We all know of the self-starving eating disorders, such as anorexia. They can even be fatal. But what about an obsession with consumption?
With the alarming global rise in obesity, you should know the symptoms, the revealing signs you should look for.
Our friends, our loved ones, our colleagues, and especially our children all need our help. Our vigilance in their behalf can spot the early signs of an oncoming eating disorder leading to a lifetime of suffering. And a shorter lifetime, at that.
An eating disorder becomes an addiction. Fat takes on a hormonal protective mind of it's own, literally compelling its victim to consume more and more.
Like heroin or cocaine or alcohol, food addiction can take over a person's life. They obsess over food constantly. And they suffer emotionally.
But you can help. There are definite signposts marking that road, which leads to the snowball effect of overeating, and eventual morbid obesity.
Here are some of the warning signs to watch for, of a food addiction---
• Eating to the point of discomfort or pain, with harmful gastric consequences
• Embarrassment, self-mockery about weight, food intake, food addiction
• Eating faster and then eating more, while others eat normally
• Fear and shame, that this eating behavior is out of control
• Frequently eating alone, even hiding, or eating meals between meals in a vehicle and tossing out the evidence as litter
• Self-loathing, secretly grieving and disgusted, appalled at the amount eaten
Of course, there are individual dynamics to each person's problem. But you can help yourself and those you care about by being sensitive to these signs of trouble.
Don't rush to judgment, or give harsh warnings, but be kind, and persistent. Often, a food addict will only eat still more, if feeling ashamed and guilty.
As obesity compounds itself, other symptoms will include irregular heartbeat, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, joint pain, bowel troubles, and dizziness, among many others.
Finally, before doing anything--- get professional help, consult a doctor or specialist, for yourself or for those you love.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Airport Body-Scan Danger
Our bodies reproduce their cells constantly, and when radiated, that process can mutate.
Science-fiction? Science fact, according to increasingly concerned scientists.
So, when you are screen at the airport security entrance, would you volunteer for a full-body radiation bath?
If you don't opt for the pat-down alternative, you are being exposed to potential harm, especially over the lifetime of that intricate cellular structure called your body.
Two major airline pilots unions argue that too little is known about the effects of the X-ray radiation emitted by one of the two types of airport scanning machines.
At the end of October, 189 backscatter units and 152 millimeter-wave machines were in use in more than 65 airports.
Many passengers are too uncomfortable for the physical pat-down of their bodies. This option is available, however, and takes a bit more time.
ASU’s Peter Rez, physics professor, believes that the amount of radiation exposure is definitely enough to be a serious health issue for airline passengers. Especially if you fly regularly.
The TSA insists their radiation machines are safe, citing claims of safer backscatter technology. More machines are on the way. The total number of imaging machines is expected to near 1,000 by the end of 2011, according to the TSA.
Some experts say--- can any size dose of ionizing radiation be good?
Bottom line, if you think a pat-down is too intrusive? Nothing invades you more than radiation.
Science-fiction? Science fact, according to increasingly concerned scientists.
So, when you are screen at the airport security entrance, would you volunteer for a full-body radiation bath?
If you don't opt for the pat-down alternative, you are being exposed to potential harm, especially over the lifetime of that intricate cellular structure called your body.
Two major airline pilots unions argue that too little is known about the effects of the X-ray radiation emitted by one of the two types of airport scanning machines.
At the end of October, 189 backscatter units and 152 millimeter-wave machines were in use in more than 65 airports.
Many passengers are too uncomfortable for the physical pat-down of their bodies. This option is available, however, and takes a bit more time.
ASU’s Peter Rez, physics professor, believes that the amount of radiation exposure is definitely enough to be a serious health issue for airline passengers. Especially if you fly regularly.
The TSA insists their radiation machines are safe, citing claims of safer backscatter technology. More machines are on the way. The total number of imaging machines is expected to near 1,000 by the end of 2011, according to the TSA.
Some experts say--- can any size dose of ionizing radiation be good?
Bottom line, if you think a pat-down is too intrusive? Nothing invades you more than radiation.
Friday, November 19, 2010
More States Opting for Nurse Anesthetists
Two recent national anesthesia studies confirmed the safety and cost-effectiveness of CRNAs--- they practice in every type of setting in which anesthesia is delivered, and are the sole anesthesia providers in most rural hospitals. In fact, the US military has relied upon CRNA's exclusively throughout the history of anesthesia.
