StemCell Therapy

I had no downtimeI hopped on the subway ideal right after, went to perform, and did almost everything as standard. There was slight redness from the acupuncture and some puffiness all around the injection internet sites but nothing at all that was way too distracting or embarrassing to be observed in public. (Ive heard anecdotally that gals who get the microneedling edition experience more redness and swelling.)

And then the future working day I woke up to the ideal my pores and skin has looked given that, effectively, I cant tell you how lengthy. I have only recently developed out of a decadelong struggle with zits (I still get flare-ups and breakouts), and it really is remaining me some texture and tone concerns. It really is genuinely practically nothing so important that would result in me any duress, but its some thing that I discover about my skin. I see it predominantly all around my cheeks, chin, and mouth: There is certainly the subtlest hint of rolling scars, pigmentation issues, and slight uneven texture total. (I will say that most outsiders likely wouldnt characterize me as possessing acne scars, as I have been diligent with my publish-zits pores and skin treatment and then blur the relaxation with make-up, but it continue to quite substantially annoys me.) It also worried me heading forward pores and skin loses firmness as you get more mature, and any texture issue you develop when you are youthful tends to get even worse. I was nervous that if I experienced these dents now, even if they had been smallwhat would they appear like in 10, 20, 30 decades?

And almost overnight, these indented areas had stuffed out it was the smoothest my pores and skin had at any time been because my initial breakout decades and yrs in the past. To be sincere, I wasnt rather well prepared for it to handle my pimples scarring as well as it did, but board-accredited dermatologist Kiera Barr, M.D., formerly talked about to me that it was becoming employed for healing a variety of pimples scar tissue styles.

Weirdly, what I seen as the most important variance had almost nothing to do with appearances. When I washed my face, I could feel the texture alter: It was plush and tight. The small intricacies of my skin, the ones that you only notice if you contact it day in and day out, felt easy, and the in general high-quality experienced improved.

In the coming days, the skin only enhanced. Firshein tells me that benefits build in excess of time, even though it will probable get started to plateau inevitably. The positive aspects can very last up to 15 months.

Excerpt from:
What Are PRP Injections & Acupuncture? I Analyzed The Integrative Therapy - asume tech

Cancer coaches make the disease and survivorship more manageable with goal-oriented plans.

As she recovered and prepared for weeks of alternating radiation therapy and chemotherapy, Gendreau searched for online support groups and information about novel treatments. My medical care team was great, but I didnt feel like they had the time to sit with me, answer questions, explain alternative or complementary therapies or help me discern what my future might look like, Gendreau says. The hospital had a wall plastered with brochures, but I needed more one-on-one engagement and direction. Early on, it became clear that it was primarily my responsibility to research new studies, alternative therapies and potential clinical trials all while I was still recovering from brain surgery.

In her search for answers and resources, Gendreau stumbled onto the webpage for cancer coach Jeannine Walston. I didnt know that cancer coaches existed, Gendreau says. But when I read Walstons story and saw her credentials, I knew she was the person who could help me navigate this confusing new world I was now living in.

In 1998, at age 24, Walston learned she had a rare type of cancerous brain tumor, oligoastrocytoma. Over the past two decades, she has undergone three brain surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, clinical trials and integrative cancer therapies, even venturing overseas for treatments. Walstons diagnosis changed the trajectory of her life. She embarked on a cancer-focused career path, working as a patient advocate, educator and researcher for nonprofit organizations, the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Healths National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (now the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). She is also a CURE contributor.

Walston, who lives in Los Angeles, started offering her services as a cancer coach in 2007. At that point, I had provided information to support groups, attended brain tumor and cancer conferences, and worked in the cancer field for 10 years, she says. Many people kept coming to me for advice and information. I wanted to help, and I knew my personal and professional experiences coaching cancer patients and caregivers addressed essential needs.

EMPOWERING PATIENTS TO MEET CHALLENGESThe popularity of professional coaching has grown significantly since the 1990s. There are coaches to help discern purpose in life, improve health and wellness, navigate divorce and break into a new career. Whatever the problem, theres a coach who can offer help. In many ways, cancer coaches are a natural extension of health and wellness coaching, helping clients mainly patients but also caregivers and other loved ones improve quality of life throughout the cancer journey.

Cancer coaches provide a valuable service by helping patients create goal-oriented plans that help them manage particular challenges, says Dawn Wiatrek, interim senior vice president of patient and caregiver support for the American Cancer Society (ACS). As soon as you receive a cancer diagnosis, so many factors are out of your control. Coaches provide needed support and guidance that help patients break down barriers and instill a feeling of confidence. They empower the patient to feel more in charge of an uncertain health situation. Wiatrek notes that the ACS has been coaching people for years through its tobacco cessation program. Cancer coaching is a similar idea, she says. You are giving someone the tools to help them navigate what seems like an insurmountable task.

Talaya Dendy, founder of On the Other Side cancer coaching in St. Paul, Minnesota, says her services save clients from putting time, effort and energy into treatment planning that would be better focused on physical and emotional healing. I research treatments, cancer centers, specialists and available resources and condense that information into easy-to-understand terms that spare the client the gloomy statistics, Dendy says. In addition to helping clients manage the emotional side of cancer, she helps them maximize time with care teams. Patients are often shocked at how little time they actually have with their oncologist or medical team, Dendy says. I make sure my clients are prepared for these appointments so they can advocate for themselves, get the answers they need and make informed decisions.

The ACS sees so many patient benefits to cancer coaching that the organization is using a grant to provide coach training to ACS patient navigators employed at approximately 70 cancer or medical centers nationwide, Wiatrek says. Historically, the role of a navigator has been to provide patients, caregivers and loved ones with resources for things like paying medical expenses, getting to and from treatments and connecting patients to community organizations that can offer assistance, she says. Increasingly, our navigators have found more patients relying on them to counsel them through what questions to ask their care team or asking for more personal guidance.

As employees of hospitals or cancer centers, patient navigators and oncology social workers can help schedule appointments and medical tests, as well as work with billing departments and health insurers, something cancer coaches dont do. Navigators and social workers may steer a patient toward general information about treatments and social support networks, whereas coaches can spend more time researching and gathering information specific to a patients needs.

Preliminary results from the six ACS sites that piloted the patient navigator coach training are positive. Patients said that they felt more confident after being coached on how to improve communication with their care team, Wiatrek says. Patients also understood their treatment plans better, and doctors noted improved compliance. By offering not only in-person sessions but also services via phone, Skype and email, cancer coaches may bridge a gap in care for patients who lack easy access to hospital or cancer center resources.

Because cancer coaching is a relatively new field, few studies address its specific benefits and effectiveness. Findings from a 2017 study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham showed that pairing older cancer patients with nonmedical professionals who received coach-type training reduced patients need for other health care resources, which in turn lowered costs. Other studies on health coaching suggest that these services bolster patient engagement, leading to improved quality of life, reduced hospital readmission rates and lowered medical expenses. Health coaching appears to be especially helpful for people dealing with chronic illnesses like cancer.

A COMPLEMENTARY APPROACH TO CARECancer coaches arent meant to replace patient navigators, oncology social workers or case managers, and they are quick to emphasize that they are not medical experts. I share what I know from my unique patient perspective and decades of experience working in cancer and health care arenas. I do not give medical advice, Walston says.

Gendreau first turned to Walston for help gathering information about possible treatments so that she could consider them, speak to her care team and make informed decisions. My job for a software company required doing a good bit of research, so I felt confident in my researching skills, Gendreau says. Still, I was overwhelmed when I started exploring my condition and treatment options. I felt like I was being buried in a landslide of information.

Walston helped Gendreau create an action plan, breaking down her to-do list into achievable steps. This approach eased some of Gendreaus anxiety and uncertainty. Walston also researched and shared information about integrative therapies, such as yoga, acupuncture and art, something Gendreaus care team didnt seem to have the time or expertise to address.

Most recently, Gendreau asked Walston for help deciphering the vast number of clinical trial opportunities. I could ask my husband or daughter to do some of this research, but that exposes them to all of the scary statistics and information. They are as shocked and frightened as I am, says Gendreau, who emphasizes that Walston serves strictly as her coach and not her therapist. I have a terrific therapist who is helping me cope with my emotions, she says. The coaching aspect gives me a sounding board, a place to discuss ideas and next steps. Having Jeannine to turn to has greatly lifted a burden off of me and my loved ones.

Some medical centers and nonprofit organizations pair patients and mentors who have a similar diagnosis. Cancer coaches go beyond this type of peer-to-peer service. A mentor or peer provides emotional support. They can tell you about their experiences, but their role isnt to give advice or offer suggestions on what you should do, says licensed social worker Angelique Caba, senior director of social work administration for CancerCare, a national nonprofit organization that provides free, professional support services for anyone affected by cancer. A coach provides practical guidance and helps you anticipate barriersto care and troubleshoot for problems.

Donita Wheeler, founder of Donita Mama Bear, a cancer coaching company, believes her services complement those of other specialists. I feel each of us has something unique to offer to the cancer community. We must lean on each other to get through the most difficult times, she says.

That is exactly what Gendreau is doing with her coach. I now know that it was naive of me to expect to get much hand-holding from my oncologist, she says. I appreciate that there are cancer coaches who have taken the worst evil you can imagine and turned it into a passion to help others.

Read more from the original source:
Putting the Ball In Your Court With Cancer Coaches - Curetoday.com

Antibiotic treatment can disrupt the gut microbiome at the strain level, with changes lasting as long as six months.

Trillions of microbes in the intestine aid human health, including digestion of breast milk, breaking down fiber and helping control the immune system. However, antibiotic treatment is known to disrupt the community structure of these microbes 500 to 1,000 bacterial species that have a mainly beneficial influence.

