Saturday, July 31, 2010
WORDS OF WISDOM...
SOMETHING TO KNOW;
Concentrate on this Sentence
'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence...
'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'
There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.
Concentrate on this Sentence
'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence...
'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'
There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.
THE DEVIL AND THE DUCK --- GREAT STORY --- PLEASE READ THIS.
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.
He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.
He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.
Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner..
As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.
Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it.
He was shocked and grieved!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching!
Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'
But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.'
Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?'
So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said,
'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.'
Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help?
She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how
long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'
Thought for the day and every day thereafter:
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done...
And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face
(lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc...)...
whatever it is...You need to know that:
God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.
He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you..
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness;
He not only forgives you, but He forgets..
It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.
Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today.
Share this with a friend and always remember:
God is at the window!
When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!
If you are one of the 93 % who will stand up for him
Forward this with the title, 'I'm in the 93%'
Sadly, 7% of people who read this won't forward it....
He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.
He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.
Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner..
As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.
Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it.
He was shocked and grieved!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching!
Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'
But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.'
Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?'
So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said,
'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.'
Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help?
She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how
long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'
Thought for the day and every day thereafter:
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done...
And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face
(lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc...)...
whatever it is...You need to know that:
God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.
He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you..
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness;
He not only forgives you, but He forgets..
It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.
Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today.
Share this with a friend and always remember:
God is at the window!
When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!
If you are one of the 93 % who will stand up for him
Forward this with the title, 'I'm in the 93%'
Sadly, 7% of people who read this won't forward it....
Obesity will kill you
There's nothing healthy about obesity--and if you spend too many years with too many pounds, you will pay a hefty price.
Millions of people are in denial about their condition, and now even some researchers are getting in on the act: A new study claims that it's possible to be both obese and healthy.
It defies all credibility.
Dutch researchers looked at the health records of 1,325 obese people between the ages of 28 and 75. They were part of the 8,356 participants in a study called PREVEND, or the Prevention of Renal and Vascular Endstage Disease.
The researchers found that 90 of the obese people--less than 7 percent--had no history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high triglycerides. And none of them were taking cholesterol meds.
Over seven years, only one of these patients developed cardiovascular disease, on par with the number of healthy normal-weight people who developed the condition.
That led researcher Dr. Andre van Beek of the University Medical Center in Groningen to conclude, "it's the metabolic risk profile that counts, and not the weight itself."
I wish he had followed these patients right to the end of their lives before making such a bold statement. I'd like to see their life expectancies, causes of death and total risk of cardiovascular disease--because I'd bet anything he wouldn't be so quick to make this claim if he did.
And of course, the ravages of obesity can go far beyond heart disease and diabetes. Obesity can wreck everything from your mobility to your sex life--but as long as you didn't have the metabolic risk factors mentioned in this new study, you'd be "healthy" according to these researchers.
But if you're obese, there's no two ways about it: You're not healthy. It might take longer than seven years, but the toll of obesity will catch up to you eventually.
So skip the denial and don't look to studies like this one for reassurance. If you're fighting your own Battle of the Bulge, fight to win--or risk losing your life.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Millions of people are in denial about their condition, and now even some researchers are getting in on the act: A new study claims that it's possible to be both obese and healthy.
It defies all credibility.
Dutch researchers looked at the health records of 1,325 obese people between the ages of 28 and 75. They were part of the 8,356 participants in a study called PREVEND, or the Prevention of Renal and Vascular Endstage Disease.
The researchers found that 90 of the obese people--less than 7 percent--had no history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high triglycerides. And none of them were taking cholesterol meds.
Over seven years, only one of these patients developed cardiovascular disease, on par with the number of healthy normal-weight people who developed the condition.
That led researcher Dr. Andre van Beek of the University Medical Center in Groningen to conclude, "it's the metabolic risk profile that counts, and not the weight itself."
I wish he had followed these patients right to the end of their lives before making such a bold statement. I'd like to see their life expectancies, causes of death and total risk of cardiovascular disease--because I'd bet anything he wouldn't be so quick to make this claim if he did.
And of course, the ravages of obesity can go far beyond heart disease and diabetes. Obesity can wreck everything from your mobility to your sex life--but as long as you didn't have the metabolic risk factors mentioned in this new study, you'd be "healthy" according to these researchers.
But if you're obese, there's no two ways about it: You're not healthy. It might take longer than seven years, but the toll of obesity will catch up to you eventually.
So skip the denial and don't look to studies like this one for reassurance. If you're fighting your own Battle of the Bulge, fight to win--or risk losing your life.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
Editor, House Calls
Animal Crush Videos Make Comeback; Senate Must Act
Animal Crush Videos Make Comeback; Senate Must Act
Posted: 29 Jul 2010 03:56 PM PDT
Today, The HSUS released new information, in a telephone press conference with reporters, about gruesome animal crush videos that have made a comeback since the federal courts overturned the 1999 law Congress passed to ban their production and sale. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court declared this federal anti-cruelty law invalid and unconstitutional, creating an opening for peddlers of this smut to get back into this business.
Last week, at the urging of The HSUS and in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the House passed legislation by a vote of 416-3 to fill the gap in the law and to reinstate a narrowly tailored federal prohibition on this disgusting commerce. Today, U.S. Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the co-authors of H.R. 5566, joined me in a call to urge the U.S. Senate to take up the House legislation and ban interstate and foreign commerce in these obscene animal “crush” videos before the 111th Congress concludes its work.
Today’s call was more than an exhortation, but also a cataloguing of this cruel trade. Following up on the leads provided by some of our sources, an HSUS researcher viewed 36 “preview clips” of crush videos, sent to prospective consumers to tease them into buying the full-length versions of the videos. These details are horrifying, and I feel badly about even writing them down. But I hope that knowledge of these abuses will compel good people to act. The videos depict the following:
Three young girls crush a puppy to death with their bare feet. The audio includes cracking sounds as the puppy’s bones break. Three dead puppies can be seen lying on the floor nearby.
A girl dressed in a leather mini-skirt and stiletto heels pokes the heel of her shoe through the eye of a small monkey.
A girl wearing a flimsy negligee, stockings and stiletto heels crushes a rabbit, who screams as his hind legs are crushed.
Two young girls in stilettos crush a medium-sized dog whose legs and mouth are tightly tied. One of the girls inserts the heel of her shoe into a dog’s eye socket.
A girl skins a live dog with a knife, removing the animal’s ear and the skin and fur on the dog’s head.
Last September, we released a status report about the re-emergence of crush videos in the wake of a federal appellate court’s overturning of the 1999 federal law. Our investigators found that at that time crushing videos were easily available for purchase. The password protected part of one website had 118 videos for sale. Videos ranged in price from $20 to $100. Each of the videos for sale contained footage of multiple animals, translating into hundreds of animals being tortured and crushed to death for the profit-making of this one website alone.
In United States v. Stevens, the Supreme Court struck down the law Congress passed on narrow grounds, finding that the 1999 federal law was overbroad because it could be interpreted to apply to many unintended circumstances, including hunting videos. The Court did not say that depictions of extreme animal cruelty are protected by the First Amendment. Instead, the Court unanimously recognized the long history of animal cruelty laws dating back to the founding of our country, and carefully left open whether Congress could draft a narrower law that would only reach depictions of extreme and illegal cruelty. At oral argument, Justice Stephen Breyer stated that if Congress passed a statute aimed solely at “crush videos,” there would be “a very strong case” for upholding that law. Like our child pornography laws, our drug laws, and the basic obscenity doctrine, the Court has left an opening for the Congress to crack down on sale of such materials in the United States as a method of reducing demand, and hopefully reducing production.
H.R. 5566 narrowly limits its reach to obscene depictions in which an actual live animal is intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, or impaled in a manner that would violate a criminal prohibition on animal cruelty under federal law or the law of the state in which the depiction is created, sold, distributed, or offered for sale or distribution. We wouldn’t allow someone to murder someone or molest a child, and if they were not caught in the act, sell the video and profit from the underlying crime. The same principle is at work here, and the nearly unanimous House vote reveals that lawmakers understand what’s at stake.
Posted: 29 Jul 2010 03:56 PM PDT
Today, The HSUS released new information, in a telephone press conference with reporters, about gruesome animal crush videos that have made a comeback since the federal courts overturned the 1999 law Congress passed to ban their production and sale. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court declared this federal anti-cruelty law invalid and unconstitutional, creating an opening for peddlers of this smut to get back into this business.
Last week, at the urging of The HSUS and in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the House passed legislation by a vote of 416-3 to fill the gap in the law and to reinstate a narrowly tailored federal prohibition on this disgusting commerce. Today, U.S. Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the co-authors of H.R. 5566, joined me in a call to urge the U.S. Senate to take up the House legislation and ban interstate and foreign commerce in these obscene animal “crush” videos before the 111th Congress concludes its work.
Today’s call was more than an exhortation, but also a cataloguing of this cruel trade. Following up on the leads provided by some of our sources, an HSUS researcher viewed 36 “preview clips” of crush videos, sent to prospective consumers to tease them into buying the full-length versions of the videos. These details are horrifying, and I feel badly about even writing them down. But I hope that knowledge of these abuses will compel good people to act. The videos depict the following:
Three young girls crush a puppy to death with their bare feet. The audio includes cracking sounds as the puppy’s bones break. Three dead puppies can be seen lying on the floor nearby.
A girl dressed in a leather mini-skirt and stiletto heels pokes the heel of her shoe through the eye of a small monkey.
A girl wearing a flimsy negligee, stockings and stiletto heels crushes a rabbit, who screams as his hind legs are crushed.
Two young girls in stilettos crush a medium-sized dog whose legs and mouth are tightly tied. One of the girls inserts the heel of her shoe into a dog’s eye socket.
A girl skins a live dog with a knife, removing the animal’s ear and the skin and fur on the dog’s head.
Last September, we released a status report about the re-emergence of crush videos in the wake of a federal appellate court’s overturning of the 1999 federal law. Our investigators found that at that time crushing videos were easily available for purchase. The password protected part of one website had 118 videos for sale. Videos ranged in price from $20 to $100. Each of the videos for sale contained footage of multiple animals, translating into hundreds of animals being tortured and crushed to death for the profit-making of this one website alone.
In United States v. Stevens, the Supreme Court struck down the law Congress passed on narrow grounds, finding that the 1999 federal law was overbroad because it could be interpreted to apply to many unintended circumstances, including hunting videos. The Court did not say that depictions of extreme animal cruelty are protected by the First Amendment. Instead, the Court unanimously recognized the long history of animal cruelty laws dating back to the founding of our country, and carefully left open whether Congress could draft a narrower law that would only reach depictions of extreme and illegal cruelty. At oral argument, Justice Stephen Breyer stated that if Congress passed a statute aimed solely at “crush videos,” there would be “a very strong case” for upholding that law. Like our child pornography laws, our drug laws, and the basic obscenity doctrine, the Court has left an opening for the Congress to crack down on sale of such materials in the United States as a method of reducing demand, and hopefully reducing production.
H.R. 5566 narrowly limits its reach to obscene depictions in which an actual live animal is intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, or impaled in a manner that would violate a criminal prohibition on animal cruelty under federal law or the law of the state in which the depiction is created, sold, distributed, or offered for sale or distribution. We wouldn’t allow someone to murder someone or molest a child, and if they were not caught in the act, sell the video and profit from the underlying crime. The same principle is at work here, and the nearly unanimous House vote reveals that lawmakers understand what’s at stake.
Gingrich: Obama Repeating Mistakes From the Great Depression
By: David A. Patten
Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned Thursday that President Obama and congressional Democrats appear to be on the verge of repeating the same mistakes that aggravated the Great Depression, adding that letting the Bush tax cuts expire would prove "very dangerous" for the nation's economy.
Speaking in an exclusive Newsmax interview, Gingrich sounded the alarm that raising taxes could cause serious damage to the economic recovery.
"If we have large tax increases in January," Gingrich told Newsmax.TV, "this economy will sink deeper into recession. There will be higher unemployment. The recovery will be longer.
"This was exactly the mistake made in 1937 and 1938, and it created a second mini-depression. I think it's very dangerous, and I think the simple battle cry ought to be no tax increase in 2011, period. Keep current tax law exactly as it is through 2011," Gingrich said.
Gingrich charged that the high unemployment that continues to plague the economy stems from "an administration which consistently has been destroying American jobs."
He cited the financial reform legislation that the president recently signed into law as an example of "one more job-killing bill" Democrats have passed.
"The financial reform law increased the power of Washington, D.C., increased the power of bureaucracies, increased the amount of uncertainty, killed American jobs, and made it easier for Frankfurt, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai to become the financial centers of the world," Gingrich said.
When asked to give his recommendations for curing the nation's ongoing economic woes, the former speaker pointed to the five-point agenda on his AmericanSolutions.com Web site, which is included in the Economic Freedom Act recently submitted to Congress by Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
That legislation calls for:
A 50 percent cut in the Social Security and Medicare tax, both for the employer and the employee
Zero capital gains tax, which is the rate in China
A 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, which is the rate in Ireland
A 100 percent write-off annually for small businesses to buy new equipment, so workers have the best, most modern equipment
Permanent elimination of the estate or "death" tax "so people have an incentive to work and save their entire lifetime.
"We think those five tax changes would dramatically accelerate economic growth and help the economy," Gingrich tells Newsmax.
For most of the interview Gingrich focused on national security, Islamic fundamentalism, and the recent publication of sensitive intelligence about the war in Afghanistan.
Among the other key points the former speaker made:
Radical Islamists hope to impose Islamic law, called Shariah, in the United States, which Gingrich says "would end America as we know it."
He called for a "serious inquiry" into the U.S. national security apparatus that has been unable to anticipate and thwart attacks such as the Christmas Day bomber and the attempted bombing in Time Square.
If the United States could defeat radical Islam and compete economically with India and China, it "probably would have no major national security problem in the next 50 years."
The United States would be much more secure today if authorities initially had identified the war on terrorism as being actually a struggle against radical Islam and the effort to impose Shariah.
The leaks of the Wikileaks documents on Afghanistan should be considered an "unconscionable" act of treason. It isn't only that the documents were leaked, he said. "I think we should also be very, very strong in our condemnation of the newspapers that published them."
Regarding the mosque controversy at ground zero, Gingrich urged the president and Congress to declare the area around the World Trade Center site a national military battlefield "because that was a battle and it's part of a real war." More Americans were killed at the World Trade Center than at any battle site in the United States since the Civil War. That justifies designating the area as a national battlefield, he said, where only "appropriate" buildings and uses would be allowed near the battlefield.
Gingrich also told Newsmax he will decide whether to run for president by March 2011, adding he is focused on trying to help as many Republicans as possible win in November.
Asked to evaluate President Barack Obama's performance in office, Gingrich said, "Well, I think he's very good at being a celebrity, and not very good at being president. He's perfect on The View but not too good in the Oval Office."
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned Thursday that President Obama and congressional Democrats appear to be on the verge of repeating the same mistakes that aggravated the Great Depression, adding that letting the Bush tax cuts expire would prove "very dangerous" for the nation's economy.
Speaking in an exclusive Newsmax interview, Gingrich sounded the alarm that raising taxes could cause serious damage to the economic recovery.
"If we have large tax increases in January," Gingrich told Newsmax.TV, "this economy will sink deeper into recession. There will be higher unemployment. The recovery will be longer.
"This was exactly the mistake made in 1937 and 1938, and it created a second mini-depression. I think it's very dangerous, and I think the simple battle cry ought to be no tax increase in 2011, period. Keep current tax law exactly as it is through 2011," Gingrich said.
Gingrich charged that the high unemployment that continues to plague the economy stems from "an administration which consistently has been destroying American jobs."
He cited the financial reform legislation that the president recently signed into law as an example of "one more job-killing bill" Democrats have passed.
"The financial reform law increased the power of Washington, D.C., increased the power of bureaucracies, increased the amount of uncertainty, killed American jobs, and made it easier for Frankfurt, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai to become the financial centers of the world," Gingrich said.
When asked to give his recommendations for curing the nation's ongoing economic woes, the former speaker pointed to the five-point agenda on his AmericanSolutions.com Web site, which is included in the Economic Freedom Act recently submitted to Congress by Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.
That legislation calls for:
A 50 percent cut in the Social Security and Medicare tax, both for the employer and the employee
Zero capital gains tax, which is the rate in China
A 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, which is the rate in Ireland
A 100 percent write-off annually for small businesses to buy new equipment, so workers have the best, most modern equipment
Permanent elimination of the estate or "death" tax "so people have an incentive to work and save their entire lifetime.
"We think those five tax changes would dramatically accelerate economic growth and help the economy," Gingrich tells Newsmax.
For most of the interview Gingrich focused on national security, Islamic fundamentalism, and the recent publication of sensitive intelligence about the war in Afghanistan.
Among the other key points the former speaker made:
Radical Islamists hope to impose Islamic law, called Shariah, in the United States, which Gingrich says "would end America as we know it."
He called for a "serious inquiry" into the U.S. national security apparatus that has been unable to anticipate and thwart attacks such as the Christmas Day bomber and the attempted bombing in Time Square.
If the United States could defeat radical Islam and compete economically with India and China, it "probably would have no major national security problem in the next 50 years."
The United States would be much more secure today if authorities initially had identified the war on terrorism as being actually a struggle against radical Islam and the effort to impose Shariah.
The leaks of the Wikileaks documents on Afghanistan should be considered an "unconscionable" act of treason. It isn't only that the documents were leaked, he said. "I think we should also be very, very strong in our condemnation of the newspapers that published them."
