Health & Fitness Articles

Dangers Posed By Smoking on Women’s Health

Regardless of women’s age, the dangers of smoking contribute to many kinds of cancer as well as infertility, anxiety, blindness and osteoporosis. Quitting smoking is easier said than done. And women, it turns out, have an even harder time quitting than men.

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dangers of smoking

Everybody is aware of the dangers of smoking. It is absolutely damaging to the human body. While carcinogens in cigarettes pose a hazard to everyone, women are three times as likely as men to get aggressive forms of lung cancer and more likely to develop it at an earlier age. Women are also more likely to die of lung cancer than breast cancer.
Quitting smoking is easier said than done. And women, it turns out, have an even harder time quitting than men. Stronger withdrawal symptoms may be attributed to hormones or the bigger nicotine dose absorbed by smaller female bodies. Regardless of women’s age, the dangers of smoking contribute to infertility, anxiety, blindness, and osteoporosis. Pregnant women who smoke risk not only their health but their babies’ as well. Second hand smoke affects the children and other people around mothers who smoke.
Smoking is a vice that almost always begins during adolescence. When teenagers finish from high school without ever smoking regularly, they probably never will. However, while boys and girls are equally likely to start smoking, the latter get the worse health complications. Young people may exhibit symptoms of addiction within a few days or weeks right after they started smoking.
While cigarette smoking was rare in women during the beginning of the 20th century, the tobacco industry realized the potential of women as a market for the expansion of the cigarette industry. In fact, tobacco companies launched the campaign slogan “Instead of a sweet, reach for a smoke” to encouraged women to smoke so as not to gain weight. This was followed by “You’ve come a long way, baby” as a tribute to the burgeoning women’s liberation movement.
These marketing campaigns not only depicted women smokers as beautiful, independent and fun, but also sent subliminal messages that smoking helps women control their weight. Cigarette ads are banned in kids and teens magazines but billion of dollars are spent on t.v., billboards, and adult magazines which can easily be accessed by the youth.
Since 1987, lung cancer has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. About 87% of all lung cancer cases in America is directly attributed to smoking. Smoking causes heart disease, which is the number one killer of women in the U.S. The dangers of smoking contribute to respiratory diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as well as many kinds of cancer.
Women who smoke also harm their appearance as smoking speeds up the aging process and produce more facial wrinkles, gum disease, dental decay, and halitosis. Mental health is also affected due to depression and anxiety disorders. Women are more likely to be depressed than non-smokers, and that women with anxiety disorders are more likely to smoke.
Some women, however, are finding creative ways to break the habit for good. Engaging in activities where smoking wouldn’t fit, such as exercising, biking, mountain-climbing, as well as turning to a non-smoking lifestyle that includes going to smoke-free places with your kids.
The dangers of smoking for women has increased attention and awareness from women’s organizations, resulting in a number of projects that focus on supporting tobacco cessation efforts specifically for women.

Control Hunger with Protein Shakes

Learn why protein shakes can be so beneficial when you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle…..

Keywords:
herbalife product, shapeworks, la bamba herbalife, la bamba diet, labamba, herbal life product, nutrition

Dieting is much easier once you learn to control hunger throughout the day. One popular way many dieters are suppressing their appetites is by drinking protein shakes as replacement meals. Even many bodybuilders are finding protein shakes to be helpful in getting all the protein they need each day.

There are many types and brands of protein shakes such as Herbalife products used in the La Bamba diet. Protein shakes enable you to eat – or drink – two replacement meals each day that are rich in nutrition and protein. The more protein you take in, the more fat your body will burn.

How Protein Shakes Work

Adding more protein to your meals or using protein shakes to supply the protein you need enables your body to burn fat while also building muscle. It preserves your body’s lean muscle mass as well. Protein also helps the body to produce nucleic acids, cellular messengers, hormones, enzymes, and immune system components.

Unfortunately, eating protein in the form of meat can be hard on your digestive system. Protein shakes come in liquid form so they are easy to digest. It only takes approximately 30 minutes for the protein from shakes to reach the muscle after ingestion where solid food proteins could take an hour or longer.

Many bodybuilders will drink a protein shake immediately after a workout to heal and strengthen their muscles. It’s a good idea to eat foods rich in protein at breakfast to get your metabolism moving. Then, add protein or protein shakes to your diet throughout the day so your body will keep burning calories.

