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By admin, March 12, 2010 9:33 am

Our contributing medical editor, Andrew L. Rubman, ND, has been vocal about his enthusiasm for the trace element selenium for years — including defending this important antioxidant mineral against research that seemed (wrongly, in his view) to link it to diabetes. Along with others, he was unsurprised by new research showing it to be valuable in the fight against assorted cancers including lung, colon and prostate. Beyond cancer, studies show that selenium also appears to stimulate the immune response in general and contributes to the health of the thyroid gland.

See the benefits of selenium

There’s still lots to learn about selenium, but we do know it’s complicated. To find out more about what these research findings mean to you, I called selenium expert Julian Spallholz, PhD, professor in the department of food and nutrition at Texas Technology University (Lubbock). He affirmed that selenium is vitally important as a cofactor both for antioxidant enzymes and in 25 vital human proteins that cannot function without it. Though the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults is 55 mcg/day, whether or not an individual gets enough from dietary sources depends on how much selenium normally exists in the soil in your region and/or where your food (plant- and animal-based) originates. Parts of the US and much of Europe are known to have low levels of selenium, while other areas — notably the Midwest and Western states, including Colorado, Texas, Nebraska, Utah, Montana and Northern Arizona — have more. (Note: A selenium country-wide map can be found athttp://tin.er.usgs.gov/geochem/doc/averages/se/usa.html.)

While symptoms of selenium deficiency are up for debate (possibly including muscle weakness, and immune, digestive and respiratory disorders) what’s known for sure is that severe deficiency causes several terrible diseases. In particular, in regions of Asia, where the levels of dietary selenium are as low as 10 mcg a day or less, people may be affected by Keshan disease, which harms the heart, and Kashin-Beck disease, which attacks the joints.

Advice on supplementation is far from simple — it’s not as easy as taking a daily pill and being done with it. Taking too much can be dangerous, though Dr. Spallholz said that the 200 mcg/day used in studies is considered well within the safe range. Even in the same region, different people will have different requirements. Dr. Rubman told me that while he often prescribes selenium to his patients for a variety of symptoms, he always adjusts dosage and duration for each patient individually.

Selenium Benefits

A believer in the immune-boosting qualities of selenium, Dr. Rubman has used it to fight skin lesions in a teenage boy caused by the resistant bacterium MRSA. Suspecting a selenium deficiency, in part because of his tendency toward dry skin and dandruff (possible indications of low levels), Dr. Rubman prescribed a liquid form (selenious acid) to be taken orally, along with other supplements to maximize his immune functions, along with a topical form of selenium. Symptoms improved in days and within a few months the lesions were gone.

Even the toxicity of selenium has a useful aspect — Dr. Spallholz told me that he’s been involved in development of several drugs using it as an experimental coating to prevent bacteria from growing on orthodontic braces and bands. It’s easy to see it might also have the potential to protect hospital catheters from bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant ones, as well.

Going forward, I believe that we will be hearing much more about selenium as a cancer-fighting and immune-boosting nutrient. In the meantime, both Dr. Spallholz and Dr. Rubman advise taking a high-quality multivitamin that contains selenium. Dietary selenium is available through grains grown in selenium-rich soil and also from Brazil nuts, as well as from seafood and animal products, including eggs and dairy. That advice, at least, is easy enough to understand and the health benefits that may follow make it well worth doing, in my view.

Source(s):

Julian Spallholz, PhD, professor in the RHIM Department, Nutritional Sciences division at Texas Technology University, Lubbock.

Andrew L. Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.naturopath.org.

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By admin, March 11, 2010 1:25 pm

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter manufactured in the brain that has a major impact on mood, learning, appetite and sleep… right? Yes, insofar as it goes… but once again digestion expert Andrew L. Rubman, ND, wants us to know there is more to the story. It turns out that 5% or less of the body’s serotonin is made in the brain, while 95% is manufactured in the gut. Not only that, new research has also found that this gut-derived serotonin, which is different than that manufactured in the brain, plays a major role in bone formation. Yet again we learn, everything in the body relates to everything else.

Understand the connection between bones and serotonin

I sat down with Dr. Rubman to learn more about what these findings mean to our health — physical as well as emotional — since most people equate serotonin with mood and not much else. He made no bones about his hopes that the finding will be used to help improve overall health, not just as the rationale for development of a new anti-osteoporosis drug.

