learn to Let Go
Step 1: Be still.
If we hold still long enough, we begin to feel what we really feel and to know what we really know—a prospect so terrifying that some people bolt rather than face it.
If you can do this—get used to sitting still until you feel what you feel and know what you know—your labels will start peeling away like onion skins. Oh, it won't be easy. Your anxieties and neuroses will come yammering out of the walls like the Hounds of Hell. You'll find that your mental demons have less staying power than you thought. Eventually you will begin to sense a very deep self that defies all labels, a calm soul who has experienced your whole life
Step 2: Become the experiencer, not the experience.
All great wisdom traditions point to the knowledge that the essence of our true selves is not any fixed label but the capacity to experience.
Go back to the first sentence of this article, remembering the label you gave yourself. Now repeat it, but instead of saying "I am a big fat loser" or "I am a powerful executive," say "I am one who calls myself a big fat loser" or "I am one who calls myself a powerful executive." This wording may feel a bit awkward, but (1) it happens to be true, and (2) it helps you detach from both negative and positive labels.
Step 3: Practice truth in labeling.
Our belief in labels, not the labels themselves, is what gives them the power to influence our behavior. Knowing how to let go of any given identity without losing our essential selves yields a security we'll never get from fame, power, money, beauty, or any other personality prop.
By stilling our bodies and minds, becoming the One Who Experiences, and playing with labels the way we might play with costumes, we can remain ourselves no matter what happens: loss or gain, pain or pleasure, fame or disrepute.
If we hold still long enough, we begin to feel what we really feel and to know what we really know—a prospect so terrifying that some people bolt rather than face it.
If you can do this—get used to sitting still until you feel what you feel and know what you know—your labels will start peeling away like onion skins. Oh, it won't be easy. Your anxieties and neuroses will come yammering out of the walls like the Hounds of Hell. You'll find that your mental demons have less staying power than you thought. Eventually you will begin to sense a very deep self that defies all labels, a calm soul who has experienced your whole life
Step 2: Become the experiencer, not the experience.
All great wisdom traditions point to the knowledge that the essence of our true selves is not any fixed label but the capacity to experience.
Go back to the first sentence of this article, remembering the label you gave yourself. Now repeat it, but instead of saying "I am a big fat loser" or "I am a powerful executive," say "I am one who calls myself a big fat loser" or "I am one who calls myself a powerful executive." This wording may feel a bit awkward, but (1) it happens to be true, and (2) it helps you detach from both negative and positive labels.
Step 3: Practice truth in labeling.
Our belief in labels, not the labels themselves, is what gives them the power to influence our behavior. Knowing how to let go of any given identity without losing our essential selves yields a security we'll never get from fame, power, money, beauty, or any other personality prop.
By stilling our bodies and minds, becoming the One Who Experiences, and playing with labels the way we might play with costumes, we can remain ourselves no matter what happens: loss or gain, pain or pleasure, fame or disrepute.
How to develop your identity - Who Are You Really?
Quick, finish this sentence: "I am a ________."
What popped into your mind? Did you immediately think of your job title? Did you identify yourself with a relationship term, like wife, daughter, or Elvis fan? Maybe you described your body ("I am a svelte size 10"), your personality ("I am an optimist"), or your favorite hobby ("I am a heavy drinker").
Identity labels like these are useful, even necessary. They shape the way we act and feel (and the way people act and feel toward us) in every situation, from taking the bus to taking a lover. But many labels are misleading, and none can fully describe the multifaceted reality that is a human being. Moreover, any external criteria we use to label ourselves—looks, power, health, relationships, anything—can disappear in a heartbeat. So really, the only way to avoid a lot of insecurity, fear, and suffering is to learn how to wear our identities lightly and let go of them easily.
How to Let Go
Step 1: Be still.
The process of releasing your labels without losing yourself begins in stillness. If we hold still long enough, we begin to feel what we really feel and to know what we really know—a prospect so terrifying that some people bolt rather than face it.
If you can do this—get used to sitting still until you feel what you feel and know what you know—your labels will start peeling away like onion skins. Oh, it won't be easy. Your anxieties and neuroses will come yammering out of the walls like the Hounds of Hell. Your older sister's voice will mutter constant criticism. The person who broke your heart in 1987 will show up, more vivid in memory than in the flesh, to do it again. But just...sit...still.
Like anyone who doesn't run from stillness, you'll find that your mental demons have less staying power than you thought. Eventually you will begin to sense a very deep self that defies all labels, a calm soul who has experienced your whole life—even that regrettable incident involving baked beans, a goat, and your mother's favorite hairpiece—without ever being dominated or extinguished. This is the you who wears your labels, who can toss the ones you've outgrown (or that never fit in the first place), who will always find another identity to wear when a familiar one disappears.
Step 2: Become the experiencer, not the experience.
All great wisdom traditions point to the knowledge that the essence of our true selves is not any fixed label but the capacity to experience.
In the Biblical tradition underlying Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the One God of Israel tells Moses that His name is simply "I Am." The word Buddha means one who is awake, one who is aware.
As heavy as this philosophy sounds, it has a very simple and practical application. Try this: Go back to the first sentence of this article, remembering the label you gave yourself. Now repeat it, but instead of saying "I am a big fat loser" or "I am a powerful executive," say "I am one who calls myself a big fat loser" or "I am one who calls myself a powerful executive." This wording may feel a bit awkward, but (1) it happens to be true, and (2) it helps you detach from both negative and positive labels by inserting a layer of language between you and whatever identity you happen to be wearing at the moment.
Step 3: Practice truth in labeling.
Our belief in labels, not the labels themselves, is what gives them the power to influence our behavior. Knowing how to let go of any given identity without losing our essential selves yields a security we'll never get from fame, power, money, beauty, or any other personality prop.
By stilling our bodies and minds, becoming the One Who Experiences, and playing with labels the way we might play with costumes, we can remain ourselves no matter what happens: loss or gain, pain or pleasure, fame or disrepute.
Take these steps whenever, as the Indian poet Kabir wrote, "you are tangled up in others and have forgotten what your heart once knew." When the bad labels come at you glue-side up, or the positive ones are stripped away, remember to answer poet William Stafford's simple question: "Who are you really, wanderer?" Why not remember today?
Martha Beck's thoughts on developing your identity.
What popped into your mind? Did you immediately think of your job title? Did you identify yourself with a relationship term, like wife, daughter, or Elvis fan? Maybe you described your body ("I am a svelte size 10"), your personality ("I am an optimist"), or your favorite hobby ("I am a heavy drinker").
Identity labels like these are useful, even necessary. They shape the way we act and feel (and the way people act and feel toward us) in every situation, from taking the bus to taking a lover. But many labels are misleading, and none can fully describe the multifaceted reality that is a human being. Moreover, any external criteria we use to label ourselves—looks, power, health, relationships, anything—can disappear in a heartbeat. So really, the only way to avoid a lot of insecurity, fear, and suffering is to learn how to wear our identities lightly and let go of them easily.
How to Let Go
Step 1: Be still.
The process of releasing your labels without losing yourself begins in stillness. If we hold still long enough, we begin to feel what we really feel and to know what we really know—a prospect so terrifying that some people bolt rather than face it.
If you can do this—get used to sitting still until you feel what you feel and know what you know—your labels will start peeling away like onion skins. Oh, it won't be easy. Your anxieties and neuroses will come yammering out of the walls like the Hounds of Hell. Your older sister's voice will mutter constant criticism. The person who broke your heart in 1987 will show up, more vivid in memory than in the flesh, to do it again. But just...sit...still.
Like anyone who doesn't run from stillness, you'll find that your mental demons have less staying power than you thought. Eventually you will begin to sense a very deep self that defies all labels, a calm soul who has experienced your whole life—even that regrettable incident involving baked beans, a goat, and your mother's favorite hairpiece—without ever being dominated or extinguished. This is the you who wears your labels, who can toss the ones you've outgrown (or that never fit in the first place), who will always find another identity to wear when a familiar one disappears.
Step 2: Become the experiencer, not the experience.
All great wisdom traditions point to the knowledge that the essence of our true selves is not any fixed label but the capacity to experience.
In the Biblical tradition underlying Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the One God of Israel tells Moses that His name is simply "I Am." The word Buddha means one who is awake, one who is aware.
As heavy as this philosophy sounds, it has a very simple and practical application. Try this: Go back to the first sentence of this article, remembering the label you gave yourself. Now repeat it, but instead of saying "I am a big fat loser" or "I am a powerful executive," say "I am one who calls myself a big fat loser" or "I am one who calls myself a powerful executive." This wording may feel a bit awkward, but (1) it happens to be true, and (2) it helps you detach from both negative and positive labels by inserting a layer of language between you and whatever identity you happen to be wearing at the moment.
Step 3: Practice truth in labeling.
Our belief in labels, not the labels themselves, is what gives them the power to influence our behavior. Knowing how to let go of any given identity without losing our essential selves yields a security we'll never get from fame, power, money, beauty, or any other personality prop.
By stilling our bodies and minds, becoming the One Who Experiences, and playing with labels the way we might play with costumes, we can remain ourselves no matter what happens: loss or gain, pain or pleasure, fame or disrepute.
Take these steps whenever, as the Indian poet Kabir wrote, "you are tangled up in others and have forgotten what your heart once knew." When the bad labels come at you glue-side up, or the positive ones are stripped away, remember to answer poet William Stafford's simple question: "Who are you really, wanderer?" Why not remember today?
Martha Beck's thoughts on developing your identity.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I've never wanted to be in touch with my masculine side—I've always ignored it, as I love being a woman. But maybe it's been there the whole time and I simply haven't recognized it, perhaps the mama bear in me, the part that wants to fiercely protect my children, is my masculine side rising to the surface.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Your life is speaking to you every day, all the time—and your job is to listen up and find the clues.
In southern Kenya, lioness Nosieki is working hard to raise her cubs.
In southern Kenya, lioness Nosieki is working hard to raise her cubs. Unfortunately, some people there are eager to poison her using deadly carbofuran.
It would take just a teaspoon of carbofuran to kill Noseiki. Less would paralyze her for up to a week, leaving her to starve or be eaten by other predators… and her cubs to fend for themselves without a mother.
Please donate now to help us save lions like Nosieki, her cubs and other prides from a terrible death from carbofuran and other threats.
Since last week, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has mobilized more than 47,000 caring wildlife supporters to end the use of carbofuran in Africa. But that’s not all we’re doing.
During my recent trip to Africa, I set the foundation for an ambitious new partnership to promote on-the-ground work to save lions like Nosieki. Now we need your help to fund this important work.
For just $100 a month, a Masai lion guardian living in southern Kenya – our new allies to prevent the extinction of lions – can protect big cats like Nosieki and her cubs from carbofuran and other threats. This innovative program turns Masai warriors who are often lion killers into lion guardians.
One powerful example of the difference your donation can make: There have been no lion-related livestock losses (a key source of conflict between the Masai and lions) in an area in Kenya where these lion guardians have been operating. Nearby, where there are no lion guardians, there have been 22.
Help us support these lion guardians and work to prevent the extinction of one of the world’s most beloved big cats.
In just five decades, the number of African lions has declined by more than 95%. Without our help, these amazing and iconic big cats could disappear in the wild by 2020.
We need to raise $50,000 by Monday to help support these vital efforts and other work to save lions and other imperiled wildlife. Please donate whatever you can today to help us meet our goal and save lions like Nosieki and her cubs and other imperiled wildlife from extinction.
This spring, I spent several weeks in Kenya, meeting with the dedicated lion advocates and amazing Masai tribesmen there working to prevent lion extinction. I know for a fact that our support of these lion guardians is some of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s most important new work.
Your donation today will help support these and other efforts to save the lives of lions and other imperiled wildlife. Please make your lion-saving today.
