| Don't miss any of Bottom Line's Daily Health News. Add our address, dailyhealthnews@edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. February 15, 2011  In This Issue...
 The 10 Biggest and Deadliest Heart Myths The number of heart attacks has increased by 27 percent over the past 20 years, in spite of all the supposed advances of modern medicine. What's going on here? Could we be mistaken about some things? Perhaps we're under some major misconceptions about heart disease. Like... Myth #1 -- Heart disease and heart attacks are an inevitable part of aging. Myth #2 -- Cholesterol is the main cause of heart disease and heart attacks. Myth #3 -- Blood pressure drugs help you avoid heart problems and live longer. Myth #4 -- Aggressive, "type A" behavior increases your risk of a heart attack. Myth #5 -- Low-fat, low cholesterol diets are good for you and your heart. Amazingly Simple Pain-Relief Trick We generally assume that when something hurts, the pain is caused by a real biological event -- a wound, an infection, a sprain. But this isn’t always the case. For instance, consider the dramatic example of phantom limb pain, in which people experience sensations -- most often pain -- in an arm or leg that has been amputated. It’s puzzling... and oddly fascinating... all the more so now that neuroscientists have discovered that they can use mirrors (in a complicated arrangement) to trick the brain into "seeing" the missing limb as present -- and that doing so causes the pain to stop! Recently I read about a new effort in which UK scientists have started to develop simpler tricks that people with any kind of pain can do themselves -- no mirrors needed (no drugs either) -- to "fool" their brains into perceiving less pain. It involves simply touching your own body in a certain way. It sounds so appealing -- does it really work? The Brain’s Point of View We will have to wait awhile to see published results on this research, but I didn’t want to wait to learn more about something that sounded so simple, promising and safe! I placed a call to pain psychologist Beth Darnall, PhD, at the Oregon Health & Science University, to ask her opinion on the idea of using your own touch to control pain. Dr. Darnall told me that this works because of a process that scientists call "brain signaling." An ample body of research has shown that often the brain does not distinguish between what is real (that you can see and touch) and what it just believes to be true based on experience. Furthermore, she said, research shows that just thinking negatively about pain can create biochemical changes that show up in MRI brain scans when areas associated with pain light up. In other words, people can literally grow their pain through their thoughts -- so it also makes sense, Dr. Darnall says, that people can use their brains to banish it. Mind Over Pain So what can we do with this intriguing research finding? Here’s Dr. Darnall’s advice on how to put it to use right now... The first step is to become aware of the extent to which chronic pain triggers anxiety and catastrophic thinking (chronic thoughts and feelings of helplessness and doom). This increases stress and worsens pain, so it is crucial to establish ways to calm and center your body and mind -- otherwise you’ll be "at the mercy of anything in the environment, including your own body," said Dr. Darnall. She suggested that a type of counseling called cognitive behavior therapy can be a good way to learn how to eliminate anxiety and catastrophic thinking, noting that studies show that such therapy actually can change -- physically change -- the neural networks of the brain and make them healthier. As far as the self-touch method for pain relief, Dr. Darnall told me about a technique she developed called "bilateral tactile stimulation" that you can learn to use on yourself for pain relief -- though it’s important to start with a practitioner in order to experience how it is properly done. Note: Psychotherapists trained in either Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) are the ones most likely to be familiar with this technique. How it works: Sitting in front of the client, the therapist leads him/her through a guided visualization or deep-relaxation exercise while lightly and rapidly tapping one side and then the other of (for example) the back of the knees or hands -- a place that is easy to reach and comfortable but not the painful spot. This is done for one to three minutes. According to Dr. Darnall, this works to reduce pain in the following ways...
The At-Home Version Once you are familiar with the process and feel ready to try it on yourself, Dr. Darnall suggests an at-home process to follow:
As you become more practiced at this simple pain-relief technique, Dr. Darnall suggested trying to expand your vision of yourself, creating new visualizations where you picture yourself moving more easily around your life, pain-free, exercising and engaging in other activities you enjoy. Keep tapping as you do this... consider it a source of positive energy that you can "tap" at any time you wish! Source(s): Beth Darnall, PhD, assistant professor, department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland.  Why Don't These Doctors Get Sick? They work impossible hours, hang around in germ-infested hospitals and treatment rooms filled with sick people all day -- yet they don't fall ill themselves. Why? We asked hundreds of leading doctors this question and their answers may shock you. They're secretly using blacklisted alternative therapies themselves! Now let more than 250 acclaimed MDs and scientists show you how to...
