Esteemed ABC science show 'Catalyst' last night aired a great myth-busting story on marijuana smoking and its link to psychosis.
In the past no-one had actually researched if cannabis causes consumption was linked to schizophrenia: it was mostly imposed morality. However, in 2004, a London study found the truth – schizophrenia rates have been rising in parallel with cannabis use.
This along with a more recent meta-analysis (review of studies) has found that "Smoking pot at any stage increases your risk of developing a psychotic illness by 40%" and the earlier you start smoking, the higher the risk.
However, research on the COMT gene has pinned it even further. Each of us gets two COMT genes, a combination of good and bad (for want of a better analogy). Get two 'bad' genes and you're in the high-risk category.... in fact you have an 11-fold increase in the possibility of psychosis.
The full story can be found at:
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2402434.htm
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
FAST
It's Australia's second biggest killer, the leading cause of disability AND somewhere in Australia someone suffers EVERY TEN MINUTES.
Do you know the signs of stroke? FAST stands for:
Facial weakness
Arm weakness
Speech difficulties
Time to act - fast, call 000 immediately. The quicker stroke victims receive treatment the better the outcome.
A bit about stroke:
A stroke, also called “brain attack” or “cerebral vascular accident” occurs when brain cells die from oxygen deprivation.
Oxygen deprivation occurs if blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clot or if vessels are damaged. Without oxygen, brain cells cannot function.
There are two types of stroke: hemorrhagic and ischemic.
A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, due to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, or a congenital malformation.
A burst vessel causes bleeding into the brain and decreased blood flow in the damaged vessel. Blood build-up increases pressure in the brain, damaging nerve cells and collapsing smaller vessels.
The second type of stroke is ischemic stroke, which occurs when blood flow through a vessel is blocked. There are three categories of ischemic stroke:
1. thrombotic,
2. thromboembolic, and
3. embolic.
A thrombotic stroke occurs when flow in a blood vessel in the brain is obstructed by arteriosclerosis.
A thromboembolic stroke occurs when a clot breaks off from an arteriosclerotic plaque, and lodges in a downstream vessel, blocking blood flow.
An embolitic stroke occurs when a clot travels to the brain from elsewhere in the body. Patients with atrial fibrillation or who have suffered a heart attack are at high risk of embolic stroke. This is because slow, irregular, or interrupted blood flow has a tendency to clot.
Sometimes an individual will experience a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which is temporary and improves before cells die. A TIA is a precursor to a thrombotic stroke or short-term embolus.
For more information, please visit: www.strokefoundation.com.au
Resource "Pathophysiology" by Porth et al
Do you know the signs of stroke? FAST stands for:
Facial weakness
Arm weakness
Speech difficulties
Time to act - fast, call 000 immediately. The quicker stroke victims receive treatment the better the outcome.
A bit about stroke:
A stroke, also called “brain attack” or “cerebral vascular accident” occurs when brain cells die from oxygen deprivation.
Oxygen deprivation occurs if blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clot or if vessels are damaged. Without oxygen, brain cells cannot function.
There are two types of stroke: hemorrhagic and ischemic.
A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, due to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, or a congenital malformation.
A burst vessel causes bleeding into the brain and decreased blood flow in the damaged vessel. Blood build-up increases pressure in the brain, damaging nerve cells and collapsing smaller vessels.
The second type of stroke is ischemic stroke, which occurs when blood flow through a vessel is blocked. There are three categories of ischemic stroke:
1. thrombotic,
2. thromboembolic, and
3. embolic.
A thrombotic stroke occurs when flow in a blood vessel in the brain is obstructed by arteriosclerosis.
A thromboembolic stroke occurs when a clot breaks off from an arteriosclerotic plaque, and lodges in a downstream vessel, blocking blood flow.
An embolitic stroke occurs when a clot travels to the brain from elsewhere in the body. Patients with atrial fibrillation or who have suffered a heart attack are at high risk of embolic stroke. This is because slow, irregular, or interrupted blood flow has a tendency to clot.
Sometimes an individual will experience a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which is temporary and improves before cells die. A TIA is a precursor to a thrombotic stroke or short-term embolus.