With Gratitude,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
It would take just a teaspoon of carbofuran to kill Noseiki. Less would paralyze her for up to a week, leaving her to starve or be eaten by other predators… and her cubs to fend for themselves without a mother.
Please donate now to help us save lions like Nosieki, her cubs and other prides from a terrible death from carbofuran and other threats.
Since last week, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has mobilized more than 47,000 caring wildlife supporters to end the use of carbofuran in Africa. But that’s not all we’re doing.
During my recent trip to Africa, I set the foundation for an ambitious new partnership to promote on-the-ground work to save lions like Nosieki. Now we need your help to fund this important work.
For just $100 a month, a Masai lion guardian living in southern Kenya – our new allies to prevent the extinction of lions – can protect big cats like Nosieki and her cubs from carbofuran and other threats. This innovative program turns Masai warriors who are often lion killers into lion guardians.
One powerful example of the difference your donation can make: There have been no lion-related livestock losses (a key source of conflict between the Masai and lions) in an area in Kenya where these lion guardians have been operating. Nearby, where there are no lion guardians, there have been 22.
Help us support these lion guardians and work to prevent the extinction of one of the world’s most beloved big cats.
In just five decades, the number of African lions has declined by more than 95%. Without our help, these amazing and iconic big cats could disappear in the wild by 2020.
We need to raise $50,000 by Monday to help support these vital efforts and other work to save lions and other imperiled wildlife. Please donate whatever you can today to help us meet our goal and save lions like Nosieki and her cubs and other imperiled wildlife from extinction.
This spring, I spent several weeks in Kenya, meeting with the dedicated lion advocates and amazing Masai tribesmen there working to prevent lion extinction. I know for a fact that our support of these lion guardians is some of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s most important new work.
Your donation today will help support these and other efforts to save the lives of lions and other imperiled wildlife. Please make your lion-saving today.
With Gratitude,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
Early menopause raises heart disease risk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women who go through menopause early, before age 46, may have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event later in life, researchers reported on Monday.
The risk was the same even when women took hormone replacement therapy, which doctors once prescribed expressly to prevent heart disease, the researchers said at a meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego.
"It is important for women to know that early menopause is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of American women," Dr. Melissa Wellons of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who led the study, said in a statement.
"They can then work harder to improve their modifiable risk factors, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, by exercising and following a healthy diet," Wellons said.
Doctors should routinely ask older women when they experienced menopause, she said. The average age of menopause is 51.
Her team studied more than 2,500 women who were 45 to 84 when the study started in 2000. Nearly 28 percent of them reported early menopause; 446 women or 18 percent had natural menopause and 10 percent had menopause caused by having their ovaries removed.
None of the women had a heart attack, stroke, chest pain known as angina, heart bypass surgery or a suddenly stopped heart before the age of 55.
But after that, the women who had early menopause were more likely to have had one of these things happen than the others. They were more than two times as likely to have one of these heart events, even when the researchers accounted for any extra weight gain.
Nearly 6 percent of women who went though menopause early had some sort of heart event, compared to 2.6 percent of women who had not gone through menopause or who went through it after age 47, they told the meeting.
"Our study is observational; therefore, we cannot conclude that early menopause somehow causes future cardiovascular disease," Wellons said. "However, our findings do support the possible use of age at menopause as a marker of future heart and vascular disease risk."
Before 2002, doctors widely prescribed hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, to lower the risk of heart disease or osteoporosis, both of which go up sharply after menopause.
But use of HRT plummeted in 2002 after the publication of the Women's Health Initiative study, which found an increased risk of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, strokes and other problems from hormone therapy. Studies have also found HRT does not protect against heart disease.
The risk was the same even when women took hormone replacement therapy, which doctors once prescribed expressly to prevent heart disease, the researchers said at a meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego.
"It is important for women to know that early menopause is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of American women," Dr. Melissa Wellons of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who led the study, said in a statement.
"They can then work harder to improve their modifiable risk factors, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, by exercising and following a healthy diet," Wellons said.
Doctors should routinely ask older women when they experienced menopause, she said. The average age of menopause is 51.
Her team studied more than 2,500 women who were 45 to 84 when the study started in 2000. Nearly 28 percent of them reported early menopause; 446 women or 18 percent had natural menopause and 10 percent had menopause caused by having their ovaries removed.
None of the women had a heart attack, stroke, chest pain known as angina, heart bypass surgery or a suddenly stopped heart before the age of 55.
But after that, the women who had early menopause were more likely to have had one of these things happen than the others. They were more than two times as likely to have one of these heart events, even when the researchers accounted for any extra weight gain.
Nearly 6 percent of women who went though menopause early had some sort of heart event, compared to 2.6 percent of women who had not gone through menopause or who went through it after age 47, they told the meeting.
"Our study is observational; therefore, we cannot conclude that early menopause somehow causes future cardiovascular disease," Wellons said. "However, our findings do support the possible use of age at menopause as a marker of future heart and vascular disease risk."
Before 2002, doctors widely prescribed hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, to lower the risk of heart disease or osteoporosis, both of which go up sharply after menopause.
But use of HRT plummeted in 2002 after the publication of the Women's Health Initiative study, which found an increased risk of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, strokes and other problems from hormone therapy. Studies have also found HRT does not protect against heart disease.
The Better Sex Workout - 7 Exercises That Benefit the Bedroom
Most of us work out to lose weight, prevent disease or strengthen bones. But here’s another reason to exercise: Your sex life will rock. Here are 7 workouts that have fringe benefits in bed…
If your fitness routine could also kick up the ‘ole sex life a notch, you’d do it in a heartbeat, right? Well, what are you waiting for? These workouts will get your heart pumping and the you-know-what thumping:
1. Cardio
What’s involved: Running, biking, swimming, aerobic step class, power walking. The same old cardio routines can step up your sex life. These include any activity performed for 30-60 minutes a day, where your heart is working at 65%-75% of its capacity (and you can still talk to the person next to you).
Bedroom benefits: Regular cardio workouts build stamina by improving your oxygen consumption. They also boost your body’s ability to bring oxygen into your muscles, which in turn burns calories and breaks down nutrients into energy.
And that helps you in the sack. “Not only will you be able to last in bed without getting tired, but you’ll also recover faster and be able to go again,” says trainer Jeanette Jenkins, creator of The Hollywood Trainer (www.thehollywoodtrainer.com) line of fitness DVDs.
Here’s another benefit: Cardio workouts improve blood flow, which helps not only your heart but also all those naughty bits that become deliciously sensitive when you’re aroused.
2. Interval Training
What’s involved: This is cardio on ‘roids: Whatever you’re already doing − biking, running, power walking − give it your all for 1-2 minutes. Slow down for 2-5 minutes, then speed it back up. Repeat throughout your workout.
Another option: Running hills or stair-climbing. (Do the real thing or set the program on your treadmill, elliptical machine or stair-stepper.) These exercises build quads, hamstrings and glutes, the big muscles used during sex, Jenkins says.
Bedroom benefits: Short bursts (or intervals) train your muscles to go full-tilt for brief spurts without petering out.
“When you’re getting close to orgasm and you’re in a great position, you can hold that position without the muscles getting fatigued or cramped,” Jenkins says. “You don’t want to lose the enjoyment of that moment because your muscles are too fatigued to keep going.”
3. Qigong (aka Chi Kung)
What’s involved: Qigong, a close cousin to tai chi, combines a series of slow, flowing movements with breathing exercises for a total body workout that improves balance, flexibility and muscle strength. Best of all, qigong is so easy that anyone − regardless of age or fitness level − can jump in and get started.
Bedroom benefits: Along with sculpting your body so you look fabulous naked, one of the more esoteric benefits of a qigong workout is that it promotes the free flow of chi (“life-force” or “energy”). According to Chinese medicine, chi moves the blood, which has obvious advantages in the bedroom.
“If chi is flowing better through your arms and legs, you can bet it’s going to be flowing better through your genitals,” says Palm Springs tai chi/qigong trainer Scott Cole, creator of the Breath & Chi Kung DVD. “It’s like opening up the pipes.”
The theory is that blocked chi causes illness, stress and tension, which can certainly put a damper on desire, not to mention performance.
“If your chi is blocked, your joints and muscles can be tight.” Cole explains. And you're probably not breathing very deeply.
“Shallow breathers tend to have more shallow orgasms or they orgasm infrequently or not at all,” he says.
People who do a lot of qigong report more explosive (even multiple) orgasms. And for guys (and the women who sleep with them), there’s the added benefit of rock-hard erections that last longer and spring back faster for an encore performance.
“I’m 47 and I get erections like I’m 22,” Cole says. ‘Nuff said.
4. Cardio Striptease
What’s involved: A sexy dance class in which you work your butt − and your shirt − off. OK, we’re kidding about the shirt. In public, keep your clothes on.
But along with the bump-and-grind choreography, you'll learn some moves “to sex up taking off your clothes,” says Tricia Murphy Madden, fitness director for Denali Fitness in Seattle and developer of the Urban Striptease workout.
Bedroom benefits: You can give your guy the lap dance of his life. Besides toning hips, abs, inner thighs and tush, the class is a workout for the spirit.
It will give you the self-confidence to bare all and move your body in sensual ways that strippers have in spades − no matter your body type.
“The people you’d assume at the beginning of class would never be willing to get up in class and perform the routines in front of the others generally will feel comfortable performing at the end,” Madden says.
She loves to tell a story about a student who got up and started dancing in front of an appreciative crowd at a party.
“At that moment she felt sexy, attractive, powerful and strong,” Madden says. “For her, it doesn’t matter what she looks like or what her size is.”
5. Yoga
What’s involved: A mat workout that focuses on stretching and flexibility, yoga takes you through a series of poses (called asanas) while you concentrate on controlling your breathing.
If you’re new to yoga, look for “gentle,” “stretch” or “flexibility” classes. If you’ve done it before, try vinyasa or step up the pace to give you a cardio workout too.
Bedroom benefits: You know the Kama Sutra, the book of sex positions for people made of rubber?
It was written for “people actively doing yoga,” says Bethany Lyons, regional group fitness manager for Crunch, New York, and creator of the Yoga Body Sculpt DVD.
Even if you never twist yourself into a pretzel, regular practice can stretch muscles and make them more flexible, so you can easily rest your ankles on your partner’s shoulders without pulling a hamstring. Or get a wider, um... spread that you can hold for a while.
“The key to enjoying sex in any position is to be comfortable in it,” Lyons says. “If you’re shaking or feeling overextended, there’s nothing relaxing or sexy about that.”
6. Pilates
What’s involved: Most Pilates classes focus on the mat workout, though you might find some that still make use of the traditional Pilates machines, called reformers.
The floor exercises, which incorporate many movements from yoga, use your own body weight for resistance training to tone muscles without adding bulk. (Think about the long, lean limbs of a dancer’s body.)
“Pilates really targets women’s trouble spots: the hips, the abs, the thighs, the waist,” says Kristin McGee, creator of the MTV Pilates and Pilates for Beginners DVDs.
Bedroom benefits: By strengthening your core – which includes everything from shoulders to butt − Pilates also reinforces your pelvic floor muscles, the same ones you use in Kegel squeezes.
That yields huge dividends in the bedroom because an orgasm is essentially your pelvic floor in spasms. When those muscles are toned and strong, you get intense, shuddering waves of pleasure during a climax.
“If you can lift and contract your pelvic floor, you can feel more,” she says.
Not sure what she’s talking about? Think of inserting a tampon.
“You want to pull the tampon in and up,” McGee says. “You want to keep on developing that lift through your transverse abdominal muscles. And you want to work your inner thighs, which are also connected to your pelvic floor.”
That inner thigh-pelvic floor strength will heighten your pleasure, especially if you’re on top. That’s because “you’re going to be lifting that pelvic floor and working your clitoris by using your inner thigh and leg muscles to rock forward and back,” McGee says.
Got that? It’ll lead to really deep or multiple orgasms.