That's one reason, and the crunched economy another, that so many states are opting out of a federal Medicare clause that options employment of much higher-paid Anesthesiologist MD's--- doctors who typically consult but rarely administer anesthesia in most cases. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) personally administer approximately 32 million anesthetics to patients across the United States each year.
The federal supervision rule is not a regulatory measure designed to ensure patient safety. It's simply a requirement that hospitals must meet in order to receive Medicare reimbursement for anesthesia services--- unless, that is, a state chooses to opt out of the rule.
This is what 16 states, including California, has done.
Ruling in favor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Association of Nurse Anesthetists (CANA), the California Superior Court in San Francisco has affirmed that California state law does not require advanced-practice nurse anesthetists to be supervised by a physician.
Anesthesiologists have spent great sums lobbying against the opt-out, with fear campaigns against CRNA's that seemed to have had little impact. It's no secret among medical experts that Nurse Anesthetists pioneered anesthesia. In fact, the MD speciality Anesthesiologist did not exist until long after CRNA treatment had evolved.
California was the 15th state to opt out of the federal rule, following Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Kansas, North Dakota, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Colorado recently became the 16th opt-out state.
That's one reason, and the crunched economy another, that so many states are opting out of a federal Medicare clause that options employment of much higher-paid Anesthesiologist MD's--- doctors who typically consult but rarely administer anesthesia in most cases. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) personally administer approximately 32 million anesthetics to patients across the United States each year.
The federal supervision rule is not a regulatory measure designed to ensure patient safety. It's simply a requirement that hospitals must meet in order to receive Medicare reimbursement for anesthesia services--- unless, that is, a state chooses to opt out of the rule.
This is what 16 states, including California, has done.
Ruling in favor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Association of Nurse Anesthetists (CANA), the California Superior Court in San Francisco has affirmed that California state law does not require advanced-practice nurse anesthetists to be supervised by a physician.
Anesthesiologists have spent great sums lobbying against the opt-out, with fear campaigns against CRNA's that seemed to have had little impact. It's no secret among medical experts that Nurse Anesthetists pioneered anesthesia. In fact, the MD speciality Anesthesiologist did not exist until long after CRNA treatment had evolved.
California was the 15th state to opt out of the federal rule, following Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Kansas, North Dakota, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Colorado recently became the 16th opt-out state.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
More, or Less? - A QuickList for a Long Life
Here is the shortest blog we've done, yet it contains the most important Md Info you can use--- to live longer, feel better, and maintain an energy level that lasts.
You've seen most of these before, but here is powerful preventive medicine, in one short list.
More tea
Less nicotine
More walking
More water
Less fat
Less salt
More wine
More lovemaking
More coffee
Less weight
Less cholesterol
More socializing
More veggies
More fruit
More vitamins
More sleep
More wholegrains
More sun-screen
That's it! Simple, huh?
Put it on your fridge on your smart phone. You'll be glad you did.
You've seen most of these before, but here is powerful preventive medicine, in one short list.
More tea
Less nicotine
More walking
More water
Less fat
Less salt
More wine
More lovemaking
More coffee
Less weight
Less cholesterol
More socializing
More veggies
More fruit
More vitamins
More sleep
More wholegrains
More sun-screen
That's it! Simple, huh?
Put it on your fridge on your smart phone. You'll be glad you did.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Smoking...Without Smoke!
The tobacco industry knows that the smell of cigarette smoke is one of the prime reasons for many cities and states outlawing public smoking. The non-smoking public doesn't want to smell that that smell, much less breathe the smoke.
So, many millions of dollars later, their brainstorming produced smokeless tobacco. And they tout its "health" aspects, as it involves nicotine release by absorption, not by smoke inhalation, which destroys lung tissue.
Well, just what is this thing called nicotine? What does it really do?
Nicotine is the substance found in tobacco which creates mild intoxication. It is found in all tobacco products such as: cigarettes, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and cigars. It is the waxy resin that the tobacco plants coats itself with to kill insects.
Yes, nicotine is a pesticide. And for a time it was used industrially to kill insects.
When a person smokes a tobacco product, they inhale the smoke--- they get the nicotine, plus over 500 more chemicals!
Okay, you've heard it before. We all know that nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. When a user is addicted to nicotine, they feel as if they need nicotine in order to function normally.
