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April 4, 2011 
Tap Away Fears and Phobias
How To Get An Instant Intimacy Boost!
Spit Test for Scoliosis
Tumors Dried Up and Gone in 2 Months
Does Whole Milk Help Prevent Diabetes?
  The Best of Mainstream and Natural Medicine
Tamara Eberlein, Editor

Tap Away Fears and Phobias

One rainy night last year, a drunk driver crossed the centerline in a narrow construction zone and smashed nearly head-on into the car my husband, kids and I were in. Though our car was totaled, miraculously no one was badly hurt. But now whenever I drive through construction, even in broad daylight, I feel unduly anxious and afraid.

I would like to get over this -- and I recently learned about a fascinating method that may help. Called Thought Field Therapy (TFT), the technique is designed to help people permanently free themselves from phobias (strong, irrational fears of things that pose little or no actual danger), such as fear of spiders or of public speaking... and even from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that can develop after a terrifying event in which grave harm occurred or was threatened. No medications are used, so there are no side effects. TFT falls within the field of energy psychology (as does the similar Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT, discussed in the January 13, 2011, issue of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line). TFT involves thinking about the feared object or event while tapping specific points on the face and body and humming, counting or moving the eyes.

Since TFT sounded almost too good to be true, I interviewed psychologist Shoshana Garfield, PhD, who uses TFT to help patients overcome phobias and PTSD. She told me that TFT has roots in acupuncture, in that you tap on points that correspond to energy meridians. This helps unblock the body’s energy system, which can become overwhelmed by fear, Dr. Garfield said. TFT also simultaneously provides sensory data to the right brain (the emotional side) and left brain (the logical side). This stimulates activity of both brain hemispheres and of the corpus callosum that connects them... deactivates signals associated with fear-triggered hyperarousal of the limbic system... and "rewires" cognitive function, releasing distress.

Evidence: In a 2010 study, PTSD patients treated with TFT showed dramatic decreases in nightmares, flashbacks, concentration problems, jumpiness, aggression and isolation. Other studies have demonstrated TFT’s effectiveness in reducing depression... and in patients with anxiety disorder, EEG scans showed that abnormal brain wave patterns associated with anxiety normalized after TFT treatment.

Citing the classic example from TFT founder Roger Callahan, PhD, Dr. Garfield described a woman who had a lifelong fear of water. After more than a year of ineffective conventional treatment, Dr. Callahan instructed the woman to tap a spot under each eye while looking at a swimming pool. After a few minutes of tapping, she said that she no longer felt any fear, then ran to the pool and splashed water on her face -- something she could not do previously.

TRYING TFT FOR YOURSELF

For best results, Dr. Garfield recommended working with a psychologist trained in TFT who can provide testimonials from other patients with phobias similar to yours. Referrals: Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (visit www.EnergyPsych.org and click on "membership" and then "member directory")... or Association for the Advancement of Meridian Energy Techniques (visit www.aamet.org and click on "search members and events")... or Dr. Roger Callahan (www.RogerCallahan.com). Results might be seen after just one treatment for a simple phobia or might take nine months or longer for PTSD. Are you skeptical? That’s OK -- because TFT works even if you don’t believe in it, Dr. Garfield noted.

For simple fears that are not deeply interwoven with complex traumas, you may find relief on your own with the tapping sequence below. Practice it several times until you know the steps... then do the sequence whenever you anticipate or encounter the feared object or event. (Use common sense, of course -- for instance, by tapping before you get behind the wheel, rather than while you are driving.) The routine takes just a few minutes and, though it may seem complicated at first, it soon becomes second nature, Dr. Garfield said. Demo: www.YouTube.com/watch?v=ntWUsL5hZJ0.

Step 1: Focus attention on the thing you fear. For instance, visualize a spider or imagine driving through a construction zone. Important: Keep thinking about the object of your fear throughout your TFT session.

Step 2: Rate your fear level on a scale of zero to 10. Zero would indicate no distress whatsoever and 10 would be the worst it could possibly be. Remember this number.

Step 3: Tap. Use the tips of the index and middle fingers of either hand to tap firmly (but not hard enough to hurt) five to 10 times, at a moderately fast pace. First tap four inches below either armpit (about at the center of the band on your bra)... then tap one inch below the center of either eye.

Step 4: Perform the nine-step "gamut sequence." Make a loose fist with your nondominant hand and locate what TFT practitioners call the gamut spot on the back of that hand, in the hollow an inch below the knuckles of the ring and little fingers. Start tapping this gamut spot with the index and middle fingers of your dominant hand.

