The Health Blog

One class of chemicals called polybrominated flame-retar- ; dants (PBDEs) used in many different types of plastics and plastic-containing products are known thyroid disrupters that are both persistent and bio-accumulative. When they leach out of the plastics they quickly find their way into the biosphere. Since the 1970s, PBDEs have increased more than fifty- J fold in breast milk.
If breast milk were regulated like infant formula, it would commonly violate FDA levels for poisonous substances in food.
In spite of the contamination of breast milk, it is still considered by scientist’s and pediatricians to be the ideal food for infants. The present theory is that higher rates of chemical exposure from breast milk are less significant than the smaller amounts that come from in utero exposure. Even though more chemicals may be transferred to the nursing infant, exposure while in the womb is considered more potentially disrupting. Studies on breast milk unanimously agree that the benefits far outweigh the risks. Don’t ever give up on Mother Nature.
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BIO-DIVERSITY: MEASUREMENT OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Scientists from different disciplines are of different opinion regarding the methods of measurement of biodiversity.
Systematics, a fundamental discipline of bio-divefsity, provides the basic frame work for the whole of biology. The main task of systematics is to document and understand the extent and significance of biological diversity. A number of activities including classification, identification and Nomericla-ture often grouped as Taxonomy which forms four basic functions :
i. Differentiation (Recognition of taxa)ii. Identification (Universal diagnosis of taxa)iii. Symbolization (Application of universal names)iv. Comparison (Relative relationship of the taxa)
Individuals and characters are the most basic unit of biological classification on the basis of features hold in common (attributes or characters) individual can be grouped together into a large number of different classes, categories like genera, families and orders and so on in artificial natural or phylogenetic classification depending upon the characters on which it is based. On the basis of the shared and unshared attributes between taxa, a number of taxonomic diversity indices for example, root-weight, higher taxon richness and taxonomic dispersion have now been developed.
Diversity can also be expressed as percentages. A site with viable population of all species in a group would have diversity score of 100% while a site without any species of the group in question would score zero. Such assessment allows us to compare all sites with each other and rank them individually from highest to lowest diversity.
Ecologists measure diversity either by estimating species richness (number of species) in an area or by one or more indexes combining species richness and relative abundance within an area. Application of such methods for measuring biodiversity are limited.i) The species richness measures which is based onsamples (a complete cataloguing of all species in aparticular taxonomic group) is of limited interest, be-cause.Species richness take no account of the differences between species in relation to their place in the hierarchy.When the biological diversity of a very small area is compared with longer area in a global context.ii) Relative abundance is not a fixed property of speciesvarying widely from time to time and place to place.iii) Further, most taxa are virtually or even completelyunknown in many environments.
Conservationists measure the diversity either directly by measuring the genetic differences or indirectly through use of the taxanomic (cladistic) hierarchy.
Whittakar, introduced the concepts of alpha, beta and gamma diversity. Alpha diversity refers to the diversity value for single sites whereas, Beta and Gamma diversity concepts related to change in diversity between sites, the former at local, and latter at over larger area or geographical scale such as continents.An important and essential part of these relational concepts is the idea of species turnover, which simply means thje degree to which species present at one site are replaced by other at different sites.
PROBLEMS IN MEASURING BIODIVERSITY
One of the most important problem in the maintenance of biological diversity is an assessment of the relative importance in terms of diversity of different areas, habitats or ecosystems. This importance can be assessed in different related ways. The overall diversity of any given area will be reflection both of its range of habitats. The greater the differences between the various component habitat in terms of species composition, then the greater the overall diversity will be. By measuring species abundance, a number of models have been developed to find out diversity indices. As different mathematical and biological assumptions are made in these models, they often generate different diversity measures from the same set of data.
DIVERSITY AT DIFFERENT GRADIENT
The overall diversity of any given area is a reflection both of the range of habitat it includes and the diversity of the components habitats. In terms of species composition of differences between the various component is more, the overall diversity will also be more. Biological diversity is not evenly distributed throughout the world. It varies from region to region.
In terrestrial ecosystem diversity generally decreases with increasing altitude. This is apparently clear from an example showing very low species diversity at highest region at all altitudes. This is called as elevational gradients.
In aquatic ecosystems diversity almost invariably decreases when salinity increases above 35 ppt. in sea water and 2 ppt in fresh water. Oceanic islands (smaller) continental mountain regions are examples of geographical entities which typically have comparatively low species diversity. This may be due to problems of long distance dispersal for plants. But the low total number of species frequently include a large endemic element. In Mauritius, out of 878 higher plant species 329 are endemic, in Socotra, 268 species are endemic out of 788 flowering plant species and in Helena 74 out of 89 species. Larger oceanic islands in tropical and high temperate latitude show a high level of diversity and endemism. The richest island flora is probably that of Madagaskar estimated up to 10,000 species with 8,000 endemics including eight endemic families of flowering plants. Cuba has 6,400 species of higher plants out of which 3,233 of them are endemic. Japan has 2,000 endemic species out of 5,372 species, New Zealand has 1,942 out of 2,371.
On the other hand, relatively poor levels of diversity and endemisms can be seen in drier tropical and subtropical regions. In these regions drought resistant and economic plants are the main dominating species.
BIO-DIVERSITY VALUE
One of the most fundamental value of plants biodiversity is in supplying the world’s food. Originally plants were consumed directly from the wild and gathering of wild products continue throughout the world today. The evaluation of crop plants began between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago. It is now generally thought that plants of agriculture originated were more or less simultaneously in various parts of the world. Of the estimated 250,000 species of flowering plants only about 3,000 have been regarded as a food resource. Relatively few botanical families account for the world’s main domesticated plants. Gramineae and Leguminosae are most important families followed by the Cruciferae, Rosaceae, Umbelliferae, Solanaceae, and Labiatae. Other important families are the Chenopodiaceae, Araceae, Cucurbitaceae and Compositae.
The discovery, domestication and cultivation of ornamental plants have a long history comparable to that of food crops. Ornamental plants are important commodity in international trade. Today, the diversity of decorative plant species established in cultivation surpasses the variety of plant commonly grown for food around the world. In UK alone a estimated 3,000 species are in general cultivation in addition to the wide range of cultivers and hybrids. In Peru, fruits of 1 93 species are regularly consumed of these 1 20 species are exclusively wild.
The introduction of genes from wild and weed relatives increased the availability of crop genetic diversity for further selection and improvement by farmers. Many cultivated species may not have survived in domestication without the interchange of genes between wild and crop populations.
LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
Plant diversity as a global resource remains poorly understood inadequately documental and often wasted, but still remains immense potential for further development of natural products. Human population explosion and application of economic processes to natural resources are the main causes for substantial losses of biological diversity. Humans continue to modify their natural environment so that it can better satisfy their needs. However, it is also predicted that this process is unlikely to target an adequate amount of diversity because persons deciding to com ert their local environment do not consider the global cost of so doing. Globally the forest has been reduced to 55% of ,ts original cover and the rate of deforestation is in excess ct 1,00,000 Sq.km. every year. In India the rate of destruction of forest is 13,000 sq.km. annually.*16\218\2*

