New Treatment Options for Winter Depression

Do you suffer from winter depression? Some people call it ‘cabin fever’. You know; you have no energy, you don’t want to do anything, you pretty much hate the world and everyone in it.

Traditional therapy for winter depression, known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is to sit next to a bright light box for 30 minutes at breakfast. But researchers were curious about the effectiveness of two other types of treatment, dawn simulation and negative air ionization.

In a study at Columbia University in New York and published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, randomly assigned 99 adults with SAD to one of five treatments: Dawn simulation equivalent to May in northern temperate latitudes; a brief dawn “pulse”; bright light after waking; high flow rate negative air ionization; or low flow rate ionization.

Full dawn simulation, high negative air ionization, and bright light therapy proved roughly equal in terms of improvement in symptoms of SAD of about 50% improvement for each. By contrast, improvement was seen in just 23 percent of those who got low ionization and in 43 percent of subjects in the sunrise pulse group.

Although the sunrise pulse treatment was “therapeutically active” in some patients, it led to the persistence, emergence and exacerbation of depressive symptoms, making it an “unfavorable option,” researchers reported.

The conclusion was that while morning bright light therapy will remain the first-line therapy for many people, dawn simulation and negative air ionization may also be considered an option.

If you think you may suffer from winter depression, complete this Personalized Inventory for Depression and SAD survey, a free and confidential online self-assessment questionnaire posted on the nonprofit website of the Center for Environmental Therapeutics, http://www.cet.org/. The site also includes more detailed description of light and ion therapy.

Four Diet Pill makers Fined for False Claims

It’s about time!

We’ve all seen the ads – lose weight with this miracle pill! Doctors don’t really want you to know about this, but take this pill and all your weight AND HEALTH problems will go away! It makes as much sense as work from home, don’t do anything, and make $60,000 a month! Yea, you’ve seen that one, too, huh?

The FTC filed big fines against the makers of Xenadrine EFX, One A Day Weight Smart, CortiSlim and TrimSpa. The FTC is not the organization that takes these products off the market, but they do monitor marketing, and when a company makes a claim that is false, then they step in. I have had many conversations with colleagues about how long it would take for them to make CortiSlim stop making false claims!

There is an estimated 70 million Americans who are trying to lose weight. Diet pills are extremely popular! Who doesn’t sit up and take notice when an ad tells you that all you have to do is take this pill and the weight will melt off? Wouldn’t that be nice? There is another ‘miracle pill’ on the market that claims that if you take it while sleeping, not only will you burn body fat, but you will BUILD muscle! I guess they know something all the researchers have missed, like you have to actually work a muscle to build it! But people are looking for that easy and quick solution.

And to further help with that quick and easy solution is when a company finds a celebrity to endorse their product. One example out of many is Anna Nicole Smith, who endorsed TrimSpa, which is one of the companies mentioned above.

There is no easy and quick solution. The solution is in your head. You have to decide that you are willing to make changes to eating and activity habits. That’s all there is to it. You have to decide that you are going to make the effort and then make it happen. Walk further, eat less. Increase the fruits and vegetables, decrease the fast food and snack foods. Plan. Plan for the exercise and plan for the meals, instead of skipping meals and then grabbing something on the run.

Americans have a reputation for being spoiled, fat, lazy humans. Isn’t it time to change the picture of America? I am always proud of people I see who are ready and willing to do the work necessary to improve their health and their weight. When will you start taking a stand and improve YOUR health?

Birth Defects Increase – Could it be the Result of Low Carb Diets?

Years ago, scientists realized that folate deficiencies led to the occurence of serious birth defects of the spine and brain, known as neural tube defects. Folate is a naturally occurring B vitamin. An artificial version, which is more easily metabolized by the body, is folic acid.

As a result, the government started urging women to eat cereals and breads fortified with folic acid to help prevent these birth defects. By the late 1990s, the fortification campaigns were succeeding: Folate levels increased, and neural tube defects dropped by as many as 1,000 a year.

But a recent CDC study just found an 8 percent to 16 percent decline in folate levels in U.S. women of childbearing age, according to large blood-drawing surveys done between 1999 and 2004.

This is the first time such a decline has been seen since the start of government health campaigns urging women to make sure they get enough folic acid. The decline was most pronounced in white women, although black women continue to be the racial group with the least folate in their blood,.

The study was based on a regular national survey that involves not only interviews but physical examinations and blood tests. It measured the blood of about 4,500 women, ages 15 to 44, between 1999 and 2004.

Experts are speculating as to why the sudden drop after seeing success in encouraging women to eat more fortified breads and cereals, and the one that they are focusing on the most, especially considering the population this has impacted the most, is the popularity of the low carb diets in the early 2000s. Women of child bearing age were cutting out the breads and cereals in their diets in an attempt to lose weight by eliminating carbohydrates from their diet. This also leads to a decrease in folic acid.

Two other theories that experts have considered is that today there are more women who are obese, and their need of folic acid may actually be higher than they are eating. The third theory is perhaps more people are eating more whole grain products, which have less fortified folic acid.

If you are a woman of child bearing age, regardless of your weight or your eating habits, your future children’s health could be in your hands: Don’t take this lightly! If you avoid breads and cereals, even supplements are beneficial. A daily dose of 400 micrograms of folic acid is recommended. Today only 1/3rd of all women of child-bearing age take a folic acid supplement every day, however.

If you are in your late teens or early 20’s, even if you don’t think you’ll ever have children, things change in life, so prepare your health and your body for the best health possible. If not for you, at least for your possible children you may have in the future. Giving birth to a child with birth defects is a hard part of life to deal with. When it’s a condition that can be avoided, why take that risk?

New Drug Approved for Weight Loss! For your Dog!

If you don’t have an overweight dog, yourself, I’m sure you know someone else who does. Obesity is creeping into our pets in America. Statistics say that about 5% of the 62 million dogs in the US are obsess, which is 20% or more than its ideal body weight. Another 20-30% is considered overweight.

The US government just approved the first drug for obese dogs, called Slentrol. It will be available from veterinarians in the spring and will cost $1-$2 per dose, which will come in liquid form.

The drug reduces the amount of fat the dog can absorb and triggers a feeling of fullness, according to the FDA. But this also means it can produce some unfortunate side effects, including loose stools, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite. The hope is this can be used for a short-term, quick answer to your dog’s obesity problem. Then, with increased exercise and a healthy diet, your dog will live a healthier, longer, happier life.

Our pets mirror our own lifestyles. If you have been struggling with weight, and you have a dog that also has some extra weight on him/her, what better motivator to get out and take some walks than to know you are helping improve your pet’s health! Our pets are entirely dependant on us for their wellbeing. By taking the best care of yourself and doing the same for your pet, you will ensure that both of you live a long, happy life. And, after all, isn’t your dog your best friend?