About the Research

Interestingly, this particular research finding was an incidental one. Researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons happened upon the link between serotonin and bone density while studying the role of the Lrp5 gene in one form of osteoporosis. Working primarily with mice, they set out by introducing genetic mutations that reduced production of the Lrp5 gene in the gut. This caused higher than normal levels of gut serotonin and also low bone mass. Next they introduced a mutation that increased Lrp5 activity, which resulted in lower levels of gut serotonin and denser bones. The investigators were surprised to find that Lrp5 regulates the production of serotonin in the gut. Further research is needed to confirm and expand upon these results, which were published in the November 28, 2008, issue of Cell.

Dr. Rubman applauds this research, being hailed as a landmark study, for confirming what had previously only been suspected, but notes that many blanks need to be filled in. For instance, will altering the levels of gut-produced serotonin turn out to affect mood, even indirectly? What happens to digestion if you manipulate the process of serotonin production in the gut? Are there other factors not yet identified that will be affected by taking such action? Is there a natural cycle we don’t yet understand?

Serotonin Smoothes Life

In reality, the extent to which life’s bumps are smoothed out is affected by how much serotonin is manufactured in the gut as well as the brain, says Dr. Rubman, noting that inevitably the function of the digestive tract impacts the central nervous system and therefore, the brain. “We always need to look at the community of influence,” he said, pointing out that a well-known example of this is irritable bowel syndrome, which is linked with emotional aspects as well as digestive ones. Tinkering with the production of serotonin in the gut may indeed someday lead to new solutions to one problem — preventing osteoporosis — but before that is set in motion, we must understand more about what else will happen too.

One thing that is known is that gut-produced serotonin does not cross the blood-brain barrier (as SSRI class drugs do), and so is not directly related to that manufactured by the brain. But Dr. Rubman reminds us that this does not mean it doesn’t play a role in stress. For example, think about that queasy feeling you get in your stomach before making a speech or opening your credit card bill. Both kinds of serotonin — that produced in the gut as well as that produced in the brain — help soothe this type of stress by contributing to our ability to maintain equanimity in the face of challenges.

Look at the Big Picture

The best strategy to promote health and suppress disease processes is to enhance normal function, observes Dr. Rubman, adding that this research is a good illustration of why, whenever and wherever possible, this should be accomplished without the assistance of medication. It’s like that old children’s song about how all the bones connect to one another — but in this case, the bone turns out to be connected to everything else in the body, too.

Source(s):

Andrew L. Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.naturopath.org.

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By admin, March 10, 2010 2:12 pm

In-flight medical emergencies are now more common than ever, with nearly two billion people flying each year, including many older people with chronic illnesses such as heart and lung disease. More sophisticated aircraft make extended flights of 18 hours or longer more available, which can intensify conditions that could cause problems while also increasing the amount of time people are out of reach of medical care. Since one out of every seven in-flight medical emergencies requires diversion, it’s important to realize that flying when it might not be safe for you not only endangers your health — but also can affect everyone else on your flight.

Can you fly?

Mark A. Gendreau, MD, senior staff physician and vice chair of Emergency Medicine at Lahey Clinic Medical Center and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Massachusetts, has studied this problem, publishing his findings in the February 19, 2009, online edition of The Lancet. He explained some of the risks and offered advice on air travel for people with medical conditions.

People who already have health problems are more vulnerable to the environmental and physiological changes associated with air travel. The most common in-flight emergencies are neurological (ranging from fainting to seizure to stroke), respiratory and cardiac emergencies. If you have any known medical problems, Dr. Gendreau advises consulting your doctor about whether it is safe for you to fly — most especially if it is a long flight.

If You’ve Had Recent Surgery

People who have undergone surgery within three weeks of air travel can face a variety of increased risks. Circulation is affected by long periods of sitting. Blood begins to pool in the calves, raising the risk of potentially fatal blood clots (deep-vein thrombosis or DVT). Risk is higher on flights longer than eight hours.

Reduced cabin air pressure causes gases in the body to expand by as much as 30%, which can lead to abdominal cramping, particularly if you already have a digestive disorder or have undergone abdominal surgery. In rare cases, it has even caused stitches in surgical incisions to open.

Following surgery, to be on the safe side…

• Wait at least two to three weeks to fly. If you must fly sooner, discuss possible precautions with your surgeon.
• Be sure you’re fit enough to fly. According to Dr. Gendreau, you should be able to walk about 160 feet or climb a flight of stairs without experiencing chest pain or getting out of breath.
• Wear graduated compression stockings. Available at pharmacies, these stockings keep blood moving in your lower legs. They’re also a good idea if you are pregnant or obese, have varicose veins, smoke or take birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.
• Sit on the aisle. An aisle seat allows you to stretch your legs and get up and walk around the plane more easily.
• Do seat exercises. When seated, perform simple exercises such as rotating your ankles or alternately pointing your heel and toe. Take advantage of foot rests and change position frequently.
• Stay hydrated. To reduce dehydration, which increases risk of developing blood clots, drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine.
• Wear loose and comfortable clothing. Avoid tight pants and other snugly fitted garments, especially around the waist and lower extremities (excluding graduated stockings).