A study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham now has tracked this disruption at the level of a strain of microbes replacing another strain of the same species in 30 individuals all of them young, healthy adults who would be expected to have stable microbial communities.

As shown from our analysis, the capacity to recover with respect to the number and stability of new strains is specific for each individual, said Casey Morrow, Ph.D., leader of the research team and professor emeritus in UABs Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology.

Differences in recovery have potential health implications, Morrow says.

It is possible that as individuals age, with each differing in numbers and cycles of antibiotic treatment, the reservoir of microbial strains is depleted, resulting in an intra-individual recovery pattern for specific microbial strains, he said. Understanding this recovery pattern including the occurrence of particular strains following antibiotics may be an important consideration for long-term health.

In the future, the characterization of these individual-specific recovery patterns could also be used to forecast the susceptibility to both endogenous and exogenous microbial pathogens.

The UAB study used bioinformatic tools to analyze a previously described study of 18 individuals who had been given a single antibiotic, cefprozil, for a week. Their fecal samples were collected at pre-treatment, at the end of antibiotic treatment and at three months post-treatment. The UAB study also analyzed previously described data of 12 individuals who were given a combination of three antibiotics meropenem, gentamicin and vancomycin for four days. Their fecal samples were collected at pretreatment; at end of treatment; and at four, 38 and 176 days post-treatment. Six control individuals who did not receive antibiotics were also analyzed.

Casey Morrow, Ph.D.In general, the UAB researchers found that strains of the 10 most abundant species remained stable in controls. In the single antibiotic treatment individuals, 15 of 18 individuals had transient new strains post-treatment that, in turn, were replaced by the original strain by three months post-treatment.

In contrast, the triple-antibiotics individuals showed a significant increase of new strains that persisted as long as six months after treatment, as compared to the single antibiotic and the control individuals. Furthermore, the fraction of transient strains was also significantly higher in the multiple antibiotics individuals. This suggested a long-term change to an alternative stable microbiome state, Morrow says. These changes were not due to a difference in growth rates.

Given the importance of the microbiome in human health, we think our results with these data sets can be used to help evaluate microbiome stability under different conditions, Morrow said. For example, we can now provide guidance to clinical investigators to judge the impact of certain treatments for diseases, such as cancer or diabetes, on the gut microbial community that could be significant for evaluation of outcomes. Furthermore, this approach could be applied to a patients pre- and post-hospitalization to identify individuals who may need further management of their microbiomes.

This study used a strain-tracking bioinformatics tool previously developed by UAB, called Window-based Similarity Single-nucleotide-variant, or WSS, for tracking of individuals microbial strains from pre-treatment to post-antibiotics treatment, said Hyunmin Koo, Ph.D., UAB Department of Genetics and Heflin Center for Genomic Science, who led the informatics analysis. This technique advances analysis of the impact of antibiotics on the human gut microbiota. Previous studies of the microbiome had been able to determine an overall taxonomic profile including the relative abundance information of each species, but showed a limitation to distinguish each species at the strain level or track the same strain in each individual at the longitudinal level.

In 2017, the UAB researchers used WSS to show the first direct demonstration that fecal donor microbes used to treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections remained in recipients for months or years after fecal transplants.

The antibiotics study was published in the Nature Partner Journals Biofilms and Microbiomes. Co-authors with Morrow and Koo are David K. Crossman, UAB Department of Genetics and Heflin Center for Genomic Science; Joseph A. Hakim, UAB Department of Biology; Ranjit Kumar, Biomedical Informatics, UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences; and Elliot J. Lefkowitz, UAB Department of Microbiology.

Support came from the UAB School of Medicine. The Cheaha UABgrid of the UAB Information Technologys Research Computing group provided the high-performance computing support necessary for bioinformatics analyses.

Original post:
Transient and long-term disruption of gut microbes after antibiotics - UAB News

Deepak Chopra, the doctor and self-help guru, who turns seventy-three next week, has written more than one book for every year he has been alive. Chopra was born in New Delhi and studied medicine in India before moving to the United States, in 1970. After practicing as an endocrinologist in Massachusetts, he became involved in the Transcendental Meditation movement. He eventually relocated to the West Coast, left T.M. behind, and became a spiritual adviser to Michael Jackson and other celebrities. A quarter century later, his books have sold millions of copies, and his television appearancesespecially alongside Oprah Winfreyhave made him perhaps the most prominent advocate for alternative medicine recognizable around the world.

Chopras work evinces a consistent skepticism toward the scientific consensushe has called into question whether evolution is merely a process of the mindand a firm belief that mental health can determine physical reality. He has written of a place called perfect healththe title of one of his books, and now the slogan for one of his wellness retreatsin which human beings can go somewhere internally that is free from disease, that never feels pain, that cannot age or die. These beliefs have made him controversial among doctors and scientists. In 1998, Chopra was awarded the satirical Ig Nobel Prize for his unique interpretation of quantum physics as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic happiness. A random Chopra-quote generator is popular online, and Chopra has been called out for tweeting and writing phrases that, in the words of one paper, may have been constructed to impress upon the reader some sense of profundity at the expense of a clear exposition of meaning or truth. (Example: Attention and intention are the mechanics of manifestation.)

Chopras latest book is Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, and it touches on a number of themes that have been present throughout his career: that human beings can become metahuman by reaching a new place of awareness; that science has served to block the way to the absolute freedom that metahuman holds out; and that self-improvement can move creation itself. I recently spoke by phone with Chopra. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed controversial remarks he has made about cancer and AIDS, his claim to have never been even a tiny bit sick, and whether there is a reality that exists independently of our own minds.

How do you define yourself and what you do?

I would say that to define oneself is to limit oneself. But Ive had various roles through my life. Im an internist, an endocrinologist, a neuro-endocrinologist; a teacher of integrative medicine and an author; a husband, a son, a father, a child.

I know you are a doctor, but does thinking about yourself as a doctor seem limiting to you in some way?

It seems limiting to me, but I would say I think of myself closer to a healer. Because, when I look at healing and the origins of the word healing, its related to the word whole. So wholeness means everything, including body, mind, and spirit, and the environment. I think of myself as a doctor who is interested in the physical body, but also in all aspects of human experiencehuman emotions, human thinking, human experience, and, ultimately, in understanding ourselves beyond the conditioned mind. So I would say I want to be a healer. Thats my aspiration.

At what point in your career did you become famous?

Some people think it happened with The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 1993, when she did a one-to-one with me for a book called Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, which then stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for thirty-some weeks. Actually, my most well-known book is The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. But I have to say that Oprah helped me a lot with the launch of my career, and shes been an ally ever since. Weve taught six million people meditation online together.

How many books have you written now?

This is my ninetieth book.

Would you say your writing process has changed between your first and your ninetieth?

Yes. My process was more structured in the past. And now I feel its more a flow than anything else. I used to always be told by media and publishers, and even the BBC when I was in England, to dumb everything down, and I used to, and I dont anymore. I feel free to say whatever I want to.

Ive been looking for a through line in your work, and the one that Ive noticed most is the idea that our minds can determine reality, or that theres a connection between our minds and reality. Is that a fair way of phrasing it?

Yes. The correct phrase would be that our experience of the world, and of our body, is a projection of our conditioned mind. So, when youre born, you have no human constructs. Youre looking at the world as a messy, gooey experience of color, form, shapes, sounds, pictures, smells, tastes, and random thoughts, which are yet not clear. But then a construction process begins. And so youre told, Youre male, youre of a religious background, ethnic background, nationality, gender. And that begins to create a provisional identity. And then that provisional identity has perceptual experiences but interprets them as the physical body and the world. But, in the deeper reality, theres no such thing. All there is is consciousness experiencing itself perceptually, as perceptual activity, which is species-specific. You dont see the same world as a painted lady, a species of butterfly that smells the world with an antenna, tastes the world with her feet. So what is the picture of the world to a snake that navigates through the experience of infrared?

If you and a snake perceive the world differently and experience it differently, does that mean that the world is actually different? Or does it just mean that we perceive it differently?

We can only experience a narrow band with our perceptual reality. So there is no such thing as a physical world. Thats where Im going. Our experience of the world is species- and culture-specific. And that is what we interpret as fundamental reality.

You once said, Consciousness is key to evolution and we will soon prove that. What did you mean?

You know, Ive said in the past that Darwinian evolution is a human constructthat, ultimately, consciousness drives at least human evolution. We can direct our evolution by the choices we make. And now that we know the science of epigenetics and neuroplasticity, we can see very clearly that, because we are self-aware, unlike other species, we can consciously direct our evolution. And that is what epigenetics and neuroplasticity are showing us.

Epigenetics is not that we can direct our evolution, though, is it?

Well, we can trigger the activity of certain genes and decrease the activity of certain other genes. So, when people practice self-reflection or mindful awareness, or they have the experience of transcendence, you can actually see which genes get activated and which genes get deactivated. Theres a mechanism to that. So you can actually activate the genes that cause self-regulation or homeostasis, and actually decrease the activity of the genes that cause inflammation. So what is healing? It is nothing but self-regulation or homeostasis. And what is disease is mostly linked to chronic inflammation. Only five per cent of disease-related gene mutations are fully penetrant, which means they guarantee the disease. That includes everything, from Alzheimers to cancer to autoimmune disease. Only five per cent is related to genetic determinism. The rest is influenced by life style. [Gerard Karsenty, the chair of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, says, Those assumptions include non-Mendelian diseases. It is for now hard to precisely assess in multigenic diseases the extent of the contribution of gene mutations and the one of lifestyle taken in a broad sense. This is particularly true for autoimmune diseases that hit at all ages, including during childhood and with a higher incidence in women.]

