In boardrooms, classrooms, bedrooms and the playing field, we all recognize the classic signs of a "Type A" personality. And most of us know that these hard-chargers seem to be at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes.
But who has ever heard of the Type D personality? Depending on whom you ask, D stands for distressed. Or it follows sequentially from Type A; Type B (A's opposite - laid-back, cooperative, slow to anger); Type C (a martyr - compliant, eager to please, and prone to hopelessness and depression; studies have shown Type Cs to be vulnerable to cancer and other malfunctions of the immune system).
In any event, Type Ds are notable for negative thinking, worrying, suppressed anger and a tendency to respond to stress by withdrawal and denial. They stew. They simmer. They blame themselves - and others.
Tamiflu and Relenza are key to fighting the flu virus. But medical authorities warn: Use only when needed, and use them correctly.
Indiscriminate use of antiviral medications to prevent and treat influenza could ease the way for drug-resistant strains of the novel H1N1 virus, or swine flu, to emerge, public health officials warn -- making the fight against a pandemic that much harder.
Already, a handful of cases of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 have been reported this summer, and there is no shortage of examples of misuse of the antiviral medications, experts say.
People often fail to complete a full course of the drug, according to a recent British report -- a scenario also likely to be occurring in the U.S. and one that encourages resistance. Stockpiling is rife, and some U.S. summer camps have given Tamiflu prophylactically to healthy kids and staff, and have even told campers to bring the drug to camp. Experts anticipate more problems in the fall as children return to school and normal flu season draws nearer.
Eating fish caught in the Great Lakes has been linked to diabetes through a chemical byproduct of the pesticide DDT, a new U.S. study finds.
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked boat captains in the Great Lakes for 15 year, the Chicago Tribune reports. The study found captains who ate more fish were more likely to have in their bodies DDE, a byproduct of DDT, and the researchers found a link between DDE and diabetes.
Marc Saltzman
USA TodaySun, 23 Aug 2009 05:00 UTC
It might not come much as a surprise that the average U.S. gamer is now 35 years old - studies commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association have confirmed this over the past few years - but 2006 research recently unveiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims video game players were more likely to be overweight, depressed and introverted.
Led by researcher James Weaver, this study focused on a random sampling of 552 adults, aged 19 to 90, from the Seattle-Tacoma area. Roughly 45 percent, or 249 people, were found to be video game players, with men accounting for 56 percent of this sampling.
The men who played games weighed more, on average, than the non-gamers, while the women were found to have greater levels of depression and had overall poorer health.
A brief overview of common herbs and spices in functional foods
Many are aware of some of the health promoting properties of certain herbs and spices. The challenge is to get them into our daily diets.
One way is to consume "functional foods."
Functional food or medicinal food is any food product claimed to have a health-promoting and/or disease-preventing property beyond the basic nutritional function of supplying nutrients.
Although there is not yet any consensus on an exact definition of the term, at least not in the United States, superfoods is one term used to describe food products and dietary supplement powders, drinks, and bars containing such special health-promoting ingredients.
Some common superfoods more easily found are cinnamon, licorice, milk thistle, marigold, and turmeric.
Japanese research group led by Professor Junichi Nabekura in National Institute for Physiological Sciences, NIPS, Japan, found that, after cerebral stroke in one side of the mouse brain, another side of the brain rewires its neural circuits to recuperate from damaged neural function. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) supported this study.
They report their finding in Journal of Neuroscience, on August 12, 2009.
The research group investigated how neural circuits rearrange themselves after cerebral strokes by using two-photon laser microscopy in vivo. In a specific period after strokes in the right side of the mouse brain, namely one to two weeks after strokes, the left side of the brain rearranged its neural circuits actively. After three to four weeks, the left side of the brain became to receive sensory information from the left leg that is usually received by the right side of the brain.
In conclusion, the stroke in the right side of the brain activated the rearrangement of the neural circuits in the left side of the brain, and then these rearrangements helped to recuperate from stroke-induced damaged neural function.
UCSF researchers have identified the two key circuits that control a cell's ability to adapt to changes in its environment, a finding that could have applications ranging from diabetes and autoimmune research to targeted drug development for complex diseases.
The new findings are featured as the cover story in the August 21, 2009 issue of the journal
Cell and are available online at
http://www.cell.com.
The limited number of circuits that can achieve adaptation represents a fundamental shift in our understanding of this important biological behavior, which previously had been thought to be affected by hundreds of different circuits, according to Chao Tang, PhD, who was co-senior author on the paper with Wendell Lim, PhD.
Both Lim and Tang are faculty members in the UCSF departments of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and are affiliated with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) at UCSF.
In a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry, sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Although this belief influenced the 2004 election, they claim it did not result from pro-Bush propaganda, but from an urgent need by many Americans to seek justification for a war already in progress.
The findings may illuminate reasons why some people form false beliefs about the pros and cons of health-care reform or regarding President Obama's citizenship, for example.
The study, "There Must Be a Reason: Osama, Saddam and Inferred Justification" calls such unsubstantiated beliefs "a serious challenge to democratic theory and practice" and considers how and why it was maintained by so many voters for so long in the absence of supporting evidence.
Many people are wary of hypnosis because they are not educated on the topic. Hypnosis is a natural state and many people reach this state of consciousness every day without even realizing it. When you drive a car, you are in a light state of hypnosis. You are in control, you have an increased ability to concentrate, and you are operating on autopilot without really realizing it. A great deal of research has been conducted on the hypnotic state and various states of consciousness.
Your brain has four different brain wave states: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. While you are reading this article, you are in the state of beta. You are alert and able to concentrate on this article. The beta state is normal wakening state. Alpha state is a relaxed state. You are able to access creativity and visualization. Theta state is a deeper state of relaxation; this is a common state of hypnosis and meditation. Theta allows you to access memories. You experience theta as you fall asleep and wake up every day. Lastly is delta, which occurs while sleeping. Delta allows your body to heal. You are able to access your subconscious mind during alpha, theta, and delta states and can also reach various depths of hypnosis (Tools for Wellness).
The phrase "overweight and undernourished" has become a popular truth, and magnesium deficiency in overweight individuals is a striking example. It is no coincidence that magnesium deficiency and obesity are both widespread conditions in our society. So as we battle against obesity we must remember to include magnesium as part of our weaponry. It is a vital nutrient in the quest to reach a healthy weight, for several reasons:
Nutrients and Energy
The body requires magnesium to absorb and utilize nutrients. Without it, the body cannot properly use the fats, proteins and carbohydrates we eat every day. When we aren't getting what we need from our diet, the body will crave more food in an effort to obtain those vital nutrients. By activating hundreds of enzymes in the body, magnesium helps you get the most from what you eat, so your body can be satisfied with the amount of food you genuinely need.
Getting the proper nutrients from your food is also an important part of feeling energized. We need magnesium to help us utilize those vital nutrients that provide us with energy. Otherwise we are plagued with fatigue and sluggishness.
