Self Care Workshop with Patrick Dumont

Date: April 18, 2011

Author: admin

Title: Self Care Workshop with Patrick Dumont
Location: Whole Person Health – 294 Pleasant Street Suite 201 Stoughton
Description: WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
ABC’s of Acupuncture
— How does acupuncture work?
— What’s Qi? Yin? Yang?
— Why do you look at my tongue? Take my pulse? Palpate my abdomen?
— What do you mean I’m out of balance?

Self-treatment with trigger-point massage
— Bring a friend or family member & we’ll teach them to treat you!!!

Register in advance at the office or by calling 781-344-0270. Space is limited.
Start Time: 07:00 pm
Date: 2011-04-21
End Time: 08:00 pm

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

Date: March 11, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Lifestyle Therapy, Nutrition Therapy

Researchers found diet was associated with improved blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) — The Mediterranean diet, long known to be heart-healthy, also reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that boost the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, according to a new review.

Researchers from Greece and Italy reviewed the results of 50 published studies with a total of more than 500,000 participants as part of a meta-analysis — a statistical analysis of the findings of similar studies — on the Mediterranean diet.

Among their findings: the natural foods-based diet is associated with a lower risk of hikes in blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides, as well as a reduced risk of a drop in good cholesterol — all of which are risk factors in metabolic syndrome.

“It is one of the first times in the literature, maybe the first, that someone looks through a meta-analysis at the cardiovascular disease risk factors and not only the hard outcome” of heart disease and other conditions, said Dr. Demosthenes Panagiotakos, an associate professor at Harokopio University of Athens in Greece.

The study is published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The Mediterranean diet is a pattern marked by daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, and low-fat dairy products; weekly consumption of fish, poultry, tree nuts, and legumes; high consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids, primarily from olives and olive oils; and a moderate daily consumption of wine or other alcoholic beverages, normally with meals. Red meat intake and processed foods are kept to a minimum.

Metabolic syndrome — increasingly common in the United States — occurs if someone has three or more of the following five conditions: blood pressure equal to or higher than 130/85, fasting blood glucose equal to or higher than 100 mg/dL, a waist measuring 35 inches or more in women and 40 inches or more in men, a HDL (“good”) cholesterol under 40 in men and under 50 in women, triglycerides equal to or higher than 150 mg/dL.

In the review, Panagiotakos and his team found the Mediterranean diet “is strongly associated with decreased metabolic syndrome risk,” declining to pinpoint an exact percentage because the data would not fully support it.

The research team also noted that further study was needed, as a few of the studies reviewed also included interventions such as physical activity and smoking cessation.

The findings come as no surprise, said Dr. Ronald Goldberg, professor of medicine at the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who reviewed the findings. Since many studies have confirmed the role of the Mediterranean diet on reducing heart disease, he noted, it makes sense that the diet would also reduce the risks that lead up to heart disease.

But since Americans are fond of processed and fast foods, how willing would they be to adopt the diet? “Not particularly,” Goldberg acknowledged. But, he added, nutrition experts, recognizing that reluctance, have recently begun efforts to adapt the diet to different cultures — for example, including many traditional Hispanic foods into a Mediterranean diet adapted for those of Hispanic descent.

By doing so, the diet not only provides the same nutrients as the Mediterranean diet, but the familiar food of one’s ethnicity, Goldberg said.

Panagiotakos says even U.S. fast-food-lovers can eat more like Mediterranean’s. “Even in fast-food, we can introduce healthy eating, like salads, fruits and vegetables, cereals and legumes, and use good sources of fat. We can replace burgers with all these products — it is a matter of nutrition education.”

More information

To learn more about metabolic syndrome visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

SOURCES: Ronald B. Goldberg, M.D., professor, medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Demosthenes Panagiotakos, M.D., associate professor, biostatistics-epidemiology of nutrition, Harokopio University of Athens, Greece; March 15, 2011, Journal of the American College of Cardiology

4 Natural Home Remedies to Ease the Pain of Sunburn

Date: August 20, 2010

Author: admin

Categories: Skin Care

At some time or another, we’ve all experienced the effects of sunburn, be it a light burn or a more heavy burn.