You tweeted, An emerging view, alternate to Darwins random mutations & natural selection is that consciousness may be the driver of complexity/evolution.

Correct. But there are a few people who agree with that.

So, you know, scientists generally are nave realists. Which means they look at the picture of the world, and thats what it is.

What do you do, if not that?

Ive become aware of that which is having the experience rather than the experience, which in spiritual traditions is called the self. The body, the mind, and the world are the self.

It seems like all of these things are fitting under the rubric of what we were talking about earlier about consciousness and reality. I know you once said something like, The moon doesnt exist unless someone sees it. Is that right?

No, no. That was Einsteins quote, by the way. He actually said, I refuse to believe that the moon doesnt exist if no one is looking at it. [In his biography of Einstein, Abraham Pais recounted an interaction he had with the physicist who asked me if I really believed that the moon exists only if I look at it.] Thats a statement coming from a nave realist. The moon that you and I see is a human experience. A horseshoe crab doesnt have that experience living in the depths of the ocean.

Einstein was incredulously asking someone whether they really believe that the moon only exists when its looked at. Correct?

Yes. The moon is an experience in human consciousness. The moon that you and I see is an experience in human consciousness. If there was no human consciousness, no body, mind to go with it, there would be no awareness of the moon.

But the moon would still be there, correct?

How do you prove that? How do you validate that? How do you disprove that? How do you prove an unobserved phenomenon?

The moon is a human story. The universe is a human story. Its a human construct, or human experiences, and interpreted by the human mind.

So this would be akin to the question, which Im sure weve all heard, that if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

Correct. The sound is only in consciousness. Before that its a vibration of air molecules.

But the vibration of air molecules are occurring. Correct?

The vibration of air molecules is a human construct for a human mode of knowing and experience in human consciousness, so yes, they are constructs. The air molecules are as much of a construct as latitude and longitude, as The New Yorker, as Greenwich Mean Time, as money, as Wall Street, as Manhattan.

Im not sure what that means.

Human constructs are human ideas around modes of human knowing.

I see.

So an atom, a molecule, a force field, vibration of moleculesthese are all human constructs.

So its not that the tree is making a sound and we just happen to be there or not there to hear it. Its that the sound is only present to the degree that we are also present.

Actually, there is no tree and there is no sound and there is no body and there is no mind. Theres only consciousness thats having an experience. The rest is human constructs.

In your book Quantum Healing, you wrote, Research on spontaneous cures of cancer conducted in both the United States and Japan has shown that just before the cure appears, almost every patient experiences a dramatic shift in awareness. He knows that he will be healed and he feels that the force responsible is inside himself, but not limited to him. It extends beyond his personal boundaries throughout all of nature. Suddenly he feels, I am not limited to my body. All that exists around me is part of myself. At that moment, such patients apparently jumped to a new level of consciousness that prohibits the existence of cancer. Then the cancer cells either disappear, literally overnight in some cases, or at the very least stabilize without damaging the body any further.

So if you were a scientist and you saw one case of that, one in a billion, youd want to know the mechanism. And I feel the mechanism is a return to fundamental homeostasis, which means self-regulation, and total absence of fear, including the fear of death. Because your identity is no longer your body-mind.

And so is that more important than medicine?

No, I think medicine is very useful for acute illness. If you have pneumonia, I certainly tell you to take an antibiotic. You break your leg, Id have you see an orthopedic surgeon. If you have cancer, there are many types of chemotherapy and radiation and stem-cell therapies and immunotherapies that will help you. But, in todays age, if you dont understand that integrating that with good sleep, with meditation, with stress management, with mindfulness, with healthy emotions, with good food that actually changes the activity of your microbiomeif you dont conform to that, then youre out of date.

This is from your book Perfect Health: There exists in every person a place that is free from disease, that never feels pain, that cannot age or die. When you go to this place, limitations which all of us accept cease to exist. They are not even entertained as a possibility. This is the place called perfect health. Visits to this place may be very brief, or they may last for many years. Even the briefest visit, however, instills a profound change. As long as you are there, the assumptions that hold true for ordinary existence are altered. If you can be in this place, why would you necessarily need medicine to stay healthy?

We dont. Ive never used medicine myself. Im seventy-three years old, never been in the hospital, never had surgery. Cant even remember having a cold.

You would vaccinate your children, correct?

Of course I would, if Im in a surrounding where there is... You know, I would not vaccinate a child in New York City for polio, because it doesnt exist. But I would for measles, because it does exist.

Even if the child was in this state that you call perfect health?

The child is in a state of perfect health if its born normally. Its in a state of homeostasis. But we also live in a world that has environmental toxins, that has climate change, that has extinction of species, that has poison in our food chain, and that is ready for extinction. And all of that is the projection of our collective insanity.

You say, The cause of disease is often extremely complex, but one thing can be said for certain: no one has proved that getting sick is necessary.

Right. My own situation says that.

Because youve never been sick.

Yes.

Because youre in this place called perfect health?

Because Im aware of being aware and I can choose the experiences I want and I focus on love, compassion, joy, equanimity, and Im beyond the fear of personal death because I dont identify with my provisional, personal, so-called identity. The question you asked me when we started, How do you define yourself?I dont.

If we were all in this place, would we need medicine?

Yes. Because of the world weve created, we would, yes.

But not because

And, besides that, the ecosystem is a predatory play of consciousness where, you know, its a recycling of experience. Birth, death, illness: they are part of our provisional identity, but I dont identify with that identity. If you do not identify with the experience, if consciousness that is aware of experience, if the awareness of experience is not the experience, then youre intrinsically free of the experience. Do you know what Im saying?

Im not sure.

O.K. If you are aware of a thought, then youre not the thought, youre the awareness of the thought.

Dr. Stacia Kenet Lansman, whos a leading vaccine skeptic, cited your work as an inspiration. Do you

I have never been against vaccination.

I know you havent.

I have never spoken against medical treatment or intervention. You should do whatever works.

But do you worry that the idea that we can achieve this place of perfect health based on our own mental state can give license to anti-scientific thinking, like we see in the anti-vaccine movement?

You asked me if I worry about that. I dont worry about anything.

Which is why you havent gotten sick.

But people can take what I say and interpret it how they want to. Theres also a difference between scientism and science. Science is a very neutral activity: theories, observation, experiments, validation or invalidation. Period. I am a big proponent of science as the greatest adventure that human consciousness has taken. With scientism, its a different thing. Its being a fundamentalist and believing that science has all the solutions for human problems, including the existential dilemmas we have about our identity, our fear of old age, infirmity, and death.

There was an interview you gave many years ago, with Tony Robbins, about AIDS. Hed put forth the idea that H.I.V. is not the source of AIDS. You said, H.I.V. may be a precipitating agent in a susceptible host.The material agent is never the cause of the disease.It may be the final factor in inducing the full-blown syndrome in somebody whos already susceptible. He then asked,Butwhat made them susceptible? You answered, Their own interpretations of the whole reality that theyre participating in. Do you still feel that way about H.I.V. and AIDS?

I still feel that pathogens are precipitating factors in susceptible hosts, and that the outcome of illness and recovery is very complex. Now, having said that, when you can find a single agent that you can either attack or get rid of, then, of course, thats the solution. You know, you and I can be exposed to a pneumococcus and one person gets pneumonia and the other doesnt. So you can see that illness is not just one mechanistic happening, an encounter with the pathogen. It has to do with everything. Are you deeply rested, are you stressed, whats your nutrition, what are your personal relationships, what is your emotional stateall of these things have an influence. Every experience we have is ultimately metabolized into a molecule in the body. If I gave you bad news right now, your blood pressure would go up. In fact, if I sent a mean tweet to Mr. Trump, his blood pressure would go up even further.

You went on to say, I have a lot of patients with so-called AIDS, this label that weve given them, that are healthier than most of the population thats living in downtown Boston. They havent had a cold in ten years. And then Robbins said, But someone has told them they have this disease. You said, Yes, somebody has told them that. And Robbins says, And they bought into it. And you said, Exactly.

Listen. You can do a five-hour interviewyou can edit it into any way you want. You can take statements out of context.

No, thats the whole context.

And then you can say, This is what you said. Right? I had that experience myself as a physician. I said to the patient, You have cancer. Immediately, he looked like he was going to have a stroke. He was going to faint. And then I realized I read the wrong chart and I said, Sorry, that was somebody else. In two seconds I could see him recover from high blood pressure, sticky platelets, a jittery heart, and so on. So, you know, there is a lot more to reality than just a simple diagnosis and the label.

But to go on to the point youre just making now, about diagnosis, when Robbins said about the diagnosis of AIDS, People are accepting this, and when they accept this, what happens to them? You replied, When they accept it, then they make it happen. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Is that what youre saying?

Yeah. I might have said that. And, if I did, I regret it.

What I say today is, Believe the diagnosis, but dont believe the prognosis.

Youve been criticized before for selling products that people claim can help cure cancer or other diseases via meditation.

No, Ive never claimed that. No.

Never?

If you find a reference of that, let me know.

Well, there was a video called Return to Wholeness: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Cancer. And the release about it says, Meditation and visualization are two of the most

Right. That video was a program to help people visualize and get into a relaxed state. I believe it was promoted as that on my Web site until I became aware of it, and then it was taken off.

And then you took it down?

Yeah. It was actually an artificial-intelligence program for meditation and self-regulation. And, by the way, used at many cancer-therapy clinics across the world as an aid to relaxation. [A member of Chopras staff named Cancer Treatment Centers of America as one of the clinics that use the video, but a representative for the treatment centers was unable to verify this.]

So, when you say in your best-sellers, like Super Brain, that increased self-awareness can reduce the risks of aging and help people achieve freedom and bliss, do you feel that youre doing that at all, or not?