If You Have Heart or Lung Disease

Reduced oxygen levels are also problematic for people with cardiac or pulmonary problems, such as an uncontrolled heart rate, heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dr. Gendreau told me that nearly one in five passengers with COPD experiences at least mild respiratory distress during flights, due to reduced oxygen coupled with low humidity. The post-surgery tips above also hold true for those with chronic medical conditions like these, says Dr. Gendreau. Additional precautions include…

• If you have COPD or an acute episode of asthma, don’t fly until it is under control. If you have fluid in your lungs, an uncontrolled heart rate, heart failure or pulmonary infection, ask your physician whether it is safe for you to fly.
• Discuss possible supplemental oxygen requirements with your physician. Before traveling, if necessary, get a statement of need and a prescription for compressed supplemental oxygen from your physician. Be sure to give the airline this information when you book your ticket — and be aware that the law requires they make necessary accommodations.

Although the aircraft ventilation system is designed to minimize the spread of infection, the truth is that germs can still spread in an aircraft cabin. Their low humidity dries out the mucous membranes in the mouth and nose that normally act as a natural barrier to disease-causing microbes. Even healthy people can leave the plane with an impending case of the sniffles courtesy of an ill seatmate — it’s of even greater concern if you are undergoing cancer treatment, taking immunosuppressant medications or have HIV.

Also practice good hand hygiene. Contagious microorganisms get into our bodies when we touch our eyes, nose or lips with our hands, notes Dr. Gendreau. He recommends bringing aboard an alcohol-based hand wash gel — use it before eating (whether at the airport or on the plane)… after boarding… whenever returning to your seat from the lavatory (even if you’ve washed your hands)… and after leaving the airport.

American air travelers can feel confident that US consumer safety mandates are the best in the world, says Dr. Gendreau. Federal regulations require commercial aircraft in the US to carry emergency medical kits and an automated external defibrillator (AED). For international travel, carefully check the policies of individual airlines before booking your ticket.

Source(s):

Mark A. Gendreau, MD, senior staff physician and vice chair, Emergency Medicine, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, assistant professor of emergency medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Burlington, Massachusetts.

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By admin, March 9, 2010 12:15 pm

For thousands of years, countless cultures and spiritual traditions have relied on rituals of cleansing and detoxification to purify body, mind and spirit, but with the advent of food production as big business our current culture has completely abandoned these simple practices. Now a growing number of conscious leaders and holistic health practioners have begun to study the destructive effects of our poor quality food and soil. They also speak out about the excessive eating habits of our industrialized society and advocate our return to these simple cleansing rituals.

Improve your body and soul

It’s time to turn back to Mother Earth and to synch our heart beats together as one.

I believe that everyone can benefit from a cleanse at least once in their life! If you have any of these symptoms: skin breakouts, frequent colds, allergies, muddled thinking, weight gain, exhaustion, constipation or difficulty digesting food, a body cleanse can especially benefit you.

Or if you are tired of being dependent on sugar or caffeine to energize you and you want to tap into the infinite power source of your Soul then you’re ready for a cleanse!

Here are my favorite reasons for cleansing.

1. A cleanse can be a profound turning point in your relationship with food (it was for me). When you break from foods that you know do not support you for a period of time, it can loosen their negative grip on you. This results in feeling more powerful and confident in your body.

You can let go of unhealthy food cravings and bad habits and never crave them again. I know this is true because every time I cleanse I have intense cravings for particular foods. For example, during one of my first cleanses, I had been eating processed protein bars every day. During the cleanse I stopped eating them. I craved them like crazy, then once the cleanse was over I had one and was disgusted by the artificial-ness of it.

Taking a break from unhealthy food you know doesn’t support your body and spirit can break you free from the power of unhealthy habits and cravings and give you the confidence and trust in your body to not eat them any more.

2. Cleansing can add years to your life by restoring your internal organs and moving toxins out of your body.The time you spend cleansing will rest your digestive system so that your liver, kidneys and lymphatic system can move the toxins and accumulated waste out of your body. This process enables the body to rid itself of excess weight, prevent disease and bring overall balance to the body.

3. My favorite part about cleansing is the spiritual awakening that may occur in the absence of using food to stuff our emotions or habitual food cravings we can be present to our Spirit and gain total clarity and vision.

