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by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) An important new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry reveals that fish oil supplements beat mental illness. The study involved 81 people deemed to be at high risk for psychosis. The randomized, placebo-controlled study provided fish oil supplements to half the study subjects for just 12 weeks (the other half received placebo supplements). The results? While 11 people in the placebo group developed a psychotic disorder, only 2 in the fish oil group did.

Although the study was relatively small, it helps demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to be the key nutritional factor in fish oils. We already know that omega-3 fatty acids / polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) help protect people against cardiovascular disease. We also know they can play a role in preventing diabetes and cancer. It's little surprise that they also protect against mental illness, given the importance of healthy fatty acids for the functioning of the nervous system.

As the BBC reports, Alison Cobb, from the mental health charity Mind, said in response to this study: "If young people can be treated successfully with fish oils, this is hugely preferable to treating them with antipsychotics, which come with a range of problems from weight gain to sexual dysfunction, whereas omega-3s are actually beneficial to their general state of health."

She's exactly right: Antipsychotic drugs actually cause diabetes. They promote blood sugar disorders and weight gain, among other problems. Some psychiatric drugs have also been linked to school shootings and violent outbursts (suicides, murders, etc.). They're also expensive and they pose an environmental hazard, since many of the chemicals used in those drugs pass right through the body and end up in waters downstream.

Fish oils have none of these negative side effects. In fact, they have positive effects throughout the body. That's why fish oils are such a remarkable solution to replace antipsychotic drugs: They're safer, cheaper and they work better!

You're supposed to keep taking drugs, says Big Pharma

The drug companies, of course, are terrified that people might learn this truth. They want to keep patients on expensive, patented antipsychotic drugs while discrediting "natural remedies" like fish oils or nutritional supplements. The entire war being waged against nutrition and supplements is, of course, nothing more than the pharmaceutical industry trying to protect its own turf by destroying the competition.

Because, let's face it: For (virtually) every popular pharmaceutical on the market, there's a nutritional supplement that works better (and that's also safer and more affordable). Antipsychotic drugs can be replaced with fish oils. Cholesterol drugs can be replaced with B vitamins. Anti-cancer drugs can be replaced with vitamin D and medicinal mushrooms. Diabetes drugs can be replaced with a healthy plant-based diet and targeted supplements. The list goes on and on...

Nutrition works so well that in this study, subjects experienced a protective effect from fish oils for an entire year even though they only took those fish oils for 12 weeks! Imagine how much better the outcome might have been if they continued on the fish oils for the entire year...

Get quality fish oils

Of course, when it comes to fish oils, don't settle for just any cheap fish oil supplement. Many of the cheaper store-bought brands are largely made of olive oil filler combined with a tiny amount of fish oil extract. Search out quality supplements or oils from companies like Moxxor, Nordic Naturals or Carlson Labs.

Make sure your supplements are free from heavy metals, pesticides and other residues. Make sure they are harvested in a truly sustainable way, and make sure you can trust the source to provide consistent quality.

Fish oils can provide astonishing health benefits. If the medical industry were truly honest about researching what works for patients rather than what makes money for drug companies, they would have openly prescribed fish oils long ago (and abandoned many of the antipsychotic drugs they still push).

But as you already know, the pharmaceutical industry isn't interested in what works for people unless it's something they can sell at monopoly prices. They don't want people to know about natural remedies, nutritional cures or healing foods. They would much rather see people stay ignorant about those things while pumping their minds full of advertisements and propaganda that ridiculously suggests the human brain is somehow deficient in Big Pharma's patented chemicals and that the only way you'll ever be truly healthy, happy or sane is to keep swallowing their pills for the rest of your life.

The real insanity in the world is not in the minds of mental patients; it's in the evil plans of the FDA, the WHO and the pharmaceutical cartel -- all of whom conspire to peddle dangerous medications when far safer, more natural and more effective alternatives are readily available.

Abstract of study from the Archives of General Psychiatry

Long-Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Indicated Prevention of Psychotic Disorders
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/co...

A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

G. Paul Amminger, MD; Miriam R. Schäfer, MD; Konstantinos Papageorgiou, MD; Claudia M. Klier, MD; Sue M. Cotton, PhD; Susan M. Harrigan, MSc; Andrew Mackinnon, PhD; Patrick D. McGorry, MD, PhD; Gregor E. Berger, MD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(2):146-154.

Context: The use of antipsychotic medication for the prevention of psychotic disorders is controversial. Long-chain omega-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be beneficial in a range of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Given that omega-3 PUFAs are generally beneficial to health and without clinically relevant adverse effects, their preventive use in psychosis merits investigation.

Objective: To determine whether omega-3 PUFAs reduce the rate of progression to first-episode psychotic disorder in adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 25 years with subthreshold psychosis.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between 2004 and 2007.

Setting: Psychosis detection unit of a large public hospital in Vienna, Austria.

Participants: Eighty-one individuals at ultra-high risk of psychotic disorder.

Interventions: A 12-week intervention period of 1.2-g/d omega-3 PUFA or placebo was followed by a 40-week monitoring period; the total study period was 12 months.

Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was transition to psychotic disorder. Secondary outcomes included symptomatic and functional changes. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in erythrocytes was used to index pretreatment vs posttreatment fatty acid composition.

Results: Seventy-six of 81 participants (93.8%) completed the intervention. By study's end (12 months), 2 of 41 individuals (4.9%) in the omega-3 group and 11 of 40 (27.5%) in the placebo group had transitioned to psychotic disorder (P = .007). The difference between the groups in the cumulative risk of progression to full-threshold psychosis was 22.6% (95% confidence interval, 4.8-40.4). Omega-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids also significantly reduced positive symptoms (P = .01), negative symptoms (P = .02), and general symptoms (P = .01) and improved functioning (P = .002) compared with placebo. The incidence of adverse effects did not differ between the treatment groups.

Conclusions: Long-chain omega-3 PUFAs reduce the risk of progression to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe and efficacious strategy for indicated prevention in young people with subthreshold psychotic states.

Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00396643

Author Affiliations: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (Drs Amminger, Schäfer, Papageorgiou, and Klier); Orygen Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia (Drs Amminger, Cotton, Mackinnon, and McGorry and Ms Harrigan); and Department of Research and Education, The Schlössli Clinic, Oetwil am See, Switzerland (Dr Berger).

Other sources for this story include:
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8...

WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...

2 Pages                                                                                     815-609-6150

13-Year old boy was headache sufferer for four years

Chiropractic Care Offers Benefits Beyond Easing Neck and Back Pain

(2/2/10, Shorewood IL).  According to a case study published late last fall in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, a course of chiropractic care was successful in completely eliminating headaches a 13-year old male patient had been experiencing at least five hours a day for four years.

            “Headaches are a common disorder affecting two-thirds of the world’s population,” said Shorewood-based Dr. Daniel Grunert, D.C., “but we are still in the dark about all the causal factors and, in many instances, the most effective treatment options, which often depend on the mechanics of the specific type of headache presented.  Experts have recognized 14 distinct types of headache.”

            This particular case study concerns what is know as a cervicogenic headache, likely caused by poor joint function impacting the cervical spine and causing a malfunction of the nervous system.  This type of headache presents symptoms such as “recurrent moderate to severe headaches arising from the neck . . . .”  The cervical spine most often shows reduced range of motion, which causes pain spikes with certain movements of the head and neck.

            The initial chiropractic examination of the patient involved in this case study noted problems with posture and range of motion, along with “subluxations” in the thoracic and cervical spine.

                “A subluxation is a misalignment of the spine that disturbs normal nervous system function,” said Dr. Dan.  “Many chiropractors, including myself, have special, non-intrusive technology that allows them to conduct thermal and

--more--

Chiropractic Care Eliminates Boy’s Headaches             Dr. Daniel Grunert

2/2/10                                                                                           (815)609-6150

Page 2 of 2                                                                                 

Surface Electromyography (sEMG) tests to assist in locating where such conditions exist.  Because we know that the nervous system is the master controller of almost all bodily functions,” Dr. Dan continued, “we are not surprised when improvement of nervous system function contributes greatly to normal bodily function in a wide variety of areas.”

            After just six weeks of chiropractic care, the patient’s posture and range of motion improved significantly.  More important to the young man, he was headache free for the first time in four years.

