TIP OF THE DAY - GUMMY BEARS HELP WITH SORE THROAT DUE TO THE GLYCERIN.
How much do you know about what makes up a healthy lifestyle? Here's a pop
quiz.
1. How do you define working out?
a. Going to the gym.
b. Turning the jump-rope for the neighbor's
kid.
c. Playing Frisbee with your dog.
2. How do you define good nutrition?
a. Eating a vegetable at every meal.
b. Eating two vegetables at every
meal.
c. Drinking a fruit smoothie for breakfast.
3. Which of these is a healthy activity?
a. Push-ups, sit-ups, or runnin the track.
b. Walking the dog after dinner.
c. Spending
Saturday afternoon snoozing on the sofa.
Believe it or not, the correct answer to every question is A, B,
and C -- even that Saturday afternoon snooze! According to the growing
"Stealth Health" movement, sneaking healthy habits into our daily living is
easier than we think.
"You can infuse your life with the power of prevention incrementally and
fairly painlessly, and yes, doing something, no matter how small, is
infinitely better for you than doing nothing," says David Katz, MD, MPH,
director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center and of the Yale
Preventive Medicine Center. Katz is also co-author of the book Stealth
Health: How to Sneak Age-Defying, Disease-Fighting Habits into Your Life without
Really Trying.
From your morning shower to the evening news, from your work commute to your
household chores, Katz says, there are at least 2,400 ways to sneak healthy
activities into daily living.
"If you let yourself make small changes, they will add up to meaningful
changes in the quality of your diet, your physical activity pattern, your
capacity to deal with stress, and in your sleep quality -- and those four things comprise
an enormously powerful health promotion that can change your life," says
Katz.
And yes, he says, a nap on the couch can be a health-giving opportunity --
particularly if you aren't getting enough sleep at night.
Nutritionist and diabetes educator Fran Grossman, RD, CDE, agrees.
"You don't have to belong to a gym or live on wheat grass just to be healthy,"
says Grossman, a nutrition counselor at the Mt. Sinai School of
Medicine in New York. "There are dozens of small things you can do every day
that make a difference, and you don't always have to do a lot to gain a
lot."
Do a Little, Get a Lot
The notion that good health can come in small tidbits is not really new.
Research showing that making small changes can add up to a big difference has
been quietly accumulating for a while.
For example, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in
2004 found that adding just 30 minutes of walking per day was enough to prevent
weight gain and encourage moderate weight loss.
And if 30 minutes is still too big a bite? Another study, published in
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that three brisk
10-minute walks per day were as effective as a daily 30-minute walk in
decreasing risk factors for heart disease.
"Just the act of going from sedentary to moderately active gives you the
greatest reduction in your risks," says Helene Glassberg, MD, director of the
Preventive Cardiology and Lipid Center at the Temple University School of
Medicine in Philadelphia.
But it's not only in fitness where small changes can make a
difference. The same principles apply at the kitchen table (and the office snack
bar).
"Reducing fat intake, cutting down on sugar, eating a piece of fruit instead
of a candy bar -- over time, these things can make a difference," says
Grossman.
As long as the changes are moving you toward your goal -- be it weight loss,
a reduction in cholesterol or blood pressure, or better blood
sugar control -- you can get there by taking baby steps, she says.
Moreover, Grossman tells WebMD, making small changes can help give us the
motivation to make bigger ones.
"A lot of bad eating habits are about not taking charge of your life, and
that attitude is often reflected in other areas," says Grossman. On the other
hand, she says, when you make small changes at the kitchen table, the rewards
may show up in other areas of your life.
"It's the act of taking control that makes the difference in motivating you,"
says Grossman. "An inner confidence and power begins to develop that can be seen
in other areas of life."
Tripping Over Baby Steps
Of course, not everyone is certain that baby steps can walk you all the way
to good health. Marc Siegel, MD, a clinical associate professor at the NYU
School of Medicine, says that while doing something is certainly better than
doing nothing, making such small changes is like using a Band-aid to stop a
hemorrhage.
"It's a small, gimmicky idea to target people with very unhealthy lifestyles,
and for some it may be useful," says Siegel, author of False Alarm: the Truth
about the Epidemic of Fear. But he fears that for most people, it's sending
the wrong message.
"In some ways it's a resignation, an admission that things can't be changed
-- and that's certainly not the long-term answer," Siegel tells WebMD.
Katz concedes that the Stealth Health approach may not be right for
everybody.