For more information, please visit: www.strokefoundation.com.au
Resource "Pathophysiology" by Porth et al
storm
Given the current worldwide headache, I'd like to remind you:
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass,
it's about learning to dance in the rain
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Ten diet mistakes
If it was as simple as the energy-in less energy-out equation, most of us would be a healthy weight. So, to be successful in losing and managing weight you need to identify unhelpful behaviours that sabotage your personal situation and work out how to counteract them.
Following are some recurring habits that will reduce your sucess:
* Lack of activity - at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day is required
* Falling for fads - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
* Emotional eating - consuming to reduce stress doesn't help.
* Alcohol - drinking your kilojoules will also reduce your will-power - cut down/out the alcohol.
* Eating for two - Mums to be should eat well, not in excess.
* Skipping breakfast - this will give you an energy slump mid-morning where you'll want to "snack", you'll also be tired and will eat the first thing in sight (eg fast food).
* Accepting "free" food - whether it's a mouthful at the supermarket demo, nibbles at the pub, or the Xmas party, think about everything you put in your mouth.
* Value for money - the "eat as much as you can for $x" offer, isn't a good deal. Also not leaving anything on your plate ... if you're full, stop!
* Multi-tasking, or eating on the run - Your digestive system will thank you for sitting somewhere quiet and enjoying your meal. Slow food rules!
* Motivated by looks alone - can lead to a spectrum of eating disorders.
In summary, if you want to lose weight, exercise daily and eat healthy meals. You can also try this "tricks"
+ Use a smaller plate (so it looks full)
+ Stop eating when you're full, regardless of what's left
+ Have 6 little meals: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. Snacks should include fruit and nuts, seeds etc.
+ Emotional eaters try a handful of plain nuts (NOT chocolate coated)
+ When going to a party, eat before-hand
+ Carry a protein bar in your bag for when you get "caught short".
Following are some recurring habits that will reduce your sucess:
* Lack of activity - at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day is required
* Falling for fads - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
* Emotional eating - consuming to reduce stress doesn't help.
* Alcohol - drinking your kilojoules will also reduce your will-power - cut down/out the alcohol.
* Eating for two - Mums to be should eat well, not in excess.
* Skipping breakfast - this will give you an energy slump mid-morning where you'll want to "snack", you'll also be tired and will eat the first thing in sight (eg fast food).
* Accepting "free" food - whether it's a mouthful at the supermarket demo, nibbles at the pub, or the Xmas party, think about everything you put in your mouth.
* Value for money - the "eat as much as you can for $x" offer, isn't a good deal. Also not leaving anything on your plate ... if you're full, stop!
* Multi-tasking, or eating on the run - Your digestive system will thank you for sitting somewhere quiet and enjoying your meal. Slow food rules!
* Motivated by looks alone - can lead to a spectrum of eating disorders.
In summary, if you want to lose weight, exercise daily and eat healthy meals. You can also try this "tricks"
+ Use a smaller plate (so it looks full)
+ Stop eating when you're full, regardless of what's left
+ Have 6 little meals: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. Snacks should include fruit and nuts, seeds etc.
+ Emotional eaters try a handful of plain nuts (NOT chocolate coated)
+ When going to a party, eat before-hand
+ Carry a protein bar in your bag for when you get "caught short".
Monday, September 22, 2008
2 signposts on the journey toward peace
By virtue of our humanity, we are all seekers, we are each on a journey to find serenity and that elusive state of "happiness."
As my "happiness" may be very different from someone elses. Perhaps the better term is that of serenity,by which I mean a comforting envelope of peace and tranquility while we are buffered by chaos and confusion.
The two major signposts, as I see them are both unique and important and each can be articulated as:
1) The gift, the courage, the presence to say "no."
We are all busy, we all have relentless demands on our time and energies and if we say "yes" to everything, at the end of the day our tank is dry and there is nothing left.
2) The notion of self care.
I cannot ever remember through decades of formal education anyone ever telling me to take care of myself. I do not remember anyone advising me to throttle back my plans and my ambition.