7. Samba
What’s involved: You can learn the samba, the national dance of Brazil, at a ballroom studio class, gym or from a DVD. In lessons with a partner, you’ll get skilled in moving together − and carry that newfound knowledge from the dance floor to the bedroom.
Bedroom benefits: Samba is incredibly sexy and flirtatious to start with; there’s even a movement called the Belly Button Bump that symbolizes having sex. The dance is all about moving your hips around − side to side, front to back and in circles − which focuses on the pelvis.
Learning how to make hip circles "stirs up awareness of that area, increases strength and flexibility, and can really help stimulate fun in the bedroom,” says Kimberley Miguel Mullen, a dance professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles and creator of the Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body DVD. Samba is the basis for her workout.
“The exercises help you learn the movements, which in turn can increase your sexual fun,” she says.
There may be something to the bump and grind. “The running joke is that babies born in October were conceived during Carnival,” Mullen says.
Presumably to parents who did an awful lot of samba.
How Sexually Adventurous Are You?
Would you, could you in the dark? How 'bout in a car? Or in the restroom of a crowded bar? Just how sexually adventurous are you? Take our sex quiz to find out.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
If your fitness routine could also kick up the ‘ole sex life a notch, you’d do it in a heartbeat, right? Well, what are you waiting for? These workouts will get your heart pumping and the you-know-what thumping:
1. Cardio
What’s involved: Running, biking, swimming, aerobic step class, power walking. The same old cardio routines can step up your sex life. These include any activity performed for 30-60 minutes a day, where your heart is working at 65%-75% of its capacity (and you can still talk to the person next to you).
Bedroom benefits: Regular cardio workouts build stamina by improving your oxygen consumption. They also boost your body’s ability to bring oxygen into your muscles, which in turn burns calories and breaks down nutrients into energy.
And that helps you in the sack. “Not only will you be able to last in bed without getting tired, but you’ll also recover faster and be able to go again,” says trainer Jeanette Jenkins, creator of The Hollywood Trainer (www.thehollywoodtrainer.com) line of fitness DVDs.
Here’s another benefit: Cardio workouts improve blood flow, which helps not only your heart but also all those naughty bits that become deliciously sensitive when you’re aroused.
2. Interval Training
What’s involved: This is cardio on ‘roids: Whatever you’re already doing − biking, running, power walking − give it your all for 1-2 minutes. Slow down for 2-5 minutes, then speed it back up. Repeat throughout your workout.
Another option: Running hills or stair-climbing. (Do the real thing or set the program on your treadmill, elliptical machine or stair-stepper.) These exercises build quads, hamstrings and glutes, the big muscles used during sex, Jenkins says.
Bedroom benefits: Short bursts (or intervals) train your muscles to go full-tilt for brief spurts without petering out.
“When you’re getting close to orgasm and you’re in a great position, you can hold that position without the muscles getting fatigued or cramped,” Jenkins says. “You don’t want to lose the enjoyment of that moment because your muscles are too fatigued to keep going.”
3. Qigong (aka Chi Kung)
What’s involved: Qigong, a close cousin to tai chi, combines a series of slow, flowing movements with breathing exercises for a total body workout that improves balance, flexibility and muscle strength. Best of all, qigong is so easy that anyone − regardless of age or fitness level − can jump in and get started.
Bedroom benefits: Along with sculpting your body so you look fabulous naked, one of the more esoteric benefits of a qigong workout is that it promotes the free flow of chi (“life-force” or “energy”). According to Chinese medicine, chi moves the blood, which has obvious advantages in the bedroom.
“If chi is flowing better through your arms and legs, you can bet it’s going to be flowing better through your genitals,” says Palm Springs tai chi/qigong trainer Scott Cole, creator of the Breath & Chi Kung DVD. “It’s like opening up the pipes.”
The theory is that blocked chi causes illness, stress and tension, which can certainly put a damper on desire, not to mention performance.
“If your chi is blocked, your joints and muscles can be tight.” Cole explains. And you're probably not breathing very deeply.
“Shallow breathers tend to have more shallow orgasms or they orgasm infrequently or not at all,” he says.
People who do a lot of qigong report more explosive (even multiple) orgasms. And for guys (and the women who sleep with them), there’s the added benefit of rock-hard erections that last longer and spring back faster for an encore performance.
“I’m 47 and I get erections like I’m 22,” Cole says. ‘Nuff said.
4. Cardio Striptease
What’s involved: A sexy dance class in which you work your butt − and your shirt − off. OK, we’re kidding about the shirt. In public, keep your clothes on.
But along with the bump-and-grind choreography, you'll learn some moves “to sex up taking off your clothes,” says Tricia Murphy Madden, fitness director for Denali Fitness in Seattle and developer of the Urban Striptease workout.
Bedroom benefits: You can give your guy the lap dance of his life. Besides toning hips, abs, inner thighs and tush, the class is a workout for the spirit.
It will give you the self-confidence to bare all and move your body in sensual ways that strippers have in spades − no matter your body type.
“The people you’d assume at the beginning of class would never be willing to get up in class and perform the routines in front of the others generally will feel comfortable performing at the end,” Madden says.
She loves to tell a story about a student who got up and started dancing in front of an appreciative crowd at a party.
“At that moment she felt sexy, attractive, powerful and strong,” Madden says. “For her, it doesn’t matter what she looks like or what her size is.”
5. Yoga
What’s involved: A mat workout that focuses on stretching and flexibility, yoga takes you through a series of poses (called asanas) while you concentrate on controlling your breathing.
If you’re new to yoga, look for “gentle,” “stretch” or “flexibility” classes. If you’ve done it before, try vinyasa or step up the pace to give you a cardio workout too.
Bedroom benefits: You know the Kama Sutra, the book of sex positions for people made of rubber?
It was written for “people actively doing yoga,” says Bethany Lyons, regional group fitness manager for Crunch, New York, and creator of the Yoga Body Sculpt DVD.
Even if you never twist yourself into a pretzel, regular practice can stretch muscles and make them more flexible, so you can easily rest your ankles on your partner’s shoulders without pulling a hamstring. Or get a wider, um... spread that you can hold for a while.
“The key to enjoying sex in any position is to be comfortable in it,” Lyons says. “If you’re shaking or feeling overextended, there’s nothing relaxing or sexy about that.”
6. Pilates
What’s involved: Most Pilates classes focus on the mat workout, though you might find some that still make use of the traditional Pilates machines, called reformers.
The floor exercises, which incorporate many movements from yoga, use your own body weight for resistance training to tone muscles without adding bulk. (Think about the long, lean limbs of a dancer’s body.)
“Pilates really targets women’s trouble spots: the hips, the abs, the thighs, the waist,” says Kristin McGee, creator of the MTV Pilates and Pilates for Beginners DVDs.
Bedroom benefits: By strengthening your core – which includes everything from shoulders to butt − Pilates also reinforces your pelvic floor muscles, the same ones you use in Kegel squeezes.
That yields huge dividends in the bedroom because an orgasm is essentially your pelvic floor in spasms. When those muscles are toned and strong, you get intense, shuddering waves of pleasure during a climax.
“If you can lift and contract your pelvic floor, you can feel more,” she says.
Not sure what she’s talking about? Think of inserting a tampon.
“You want to pull the tampon in and up,” McGee says. “You want to keep on developing that lift through your transverse abdominal muscles. And you want to work your inner thighs, which are also connected to your pelvic floor.”
That inner thigh-pelvic floor strength will heighten your pleasure, especially if you’re on top. That’s because “you’re going to be lifting that pelvic floor and working your clitoris by using your inner thigh and leg muscles to rock forward and back,” McGee says.
Got that? It’ll lead to really deep or multiple orgasms.
7. Samba
What’s involved: You can learn the samba, the national dance of Brazil, at a ballroom studio class, gym or from a DVD. In lessons with a partner, you’ll get skilled in moving together − and carry that newfound knowledge from the dance floor to the bedroom.
Bedroom benefits: Samba is incredibly sexy and flirtatious to start with; there’s even a movement called the Belly Button Bump that symbolizes having sex. The dance is all about moving your hips around − side to side, front to back and in circles − which focuses on the pelvis.
Learning how to make hip circles "stirs up awareness of that area, increases strength and flexibility, and can really help stimulate fun in the bedroom,” says Kimberley Miguel Mullen, a dance professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles and creator of the Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body DVD. Samba is the basis for her workout.
“The exercises help you learn the movements, which in turn can increase your sexual fun,” she says.
There may be something to the bump and grind. “The running joke is that babies born in October were conceived during Carnival,” Mullen says.
Presumably to parents who did an awful lot of samba.
How Sexually Adventurous Are You?
Would you, could you in the dark? How 'bout in a car? Or in the restroom of a crowded bar? Just how sexually adventurous are you? Take our sex quiz to find out.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
Skin condition linked to cancer risk: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with the skin condition atopic dermatitis may be at greater risk of getting cancer than those without it, new research hints.
But it's unclear whether this increased risk is related to the medication patients take for the condition, or the condition itself, the researchers emphasize.
Atopic dermatitis is a type of eczema, or skin inflammation, that arises from an allergic reaction. It affects roughly 20 percent of children, according to the National Institutes of Health, but often goes away in adulthood. It causes itchy rashes that get crusty and scaly with scratching.
There have been conflicting theories about whether these kinds of frequent rashes that drive the immune system into action would make it more or less likely for someone with atopic dermatitis to develop cancer.
To investigate, Dr. Alejandro Arana, of the Bridgewater, New Jersey-based company Risk Management Resources and colleagues analyzed the medical records of about 4.5 million people in the UK and followed their medical history for an average of almost 7 years.
They report, in the British Journal of Dermatology, that about 1.5 percent of those individuals had atopic dermatitis and just under 3 percent were diagnosed with some kind of cancer during the study period. People in the study with atopic dermatitis were on average 12 to 15 years younger than those without atopic dermatitis.
Overall, people without atopic dermatitis were more likely to get cancer than people with the skin condition. There were 129,272 first cancer cases in people without atopic dermatitis (about 33 cases per 10,000 persons per year) and 700 first cancer cases (about 42 cases per 10,000 persons per year) in those with atopic dermatitis.
But when the investigators took out the effect of age differences and looked within each specific age group, the pattern switched. At every age, the rate of cancer was higher among patients with atopic dermatitis.
That general pattern held when Arana and his colleagues looked specifically at lymphoma, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancer. When examined by age group, people with atopic dermatitis were about 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with some kind of cancer during the study than people without atopic dermatitis.
But the results don't prove that having atopic dermatitis causes cancer, the investigators emphasize.
"These are difficult studies to do well and sometimes it's difficult to understand what they mean," Dr. David Margolis, a dermatologist at the University of Pennsylvania Health System who was not involved with the study told Reuters Health. Among patients with atopic dermatitis, the overall cancer risk was still low, he emphasized. "I think people just need to put their results in perspective," he said.
"The age specific risk differences seen in this study are small," Arana told Reuters Health in an email, "but doctors should always be aware of recent investigations and take cancer primary prevention measures in (atopic dermatitis) patients."
The findings also don't separate the effect of medication from the effect of the skin condition itself. Typical treatment for atopic dermatitis includes hydrocortisone lotions, wet dressings, and sometimes prescription medications. In 2005, the FDA issued an advisory that two of these medications, Elidel and Protopic, might carry a cancer risk.
The current study was funded by a grant from the pharmaceutical company Novartis, which markets Elidel, and two of its co-authors are Novartis employees.
Arana said that this study should be taken in the larger context of research on the possible link between atopic dermatitis and cancer. "We cannot establish a cause and effect relationship from one study alone," he told Reuters Health. "Each study should be seen as a brick in the wall of knowledge."
"This is another helpful study along the way that might help (give) some clarity in the future," Margolis added.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/tuf93m British Journal of Dermatology, online June 9, 2010.
But it's unclear whether this increased risk is related to the medication patients take for the condition, or the condition itself, the researchers emphasize.