Continuing tapping, giving five to 10 taps for each of the following actions. Gamut sequence: Open eyes wide... close eyes... open eyes and (keeping head still) look down and to the left... look down and to the right... roll eyes around counterclockwise... roll eyes around clockwise... hum a few bars of any song (activating the right brain)... count aloud from one to five (activating the left brain)... hum again. When finished, repeat the gamut sequence a second time.

Step 5: Rate your fear again, from zero to 10. If your score has dropped to zero, terrific! If it has not, repeat all the TFT steps one or more times, continuing to visualize the object of your phobia. Then, again rate your fear level -- which may now be much lower.

Source: Shoshana Garfield, PhD, is a psychologist, Registered Trauma Specialist and Neurolinguistic Programming Master Practitioner in practice in Uplands, Wales. www.UnlimitedEmotionalFreedom.com


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How To Get An Instant Intimacy Boost!

According to Dr. Harry Fisch, leading fertility expert and regular contributor on The Dr. Oz Show, one of the top complaints from his female patients is that they experience occasional dryness, which creates pain and reduces desire for intercourse. In fact, "The Journal of Sexual Medicine" states that nearly one out of every three women experience some form of pain during intercourse.

As a result, Dr. Fisch, in collaboration with Dr. Andrew L. Rubman, natural medicine expert, has created the new Sexual Health Formula-Lubricating Warming Gel as the perfect solution. Its all natural formula contains L-Arginine and Niacin which promote increased blood flow supporting sensitivity, satisfaction and response. There is:

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Spit Test for Scoliosis

Q: My 12-year-old granddaughter was just diagnosed with scoliosis. I heard that a saliva test can determine whether she needs to wear a brace to straighten her spine. Is that true?

A: The test does exist -- and it can save some children from the unnecessary hardship of wearing a brace through their early adolescent years. Called ScoliScore, the test looks at various chromosomal markers in saliva and uses a formula to assess a patient’s chance of developing severe scoliosis. Possible scores range from zero to 200, with a score of 200 signaling a very high likelihood that a patient’s scoliosis will become severe.

Right now, the test is approved only for use in a narrow subset of patients -- Caucasian girls and boys ages nine to 13 who have adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and whose curves are currently between 10° and 25°. Children with very low scores on the test can skip bracing because their spinal curves are unlikely to progress. Those with midrange scores may indeed benefit from bracing. Those with high scores do not need to wear a brace because it would offer no benefit -- their curves are very likely to progress within a few years to the point where surgery is necessary. Bracing would not simplify or delay surgery, so it is best to spare these children the emotional impact of wearing a brace.

The ScoliScore test is now widely available. It is usually covered by insurance.

Source: Barbara Kreski is a registered licensed occupational therapist and director of horticultural therapy services at the Chicago Botanic Garden. www.ChicagoBotanic.org/therapy


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Tumors Dried Up and Gone in 2 Months

"Within two months, every tumor had shrunk, dried up and fallen off," said Tom to Dr. Gary Null about the miraculous disappearance of his rapidly spreading cancer.

Tom had already gone through surgery once for skin cancer on his forehead. Unfortunately, his skin cancer was melanoma. Just 10 days after the operation, the cancer was back with a vengeance. It reappeared on his forehead, and quickly spread to his arm, upper body and chest.

Four doctors all agreed: There was nothing they could do to cure this cancer. They all still wanted to operate. But Tom wanted to live -- not just get sliced up.


Read on...

Does Whole Milk Help
Prevent Diabetes?

We’re often told to forgo whole milk, cheese and yogurt in favor of low-fat or skim -- but recent research suggests that the higher-fat dairy foods may provide significant protection against diabetes. Background: Dairy products naturally contain a fatty acid called trans-palmitoleic acid. The higher the dairy fat content, the more trans-palmitoleic acid. People who consume whole-fat dairy foods tend to have higher blood levels of trans-palmitoleic acid.

New study: In 1992, researchers took blood samples from 3,736 adults, then followed the participants for 14 years. Results: Compared with people whose blood levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were lowest, those whose blood levels were highest were 62% less likely to develop diabetes... and they also had more healthful levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin and C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) and slightly less body fat. Theory: Trans-palmitoleic acid affects metabolism in beneficial ways.

This is a very exciting finding, given the current epidemic of diabetes. However, it is possible that people with low trans-palmitoleic acid were generally consuming foods that were less healthful and that this accounted for their greater diabetes risk. In any event, more research is needed before experts would start suggesting that people routinely choose whole-milk dairy products over low-fat or skim. In the meantime, ask your doctor for guidelines on dairy consumption, especially if you’ve been told that you’re at risk for diabetes.

Source: Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, is codirector of the cardiovascular epidemiology program and an associate professor in the division of cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, all in Boston.


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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 or coauthor of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. Her latest book is the updated, third edition of When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads (HarperCollins). She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 25 years, college-age twins and teenaged son.
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