Gain Weight, Lose Brain Cells

Well, heck, as if getting wrinkles wasn't bad enough, turns out that if you gain weight after menopause, you lose gray matter--that's brain cells. Now, either that explains any and all of my mental problems OOORRRRR, it goes to show how much more remarkably intelligent I will be when I lose weight! Hum.

Here is the excerpt. For more information, visit Dr. Daniel Amens' website. He is a remarkable doctor, if you haven't discovered him yet, now is the time! www.brainplace.com

Gain Weight, Lose Gray Matter


As if we needed more proof that gaining weight is bad for our health. Now there’s evidence showing that an increase in weight can decrease the size of your brain.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, used brain imaging to examine the effects of increases in body mass index (BMI) on 48 otherwise healthy postmenopausal women. They found that women whose BMI went up following menopause were more likely to have a reduction in gray matter volume.

When it comes to the brain, size matters. A smaller brain means reduced brain function, which can affect every aspect of your life — your relationships, your career, and your mood.

For women going through menopause, it’s especially important to eat a brain-healthy diet to prevent those extra pounds.

I just found out that eating too much sugar will give you wrinkles. Well, now you tell me, after I have been having a serious love affair with everything sugar and white, for the past five years. Check the above link and confirm this for yourself. No wonder I have aged so fast!! Damn. I am pissed. Sugar has been my drug of choice for these so many years on purpose. I figured sugar is better than alcohol. Better than a psych hospital. Damn. Now I have to give it up. You have no idea how unhappy I am.

What this article says is that sugar in the body undergoes glycation, a process much like browning meat in a pan. YUCKOLA!

Here is the quote:

Sugar triggers a natural process called glycation, which is the same chemical reaction that turns meat brown when you cook it. The sugars bind with tissues to form harmful molecules, called advanced glycation end products (ironically known as AGEs), which damage elastin and collagen -- two substances your skin needs to stay supple and elastic. AGEs also damage the kidneys, brain and other essential organs.

Tell me, what other habit can I develop instead of sugar and high carbs to be my drug of choice? Exercise. Pahleeze. I can exercise alright. But it's not quick and easy. Not like grabbing a bag of chips or oreos! I may write a health blog, but I like my vices. Darn. Now, I gotta change. We'll see if I actually do it! Smile!

Hormones and Addictions: A Landmark Find

Hormones and Addictions: A Landmark Find

Ya'll, this is from Dr. Amen. Bottom line get a saliva test from your wholistic doctor to test all your hormone levels. Get them corrected, and you will no longer have addiction cravings. Good Luck! Susan

Dr. Rick Sponaugle is a friend and colleague. He wrote the following article for the American Association of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) on hormones and additions and sent it to me this morning. It is such a wonderful piece I asked him if I could reprint it here for you. Please read this. Ihope it opens your mind as it has mine.

Anti-aging/Longevity Medicine Reduces the Prevalence of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction

The utility of hormonal replacement therapy and other proactive longevity medicine practiced by A4M physicians not only improves the quality of life in patients, it also prevents unnecessary depression, anxiety and insomnia disorders all of which cause subsequent addiction.

Florida Detox and Wellness Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida, has successfully treated over 5000 addicted patients since our inception in 1998. While most “treatment” centers continue to ignore the scientific and biochemical basis for addiction, we have successfully proven that over ninety percent of addicted patients self-medicate with drugs and alcohol in their attempt to balance their brain chemistry and “feel more normal”.

Normalizing brain chemistry with medication, bio-identical hormone replacement and nutraceutical supplementation balances brain activity and negates the patient’s craving for and self medication with alcohol and drugs. Patients utilize drugs and alcohol either to stimulate under-active brain regions or relax over-active brain systems. The aberrant electrical activity in the addicted patient’s brain is typically caused by inherited or acquired biochemical and hormonal deficiencies.

Our physicians utilize modern brain science derived from neuro-imaging studies and A4M wellness/anti-aging medicine to restore balance of biochemical deficiencies and their subsequent electrical dysfunction. This scientific approach allows us to more effectively diagnose and subsequently treat the “true cause” of drug and alcohol craving.

Due to the limited scope of this article, we cannot discuss all addiction etiology as is related to hormonal and nutritional deficiencies or environmental toxins such as pesticides, black mold and Lyme’s disease. All mentioned can cause dysfunction of neurotransmitter [glutamate, histamine, dopamine and serotonin] activity and subsequent addiction. We will address two very common causes of addiction which are fortunately prevented when patients receive quality anti-aging medical treatment.

The average age of menopause in American women is 51 years; however, female progesterone levels begin to decline approximately eight years prior to estrogen. When progesterone production declines in middle age females, they begin to experience new found anxiety and insomnia. Retrospective studies at Florida Detox and Wellness Institute have demonstrated that the “progesterone drop out” phenomenon is a common etiology of alcohol and drug abuse, with causation in over forty percent of our addicted middle age females.

The biochemical explanation is that allopregnanolone, a metabolite of progesterone, enhances GABA-A receptivity. When females experience a loss in GABA-A receptivity via diminished progesterone levels, they can develop excess electrical activity in both the central and peripheral nervous system. Their newfound anxiety and insomnia disorders precipitate subsequent addiction issues.

These progesterone deficient females will begin to utilize alcohol for it’sGABA-A receptor activation. The woman who historically drank only a glass of wine with dinner will insidiously progress over a few years to two bottles of wine per night as the wine has now become “medication.”

She may be courageous enough to visit a physician, however, if the physician has limited knowledge regarding hormonal replacement therapy, he/she will not appreciate the gravity of the patient’s situation. The doctor will practice “symptom medicine” and readily prescribe her addicting medication such as Xanax or Klonopin instead of investigating hormonal imbalance.

Another common scenario observed at Florida Detox is that the progesterone deficient female will begin to abuse Vicodin or Oxycontin because the calcium channel blockade effect of the opiate will down regulate the increased “brain voltage” derived from the lost GABA-A receptivity. Unfortunately, when she chooses this option, she will eventually develop Mu receptor tolerance, begin increasing her 24 hour opiate dose and subsequently develop hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis suppression further exacerbating her original hormonal deficiency.

A 2009 Florida Detox study found that 100 percent, thirty of thirty females, ages 21-29 years old who were prescribed 80 mg methadone per 24 day were suffering “flat line” ovarian output. Testosterone, Progesterone and Estradiol were pathetically at menopausal levels.

Measurement of LH and FSH in these females revealed suppression to pre-puberty levels demonstrating the severity of methadone induced hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction. This pituitary suppression derived from chronic consumption of opiate pain medication frequently causes coincident hypothyroidism in both females and males with greater prevalence in females.

Fortunately, when progesterone levels are restored using bio-identical progesterone, the anxiety and insomnia disorders subside as does “craving” for GABA-ergic drugs like alcohol and Xanax; nor do these progesterone treated females need the calcium channel blockade effect of Vicodin/Oxycontin to “turn down the “excess brain voltage.”

It is paramount for pediatricians to become more astute regarding the principles of A4M medicine as much addiction can be prevented in adolescent females.