"There is a trade-off because if you try to make the pursuit of health easier
for people, you run the risk of leading them to believe they don't need to do
very much -- and that would be the wrong message," he says.
At the same time, Katz believes that for those who find making health changes
a daunting task, Stealth Health techniques can make a difference.
"If you want the really big gains, there has to be some pain," says Katz.
"But there is a lot to be said for the idea that you can make some gains with
little or no pain, and that's infinitely better than no gains."
Try the Stealth Health Approach
Tempted to give "Stealth Health" a try? Katz recommends picking any three of
the following 12 changes and incorporating them into your life for four days.
When you feel comfortable with those changes, pick three others. Once you've
incorporate all dozen changes, you should start to feel a difference within a
couple of weeks, he says.
To Improve Nutrition:
1. Buy whole foods -- whether canned, frozen, or fresh from the farm -- and
use them in place of processed foods whenever possible.
2. Reject foods and
drinks made with corn syrup, a calorie-dense, nutritionally empty sweetener that
many believe is worse for the body than sugar, says Katz.
3. Start each
dinner with a mixed green salad. Not only will it help reduce your appetite for
more caloric foods, but it also will automatically add veggies to your meal.
To Improve Physical Fitness:
1. Do a squat every time you pick something up. Instead of bending over in
the usual way, which stresses the lower back, bend your knees and squat. This
forces you to use your leg muscles and will build strength.
2. Every time you
stop at a traffic light (or the bus does), tighten your thighs and butt muscles
and release as many times as you can. (Don't worry, no one will see it!) This
will firm leg and buttock muscles, improve blood flow -- and keep you mildly
amused!
3. Whenever you're standing on a line, lift one foot a half-inch off
the ground. The extra stress on your opposite foot, ankle, calf and thigh, plus
your buttocks, will help firm and tone muscles. Switch feet every few
minutes.
To Improve Stress Control:
1. Give your partner a hug every day before work. Studies show this simple
act can help you remain calm when chaos ensues during your day, Katz says.
2.
Have a good cry. It can boost your immune system, reduce levels of stress
hormones, eliminate depression, and help you think more
clearly.
3. Twice a day, breathe deeply for three to five minutes
To Improve Sleep:
1. Sprinkle just-washed sheets and pillowcases with lavender water. The scent
has been shown in studies to promote relaxation, which can lead to better
sleep.
2. Buy a new pillow. Katz says that studies show that pillows with an
indent in the center can enhance sleep quality and reduce neck pain. Also, try a "cool" pillow -- one
containing either all-natural fibers or a combination of sodium sulfate and
ceramic fibers that help keep your head cool.
3. Eat a handful of walnuts
before bed. You'll be giving yourself a boost of fiber and essential fatty acids along with the
amino acid tryptophan -- a natural sleep-inducer.
CYMBALTA - THE SUICIDE DRUG
The following article was written in 2008 what is sad is that to date these numbers have grown and continue to grow and yet many doctors still precribe this medicine everyday....................Why????????
Cymbalta - The Suicide Drug
Submitted by SadInAmerica on Tue, 05/06/2008
- 9:38pm.
Drug
company spin does not change the fact that Cymbalta has been linked to suicide
-- even in otherwise mentally healthy people.
Ask about published reports of 470 completed
suicides
of people on antidepressants since Prozac debuted in 1988 and the drug industry
will say that's depression for you. Without our drugs, it would be
worse.
But how does Eli Lilly and Co. explain the mounting
suicides of people given Cymbalta (duloxetine) for urinary incontinence or
peripheral neuropathy?
The planned debut of Cymbalta, now Lilly's number two
drug, was even delayed by the suicide of a non-depressed person in
2004.
Traci Johnson, a healthy 19-year-old college student
volunteer enrolled in a Cymbalta trial hung herself by a scarf from a shower rod
in Lilly's Indianapolis, IN laboratory while withdrawing from the
drug.
Johnson showed no outward signs of depression and
Lilly said she had been screened for mental problems, but staff conducting a
concurrent Cymbalta trial made comments about her "mental history" to at least
four participants -- perhaps to keep them from dropping out of the trials as a
fifth of volunteers did after the suicide.
After Johnson's death, Lilly was ordered to stop
accepting new volunteers for the study and to have continuing participants
evaluated by an independent psychiatrist and sign new consent forms. But in
another Cymbalta trial of 4,124 depressed patients just weeks later, four more
participants took their lives, according to a Lilly clinical psychiatrist, Dr.
John R. Hayes.
Meanwhile, reports from abroad, where duloxetine was
already in use as a stress urinary incontinence treatment called Yentreve, were
just as grave.
