You Control Your Health

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Time to get serious, people. Forty percent of all cancers are preventable. Listen up: 4.8 million cancer cases do not have to happen. Get it? You are in charge of your health. Health is NOT random. If you are living by that philosophy, you’re sunk.Is there a health care crisis? You bet. The crisis lies in the idea that you are not responsible for your own health, or your health care. Forty percent of all cancers are preventable. This from a report by the Geneva-based International Union Against Cancer (UICC). As UICC president David Hill says, “If there was an announcement that somebody had discovered a cure for 40 percent of the world’s cancers, there would quite justifiably be huge jubilation.” No kidding.

OK, so what can you do? First, let’s look at the top three cancers:

What can you do today that can help prevent these cancers tomorrow?

The first thing you want to do is observe your diet. Minimize processed foods, or better yet, get rid of them altogether. Whole and natural is best. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Take your vitamins. Drink lots of water (two liters per day, minimum).

Next, minimize or quit smoking. Minimize smoking? Exactly, most people that smoke can’t do so moderately, so kick it altogether. Try breathing clean air, too. How about an air purifier? Don’t minimize their usefulness. If you own a home in Los Angeles, contact me, I’ve got a guy that can set you up.

Minimize alcohol, recreational drug, and pharmaceutical drug consumption. These substances are toxins to the body. Stress the liver and kidneys and you’ll be increasing your cancer risk (among other illnesses) exponentially. Alcohol can cause many different forms of cancer–2-4% of all cancers to be exact–including esophageal, stomach, liver, breast, colon and others. And don’t underestimate the drugs your doctor gives you; they’re poisons, too.

Maintain a healthy weight. I’m not one to lay on the guilt trips, so simply put, if you are overweight, just lower it by something. My dad dropped from 225 to 190. He’s still about 25 pounds overweight, but that drop he made was significant to his health.

Exercise regularly. C’mon now, if you are not doing this you are missing out on so many health benefits that, well…you’ve got nobody to blame but…OK, no guilt trips. Just do it.

Get plenty of healthy sun, but don’t overdo it. Listen, we all need the vitamin D, and we now know more than ever how much so. But sun worshiping, tanning beds, Jersey Shore…puleeze! Be smart, protect yourself–safe sunning is the only way to go.

There you have it: You are in control of your health. Health is not random. There is a health care crisis, and it’s that far too many people neglect some very basic health enhancing behaviors. My book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, has these and hundreds of other tips to prevent cancer and live a life of health and vitality. You can direct your health: you are responsible for the health you have and maintaining it. Nobody else.

The Future of Tobacco

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Hey have you heard of Ariva and Stonewall tablets—dissolvable tobacco products that are consumed like breath mints? Just right for those moments when you can’t sneak a smoke, like during business meetings, transcontinental flights, or Thanksgiving dinner. Why you could even bypass the post-climactic smoke by popping a nic-o-mint during coitus. Ariva and Stonewall smoke-free tobacco products are manufactured and marketed by Star Scientific, Inc. out of Petersburg, Va., and are made from finely milled tobacco. They are essentially like breath mints with cool flavors like wintergreen, natural, and java. Yum.

The company says the products are marketed to adults solely, but the FDA ain’t buying it. Representatives for the Food and Drug Administration say they worry about how much kids will be attracted to this product. With brightly colored packaging and candy-like appearance, these babies are perfect for sucking on…in class. Woohoo!!!

Well the The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is requiring Star Scientific and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., maker of Camel cigarettes to provide their research and marketing information on how people under age 26 perceive and use the products. Exercising new power to regulate tobacco that the FDA was granted in June, the CTP also requested research on misuse of the products, including potential accidental nicotine poisoning. Regulators also want a summary of user demographics, including at what age “tobacco-naive consumers” start using the products.

Ha!!! Those crazy tobacco companies are at it again, and who can blame them? With a cash crop so tied into our country’s rich history, why would the industry lay down like whimpering dogs at the hands of the social police when there’s plenty of profit to be made. If tobacco was good enough for our Native American ancestors, dammit, it’s good enough for your children.

I’m not posting this piece as stand against the tobacco industry, because I think that there will always be harmful substances to tempt us at every turn. I just want to make people aware of what’s out there. If you want a higher probability of your children staying smoke-free—not dissolvable tobacco product smoke-free, but truly smoke-free–then don’t smoke, period. They might pick up the habit anyway, but you certainly don’t have to help them along.

As far as the future of tobacco is concerned, well I just love innovation, so I’m amused at the ingenuity. But as for it’s utility? Ha…I’m just waiting for the coffee-enema-beer-bong to make its debut.

Our Greatest Sexual Concerns

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More on sexual dysfunction. A recent European study looking at male and female sexual concerns when calling a helpline* disclosed the following:

  • Users were more often male (62.2%), aged between 26 and 35 years
  • Males’ most frequently reported sexual difficulties were erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation
  • The majority of female callers reported vaginismus and orgasmic disorder (OD)
  • There was a definite association between desire disorder (DD) and ED in men (41.7%)
  • There was a definite association between OD and DD in women (36.8%)

Although erectile dysfunction and orgasmic disorder are old hat for me (I mean what I know about them…now stop!), I had never heard of vaginismus. For others that don’t know, vaginismus is the tensing up of vaginal/pelvic musculature preventing penetration. It is comparable to to the response of the eye shutting when an object comes towards it. It is not under the conscious control of the woman affected.