I am. Of course. Im seventy-three years old, and I dont think my biological age is seventy-three. In fact, I have publicly declared that I am slowing down my aging process. And I think you can go on social media and look at all the pictures over the last few years and you can see, physically, that I am not looking as old, or feeling as old, as I was twenty-five years ago. I know what Ive said is outrageous, but, if people actually listen carefully, they will see that they determine a lot of what goes into well-being and health. And, ultimately, I dont think that health is physical at all. Because, ultimately, we are all going to die, and all going to have some kind of infirmity. But most of what we do is creating anxiety from living a full life in the present moment.

So you feel that youve reached a different stage of human existence?

Im just following the example of people who have lived long, healthy lives without any infirmity and died peacefully in meditation. In the Indian tradition, its called mahasamadhithe big meditation.

When youre selling books by saying that theres a network of intelligence in the human body that has the potential to defeat cancer, heart disease, and even aging itself, is that not selling to people that cancer can be beaten by something other than medicine?

Have you read the book? Or have you read criticisms of the book?

Ive read several of the books, and some criticisms.

So then you have to make up your own mind. Im not a purveyor of false hope. In fact, I think the term false hope is an oxymoron. Either you have hope or you dont. And those that have hope do better than those who dont.

So there is no false hope?

Its up to you how you interpret this, and it doesnt actually affect me. You know, Im at a stage in my life where Ive gone beyond criticism and/or flattery. I dont need that.

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Newswise Irvine, Calif. October 15, 2019 Sean Young, PhD, professor at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine and Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ad hoc committee to address the alarming increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Center for Disease Control (CDC) through the National Association of County and City Heath Officials requested the formation of the committee.

STIs have reached epidemic proportions nationally and continue to rise. Our committee is charged with investigating the problem and recommending novel and implementable solutions, said Young. Solutions exist. We are optimistic about the CDCs request for help that there will be resources and support to implement the committees solutions.

The Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States committee will examine the epidemiological dimensions of STIs in the United States and factors that contribute to the epidemic (changes in population demographics, sexual and other behaviors, social determinants), as well as changes in the understanding of the agents that cause STIs.

Additionally, the study will attempt to address the economic burden associated with STIs and review current public health strategies and programs to prevent and control STIs (including STI diagnostics, STI vaccines, STI monitoring and surveillance, and treatment. Barriers in the healthcare system and insurance coverage associated with the prevention and treatment of STIs will also be surveyed.

Young was appointed to the committee due to his work at UCI leveraging social and behavioral data to detect real-world problems. He applied insights from psychology to online behavior change interventions and saw social norms could be modified.

Young uses this approach to transform time-consuming and expensive community-based interventions into online variants that more efficiently reach the masses. By analyzing peoples behaviors, problems from these behaviors can quickly be detected and addressed. Working with public health officials, Young is now developing tools that mine social data to identify potential areas of disease outbreak, crime, and poverty. His expertise will be used to address the STI epidemic.

We can now use technologies as a way of predicting and changing behavior, leading to positive and ethically delivered social change, said Young.

About the UCI School of Medicine: Each year, the UCI School of Medicine educates over 400 medical students, as well as 200 doctoral and masters students. More than 600 residents and fellows are trained at UC Irvine Medical Center and affiliated institutions. The School of Medicine offers an MD; a dual MD/PhD medical scientist training program; and PhDs and masters degrees in anatomy and neurobiology, biomedical sciences, genetic counseling, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, pathology, pharmacology, physiology and biophysics, and translational sciences. Medical students also may pursue an MD/MBA, an MD/masters in public health, or an MD/masters degree through one of three mission-based programs: the Health Education to Advance Leaders in Integrative Medicine (HEAL-IM), the Leadership Education to Advance Diversity-African, Black and Caribbean (LEAD-ABC), and the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). The UCI School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Accreditation and ranks among the top 50 nationwide for research. For more information, visit som.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. Its located in one of the worlds safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange Countys second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.

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UCI professor named to CDC committee on sexually transmitted infections - Newswise

Altru Hospital is hosting its Pretty in Pink event in the commons of Red River High School from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16.

The annual event is held by the hospital to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Cushman Field entrance. Attendees are asked to use door 1.

Beginning at 6 p.m., people can explore educational booths and community resources such as Womens Way, Breast Reconstruction Awareness, and get information about Altrus prosthetics and orthotics.

The evening will feature a little pampering as well, with free nail painting and chair massages, in an effort to bring community members together for the womens health awareness event.

People can sign up to win a bicycle donated by Scheels All Sports, and there is also a raffle with several prizes, as well as door prizes. All proceeds from the raffle go to Altrus Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, which seeks to help patients with breast health services not covered by insurance. All attendees will get a small gift to take home.

From 7 to 8 p.m., there will be presentations by breast cancer survivor Wendy Dahlberg, and Jen Haugen, supervisor of Integrative Medicine at Altru Health System.

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Altru hosts Pretty in Pink, women's health event at Red River High School - Grand Forks Herald

Two pet ministries of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) and Ministry of Healths National Health Authority which runs Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) are not on the same page, when it comes to practicing integrative medicine.

Currently, PM-JAY cashless insurance up to 5 lakh for poor families only offers hospitalisation based on allopathic medicine. However, the AYUSH Ministry is keen on pushing alternative treatments in the scheme.

A Health Authority official said that inclusion of AYUSH packages in PM-JAY is not feasible currently. It will be too difficult to work our way around fraud control in AYUSH procedures, where we will not be able to ascertain if hospitalisation is for correct purposes, said the official.

AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said that even though such an inclusion has not happened yet, the Ministry is trying hard to get the packages included. We will help the NHA with adequate fraud control mechanisms, Kotecha added.

Last month, AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik had said that a total of 33 packages had been sent to the Health Authority for consideration to be included under PM-JAY.

The list of pacakges proposed by AYUSH, seen by BusinessLine, includes 19 Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, eight Yoga and six Naturopathy treatments. These are treatment of respiratory disorders such as asthma, pneumonia, gastrointestinal problems like hepatitis, stomach ulcers, cardiac issues like high blood pressure, metabolic disorders like diabetes, thyroid, gynaecological issues like endometriosis, reproductive tract infections, infertility, skin problems like vitiligo, psoriasis, neurological disorders like mental retardation, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Dementia, eye problems like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

It also proposes to include mental health issues such as clinical depression, anxiety, manic disorders, and other miscellaneous illnesses like varicose veins, diabetic foot in the in-patient hospitalisation packages. AYUSH Ministry has proposed a flat rate of 4,000 per day for hospitalisation in a routine ward, and has said that the average length of stay of a patient could be 14 days costing 56,000 and could extend up to 28 days costing 1.2 lakh. Similarly, cost for Yoga and Naturopathy related to above disorders has been pegged at 1,000 for each specialty per day of hospitalisation.

According to experts, while there is a need to include AYUSH treatments for access to poor, standardisation of procedures is a must. Naresh Trehan, Chairman of Gurgaon-based Medanta Medicity said, There is no harm in including AYUSH packages in PM-JAY, however, standardisation must be done. The authority must ascertain if a hospital is certified to mete out alternative treatments, otherwise anybody can open a centre and claim to give those treatments.

Partha Dey, Chief Operating Officer at Artemis Health Institute in Gurgaon said, It is difficult to control fraud as of now in the scheme, even with allopathic treatments. As far as AYUSH packages are concerned equal standard setting is a must. Dey also said that there is a resistance from patients on addition of alternative therapies apart from allopathy and it causes a confusion for them.

Kotecha said that while there is a popular perception that there are no standards as far as alternative treatments are concerned, this is not entirely true. AYUSH is working with All India Institute of Medical Sciences to develop integrative model for treatment of breast cancer patients. Also, it has been seen that adding ayurvedic treatments to Tuberculosis regimen reduces liver damage. The ministry also showed evidence in Germany for treatment of Osteoarthritis through Ayurveda, he said.

However, Kotecha too agreed that there is a need to have quality services. For this we have proposed to National Accreditation Board of Hospitals that such hospitals which provide alternative therapies should receive Entry Level Certification, he said.

Originally posted here:
Concerns in covering alternative therapies in PM-JAY - The Hindu BusinessLine

Luckily, new tech-forward startups are finding ways to solve that problem. Enter: Begin To Heal, an online platform connecting patients with vetted holistic health professionals. Started by a former busy exec who found herself battling adrenal fatigue and frustrated by traditional medicine, Pooja Khanna finally found healing in holistic medicine. Determined to make this type of treatment more widely available, Pooja developed Begin To Heal. "The idea is to make alternative medicine as accessible as possible, especially to those who might be hesitant to seek less conventional methods of healing due to unfamiliarity with the industry," explains Pooja.

Begin To Heal is partnered with more than 200 licensed wellness practitioners, with services including everything from acupuncture, nutrition coaching, and integrative medicine to hypnotherapy, energy healing, reiki, spiritual coaching, ayurveda, and psychotherapy.

You can view practitioner profiles, sort by specialty, read reviews from other customers, and book your session, all through their website. The Begin To Heal team has even taken sample sessions with every practitioner on the site and verified their licenses and certifications.

And the best part: You can schedule virtual appointments, meaning even if you don't live in New York, where their in-person practitioners are based, you can have access to top holistic healers and alternative therapies through secure HIPAA-compliant video calls. Energy healing from the couch, anyone?

Plus, they offer online courses and guided meditations to round out your care. "Think of it like matchmaking for healing, and then add to it the comfort of being healed in your own home," Pooja explains. "Having it be an online service gives us the capability to create a global wellness universe."

Another New Yorkbased health practice, Parsley Health, just announced they'll start seeing patients virtually as well with new telehealth memberships. Billed as a primary care practice with a whole-body approach, Parsley's online membership is currently available in four states, with plans to go nationwide over the next six months.

