Acupuncture More Effective Than Drugs to Treat Hot Flashes

Researchers reported Monday that acupuncture outperformed the drug Effexor, aka venlafaxine, to treat hot flashes and other symptoms due to menopause or breast cancer treatment.

Acupuncture was just as effective as the pharmaceutical to treat hot flashes and night sweats, and its effects were longer-lasting and free of side effects, according to researchers at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Patients who received acupuncture for an additional 15 weeks after treatment, while participants in the pharmaceutical group experienced the return of symptoms when they stopped taking the drug.

Researchers acknowledged that the acupuncture treatment was more effective and, in the long run, would be more cost effective for insurance companies. Although research still hasn't uncovered the specific mechanism of acupuncture's action, U.S. researchers are finally acknowledging the effectiveness of this centuries-old system of medicine.

Ten Techniques to Stop Worrying

Even if you know consciously that worrying about your life is bad, sometimes it's hard to stop ruminating on what could be. If you're finding it hard to stop thinking about current or potential problems, here are ten behavioral techniques to stop worrying:

1. Don't Assume the Worst - When people worry, they often imagine a myriad of negative outcomes. If you catch yourself worrying, try to imagine the possibility that things could work out better than expected or not change at all.

2. Take Action - Instead of fearing what might come, take action to change your life for the better. If you're worried about being fired, start sending out resumes for jobs you'd like better. Address the problems that are causing you stress.

3. Get Organized - Life is easier when the little things are in place. For example, create a special spot for your house keys so you don't have to hunt every time you need to walk out the door.

4. Change the Subject - Sometimes you just need to break the negative cycle of rumination. Get up and do something different - sort your laundry, run an errand, go outside and take a brisk walk.

5. Schedule Worry Time - Don't allow yourself to worry throughout the day. Set aside half an hour to explore all of your fears deeply and without interruption. Experts have found that when you worry without resistance, it loses its power.

6. Write It Out - Get all of your worries out of your head by writing them down. Keep your worry journal next to your bed so that you can jot down problems that wake you up in the middle of the night.

7. Tell a Friend - Talking with someone you trust is the best way to put your fears into perspective.

8. Relax Your Body, Relax Your Mind - If you can soothe your nervous system, your nervous mind will follow suit. Take a hot bath, meditate, get a massage, get acupuncture, exercise... The list is endless.

9. Do The Right Stuff, Even If It Feels Wrong - You know how to take care of your body - eat a balanced diet, get regular exercise, get a good night's sleep and drink lots of water. When you feel bad, you need to start doing all of these things, no matter how awkward and uncomfortable they might feel. After a while, you'll feel better naturally.

10. Learn to Let Go - Some things in life you just can't control, and worrying about them won't change that. Learn to identify things that you cannot change, and don't dwell on them. Move on with your life.

Hopefully at least one of these techniques will bring you many peaceful moments.

You Still Have Your Health

In uncertain financial times, it's important to remember that money is not the most important thing in your life. One bank may take your house, another bank may close with your money inside, you might lose your job... the potential for financial stress in the next 18 months or more is infinite.

It's natural and normal to worry about the future, but if worry persists for too long, it can begin to affect your physical health. According to the basic theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are five major internal organs - liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys - and each of these organs is damaged by a particular emotion.

The Spleen organ, which includes all digestive functions, is damaged by worry or over-thinking. If a person can't stop, say, checking their stock portfolio online, this constant worry can lead to physical problems such as loss of appetite, nausea, constipation or a myriad of other digestive irregularities.

Don't set yourself adrift on a sea of financial anxiety. The most important things in this life are things that no one can take away. Stay on top of changes, but be sure to take time away from your computer to enjoy your life.

If You Drink Tap Water, You May Be Doing Drugs

This news story from yesterday probably got buried under all the coverage of collapsing economy, but it is of critical importance to everyone's health and well-being.

Recent testing prompted by an Associated Press article about trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water found that at least 46 million people are consuming trace amounts of drugs and hormones on a daily basis. These figures do not include the populations of an overwhelming majority of U.S. cities, including both New York and Los Angeles, which implies that the total could be significantly higher.

Although the effects of ingesting these chemicals are not clear, studies found these chemicals impair the workings of human cells in laboratories, as well as harming fish, frogs and other aquatic species.

Unfortunately, pharmaceutical drugs and artificial hormones don't seem to be on the EPA's list of dangerous contaminants.

Again, the full effects of consuming trace amounts of these substances is not yet known, but if you have any sort of endocrine system imbalance or you are having trouble conceiving a child, you (and your partner) should consider either purchasing a home water filtration system or drinking only bottled water.

And all of us should contact the candidates seeking to represent us in elections and let them know that safe drinking water is an issue that we will be voting on. Election time is the perfect time to get candidates to listen.

Don't give up on changing the world for the better.

Exercise Trumps Fat Gene

There are lots of people out there who think that they will never lose weight, people who have been heavy all of their lives and healthy at the same time.

It's true - there are many active overweight people who carry extra pounds in a healthy way. But all too often overweight individuals use genetics as an excuse to give up on achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Recent research of Amish people in rural Pennsylvania suggests that individuals with the "fat gene" were no more likely than their normal counterparts to be overweight - as long as they got three to four hours of physical activity a day. In other words, daily exercise blocks the effects of the fat gene.

Physical activity can come in the form of walking, housekeeping or gardening. Researchers suggest that families substitute a brisk walk after dinner for time in front of the television, for example.

The study suggested that 30 percent of individuals with European ancestry carried the obesity gene. For these individuals, exercise an irreplaceable facet of a healthy lifestyle.

Science Documents the Health Benefits of Meditation

I always ask my patients about their stress level. Typically 50 percent or more admit to being stressed out. If their stress level remains high for a couple weeks in a row, I ask if they've ever tried meditation.

It's like telling a bad joke. There's usually a long uncomfortable pause during which I imagine them groaning and rolling their eyes on the inside. Maybe it's because I was one of those people - I associated meditation with a particular sort of socially-conscious, newly-religious zealot.

But the simple fact is that meditation is good for you.

Recent research at Emory University suggests that meditation improves the ability to tune out distractions. The study tested the brain activity of 12 individuals who practiced daily Zen meditation for three years against 12 individuals who had never practiced meditation, testing their ability to recover normal thinking after being distracted. A separate study in Wisconsin confirmed this benefit.

Researchers discovered that meditation improved one's ability to recover normal thinking patterns after distraction, suggesting that meditation could be an effective adjunct therapy for ADHD, Alzheimer's and relapses in depression.

Another study found that meditation develops and thickens the pre-frontal cortex area of the brain. This disputes the established belief that the brain develops early in life and its structure does not change, and implies that it is possible to change the "inner workings and circuitry of the brain." This study compared the brain waves of Tibetan monks to ordinary individuals.

A University of Kentucky study found that meditation lowers blood pressure. This study focused on transcendental meditation, and found an average decrease of 4.7 mm systolic and 3.2 mm diastolic. That's right, just meditation.

Please note that while meditation is an important component of Buddhism, none of these meditations were religious in any way. The technique is simply focusing on the breath and clearing the mind.

Give it a try sometime. Why not? It's free and it's good for you.

Watch Me in the Clinic

Here's a video blog entry from a marathon runner featuring one of my acupuncture treatments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azBFVQQZuWE

Enjoy!