While breaking from unhealthy and habitual foods the body may have cellular memories of past emotions and experiences.When you rid the body of these old memories and emotions, space for new intentions, dreams and visions is created. It clears the space so that your Spirit can talk to you. While cleansing it’s possible to feel an intense high, unbounded energy, clarity and radiance.

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By admin, March 8, 2010 4:04 pm

If you’ve ever wanted to get rid of cellulite you are not alone! I think every Western woman on the planet has had this thought cross her mind at least once in her lifetime.

Cellulite–also lovingly called “cottage cheese”–is fat cells that have bulged through cell walls into the skin’s middle layer, where they pull on connective tissue to create an unattractive, dimpled skin surface.

To repair cellulite, you need to strengthen and hydrate your body’s cells and the connective tissue in your body.

Here’s what will help:

1. Nourish your body with an abundance of real, whole, organic foods from the earth. This means eating lots of fruits, greens and sea weed (think sushi.)

2. Avoid toxins like junk food, diet soda, processed food, excessive alcohol and cigarettes.

Drink water to improve your skins health.

3. Drink an abundance of filtered water to hydrate and flush out toxins. Eight to ten glasses a day are recommended.

4. Use a dry skin brush daily, preferably before bathing. This simple and affordable technique stimulates blood andlymph flow, removes dead skin cells and encourages new cell growth. I’ve done this for years, it keeps my skin radiant and beautiful! Purchase one at your local health food store for around $8.

5. Exercise your body every day to stimulate your lymphatic system. Try rebounding on a mini trampoline, yoga, brisk walking or swimming.

6. Start a cellulite loving ritual. Gently massage your cellulite with a mixture of almond or coconut oil and few drops of lavender, lemon and peppermint essential oil every day. Breathe and think loving, accepting, positive thoughts as you massage the oils into your skin.

7. Finish your daily shower with a cold rinse to tone your skin, refresh and energize your body and soul! I do this every day and I love it!

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By admin, March 4, 2010 2:16 pm

It sounds very serious when you hear that someone “needed” a blood transfusion. According to research I’ve recently read, what necessitates a transfusion varies dramatically from one hospital to the next. That’s surprising enough, but I also learned that receiving a transfusion of someone else’s blood lowers immunity to the point that it doubles the likelihood that a patient will suffer infection in the hospital.

Dangers of blood transfusions

I called Neil Blumberg, MD, director of the Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, to learn more. With an estimated five million Americans receiving blood transfusions each year, it seems to me that this is something we need to know more about.

Transfusion Impacts Your Immune System

Now that strict safety rules regulate the nation’s blood supply, the risk for direct infection (e.g., with the hepatitis B or C virus or HIV) from transfusions is very small, observes Dr. Blumberg — but, he said, many other serious risks persist. Though doctors don’t fully understand why, they know that transfusions dramatically affect your immune system, likely in both the short and the long term. Receiving another person’s blood increases the risk for harm to lung tissue and red blood cells and can trigger an array of allergic reactions. Also, in the immediate post-procedure period, transfusions raise the risk for bacterial infection due to decreased immune function, potential organ failure and possible clotting in key veins and arteries. These problems can lead to heart attack, stroke or deep vein thrombosis.

What Researchers Learned

To measure the health risks posed by transfusions, Dr. Blumberg and his colleagues examined the outcomes of a specific procedure that often involves a large transfusion of stored blood over two to six hours — cardiac bypass surgery. In nearly 25,000 people who underwent a cardiac bypass, they found that…

• About 30% of the variation in transfusion practices (the likelihood of whether or not a person would be transfused) was attributable to the hospital where the procedure was performed, a figure high enough that Dr. Blumberg calls it “striking.”
• Among patients who received another person’s blood, about twice as many suffered postoperative infections as did those who didn’t receive a transfusion.

Findings were published in the July 2009, issue of BMC Medicine.

Less is More

While guidelines regarding blood donation are safe and uniform, guidelines for when a transfusion is needed are imprecise, leaving doctors to make transfusion decisions based on prevailing practices at their own hospitals and on their own training and experience, rather than on scientific evidence, says Dr. Blumberg. He told me that some cardiac surgery programs transfuse almost all patients, others transfuse very few, and the rest are scattered along the spectrum in between.

One fact stands out, however — in most studies to date, fewer transfusions correlate with fewer complications and deaths in surgical patients. Dr. Blumberg believes these programs have better clinical outcomes becausethey are more conservative in their use of transfusion and have technically sophisticated surgeons who take various steps to minimize bleeding, such as using scalpels that clot blood as they cut tissue.