And I was rather amazed in my research that there exists an actual association for asexual people. How ’bout that–I had no idea. The incidence of people exhibiting asexuality, also known as non-sexuality, is reported at 1%. Wow! Like I said, never had a clue. Well, different strokes for different folks, if you’ll forgive the pun.

The study on sexual concerns concludes with placing an importance on sexual counseling–talking about the problems. For men, I’ll refer back to the last post. For women, the good news is the capacity for orgasm increases with age, especially as women acquire more knowledge about the responses of their bodies. And masturbatory training is available (I do NOT make this stuff up) to help women with orgasmic disorder.

Finally, for asexuals…be who you are. Join the association if you are looking for like minded people as support. Other than that just focus on what you love. That’s what life is ultimately about anyway.

*The study included selected records of the calls received during the 3-year period between 2006 and 2008.

Momentary Humiliation Beats Dying

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“Hey doc…I can’t get it up.” There now that wasn’t so bad was it? Say it again. Go on, say it. I promise you, your doctor will not laugh. Trust me, it’s a hell of a lot better than buying counterfeit Viagra online. Duh!A recent study published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice reports that fake drug sales via the internet have skyrocketed over the last couple of years. In fact, seizures of fake drugs in Europe have quadrupled between 2005 and 2007; in the U.S. FDA investigations have increased eightfold from 2000 to 2006. The distribution of fake drugs is a booming business: one estimate has the sale of fake drugs hitting $75 billion in 2010.

The problem is not just that consumers are being ripped off, the fakes can actually be harmful to health. Two pregnant women died after they were given injections of a counterfeit iron preparation for anemia, and 25 children died in Bangladesh of kidney failure after taking paracetamol syrup that was contaminated with diethylene glycol, which is also used as antifreeze in cars.

However, the purchasing of fake drugs on the internet persists. Viagra seems to be the big one, but the consumers of such pharmaceuticals know not what they take. According to lead author of the study, Dr. Graham Jackson, a cardiologist at London Bridge Hospital in the UK, “The first danger is people don’t know what’s in it. Some are just talcum powder or brick dust, while some have a bit of Viagra or Cialis and some chemicals that have nothing to do with it.”

According to the study, one-third of men surveyed reported sidestepping a health-care professional when buying erectile dysfunction drugs. Why? What IS the big deal? Do you think your doctor finds this funny, pathetic, or what? C’mon guys, you would rather buy fake stepped-on garbage than risk a moment of humiliation I guarantee will pass the minute your doctor says okay? How much you want to bet he or she doesn’t even look up at you and just writes the scrip. There…I given you support. Now get off the damn net and get to your doctor’s office pronto. Just one humiliating second and it’ll be happy days are here again….

Los Angeles Chiropractor on Leg Pain/Shin Splints

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Are you a runner suffering from shin splints? Are shin splints keeping you from hitting the road or the track? Here’s your solution:

Check out this video showing how I treat leg pain and shin splints in my Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood chiropractic office.

Shin splints are a painful condition causing pain in the front of the leg, usually in runners or jumpers. If left untreated, chronic shin splints can eventually lead to a stress fracture.

If you are experiencing pain in the front leg or calf, watch this video, and see your local chiropractor today. If you are looking for a Los Angeles, Beverly Hills or West Hollywood chiropractor, this video will show you how to find me.

More Kids Using CAM Therapies

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Listen up parents–if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Kids do as their parents do. This is true of how they care for their health, including what types of treatments they seek out. According to a recent study coming out in the February issue of Pediatrics, almost twelve percent of American children use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

The study conducted at Harvard Medical School looked at data on 9,417 children younger than 18 years of age; it set out to differentiate between users and non-users of non-mainstream therapies. They found that if parents used alternative therapies, the more likely their children used them, too. In the study, they purposely ignored vitamins and minerals, so that they could get a better sense of the use of herbs and homeopathics. Chiropractic and acupuncture were not mentioned in the report, but were likely a part of the study.For the children using CAM therapies, they did so mostly for chronic conditions such as anxiety, stress, musculoskeletal conditions, skin conditions and sinusitis.

Surprisingly, 66% of children with cancer used CAM therapies. Some doctors find this disturbing since they say some alternative therapies can interfere with other treatments.OK, first off, for some people using non-mainstream forms of treatment or tonics are not “alternative”. I can tell you that in my family chiropractic was a way of life. I’ve been seeing chiropractors since I was seven years old; I adjust my daughters regularly, my wife when she was pregnant, and I adjust my siblings and mother, too. It’s a lifestyle for us, not alternative.

We’ve also been taking vitamins, juicing, eating whole, natural foods (sorry, we’re not vegetarian, my vegan friends), exercising and seeing acupuncturists for as long as I can remember…and we are not alone. Truly encouraging is that the numbers of people living healthy lifestyles keep growing every year.