Travel Alert -- Valley Fever on the Rise If you have a cough and fever that land you in the doctor’s office and he/she asks if you’ve done any traveling lately, it’s not just small talk -- the information you give may help pin down your diagnosis. Doctors all over the US are now on the alert for new cases of a serious health problem affecting residents of and visitors to the southwestern US. Called "valley fever," this flulike illness is being spread by the spores of ground-dwelling fungi, which are easily stirred up and blown about by the wind. While most people exposed to the fungi don’t fall ill, others get quite sick and may end up missing weeks, even months, of work or school. According to the Directors of Health Promotion and Education in Washington, DC, an affiliate of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and an advocate for promoting health and preventing disease, an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people are affected by valley fever each year. Valley fever (one popular name for coccidioidomycosis) is now affecting people in Arizona, New Mexico, southern and central California, desert areas in Texas and Nevada, southern Utah, northern Mexico, and parts of Central America and southern South America. It’s not contagious but, I learned from Clarisse Tsang, MPH, an epidemiologist in the Arizona Department of Health Services, it’s more widespread than was initially thought. Ms. Tsang is the lead author of a paper on valley fever that was published in the November 2010 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases. First documented in Argentina in 1892, the spores are spread when the ground gets stirred up -- such as by farming, construction, military field training, archaeology, gardening, etc. In this study, of the 493 patients interviewed, 44% went to an emergency room and 41% were hospitalized. Ms. Tsang told me that researchers found that patients are suffering with the disease longer than expected, with symptoms typically lasting about four months -- far longer than the 21-day duration that was previously reported. Symptoms may include coughing, fatigue, fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, rash and/or shortness of breath. The severe cases -- in which the fungus spreads from the lungs to other parts of the body, including the skin, bones, joints or brain -- affect about 1% of patients, and African-Americans, Asians and Filipinos, as well as pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems seem to be most vulnerable. Valley fever usually can be treated successfully with prescription antifungal medication (fluconazole and several other drugs known as "azoles"), but the diagnosis often is missed because the symptoms are common to many other illnesses. You can learn more about this problem from the Valley Fever Center for Excellence (www.vfce.arizona.edu) or the Arizona Department of Health Services (www.ValleyFeverArizona.org/ed_mat.htm). Visiting the Desert? If you live in or will be visiting an area where valley fever is known to be a problem, you can follow these simple precautions...
If you have any collection of the symptoms described above for two weeks and are not getting better... and you have visited an area where you may have been exposed to the spores... Ms. Tsang said you should ask your doctor to test you for valley fever. The simple blood or sputum test can be done at a local lab, with results usually available within one to two weeks. Source(s): Clarisse Tsang, MPH, epidemiologist, Office of Infectious Disease Services, Epidemiology & Disease Control Services, Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix. Be well,
Before You Go Swimming in a New Germ Pool It's not news to take steps to boost one's immune system before flying on an airplane. After all, if you spend hours sitting in an enclosed cabin breathing other people's air, someone is bound to have contagions that your body can't fight on its own. There are even products based on this situation -- like Airborne, which is a blend of immune-boosting antioxidants. Years ago, before I started taking Airborne and other immune-boosting steps, I frequently got sick within days of flying. Now, I rarely do. Read on... You received this free E-letter because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Click here to easily subscribe. You can easily unsubscribe by clicking here. To change your e-mail address click here To update your e-mail preferences click here Important: Help your friends live more healthfully -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Need to contact us? Boardroom Inc. Privacy Policy: Required Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The information is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well-being other than to suggest that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The information and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on information in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions. Bottom Line's Daily Health News is a registered trademark of Boardroom, Inc. Copyright (c) 2011 by Boardroom Inc. |
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