Regarding the mosque controversy at ground zero, Gingrich urged the president and Congress to declare the area around the World Trade Center site a national military battlefield "because that was a battle and it's part of a real war." More Americans were killed at the World Trade Center than at any battle site in the United States since the Civil War. That justifies designating the area as a national battlefield, he said, where only "appropriate" buildings and uses would be allowed near the battlefield.
Gingrich also told Newsmax he will decide whether to run for president by March 2011, adding he is focused on trying to help as many Republicans as possible win in November.
Asked to evaluate President Barack Obama's performance in office, Gingrich said, "Well, I think he's very good at being a celebrity, and not very good at being president. He's perfect on The View but not too good in the Oval Office."
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
PLEASE GO TO THE, HSUS.COM WEBSITE AND TAKE THIS PLEDGE, THANK YOU.
One state in the nation is home to more puppy mill suffering than any other: Missouri. But with your help, we can change this sad fact in a single day.
Will you help us make this happen -- by signing the pledge to save Missouri’s puppy mill dogs?
This November 2, Election Day, Missourians will likely vote on a citizen initiative to prevent suffering for tens of thousands of dogs languishing in cruel puppy mills. These high-volume commercial factories breed dogs under harsh conditions with inadequate shelter and care.
Tragically, approximately 40 percent of all pet store puppies nationwide come from Missouri, where nearly 200,000 breeding dogs produce up to a million puppies a year.
Unbelievably, large-scale puppy mills in Missouri are allowed to keep dogs in small wire cages, stacked on top of each other, for their entire lives. They often don't get exercise, sunlight, companionship, or human interaction -- they live in filth and excrement and suffer discomfort and injuries from standing on wire for years on end.
Today, I invite you to help save these puppy mill dogs by signing a simple pledge. When you sign, you’ll join Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, the coalition backing the Missouri ballot initiative, and which includes The Humane Society of the United States. Then, you will receive alerts from the campaign on how to help. You don’t have to live in Missouri to help, because this campaign can lead to reforms at commercial breeding facilities nationwide.
This ballot measure will turn around Missouri's reputation as the inhumane puppy mill capital of the world, and will require that dogs receive basic standards of humane care, such as food, water, space, and exercise. Reform in Missouri would follow on the heels of more than a dozen states that have cracked down on puppy mills recently, including Iowa and Oklahoma. By continuing the fight for dogs and voting to phase out the worst puppy mill abuses in Missouri, what happens on November 2 will help lead to nationwide reform.
We'll be giving it our all to make sure this initiative passes -- but we need your help to win. Together, we will ensure that Missouri’s dogs are treated with compassion. Please take the pledge and be a part of this historic campaign.
Thank you for helping Missouri’s dogs, and for all you do for animals.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Paid for by The HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, President, 2100 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037.
Will you help us make this happen -- by signing the pledge to save Missouri’s puppy mill dogs?
This November 2, Election Day, Missourians will likely vote on a citizen initiative to prevent suffering for tens of thousands of dogs languishing in cruel puppy mills. These high-volume commercial factories breed dogs under harsh conditions with inadequate shelter and care.
Tragically, approximately 40 percent of all pet store puppies nationwide come from Missouri, where nearly 200,000 breeding dogs produce up to a million puppies a year.
Unbelievably, large-scale puppy mills in Missouri are allowed to keep dogs in small wire cages, stacked on top of each other, for their entire lives. They often don't get exercise, sunlight, companionship, or human interaction -- they live in filth and excrement and suffer discomfort and injuries from standing on wire for years on end.
Today, I invite you to help save these puppy mill dogs by signing a simple pledge. When you sign, you’ll join Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, the coalition backing the Missouri ballot initiative, and which includes The Humane Society of the United States. Then, you will receive alerts from the campaign on how to help. You don’t have to live in Missouri to help, because this campaign can lead to reforms at commercial breeding facilities nationwide.
This ballot measure will turn around Missouri's reputation as the inhumane puppy mill capital of the world, and will require that dogs receive basic standards of humane care, such as food, water, space, and exercise. Reform in Missouri would follow on the heels of more than a dozen states that have cracked down on puppy mills recently, including Iowa and Oklahoma. By continuing the fight for dogs and voting to phase out the worst puppy mill abuses in Missouri, what happens on November 2 will help lead to nationwide reform.
We'll be giving it our all to make sure this initiative passes -- but we need your help to win. Together, we will ensure that Missouri’s dogs are treated with compassion. Please take the pledge and be a part of this historic campaign.
Thank you for helping Missouri’s dogs, and for all you do for animals.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Paid for by The HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, President, 2100 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037.
How to Eat Fast Food and Lose Weight
You might have promised yourself that you'll never eat fast food again so that you can shed pounds, maintain your weight loss or simply stay healthier. But making an all-or-nothing resolution like that is just setting yourself up for failure. For instance, what if you're on a road trip and fast food chains are the only places in sight?
The key to successful weight loss is not avoiding all fast food, but making the right fast food choices. Try downsizing your meal to a kids' size with water or a diet soda, which will cut your indulgence to a more respectable 400 or 500 calories. Or choose the healthiest items on the menu, with items omitted or on the side, like a salad with dressing on the side or a grilled chicken sandwich with no cheese or sauce.
If you still find yourself craving fast food, have what you crave as a treat once in a while so you don't feel like you might lose control and overindulge.
The key to successful weight loss is not avoiding all fast food, but making the right fast food choices. Try downsizing your meal to a kids' size with water or a diet soda, which will cut your indulgence to a more respectable 400 or 500 calories. Or choose the healthiest items on the menu, with items omitted or on the side, like a salad with dressing on the side or a grilled chicken sandwich with no cheese or sauce.
If you still find yourself craving fast food, have what you crave as a treat once in a while so you don't feel like you might lose control and overindulge.
New health policy: encouraging friendships?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having good social relationships - friends, marriage or children - may be every bit as important to a healthy lifespan as quitting smoking, losing weight or taking certain medications, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
People with strong social relationships were 50 percent less likely to die early than people without such support, the team at Brigham Young University in Utah found.
They suggest that policymakers look at ways to help people maintain social relationships as a way of keeping the population healthy.
"A lack of social relationships was equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day," psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
Her team conducted a meta-analysis of studies that examine social relationships and their effects on health. They looked at 148 studies that covered more than 308,000 people for their analysis, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.
Having low levels of social interaction was equivalent to being an alcoholic, was more harmful than not exercising and was twice as harmful as obesity.
Social relationships had a bigger impact on premature death than getting an adult vaccine to prevent pneumonia, than taking drugs for high blood pressure and far more important than exposure to air pollution, they found.
"I certainly don't want to downplay these other risk factors because of course they are very important," Holt-Lunstad said. "We need to start taking social relationships just as seriously."
PEOPLE INCREASINGLY ISOLATED
Government policies to encourage social relationships will not necessarily be easy, Holt-Lundstad said. "Air pollution and the clean air act - that is simple policy," she said.
But she has some ideas - such as making it easier for friends or relatives to take part in medical care, and city planning that encourages interaction.
The different studies measured social interaction in different ways, so the researchers said it was impossible to precisely define positive social interaction.
It equally difficult to study systematically, as it is impossible to randomly assign people to have friends or not have friends. But Holt-Lundstad said there is some evidence that assigning caretakers does not help improve people's health.
"Naturally occurring relationships may be different than support received from someone who is hired for that purpose," she said.
Her team found some troubling evidence that Americans are becoming more isolated, and thus losing the support and care that love and friendship provide.
"For instance, trends reveal reduced intergenerational living, greater social mobility, delayed marriage, dual-career families, increased single-residence households, and increased age-related disabilities," they wrote.
"More specifically, over the last two decades there has been a three-fold increase in the number of Americans who report having no confidant," they added.
"Such findings suggest that despite increases in technology and globalization that would presumably foster social connections, people are becoming increasingly more socially isolated."
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/hap99m PLoS Medicine, July 2010.
People with strong social relationships were 50 percent less likely to die early than people without such support, the team at Brigham Young University in Utah found.
They suggest that policymakers look at ways to help people maintain social relationships as a way of keeping the population healthy.
"A lack of social relationships was equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day," psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
Her team conducted a meta-analysis of studies that examine social relationships and their effects on health. They looked at 148 studies that covered more than 308,000 people for their analysis, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine.
Having low levels of social interaction was equivalent to being an alcoholic, was more harmful than not exercising and was twice as harmful as obesity.
Social relationships had a bigger impact on premature death than getting an adult vaccine to prevent pneumonia, than taking drugs for high blood pressure and far more important than exposure to air pollution, they found.
"I certainly don't want to downplay these other risk factors because of course they are very important," Holt-Lunstad said. "We need to start taking social relationships just as seriously."
PEOPLE INCREASINGLY ISOLATED
Government policies to encourage social relationships will not necessarily be easy, Holt-Lundstad said. "Air pollution and the clean air act - that is simple policy," she said.
But she has some ideas - such as making it easier for friends or relatives to take part in medical care, and city planning that encourages interaction.
The different studies measured social interaction in different ways, so the researchers said it was impossible to precisely define positive social interaction.
It equally difficult to study systematically, as it is impossible to randomly assign people to have friends or not have friends. But Holt-Lundstad said there is some evidence that assigning caretakers does not help improve people's health.
"Naturally occurring relationships may be different than support received from someone who is hired for that purpose," she said.
Her team found some troubling evidence that Americans are becoming more isolated, and thus losing the support and care that love and friendship provide.
"For instance, trends reveal reduced intergenerational living, greater social mobility, delayed marriage, dual-career families, increased single-residence households, and increased age-related disabilities," they wrote.
"More specifically, over the last two decades there has been a three-fold increase in the number of Americans who report having no confidant," they added.
"Such findings suggest that despite increases in technology and globalization that would presumably foster social connections, people are becoming increasingly more socially isolated."
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/hap99m PLoS Medicine, July 2010.
For persistent fibroids, a less invasive option
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A procedure that stops the blood supply to fibroids could be a safe and effective alternative to hysterectomy for women whose fibroid symptoms won't go away, according to a new study.
But some who get uterine artery embolization - which is less invasive, cheaper, and easier to recover from than a hysterectomy - might still eventually need a hysterectomy to relieve their symptoms, the results of the study in 150 women show.
Uterine fibroids are generally benign tumors that grow in the walls of the uterus. In an embolization procedure, a catheter filled with small particles is used to block off the vessels that supply blood to the fibroids. In a hysterectomy, fibroids are surgically removed from the body - along with the rest of the uterus. Embolization is performed by a radiologist, while hysterectomy is done by a patient's gynecologist.
"Hysterectomy has the major advantage of really getting rid of the fibroids forever without any doubt, whereas embolization sometimes gets rid of the fibroids," Dr. Klim McPherson, an obstetrician at the University of Oxford in the UK who was not involved with the study, told Reuters Health.
But, "hysterectomy interferes with sexual function, urinary function, ovarian function ... if you really want to treat the fibroids, hysterectomy is going to do that but much more as well," McPherson said.
About 40 percent of women will get uterine fibroids, said Dr. Jim Reekers, a radiologist at Amsterdam's Academic Medical Center and one of the study's authors. About half of women with fibroids have symptoms, often including pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. And about half of those will not be helped with medication and other non-invasive treatments and will turn to surgery, Reekers said.
In the current study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Reekers and his colleagues followed about 150 women, most in their forties, who had uterine fibroids that hadn't responded to medication.
The women were divided up randomly - half got a hysterectomy, and the other half had embolization done.
Over the five years following the procedures, the authors tracked the women in the study with questionnaires, asking about their quality of life, any continuing symptoms from their fibroids, and whether they had any follow-up treatments after the original hysterectomy or embolization.
At the end of the five years, there was no difference in the physical or mental quality of life reported by the two groups, and more than 4 out of 5 women in both groups were very satisfied with the treatment they had received. The majority of women also reported that their fibroid symptoms were gone or much improved.
But some women who had undergone embolization continued to struggle with heavy bleeding, and about a quarter of them went back for a hysterectomy, most in the two years after their embolization. About 10 percent of women in the hysterectomy group went back for another procedure, often because they still had abdominal pain.
The results of the study, which was funded in part by Boston Scientific, which makes interventional radiology products such as those used in embolization, suggest that embolization could be a worthwhile choice for many women, even if they run the risk of ultimately needing a hysterectomy anyway, the authors say.
"When you do embolization, you avoid major surgery, you don't have a scar," Reekers told Reuters Health. Hysterectomies often keep a patient in the hospital for up to five or six days, and they won't be totally back on their feet for more than a month, he said. After embolization, women can leave the hospital in a day and be back at work within a week, Reekers said. "It's much more friendly to the patient," he added.
Cutting down on hospital time also makes the procedure much cheaper - in the Netherlands, embolization beats hysterectomy by about $4,000, Reekers said.
Dr. Sanne van der Kooij, the lead author on the paper and also a radiologist at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, said the benefits of embolization may include much more than cost and convenience.
"A lot of women find hysterectomy really invasive because they lose their uterus," she told Reuters Health. "Some find it really emotional."
Dr. Linda Bradley, the vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic, says the most appropriate treatment for uterine fibroids also depends on the patient's symptoms. Embolization generally does a good job of alleviating heavy bleeding, she said. But for women with large, visible fibroids, embolization might not shrink the fibroids as much as patients would like.
"The patients have to be honest and know what they want as an option, and the doctors have to be honest with their work-up," Bradley, who was not involved with the study, told Reuters Health. She also puts all of her patients through imaging scans because the location of the fibroids might help determine what the most effective treatment would be.
While embolization, unlike hysterectomy, leaves women with the ability to have children, there is still controversy over whether the procedure puts future mothers at risk for complications including miscarriage.
But most women who will need surgery are beyond childbearing age, Bradley says, so studies like this that show the long-term success of embolization are exciting.
Bradley says that about 1,000 of her own patients have undergone embolization procedures - however, she is probably the exception rather than the rule.
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 65,000 women in the U.S. undergo hysterectomy to treat uterine fibroids every year. By comparison, the Society of Interventional Radiology reported that as of 2004 -- the last time they reported such data -- 13,000 to 14,000 embolizations were done in the U.S. each year.
Part of the reason that embolization is less popular than hysterectomy could be that gynecologists often want to perform a hysterectomy themselves and not refer patients outside their practice, Reekers said. And many patients don't know about embolization as a treatment option.
"It's a matter of awareness," Reekers said. "There's enough science to prove that this technique is very, very good. It's just a matter of changing the attitude."
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/hyk58m
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, online June 28, 2010.
But some who get uterine artery embolization - which is less invasive, cheaper, and easier to recover from than a hysterectomy - might still eventually need a hysterectomy to relieve their symptoms, the results of the study in 150 women show.
Uterine fibroids are generally benign tumors that grow in the walls of the uterus. In an embolization procedure, a catheter filled with small particles is used to block off the vessels that supply blood to the fibroids. In a hysterectomy, fibroids are surgically removed from the body - along with the rest of the uterus. Embolization is performed by a radiologist, while hysterectomy is done by a patient's gynecologist.
"Hysterectomy has the major advantage of really getting rid of the fibroids forever without any doubt, whereas embolization sometimes gets rid of the fibroids," Dr. Klim McPherson, an obstetrician at the University of Oxford in the UK who was not involved with the study, told Reuters Health.
But, "hysterectomy interferes with sexual function, urinary function, ovarian function ... if you really want to treat the fibroids, hysterectomy is going to do that but much more as well," McPherson said.
About 40 percent of women will get uterine fibroids, said Dr. Jim Reekers, a radiologist at Amsterdam's Academic Medical Center and one of the study's authors. About half of women with fibroids have symptoms, often including pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. And about half of those will not be helped with medication and other non-invasive treatments and will turn to surgery, Reekers said.
In the current study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Reekers and his colleagues followed about 150 women, most in their forties, who had uterine fibroids that hadn't responded to medication.
The women were divided up randomly - half got a hysterectomy, and the other half had embolization done.
Over the five years following the procedures, the authors tracked the women in the study with questionnaires, asking about their quality of life, any continuing symptoms from their fibroids, and whether they had any follow-up treatments after the original hysterectomy or embolization.
At the end of the five years, there was no difference in the physical or mental quality of life reported by the two groups, and more than 4 out of 5 women in both groups were very satisfied with the treatment they had received. The majority of women also reported that their fibroid symptoms were gone or much improved.
But some women who had undergone embolization continued to struggle with heavy bleeding, and about a quarter of them went back for a hysterectomy, most in the two years after their embolization. About 10 percent of women in the hysterectomy group went back for another procedure, often because they still had abdominal pain.
The results of the study, which was funded in part by Boston Scientific, which makes interventional radiology products such as those used in embolization, suggest that embolization could be a worthwhile choice for many women, even if they run the risk of ultimately needing a hysterectomy anyway, the authors say.
"When you do embolization, you avoid major surgery, you don't have a scar," Reekers told Reuters Health. Hysterectomies often keep a patient in the hospital for up to five or six days, and they won't be totally back on their feet for more than a month, he said. After embolization, women can leave the hospital in a day and be back at work within a week, Reekers said. "It's much more friendly to the patient," he added.
Cutting down on hospital time also makes the procedure much cheaper - in the Netherlands, embolization beats hysterectomy by about $4,000, Reekers said.
Dr. Sanne van der Kooij, the lead author on the paper and also a radiologist at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, said the benefits of embolization may include much more than cost and convenience.