Sure, if you are infatuated with the practice of medicine, you’ll shrink in abhorrence. God forbid anyone use something other than what Dr. Oz recommends. Wake up you people–mainstream medicine is jumping on the bandwagon with many CAM therapies because these same practices they’ve vilified for decades actually work.

The study itself can be taken in two different ways: one, that doctors (especially pediatricians) need to pay more attention to their patients, because their unspoken health habits could interfere with the good doctors recommendations (drugs); or two, doctors need to pay more attention because their patients are embracing CAM therapies, which…ehem…work.*

No doubt, every consumer needs to practice ultimate caution–some herbs and other therapies can be dangerous if used improperly, bought from disreputable sources, or not administered from a knowledgeable (and liable) practitioner. But isn’t this what today’s health care is all about–due diligence, self-information, professional consultation, scrutiny and personal responsibility? Sure better be–it’s your health.

*Most known and long-practiced therapies work for some people, yet no one therapy works for all people, not even medicine.

My Daughter Takes Kids Vitamins

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Most everybody knows that I place a high importance of supplementing with vitamins. I think it’s pretty impossible for the average person to get the full amount of nutrients they need from food alone. It’s possible but unlikely.

So if I think adults need to take vitamins, do you think I feel it’s necessary for children, too? You bet I do; so I make sure my children take their daily vitamins as a supplement to their healthy diets. I like Jarrow Kids Multi because they taste good, and Jarrow products have exactly what their label says they do. They’ve been tested by a third party organization, so I know I’m giving my children the best.

If you want to make sure your children are getting the best nutrition possible, consider supplementing their healthy diets with vitamins. You’ll get to see them grow vibrantly into healthy and energetic little beings. That’s the greatest gift any parent can ask for.

♥ Overcomes All Obstacles

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What do you need to succeed in wrestling and in life?
A. Money
B. Resources
C. Arms and legs
D. Heart

If you answered D, you get it. Succeeding in life, like in wrestling, requires heart…inspiration. It does not require money, although money certainly can help pay the rent. It does not require resources, as those with heart create their own resources and make it work with whatever they’ve got. As the following story will illustrate, it doesn’t even requires arms or legs.

Meet Dayton Webber, an 11-year-old boy from Charles County, Maryland. No arms, no legs, but a huge heart–a real inspiration to me. Dayton wrestles for his local wrestling club, Rampage Wrestling; and he plays football, too–on the defensive line–for a youth football league. Despite the fact that he has been without arms or legs since he was 11-months old, he partakes in all childhood activities that interest him. These include ice skating, go-cart racing and skateboarding, which he routinely performs tricks on, like doing handstands on his arm stumps. Pretty incredible if you ask me.

Does Dayton cry about his predicament, playing the victim when things don’t go his way? Does he blame presidential administrations or institutions for the obstacles he faces in his daily life? Does he refrain from doing the things he loves because he lacks resources (arms and legs)? Nope. He goes into his heart and follows his inspiration. Now that’s someone to learn from.

I really do find people like Dayton Webber inspirational. My first exposure to the greatness that lies within the heart of “disabled” people* was when I caught a piece on HBO’s Real Sports about Kyle Maynard, another quad amputee that wrestled and played football in high school, got straight A’s in school, and was living his dreams of going to college, writing a book, public speaking, and enjoying his girlfriend. My friends will attest that I saved that piece for two years, making any and every unsuspecting guest watch it.

The take home lesson in both Dayton Webber’s and Kyle Maynard’s stories is NOT that we should be grateful for how much more we have than them (which seemed to be the common sentiment of my guests and people interviewed in the Dayton Webber article), but instead that the circumstances in your life matter far less than how your mind perceives those circumstances. And following your inspired heart will lead you to the life of your dreams, circumstances aside.

Sometimes it takes exceptional people like Dayton Webber and Kyle Maynard to remind us of this truth.

*I don’t really care for the common use of this word, as I find that people who live by the victim mentality are far more disabled than people who “just do it”.

RIF, So Set the Environment

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When it comes to children’s reading skills, nurture trumps nature. As it turns out, with proper instruction, children can improve dramatically in their reading development. So says a recent study out of Ohio State University.

The study looked 135 identical twins and 179 same-sex fraternal twins who were enrolled in kindergarten or 1st grade, and reading skills were assessed for two years. The researchers compared how the twins scored on reading tests and then used a statistical analysis to determine how much genetics and environment influenced their progress. Environmental factors included instruction in school, nutrition, how much the children were read to, and how they were cared for by their parents.

Although genetics were found to be more important in reading speed, skills like learning letters and vocabulary, as well as awareness of sounds were all vastly dependent on the learning environment. The importance of this study is it shows that regardless of the level of reading a child enters school with, they can learn to read effectively with the proper instruction.

Uh oh, teachers–the onus is on you. No excuses. The practice of having separate tables for “smart,” “average,” and “slow” kids, I hope, is a thing of the past (that’s how my childhood classrooms were set up). If the practice is still alive, kill it now. Most level-headed people understand that all children are teachable. They may have different processing pathways, which require different strategies, but ultimately the instructors have to find what works. Period.

And parents are responsible, too. Time for my high-horse again: If you are feeding your child soft drinks, sugary cereals, pop tarts, cookies, chips, candy…on a regular basis. Wake up! You are poisoning the poor kids.