Susan is a 21 year old female who presented to Florida Detox in May, 2006. When admitted to our detox unit, she was consuming two liters of vodka per day, 1,000 mg of Oxycontin per day and 20 mg of Xanax per day.

She and her mother, Mary, had chosen Florida Detox because our website discussed what appeared to be a more scientific approach to addiction treatment. Susan had already completed and failed eight 28 day “talk therapy” programs from Arizona to New York, each costing over thirty thousand dollars. The only diagnosis Susan had received from all of the previous treatment centers was drug addict, alcoholic and while undergoing severe withdrawal symptoms was diagnosed with personality disorder.

Susan began drinking at age12 initially raiding her parents liquor cabinet. By age 14 she was admitted to her first 28 day “treatment program.” In high school Susan was introduced to Xanax and “Oxy’s”, both of which “calmed” her anxious brain without the unfavorable gastrointestinal symptoms she experienced with alcohol.

Upon reviewing Susan’s history, I discovered a pertinent chronological correlation. Susan had begun her menses at age 12, the same age at which she allegedly began to drink alcohol “to calm her nerves.”

Her menses was always much heavier than her friends and it usually lasted seven days. Susan bled so severely that she was anemic throughout high school and periodically required intravenous infusions of iron. Her menses was also extremely painful, unlike her best friends. She had seen several different gynecologists and pediatricians none of which discussed or measured hormones.

Susan’s symptoms were classic for unequal ovarian output from the very onset of her menses, that in which the production of progesterone lags that of estrogen. Anxiety disorders in America have equal prevalence in males and females up to age 13 after which females experience two to three fold the incidence of anxiety verses their male counterparts. The causation of such can not be solely attributed to adolescent peaked interest and interaction with the male gender; my wife might challenge this statement.

The balancing GABA-ergic effect of progesterone is more critical when estrogen function is activated than when both estrogen and progesterone are at pre-puberty levels.

When Susan’s progesterone deficiency was appropriately treated along with the multiple hormonal and nutritional deficiencies caused by nine years of alcohol and drug abuse, her craving for both drugs and alcohol stopped. Susan has been drug and alcohol free for almost three years.

Susan and her family suffered years of unnecessary psychological and financial trauma because her gynecologists, psychiatrists and addictionologists were not trained in A4M medicine. As more pediatricians, gynecologists and family physicians enroll in A4M, the future Susans will not be robbed of their youth.

Another hormonal deficiency that frequently serves as the etiology of alcoholism and drug addiction in females is estradiol deficiency. Estradiol enhances serotonin receptivity in the female brain. While the literature states that “normal” estradiol levels fluctuate during the menstrual cycle between15 pg/dl and 315 pg/dl, estradiol levels below 60 pg/dl cause compromised serotonin receptivity. Furthermore, estradiol has monoamine oxidase inhibitor activity and therefore increases both serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain.

These biochemical findings facilitate understanding of the common symptamatology associated with premenstrual syndrome, post partum depression, and the midlife onset of psychological issues such as depression, anxiety and insomnia in females. It becomes then obvious that untreated estradiol deficiency plays a pivotal role in causation of new onset addiction issues in middle age females.

The increased anxiety associated with suboptimal serotonin activity has so eloquently been elucidated by my esteemed colleague and good friend, Daniel Amen, M.D., the founder and medical director of the Amen Clinics.

Through SPECT brain imaging, Dr. Amen has demonstrated that patients with suboptimal serotonin activity, whether inherited or acquired suffer from excess activity in two different regions of the brain, the limbic system or “emotional center” and the anterior cingulate gyrus, normally considered the brain’s gear shifter.

Furthermore, normal serotonin activity inhibits the release of the excitatory neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, from the locus cereleus. When serotonin receptivity is compromised by estradiol deficiency, female patients can develop excessive sympathetic tone in both the central and peripheral nervous systems which further exacerbates anxiety and insomnia disorders. As with the anxiety and insomnia produced by progesterone deficiency, females with estradiol deficiency often medicate their overactive brain regions with alcohol, benzodiazepines or opiate pain medication.

Linda is a 45 year old school teacher from Atlanta who presented to Florida Detox and Wellness Institute in July of 2007 with a history of new onset alcoholism, approximately three years, claiming she developed anxiety for the first time in her life at age forty two.

Neurotransmitter assessment excluded biochemical causes of anxiety such as serotonin deficiency, norepinephrine excess, dopamine excess, glutamate excess or GABA deficiency, Her histamine levels were excessive which is common in alcoholic patients secondary to alcohol induced systemic Candidiasis and leaky gut syndrome.

This monoamine histamine, like dopamine, can when in excess, produce increased “electrical voltage” in the brain causing subsequent anxiety. But, was it the original cause of Linda’s self-medication with alcohol or did it develop because of the alcoholism?

Amen brain questionnaires were negative for the typical anxiety profile seen with low serotonin activity, but, positive for a more typical profile of “generalized anxiety” often seen in patients with excess histamine or progesterone deficiency. Hormonal evaluation revealed adequate estradiol and testosterone levels, however, progesterone levels were post menopausal.

Following medical detoxification, Linda’s progesterone levels were restored, her GI tract was detoxified of yeast, her leaky gut was treated with an herbal glutamine mixture and histamine reduction was accomplished via SAMe, high dose vitamin C and Vitamin B6, pyridoxine.Following this treatment regimen, Linda reported that her anxiety had abated and she had no more alcohol craving.

Linda remained alcohol free for one year when she suddenly began experiencing a combination of depression and anxiety which precipitated a short relapse to alcohol. Fortunately, Linda returned to Florida after just two weeks of drinking and did not require an inpatient medical detoxification.

Linda’s new evaluation revealed normal neurotransmitters levels including serotonin, however, she now had developed menopausal estradiol levels and her Amen brain questionnaires revealed a classic low serotonin anxiety and depression profile, one that the Amen Clinic defines as laden with excessive worry and continuous rumination over negative things.

Even though Linda had maintained normal serotonin production, she had now lost serotonin receptivity with her estradiol drop out and she began to suffer a different type of anxiety from that she had previously experienced when her progesterone production had ceased.

Linda responded well to bio-identical estradiol enhancement and 5-hydroxy tryptophan, a serotonin precursor. We have now referred her to an anti-aging doctor in the Atlanta area.

Severe depression can be precipitated by the diminished MAO inhibitor effect and subsequent reduction of brain dopamine levels that accompanies estradiol “drop out.” Reduced brain dopamine can have a negative effect on cognition, but often of more importance, can decrease activation of our nucleus accumbens or “pleasure/hunger center” which is dopamine driven.

Specifically, it’s the activation of the D2 dopamine receptor in the nucleus accumbens that gives us pleasure, satiety and motivation. A 2006 University of Virginia PET SCAN study comparing D2 dopamine activity, before and after, eating, orgasm and cocaine consumption revealed that D2 dopamine activity was temporarily elevated three times normal with eating, ten times normal with orgasm and one hundred times normal with cocaine.

Nicotine’s effect on D2 activity was not evaluated in this particular study, however, a 2003 NIDA [National Institute of Drug Addiction] study demonstrated that nicotine was more dopaminergic than heroin and cocaine and preferred by rhesus monkeys over cocaine and heroin.

