The Smell of Depression

Don’t miss any Bottom Line Secrets. Add our address, bottomlinesecrets@news.bottomlinepublishing.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. June 1, 2011 NEW: Have You Heard of the OTHER Government Backed "Pension Program?" Best Ways to Check Your Score Marge Couldn't Remember Her Phone Number... But Now Her Brain Is 20 Years Younger... Protect Your Sense of Smell Erase Tumors in 2 Months Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, You may think you know the score -- but when it comes to your credit rating, you could be in the dark. John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com, reveals how credit companies and other lenders may be driving your credit rating down without you knowing it, even if you’ve done nothing wrong and never miss a single payment. Don’t let your reputation be falsely tarnished, Ulzheimer says. You may know that our sense of smell tends to diminish with age... but did you also know that this can be a hidden symptom of vitamin deficiency, diabetes and even depression? Alan Hirsch, MD, founder and neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, tells you how to protect your sense of smell -- and shares three helpful remedies to improve it if it’s impaired. Even better: He describes a do-it-yourself smell test you can take with instant results to see if your sniffer is up to snuff. All the best, Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com Don’t forget to check out Bottom Line President Marjory Abrams’ latest blog posting: Super-Effective Allergy Defense for This Rotten Allergy Season. And don’t forget to share your thoughts on the blog with Margie. NEW: Have You Heard of the OTHER Government Backed "Pension Program?" It’s official, Social Security is heading for broke! But that doesn’t mean you should miss out on the retirement you deserve... Most Americans know nothing about this, but a small, savvy group of retirees have been collecting from this other Government backed "pension program" since 1972! Now income specialist Jim Nelson shows how you could too in a brand new presentation. Click here to watch it instantly. Best Ways to Check Your Score John Ulzheimer By far the most important piece of information about your creditworthiness is your FICO credit score. Today’s lenders and insurance companies rarely dig into the details of a credit report. They typically just check the FICO score -- which can vary somewhat depending on which credit-reporting agency’s data is used -- and judge the applicant based on this score. Even though there are ways to get estimated FICO scores and alternative credit scores for free, there are only two places to obtain your true FICO score, and neither is free... Fair Isaac, which compiles the FICO score (800-319-4433, www.MyFICO.com. $19.95). Equifax (866-493-9788, www.Equifax.com, select "Equifax Products," click the "Single Use Products" tab, then select "Complete Report." $39.95). In May 2010, the US Senate approved an amendment to a financial industry overhaul bill that would give consumers a free look at their credit scores when they are rejected for a loan, credit card, insurance rate or apartment based on their scores. Meanwhile, several free online credit score estimator tools can give you a reasonable idea where your score likely stands, including... Bankrate.com (www.Bankrate.com/calculators.aspx, select "FICO Score Estimator" from the "Credit Card Calculators" section). SmartCredit.com (www.SmartCredit.com, select "Smart Credit Report"). This is the site I work for. Quizzle.com (www.Quizzle.com). Be skeptical of "free credit score" offers. Many of these contain hidden costs... and the score provided is unlikely to be a FICO credit score. Each of us is entitled to receive a free copy of a credit report (which does not include a credit score but does give details of your credit history) each year from AnnualCreditReport.com. To protect yourself from identity theft and incorrect information, scan your report for listings that you don’t recognize or that don’t seem accurate. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for SmartCredit.com, a credit information Web site, Atlanta. He formerly worked with credit-rating organizations Fair Isaac (FICO) and Equifax. Marge Couldn't Remember Her Phone Number... But Now Her Brain Is 20 Years Younger... "I used to have a great memory," Marge told Dr. Ray Sahelian. "All my life I've worked with numbers," this former bookkeeper explained... "But now I can't remember simple phone numbers... it's so frustrating!" She'd lose things right after she put them down -- it was demoralizing. She was only 71, but she felt like a useless antique. Other doctors might have shrugged and said, "Sorry Marge, you're getting old... " But Dr. Ray Sahelian reversed her frightening decline with a handful of natural nutrients. Soon Marge's memory picked up dramatically, and she was focused all day. Marge now says she hasn't thought so clearly in 20 years... Learn more... Protect Your Sense of Smell Alan Hirsch, MD Up to 15 million Americans suffer from a severe-to-total loss of sense of smell. By age 65, up to half of adults have a reduced sense of smell. What to do... CAUSES It’s estimated that the average adult can detect between 10,000 and 30,000 distinct odors. The nasal membranes are lined with cellular receptors that match the shape of different scent molecules. These molecules bind to cell walls at the top of the nose, where they trigger the release of neurochemicals. These, in turn, generate nerve signals that stimulate the parts of the brain that identify different scents. Cigarette smokers are far more likely to experience a loss of smell than nonsmokers. Damage to the sense of smell also can be caused by brain injury, nasal polyps, a brain tumor or nervous system diseases, such as Parkinson’s. Other causes: Diabetes, a deficiency of some B vitamins and sometimes the use of cholesterol-lowering statins or antihypertensive drugs. Many patients with a diminished sense of smell also suffer from chronic depression or anxiety disorders. It’s possible that the air contains yet-to-be-identified molecules with druglike, antianxiety effects -- benefits that don’t occur in those with smelling disorders. smell test To test for a diminished sense of smell, most doctors take an alcohol pad and hold it beneath the patient’s chin. (You can do this at home with an alcohol pad from a first-aid kit.) If you can smell alcohol at that distance, your sense of smell is fine. If you can smell the alcohol only when the pad is raised closer to your nose, you have a problem. Self-test: Put vanilla ice cream in one bowl and chocolate ice cream in another. Close your eyes, and move the bowls around so that you don’t know which is which. Take a taste from each bowl. Because taste is largely determined by smell, an inability to tell them apart indicates that there’s a problem somewhere in your olfactory system. What to Do Often, when the underlying problem is corrected, the sense of smell returns. People who quit smoking usually regain all or most of their sense of smell, but this can take years. Also... The nutrients thiamine (100 milligrams daily) and phosphatidylcholine (9 grams daily) can elevate levels of neurotransmitters that improve the sense of smell. In one study, about 40% of patients improved significantly after taking phosphatidylcholine for three months. The success rate with thiamine is somewhat lower. Sniff therapy. People who expose themselves to the same scent 20 to 50 times a day for several weeks will have an increase in scent receptors and will sometimes regain their ability to smell that particular scent. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Alan Hirsch, MD, founder and neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. He is a neurologist and psychiatrist, and author of Life’s a Smelling Success (Authors of Unity) and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Sinusitis (Grand Central). www.smellandtaste.org. Erase Tumors in 2 Months 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 to learn what Tom did to save his life... Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. But the use of these opinions is no substitute for legal, accounting, investment, medical and other professional services to suit your specific personal needs. Always consult a competent professional for answers to your specific questions. Bottom Line Secrets is a registered trademark of Boardroom Inc. 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