And parents who don’t read breed children that don’t read. If you are watching oodles of T.V., guess who else is doing the same? Duh!

Finally, spending time and giving attention to your kids matters. Just being in the room with them while watching Oprah is not enough, you’ve actually got to interact with the buggers. Pick up a crayon, sing a song, bounce around…jump up, jump up and get down. And read a freakin’ book to them why don’t cha…give ’em a chance; otherwise, you leave it in teachers’ hands.


West Hollywood Chiropractor The Six Keys to Optimal Health

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My book The Six Keys to Optimal Health is the quintessential guide to achieving and maintaining great health in the twenty-first century. In it we discuss the six key areas that people need to focus on if they wish to improve their health or maintain the great health they already enjoy. This book is for people trying to bounce back from drug addiction, for those trying to lose weight, and for those that have never really thought about their health and wish to take care of themselves, now. This book is universal in that it does not matter who you are or where you come from, what illnesses or conditions you currently have, or what you have done or not done in the past–everyone can use and master the principles outlined in this book to reach optimum levels of health. If your health is important to you, please grab a copy of The Six Keys to Optimal Health today–it will change your life!

Video Gaming Dorian Gray

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Want a new tool in your anti-aging arsenal? Try gaming. Video gaming that is. New research suggests that playing video games might just help slow down the effects of aging on mental function. And you thought Grand Theft Auto was just for psychos.

According to experts, playing video games can improve older adults’ reflexes, processing speed, memory, attention skills and spatial abilities. Not bad, not bad. And gaming systems like Nintendo’s Wii could even provide seniors with some physical activity. For those who don’t know, the Wii has special controllers requiring hand and arm movements. Although not an ideal form of physical fitness in my humble opinion, some movement is certainly better than nothing.

Saying that, one study did find that seniors playing the Wii bowling game had boosted heart rate during the activity. The study’s participants were between 60-80-years-old.

As far as improved cognitive function, a 2008 study which looked at 60-70-year-olds playing the computer game, Rise of Nations, found that the participants had increased performance on tests of memory, reasoning and cognition. Especially notable were improvements in planning, scheduling, dealing with ambiguity and multi-tasking. Now that’s pretty darn substantial in my book.

Associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University, Jason Allaire is co-director of its Gains Through Gaming Lab. The Lab has received $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation for further research and how gaming can boost memory and thinking skills in the elderly. Bravo to that!

Researchers plan to focus on three fundamental areas of cognition:

  • Attention demand–most video games require deep attention and focus, useful skills to every area of life
  • Novelty–learning new things creates new dendritic formation, a must in keeping mentally sharp
  • Social interaction–video gaming is often done with others, and now with online gaming…well, a new social outlet is here for the taking

My regular readers know how much I value maintaining mental sharpness. As long as your brain is firing, you are interacting as a conscious life form (I know that’s debatable, but play along). And when you are firing on all cylinders, watch out! Do I think playing video games is better than learning a language, mathematics or an instrument–no, I don’t. But as a supplement, or for people who just can’t bring themselves to become more academic, heck play a video game–they’re fun!

Sitting Duck

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Hey you! Yeah…you. Don’t be a sitting duck. Get off your a$$ and move around. Sitting for too long can get you killed, literally. Several studies suggest that prolonged sitting can cause obesity, heart disease and even death. And let’s not forget hemorrhoids.

According to an editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, physical activity is not enough–sitting too long causes the genes that regulate glucose and fat in the body start to shut down. Whether the sitting is done in a classroom, a car, or in front of the T.V. or computer is inconsequential. What matters is time.

In a Canadian study published last year, 17,000 people were followed for twelve years: Those that sat the most had a higher death risk, independent of whether they exercised or not. Holy hematochezia! That means…aw man, I’m in trouble.

I’m not the only American needing to worry: A 2003-2004 U.S. survey found that Americans spend more than half their time sitting, from working at their desks to sitting in cars. Although preliminary, these studies point out the dangers of taking too much of a load off.

Well, I must say I’m truly listening to this one. Although I am a highly active person, I also sit a lot. And the results of these preliminary studies make sense to me. The human body is made to move–movement is a part of our very survival. Not in just the obvious way as a means of catching food or escaping predators, but as a way to detect changes in the environment. Our moving parts have receptors–sensory devices that sense the world around us. When these are not used (through movement) regularly, the function of the body is disrupted. Chiropractors know this; we do our part to keep these moving parts moving through adjusting subluxations (stuck joints). But actual movement also need to be carried out. Sitting on your rump is not movement.

So if you want to win the lottery, you’ve gotta buy a ticket. And if you want to get the most out of your movable body, well you figure it out. But may I suggest you not be a sitting duck?


Lose Weight for Weight Loss Surgery

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Thinking about gastric bypass surgery? Better lose weight first. You heard right, getting skinny by the knife requires a pre-op weight loss program. Ahem…

An analysis of medical records of 881 patients who had weight-loss surgery found that the more weight patients lost before the surgery, the less complications they suffered later, such as infections, blood clots, and kidney problems. For patients who actually gained weight before the surgery, they had two times greater risk of suffering complications.

