Sunday, February 24, 2013

Where To Start When It Comes To Heart Health

We’ve heard the statistics, watched the documentaries, read the books, and even listened to healthcare professionals lecture about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, but how many of us have actually made positive changes? There is an obesity epidemic in America that has led to an array of healthcare issues such as immobilization, diabetes, and heart disease. Yet, only a small portion of people suffering from obesity are doing anything to prevent from developing these, possibly deadly, health conditions. Do most Americans not care about their well-being? Are they depending on a magic pill to take care of their health concerns in the future? Do they not view their health problems as being severe? Why does it take something major, such as a heart attack, for someone to finally make a change to their lifestyle?

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

ADHD: It’s The Food, Stupid


ADHD: It’s The Food, Stupid

Over five million children ages four to 17 have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United States and close to 3 million of those children take medication for their symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But a new study reported in The Lancet last month found that with a restricted diet alone, many children experienced a significant reduction in symptoms. The study’s lead author, Dr. Lidy Pelsser of the ADHD Research Centre in the Netherlands, said in an interview with NPR, “The teachers thought it was so strange that the diet would change the behavior of the child as thoroughly as they saw it. It was a miracle, the teachers said.”
Dr. Pessler’s study is the first to conclusively say that diet is implicated in ADHD. In the NPR interview, Dr. Pessler did not mince words, “Food is the main cause of ADHD,” she said adding, “After the diet, they were just normal children with normal behavior. They were no longer more easily distracted, they were no more forgetful, there were no more temper-tantrums.” The study found that in 64 percent of children with ADHD, the symptoms were caused by food. “It’s a hypersensitivity reaction to food,” Pessler said.
This is good news for parents and children who would like to avoid many of the adverse side effects associated with common stimulant drugs like Ritalin used to treat ADHD—and bad news for the pharmaceutical industry. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that common side effects from the drugs are sleeplessness (for which a doctor might also prescribe sleeping pills) headaches and stomachaches, decreased appetite, and a long list of much more frightening (yet rarer) side effects, including feeling helpless, hopeless, or worthless, and new or worsening depression. But Pessler’s study indicates that up to two-thirds or two of the three million children currently medicated for ADHD may not need medication at all. “With all children, we should start with diet research,” Pessler said.