Drinking Protein Shakes for Dieting

Protein shakes in dieting are usually meant to replace meals or snacks each day. For example, with La Bamba Herbalife three-day diets, you would drink a shake, take protein powder, drink herbal tea and a beverage mix, and drink herbal aloe drink concentrate for three days.

With the Herbalife Shapeworks diet, however, you’ll drink filling protein shakes, eat healthy snacks, and take herbal supplements to lose weight or maintain your weight over a long period of time. Diets such as these are often customized to meet your dietary needs and your body’s protein requirements.

No matter what type of diet you choose, protein should be a key ingredient because it is so important in burning calories, and it helps you keep that “full” feeling much longer. Use protein shakes to ensure that your body receives the protein it needs and watch those unwanted pounds melt away!

Coping With Constipation Caused By IBS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome with constipation is a treatable medical condition. It is characterized by recurring abdominal pain and discomfort, and bloating along with constipation.

IBS with constipation is common to a number of people. Getting accurate information on what causes IBS with constipation may help in improving the condition. It is also recommended to seek medical assistance from doctors who specialize in this type of disorder.

It is not really clear why some p…

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome with constipation is a treatable medical condition. It is characterized by recurring abdominal pain and discomfort, and bloating along with constipation.

IBS with constipation is common to a number of people. Getting accurate information on what causes IBS with constipation may help in improving the condition. It is also recommended to seek medical assistance from doctors who specialize in this type of disorder.

It is not really clear why some people develop IBS with constipation while others do not. IBS with constipation can be caused by a sensitive, slow working gastro-intestinal tract, which causes abdominal pain, bloating and constipation. This was thought to be due to the way the gastrointestinal tract reacts to the changes in serotonin. Serotonin is a natural occurring chemical in the body that plays an important role in making the gastrointestinal tract function normally.

IBS with constipation may also be affected by diet and disease. Most constipation cases are due to insufficient fiber as well as inadequate fluids in the diet. Fibers are important since they help to soften stools, and water or fluids help to flush stools through the body.

Diet is partially to be blamed for the occurrence of constipation especially for people over 65 years old. Constipation occurring in people in this age range is due to medications, poor diet, and lack of water intake, as well as poor muscle tone.

Teenagers or younger people are also at risk of IBS with constipation; in fact, a great number of young people are suffering from irregular bowel movement. They also experience bloating and abdominal pains. Another factor that contributes to IBS constipation is traveling since most people who are traveling tend to suppress the urge to go to the bathroom. There are also some cases where some people just can’t have a bowel movement in bathrooms that are not familiar to them.

There is still no specific cure for IBS with constipation however there are proper treatments for the symptoms that goes with it. Bowel habits may also be stabilized to diminish abdominal cramping as well as lessen the pain associated with bowel movements.

For symptoms that are transient and only happen occasionally, no special treatment may be needed. However, for those who have persistent and chronic symptoms special treatment may be needed. There is no specific therapy that can resolve all symptoms in patients. However, some treatments may prove to be effective in treating symptoms of IBS with constipation.

The first treatment calls for lifestyle changes. This means recognizing and dealing better with stress. Take some time to relax, sleep, and exercise. The diet for IBS entails for eating smaller amounts of food more frequently. This may help in alleviating symptoms of IBS. Eating foods that are low in fat and high in carbohydrates is also beneficial to keeping a healthy intestine.

Fiber in diet is also excellent in controlling IBS with constipation. The dietary fibers are known to add bulk to the stool creating stools that are much larger and much softer making bowel movements easier and less painful.

Medications are applied for patients that have severe and recurrent symptoms of IBS with constipation. Nevertheless, medications like treatments need to be customized to suit various needs of the patient since different patients tend to respond differently with various medications.

Psychotherapy is also applied to some IBS cases since stress sometimes affects bowel movement. Psychotherapy can provide assistance in coping with chronic illness and uncovering emotional triggers that may be present.

If you suspect you are suffering with IBS, you should first consult your primary care physician before taking other steps.

Common Hearing Aid Myths

MYTH: Hearing aids will cure hearing loss or restore a hearing impaired individual’s hearing to normal.

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Hearing Aid

MYTH: Hearing aids will cure hearing loss or restore a hearing impaired individual’s hearing to normal.

TRUTH: No hearing aid will ever allow a hearing impaired individual to have normal hearing. A hearing aid just cannot provide what the ear and its intricate working of nerves can. What it can do is amplify sounds so that those wearing them can benefit from and enjoy a wide variety of listening situations. Hearing better helps one to respond appropriately thus improving communication skills.

MYTH: Hearing aids will resolve all of a hearing impaired individual’s communication difficulties.

TRUTH: This is impossible, although hearing aids go a long way in helping a hearing impaired individual with their communication skills. Hearing aid wearers often still have problems following conversations when background noise is present or in noisy public settings, thus inhibiting their ability to communicate effectively in those situations.

MYTH: Hearing aids will destroy residual hearing.

TRUTH: Since hearing aids are prescribed according to an individual wearer’s specific hearing loss, it would be a rare occurrence for a hearing aid to cause further damage to a person’s hearing. There are several things a hearing impaired individual can do to further reduce the possibility of damage caused by hearing aids. They must be well maintained, worn correctly and well fitted.

MYTH: Smaller hearing aids have better technology.

TRUTH: Both larger hearing aids and smaller ones are equipped with cutting edge technology. The two most common types of hearing aids are behind the ear (BTE) and completely in the canal (CIC) hearing aids. Whether or not an individual will be able to wear a hearing aid that is nearly invisible to a casual observer, depends on the type of hearing impairment they have. The hearing aid that is most appropriate for one person’s degree of impairment or listening needs, may not necessarily be best suited to another person.

MYTH: Hearing aids are not absolutely necessary for relatively minor hearing losses.

TRUTH: It is not advisable to put off obtaining hearing aids until hearing loss becomes a bigger problem. Over time the risk of permanent sound distortion increases. In this case, even when hearing aids amplify the volume of the spoken word it can still sound garbled.

MYTH: Hearing aids will not be effective for some types of hearing losses.

TRUTH: Generations ago people with certain types of hearing losses, such as high frequency, were told there was little or no help out there for them. With advances in hearing aid technology this is no longer true. Hearing aids are now effective for at least 95 % of hearing impaired individuals.

MYTH: Babies can’t be fitted with hearing aids.

TRUTH: Actually infants as young as a month old can be fitted with hearing aids. With the increase in hearing tests for at risk newborns, hearing impairments are being detected earlier then ever and the world of hearing aid research and technology is doing its best to keep pace.

MYTH: It doesn’t matter where hearing aids are purchased.

TRUTH: While buying hearing aids through mail order or off the internet may be less expensive, it is not necessarily advisable. By purchasing through these venues, a hearing aid consumer may be giving up the quality of care they will get by working with an audiologist. This includes things such as a qualified hearing evaluation, professional recommendations as to the most appropriate type of hearing aid, expert instruction regarding proper hearing aid usage, follow up care, etc.

Type two diabetes

About type two diabetes

Keywords:
diabetes,symtom,insulin,type,blood sugar,glucose,disease,hypoglycemia,

Diabetes is a serious disease that needs to have medical attention as soon as some symptoms begin to surface. The reason why diabetes is serious is because it will cause the body to shut down and you will go into sugar shock. After sugar, shock the body will go into a coma and a person may never come out of the comatose state. Diabetes, in general, can cause the body to stop circulating the blood flow properly and that’s why many diabetics have to have parts of their body amputated. Diabetics also have a higher change of developing kidney, pancreas, and other organ diseases.

Type two diabetes will usually affect people much older than that of type one. It is the most common type of diabetes and effects thousands of people each day. It is also referred to as adult onset diabetes.

Typically, it is due to being overweight, but there are exceptions to the rule. Type one is where your body lacks insulin and type one is where you body will begin to resist insulin. This type is developed by usually genetics and often is passed down through generations. The insulin levels with type two diabetics are sometimes normal, but the body won’t respond to it. This will create higher blood levels because the body is not using the glucose up. When you have type one you are considered to have symptoms of hyperglycemia, however you will have the opposite reaction with type two and have hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia is where you have low blood sugar. It is from the fact that your body cannot provide enough energy for the activities of the body. It will cause you to be hungry much like type one. It will also make you very nervous or shaky. You will perspire more than the average person and you will become dizzy or light headed. You will become over anxious or weak which will cause you to have difficulty speaking or feeling restless. You will also become confused and possibly hallucinate. Because of your anxiety, you may have nightmares or perspire so much during sleep that your entire bed becomes wet or damp. You will often wake up tired, irritable, and confused.

Type two is the most common type of diabetes and exists in all cultures. It is often the result from obesity and it is doesn’t discriminate ethnically or racially. Obesity has become a problem for today’s world and has been found as a tendency to promote diabetes rather it’s genetically enhanced or not.

The causes of the disease have many factors to blame, but genetics seem to be the strongest factor. Obesity is also found to be genetically enhanced and the two could be related somehow. Treatment is simple, it is taken orally to lower the blood sugar which can cause hypoglycemia and at some point insulin injections may be needed.
You can find more information on http://www.all-about-diabetes-symptom.com/

Dental Plans: How To Choose The Best Dental Insurance For You

Find out how to choose the best dental plan or insurance for you…

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dental plan, dental insurance

You understand that you need dental insurance. After all, it is an essential part of life, no different than any other medical coverage. And, despite the fact that you hate going to the dentist, you know that, one day, you may need more than a simple check-up. If an extensive amount of work is done, you need to find yourself covered. So, you need the right plan to suit your lifestyle. Often, businesses will cover dental insurance and offer plans to their employees. This is how the majority pays for their dental work so,
below, we will explain the must common plans used to give you an idea of where to start:

One: direct reimbursement plan. The most favored plan, this lets employees be reimbursed for any money they spend on dental care. If you have anything from a check-up to an operation, you will pay for it, and then your employers will give the money back. This makes it a simple process, hence its popularity. Not all companies can afford to do this, however. Small businesses may not be able to match larger bills.

Two: indemnity plan. Smaller businesses are more likely to use this plan. With it, they will pay one hundred percent of cleanings amount, eighty percent for basic work like getting a cap and fifty percent for surgical procedures. The employee will then pay the rest. While some find this an unfair plan, smaller companies can not afford to pay one percent of every visit. They just do not have the funding.Still, unless a major procedure is being done, the employee will have to pay very little.

Three: managed care plan.This is often the most common, though not always the most favored plan. For businesses with little money to spend on dental insurance, this plan will suffice. Employees pay a co-payment. This, in turn, helps pay for procedures. The more involved the procedure, the higher the co-payment. This allows employers to pay for only some of the bill. Of course, this plan is not popular with most employees as they may end up paying the majority, but it must be understood that, for smaller businesses, dental insurance is more luxury than necessity.

These three plans are the most common found in the work place, and you will–in all likelihood–deal with them. If you have the fortune to work in a larger business, expect the first plan and, therefore, the best plan. Smaller companies will rely more on the other two. While all plans provide coverage, direct reimbursement provides the best and most wide-spread. Of course, because of this, it takes a company with a solid financial ground, Employers lose money with it. Your smaller businesses cannot afford to do that; they need every cent to pay the bills.

Do learn all you can about your company’s care plan, however. Never simply sign anything without understanding what it offers and entails. Learn all you can about benefits and stipulations.

ADD – Treatment Through Medication

Article about treating ADD with various medications.

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a

In this third of a series of articles on ADD we’re going to focus on treatments for ADD besides simple nutrition.

The most common form of treatment for ADD is through medication.

The underlying theory on ADD is that it is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Through certain medications we can correct that imbalance and help a person with ADD to live a normal and productive life.

PET scans of patients with ADD who are taking medication for their condition show that there is significant improvement in many cases.

Medication that is given to treat ADD is to stimulate the production of two neurotransmitters known as dopamine and norephinephrine. These neurotransmitters are needed to carry a nerve impulse along a neuropathway. When one of these transmitters is under supplied the message is stopped short of it’s intended destination. When this happens, whatever function that circuit is assigned to doesn’t work properly.

Your brain circuits are like a computer circuit. They are either on or off. When a circuit is on it makes something happen, like helping a child concentrate on a math problem or read a passage from a novel. When other circuits are on they prevent something from happening. For instance, some circuits prevent a child from becoming over emotional about an event or situation. If this circuit is supposed to be on but isn’t because the transmitter didn’t work then the child ends up getting upset where a child without ADD would have remained calm.

Medicines that treat ADD are not sedatives or tranquilizers. They don’t slow down the nervous system. What they do is stimulate various areas of the brain to be more active, actually the reverse of a sedative. By being more active, concentration and attention are improved. This medication helps circuits stay on when they’re supposed to be on.

The most common medication for ADD is Ritalin, which is a psychostimulant. The drug appears to work very well in treating ADD. However, it has gotten a lot of bad press even though it is relatively safe and very effective. Should Ritalin not work other drugs may be used like antidepressants and beta blockers. These have both been shown to be very effective for certain patients.

Other drugs that have been used to treat ADD are Dexedrine, Desoxyn, Adderall, and Cylert, which are all stimulant drugs like Ritalin. The most common antidepressants are Desiprimine, Anafranil, Elavil, Tofranil, Wellbutrin, Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. Then there are neuroleptics which were developed to treat serious mental disorders like psychosis and schizophrenia. In patients with severe ADD symptoms these have been very effective treatments. The most common of these drugs is Haldol and Mellaril. However the AMA cautions that these drugs should only be used in the most severe cases of ADD. Then you have mood stabilizers which are lithium based drugs that are very effective in certain cases in calming a child down.

The number of drugs to treat ADD is numerous and growing everyday. With proper diagnosis and testing it is relatively easy to find the right drug for treating the disorder in each case.

In the next article we’ll discuss other treatments for ADD.

The Home Buyers Guide to Choosing a Treadmill

This artcle covers everything a buyer needs to know when heading out to purchase a new treadmill. The Treadmill Sensei gives you the knowledge you need to navigate the confusing waters of treadmill buying.

Keywords:
treadmill, review, treadmill sensei

Moshi Moshi!

Hello again from the Far East on the West Coast, and greetings from the DOJO. This week, before I get in to the nuts and bolts of the treadmills and the ellipticals I work on, I’m going to start with a quick guide to how to choose a treadmill — well, how to choose a residential / home grade treadmill. Choosing a commercial treadmill tends to be a bit easier — go Star Trac, Matrix, Landice or Life Fitness and, in spite of their great ellipticals, avoid Precor treadmills. Precor is a great company, they just don’t quite have treadmills down as well as the other companies. With the commercial treadmills it’s kind of like choosing between a BMW, a Mercedes and a Lexus. It’s all about bells and whistles more than performance…they’re all great machines and we’ll talk about them another time.

Home treadmills are a tough sea to navigate for most buyers — there are so many different brands and they all look alike to outsiders. Luckily, over the past 20 or so years, I’ve had to repair just about every treadmill ever made. In other words, my pain will be your salvation!

My first piece of advice is: avoid anything and everything from Icon Health and Fitness. They’re the manufacturer of the units you’ll find at places like Sears — nothing against Sears, but the treadmills they sell tend to be on the lower end of the quality scale. Their treadmills seem to have specs that are too good to be true for their cost and, truth be told, they are. The old proverb, “you get what you pay for” comes in to play with them. Small motors with high RPMs to give them a perceived higher horsepower (most of their motors should really be rated at under 1.5 HP regardless of what they tell you — a motor the size of a soda can should not be powering a full sized treadmill!), lots of plastic pieces, tiny rollers, and generally unstable machines are par for the course for the Icon brands like Proform, Weslo, Healthrider and Image. Just stay away from them! There are better treadmills even at the more affordable prices that Icon tempts the unlearned consumer with.

On with translating the arcane lore that is treadmill purchasing for the lay person.

Let’s start with the motor. The first thing you want to do is make sure the motor is rated with “Continuous Duty.” Any sales person or manufacturer who gives you a “Peak” rating is trying to sell you a bag of magic beans. Peak is best described as the maximum a motor will perform at before it breaks down. What’s more imporant is: how the heck is that motor going to perform when you’re actually using it? Another thing a shady salesperson might mention is that a common home circuit (120v/15amps) will only let you run about 2.5 HP and any motor larger than that is a waste of money. Technically that is true (about the amps vs. HP, not the waste of money), but the larger motors will tend to last longer as they are not running at the higher RPMs of a smaller motor. And, if nothing else, the larger the motor, the smoother the “ride.” A bigger motor will allow you to run or walk on it without slipping.

The next thing to look at is the size of a treadmill’s rollers. The bigger the rollers, the longer your belt will last and the better the running experience.

Next, and this is my favorite thing — especially when recommending cardio equipment to my in-laws — the warranty. Like anything else, the better the warranty the more piece of mind you will have. The 5 year parts warranty on Spirit treadmills, for example, is one of the best in the business. For me, the more faith a manufacturer has in its own product (i.e. the warranty), the more faith I have in that product. Of course, doing repairs I absolutely love the lower end warranties as it means more paying work for me!

What’s next? The weight and stability of the machine. There is nothing worse than getting on a treadmill and having it move back and forth, or shake, or, even worse, creak as you run on it. The heavier the unit the longer it will last. If you’re used to running on a treadmill at your local gym and then get on most home units, you’ll immediately notice the difference. You don’t want to be running around on something that feels like it is going to fall apart now do you? Don’t answer, that was a rhetorical treadmill question.

The tread and the deck are where most problems for treadmills happen. When the friction from your running builds up between the deck and the tread, the badness begins. Stick with the 4-ply belts/treads that help to reduce the amount of friction, and look at units with reversable, phenolic wax coated decks. Reversable decks let you flip over your running surface to use the opposite side when the original wears down. It’s like having a free second deck if you wear out the first one.

Programs. Don’t be fooled by this. Most people only wind up using 3-4 programs. If the treadmill has 20, that’s cool, but you’ll rarely use them. If you do heart rate training, then heart rate control is great. If not, it’s just an extra you’ll never use…like the clock you’ve never set on your VCR.

Speed and Incline are worth talking about. Most treadmills can go up to about 10 miles per hour and a 10 degree incline. Don’t let speed or incline become a deciding factor unless you’re doing a lot of high speed or high incline training. Obviously, electronically controlled speed and incline are the way to go. If those feature are manual just move on.

Finally, test out the shock absorbtion. You want to make sure you aren’t running on a hard surface. This is a “feel” thing more than a “scientific” one. If the deck is bouncy, move on. If the deck feels like running on concrete, move on. If the deck moves from side to side, move on. You want to find a deck that feels good, with just enough give and little to no lateral motion.

Beyond that fans, speakers, cup holders, magazine racks and even television sets on the treadmill’s console are all just icing on the cake. It’s better to get a good treadmill without a fan or TV and spend $50 to buy your own than to get a crappy, fully loaded treadmill which will eventually just become an expensive coat rack for dirty clothes.

Now, I know I alread typed “finally” but there is one last piece to consider: PRICE. You can only get what you can get but don’t be fooled into buying a lemon. There are decent (and some downright Great) treadmills at just about every price point. I’ll go over some of the best, at least in my experience, treadmills in the under $1000 range in the next week.

Don’t despair, there is a good treadmill out there you can actually afford!

-The Treadmill Sensei

Depression Linked With Hyperparathyroidism

Whether young or old, no one is spared from going down the abyss of depression. Not even research scientist Marlene Belfort who described the experience as being in psychic hell, was able to eat or sleep during the experiment. It was found that psychosis was the scariest aspect of Belfort’s depression.

Keywords:
depression

It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, what you believe in. Whether young or old, no one is spared from going down the abyss of depression. Not even research scientist Marlene Belfort. Her vivid recounts of bouts with depression and the discovery of its possible link with hyperparathyroidism is written in an article published by the New York Times.
Belfort was 46 when she felt nervous and depressed, exactly the same age when her father had committed suicide. While her married life seemed fine, with a supportive husband, three healthy sons and a good career to get by, anxiety prompted her to seek the help of a psychiatrist. She was found to be suffering from dysthymia, or simply called burnout. While no medications were prescribed, she was told that she had to deal with her repressed feelings as the child of a suicide. Psychotherapy was offered as a promising option.
According to Belfort, in science and in psychotherapy, one approaches a problem from different angles through observation, hypothesis, discarding theories and drawing conclusions. When the evidence from various directions converges on a point, that point becomes a discovery, a new “truth.”
Four years of therapy seemed alright until Belfort suddenly began to feel profoundly depressed and returned to therapy three years later. She was advised to take antidepressants. And though she had never taken anything more than aspirin, not even for childbirth, she conceded to the use of antidepressants in various combinations and at increasing doses as depression deepened.
She described the experience as being in “psychic hell”, a place where she was unable to eat or sleep. During this time, an odd e-mail message arrived from her friend and colleague, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who questioned her contributions to a collaborative discovery that had won for her recognition. She reacted irrationally and began to assume that all her scientific work was fraudulent and that her friend had found her out.
Psychosis was the scariest aspect of Belfort’s depression. She didn’t realize that the true intentions of her colleague was to check the facts for he had nominated her to an esteemed scientific academy. Her paranoia deepened, her depression worsened, and was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
While inside, she was stripped of everything that could inflict harm on herself: sharp objects, vitamins (drugs and food supplements were prohibited), and her valued right to independence. Yet in the midst of fear and deprivations, the hospital staff cared for her like a child.
She experienced having been repeatedly strapped to a table and zapped for shocked therapy. But almost immediately, she began to recover from the incapacitating despair that had shut down her life.
Psychopharmacology and talk therapy kept her from re-hospitalization. “The episodes put me back in touch with my father’s death, and although suicide seemed like an alternative to my hopelessness, it was not an option. I had too much to live for,” recounted Belfort.
The turning point in her life came when her psychiatrist had been struck by the sudden onset of a first major depression in midlife. “He insisted on a blood workup. The results showed an endocrine condition called hyperparathyroidism, which causes elevated levels of blood calcium and parathyroid hormone. He pointed out a potential link to depression, prompting me to check the data,” wrote Belfort.
“When I did, sure enough, I grasped that there might indeed be a significant connection. Four years after my hospitalization for depression, I had surgery to control the parathyroid problem, followed by a second operation two years later. Plotting the data, I realized that when my calcium and hormone levels returned to normal, so did the moods. That was three years ago.”
She wondered whether her father also suffered from hyperparathyroidism. She also wondered whether doctors will routinely explore a physical basis for the sudden, unexplained onset of emotional pain.

Enhance Weight Loss and Overcome Your Plateau with these 5 Easy Tips

If you’ve hit a plateau on your weight loss diet, here are five easy ways to get back on track…

Keywords:
weight loss tips, weight loss diets, free weight loss, fast weight loss, healthy weight loss

If you need to lose a few extra pounds but feel you’ve hit a plateau, there are several ways to get your body back in the weight loss mode. A plateau is when you’re no longer losing weight though it seems nothing has changed in your diet or exercise routine. Your body has adapted to the diet and now refuses to budge. So you must make some changes to boost your weight loss again. These five free weight loss tips can help.

1. Change your calorie intake.

One way to overcome a plateau while maintaining a healthy weight loss plan is to change your calorie intake. Monitor how many calories you’re eating and decrease them slightly to see if your weight scale moves again. You might try the zigzag method as well. To do this, decrease calories one day, and then increase calories the next. This helps shift your body out of its comfort zone. Only make minor adjustments and monitor your weight with each small change.

2. Replace a snack or two.

If you usually eat a chocolate bar as a mid-afternoon snack, try replacing this with a fruit or vegetable. Eat apples, bananas, carrots and low-fat dip, or celery and low-fat dip instead of chocolate. Fruits and vegetables are not only filling, but they also promote healthy weight loss.

3. Keep exercising, but endure longer.

Another way to boost weight loss and get your body moving again is to increase your exercise time. Instead of 30 minutes a day, try exercising 45 minutes a day. Walk every chance you get. Walking is a great (non-strenuous) exercise that helps your heart and promotes healthy weight loss. Park your car a little farther from the mall than usual when shopping. Walk your dog twice a day instead of only once. Take a walk during your breaks at work. These small changes can make a big difference in your weight loss efforts.

4. Monitor “what” you are eating.

Are you eating mainly sugar and carbohydrates on your weight loss diet? If so, try replacing one or two of these with a protein-rich food. Protein is a proven fat burner and energy booster, and many weight trainers use it to boost their workouts. Protein also helps you fill full longer so you’re less likely to be hungry an hour later. There are protein snack bars on the market now so you can easily get a boost during the day. Other changes you can make include increasing your water and fiber intake if you feel you’re not getting enough of these.

5. Eat smaller, more frequent meals.

Instead of eating three large meals a day, try eating smaller, more frequent meals. Reduce portion sizes at your regular meals, and add small snacks in between each meal. This helps boost your metabolism and keeps you from being hungry during the day and splurging at night.

Keep in mind that fast weight loss can be unhealthy, but you might lose fast at the start of any diet or when overcoming a plateau. This is normal. These tips are to help you break the plateau so you can start losing weight again. Weight loss diets can help you feel and look better than you ever have before. Use these ideas to break through your plateau today so you can reach your future weight loss goals.