Are You Taking NSAIDs (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)?
Short-term use of NSAIDs can be helpful, especially when used for inflammation that comes from traumatic injuries (sprains, strains, accidents, etc.). They can be effective in relieving pain and inflammation associated with chronic pain syndromes including all forms of arthritis and for some who suffer from FMS. However, long-term use of these medications can cause a host of unwanted side effects. None of these medications actually correct the cause of pain. In fact they can accelerate joint destruction and cause intestinal permeability (which leads to more inflammation).
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as Bextra, Mobic, Ibuprofen, Daypro, Naprosyn, Alleve, and Celebrex, contribute to 10,000-20,000 DEATHS A YEAR.
A person taking NSAIDS is seven times more likely to be hospitalized for gastrointestinal adverse effects. The FDA estimates that 200,000 cases gastric bleeding annually and that this leads to 10,000 to 20,000 deaths each year.
High Blood Pressure
NSAIDs can cause high blood pressure. In one study, 41% of those who had recently started on medication to lower their blood pressure were also taking NSAIDs. NSAIDs more than double a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure.
There are numerous safe and effective natural options for controlling chronic arthritis pain. One of my favorites is a combination of glucosamine and chondroiten sulfate combined with proven inflammation squelching herbal extracts.
The Arthro Support Formula has helped thousands of people reduce and eliminate their arthritis pain.
Arthro Support Contains: glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate, both proven effective in reducing osteoarthritis symptoms and rebuilding degenerated joint cartilage. Studies in Milan, Italy, showed glucosamine to reduce arthritis symptoms by one-half in 73% of participants and completely in 20% of participants.
Boswelia, one of the oldest herbs in Indian medicine. It shrinks inflamed tissue, builds cartilage, increases blood supply, and repairs damaged blood vessels.
Bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme derived from pineapple. Over 200 medical journal articles attest to its effectiveness in treating such conditions as inflammation, pancreatic insufficiency, and respiratory disease. It blocks inflammatory chemicals and digests excess fibrin, a chemical contributing to osteoarthritis, sciatica, ankylosing spondylitis, and scleroderma.
Turmeric, a perennial plant and powerful pain relieving anti-inflammatory as strong as hydrocortisone but without the side effects. It is a popular arthritis remedy in India. Devil’s Claw, a perennial vine and potent anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Studies in Germany have shown this herbal medication to be very effective in relieving low back pain and associated sciatica.
Physical Exercise and Stress Reduction
Physical exercise is something that is necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Make sure to balance any exercise routine with aerobic, weight bearing, and relaxation exercises. Each form of exercise can be considered an opportunity for stress reduction.
Exercise also improves brain function and can help prevent dementia. Even moderate exercise, such as taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes or more, increases blood flow to the brain, thus keeping brain cells strong and efficient. Adults who exercise at least three times a week have a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of developing dementia later in life than those who do not exercise.
Just as you need to exercise to keep your body fit, your brain needs a workout as well. Brain sharpening exercises can be as simple as reading, writing, doing crossword puzzles, socializing, going to lectures, listening to sermons, playing video games, or other hobbies that keep your brain thinking. One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that among leisure activities, reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments, and dancing were the best for reducing the risk of dementia.
Kids Say The Darndest Things About Health:
Here are some responses that the kids (mostly between the ages of 8 and 12) gave when asked, “What can your neighborhood or town do to make it easier for your family to be healthy?”
“More sidewalks where people can walk”
“Parks people can live near so you can take walks there”
“Less pollution”
“Less drug dealing”
“Getting rid of the things that make people’s lives stressful”
“Gardens, at your home, or community gardens”
High Doses of ADHD Drugs May Harm Learning
The results parallel a 1977 finding that a low dose of the drug boosted cognitive performance of children with ADHD, but a higher dose that reduced their hyperactivity also impaired their performance on a memory test.
“Many people were intrigued by that result, but their attempts to repeat the study did not yield clear-cut results,” says Luis Populin, an associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, almost 5 percent of American children are taking medications for ADHD.
Strikingly, dosage had a major and unexpected impact. “At a low dose, the performance scores improved because they could control their impulses and wait long enough to focus their eyes on the target. All three were calmer and could complete a significantly larger number of trials,” says Populin, who collaborated with Jeffrey Henriques and graduate student Abigail Rajala on the study.
At the higher dose, “performance on the task is impaired,” Populin says, “but the subjects don’t seem to care, all three monkeys continued making the same errors over and over.” They stayed on task more than twice as long at the higher dose, even though they had much more trouble performing the task.
Although ADHD drugs are commonly thought to improve memory, “If we take the accuracy of their eye movements as a gauge of working memory, memory was not helped by either dose,” says Populin. “It did not get better at the lower dose, and there actually was a small negative effect at the higher dose.”
Memory is at the root of many intellectual abilities, but it can be affected by many factors, and when using drugs like methylphenidate the brain’s executive function is affected, which can create an internal environment that, depending on the dose, can actually either improve or digress your ability to retain information memories. If you can concentrate, and are able to process information without being interrupted by distracting thoughts or distractions in your environment, you will perform much better on a memory test. Apparently, the lower dose of methylphenidate helped create the conditions for success without actually improving memory itself.
With millions of children, and an increasing number of adults, taking these drugs where proper dosing is an unknown, or potentially creates an adverse reaction, I would advise natural supplements instead, such as my Essential Therapeutics Children’s ADHD Jumpstart Package, and Adult ADHD Jumpstart Package.
Shyness Study: How the Brain Adapts to Stimuli
Shyness may be the result of deficits in two areas of the brain, new research from Vanderbilt University finds. Extremely shy or inhibited individuals are typically slow to acclimate to new people.
The study, recently published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, found that individuals who identified themselves as inhibited may not be able to adapt to new stimuli in two regions of the brain.
The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine adults with either an inhibited or uninhibited temperament. Study participants were shown pictures of unfamiliar faces multiple times.
Individuals with an uninhibited temperament demonstrated habituation. Their brain response increased when the faces were new but declined as they became familiar. In contrast, individuals with an inhibited temperament failed to habituate across repeated presentations of faces, meaning familiar faces triggered the same brain response as the unfamiliar.
This failure to habituate shows that shy and cautious behavior is characteristic of inhibited individuals. These who familiarize more slowly may find encounters with new people overwhelming and thus avoid new social experiences, whereas those who adjust more quickly may be more likely to outgoing and social.
This failure to habituate in one’s brain, may be a key cause of social anxiety disorder, which is the second most common anxiety disorder and affects approximately one in 10 adults in the United States.