                “There are certainly no guarantees with any course of care,” said Dr. Dan, who strives to keep current with the latest research and developments in health and wellness.   “And every case depends on the specific factors associated with that case.  More research is needed, but we see, from time to time, individual case studies that give rise to hope for many.”

#

Editor’s note:

Anyone wishing more information may contact Dr. Daniel Grunert, whose office is located at 127 Capista Dr., Shorewood IL (telephone (815)609-6150))

Reference:

“Resolution of Headaches in a 13 Year-Old Following Restoration of Cervical Curvature Utilizing Chiropractic Biophysics:  A Case Report,” by Curtis Fedorchuck, D.C., and Greg Wheeler, D.C., J. Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, November 30, 2009.

            But first, here’ s a little question.  If a man is given the choice between brains and beauty – which do you think he will choose?

            Do we really have to debate this?  Sure, not everyone places the same importance on beauty.  But it doesn’t take much to look around and see what’s going on in Hollywood, etc.

            Looks are important.  And not just for women.  In fact, there is a study that shows attractive people make more money for the same jobs than unattractive people. 

            This held true for both men and women – and in all kinds of jobs.  Good looking doctors and lawyers make more than not so good looking doctors and lawyers.

            Should it be this way?  No.  But…

It Is What It Is!

            And, there is NOTHING anyone can do about it.  So… life goes on…

            Now, about this “how men can live longer” thing.  It’s really quite simple.

            According to an October 18, 2009 article in The Sunday Times, Swedish scientists have discovered men probably should be paying more attention to the brains of the women they marry… than their bodies.

            This is because scientists found, according to the article, “that long life and good health have nothing to do with a man’s education and everything to do with his wife’s.  Men married to smart women live longer – simple.”

            It’s believed the key is a woman’s ability to process information about healthy lifestyles and passing it on to her spouse.

            In other words, smarter women tend to ban their husbands from eating 2 buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken and A Big Mac as a nightly bedtime snack.

            Moderate exercise is usually a topic of frequent discussion – until the man knows what’s best for him and does what he’s told!

            So, at least according to this article, a man’s future is clear:  IF you want to live a long, healthy life… it’s…

Brains Over Beauty!

            Dr. Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP, IBCLC, is the author of two books:  (1) Good Nights: The Happy Parents’ Guide to the Family Bed (and a Good Night’s Sleep) and (2) Listening to Your Baby.

            He has 23 years of pediatric experience and was the first male to become a certified lactation consultant.

            According to Dr. Gordon, “The official position jointly proposed by the [Consumer Product Safety Commission] and the crib manufacturers' lobbyists will cost many babies their lives.”

            He goes on to explain, “Babies sleeping on a safe surface with sober, non-smoking parents respond to their parents, and the parents respond to them. The chance of SIDS occurring in this situation is as close to zero as we can measure. For better or worse, most babies have never sneezed in their parents' beds without their parents knowing it. How could they possibly stop breathing without our immediately being aware of the problem and quickly stimulating them back to a regular, safe respiratory pattern?”

            What’s more, Dr. Gordon says babies in a crib in a separate room from their parents will breastfeed less and be more susceptible to infections – including life-threatening ones.

            Dr. Gordon states the best possible surveillance and safety system for your baby is for him or her to sleep in the same bed with you.

            What about a baby being suffocated when sleeping in the same bed as the parents?

            According to the article by Dr. Gordon, James McKenna, Director of the University of Notre Dame’s Mother-Baby Sleep Laboratory, says no.

            His research shows no sleep arrangement is 100% safe but many more children have died from suffocation in cribs than in beds with their parents.

            And here’s something you may find shocking:  Dr. Gordon says that in 23 years of pediatric experience, he has never had a case of SIDS in his practice.

            In Dr. Gordon’s own words, “Vitally, all of the families I have cared for sleep in the same bed with their babies for either the entire night or the major part of it. These families succeed at breastfeeding and succeed at raising babies and children with fewer episodes of ear infection, pneumonia, and other illnesses than they would be expected to have, according to medical texts.

Newborn babies breathe in irregular rhythms and even stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. To put it simply, they are not designed to sleep alone.”

            This newsletter is not agreeing or disagreeing with Dr. Gordon.  The purpose of this article is to bring up important issues you may want to look into so you can make an informed decision.

Outdoor Second-Hand Smoke Harmful?

First came smoking kills the smoker.  Then, research showed something a little more shocking –smoking was also bad for people who did not actually smoke themselves, but were exposed to second-hand smoke of others. This is why smoking has been banned in most public indoor places.

Now a new study shows something even more disturbing: second-hand smoke outdoors is bad for you too. 

According to a November, 2009 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, a nicotine byproduct known as cotinine was found to be up to 162% greater in those exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors than a control group.  According to the article, these levels are a potential public health issue.

Main Category: Flu / SARS News
Article Date: 15 Sep 2006 - 0:00 PST
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=51913

In early April of 2005, after a particularly rainy spring, an influenza epidemic (epi: upon, demic: people) exploded through the maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane where I have worked for the last ten years. It was not the pandemic (pan: all, demic: people) we all fear, just an epidemic. The world is waiting and governments are preparing for the next pandemic. A severe influenza pandemic will kill many more Americans than died in the World Trade Centers, the Iraq war, the Vietnam War, and Hurricane Katrina combined, perhaps a million people in the USA alone. Such a disaster would tear the fabric of American society. Our entire country might resemble the Superdome or Bourbon Street after Hurricane Katrina.

It's only a question of when a pandemic will come, not if it will come. Influenza A pandemics come every 30 years or so, severe ones every hundred years or so. The last pandemic, the Hong Kong flu, occurred in 1968 - killing 34,000 Americans. In 1918, the Great Flu Epidemic killed more than 500,000 Americans. So many millions died in other countries, they couldn't bury the bodies. Young healthy adults, in the prime of their lives in the morning, drowning in their own inflammation by noon, grossly discolored by sunset, were dead at midnight. Their body's own broad-spectrum natural antibiotics, called antimicrobial peptides, seemed nowhere to be found. An overwhelming immune response to the influenza virus - white blood cells releasing large amounts of inflammatory agents called cytokines and chemokines into the lungs of the doomed - resulted in millions of deaths in 1918.

As I am now a psychiatrist, and no longer a general practitioner, I was not directly involved in fighting the influenza epidemic in our hospital. However, our internal medicine specialists worked overtime as they diagnosed and treated a rapidly increasing number of stricken patients. Our Chief Medical Officer quarantined one ward after another as more and more patients were gripped with the chills, fever, cough, and severe body aches that typifies the clinical presentation of influenza A.

Epidemic influenza kills a million people in the world every year by causing pneumonia, "the captain of the men of death." These epidemics are often explosive; the word influenza comes from Italian (Medieval Latin ?nfluentia) or influence, because of the belief that the sudden and abrupt epidemics were due to the influence of some extraterrestrial force. One seventeenth century observer described it well when he wrote, "suddenly a Distemper arose, as if sent by some blast from the stars, which laid hold on very many together: that in some towns, in the space of a week, above a thousand people fell sick together."

I guess our hospital was under luckier stars as only about 12% of our patients were infected and no one died. However, as the epidemic progressed, I noticed something unusual. First, the ward below mine was infected, and then the ward on my right, left, and across the hall - but no patients on my ward became ill. My patients had intermingled with patients from infected wards before the quarantines. The nurses on my unit cross-covered on infected wards. Surely, my patients were exposed to the influenza A virus. How did my patients escape infection from what some think is the most infectious of all the respiratory viruses?

My patients were no younger, no healthier, and in no obvious way different from patients on other wards. Like other wards, my patients are mostly African Americans who came from the same prisons and jails as patients on the infected wards. They were prescribed a similar assortment of powerful psychotropic medications we use throughout the hospital to reduce the symptoms of psychosis, depression, and violent mood swings and to try to prevent patients from killing themselves or attacking other patients and the nursing staff. If my patients were similar to the patients on all the adjoining wards, why didn't even one of my patients catch the flu?

