Terror is said to wound the brain just as bullets wound the body. Exposure to trauma and events that are extremely tough to handle affect the body chemistry.

This is what happens to soldiers at war, who develop disorders related to the brain or suffer from depression caused by traumatic experiences. Hundreds of thousands of troops serving the nation in Iraq and Afghanistan are said to be suffering from major depression or Post-traumatic stress.

This major health crisis is being handled by the U.S. Military in a way that has never been done in history – by popping the pill.

Growing numbers of U.S. troops are reported to be taking daily doses of Prozac, which is an antidepressant, to calm the nerves.

Officials say that increasing violence in Afghanistan and the isolation caused the troops to rely more on medication; although, it is the same in Iraq, but to a lesser extent. The Army’s fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report reveals data that shows about 12% of the Iraqi combat troops and 17% of the Afghanistan troops are taking antidepressants or sleeping pills.

Prozac (Fluoxetine hydrochloride) is the third most prescribed antidepressant, with over 22.2 million prescriptions having been filled during the last year alone. It has been approved by the FDA for use in treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, clinical depression, panic disorder and bulimia nervosa. It is prescribed to alleviate anxiety and improve sleep.

Healthcare professionals say that antidepressants are to be used on people with chemical imbalances and not on people who are justifiably depressed because they see horror every day and they are thousands of miles away from home. If antidepressants are given to people without chemical imbalances, it can lead to adverse reactions and probably made worse by “medication.” They are also of the opinion that these soldiers need to receive appropriate care for the mental health conditions, or else they will have to face long-term consequences. (more…)

“To my favorite honeydew, do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you, with your turnip nose, and radish face.
You are a peach. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry.
Weed make a swell pear.” ~ Author - unknown

“Eat your vegetables and fruits” is one of the most heard recommendations and it holds true for every age group, from children to the elderly.

Most people that eat meat do not consume enough vegetables and fruits. They believe that their nutritional requirement is being met with meat. This is a totally wrong notion as plant food includes more fiber and less cholesterol and fat than a meat diet.

Irrespective of the age of the person, it is important to ensure that the body is deriving the benefits of all the essential nutrients, by eating a well-balanced diet with the addition of plenty of vegetables and fruits. This will provide the body with the much needed vitamins and proteins that keep all sorts of diseases, such as heart diseases at bay.

Researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of stroke and heart disease. They believe that the higher the intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of cardiovascular disease. Although, all the vegetables and fruits contribute towards the health of the heart, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, mustard greens and Swiss chard; cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts; citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges (even juice) are excellent for the heart.

The main risk for stroke and heart disease is high blood pressure, which needs to be kept under control. People take medications on a regular basis and diet is considered to be an extremely effective means of lowering blood pressure. Consuming a diet rich in vegetables and fruits has been found by researchers to lower the systolic blood pressure by almost 11 mm Hg and the diastolic blood pressure by 6 mm Hg, which is as good as any medication. Blood pressure can be lowered even more when carbohydrates in the diet are replaced with unsaturated fat or protein. (more…)

Years of abusing our bodies with poor diet, stress, medications, and other factors can cause chaos in our intestines and throw everything out of balance, causing several illnesses as well as weight gain. All those colas and burgers we so enthusiastically reach out to, are no good.

Alternative medicine provides gentle and effective methods that restore the intestinal health and at the same time facilitate weight loss. All health problems, such as depression, fatigue, obesity, chronic constipation, acne, gas and lower back pain are also alleviated with cleansing and healing the intestinal system.

The idea of cleansing a colon may seem weird to some, but people should understand that most of the illnesses arise from problems with the intestines. Most of the digestion and absorption of nutrients takes place in the small and large intestines and keeping them clean is vital to maintaining good health.

At birth, the inner lining of the intestines is clean and supple; however, over a period of time, toxins cause the intestines to become swollen, caked with debris and stagnant. While the stomach and small intestine also are impacted with food debris, the colon is where the most severe buildup occurs. This accumulated debris often contributes several pounds to the weight of the colon. There are people who lose about seven pounds as well as their tummy bulge with colon cleansing.

