Health related information and news from around the world.

The results of a study involving over 40,000 women at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City suggests that older women who are deficient in both vitamin D and calcium have a higher risk of strokes than those who consume adequate amounts. The two-year study found that out of 101 women who suffered strokes, 35 percent were free of cardiovascular disease, a contributing factor. However, when the researchers compared this group of women to another group who did not have strokes they found that the stroke victims consumed less calcium and vitamin D.

Nutritionists say that both deficiencies are easy to avoid—low-fat dairy products, such as skim milk and yogurt, and salmon and sardines with the bones, provide good dietary sources of vitamin D and calcium. In some cases supplements may be helpful, but you should consult your doctor first.

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1) Buy generic drugs. Both over-the-counter and prescription generic drugs can cost considerably less than brand-name products. They also have the same active ingredients as their brand-name counterparts, and are almost always as safe and effective.

Generic drugs that are generally considered to be safe include generic painkillers, congestion/allergy medication, constipation and diarrhea formulas, and antibiotics. Generic drugs considered to be somewhat risky include those for heart and thyroid problems, hormones, blood thinners, and seizure medication. Ask your doctor to prescribe generic drugs when they are available.

2) Be sure to take all of your medication. Often times we begin to feel better before we have taken the entire prescription. Many of us then just stop taking our pills. More times than not, whenever a person stops taking medication short of the number of prescribed pills, he or she runs a very high risk of having a relapse. When that happens, you end up spending more money on a refill. The best advice: do exactly as the prescription and your doctor direct.

3) Be aware of drug interaction. There are some drugs that don’t interact well together. Some cancel each other’s effectiveness and others become dangerous when taken together. Taking incompatible drugs at the same time can not only be a waste of money, it can also be dangerous to your health. You can prevent such a problem, and such an expense, by making sure that your doctor(s) and pharmacist(s) know all the drugs you are taking.

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While it may sound like a strange connection, a new study suggests that exposure to fluoride at levels commonly found in drinking water may lead to hip fractures in elderly people. According to a University of Utah study, fluoride may cause the formation of weak hip bones.

The researchers say the effect appeared in a water system fluoridated to one part per million. Previous studies had associated hip fractures with higher levels of fluoride sometimes found naturally in water supplies.

A $20 Automatic Teeth Flosser For People Who Don’t Like To Floss

Flossing every day is now easier because a new automatic flosser has made “hand” flossing virtually obsolete. The automatic flosser is specially designed to floss between all your teeth—even the hard to reach places, making the routine much more effective. The flosser has a unique head which vibrates thousands of times per minute, flossing your teeth automatically and removing plaque. The new automatic flosser is priced at about $20.00 and is perfect for both children and adults. You can order this automatic flosser.

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This is a fat soluble vitamin, of which the most active form is retinol. Vitamin A is essential for normal growth and for the formation of strong bones and teeth in children, also plays a major role in vision and cell structure, and it provides protection for the linings of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary tracts against infection. It is also essential for healthy skin.

A vitamin A deficiency occurs only in people who have an exceptionally poor diet. The effects of such a deficiency include poor night vision, dry, inflamed eyes, and dry, rough skin. In extreme cases, vitamin A deficiency can result in severe corneal damage that can lead to blindness if left untreated.

Vitamin A is available in many foods, including liver, oily fish, dairy products yolk, margarine, and various fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, kale, broccoli, spinach, apricots, and peaches. The recommended daily allowance for adults is 0.8 to 1 mg.

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Cheese Patties

1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, 6 eggs, sage to taste, 1 c cracker crumbs, 3 Tbls. chopped onion. Put cream cheese in a bowl & add sage & onions. Scramble eggs without any milk & add hot eggs. Mix well. Add 3/4 cup cracker crumbs, mixing well. Cool slightly & form into patties. Roll patties inn remaining crumbs. May be kept in refrigerator over night or longer. When ready to use fry to golden brown. They may be fried immediately if you want to use them right away. Mock Chicken Loaf

1 – 1# box cottage cheese, 1 cup cracker crumbs, 3 Tbls chopped onion, 1 cup quick oats, 1 stick oleo, 2 envelopes Dark brown George Washington seasoning ( may be found in most large grocery stores), 2 cup water, 3 eggs. Boil water & add oats. Remove from heat to cool. While oats cool put the cottage cheese, onion, seasoning & eggs in a bowl. Melt oleo & stir in crumbs. When oats are cool, add oats & crumbs & mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour in a loaf pan.