A short while later, a group of scientists from UCLA published a remarkable paper in the prestigious journal, Nature. The UCLA group confirmed two other recent studies, showing that a naturally occurring steroid hormone - a hormone most of us take for granted - was, in effect, a potent antibiotic. Instead of directly killing bacteria and viruses, the steroid hormone under question increases the body's production of a remarkable class of proteins, called antimicrobial peptides. The 200 known antimicrobial peptides directly and rapidly destroy the cell walls of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, including the influenza virus, and play a key role in keeping the lungs free of infection. The steroid hormone that showed these remarkable antibiotic properties was plain old vitamin D.

All of the patients on my ward had been taking 2,000 units of vitamin D every day for several months or longer. Could that be the reason none of my patients caught the flu? I then contacted Professors Reinhold Vieth and Ed Giovannucci and told them of my observations. They immediately advised me to collect data from all the patients in the hospital on 2,000 units of vitamin D, not just the ones on my ward, to see if the results were statistically significant. It turns out that the observations on my ward alone were of borderline statistical significance and could have been due to chance alone. Administrators at our hospital agreed, and are still attempting to collect data from all the patients in the hospital on 2,000 or more units of vitamin D at the time of the epidemic.

Four years ago, I became convinced that vitamin D was unique in the vitamin world by virtue of three facts. First, it's the only known precursor of a potent steroid hormone, calcitriol, or activated vitamin D. Most other vitamins are antioxidants or co-factors in enzyme reactions. Activated vitamin D - like all steroid hormones - damasks the genome, turning protein production on and off, as your body requires. That is, vitamin D regulates genetic expression in hundreds of tissues throughout your body. This means it has as many potential mechanisms of action as genes it damasks.

Second, vitamin D does not exist in appreciable quantities in normal human diets. True, you can get several thousand units in a day if you feast on sardines for breakfast, herring for lunch and salmon for dinner. The only people who ever regularly consumed that much fish are peoples, like the Inuit, who live at the extremes of latitude. The milk Americans depend on for their vitamin D contains no naturally occurring vitamin D; instead, the U.S. government requires fortified milk to be supplemented with vitamin D, but only with what we now know to be a paltry 100 units per eight-ounce glass.

The vitamin D steroid hormone system has always had its origins in the skin, not in the mouth. Until quite recently, when dermatologists and governments began warning us about the dangers of sunlight, humans made enormous quantities of vitamin D where humans have always made it, where naked skin meets the ultraviolet B radiation of sunlight. We just cannot get adequate amounts of vitamin D from our diet. If we don't expose ourselves to ultraviolet light, we must get vitamin D from dietary supplements.

The third way vitamin D is different from other vitamins is the dramatic difference between natural vitamin D nutrition and the modern one. Today, most humans only make about a thousand units of vitamin D a day from sun exposure; many people, such as the elderly or African Americans, make much less than that. How much did humans normally make? A single, twenty-minute, full body exposure to summer sun will trigger the delivery of 20,000 units of vitamin D into the circulation of most people within 48 hours. Twenty thousand units, that's the single most important fact about vitamin D. Compare that to the 100 units you get from a glass of milk, or the several hundred daily units the U.S. government recommend as "Adequate Intake." It's what we call an "order of magnitude" difference.

Humans evolved naked in sub-equatorial Africa, where the sun shines directly overhead much of the year and where our species must have obtained tens of thousands of units of vitamin D every day, in spite of our skin developing heavy melanin concentrations (racial pigmentation) for protecting the deeper layers of the skin. Even after humans migrated to temperate latitudes, where our skin rapidly lightened to allow for more rapid vitamin D production, humans worked outdoors. However, in the last three hundred years, we began to work indoors; in the last one hundred years, we began to travel inside cars; in the last several decades, we began to lather on sunblock and consciously avoid sunlight. All of these things lower vitamin D blood levels. The inescapable conclusion is that vitamin D levels in modern humans are not just low - they are aberrantly low.

About three years ago, after studying all I could about vitamin D, I began testing my patient's vitamin D blood levels and giving them literature on vitamin D deficiency. All their blood levels were low, which is not surprising as vitamin D deficiency is practically universal among dark-skinned people who live at temperate latitudes. Furthermore, my patients come directly from prison or jail, where they get little opportunity for sun exposure. After finding out that all my patients had low levels, many profoundly low, I started educating them and offering to prescribe them 2,000 units of vitamin D a day, the U.S. government's "Upper Limit."

Could vitamin D be the reason none of my patients got the flu? In the last several years, dozens of medical studies have called attention to worldwide vitamin D deficiency, especially among African Americans and the elderly, the two groups most likely to die from influenza. Cancer, heart disease, stroke, autoimmune disease, depression, chronic pain, depression, gum disease, diabetes, hypertension, and a number of other diseases have recently been associated with vitamin D deficiency. Was it possible that influenza was as well?

Then I thought of three mysteries that I first learned in medical school at the University of North Carolina: (1) although the influenza virus exists in the population year-round, influenza is a wintertime illnesses; (2) children with vitamin D deficient rickets are much more likely to suffer from respiratory infections; (3) the elderly in most countries are much more likely to die in the winter than the summer (excess wintertime mortality), and most of that excess mortality, although listed as cardiac, is, in fact, due to influenza.

Could vitamin D explain these three mysteries, mysteries that account for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year? Studies have found the influenza virus is present in the population year-around; why is it a wintertime illness? Even the common cold got its name because it is common in cold weather and rare in the summer. Vitamin D blood levels are at their highest in the summer but reach their lowest levels during the flu and cold season. Could such a simple explanation explain these mysteries?

The British researcher, Dr. R. Edgar Hope-Simpson, was the first to document the most mysterious feature of epidemic influenza, its wintertime surfeit and summertime scarcity. He theorized that an unknown "seasonal factor" was at work, a factor that might be affecting innate human immunity. Hope-Simpson was a general practitioner who became famous in the late 1960's after he discovered the cause of shingles. British authorities bestowed every prize they had on him, not only because of the importance of his discovery, but because he made the discovery own his own, without the benefit of a university appointment, and without any formal training in epidemiology (the detective branch of medicine that methodically searches for clues about the cause of disease).

After his work on shingles, Hope-Simpson spent the rest of his working life studying influenza. He concluded a "seasonal factor" was at work, something that was regularly and predictably impairing human immunity in the winter and restoring it in the summer. He discovered that communities widely separated by longitude, but which shared similar latitude, would simultaneously develop influenza. He discovered that influenza epidemics in Great Britain in the 17th and 18th century occurred simultaneously in widely separated communities, before modern transportation could possibly explain its rapid dissemination. Hope-Simpson concluded a "seasonal factor" was triggering these epidemics. Whatever it was, he was certain that the deadly "crop" of influenza that sprouts around the winter solstice was intimately involved with solar radiation. Hope-Simpson predicted that, once discovered, the "seasonal factor" would "provide the key to understanding most of the influenza problems confronting us."

Hope-Simpson had no way of knowing that vitamin D has profound effects on human immunity, no way of knowing that it increases production of broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides, peptides that quickly destroy the influenza virus. We have only recently learned how vitamin D increases production of antimicrobial peptides while simultaneously preventing the immune system from releasing too many inflammatory cells, called chemokines and cytokines, into infected lung tissue.

In 1918, when medical scientists did autopsies on some of the fifty million people who died during the 1918 flu pandemic, they were amazed to find destroyed respiratory tracts; sometimes these inflammatory cytokines had triggered the complete destruction of the normal epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract. It was as if the flu victims had been attacked and killed by their own immune systems. This is the severe inflammatory reaction that vitamin D has recently been found to prevent.

I subsequently did what physicians have done for centuries. I experimented, first on myself and then on my family, trying different doses of vitamin D to see if it has any effects on viral respiratory infections. After that, as the word spread, several of my medical colleagues experimented on themselves by taking three-day courses of pharmacological doses (2,000 units per kilogram per day) of vitamin D at the first sign of the flu. I also asked numerous colleagues and friends who were taking physiological doses of vitamin D (5,000 units per day in the winter and less, or none, in the summer) if they ever got colds or the flu, and, if so, how severe the infections were. I became convinced that physiological doses of vitamin D reduce the incidence of viral respiratory infections and that pharmacological doses significantly ameliorate the symptoms of some viral respiratory infections if taken early in the course of the illness. However, such observations are so personal, so likely to be biased, that they are worthless science.

