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to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. | January 13, 2011 | |  |  | Tap Away Your Food Cravings | | | Perfect Painkillers... | | | Promising New Treatment for Painful Heels | | | The Great Cholesterol Hoax | | | Preventing Arm Swelling After Breast Cancer Surgery | | | |  |  | |  | |
 | | Tap Away Your Food Cravings Do you have a food Waterloo -- a recurrent craving for a certain favorite unhealthful food that you just can’t resist? Though it seems almost too good to be true, a new Australian study suggests that you can eliminate food cravings by simply tapping yourself while using something called the emotional freedom technique (EFT). The study, led by clinical psychologist Peta Stapleton, PhD, of Griffith University School of Medicine in Australia, included 96 overweight or obese adults whose food cravings were assessed at the start of the trial. One group was taught EFT, which involves tapping on a sequence of acupressure points on the face and body while focusing attention on a specific craved food. This group met with researchers for a two-hour session once a week for four weeks. The other group did not meet with researchers or learn EFT -- instead, researchers waited to see if, by doing nothing, this group’s cravings would diminish over time. The astonishing results: At the end of four weeks, when both groups’ craving levels were reassessed, participants in the non-EFT group still craved their foods as much as before -- but for 89% of the EFT group, cravings had vanished. Twelve months later: EFT group members remained free of cravings for the foods that they had "tapped on" -- and most had lost a significant amount of weight. (For study details, visit www.FoodCraving.com.au.) How does it work? Tapping on certain acupressure points -- which correspond to the energy meridian endpoints in traditional Chinese medicine -- while focusing on a specific issue seems to desensitize the amygdala, an area of the brain linked to desire and instant gratification, Dr. Stapleton said. How to do EFT: Follow the guidelines below whenever you experience a craving. Sometimes a single EFT session completely removes a craving... for deeply rooted cravings, you may need to do several tapping sessions over a week’s time. To download a free diagram of tapping points, visit www.PetaStapleton.com/research and click on the "EFT Basic Recipe" link. [Editor’s note: I also like the free photo guide at www.EFTtappingTechniques.com/eft-tapping/eft-tapping-points-eft-guide.] Start with the setup... - In either hand, hold the specific food you crave, such as a chocolate bar or some potato chips... smell and/or even taste it. If a craving strikes when the actual food is not handy, imagine that you are holding it. Continue holding or imagining the food and concentrating on it throughout the EFT session.
- Take one deep breath... let it out. Rate your craving level on a scale of zero (nonexistent) to 10 (extremely intense).
- With the tips of the index and middle fingers of the hand that is not holding the food (or with either hand if you are imagining the food), rub or tap the fleshy outer edge (the "karate chop" spot) of the other hand for about four seconds while saying aloud, "Even though I love chocolate [or fried chicken or whatever you crave] and it tastes amazing, I completely and sincerely accept myself." This statement is necessary, Dr. Stapleton said, because "change begins with self-acceptance of where you are now -- so be honest about how you feel about the food."
Next, do the tapping sequence... - Using the tips of the index and middle fingers of the hand that is not holding the food (or with either or both hands if you are imagining the food), tap seven to 10 times at a moderate pace on each acupressure point listed below, in order. (It doesn’t matter whether you tap on the right or left side of the face or body.) While tapping, repeat, "I really love chocolate, I really love chocolate," or whatever the craved food is.
- Tap these eight points in sequence -- the inner edge of the eyebrow... outer corner of the eye... just below the center of the eye... under the nose... in the center of your chin... below the collarbone, several inches to the side of your sternum... along the side of your body, several inches below your armpit... and on the crown of your head.
- Take one deep breath... let it out. Again rate your craving intensity from zero to 10.
- Repeat the eight-point tapping sequence (omitting the setup)... take one deep breath... then rate your craving level again. Continue the sequence until your craving level reaches zero or one. In Dr. Stapleton’s study, it usually took only about 15 minutes of tapping for cravings to disappear.
- If you crave more than one type of food, repeat the process, focusing on one specific food at a time.
