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April 21, 2011  In This Issue... - Are Wheat And Grains Tearing Up Your Gut?
- Make Your Brain Bigger in Eight Weeks
- New INSTANT Cure for Extra High Cholesterol -- Cholesterol Drops 100 Points or More
- Does Botox Cause Wrinkles?
- 5 Little-Known Ways to Reduce Arthritis Pain
Are Wheat And Grains Tearing Up Your Gut? Do you find it downright difficult to eat certain foods -- like grains, tomatoes, peanuts, soy or meats -- without unleashing embarrassing gas, bloating, stomach cramping or loose bowels? Maybe your doctor has told you that you’re lactose intolerant. Or you’re allergic to wheat products and glutens. Either way, your digestive problems are making meal times stressful -- and they’re wreaking havoc with your health. If you’re sick and tired of putting up with your "sensitive stomach," you should be aware that scientific research now shows little-known molecules called lectins can mimic all sorts of health problems including headaches... poor concentration... skin problems... bloating and puffiness... weight gain... constant fatigue... mucus build-up... upset stomach... and unexplainable coughs and illnesses. But you’ll be relieved to know that a new medical breakthrough can help calm your stomach troubles by reducing and even eliminating... - Food sensitivities -- especially to gluten
- Food allergies -- including grains, legumes, nuts and dairy
- Cravings
- Post-meal fatigue
- Stomach gurgling, cramps and diarrhea
Put your digestive problems to rest and enjoy eating your favorite foods again. Click here for relief!
Make Your Brain Bigger in Eight Weeks So you still don’t meditate? Join the club -- it’s a big one. But there’s also a compelling new reason for all of us to finally do it: There is now scientific proof that meditating changes the brain in ways that allow people to feel better about their lives. How great is that? The new research found that meditation is not only pleasant and stress-reducing, but that it actually brings lasting physiological changes that are health-enhancing -- for example, giving people an improved sense of self and lower levels of anxiety. Mind-Expanding Benefits If you’re thinking "yes, well, we already knew that about meditation," let me explain that actually, we didn’t. It’s true that there have been many reports on why meditating is thought to be healthful, but this particular study is new and very newsworthy because it shows how the brain literally expands with meditation. The research team, led by scientists from Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital, designed its research to be very clear on cause and effect, using brain imaging technology to measure how the brains of people who meditated changed over the eight-week study period. They found that a particular form of meditation known as mindfulness meditation altered gray matter in several parts of the brain. The study was reported in the January 30, 2011, issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. I spoke with study senior author Sara Lazar, PhD, an associate research scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, who talked more about how meditation changes your brain. Sixteen volunteers open to trying meditation for stress reduction participated in an eight-week program of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Participants met weekly for two and a half hours to practice meditation exercises aimed at improving well-being, reducing stress and increasing mindfulness. (Mindfulness is defined as being completely aware of the present moment and taking a nonjudgmental approach to your feelings and thoughts.) The participants were also given audio recordings with 45-minute guided mindfulness exercises that they were asked to do at home -- they reported spending an average of 27 minutes a day on the exercises. Results: Compared with self-reports recorded prior to the study, the participants indicated significant improvements in mindfulness on a questionnaire that they completed at the end of the study. That’s consistent with earlier research, but the most significant aspect of this study was that researchers also did MRI scans of participants’ brains before and after the program... and these scans were the first to show structural changes in the brain. In particular, meditation produced beneficial changes in those areas associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. None of these changes were seen in the MRI images of a control group of nonmeditators taken at similar intervals. Specifically, the researchers found that compared with people in the control group, the meditators had increased brain volume and/or density in several areas that are beneficial to health and mental function, including the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory... the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ), which is associated with compassion and empathy... and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), an area responsible for sense of self and introspection. "Other researchers have found changes in learning and memory, attention and compassion as a result of meditation, so these changes in the brain areas may explain their findings," says Dr. Lazar. The researchers also found that, consistent with prior studies, the practice of meditation led to decreased gray matter density in the amygdala, a brain area that plays an important role in fear, anxiety and stress -- changes that correlate with participant-reported reductions in stress at the completion of the study. "Many studies have documented that mindfulness meditation is effective for reducing stress," Dr. Lazar noted. "But this study shows what underlies the improvement." How They Did It The study participants engaged in three different types of mindfulness training exercises... - Sitting meditation. They were taught to become highly aware of the sensation of breathing and then to expand that to include awareness of sights, sounds, tastes and other body sensations as well as thoughts and emotions. Unlike other forms of meditation, mindfulness meditation does not involve repeatedly saying something out loud, such as a mantra or affirmation.
- Mindful yoga. This type of yoga consists of gentle stretching exercises and slow movements, always coordinated with the breath. Dr. Lazar told me that this type of yoga emphasizes the moment-to-moment experience and a "nonharming" attitude toward the body that pays attention to any bodily limitations.