Twice the expected number of suicide attempts among
middle-aged women were seen with the drug -- 400 per 100,000 person-years
versus a baseline of 160 per 100,000 person-years -- said the FDA on its Web
site in June, 2005, leading Lilly to abruptly withdraw its application to sell
Yentreve in the U.S.
Safety data for Cymbalta and Yentreve obtained by
reporter Jeanne Lenzer under a Freedom of Information request for an
Independent Sunday article disclosed 41 deaths and 13 suicides, which
did not include Johnson's or the four cited by Hayes, says
Lenzer.
In fact, in an article titled," Duloxetine: new drug.
For stress urinary incontinence: too much risk, too little benefit," in the
December 2005 issue of French medical journal Prescire International,
the authors conclude that the drug should not even be in
use:
"More than 40 different
types of adverse effects have been reported, including suicide attempts and
potentially severe hepatic disorders. Duloxetine is metabolized by the
cytochrome P450 isoenzymes CYP 1A2 and CYP 2D6, creating a risk of interactions
with other drugs that follow these metabolic pathways. In practice, purely
symptomatic treatments that have no documented efficacy but many adverse effects
should not be used, especially when there is an alternative treatment with a
positive risk-benefit balance."
The FDA approved Cymbalta for depression and diabetic
peripheral neuropathy in 2004 and generalized anxiety disorder in 2007. But last
fall it ordered Lilly to stop downplaying liver toxicity in its promotional
materials.
And an article in the January 2007 issue of
Diabetes Care found Cymbalta actually raises fasting blood glucose,
which can worsen the diabetic peripheral neuropathy it is supposed to treat.
(see: depression; causes and effects).
Cymbalta has other side effects say users in email
messages to a reporter.
In Jim Ellsworth, 52 of Houlton, Maine it caused a
"hypertensive crisis" that did not fully subside until a month after quitting
the drug, he says.
It caused "involuntary twitching and jerking motions"
that persist three years after being off Cymbalta for fibromyalgia, says
Lonna.
And for Amy, who had no history of depression but was
"given Cymbalta for Attention Deficit Disorder, (I haven't been able to find
anywhere that it is even approved for that)" it caused a withdrawal in which she
"went on rampages and cried over everything and felt so sick and awful that I
didn't think I wanted to live anymore."
But worst are the out of character, almost
matter-of-fact suicides like a man described by his family as,
"not depressed, he was a fun-loving guy with all sorts of plans in
place for the future," who was prescribed Cymbalta for foot
pain.
He "had a normal day at work, drove home, said he was
going to grab a sandwich to his wife, and went and shot
himself."
With its number one drug Zyprexa on the ropes --
Alaska and Louisiana sued Lilly for the overwhelming Medicaid costs of treating
Zyprexa-caused diabetes and CEO John C. Lechleiter was caught promoting it off
label by the New York Times -- Lilly is marketing Cymbalta like its
pipeline depends on it.
It used 500 sales reps from the slick contract sales
organization Quintiles International to launch Cymbalta as well as an
unspecified number of its own reps, and hopes to get approval for fibromyalgia
while doctors are still writing about the drug.
But bad press for Cymbalta might start sooner than
Lilly expects -- in a wrongful death suit of Carol Gotbaum, who strangled
herself with handcuffs while in police custody at the Sky Harbor International
Airport in Phoenix, AZ in September.
Press reports say the 45-year-old daughter-in-law of a
New York City elected official and prominent labor leader was under the
influence of Cymbalta.
Martha
Rosenberg - April 28, 2008 - posted at www.alternet.org/healthwellness/
Martha
Rosenberg is staff cartoonist for the Evanston Roundtable
Cymbalta - The Suicide Drug
Submitted by SadInAmerica on Tue, 05/06/2008
- 9:38pm.
Drug
company spin does not change the fact that Cymbalta has been linked to suicide
-- even in otherwise mentally healthy people.
Ask about published reports of 470 completed
suicides
of people on antidepressants since Prozac debuted in 1988 and the drug industry
will say that's depression for you. Without our drugs, it would be
worse.
But how does Eli Lilly and Co. explain the mounting
suicides of people given Cymbalta (duloxetine) for urinary incontinence or
peripheral neuropathy?
The planned debut of Cymbalta, now Lilly's number two
drug, was even delayed by the suicide of a non-depressed person in
2004.