As I waited for the hospital to finish collecting data from all the patients taking vitamin D at the time of the outbreak - to see if it really reduced the incidence of influenza - I decided to research the literature thoroughly, finding all the clues in the world's medical literature that indicated if vitamin D played any role in preventing influenza or other viral respiratory infections. I worked on the paper for over a year, writing it with Professor Edward Giovannucci of Harvard, Professor Reinhold Vieth of the University of Toronto, Professor Michael Holick of Boston University, Professor Cedric Garland of U.C., San Diego, as well as Dr. John Umhau of the National Institute of Health, Sasha Madronich of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Dr. Bill Grant at the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center. After numerous revisions, we submitted our paper to the same widely respected journal where Dr. Hope-Simpson published most of his work several decades ago.

Epidemiology and Infection, known as The Journal of Hygiene in Hope-Simpson's day, recently published our paper. The editor, Professor Norman Noah, knew Dr. Hope-Simpson and helped tremendously with the paper. In the paper, we detailed our theory that vitamin D is Hope-Simpson's long forgotten "seasonal stimulus." We proposed that annual fluctuations in vitamin D levels explain the seasonality of influenza. The periodic seasonal fluctuations in 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels, which cause recurrent and predictable wintertime vitamin D deficiency, predispose human populations to influenza epidemics. We raised the possibility that influenza is a symptom of vitamin D deficiency in the same way that an unusual form of pneumonia (pneumocystis carinii) is a symptom of AIDS. That is, we theorized that George Bernard Shaw was right when he said, "the characteristic microbe of a disease might be a symptom instead of a cause."

In the paper, we propose that vitamin D explains the following 14 observations:

1. Why the flu predictably occurs in the months following the winter solstice, when vitamin D levels are at their lowest,

2. Why it disappears in the months following the summer solstice,

3. Why influenza is more common in the tropics during the rainy season,

4. Why the cold and rainy weather associated with El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which drives people indoors and lowers vitamin D blood levels, is associated with influenza,

5. Why the incidence of influenza is inversely correlated with outdoor temperatures,

6. Why children exposed to sunlight are less likely to get colds,

7. Why cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections,

8. Why Russian scientists found that vitamin D-producing UVB lamps reduced colds and flu in schoolchildren and factory workers,

9. Why Russian scientists found that volunteers, deliberately infected with a weakened flu virus - first in the summer and then again in the winter - show significantly different clinical courses in the different seasons,

10. Why the elderly who live in countries with high vitamin D consumption, like Norway, are less likely to die in the winter,

11. Why children with vitamin D deficiency and rickets suffer from frequent respiratory infections,

12. Why an observant physician (Rehman), who gave high doses of vitamin D to children who were constantly sick from colds and the flu, found the treated children were suddenly free from infection,

13. Why the elderly are so much more likely to die from heart attacks in the winter rather than in the summer,

14. Why African Americans, with their low vitamin D blood levels, are more likely to die from influenza and pneumonia than Whites are.

Although our paper discusses the possibility that physiological doses of vitamin D (5,000 units a day) may prevent colds and the flu, and that physicians might find pharmacological doses of vitamin D (2,000 units per kilogram of body weight per day for three days) useful in treating some of the one million people who die in the world every year from influenza, we remind readers that it is only a theory. Like all theories, our theory must withstand attempts to be disproved with dispassionately conducted and well-controlled scientific experiments.

However, as vitamin D deficiency has repeatedly been associated with many of the diseases of civilization, we point out that it is not too early for physicians to aggressively diagnose and adequately treat vitamin D deficiency. We recommend that enough vitamin D be taken daily to maintain 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels at levels normally achieved through summertime sun exposure (50 ng/ml). For many persons, such as African Americans and the elderly, this will require up to 5,000 units daily in the winter and less, or none, in the summer, depending on summertime sun exposure.

By: J. J. Cannell

Acknowldegement: We wish to thank Professor Norman Noah of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor Robert Scragg of the University of Auckland and Professor Robert Heaney of Creighton University for reviewing the manuscript and making many useful suggestions.

-- Dr. John Cannell, Atascadero State Hospital, 10333 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422, USA, 805 468-2061, jcannell@dmhash.state.ca.us
-- Professor Reinhold Vieth, Mount Sinai Hospital, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
-- Dr. John Umhau, Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
-- Professor Michael Holick, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
-- Dr. Bill Grant, SUNARC, San Francisco, CA
-- Dr. Sasha Madronich, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
-- Professor Cedric Garland, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
-- Professor Edward Giovannucci, Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA

http://www.vitamindcouncil.com

Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, and Giovanucci E. Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Sep 7;:1-12 (Epub ahead of print)
Link Here.

Everything happens for a reason.
I’m sure you’ve heard that common phrase. Some believe it’s true. Others say it’s nothing but hogwash.
No matter how you look at it – life can be puzzling. And, at times…
Awe-Inspiring
In fact, it IS all in how you look at it. And how you look at “it” and react to “it” determines how successful and happy you will be in life. And since happiness has been correlated to healthiness – how you look at things will also partially determine how healthy you are.
Seems pretty important – doesn’t it?
Now it’s time for an example that has literally changed hundreds of lives in a very short period of time.
Chances are – it will change yours, too. That is… if you react to “it” the right way. ?
5 NCAA Championships Begin With An Unlikely SECRET WEAPON…
Northwestern Wildcats lacrosse might be the most dominant program in NCAA history. They have won 5 consecutive NCAA National Championships.
Anyone who knows anything about college sports knows how difficult it is to win just one national title. Most college programs never win ONE in their entire sports history.
Five over 50 years would be worth mentioning. FIVE IN A ROW IS ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING.
You must be thinking: The Wildcats must be doing something special. They must have a SECRET WEAPON.
You would be…
Right!
That secret weapon’s name is Jaclyn Murphy.
What’s so special about Jacyln? The first thing is that she doesn’t play lacrosse. She isn’t even old enough to go to college… yet…
You see, Jaclyn was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at the age of 9. As you can imagine… the innocent little girl was sad and in need of a little help.
That’s just what the Wildcat lacrosse team gave her. They reached out to little Jaclyn and 5 years later, at age 14, she is…
Cancer Free!
And Northwestern has not lost a National Championship ever since their initial meeting!
Inspired by their meeting and relationship, the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation was established to match up other college teams with children with malignant brain tumors.
The program has linked over 100 kids with athletic teams and there are hundreds of programs on the waiting list.
The story and program has been so successful and inspiring it was featured on July 21st on the Emmy-winning HBO sports series, Real Sports.
So what do you think?
Did this happen for a reason? Are the Wildcat’s 5 National Championships directly linked to Jaclyn? Is Jaclyn’s recovery from malignant brain cancer due to the Wildcat’s helping hand?
Did All This Happen For A Reason…Or Is It Just One Big Coincidence?
Does it really matter?
Check this out: There is something in medical studies called the placebo effect. The placebo effect occurs when people in a control group get better without receiving the treatment.
Many times, this placebo effect can be quite successful, showing that just the act of someone believing they are going to get better makes them better.
So, chances are, Jaclyn and Northwestern had a profound effect on each other’s success. And yes… it probably matters whether you BELIEVE it happened for a reason or not.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/finance/20090902/BUSINESS-US-PFIZER-SETTLEMENT/

Kay Yow Molded Young Lives 

That, In Turn, Gave Her A Reason To Live

            Getting up for work every day is hard.  Now, imagine doing it every day… for over two decades… suffering with cancer.  That’s what Kay Yow did.  And, she did it possibly better than anyone else ever could have, touching lives and helping hopes and dreams come true.  Clearly, she helped mold a generation of young women who will be successful and live much better lives because of Kay.

            All the while, no one ever heard her complain or even mention that she was suffering with breast cancer.  (Not that she hid it.)  As North Carolina State’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach, she compiled an impressive resume…

Yow had a record of 737-344 over 38 years -- 34 years with North Carolina-- with countless milestones along the way.  She coached the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team to a gold medal in 1988, won four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships, earned 20 NCAA tournament bids, and reached the Final Four in 1998.  She was also inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002. North Carolina State dedicated "Kay Yow Court" at Reynold’s Coliseum in 2007.  As she was first diagnosed in 1987, she accomplished most of this while suffering with breast cancer. And, her fans know her for much more than just basketball wins. 

They know her for the much more important things like: adherence to principles, morals, values, her unwavering resolve while fighting cancer, and how she raised awareness and money for research and stayed with her team even through the debilitating effects of cancer and chemotherapy.

