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When you go to the doctor, you have certain expectations. He will listen to your complaints, examine you, diagnose the problem and if necessary, prescribe the appropriate medication. The pills you receive will be a combination of chemicals, mixed perfectly so as to create a potent drug sure to eliminate your ailment.
But what if they aren’t? What if they are nothing more than an empty capsule?
A recent study found that placebo prescription was much more common than thought. Previously, the do-nothing pills were used to determine if symptoms were real or to compare the effects of varying drugs. But today, nearly half of surveyed doctors say that they have given placebos to patients, believing that the beliefs and expectations of recovery would heal the body. And the vast majority, regardless of whether or not they had prescribed placebos, admitted that the “fake” medication had therapeutic effects.
Most are looking at this discovery, and harping on the ethical implications of fake prescriptions. However, we are going to do something else. We will look at the positive, the implications that this study makes about our bodies.
There is a powerful connection between the mind and body. If you believe that you will recover, you very well might. Why? The body has a natural ability to heal - an ability that even doctors are recognizing as greater than some medications. Assuming you are well (aside from the current ailment), meaning you eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, maintain the proper levels of all nutrients and have faith in your health, your body can overcome the various bugs and bacteria that invade your system. This, of course, won’t work for the more serious conditions, but it’s worth thinking about for the less detrimental.
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For most products and services, an increase in demand coupled with a lack of supply spells a price hike and a race to the store. It’s why fruits and vegetables cost more and more as summer fades into winter, and why the opposite occurs as winter turns into spring. It’s why lines form outside of electronic stores before the latest versions of varying games, gadgets and software hit the shelves. It’s why fakes – purses, glasses, Ferraris – are so prevalent and popular. And it’s why I just paid 35.00 to fill up my 10-gallon Ford Focus. It’s a pain, but for all of the above, we can cope. When the product is a doctor, however, the same may not be true.
Studies are finding that the number of pediatric endocrinologists in the country is not matching the number of children who need one. There are an estimated nine million obese children in the United States, putting at least that many at risk for diabetes. Approximately 229,249 kids already have the disease (type 1 or type 2), and if the numbers keep with current trends, they will only continue to increase. Meanwhile, there are a limited number of pediatricians who specialize in diabetes. In fact, there is only one for every 290 diabetic children. That’s quite a caseload, particularly if you add the children who don’t yet have diabetes but who are severely at risk. No doctor could handle it and still maintain an adequate level of care.
Does this mean that you should go back to school immediately and become an endocrinologist or if it’s too late for you, push your child into the field? If it’s your dream or his, absolutely! We could definitely use the staff, but if neither of you are bound for medical school, there’s something else you can do: work to prevent diabetes.
There wouldn’t be a shortage of doctors if there weren’t a flood of diagnoses. While some of the prevalence is due to genetics, much is not. The rise in childhood obesity is directly affecting the rise in diabetes. Work to maintain your child’s health. Keep them on a balance, nutritious diet. Encourage them to remain active, exercising and participating in lively games. Monitor their health, teaming up with their doctors to ensure that blood pressure, cholesterol and heart health are all what they should be. Stave off diabetes, and the minimal number of pediatric endocrinologists will be a minimal concern.
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Your stress affects you. That is a given. It not only keeps you up at night and anxious during the day, but also weakens your immune system and makes you more vulnerable to illness. However, that’s where it stops; it doesn’t extend beyond you. And so your motivation to take a deep breath, step back and calm down is fairly limited. Unfortunately, so is your understanding of stress.
When you had children, everything that used to apply solely to you - your paycheck, your habits, your wellbeing - stopped applying solely to you. Everything you did, and now do, began affecting them and that includes your stress. A study of 169 children and their parents found that the kids with the most emotionally anxious parents were more likely to become ill and more likely to have an increased number of immune cells in their blood. They were made less healthy by the anxiety teeming within their parents.
How’s the motivation to de-stress now? Are you ready, for the sake of your kids, to find better management methods and a sense of serenity? If you do, it’s likely that the toll your stress has already taken on them will dissipate, as children are extraordinarily resilient. And as they get healthier, so will you.
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| Filed Under: Women's Health at 2:59 pm | By: Susan Coyle, Senior Editor |
Being a woman and obese, your situation is already bad enough. The chances that you’ll develop breast cancer are far greater than they are for your husband, who is neither female nor overweight, or for your sister, who although female, falls in the normal-weight range. But now they’re telling you that it’s going to get worse, that your size is going to affect more than the possibility of prognosis; it’s going to affect the disease itself.
A study of more than 600 women with breast cancer found that those who were obese were more likely to have a rare form of the disease or, at the very least, a more aggressive form. They were also more likely to die within the five and ten year increments of the study. The situation, although less severe, was true for overweight women as well. It is believed that the excess fat tissues increase inflammation, thus fueling the disease.
The best way to be then is normal weight. If you are obese or overweight, work to lessen the pounds. Adopt healthier habits now so that if a diagnosis is in your future, it will, hopefully, be a less deadly one. And if you have already been diagnosed, do not think that it is too late to lose weight. It’s not. Adopt those same healthy habits, altering the balanced diet and exercise to fit your situation. There are many different workouts designed for women with breast cancer, which may not only help you achieve a normal weight but enable you to cope more ably with the disease as well.
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| Filed Under: Men's Health at 9:42 am | By: Susan Coyle, Senior Editor |
When you were younger you had rippling muscles. You felt as if you were brimming with testosterone, the true epitome of the macho man, but now that you are older, your muscles don’t seem quite as strong. They appear miniscule, weak and feminine. Your perceived (and actual) levels of testosterone are waning. You want to rectify this undoing, and so you turn to protein, in the form of lean meat and nonfat/low-fat dairy. Both have proven to maximize the amount of testosterone present after strength training, which in turn builds muscle mass. You have been happy so far. Your muscles are looking much as they used to, and you feel stronger. But, there is one problem: your glass of milk or low-fat slice of cheese, your muscle maker, may be giving you prostate cancer.
Two separate studies recently linked nonfat/low-fat dairy products to prostate cancer. In the first, researchers examined the diets of 82,483 men, 4,404 of whom developed prostate cancer. They found that nonfat/low-fat dairy products heightened the risk of localized and non-aggressive tumors, while whole milk decreased the risk. In the second study, 293,888 men found that skim milk increased the risk of advanced prostate cancer, even as it decreased the risk of non-advanced prostate cancer. So what should you do? Do you really have to choose between cancer and weakness?
First, you should note that the leaders of the prostate-cancer studies did not end their reports with a suggestion to abandon dairy. Instead, they concluded that more in depth research needed to be conducted to fully understand the analyses’ results. Furthermore, there is never a situation in which you should abandon a product without looking back (unless, of course, we’re talking about something completely unnecessary). It’s not as if you are drinking gallons of skim milk a day (if you are, you are taking the protein recommendations to a frightening place). If you keep everything within the prescribed guidelines (protein, calcium, etc.), you should be able to strengthen your muscles without weakening your health.�
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Just when you thought we’d forgotten, when you were giving up hope that there would be another opportunity for you to win a LuckyVitamin.com t-shirt, the Lucky Blog Giveaway returns!!!! Over the next few weeks every comment you make will automatically qualify you to win a LuckyVitamin.com t-shirt. You can comment on any blog - past, present, future - it doesn’t matter so long as you comment and you’ll be in the contest. So comment today and tomorrow . . . and the day after that, and you may just win! Good luck!!
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Do you struggle every time you lift yourself out of a chair? Do you have difficulty maintaining balance? Is a short walk around the block too much for you to handle?
No? Well, it may not be long before that changes. You’re aging, and with age, comes physical decline. Simple, daily activities transform into strenuous tasks, too taxing to be performed regularly. Your body rebels with each movement. You find yourself weakened, defeated and immobile . . . or at the very least, you find physical activity a little more difficult than it once was. Either way, it would be nice to prevent it, but what can you do aside from stop aging? Continue Reading >>
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Do you wake up early on the weekends just so you can make your 7a.m. tee time? Do you spend hours polishing your nine-iron, wanting it to look its best the next time it sends the ball straight to the green? Do you harbor delusions of being the next Tiger Woods and strut from hole to hole hoping an agent will notice you? Do you fear your life would end without a weekly round of golf? If so, I’ve got some bad news:
A recent study found that golfing was just as hard on artificial knees as jogging and tennis, making it one of the worst things you could do. The best exercise was cycling on a stationery bike, followed by walking on a treadmill or walking in general. These workouts were relatively low impact and resulted in a limited amount of pounds weighing down on the joints. So if you have a fake knee, you may want to reconsider golf or at least think about modification, and if you don’t, well you might want to anyway.