"A lot of women find hysterectomy really invasive because they lose their uterus," she told Reuters Health. "Some find it really emotional."
Dr. Linda Bradley, the vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic, says the most appropriate treatment for uterine fibroids also depends on the patient's symptoms. Embolization generally does a good job of alleviating heavy bleeding, she said. But for women with large, visible fibroids, embolization might not shrink the fibroids as much as patients would like.
"The patients have to be honest and know what they want as an option, and the doctors have to be honest with their work-up," Bradley, who was not involved with the study, told Reuters Health. She also puts all of her patients through imaging scans because the location of the fibroids might help determine what the most effective treatment would be.
While embolization, unlike hysterectomy, leaves women with the ability to have children, there is still controversy over whether the procedure puts future mothers at risk for complications including miscarriage.
But most women who will need surgery are beyond childbearing age, Bradley says, so studies like this that show the long-term success of embolization are exciting.
Bradley says that about 1,000 of her own patients have undergone embolization procedures - however, she is probably the exception rather than the rule.
According to the National Institutes of Health, about 65,000 women in the U.S. undergo hysterectomy to treat uterine fibroids every year. By comparison, the Society of Interventional Radiology reported that as of 2004 -- the last time they reported such data -- 13,000 to 14,000 embolizations were done in the U.S. each year.
Part of the reason that embolization is less popular than hysterectomy could be that gynecologists often want to perform a hysterectomy themselves and not refer patients outside their practice, Reekers said. And many patients don't know about embolization as a treatment option.
"It's a matter of awareness," Reekers said. "There's enough science to prove that this technique is very, very good. It's just a matter of changing the attitude."
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/hyk58m
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, online June 28, 2010.
10 Ways Depression Hurts Your Health
It’s bad enough that you feel tired, listless and blue. But do you know what depression does to your body? Read on to discover 10 ways the blues hurt your health…
The effects of depression aren’t just in your head.
“Emotions impact your physical health,” says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director of New York University Women’s Heart Program, and author of The Complete Guide to Women’s Health (Ballantine Books).
They disrupt your sleep and rob your sex drive. Depression also takes a toll on your ticker.
But that’s not all. Read on to learn 10 surprising ways depression harms your health.
1. Sick and Sad
Chronic depression can lower your immunity. The result? You get sick more often.
“You may see a higher incidence of colds or infections,” says Kate Muller, Psy.D., director of the cognitive behavior therapy program at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y.
In a 2009 Stanford University study, depressed women with breast cancer had much higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and almost half the immune response of cancer patients who weren’t blue.
Mood booster: Exercise and stress reduction are key to a healthy immune system.
Exercise 30 minutes at least three days a week, Muller says. And when you’re under pressure, she suggests this de-stressing exercise:
1. Sit in a chair, imagining you’re a robot, tensing all of your muscles. Hold for a count of three.
2. Then imagine you are a ragdoll and release muscles for a count of three.
3. Repeat twice.
2. Ticker Troubles
Depression often increases levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, which also boost blood pressure and heart rate, Goldberg says.
Plus, “higher cortisol levels make arteries more vulnerable to plaque build-up,” she explains. As fatty plaque deposits clog arteries, they block blood. All are prescriptions for heart attack and stroke.
Mood booster: To relax, try mindful listening, suggests Muller.
“Select a favorite song or type of music. Close your eyes and listen ‘mindfully,’ picturing each instrument or even imagining each note moving past you,” she says.
This is also an excellent distraction from depressing thoughts, she says.
3. Diet Damage
Melancholy and bad eating are common partners. You nibble too little or gobble too much.
For some people, “the body tends to go into starvation mode,” Muller says. “It shuts down to conserve resources.”
But others pig out. That’s because food is comforting and “eating is a self-soothing or coping behavior,” Muller says.
Mood booster: If your appetite has vanished, munch on something small and healthy – such as veggies, fruit or nuts – every three hours, Muller advises.
“Eating at regular intervals re-regulates your appetite,” she says. “It’s like jumpstarting your body.”
If overeating is the problem, find another soothing activity, especially one that occupies your hands, like knitting, she suggests.
4. Sex Sapper
Hopelessness doesn’t feel sexy – and neither do you when you’re blue. Depressed people have low levels of serotonin (a feel-good brain chemical). That also dampens desire.
Plus, when the body is stressed, whatever isn't necessary for survival – like sexual desire – becomes a luxury, says Muller.
Mood booster: You can’t recharge your libido without treating depression, says Muller.
Unfortunately, many antidepressants also suppress sexual appetite. But some solutions won’t smother the sizzle.
Some antidepressants, such as bupropion (Wellbutrin), don’t squash desire, says Tracy Latz, M.D., an integrative psychiatrist and co-author of Shift: A Woman’s Guide to Transformation (Morgan James Publishing).
Other options:
Buspirone (Buspar), an anxiety medication that raises the effectiveness of antidepressants, so you can take a lower dose.
Fish-oil capsules, which reduce anxiety. Their omega-3 fatty acids may have an indirect calming effect on the brain, Latz says. Start with one 200-250-milligram capsules daily for a week, increase to three, if necessary. “If you have no response after 10 days, it’s probably not going to work,” she says.
5. Energy Zapper
When you’re depressed, just getting off the couch requires a huge effort. Why?
It may that the body is conserving resources and “often, the person isn’t doing enough to recharge,” Muller says.
Mood booster: Find activities that make you happy and feel productive, she says.
Even simple tasks like washing the dishes, clearing clutter or shopping for a special meal “can have a big effect on energy level,” says Muller.
Seek out other small pleasures too, like spending time with friends or renting a chick flick. It’s OK to pamper yourself.
6. Sleep Saboteur
Depression disrupts sleep patterns. People either get too little or too much.
Some stay awake all night because their body “isn’t getting cues it needs to sleep,” says Barbara E. Ensor, Ph.D., a psychologist at Stella Marin, a long-term care facility in Timonum, Md.
Others react by sleeping most of the time.
That's because depressed people often feel abandoned by the world, says Ensor. “Negative thinking kicks in," she says. They think, “I’m going to get in bed and pull the covers up.”
Mood booster: Oversleeping? Don’t allow yourself to sleep at certain times, Ensor advises.
Gradually crank up activities during the day – even 5- to 10-minute bursts are enough to make you sleepier at night.
Sleeping too little? Develop a nighttime ritual.
“Brush your hair, your teeth, read some poetry,” Ensor suggests. “As with small children, you begin to associate those activities with going to sleep.”
7. Baby Bummer
The joy of a new baby can go bust if you’re suffering from the blues.
Part of postpartum depression is hormonal, says Goldberg. “You go from having a high level of [estrogen and progesterone] to low levels.”
Thyroid hormone levels can also drop, adding to fatigue that’s automatic when caring for a newborn. Plus, women also put tremendous pressure on themselves to be perfect in their new role as moms.
Mood booster: Even if you don’t feel like it, go through the motions of bonding with your baby. It can foster a genuine connection, Muller says. “Spend time with your child, just looking at her,” she advises.
But if you can’t care for your newborn, get help from friends and family and see a therapist immediately, says Ensor.
Untreated postpartum depression threatens the infant’s safety and leads to learning and developmental disabilities in childhood.
8. Pain Pusher
Headaches often feel worse when you’re blue. Depressed people feel much stronger pain levels than happy people, according to a 2010 Oxford University study that examined their brain scans.
“A depressed person is already suffering and sees things in a negative way,” Ensor says. They also have fewer activities to distract them from pain.
Mood booster: See a doctor to find out what’s behind your pain and how to banish it. Treating the depression with psychotherapy may also address aches, says Ensor.
9. Stomach Troubles
Is your depression linked to anxiety? Then you probably often suffer diarrhea, upset stomach and ulcers, says Latz.
“Anxiety creates more stomach acid,” leading to gastrointestinal troubles, she says.
Mood booster: Ask your doctor for an antidepressant that addresses anxiety and depression.
“You could try an [serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor] SNRI, such as Effexor or Cymbalta,” Latz suggests. “They handle anxiety, so people tend to be happier.”
10. Back Beater
“With depression, we get more sedentary,” Latz says. “And when we sit more, our leg muscles are chronically flexed.”
When you stand up and you pull on taut leg muscles attached to the pelvis, which creates more strain on the lower back.
“Many depressed people [also] gain weight,” which strains their back, says Latz. “So you have stress and tension on your back from two forces.”
Mood booster: Take a break from your desk chair every hour for 5-15 minutes, changing position and stretching leg muscles, suggests Latz.
She also recommends this exercise:
1. Place your thumb on the outside of your thigh at your hipbone.
2. Push in hard while you take deep breaths. Continue to do that all the way down your thigh.
“All those muscles [will] release,” she says. So will the ones going to the back and pulling on the pelvis.
Are You Depressed?
Here are common depression symptoms, according to psychiatrist Hyla Cass, M.D., co-author of Eight Weeks to Vibrant Heath (Take Charge Books):
Depressed mood most of the time
No interest or pleasure in most activities
Fatigue
Difficulty sleeping – or sleeping too much
No interest in sex
Hopelessness and helplessness
Fuzzy thinking
An inability to make decisions
Consult your doctor if you think you're experiencing depression.
Dorothy Foltz-Gray writes frequently on health issues for Lifescript.
Could You Be Depressed?
Depression affects 20 million people in any given year and is a serious enough disorder to compromise one's ability to function normally day to day. Find out if you're just blue or if you might be clinically depressed.
The effects of depression aren’t just in your head.
“Emotions impact your physical health,” says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director of New York University Women’s Heart Program, and author of The Complete Guide to Women’s Health (Ballantine Books).
They disrupt your sleep and rob your sex drive. Depression also takes a toll on your ticker.
But that’s not all. Read on to learn 10 surprising ways depression harms your health.
1. Sick and Sad
Chronic depression can lower your immunity. The result? You get sick more often.
“You may see a higher incidence of colds or infections,” says Kate Muller, Psy.D., director of the cognitive behavior therapy program at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y.
In a 2009 Stanford University study, depressed women with breast cancer had much higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and almost half the immune response of cancer patients who weren’t blue.
Mood booster: Exercise and stress reduction are key to a healthy immune system.
Exercise 30 minutes at least three days a week, Muller says. And when you’re under pressure, she suggests this de-stressing exercise:
1. Sit in a chair, imagining you’re a robot, tensing all of your muscles. Hold for a count of three.
2. Then imagine you are a ragdoll and release muscles for a count of three.
3. Repeat twice.
2. Ticker Troubles
Depression often increases levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, which also boost blood pressure and heart rate, Goldberg says.
Plus, “higher cortisol levels make arteries more vulnerable to plaque build-up,” she explains. As fatty plaque deposits clog arteries, they block blood. All are prescriptions for heart attack and stroke.
Mood booster: To relax, try mindful listening, suggests Muller.
“Select a favorite song or type of music. Close your eyes and listen ‘mindfully,’ picturing each instrument or even imagining each note moving past you,” she says.
This is also an excellent distraction from depressing thoughts, she says.
3. Diet Damage
Melancholy and bad eating are common partners. You nibble too little or gobble too much.
For some people, “the body tends to go into starvation mode,” Muller says. “It shuts down to conserve resources.”
But others pig out. That’s because food is comforting and “eating is a self-soothing or coping behavior,” Muller says.
Mood booster: If your appetite has vanished, munch on something small and healthy – such as veggies, fruit or nuts – every three hours, Muller advises.
“Eating at regular intervals re-regulates your appetite,” she says. “It’s like jumpstarting your body.”
If overeating is the problem, find another soothing activity, especially one that occupies your hands, like knitting, she suggests.
4. Sex Sapper
Hopelessness doesn’t feel sexy – and neither do you when you’re blue. Depressed people have low levels of serotonin (a feel-good brain chemical). That also dampens desire.
Plus, when the body is stressed, whatever isn't necessary for survival – like sexual desire – becomes a luxury, says Muller.
Mood booster: You can’t recharge your libido without treating depression, says Muller.
Unfortunately, many antidepressants also suppress sexual appetite. But some solutions won’t smother the sizzle.
Some antidepressants, such as bupropion (Wellbutrin), don’t squash desire, says Tracy Latz, M.D., an integrative psychiatrist and co-author of Shift: A Woman’s Guide to Transformation (Morgan James Publishing).
Other options:
Buspirone (Buspar), an anxiety medication that raises the effectiveness of antidepressants, so you can take a lower dose.
Fish-oil capsules, which reduce anxiety. Their omega-3 fatty acids may have an indirect calming effect on the brain, Latz says. Start with one 200-250-milligram capsules daily for a week, increase to three, if necessary. “If you have no response after 10 days, it’s probably not going to work,” she says.
5. Energy Zapper
When you’re depressed, just getting off the couch requires a huge effort. Why?
It may that the body is conserving resources and “often, the person isn’t doing enough to recharge,” Muller says.
Mood booster: Find activities that make you happy and feel productive, she says.
Even simple tasks like washing the dishes, clearing clutter or shopping for a special meal “can have a big effect on energy level,” says Muller.
Seek out other small pleasures too, like spending time with friends or renting a chick flick. It’s OK to pamper yourself.
6. Sleep Saboteur
Depression disrupts sleep patterns. People either get too little or too much.
Some stay awake all night because their body “isn’t getting cues it needs to sleep,” says Barbara E. Ensor, Ph.D., a psychologist at Stella Marin, a long-term care facility in Timonum, Md.
Others react by sleeping most of the time.
That's because depressed people often feel abandoned by the world, says Ensor. “Negative thinking kicks in," she says. They think, “I’m going to get in bed and pull the covers up.”
Mood booster: Oversleeping? Don’t allow yourself to sleep at certain times, Ensor advises.
Gradually crank up activities during the day – even 5- to 10-minute bursts are enough to make you sleepier at night.
Sleeping too little? Develop a nighttime ritual.
“Brush your hair, your teeth, read some poetry,” Ensor suggests. “As with small children, you begin to associate those activities with going to sleep.”
7. Baby Bummer
The joy of a new baby can go bust if you’re suffering from the blues.
Part of postpartum depression is hormonal, says Goldberg. “You go from having a high level of [estrogen and progesterone] to low levels.”
Thyroid hormone levels can also drop, adding to fatigue that’s automatic when caring for a newborn. Plus, women also put tremendous pressure on themselves to be perfect in their new role as moms.
Mood booster: Even if you don’t feel like it, go through the motions of bonding with your baby. It can foster a genuine connection, Muller says. “Spend time with your child, just looking at her,” she advises.
But if you can’t care for your newborn, get help from friends and family and see a therapist immediately, says Ensor.
Untreated postpartum depression threatens the infant’s safety and leads to learning and developmental disabilities in childhood.
8. Pain Pusher
Headaches often feel worse when you’re blue. Depressed people feel much stronger pain levels than happy people, according to a 2010 Oxford University study that examined their brain scans.
“A depressed person is already suffering and sees things in a negative way,” Ensor says. They also have fewer activities to distract them from pain.
Mood booster: See a doctor to find out what’s behind your pain and how to banish it. Treating the depression with psychotherapy may also address aches, says Ensor.
9. Stomach Troubles
Is your depression linked to anxiety? Then you probably often suffer diarrhea, upset stomach and ulcers, says Latz.
“Anxiety creates more stomach acid,” leading to gastrointestinal troubles, she says.
Mood booster: Ask your doctor for an antidepressant that addresses anxiety and depression.
“You could try an [serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor] SNRI, such as Effexor or Cymbalta,” Latz suggests. “They handle anxiety, so people tend to be happier.”
10. Back Beater
“With depression, we get more sedentary,” Latz says. “And when we sit more, our leg muscles are chronically flexed.”
When you stand up and you pull on taut leg muscles attached to the pelvis, which creates more strain on the lower back.
“Many depressed people [also] gain weight,” which strains their back, says Latz. “So you have stress and tension on your back from two forces.”
Mood booster: Take a break from your desk chair every hour for 5-15 minutes, changing position and stretching leg muscles, suggests Latz.
She also recommends this exercise:
1. Place your thumb on the outside of your thigh at your hipbone.
2. Push in hard while you take deep breaths. Continue to do that all the way down your thigh.
“All those muscles [will] release,” she says. So will the ones going to the back and pulling on the pelvis.
Are You Depressed?
Here are common depression symptoms, according to psychiatrist Hyla Cass, M.D., co-author of Eight Weeks to Vibrant Heath (Take Charge Books):
Depressed mood most of the time
No interest or pleasure in most activities
Fatigue
Difficulty sleeping – or sleeping too much
No interest in sex
Hopelessness and helplessness
Fuzzy thinking
An inability to make decisions
Consult your doctor if you think you're experiencing depression.
Dorothy Foltz-Gray writes frequently on health issues for Lifescript.
Could You Be Depressed?
Depression affects 20 million people in any given year and is a serious enough disorder to compromise one's ability to function normally day to day. Find out if you're just blue or if you might be clinically depressed.
Ten Things You Missed at Taking Action for Animals 2010
Posted: 30 Jul 2010 02:19 PM PDT
The HSUS
Rep. Nick Rahall's dog Billie Sue joined us at the banquet dinner.
Last weekend nearly 1,000 advocates from across the nation came together for The HSUS’s sixth annual Taking Action for Animals, connecting with other advocates and learning how to make the best possible case for animal protection. I’ve captured just a few of the highlights here, and you can also see a recap in this video from the event. If you joined us at TAFA, I’d also love to hear your thoughts—and please save the date for next year’s conference, July 15-18.