When asked why they had expanded to online services, Parsley Health founder and mbg Collective member Robin Berzin, M.D., said it's all about access. While much of Parsley's practice was already digital, with doctor-patient messaging services and video call follow-ups, the first visit always had to be in person. "People shouldn't have to wait for a Parsley Health center to come to their area. We wanted to make Parsley accessible to them now," Berzin explained. "Our new telemedicine memberships will allow anyone, anywhere to do all of their visits online, including the first oneand that's really special."

Worried you won't be getting the "full Parsley experience" by doing it digitally? Robin promises, "For many, it will be even better. The convenience of anywhere access means you can kick off your journey with us from your home or office." Can't beat that.

Another newcomer, Milwaukee-based WellnessScript, has created their own virtual holistic health care program. To get you started, they offer a symptom quiz to learn more about where you are coming from. From there, you can book a one-hour phone or video consultation, followed by two 30-minute follow-up sessions with one of their licensed practitioners. Founded by two physicians, WellnessScript is committed to providing quality functional medicine to anyone, anywhere.

While not all of the services on these online platforms are covered by major health insurers right now, in many cases FSA/HSA benefits and out-of-network reimbursements can be used to cover most of the cost. Hopefully, as alternative medicine options become more widely available, the price will go down, make holistic health care even more accessible. As Robin put it, "This is just the next step. We have so many more steps to take to make comprehensive, holistic, personalized medicine available and accessible to everyone who needs it."

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How To Get Access To Holistic Practitioners No Matter Where You Live - mindbodygreen.com

Dr. Amit X. Garg, a professor of medicine at Western University in London, Ontario, knew about turmerics medicinal use because of his Indian heritage. He knew firsthand of its rich cultural significance too: On his wedding day, his relatives rubbed the spice all over him because it is believed to be cleansing.

After seeing the effectiveness of curcumin, in smaller studies, Dr. Garg and his colleagues decided to test it on a larger scale in hopes it would make elective aortic surgery safer by reducing the risk of complications, which include heart attacks, kidney injury and death. In the randomized clinical trial that followed, about half of the 606 patients were administered 2,000 milligrams of curcumin eight times over for four days, while the others were given a placebo. It was a bit disappointing, but we couldnt demonstrate any benefit used in this setting, Dr. Garg said of the study, published last year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

In fact, there is not enough reliable evidence in humans to recommend turmeric or curcumin for any condition, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Turmeric became a nutritional golden child partly because of its promise in laboratory studies cellular and animal. Some research indicates that both turmeric and curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric supplements, have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral and antiparasitic activity. But this has mostly been demonstrated in laboratory studies, and, in many cases, the benefits of preclinical research isnt observed in clinical trials.

According to Natural Medicines, a database that provides monographs for dietary supplements, herbal medicines, and complementary and integrative therapies, while some clinical evidence shows that curcumin might be beneficial for depression, hay fever, hyperlipidemia, ulcerative colitis, osteoarthritis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, its still too early to recommend the compound for any of these conditions.

And Natural Medicines has found there isnt enough good scientific evidence to rate turmeric or curcumins use for memory, diabetes, fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, gingivitis, joint pain, PMS, eczema or hangovers.

Physicians say more research is needed. Dr. Gary W. Small, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies curcumins effect on memory, sees a lot of therapeutic potential. He also states that existing research demonstrates curcumins biological effects.

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What Are the Benefits of Turmeric? - The New York Times

Have you ever sat down to meditate, only to feel a swell of anxiety and fear? If you have, you're not alone, and you've probably been dealing with relaxation-induced anxiety. As Bindiya Gandhi, M.D., integrative medicine doctor and certified yoga instructor, explains, "Most people actually do well with relaxation therapy, and their symptoms improve. However, there is an extreme group of people who this may not work well on as the study cites," she says.

So why does it happen? It could be something called "contrast avoidance," a theory one of the authors on the study, Michelle Newman, developed in 2011. As she explains it, "The theory revolves around the idea that people may make themselves anxious intentionally, as a way to avoid the letdown they might get if something bad were to happen."

In other words, you could be using worry as a sort of insurance policy or "pay in advance" policy against bad things that might occur. In their recent paper, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the authors explain that "the contrast avoidance model postulates that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder [...] fear a sharp spike in negative emotion, and thus prefer to worry to maintain their negative affect, rather than being in a more euthymic state, such as relaxation."

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Does Relaxing Make You Anxious? Here's Why, According To New Research - mindbodygreen.com

NEW YORK (PRWEB) October 14, 2019

More than 400 healthcare professionals, patients and advocates from 35 countries will convene at the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) 16th International Conference, to be held October 19-21, 2019, in New York, NY, to discuss the latest in evidence-based research and clinical practice in person-centered integrative cancer care. This multi-disciplinary forum includes physicians, scientists, researchers, nurses, psychologists, nutritionists, naturopaths, acupuncturists, and other complementary care practitioners.

This years theme Advancing the Science & Art of Integrative Oncology aims to advance the scientific understanding of the role integrative therapies play in cancer care and to promote patient-centered care that recognizes the values, preferences, and rights of patients and families. SIO continues to be a critical hub, advancing the latest evidence-based research, insights, and collaborations of the multidisciplinary teams dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by cancer, said SIO President Lynda Balneaves, PhD, RN. The sessions will highlight the collaborative and multidisciplinary approach involving healthcare professionals and patients.

The conference is presented in cooperation with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers Integrative Medicine Program, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its creation.

Integrative oncology approaches help prevent cancer, facilitate cancer treatment and recovery, and aid in its control through use of diet and complementary therapeutic options, including physical activity, nutritional supplementation, botanical products, mind-body therapies, acupuncture, massage therapy, and more. The options are strategically integrated within conventional medical care models, which often include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and targeted agents informed by genomic and molecular diagnostics.

Today, significant portions of cancer patients use some types of integrative or complementary therapeutic approaches throughout their cancer journey. In addition to conventional therapies, they want to learn about and utilize an integrative approach to personalized comprehensive care. Integrative oncology interventions have been shown to decrease some of the side effects of traditional cancer treatment, allowing many patients to tolerate their full, prescriptive course, thereby improving clinical outcomes and quality of life. Many health consumers also incorporate lifestyle medicine approaches to help prevent the onset of cancer.

About the Society for Integrative Oncology

The Society for Integrative Oncology is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to integrative medicine specific to cancer patients. A non-profit, multi-disciplinary organization founded in 2003, the organizations mission is to advance evidence-based, comprehensive, integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. For more information or to register for the conference, visit our conference web site or contact the SIO at 518-694-5543.

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International Health Experts to Discuss Advancing the Science & Art of Integrative Oncology at 16th International Conference of Society for...

Dr. Peter Schlegel, M.D., urologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Jan. 6, 2019

Barbara Collura, president of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, Jan. 10, 2019

Dr. Gloria Bachmann, M.D., director of the Women's Health Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, May 22, 2019

Dr. Marc Goldstein, M.D., director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Jan. 4, 2019

Alice Domar, Ph.D., an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and director of Integrative Care at Boston I.V.F., Jan. 11, 2019

Paul Flynn, 46, a social worker in Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 17, 2019

Denny Ceizyk, 52, author of Almost a Father: A Memoir of Male Infertility, Jan. 19, 2019

Diagnostic Evaluation of the Infertile Male: A Committee Opinion, Fertility & Sterility, March 2015

Treatment of Male Infertility (Beyond the Basics), UpToDate, September 2019

Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis, Human Reproduction Update, November 2017

Maternal, infant and childhood risks associated with advanced paternal age: The need for comprehensive counseling for men, Maturitas, July 2019

The Negative Impact of Higher Body Mass Index on Sperm Quality and Erectile Function: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Chinese Males of Infertile Couples, The American Journal of Mens Health, Jan. Feb. 2019

Tobacco smoking and semen quality in infertile males: a systematic review and meta-analysis, BMC Public Health, January 2019

Habitual alcohol consumption associated with reduced semen quality and changes in reproductive hormones; a cross-sectional study among 1221 young Danish men, BMJ Open, September 2014

Type of underwear worn and markers of testicular function among men attending a fertility center, Human Reproduction, September 2018

Diet and men's fertility: does diet affect sperm quality? Fertility & Sterility, September 2018

Report on varicocele and infertility: a committee opinion, Fertility & Sterility, December 2014

Mens Experience of Infertility: Findings from a Qualitative Questionnaire Study, Fertility Network U.K., November 2017

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Male Infertility: What to Know and How to Cope - NYT Parenting

Wellness products such as kombucha, CBD oil, and even "activated charcoal," have grown in popularity in recent years, thanks to their purported health benefits, but do these products actually do what they claim to do? The New York Times' Dawn MacKeen and Amitha Kalaichandran investigatedfive popular wellness products to find out.

Cheat sheets: Evidence-based medicine 101

Kombucha is a fermented drink that is typically carbonated and is made by brewing sugar, black or green tea, liquid from a previous batch, and symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, sometimes called the scoby.

Proponents of kombucha say it improves digestion, boosts the immune system, reduces blood pressure, and can be beneficial to diabetics.

However, few studies have looked at how effective kombucha really is. Only one study has looked at its health benefits in humans, according a literature review, and it found that the 24 adults with non-insulin dependent diabetes who consumed kombucha for three months saw their mean blood sugar levels stabilize. However, the study was neither controlled nor randomized, and its authors noted that many of the claims about kombucha are based on anecdotal and unverified evidence.

Other research on cells and animals has found that kombucha may have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, but according to Franck Carbonero, a microbiome scientist at Washington State University-Spokane, "We don't know if it does anything."