I also asked Dr. Blumberg about bloodless surgery, which uses new surgical techniques and equipment to minimize the use of blood and blood-related products during surgery. This was first developed in the 1960s to meet the needs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose religious beliefs do not permit blood transfusion, but it has since become more widely available, as its medical advantages have become apparent. In Dr. Blumberg’s opinion, the presence of a bloodless surgery program or other blood-management program at a hospital is a quality indicator, suggesting that health-care providers pay more attention to transfusion issues. This might translate to better outcomes.

The Underused Safety Measure

There is a process that can dramatically reduce the risk for infection and death in transfusion patients, yet some hospitals still don’t use it. Calledleukoreduction, it is the removal of white blood cells from donated blood. This reduces risk by lowering immunologically driven problems. An array of evidence supports the efficacy of leukoreduction, and the cost is modest. Dr. Blumberg told me that he would like to see this process made universal in every hospital.

In the meantime, if you are going to have surgery, Dr. Blumberg advises that you protect yourself by asking in advance whether you might require a transfusion. If the answer is yes…

• Ask whether the hospital uses leukoreduced blood. If the answer is no, consider looking for a different hospital. Dr. Blumberg advises having surgery at hospitals that have 100% (universal) leukoreduction of transfusion blood — meaning that all the blood for transfusions has the leukocytes removed. “It’s just too risky otherwise,” says Dr. Blumberg.
• Donate your own blood for your exclusive use. This is called autologous donation and is the safest of all ways to receive blood. You can donate your blood in advance of the scheduled surgery, or your surgeon can collect your blood just before surgery and return it to your body at the end of the procedure.

By the way, there is no evidence that receiving blood donated by family members or friends is safer than receiving blood from the national blood supply.

Source(s):

Neil Blumberg, MD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, director, Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank, and director, clinical laboratories, Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.

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By admin, March 2, 2010 9:55 am

If you have diabetes and heart disease — and many Americans do, or will, since the two tend to go hand in hand — it is important to be aware of special considerations regarding your treatment, especially when it comes to invasive heart procedures.

Heart surgery causing conflicts with diabetics

A Landmark Study

Surprisingly, there is no clear consensus on how to treat diabetic patients with heart disease. That, coupled with concern about the exorbitant cost of treating diabetes (it now accounts for one out of every five federal health-care dollars spent), led researchers to undertake the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI 2D) trial, which is a comparative effectiveness study of two different treatments for diabetic patients with heart disease.

In the five-year randomized, clinical trial of 2,368 diabetics with heart disease at 49 sites in six countries, researchers compared optimal medical therapy (medications and lifestyle counseling) with the same plus surgery to see which worked best in preventing a cardiovascular event and/or early death. These patients were generally considered to be at low risk for heart attack and stroke based on the extent of their coronary artery disease and symptoms, such as their degree of angina (chest pain), when the study began. The “optimal medical therapy” (e.g., medications such as beta-blockers and statins) was given to all participants to control blood pressure and cholesterol, and participants were also counseled, as appropriate, to quit smoking and/or lose weight, notes William E. Boden, MD, FACC, clinical chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine and professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo Schools of Medicine & Public Health.

For the group that received medical therapy plus surgery, half the participants were randomly assigned to either undergo stent angioplasty or coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Over the five-year period following the intervention, Dr. Boden and his colleagues found that…

• There was little or no difference in outcome between those who underwent angioplasty versus only optimal medical therapy — angioplasty patients had a 10.8% death rate, compared with a 10.2% death rate among those on optimal medical therapy.
• In the bypass group — which included individuals with more severe heart disease — surgery was more effective than optimal medical therapy. Bypass recipients had a 22.4% chance of having a heart attack or stroke or dying in the next five years, compared with 30.5% of participants who only took medications.

These results were published in the June 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

High Tech is Not Always the Answer

We’re often inclined to believe that high-tech devices and interventions are superior, Dr. Boden observes. This is not always the case — sometimes conservative medical therapy is more effective, since it is less invasive and therefore less dangerous, and it costs less, too. The BARI 2D results confirm that intensive medical (non-surgical) therapy can be an effective first line of treatment for diabetics with heart disease, particularly for those with less severe disease.

Source(s):

William E. Boden, MD, FACC, clinical chief, division of cardiovascular medicine, professor of medicine and preventive medicine, University at Buffalo Schools of Medicine & Public Health, medical director, cardiovascular services, Kaleida Health chief of cardiology, Buffalo General and Millard Fillmore Hospitals, Buffalo, New York.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.