Clinical studies at Florida Detox validate that the diminished dopamine activity that accompanies midlife estrogen drop out, frequently precipitates self medication with any drug that temporarily releases dopamine from the vesicles [brain cell storage units] to the brain neuron synapse, the area between two brain cells.

Drugs of choice are food, nicotine, alcohol, opioid pain pills and marijuana. Other drugs that block synaptic re-uptake of dopamine such as methamphetamine and cocaine are less commonly utilized in this particular female population.

In summary, this article is written with the intent to further validate the importance of expanding the reach of A4M education to all physicians by elucidating yet another dimension of human suffering, drug and alcohol addiction, that can be prevented with the implementation of quality anti-aging and longevity medicine.

Marvin Rick Sponaugle MD
Founder and Medical Director, Florida Detox and Wellness Institute
Board Certified Anesthesiology and Addiction Medicine
This entry was written by Dr. Amen, posted on March 4, 2009 at 4:28 pm, filed under Blog. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

BPA update

from Dr. Douglas' email digest today:


Scientists uniting to attack FDA inaction on BPA

Dear Friend,

The tide that's been turning against the dangerous chemical additive Bisphenol A (BPA) has officially become a tsunami. Not long ago, I told you that state senators had prompted major manufacturers of plastic baby bottles to discontinue the use of the substance. And now the scientific community has finally taken a stand against BPA and called the FDA on the carpet for the federal agency's repeated claims that BPA is safe.

Fifty-eight scientists from all over the world and from nearly every scientific discipline are currently working at on a soon-to-be released "consensus statement" that will attack the FDA's stance on BPA.

What makes this hazardous material so dangerous is its ubiquity – it's been used in the making of shatterproof plastics and food containers for over 50 years.

BPA is a chemical estrogen that seeps into the foods and drinks that are often found in containers made from these plastics - like baby formula, for example. And that's how it spreads into humans. It's been linked to all manner of hideous maladies: liver problems, brain disorder, heart disease, hormonal disruption, diabetes, and more. BPA can cause young kids to retain toxins in their bodies for abnormally long periods.

In all, over 130 studies in the last decade have connected the development of serious health issues with BPA. Recent studies have shown that it doesn't take much BPA to start having a negative impact on health – even doses lower than the FDA's standards can be harmful.

Developmental biologist Laura Vandenberg of Tufts University says that the dangers of BPA are "becoming undeniable."

"The FDA's standard for safety is reasonable certainty," Vandenberg says. "It is no longer reasonable to say that BPA is safe."

The penny seems to have dropped on the issue of BPA for pretty much the rest of the planet. There are efforts by elements within the U.S. and Canadian governments to officially ban the use of the material.

Yet the FDA still insists it's safe. It's truly one of the more pig-headed stances you're likely to find in a government agency – and remember, this is the U.S. government we're talking about … that's a pretty long history of pig-headedness.

This stance on the safety of BPA is based on two studies that were funded by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) – an organization made up of the leaders of the very companies that profit from the manufacture of this dangerous chemical. Most people would think that a pro-BPA study paid for by the makers of BPA would be somewhat biased. Alas, the FDA is not like most people. Not sane people anyway.

In fact, Rochelle Tyl, who authored BOTH the ACC studies backing up the safety of BPA, admitted that the report on which the FDA based its decision-making shouldn't be taken at face value. The ContraCostaTimes reported that Tyl admitted that "there were errors and inconsistencies in the 2008 report that the FDA used as the foundation for its findings." And she did this in front of the very international consortium that's working on a statement condemning the FDA's stance.

It doesn't get much more convincing than that. I wonder why she was telling the consortium this, and not the FDA…

Bisphenol A

Friends, just got this in my email from W C Douglass. I didn't even realize this was this much of a problem. Heck, my husband has diabetes. That link, and all those drinks out of hard plastic bottles makes me wonder... here is the article.

State attorney general gets deadly BPA out of bottles

Dear Friend,

I'm happy to announce a big win in the battle against BPA. Six of the largest makers of baby bottles have vowed to stop selling bottles made with the chemical known as Bisphenol A, thanks to one crusading attorney general.

By now, you should be well aware of the evils of BPA. I've warned you about it several times over the last 18 months, cataloging for you the growing list of potential health dangers that have been linked to the stuff (including, most recently, diabetes). Manufacturers have used BPA for more than half a century to make hard, shatterproof plastics.

Unfortunately, BPA can seep into the foods and drinks that are often contained in containers made from these plastics – like baby formula, for example.

Believe it or not, this move to remove BPA from baby bottles was actually prompted by politicians from Connecticut and New Jersey, who personally wrote to the bottle makers and asked that they cease use of the chemical.

"The evidence seems to clear and emphatic and unequivocal to simply permit this stuff to go into children on a massive scale," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, adding that "there's no reason for it because substitutes are available."

I'm not usually one to hand out plaudits to politicians. But Attorney General Blumenthal is deserving of a standing ovation. I can appreciate what an uphill struggle he faced.

Shannon Jenest, a spokesperson for Philps Avent, the top seller of plastic baby bottles, said the company made a "business decision to move out of BPA." Of course it was a business decision! You didn't think they'd do it for the health of the consumers, did you?

The fact is, U.S. consumers like you have been putting tremendous pressure on retailers to stop selling BPA-made bottles, which hits them right where it hurts – right in the bottom line.

"Babies R Us was banning [BPA], Target was going to, CVS was going to, and so the distribution channels were lessening and lessening," Jenest says.

As you might expect, the FDA is still in BPA's corner. And the American Chemistry Council even had the nerve to release a statement of their continued support of the FDA's position that BPA levels are safe.

But thankfully Blumenthal is unfazed. He's now working to rally the support of other state attorneys general throughout the U.S. to ban the use of BPA in the manufacture of infant formula cans. And after that, he wants it out of ALL food and beverage containers.

Pharmacuetical Companies' lobby Washington

This is nothing new. But you might not know it. I didn't. Page 198, of Dr. Angell's book, THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUG COMPANIES, first sentence, first paragraph reads: "The pharmaceutical industry hss by far the largest lobby in Washington--and that's saying something." She adds, "In 2002, it employed 675 lobbyists (more than one for each member of Congress)--many drawn from 138 Washington lobbying firms--at a cost of over 91 million.

And you wonder why your pharmaceuticals are priced so high?

And you presume your congressman isn't influenced by all this money and verbiage?

Surgery Checklist Saves Lives

A little story first: a long time ago, (almost 30 years now), a then young, single mother worked as a receptionist in human resources at a large city suburban hospital. Occasionally, nurses would come through to tend to personnel business, and needing a safe ear, just vent about work to this receptionist. One day, a surgical nurse came through and told the receptionist that the worst part of her job was working with a drunk surgeon, trying hard to keep the count of surgical supplies going into and out of the body correct, trying to make sure he (there were only he surgeons back then at this hospital) did his job decently, yet still not offending him so that he couldn't complain to her bosses and have her fired.

Of course, I was that young, single mother receptionist.