Spinach cassarole

1/2 stick margarine, 4 Tbls flour, 2 cups milk, 1 pkg frozen spinach (thawed), 1/2 pkg herb dressing. Cook margarine, flour, milk until thick. Place thawed spinach in casserole dish. Pour thickener over spinach. Put layer of 1/2 pkg. herb dressing over spinach. Mix 1/2 cup hot water and 6 Tbls. of butter. Melt butter in water. Spoon over dressing. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 min.

Oatmeal Meatballs

1 cup ground walnuts, 2 eggs, tsp. poultry seasoning, 1 cup quick oats raw, 4 Tbls. milk, 1 medium onion (grated). Mix all ingredients, Roll into balls. Roll balls in bread crumbs and fry. Simmer in 2 Tbls. oil, 12 oz. water, 2 pkg. Brown George Washington Broth. Simmer meatballs in broth until most of liquid is absorbed. Cover with gravy or spaghetti sauce. Bake at 350 degree for 1/2 hour.

Squash Casserole

4 yellow squash (sliced), 1/3 cup of chopped onion, 2 cooked eggs (chopped),1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup melted margine, 1 cup cracker crumbs.

Cook squash in boiling water — 10-15 minutes, saute onion in margine, combine other ingredients, sprinklee crumbs on top, bake in casserole dish 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Parsnip Patties

1 large parsnip (shredded), 1/2 cup soaked garbanzos beans, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 Tbl. oil, 1/4 cup water.

Blend garbanzos in water till fine, add other ingredients, Drop onto hot oiled skillet, cook 5 minutes til brown, cover and reduce heat for 10-15 minutes. You may also make these into a regular patty.

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A simple tension-relieving technique, originally developed at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, may provide swift relief for most tension headaches, and also for some migraines—usually within a few minutes.

Stand erect with feet slightly apart and continue to breathe normally throughout the exercise. Begin by clenching both fists and tensing both arms and hands from the shoulders down. Hold tightly for six seconds. Then release.

Without waiting, tense both legs and feet, including the buttocks. Curl the toes if you can. Hold the tension tightly for six seconds. Then release.

In the same way, tense and release the abdomen muscles … the chest muscles … and the shoulder and neck muscles. Then screw the face up tightly, press the tongue against the teeth, tense for six seconds, and release.

Now, beginning once more with the arms and ending with the face, repeat the entire process twice more. Finally, do several neck rolls. Shrug the shoulders several times and roll them around. Raise the neck up and push the shoulders down. Then relax. Without holding the breath or stopping at any point, take ten long, deep continuous breaths. Each rime you exhale, visualize the pain leaving your head.

if you prefer, you can do the exercise lying down. Although the whole thing usually takes less than three minutes, you can speed it up by tensing every muscle in the body and face at the same time. Hold it for six seconds, then release. Repeat three times before doing the neck rolls and deep breathing.

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All she had to do, Arlene found, was to stand up with feet about twenty inches apart and rub her hands together until the palms were warm. Then, using her warm palms. she was to lightly stroke her face from brow to chin 30 times in the same direction.

Next, still standing, she was to partially close her eyes, look down at her feet, and continue to hold this stance throughout the exercise. Following this, she was to extend her arms out in front at waist level with fingers touching. Then she was instructed to swing her arms back behind her until her fingers touched, and then to swing her arms out in front again. She was to do 100 of these arm swings. Throughout, she must keep her awareness focused on her toes and not allow her thoughts to wander.

Before the count of 100, Arlene realized that the awful pain in her head had completely disappeared. Since then, for more than a year, she has practiced Li-Shou every morning before breakfast—and she has not had a single headache.

Li-Shou, which means “hand swinging” in Chinese, is highly effective because swinging the arms shunts blood away from dilated arteries in the head and into the arms. Simultaneously, the exercise releases endorphins in the brain that also help to relieve pain.

As additional blood is drawn from the head into the hands and arms, the arteries dilate and the hands and arms become warmer. This is the same effect as that achieved through biofeedback. By keeping the awareness on the toes, this condition is then transferred to the feet, which also become warmer.

After practicing Li-Shou for two or three weeks, arteries in both hands and feet remain dilated throughout the day. By redirecting the blood flow away from the head, the Li-Shou method makes further headaches almost impossible.

Li-Shou works well for both tension and migraine headaches, both as a prophylactic and to abort a headache which has already occurred. As. ^.prophylactic, it should be practiced once a day. When stroking the face, avoid touching the eyes. Simply stroke the flat of the face lightly with your palms. Don’t rub or press hard on the face. Naturally, if you have any ill effects from the exercise, you should stop at once.

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Anyone prone to migraine should also studiously avoid exposure to MSG, monosodium glutamate. This popular flavor enhancer can also provoke a headache in people not prone to migraine. It is liberally used by cooks in Chinese restaurants. If you must eat in these restaurants, try to avoid beginning the meal with wonton soup, a small bowl of which typically contains 2.5 grams of MSG. Endeavor instead to eat some bread first, or any other food free of MSG, so that you do not consume the MSG-laden course on an empty stomach. Another food that may be high in MSG is hydrolized vegetable protein. Many Chinese restaurants will now serve food without MSG if you ask; it’s a good idea to do so.

An MSG headache is actually caused by free glutamic acid which stimulates taste receptors on the tongue. The headache begins 20 to 30 minutes after eating MSG and is experienced as an ache or throbbing pain over the temples, in the forehead area, and also in the cheeks and jaw. It is sometimes accompanied by a burning sensation in the chest and upper torso. In non-migraineurs, it usually disappears within an hour.

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Positive emotions are recognized as friendly, which is a signal for the glands to turn on the body’s relaxation response. This is a calm, relaxed state of serenity and peace. The parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system takes over and maintains routine metabolism. Muscular tension melts away and negative thoughts and feelings disappear. The heart rate drops, blood pressure falls, respiration slows, oxygen consumption is reduced and immunocompetence soars.

As we enter the relaxed alpha state, brainwave frequency drops to 8 to 13 cycles per second. We feel comfortable and relaxed and we experience a delightful state of ease and wellness in which headaches are rarely experienced.

By contrast, the hypothalamus and pituitary glands recognize all negative emotions as threatening or unfriendly. Whenever confronted with a negative feeling, even a mildly negative feeling like boredom or uncertainty, these twin glands turn on all or part of the body’s fight-or-flight response.

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With all these options available, the drugless treatments you choose will be those that seem most appropriate for you and for your particular type of headache. To play an active role in your own recovery from headaches—or any other dysfunction—you must know how to act and what to do. Thus the first step in practicing holistic healing is to acquire this know-how.

We also very strongly urge that, as part of your holistic healing program, you include Anti-Headache Technique #17, Liberate Yourself from Headaches With Cognitive Positivism. For this is the only modality that can actually help rid us of the underlying cause of headaches.

For instance, to relieve and banish chronic tension headache, you might choose these anti-headache techniques:

7-A, A Simple Stretching Technique.

12, Temperature Therapy for Speedy Relief.

14, Deep Relaxation With Muscle Tensing.

When these techniques, incorporating the physical and relaxation approaches, and Technique #17, they offer a truly holistic approach.

To relieve and eventually banish chronic migraine, you might choose to employ these anti-headache techniques:

5, Headache Freedom Through Tryptophan Loading

6, Herbal Relief for Migraine Pain.

14 & 15, Deep Relaxation and Biofeedback. These techniques use the nutritional, herbal and relaxation approaches.

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