Fecal material stored in the colon can cause a lot of health issues. There are several colon cleansing programs available to help scrub the hardened fecal matter and other toxic materials from the intestines. However, it is never good to rush into a colon cleansing (detoxification) program right away. A person must be prepared for cleansing in stages. The body as well as the mind of a person is deeply buried in a ruinous lifestyle and they need to wean themselves off all the harmful dietary habits, such as cola or diet soda addiction etc. (more…)

When the natural pacemaker of the heart, the sinoatrial node, that tells the heart when to beat, knocks off for some reason, the heart will start beating chaotically because there is nothing to regulate the beats. This is where an artificial pacemaker helps by regulating the heartbeat with its electrical impulses. This is a boon for a heart that is out of whack.

Once you understand how a pacemaker helps the heart, you can imagine a scenario where a pacemaker jolts our brain too, using electrical impulses.

Researchers have come up with strong evidence that a device similar to the pacemaker can jolt the brain circuits related to moods and may have the potential to ease deep depression, for which there is no other treatment as of now.

This astonishing breakthrough is already being hailed as a brave new use of existing technology. Researchers presented evidence at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons’ annual meeting, that deep brain stimulation has the potential to improve depression as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

According to Dr. Ali Rezai, Director of the Center for Neurological Restoration at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, “Depression is a physiological disorder, and basically we are regulating the abnormal signals to brain causing the depression.”

This research was conducted by Dr. Rezai along with a few scientists from Butler Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Deep brain stimulation was used on 17 patients that were suffering from severe depression, over a 12 month period. At the end of 12 months, these patients showed a 50% decrease in depressive symptoms. When asked how they felt, they reported a far better ability to function, improvement in short-term memory and an overall improvement in the quality of life. (more…)

People in the habit of smoking know how difficult it is to win the battle of smoke, which is even worse than the battle of the bulge. Most people go through the “quit smoking” phase, but not many people are successful at following through. They hate using the word “addiction,” but that is what it is. Why does this happen?

Smoking makes people feel good by stimulating the mind, while soothing it. This soothing effect is hard to let go. This happens because of the nicotine present in the cigarettes, which triggers a flood of dopamine and several other neurochemicals that flow over the brain’s pleasure channels. Tobacco smoke inhalation is said to be the quickest way to send nicotine to the brain.

Researcher Dr. David Abrams is very understanding when he says, “I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to give it up.” Another researcher says, “It’s more difficult to get off nicotine than heroin or cocaine.”

Dr. Abrams explained that smoking takes charge of the reward systems in our brain that makes people seek water, food and sex. This rewards system also makes the person seek nicotine, making them feel the same urgency. The human brain starts believing that this is also an essential part of survival.

Regarding the addiction to nicotine, doctors say that nicotine does not afford the same level of addiction to all people. Many people never smoke because they do not enjoy it and then there are people that smoke occasionally but do not get addicted. However, most people who start smoking usually get addicted at some point and start smoking all day, every day. (more…)

Breathing is the life giving force that keeps us alive. We may be able to survive without water for some time but we certainly cannot live without air. Human lungs are capable of holding up to two gallons of air but most people breathe only two or three pints per breath.

Breathing is associated with the chest and abdominal breathing is not known to many. Breathing with the abdomen, also called diaphragmatic breathing, involves expanding the abdomen while inhaling and then expanding the chest while exhaling. This form of breathing ensures that blood is directed towards the vital organs, improving energy levels.

Alternative health practices such as Yoga, Qigong and Tai Chi focus mainly on breathing and simple body movements. Good breathing techniques, along with burning calories, also have a harmonizing influence on every system in the body.

Yoga: Yoga is one of the most ancient practices of self healing, which teaches the basic principle of mind, body and spirit unity. If the mind is restless and agitated, the health of the body is compromised. Similarly, if the body is in poor health, the mind is affected. One important aspect of yoga is that it increases the flow of prana (life energy.) The blockage of prana through improper diet, lifestyle stressors or imbalances in the mind, body or spirit can lead to illness. Breathing techniques and certain postures remove blockages and improve oxygen intake. (more…)

Heart transplant, also known as cardiac transplant involves placing a donor heart by either removing the patient’s own heart or leaving it in as a support to the donor heart. This is done on patients who suffer from severe coronary artery disease or end-stage heart failure.