She added, and I am passing this bit of advice on to you, that anytime you have surgery, make sure you do NOT take any drug to make you looney before you go into the surgical suite. STAY LUCID! She emphasized that. When you are in the surgical suite, ask to talk to your doctor. Then whisper. This forces his face to come near yours so that you can smell what is on his breath. If he doesn't come near, WARNING bells should sound an alarm in your soul. Forget medical protocol, forget doctor as the authority figure, and grab the man's shirt and pull him near to you so you can get a good whiff.

What is the worst that can happen? If you smell alcohol coverup, baby you shout loud, demand off the table, all IV's off, etc, and, now in this day and age, demand a blood alcohol level, and threaten a lawsuit of the hospital so that they will follow through. If you smell nothing, so what? This well paid man changes his clothes and your life is safe!

Now, to the Yahoo study.


Study: Basic checklist saves lives during surgery.

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Wed Jan 14, 5:57 pm ET
Surgical checklist can cut complications and save lives: WHO AFP/File – Doctors perform heart surgery. Potentially life-threatening complications from surgery can be cut by …

ATLANTA – Scrawl on the patient with a permanent marker to show where the surgeon should cut. Ask the person's name to make sure you have the right patient. Count sponges to make sure you didn't leave any inside the body. Doctors worldwide who followed a checklist of steps like these cut the death rate from surgery almost in half and complications by more than a third in a large international study of how to avoid blatant operating room mistakes.

The results — most dramatic in developing countries — startled the researchers.

"I was blown away," said Dr. Atul Gawande, a Harvard surgeon and medical journalist who led the study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

U.S. hospitals have been required since 2004 to take some of these precautions. But the 19-item checklist used in the study was far more detailed than what is required or what many institutions do.

The researchers estimated that implementing the longer checklist in all U.S. operating rooms would save at least $15 billion a year.

"Most of these things happen most of the time for most patients, but we need to make it so that all these things happen all the time for all patients, because each slip represents an opportunity for harm," said Dr. Alex Haynes of the Harvard School of Public Health, one of the study's authors.

The checklist was developed by the World Health Organization and includes measures such as these:

• Before the patient is given anesthesia, make sure the part of the body to be operated on is marked, and make sure everyone on the surgical team knows if the patient has an allergy.

• Before the surgeons cut, make sure everyone in the operating room knows one another and what their roles will be during the operation, and confirm that all the needed X-rays and scan images are in the room.

• After surgery, check that all the needles, sponges and instruments are accounted for.

That checklist was tested in 2007-08 in eight cities around the world: Seattle; Toronto; London; New Delhi; Auckland, New Zealand; Amman, Jordan; Manila, Philippines; and Ifakara, Tanzania. (Heart and pediatric cases were excluded.)

Before the checklist was introduced, 1.5 percent of patients in a comparison group died within 30 days of surgery at the eight hospitals. Afterward, the rate dropped to 0.8 percent — a 47 percent decrease.

The biggest decreases were in developing countries, with the combined death rate for Jordan, India, Tanzania and the Philippines falling 52 percent. There was no significant difference in deaths in the wealthiest countries.

Overall, major complications dropped from 11 percent to 7 percent. Again, the biggest decreases were in the lower-income countries.

"What we're seeing is the benefits of good team work and coordinated care," Haynes said.

The results were so dramatic that Dr. Peter Pronovost, a Johns Hopkins University doctor who proved in a highly influential study a few years ago that checklists could cut infection rates from intravenous tubes, said he was skeptical of the findings.

One possible flaw, he said, is that "you had people who bought into the system collecting their own data."

The researchers acknowledged it is possible that the results were partly because people perform better when they know they're being watched.

However, the 19-point checklist is already being adopted. Ireland, Jordan, the Philippines and Britain have recently established nationwide programs to have the checklist used in all operating rooms.

In the U.S., the Joint Commission, which accredits most hospitals and sets standards for them, said it is considering adopting more of the steps. The agency already requires three of them, including marking the incision site and pausing before surgery to make sure everything is in place.

At least one patient in the study at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle welcomed the checklist.

Darrell McDonald, 63, had a hernia operation in March. A longtime bush pilot in Alaska, he followed a checklist before every takeoff, including checking the controls and walking around the propeller-driven plane "to make sure nothing is getting ready to fall off."

So McDonald was fine with his doctor writing on his body where the incision would be. He had no problems with repeated inquiries about who he was and why he was there. He applauded measures such as a poster-size checklist hanging from an IV pole in the operating room.

"It eliminates the little bit that could possibly go wrong," he said.

Illegal Marketing, Lilly Pharmacuetical Lawsuit

As most of you know, I get this stuff usually from Yahoo, so I have to give credit here.... they are my home page ;-) and I love em for all the up to date info flying through...

Now, are you aware that pharmacuetical companies illegally market drugs. I am. But I wasn't always. If you want to know more about this topic, buy and READ the book The Turth About the Drug Companies, (How they decieve us and what to do about it) by marcia Angell, MD, former editor in chief of the "New England Journal of Medicine", the go to medical magazine for all US medical doctors. I have written about her before. Here is the article from yahoo news:

Lilly settles Zyprexa suit for $1.42 billion


INDIANAPOLIS – Eli Lilly & Co. said Thursday it pleaded guilty to a charge that it illegally marketed the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa for an unapproved use, and will pay $1.42 billion to settle civil suits and end the criminal investigation.

The Indianapolis-based company said it will pay $800 million to settle civil suits, including $438 million to the federal government and $362 million to states. It will pay $615 million to resolve the criminal probe, and plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for promoting Zyprexa as a dementia treatment.

The company did not acknowledge any wrongdoing in the civil cases.

The misdemeanor plea resolves charges related to Lilly's marketing of Zyprexa between September 1999 and March 2001. It states that Lilly marketed the drug for the treatment of dementia, including Alzheimer's-related dementia, even though the drug is not approved for that use.

Zyprexa is approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Doctors are allowed to prescribe it for other uses, but Lilly is not allowed to market the drug for any other illnesses because it lacks Food and Drug Administration approval.

The case began in 2004 and was led by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Office of Consumer Litigation of the Department of Justice.

Laurie Magid, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said they hoped cases like this put an end to a pharmaceutical practice known as "off-label" marketing.

"The company made hundreds of millions of dollars by trying to convince health care providers that Zyprexa was safe for unapproved uses," Magid said, noting that they hold the drugmaker "responsible for putting thousands and thousands of patients at risk." She added that off-label marketing circumvents "the very process put in place to protect the public."

Lilly also said it agreed to resolve civil investigations brought by the Medicaid fraud-control units of the states involved in the settlement. The states were looking into rebate agreements between Lilly and pharmacy benefits managers related to Zyprexa and other drugs.

A company spokesman said about 30 states are involved.

Zyprexa was approved in 1996 and has been Lilly's top seller for years. It brought in $3.5 billion in revenue through the first three quarters of 2008, or roughly $1.5 billion more than the company's second-best seller, the antidepressant Cymbalta.

But the company has spent roughly $1.2 billion to resolve 32,000 claims related to Zyprexa product liability. About 125 cases are still pending.

For instance, a group of insurance companies, unions and others are suing Lilly for billions, saying it broke marketing laws and overcharged for the drug.