All patients evaluated had undergone the “keyhole” Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery whereby staples are used to create a pouch in the stomach that can hold only a small amount of food at a time; then, a portion of the small intestine is attached to the pouch so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine.

This information is important as more and more older and sicker patients are opting for the weight loss surgery. These patients are at a definite increased risk of complications, so the answer is LOSE WEIGHT.

I know, I know…I swear I don’t make this stuff up. OK, some doctors are against the notion of requiring patients to lose weight before weight loss surgery; they believe that mandated pre-surgery weight loss “may be a deterrent to surgery.” Well golly…you mean if people lose weight naturally they’ll just…gulp…lose more weight. That’s a freakin’ wallet drain.

Anyway, I get it–people want the surgery because they don’t think they can do it on their own. They’re wrong about that. I like the recommendations for pre-op gastric bypass patients, not so much because I advocate the operation, but because I think that doing the initial weight loss will show these people they can do it on their own. Losing weight, like everything else, requires inspiration. Money is best, studies show; but if not the green, then I can certainly understand the prospect of getting gastric bypass and further weight loss might drive some people. Whatever. I just say if you can lose fifty…seventy five pounds pre-op, you can do two-fifty by sticking with it, for sure.

Breastfeeding Good for Kids’ Mental Health

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mother_child_baby 4 17 09More on the mental health front today as new research shows breastfeeding may be linked to better mental health for kids. I’ll say, it’s always worked for me.

An Australian study showed that children who are breastfed for longer than six months could be at lower risk of mental health problems later in life. Breastfeeding could help babies cope better with stress, and may also signal a stronger mother-child attachment, benefits which may last, say researchers at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in West Perth.

The study looked at over 2,300 children, each undergoing a mental health assessment at 2, 5, 8, 10, and 14 years of age. Eleven percent were never breastfed, 38 percent were breastfed for less than six months, and just over half were breastfed for six months or longer.

Mothers who breastfed for less than six months were younger, less educated, poorer, and more stressed, and were also more likely to be smokers, than the moms who breastfed for longer. They were also more likely to suffer from postpartum depression, and their babies were more likely to have growth problems.

The children who were breastfed for the shortest amount of time had the worst behavior. This was qualified as internalizing behavior, in which negativity is directed inwards, for example depression; and in externalizing behaviors, such as aggression.

Behavior improved successively for every additional month of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding for six months or longer had the most positive behavioral results with regard to mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. The results were adjusted for social, economic and psychological factors as well as early life events.

I like this study as I am a huge advocate for breastfeeding. My eldest daughter was breastfed for two years, and my 15-month-old is still on the breast. And I’m certain of the many health benefits attached to the practice. It doesn’t surprise me that breastfed children feel more secure, I mean, think about it: The suckling/oxytocin response is as much security blanket as it is food cart. It allows baby to know that there is a nurturing protector there when they need support. And it’s instinctual. Deny that to Junior and I’d expect him or her to be…well…unsure.

No guilt trip on moms who have opted out early, really. It’s just that breastfeeding provides one more benefit to those who choose it for their young, that’s all. However, if you are a mom to be and on the fence about it–just know that mental well-being and self-assuredness later in life is one more thing you can help provide your kid with a year at the boob.

Today’s Youth More Inclined to Mental Stress

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Are life’s modern-day challenges harder to tackle than those of yesteryear? That’s the question mental health experts are asking, as a recent study shows that five times more high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues than youth of the same age decades ago.

The study did a comparative analysis of a popular psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938 and found that more students today struggle with the stresses of school and life in general. Researchers at five universities analyzed the responses of 77,576 high school and college students who, from 1938 through 2007, took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Overall, an average of five times as many students in 2007 surpassed thresholds in one or more mental health categories, compared with those who did so in 1938. Some of the increases were even higher in some categories:

  • “hypomania,” a measure of anxiety and unrealistic optimism (from 5 percent of students in 1938 to 31 percent in 2007)
  • depression (from 1 percent to 6 percent)
  • and “psychopathic deviation,” which is loosely related to psychopathic behavior and is defined as having trouble with authority and feeling as though the rules don’t apply to you (from 5 percent in 1938 to 24 percent in 2007).

Lead author of the study, Jean Twenge, who wrote a book on the influence of pop culture on the mental health of young people titled, “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled–and More Miserable Than Ever Before,” believes that the growing interest in being rich amongst the nation’s youth has a big part to play in the study’s findings.

Experts say that such high expectations only lead to disappointments. They also note that some well-meaning but overprotective parents have left their children with few real-world coping skills, like handling emotional challenges or even balancing their checkbooks. Says Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Motefiore Medical Center in New York City, “If you don’t have these skills, then it’s very normal to become anxious.”

Students themselves put the blame on everything from pressure to succeed–self-imposed and otherwise–to keeping up with technology as the causes of increased mental stress. Sarah Ann Slater, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Miami stated, “The unrealistic feelings that are ingrained in us from a young age–that we need to have massive amounts of money to be considered a success–not only lead us to a higher likelihood of feeling inadequate, anxious or depressed, but also make us think that the only value in getting an education is to make a lot of money.”