A laugh-out-loud performance by actor and comedian Hal Sparks at Saturday night’s banquet dinner, where we learned that Sparks shares a house with Chewbacca and Barbara Walters (a chow mix and Pomeranian, respectively).
Meeting Rep. Nick Rahall’s adopted dog Billie Sue, rescued from the D.C. streets just before last winter’s blizzards.
A standing ovation for our four lively plenary speakers: radio personality Jerry Cesak, author Meg Daley Olmert, ethologist and author Jonathan Balcombe, and photographer, "America’s Next Top Model" judge and HSUS spokesperson Nigel Barker.
The HSUS
Members of Opportunities for Action at the TAFA Student Summit.
The first-ever student summit, attended by 60 incredibly inspiring students and parents from all across the country, including Colorado, California and Michigan. Students learned about being an effective advocate for animals and how to get more involved, then rounded out the day by writing letters to their legislators. One group of youth, Opportunities for Action of New Jersey, woke at 2 a.m. to arrive at the conference on time. And before TAFA they sold homemade cookies, raising $350 for The HSUS’s anti-animal fighting campaign, $2.50 at a time.
A packed exhibit hall with 72 fantastic exhibitors—including animal advocacy organizations, commercial vendors selling animal-friendly products, and authors signing their books for attendees—and happy four-legged faces greeting you throughout the conference, from Pud, a cat on a leash, to Dolce, the friendly registration desk dog.
At a Social Media 101 workshop—one of more than 20 TAFA workshops on a wide range of topics—you would have learned how nonprofits can receive up to $10,000 per month in free advertising through Google Grants and have a donation button placed on their YouTube page.
The HSUS
The HSUS's Michael Markarian and Wendie Malick.
Insight into what keeps “Hot in Cleveland” actress Wendie Malick up at night (the plight of wild horses) and her hopes for a postcard brigade—an army of advocates who mail postcards to the Bureau of Land Management and congressmen, asking for an end to wild horse roundups.
The crowning of the first “mayor” of TAFA (Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue) on Foursquare, a location-based social networking website, and prizes to Foursquare users who "checked in" at the conference.
One-on-one meetings with your legislators at a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, and a Get Ready to Lobby training session on how to effectively communicate with legislators and their staff.
A lot of tweeting, and not from birds. We had a lively dialogue and conference play-by-play on the social networking site Twitter. Here are just a few examples:
A footnote: On Tuesday I asked you to submit comments to the Bureau of Land Management on the agency’s new policy proposal for wild horse and burro management. Since that time, we’ve heard from many of you who had difficulties using the BLM’s online comment submission system. We contacted the BLM immediately on your behalf and, as a result, we’re now providing the opportunity for you to submit your comments via email through humanesociety.org. Please make your voice heard before Aug. 3 in support of humane, sustainable programs for managing the herds.
The HSUS
Rep. Nick Rahall's dog Billie Sue joined us at the banquet dinner.
Last weekend nearly 1,000 advocates from across the nation came together for The HSUS’s sixth annual Taking Action for Animals, connecting with other advocates and learning how to make the best possible case for animal protection. I’ve captured just a few of the highlights here, and you can also see a recap in this video from the event. If you joined us at TAFA, I’d also love to hear your thoughts—and please save the date for next year’s conference, July 15-18.
A laugh-out-loud performance by actor and comedian Hal Sparks at Saturday night’s banquet dinner, where we learned that Sparks shares a house with Chewbacca and Barbara Walters (a chow mix and Pomeranian, respectively).
Meeting Rep. Nick Rahall’s adopted dog Billie Sue, rescued from the D.C. streets just before last winter’s blizzards.
A standing ovation for our four lively plenary speakers: radio personality Jerry Cesak, author Meg Daley Olmert, ethologist and author Jonathan Balcombe, and photographer, "America’s Next Top Model" judge and HSUS spokesperson Nigel Barker.
The HSUS
Members of Opportunities for Action at the TAFA Student Summit.
The first-ever student summit, attended by 60 incredibly inspiring students and parents from all across the country, including Colorado, California and Michigan. Students learned about being an effective advocate for animals and how to get more involved, then rounded out the day by writing letters to their legislators. One group of youth, Opportunities for Action of New Jersey, woke at 2 a.m. to arrive at the conference on time. And before TAFA they sold homemade cookies, raising $350 for The HSUS’s anti-animal fighting campaign, $2.50 at a time.
A packed exhibit hall with 72 fantastic exhibitors—including animal advocacy organizations, commercial vendors selling animal-friendly products, and authors signing their books for attendees—and happy four-legged faces greeting you throughout the conference, from Pud, a cat on a leash, to Dolce, the friendly registration desk dog.
At a Social Media 101 workshop—one of more than 20 TAFA workshops on a wide range of topics—you would have learned how nonprofits can receive up to $10,000 per month in free advertising through Google Grants and have a donation button placed on their YouTube page.
The HSUS
The HSUS's Michael Markarian and Wendie Malick.
Insight into what keeps “Hot in Cleveland” actress Wendie Malick up at night (the plight of wild horses) and her hopes for a postcard brigade—an army of advocates who mail postcards to the Bureau of Land Management and congressmen, asking for an end to wild horse roundups.
The crowning of the first “mayor” of TAFA (Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue) on Foursquare, a location-based social networking website, and prizes to Foursquare users who "checked in" at the conference.
One-on-one meetings with your legislators at a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, and a Get Ready to Lobby training session on how to effectively communicate with legislators and their staff.
A lot of tweeting, and not from birds. We had a lively dialogue and conference play-by-play on the social networking site Twitter. Here are just a few examples:
A footnote: On Tuesday I asked you to submit comments to the Bureau of Land Management on the agency’s new policy proposal for wild horse and burro management. Since that time, we’ve heard from many of you who had difficulties using the BLM’s online comment submission system. We contacted the BLM immediately on your behalf and, as a result, we’re now providing the opportunity for you to submit your comments via email through humanesociety.org. Please make your voice heard before Aug. 3 in support of humane, sustainable programs for managing the herds.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Jobs, professions influence cause of death: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - What a person does for a living could play in role in how they die, according to new research.
After analyzing 1.6 million deaths over a decade, British scientists found that painters, bricklayers and roofers had about twice the average rate of death from drug abuse, while merchant seamen, cooks and bar staff had a higher risk of alcohol-related deaths.
And dressmakers and hairdressers had nine times the average risk of death from HIV/AIDS.
"This study demonstrates that there are major differences between occupational groups in their risk of death from drug and alcohol-related diseases," said Dr. David Coggon, of the Medical Research Council in Southampton, England, who headed the research team.
Although the diseases linked to certain types of death are unlikely to be a direct consequence of work, Coggon said the study published in the journal Occupational Medicine could open up new methods of prevention.
"The findings are important because they indicate opportunities for targeted interventions to prevent illness and promote health," he added. "The workplace is an ideal environment to pick up on drug and alcohol problems and to put in policies to improve safety and productivity and to help workers."
Coggon and his team analyzed all deaths among men and women aged 16 to74 years in England and Wales during 1991-2000. They found merchant seamen had a high risk for death from cirrhosis and other alcohol-related illnesses such as cancer of the liver and mouth and from accidents like falling down stairs.
Higher than average risk of death from HIV/AIDS was found among male tailors and dressmakers and male hairdressers, while accidental poisoning by drugs was high among male painters, decorators, bricklayers, plasterers and roofers.
"Although it may not be so obvious, the workplace is also a good setting to provide health information about safe sex practice, as part of a general health promotion program," said Dr Olivia Carlton, the president of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
"This study allows us to target the high risk occupations," she added.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/xus79m Occupational Medicine, August 2010.
After analyzing 1.6 million deaths over a decade, British scientists found that painters, bricklayers and roofers had about twice the average rate of death from drug abuse, while merchant seamen, cooks and bar staff had a higher risk of alcohol-related deaths.
And dressmakers and hairdressers had nine times the average risk of death from HIV/AIDS.
"This study demonstrates that there are major differences between occupational groups in their risk of death from drug and alcohol-related diseases," said Dr. David Coggon, of the Medical Research Council in Southampton, England, who headed the research team.
Although the diseases linked to certain types of death are unlikely to be a direct consequence of work, Coggon said the study published in the journal Occupational Medicine could open up new methods of prevention.
"The findings are important because they indicate opportunities for targeted interventions to prevent illness and promote health," he added. "The workplace is an ideal environment to pick up on drug and alcohol problems and to put in policies to improve safety and productivity and to help workers."
Coggon and his team analyzed all deaths among men and women aged 16 to74 years in England and Wales during 1991-2000. They found merchant seamen had a high risk for death from cirrhosis and other alcohol-related illnesses such as cancer of the liver and mouth and from accidents like falling down stairs.
Higher than average risk of death from HIV/AIDS was found among male tailors and dressmakers and male hairdressers, while accidental poisoning by drugs was high among male painters, decorators, bricklayers, plasterers and roofers.
"Although it may not be so obvious, the workplace is also a good setting to provide health information about safe sex practice, as part of a general health promotion program," said Dr Olivia Carlton, the president of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
"This study allows us to target the high risk occupations," she added.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/xus79m Occupational Medicine, August 2010.
Mental health experts ask: Will anyone be normal?
LONDON (Reuters) - An updated edition of a mental health bible for doctors may include diagnoses for "disorders" such as toddler tantrums and binge eating, experts say, and could mean that soon no-one will be classed as normal.
Leading mental health experts gave a briefing on Tuesday to warn that a new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is being revised now for publication in 2013, could devalue the seriousness of mental illness and label almost everyone as having some kind of disorder.
Citing examples of new additions like "mild anxiety depression", "psychosis risk syndrome", and "temper dysregulation disorder", they said many people previously seen as perfectly healthy could in future be told they are ill.
"It's leaking into normality. It is shrinking the pool of what is normal to a puddle," said Til Wykes of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London.
The DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and contains descriptions, symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. It is seen as the global diagnostic bible for the field of mental health medicine.
The criteria are designed to provide clear definitions for professionals who treat patients with mental disorders, and for researchers and pharmaceutical drug companies seeking to develop new ways of treating them.
Wykes and colleagues Felicity Callard, also of Kings' Institute of Psychiatry, and Nick Craddock of Cardiff University's department of psychological medicine and neurology, said many in the psychiatric community are worried that the further the guidelines are expanded, the more likely it will become that nobody will be classed as normal any more.
"Technically, with the classification of so many new disorders, we will all have disorders," they said in a joint statement. "This may lead to the belief that many more of us 'need' drugs to treat our 'conditions' -- (and) many of these drugs will have unpleasant or dangerous side effects."
The scientists said "psychosis risk syndrome" diagnosis was particularly worrying, since it could falsely label young people who may only have a small risk of developing an illness.
"It's a bit like telling 10 people with a common cold that they are "at risk for pneumonia syndrome" when only one is likely to get the disorder," Wykes told the briefing.
The American Psychiatric Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The scientists gave examples from the previous revision to the DSM, which was called DSM 4 and included broader diagnoses and categories for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and childhood bipolar disorders.
This, they said, had "contributed to three false epidemics" of these conditions, particularly in the United States.
"During the last decade, how many doctors were harangued by worried parents into giving drugs like Ritalin to children who didn't really need it?" their statement asked.
Millions of people across the world, many of them children, take ADHD drugs including Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse. In the United States alone, sales of these drugs in 2008 were about $4.8 billion.
Wykes and Callard published a comment in The Journal of Mental Health expressing their concern about the upcoming DSM revision and highlighting another 10 or more papers in the same journal from other scientists who were also worried. DSM 5 is due to be published in May 2013.
Leading mental health experts gave a briefing on Tuesday to warn that a new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is being revised now for publication in 2013, could devalue the seriousness of mental illness and label almost everyone as having some kind of disorder.
Citing examples of new additions like "mild anxiety depression", "psychosis risk syndrome", and "temper dysregulation disorder", they said many people previously seen as perfectly healthy could in future be told they are ill.
"It's leaking into normality. It is shrinking the pool of what is normal to a puddle," said Til Wykes of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London.
The DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and contains descriptions, symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. It is seen as the global diagnostic bible for the field of mental health medicine.
The criteria are designed to provide clear definitions for professionals who treat patients with mental disorders, and for researchers and pharmaceutical drug companies seeking to develop new ways of treating them.
Wykes and colleagues Felicity Callard, also of Kings' Institute of Psychiatry, and Nick Craddock of Cardiff University's department of psychological medicine and neurology, said many in the psychiatric community are worried that the further the guidelines are expanded, the more likely it will become that nobody will be classed as normal any more.
"Technically, with the classification of so many new disorders, we will all have disorders," they said in a joint statement. "This may lead to the belief that many more of us 'need' drugs to treat our 'conditions' -- (and) many of these drugs will have unpleasant or dangerous side effects."
The scientists said "psychosis risk syndrome" diagnosis was particularly worrying, since it could falsely label young people who may only have a small risk of developing an illness.
"It's a bit like telling 10 people with a common cold that they are "at risk for pneumonia syndrome" when only one is likely to get the disorder," Wykes told the briefing.
The American Psychiatric Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The scientists gave examples from the previous revision to the DSM, which was called DSM 4 and included broader diagnoses and categories for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and childhood bipolar disorders.
This, they said, had "contributed to three false epidemics" of these conditions, particularly in the United States.
"During the last decade, how many doctors were harangued by worried parents into giving drugs like Ritalin to children who didn't really need it?" their statement asked.
Millions of people across the world, many of them children, take ADHD drugs including Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse. In the United States alone, sales of these drugs in 2008 were about $4.8 billion.
Wykes and Callard published a comment in The Journal of Mental Health expressing their concern about the upcoming DSM revision and highlighting another 10 or more papers in the same journal from other scientists who were also worried. DSM 5 is due to be published in May 2013.
Memory Loss? 10 Natural Remedies
You get in the car. But wait – you’ve forgotten something. So you go back into the house only to stand there and wonder, What did I want? If this sounds familiar, there's good news: Your brain is incredibly adaptable, even improving with age if you treat your mental muscles right. Here are 10 steps that help…
When noggin retention slips and you start forgetting names, misplacing your glasses or letting appointments slide, it’s scary. You wonder: Am I going senile?
So what causes forgetfulness? For starters, too much stress, not enough sleep, bad nutrition, medication (especially cholesterol-lowering drugs) or other health issues.
Women can blame their hormones too. Estrogen fuels memory function, which is why many of us complain of foggy brains during pregnancy, just after delivery or before and during menopause, when hormone levels decline or fluctuate.
In fact, lower estrogen levels at any age can wreak havoc on a woman’s ability to think clearly, remember details and concentrate. According to a 2006 study at McGill University in Canada, young women with too little estrogen suffered the same memory problems as those in menopause.
But there’s hope. Your brain freeze may be temporary and even reversible, according to UCLA researchers.
The study, reported last year in the medical journal Neurology, found that women processed information better with repeated testing during early perimenopause and postmenopause. The scores of late perimenopausal women didn’t improve much but those with low grades did much better when tested after it was all over.
No matter your age, there are ways to keep your brain functioning in balance. Start with these 10 smart tips:
1. Eat Regularly
The brain makes up 2%-3% of the body’s weight but uses 20% of its energy, according to Stephanie McClellan, M.D., co-author of So Stressed (Simon & Schuster Free Press).
“The fuel the brain requires is staggering, so we need consistent calorie intake to function at our best.”
McClellan recommends eating every 2-3 hours. Choose healthy, filling snacks high in protein, fiber and some fat, like a small handful of almonds, celery sticks with peanut butter or a piece of string cheese.
2. Super-Size Your Brain
Super foods such as spinach, strawberries and blueberries are a delicious way to boost brain function. A diet rich in those foods reversed age-related brain changes, according to a 2000 study by James Joseph, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Tufts University in Boston.
Try for a daily serving of berries or spinach. Stock up on frozen berries and make a memory-enhancing morning smoothie or cook up some spinach as a tasty side dish.
Or pick up some Thai or Indian food for dinner. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that older people who ate curry – as infrequently as once every six months – had sharper mental function and less cognitive decline than those who didn’t.
3. Drink Hot Beverages
Coffee, tea or hot cocoa? All three provide comfort and boost brain function.
Several studies have found short- and long-term mental benefits from drinking coffee. A 2007 study of 7,000 women by French researchers found significantly less memory loss in women over age 65 who drank three or more cups a day – and the effect got better with age.
Green tea has powerful antioxidants, soaking up cell-damaging free radicals and reducing the risk of stroke. Cocoa improves blood flow to the brain and heart.
4. Watch the Spirits
Although a drink a day can be good for the body and relaxing for the soul, anything more plays a role in forgetfulness.
A 2003 University of Teesside in England study found 25% more memory problems in people who consumed more than 10 drinks a week. Lead researcher Jonathan Ling said recall loss included everyday things, like forgetting birthdays or where you put the keys and missing appointments.
Limit yourself one drink a day – or less – and explore other ways to relax, such as taking a bath, yoga or exercising.
And it’s never too late to curb a drinking habit, because the brain can heal itself and reverse memory loss, according to a 2006 study led by Andreas Bartsch, M.D., at the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
5. Take Your Vitamins
“The brain needs a variety of vitamins, minerals and enzymes to run properly, just like a car needs gasoline and oil,” McClellan says.
Although a balanced diet with a variety of foods is the best source of brain fuel, multivitamins are a good insurance policy.
Folic acid, in particular, appears to improve brain function, according to a 2005 Dutch study. Look for a multivitamin with at least the recommended daily dose (400 micrograms). Fortified cereals, grains and leafy greens are good sources too.