Winning an Olympic Gold Medal pales in comparison to the bigger life lessons and life’s “games”

Kay Yow taught young women to compete– and win.

            According to ESPN:  She never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the disease progressed. She commonly noted there were “other patients with harder battles than I'm fighting” and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.  "Almost everybody is dealing with something…We're all faced with a lot of tough issues that we're dealing with… We know we need to just come to the court and let that be our catharsis in a way. You can't bring it on the court with you, but we can all just think of basketball as an escape for a few hours… I have to go through it. I accept that, and I'm not panicked about it because the Lord is in control. But it just would be so saddening if I had to go through it and I couldn't help people. But then I see I'm helping others in a greater way than I ever have. That's the amazing thing, you know?”

            For most of the 2007 season, Yow, weakened by the disease, sat on the bench while her Assistant Coach (Stephanie Glance) barked commands to her players.  At times, she had to be helped to her feet.  But, Yow always found ways to keep coaching and instilling faith in her players.  Glance called her an “Iron Woman,” and players wore pink shoelaces in honor of their warrior leader.  Even opposing players donned the pink laces to show their appreciation and respect.  In fact, whenever Yow was in town, people would often stop her and say they were praying for her.  This kept Kay going because she knew her efforts meant something.  Her entire life and career were built around helping others and self sacrifice.

And Kay Yow’s message is more important for EVERYONE

right now… more than any other time.

            Many people are struggling.  Or at least THINK they are struggling. Countless people have already given up because of a rough few months or year, when Kay Yow achieved just about all her massive success while fighting cancer for over 2 decades.  Your problems, most likely, pale in comparison to Kay Yow’s. 

            Next time you think things are so bad that you want to give up, think about Kay Yow and what she said: “If you start to dwell on the wrong things, it’ll take you down fast.  Every morning I wake up and the first thing I think of is I’m thankful.  I’m thankful for another day.”

Less Than 6 Hours Of Sleep = Diabetes! Reuters recently reported people who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night are likely to have blood sugar problems, which puts them at risk for diabetes. In a study, people who slept less than 6 hours were 4.5 times more likely to develop abnormal blood sugar readings within 6 years.

            Well, as it turns out… all this may be nothing more than…

A Bunch Of Well

Meaning BUNK!

            At least, that’s what it seems like from the results of a new study from the University of Virginia. According to the study, our mental abilities peak at age 22 and begin to decline at the ripe old age of 27!

            Researchers studied 2,000 men and women aged 18 to 60 over seven years. The people involved – who were mostly in good health and well-educated – had to solve visual puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols.

            The results were published in the Journal Neurobiology Of Aging and found that in 9 of the 12 tests, the average top performer was 22 years old.

            The first age where performance began to slip significantly was 27.  Memory began to decline from age 37 and worse results were shown by age 42.

            But, there was a little good news.  Abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as vocabulary and general information, continued to increase until the age 60.

            One has to wonder if the scores on these tests may have been skewed by the fact that many people graduate college at the age of 22.  After that, they may not be involved in things that are as mentally challenging… Who knows?…

            Or, maybe the reason is that vegetables are not as good for you as they used to be.

            That’s right.  According to new research, produce in the United States not only tastes worse than a couple generations ago… but they also contain fewer nutrients.

            Today’s vegetables are larger, but evidently size is not everything.  The average vegetable today found in the supermarket is anywhere from 5% - 40% lower in minerals such as magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc than those from 50 years ago.

            And there is also the “dilution effect.”  This is where crops are genetically altered to achieve the highest yield.  Higher yield produce consistently had lower amounts of minerals and proteins.

            Ok, let’s move right along. There’s a lot to cover here and so little time…

Study Shows Calcium Helps Weight Loss

            A new study has shown calcium consumption helped participants lose weight, but only in people whose diets were low in calcium to begin with.

            The participants (obese women) consumed 600 mg of calcium per day before the study. When the women upped their daily intake to 1,200 mg per day, they lost nearly 13 lbs, while those who did not only lost 2 lbs. (The daily recommended dose of calcium is 1,000 mg.)

            Researchers suspect the brain knows when there is a lack of calcium in the body and increases food intake to try and compensate.

            Whatever the reason, it looks like everyone should make sure they are getting the recommended daily allowance of calcium.

            Besides calcium, what else should you get every day?  What if someone told you…

Sunlight?

            That’s crazy!  The sun causes skin cancer… right?

            Not so fast!  According to recent research, common beliefs about sunlight and sunscreens may have been all wrong.

            Dr. Dianne Godar of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a study that showed UVA (long wave ultra-violet light) might be responsible for the melanoma… not UVB (medium wave ultra violet light).  The UVB light is what causes us to tan and our bodies to produce Vitamin D.

            But here’s something important:  UVB can NOT pass through window glass… but… UVA can.  This means you are exposed indoors and in your car!

            According to Dr. Godar, indoor workers may be at a greater risk of melanoma… not outdoor workers! 

            It seems as though our bodies produce Vitamin D in response to UVB light, which appears to be protective against melanoma.  Low Vitamin D levels correlate with melanoma and year-round tans protect against melanoma.  In fact, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola’s Health website, “Melanoma patients who expose themselves to the sun live longer than those who don’t.”

The Great Sun Block Debate

            You should always be sure to use plenty of sun block before going into the sun… right?  That depends…

            For years, sun blocks did NOT protect against both UVA and UVB like they said they did on the package and in marketing.

            Many only protected against UVB.  So, for years it looks like they blocked the rays that might actually be protective and let the bad ones through.

            That’s why it is important to use a sun block that also blocks UVA.  But the best thing is probably to get small amounts of sun… without getting burned… and then cover your body with clothes.

            Chemicals may not be the way to go.

And. let’s end on a disgraceful note this month…

Drug Researcher Fabricates 21 Studies!!!

            According to the Wall Street Journal March 11, 2009, “A prominent Massachusetts anesthesiologist allegedly fabricated 21 medical studies that claimed to show benefits from painkillers like Vioxx and Celebrex, according to the hospital where he worked.

Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Mass., said that its former chief of acute pain, Scott S. Reuben, had faked data used in the studies, which were published in several anesthesiology journals between 1996 and 2008.”

            One has to wonder, considering the big money involved, how widespread is this type of activity?

                There are many causes of LBP. Some of the obvious include over lifting/carrying, performing a task for too long or with too many repetitions, and sitting or standing in one position for too long.  However, frequently LBP seems to occur for no apparent reason, or at least none that can be clearly identified.  One of the most basic causes of LBP is simply standing on two, rather than four legs.  When comparing a 4-legged to a 2-legged subject, arthritis of the spine and disc degeneration occurs much earlier in those of us with two legs.  This is due partially because 2/3rds of our weight is supported by the low back and pelvis.  In addition, vertical loading occurs in the 2-legged subject whereas the load is distributed between four legs in a horizontal fashion in the 4-legged species.  Other less obvious causes of LBP include physical characteristics such as flat feet (fallen arches), a short leg resulting in a tipped pelvis, carrying too much weight, being out of shape/weak muscles, as well as hereditary factors.  Non-physical characteristics include diet, exercise participation, lifestyle, stress and other psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, and others.  Hence, treatment must address the entire person, not just the low back since often, several of the characteristics mentioned here are present and often participating in the cause for LBP.

                Because many of these characteristics are not properly attended to, LBP tends to be recurrent, where multiple episodes come and go over time.  In years past, health care providers would focus the majority of their attention on the physical characteristics of LBP and when treatment results was ineffective, the blame was placed on the psychological aspects for which little, if any, treatment was offered.  However, over the last 20 years, the shift towards treating the whole person or, adopting the biopsychosocial model (bio- = physical, psycho- = mental, and social = how LBP is perceived and affects daily social interaction) has been emphasized as the appropriate approach when managing patients with low back pain.  No longer should the psychological aspect be ignored but rather, identified and treated so that this significant barrier to recovery can be properly managed. 