By 2030, the number of knee replacements performed annually will have increased by 525 percent. That kind of a hike means that you are more than likely to be one of the many in surgery, and one of your knees is more than likely not to be real unless, of course, you take the steps necessary to protect your joints. Continue Reading >>
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If you pay attention to the CDC’s guidelines for physical activity or any other health-related advice, you know that your schedule should include five days a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or three days a week of vigorous exercise. You need to rest for one or two days in each period in order for your body to recuperate. The same is true of strength training. Rather than lifting every day, you should do so two or three times a week. This way, you can see results without overtaxing your muscles. It’s what is best, and so you do your best to comply. You take weekly breathers, maximizing the benefits of your workouts. But did you know that there is more you could do – more resting you could do – to the make the most of your exercise?
Researchers have found that a 20-minute break, half-way through a one-hour workout is more beneficial than an uninterrupted 60-minute push. In the study, women who chose to pause burned 20 percent more fat than those who didn’t. It’s believed that the rest allowed the fat-burning hormones to work more effectively and thus made the workout better. What’s more, it’s thought that the same would be true regardless of the breather’s duration. It could be 20 minutes or two hours; you would still reap the same rewards.
This discovery could make fitting exercise into your daily schedule considerably easier. You could get home, work out for half an hour, make dinner and then finish your workout. Or you could do a portion of your workout over lunch, and finish it in the evening. You can shape your routine to incorporate multiple periods of physical activity rather than one large block. Fitness doesn’t have to be a huge interruption in your day. It can be a refreshing, invigorating and manageable part of your life.
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When you get married, you are saying that you have found the one person you want to grow old with. The man or woman beside you is the one that will fill the rocking chair next to yours, will raise children with you and unearth the mysteries of life with you. You foresee years of adventure, happiness, frustration, crises, excitement and monotony, together. But what’s the point of all that dreaming, of even getting married if one or both of you don’t make it to the ten year anniversary?
If you want a lengthy marriage, you have to ensure that both you and your spouse remain healthy, emotionally and physically. That means that you must express your feelings, stand up for yourself and be willing to fight rather than back down meekly. Individuals who repress their anger are more likely to die young as opposed to those who openly protest wrongdoings, so if you are attacked unfairly, don’t be afraid to say so. But know that there is a time and place for anger, and sometimes it falls to you to be perky, instead.
Patients recovering from surgery, for example, do so more quickly and healthily when their spouse is upbeat and positive. When their spouse is neurotic and anxious, they are more likely to show signs of depression, which can deter healing. So in situations such as that, you have to put on a happy face and act as a role model for your husband or wife. And since you’re already demonstrating one healthy habit, you may as well show your other half how to live his entire life healthily. Eat well, exercise and maintain a healthy weight, and your spouse will be more apt to do the same. Then, you won’t have to worry that one of you will die prematurely, only that one of you will kill the other before his/her time.
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It’s a lot easier to be healthy if you have money. You can afford insurance, doctor’s visits, vitamins, supplements, health aids and health foods. If, on the other hand, you don’t, it’s a bit more difficult. Obtaining all of the necessities for wellness is a task that often seems more trouble than it’s worth. You can’t even get the free samples pharmaceutical companies claim are available for your benefit. The wealthy have gobbled them up in a cruel twist of circumstances. Meanwhile, the price of fruits and vegetables – the only foods everyone seems to agree on - increases daily, apparently attempting to match the cost of college tuition, while the price of potato chips and snack foods continually drops. You can’t afford to load your cart with the nutrient-filled produce, so you buy the junk. You don’t have a choice. There’s no middle ground . . . but there is.
You can achieve health without turning to a strictly vegetarian diet. You don’t have to buy only organic, non-fat foods. You can throw a few things into the cart aside from produce, maintain a healthy diet and not completely deplete your wallet. You see, some “bad” foods can be good for you. They can fill you up with less, meaning your fridge will stay fuller longer and so will your stomach. Here are a few examples of products that are misunderstood yet secretly good:
• Meat – you can eat meat. The high protein content will fill you up with just a little, cutting calories for the rest of the day. Buy as lean as you can. It will raise the cost a little, but not too much. And it will be worth it.
• Eggs – rather than the inexpensive (when compared to health-food breakfasts) pop tart that fills you up for a grand total of five minutes and offers you no nutrients, have a scrambled egg. It cooks in the same amount of time it takes to toast a pop tart, supplies you with protein and keeps your stomach happy until lunch. Plus, you get 12 in one carton. What a bargain!
• Pizza – if you need a frozen pizza, buy one that’s whole wheat, full of fiber and topped with veggies. The fiber slows digestion, once again leaving you fuller longer and providing you with more bang for your buck.