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By admin, March 1, 2010 12:40 pm

January is probably the busiest month for psychics, since everyone wonders what the new year holds. But there’s another way to get a view of what lies ahead, one that doesn’t cost a dime but pays off handsomely by improving the quality of your life… it’s your intuition.

Make Intuition Apart of Your Life

We all have intuitive skills, and you don’t have to be psychic to use them. I’ve learned from experience that once you learn how to tap into this valuable resource, you can be far more effective at work, home and play.

I spoke recently with Judith Orloff, MD, a psychiatrist and author of several books, including her newest New York Times best-seller, Emotional Freedom. She told me that intuition is not as mysterious as it sounds. “Intuition,” says Dr. Orloff, “is a talent some people are born with — like math or music. Some have more of a propensity for it, but everyone can learn to develop powerful intuitive skills to serve them in their lives.” She describes intuition as what we feel rather than think. It’s a continuum that runs all the way from trusting your gut to seeing the future. The intuitive process can be used to help you make all types of decisions, including setting goals, resolving relationship issues, solving career problems and controlling your finances. Intuition can even help prevent illness by warning you when something is just starting to be “off.” It’s the body’s way of telling you it’s time to pay attention.

What Does Intuition Feel Like?

You don’t have to have a high IQ to read your intuition. On the contrary, Dr. Orloff often finds that highly intelligent people have more trouble stepping outside their reasoning minds. Intuition is as simple as feeling up or down in a certain situation, with a particular person or when considering a decision. The energetic feeling you have when you meet a dear friend for lunch is your intuition affirming the circumstances — and if you find yourself stepping back and crossing your arms in a tough business negotiation, that’s your unthinking self sending signals of caution.

How do you know if your intuition is working? From Dr. Orloff’s bookEmotional Freedom, here are some simple signals that your intuition is at work:

Signs that your intuition is saying “yes”…

• Your shoulders are relaxed.
• You find yourself leaning toward the person you are talking to.
• You breathe normally.
• You have goose bumps. (Interestingly, goose bumps can indicate that your intuition knows you have hit the mark perfectly.)

Signs that your intuition is saying “no”…

• You feel your gut tighten and you notice a somewhat sinking feeling.
• You feel a lump or constriction in your throat.
• You find that you are holding your breath — a sign that you’re afraid.
• Your skin crawls or you feel chills.
• Your shoulders tighten or you feel knots in them.
• The hair on the back of your neck stands up.
• You feel drained, with a sense of malaise.
• Existing aches and pains feel aggravated.

Turning Myth of Reality

Dr. Orloff told me that when it comes to learning how to be more intuitive, a common challenge is convincing people that intuition really exists and that it is a power we all have… and getting them to let go of their misconceptions and presumptions about all that “touchy-feely stuff.” In particular, she talked about four common myths and how to overcome them…

Myth: You have it or you don’t.

Truth: Though many call it a “gift,” in reality, Dr. Orloff says, we all have intuitive powers but it takes practice to learn how to use them. The more often you use your intuitive powers, the better you will get at making them work for you. Her pointers:

• Turn off the phones, the TVs, the computers. Dr. Orloff says that you have to tune out the external world to tune in to your internal wisdom. She told me that many people find that listening to music they love helps them get out of their heads.
• Get comfortable. Sit quietly for at least five minutes.
• Relax, focus on your breathing.
• Be neutral.
• Feel your body’s subtle energies.

Myth: Dreams symbolize truth.

Truth: While dreams only sometimes represent actual wishes, they always contain information you can learn from, but it is fairly straightforward. Intuitive dreams are neutral, crisp and clean. They don’t involve much emotion, but information does come through. For example, you might be standing naked in front of a classroom and everyone is looking and laughing at you. Though you aren’t aware of feeling anxious in the dream, such a dream reveals that you do have anxiety.

Myth: Dreams are unconscious — they just happen.

Truth: Dr. Orloff says that you can actively use dreaming to help you make decisions or to resolve difficulties. She suggests posing a question to your dreaming self before you go to sleep. Then, immediately upon waking, write down your dream (some keep a dream journal for this) and ask your intuition how your dream applies to your question. If you dreamed of a lonely situation, for example, search for how you might be feeling abandoned in your life. If you dreamed of sadness, consider what losses may bother you more deeply than you realize. When you have an intense reaction to a dream, it likely points to psychological issues in your life. One way to open yourself to a different perspective is to challenge yourself to be in the role of each and every character in your dream, asking what is relevant to your life.

Myth: Intense focus is key to feeling your intuitive powers.