                Regarding treatment, unless someone presents with a “red-flag” which, for LBP sufferers include cancer, fracture (especially unstable fractures), cauda equine syndrome (spinal cord pinching resulting in bowel / bladder control loss), or infection, immediate/emergent care is not required. A careful health history followed by appropriate tests can usually identify these “red flags.”  Otherwise, surgery for LBP is not recommended until at least 4-6 weeks of treatment with non-surgical approaches are first utilized and, an identifiable “lesion” can be identified that clearly is causing the presenting complaints and clinical findings.  Chiropractic has an obvious advantage over specialty care when considering non-surgical treatment of LBP.  Both physical and emotional issues are identified and a “team” approach with other health care providers when required is ordered.  Moreover, all the international guidelines published for treating LBP recommend spinal manipulation BEFORE most of the other non-surgical approaches are tried due to medication side-effects and, the successes reported in many studies where spinal manipulation is performed. 

Basically, CTS is caused by pressure building up in a small confined space through which a nerve (the median nerve) and 9 tendons converge into this tight opening into the hand. When repetitive work/fast movements are performed over hours at a time and day after day, the friction produced by the tendons rubbing against each other results in heat, swelling, pain, and median nerve pinching which produces the classic symptom of tingling/numbness into the 2^nd, 3^rd and half of the 4^th fingers.  Hence, those at greatest risk for developing CTS include line workers such as manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning, and fish and/or meat packing.  In 1998, 3 of every 10,000 workers lost work time due to CTS of which half missed more than 10 days of work.  The average lifetime cost of CTS was estimated at $30,000 for each worker back in 1998.

So, how do you know if you have CTS?  The early signs include occasional numbness or tingling in the fingers that you probably wouldn’t think much about since simply shaking your hand or flick the fingers, it goes away.  As the numbness becomes more frequent and it does not respond by shaking and flicking the fingers as quickly, you might take notice.  Without proper management, difficulty buttoning shirts/cuffs, writing, holding onto small objects, opening jars, all become gradually more pronounced.  When sleep becomes interrupted, especially when it becomes necessary to get up and move around before being able to return to sleep, that’s when people usually decide, “I better see someone for this!” 

Treatment success is directly related to how fast a person reacts by making a prompt appointment.  The best results always occur when care is obtained quickly, when the initial symptoms first appear. In addition, there are sometimes underlying contributors or causes such as diabetes, arthritis, pregnancy, birth control pill use, hypothyroid, obesity, and other conditions that may need proper management in order to relieve the symptoms.  Non-surgical care includes the use of wrist splints (especially at night when sleeping), anti-inflammatory measures (medications, gluten-free/paleo diet, vitamin B6 and others such as omega 3 fatty acids/fish oil, vitamin D3 in high doses, calcium, magnesium, CoQ10), work station modifications, forearm exercises, chiropractic manipulation of the neck and arm, acupuncture, and certain modalities such as low level laser/light therapy, can all be helpful.

Surgery should always be considered a “last resort” after all non-surgical approaches have been exhausted.  Rarely is there a “medical emergency” that warrants prompt surgical release except in cases of fracture where the carpal tunnel canal is abruptly reduced in size.  Chiropractors are well trained to manage CTS and offer a non-drug, non-surgical solution to this potentially disabling condition. 

The classic presentation includes neck pain that radiates into the arm in a specific area as each nerve affects different parts of the arm and hand.  Describing the exact location of the arm complaint such as, “I have numbness in the arm and hand that makes my 4^th and pinky fingers feel half asleep,” tells us that you have a pinched C8 nerve.  This nerve can also be pinched at the elbow and make the same two fingers numb.  The difference between the two different conditions is when the nerve is pinched in the neck, the pain is located from the neck down the entire arm and into digits 4 & 5 of the hand.  When the nerve is pinched at the elbow, the pain/numbness is located from the elbow down to the 4^th & 5^th digits, but no neck or upper arm pain exists. 

Examination findings usually include limitations in certain cervical (neck) ranges of motion (ROMs) – usually in the direction that increases the pinch on the nerve. Another common finding is the arm is often held over the head because there is more stretching on the nerve when the arm is hanging down and pain in the neck and arm increases.  Hence, raising the arm over the head reduces the neck/arm pain.  To determine where the nerve is pinched, there are a number of different compression tests that can recreate or increase the symptoms.  Some compression tests include placing downward pressure on the head with the head pointing straight ahead, bent or rotated to each side.  Other compression tests are performed by pressing in areas where the nerve travels such as in the lower front aspect of the neck, in the front of the shoulder where the arm connects to the chest/trunk, at the elbow and at the wrist.  If there is a pinched nerve, numbness, tingling and/or pain will be reproduced when pressure is applied to these regions.  Other tests include testing reflexes and muscle strength in the arm.  When a nerve is pinched, the reflexes will be sluggish or absent and certain movements in the arm are weak when compared to the opposite side.  Another very practical test is called the cervical (neck) distraction test where a traction force is applied to the neck.  When neck and/or arm pain is reduced, this means there is a pinched nerve.  This test is particularly useful because when pain is reduced, the test supports the need for a treatment approach called cervical traction.  It has been reported that the use of cervical traction when applied 3x/day for 15 minutes each, at 8-12 pounds, 78% of 81 patients reported a significant improvement in symptoms, which is very effective.  Other forms of care that can be highly effective include spinal manipulation, spinal mobilization, certain exercises, physical therapy modalities, and certain medications.

If you, a friend, or a loved one are struggling with a herniated disk in the neck with associated arm complaints, we will properly assess your condition, run the appropriate tests, and administer the appropriate care that is needed.  We also coordinate services with other health care providers when necessary.  This recommendation may represent one of most significant acts of kindness you can give to those that you care about.

No one wants to believe it… but it’s true. There is even a study to back it up…Looks matter.  And good looking people actually make more money (for the exact same job) than less attractive people.  And this is not isolated to jobs like modeling and acting where one would expect looks to play such a major role. Good-looking doctors and lawyers make more than not-so-good looking doctors and lawyers.  Outside of massive plastic surgery, you are not able to turn yourself into Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie.  But, there are things you can do to maximize what you’ve got that can make a big difference in the way you are viewed by others. Here are 6 quick and easy tips keep you looking good:  1. Start an exercise program!  Yeah… yeah… this sounds like work.  But the truth is:  you don’t have to go crazy and bulk up like Arnold.  Just exercising 30 minutes a day can have a dramatic effect on your appearance.  Many times, dropping 5 pounds can make you look like a new man or woman.  Not to mention the health benefits as a side effect!  And a little exercise can… 2. Improve your body language!  Body language has a greater impact on your overall appearance and the way others judge you than most think.  Standing and sitting up straight not only makes you feel better about yourself, it makes you look confident and authoritative to others.  There is a reason why the military places so much importance on posture and dress. Speaking about dress… 3. Keep your clothes free from pet hair, lint and sweater fuzz!  If you have a dog or a cat – you know the nightmare of getting dressed for work or a night out… looking down… and being covered in HAIR!  If you don’t have a lint brush handy, one of the best ways is to simply dampen your hand with water and run it over your clothes.  And if you are afraid of using too much water and getting the “wet look”, running your hand over your clothes with a rubber or latex glove attracts pet hair like a magnet!  Don’t ignore your pet hair covered clothes – THEY LOOK TERRIBLE!!! 4. Polish and rotate your shoes!  As you probably know, people notice shoes and their condition.  And even if your shoes are a little old, they can look very good if you take care of them and keep them polished.  Once again, the military is onto something here.  What’s the deal with “rotating” your shoes?  Rotating the shoes you wear everyday not only keeps people from seeing you in the same shoes everyday (yes, people notice), it allows your shoes to dry out completely and you will not wear them out as fast as if you wore them everyday. 5. Learn how to tie a tie… with a knot that’s right for you!  Most men are not aware that there are actually different knots for different occasions and face types.  Get it right and you will stand out and have an automatic conversation starter when you go out. You will not only look better – but seem smarter and more fashionable.  Just go to “YouTube” and type in “neck tie knots” and you will be amazed. 6. Pack clothes so they don’t wrinkle!  What’s worse… clothes full of pet hair or wrinkles?  Not sure – but know this: they both make you look bad.  Google the “bundle wrapping technique” and “Japanese turbo-fold” and you will travel virtually wrinkle-free.  Wait until you see the video on the Japanese turbo-fold… it’s amazing!!!

The Secret Formula To Happiness?