The mantra of today's culture is the relentless acquisition of trinkets and widgets, the relentless to-do list, and the relentless emptiness as we frantically seek that butterfly of happiness.
So here's a reminder: enjoy the journey, embrace the trip and don't be too concerned about the final destination.
Resource: By Edward T. Creagan, M.D. at
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-blog/MY00249
As my "happiness" may be very different from someone elses. Perhaps the better term is that of serenity,by which I mean a comforting envelope of peace and tranquility while we are buffered by chaos and confusion.
The two major signposts, as I see them are both unique and important and each can be articulated as:
1) The gift, the courage, the presence to say "no."
We are all busy, we all have relentless demands on our time and energies and if we say "yes" to everything, at the end of the day our tank is dry and there is nothing left.
2) The notion of self care.
I cannot ever remember through decades of formal education anyone ever telling me to take care of myself. I do not remember anyone advising me to throttle back my plans and my ambition.
The mantra of today's culture is the relentless acquisition of trinkets and widgets, the relentless to-do list, and the relentless emptiness as we frantically seek that butterfly of happiness.
So here's a reminder: enjoy the journey, embrace the trip and don't be too concerned about the final destination.
Resource: By Edward T. Creagan, M.D. at
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-blog/MY00249
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Action Change
These wise words from Bonnie Boots of www.painhealthnews.com:
Last month I unwisely did some yard work that would have been better left to a backhoe and managed to reanimate old back and knee injuries. The last month, then, has been one long battle against that dangerous part of myself that wants to slip into total immobility, swathed in heat packs and soothed with muscle relaxants.
I have a terror of that side of my self. Once before it lured me into letting 2 years of my life slip by.
All of us have that side. Pain, both physical and emotional, is the incantation that conjures it up. Once aroused, it begs us, even orders us to retreat, to cower, to give up and give in.
Consider this news story from March 2008: a 35-year old Kansas woman sat on the toilet at her boyfriend's house for two years until he finally called police for help.
Police said the boyfriend claimed the woman had gone into the bathroom, then refused to leave. He brought her food and water and begged her to come out, but she would not. He couldn't explain why he'd waited two years to call for help.
A police spokesman stated they found the woman, clothed in sweat pants and top, seated on the toilet with her pants down around her ankles. She was disoriented and her legs appeared to have atrophied. Because her skin had grown around the toilet seat, the seat had to be taken to the hospital with her, where it was surgically removed.
If you read this story in your newspaper, you may have shaken your head in disbelief or laughed at the incredible circumstances. How can we explain the actions of these two people, the woman and her boyfriend, going on this way, day after day for two years?
I don't believe this couple planned to spend two years of their lives waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. I imagine something happened that had her very upset. She ran to the bathroom and slammed the door and refused to come out. And an hour passed.
Then another hour passed, and before long the day was gone and evening came. Then it was late at night, and the man and the woman still waited, waited for something to happen. Waited for things to be different.
But the next day, things were still the same, and they were still waiting. Two years, waiting, while the sun rose and set seven hundred and thirty times, for things to change.
Here's one thing we know for sure about this incredible story-things only changed when the boyfriend overcame inertia and took action, when he finally picked up the phone to dial the police and ask for help.
It seems totally weird and incomprehensible. And yet how many of us are living our lives exactly the same way?
We may not be stuck on the toilet seat, but we're stuck on something that holds us back and keeps us from getting on with our lives.
And we're waiting, waiting for something to happen, for something to break the spell of whatever holds us back.
When I first became a pain patient, I was stuck in that strange state of suspended animation. Pain medication robbed me of my normal high energy and made me passive, and I passively waited for someone, some doctor or nurse or therapist, to make things different. I waited for two years.
I know how easy it is to get stuck, like a fly in amber, as days and then years pass and nothing ever changes. So I know this very well-- things only change when we overcome inertia and take action.
When I overcame my inertia, when I stopped waiting for someone else to make a difference in my life, I discovered something amazing. The person I'd been waiting for was me.
I got off the pot, so to speak, and kicked butt. I stopped taking narcotics and got out of the fog. I stopped being polite and passive. I changed doctors. Then I changed doctors again. And then I changed doctors again until I found professionals who could actually help me make progress.