Atopic dermatitis is a type of eczema, or skin inflammation, that arises from an allergic reaction. It affects roughly 20 percent of children, according to the National Institutes of Health, but often goes away in adulthood. It causes itchy rashes that get crusty and scaly with scratching.
There have been conflicting theories about whether these kinds of frequent rashes that drive the immune system into action would make it more or less likely for someone with atopic dermatitis to develop cancer.
To investigate, Dr. Alejandro Arana, of the Bridgewater, New Jersey-based company Risk Management Resources and colleagues analyzed the medical records of about 4.5 million people in the UK and followed their medical history for an average of almost 7 years.
They report, in the British Journal of Dermatology, that about 1.5 percent of those individuals had atopic dermatitis and just under 3 percent were diagnosed with some kind of cancer during the study period. People in the study with atopic dermatitis were on average 12 to 15 years younger than those without atopic dermatitis.
Overall, people without atopic dermatitis were more likely to get cancer than people with the skin condition. There were 129,272 first cancer cases in people without atopic dermatitis (about 33 cases per 10,000 persons per year) and 700 first cancer cases (about 42 cases per 10,000 persons per year) in those with atopic dermatitis.
But when the investigators took out the effect of age differences and looked within each specific age group, the pattern switched. At every age, the rate of cancer was higher among patients with atopic dermatitis.
That general pattern held when Arana and his colleagues looked specifically at lymphoma, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancer. When examined by age group, people with atopic dermatitis were about 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with some kind of cancer during the study than people without atopic dermatitis.
But the results don't prove that having atopic dermatitis causes cancer, the investigators emphasize.
"These are difficult studies to do well and sometimes it's difficult to understand what they mean," Dr. David Margolis, a dermatologist at the University of Pennsylvania Health System who was not involved with the study told Reuters Health. Among patients with atopic dermatitis, the overall cancer risk was still low, he emphasized. "I think people just need to put their results in perspective," he said.
"The age specific risk differences seen in this study are small," Arana told Reuters Health in an email, "but doctors should always be aware of recent investigations and take cancer primary prevention measures in (atopic dermatitis) patients."
The findings also don't separate the effect of medication from the effect of the skin condition itself. Typical treatment for atopic dermatitis includes hydrocortisone lotions, wet dressings, and sometimes prescription medications. In 2005, the FDA issued an advisory that two of these medications, Elidel and Protopic, might carry a cancer risk.
The current study was funded by a grant from the pharmaceutical company Novartis, which markets Elidel, and two of its co-authors are Novartis employees.
Arana said that this study should be taken in the larger context of research on the possible link between atopic dermatitis and cancer. "We cannot establish a cause and effect relationship from one study alone," he told Reuters Health. "Each study should be seen as a brick in the wall of knowledge."
"This is another helpful study along the way that might help (give) some clarity in the future," Margolis added.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/tuf93m British Journal of Dermatology, online June 9, 2010.
Nine in 10 Americans eat too much salt: CDC
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nine out of 10 Americans eat too much salt with most of them getting more than twice the recommended amount, according to a survey by U.S. government researchers.
They said an estimated 77 percent of dietary sodium comes from processed foods and restaurant foods.
"Sodium has become so pervasive in our food supply that it's difficult for the vast majority of Americans to stay within recommended limits," said Janelle Peralez Gunn, public health analyst with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who led the study of salt consumption.
"Public health professionals, together with food manufacturers, retailers and healthcare providers, must take action now to help support people's efforts to reduce their sodium consumption," Peralez Gunn said in a statement.
The study said most Americans consume 3,466 milligrams of sodium a day, more than twice the recommended limit. Much of the excess sodium comes from foods like pizza, cookies and meats, it said.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Proposed new guidelines for 2010 would lower that to 1,500 mg.
Eating too much salt can raise blood pressure, which can cause kidney failure and strokes. The Institute of Medicine in February declared high blood pressure a "neglected disease" that costs the U.S. health system $73 billion a year.
According to the CDC survey, grain-based foods account for the biggest proportion of salt in the American diet, providing 36.9 percent of the total average intake of 3,466 milligrams.
That is followed by foods containing meat, chicken and fish, which account for 27.9 percent.
Together, these two categories account for nearly two-thirds of the daily salt intake in the American diet, the team said.
The survey, published in the CDC's weekly report on death and disease, is the latest from government researchers looking at sodium intake in the U.S. diet.
In April, the Institute of Medicine called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of salt added to foods to help Americans cut salt.
The FDA has not decided whether to force food companies to cut the salt but many have taken the hint and begun cutting the salt from their foods voluntarily.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/suf93m Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 25, 2010.
They said an estimated 77 percent of dietary sodium comes from processed foods and restaurant foods.
"Sodium has become so pervasive in our food supply that it's difficult for the vast majority of Americans to stay within recommended limits," said Janelle Peralez Gunn, public health analyst with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who led the study of salt consumption.
"Public health professionals, together with food manufacturers, retailers and healthcare providers, must take action now to help support people's efforts to reduce their sodium consumption," Peralez Gunn said in a statement.
The study said most Americans consume 3,466 milligrams of sodium a day, more than twice the recommended limit. Much of the excess sodium comes from foods like pizza, cookies and meats, it said.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Proposed new guidelines for 2010 would lower that to 1,500 mg.
Eating too much salt can raise blood pressure, which can cause kidney failure and strokes. The Institute of Medicine in February declared high blood pressure a "neglected disease" that costs the U.S. health system $73 billion a year.
According to the CDC survey, grain-based foods account for the biggest proportion of salt in the American diet, providing 36.9 percent of the total average intake of 3,466 milligrams.
That is followed by foods containing meat, chicken and fish, which account for 27.9 percent.
Together, these two categories account for nearly two-thirds of the daily salt intake in the American diet, the team said.
The survey, published in the CDC's weekly report on death and disease, is the latest from government researchers looking at sodium intake in the U.S. diet.
In April, the Institute of Medicine called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of salt added to foods to help Americans cut salt.
The FDA has not decided whether to force food companies to cut the salt but many have taken the hint and begun cutting the salt from their foods voluntarily.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/suf93m Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 25, 2010.
13 Ways to Prevent Diabetes
About 25% of Americans are at risk for getting type 2 diabetes – and most of us have no idea. A poor diet, not exercising enough, even aging raise our likelihood. Fortunately, changing daily habits make a big difference. Read on for 13 tips to avoid this chronic disease…
How serious a health problem is type 2 diabetes, the most common form of this incurable disease? Very. About 24 million people in the U.S. have it, and by 2034, that number will jump to 44 million, says University of Chicago researchers in a new study.
Besides affecting our families, they expect this disease to create a major strain on the U.S. health system, costing $336 billion per year by 2034.
Why the increase? Blame the rise in obesity.
“Women who are overweight or obese are more at risk,” says Josefina Diaz, M.D., chief of endocrinology at Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago.
Aging, especially after 45, and being physically inactive are other major factors.
While there’s no cure once you get it, cheap, easy lifestyle changes may prevent it.
That’s good news for the more than 57 million people in the U.S. who have pre-diabetes (higher than normal blood sugar levels that could lead to the disease), according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Will changing routine really make a difference? Yes!
In fact, major diet and exercise changes reduced risk for 58% of people with pre-diabetes, according to a 10-year Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) by the National Institutes of Health.
To stay safe, first learn how this disorder works: With type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar), or your cells ignore it. We need insulin to change food into energy. Without it, sugar stays in the bloodstream and, at high levels, causes diabetes, which can then turn into other problems.
“It can lead to heart attack and stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, many types of cancers and complications including blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation,” says Fred Vagnini, M.D., medical director of The Heart, Weight Loss and Diabetes Center in New York and author of The Weight Loss Plan for Beating Diabetes (Fair Winds Press).
Read on for the latest studies and expert-recommended guidelines on how to stop this disease before it starts:
1. Get moving
Physical activity lowers blood sugar and boosts your sensitivity to insulin. Research shows both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but you’ll get the best benefits if you do various types of exercise, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
The ADA recommends a half-hour of mild aerobic activity (like dancing or tennis) five times per week, based on results from a landmark, 16-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health, which found that even brisk daily walking reduces risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%.
Why resistance training? Because muscle is a good absorber of blood sugar (which gets it out of the bloodstream).
Do a full-body workout – engaging chest, back, butt and legs – for 30 minutes twice a week, according to Melina Jampolis, M.D., a member of the CNN Health team.
If that doesn’t fit your schedule, exercise for 10 minutes each day, varying your routine.
“You need to challenge yourself and change things up to keep getting a benefit from it,” she says.
You don’t have to hit the gym, adds Howard Shapiro, M.D., whose latest book Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture-Perfect Weight Loss (Harlequin) is out this month. He says activities like cleaning the house and carrying groceries help too.
2. Go for whole grains
White bread, white rice and potatoes aren’t just bad for our waistlines: They all have a high glycemic index, which can cause spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.
“There’s no question that refined carbs, like white flour and sugar, increase your risk of diabetes,” Jampolis says. Studies, including the large Shanghai Women’s Health Study in China (that followed 75,000 women), found that women whose diets had the highest glycemic index had a 21% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those whose diets had a low glycemic index.
Cutting carbs and switching to whole grains can help.
Whole-grain bread, pasta and cereals – but not the sugary kind – are all good when it comes to diabetes prevention, because they slow down carb absorption.
Studying 160,000 nurses in two studies, Harvard School of Public Health researchers found those who averaged 2-3 servings of whole grains a day were 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate whole grains.
You may also want to take a fiber supplement, such as Metamucil (but again, choose sugar free).
Can’t give up carbs? Read on…
3. Pour a spoonful of vinegar
Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day lowers the blood sugar surge you get eating from eating carbs, thereby lowering your blood sugar, according to a series of studies by Carol Johnston, Ph.D., professor and director of the Nutrition Program at Arizona State University.
And no, you don’t need to take it straight. Johnston recommends making a vinaigrette with 2 parts vinegar to 1 part olive oil (avoid bottled dressings, which have the opposite ratio) and starting your dinner with vinaigrette-dressed salad or steamed vegetables.
4. Spice it up
In an often-quoted 2003 study, Pakistani researchers along with Richard Anderson, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found even 1 gram of cinnamon daily reduces blood sugar.
Subsequent U.S. studies haven’t confirmed the benefits of the spice or cinnamon supplements, but diabetes experts still recommend adding it to your diet.
“It can’t hurt, sprinkled on toast or whatever,” Johnston says.
5. Drink more coffee
Hold on to your mugs: An 18-year, 125,000-participant study (84,276 were women) by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that women who drank six or more cups of coffee per day reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 30% – although that much coffee can pose other health risks.
Coffee has lots of antioxidants, including chlorogenic acid and magnesium (which can improve sensitivity to insulin), and was found to be better than decaffeinated coffee, though decaf also had some positive effects.
6. Eat your veggies
Experts differ on the best diet to keep diabetes at bay, but all agree you should eat vegetables – and some fruits, beans, nuts and seeds too.
Jampolis suggests following an anti-inflammatory diet – whole grains, fruits and vegetables – and avoiding trans fats, chemicals and processed foods. Vagnini proposes a low-carb, low-salt version of the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fish, healthy fats like olive oil and spices.
The ADA recommends a nutrient-dense diet (high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and low in saturated and trans fats) that promotes weight control.
7. Trade meat for soy
If red meat is your main source of protein, replace some of your standbys with soy-based foods, like tofu dishes and soy burgers.
If that’s hard to swallow, consider this: A major study evaluating more than 37,000 women, conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, found that eating red meat increases risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Processed meats like hot dogs were found to further increase risk in the 8.8-year study.
By contrast, soy has major benefits.
“Soy protein helps regulate glucose and insulin levels, promotes weight loss because it’s low calorie, has no saturated fat and lowers high cholesterol,” Shapiro says. He recommends 25-40 grams of soy products daily.