Plus: The ONE SIMPLE CHANGE That Could

                            Reduce Obesity In The U.S. By 18%

                                        Inspirational Story Of The Month –

(Names And Details Have Been Changed To Protect Privacy)

How 62 Seconds Changed A Life,

And An Entire Town

            If you had a magic wand… and could do whatever you wanted with it… what would you do?

            Would you pay off your mortgage?  Make yourself younger?  Get a new car?  Or would you do something for someone else who needs it more?

            Tough question. 

            Well, what if I told you the residents of a small, suburban Massachusetts town came together to create such a proverbial “magic wand” and waved it to change the life of a remarkable young man?  And once you read this story, you will know how to use a magic wand… if you ever get your hands on one.

            Here’s the story…

            With 62 seconds left in the game, Norwell’s boy’s basketball Coach John Willis made a decision that will ensure his memory and legacy as a great man lives on forever.

            He yelled to Senior Guard, Andrew Lawson, and told him he was going in the game.  Lawson, only 5’4” substituted in for one of his best friends… who hugged him and rubbed his head as Lawson sprinted out on the court.

            With only 1:02 left in the game… what was the big deal?

            As it turns out, Andrew scored a lay-up in that 1:02 and the gymnasium went crazy as Norwell defeated Hanover 68-51 and stayed unbeaten in its last 18 games.

            Even more impressive, Andrew has Down’s Syndrome.  If it were up to some people… he never would have gotten that chance.

            Andrew’s parents, Jim and Regina Lawson, always wanted the best for their son. Even though most Down’s Syndrome children do not attend public school, they wanted the optimal learning environment for Andrew.

            They expected the best out of Andrew and out of his school. With hard work and cooperation, they discovered ways for Andrew to coordinate his classes and learn at his own pace.

            But maybe even more important than the “scholarly” education Andrew received was the camaraderie he experienced as an entire town came together to share in his (and their) dreams.

            Andrew first joined the soccer team and his teammates all helped out to make sure he got to practice.  During the fall of his senior year, Andrew scored a goal on a penalty kick and was carried off the field while the fans went crazy.

            And besides his famous 1:02 lay-up, Andrew started a basketball game and scored 11 points in 3 minutes in what is now called “Andrew’s Quarter.”

            When Andrew came out of that game, members of the opposing team came over to congratulate him. 

            There is a video of “Andrew’s Quarter” on the internet at: http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1418562363&channel=245991542

            It might be quicker to Google “Andrew Lawson” than trying to type that in, but either way, it is well worth the effort to see Andrew and the entire town that supported him in action.

            Andrew was also featured on HBO’s hit series, Real Sports.  The most amazing part on the show was how his classmates all loved Andrew.  They cheered him in the hallways and hugged him whenever he was around.

            With so many stories about teenagers bullying other teens (in some cases with the parents’ help!) even to the point of suicide… this was even more remarkable.

            Andrew’s parents were quick to thank everyone who played a role in making Andrew’s (and their) dreams come true over the those 4 years. And they hope others will see through Andrew’s experience what can actually be achieved.  Andrew’s acceptance in school made it easier to be accepted socially. And Andrew was not the only one that benefitted from those 4 years.  “It’s not ‘Oh, isn’t Andrew lucky,’” Andrew’s mother said.  “It’s ‘Aren’t we lucky to have Andrew.’”  Who changed more… Andrew… or the town?

            Andrew graduated from high school last spring and wants to move away from home and live on his own.

            With what he has accomplished already, it would not be prudent to bet against him.

Let’s start with a quick apology:  No… sleeping more and taking Vitamin D will NOT make you like Superman or Superwoman!  Sorry… but… new research is showing that they may improve your mind and health in many wonderful ways.

            First, let’s talk about SLEEP…

            Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things.  Maybe you’ve heard of that little kite flying incident.  J

            He is also famous for saying, “WASTE not life” and “There will be sleeping enough in the grave.”

            More than 200 years later, the attitude towards sleep in America has not changed.

            Many people are up at the crack of dawn or answering emails at 3 a.m. on their “crack-berry!”  Franklin’s quote has even been modernized to read…

“I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead!”

            “There is a cultural bias against sleep that sees it as akin to shutting down, or even to death,” explains Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a Neurologist at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Sleep Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Most people, Dr. Ellenbogen says, think of the sleeping brain as similar to a computer that has “gone to sleep” — it does nothing productive. Wrong. Sleep enhances performance, learning and memory. Most of all, sleep improves creative ability to generate aha! moments and to uncover novel connections among seemingly unrelated ideas.

Dr. Ellenbogen’s research at Harvard indicates that after sleep, people are 33 percent more likely to infer connections among distantly related ideas, and yet, as he puts it, these performance enhancements exist “completely beneath the radar screen.”

In other words, people are more creative after sleep, but they don’t know it.

Changing Attitudes

Business attitudes toward sleep may be starting to shift. Claire Stapleton, a spokeswoman for Google, says “grassroots” interest in sleep led to an on-campus talk by Sara C. Mednick, a napping expert. Google also installed EnergyPods, leather recliners with egg-like hoods that block noise and light, for employees to take naps at work.

But there is something much more important than just a nap and the total number of hours slept.  Even more important is the…

Circadian Rhythm

            The circadian rhythm is an internal clock that guides our daily cycle from sleep to wakefulness – and back to sleep again.  But now researchers at Stanford think it may be doing much more.

            Working with Siberian hamsters, biologist Norman Ruby has shown that having a functioning circadian system is critical to the hamsters' ability to remember what they have learned. “Without it,” he said, "They can't remember anything."

            Like all other animals, Siberian hamsters normally develop what amounts to street smarts about their environment.

But when Ruby interrupted their circadian system, the hamsters failed to demonstrate the same evidence of remembering their environment as hamsters with normally functioning circadian systems.

Until now, it has never been shown that the circadian system is crucial to learning and memory. This finding has implications for diseases that include problems with learning or memory deficits, such as Down Syndrome or Alzheimer's disease. The work is described in a paper published Oct. 1 online in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Ruby is lead author on the paper.

“Losing Their Rhythm Cost Them A Lot”

            And here’s something very interesting:  According to one of the researchers, “We thought it might be possible to wipe out circadian rhythms and eliminate the rhythm in learning, but that the animals could still learn something.  But they don't. That is what was so surprising. They actually can't remember anything. Losing their rhythms costs them a lot.”

            And it is not about the overall number of hours slept.  It is about WHEN: "What our data are showing is that these animals still performed terribly on a simple learning task, even though they're getting loads of sleep. What this says is that the circadian system really is necessary for something that is deeply important: learning."

            More and more research is showing how important not only the amount of sleep you get – but also when you get it.  Make sure you read this month’s “Tip Of The Month” to discover some great ways to get enough sleep and stay in your circadian rhythm!

            But first… onward to…

The Health Benefits Of Vitamin D!

Once linked to only bone diseases such as rickets and osteoporosis, Vitamin D is now recognized as a major player in contributing to overall human health, emphasizes UC Riverside's Anthony Norman, an international expert on Vitamin D.

In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Norman identifies Vitamin D's potential for contributions to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity. In addition, access to adequate amounts of Vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer.

Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to Vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus.

According to Norman, deficiency of Vitamin D can impact all 36 organs. Already, Vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle strength decrease, high risk for falls, and increased risk for colorectal, prostate, breast and other major cancers.

"It is becoming increasingly clear to researchers in the field that Vitamin D is strongly linked to several diseases," said Norman, a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and of biomedical sciences who has worked on Vitamin D for more than 45 years. "Its biological sphere of influence is much broader than we originally thought. The nutritional guidelines for Vitamin D intake must be carefully reevaluated to determine the adequate intake, balancing sunlight exposure with dietary intake, to achieve good health by involving all 36 target organs."

How Much Vitamin D?

"To optimize good health, you must have enough Vitamin D," Norman said. "Vitamin D deficiency is also especially of concern in third world countries that have poor nutritional practices and religious customs that require the body to be covered from head to toe. Ideally, to achieve the widest frequency of good health by population, we need to have 90 percent of the people with adequate amounts of Vitamin D."

The recommended daily intake of Vitamin D is 200 international units (IU) for people up to 50 years old. The recommended daily intake of Vitamin D is 400 IU for people 51 to 70 years old and 600 IU for people over 70 years old. Norman's recommendation for all adults is to have an average daily intake of at least 2,000 IU.