A New Jersey mother whose daughter is being treated for depression said, “I don’t remember it being this hard. We all wanted to be popular, but there wasn’t this emphasis on being perfect and being super skinny.”

The study’s findings, however, do not prove any correlation between pop culture pressures and mental stress. And it is not without its critics, either: Richard Shadick, a psychologist who directs the counseling center at Pace University in New York states that the sample data weren’t necessarily representative of all college students (Many who answered the MMPI questionnaire were students in introductory psychology courses at four-year institutions). Also, the increased numbers may simply reflect a heightened awareness of mental health services and treatments–like pharmaceuticals–available.

I believe that today’s youth are facing challenges that earlier generations didn’t have to contend with. That’s certainly no surprise to me. Young people of the 1950s were dealing with very different–and I’m certain perceptively greater–challenges than the youth of 1776. Things change, the world changes, and it happens faster every generation. It seems only natural, then, that the faster things evolve, the harder it will be for everyone to deal with these rapid changes. I’m not trying to minimize things here–I just think that it sounds fairly logical that new generations will have their hands full with the world of their era. Whether or not these challenges lead to increased mental health stresses over previous generations is debatable, especially since the mental health field has evolved along with everything else.

What it really says to me is two things. One, mental health is as important as it always will be, since our minds are integral to every aspect of our being. If we don’t have our perceptions in balance, havoc will wreak on our health and our lives. Therefore, obtaining mental balance is critical. If you or your child are having trouble finding this balance, contact me, I can help.

And two, it really brings up the point of having realistic goals and expectations. College does not ensure financial success. Nor does what you see on T.V. constitute reality (despite the moniker as such). If you can’t explain to your kids that success–financial or otherwise–requires a marketable product or service and super-hard work, not a four day work week, not six weeks vacation, not a French-style social system (go ahead, ask your French friends their opportunity for financial freedom and wealth), then, really, it’s your burden to bear when they can’t hack the pressure.

 

Music Therapy

By On · Add Comment · In Body, Mind, Spirit

Listen up melody makers–you are healers! Yes, healers. New research shows that music not only calms the savage beast, it helps people heal. It can also diminish symptoms in dying people, and this new study shows that some are requesting just that–their favorite music as they prepare to pass on. Beautiful…and sensible. I love it.

Music as an art form uses sound as its medium. Although an integral part of every culture, there is no universal concept defining music other than “sound through time.” In our modern culture, though, music is being used in a therapeutic sense. Music therapy, a discipline being taught at major universities and professional schools, is helping sick people palliatively–that is, to reduce the severity of symptoms, so that patients can enjoy some improvements to their quality of life.

Music therapy helps people with Alzheimer’s remember; it helps autistic children calm down; it helps premature babies, children with disabilities, and seniors with dementia. It helps people improve their medical conditions as well as improve their lives. Whether life is just beginning, or whether it’s winding down, music therapy holds something for everyone, as we are all moved by the music we love.

In the study, approximately 200 people aged 24 to 87 with chronic or advanced illnesses, such as cancer, pain disorders, AIDS or sickle cell disease received music therapy, where they were allowed to choose the music they heard (Lady Gaga, anyone?). Physical and psychological tests were performed before and after the therapy sessions. The researchers found that music therapy decreased patient anxiety, pain and shortness of breath. Nice. And more than 80% of the patients said the music improved their mood, as well as that of their family members.

Certified music therapists not only play music (they must be well versed in several genres to accommodate a wide range of musical tastes) they must also study psychology, physiology and other health disciplines. Music therapists do indeed provide sounds, yet they also help with a vast array of physical, emotional, and social issues.

I find this practice of music therapy to be in perfect tempo, as more and more people are passing on without religiosity. My perspective is that for most people (those not going suddenly), moving on must be somewhat frightening. Without spiritual hope to lessen the fear, music might be able to help ease the transition. What better way to leave this plane than by being accompanied by one’s favorite music. Ice Cube, take me away.

Seriously, I believe that music is the divine sound of the universe. It does heal. Anybody who has listened to music to create or amplify a mood knows exactly what I’m talking about. Music accompanies me everywhere, and unless I’m blessed enough to go in a snap…it’ll follow me to the light, too.

2009 Optimal Health Recap

By On · Add Comment · In health, health news, health story, wellness

Here’s to another great year of health and wellness news and information in 2009. Thank you to all my readers for your support. Let’s recap the best of the year:

We started the year off by talking about health care reform, and what direction I thought the country should take. I agreed with then Health and Human Services Secretarial Nominee, Tom Daschle, when he proposed that we need to make illness prevention “hot,” and wellness “cool.” Indeed! But Daschle failed to pay his taxes, and we got stuck with a Secretary who decided to focus on the swine flu. Harrumph–another lost opportunity.

All-time greatest NFL wide receiver, Jerry Rice, plugged chiropractic. So did Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Cole Hamels! Chiropractic was shown to improve high blood pressure.

Seasonal flu, the most over-hyped illness on the planet got bumped in banality by…SWINE FLU! Interestingly, the former was pegged for years as the next “great epidemic,” and vaccinations were being touted as the only savior. But just like I said in ’07 and ’08–not! Flu is flu is flu is flu…people listened, and flu shots were way down in ’09.