8. Skip the sweet drinks
Drinking large quantities of sugar in a few quick gulps creates a blast your body may not be able to handle.
In a Harvard study following 90,000 female nurses over eight years, those who had one or more servings a day of sugar-sweetened soft drinks or fruit punch were twice as likely to develop diabetes. (Weight gain from the drinks was a factor too.)
Diet soda can make you hungrier and leave you craving sugar, says Vagnini.
9. Reduce stress
Although research is underway to determine if stress raises blood sugars, many experts believe it does, including Richard Surwit, Ph.D., the chief of medical psychology at the Duke University Medical Center, who wrote a book about managing emotions to control blood sugar, The Mind-Body Diabetes Revolution (Da Capo Press).
What helps? “I encourage prayer, meditation, yoga and any kind of emotional healing,” Vagnini says.
10. Soak up some sun
Vitamin D, which we get from sun exposure, plays a role in insulin sensitivity and secretion, leading researchers at Loyola University Chicago to conclude it may prevent or delay the onset of diabetes – and reduce complications for those already diagnosed.
If you’re reducing sun time, other good sources are low-fat dairy, milk and fish. Or take vitamin D supplements. Vagnini recommends 5,000 units per day in tablet form to his patients, but consult your doctor to find the right dose for you.
11. Get your zzz’s
Not getting enough sleep increases hunger, which leads to weight gain and, you guessed it, raises your risk of getting diabetes.
Women need at least seven hours of sleep per night, according to Diaz. Click here for 12 sleep tips.
12. Toss your cigs
Smokers are about 50% more likely to develop diabetes than nonsmokers – and heavy smokers have an even higher risk, according to the landmark Harvard School of Public Health study. Are you ready to quit smoking?
13. Check your levels
The ADA recommends blood glucose screening for everyone 45 and older. Generally, this testing is repeated every three years. But if you have known risk factors (like high blood pressure or obesity), discuss them with your doctor – she may want to test you earlier or more frequently.
Visit our Diabetes Health Center for more information.
Fran Golden is a Boston-based freelance writer.
How serious a health problem is type 2 diabetes, the most common form of this incurable disease? Very. About 24 million people in the U.S. have it, and by 2034, that number will jump to 44 million, says University of Chicago researchers in a new study.
Besides affecting our families, they expect this disease to create a major strain on the U.S. health system, costing $336 billion per year by 2034.
Why the increase? Blame the rise in obesity.
“Women who are overweight or obese are more at risk,” says Josefina Diaz, M.D., chief of endocrinology at Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago.
Aging, especially after 45, and being physically inactive are other major factors.
While there’s no cure once you get it, cheap, easy lifestyle changes may prevent it.
That’s good news for the more than 57 million people in the U.S. who have pre-diabetes (higher than normal blood sugar levels that could lead to the disease), according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Will changing routine really make a difference? Yes!
In fact, major diet and exercise changes reduced risk for 58% of people with pre-diabetes, according to a 10-year Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) by the National Institutes of Health.
To stay safe, first learn how this disorder works: With type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar), or your cells ignore it. We need insulin to change food into energy. Without it, sugar stays in the bloodstream and, at high levels, causes diabetes, which can then turn into other problems.
“It can lead to heart attack and stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, many types of cancers and complications including blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation,” says Fred Vagnini, M.D., medical director of The Heart, Weight Loss and Diabetes Center in New York and author of The Weight Loss Plan for Beating Diabetes (Fair Winds Press).
Read on for the latest studies and expert-recommended guidelines on how to stop this disease before it starts:
1. Get moving
Physical activity lowers blood sugar and boosts your sensitivity to insulin. Research shows both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but you’ll get the best benefits if you do various types of exercise, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
The ADA recommends a half-hour of mild aerobic activity (like dancing or tennis) five times per week, based on results from a landmark, 16-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health, which found that even brisk daily walking reduces risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%.
Why resistance training? Because muscle is a good absorber of blood sugar (which gets it out of the bloodstream).
Do a full-body workout – engaging chest, back, butt and legs – for 30 minutes twice a week, according to Melina Jampolis, M.D., a member of the CNN Health team.
If that doesn’t fit your schedule, exercise for 10 minutes each day, varying your routine.
“You need to challenge yourself and change things up to keep getting a benefit from it,” she says.
You don’t have to hit the gym, adds Howard Shapiro, M.D., whose latest book Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture-Perfect Weight Loss (Harlequin) is out this month. He says activities like cleaning the house and carrying groceries help too.
2. Go for whole grains
White bread, white rice and potatoes aren’t just bad for our waistlines: They all have a high glycemic index, which can cause spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.
“There’s no question that refined carbs, like white flour and sugar, increase your risk of diabetes,” Jampolis says. Studies, including the large Shanghai Women’s Health Study in China (that followed 75,000 women), found that women whose diets had the highest glycemic index had a 21% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those whose diets had a low glycemic index.
Cutting carbs and switching to whole grains can help.
Whole-grain bread, pasta and cereals – but not the sugary kind – are all good when it comes to diabetes prevention, because they slow down carb absorption.
Studying 160,000 nurses in two studies, Harvard School of Public Health researchers found those who averaged 2-3 servings of whole grains a day were 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate whole grains.
You may also want to take a fiber supplement, such as Metamucil (but again, choose sugar free).
Can’t give up carbs? Read on…
3. Pour a spoonful of vinegar
Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day lowers the blood sugar surge you get eating from eating carbs, thereby lowering your blood sugar, according to a series of studies by Carol Johnston, Ph.D., professor and director of the Nutrition Program at Arizona State University.
And no, you don’t need to take it straight. Johnston recommends making a vinaigrette with 2 parts vinegar to 1 part olive oil (avoid bottled dressings, which have the opposite ratio) and starting your dinner with vinaigrette-dressed salad or steamed vegetables.
4. Spice it up
In an often-quoted 2003 study, Pakistani researchers along with Richard Anderson, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found even 1 gram of cinnamon daily reduces blood sugar.
Subsequent U.S. studies haven’t confirmed the benefits of the spice or cinnamon supplements, but diabetes experts still recommend adding it to your diet.
“It can’t hurt, sprinkled on toast or whatever,” Johnston says.
5. Drink more coffee
Hold on to your mugs: An 18-year, 125,000-participant study (84,276 were women) by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that women who drank six or more cups of coffee per day reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 30% – although that much coffee can pose other health risks.
Coffee has lots of antioxidants, including chlorogenic acid and magnesium (which can improve sensitivity to insulin), and was found to be better than decaffeinated coffee, though decaf also had some positive effects.
6. Eat your veggies
Experts differ on the best diet to keep diabetes at bay, but all agree you should eat vegetables – and some fruits, beans, nuts and seeds too.
Jampolis suggests following an anti-inflammatory diet – whole grains, fruits and vegetables – and avoiding trans fats, chemicals and processed foods. Vagnini proposes a low-carb, low-salt version of the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fish, healthy fats like olive oil and spices.
The ADA recommends a nutrient-dense diet (high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and low in saturated and trans fats) that promotes weight control.
7. Trade meat for soy
If red meat is your main source of protein, replace some of your standbys with soy-based foods, like tofu dishes and soy burgers.
If that’s hard to swallow, consider this: A major study evaluating more than 37,000 women, conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, found that eating red meat increases risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Processed meats like hot dogs were found to further increase risk in the 8.8-year study.
By contrast, soy has major benefits.
“Soy protein helps regulate glucose and insulin levels, promotes weight loss because it’s low calorie, has no saturated fat and lowers high cholesterol,” Shapiro says. He recommends 25-40 grams of soy products daily.
8. Skip the sweet drinks
Drinking large quantities of sugar in a few quick gulps creates a blast your body may not be able to handle.
In a Harvard study following 90,000 female nurses over eight years, those who had one or more servings a day of sugar-sweetened soft drinks or fruit punch were twice as likely to develop diabetes. (Weight gain from the drinks was a factor too.)
Diet soda can make you hungrier and leave you craving sugar, says Vagnini.
9. Reduce stress
Although research is underway to determine if stress raises blood sugars, many experts believe it does, including Richard Surwit, Ph.D., the chief of medical psychology at the Duke University Medical Center, who wrote a book about managing emotions to control blood sugar, The Mind-Body Diabetes Revolution (Da Capo Press).
What helps? “I encourage prayer, meditation, yoga and any kind of emotional healing,” Vagnini says.
10. Soak up some sun
Vitamin D, which we get from sun exposure, plays a role in insulin sensitivity and secretion, leading researchers at Loyola University Chicago to conclude it may prevent or delay the onset of diabetes – and reduce complications for those already diagnosed.
If you’re reducing sun time, other good sources are low-fat dairy, milk and fish. Or take vitamin D supplements. Vagnini recommends 5,000 units per day in tablet form to his patients, but consult your doctor to find the right dose for you.
11. Get your zzz’s
Not getting enough sleep increases hunger, which leads to weight gain and, you guessed it, raises your risk of getting diabetes.
Women need at least seven hours of sleep per night, according to Diaz. Click here for 12 sleep tips.
12. Toss your cigs
Smokers are about 50% more likely to develop diabetes than nonsmokers – and heavy smokers have an even higher risk, according to the landmark Harvard School of Public Health study. Are you ready to quit smoking?
13. Check your levels
The ADA recommends blood glucose screening for everyone 45 and older. Generally, this testing is repeated every three years. But if you have known risk factors (like high blood pressure or obesity), discuss them with your doctor – she may want to test you earlier or more frequently.
Visit our Diabetes Health Center for more information.
Fran Golden is a Boston-based freelance writer.
Run, Run, Run with Cherry Juice
Diet Tip
Listen up, runners! Drinking cherry juice may help you ease the pain of muscle damage or injury. Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University tracked 60 healthy adults between 18 to 50 years old, and found those who drank 10.5 ounces of 100% cherry juice twice a day for seven days experienced significantly less muscle pain after running relays.
Antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins give cherries their bright red color and give them natural anti-inflammation power. After a hard workout, cherries may work like common medicines in soothing inflamed muscles. Researchers say that runners may be able to forgo doses of Advil and Excedrin painkillers that can create long-term liver problems.
Listen up, runners! Drinking cherry juice may help you ease the pain of muscle damage or injury. Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University tracked 60 healthy adults between 18 to 50 years old, and found those who drank 10.5 ounces of 100% cherry juice twice a day for seven days experienced significantly less muscle pain after running relays.
Antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins give cherries their bright red color and give them natural anti-inflammation power. After a hard workout, cherries may work like common medicines in soothing inflamed muscles. Researchers say that runners may be able to forgo doses of Advil and Excedrin painkillers that can create long-term liver problems.
Surviving a stroke--without statins
The relentless march of the statins continues... with yet another new study trying to scare more people into taking these needless cholesterol meds.
Researchers say nearly 20 percent of all stroke patients don't get statin prescriptions after that brush with death –-despite guidelines that call for these meds for every single one of them.
But who cares about the guidelines--because the real answer to surviving a stroke isn't in how many pills you pop... it's in how you change your life afterwards.
In the new study, researchers looked at data on 173,284 stroke patients hospitalized between January 2005 and December 2007, and found that 83.5 percent were given cholesterol meds overall.
The numbers rose over time, with 75.7 percent of patients given the statins at the start of the study, and nearly 85 percent by the end, according to the research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Naturally, this study didn't compare the statin-free stroke patients to those who were given the meds... or lifestyle changes versus drugs. They just accept as a given that every single stroke patient should be given a statin prescription.
But what if that just wasn't true?
After all, there are plenty of studies that show how bad these meds are... and the news gets worse with each new paper that gets published. The latest study, published in the British Medical Journal, finds shockingly high levels of kidney failure, liver disorders, cataracts and debilitating –-and possibly permanent--muscle problems.
