Put On Your Happy Shoes!

Teatime
Teatime
Here’s a quick explanation of an interesting recent study linking CYNICISM with DEMENTIA.

We’ve all heard many, many anecdotal stories of happy people living longer. To me, this study hints that happy people may live longer, smarter.

See what you think.

Do You DARE? New Computer Program Will Show You The “Old” You…

Teatime
Teatime
An assistant professor at the University of Washington has created a piece of software that’s the Ultimate Anti-Dorian Gray Mirror of the Future.

Say WHAT?

The program, which will be released later this year, can use a photo of ANYONE at ANY AGE and create a surprisingly accurate forecast image of that person’s appearance as an Elder.

By “Elder” I mean OLD PERSON.

In other words, a view into your Geriatric Future. The typical reaction of the typical person? Ick, that’s not for me. But let me do my Ex, my sister-in-law, my ….

Even the CREATOR of this program (who is 33) hasn’t looked at her “Old Self.” She claims she isn’t interested. Those of us who read a lot think we know the real reason, but we shall remain respectfully silent : )

Click here to read the fascinating story about why it was created, how they did it, and what they began to realize about how faces “age.” Great reading, brought to you by the Philadelphia Inquirer!

One of My Favorite Wellness Tools

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Teatime
If you’ve taken personal responsibility for your own health and wellness, here’s a link to an invaluable tool, Ask A Patient.

This is a CONSUMER-based forum that allows actual patients/users post their reactions to a variety of prescription drugs and supplements.

Just enter the name of the RX or supplement you want to research, then read pros and cons that have been posted by real people, revealing their real world experiences.

I’m a very athletic, normal-weight ( size 8 ) woman. A few years ago, I experienced a very surprising, almost inexplicable 3-day, 6 pound weight gain, centered exclusively in an area where I never gain weight (upper abdomen). I quickly realized that for some reason, my cortisol levels were up. I eventually traced this (thanks to askapatient.com) to a very tiny dose of bioidentical progesterone cream I’d been using for many months.

Much to my shock and concern, I learned from browsing through AskAPatient that many women are experiencing some HORRIBLE side effects from what is often considered a “safe” and side-effect-free over-the-counter cream.

As in anything else you supplement, if you need it, it’s great (surprisingly, it can be helpful to asthmatics and those with COPD); but if you don’t (or if you get too much, as I apparently did), you can start a cascade of negative side effects.

Fortunately, I worked at correcting my issue by stopping the cream and using something called DIM (to simplify, a supplement that helps metabolize out excess “bad” estrogens). It took almost 18 months to “get back to normal,” even with careful eating and intense exercise. My lesson? Don’t Mess With Hormones! There ARE alternative solutions that are much safer and better in the long run.

Just as an FYI, here’s an in-depth article about the interplay of hormones and their complex relationships from Women to Women.

If you’re into self-care, preventative medicine, and personal responsibility for your own health, you owe it to yourself to make good use of AskAPatient.com. You’ll have to do a lot of reading and evaluating for yourself, but this is a priceless treasure trove of real world experience. Good luck!

Help for Alzheimer’s Patients

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Teatime
Caregivers, especially those of Alzheimer’s patients, face special hurdles.

Here’s an interesting story in the New York Times about an innovative nursing home in Arizona, Beatitudes, that implements some unique treatment protocols based on new research related to the benefit of addressing the EMOTIONAL needs of the Alzheimer’s patient. This includes treatment protocols that soothe the soul: unlimited chocolate (better than Xanax!), baby dolls, and kindness.

They’ve also addressed some of the physical threats facing Alzheimer’s patients with some very unique solutions:

And Beatitudes installed a rectangle of black carpet in front of the dementia unit’s fourth-floor elevators because residents appear to interpret it as a cliff or hole, no longer darting into elevators and wandering away.

“They’ll walk right along the edge but don’t want to step in the black,” said Ms. Alonzo, who finds it less unsettling than methods some facilities use, bracelets that trigger alarms when residents exit. “People with dementia have visual-spatial problems. We’ve actually had some people so wary of it that when we have to get them on the elevator to take them somewhere, we put down a white towel or something to cover it up.”

The article is well worth your time; check it out here.
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Originally published elsewhere, 1/1/2011
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Awesome Energy in a Bottle: A Special B-Complex

Teatime
Teatime
Here’s a quick post about an awesome supplement for anyone who needs an energy boost (and who in 21st century America doesn’t?).

Add the extra benefits of boosted mood, better memory/mental clarity, and improved immunity, and you’ve got a winning combination.

We’ve all heard of the importance of taking a good B-complex vitamin and I’ve tried many, many different brands over the years. Unfortunately, almost all of them caused me to feel nauseated, no matter what kind of food I tried to couple with them.

So, I dedicated some time last year to find some alternatives. I started with Source Naturals Coenzymate B Complex.

These worked GREAT and because they were sublingual (dissolved under the tongue), they bypassed the liver, allowing the B Complex to move directly into the bloodstream. This meant no more nausea! The downside was that since they had to be dissolved under the tongue, I found (to my dismay) that they stained my teeth. Even though they gave me more energy, it came at the cost of temporarily yellowed teeth. No go!

Then I found Country Life’s Coenzyme B-Complex Caps, thanks to the help of the generous reviewers at Amazon.

Country Life Coenzyme B-Complex Caps
Country Life Coenzyme B-Complex Caps

They worked GREAT for me. I took them for a good 6 months or so before it dawned on me that they might just help my husband with his longstanding fatigue problem. He took his first two on April 22 and has been feeling great ever since (it’s now May 2).

We shared some with some neighbors in their 70’s who were having some fatigue issues, and to our amazement, within a few hours of their first dose, they were feeling energized. SERIOUSLY energized. They spent the whole first day out in their backyard, doing yard work.

I can’t recommend this particular supplement highly enough. My husband has tried countless other forms of B-Complex vitamins that never, ever worked anything like these. The effects were potent and immediate.

One important point: unlike any other B Complex I’ve ever used, this one is DESIGNED TO BE TAKEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. We take 2, first thing in the morning, with a full glass of water, about an hour before eating.

Depending on your energy needs, you may need multiple doses a day or just a single capsule in the morning. The great thing about B vitamins is that they’re water soluble, so you really can’t easily overdose on them–your body will eliminate what it doesn’t need. Fat soluble vitamins, on the other hand (like A, D, and E) are stored in the body and it’s important that you exercise more caution.

What seems to make this particular form of B Complex so effective are the additional coenzymes that make the B Vitamins more bioavailable (absorbable by the body’s tissues).

Here’s the ingredient list, FYI, direct from the manufacturer–just click on the “Supplement Facts” link on this page.

Good luck!

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More Info about the value of taking a high quality B Complex:

Study shows B Vitamins reduce incidence of macular degeneration in women by 1/3

Study finds Vitamin B supplementation may delay onset of Alzheimers

B Vitamins crucial in helping alleviate depression and anxiety

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(originally published elsewhere on the web 5/2/2011). I have no financial interest/connection with Country Life Vitamins.