Truth: The opposite is true — you must be relaxed and open to be in touch with your intuition. Dr. Orloff says that some of the best times to tap into your intuition are “hypnagogic” times — the stage between sleep and wakefulness when you haven’t yet organized your thoughts on a particular topic or activity. Insights that arrive to you in this state are important and truthful ones that come from deep within and aren’t as likely to be shaped by outside forces.

For Non-Intuitive Types

I asked Dr. Orloff how those not accustomed to making intuitive decisions could manage to get in touch with their intuition. She pointed out that most of us here in the Western world are conditioned to live from the neck up, ignoring the rest of our body — but that’s where our intuitive powers live. She advises intense thinkers to practice getting quiet instead of over-thinking. She also advises starting with easy decisions.

If you’re not sure, she said, just try it. Don’t let your logic talk you out of the existence of intuition. Trust yourself and take the risk. Keep on trying — it may take two or three attempts. Learning to use your intuition is a process, she said, and, like any process, you’ll learn from your mistakes.

In the end, Dr.Orloff says, both intuitive and analytical decision making are valid, so she suggests blending them for maximum effect. Listen to your gutand your head.

Source(s):

Judith Orloff, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, University of California at Los Angeles, www.drjudithorloff.com. Dr. Orloff’s popular best-seller, Second Sight, will be published in a new paperback edition by Three Rivers Press in March 2010.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.

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By admin, February 28, 2010 9:29 am

It can be hard knowing whether or not statins will help you survive the flu season and we are going to clarify what can help you through this flu season.

Avoid the flu season now

At a recent meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, researchers in Oregon made a surprising announcement: Among patients hospitalized with the flu, those who take cholesterol-lowering drugs are less likely to die than those who don’t take them. To me that sounded like a bit of a non sequitur… so I decided to learn more.

Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew Rubman, ND, told me he wasn’t surprised to hear about the results of the study — but that no one should interpret this as a reason to take a statin drug. He pointed out that since profits are plunging for pharmaceutical companies as statin after statin goes off patent, they would love to find a new revenue generator amidst this particular family of drugs. As we well know, these potent medications have equally potent and worrisome side effects. Dr. Rubman told me that there are far better ways to achieve the same immune-bolstering effect.

Anti-Inflammatory? Yes. Safe? No.

In the study at the Oregon Public Health Division in Portland, scientists analyzed data on 2,800 flu patients as part of the CDC’s Emerging Infections Program. They found that during the 2007-2008 flu season, of 801 hospitalized patients who had been taking statins to lower cholesterol, 17 (2.1%) died in the hospital or within the next 30 days. Of the 1,999 patients who had not been taking statins, 64 (3.2%) died.

This makes sense, says Dr. Rubman, since statins have an anti-inflammatory impact which may help destroy flu-infected cells. The problem is, many people on statins also experience troubling side effects, such as muscle pain and weakness, nerve damage, fatigue and memory loss. The longer you take these drugs, the higher the risk of these side effects. Additionally, as even the researchers themselves noted, there were some serious shortcomings in the Oregon study. It was observational rather than randomized and controlled… it did not distinguish among different statin drugs and dosages… and results were presented at a conference rather than published in a more rigorous peer-reviewed journal.

A Better Way

By lowering inflammation, statins may incidentally strengthen your ability to resist the flu, yet there are smarter ways to do this. Dr. Rubman recommends that you enhance immunity, calm inflammation and stave off the flu the safe and natural way — follow a healthful diet, exercise regularly and get as close to eight hours of sleep each night as you possibly can. He also suggests the following…

• Use omega-3 fatty acid supplements. These strengthen immune function and guard against inflammation in your mucous membranes, where flu germs initially take hold. Doses of one gram daily of the combined omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid may be clinically effective.
• Go fish. Two to three times a week, feast on fatty fish from the ocean, such as wild salmon, herring, sardines and sablefish. These are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and low in contaminants, such as mercury and PCBs. Other good dietary sources of omega-3s are walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil.
• See your doctor. Your best bet is a physician who has training in and experience with supplements, and who can prescribe an anti-flu program to fit your individual needs. Supplements Dr. Rubman typically prescribes include vitamin C, vitamin D, antioxidants, zinc, elderberry, echinacea, goldenseal and NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine).

Whatever you do, don’t let drug companies scare you into taking powerful drugs with powerful side effects when safer alternatives exist. There are better ways to stay healthy this flu season and beyond.

Source(s):

Andrew Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.naturopath.org.

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By admin, February 26, 2010 3:11 pm

Your brain and heart are very important parts of your body, but what happens if one is not working as good as the other. Heart surgery has been shown to hurt the brain. Let’s see why…

Avoid hurting your brain now

When arteries become blocked, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery often is the treatment of choice. Since its introduction in the 1950s, the number of patients undergoing the procedure has grown, and today it is one of the most common surgical procedures in the US, with about a half million procedures performed yearly.