Celery juice is purported to help alleviate digestive problems and treat autoimmune disorders, psoriasis, acne, and a whole host of other health problems.

However, according to Rachel Scherr, an assistant research scientist in nutrition at the University of California, Davis, "There's no scientific evidence to support any of the claims being made."

But that doesn't mean you need to avoid it, as it's "overall a healthy juice," according to Elizabeth Bradley, medical director of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine. According to MacKeen, celery juice has greater amounts of potassium and vitamin K than tomato and carrot juices.

Activated charcoal refers to charcoal that has had gases such as oxygen added to it at high temperatures, creating pores in the charcoal that allow it to bind to other substances.

Proponents of charcoal say it works as a detoxifier that can remove teeth stains and even help stop aging, MacKeen reports.

But does the substance live up to the hype? Not quite.

A study in January 2019 found that activated charcoal in toothpaste was not as effective as other whitening agents at whitening cow, goat, and sheep teeth, and another review from 2017 of 118 studies did not find enough evidence to support the safety or efficacy of charcoal-based toothpastes or powders.

Cannabidol (CBD) comes from the cannabis sativa plant, perhaps best known for also containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the high-inducing chemical found in marijuana. Proponents of CBD say it can relieve anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

CBD has been shown to potentially help reduce nervousness and cognitive impairment in patients with social anxiety. However, another, double-blind study, found healthy participants who took CBD saw small or non-existent changes in their emotional reactions to unpleasant images or words.

Harriet de Wit, co-author of the study and a professor at the University of Chicago's department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience, said, "If it's a calming drug, it should change their responses to the stimuli. But it didn't."

Mallory Loflin, an assistant adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego, said she believes CBD could help treat PTSD, but more research is needed on the subject. "Our top therapies attempt to break the association between reminders of the trauma and the fear response," she said. "We think that CBD, at least in animal models, can help that process happen a lot faster."

Overall, CBD is "pretty safe" as long as you take "pure CBD," according to Marcel Bonn-Miller, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

Turmeric for thousands of years has been used in Ayurvedic medicine, which refers to a holistic healing system that originated in India more than 3,000 years ago. The spice is believed to work as an antiviral, antibacterial, and antiparasitic in Ayurvedic medicine. It's also purported to help with a variety of conditions, including high cholesterol, hay fever, depression, and hangovers.

However, a 2017 paper published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry concluded that turmeric doesn't have the health benefits it's purported to have. In fact, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, there isn't enough reliable evidence for turmeric to be recommended for any condition.

Moreover, if a patient is taking turmeric, experts recommend patients inform their doctors, as high doses of turmeric and its constituents could have some unpleasant side effects like diarrhea and nausea (MacKeen, New York Times, 10/16 [1]; MacKeen, New York Times, 10/16 [2]; Kalaichandran, New York Times, 10/16; MacKeen, New York Times, 10/17 [3]; MacKeen, New York Times, 10/17 [4]; WebMD.com, accessed 10/17).

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Kombucha, CBD oil, and 3 more: Do these popular wellness products actually work? - The Daily Briefing

Between 2012 and 2016, there were 13,064 new cases of female breast cancer in Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In response, New York State and Long Island healthcare systems continue to raise the bar in care and treatment for patients facing a breast cancer diagnosis, enhancing their approach from an emotional, physical, and physiological perspective and making it more accessible overall. To date, most healthcare systems have embraced a multidisciplinary approach to treating breast cancer, as well as innovative practices to improve their patients outcomes.

Its easier to share information and sharing information leads to more consistency and higher quality care, says Dr. Brian OHea, director of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center in Stony Brook.

As an academic medical center, Stony Brook has access to the most current clinical trials, in addition to standard of care, he says.

We also have a radiation oncology team looking for ways to treat patients successfully with less radiation treatments, he says, noting that the goal is patient-centered and patient-focused care.

Dr. OHea was the first fellowship-trained breast surgeon on Long Island.

Breast cancer surgery was [initially] mixed in with hernia and gall bladder surgery, he says. The advent of breast fellowships and specially trained breast surgeons trained on the technical aspects of breast cancer surgery, and also including adjuvant therapies, was a huge innovation for women.

Stony Brook was also the first in New York State to receive accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), he notes.

Going forward, Stony Brook remains committed to research, for example, looking for better imaging of the armpit lymph nodes to see whether there is cancer or not using a special MRI coil, Dr. OHea says.

The center isnt alone in its innovation. South Nassau Communities Hospitalin Oceanside recently partnered with Mount Sinai to become Mount Sinai South Nassau.

We are pleased to be the flagship hospital for Mount Sinai, says Dr. Christine Hodyl, director of breast services at Mount Sinai South Nassau. All of the components are here in the hospital, with less travel and having expertise in breast cancer care in a patients own backyard.

Mount Sinai is embracing new approaches to breast cancer surgery, utilizing oncoplastic techniques.

We provide the most innovative surgical techniques that have excellent cosmetic results and improve the functional quality for a patient, Dr. Hodyl says. For example, We are now placing implants above the muscle and we are able to do an immediate implant reconstruction at the same time as a mastectomy, leaving the muscle in place; and this leads to less pain, quicker recovery and a smaller number of surgical procedures.

Mount Sinai is also adding genetic testing programs, genetic counselors, and nurse navigation to its protocol in order to best serve patients with breast cancer.

NYU Langone Medical Center and Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola united several years ago to enhance their healthcare networks on Long Island.

We are able to provide the same kind of care that is provided at NYU Langone at the Perlmutter Cancer Center on Long Island, says Dr. Nina DAbreo, medical director for Breast Health at Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Winthrop.

Perlmutter aims to improve the multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer care and breast cancer survivorship. Dr. DAbreo chairs an annual breast health symposium committed to offering up-to-date care and the latest innovations right from prevention to survival, she says. This includes everything from education and screening to social work and navigation to research and advanced treatments.

Perlmutter has dedicated breast surgeons who are skilled in minimally invasive techniques for breast surgery-reducing lymph node surgery, as well as Savi Scout technology, which uses radar technology to guide a surgeonand target breast tissue during a lumpectomy or biopsy procedure, Dr. DAbreo notes. Perlmutter helped pioneer prone breast radiation therapy, which minimizes radiation damage to the lungs and the heart, she adds.

The Perlmutter Center is researching immune therapy for triple negative breast cancer, participating in local and national clinical trials, says Dr. DAbreo.

Located in Uniondale, Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau offers expert cancer care including chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation with greater convenience for Long Islanders.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering, we have many clinical trials that are available to patients in all stages of breast cancer treatment both up front, as well as clinical trials that have cutting-edge therapies for metastatic disease, says Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval, board-certified medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

The role of DNA molecular profiling gives a more comprehensive understanding of the DNA mutations that contribute to the cancers function, she says. This test is run on every patient that has recurring or metastatic cancer. Results are placed in a databank shared with physicians and patients so if a clinical trial should arise and a patient has that same gene, our computers will pick that up immediately.

MSK is considered to be one of the top organizations with cutting-edge evaluation and therapy for breast cancer, she continues. Our facility at Nassau has full-time social work, nutrition, and physical therapy, in addition to layers of supportive nursing and multiple subspecialty positions to help support the patients physically and emotionally.

Northwell Health is committed to assuring that patients are better informed, more supported and experience a better journey when theyre diagnosed, says Dr. Karen Kostroff, chief of breast surgery at Northwell Health. Northwells cancer centers throughout Long Island including Huntington, Great Neck and the Imbert Cancer Center in Bay Shore make expert care accessible and offer everything from screening and diagnosis to surgery to posttreatment, which includes a breast survivorship program.

Northwells multidisciplinary team allows for consultation and discussion to ascertain an appropriate plan of treatment for individual breast cancer patients. Treatment could include radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, etc., however, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, explains Dr. Kostroff, noting that genetic history and testing is also valued.

Dr. Kostroff leads a systemwide tumor board that addresses patients whose cancer is uniquely challenging and complicated. This forum includes 12 sites throughout the Northwell system.

All of these physicians are learning and discussing sharing updated information on new clinical trials and education, she explains. We are also involved in a tumor donation program, where instead of the tissue being discarded once its studied, it is given to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories so they to can research on a fresh tumor.

With Northwell Healths Center for Wellness and Integrative Medicine, patients can also focus on taking care of their bodies through programs such as reiki, Pilates, massage and more, says Dr. Kostroff.

Catholic Health Services offers patients diagnosed with breast cancer treatment and services throughout Long Island. CHS six hospitals include Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, St.Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, St.Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, St.Francis Hospital The Heart Center in Roslyn, and St.Joseph Hospital in Bethpage.

CHS offers early detection and imaging services, utilizes minimally invasive techniques for breast disease, and also provides genetic counseling for individuals who have an increased risk for breast cancer. Education and support groups are offered to ensure patients are provided with emotional as well as physical care. Like the majority of, if not all healthcare systems, CHS also embraces a multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer.

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Healthcare Systems Offer Expert Breast Cancer Care to Long Islanders - Long Island Press

SANGHA Retreat

SUZHOU, China (PRWEB) October 15, 2019

New Paradigm, New Era of Wellbeing is the theme of this years AT ONE International Festival at SANGHA Retreat by OCTAVE Institute in Suzhou, China. The festival will focus on redefining wellbeing, wellness, healthcare and integrative medicine.

The annual event, open to the public, brings together thought leaders and holistic practitioners from around the world to address scientific discoveries, the reemergence of ancient practices, and humanitys challenges of the 21st century. The festival pushes boundaries and celebrates life towards a common destiny for all humanity.