6. Stock Up on Herbs
Nature provides some brain-boosters too.
Ginkgo biloba, made from dried leaves of the ginkgo tree, has shown promise for clearing up fuzzy thinking and memory problems.
Complementary medicine guru Andrew Weil, M.D., founder and director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, recommends taking 40 mg of ginkgo three times a day with meals for two months to see mental improvement.
Fish oil is another supplement that provides brain food, in particular, a component of omega-3 fatty acids known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The American Heart Association recommends taking 1 gram of omega-3 fish oil daily or eating 4 ounces of salmon, sardines and tuna twice a week for optimal memory function.
7. Make Time to Unwind
Chronic stress can cause changes in the brain, permanently damaging memory since it shrinks and destroys brain tissue, McClellan says.
So work downtime into your day – a walk around the block, watching your favorite TV show or curling up with a good book before bed. Your brain needs a little TLC every day.
8. Go Out and Play
Who said games were just for kids? Research – like the ongoing Seattle Longitudinal Study, which observed psychological developments in adults – has found that grown-ups who play mind games reap the benefits too. Learning creates new pathways in the brain, which keeps you young.
Try the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper, grab a Sudoku book (a book full of number puzzles) or go high-tech with Nintendo’s Brain Age, a handheld video game system for adults.
Or explore an untapped interest: Take a painting class at a community center, an algebra class at the local college or rock climbing at the local Y.
9. Get Moving
Work out the body and your mind will stay young. A 2006 University of Illinois review of exercise research over the last 40 years found that staying active also helps keep the brain in top shape.
Not only do physically active adults who exercise prevent age-related brain decline, they actually reverse it with as little as a half-hour walk a day. Regular aerobic activity fueled the growth of new brain cells, improving concentration and decision-making abilities as a result.
Researchers also found that sedentary middle-agers who got moving experienced similar increases in sharpness and speed of thought as their younger counterparts.
10. Find Your Slumber Cycle
Getting enough sleep has a domino effect on the brain and body, affecting everything from mood to memory to sex drive. So sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
And lose the bright distractions at night: Turn off TVs, cell phones and computers. It signals the brain that it’s time to relax. Instead, listen to soothing music and dim the lights.
When noggin retention slips and you start forgetting names, misplacing your glasses or letting appointments slide, it’s scary. You wonder: Am I going senile?
So what causes forgetfulness? For starters, too much stress, not enough sleep, bad nutrition, medication (especially cholesterol-lowering drugs) or other health issues.
Women can blame their hormones too. Estrogen fuels memory function, which is why many of us complain of foggy brains during pregnancy, just after delivery or before and during menopause, when hormone levels decline or fluctuate.
In fact, lower estrogen levels at any age can wreak havoc on a woman’s ability to think clearly, remember details and concentrate. According to a 2006 study at McGill University in Canada, young women with too little estrogen suffered the same memory problems as those in menopause.
But there’s hope. Your brain freeze may be temporary and even reversible, according to UCLA researchers.
The study, reported last year in the medical journal Neurology, found that women processed information better with repeated testing during early perimenopause and postmenopause. The scores of late perimenopausal women didn’t improve much but those with low grades did much better when tested after it was all over.
No matter your age, there are ways to keep your brain functioning in balance. Start with these 10 smart tips:
1. Eat Regularly
The brain makes up 2%-3% of the body’s weight but uses 20% of its energy, according to Stephanie McClellan, M.D., co-author of So Stressed (Simon & Schuster Free Press).
“The fuel the brain requires is staggering, so we need consistent calorie intake to function at our best.”
McClellan recommends eating every 2-3 hours. Choose healthy, filling snacks high in protein, fiber and some fat, like a small handful of almonds, celery sticks with peanut butter or a piece of string cheese.
2. Super-Size Your Brain
Super foods such as spinach, strawberries and blueberries are a delicious way to boost brain function. A diet rich in those foods reversed age-related brain changes, according to a 2000 study by James Joseph, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Tufts University in Boston.
Try for a daily serving of berries or spinach. Stock up on frozen berries and make a memory-enhancing morning smoothie or cook up some spinach as a tasty side dish.
Or pick up some Thai or Indian food for dinner. A 2006 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that older people who ate curry – as infrequently as once every six months – had sharper mental function and less cognitive decline than those who didn’t.
3. Drink Hot Beverages
Coffee, tea or hot cocoa? All three provide comfort and boost brain function.
Several studies have found short- and long-term mental benefits from drinking coffee. A 2007 study of 7,000 women by French researchers found significantly less memory loss in women over age 65 who drank three or more cups a day – and the effect got better with age.
Green tea has powerful antioxidants, soaking up cell-damaging free radicals and reducing the risk of stroke. Cocoa improves blood flow to the brain and heart.
4. Watch the Spirits
Although a drink a day can be good for the body and relaxing for the soul, anything more plays a role in forgetfulness.
A 2003 University of Teesside in England study found 25% more memory problems in people who consumed more than 10 drinks a week. Lead researcher Jonathan Ling said recall loss included everyday things, like forgetting birthdays or where you put the keys and missing appointments.
Limit yourself one drink a day – or less – and explore other ways to relax, such as taking a bath, yoga or exercising.
And it’s never too late to curb a drinking habit, because the brain can heal itself and reverse memory loss, according to a 2006 study led by Andreas Bartsch, M.D., at the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
5. Take Your Vitamins
“The brain needs a variety of vitamins, minerals and enzymes to run properly, just like a car needs gasoline and oil,” McClellan says.
Although a balanced diet with a variety of foods is the best source of brain fuel, multivitamins are a good insurance policy.
Folic acid, in particular, appears to improve brain function, according to a 2005 Dutch study. Look for a multivitamin with at least the recommended daily dose (400 micrograms). Fortified cereals, grains and leafy greens are good sources too.
6. Stock Up on Herbs
Nature provides some brain-boosters too.
Ginkgo biloba, made from dried leaves of the ginkgo tree, has shown promise for clearing up fuzzy thinking and memory problems.
Complementary medicine guru Andrew Weil, M.D., founder and director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, recommends taking 40 mg of ginkgo three times a day with meals for two months to see mental improvement.
Fish oil is another supplement that provides brain food, in particular, a component of omega-3 fatty acids known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The American Heart Association recommends taking 1 gram of omega-3 fish oil daily or eating 4 ounces of salmon, sardines and tuna twice a week for optimal memory function.
7. Make Time to Unwind
Chronic stress can cause changes in the brain, permanently damaging memory since it shrinks and destroys brain tissue, McClellan says.
So work downtime into your day – a walk around the block, watching your favorite TV show or curling up with a good book before bed. Your brain needs a little TLC every day.
8. Go Out and Play
Who said games were just for kids? Research – like the ongoing Seattle Longitudinal Study, which observed psychological developments in adults – has found that grown-ups who play mind games reap the benefits too. Learning creates new pathways in the brain, which keeps you young.
Try the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper, grab a Sudoku book (a book full of number puzzles) or go high-tech with Nintendo’s Brain Age, a handheld video game system for adults.
Or explore an untapped interest: Take a painting class at a community center, an algebra class at the local college or rock climbing at the local Y.
9. Get Moving
Work out the body and your mind will stay young. A 2006 University of Illinois review of exercise research over the last 40 years found that staying active also helps keep the brain in top shape.
Not only do physically active adults who exercise prevent age-related brain decline, they actually reverse it with as little as a half-hour walk a day. Regular aerobic activity fueled the growth of new brain cells, improving concentration and decision-making abilities as a result.
Researchers also found that sedentary middle-agers who got moving experienced similar increases in sharpness and speed of thought as their younger counterparts.
10. Find Your Slumber Cycle
Getting enough sleep has a domino effect on the brain and body, affecting everything from mood to memory to sex drive. So sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
And lose the bright distractions at night: Turn off TVs, cell phones and computers. It signals the brain that it’s time to relax. Instead, listen to soothing music and dim the lights.
VITAMIN D REDUCES RISK OF COGNITIVE DECLINE & DEMENTIA
Regular readers of this column are already well aware of the preventive effects of Vitamin D with respect to falls in the elderly, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. (My new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” which is scheduled to be published in August, 2010, contains an exciting and comprehensive update on the role of Vitamin D in cancer prevention.) Now, a newly published research study, which appears in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, has linked low Vitamin D levels in the blood with an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia in adults over the age of 65.
A total of 858 adults at or over the age of 65 participated in this prospective public health study, which was conducted over a period of 7 years. All of these study volunteers underwent extensive evaluation of their cognitive function, using validated, standardized tests, when they entered into the study. All patients also underwent testing of their blood for Vitamin D levels. This extensive evaluation and testing was then repeated every 3 years during the course of this important clinical research study.
The results of this study indicated that patient volunteers with low Vitamin D levels in the blood (less than 25 nmol/liter), when compared with volunteers with normal blood levels of Vitamin D (75 nmol/liter, or higher), experienced significant declines in their intellectual function over the course of this study. Indeed, the patient volunteers with decreased Vitamin D levels in their blood were as much as 60 percent more likely to experience progressive cognitive decline or dementia over the relatively brief duration of this study, when compared with the patients who had normal levels of Vitamin D in their blood!
The results of this study are very similar to the findings of a similar study, which has just been published in the journal Neurology. In this particular study, an inadequate level of Vitamin D in the blood of elderly men and women was associated with a significantly increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia from all causes, including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. Moreover, abnormalities of the brain, as detected by MRI scans, were also more commonly observed in patients who were deficient in Vitamin D.
Vitamin D deficiency is very common in older men and women. An estimated 80 percent of people over the age of 65 have inadequate levels of Vitamin D in their blood, while as many as 45 percent of older men and women also have severe Vitamin D deficiency.
The results of these two studies strongly suggest that adequate levels of Vitamin D in the blood may be associated with a significantly reduced risk of aging-associated cognitive decline and dementia in older men and women, in addition to improving muscle strength, decreasing the risk of certain cancers, and decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Not everyone should take large doses of Vitamin D, however, as the unmonitored use of this potent hormone-like vitamin can cause dangerous elevations in the level of calcium in the blood, as well as calcifications in the soft tissues of the body, kidney failure, pancreatitis, and gastrointestinal ulcers. (Prior to starting Vitamin D supplements, you should certainly discuss the risks and benefits of Vitamin D supplementation with your physician.)
To learn more about the critical role of Vitamin D and the risk of cancer, look for the publication of my new landmark book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” in the August of this year.
A total of 858 adults at or over the age of 65 participated in this prospective public health study, which was conducted over a period of 7 years. All of these study volunteers underwent extensive evaluation of their cognitive function, using validated, standardized tests, when they entered into the study. All patients also underwent testing of their blood for Vitamin D levels. This extensive evaluation and testing was then repeated every 3 years during the course of this important clinical research study.
The results of this study indicated that patient volunteers with low Vitamin D levels in the blood (less than 25 nmol/liter), when compared with volunteers with normal blood levels of Vitamin D (75 nmol/liter, or higher), experienced significant declines in their intellectual function over the course of this study. Indeed, the patient volunteers with decreased Vitamin D levels in their blood were as much as 60 percent more likely to experience progressive cognitive decline or dementia over the relatively brief duration of this study, when compared with the patients who had normal levels of Vitamin D in their blood!
The results of this study are very similar to the findings of a similar study, which has just been published in the journal Neurology. In this particular study, an inadequate level of Vitamin D in the blood of elderly men and women was associated with a significantly increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia from all causes, including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. Moreover, abnormalities of the brain, as detected by MRI scans, were also more commonly observed in patients who were deficient in Vitamin D.
Vitamin D deficiency is very common in older men and women. An estimated 80 percent of people over the age of 65 have inadequate levels of Vitamin D in their blood, while as many as 45 percent of older men and women also have severe Vitamin D deficiency.
The results of these two studies strongly suggest that adequate levels of Vitamin D in the blood may be associated with a significantly reduced risk of aging-associated cognitive decline and dementia in older men and women, in addition to improving muscle strength, decreasing the risk of certain cancers, and decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Not everyone should take large doses of Vitamin D, however, as the unmonitored use of this potent hormone-like vitamin can cause dangerous elevations in the level of calcium in the blood, as well as calcifications in the soft tissues of the body, kidney failure, pancreatitis, and gastrointestinal ulcers. (Prior to starting Vitamin D supplements, you should certainly discuss the risks and benefits of Vitamin D supplementation with your physician.)
To learn more about the critical role of Vitamin D and the risk of cancer, look for the publication of my new landmark book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” in the August of this year.
Evidence Mounts for Obesity, Cancer Link
We have become the heaviest people in the history of our species, with two-thirds of Americans officially classified as overweight, and one of every three tipping the scales into the “obese” range.
A newly published public health study underscores the disturbing extent to which excess weight increases our risks of several common types of cancer.
Day after day, too many of us load up with more fat- and calorie-packed foods than our bodies can utilize. Surrounded by effort-saving devices that have drastically reduced our food-derived energy needs, a majority of Americans are becoming progressively heavier and heavier.
Moreover, obesity now affects a shocking percentage of children and adolescents in our society. It is no longer uncommon to see children and teens with obesity-related diseases previously seen only in adults, such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, gallstones, and cardiovascular disease.
In addition to these chronic illnesses, it has become abundantly clear that excess weight also increases the risk of multiple types of cancer. The latest evidence appears in The Lancet Oncology, reporting on a huge study of more than 400,000 patient volunteers from Asia, Australia, and New Zealand who were followed for an average of four years.
The study found that obese participants (BMI of 30 or higher) had a 21 percent higher risk of death due to cancer than those of normal weight (BMI less than 25).
The risks for the obese of dying from certain specific types of cancer were even higher, including:
· 50 percent increased risk of death due to colon cancer;
· 68 percent for rectal cancer;
· 63 percent for breast cancer (in postmenopausal women);
· 162 percent for ovarian cancer;
· 321 percent for cancer of the cervix;
· 45 percent for prostate cancer;
· 66 percent for leukemia.
These findings are worrisome, to say the least, given the growing public health problem posed by obesity not just in the United States but, increasingly, around the world. The list of chronic, major illnesses associated with obesity continues to expand (along with our collective waistlines).
If you are overweight or obese, please consult with your physician for advice on how best to lose your excess weight. Meanwhile, sharply reduce your intake of high-calorie and high-fat foods, and begin a responsible and consistent exercise program, under your physician’s supervision.
(For a more detailed discussion of the scientific links between obesity and cancer, look for my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, in August.)
A newly published public health study underscores the disturbing extent to which excess weight increases our risks of several common types of cancer.
Day after day, too many of us load up with more fat- and calorie-packed foods than our bodies can utilize. Surrounded by effort-saving devices that have drastically reduced our food-derived energy needs, a majority of Americans are becoming progressively heavier and heavier.
Moreover, obesity now affects a shocking percentage of children and adolescents in our society. It is no longer uncommon to see children and teens with obesity-related diseases previously seen only in adults, such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, gallstones, and cardiovascular disease.
In addition to these chronic illnesses, it has become abundantly clear that excess weight also increases the risk of multiple types of cancer. The latest evidence appears in The Lancet Oncology, reporting on a huge study of more than 400,000 patient volunteers from Asia, Australia, and New Zealand who were followed for an average of four years.
The study found that obese participants (BMI of 30 or higher) had a 21 percent higher risk of death due to cancer than those of normal weight (BMI less than 25).
The risks for the obese of dying from certain specific types of cancer were even higher, including:
· 50 percent increased risk of death due to colon cancer;
· 68 percent for rectal cancer;
· 63 percent for breast cancer (in postmenopausal women);
· 162 percent for ovarian cancer;
· 321 percent for cancer of the cervix;
· 45 percent for prostate cancer;
· 66 percent for leukemia.
These findings are worrisome, to say the least, given the growing public health problem posed by obesity not just in the United States but, increasingly, around the world. The list of chronic, major illnesses associated with obesity continues to expand (along with our collective waistlines).
If you are overweight or obese, please consult with your physician for advice on how best to lose your excess weight. Meanwhile, sharply reduce your intake of high-calorie and high-fat foods, and begin a responsible and consistent exercise program, under your physician’s supervision.
(For a more detailed discussion of the scientific links between obesity and cancer, look for my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, in August.)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a glowing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase.
Fight Disease With 5 Easy Diet Swaps
Fighting heart disease, cancer, and diabetes can be as easy as swapping out a few of your regular selections in the produce aisle.
A study supported by the Nutrilite Health Institute found that even though there is a wide range of foods containing the healthy chemical compounds called phytonutrients, many Americans basically eat the same foods over and over — and the foods they choose don't necessarily have the highest concentration of nutrients.
Phytonutrients occur naturally in fruits and vegetables and offer a wide range of health benefits. Produce that is more deeply and vibrantly colored contains higher amounts. The main source of phytonutrients that Americans consume are oranges, orange juice, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, grapes, strawberries, prepared mustard, and tea, according to the study.
"Americans could improve their phytonutrient intake by choosing to eat more concentrated sources of phytonutrients as well as a wider variety," Keith Randolph, Ph.D., Technology Strategist for Nutrilite, said in a statement. "For example, grapes are the top contributor of the phytonutrient family of anthocyanidins in most Americans' diets, but blueberries actually contain higher amounts of this phytonutrient."
You can power up your produce by making the following substitutions:
1. Sweet potatoes instead of carrots
Make this swap and get almost twice the amount of beta-carotene. Long known to be an immune booster, beta-carotene may increase the activity of natural killer cells linked to cancer prevention. A study at Harvard Medical School found that beta-carotene can lower a man's risk of developing prostate cancer by 36 percent. Dark green and orange-yellow vegetables are good sources of beta-carotene.