There is so much demand for these heart transplants that it sometimes requires a long wait before suitable hearts are found for the patients and many patients die during the waiting period.

Frank Pagani, a doctor at the University of Michigan Medical Center came up with a life saving device, the heart pump. It all began when a suitable heart was not available for a patient who needed a transplant, and Dr. Pagani decided to experiment implanting a heart pump.

This device, implanted in the patient’s chest was the second such procedure to be done in the U.S. Today, this device is implanted in 400 patients who are currently undergoing a clinical trial. It is also awaiting approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA,) to be used as a stopgap for people waiting for a heart.

These devices are manufactured by Thoratec Corp. in California. This company is in the process of completing a trial of another more advanced device called HeartMate II, which can be implanted permanently in the heart, in place of a transplant. If the trial turns out to be successful, it would be great news for younger patients with heart damage. (more…)

The Sun is a Star that warms our planet and provides the light by which we see and is essential for the life on Earth, is what we know from all our years of education.

According to astronomers at the University of Sussex, things are slowly changing and this gigantic nuclear reactor will probably destroy the earth by vaporizing it in about 7.6 billion years, according to their calculations. They believe that the slow expansion of the sun will make the temperature on the Earth to rise.

They say this can be avoided if the Earth’s orbit is changed. Earlier, in their previous studies, it was said that the Earth may escape the final destruction, although it will be burnt to cinder. But then, at that point of time, astronomers did not take into account the drag caused by the outer atmosphere of the dying sun.

Dr. Robert Smith, the lead astronomer said, “We showed previously that, as the Sun expanded, it would lose mass in the form of a strong wind, much more powerful than the current solar wind. This would reduce the gravitational pull of the Sun on the Earth, allowing the Earth’s orbit to move outwards, ahead of the expanding Sun. If that were the only effect the Earth would indeed escape final destruction. However, the tenuous outer atmosphere of the Sun extends a long way beyond its visible surface, and it turns out the Earth would actually be orbiting within these very low density outer layers. The drag caused by the low-density gas is enough to cause the Earth to drift inwards and finally to be captured and vaporized by the Sun.” (more…)

It all started with the large, thick and unwieldy glass-brown scleral contact lens introduced to correct severe myopia. Then it progressed over the years to finally take shape as a virtually invisible and light weight contact lens. This was adorned by people for experiencing a wider field of vision while looking attractive, and alleviating the necessity of wearing bulky eye glasses that come in the way of sports or any other activity.

Then came Lasik, which was first introduced in 1950, when a Spanish ophthalmologist found a way to cut flaps in the cornea to alter the shape. He also told the world how much of the cornea needs to be left unaltered to provide long-term vision.

Lasik, which means “laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis,” is a form of refractive laser eye surgery done to correct myopia (short-sightedness,) hyperopia (long-sightedness) and astigmatism (blurry vision.) The actual procedure involves the creation of a thin flap on the eye, then folding it, to be able to remodel the tissue underneath using laser. The flap is then repositioned and the eye is left to heal in the postoperative period.

Although, Lasik has become very popular, there are certain complications associated with it. There is the risk of patients suffering from side effects like double vision, foggy vision, halos, dry eyes, visual activity fluctuation, light sensitivity, wrinkles in the flap, growth under the flap, floaters, macular hole, posterior vitreous detachment and a few others.

It is understandable that people are worried about the side effects of Lasik surgery. Although serious complications are rare, which affect about 1% cases, 5% of the customers who underwent Lasik are not fully satisfied.

But the fact is, every form of eye surgery has its risks and it also depends a great deal on the surgeon. Doctors say that there is no one-size that fits all, and some people are perfect candidates for this surgery and may not suffer from any side effects at all. (more…)