Founded by Frederick Chavalit Tsao, author of Quantum Leadership: New Consciousness in Business and Founder/Chairman of SANGHA Retreat by OCTAVE Institute, the three-day festival is a showcase of discovery, learning, fun and human connection. This year, a one-day conference will bring thought leaders together to challenge the status quo, inspire a new way of thinking, and share a vision of the essential oneness of the world. A new paradigm is needed for new world challenges, and in order to flourish, humans must learn to become the CEO of their own lives, says Tsao.

The festival begins with a forum for speakers and panelists, followed by the AT ONE International Conference where participants will discuss:

The three-day festival is open to the public Nov 15-17, offering 150 experiential learning activities designed to help formulate healthy living habits, connect to the soul, and lead towards mental and physical wellbeing. International, regional and local practitioners will join the festival to offer interactive workshops, master classes and lectures at SANGHA Retreat and AT ONE Healing Spa.

Last years festival was attended by 3,000 guests, with 400 participants at the International Conference. To register for this years event, visit https://www.atonefestival.com/conference-en/

SANGHA Retreat by OCTAVE Institute Located west of Shanghai on the outskirts of Suzhou, China, SANGHA Retreat combines Eastern philosophies backed by Western science to help people awaken to a life of greater purpose and personal wellbeing. With a focus on raising consciousness, it has been created for the need of our time by visionary Fred Tsao, fourth-generation steward of a family business that started in The Shanghai Bund before 1906.

The 47-acre retreat, designed by Tsao & McKown, includes AT ONE guest suites; AT ONE Clinic, offering comprehensive wellness assessments and wellbeing programs; AT ONE Healing Spa with extensive spa treatment menu and hydrotherapy circuit; THOUGHT FOR FOOD restaurant; the Meditation Dome; and a seasonal schedule of fitness activities and mindfulness classes designed around the bodys circadian rhythm.

For more information and reservations, visit sangharetreat.com. Reservations can also be made through Hidden Doorways Travel or a preferred travel agent.

OCTAVE Institute More than a school of life, OCTAVE Institute is a platform to help people find clarity, harmony and a new level of consciousness and freedom. It is comprised of SANGHA Retreat, the VILLAGE, and AITIA in Suzhou; and THE LIVING ROOM, an urban support center in Shanghai. The VILLAGE is a live-work-learn community for personal and communal learning, executive retreats, conferences, summits and festivals including the AT ONE International Festival, an annual, international festival that brings together thought leaders and holistic practitioners to address current issues. AITIA powers the communal programs at OCTAVE Institute. Together they create the foundation for growth towards a purposeful life, mindfully lived. http://www.octaveinstitute.com/

Media Contacts: Sheila Donnelly & Associates Babs Harrison | babs@sheiladonnelly.com Cassie Kim | cassie@sheiladonnelly.com

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SANGHA Retreat by OCTAVE Institute Presents the 2019 AT ONE International Festival: New Paradigm, New Era of Wellbeing, November 15-17, 2019 - PR Web

After a battle with lung cancer, Emmerdale actress Leah Bracknell has died at the age of 55, her manager has announced.

In a statement they said: "It is with the deepest sadness that Leah Bracknell's family confirm that Leah passed away in September, three years after her diagnosis with stage 4 lung cancer.

"They would like to thank all the public for their support and generosity which contributed to the extension and quality of her life over the past three years.

"Leah continued to embrace life and faced her illness with positivity. Many aspects of her journey can be found on her blog.

"Leah was best known and much loved as Zoe Tate in Emmerdale.

"She also had roles in Judge John Deed, A Touch of Frost, The Royal Today and DCI Banks to name just a few, as well as numerous appearances on stage and in pantomime.

"As well as acting, Leah was also an accomplished yoga teacher and shamanic healer.

"Leah had an energy and enthusiasm for life, a kind heart and much love to give to those around her.

"Her family have asked for privacy at this very sad time."

After announced her diagnosis in September 2016, Leah said: I was feeling perfectly well, fit and healthy.

Teaching yoga classes and workshops, it was a time of new beginnings: preparing to move house, youngest child fleeing the nest, and excited to be starting rehearsals for a comedy play, being back onstage, going on tour.

But, it turns out that the universe had other plans. Life was about to be unexpectedly turned on its head.

I began to feel breathless climbing stairs ... I just put it down to a bit of stress.

"My abdomen suddenly ballooned - and within a matter of a few days I looked heavily pregnant.

"I could barely walk or breathe. Then, one Saturday night at the beginning of September I ended up in A&E.

Her Emmerdale co-stars immediately rallied around her at the time of the diagnosis, with Dominic Brunt, who played Paddy Kirk, saying: I visited my friend Leah. There is always hope.

In August 2017 it was announced her targeted biological therapy had stopped working and that she had been surviving solely on expensive alternative treatments for several months.

Her quest to undergo alternative treatments of immunotherapy and integrative medicine in Germany led many to dip into their pockets and donate to Leahs treatment. Within a few days, kind-hearted benefactors had donated 50,000.

Choosing not to say how long doctors had given her to live,Leah thanked everyone for their support and donations, saying in a statement: I really did not expect or feel deserving of such interest and kindness.

And, I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the donations, the messages of encouragement, and for sharing the campaign.

I feel extremely blessed. We did not expect to raise anywhere near that amount, and certainly not in such a short space of time.

She remained positive and upbeat, and in 2019 she confirmed she was on an immunotherapy clinical trial which kept her cancer stable.

Leah remained hopeful of a cure, and credited her positive thinking with keeping her alive. Speaking in August, she said: "People think, Oh, shes crazy, but I believe in thinking outside the box.

"Medical science is an amazing thing and it is keeping me alive, but it has limitations because it is to do with the logical mind.

But things we call miracles, things we dont understand, happen all the time, they happen outside the realms of logic and scientific data.

"Nobody knows why they happen, but it is possible for the impossible to happen. I still hope I could get my impossible miracle.

"And if not, I am going to have a bloody good time along the way.

I dont need to go and fulfil a bucket list, thats not my style, I just want to do the things I want to do while I am healthy and strong, I wont let myself live in fear, Im just going to live a good life.

Leah was born Alison Rosalind Brachnell on July 12 1964 to the late English television director David Ian Bracknell and Chinese-Malaysian actress Li-Er Hwang. She grew up in London and Oxford and spent a year in New Zealand and Fiji.

First appearing on our screens in 1976 in TV show The Chiffy Kids, directed by her father, Leah joined ITVs Emmerdale as vet Zoe Tate in 1989 less than two years after attending the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Playing the first lesbian character on a British soap, she was nominated for the 2002 National Television Award for Most Popular Actress, and won the 2006 British Soap Award for Best Exit after her character sensationally blew up Home Farm in a scene still remembered by fans.

After leaving the show, she turned to the stage, appearing in Gaslight and Strangers on a Train, before touring the 2008 production of Turn Of The Screw in the lead role of the governess.

Stepping out of the spotlight, she moved to Worthing, Sussex, and taught yoga and meditation, while also designing jewellery.

Leah is survived by her two daughters, Lily and Maya, from her marriage to Lyall Watson, and her partner, Jez Hughes.

Head of drama at Emmerdale John Whiston said: "Everyone is very sad to hear of the death of Leah Bracknell. Leah was a hugely popular member of the Emmerdale cast for over 16 years. During that time she featured in some of the show's most high profile and explosive plots and always delivered a pitch perfect performance.

"Zoe Tate was one of soaps first lesbian characters and Leah made sure the character was both exciting and credible. Leah herself was a very generous and caring colleague, much loved by cast and crew alike."

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Emmerdale's Leah Bracknell dies aged 55 after brave battle with lung cancer - Mirror Online

BRIDGEPORT The on-going opioid epidemic was the focus of a day-long symposium for researchers, practitioners and students at the University of Bridgeport on Thursday, but much of the talk was about other ways to manage chronic pain.

Building Bridges: Implementing Healthcare Solutions to Prevent Opioid Addiction and Chronic Pain in Connecticut drew more than 165 participants and is the first of what Carol Papp, dean of UBs College of Health Sciences, said she expects to be an annual event.

We wanted to focus on (the) intersection of chronic pain and opioid addiction and how to handle pain, said Papp, who said the idea for the symposium came from UB President Laura Trombley.

The aim was to improve knowledge, practice and legislation concerning pain and addiction to help tackle the complex health issue and provide evidence-based solutions.

A committee made up of university and community members assigned to lay out the latest research on the problem pulled from a diverse pool of education and health care providers. With Bridgeport Hospital as an event sponsor, presenters came from Yale New Haven Health, the University of Connecticut, the state, the University of Pennsylvania and National Institutes of Health.

Mark Pitcher, director of UBs Health Sciences Inter-Professional Research, called the program a frank discussion about the crisis and the role for complementary and integrative approaches to pain and addiction. Included in that were both chiropractic care and acupuncture, which are both taught at UB.

There are other ways to handle pain, Pitcher said and more options for a problem that does not appear to be subsiding.

In 2018 in Connecticut, there were 1,017 accidental drug deaths, more than deaths by suicide, homicide and motor vehicle accidents combined.

A large percentage of those drug deaths was driven by opioids, heroin and especially fentanyal synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than heroin.

The opioid crisis in Connecticut is greater than the national average.

Presenter Jane Ungemack, an assistant professor of Community Medicine and Health care at UConn, theorized that some reasons for the states high numbers may be because there is more disposable income in Connecticut, a higher rate of prescription drug use and, ironically, greater access to health care.

Although opioid addiction has been in the news for several years, Papp said information from the state and federal health agencies is constantly evolving.

Sharon Diaz, a licensed psychotherapist with a practice in Shelton who sat in the audience, said some of the information was new to her, such as the HEAL Initiative from the National Institutes of Health.

Diaz said in her practice she is seeing more young kids with addictions.

Overdose deaths have become so scary, Diaz said.

Linda Porter, director of the Office of Pain Policy and Planning at NIH, said HEAL is working with $500 million federal grants to focus on pain management research and prevention research.

There is work, for example, on vaccines that would help to prevent overdoses. There are studies under way in Ohio, Massachusetts, Kentucky and New York to pull together programs that can be duplicated elsewhere. And there are studies being done of pain who gets it, who is more sensitive to it, what treatments will stop it and how to get effective treatments into clinical practice and how to get pain management better covered by insurance.

Acupuncture, for instance, is not always covered by health plans.

Ungemack, of UConn, said while prescription misuse seems to be decreasing slightly, fentanyl abuse is keeping the states overdose rates high.

The medical profession has an important role to play but it is not the whole picture, Ungemack said. Only one third of overdoses are attributed to drugs obtained by doctors.

A larger percentage comes from family and friends.

James Gill, chief medical examiner for the state, told the audience that opioid deaths have put a great deal of strain on his staff and coroners across the nation.

He, too, pointed to fentanyl as the biggest culprit, saying it is often found to be a factor even in cocaine-related deaths.

Just a few grains can cause death, he said.

lclambeck@ctpost.com; lclambeck@ctpost.com

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Opioid Symposium hosted at the University of Bridgeport - CT Insider

Did you know that India is one of the largest producers of sugarcane? Sugarcane is used for the production of jaggery, which is known to be healthier alternative to sugar. Lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho recently took to Instagram to talk about sugarcane and the many benefits that it offers. In his video, he elaborates on how sugarcane can be hailed as a superfood because of its benefits on liver, immune system and blood pressure. You can either consume raw sugarcane or drink fresh sugarcane juice to reap the health benefits it offers.

1. Sugarcane is effective for giving an instant boost to immunity. If you have cough, cold, fever or flu, then drinking sugarcane juice or eating sugarcane can help you heal quickly.

Sugarcane juice can help you heal quickly from cough and coldPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:Turmeric Milk: Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Golden Milk; Method To Prepare It

2. Sugarcane juice is great pre-surgery and post-surgery and facilitates quicker recovery. C-reactive Protein (CRP) levels tend to be on the higher side after surgery.

3. Sugarcane can help in reducing inflammation. It also helps in managing side effects of medication, thanks to the abundance of antioxidants it contains.

4. Sugarcane is a rich source of Vitamin C, magnesium and electrolytes. This makes sugarcane a great pre-workout drink. So much so, that even actress Alia Bhatt swears by sugarcane juice as perfect pre-workout drink. It is perfect for someone who is looking forward to running in a marathon or has to be out in the sun for most of the day.

5. Electrolytes in sugarcane can be effective in balancing sodium, potassium in the body. It is perfect for maintaining your hydration.

Also read:Diabetes: This Bedtime Drink Can Help You Control Your Blood Sugar Levels

6. Sugarcane can enhance levels of protein in the human body. This is not to say that sugarcane itself is rich in protein. It infers that it works with the synergy of other foods in a way that it helps in enhancing protein levels in the body.

7. Sugarcane juice can work as effective treatment for Urinary tract infections (UTI). Luke says that sugarcane juice is a natural diuretic that makes it excellent for UTI treatment.

8. Sugarcane is one of the best foods for kidney health as well.

9. People with jaundice and liver problems can also benefit by including sugarcane juice in their diet. It can be helpful to recover from dehydration and hangovers after binge-drinking or heavy drinking.

Sugarcane can help you help you heal quickly from a hangover or the morning after heavy drinking or binge-drinkingPhoto Credit: iStock

10. Fibre-rich sugarcane juice works as a natural laxative, beneficial for gut health. It can be effective in treatment of constipation by smoothening bowel movement. You can drink sugarcane juice or even chew sugarcane to keep constipation at bay.

Also read:Post-Workout Drinks: Reasons Why You Should Drink Watermelon Juice After Working Out

11. People with diabetes should not refrain from having sugarcane as it has low glycaemic index. Diabetics can both chew sugarcane or drink a fresh and chilled glass of sugarcane juice.

12. Sugarcane juice can also be given to children having tooth decay. You can give your kids small chunks of sugarcane. Apart from treating tooth decay, it can also strengthen your teeth and gums.

13. If you feel fatigued and low on energy all day, then sugarcane is the superfood you must try. It is a brilliant source of nutrition and an excellent recovery drink. (Make sure you don't add sugar to your sugarcane juice.)

14. Antioxidants in sugarcane juice are great for your skin health.

15. If you find trouble sleeping, then you can chew on a piece of sugarcane before going to bed. Sugarcane is rich in tryptophan, which is a precursor of serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone which is known to have multiple functions in regulation of sleep and wake cycles.

(Luke Coutinho, Holistic Lifestyle Coach - Integrative Medicine)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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People With Diabetes, Sugarcane Juice Can Be Your Best Friend; 15 Health Benefits Of Sugarcane That Will Leave You Surprised - NDTV News

Share on PinterestA new drug called Reyvow may help people who develop migraines. Getty Images

More than 1 in 10 Americans deal with migraine in the United States. The condition affects 39 million men, women, and children in the United States and 1 billion worldwide, the Migraine Research Foundation reports.

Now theres a new drug that may help.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Reyvow (lasmiditan) to treat acute migraine. The drug is for active, short-term migraine. It isnt intended to prevent migraine.

The drug treats migraine with or without aura a common sensory phenomenon or visual disturbance that can accompany migraine.

Reyvow was tested in two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. The trials involved 3,177 adults with a history of migraine. Of them, 22 percent were taking a preventive medication for migraine. In both trials, the percentage of patients whose pain and other symptoms resolved within 2 hours of taking the medication were significantly greater among patients receiving Reyvow compared to those who took a placebo.

Side effects can include driving impairments, so patients shouldnt drive or operate machinery for at least 8 hours after taking Reyvow. Other side effects include dizziness, fatigue, a burning or prickling sensation in the skin known as paresthesia, and sedation.

Reyvow is made by Eli Lilly and Company.

Dr. Nina Riggins, a neurologist specializing in headache medicine from the University of California, San Francisco, said the introduction of Reyvow is a significant breakthrough because its a new class of medications known as ditans.

This kind of medication works similar to another type of medication called triptans, a class of medications to treat migraine that came out in the 1990s and helped with acute migraine.

But triptans narrowed blood vessels, so they werent a good choice for patients with cardiac or stroke risk factors. Common triptans include Imitrex, Zomig, and Maxalt.

Experts say that ditans work similarly to triptans but do not have the cardiovascular effects.

It will allow us to use it for people with migraine who cannot take triptans due to concerns for stroke or heart attack, Riggins explained.

Dr. Deena Kuruvilla, an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine agreed that Reyvow is a game-changer because it works on different receptors than triptans.

Also, many of our patients with migraine do not respond to triptans, so this will be another option for them, Kuruvilla added.

Gregory Dussor, PhD, an associate professor and migraine researcher at the University of Texas at Dallas, said without any cardiac effects, this drug could help more patients.

Reyvow doesnt have these issues, so is a potential option in a larger number of patients, said Dussor.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) still has to approve Reyvow, so it cant yet be prescribed, Riggins said.

But this isnt the only potential breakthrough for migraine treatment.

Other migraine treatments on the horizon include small molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists, another pathway thats been useful in treating migraine.

We are looking forward to see if FDA approval is granted to [eptinezumab] the first IV form of CGRP antibody, Riggins noted.

Ubrogepant will be the first approved oral CGRP receptor antagonist for the acute treatment of migraine and will be produced by Allergan. It was already approved by the FDA.

Drugs such as Aimovig, Ajovy, and Emgality that were recently approved are typically only given to patients with frequent migraine attacks. CGRP-targeting drugs will be better for patients with less frequent attacks, said Dussor.

In addition to drugs, neuromodulation devices are being developed for prevention and treatment. A smartphone-controlled wearable device will be available once approved by the FDA.

We are learning more about migraine pathophysiology, which allows for more targeted therapeutic options in the future, Riggins said. Researchers are also discovering a lot about integrative approaches that include meditation, lifestyle modifications, and behavioral therapy to treat migraine.

Link:
Why This New Migraine Treatment May Be a 'Breakthrough' - Healthline

(WBAY) -

You may have heard the buzz surrounding "integrative medicine," but do you know what it means? Local doctor Lynn Wagner defines it as the bridge between traditional and alternative medicine. Dr. Wagner believes it can improve the physical and mental health of people who incorporate it into their own health care. Dr. Wagner is a BayCare Clinic M.D. and Urgent Care physician who has made integrative medicine part of the care she provides.

Dr. Lynn Wagner decided to pursue medicine when she was an undergrad at University of Minnesota. She went to medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed her residency in California. Dr. Wagner determined that she wanted to pursue emergency room medicine because she liked the variety and pace of providing treatment.

When Dr. Wagner personally dealt with post-partum depression after the birth of her daughter, she sought out other non-traditional healing methods. Practices like energy healing, meditation, yoga and changing her diet made her feel better. When Dr. Wagner realized it could do the same for her patients, her integrative medical practice grew.

Here I am working in the E.R., and I have these patients coming in, and they are on 10-15 different prescription medications. They are miserable, theyre in pain, theyre lonely, and no one is telling them there is a better way. So I had to do something else.

Dr. Wagner says prescription medications do have a place in her practice, but its also important to her to find out the cause a physical or mental ailment while they are treating the symptom.

In our Get 2 the Point podcast, hear more from Dr. Lynn Wagner about the ways that integrative medicine is becoming part of traditional health care and learn more about integrative lifestyle medicine at BayCare Clinic at http://www.lynnkwagner.com.

Listen on your favorite podcast apps and sites:

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Get 2 the Point: Integrative Medicine - WBAY