2. Papaya over oranges
Papaya has about 15 times the amount of beta-cryptoxanthin than oranges. Studies have discovered that this phytonutrient, which is a powerful antioxidant that can prevent free radicals from damaging your cells and DNA, can reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by more than 30 percent and the odds of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 41 percent. Beta-cryptoxanthin is also found in yellow apples, lemons, grapefruit, and mangoes.
3. Kale trumps spinach
Although both kale and spinach contain large amounts of leutin/zeaxanthin, eat kale instead of raw spinach and boost the amount of these antioxidants. They help protect eyes from damage caused by free radicals, and may also filter the damaging light rays that are linked to chronic eye disease such as age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A study released by the North Chicago VA Medical Center found that lutein not only prevented, but actually reversed, damage related to ARMD. Green, leafy vegetables contain large amounts of lutein/zeaxanthin.
4. A berry easy swap
Ditch strawberries for raspberries and get three times the ellagic acid. Laboratory and animal studies have found that ellagic acid, which is an antioxidant that helps prevent cell damage, can inhibit the growth of breast, skin, lung, pancreas, colon, and esophageal cancer cells. Italian studies found the nutrient reduces the side effects of chemotherapy in men with advanced prostate cancer. The Hollings Cancer Institute at the University of South Carolina found that one cup of red raspberries a day can prevent the development of cancer cells.
5. A case for watercress
One cup of watercress in a salad provides the same amount of isothiocyanates as four teaspoons of prepared mustard. Studies have shown that isothiocyanates are especially effective in combating lung and esophageal cancers. According to The Cancer Project, they combat cancer in three ways: preventing the cancer from becoming activated; counteracting the effects of carcinogens that have been activated; and helping speed the elimination of carcinogens from the body.
"All Americans can improve their phytonutrient intake by varying the fruits and vegetables they consume and by focusing on foods that have a higher concentration of certain phytonutrients," Randolph said.
The United States government recommends that people get the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) each day, which is five servings of fruits and vegetables.
A study supported by the Nutrilite Health Institute found that even though there is a wide range of foods containing the healthy chemical compounds called phytonutrients, many Americans basically eat the same foods over and over — and the foods they choose don't necessarily have the highest concentration of nutrients.
Phytonutrients occur naturally in fruits and vegetables and offer a wide range of health benefits. Produce that is more deeply and vibrantly colored contains higher amounts. The main source of phytonutrients that Americans consume are oranges, orange juice, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, grapes, strawberries, prepared mustard, and tea, according to the study.
"Americans could improve their phytonutrient intake by choosing to eat more concentrated sources of phytonutrients as well as a wider variety," Keith Randolph, Ph.D., Technology Strategist for Nutrilite, said in a statement. "For example, grapes are the top contributor of the phytonutrient family of anthocyanidins in most Americans' diets, but blueberries actually contain higher amounts of this phytonutrient."
You can power up your produce by making the following substitutions:
1. Sweet potatoes instead of carrots
Make this swap and get almost twice the amount of beta-carotene. Long known to be an immune booster, beta-carotene may increase the activity of natural killer cells linked to cancer prevention. A study at Harvard Medical School found that beta-carotene can lower a man's risk of developing prostate cancer by 36 percent. Dark green and orange-yellow vegetables are good sources of beta-carotene.
2. Papaya over oranges
Papaya has about 15 times the amount of beta-cryptoxanthin than oranges. Studies have discovered that this phytonutrient, which is a powerful antioxidant that can prevent free radicals from damaging your cells and DNA, can reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by more than 30 percent and the odds of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 41 percent. Beta-cryptoxanthin is also found in yellow apples, lemons, grapefruit, and mangoes.
3. Kale trumps spinach
Although both kale and spinach contain large amounts of leutin/zeaxanthin, eat kale instead of raw spinach and boost the amount of these antioxidants. They help protect eyes from damage caused by free radicals, and may also filter the damaging light rays that are linked to chronic eye disease such as age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A study released by the North Chicago VA Medical Center found that lutein not only prevented, but actually reversed, damage related to ARMD. Green, leafy vegetables contain large amounts of lutein/zeaxanthin.
4. A berry easy swap
Ditch strawberries for raspberries and get three times the ellagic acid. Laboratory and animal studies have found that ellagic acid, which is an antioxidant that helps prevent cell damage, can inhibit the growth of breast, skin, lung, pancreas, colon, and esophageal cancer cells. Italian studies found the nutrient reduces the side effects of chemotherapy in men with advanced prostate cancer. The Hollings Cancer Institute at the University of South Carolina found that one cup of red raspberries a day can prevent the development of cancer cells.
5. A case for watercress
One cup of watercress in a salad provides the same amount of isothiocyanates as four teaspoons of prepared mustard. Studies have shown that isothiocyanates are especially effective in combating lung and esophageal cancers. According to The Cancer Project, they combat cancer in three ways: preventing the cancer from becoming activated; counteracting the effects of carcinogens that have been activated; and helping speed the elimination of carcinogens from the body.
"All Americans can improve their phytonutrient intake by varying the fruits and vegetables they consume and by focusing on foods that have a higher concentration of certain phytonutrients," Randolph said.
The United States government recommends that people get the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) each day, which is five servings of fruits and vegetables.
Modest weight loss may curb urine leakage
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight women with bladder-control problems can often improve those symptoms if they lose even a modest amount of weight, a new study suggests.
Excess weight, particularly in the abdomen, is one risk factor for urinary incontinence, and studies have found that shedding those extra pounds can help prevent the problem or reduce symptoms. However, it has not been known exactly how much weight women need to lose in order to see a significant improvement in symptoms.
The new study, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, suggests that overweight and obese women can reap benefits by losing 5 percent to 10 percent of their initial weight.
That range is considered a modest weight loss for people who are substantially overweight. For a woman who is 200 pounds, for example, it would mean shedding as few as 10 pounds.
For the study, researchers followed 338 overweight and obese women with urinary incontinence who were randomly assigned to either a weight-loss program focused on diet, exercise and behavior change, or to a "control" group that received only education on healthy lifestyle and weight loss.
Over 18 months, the women kept diaries tracking their weekly urinary incontinence symptoms.
Overall, the researchers found, women who shed between 5 and 10 percent of their initial weight were two to four times more likely than women who gained weight to report a significant reduction in their incontinence symptoms.
A significant reduction was defined as a decline of at least 70 percent in the number of incontinence episodes a woman had each week.
Of study participants who lost 5 to 10 percent of their starting weight, 54 percent reported that much of a decline in symptoms at the 18-month mark. That compared with 37 percent of women who gained weight.
The results should be "encouraging" to women, because a weight loss of that magnitude is achievable for many overweight people, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Rena R. Wing of Miriam Hospital and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
The findings come from a clinical trial designed to test whether diet and exercise can help ease urinary incontinence symptoms. At the outset, the women were, on average, 53 years old and severely obese.
Women randomly assigned to the intervention group were prescribed a reduced-calorie diet of 1,200 to 1,800 calories per day, and worked their way up to exercising for about 3 hours per week -- with activities like brisk walking. They also attended weekly group meetings focused on lifestyle change.
The program lasted six months; women who lost weight then went into a "maintenance" program that focused on motivating them to keep up their lifestyle changes, with group meetings every other week.
Women in the control group were offered classes that gave general advice on diet, exercise and weight loss, with a total of seven classes over 18 months.
By the end of the study, most women had maintained some amount of weight loss; 21 percent were in the range of 5 to 10 percent, while 25 percent had lost more. One-quarter had gained weight.
When the researchers considered other factors that affect urinary incontinence risk -- like older age, smoking and having had multiple pregnancies -- they found that women who shed 5 to 10 percent of their initial weight were anywhere from two to four times more likely to report a significant reduction in incontinence episodes during the study period, versus women who gained weight.
Greater weight loss, however, did not seem to bring additional benefits. Wing and her colleagues note, though, that they "cannot strongly rule out such effects."
The researchers point out that other treatments for urinary incontinence, including medication, target only the condition itself. Weight loss, on the other hand, "has a wide spectrum of benefits" for overweight people, they write.
A number of studies have found that a 5 to 10 percent weight loss may, for example, help lower blood pressure or curb the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
"A sustained decrease in urinary incontinence can now be added to the extensive list of health improvements associated with modest weight loss," the researchers write.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/fuc69m Obstetrics & Gynecology, August 2010.
Excess weight, particularly in the abdomen, is one risk factor for urinary incontinence, and studies have found that shedding those extra pounds can help prevent the problem or reduce symptoms. However, it has not been known exactly how much weight women need to lose in order to see a significant improvement in symptoms.
The new study, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, suggests that overweight and obese women can reap benefits by losing 5 percent to 10 percent of their initial weight.
That range is considered a modest weight loss for people who are substantially overweight. For a woman who is 200 pounds, for example, it would mean shedding as few as 10 pounds.
For the study, researchers followed 338 overweight and obese women with urinary incontinence who were randomly assigned to either a weight-loss program focused on diet, exercise and behavior change, or to a "control" group that received only education on healthy lifestyle and weight loss.
Over 18 months, the women kept diaries tracking their weekly urinary incontinence symptoms.
Overall, the researchers found, women who shed between 5 and 10 percent of their initial weight were two to four times more likely than women who gained weight to report a significant reduction in their incontinence symptoms.
A significant reduction was defined as a decline of at least 70 percent in the number of incontinence episodes a woman had each week.
Of study participants who lost 5 to 10 percent of their starting weight, 54 percent reported that much of a decline in symptoms at the 18-month mark. That compared with 37 percent of women who gained weight.
The results should be "encouraging" to women, because a weight loss of that magnitude is achievable for many overweight people, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Rena R. Wing of Miriam Hospital and Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
The findings come from a clinical trial designed to test whether diet and exercise can help ease urinary incontinence symptoms. At the outset, the women were, on average, 53 years old and severely obese.
Women randomly assigned to the intervention group were prescribed a reduced-calorie diet of 1,200 to 1,800 calories per day, and worked their way up to exercising for about 3 hours per week -- with activities like brisk walking. They also attended weekly group meetings focused on lifestyle change.
The program lasted six months; women who lost weight then went into a "maintenance" program that focused on motivating them to keep up their lifestyle changes, with group meetings every other week.
Women in the control group were offered classes that gave general advice on diet, exercise and weight loss, with a total of seven classes over 18 months.
By the end of the study, most women had maintained some amount of weight loss; 21 percent were in the range of 5 to 10 percent, while 25 percent had lost more. One-quarter had gained weight.
When the researchers considered other factors that affect urinary incontinence risk -- like older age, smoking and having had multiple pregnancies -- they found that women who shed 5 to 10 percent of their initial weight were anywhere from two to four times more likely to report a significant reduction in incontinence episodes during the study period, versus women who gained weight.
Greater weight loss, however, did not seem to bring additional benefits. Wing and her colleagues note, though, that they "cannot strongly rule out such effects."
The researchers point out that other treatments for urinary incontinence, including medication, target only the condition itself. Weight loss, on the other hand, "has a wide spectrum of benefits" for overweight people, they write.
A number of studies have found that a 5 to 10 percent weight loss may, for example, help lower blood pressure or curb the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
"A sustained decrease in urinary incontinence can now be added to the extensive list of health improvements associated with modest weight loss," the researchers write.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/fuc69m Obstetrics & Gynecology, August 2010.
How Can Diabetics Lose Weight?
Question: How can I lose weight and when I am on insulin and other medication for blood sugar? It seems impossible.
Dr. Hibberd's Answer:
Weight loss on insulin is possible if you modify your caloric intake and combine that with an appropriate exercise program to encourage muscle maintenance and efficient calorie usage. Remember that as a diabetic, your body has a problem with glucose-management and replacing insulin when deficient.
Your body will only gain weight if you consume more calories than your body uses each day. It will store the excess unused calories as fat (the body's storage depot!). Unfortunately, some of us are less active and more prone to fat-accumulation by virtue of genetics, medication, medical condition, or just plain inactivity.
The accumulation of fat is affected by other factors that affect metabolic rate, such as thyroid hormone, genetics, medical conditions that favor or result from increased fat deposition (Type 2 diabetes), and certain medications that shift the normal metabolic balance.
Assuming you are active and healthy, muscle will usually build and maintain itself before fat deposition takes place. Be cautious about blaming insulin for your weight gain. Remember that muscle tissue is far more dense and compact than fat tissue, and muscular tissue is far more metabolically demanding and consumes far more calories than tissues containing excessive fatty deposits. In other words, lots of muscle translates into a slimmer size and an increased calorie burn. This allows you to increase the amount of food you eat without accumulating fat.
Type 1 diabetics have an insulin deficiency, are often not overweight, and do very well with insulin replacement. In general, weight gain will occur only when there is an imbalance between calories ingested and calories expended. Like anyone else, you will gain weight if your caloric intake exceeds your "burn" rate, whether or not you use insulin.
Type 2 diabetics actually have plenty of insulin on board, but suffer from insulin resistance. An example is: Fat cells require insulin to accept glucose, and as this adipocyte (medical term for fat cell) enlarges, it becomes less responsive to insulin.
The blood-glucose levels rise abnormally in the bloodstream and the insulin levels are elevated, yet less glucose is actually available to the cell without elevating the blood insulin levels. Hence, we have glucose resistance at the cell level with excessive insulin levels. This actually promotes fat accumulation, creating a Type 2 diabetic scenario. This is a special case where the problem is insulin resistance that promotes fat accumulation and generates the adverse problems identified with Type 2 diabetes. Again, weight gain only results from unused calories being directed into fat tissue.
So, do not see insulin as the prime offender. Because you need insulin does not give you an excuse to be inactive or overweight. Often, your underlying disorder improves with appropriate diet, activity, and judicious use of insulin.
Dr. Hibberd's Answer:
Weight loss on insulin is possible if you modify your caloric intake and combine that with an appropriate exercise program to encourage muscle maintenance and efficient calorie usage. Remember that as a diabetic, your body has a problem with glucose-management and replacing insulin when deficient.
Your body will only gain weight if you consume more calories than your body uses each day. It will store the excess unused calories as fat (the body's storage depot!). Unfortunately, some of us are less active and more prone to fat-accumulation by virtue of genetics, medication, medical condition, or just plain inactivity.
The accumulation of fat is affected by other factors that affect metabolic rate, such as thyroid hormone, genetics, medical conditions that favor or result from increased fat deposition (Type 2 diabetes), and certain medications that shift the normal metabolic balance.
Assuming you are active and healthy, muscle will usually build and maintain itself before fat deposition takes place. Be cautious about blaming insulin for your weight gain. Remember that muscle tissue is far more dense and compact than fat tissue, and muscular tissue is far more metabolically demanding and consumes far more calories than tissues containing excessive fatty deposits. In other words, lots of muscle translates into a slimmer size and an increased calorie burn. This allows you to increase the amount of food you eat without accumulating fat.
Type 1 diabetics have an insulin deficiency, are often not overweight, and do very well with insulin replacement. In general, weight gain will occur only when there is an imbalance between calories ingested and calories expended. Like anyone else, you will gain weight if your caloric intake exceeds your "burn" rate, whether or not you use insulin.
Type 2 diabetics actually have plenty of insulin on board, but suffer from insulin resistance. An example is: Fat cells require insulin to accept glucose, and as this adipocyte (medical term for fat cell) enlarges, it becomes less responsive to insulin.
The blood-glucose levels rise abnormally in the bloodstream and the insulin levels are elevated, yet less glucose is actually available to the cell without elevating the blood insulin levels. Hence, we have glucose resistance at the cell level with excessive insulin levels. This actually promotes fat accumulation, creating a Type 2 diabetic scenario. This is a special case where the problem is insulin resistance that promotes fat accumulation and generates the adverse problems identified with Type 2 diabetes. Again, weight gain only results from unused calories being directed into fat tissue.
So, do not see insulin as the prime offender. Because you need insulin does not give you an excuse to be inactive or overweight. Often, your underlying disorder improves with appropriate diet, activity, and judicious use of insulin.
Dear Animal Advocates,
As we informed you two weeks ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been conducting mass roundups of wild horses on public lands this month. On July 10, the agency used helicopters to run terrified horses over miles of scorching Nevada desert, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 horses, including three foals. Unbelievably, the BLM plans to continue these summer roundups in spite of July 10’s disastrous outcome.
In order to convince the Department of the Interior and the BLM that they can no longer sweep this issue under the rug, Congressmen Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) have drafted a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The letter asks Secretary Salazar to halt the current roundups, along with any other pending wild horse gathers, until the BLM can demonstrate that it has addressed the failings of its current program for managing wild horses.
Congressmen Rahall and Grijalva need as many members of the House as possible to voice their support by signing the letter.
What You Can Do
Your elected officials need to know that as a voter, the humane treatment of our wild horses is important to you. Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center immediately to contact your U.S. representative and urge him or her to sign this important letter to Secretary Salazar.
Thank you for your continued support of the ASPCA and our nation’s animals.
In order to convince the Department of the Interior and the BLM that they can no longer sweep this issue under the rug, Congressmen Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) have drafted a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The letter asks Secretary Salazar to halt the current roundups, along with any other pending wild horse gathers, until the BLM can demonstrate that it has addressed the failings of its current program for managing wild horses.
Congressmen Rahall and Grijalva need as many members of the House as possible to voice their support by signing the letter.