Traci Johnson, a healthy 19-year-old college student
volunteer enrolled in a Cymbalta trial hung herself by a scarf from a shower rod
in Lilly's Indianapolis, IN laboratory while withdrawing from the
drug.
Johnson showed no outward signs of depression and
Lilly said she had been screened for mental problems, but staff conducting a
concurrent Cymbalta trial made comments about her "mental history" to at least
four participants -- perhaps to keep them from dropping out of the trials as a
fifth of volunteers did after the suicide.
After Johnson's death, Lilly was ordered to stop
accepting new volunteers for the study and to have continuing participants
evaluated by an independent psychiatrist and sign new consent forms. But in
another Cymbalta trial of 4,124 depressed patients just weeks later, four more
participants took their lives, according to a Lilly clinical psychiatrist, Dr.
John R. Hayes.
Meanwhile, reports from abroad, where duloxetine was
already in use as a stress urinary incontinence treatment called Yentreve, were
just as grave.
Twice the expected number of suicide attempts among
middle-aged women were seen with the drug -- 400 per 100,000 person-years
versus a baseline of 160 per 100,000 person-years -- said the FDA on its Web
site in June, 2005, leading Lilly to abruptly withdraw its application to sell
Yentreve in the U.S.
Safety data for Cymbalta and Yentreve obtained by
reporter Jeanne Lenzer under a Freedom of Information request for an
Independent Sunday article disclosed 41 deaths and 13 suicides, which
did not include Johnson's or the four cited by Hayes, says
Lenzer.
In fact, in an article titled," Duloxetine: new drug.
For stress urinary incontinence: too much risk, too little benefit," in the
December 2005 issue of French medical journal Prescire International,
the authors conclude that the drug should not even be in
use:
"More than 40 different
types of adverse effects have been reported, including suicide attempts and
potentially severe hepatic disorders. Duloxetine is metabolized by the
cytochrome P450 isoenzymes CYP 1A2 and CYP 2D6, creating a risk of interactions
with other drugs that follow these metabolic pathways. In practice, purely
symptomatic treatments that have no documented efficacy but many adverse effects
should not be used, especially when there is an alternative treatment with a
positive risk-benefit balance."
The FDA approved Cymbalta for depression and diabetic
peripheral neuropathy in 2004 and generalized anxiety disorder in 2007. But last
fall it ordered Lilly to stop downplaying liver toxicity in its promotional
materials.
And an article in the January 2007 issue of
Diabetes Care found Cymbalta actually raises fasting blood glucose,
which can worsen the diabetic peripheral neuropathy it is supposed to treat.
(see: depression; causes and effects).
Cymbalta has other side effects say users in email
messages to a reporter.
In Jim Ellsworth, 52 of Houlton, Maine it caused a
"hypertensive crisis" that did not fully subside until a month after quitting
the drug, he says.
It caused "involuntary twitching and jerking motions"
that persist three years after being off Cymbalta for fibromyalgia, says
Lonna.
And for Amy, who had no history of depression but was
"given Cymbalta for Attention Deficit Disorder, (I haven't been able to find
anywhere that it is even approved for that)" it caused a withdrawal in which she
"went on rampages and cried over everything and felt so sick and awful that I
didn't think I wanted to live anymore."
But worst are the out of character, almost
matter-of-fact suicides like a man described by his family as,
"not depressed, he was a fun-loving guy with all sorts of plans in
place for the future," who was prescribed Cymbalta for foot
pain.
He "had a normal day at work, drove home, said he was
going to grab a sandwich to his wife, and went and shot
himself."
With its number one drug Zyprexa on the ropes --
Alaska and Louisiana sued Lilly for the overwhelming Medicaid costs of treating
Zyprexa-caused diabetes and CEO John C. Lechleiter was caught promoting it off
label by the New York Times -- Lilly is marketing Cymbalta like its
pipeline depends on it.
It used 500 sales reps from the slick contract sales
organization Quintiles International to launch Cymbalta as well as an
unspecified number of its own reps, and hopes to get approval for fibromyalgia
while doctors are still writing about the drug.
But bad press for Cymbalta might start sooner than
Lilly expects -- in a wrongful death suit of Carol Gotbaum, who strangled
herself with handcuffs while in police custody at the Sky Harbor International
Airport in Phoenix, AZ in September.
Press reports say the 45-year-old daughter-in-law of a
New York City elected official and prominent labor leader was under the
influence of Cymbalta.
Martha
Rosenberg - April 28, 2008 - posted at www.alternet.org/healthwellness/
Martha
Rosenberg is staff cartoonist for the Evanston Roundtable
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