While deficiency of Vitamin D impacts health negatively, ingestion of extremely high doses of Vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia, a condition in which the blood's calcium level is above normal. The highest daily “safe” dose of Vitamin D is 10,000 IU. 

One last note: You should NOT take this as medical advice to take a certain amount of Vitamin D.  This newsletter is only providing current information about health topics.  Please consult with your doctor before taking any supplements.

«In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1907, Oklahoma became the last USA state to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

«The abbreviation of Xmas for Christmas is not irreligious. The first letter of the word Christ in Greek is chi, which is identical to our X. Xmas was originally an ecclesiastical abbreviation that was used in tables and charts. In the early days of printing, when font sizes were limited and type was set by hand, abbreviations and ditto marks were used liberally.

«Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorate the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided to have the ends bent to depict a shepherd's crook and he would pass them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasn't until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes.

«Early Christmas trees were decorated with fruits, flowers and candles, which were heavy on the tree branches. In the 1800's, German glass blowers began producing glass balls to replace the heavy decorations and called them bulbs.

«The actual gift givers are different in various countries:  England: Father Christmas; France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas); Germany: Christkind (angelic messenger from Jesus), she is a beautiful fair-haired girl with a shining crown of candles; Holland: St Nicholas; Russia: In some parts - Babouschka (a grandmotherly figure), other parts it is Grandfather Frost; Scandinavia: A variety of Christmas gnomes. One is called Julenisse; Spain and South America: The Three Kings; Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch).

Not getting enough sleep during the week and “catching up” on the weekends is not going to do you much good.  The real solution is to go to bed and wake up at the same time each and every day.  So, here are some tips to help you do that.  And yes… we all know it is more difficult than it sounds!

(1) Get Up Earlier - If you want to get to bed earlier and easier, set your alarm for 5 AM and haul yourself out of bed the second you hear it go off -- every single morning.  No matter what. This is the best way to reset your sleep schedule.

(2) Read the Right Material - There’s a time of day when you’ve got to shut off your active mind and let the passive mind take over. This can happen just an hour before bed or just after you get home from work. You’ve got to figure out how long you need to transition out of that active mind that’ll keep you thinking and awake all night, and keep yourself from partaking in any real mind-chatter-activating activities during that time. 

(3) Extinguish All Sources of Light - Any light, even in the minutest amounts, can affect your quality of sleep. If there is a light source in the room, it will decrease your sleep quality. Kill it. Pitch black is the ideal situation. 

(4) Sweep Your Mind for Stray Thoughts - It only takes a couple of minutes to sit down with a pen and pad (or a keyboard) and perform a mind sweep before tucking in for the night. Get every thought on your mind out of your head and into a tangible form. Afterwards, it literally feels like you’ve tipped your worries out into a bucket so that you don’t have to deal with them until you’re ready. 

(5) Avoid Computer and TV Screens - While the picture on your computer screen might look like a bunch of windows and images standing still or moving the way things in real life move, the reality is that the screen is being redrawn so fast that the illusion of motion, or even solidity, is present. While you might not see a bombardment of repetitive flashing, your mind certainly gets hit with the strain of it, and your eyes and brain get stimulated further by it -- meaning you’ll find it harder to get to sleep.

Imagine this: You’re walking through the airport really fast because you’re running late and trying to get to the gate on time, before your flight takes off without you.

            You reach the security but instead of a long, drawn out process that includes a baggage search – you simply pass through a body scanner that…

Reads Your Mind!

            I hope you have pleasant thoughts while you pass through the scanner… because… even though this sounds like science fiction – it’s not.

            Believe it or not, this technology is being tested and perfected as you read this newsletter!

            What this is all about:  Most preventative screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns this old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person — not the device — set to wreak havoc and terror.

 MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors Division in Homeland Security's Directorate for Science and Technology, searches your body for non-verbal cues that predict whether you mean harm to your fellow passengers.

It has a series of sensors and images that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious signs invisible to the naked eye — signals terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack.

But this is no polygraph test. Subjects do not get hooked up or strapped down for a careful reading; those sensors do all the work without any actual physical contact. It's like an X-ray for bad intentions.

Currently, all the sensors and equipment are packaged inside a mobile screening laboratory about the size of a trailer or large truck bed, and just last month, Homeland Security put it to a field test in Maryland, scanning 144 (mostly unwitting) human subjects.

Results of the test are being kept

very “hush-hush!”

Here's how it all works: When the sensors identify that something is off, they transmit warning data to analysts, who decide whether or not to flag passengers for further questioning. The next step involves micro-facial scanning, a measurement of minute muscle movements in the face for clues about mood and intention.

Homeland Security has developed a system to recognize, define and measure seven primary emotions and emotional cues that are reflected in contractions of facial muscles. MALINTENT identifies these emotions and relays the information back to a security screener, almost in real-time.

This whole security array — the scanners and screeners who make up the mobile lab — is called "Future Attribute Screening Technology" — or FAST — because it is designed to get passengers through security in two to four minutes, and often faster.

If you're rushed or stressed, you may send out signals of anxiety, but FAST isn't fooled. It's already good enough to tell the difference between a harried traveler and a terrorist. Even if you sweat heavily by nature, FAST won't mistake you for someone with bad intentions.

Bob Burns, MALINTENT's project leader, said that this is not Big Brother.  Its goal is to “restore a sense of freedom.” Once MALINTENT is rolled out in airports, it could give us a future where we can once again wander onto planes with super-sized cosmetics and all the bottles of water we can carry — and most importantly without that sense of foreboding that has haunted Americans since Sept. 11.

That’s a nice thought.  Now onward to…

The Strange Blackberry Addiction!

            If you have a Blackberry – you know this is true:  A new study of 6,500 traveling executives says 35% of them would choose their PDA over their spouse.

            And get this: Of those polled, 87% said they bring their device into the bedroom.  84% check their emails just before they go to sleep.  80% check them first thing in the morning. 

They Call Them “Crack-Berrys” For a Reason…

"It can actually ruin relationships," said Dr. Susan Bartell, a psychologist and relationship expert.

Of those polled, 62 percent said they love their Blackberry or PDA, and most of them said it makes their life more productive. However, experts suggest, for the sake of your relationship, you might want to occasionally turn them off and spend some quality time with your partner.

From Crack-Berrys To Knee Pain…

            If you have knee pain from arthritis – you are going to find this very interesting.

            Here is why: A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that surgery is no better than other treatments at relieving knee pain caused by arthritis.

86 patients who had an operation experienced no less pain over two years than 86 patients who had physical therapy and took medications to dampen inflammation.

An earlier 2002 study (by the Department of Veterans Affairs) found the same results but had a different design: instead of assigning patients to surgery or medical treatment, it assigned them to real surgery or a sham operation. The real surgery was found to be no better than the sham one. Many orthopedic surgeons denounced the study but in 2003, Medicare decided to stop paying for the operation.

It’s hoped that doctors who were not persuaded by the previous study on the subject will now stop performing the operation.

More Bad News For Young Cell Phone Users

            Startling new research indicates children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use cell phones on a regular basis.

The study, experts say, raises fears that today's young people may suffer an "epidemic" of the disease later in life. At least 9 out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own cell phone, as do more than 40 percent of primary schoolchildren.

Those who started using mobiles young were also five times more likely to get acoustic neuromas, benign but often disabling tumors of the auditory nerve, that usually cause deafness.

(It’s thought that children are at greater risk because their brains are still developing and their smaller head sizes and thinner skulls can potentially allow any damaging radiation to penetrate deeper into their brains.)

By contrast, people who were in their 20’s before using handsets (after their brains were fully developed) were only 50 percent more likely to contract gliomas and just twice as likely to get acoustic neuromas from regular cell phone use.

Did You Know?... If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.  There would be:  57 Asians; 21 Europeans; 14 from the Western Hemisphere; 8 Africans; 52 would be female; 48 would be male; 70 would be non-white; 30 would be white; 70 would be non-Christian; 30 would be Christian; 6 would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the USA; 80 would live in substandard housing; 70 would be unable to read; 50 would suffer from malnutrition; 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth; 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education; and only 1 would own a computer.

            The following is also something to ponder...If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.  If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.  If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world. If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy. If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the US and Canada.

            Someone once said:  What goes around comes around. Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching. Sing like nobody's listening. Live like it's Heaven on Earth.