What You Can Do
Your elected officials need to know that as a voter, the humane treatment of our wild horses is important to you. Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center immediately to contact your U.S. representative and urge him or her to sign this important letter to Secretary Salazar.
Thank you for your continued support of the ASPCA and our nation’s animals.
Chimps Should Be Sent to Retirement, Not More Research
Posted: 28 Jul 2010 03:36 PM PDT
Flo lives in a cage in a federal government facility in New Mexico. A life behind bars is not much of a life for a 52-year-old who has committed no crime, and that hardly says enough. But we thought Flo was relatively safe from an even worse fate. We thought that this elderly chimpanzee and 201 others held captive at the Alamogordo Primate Facility would probably never again be in risk of being subjected to harmful experiments.
After all, the time is past for subjecting chimps to painful and unnecessary research, and much of the world is ahead of us in recognizing this fact.
Animal Protection of New Mexico
Nicole, one of the 202 chimps in danger.
So I’m shocked to report that federal officials are going to relocate Flo and the other chimpanzees to the Southwest National Primate Research Center in San Antonio, Texas. Suddenly, they are in risk of being used in painful and unnecessary experimentation.
I regret to say that in the hush-hush world of primate research, 15 of the chimps have already been moved—and unfortunately we don’t yet know who was sent.
These chimps are among 1,000 who remain in six U.S. laboratories today. Their suffering can be traced back to the capture of infant chimpanzees from the wild in the 1950s for the space program. Today, sophisticated instruments can be substituted for crash and G-force tests and other experiments. But the government sanctioned breeding of chimps boosted their numbers.
The chimps now at the Alamogordo facility once were housed by the notorious Coulston Foundation, which has had a checkered history of violations of federal animal care laws.
They’ve been through enough. They deserve to be retired.
The NIH’s National Center for Research Resources plans to move the remaining chimpanzees from Alamogordo to San Antonio by January 2011—arguing that it’s a matter of financial necessity. The truth, however, is that taxpayers would benefit if the chimpanzees were kept in New Mexico and had their care provided by a sanctuary organization.
The wise expenditure of money has never really seemed to be a consideration in this program. The government has paid a private company $42 million to warehouse the Alamogordo chimpanzees for the past ten years, and millions more to renovate the facility, which is located on an air force base. Now, federal officials are pouring more money into construction at the San Antonio research center, and undertaking the substantial costs of transport.
That’s no deal for taxpayers or for chimps.
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, along with the Albuquerque Journal, have spoken out against this harmful and wasteful move. Other policymakers and opinion leaders are openly skeptical. The HSUS has joined with Animal Protection of New Mexico and other like-minded groups in urging the Department of Health and Human Services to retire these chimpanzees immediately and let them live out their days in New Mexico without enduring more lab experiments.
Last year, an investigator for The HSUS took you behind laboratory doors at the world’s largest chimpanzee lab, to reveal the continuing plight of our most highly evolved primate cousins. Now there is another critical situation that we must act upon, and we hope you’ll add your voice to this call—because Flo and the other chimpanzees deserve better. After taking action online, please also call the Health and Human Services switchboard at 877-696-6775 and ask them to halt the transfer of these 202 chimpanzees and retire the animals from research.
Flo lives in a cage in a federal government facility in New Mexico. A life behind bars is not much of a life for a 52-year-old who has committed no crime, and that hardly says enough. But we thought Flo was relatively safe from an even worse fate. We thought that this elderly chimpanzee and 201 others held captive at the Alamogordo Primate Facility would probably never again be in risk of being subjected to harmful experiments.
After all, the time is past for subjecting chimps to painful and unnecessary research, and much of the world is ahead of us in recognizing this fact.
Animal Protection of New Mexico
Nicole, one of the 202 chimps in danger.
So I’m shocked to report that federal officials are going to relocate Flo and the other chimpanzees to the Southwest National Primate Research Center in San Antonio, Texas. Suddenly, they are in risk of being used in painful and unnecessary experimentation.
I regret to say that in the hush-hush world of primate research, 15 of the chimps have already been moved—and unfortunately we don’t yet know who was sent.
These chimps are among 1,000 who remain in six U.S. laboratories today. Their suffering can be traced back to the capture of infant chimpanzees from the wild in the 1950s for the space program. Today, sophisticated instruments can be substituted for crash and G-force tests and other experiments. But the government sanctioned breeding of chimps boosted their numbers.
The chimps now at the Alamogordo facility once were housed by the notorious Coulston Foundation, which has had a checkered history of violations of federal animal care laws.
They’ve been through enough. They deserve to be retired.
The NIH’s National Center for Research Resources plans to move the remaining chimpanzees from Alamogordo to San Antonio by January 2011—arguing that it’s a matter of financial necessity. The truth, however, is that taxpayers would benefit if the chimpanzees were kept in New Mexico and had their care provided by a sanctuary organization.
The wise expenditure of money has never really seemed to be a consideration in this program. The government has paid a private company $42 million to warehouse the Alamogordo chimpanzees for the past ten years, and millions more to renovate the facility, which is located on an air force base. Now, federal officials are pouring more money into construction at the San Antonio research center, and undertaking the substantial costs of transport.
That’s no deal for taxpayers or for chimps.
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, along with the Albuquerque Journal, have spoken out against this harmful and wasteful move. Other policymakers and opinion leaders are openly skeptical. The HSUS has joined with Animal Protection of New Mexico and other like-minded groups in urging the Department of Health and Human Services to retire these chimpanzees immediately and let them live out their days in New Mexico without enduring more lab experiments.
Last year, an investigator for The HSUS took you behind laboratory doors at the world’s largest chimpanzee lab, to reveal the continuing plight of our most highly evolved primate cousins. Now there is another critical situation that we must act upon, and we hope you’ll add your voice to this call—because Flo and the other chimpanzees deserve better. After taking action online, please also call the Health and Human Services switchboard at 877-696-6775 and ask them to halt the transfer of these 202 chimpanzees and retire the animals from research.
HELP ANIMALS ON CHINESE FUR FARMS WITH PETA
Every year, millions of individual animals, including more than 2 million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs, are killed for their fur in China. Some are strays, and countless others are companions who once shared homes with people who loved and cared for them before the animals were rounded up and tossed, screaming, into a crate.
China is one of the world's largest fur suppliers, and much of that fur ends up on store shelves in North America. And as we now know, Chinese companies have been known to deliberately mislabel cat and dog fur as "Asian jackal," "rabbit," or "raccoon" in order to fool consumers. Every fur-trimmed collar or other fur item from China, regardless of what kind of animal is slaughtered to manufacture it, is the product of cruelty on a truly massive scale. And we must fight to end this abuse!
Please make an urgently needed donation to PETA today to support our vital efforts to stop the horrific slaughter of cats, dogs, and other animals like those in China.
Through exposing the findings of difficult investigations like the one I told you of last week and through decades of relentless campaigning, PETA has saved many thousands of rabbits, dogs, cats, and other animals by convincing consumers and corporations to reject all fur. We've successfully persuaded some of the world's leading designers and retailers—including Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger—to adopt permanent no-fur policies, and we've done such a good job of making fur synonymous with suffering that fur prices have seen record lows.
While we've accomplished much, the wholesale slaughter of so many animals for their fur in China is not going away. To help these animals, we must educate consumers, corporations, and even governments about the pain that goes into every piece of fur trim and every fur cat toy produced in China. That is only part of our work, but it is a vital part.
Please contribute to our work for dogs, cats, and all other animals by making a special gift today.
On behalf of all animals, especially those confined and killed for their skins in all parts of the world, thank you.
Very truly yours,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
P.S. With the fall fashion season just around the corner, we need to do everything that we can to make sure that designers, retailers, and consumers know the horrific extent of the animal suffering that takes place on fur farms in China and around the world. Please make a special online donation right now.
China is one of the world's largest fur suppliers, and much of that fur ends up on store shelves in North America. And as we now know, Chinese companies have been known to deliberately mislabel cat and dog fur as "Asian jackal," "rabbit," or "raccoon" in order to fool consumers. Every fur-trimmed collar or other fur item from China, regardless of what kind of animal is slaughtered to manufacture it, is the product of cruelty on a truly massive scale. And we must fight to end this abuse!
Please make an urgently needed donation to PETA today to support our vital efforts to stop the horrific slaughter of cats, dogs, and other animals like those in China.
Through exposing the findings of difficult investigations like the one I told you of last week and through decades of relentless campaigning, PETA has saved many thousands of rabbits, dogs, cats, and other animals by convincing consumers and corporations to reject all fur. We've successfully persuaded some of the world's leading designers and retailers—including Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger—to adopt permanent no-fur policies, and we've done such a good job of making fur synonymous with suffering that fur prices have seen record lows.
While we've accomplished much, the wholesale slaughter of so many animals for their fur in China is not going away. To help these animals, we must educate consumers, corporations, and even governments about the pain that goes into every piece of fur trim and every fur cat toy produced in China. That is only part of our work, but it is a vital part.
Please contribute to our work for dogs, cats, and all other animals by making a special gift today.
On behalf of all animals, especially those confined and killed for their skins in all parts of the world, thank you.
Very truly yours,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
P.S. With the fall fashion season just around the corner, we need to do everything that we can to make sure that designers, retailers, and consumers know the horrific extent of the animal suffering that takes place on fur farms in China and around the world. Please make a special online donation right now.
6 Steps to Manage Anger
I don't really think of myself as having a hot temper. But I do have trouble speaking up when something starts to bother me. Thus, the irritant builds and builds, and instead of becoming a pearl, like a grain of stand does in an oyster, it explodes ... usually on the person whose behavior I don't care for and is responsible for making me look and act like a monster.
I've been talking about this with my therapist. Because I can remember nothing more horrifying as a kid as those time my dad totally lost it and threw every four-letter word at my mom, or at me or one of my sisters, or all of us, like the time we were making fun of the people in the booth next to us in Dairy Queen. Still can't get a Buster Bar today without that memory, spanking and all.
So I went back to my parenting books, of course. Because you can find all of life's problems in parenting books. Author Elizabeth Pantley offers six steps to staying calm in her insightful book, "The No-Cry Discipline Solution." And, unlike those I read in most parenting books, they don't annoy me! In fact, I think she's got a good case. I've excerpted from various paragraphs to give you the following recap, but you really should get her book if you struggle, like I do, with keeping it cool when you're with the kids:
1. Stop.
As you sense your control slipping--STOP. If you are in the middle of a sentence--STOP--don't even finish your thought, except perhaps to say, "I'm getting mad!" If you are moving--STOP moving. Practice a STOP gesture that can be used as a way to put a physical brake on your emotions. A good STOP gesture is to hold your hands up in front of your face, fingers straight up, palms out. Push the anger away from you, and at the same time say the word STOP.
What if you are so angry at your child that you are ready to strike him and you cannot find the restraint to use your STOP gesture? In that case, channel your physical reaction into a burst of applause. When you feel yourself about to strike, clap your hands. Clap them hard and fast, while you express your feelings of anger.
This anger management technique of acknowledging anger and stopping yourself can be used for all problems. It can be effective with everything from minor irritations that bring irrational anger to major problems that require a clear head to solve.
2. Give yourself space.
When you are angry, the LAST thing you need to do is stay engaged in the situation that is making you mad--all that does is escalate your anger. It is critically important that at this point you do NOT try to deal with the situation that is making you angry. You cannot solve a problem in a fit of anger; it will likely just escalate the situation or create a new layer of problems to deal with. You are going to step away from your child so that you can calm and collect yourself and, very likely, allow your child to calm down a bit, too.
3. Breathe deeply.
Begin by controlling your internal, physical responses to anger. Likely your heart rate is increased, your breathing is rapid, your face is flushed, or your voice is raised. The first step to inner control is to breathe deeply.
Breathing deeply allows your body to fill with oxygen. This will stop the adrenaline rush that floods your body when you are angry. This extra oxygen flow will relax your body, clam your breathing, slow your heart rate, and allow your brain to resume rational thought.
Take a number of slow, even, deep breaths. Put your hand on your stomach and carry the air down until you feel your stomach rise. Try counting or repeating a calming word or phrase, such as "This too shall pass."
4. Analyze.
Once you've calmed down, try to see what really happened. A good way to analyze what happened is to imagine that it happened to someone else--your sister, your brother, or a friend. Looking at the situation as an outsider might help you see the truth. You might more clearly understand where your anger came from, or you may see that your reaction was way out of proportion.
5. Define the problem.
After you have seen the situation more clearly, it is time to precisely define the problem in exact words. See if you can come up with a description of the problem in one or two sentences. Put it in clear, plain words that exactly state the real issue that sparked your anger.
6. Solve.
Once you've stated the problem, you can then consider options for solving it. You may want to jot down several possible options on paper or talk about options with another adult. There's no reason for you to make decisions in a vacuum. I guarantee that the problem you are dealing with is a common one and there are lots of sources for solutions.
I've been talking about this with my therapist. Because I can remember nothing more horrifying as a kid as those time my dad totally lost it and threw every four-letter word at my mom, or at me or one of my sisters, or all of us, like the time we were making fun of the people in the booth next to us in Dairy Queen. Still can't get a Buster Bar today without that memory, spanking and all.
So I went back to my parenting books, of course. Because you can find all of life's problems in parenting books. Author Elizabeth Pantley offers six steps to staying calm in her insightful book, "The No-Cry Discipline Solution." And, unlike those I read in most parenting books, they don't annoy me! In fact, I think she's got a good case. I've excerpted from various paragraphs to give you the following recap, but you really should get her book if you struggle, like I do, with keeping it cool when you're with the kids:
1. Stop.
As you sense your control slipping--STOP. If you are in the middle of a sentence--STOP--don't even finish your thought, except perhaps to say, "I'm getting mad!" If you are moving--STOP moving. Practice a STOP gesture that can be used as a way to put a physical brake on your emotions. A good STOP gesture is to hold your hands up in front of your face, fingers straight up, palms out. Push the anger away from you, and at the same time say the word STOP.
What if you are so angry at your child that you are ready to strike him and you cannot find the restraint to use your STOP gesture? In that case, channel your physical reaction into a burst of applause. When you feel yourself about to strike, clap your hands. Clap them hard and fast, while you express your feelings of anger.
This anger management technique of acknowledging anger and stopping yourself can be used for all problems. It can be effective with everything from minor irritations that bring irrational anger to major problems that require a clear head to solve.
2. Give yourself space.
When you are angry, the LAST thing you need to do is stay engaged in the situation that is making you mad--all that does is escalate your anger. It is critically important that at this point you do NOT try to deal with the situation that is making you angry. You cannot solve a problem in a fit of anger; it will likely just escalate the situation or create a new layer of problems to deal with. You are going to step away from your child so that you can calm and collect yourself and, very likely, allow your child to calm down a bit, too.
3. Breathe deeply.
Begin by controlling your internal, physical responses to anger. Likely your heart rate is increased, your breathing is rapid, your face is flushed, or your voice is raised. The first step to inner control is to breathe deeply.
Breathing deeply allows your body to fill with oxygen. This will stop the adrenaline rush that floods your body when you are angry. This extra oxygen flow will relax your body, clam your breathing, slow your heart rate, and allow your brain to resume rational thought.
Take a number of slow, even, deep breaths. Put your hand on your stomach and carry the air down until you feel your stomach rise. Try counting or repeating a calming word or phrase, such as "This too shall pass."
4. Analyze.
Once you've calmed down, try to see what really happened. A good way to analyze what happened is to imagine that it happened to someone else--your sister, your brother, or a friend. Looking at the situation as an outsider might help you see the truth. You might more clearly understand where your anger came from, or you may see that your reaction was way out of proportion.
5. Define the problem.
After you have seen the situation more clearly, it is time to precisely define the problem in exact words. See if you can come up with a description of the problem in one or two sentences. Put it in clear, plain words that exactly state the real issue that sparked your anger.
6. Solve.
Once you've stated the problem, you can then consider options for solving it. You may want to jot down several possible options on paper or talk about options with another adult. There's no reason for you to make decisions in a vacuum. I guarantee that the problem you are dealing with is a common one and there are lots of sources for solutions.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
THOUGHT OF THE DAY, FOR ME...
A DOG'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10.On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10.On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.
Be Heard by BLM: Urge an End to Wild Horse Roundups
Posted: 27 Jul 2010 05:56 PM PDT
Yesterday I asked you to contact Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in response to the reported plans to kill more than 150,000 geese in New York state (please do call 202-720-3631 if you haven’t done so already). Today, I need your action on another urgent concern—urging the Bureau of Land Management to stop the cruel and senseless roundups of wild horses and instead to develop humane, sustainable programs for managing the herds, such as fertility control through immunocontraception.
Over the past 10 years, the BLM has removed some 74,000 wild horses and burros from the range, and it intends to remove a total of 12,000 horses this year. The current program is costly, illogical, and has also had tragic consequences—you may have heard about the rising death toll associated with the BLM’s current Tuscarora wild horse gather in Elko County, Nev., where at least a dozen mustangs have died from dehydration, water intoxication and related complications.
The federal government has submitted a new policy proposal for wild horse management and is now accepting public comments. Please take a few minutes to make your voice heard—the deadline for comments is next Tuesday, Aug. 3, and we’ve provided instructions and guidance on our website.
I’ve asked Stephanie Boyles, a wildlife scientist with The HSUS, to elaborate on why the BLM must seriously reconsider its current policies and procedures given the program’s track record and the recent tragedy in Elko County.