CABG surgery can improve quality of life and, in many cases, it’s necessary for survival — but it is not without risk. A recent report in the online journalMedLink Neurology focused on one of the most common neurological complications of heart surgery — cognitive impairment, which includes disturbances in learning, memory, attention, concentration and speed of mental responses. “Recovering cognition may take six weeks or more,” says Harlan Krumholz, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology and public health (cardiology) at Yale University School of Medicine. He emphasizes that many patients do ultimately recover completely.

Understanding the Risks

Even so, there is a high risk for cognitive decline during the five years after CABG surgery. While much of the variance depends on the patient’s condition before surgery, by and large, most such problems have been attributed to use of the bypass pump, which diverts blood from the heart and creates turbulence in the blood during the course of the surgery. This can result in emboli (blood clots or bubbles or plaque) and/or cause preexisting ones to dislodge. These may then flow up the carotid artery and into the blood vessels in the brain, potentially causing stroke. Some studies suggest this risk is reduced with off-pump CABG surgery, but according to Dr. Krumholz, the data is unclear on this issue.

Emboli can be especially dangerous at particular times. Most preexisting emboli are dislodged into the bloodstream immediately after releasing the aortic clamp at the end of surgery, when the force of blood coursing through the aorta can be likened to water flowing full-force through a garden hose. Emboli can also be formed as a result of arrhythmia(disruption in the normal heart rhythm), which can occur during or after surgery.

Another potential cause of cognitive problems, unrelated to emboli, is the chemical residue of anesthesia, of which the body must clear itself after surgery, Dr. Krumholz said. Having impaired circulation, which of course is common in heart patients, means that this isn’t likely to be done efficiently or easily, and the longer the anesthesia chemicals and their by-products remain in the blood, the more likely they are to cross the blood-brain barrier and impair cognition. According to Daily Health News contributing medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, “when anesthesia is incompletely processed, it’s more likely to affect the central nervous system over the longer term.”

Who is at Risk?

Reiterating that many of the people who require heart surgery have vascular disease, Dr. Krumholz told me that it can be tough to tease out whether subsequent cognitive impairment is a result of the preexisting condition or the surgery. He said that even though age increases risk for post-op neurological problems, the reality is that CABG is often performed on patients who are quite old and quite sick. Vascular disease — including high blood pressure, diabetes, a blocked carotid artery, significant plaque in the aorta, kidney problems, a clot in the heart or prior strokes — boosts risk as well, exponentially. Other factors, including the length of time that a patient is on a bypass pump and whether or not a particular kind (an intra-aortic balloon pump, which is the most widely used mechanical circulatory support) is used contributes to risk for cognitive deficit as well.

Natural Therapies Can Help

“There are several ways that you can help your body to be less affected by the challenges of the surgery,” says Dr. Rubman, noting that “the more prepared you are, the less likely that you’ll develop either short- or long-term cognitive deficiency.”

To prepare for CABG, Dr. Rubman suggests starting as soon as possible to take…

• Omega -3 fatty acids, found in the oils of fatty fish, such as salmon, or as a supplement, for their anti-inflammatory effects.
• Vitamin E supplements to prevent emboli formation.
• L-carnitine, an amino acid in capsule form, to help the heart and brain burn fat as a fuel. This allows the brain to function better should oxygen levels be reduced due to the surgical process or complications. Optimally, this should be started at least three days before surgery.
• Neprinol, a product that breaks down fibrin, thereby reducing the likelihood clots will develop. Start a few weeks before surgery.

Dr. Rubman emphasizes that dosages and timing for these supplements must be individualized and should be done with expert oversight. It is best if your treatment team includes a naturopathic physician who specializes in diet, nutrition and supplement therapy.

For people who have already had CABG: If you weren’t able to take these supplements before surgery, it’s not too late to improve your outcome, Dr. Rubman says. Start right away, and remember that it is absolutely vital that your cardiologist and surgeon be involved, as these interventions are not only not appropriate for all patients, but may be harmful to some.

The Good News

According to Dr. Krumholz, technological advances in CABG surgery have been “huge” and surgeons are also now able to utilize strategies to reduce the risk of stroke, including filters that prevent emboli from recirculating in the blood. “CABG surgery can be accomplished with excellent results, but the expertise of the surgical team is critical, and the institution you choose should have extensive experience with this type of surgery,” he said.

Source(s):

Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, professor of medicine and epidemiology and public health (cardiology), section of cardiovascular medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Andrew L. Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. www.naturopath.org.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.