But take a look at the symptoms (that addicts become dependent upon feeling)---
increase in blood pressure
increase in heart rate
thickening of blood
narrowing of arteries
decrease in skin temperature
increase in respiration
stimulation of the central nervous system
And sometimes---
vomiting
diarrhea
And in the long run---
high blood pressure
blockage of blood vessels
depletion of vitamin C
reduction in the effectiveness of the immune system
cancer of the lungs
cancer of the upper respiratory tract
bronchitis and/or emphysema
stomach ulcers
dryness and wrinkling of the skin
production of abnormal sperm in males
Oh, and did we mention mouth cancer, gum cancer, tongue cancer, lip cancer? These are the little-mentioned diseases caused by direct contact with snuff, chewing tobacco, or any other form of nicotine material.
Bottom line? Absorbed into the body, whether through smoke or tissue absorption, nicotine is a deadly poison.
Smokeless products are expensive. Does anyone need that nicotine addiction badly enough to pay good money to acquire these diseases?
So, many millions of dollars later, their brainstorming produced smokeless tobacco. And they tout its "health" aspects, as it involves nicotine release by absorption, not by smoke inhalation, which destroys lung tissue.
Well, just what is this thing called nicotine? What does it really do?
Nicotine is the substance found in tobacco which creates mild intoxication. It is found in all tobacco products such as: cigarettes, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and cigars. It is the waxy resin that the tobacco plants coats itself with to kill insects.
Yes, nicotine is a pesticide. And for a time it was used industrially to kill insects.
When a person smokes a tobacco product, they inhale the smoke--- they get the nicotine, plus over 500 more chemicals!
Okay, you've heard it before. We all know that nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. When a user is addicted to nicotine, they feel as if they need nicotine in order to function normally.
But take a look at the symptoms (that addicts become dependent upon feeling)---
increase in blood pressure
increase in heart rate
thickening of blood
narrowing of arteries
decrease in skin temperature
increase in respiration
stimulation of the central nervous system
And sometimes---
vomiting
diarrhea
And in the long run---
high blood pressure
blockage of blood vessels
depletion of vitamin C
reduction in the effectiveness of the immune system
cancer of the lungs
cancer of the upper respiratory tract
bronchitis and/or emphysema
stomach ulcers
dryness and wrinkling of the skin
production of abnormal sperm in males
Oh, and did we mention mouth cancer, gum cancer, tongue cancer, lip cancer? These are the little-mentioned diseases caused by direct contact with snuff, chewing tobacco, or any other form of nicotine material.
Bottom line? Absorbed into the body, whether through smoke or tissue absorption, nicotine is a deadly poison.
Smokeless products are expensive. Does anyone need that nicotine addiction badly enough to pay good money to acquire these diseases?
Friday, November 5, 2010
Can a Vitamin Protect Your Brain?
Strokes devastate a human being, stripping memory, personality, motor skills.
High blood levels of homocysteine are linked to negative effects on the brain, such as stroke. But now, research finds that higher levels of vitamin B12 can lower homocysteine.
So, just what is homocysteine? It's an amino acid associated with vitamin B12, and it interacts with the active portion of the vitamin, called holotranscobalamin.
In a seven-year study, researchers tested blood from 271 Finnish people (age 65 to 79, who did not have dementia at the start of the study). 17 developed Alzheimer's disease.
Each micromolar increase in the concentration of homocysteine raised the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The results were the same across the board--- age, gender, education, smoking status, blood pressure and body mass index--- B-12 had the same impact. Each picomolar increase in concentration of the active form of vitamin B12 reduced risk.
So, make sure your blood test includes vitamin deficiency panels.
Especially you vegans--- you are noted to sometimes have lower levels of B-12, despite the otherwise powerful nutritive impact of their vegan diet.
Protect your brain. It's where you live.
Take your B-12!
High blood levels of homocysteine are linked to negative effects on the brain, such as stroke. But now, research finds that higher levels of vitamin B12 can lower homocysteine.
So, just what is homocysteine? It's an amino acid associated with vitamin B12, and it interacts with the active portion of the vitamin, called holotranscobalamin.
In a seven-year study, researchers tested blood from 271 Finnish people (age 65 to 79, who did not have dementia at the start of the study). 17 developed Alzheimer's disease.
Each micromolar increase in the concentration of homocysteine raised the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The results were the same across the board--- age, gender, education, smoking status, blood pressure and body mass index--- B-12 had the same impact. Each picomolar increase in concentration of the active form of vitamin B12 reduced risk.
So, make sure your blood test includes vitamin deficiency panels.
Especially you vegans--- you are noted to sometimes have lower levels of B-12, despite the otherwise powerful nutritive impact of their vegan diet.
Protect your brain. It's where you live.
Take your B-12!
Monday, November 1, 2010
World's Most Destructive Drug?
A tradition-smashing team of health professionals has released its new approach to an ancient disease--- drug addiction.