Lilly in October said it expected to pay the additional $1.42 billion to end the investigations. It set aside that amount, or $1.29 per share, in the third quarter, which resulted in the company's first quarterly loss in three years.

Earlier the same month, Lilly agreed to pay $62 million to 32 states and the District of Columbia to resolve accusations it marketed Zyprexa for pediatric care, for use in high doses and for dementia.

Lilly shares fell 66 cents, or nearly 2 percent, to $36.81 in Thursday morning trading.

___

Associated Press writer Maryclaire Dale contributed to this report from Philadelpia.

Drinking Coffee reduces Alzheimers

Being a coffee lover, this is a study I really like ;-)

Drinking coffee reduces risk of Alzheimer's: study


Drinking coffee reduces risk of Alzheimer's: study AFP/File – Middle-aged people who drink moderate amounts of coffee significantly reduce their risk of developing …

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Middle-aged people who drink moderate amounts of coffee significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, a study by Finnish and Swedish researchers showed Thursday.

"Middle-aged people who drank between three and five cups of coffee a day lowered their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease by between 60 and 65 percent later in life," said lead researcher on the project, Miia Kivipelto, a professor at the University of Kuopio in Finland and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

The study, which was also conducted in cooperation with the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki and which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease this month, was based on repeated interviews with 1,409 people in Finland over more than two decades.

They were first asked about their coffee-drinking habits when they were in their 50s and their memory functions were tested again in 1998, when they were between 65 and 79 years of age.

A total of 61 people had by then developed dementia, 48 of whom had Alzheimer's, the researchers said.

"There are perhaps one or two other studies that have shown that coffee can improve some memory functions (but) this is the first study directed at dementia and Alzheimer's (and) in which the subjects are followed for such a long time," Kivipelto told AFP.

She said it remained unclear exactly how moderate coffee drinking helped delay or avoid the onset of dementia, but pointed out that coffee contains strong antioxidants, which are known to counter Alzheimer's.

Some studies have also shown that coffee helps protects the nerve system, which can also protect against dementia, she said, pointing out that yet other studies show that coffee protects against diabetes, which in turn is known to be linked to Alzheimer's.

"Going forward, researchers should try to nail down exactly what the protective elements in coffee consist in," Kivipelto said.

The Finnish-Swedish research results surfaced just a day after a separate study published by psychologists at Durham University showed a link between heavy coffee drinking and hallucinations.

"I guess this shows that you shouldn't exaggerate," Kivipelto said when asked about the British study, pointing out that her research showed "insignificant" benefits to drinking more than five cups of coffee a day when it came to protecting against dementia.

"Too much is simply too much," she said.

Olive oil--a Natural Appetite Suppresent

Who knew? Olive oil is a natural appetite suppressant! Gloy Halleujah. I hate the taste of the stuff, but by golly, now I am going to have to amend my ways and start using it regularly. Here's the skinny: Olive oil contains oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat. Upon reaching the small intestine, oleic acid triggers the production of oleoylethanolamide (OEA), another fatty substance. OEA then finds its way to nerve endings that carry a hunger-curbing message to the brain. And that message is loud and clear: "Hey. Stop eating! You're full!!" Researchers are hoping that new appetite-suppressing drugs using OEA will be developed to reduce obesity. I got that from a Real Age email. I will start trying it and see if it works for me ;-)
What I want to know is why are pharmaceutical companies trying to make an appetite suprresant pill when all you have to do is swallow the real stuff. Hum, let's see.... is it number one, for people like me that would rather swallow a pill (at a small co pay with a doctors prescription) than get used to the flavor of the olive oil? Or, number two, the pharmacuetical companies need a new patented drug they can make a lot of money off of? Hum, tick, tock, tick tock, the clock is ticking, I just can't decide, which one could it be. Oh wait, I know, it's mostly number two, with a little of number one thrown in, mostly to be used massively in marketing. ! Oh, I bet you got that before I did, didn't you? You are so smart ;-)

Worried about Money?

I have, again and again, told you how great Flylady and Leanne Ely, Saving Dinner are to your overall health and well being. Here is a email letter from Leanne today about saving money by planning menus and grocery shopping wisely. Read it, you will enjoy it!

Dear Friends,

I've had a few emails asking me how to plan menus when you have no
money. Well, this is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Been
there/done that! It isn't a lot of fun when you have $25 in your
pocket to feed your family for a week! That's what happened to me in
the mid-90's. My budget was $100 a month to feed my family!

I want to preface what I'm saying with it was an emergency and I had
no choice. It wasn't easy—but it was necessary. So instead of whining,
I did something and I got real creative. Now keep in mind: we're not
talking diapers, detergent or any other non-food items—just food, and
food alone.

Okay, so here's what I did.

First off, I utilized the loss leaders the stores advertise each week.
I shopped at about 2-3 stores a week and made my menus according to
what was on sale (after awhile, you don't even need to do that
much—you will have quite a stocked pantry and freezer if you shop via
this method).

I also availed myself of the scratch and dent section of the grocery
store. Not all grocery stores have this, but be on the look out for a
big cart at the end of an aisle filled to overflowing with bread or
another like item (I once bought whole wheat bread for .25 a loaf. I
bought 10 loaves because I had the freezer space and made my (now ex)
husband's lunch every day—and saved a fortune). Look in places you
don't normally look—toward the back of the store or a shelf over by
the restrooms.

I also went early in the morning and took full advantage of the
markdown meats. Yeah, it was a hassle and at the time, I had two
little kids. But I got huge markdowns and sometimes, I even asked for
markdowns of stuff (that maybe they missed) and cleaned house (I
bought a HUGE fresh turkey right after Thanksgiving for $4 that way).
There's a good lesson there—always ASK when you don't see something
that should be marked down (ask the dairy manager, meat manager, etc.)
Check the dates on everything and ask for markdowns when appropriate.

I bought my milk this way too. Milk freezes well after you pour a
little out, or it pops and leaks all over your freezer! Simply thaw it
overnight in the fridge or in a sink full of cold water during the
day, add a pinch of salt—it is a preservative, shake it up and it'll
last a week. I bought whole gallons of milk for 50 cents a piece.
Other times, I mixed dried milk with fresh and my troops never knew
the difference.

I also bought most of my produce marked down. You can always cut off a
bad spot and make due. I made applesauce out of the apples that didn't
make good eating apples. If I didn't buy it marked down, I bought it
on sale and in season. I avoided imported produce as that it was
almost always more expensive, even when it was on sale.

I also found out about grocery outlets. These stores are usually
listed in the yellow pages under surplus food or salvage food. They're
usually not in the best neighborhoods and there are even a few
undesirables in these types of stores (not always, but sometimes).
However, it was survival time and I bought stuff there that was way
seriously marked down.

And last—I bought cheap food! We ate a TON of dried beans. We ate
cheap cuts of meat cooked in the crockpot, we ate homemade everything
(that convenience stuff costs a fortune).

Breakfast was a biggie. I made homemade pancakes, waffles, oatmeal.
When you make it yourself, it doesn't cost much. Good filling food and
infinitely cheaper than cold cereal.