Even studies on stroke survivors have revealed plenty of reasons not to gulp down these pills. One study found statins can increase the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke in stroke survivors by up to 60 percent, and a 2006 study found that statin-swallowers don't live any longer than those who don't take these meds.
Remember, people were surviving strokes long before statins were ever approved. And there's not a single thing a cholesterol med can do for you that you can't do on your own with simple common-sense (and side-effect free) dietary and lifestyle changes.
Of course, one of the keys to living a long and healthy life after a stroke is recognizing that you've had one in the first place.
Immediate treatment is far more important than any drugs your doc may want to give you afterwards... but too many people don't know when to seek that treatment or how to get it.
A new survey out of Michigan finds that only 14 percent of people would call 911 for three typical stroke symptoms. And even among people who knew these were stroke symptoms, just 17.6 percent said they'd make that call.
And remember, 911 is definitely the number to call--don't waste time talking to your doctor's receptionist, and don't drive yourself or let someone else drive you to the emergency room.
If you've ever walked into an ER, you know how it is--you can waste crucial time just trying to get someone to talk to you.
Arrive in an ambulance, however, and you go to the front of the line. Not only that, but your potentially life-saving treatment can begin the moment the paramedics arrive.
Typical stroke symptoms include slurred speech, numbness on one side of the body or in the face, sudden vision problems, difficulty walking or talking, confusion and a sudden--and quite severe--headache.
If you experience any of those (or some combination of them), don't waste time--call 911. Get immediate help... then turn your life around and avoid a second stroke the right way.
P.S. For more on the natural road to recovery, click here to read "Fighting back after stroke."
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Researchers say nearly 20 percent of all stroke patients don't get statin prescriptions after that brush with death –-despite guidelines that call for these meds for every single one of them.
But who cares about the guidelines--because the real answer to surviving a stroke isn't in how many pills you pop... it's in how you change your life afterwards.
In the new study, researchers looked at data on 173,284 stroke patients hospitalized between January 2005 and December 2007, and found that 83.5 percent were given cholesterol meds overall.
The numbers rose over time, with 75.7 percent of patients given the statins at the start of the study, and nearly 85 percent by the end, according to the research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Naturally, this study didn't compare the statin-free stroke patients to those who were given the meds... or lifestyle changes versus drugs. They just accept as a given that every single stroke patient should be given a statin prescription.
But what if that just wasn't true?
After all, there are plenty of studies that show how bad these meds are... and the news gets worse with each new paper that gets published. The latest study, published in the British Medical Journal, finds shockingly high levels of kidney failure, liver disorders, cataracts and debilitating –-and possibly permanent--muscle problems.
Even studies on stroke survivors have revealed plenty of reasons not to gulp down these pills. One study found statins can increase the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke in stroke survivors by up to 60 percent, and a 2006 study found that statin-swallowers don't live any longer than those who don't take these meds.
Remember, people were surviving strokes long before statins were ever approved. And there's not a single thing a cholesterol med can do for you that you can't do on your own with simple common-sense (and side-effect free) dietary and lifestyle changes.
Of course, one of the keys to living a long and healthy life after a stroke is recognizing that you've had one in the first place.
Immediate treatment is far more important than any drugs your doc may want to give you afterwards... but too many people don't know when to seek that treatment or how to get it.
A new survey out of Michigan finds that only 14 percent of people would call 911 for three typical stroke symptoms. And even among people who knew these were stroke symptoms, just 17.6 percent said they'd make that call.
And remember, 911 is definitely the number to call--don't waste time talking to your doctor's receptionist, and don't drive yourself or let someone else drive you to the emergency room.
If you've ever walked into an ER, you know how it is--you can waste crucial time just trying to get someone to talk to you.
Arrive in an ambulance, however, and you go to the front of the line. Not only that, but your potentially life-saving treatment can begin the moment the paramedics arrive.
Typical stroke symptoms include slurred speech, numbness on one side of the body or in the face, sudden vision problems, difficulty walking or talking, confusion and a sudden--and quite severe--headache.
If you experience any of those (or some combination of them), don't waste time--call 911. Get immediate help... then turn your life around and avoid a second stroke the right way.
P.S. For more on the natural road to recovery, click here to read "Fighting back after stroke."
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Emergency Room Visits to Rise Under Obamacare: Report
Supporters of President Obama’s healthcare reform plan said one benefit would be a reduction in emergency room visits for nonemergency treatment — but the opposite will likely be the case, according to a new report.
The premise touted by proponents of the reform was that Americans who lack healthcare insurance and cannot afford to see a private physician often seek treatment at a hospital emergency room — which cannot turn them away — and then fail to pay their bill.
The thinking went that the 32 million to 34 million currently uninsured people would receive coverage and be able to obtain treatment from a private physician or clinic.
But John C. Goodman, president and CEO at the National Center for Policy Analysis, states: “More people are likely to turn to the emergency room for their healthcare and they are likely to do so more frequently under the new health reform legislation.”
He notes that about half of the newly insured will enroll in Medicaid, and Medicaid patients seek emergency room care more often than the uninsured.
The reason, Goodman suggests, is that Medicaid fees are so low that patients have trouble finding private physicians willing to see them, and find that emergency rooms are the only place where they can receive care.
Also, the reform plan makes no provision for creating more healthcare providers, so as the newly insured seek to increase their access to healthcare, many are likely to turn to emergency rooms when they cannot get care at a doctor’s office.
Goodman points to Massachusetts, which cut the number of uninsured in half by enrolling residents in Medicaid and private insurance plans offered in a health insurance exchange. But no steps were taken to increase the number of healthcare providers, and as a result, the wait to see a new doctor in Boston is twice as long as in any other U.S. city.
Goodman also notes: “The use of emergency rooms for nonemergency care in Massachusetts today is as great as or greater than it was before the state health reform was adopted.”
The premise touted by proponents of the reform was that Americans who lack healthcare insurance and cannot afford to see a private physician often seek treatment at a hospital emergency room — which cannot turn them away — and then fail to pay their bill.
The thinking went that the 32 million to 34 million currently uninsured people would receive coverage and be able to obtain treatment from a private physician or clinic.
But John C. Goodman, president and CEO at the National Center for Policy Analysis, states: “More people are likely to turn to the emergency room for their healthcare and they are likely to do so more frequently under the new health reform legislation.”
He notes that about half of the newly insured will enroll in Medicaid, and Medicaid patients seek emergency room care more often than the uninsured.
The reason, Goodman suggests, is that Medicaid fees are so low that patients have trouble finding private physicians willing to see them, and find that emergency rooms are the only place where they can receive care.
Also, the reform plan makes no provision for creating more healthcare providers, so as the newly insured seek to increase their access to healthcare, many are likely to turn to emergency rooms when they cannot get care at a doctor’s office.
Goodman points to Massachusetts, which cut the number of uninsured in half by enrolling residents in Medicaid and private insurance plans offered in a health insurance exchange. But no steps were taken to increase the number of healthcare providers, and as a result, the wait to see a new doctor in Boston is twice as long as in any other U.S. city.
Goodman also notes: “The use of emergency rooms for nonemergency care in Massachusetts today is as great as or greater than it was before the state health reform was adopted.”
Sunday, June 27, 2010
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
I would never walk into a doctor's office without a list of questions and have a copy to give to the doctor.
Hard pills to swallow
Forget the spoonful of sugar--some medicines won't go down no matter what you do.
From good supplements to bad drugs, some of these things look more like horse pills than anything meant for a human throat... and they can fill you with dread before you even pop one into your mouth for that painful journey down to your stomach.
It's not just you--up to 40 percent of Americans have trouble swallowing their meds. And some people who get them down fine most of the time have occasional problems right when they need those pills the most--like when a sore throat keeps you from swallowing your vitamin C.
If you have a pill that looks like it might want to swallow you, there's an easy way to turn the tables--a flavored spray called Pill Glide. It does just what the name implies: It coats your throat so the pill glides down to your tummy, with no lumps and bumps along the way.
Despite the lubricating effect, it contains no oils. And despite the five flavors, it has no sugar--so I feel great about recommending it to all my friends. Those flavors can also help make bad-testing pills a little easier on the palate--so there are no more bitter pills to swallow.
Best of all, Pill Glide is inexpensive, won't interact with your meds and is safe for kids and adults alike.
It's a much better solution than splitting or chewing your meds--two things you shouldn't do in any case. Splitting can cause the pill to crumble, and you could lose some of your dose. And chewing will destroy any coatings that are there to help make sure the pill isn't dissolved too quickly in your stomach.
If you're interested in trying Pill Glide for yourself, I've seen it at CVS, Walgreen's and Publix--but you can take a look at the company's Web site for a full list of stores that carry it.
You won't need that spoonful of sugar after all.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
From good supplements to bad drugs, some of these things look more like horse pills than anything meant for a human throat... and they can fill you with dread before you even pop one into your mouth for that painful journey down to your stomach.
It's not just you--up to 40 percent of Americans have trouble swallowing their meds. And some people who get them down fine most of the time have occasional problems right when they need those pills the most--like when a sore throat keeps you from swallowing your vitamin C.
If you have a pill that looks like it might want to swallow you, there's an easy way to turn the tables--a flavored spray called Pill Glide. It does just what the name implies: It coats your throat so the pill glides down to your tummy, with no lumps and bumps along the way.
Despite the lubricating effect, it contains no oils. And despite the five flavors, it has no sugar--so I feel great about recommending it to all my friends. Those flavors can also help make bad-testing pills a little easier on the palate--so there are no more bitter pills to swallow.
Best of all, Pill Glide is inexpensive, won't interact with your meds and is safe for kids and adults alike.
It's a much better solution than splitting or chewing your meds--two things you shouldn't do in any case. Splitting can cause the pill to crumble, and you could lose some of your dose. And chewing will destroy any coatings that are there to help make sure the pill isn't dissolved too quickly in your stomach.
If you're interested in trying Pill Glide for yourself, I've seen it at CVS, Walgreen's and Publix--but you can take a look at the company's Web site for a full list of stores that carry it.
You won't need that spoonful of sugar after all.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Don't worry--'B' happy
The key to beating back depression might come in bottle... just not the one you're thinking of.
A new study finds that common B vitamins--taken in supplement form--can help seniors lower their risk of depression.
Researchers followed some 3,500 Chicago seniors for an average of 7.2 years, asking them about vitamin B6 and B12 intake from both food and supplements. They were also assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.
And the researchers found what appeared to be a pretty direct relationship between those two B vitamins and depression: Every 10 milligram increase in vitamin B6 and 10 microgram boost in B12 reduced the risk of depression symptoms by 2 percent per year, according to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers say the association held even after they adjusted for smoking, drinking, the death of a spouse, disability, and other problems that might put seniors in the dumps.
But what I found most interesting about this study is that the researchers didn't see any boost in mood from increased B vitamins in food--just supplements. So while you should still strive to get most of your nutrition from your dinner plate, this study is a good reminder that supplements can pick up where your food leaves off.
And that's not all these busy Bs will do for you, because another new study finds that vitamin B6 may help protect against cancer.
The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people with the highest levels of B6 had roughly half the lung cancer risk of those with the lowest levels--and that the benefit held even after adjusting for smokers.
Vitamin B6 has also been linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer and Parkinson's disease, and it may help boost the immune system and keep your blood-sugar levels in check.
Its "B" partner, vitamin B12, is no slouch either. This critical nutrient can help protect you from major psychological disorders, including biggies such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It also plays a key role in memory, and can help boost your energy levels and ward off fatigue.
The best sources of B6 include potatoes, bananas and garbanzo beans, while you can get B12 from meat (especially liver), fish and dairy. But as the new study shows, don't be afraid to get what you need from a supplement, either-- because sometimes, you really can find an answer in a bottle of pills.
And if you're having problems swallowing some of those pills, I've got a solution. Keep reading!
A new study finds that common B vitamins--taken in supplement form--can help seniors lower their risk of depression.
Researchers followed some 3,500 Chicago seniors for an average of 7.2 years, asking them about vitamin B6 and B12 intake from both food and supplements. They were also assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.
And the researchers found what appeared to be a pretty direct relationship between those two B vitamins and depression: Every 10 milligram increase in vitamin B6 and 10 microgram boost in B12 reduced the risk of depression symptoms by 2 percent per year, according to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers say the association held even after they adjusted for smoking, drinking, the death of a spouse, disability, and other problems that might put seniors in the dumps.
But what I found most interesting about this study is that the researchers didn't see any boost in mood from increased B vitamins in food--just supplements. So while you should still strive to get most of your nutrition from your dinner plate, this study is a good reminder that supplements can pick up where your food leaves off.
And that's not all these busy Bs will do for you, because another new study finds that vitamin B6 may help protect against cancer.
The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people with the highest levels of B6 had roughly half the lung cancer risk of those with the lowest levels--and that the benefit held even after adjusting for smokers.
Vitamin B6 has also been linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer and Parkinson's disease, and it may help boost the immune system and keep your blood-sugar levels in check.
Its "B" partner, vitamin B12, is no slouch either. This critical nutrient can help protect you from major psychological disorders, including biggies such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It also plays a key role in memory, and can help boost your energy levels and ward off fatigue.
The best sources of B6 include potatoes, bananas and garbanzo beans, while you can get B12 from meat (especially liver), fish and dairy. But as the new study shows, don't be afraid to get what you need from a supplement, either-- because sometimes, you really can find an answer in a bottle of pills.
And if you're having problems swallowing some of those pills, I've got a solution. Keep reading!
More than a pinch of salt to breathe easier
NEW YORK, (Reuters Life!) - When Svetlana Dushin's mother told her to take her six-year-old daughter who was suffering coughing spells to a salt room she had no hesitations.
Dushin's mother is a doctor and was familiar with salt room therapy, which has been around for hundreds of years. It is popular in Europe but relatively new in the United States.
"She has been a doctor for 35 years and she saw results in kids," said Dushin, who believes the treatment also helped her daughter Alexandra.
After 14 half-hour sessions, Dushin, a 35-year-old New Jersey mother of two, said her borderline asthmatic daughter is no longer coughing and obviously improved.
"She is better. We believe the salt room helped her. We were not looking for an instant cure and it wasn't that. We were looking for something to improve her condition."
Ron Rofe, the founder of Halo/Air Salt Rooms, in New York said salt therapy, or halotherapy, which originated in Eastern Europe, can help people with respiratory and skin ailments.
"The whole microclimate with the right air quality, humidity and salt particles is effective for cleansing the respiratory tract, the skin and the body as a whole," he explained during an interview at his salt rooms in Manhattan.
"Salt is therapeutic. It is a preventative treatment," he added.
SALT EVERYWHERE
Rofe has five specially designed salt rooms at his Manhattan site - two for couples, two for singles and a family room equipped with toys and children's furniture.
Each room, including the walls, ceiling and floor, is completely covered in salt. The floor of each room is covered with salt resembling fine particles of sand. Rooms are also equipped a flat-screen television.
While visitors relax on lounge chairs and take deep breaths salt imported from the Ukraine is atomized by machines and gently pumped periodically into each room during the session, which lasts an hour for adults and a half-hour for children.
Fourteen sessions are recommended for people with breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis, hay fever and cystic fibrosis and skin ailments including acne, psoriasis, eczema and even anti-aging, according to Rofe.
"The whole environment is very relaxing," he said, adding that it is a complementary therapy. "Some people feel the difference after one treatment."
Rofe discovered salt therapy after his mother, who suffered from breathing problems, visited a salt room in Europe. He was so convinced of its benefits he opened three centers in Israel and is considering more in the United States.
The American Asthma Foundation, a national advocacy group that funds innovative research, said salt rooms are an alternative area, and one which it hasn't studied.
But Dushin is undeterred.
"I truly believe it is not a spa treatment," she said. "It actually works. It is very popular in Europe. People come from all over the world to these salt caves because they actually help. But you have to understand it is not an instant cure."
Dushin's mother is a doctor and was familiar with salt room therapy, which has been around for hundreds of years. It is popular in Europe but relatively new in the United States.
"She has been a doctor for 35 years and she saw results in kids," said Dushin, who believes the treatment also helped her daughter Alexandra.
After 14 half-hour sessions, Dushin, a 35-year-old New Jersey mother of two, said her borderline asthmatic daughter is no longer coughing and obviously improved.
"She is better. We believe the salt room helped her. We were not looking for an instant cure and it wasn't that. We were looking for something to improve her condition."
Ron Rofe, the founder of Halo/Air Salt Rooms, in New York said salt therapy, or halotherapy, which originated in Eastern Europe, can help people with respiratory and skin ailments.
"The whole microclimate with the right air quality, humidity and salt particles is effective for cleansing the respiratory tract, the skin and the body as a whole," he explained during an interview at his salt rooms in Manhattan.
"Salt is therapeutic. It is a preventative treatment," he added.
SALT EVERYWHERE
Rofe has five specially designed salt rooms at his Manhattan site - two for couples, two for singles and a family room equipped with toys and children's furniture.
Each room, including the walls, ceiling and floor, is completely covered in salt. The floor of each room is covered with salt resembling fine particles of sand. Rooms are also equipped a flat-screen television.
While visitors relax on lounge chairs and take deep breaths salt imported from the Ukraine is atomized by machines and gently pumped periodically into each room during the session, which lasts an hour for adults and a half-hour for children.
Fourteen sessions are recommended for people with breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis, hay fever and cystic fibrosis and skin ailments including acne, psoriasis, eczema and even anti-aging, according to Rofe.
"The whole environment is very relaxing," he said, adding that it is a complementary therapy. "Some people feel the difference after one treatment."
Rofe discovered salt therapy after his mother, who suffered from breathing problems, visited a salt room in Europe. He was so convinced of its benefits he opened three centers in Israel and is considering more in the United States.
The American Asthma Foundation, a national advocacy group that funds innovative research, said salt rooms are an alternative area, and one which it hasn't studied.
But Dushin is undeterred.
"I truly believe it is not a spa treatment," she said. "It actually works. It is very popular in Europe. People come from all over the world to these salt caves because they actually help. But you have to understand it is not an instant cure."
Smoking not found to affect endometriosis risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smoking may neither raise nor lower a woman's chances of developing endometriosis, one of the most common causes of infertility, a new study suggests.
Endometriosis is a disorder in which pieces of the tissue that lines the uterus (the endometrium) grow outside of the uterus, most often on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, surface of the uterus or lining of the pelvis.
This displaced tissue continues to act like the uterine lining -- responding to the menstrual cycle by thickening, then breaking down and bleeding each month. That can lead to the formation of scar tissue, causing symptoms like pelvic pain, heavy menstrual bleeding and, in some women, infertility.
What causes endometriosis remains a mystery, but estrogen is involved in triggering the monthly buildup and breakdown of endometrial tissue.
Because smoking tends to lower a woman's estrogen levels, researchers have speculated that the habit might lower the risk of developing endometriosis, or at least more-severe endometriosis.
But in the new study, French researchers found that among nearly 1,000 women with and without endometriosis, there was no clear link between current or past smoking and the risk of having the disorder.
The findings remained the same when the researchers separated the women into groups based on endometriosis severity.
Researchers led by Dr. Charles Chapron, of Cochin-Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital in Paris, report the findings in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
The study included 978 women younger than 42 who had been evaluated for endometriosis; 411 were confirmed as having the disorder and had tissue samples examined to determine the severity of the condition.
Of the 411 women with endometriosis, 45 percent were current or former smokers, as were 36 percent of the 567 without endometriosis.
A first look at the data suggested that smoking was linked to an increased risk of endometriosis.
But that connection disappeared when Chapron and his colleagues accounted for other factors, including age, weight and whether a woman had ever had children. (Women who have never had children appear to have higher rates of endometriosis than those who have given birth. And some studies have found that thinner girls and women may have a higher risk than their heavier counterparts.)
Nor was there any evidence that smoking affected the risk of having more-severe, extensive endometriosis.
The study has its limitations, including relying on women's reports of their smoking history. However, the researchers say, that is unlikely to explain the lack of a relationship between smoking and endometriosis risk.
For now, they conclude, the findings suggest that smoking does not, by itself, influence the risk of endometriosis.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/ceb93m Fertility and Sterility, online June 3, 2010.
Endometriosis is a disorder in which pieces of the tissue that lines the uterus (the endometrium) grow outside of the uterus, most often on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, surface of the uterus or lining of the pelvis.
This displaced tissue continues to act like the uterine lining -- responding to the menstrual cycle by thickening, then breaking down and bleeding each month. That can lead to the formation of scar tissue, causing symptoms like pelvic pain, heavy menstrual bleeding and, in some women, infertility.
What causes endometriosis remains a mystery, but estrogen is involved in triggering the monthly buildup and breakdown of endometrial tissue.
Because smoking tends to lower a woman's estrogen levels, researchers have speculated that the habit might lower the risk of developing endometriosis, or at least more-severe endometriosis.
But in the new study, French researchers found that among nearly 1,000 women with and without endometriosis, there was no clear link between current or past smoking and the risk of having the disorder.
The findings remained the same when the researchers separated the women into groups based on endometriosis severity.
Researchers led by Dr. Charles Chapron, of Cochin-Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital in Paris, report the findings in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
The study included 978 women younger than 42 who had been evaluated for endometriosis; 411 were confirmed as having the disorder and had tissue samples examined to determine the severity of the condition.
Of the 411 women with endometriosis, 45 percent were current or former smokers, as were 36 percent of the 567 without endometriosis.
A first look at the data suggested that smoking was linked to an increased risk of endometriosis.
But that connection disappeared when Chapron and his colleagues accounted for other factors, including age, weight and whether a woman had ever had children. (Women who have never had children appear to have higher rates of endometriosis than those who have given birth. And some studies have found that thinner girls and women may have a higher risk than their heavier counterparts.)
Nor was there any evidence that smoking affected the risk of having more-severe, extensive endometriosis.
The study has its limitations, including relying on women's reports of their smoking history. However, the researchers say, that is unlikely to explain the lack of a relationship between smoking and endometriosis risk.
For now, they conclude, the findings suggest that smoking does not, by itself, influence the risk of endometriosis.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/ceb93m Fertility and Sterility, online June 3, 2010.
Doctor-Recommended Tips for Women with ADHD
Daily life is pretty frantic. You’ve lost your keys – for the third time this week. Plus, you found yourself spacing out while the boss was talking to you and you’re way behind on that project. Feeling a bit stupid?
The problem may not be your intelligence. It could be Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects 8%-10% of the world’s population. More than four million women have ADHD and don’t know it, says Patricia Quinn, M.D., a developmental pediatrician and co-founder and director of the National Center for Girls and Women with ADHD in Washington D.C.
So why are women in the dark about ADHD, a brain disorder that can make them more distractible, inattentive or impulsive?
“Women are very good at compensating, coping, staying up late and working very hard. They really suffer silently,” says Quinn, who has authored 20 books on the disorder, including the award-winning Attention, Girls! A Guide to Learning about Your ADHD (Magination Press) and the upcoming 100 Questions and Answers About ADHD in Women and Girls (Jones & Bartlett Learning), which is scheduled for release in October.
In fact, most women don’t find out they have ADHD until 38, about the same time their children are diagnosed.
“They usually get diagnosed when the [stresses in their lives] outweigh their ability to compensate,” Quinn adds.
There’s good news, though: It’s controllable through a combination of behavioral therapies and medication, she says.
In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Quinn discusses her own ADHD, how you can tell if you have it and the best ways for managing life with the disorder.
What’s the difference between ADHD and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)?