How? The scientists have created a radical new damage scale--- rating the destructive effects of drugs, from 1 to 100--- with 100 given to the most harmful drug, and zero indicating no harm at all.
"Harm" is rated on this scale in societal and personal damage. In other words, collective life harm. Harm to the individual and to those in society affected by the damage to that individual.
The collective approach is a sharp and deeply revealing new twist, on the traditional evaluation of drug impact. The scientists include Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD), as well as an expert with EMCDDA, the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
On this new hard look at drug damage, heroin and crack cocaine rank as the second and third most harmful drugs.
What is the worst drug--- the most horrific in scope, the leading population-ravaging drug--- of all?
Number one--- Alcohol!
Yes, it's true. Alcohol is a more dangerous drug to society than both crack and heroin!
Presenting a new scale of drug harm that rates the damage to users themselves and to wider society, the scientists rated alcohol the most harmful overall and almost three times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco.
The World Health Organization estimates that risks linked to alcohol cause 2.5 million deaths a year from heart and liver disease, road accidents, suicides and cancer --- accounting for 3.8 percent of all deaths--- the third leading risk factor for premature death and disabilities worldwide.
The team rated drugs by multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Damage is rated according to nine criteria (on harm to the user, like drug-specific or drug-related death, damage to health, drug dependence and loss of relationships), and seven criteria (on harm to others, like crime, environmental damage, family conflict, international damage, economic cost, and damage to community cohesion).
Crystal meth came in at (33), cocaine (27), tobacco (26), amphetamine or speed (23), cannabis (20), benzodiazepines, such as Valium (15), ketamine (15), methadone (14), mephedrone (13), ecstasy (9), anabolic steroids (9), LSD (7) and magic mushrooms (5). Ecstasy is only an eighth as harmful as alcohol.
Alcohol wins hands down with a top score of 72, much higher than than the second-place damager, heroin, with 55... then third, crack with 54.
Of course, this study will probably change few real-world conditions. Consumption of alcohol is not only almost universally legal, but traditional, and will always be with us.
Still, there is hope.
The tragedy of alcohol addiction has never been more studied than now. And there is another shocking trend to add to this---
Just as our prisons will always be packed with users of drugs much less harmful, younger and younger people are becoming fresh new alcohol addicts.
How? The scientists have created a radical new damage scale--- rating the destructive effects of drugs, from 1 to 100--- with 100 given to the most harmful drug, and zero indicating no harm at all.
"Harm" is rated on this scale in societal and personal damage. In other words, collective life harm. Harm to the individual and to those in society affected by the damage to that individual.
The collective approach is a sharp and deeply revealing new twist, on the traditional evaluation of drug impact. The scientists include Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD), as well as an expert with EMCDDA, the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
On this new hard look at drug damage, heroin and crack cocaine rank as the second and third most harmful drugs.
What is the worst drug--- the most horrific in scope, the leading population-ravaging drug--- of all?
Number one--- Alcohol!
Yes, it's true. Alcohol is a more dangerous drug to society than both crack and heroin!
Presenting a new scale of drug harm that rates the damage to users themselves and to wider society, the scientists rated alcohol the most harmful overall and almost three times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco.
The World Health Organization estimates that risks linked to alcohol cause 2.5 million deaths a year from heart and liver disease, road accidents, suicides and cancer --- accounting for 3.8 percent of all deaths--- the third leading risk factor for premature death and disabilities worldwide.
The team rated drugs by multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Damage is rated according to nine criteria (on harm to the user, like drug-specific or drug-related death, damage to health, drug dependence and loss of relationships), and seven criteria (on harm to others, like crime, environmental damage, family conflict, international damage, economic cost, and damage to community cohesion).
Crystal meth came in at (33), cocaine (27), tobacco (26), amphetamine or speed (23), cannabis (20), benzodiazepines, such as Valium (15), ketamine (15), methadone (14), mephedrone (13), ecstasy (9), anabolic steroids (9), LSD (7) and magic mushrooms (5). Ecstasy is only an eighth as harmful as alcohol.
Alcohol wins hands down with a top score of 72, much higher than than the second-place damager, heroin, with 55... then third, crack with 54.
Of course, this study will probably change few real-world conditions. Consumption of alcohol is not only almost universally legal, but traditional, and will always be with us.
Still, there is hope.
The tragedy of alcohol addiction has never been more studied than now. And there is another shocking trend to add to this---
Just as our prisons will always be packed with users of drugs much less harmful, younger and younger people are becoming fresh new alcohol addicts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)