Speaking of breakfast, we had Breakfast for Dinner a few times a
month. Breakfast foods are cheap and if you add a little ambience
(light a few candles and put the OJ--made yourself from frozen
concentrate- -in wineglasses) everyone will enjoy your cheap trick!

Our beverage of choice was (and still is) water. Water costs nothing.
I had a water filter that enabled me to skip the expensive bottled
water and that helped a lot. We had OJ for breakfast (and breakfast
only was the rule) and that's it. We had milk too, but it was only
allowed with the meal and even then, only one glass. One glass is
adequate…no one in my house was deprived or starved.

Nothing went to waste in my house—I mean NOTHING. If there was any
leftover anything, I froze it and made it into soup later that week
(no, I didn't scrape the food off my kids plates, but honestly? There
wasn't any usually). My famous Rubber Chicken recipe was born out of
that period of time (on my website!).

That's it in a nutshell. It took extra time that I had back then. I
figured the way I slashed my grocery bill so dramatically, it was like
having a part time job without the taxes, pantyhose and rush hour! I
got to stay home with my kids and we made it through that very rough
time and ate quite well.

I hope some of these tips will help any of you who are wondering how
to make a menu with no budget. You sometimes just have to do what you
have to do! I did it and so can you!

Love,
Leanne

www.savingdinner. com

Stomach Virus? Apple Cider Vinegar

If you have a stomach virus, try a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, inbetween meals. I have now known of two people who tried this. For one, it took only one tablespoon, and for another, it took two. With both people, symptoms began to subside after a few hours, and within a day they were able to resume their activities. If this works for you, by golly how cheap is this? And how fast? Each person used NON Organic apple cider vinegar, for only 98 cents a bottle, which means what, about 4 cents a tablespoon. Pahleeze, is it not worth at least a try? Come on, what do you have to lose? And let me know the results, please!

Looking for a god Doctor?

This was my recent response to a Mom at Yahoo groups (ADD) on how to find a Mom in her area:

You wrote on Oct. 27, 2008 at 9:49 AM

Phone or email any one of the major suppliers of naturopathic supplies, like the outsource labs and pharmacuetical grade supplements. I don't have the websites but here are some of the names I can think of for supplements: Thorne, Medi Herb, Standard Process, and Pure Encasulations. For outsouce labs, there are two I can think of right now: US biotek, and Genova Labs. I have worked for a holistic chiropractor and these are folks she used. Often these websites will have a place for you to type in your zip code and they will respond back with the doctors in your area, and the driving radius. They want you to buy their producst so they will refer you to the doctors who use them. Do not feel bad at all contacting them.... this is what they do daily.... it helps them turn a profit. And yes, you may have to drive more than a half an hour, I have driven two hours one way often, but quite frankly, you just may not.

Another idea, is call the nearest chiropractic, naturopathic, acupuncture schools, and see where their doctors are practicing nearest you. Many chiropractors practice nutritional counseling, finding the underlying causes of many illnesses, including ADD/ADHD and by nature, naturopaths and acupuncturists do this daily with every consult. I think you wll have great luck with the first option, calling outsource labs and supplement companies, but this is a good second.

If all this fails, and I doubt it will, a third idea is that I have had great success in phone consultations with my holistic MD (www.drmanso.com) and with my holistic pharmacy (www.peoplesrx.com -- I usually call the Lamar south location.) and so have all my friends who have contanced them. Both of these advise people all over the world, you don't have to live in Texas or the United States to use them. I have found them to be worth every penny of their time.

Do you have a health food store nearby? This is my fourth idea. Ask them if they know of anyone. I have worked in a health food store, They can't refer you to anyone, but they can say. hum, here are some names of doctors that our customers have used and liked.

There, I have given you four ideas, and they should all work. But, start with the first one, calling, and emailing those outsource labs and supplement companies, to get the best doctors nearest you, the fastest. And good luck! keep me posted. I don't check back here often, but I do care. Hang in there!

Phthalates and Baby Boy Birth Defects!!!!

I adore hitting some of my favorite websites to get the latest news they know about. I highly reccomend you do the same. This I got from US Biotek.


Common chemical may cause defects in baby boys
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
For the first time, scientists have shown that pregnant mothers exposed to high but common levels of a widely used ingredient in cosmetics, fragrances, plastics and paints can have baby boys with smaller genitals and incomplete testicular descent.

The paper, published Friday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that the more a mother was exposed to the chemicals, called phthalates (THAL-ates), the greater the chance her boy's reproductive development would be harmed. Similar changes have led to decreased semen quality and fertility in rodents.

"We'll follow our children to see what the consequences are," says lead researcher Shanna Swan, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine.

The changes described in the federally financed study were seen at phthalate levels found in one-quarter of the female population in the USA.

The study tested levels of four kinds of phthalates in the urine of pregnant women. Researchers later examined 134 of the baby boys 2 months to 30 months old who were born to those women.

Previous work had shown that prenatal phthalate exposure in rodents can critically affect male hormones, resulting in impaired testicular descent and smaller genital size. The Swan study is the first to look at effects in humans.

While none of the boys showed clear malformation or disease, in the 25% of mothers with the highest levels of phthalate exposure, the odds were 10 times higher that their sons would have a shorter than expected distance between the anus and the base of the penis. This so-called AGD measurement is a sensitive indicator of impacts on their reproductive system.

A statement from the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association said the "use of phthalates in cosmetics and personal care products is supported by an extensive body of scientific research and data that confirms safety."

But, Swan says, no one had ever studied phthalate exposure in infant boys.

"It's way premature to have concern," says Marian Stanley, who manages the Phthalate Esters Panel of the American Chemistry Council in Arlington, Va. "More study is needed."

Andrea Dunaif, chief of endocrinology at Northwestern University, called the findings "strong evidence in humans that this endocrine-disrupting chemical is associated with changes in boys."

The changes are subtle, but male infertility rates appear to be rising, she said, and it's hard to know if the problem is environmental or just diagnosed more often. "The public health implications are enormous."

Men's aging, testosterone, depression.

Men, have you had a testosterone level done? If you haven't, get one. Are you twenty, make sure you get one. If you don't have a holistic health care provider, get one. I have given you several links in my main page of professionals to contact, who do phone consults. Often these hormonal tests are saliva based, ordered by the health care provider, shipped to your home, you ship it back. Then send the results to the holistic health care provider and he/she calls you with the results.

Why is your testosterone level so important? It's more than sex, it's happiness versus depression. Who wants to be depressed.

I know I have talked about this before, but I am going to do it again. Just like women have varying levels of various hormones at different ages, so do men. And this is an important thing to remember, and only holistic health care providers seem to acknowledge it, what may have been normal for the average man at 40 is not a normal decline to a man, who say, was very athletic in his prime at 21. This is important! If you were very athletic at 20,say playing college ball, and are now 45, and depressed yet your testosterone level looks normal, tell your holistic doctor. What is normal for the average joe, is not normal for you!

And honey, I want you happy. Sex can be a byproduct of the happy, but let's work on happy and correct testosterone level for you, OK?

Men's Fertility Affected by Aging Too!