These additions to your grocery list won’t completely eradicate your money problems, but they will give you more options. And once you’ve finished in the market, should you find you have a little money left over, browse LuckyVitamin.com for the remainder of your health needs. The bargains completely contradict the idea that you have to be wealthy to be healthy.
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You’ve heard the “Three Square Meals a Day” lecture more times than you can count. You know that logically you should have breakfast, lunch and dinner with small yet satisfying snacks in between. You understand that it is the healthiest way to maintain or even lose weight. But you’re not so sure you buy it. Shouldn’t skipping meals, an act that eliminates calories and fat from your day, slim your waist more quickly than eating regularly?
In theory, yes, but in reality, not necessarily. Skipping breakfast, lunch and everything in between often turns dinner into a nonstop binge. Your deprived body is desperate for sustenance, so you eat everything in sight. The calories you eliminated, reappear, and you have what you normally would have had in one day, in one sitting. On top of that, your metabolism slows in the face of such strict limitations, making the fat you consume more difficult to burn. And as if that weren’t bad enough, recent research has found that this type of dieting elevates fasting glucose levels and delays insulin response, both of which can lead to diabetes.
So forget skipping meals, particularly if you’re going to make up for the loss at dinner. It won’t work for you. You’ll be no skinnier and you’ll certainly be no healthier. The best way is, as stated above, three square meals a day. Have breakfast. Have lunch. Have dinner. If you’re hungry in between, have a snack. Monitor your calorie intake. Make sure, if you are attempting to lose weight, that you are burning more than you are ingesting but do so without cutting out a vital part of your day. Eat, and eat well.
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| Filed Under: Men's Health at 9:06 am | By: Susan Coyle, Senior Editor |
The problem first arose in prevention. Attempting to protect your prostate with a low-carb diet could do a number on your heart if you chose to limit breads but maximize meats. You conquered that, however, by intelligently creating a balanced diet that worked to maintain all facets of health. But your body worked against you, and you are currently being treated for prostate cancer, going through hormone therapy. Since the treatment raises your risk of cardiovascular disease, you are also taking a daily baby aspirin. You feel once again that you have won. You have successfully (if all continues as it should) bested two life-ending diseases. But that’s not necessarily true.
Studies have found that the combination of hormone and aspirin therapy can shorten a man’s life. The two treatments interact, altering liver function to the point that one, usually the hormone therapy, must be stopped. If a prostate-cancer patient does not complete this therapy, he is 3.5 times more likely to die, particularly since this is the most common form of treatment and additional options are limited.
If you are undergoing hormone therapy and regularly taking aspirin (baby or adult), you must consider which treatment is the most beneficial. The aspirin may simply be a means of prevention or a method of pain relief – a tool that while helpful, is not urgently necessary. Should that be the case, you and your doctor may want to consider temporarily halting aspirin therapy until your hormone therapy is complete. If, on the other hand, the aspirin therapy is vital to keeping you healthy and functioning, you and your doctor need to have a different talk. You have to determine what the best path is - what is the option that will keep you alive, because that is what we are all rooting for. That is what is most important.
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| Filed Under: Men's Health at 3:45 pm | By: Susan Coyle, Senior Editor |
There are certain things in certain cabinets you don’t touch. In the bathroom, the tampons, hot wax, makeup and various sprays are hands-off. In the bedroom, you avoid her clothes, and in the kitchen, you stick with the manly vitamins, ignoring the “multivitamins for her”, feminine bottle of . . . something, and folate. But that’s where you are making a mistake, with the folate at least.
Folic acid is not just for women. Yes, it is important for them to take as it protects against spina bifida and other neural tube defects, but the nutrient’s power is not limited to the feminine sphere. Men need it, too, and for similar reasons.
A study of 89 healthy, nonsmoking men found that those who consumed the most folic acid, whether through supplements or diet, had 20 to 30 percent fewer abnormal sperm. Specifically, the frequency of aneuploidy, a condition in which the sperm either loses or gains a chromosome, was reduced. For these men and their partners then, conception and a successful pregnancy were more likely while chromosomal disorders such as Down’s Syndrome were less so.
If you’ve been ignoring folate, stop. You should be getting 400 micrograms a day unless you’re trying to have a baby; then, you should be getting more. Eat a variety of leafy greens, ensure that your cereals and breads are fortified, and grab a supplement - not hers, buy your own. This is one vitamin that is most definitely not just for her.
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