I read everything I could find on pain and healing and I tried, within budget and reason, anything that promised results.
I don't know your story. I don't know what you're stuck on that holds you back. But I do know that if you want something to be different, if you want things to change, if you don't want next week or next month and next year to be just like today, you have to take action.
You have to do something different, talk to someone different, read something different, try something different. Commit yourself to change and change will come.
Takng sustained action will generate a wave of change, a wave that will pick you up and sweep you away from whatever it is you're stuck on, until one day you find yourself standing on a new shore, seeing the sun rise on a new day: a day unlike any you've ever lived. And everything will be different.
Resource: Bonnie Boots
http://www.pain-health-news.com/September-2008.htm
Last month I unwisely did some yard work that would have been better left to a backhoe and managed to reanimate old back and knee injuries. The last month, then, has been one long battle against that dangerous part of myself that wants to slip into total immobility, swathed in heat packs and soothed with muscle relaxants.
I have a terror of that side of my self. Once before it lured me into letting 2 years of my life slip by.
All of us have that side. Pain, both physical and emotional, is the incantation that conjures it up. Once aroused, it begs us, even orders us to retreat, to cower, to give up and give in.
Consider this news story from March 2008: a 35-year old Kansas woman sat on the toilet at her boyfriend's house for two years until he finally called police for help.
Police said the boyfriend claimed the woman had gone into the bathroom, then refused to leave. He brought her food and water and begged her to come out, but she would not. He couldn't explain why he'd waited two years to call for help.
A police spokesman stated they found the woman, clothed in sweat pants and top, seated on the toilet with her pants down around her ankles. She was disoriented and her legs appeared to have atrophied. Because her skin had grown around the toilet seat, the seat had to be taken to the hospital with her, where it was surgically removed.
If you read this story in your newspaper, you may have shaken your head in disbelief or laughed at the incredible circumstances. How can we explain the actions of these two people, the woman and her boyfriend, going on this way, day after day for two years?
I don't believe this couple planned to spend two years of their lives waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. I imagine something happened that had her very upset. She ran to the bathroom and slammed the door and refused to come out. And an hour passed.
Then another hour passed, and before long the day was gone and evening came. Then it was late at night, and the man and the woman still waited, waited for something to happen. Waited for things to be different.
But the next day, things were still the same, and they were still waiting. Two years, waiting, while the sun rose and set seven hundred and thirty times, for things to change.
Here's one thing we know for sure about this incredible story-things only changed when the boyfriend overcame inertia and took action, when he finally picked up the phone to dial the police and ask for help.
It seems totally weird and incomprehensible. And yet how many of us are living our lives exactly the same way?
We may not be stuck on the toilet seat, but we're stuck on something that holds us back and keeps us from getting on with our lives.
And we're waiting, waiting for something to happen, for something to break the spell of whatever holds us back.
When I first became a pain patient, I was stuck in that strange state of suspended animation. Pain medication robbed me of my normal high energy and made me passive, and I passively waited for someone, some doctor or nurse or therapist, to make things different. I waited for two years.
I know how easy it is to get stuck, like a fly in amber, as days and then years pass and nothing ever changes. So I know this very well-- things only change when we overcome inertia and take action.
When I overcame my inertia, when I stopped waiting for someone else to make a difference in my life, I discovered something amazing. The person I'd been waiting for was me.
I got off the pot, so to speak, and kicked butt. I stopped taking narcotics and got out of the fog. I stopped being polite and passive. I changed doctors. Then I changed doctors again. And then I changed doctors again until I found professionals who could actually help me make progress.
I read everything I could find on pain and healing and I tried, within budget and reason, anything that promised results.
I don't know your story. I don't know what you're stuck on that holds you back. But I do know that if you want something to be different, if you want things to change, if you don't want next week or next month and next year to be just like today, you have to take action.
You have to do something different, talk to someone different, read something different, try something different. Commit yourself to change and change will come.