---So far this year, 18 wild horses rounded up by the BLM in Nevada have died. The BLM claims on its website that 16 of these horses died due to preexisting dehydration-related complications, congenital deformities or physical injuries, and that only two died as a result of “gather-related operations” (one horse was euthanized after sustaining a leg fracture in a temporary holding corral and another died from a neck injury).
Based on several factors, however, we can’t help but question the BLM’s assertion that all but two deaths were unavoidable, and that the agency was blameless and practiced due diligence prior to the gather.
First, the BLM has failed to answer the most basic, pertinent question posted in a Questions and Answers section on its informational site: “Why is the BLM using a helicopter to chase and capture wild horses in the summer’s extreme heat?”
Instead of answering the question, the agency simply describes the procedures used to conduct gathers during summer months—with no explanation for why they’re held in the hottest month of the year as opposed to the fall or winter, when the mares are not foaling and the new foals of the year are older and stronger.
For years, The HSUS has urged the BLM to use passive gather techniques, such as nutrient baits and/or water trapping (placing nutrients or water in an area where they are scarce to gradually lure horses, then building a large corral around the animals), to alleviate, to the greatest extent possible, the suffering, stress and trauma inherently associated with roundups.
In its Environmental Assessment for the Elko County gather, the BLM acknowledges that “water trapping can be very effective when water resources are scarce…”, but dismissed water trapping from detailed study for this gather because it claimed, among other factors, that the area has an abundance of public and private water sources.
Of course, we know now that at the time of the gather, water sources on the range were, in fact, scarce. So not only was water trapping a feasible option, it would have been preferable and should have been used once the BLM realized the targeted horses were suffering from dehydration due to inadequate water. The agency also knew that animals already suffering from dehydration are susceptible to toxic hydration if they drink too much water too quickly once it is made available.
Having contingency plans in place in the event of a crisis of this nature is one of the many critical changes that must be made to the BLM’s broken wild horse and burro management program. Instead of constantly defending its policies and procedures when things go wrong (and they clearly did in Tuscarora), the BLM needs to conduct a fair and objective evaluation of its procedures and make changes that will alleviate unnecessary suffering and save lives in the future.
You can help the BLM better serve the treasure it has been mandated to protect—our wild horses—by submitting comments on the agency’s recently released proposal.
Yesterday I asked you to contact Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in response to the reported plans to kill more than 150,000 geese in New York state (please do call 202-720-3631 if you haven’t done so already). Today, I need your action on another urgent concern—urging the Bureau of Land Management to stop the cruel and senseless roundups of wild horses and instead to develop humane, sustainable programs for managing the herds, such as fertility control through immunocontraception.
Over the past 10 years, the BLM has removed some 74,000 wild horses and burros from the range, and it intends to remove a total of 12,000 horses this year. The current program is costly, illogical, and has also had tragic consequences—you may have heard about the rising death toll associated with the BLM’s current Tuscarora wild horse gather in Elko County, Nev., where at least a dozen mustangs have died from dehydration, water intoxication and related complications.
The federal government has submitted a new policy proposal for wild horse management and is now accepting public comments. Please take a few minutes to make your voice heard—the deadline for comments is next Tuesday, Aug. 3, and we’ve provided instructions and guidance on our website.
I’ve asked Stephanie Boyles, a wildlife scientist with The HSUS, to elaborate on why the BLM must seriously reconsider its current policies and procedures given the program’s track record and the recent tragedy in Elko County.
---So far this year, 18 wild horses rounded up by the BLM in Nevada have died. The BLM claims on its website that 16 of these horses died due to preexisting dehydration-related complications, congenital deformities or physical injuries, and that only two died as a result of “gather-related operations” (one horse was euthanized after sustaining a leg fracture in a temporary holding corral and another died from a neck injury).
Based on several factors, however, we can’t help but question the BLM’s assertion that all but two deaths were unavoidable, and that the agency was blameless and practiced due diligence prior to the gather.
First, the BLM has failed to answer the most basic, pertinent question posted in a Questions and Answers section on its informational site: “Why is the BLM using a helicopter to chase and capture wild horses in the summer’s extreme heat?”
Instead of answering the question, the agency simply describes the procedures used to conduct gathers during summer months—with no explanation for why they’re held in the hottest month of the year as opposed to the fall or winter, when the mares are not foaling and the new foals of the year are older and stronger.
For years, The HSUS has urged the BLM to use passive gather techniques, such as nutrient baits and/or water trapping (placing nutrients or water in an area where they are scarce to gradually lure horses, then building a large corral around the animals), to alleviate, to the greatest extent possible, the suffering, stress and trauma inherently associated with roundups.
In its Environmental Assessment for the Elko County gather, the BLM acknowledges that “water trapping can be very effective when water resources are scarce…”, but dismissed water trapping from detailed study for this gather because it claimed, among other factors, that the area has an abundance of public and private water sources.
Of course, we know now that at the time of the gather, water sources on the range were, in fact, scarce. So not only was water trapping a feasible option, it would have been preferable and should have been used once the BLM realized the targeted horses were suffering from dehydration due to inadequate water. The agency also knew that animals already suffering from dehydration are susceptible to toxic hydration if they drink too much water too quickly once it is made available.
Having contingency plans in place in the event of a crisis of this nature is one of the many critical changes that must be made to the BLM’s broken wild horse and burro management program. Instead of constantly defending its policies and procedures when things go wrong (and they clearly did in Tuscarora), the BLM needs to conduct a fair and objective evaluation of its procedures and make changes that will alleviate unnecessary suffering and save lives in the future.
You can help the BLM better serve the treasure it has been mandated to protect—our wild horses—by submitting comments on the agency’s recently released proposal.
Unemployment May Drain Immune Function
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The stress of unemployment may dampen healthy people's immune system function -- but the good news is that finding a job can restore its fighting power, according to a new study. Past research has linked chronic stress to impaired immune function and a higher risk of infection and other illness. But little is known about what happens to the immune system when the stress subsides.
In the new study, researchers at the University of California San Francisco followed 100 employed and 100 unemployed adults between the ages of 29 and 45 for 4 months.
The employed subjects were matched to the unemployed subjects for factors such as gender, age, race and education level. Individuals with chronic conditions or on medical treatments that could affect the immune system, smokers and intravenous drug users had been excluded from the study.
Each month, the researchers collected blood samples from the participants to measure levels of "natural killer" cells, an indication of the strength of their immune system.
The researchers found that, in general, the unemployed group had weaker natural-killer activity than the working group. However, 25 percent of the unemployed participants found jobs during the study period, and their natural killer cells subsequently got back on track.
"We believe this is the first study in humans to document immune function recovery after the definable end of a chronic stressor," Dr. Frances Cohen and her colleagues report in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
Chronic stress may impair immune function through its effects on the nervous system, according to the researchers. The adrenal glands release the hormone norepinephrine in response to stress, and in the test tube, norepinephrine has been shown to reduce natural killer cells.
But the current findings suggest that immune function is "resilient" in the face of long-term stress and can quickly recover once the stressor is gone, Cohen's team points out. Study participants' immune system recovery began within the first month of their new employment, the study found.
Further studies, according to Cohen's team, should investigate immune system recovery from different types of stressors, and try to figure out how that comeback happens.
SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, April 2007.
In the new study, researchers at the University of California San Francisco followed 100 employed and 100 unemployed adults between the ages of 29 and 45 for 4 months.
The employed subjects were matched to the unemployed subjects for factors such as gender, age, race and education level. Individuals with chronic conditions or on medical treatments that could affect the immune system, smokers and intravenous drug users had been excluded from the study.
Each month, the researchers collected blood samples from the participants to measure levels of "natural killer" cells, an indication of the strength of their immune system.
The researchers found that, in general, the unemployed group had weaker natural-killer activity than the working group. However, 25 percent of the unemployed participants found jobs during the study period, and their natural killer cells subsequently got back on track.
"We believe this is the first study in humans to document immune function recovery after the definable end of a chronic stressor," Dr. Frances Cohen and her colleagues report in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
Chronic stress may impair immune function through its effects on the nervous system, according to the researchers. The adrenal glands release the hormone norepinephrine in response to stress, and in the test tube, norepinephrine has been shown to reduce natural killer cells.
But the current findings suggest that immune function is "resilient" in the face of long-term stress and can quickly recover once the stressor is gone, Cohen's team points out. Study participants' immune system recovery began within the first month of their new employment, the study found.
Further studies, according to Cohen's team, should investigate immune system recovery from different types of stressors, and try to figure out how that comeback happens.
SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, April 2007.
Autism Changes Immune System
Although the brain disorder autism affects only a small fraction of the population – recent estimates suggest as few as two of every 1,000 children – the condition can alter life significantly for both its sufferers and their loved ones. Autistics have greater difficulty engaging in basic social interactions and exhibit greater attachment to the comfort of repetitive behavior, among other symptoms. Much research has focused on uncovering the roots of autism, and in particular identifying any biological or environmental factors that may "trigger" the condition in some children while leaving it dormant in others. To that end, a major new University of California study finds that the immune systems of autistic children tend to differ in recognizable ways from non-autistics' immune systems. Compared to children without autism, children diagnosed as autistic were shown to have an average of 20 percent more B cells and a whopping 40 percent more so-called "natural killer" cells in their blood. Researchers plan further studies to identify whether the presence of excess immune system cells indicates that autism develops as a response to some biological stimulus in early life.
7 Foods That Fight Back: Immune System Boosters
Your immune system needs to be strong enough to fight off germs and viruses lurking, well, everywhere. Eating nutrient-rich foods is a great way to keep your family healthy. But with tight schedules, many of us eat on the run and sacrifice good nutrition, which can undermine the health boost that a normally nutritious diet offers…
Colds and flu can sneak up on you and your loved ones. More than 200 viruses can cause cold symptoms. That’s a lot of bugs to fend off. Luckily, eating healthfully may be just the immune-system booster you need to ward off illness.
A healthy immune system is your best defense against pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and carcinogens that can make you ill. Immune cells are found throughout your body – in your tonsils, lymph nodes, spleen, thymus gland, and bone marrow. By focusing on nutrient-rich foods instead of high-calorie foods like cookies and ice cream, you and your family can ward off illness.
Foods That Boost Immunity
1. Go Fishing
For a stronger immune system, nutritionists suggest consuming at least two servings a week of fatty seafood, such as sardines, salmon, herring, and mackerel.
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish and in other foods such as walnuts, flaxseeds and canola oil are known to boost the immune system and reduce inflammation in the body. They increase the activity of white blood cells called macrophages, which engulf troublesome bacteria.
Monounsaturated fats in foods such as olive oil and wheat germ also protect our bodies from microorganisms, bacteria and viruses. In fact, researchers have found that diets low in fat weaken the immune system and increase depression.
2. Pick Protein
Zinc, a mineral abundant in meats like calf’s liver, beef and lamb, works with the protein found in meat to help to strengthen the immune system. In fact, certain types of immune cells, including white blood cells, cannot function without zinc.
In the winter months, most markets offer a wonderful array of fresh choices, from winter squashes, greens and root vegetables to cranberries.
You can always reach for canned and frozen fruits and vegetables any time of year. Processed just after harvest, canned and frozen produce may actually have more nutrients than produce that has spent days in transit.
4. Don’t Skimp on Citrus
Go ahead and indulge in leafy greens, bell peppers and citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit, all rich in vitamin C. This vitamin inactivates histamine, the substance responsible for your runny nose and congestion, and helps reduce the inflammation that accompanies colds and viruses.
According to a study at the University of California at Berkeley of 160 healthy adults, those who took 500 milligrams of vitamin C a day for two months had a 24% drop in C-reactive protein, a compound associated with inflammation and chronic disease.
Brightly colored greens and other vegetables also contain large doses of immune-enhancing antioxidants that help fight wintertime illnesses. So, load up on strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and sweet potatoes – all a boon for your immune system.
To make vegetables more appealing, add them to soups, stews and sauces. And down a glass of low-sodium tomato or vegetable juice now and then – they’re both great sources of vitamin C.
5. Go Nuts
Instead of chips or cheese doodles for an afternoon snack, reach for a handful of nuts or seeds.
Studies show vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, fights respiratory infections, including colds. It boosts the responses of antibodies and certain immune system cells when we’re under stress – and who isn’t?
Which nuts and seeds are best?
One quarter cup of sunflower seeds has almost all the vitamin E you need daily.
One quarter cup of almonds provides 50% of your need.
Brazil nuts pack a whopping dose of selenium, a mineral that works with vitamin E to boost wintertime defenses.
6. Hit the Spice Rack
Both garlic and onions contain compounds that rev up the activity of immune-system cells called natural killer cells and T-helper cells.
While onions and garlic fend off colds, they’re also helping defend you from cancer and heart disease – not a bad side activity at all.
If a cold does catch you and you get stuffy, a bite of garlic will also help clear your nose (not to mention the room).
7. Spoon in the Yogurt
In a year-long study at the University of California, adults who ate three-fourths cup of yogurt a day had 25% fewer colds that those who didn’t.
Researchers found that yogurt cranked up the production of a substance called gamma interferon, which helps squelch virus reproduction, a death knell for your cold.
Dehydration can also lower your defenses. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water and other fluids every day. And if you’re already sick, double that.
Now you know what to eat. But what foods should you avoid?
Skip Sugar and Fat
Animal studies have shown that diets high in both sugar and fat reduce the numbers of natural killer cells. Even as little as two sugary sodas a day can lower the power of your cold-busting immune cells by 40%.
For a healthy immune system, health experts also encourage reaching a healthy weight, taking a multivitamin that provides essential minerals (like zinc and selenium), exercising 30 to 60 minutes most days, and sleeping at least eight hours every night.
Colds and flu can sneak up on you and your loved ones. More than 200 viruses can cause cold symptoms. That’s a lot of bugs to fend off. Luckily, eating healthfully may be just the immune-system booster you need to ward off illness.
A healthy immune system is your best defense against pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and carcinogens that can make you ill. Immune cells are found throughout your body – in your tonsils, lymph nodes, spleen, thymus gland, and bone marrow. By focusing on nutrient-rich foods instead of high-calorie foods like cookies and ice cream, you and your family can ward off illness.
Foods That Boost Immunity
1. Go Fishing
For a stronger immune system, nutritionists suggest consuming at least two servings a week of fatty seafood, such as sardines, salmon, herring, and mackerel.
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish and in other foods such as walnuts, flaxseeds and canola oil are known to boost the immune system and reduce inflammation in the body. They increase the activity of white blood cells called macrophages, which engulf troublesome bacteria.
Monounsaturated fats in foods such as olive oil and wheat germ also protect our bodies from microorganisms, bacteria and viruses. In fact, researchers have found that diets low in fat weaken the immune system and increase depression.
2. Pick Protein
Zinc, a mineral abundant in meats like calf’s liver, beef and lamb, works with the protein found in meat to help to strengthen the immune system. In fact, certain types of immune cells, including white blood cells, cannot function without zinc.
In the winter months, most markets offer a wonderful array of fresh choices, from winter squashes, greens and root vegetables to cranberries.
You can always reach for canned and frozen fruits and vegetables any time of year. Processed just after harvest, canned and frozen produce may actually have more nutrients than produce that has spent days in transit.
4. Don’t Skimp on Citrus
Go ahead and indulge in leafy greens, bell peppers and citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit, all rich in vitamin C. This vitamin inactivates histamine, the substance responsible for your runny nose and congestion, and helps reduce the inflammation that accompanies colds and viruses.
According to a study at the University of California at Berkeley of 160 healthy adults, those who took 500 milligrams of vitamin C a day for two months had a 24% drop in C-reactive protein, a compound associated with inflammation and chronic disease.
Brightly colored greens and other vegetables also contain large doses of immune-enhancing antioxidants that help fight wintertime illnesses. So, load up on strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and sweet potatoes – all a boon for your immune system.
To make vegetables more appealing, add them to soups, stews and sauces. And down a glass of low-sodium tomato or vegetable juice now and then – they’re both great sources of vitamin C.
5. Go Nuts
Instead of chips or cheese doodles for an afternoon snack, reach for a handful of nuts or seeds.
Studies show vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, fights respiratory infections, including colds. It boosts the responses of antibodies and certain immune system cells when we’re under stress – and who isn’t?
Which nuts and seeds are best?
One quarter cup of sunflower seeds has almost all the vitamin E you need daily.
One quarter cup of almonds provides 50% of your need.
Brazil nuts pack a whopping dose of selenium, a mineral that works with vitamin E to boost wintertime defenses.
6. Hit the Spice Rack
Both garlic and onions contain compounds that rev up the activity of immune-system cells called natural killer cells and T-helper cells.
While onions and garlic fend off colds, they’re also helping defend you from cancer and heart disease – not a bad side activity at all.
If a cold does catch you and you get stuffy, a bite of garlic will also help clear your nose (not to mention the room).
7. Spoon in the Yogurt
In a year-long study at the University of California, adults who ate three-fourths cup of yogurt a day had 25% fewer colds that those who didn’t.
Researchers found that yogurt cranked up the production of a substance called gamma interferon, which helps squelch virus reproduction, a death knell for your cold.
Dehydration can also lower your defenses. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water and other fluids every day. And if you’re already sick, double that.
Now you know what to eat. But what foods should you avoid?
Skip Sugar and Fat
Animal studies have shown that diets high in both sugar and fat reduce the numbers of natural killer cells. Even as little as two sugary sodas a day can lower the power of your cold-busting immune cells by 40%.
For a healthy immune system, health experts also encourage reaching a healthy weight, taking a multivitamin that provides essential minerals (like zinc and selenium), exercising 30 to 60 minutes most days, and sleeping at least eight hours every night.
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