Unfortunately, the names are a real issue. They’re used interchangeably and a debate is going on about whether there are two [disorders]. ADHD is the most common.
The AD part is the inattentiveness, daydreaming and not being able to focus on one thing or finish something you started. It affects organization and time management and leads to losing things and being forgetful. Then, there’s hyperactivity.
Many people occasionally have those traits, like forgetfulness. How do you know if they’re severe enough to be ADHD?
Everybody loses their keys once in a while. But when you never can find your keys, that’s the problem. I lock my keys in the car all the time.
I had a policeman at the Washington Monument break into my car because my keys were in there with the car running. I was in Baltimore – where I gave a lecture on ADHD – and I locked my keys in the car. It was ridiculous.
We finally had to buy a car that I couldn’t lock the keys in.
How else do you know if you have ADHD?
The basic symptoms are the same for men and women: inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. You have to have them for at least six months.
They’re usually pervasive and affect you throughout the day. We also look for family history.
Is ADHD genetic?
Yes. There’s a 17%-34% chance the mom [has] ADHD and an 18%-38% chance that it’s the dad.
Adults have just been getting diagnosed since the 1990s. Most likely, they don’t know about grandparents with the disorder.
In our family, we all have ADHD. My dad did. He was in a private school and was asked to leave. He could never sit still. He was never diagnosed, but we knew he had it.
In school, my sister was always in trouble – jumping off desks in the principal’s office while wearing the nun’s capes.
I had all these issues, but I didn’t realize there was a problem until medical school. I’m more distractible and hyper-talkative, but I can hyper-focus.
Do ADHD symptoms show up the same way in women and men?
Women and girls with ADHD are more likely to internalize symptoms and become anxious. Symptoms most often reported by women are dysphoria [unhappiness], inattention, organization problems and impulsive behaviors.
By contrast, men report more problems with conduct, learning and attention, greater stress intolerance and poor social skills.
The hyperactivity component in women may be very different from that in boys and men.
For men, it tends to be external motor activity; for girls it’s more fidgeting and twirling their hair. With females [you see more] hyper-talkativeness. They’re out of control emotionally.
Why are symptoms different in women?
Women have fluctuating estrogen levels. As they head into menopause in their early 40s, we see estrogen levels start to go down. This affects neurotransmitters [chemicals that transmit signals between nerve cells and other cells] in the brain, such as dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.
Lower estrogen [means] lower dopamine, [which affects reasoning and concentration], making ADHD symptoms worse. If you lower serotonin, you’re going to get depressed and if you raise noradrenaline levels, you’re going to get very agitated.
This is often why a woman will seek help for ADHD for the first time in her late 30s, 40s and early 50s.
What's ADHD often misdiagnosed as?
People think you’re not very smart. When I diagnose women with ADHD, they often say, “Oh, that’s it – I’m not stupid.”
A lot of women get labeled incorrectly as depressed.
Is there a link between ADHD and intelligence?
We have a whole spectrum of intelligence with ADHD.
We have gifted people with ADHD and that delays the diagnosis because they continue to do well. I had a patient with Down syndrome, and he had it as well.
We have the whole gamut of intelligence around the world. This goes to [it being hereditary] – the fact that we see ADHD in every country in about the same ratios as in the U.S.
Are women with ADHD more likely to have depression or anxiety?
Women with ADHD are five times more likely to be depressed. People see the depression and treat it, but they don’t get any better.
A lot of women diagnosed with depression really have ADHD. If we treat the ADHD, the anxiety and depression go away in about 60% of the cases.
What kind of doctor treats the disorder? How can I find a specialist?
Usually, it’s a whole team. If you have co-existing conditions, such as depression, anxiety or issues with self-esteem, it’s more complicated.
I would recommend [that adults] find a psychiatrist who sees children and adolescents.
I’ve found a trick for helping people find doctors: Call the local university and ask where they send their students for an evaluation or assessment. They can find experts within the community.
What treatments work best?
A multimodal [multiple elements] treatment program. We use cognitive behavior therapy, where we work on internal scripts: You talk to yourself and say, “I’m not going to do anything else until I get this done.”
We also use coaches who help people set short- and long-term goals.
And we talk about ADHD-friendly lifestyles. If someone makes life choices that [accommodate the disorder], they may be able to come off meds.
ADHD doesn’t go away. You still may have symptoms, but those may not impair you. You learn how to manage it and make good choices.
Is it possible to treat ADHD with only behavior modification?
It depends on the person’s problems. In some studies, behavior management has worked very well.
But a lot of parents have ADHD and it’s very hard for them to effectively conduct a behavioral program for their kids.
Medications improve ADHD’s core symptoms – inattention, distractibility, impulsivity and hyperactivity – but they don’t teach you new skills.
So while you’re able to pay attention long enough to clean your room, you still may not know how to clean your room. I still may need to teach you those organizational skills.
What medications help?
Two types of medications are used. Stimulants (methylphenidate and amphetamine preparations) are the most effective first-line ADHD treatment. Most are at least 70%-80% effective when prescribed at appropriate dosages in adults.
Non-stimulants (including atomoxetine or guanfacine) are also quite effective.
Can pregnant women take the medications?
There’s no prospective long-term study where we’ve given pregnant women these meds and seen what happens to them.
Right now, stimulants aren’t recommended during pregnancy. Many women do a little bit better [with ADHD] when they’re pregnant anyway because of higher estrogen levels.
I recommend pregnant women get more rest, eat well and get more support if they’re not taking their meds.
The problem may not be your intelligence. It could be Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects 8%-10% of the world’s population. More than four million women have ADHD and don’t know it, says Patricia Quinn, M.D., a developmental pediatrician and co-founder and director of the National Center for Girls and Women with ADHD in Washington D.C.
So why are women in the dark about ADHD, a brain disorder that can make them more distractible, inattentive or impulsive?
“Women are very good at compensating, coping, staying up late and working very hard. They really suffer silently,” says Quinn, who has authored 20 books on the disorder, including the award-winning Attention, Girls! A Guide to Learning about Your ADHD (Magination Press) and the upcoming 100 Questions and Answers About ADHD in Women and Girls (Jones & Bartlett Learning), which is scheduled for release in October.
In fact, most women don’t find out they have ADHD until 38, about the same time their children are diagnosed.
“They usually get diagnosed when the [stresses in their lives] outweigh their ability to compensate,” Quinn adds.
There’s good news, though: It’s controllable through a combination of behavioral therapies and medication, she says.
In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Quinn discusses her own ADHD, how you can tell if you have it and the best ways for managing life with the disorder.
What’s the difference between ADHD and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)?
Unfortunately, the names are a real issue. They’re used interchangeably and a debate is going on about whether there are two [disorders]. ADHD is the most common.
The AD part is the inattentiveness, daydreaming and not being able to focus on one thing or finish something you started. It affects organization and time management and leads to losing things and being forgetful. Then, there’s hyperactivity.
Many people occasionally have those traits, like forgetfulness. How do you know if they’re severe enough to be ADHD?
Everybody loses their keys once in a while. But when you never can find your keys, that’s the problem. I lock my keys in the car all the time.
I had a policeman at the Washington Monument break into my car because my keys were in there with the car running. I was in Baltimore – where I gave a lecture on ADHD – and I locked my keys in the car. It was ridiculous.
We finally had to buy a car that I couldn’t lock the keys in.
How else do you know if you have ADHD?
The basic symptoms are the same for men and women: inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. You have to have them for at least six months.
They’re usually pervasive and affect you throughout the day. We also look for family history.
Is ADHD genetic?
Yes. There’s a 17%-34% chance the mom [has] ADHD and an 18%-38% chance that it’s the dad.
Adults have just been getting diagnosed since the 1990s. Most likely, they don’t know about grandparents with the disorder.
In our family, we all have ADHD. My dad did. He was in a private school and was asked to leave. He could never sit still. He was never diagnosed, but we knew he had it.
In school, my sister was always in trouble – jumping off desks in the principal’s office while wearing the nun’s capes.
I had all these issues, but I didn’t realize there was a problem until medical school. I’m more distractible and hyper-talkative, but I can hyper-focus.
Do ADHD symptoms show up the same way in women and men?
Women and girls with ADHD are more likely to internalize symptoms and become anxious. Symptoms most often reported by women are dysphoria [unhappiness], inattention, organization problems and impulsive behaviors.
By contrast, men report more problems with conduct, learning and attention, greater stress intolerance and poor social skills.
The hyperactivity component in women may be very different from that in boys and men.
For men, it tends to be external motor activity; for girls it’s more fidgeting and twirling their hair. With females [you see more] hyper-talkativeness. They’re out of control emotionally.
Why are symptoms different in women?
Women have fluctuating estrogen levels. As they head into menopause in their early 40s, we see estrogen levels start to go down. This affects neurotransmitters [chemicals that transmit signals between nerve cells and other cells] in the brain, such as dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.
Lower estrogen [means] lower dopamine, [which affects reasoning and concentration], making ADHD symptoms worse. If you lower serotonin, you’re going to get depressed and if you raise noradrenaline levels, you’re going to get very agitated.
This is often why a woman will seek help for ADHD for the first time in her late 30s, 40s and early 50s.
What's ADHD often misdiagnosed as?
People think you’re not very smart. When I diagnose women with ADHD, they often say, “Oh, that’s it – I’m not stupid.”
A lot of women get labeled incorrectly as depressed.
Is there a link between ADHD and intelligence?
We have a whole spectrum of intelligence with ADHD.
We have gifted people with ADHD and that delays the diagnosis because they continue to do well. I had a patient with Down syndrome, and he had it as well.
We have the whole gamut of intelligence around the world. This goes to [it being hereditary] – the fact that we see ADHD in every country in about the same ratios as in the U.S.
Are women with ADHD more likely to have depression or anxiety?
Women with ADHD are five times more likely to be depressed. People see the depression and treat it, but they don’t get any better.
A lot of women diagnosed with depression really have ADHD. If we treat the ADHD, the anxiety and depression go away in about 60% of the cases.
What kind of doctor treats the disorder? How can I find a specialist?
Usually, it’s a whole team. If you have co-existing conditions, such as depression, anxiety or issues with self-esteem, it’s more complicated.
I would recommend [that adults] find a psychiatrist who sees children and adolescents.
I’ve found a trick for helping people find doctors: Call the local university and ask where they send their students for an evaluation or assessment. They can find experts within the community.
What treatments work best?
A multimodal [multiple elements] treatment program. We use cognitive behavior therapy, where we work on internal scripts: You talk to yourself and say, “I’m not going to do anything else until I get this done.”
We also use coaches who help people set short- and long-term goals.
And we talk about ADHD-friendly lifestyles. If someone makes life choices that [accommodate the disorder], they may be able to come off meds.
ADHD doesn’t go away. You still may have symptoms, but those may not impair you. You learn how to manage it and make good choices.
Is it possible to treat ADHD with only behavior modification?
It depends on the person’s problems. In some studies, behavior management has worked very well.
But a lot of parents have ADHD and it’s very hard for them to effectively conduct a behavioral program for their kids.
Medications improve ADHD’s core symptoms – inattention, distractibility, impulsivity and hyperactivity – but they don’t teach you new skills.
So while you’re able to pay attention long enough to clean your room, you still may not know how to clean your room. I still may need to teach you those organizational skills.
What medications help?
Two types of medications are used. Stimulants (methylphenidate and amphetamine preparations) are the most effective first-line ADHD treatment. Most are at least 70%-80% effective when prescribed at appropriate dosages in adults.
Non-stimulants (including atomoxetine or guanfacine) are also quite effective.
Can pregnant women take the medications?
There’s no prospective long-term study where we’ve given pregnant women these meds and seen what happens to them.
Right now, stimulants aren’t recommended during pregnancy. Many women do a little bit better [with ADHD] when they’re pregnant anyway because of higher estrogen levels.
I recommend pregnant women get more rest, eat well and get more support if they’re not taking their meds.
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