Keep the Glass Half Full

Study: Optimists Less Likely to Get Heart Disease:

"First study to find such a strong link between positive emotions and a lower risk of heart disease...revealing the potentially damaging effects of pessimistic thoughts and long-term negativity."

"Little Crop of Horrors"

Too good not to share...

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Little Crop of Horrors
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Passing the Stress Test

An overwhelming majority of us would likely report that we are generally more stressed than we'd like to be.  Some would attribute this to our jobs, our lifestyles, our responsibilities, our kids - the list goes on - or it may simply have become the "American Way" these days.  (International readers, please feel free to comment to fill us in on your thoughts on this!)  I wont spend too much time on the causes of stress - most of us can figure out that if you find the cause and can remedy it, your stress level will likely go down.  But for the majority of us who are unable or unwilling to change these stress-inducing triggers, today's post will focus more on recognizing the signs of stress and managing them in healthy ways.  First, how stressed are you?  Many of us are able to identify that we are "stressed" when it becomes pervasive in our emotional well-being or daily functioning.  However, some of the classic signs of stress may be mistaken for other things, or may just not be something you linked to your daily stress level in the past.  Here are what I consider the most telling signs of stress:

- Fatigue

- Sleep difficulty - this can include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or early  morning awakening, as well as nightmares and feeling like you cannot reach a "deep sleep".  Many people who have significant stress report that they never wake up feeling rested, no matter how normal their sleep patterns seem on the surface.

- Irritability - stress can make a person more easily irritated than usual, and can impact personal relationships as a result

- muscle tension or pain which cannot be explained by other factors

- weight loss or gain

- digestive problems - stress can trigger the "fight or flight" response which causes blood to be diverted away from your digestive track to prepare for quick response to stressful stimuli.  Resulting symptoms can include stomach pain, nausea, or diarrhea

- skin issues - including breakouts, rashes, or hives 

- headaches

- hair loss

- nervous behaviors such as nail biting, teeth grinding, or excessive movement of limbs 

- problems concentrating

- increased negative thoughts

- decreased sex drive (libido) or ability to achieve orgasm

- headaches

 This is a basic laundry list of possible manifestations of stress, which of course can be extended and unique for individuals.  Now for the important part - if you must encounter stress, how can you effectively manage it so that it does not lead to these symptoms and so that you are better able to cope with the stress on a daily basis?  Here are some natural techniques that I would recommend:

Childhood Obesity Questions Answered

   
Source: abcnews.com

The Great Vaccine Debate - Part 2

(For the preface and former recommendations, see part 1 of this post here)

4.  Do not give Tylenol after your child is vaccinated.  This one will likely stir some of you up, as it is common practice for healthcare providers to suggest giving your child anti-fever agents such as Tylenol should the child develop a fever after vaccination.  The reasons behind not giving Tylenol are somewhat complex biochemically, but I will simply them for this post.  Please note that at this time this is only a theory, albeit shared by many, and has not been approved as a recommendation in common pediatric healthcare guidelines.  Glutathione is found in almost every cell of the body, most especially in the liver.  It is required to detoxify the body of many chemical substances, including (for this blog's sake) but not limited to Tylenol's toxic metabolites (NAPQI for the chemistry buffs) and vaccine adjuvents such as Thimerosal and aluminum.  When we take Tylenol, it is estimated that 75% or more of the Glutathione of the liver is used up in ridding the body of its metabolite, leaving little or none left to work on the other components of the vaccine that would ideally be cleared from the body properly before causing significant harm.  Some studies have shown that children with autism and/or other conditions have generally lower concentrations of Glutathione (again, wont get into details) than otherwise healthy children, leaving them even more at risk for this phenomenon.

The Great Vaccine Debate - Part 1

First off, I would like to begin this topic by saying that I am not - under any broad definition - "anti vaccine". It is well-known by the medical and lay communities that vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives since their introduction decades ago, and have virtually wiped out some categories of illnesses that formerly killed large masses of people at a time. So in that sense, I am not anti-vaccine. What I am "anti" is the notion of any one of us, as individuals or as groups - health care providers, the National Institute of Health, the American Association of Pediatrics.. I can go on - irrefutably testifying that we have all the answers regarding vaccine safety nor that we (as a country) are any better off than other countries who do not follow our vaccine schedule. I am not anti-vaccine... If I must label myself, I am pro-safe vaccination schedules and vaccination ingredients - both of which, in my opinion, could use some careful consideration and improvements. If we turn this issue into a debate of the "pros" vs the "anti's", which it has unfortunately become in some subsets, the ones who will suffer most are our children.

I would like to use my blog as a forum for providing general information regarding my opinion on current vaccine practices and not as a source of controversy or debate. I have been feverishly researching this topic for the last 4 years, and have developed some general guidelines for my friends, loved ones, and patients as a result. No one has all the answers, including myself, but I can offer up suggestions for a potentially safer vaccine practice for those who are looking for an alternative to the current same-for-all recommendations in the pediatric medical community.

Here are the points I think are most important when considering vaccinating your children: