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Tai chi, a low impact martial art, has been associated with reduced stress, anxiety and depression, and enhanced mood, in both healthy people and those with chronic conditions. A review of the health effects of tai chi, published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, found that tai chi does appear to have positive psychological effects.
“Tai chi, the Chinese mind-body exercise, has been practiced for centuries for health and fitness in the East and is currently gaining popularity in the West. It is believed to improve mood and enhance overall psychological well being,” says Dr. Chenchen Wang, Associate [...] Continue Reading…
Military service is a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder in some veterans and is also associated with multisymptom illness, gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and psychiatric problems such as anxiety disorder, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine, the latest update in a series of reports on the Gulf War and veterans’ health.
Some veterans suffer a range of symptoms whereas others experience specific, isolated health problems or no ill health. It is likely that post-traumatic stress disorder and multisymptom illness result from the interactions between environmental exposures and genes, and genetics may predispose [...] Continue Reading…
For long-term weight maintenance, women who are middle-aged or older must exercise daily, incorporating at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity into their schedule, according to a new Journal of the American Medical Association study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Most overweight and obese persons who lose weight do not successfully maintain their weight loss over time, and so from a public health perspective, preventing that initial weight gain is important,” says I-Min Lee, M.D., associate epidemiologist in the Division of Preventive Medicine at BWH.
Key points about weight maintenance:
• Making slow, progressive changes leads to new and lasting habits.
• Avoid [...] Continue Reading…
Essential oils can be an effective alternative to antibiotics and may have potential to combat drug-resistant superbugs, according to a new Society for General Microbiology study.
The antimicrobial activity of eight plant essential oils was tested by Yiannis Samaras and Effimia Eriotou, M.D., from the Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands. They found that thyme essential oil was the most effective and was able to almost completely eliminate bacteria within 60 minutes.
The essential oils of thyme and cinnamon were found to be particularly efficient antibacterial agents against a range of Staphylococcus species. Strains of these bacteria are commonly found [...] Continue Reading…
Chocolate has health benefits, in small quantities and if it’s dark chocolate. New research appearing in the European Heart Journal indicates that one small square of chocolate daily can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Researchers in Germany surveyed over 19,000 people and found that those who ate the most amount of chocolate had lower blood pressure and a 39 percent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who consumed less chocolate.
“Small amounts of chocolate may help to prevent heart disease, but only if it replaces other energy-dense food, such [...] Continue Reading…
Spring is here and with it the traditional spring cleaning. A dirty house can contain health threats such as mold and bacteria as well as hazardous clutter. Some of the spring cleaning tasks can improve your health as well as make your home healthier and safer.
Disorganization can have a negative effect on both physical and mental health. These tips for your annual spring cleaning ritual can help to kick-start your health while ensuring your home is healthy.
Be selective about cleaning products. Household cleaners can leave residues or produce fumes. Read labels to determine which are hypoallergenic and non-toxic for [...] Continue Reading…
Fridays from 1pm to 4pm, veterans can receive free acupuncture treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at Acupuncture & Massage College’s Community Clinic, located at 10506 N. Kendall Drive, Miami. Call (305) 595-9500 to schedule an appointment.
Classified as an anxiety disorder, PTSD can result from the experience or witnessing of traumatic or life-threatening events such as terrorist attack, violent crime, torture, genocide, natural disaster, and military combat.
Symptom clusters of PTSD include re-experiencing of the event (intrusive memories, flashbacks), emotional numbing, behavioral avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, and hyper-arousal (difficulty sleeping, irritability, being easily startled).
According to the National [...] Continue Reading…
Reduced calorie diets may make it more difficult to maintain or lose weight. Cutting calories in the diet can increase levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol can lead to additional abdominal fat.
“For the first time in humans, we are finding out that cutting your calories increases cortisol,” says Janet Tomiyama, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, and lead author of a new Psychosomatic Medicine study examining diet and weight gain.
“We think this may be one reason dieters tend to have a hard time keeping weight off in the long-term,” she says. Counting calories and [...] Continue Reading…
Hay fever, or seasonal allergic rhinitis, is caused by airborne pollen and mold spores, and is experienced by over 35 million Americans. Symptoms often include runny nose, stuffiness, itchiness, watery, red eyes, and sneezing.
These symptoms are caused by your immune system, which recognizes pollen and mold as allergens, and produces antibodies that release chemicals to combat them, leading to an allergic reaction.
Symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis are often caused by grasses during the late spring and early summer.
Certain nutrients can help to ease symptoms. The flavonoid quercetin can aid in controlling the release of the histamine that [...] Continue Reading…
Individuals whose diet includes more fish, poultry, nuts, fruits, salad dressing, and vegetables and fewer high-fat dairy products, red meats and butter may be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study appearing in the JAMA journal Archives of Neurology.
“Evidence linking diet, one of the most important modifiable environmental factors, and risk of Alzheimer’s disease is rapidly increasing,” the authors write. “However, current literature regarding the impact of individual nutrients or food items on Alzheimer’s disease risk is inconsistent, partly because humans eat meals with complex combinations of nutrients or food items that are likely to [...] Continue Reading…
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