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DIET
Poor dietary habits can negatively affect our health, including mental health. One of the biggest problems to our health is the amount of sugar we consume. This is due to a chemical process called glycation.
When glycation occurs it combines various amino acids (tryptophan, lysine, and arginine) which can be found in the body. This causes arteries to become stiffer and less flexible. The smallest blood vessels are hit hardest, those in the eye (resulting in cataracts), kidneys, and brain. The research has not yet been done to determine how much glycation is a factor in the onset of mental problems. However, it has been determined to increase blood pressure, plaque formation, blood flow problems, heart attack and stroke. A prudent course would be to decrease or even eliminate the number of soft drinks and other sugar laden items from diets.
The following article first appeared in the Nevada Observer Sept. 15, 2008
Eating Chocolate For Your Health
by Bob Bennett
Is chocolate becoming the next health food? A number of studies are saying yes!
Most chocolate is high in calories, adds to the national obesity epidemic, and should be avoided except as a rare taste treat. However, the closer chocolate is to the raw cacao bean, the healthier it becomes. The process known as “Dutching”, which heats the raw product and makes it easier for manufactures to mold it into desired shapes, as well as the processed sugars, milk products, hydrogenated oils, and artificial flavors which are added robs the chocolate of its beneficial properties. Basically speaking, the darker the chocolate, the better it is for you. A few of the upscale markets and Latino groceries also sell cacao beans and powder.
One of the areas which chocolate seems to hold a lot of promise is for Type II diabetes. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention expects that 1 in 3 Americans born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes during their life times. It is already the sixth leading cause of death, with $90 billion annually in direct medical costs and another $40 billion in indirect costs. Complications of the disease affect the heart, blood vessels, nerves, kidneys and the eyes.
Italian research shows that cacao flavonoids make the body more sensitive to insulin (or decrease insulin resistance) which reduces blood sugar levels. It suggests the flavonols present in chocolate can protect the cardiovascular system, improve the utilization of insulin in diabetic patients, as well as lower blood pressure and overall blood fat levels.
Regular consumption of chocolate has also been shown to be a weight control tool, preventing obesity and weight gain in animals, by Japanese researchers. Metabolism and storage of fats was shown to be restricted in the cacao-diet group, and that the fat burning mechanism was increased. Chronic inflammation is associated with low leptin levels, which increases appetite. Cortisol levels increase when elevated inflammatory chemicals are present which helps to break down muscles, deposit fat in cells, and fuels the appetite. The flavonoid content of cocoa relieves inflammation, and for centuries cocoa has been used as an antibacterial agent.
The antioxidant level of unprocessed cocoa is higher than cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, spinach, broccoli and tomatoes. The darker the chocolate the higher in flavonoids (which contain the antioxidants) it will be, but the heat used in the ‘dutching’ process destroys most of the beneficial effects. The natural flavonoids in cacao have also been shown to be easily absorbed by the body, unlike most artificial additives.
Heredity, severe stress, as well as one’s expectations can all be factors in an unhealthy emotional state. Neurotransmitter deregulation is also believed by many to be a cause of depression and other mental health problems. The National Institute of Mental Health reports depression onset is occurring earlier in life than in past decades. Major depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for those aged 15-44.
Phenylethylamine (PEA) is one of the lesser known neurotransmitters which has been shown to increase attention and activity in animals, as well as relieve depression in 60% of depressed patients. It is found in cacao at high levels, and is believed to be the ‘love’ ingredient contained in chocolate. Chocolate is also high in vitamin B6, which is important in the production of serotonin, melatonin, and dopamine. The high levels of magnesium in cocoa, which helps to raise progesterone during menstrual cycles, is thought to be one reason women often crave chocolate.
Theobromine, a cousin to caffeine with fewer side effects, is a natural stimulant which is also present in chocolate. It provides additional energy, improves blood flow and even works as a cough suppressant.