Takng sustained action will generate a wave of change, a wave that will pick you up and sweep you away from whatever it is you're stuck on, until one day you find yourself standing on a new shore, seeing the sun rise on a new day: a day unlike any you've ever lived. And everything will be different.
Resource: Bonnie Boots
http://www.pain-health-news.com/September-2008.htm
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Cholesterol-lowering supplements
If you're worried about your cholesterol and have already started exercising and eating healthier foods, you might wonder if adding a cholesterol-lowering supplement to your diet can help reduce your numbers. Although few natural products have been proved to reduce cholesterol, some might be helpful. With your doctor's OK, consider these cholesterol-lowering supplements and products.
Artichoke extract - May cause gas or an allergic reaction - Recommended dosage: 600 milligrams 3 times a day;
Barley - Recommended dosage: 3 grams barley oil extract or 30 grams barley bran flour a day;
Blond psyllium (found in seed husk and products such as Metamucil) - May cause gas, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation or nausea - Recommended dosage: 5 grams seed husk twice a day, or 1 serving a day of products such as Metamucil;
Fish oils - May cause a fishy aftertaste, bad breath (if so try odourless options), gas, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea - May interact with some blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin. Recommended dosage: 2 to 4 grams a day;
Garlic extract - May cause bad breath or body odour, heartburn, gas, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea - May interact with blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin. Recommended dosage: 600 to 1,200 milligrams a day, divided into 3 doses;
Oat bran (found in oatmeal and whole oats) - May cause gas or bloating. Recommended dosage: Up to 150 grams of whole-oat products a day;
Red Yeast Rice (Innovative Therapies ‘Lipoplex’*) - Products may contain lovastatin (hypolipidemic agent) and should not be combined with cholesterol-lowering medications. Recommended dosage: as prescribed.
* One of the side-effects of hypothyroidism, which 1 in 5 people {including me} have, can be increased cholesterol. I've been using Lipoplex for several years now and it generally gives me a 1 point reduction in LDL and I now hover around 6. My GP, who is also a naturopath, thinks the improvement should be more significant than this.
Unfortunately, sometimes healthy lifestyle choices, including supplements and other cholesterol-lowering products, aren't enough. If your doctor prescribes medication to reduce your cholesterol, take it as directed while you continue to focus on a healthy lifestyle. As always, if you decide to take an herbal supplement, be sure to tell your doctor: the supplement you take may interact with other medications.
Resourced from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/
Artichoke extract - May cause gas or an allergic reaction - Recommended dosage: 600 milligrams 3 times a day;
Barley - Recommended dosage: 3 grams barley oil extract or 30 grams barley bran flour a day;
Blond psyllium (found in seed husk and products such as Metamucil) - May cause gas, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation or nausea - Recommended dosage: 5 grams seed husk twice a day, or 1 serving a day of products such as Metamucil;
Fish oils - May cause a fishy aftertaste, bad breath (if so try odourless options), gas, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea - May interact with some blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin. Recommended dosage: 2 to 4 grams a day;
Garlic extract - May cause bad breath or body odour, heartburn, gas, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea - May interact with blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin. Recommended dosage: 600 to 1,200 milligrams a day, divided into 3 doses;
Oat bran (found in oatmeal and whole oats) - May cause gas or bloating. Recommended dosage: Up to 150 grams of whole-oat products a day;
Red Yeast Rice (Innovative Therapies ‘Lipoplex’*) - Products may contain lovastatin (hypolipidemic agent) and should not be combined with cholesterol-lowering medications. Recommended dosage: as prescribed.
* One of the side-effects of hypothyroidism, which 1 in 5 people {including me} have, can be increased cholesterol. I've been using Lipoplex for several years now and it generally gives me a 1 point reduction in LDL and I now hover around 6. My GP, who is also a naturopath, thinks the improvement should be more significant than this.
Unfortunately, sometimes healthy lifestyle choices, including supplements and other cholesterol-lowering products, aren't enough. If your doctor prescribes medication to reduce your cholesterol, take it as directed while you continue to focus on a healthy lifestyle. As always, if you decide to take an herbal supplement, be sure to tell your doctor: the supplement you take may interact with other medications.
Resourced from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/
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