Although the sting of regret of inadequate protection (from UV exposure) can be an excellent incentive to plan more carefully on future occasions, it’s of little help in soothing the immediate physical sting (i.e. pain) accompanying the sunburn you have now.

However if you have found yourself having spent a little too much time in the sun, — here are 4 natural home remedies to help ease the pain of sunburn, and assist in the body’s healing process:

1. Cool Milk Compresses: – The fat and lactic acids in milk are known to have soothing qualities for sunburned skin. Soak a soft cloth or cotton gauze in cool whole milk, and dab carefully onto the burned skin. Do this for around 20 minutes, and follow by rinsing off with cool water. (Due to the importance of the milk’s fat content, it’s important that whole milk be used in this treatment).

2. Cool, sugarless tea: – The tannin in tea is the active ingredient here, which helps to soothe and relieve some of the discomfort of sunburned skin. After brewing a big pot of tea, and allowing it to cool completely, slosh the affected areas with a soft sponge or washcloth. As with the vinegar (4), you could also fill a spray bottle, and spray the tea directly on the skin. And don’t throw away the used (cool) teabags. These are especially good for sensitive areas around the eyes, simply place the teabags over your eyes if they feel hot and tired. (If you have St. John’s Wort, consider using this as it contains cooling properties, which can help tone down some of the heat in your skin, as well as soothing the nerve endings damaged by the sunburn).

I highly recommend these next 2 options.
3. Aloe Vera: – Aloe Vera is commonly used to treat sunburn. As well as providing soothing relief, it may also assist in the healing process. Apply to the affected areas as needed. Although the gel extracted directly from an Aloe Vera plant works best, if you don’t have ready access to one, you may use an over the counter Aloe Vera Cream that contains the gel. For this to be effective, just ensure that the cream contains a higher concentration of Aloe Vera than it does water or other solutions. What seems to work best is a 90% or more Aloe Vera gel – if you can find one.

4. Water: – When exposed to the sun, your body loses water and essential body salts. Dehydration occurs when your body loses too much fluid, and begins to reabsorb fluid from the blood and other body tissues. To prevent the consequences of dehydration, increase your fluid intake to ensure you adequately re-hydrate your body for optimum recovery and health.

Sunburn should of course be avoided where possible — particularly as it’s adverse affects not only include damage to the skin, but also the increased risk of skin cancer. Prevention and protection should always be considered the best treatment for sunburn, and will assist in ensuring your optimum long-term health!

DISCLAIMER: These are home remedy tips only, and should not replace your regular health care provider. If in doubt at any time in relation to your sunburn, please seek the appropriate health care assistance and advice.

Elders Not Getting Their Full 5

Date: August 12, 2010

Author: admin

Categories: Nutrition Therapy, Seniors

Comments: Leave a reply

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 01 May 2009 – 1:00 PDT

Research from the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP) reveals that older people are not eating enough fruit and vegetables.

Dr Katherine Appleton from the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast conducted the research on behalf of CAP. Dr Appleton said: “Fruit and vegetables are vital for psychological as well as physical health. We found that fruit and vegetable consumption became lower with increasing age and that intake was particularly low in males and people living in more deprived areas.

“Older people in Northern Ireland are eating on average four portions of fruit and vegetables per day. This is higher than levels in the rest of the UK, but remains below current government recommendations.

“A huge 22 per cent of respondents were not aware of the current government guidelines on eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. In fact, some respondents who were eating only two portions per day thought they were eating enough.

“Older people should eat more fruit and vegetables. They are more likely to do this if they are aware of the five-a-day recommendations and associated health benefits. We recommend that more should be done to raise older people’s awareness of these issues and increase their exposure to products and dishes that contain fruit and vegetables.

“We plan to build on this research by developing and testing approaches to increase older people’s knowledge of and liking for fruit and vegetables.”