We had a lot of fun with some stories:

I talked a lot about chiropractic and adjusting my children. Lot’s of pics and videos.

I was NOT a fan of socialized health care, and gave lots of reasons why here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here).

Lots of celebrities died in ’09–Danny Gans, Billy Mays, DJ AM, and Brittany Murphy. I only focused on possible drug overdoses, purposely staying away from Michael Jackson’s.

A few notable non-celebrities also died–Ashtanga yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois, abortion doctor George Tiller, Pulitzer prize winning author Frank McCourt,

I talked about some of my health practices–dietary, fitness, and physiological. And I touted the many health benefits of feeling sick.

My favorite health story of 2009: Dads Are Key to Making us Human

Story that pissed me off the most: Chiropractic Left Off Health Care Reform

Most hysterical: Heroin Best Treatment for Addiction

Least hysterical: Drug Deaths New Number One Killer

Thank you for making Optimal Health one of the premier health and wellness blogs on the net. Thank you for the many comments and participation from my readers here and on Facebook! 2010 promises to be another exciting and interesting year in the world of health. Remember it’s your health, better understand it.

Nowegian Superbug Solution

By On · Add Comment · In antibiotics, artesunate, drug resistant HIV, drug-resistant malaria, extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB, Norway, superbugs

Last post I discussed a new and deadly form of superbug: extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB. Two more drug-resistant microorganisms that will likely become a health threat in upcoming years have also surfaced–they are drug-resistant malaria and drug-resistant HIV.

Like XXDR TB, these two new superbugs are a result of over- and misused drug responses. In the case of DR-malaria, the drug in question is artesunate–a derivative of artemisinin, the world’s last weapon against malaria. On the Thai-Cambodian border, DR-malaria is popping up, experts believe, as a result of over-the-counter purchases and self-administering of artesunate.

Although artesunate has some use in fighting malaria, it is not meant to be a stand -alone drug. This weakened drug response makes it easy for the malaria bug to withstand and develop resistance. Artesunate has been banned in Cambodia; despite this, it continues to be sold to locals in small, unlicensed shops for self-treatment of malaria.

DR-HIV is starting an upsurge in South Africa. Because of short drug supplies, many people do not take the full course of antiretroviral treatment, and drug-resistance results. For the unfortunates that fail on one antiretroviral regimen, other drugs can be tried; but for each successive one the risk of mass drug-resistance increases–not a good prospect in the fight on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, where 2/3 of the world’s 33 million HIV cases exist.

As I pointed out in my last post, the evolution of drug-resistant microorganisms is a truly frightening notion on the surface. But all is not futile. I talked about maintaining one’s own health as the best possible defense against microorganisms–superbugs or not. This includes adopting all health-enhancing behaviors, as well as abandoning those health-depleting behaviors we have become all to accustomed to. One in particular is proving to be an incredible long-term solution to slowing down the growth of drug-resistant microorganisms, and it is being practiced with great success in Norway.

The Norwegian public health system has adopted a program to combat drug-resistant bugs, and it’s basis is to cut back on the use of antibiotics. Bravo Norway! They have recognized there that the majority of antibiotics are prescribed for benign symptoms, like minor coughs or fevers.

“We don’t throw antibiotics at every person with a fever. We tell them to hang on, wait and see, and we give them a Tylenol to feel better,” says one Norwegian doctor. “Penicillin is not a cough medicine,” says one marketing message on a package of Norwegian tissue paper. Hallelujah!

I’m pleased to see a country making a mass effort to contain a menacing global problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) says antibiotic resistance is one of the leading public health threats on the planet. I couldn’t agree more–time to take proactive measures. And Norway is doing just that. We could do the same here in the U.S. but it will take a concerted effort by physicians; something I think will be much harder to count on. Only time will tell which direction it all goes. But with the looming dangers of DR-TB, DR-malaria and DR-HIV we better start doing something. As I keep preaching, all we can do is take the best care of ourselves possible by practicing health-enhancing behaviors. It will be the strong that survive if a superbug onslaught is allowed to fester.

Welcome to the Future

By On · Add Comment · In drug resistance, evolution, extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB, immune system, microorganisms, superbugs, tuberculosis (TB)

As they say, the future is here. Experts have warned for years the coming of superbugs (I, myself, have warned extensively about drug-resistant microorganisms in my book, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, and here in this blog)–their looming invasion and the consequences we’d have to face in a world where microorganisms develop resistance to the only weapons we have to fight them–drugs!

Well that world has arrived: Recent reports disclose two new frightening superbugs that could have global health officials scrambling for years to come. The first (I’ll touch on the second in an upcoming post) is a case of highly drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) found in a Peruvian national studying English in the U.S. (West Palm Beach, FL area). Doctors say this extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB has never been seen before in the U.S. and is, in fact, so rare that only a handful of other people in the world are thought to have had it.

According to Dr. David Ashkin, one of the nation’s leading experts on tuberculosis, “[This infected student] is really the future. This is the new class that people are not really talking too much about. These are the ones we really fear because I’m not sure how we treat them.”