- Guided body scans. In this exercise, your attention is guided sequentially through your entire body while you observe with nonjudgmental awareness the sensations in each region. Ultimately, you’ll have an awareness of your body as a complete whole.
How You Can Do It This particular study involved people who reported themselves as being under stress but, said Dr. Lazar, other research has shown that anyone can benefit from meditation. Eight-week mindfulness meditation training, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is taught in numerous clinics around the country. Participants receive stress-reduction education and recordings of guided meditation to practice at home. The cost varies, typically ranging from $200 to $525 for the course. You can find the classes closest to where you live by going to http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/home/index.aspx (click on "The Stress Reduction Program," then "Find MBSR Programs Worldwide" at the bottom of the page). Meditation is a low-cost, easy and effective way to improve your health and better your life, and there appears to be absolutely no downside to it -- what are you waiting for? Source(s):
Sara Lazar, PhD, instructor in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, associate research scientist, Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
New INSTANT Cure for Extra High Cholesterol -- Cholesterol Drops 100 Points or More Do you have stubborn high cholesterol? Would you love to get your count under control without having to depend on expensive prescription drugs? Changing your diet can help, of course. But here’s something better. This breakthrough new therapy instantly filters excess cholesterol from your body. And it’s completely safe. This new therapy takes only a matter of minutes and lowers unhealthy cholesterol like no drug known to science. At the same time, it triggers a reduction in C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, substances that can increase the risk for blood clots. Patients who receive the therapy report a rapid reduction in cardiovascular symptoms such as angina. Read more...
Does Botox Cause Wrinkles? Have you heard the news? The media has been reporting that Botox, the extremely popular wrinkle reducer, actually can cause wrinkles! The truth is, this "news flash" originated in a 2002 paper written by dermatologist David Becker, MD, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College. It appears that Dr. Becker’s paper has surfaced again, all these years later, to the dismay of some dermatologists -- and their patients -- worried about whether their efforts to look younger might end up making them look older. It’s True... Given the millions of dollars being spent each year on Botox, I thought it important to find the truth, so I checked in with Ellen Marmur, MD, who has worked closely with Dr. Becker and is now the chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. She is also the author of the book Simple Skin Beauty. Why Botox causes wrinkles: Dr. Marmur explained to me that our faces have about 40 muscles, many of which are in interlaced groups. Dr. Becker’s theory is that when Botox is injected to deaden one group (thereby eliminating certain wrinkles), the patient’s brain sometimes adjusts by "recruiting" other muscle groups in the same part of the face to frown or laugh or do whatever the treated muscles once did. The temporary result is... new wrinkles! Dr. Marmur told me that this happens most often after Botox injections between the brows -- when the person attempts to frown, the brain recruits muscles next to the upper nose creating what’s been described as "bunny lines" on either side. Why bunny lines? Because the face looks like a sniffing rabbit. Other unwanted new visitors to your face may include vertical lines above the middle of the eyebrow or a deepened horizontal forehead line right above the eyebrows. Dr. Becker suggests for patients who already have this problem that an additional shot of Botox (or two) targeting the new problem area may be the solution. Dr. Marmur concurs... but added that for a dermatologist working with a new patient, the best strategy is to start with a "less is more" approach to learn the minimum amount of Botox needed to smooth out wrinkles. Botox can take a few weeks to achieve its full effect, so starting with a minimal amount can let doctors see which patients develop bunny lines or other new wrinkles and then try to eliminate them with small additional injections. Dr. Marmur noted that, when it’s all done right, you will have a natural, refreshed look -- but that Botox therapy is always a work in progress. So expect that a touch-up about two weeks after the initial injection might be necessary... or even that you might let one area wear off and not do that site next time. As our faces age, the treatments are likely to change. Be Careful Out There Choosing to have Botox for cosmetic purposes is a personal decision, but it should not be a casual one. If you are interested, be sure to select a dermatologist who is highly professional about medical procedures and the use of Botox. This would include taking your complete medical history... advising you on what to expect as well as alternative noninvasive treatments that might be more appropriate... performing the procedure at a facility that is appropriate for medical procedures and capable of handling medical emergencies. You should have Botox done only by a trained cosmetic doctor, such as a dermatologist. There are a lot of nondoctors administering Botox these days in spas and kiosks at the mall, and there even are self-injections that you can buy off the Internet -- as if getting Botox is just a breeze. It isn’t -- it’s a toxin that’s injected into the body... safe for most people, but only if administered correctly. Source(s): Ellen Marmur, MD, chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City, and author of Simple Skin Beauty (Atria).
5 Little-Known Ways to Reduce Arthritis Pain If you have arthritis, you've probably tried painkillers and heating pads. You may have even tried drugs like Celebrex® or supplements like glucosamine. But here are five little-known remedies that you probably haven't tried. They're safe... they're inexpensive... and they can dramatically curb your symptoms. Read on...
Be well, 
Carole Jackson
Bottom Line's Daily Health News
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