Skeptical? Give EFT a try anyway -- it can work even if you don’t start out believing in it, Dr. Stapleton said. You have nothing to lose except your cravings. Source: Peta Stapleton, PhD, is a registered clinical psychologist and senior lecturer at Griffith University School of Medicine in Gold Coast, Southport, Australia. She also has been in private practice in Queensland for 18 years. Dr. Stapleton won an award from the Australian Psychological Society for research on women’s issues and is the author of three books, including Your Mind Power: Strategies for Behaviour Change (Hybrid). www.PetaStapleton.com
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 | | Promising New Treatment for Painful Heels If you dread getting out of bed because it hurts to put weight on your heel (particularly in the morning or after standing for a long time), chances are that you have plantar fasciitis -- persistent, painful inflammation of a large ligament on the bottom of the foot. Usually it is treated with rest, exercises, splints and arch supports... steroid injections... a series of shockwave treatments (often uncomfortable)... or surgery. Encouraging: A recent study investigated a new single-treatment therapy. Under ultrasound guidance, after injecting local anesthesia, researchers repeatedly punctured affected areas with a needle, creating a bit of bleeding (which hastens healing by increasing blood flow to the area)... then injected an anti-inflammatory steroid. Results: 95% of study participants were symptom-free within three weeks and remained so throughout the four- to six-month follow-up period. Best: If you have severe plantar fasciitis that has not responded to noninvasive therapies, talk to your podiatrist about this technique, called dry-needling with steroid injection. More research is needed before it could become standard protocol -- but results are promising. Source: Luca M. Sconfienza, MD, is a radiologist at Policlinico San Donato in Milan, Italy, and lead author of a study of 44 people, presented at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
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 | | The Great Cholesterol Hoax The #1 prescription drug in America is a cholesterol drug. It rakes in about $8 billion a year. And three of the top 15 drugs are in the same category. They’re called statin drugs, but some experts call them a hoax. Did you know that... Cholesterol-reducing statin drugs are just patented knockoffs of a simple food that Asians have eaten for centuries. You can buy it in pill form in any health-food store -- yet drug companies charge $1,740 a year for it! And, for those who choose to stick with their statins, they’re all pretty much the same. If you must take a prescription statin, ask for the cheapest one. There’s no proof the statin that’s #1 is any better than the generics. | |
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| | | Preventing Arm Swelling After Breast Cancer Surgery When a friend of mine went to her first breast cancer support group meeting, she was surprised that the conversation revolved around something she had never heard of -- lymphedema. This condition -- which involves mild to extreme swelling, usually in the arm -- can cause significant pain, loss of arm function, disfigurement and emotional distress. Symptoms can develop soon after surgery or may appear months or even years later. According to the National Cancer Institute, as many as 56% of breast cancer patients experience it within two years after surgery. Good news: A recent Spanish study suggests that physical therapy (PT) provided soon after breast cancer surgery can significantly reduce the risk of developing lymphedema. One group of breast cancer patients who did not have lymphedema received typical instruction on prevention strategies... a second group got instruction plus three sessions of PT per week for three weeks. After one year, 25% of the instruction-only group had developed lymphedema -- compared with only 7% of the PT group. I asked physical therapist Gwen White, PT, coauthor of Lymphedema: A Breast Cancer Patient’s Guide to Prevention and Healing and a lymphedema specialist at Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Oregon, to explain how PT helps... Lymphedema lesson. The lymphatic system, which is part of the immune and circulatory systems, helps clean the body’s tissues and maintain its balance of fluids. It includes vessels that carry lymph fluid through the body, plus nodes that filter out waste. White explained that, if part of the lymphatic system is damaged, lymph fluid can accumulate in nearby tissues, triggering severe swelling, increasing infection risk and eventually causing skin to thicken and harden. Breast cancer patients are at risk because one or more lymph nodes typically are removed during a mastectomy or lumpectomy and because radiation therapy can produce scar tissue -- and both these factors can interrupt lymph flow. What happens in PT. Specially trained physical therapists in the US use the same techniques to prevent and treat lymphedema as the Spanish researchers used. Many insurance policies cover PT -- check with your carrier. Generally therapy includes... Manual lymph drainage: This gentle massage technique moves lymph fluid away from areas that are swollen or at risk for swelling and into areas where it can drain normally. During the 45- to 60-minute massage, the therapist "presses no harder than she would on a newborn baby’s head," said White. Caution: Deep-tissue massage must be avoided, as it can bring on lymphedema even years after surgery. Scar tissue massage: Surgery and radiation can leave inflexible scars that inhibit lymph flow. Massage techniques using heavier pressure stretch and soften scar tissue. Lymph drainage exercises: Specific exercises, done in sequence, help pump lymph fluid through the lymphatic pathways. A typical routine includes pelvic tilts, partial sit-ups, neck rotations, shoulder shrugs, elbow bends and wrist circles. Self-care instruction: PT patients learn lymphedema-minimizing strategies for home use, including self-massage... exercises... abdominal breathing (which acts as a pump to stimulate lymph flow)... hydration, diet and weight control... infection avoidance... stress reduction... use of a compression garment (a special sleeve that limits lymph accumulation)... and application of elastic Kinesio tape, which lifts the skin to promote lymph flow. Prevention policy problem. Given the Spanish study’s findings about PT’s effectiveness in preventing lymphedema, you would think that all breast cancer patients would get PT -- but that’s not happening. "Ideally, patients would be referred for PT before or shortly after surgery... but doctors tend to send patients to PT only if signs of lymphedema occur," White said. Self-defense: Don’t wait for lymphedema to develop. Even if you show no signs of it after breast surgery, ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist with expertise in lymphedema... or find one through the National Lymphedema Network (800-541-3259, www.LymphNet.org). If any symptoms do appear, alert your physician without delay. Unless treated promptly, lymphedema can worsen quickly and eventually become chronic. The area may not look swollen at first, so watch for warning signs -- a sensation of fullness, heaviness, heat, numbness or "pins and needles" in the arm, hand, breast or side of the torso. Source: Gwen White, PT, is a physical therapist and lymphedema specialist with Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Oregon, and coauthor of Lymphedema: A Breast Cancer Patient’s Guide to Prevention and Healing (Hunter House).
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 |  |  Tamara Eberlein, the editor of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line, has been a health journalist for nearly three decades. An award-winning author of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 25 years, college-age twins and teenaged son. |  | | Bottom Line Publications | 281 Tresser Boulevard, 8th Floor | Stamford, CT 06901
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