To aid greater consumption of fruit and vegetables, the research recommends improving awareness of the health benefits, and increasing awareness of adequate levels of consumption and the range of products or dishes. The research also recommends that specific strategies may be used to improve older people’s motivation and willingness to change eating behaviours.

Dr Katherine Appleton and her co-researcher Dr Jayne Woodside, will present their findings and recommendations of the research at a research launch at the Institute of Governance, Queen’s University on Wednesday 29 April at 1pm.

Source: Queen’s University, Belfast

Curry and Dementia

Date: August 12, 2010

Author: admin

Categories: Nutrition Therapy

Comments: 1 Reply

Main Category: Alzheimer’s / Dementia
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 05 Jun 2009 – 6:00 PDT

Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The magic ingredient in curry is curcumin, a component of the spice, turmeric.

Professor Murali Doraiswamy, director of the Mental Fitness Laboratory at the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Carolina, told delegates at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting in Liverpool that curcumin prevented the spread of amyloid plaques, found outside brain cells.

These plaques, along with neurofibrillary tangles, are thought to contribute to the degradation of the wiring in brain cells and lead to the subsequent symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Doraiswamy said: “There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits. Turmeric has been studied not just in Alzheimer’s research but for a variety of conditions, such as cancer and arthritis. Turmeric is often referred to as the spice of life in ancient Indian medical lore.”

A clinical trial is now underway at the University of California, Los Angeles, to test curcumin’s effects in human Alzheimer’s patients and specifically on their amyloid plaque proteins. A small pilot trail was completed to determine the right dose and researchers have now embarked on a larger study.

Professor Doraiswamy told the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting: “You can modify a mouse so that at about 12 months its brain is riddled with plaques. If you feed this rat a curcumin-rich diet it dissolves these plaques. The same diet prevented younger mice from forming new plaques. The next step is to test curcumin on human amyloid plaque formation using newer brain scans and there are plans for that.”

Studies looking at populations show that people who eat a curry meal two or three times a week seem to have a lower risk for dementia, he told the Annual Meeting. “Those studies seem to show that you need only consume what is part of the normal diet – but the research studies are testing higher doses to see if they can maximise the effect. It would be equivalent of going on a curry spree for a week.”

However, curry may be just one of the ingredients that prevent degeneration of the brain. “If you are eating fatty burgers and smoking then don’t expect an occasional curry to counterbalance a poor lifestyle. However, if you have a good diet and take plenty of exercise, eating curry regularly could help prevent dementia,” he said.

Turmeric is also found in mustard and Professor Doraiswamy predicted a day when – for those unable, or unwilling, to consume curries regularly – the public might be advised to take a ‘curry’ pill every day if the findings are confirmed in human studies.

Professor Doraiswamy and other scientists are testing a brain PET scan which can detect the prevalence of plaques in the living brain. At the moment, a definitive diagnosis can be made only after the patient has died. A second scan also being developed can detect both plaques and tangles – both of which are present in Alzheimer’s.

Many leading drugs being developed are targeting the plaques, said Professor Doraiswamy, and clinicians were prescribing these dugs “blindly” without knowing the plaque load in the brain. He said: “The hope is that with the PET scans you can scan their brains, find out whether their plaque load is high or low, and tailor treatment. If their plaque load is low, then you have to question the diagnosis.”

Some 20-30 per cent of diagnoses were wrong, said Professor Doraiswamy, and the condition could be vascular dementia or any number of other conditions masquerading as Alzheimer’s. “If you gave that person treatment it wouldn’t help – it would be a waste of money and in some cases hurt”.

The professor said it was conceivable in the near future, when preventive therapies were available, that a 50-year-old with a strong history of Alzheimer’s could be screened to determine the levels of plaque in their brains and then initiate anti-plaque therapy.

Professor Doraiswamy, a leading expert on brain health and fitness, grew up in Southern Indian town of Madras famous for its fiery curries. He is currently on a lecture tour promoting his consumer book The Alzheimer’s Action Plan, published in April.

Reference:
Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, BT Convention Centre, Liverpool, 2 -5 June 2009

Source
Royal College of Psychiatrists