The XXDR TB-strain of TB is contagious, aggressive, and especially drug-resistant, doctors say. TB germs can float in the air for hours, especially in tight places with little sunlight or fresh air. So every time an infected person coughs, sneezes, laughs or talks, he or she could spread the deadly germs to others. Tuberculosis is the top single infectious killer of adults worldwide, and it lies dormant in one in three people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of those, 10 percent will develop active TB, and about 2 million people a year will die from it.

Simple TB is easy to treat–a $10 course of medication for six to nine months. But if treatment is stopped short, the bacteria fight back and mutate into a tougher strain. It can cost $100,000 a year or more to cure drug-resistant TB, which is described as multi-drug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and XXDR. There are now about 500,000 cases of MDR tuberculosis a year worldwide. XDR tuberculosis killed 52 of the first 53 people diagnosed with it in South Africa three years ago.

Although this all seems scary and futile, I do not take that stance. It’s true that antibiotics and other microorganism-fighting drugs have been over- and misused. And it’s also true that we have few to no external weapons to fight superbugs. But we still have one mighty tool in our arsenal, one that evolves along with the ever-changing environment in the same way mutating microorganisms do: our immune system.

The human immune system is the only weapon I’m putting my money on. A healthy human body expressing a healthy immune system is rather formidable–our ability to thrive over the course of history proves it. We encounter plagues that take out the weakest (with a few random exceptions) of our ranks, but ultimately, we adapt…and the dance goes on.

No doubt, our own endeavors have created new and enigmatic challenges–like extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB–but we will persist, for now. I don’t see drug-resistant tuberculosis as the dawn of the new Roman Empire, but we will have to be smart about it. Without a doubt, our most talented minds in chemistry and biotechnology will find new drugs to combat these dangerous superbugs, but ultimately, we’ll have to maintain strong, healthy bodies. We’ll have to make sure that all our functional systems are operating at their highest levels. This includes the immune system, the nervous system, the cardiovascular system and all other systems of the body.

Practicing the health-enhancing behaviors I outline in my book and here in this blog are the only things that will ensure your own strength and survival. Some healthy people will get sick and probably die from drug-resistant microorganisms. But if I have to bet on which people will have the greatest chance of survival from a superbug onslaught–I’ll put my money on healthy, optimally functioning people every time.

Many Women Quit Breast-feeding Early

By On · Add Comment · In breast milk, breast-feeding, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, maternaty leave, pumping

Pediatric science has learned what many a man instinctively knows–no such thing as too much breast. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breast-feed their babies exclusively for six months and continue breast-feeding for at least an infant’s first year of life. But, unfortunately, many women are quitting early.

According to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, relatively few American women breast-feed their babies for the full first six months of life, let alone an entire year, despite the fact that more women are starting their babies on breast milk. The study, a part of a larger analysis called “Juggling Work and Life During Pregnancy,” funded by the U.S. government’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, sought to study how returning to work affects new mothers’ ability to breast-feed their babies.

What they found was that women that take short maternity leaves–six weeks or less–had more than a three times higher risk of quitting breast-feeding compared to those still at home who hadn’t returned to work.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breast-feed exclusively for six months and continue breast-feeding for at least an infant’s first year of life. Exclusive breast-feeding–meaning no water, juice, formula or foods–has been shown to improve protection against many diseases, including bacterial meningitis, diarrhea and ear infections.

In the first half of the decade, the number of breast-fed infants increased somewhat, from 71% in 2000 to 74% by the end of 2006, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, these numbers do not tell the whole story, simply because they reflect the number of women starting their children on breast milk. Of infants born in the U.S. in 2006, 43% were breast-feeding at 6 months and 23% at 12 months. Just 14%, though, had been exclusively breast-fed for six months. The numbers fall short of national objectives for breast-feeding. Healthy People 2010, the government’s health promotion and disease prevention agenda, seeks to boost the number of breast-feeding women to 75% by 2010. The six-month and one-year targets are 50% and 25%, respectively.

According to Sylvia Guendelman, one of the lead authors of the study, “Initiation of breast-feeding, although it is one measure, doesn’t mean much. You can put your baby to the breast for two times and say, ‘Well, I tried it and I didn’t like it,’ or, ‘I didn’t succeed,’ but what you really want to look at is, of women who initiate, how many breast-fed successfully for at least six months?”

The study found that full-time workers with short postpartum maternity leaves were more likely to quit breast-feeding early. Those at highest risk were women in non-managerial and inflexible positions and women with higher stress levels.

Laws related to breast-feeding in the workplace are in place in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. An Oregon law, for example, allows women to take a 30-minute, unpaid break during each four-hour shift to breast-feed or pump. Oregon has the highest rate of breast-feeding at 12 months, at 37 percent, and the second-highest rate of breast-feeding at six months, at 63 percent, after Utah, where the rate is 69.5 percent, according to the CDC.

So it looks like the best approach for new mothers, if possible, is to take an adequate time off work. And speaking from experience, really working on pumping breast milk and getting baby used to taking it from the bottle will be invaluable here. Eventually, mama will go back to work, and baby will have to take a bottle sooner or later, so may as well start the habit early-on.

Breastfeeding is important. Do what you can to give baby mama’s milk for one full year–he or she will thrive as a result.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.