Instead of rushing to put people on high priced drugs for every malady, perhaps more of our physicians should suggest we try some of the healthy alternatives to high priced drugs. It would go a long way towards restoring trust in the medical profession, especially after the March 21, 2007 Journal of the American Medial Association (JAMA) article on disclosure laws in Vermont and Minnesota and the June 3rd, 2007 article in the N.Y. Times which examined Minnesota’s records on drug company payments to doctors and found that from 1997 to 2005, at least 103 doctors who had been disciplined or criticized by the state medical board received a total of $1.7 million from drug makers. The median payment over that period was $1,250; the largest was $479,000. The sanctions by the board ranged from reprimands to demands for retraining to suspension of licenses. Of those 103 doctors, 39 had been penalized for inappropriate prescribing practices, 21 for substance abuse, 12 for substandard care and 3 for mismanagement of drug studies. At least 38 doctors received a combined $140,000 while they were still under sanction. Nevada does not require doctors to disclose payments received from drug companies.
Studies:
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005 Mar (81)611-614, Grassi D, et al, Short term administration of chocolate is followed by a significant increase in insulin sensitivity and a decrease in blood pressure in healthy individuals.
Nutrition 2005 May: 21(5); 594-601 Matsui N, et al. Ingested cocoa can prevent high fat diet induced obesity by regulating the expression of genes for fatty acid metabolism.
Nutrition April 2007, 23(4):351-5, Tomaru M, et al. Dietary supplementation with cacao liquor proanthocyanidins prevents elevation of blood glucose levels in diabetic obese mice.
Int J Med Sci, 2007 Jan 27;4(1);53-8, Bayard V. et al. Does flavanol intake influence mortality from nitric oxide-dependent processes? Ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer in Panama.
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci, 1996 Spr. 8:2, 168-71, Sabelli H, et al. Sustained antidepressant effect of PEA replacement.
J Sex Med. 2006 May;3(3):476-82 Salonia A, et al. Chocolate and women’s sexual health. An intriguing correlation.
Appetite, 2006 May; 46(3);332-6 E pub 2006 Mar 20. Macht M and Dettmer D. Everday mood and emotions after eating a chocolate bar or an apple.
Thousands of plant species have medicinal uses, containing active constituents that have a direct action on the body. In all but the last fifty years, humans have relied almost entirely on plants to treat all kinds of illnesses. Herbal remedies are coming back into prominence, in part because infectious organisms have developed resistance to synthesized drugs. Also no effective conventional treatments exist for many chronic illnesses. It has also been estimated that 10-20% of hospital patients in the West are there due to side effects of conventional medicine.
Aromatherapy
The use of scents, typically by warming various oils, to promote a sense of well being. Oils can be classified as Soothing (jasmine), Uplifting (lime), Centering (cardamom), Refreshing (lavender), Warming (myrrh), or Calming (lavender). Many oils have properties which allow them to be placed in several categories.
Bach Flower Remedies
A homeopathic remedy using 38 tinctures of various flowers to treat emotional problems, which under this system have seven major groups: fear, uncertainty, loneliness, over sensitivity, despondency, over concern for the well being of others, insufficient interest in present circumstances.
Marijuana
Until 1937 marijuana was a common and legally prescribed drug. The AMA opposed the law which made it illegal. Between 1937 and 1939, three thousand doctors were prosecuted for prescribing marijuana. In 1944, after the New York Academy of Medicine released the LaGuardia Report which, after seven years of research, claimed marijuana caused no violence and had certain positive medical benefits; marijuana research was banned in the U.S. Several States have removed the ban on prescribing this drug, however, as of this writing it is still banned by the U.S. Government, although widely available as a street drug. Among the conditions marijuana was recommended for (1851 United States Dispensatory) are neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, tetanus, hydrophobia, epidemic cholera, convulsions, chorea, hysteria, mental depression, delirium tremens, insanity and uterine hemorrhage. Hysteria, fear, and misinformation appear to be more important than science, at least on the national level. A Swedish study has found a link between the frequency of marijuana smoking prior to age 18 and the occurrence of schizophrenia. The increase in marijuana’s active ingredient, tetrahydracannabiol (THC), during the past thirty years has also lead to it producing hallucinations, delusions, mood changes, paranoia, and psychosis.
Aromatherapy