DRUGS FOR PARTIAL SEIZURES AND TONIC-CLONIC SEIZURES: REACTIONS TO PHENYTOIN – OTHER SIDE EFFECTSPhenytoin also affects behavior and learning. The child’s mood may change, and she may seem to have less energy. The child’s motor abilities and her alacrity in performing tasks may also be affected. Hyperactivity is less common than with phenobarbital, however, and the effects on learning may be less severe than with phenobarbital.Some of the dose-related side effects of phenytoin are cosmetic, that is, they affect the appearance of the child. Gum hyperplasia (overgrowth of the gums) occurs in almost one-half of the children who have therapeutic blood levels. The overgrowth is made much worse by poor dental hygiene; thus, when children are wearing braces gum overgrowth becomes an even more severe problem. Children taking phenytoin should be taught good tooth-brushing techniques, and young children should have their teeth brushed by their parents. Good hygiene will diminish the gum swelling but not necessarily prevent it entirely. Overgrown gums can be cut back by the dentist. Overgrowth of the gums may make secondary teeth come in with wide spaces and may later require extensive orthodontic care.Children who have been on high doses of phenytoin for long periods of time often develop coarse facial features and more extensive body hair. The hair does not disappear when the drug is discontinued, although it may decrease. Such a side effect may become a cosmetic problem, especially for young women. Although phenytoin is an excellent anticonvulsant, we prefer not to use it as our initial drug in young children because of its cosmetic side effects. The cosmetic effects seem to be a lesser problem with adolescents and adults.*121\208\8*

THE CARBOHYDRATE ADDICTION: CURRENT RESEARCH AT MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTERIn order to explore the effect of food intake on these chemical workings, we have conducted controlled studies of carbohydrate addicts and nonaddicted subjects. We instructed both groups to consume comparable foods during two four-week time periods, with one important difference—during each of the two time periods the distribution of carbohydrates was different.For one period, the carbohydrates were distributed among three meals each day; for the other, the carbohydrates were confined to one meal.We measured the subjects’ experience of hunger and their weight change. The results showed that the frequency of carbohydrate intake affected both the carbohydrate-addicted and nonaddicted group’s experience of hunger and weight. But it affected carbohydrate addicts at a much higher level. Both weight levels and hunger increased in direct proportion to increases in carbohydrate meal frequency. In the carbohydrate addict, these changes showed significant differences when the total daily food intake was the same and only the carbohydrate frequency was changed.In summary, we have found, then, that by consuming only one carbohydrate-rich meal per day, the carbohydrate addict experienced less intense hunger and fewer cravings as well as significantly greater weight loss.This appears to be caused by:Lowered insulin production and/or releaseAn increase in receptor sites (due to the decrease in insulin), with an accompanying increase in the rate at which insulin is removed from the blood
For carbohydrate addicts, this means that by changing the number of times they consume carbohydrates each day, they can reduce the intensity and recurrence of hunger and cravings and increase their body’s tendency to lose weight.
We are pursuing other avenues of research involving triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels in relation to frequency of carbohydrate intake.Our research and that of others indicate that carbohydrate addicts differ greatly in the biological processes that govern their food cravings. Carbohydrate addicts are also different in the ways in which their bodies use and store food energy.Scientists have discovered that these differences in biological processes can make some people predisposed to overweight. These people find themselves craving carbohydrates, and often have difficulty controlling their eating; their bodies may actually, in some sense, be destined to store fat. These processes have been observed in animals that are genetically predisposed toward obesity.The research suggests that, because of their genetic makeup, many overweight people are carbohydrate addicts and have strong, biologically based tendencies to become fat. If their underlying disorders are left untreated, they are equally predestined to remain overweight.At the same time, the evolving body of research reveals a new understanding of the cause of the underlying biological problems, and offers new hope to the carbohydrate addict.*12\236\2*

DEFECTS OF VALVES: DEFECTS IN VALVES ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HEART –HOW SERIOUS IS AORTIC REGURGITATION?If you have aortic regurgitation, you can remain free of symptoms for a long time. If the aortic regurgitation is caused by rheumatic fever, symptoms may develop slowly over 10 to 30 years. If it is caused by endocarditis, symptoms may develop much more quickly and be more severe.Paul is a 33-year-old manager of a fast-food franchise who has had a diagnosis of a bicuspid aortic valve since age 19 years, when an echocardiogram was done to evaluate a murmur. Four weeks ago he had three cavities filled. For the past 2 weeks he has felt tired and had a fever on most days, often with chills. During the past 2 days he has become short of breath and cannot lie flat without making the shortness of breath worse. Evaluation confirms the doctor’s impression that he had an infection of the aortic valve and acute aortic regurgitation.Much of the decision-making difficulty associated with mitral regurgitation also applies to aortic regurgitation. You can have minimal symptoms and yet your pumping function can deteriorate to a point that even if the valve is replaced, you may not improve as much as you might have if an operation had been undertaken earlier. However, an operation for even very advanced aortic regurgitation is still likely to yield a good result.*139\252\8*

OVERCOMING CANCER: FINDING YOUR INNER GUIDE TO HEALTHThe unconscious mind contains priceless resources that can be mobilized for personal growth and healing. Indeed, throughout the history of psychological study, theoreticians have proposed the existence of a “center” in the psyche that directs, regulates, and influences the course of an individual’s life.This “center” has been called by various names. Freud was the first to call it the unconscious—the source of instincts and drives that influence behavior and yet are largely outside conscious awareness. Jung gave a different quality to the essence of the unconscious, proposing that an individual was not only driven by the unconscious but also led by it to increased personal growth and a sense of well-being. Jung proposed that the center of a person’s psyche (which he called the self) also had a compensatory function. When a person was consciously fearful, for example, the self would attempt to provide him with the feelings of strength and courage required for dealing with the fearful situation at hand. Jung proposed that messages from the unconscious, or the self, were always conducive to the person’s well-being.The means by which the unconscious communicates with the conscious self is through feelings, dreams and intuitions Unfortunately, our culture seems to undervalue these messages We are taught to value external events and objects—behavior, our bodies, material things, the logical output of our minds— but not our internal environment. Therefore, we tend to ignore feelings, dreams, and intuitions frofl1 our internal self: which are attempting to provide us with resources to meet the demands of the external world.It has been hypothesized by several researchers that cancer patients may have been cut off from the resources of their unconscious processes. In our experience, many recovered patients have come to see their illness as, in part, a message to value and pay more attention to their  unconscious self rather than to the demands of others. In addition, many patients have described having had specific insights feelings, dreams or images which provided valuable guidance in their efforts to regain their health.The Inner Guide is a process we teach patients for tapping these rich inner resources of healing and strength. Visualizing your Inner Guide gives you access to the unconscious. It is a symbolic representation of aspects of the personality not normally available during conscious awareness. When you make contact with your Inner Guide—through a mental imagery process we will describe—you are connects with important mental resources from which you are usually cut off.The first major school of psychology to work with the Inner Guide as part of the therapeutic process was Jungian psychoanalysis. Jung reported that during meditation or reverie, spontaneous images sometimes formed that had an autonomous, life-of-their-own quality. In Jungian therapy, great emphasis is placed on establishing communication with these positive resources of the unconscious.One process used for permitting this communication with the Inner Guide is called a “guided daydream,” a form of mental imagery. Psychosynthesis, a recent psychotherapeutic process based on the work of Dr. Robert Assagiolli, also actively encourages the development of contact with the Inner Guide as part of a program of personal growth and discovery.For many people, the Inner Guide takes the form of a respected authority figure—a wise old man or woman, a doctor, a religious figure—with whom the patient is able to carry on an internal conversation, asking questions and hearing answers that seem to be wise beyond the individual’s conscious capacities.Furthermore, patients are often more responsive to insights achieved in consultation with their Inner Guides than they are to the observations of a group leader or a therapist. Because the Inner Guide is an aspect of their own personalities, relying on such a guide is a healthy step toward taking responsibility for their physical and psychological health.*63\347\2*

DIET AND CANCER: CHEMICAL ADDITIVES AND COOKINGThere are in foods many substances which, when tested in the laboratory can cause alteration in D N A. These include natural materials like tannins, which are found in tea, hydrazines, which are found in mushrooms, anatoxin from mould contamination, nitrates and nitrosamines, which are found in smoked food as well as meats and fish, the organic chemicals which ire produced by high-temperature cooking or heating meat, and the many environmental pollutants, pesticides and drugs used in animal husbandry. We do not know that they cause cancer in man but perhaps the most important link under investigation is between nitrates and nitrosamines, which arc found in certain smoked and cooked foods, and cancer in the stomach. The most reassuring response to this suggested link is that there is a steady downward fall in the incidence of stomach cancer in the West, although it is not clear whether this is related to change in cooking and dietary habits. It would be a brave person who would suggest that we should cut tea and mushrooms out of our diets completely!One particular feature of ‘diet’ which is clearly associated with cancer is the chewing of betel-nut in oriental nations. This habit consists of chewing on a quid of betel leaves, areca nuts, catechu and lime, often with tobacco added. This habit is associated with cancers of the mouth due not only to tobacco but also the other elements of the quid.*62\194\4*

ARTHRITIS AND CORTISONE: THE DISCOVERY OF CORTISONEIt all started at the Mayo Clinic as recently as 1949. In that year, Dr. P. Hench and Dr. E. Kendall—with their associates Dr. C. Slocumb and Dr. H. Polley—startled the entire field of medicine with their discoveries on the uses of “man-made” cortisone.When the announcement of their important findings was made, I immediately boarded a plane and flew out to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I could not imagine or believe that a synthetic substance could perform “miracles” for arthritic bodies.By making this trip to Minnesota, I was present at the Seventh International Congress on Rheumatic Diseases held at the Mayo Foundation. After hearing testimony on cortisone, I still did not believe that this drug was the complete answer to arthritis. It is not a permanent cure, and the past few years have proved that I was right.It is true that in certain kinds of arthritis, cortisone can turn off the pain within hours. But the relief is often temporary. Another advantage of taking cortisone is the fact that some chronic rheumatoid arthritics were then able to do exercises. By using their muscles, they were able to prevent wasting away and minimise crippling. Again, this gain was frequently nullified by relapses.Cortisone, taken orally or by injection, does have an anti-inflammatory effect. For some rheumatoid arthritics it does lessen their joint stiffness, heat and swelling. But reports now indicate that some 85 per cent, of the cases later suffer relapses. And cortisone manufactured commercially has little or no effect whatsoever on osteo-arthritis.Any person or any chemical bringing even temporary relief deserves our thanks. Congratulations are in order to the doctors who developed cortisone and its uses. The only unfortunate fact is that cortisone does not bring lasting recovery.And we must add a definite warning that taking cortisone by prescription can cause a number of harmful reactions throughout your body. It may help arthritis, but irritate other tissues and organs.*52\146\2*

DOES RITALIN HAVE ANY SIDE-EFFECTS?Ritalin is widely considered to be a very safe drug, but as with any chemical compound, certain side-effects may result. Many children, for example, experience a decrease in appetite while the drag is in their systems. That’s why the first dose of the day is usually given with breakfast or immediately after. Because of this effect, many children are exceptionally hungry at dinnertime, when their second daily dose has worn off.In addition, some youngsters experience a slight weight loss during the first few months they’re on Ritalin. In most cases, weight stabilizes after a short period and then begins to increase again. If a child is overweight, this drop can be a good thing and very beneficial to his self-esteem.Another common problem associated with Ritalin use is mild insomnia. This effect usually disappears within a few weeks. If it continues, reducing the second daily dose or giving it to the child earlier in the day may help. In extreme cases, a morning dose may be all that a child can handle.Other possible side-effects include the following.Headaches or abdominal problems at the beginning of treatment. In most cases, these problems disappear within a few days.Tearfulness and lethargy. Some children become very emotional or overly subdued when on Ritalin, which suggests their dosages are too high. Very sensitive children often see dramatic improvement on a very small dose of the drug. Others require and are able to tolerate much higher amounts. In some cases, determining the proper dosage for a child involves close monitoring and more than a little trial and error. However, the side-effect of depression might also call for a change in medication. Often Cylert or Dexedrine can have a very different effect.A worsening of facial tics or other involuntary twitches. However, many children find that their tics disappear when they’re on Ritalin. Every child is different, and their reaction to the drug will be different too. If a child’s tics worsen greatly, he should be taken off Ritalin and given an alternative medication, such as clonidine.The development of psychosis. Actually, this side-effect is so rare that it barely deserves mention. Only thirty cases of stimulant-induced toxic psychosis have been reported in the mainstream medical literature. Nonetheless, it’s something your child’s doctor should be aware of. Other extremely rare side-effects include alopecia (loss of hair) and hypersensitivity reactions such as fever, skin rash, dermatitis, angina, and erratic heartbeat.An increase in sudden seizures. Stimulants tend to lower a person’s seizure threshold. The good news is that recent studies have found that stimulants and anticonvulsants can be given simultaneously with no reduction in effectiveness. However, blood levels of anticonvulsants should be checked frequently to prevent toxicity resulting from Ritalin’s ability to boost blood levels of both drugs.Because Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Cylert are all stimulants, many parents worry that their children will become addicted to the compounds much like someone becomes addicted to cocaine or methamphetamine. However, numerous studies have shown that Ritalin, especially, is not addictive when used as directed and under a doctor’s supervision. In fact, many parents have the opposite problem—getting their children to take their medicine!It’s true that some studies suggest children with ADHD are at greater risk of developing an addiction problem later in life, but this is usually a personality disorder unrelated to Ritalin use in childhood.*52\173\2*

WHAT MAKES BDD BETTER OR WORSE: PROBLEMS WITH APPEARENCEPeople with acne typically say that their preoccupation gets worse when their acne flares. Compulsive hair cutters typically feel worse after a hair-cutting binge, and skin pickers usually feel worse after picking. Many women say their symptoms worsen premenstrually. While social situations can make BDD symptoms more painful for many people, occasionally they’re largely limited to social situations. As Zach explained, “When I’m by myself, my symptoms are hardly there. But as soon as I’m around people, I think they’re aware of my mouth, and I’m no longer rational. I think that other people are noticing my lips. I become obsessed and anxious, and my rational thinking about them goes out the window.” Social situations significantly worsened Zach’s symptoms and also decreased his insight into their irrational nature.It can be helpful to avoid some of these exacerbating factors—for example, comparing with others and looking through magazines at attractive people. But you’re better off facing some of them, such as social situtions. In the long run, you’ll feel better if you expose the defect, if possible, and go to social events.*201\204\8*