Many times I will enter emails, or something of interest written by other people and this is not different. I don't agree with everything from WC Douglas, MD, but often I agree with a lot and he, like other authors. puts things so much better than I can. As well, although I may well lose you as a reader, I hope you will hit their websites, and gather even more information, or just know that I am gleaning the best of the rest for you.

I got this article today from Dr. Douglas in his group email (yes you too can subscribe.) I have been hearing about this sort of thing, mens aging and menopause, for a while, but not connected to fertility and birth defects, etc.

Here is the article:

Guys: do you know what time is on your biological clock?

Dear Friend,

Hey guys. Hear that steady "tick, tick, tick" sound? Well, if you don't, maybe you ought to be listening more closely, because it turns out that the whole "biological clock" thing isn't just for women any more. More and more studies are discovering that a man's fertility is just as likely to come with an expiration date as a woman's.

For years, it was assumed that because men constantly produce sperm every 90 days for as long as they live, age didn't play a factor in fertility. But that might not be the case after all. A recent study in France found that a father's age could have as much of an impact on the rate of pregnancy and miscarriage as a mother's age. In fact, the older either potential parent was, the lower the odds of conception and the higher the odds of miscarriage.

Another study found that only eight percent of couples where the would-be father was younger than 25 would take longer than a year to conceive. But when the father was over 35, that number jumped to 15 percent taking over a year to conceive.

Honestly, I don't know why this info would come as such a shock to everyone. It's well known that men are most fertile when they're around 24 years old. It's all downhill from there. Age leads to a drop in testosterone level, which can lower the number and viability of their sperm.

Here's what I did find interesting…

Older men are also at an increased risk of having children with birth defects such as Down syndrome. The children of older fathers also have higher rates of autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Men are increasingly found to be the "problem" in as many as half of all infertility cases due problems like low sperm count due to factors other than age.

The older you are when you have a child, the more likely you are to have a kid with psychological problems. Men who have kids when they're 55 or older are 37 percent more likely to have children who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in life.

Many researchers believe the risk factors for psychological disorders in children (like autism and schizophrenia) have more to do with genetics than age. Men's sperm can be affected by DNA mutations that come with age, which has a negative impact on the quality of the sperm being produced.

I'm sure a lot of women reading this are thinking, "Welcome to the party, pal." Many are probably well fed up with years of hearing the old saw about the woman hearing the tick of the biological clock in their 30s. It turns out, we're all on the same fertility clock, more or less. And it's time for men to start hearing the tick, too.

Bullies at work, UK, illness statistics

Hum, while we are on the topic of bullies at work, try this one.

Bully at Work

Interview with Tim Field

By: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

Also published by United Press International (UPI)


Malignant Self Love.

In 1994 Tim Field was bullied out of his job as a Customer Services Manager which resulted in a stress breakdown. Turning his experience to good use he set up the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line in 1996 and his web site Bully Online in 1997 since which time he has worked on over 5000 cases worldwide. He now lectures widely as well as writing and publishing books on bullying and psychiatric injury. He holds two honorary doctorates for his work on identifying and dealing with bullying. He is the Webmaster of Bully Online.

Question: What is workplace bullying?

Answer: Workplace bullying is persistent, unwelcome, intrusive behaviour of one or more individuals whose actions prevent others from fulfilling their duties.

Question: How is it different to adopting disciplinarian measures, maintaining strict supervision, or oversight?

Answer: The purpose of bullying is to hide the inadequacy of the bully and has nothing to do with "management" or the achievement of tasks. Bullies project their inadequacies onto others to distract and divert attention away from the inadequacies. In most cases of workplace bullying reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line, the bully is a serial bully who has a history of conflict with staff. The bullying that one sees is often also the tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing which may include misappropriation of budgets, harassment, discrimination, as well as breaches of rules, regulations, professional codes of conduct and health and safety practices.

Question: Should it be distinguished from harassment (including sexual harassment), or stalking?

Answer: Bullying is, I believe, the underlying behavior and thus the common denominator of harassment, discrimination, stalking and abuse. What varies is the focus for expression of the behavior. For instance, a harasser or discriminator focuses on race or gender or disability.

Bullies focus on competence and popularity which at present are not covered by employment legislation.

Bullies seethe with resentment and anger and the conduits for release of this inner anger are jealousy and envy which explains why bullies pick on employees who are good at their job and popular with people. Being emotionally immature, bullies crave attention and become resentful when others get more attention for their competence and achievements than themselves.

Question: What is the profile of the typical bully?

Answer: Over 90% of the cases reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line involve a serial bully who can be recognised by their behaviour profile which includes compulsive lying, a Jekyll and Hyde nature, an unusually high verbal facility, charm and a considerable capacity to deceive, an arrested level of emotional development, and a compulsive need to control. The serial bully rarely commits a physical assault or an arrestable offence, preferring instead to remain within the realms of psychological violence and non-arrestable offences.

Question: What are bullying's typical outcomes?

Answer: In the majority of cases, the target of bullying is eliminated through forced resignation, unfair dismissal, or early or ill- health retirement whilst the bully is promoted. After a short interval of between 2-14 days, the bully selects another target and the cycle restarts. Sometimes another target is selected before the current target is eliminated.

Question: Can you provide us with some statistics? How often does bullying occur? How many people are affected?

Answer: Surveys of bullying in the UK indicate that between 12-50% of the workforce experience bullying. Statistics from the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line reveal that around 20% of cases are from the education sector, 12% are from healthcare, 10% are from social services, and around 6% from the voluntary / charity / not-for-profit sector.

After that, calls come from all sectors both public and private, with finance, media, police, postal workers and other government employees featuring prominently. Enquiries from outside the UK (notably USA, Canada, Australia and Ireland) show similar patterns with the caring professions topping the list of bullied workers.

Question: Could you estimate the economic effects of workplace bullying - costs to employers (firms), employees, law enforcement agencies, the courts, the government, etc.?

Answer: Bullying is one of the major causes of stress, and the cost of stress to UK plc is thought to be between £5-12 billion (US$7-17 billion). When all the direct, indirect and consequential costs of bullying are taken into account, the cost to UK plc (taxpayers and shareholders) could be in excess of £30 billion (US$44 billion), equivalent to around £1,000 hidden tax per working adult per year. Employers do not account for the cost of bullying and its consequences, therefore the figures never appear on balance sheets.

Employees have to work twice as hard to overcome the serial bully's inefficiency and dysfunction which can spread through an organisation like a cancer.

Because of its subtle nature, bullying can be difficult to recognise, but the consequences are easy to spot: excessive workloads, lack of support, a climate of fear, and high levels of insecurity.

The effects on health include, amongst other things, chronic fatigue, damage to the immune system, reactive depression, and suicide.

The indirect costs of bullying include higher-than average staff turnover and sickness absence. Each of these incur consequential costs of staff cover, administration, loss of production and reduced productivity which are rarely recognised and even more rarely attributed to their cause. Absenteeism alone costs UK plc over £10 billion a year and stress is now officially the number one cause of sickness absence having taken over from the common cold. However, surveys suggest that at least 20% of employers still do not regard stress as a health and safety issue, instead preferring to see it as skiving and malingering.

The Bristol Stress and Health at Work Study published by the HSE in June 2000 revealed that 1 in 5 UK workers (around 5.5m) reported feeling extremely stressed at work. The main stress factors were having too much work and not being supported by managers. In November 2001 a study by Proudfoot Consulting revealed the cost of bad management, low employee morale and poorly-trained staff to British business at 117 lost working days a year. At 65%, bad management (often a euphemism for bullying) accounted for the biggest slice of unproductive days with low morale accounting for 17%. The study also suggested that in the UK 52% of all working time is spent unproductively compared to the European average of 43%.

The results of a three-year survey of British workers by the Gallup Organization published in October 2001 revealed that many employers are not getting the best from their employees. The most common response to questions such as "how engaged are your employees?" and "how effective is your leadership and management style?" and "how well are you capitalising on the talents, skills and knowledge of your people?" was an overwhelming "not very much". The survey also found that the longer an employee stayed, the less engaged they became. The cost to UK plc of lost work days due to lack of engagement was estimated to be between £39-48 billion a year.

Question: What can be done to reduce workplace bullying? Are firms, the government, law enforcement agencies, the courts - aware of the problem and its magnitude? Are educational campaign effective? Did anti-bullying laws prove effective?

Answer: Most bullying is hierarchical and can be traced to the top or near the top. As bullying is often the visible tip of an iceberg of wrongdoing, denial is the most common strategy employed by toxic managements. Only Sweden has a law which specifically addresses bullying. Where no law exists, bullies feel free to bully. Whilst the law is not a solution, the presence of a law is an indication that society has made a judgement that the behaviour is no longer acceptable.

Awareness of bullying, and especially its seriousness, is still low throughout society. Bullying is not just "something children do in the playground", it's a lifetime behaviour on the same level as domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape.

Bullying is a form of psychological and emotional rape because of its intrusive and violational nature.

Bullies, sickness

A lot of sickness stems from allowing bullies to run your life. This happens from childhood on up to adulthood. Often years of bullying manifest in chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia. And adult bullies can come in all forms, including alcoholics at home who threaten violence if you tell on them.

I just got through reading a long letter from a school psychologist saying that bullying programs in schools are making bullying worse because all the focus is on the bully not the victim. That's sad. And this only gives the bully what he/she craves: attention. the answer is to focus on the victim response.

This is what he writes:

Get ready for this! The real reason you are being teased is because you are getting upset!

This probably doesn't make any sense to you. After all, first the kids tease you, and then you get upset. You aren't making them tease you, you are only making them stop.

I like that. But from working in public schools as a sub, where all kinds of bully behavior takes place, I really think the person being bullied has to give back just a little bit more than what they have recieved and then ignore the offender. If not, the act of ignoring is attention getting to the bully.

There is a lot more to the website. wwww.bullies2buddies.com, if you want to read it.

Dr. Amen: alcohol shrinks brains

I adore Daniel Amen, MD. This is the latest from him. Darn, will have to cut back on my alcohol consumption now.... so much for the champagne. Interesting though. Here is the article:


Alcohol is Not a Health Food
CNN recently reported on a new study that confirms what I have seen on SPECT scans for a long time – alcohol is not a health food! Any amount of alcohol can decrease brain size. I like to say when it comes to the brain, size matters. People who drink alcohol — even the moderate amounts that help prevent heart disease — have a smaller brain volume than those who do not, according to a study in the Archives of Neurology.

While a certain amount of brain shrinkage is normal with age, greater amounts in some parts of the brain have been linked to dementia. “Decline in brain volume — estimated at 2 percent per decade — is a natural part of aging,” says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study when she was at the Boston University School of Public Health. She had hoped to find that alcohol might protect against such brain shrinkage. “However, we did not find the protective effect,” says Paul, who is now an instructor in the neuroscience program at Wellesley College. “In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume.”

In the study, Paul and colleagues looked at 1,839 healthy people with an average age of about 61. The patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and reported how much they tippled. Overall, the more alcohol consumed, the smaller the brain volume, with abstainers having a higher brain volume than former drinkers, light drinkers (one to seven drinks per week), moderate drinkers (eight to 14 drinks per week), and heavy drinkers (14 or more drinks per week). Men were more likely to be heavy drinkers than women. But the link between brain volume and alcohol wasn’t as strong in men. For men, only those who were heavy drinkers had a smaller brain volume than those who consumed little or no alcohol.

In women, even moderate drinkers had a smaller brain volume than abstainers or former drinkers. It’s not clear why even modest amounts of alcohol may shrink the brain, although alcohol is “known to dehydrate tissues, and constant dehydration can have negative effects on any sensitive tissue,” says Paul. “We always knew that alcohol at higher dosages results in shrinking of the brain and cognitive deficit,” says Dr. Petros Levounis, M.D., director of the Addiction Institute of New York at St. Luke’s — Roosevelt Hospital Center, who was not involved in the study. “What is new with this article is that it shows brain shrinking at lower doses of alcohol.”

Less is better.

To your brain health,

Daniel

Daniel Amen, M.D.
CEO, Amen Clinics, Inc.
Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Say No to Antibacterial Soaps!

This is from Yahoo Green. One of the things I learned in pharmacy tech training was that all of these antibacterial soaps actually are destroying the really good bacteria you have on your body to keep the horrible bacteria in check. This article is pointing out that all you really have to do is remove the germs from your hands, not kill them. (No wonder really good washing, over a minute, scrubbing under the nails, etc, with water only has proven to be 99% effective huh?) Here is the article for you to read:


Say no to antibacterial soaps

By Lori Bongiorno Posted Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:01pm PDT

281 votes
Buzz up!
Washing hands (iStockPhoto)

Global Handwashing Day, held earlier this week, was established to promote a simple message: Wash your hands with soap and water to prevent disease. It's also the perfect time to visit the topic of what kind of soap you're lathering up with. This is an important decision that many of us don't think twice about.

The main ingredient in most liquid soaps lining store shelves is triclosan, a pesticide that kills bacteria. Turns out you just need to banish germs from your hands, not kill them. Studies show that antibacterial soaps aren't more effective at preventing illness or removing germs than good old-fashioned soap and water.

In fact, antibacterial soaps may do more harm than good.

There are concerns that triclosan may contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It's also present in human bodies and breast milk, as well as in streams. The Environmental Working Group says triclosan has been linked to developmental defects, liver toxicity, and cancer in lab studies. It also may affect thyroid and other hormones that are crucial to normal development.

The best thing you can do is avoid soaps that claim to be "antibacterial" while we wait for more research to be done. A quick read of the label will tell you if triclosan or triclocarban (a similar compound that's found more commonly in bar soaps) are active ingredients. If so, move onto another product.

Here's a small sampling of triclosan-free liquid hand soaps to get you started:

* Trader Joe's Lavender & Chamomile Hand Soap
* Method Hand Wash (Pink Grapefruit)
* Softsoap Soothing Aloe Vera Moisturizing Hand Soap
* Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Pure-Castile Soap (Hemp-Peppermint)
* Terraessentials Organic Real Soap for Hands
* Desert Essence Castile Liquid Soap with Organic Tea Tree Oil

For more suggestions, visit the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping.