Parental fights causes stress among kids

Children who get distressed because of constant parental conflicts have higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, according to scientists.
While it is known that children who witness their parents fighting are prone to psychological problems, the biological responses going on behind these behavioural reactions have now been uncovered. The study, by researchers at the University of Rochester, the University of Minnesota and the University of Notre Dame, was conducted on 208 6-year-olds and their mothers.



"Our results indicate that children who are distressed by conflict between their parents show greater biological sensitivity to conflict in the form of higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol," said Patrick T. Davies, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, who led the study.
He added, "Because higher levels of cortisol have been linked to a wide range of mental and physical health difficulties, high levels of cortisol may help explain why children who experience high levels of distress when their parents argue are more likely to experience later health problems."
The authors suggested that the study has implications for policy and practice. The common practice of judging how well intervention programs are doing, based solely on improvements in how children function psychologically may need to be changed to include physiological measures like cortisol levels.The findings revealed that children who were very distressed by the conflicts in the lab had higher levels of cortisol in response to their parents fighting.
Children's levels of hostility and their involvement during the arguments weren''t always related to their levels of cortisol, the study found. But children who were very distressed and very involved in response to parental fighting had especially high levels of cortisol. The researchers aimed to find out if children who showed specific behaviour patterns of reacting to conflict also had changes in cortisol levels during simulated telephone arguments between their parents.
For the study, they measured children's distress, hostility, and level of involvement in the arguments, and received reports from the mothers about how their children responded when parents fought at home. Then, cortisol levels were measured by taking saliva samples before and after the conflicts in the lab.

11 reasons to control your TV watching habit

What can be your favorite pastime when you think of unwinding? What do you do when you are alone at home? You spend hours in front of your television set. Right? And you think that the TV shows are giving you quality time and a healthy company!
In reality, television viewing is always considered to be bad for your health. You cannot accept this fact readily, but watching TV for a long time can put your health at risk. It is accepted that you can gain a lot of knowledge from a few television shows, but still the disadvantages outweigh these benefits with a big margin! TV serves as a medium of entertainment and education for all, but it is associated with a number of physical and mental health problems such as:

1.             Increase in the Risk of Heart Diseases: Based on the analysis of the data collected over a period of six years from 8,800 Australian men and women (over age 25 with no history of heart disease), researchers found that every hour of TV watching increased a person's risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 18%, and increased the risk of death from cancer by 9%. This means that people who watched more than four hours of TV had an 80% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease over the 6-year time period as compared to people who watched 2 hours or less each day. The problem normally crops up from a sedentary lifestyle which television offers to you. According to researchers, the human body evolved to move, not sit still for extended periods of time. So sitting in front of a TV or a computer screen for too long poses serious risks to health, and to life.

2.     Disruption of Sleep: The light emitted from the television can prove to be too stimulating to our systems. This can reduce the levels of the brain hormone melatonin, which usually increase in the evening as light levels fall. This may effect the body's natural rhythm, keeping you awake longer and results in irregular sleep and extreme fatigue. Reduced levels of melatonin have also been linked to early puberty in girls.

3.     Increase in the Risk of Diabetes: When it comes to controlling diabetes, TV watching habit can be included as the risk factor. A 2003 study of women published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the risk of diabetes increases by 14% for every 2 hours of television viewing in a day. Another study conducted in the same year and published in the journal Lipids found that men who watched more than 40 hours of TV per week were 3 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than men who watched TV less than 1 hour weekly. According to researchers, all this increased risk cannot be explained by the increased snacking and reduced activity linked with sitting in front of the television.

4.     Increase in the Risk of Obesity: Prolonged watching of television relates to an absence of muscle movement. If your muscles stay inactive for too long, it can disrupt your metabolism leading to weight gain. Additionally, when you are watching TV, you tend to eat more and eat unhealthy foods due to advertising and other food cues on TV. A study compared the television viewing habits of more than 50,000 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study from 1992 to 1998, and found that weight gain increased as TV watching increased. For each two-hour increase in television watching per day, there was a 23% rise in obesity.

5.     Development of Attention Deficit Disorder: In the 1970s, a Professor named Werner Halperin suggested that the rapid changes of sounds and images on TV may affect the neurological system of a young child and can cause attention problems. Also, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington Child Health Institute found that 3-year-old child who watches two hours of TV per day is 20% more likely to have attention problems at age 7 than a child who watches no television.

6.     Increase in the Risk of Asthma: In the UK, a research studied the TV viewing habits of more than 3,000 children ranging in age from infants to 11 years. The results of the study established that children who spent 2 hours or more watching television per day had twice the risk of suffering from asthma.

7.     Greater Chances of Mindless Eating: Studies conducted by the Stanford University of Medicine prove that TV viewing is directly linked with mindless eating. You have more chances of eating junk foods while watching TV than in any other activity! It really feels very nice to enjoy burgers, pizzas and French Fries while watching your favorite shows.

8.     Negative Effect on the Mental Development: Watching TV for a prolonged period of time has a negative effect on the intellectual development of children. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages TV viewing for kids under 2 and recommends no more than two hours a day for older kids. Prolonged watching of TV can also lead to a deterioration of the mental processing power in case of older people.

9.     Increase in the Eye Strain: Watching too much television is bad for your eyes, especially when watching television in a dark room. Focusing your eyes too long on any one object can strain your eyes.

10.  Portrayal of Aggressive Behavior: Young children are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior after viewing violent TV shows or movies. As part of a study, researchers examined the data on more than 3,000 3-year-olds and found that children exposed to more television, directly and indirectly (exposed to the television while other people in the home are watching), are at increased risk for exhibiting aggressive behavior.

11.  Reduction of Social Interaction: Watching television may replace social interaction with friends and family, depriving children of sharing ideas and feelings with others. This may result various social phobias.

It would be quite difficult for you to control your TV viewing habit. But once you are able to do it, you won't have any repentance. You would want to spend the weekend by relaxing and this might mean sitting on a sofa and watching TV for long hours. Instead, you can go out and spend quality time with your family - a long drive and a family picnic are great options!

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Why men start losing interest in sex

Let's face it. In today's fast-paced world, priorities keep changing all the time. Stress at work, problems at home, managing relationships, all this can take a toll on the best of men. But when it starts affecting you in the bedroom, it's time you realized you have a problem.

There are several reasons why men start losing interest in sex.

Consulting psychotherapist and counsellor Dr Minnu R Bhonsle says, "The modern day man is constantly engaged in competitive strivings, aiming to achieve and sustain the good life with more material comforts and luxuries." says Dr Bhonsle.

"This ambition, inner demand and drive to have more, cause stress hormones like adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol to be released in the body continuously, building pressure on the body-mind mechanism and affecting one's sex life."

"Employers squeezing every ounce of your energy out in return for huge salaries, performance evaluations, a high pressure job environment with ruthless colleagues, crazy deadlines and targets, with the fear of being laid off constantly hovering, is a huge stressor, which takes a toll on one's sex life"

Stressors
Most men worry about whether they will be able to satisfy their partner. Such thoughts affect sexual performance. If the woman is aggressively demanding and taunting him about the lack of sex, his anxiety levels and the subsequent psychogenic impotence get aggravated.

Other stressors include loan repayments, credit card debts, subscribing to 'enjoy now pay later' schemes, explosion of consumerism and need for instant gratification.

Life brings its own set of stressors that can take a toll on one's sex life. If there is unresolved anger and resentment between a couple, if the man feels caught between family squabbles, if the health of parents or children is a matter of concern, this leaves little or no space for sexual feelings to arise.

Physical stressors like chronic illnesses, obesity, fatigue, insomnia, excessive drinking and smoking and a general lack of fitness have an adverse effect on one's sex life.

Gynaecologist Dr Suman Bijlani says, "If you're wondering what is making your man avoid physical intimacy, you need to find out what is bothering him. Stress, unrealistic expectations, monotony or even your attitude could be reasons. Are you unknowingly intimidating your partner? Do you genuinely express admiration and appreciation for him? Is your hygiene up to the mark?"

"Much as women undergo an abrupt change during menopause, some men may experience a decrease in sex drive and a general decline in energy levels in their 50s and 60s, what is known as 'andropause'," says Dr Bijlani.

Certain drugs used in the treatment of high blood pressure, epilepsy, depression, high cholesterol and others, can also be culprits. If your man shows an abrupt decrease in drive after starting a new medication, consult your doctor.

Depression can also cause loss of libido and confidence. Fertility stressors and demands of planned intercourse during the course of fertility treatment can dampen gusto, too.

Each man's sex drive may differ at different stages in life. His libido is subject to variation in response to the demands of the various events in his life, the state of his mind and your relationship. Lift off the pressure. Chill and let him relax too.

Cure
Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, Varkha Chulani says that psychosexual aspects unfortunately are rarely considered when it comes to a man's sexuality. "The importance of what a man thinks can't be emphasised enough. If a man has a nag of a wife or a pest in a partner, how can his juices flow? Instead of feeling sensuous, he's irate, dissatisfied and grumpy. Emotional well being in relationships determines to a large extent the sexual wellness.

The overall relationship needs to be examined - how does the couple relate to each other in non-sexual aspects? Is there constant strife, discord, bickering? Does the man constantly feel criticised, blamed, unappreciated. If the man is using sex as a weapon or as a tool to settle scores bring it to his notice.

"Teaching him better coping strategies and taking professional assistance may help. Keeping romance alive requires hard work. Innovating, experimenting, talking about preferences and what gets him turned on is one way. Do not have some unrealistic benchmark about how long you should last, how hard you should be or how often you should have sex. This is no competition - not with another and definitely not with you!" says Chulani.

Some dos and don'ts to cope
- Express love in non-sexual interactions. Do not pressure him.
- Communicate. Don't accuse.
- Work on yourself and the relationship. Don't feel guilty.
- Understand. Don't sympathise.
- Initiate and experiment. Don't dominate.

The bitter sweet truth

All those sugar fixes have not been as nice to you as you think. If you have any of the following signs, you need to find another upper

It's five o'clock and you can't think of anything but shovelling a chocolate, a doughnut, an icecream, and if all else fails, a sachet of sugar into your face. It's all well to say you have a sweet tooth, but urgent sugar cravings could be symptomatic of many diseases. According to macrobiotic expert, Shonali Sabherwal, bad bacteria loves feeding on glucose. And the more it thrives, the more persuasive the sugar cravings get.

Experts say our bodies were not designed to take such a sugar overload. Not only is sugar addictive, it is also cunning. It creeps in through alcohol, breads, packaged juices, not to mention coffee and tea.

Gradually, it may comprise onethird of our meals and become an invisible crutch. Our body is not equipped to process so much sugar and this can lead to diabetes and cancer. It affects the functioning of the adrenalin and thyroid glands, energy levels and emotional well-being.

Recently, researchers from Yale University found that dramatic falls in blood sugar occur after eating 'bad' carbohydrates such as biscuits and affect the brain's ability to control impulses. This leaves you with more cravings for unhealthy food.

Symptoms

Sugar overload can show up in a host of seemingly unrelated symptoms:

Red pimples

Acne is closely related to fungi that feeds on sugar. You may owe those pimples to your love for sweets.

Candida infection

A reoccurring yeast infection in the vaginal area is an indicator of too much sugar in the diet. This may be accompanied by an irritable bowel syndrome (wind, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation). Bad bacteria thrive in sugar abundance.

Antibiotics

A long run of antibiotics or antacids can also trigger an overgrowth of bad bacteria. The former kills the good bacteria that keeps the bad one in check. As a result, the yeast goes off multiplies and feeds on sugar and expresses its craving through you. Bread and sugar are their dope of choice.

Mood swings, highs and lows

Are you often irritable when hungry? Does your mood change after you feed yourself? Do you reach out for a bar of chocolate when you are feeling low? Adrenal glands pump out the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol during times of stress. But if stress is a constant in your life, these glands may become burdened and sluggish. This makes us reach for our frenemy, sugar. Sugar sends our mood soaring, but only temporarily. It crashes to depression and anxiety as quickly.

Hair loss

High blood sugar levels can also cause hair fall, even in women. This is often seen in diabetics. If you've seen more than normal amount of strands in your hair brush or shower drain, get your blood sugar checked.

Tummy weight

If you tend to put on more weight around your stomach, blame your sugar addiction. Sugar substitutes, which are found in alcohol, low calorie, low carb foods and processed sweets such as pastries, cookies and candy, can't be absorbed by your GI tract completely. They cause a pot belly, bloating and gas.

Puffiness in the face

Too much sugar causes you to retain water, causing puffiness. Alcohol is sugar-fermented. When you mix your drink with aerated beverages or packaged juice, you add to the sugar content. It makes you feel dandy in the night, but come morning and your sins are written on your face.

Eat sugar away

Sabherwal looks at the yin and yang equation of sugar. Sugar is Yin (associated with expansion) and to control your sweet tooth, you need to balance it with Yang (associated with contraction) foods.

-Whole grains release naturally sustaining sugar through mastication.

-Cabbage, carrots, onions, red pumpkin and sweet potatoes are sources of natural sugar.

-Green vegetables also come under yang foods and help control sugar cravings. If you don't like the Indian garden variety of spinach, methi or shepu, eat broccoli or lettuce.

-Sugar also slips in through alcohol. Meat is the yang to this yin. If you are drinking, order a side of fish or lean chicken for balance.

-Quitting cold turkey will only lead to bingeing later. Shonali suggests the following measures as sugar rehab. Chop half a cabbage, half a red pumpkin, half a carrot, and an onion finely.

-Boil it in five cups of water on slow flame for two minutes. Strain and drink warm. Do this once a day, for a month. The ideal time would be in the afternoon, between 3 and 5 pm, when sugar cravings hit. It is supposedly a miracle drink that brings down sugar cravings.

-Jaggery and honey are simple sugars, but sugars nonetheless. You could use them to replace processed sugar, but it would be like replacing heroin with LSD.

-Switch to stevia, a natural sugar substitute. Stevia has a lower impact on blood sugar glucose and is 300 times more flavourful than normal sugar.

Unexpected benefits of Depression Treatment

      Better Sleep

Depression can rob you of rest by making it hard to fall asleep or by waking you up too soon. That leaves you dragging the next day. And more important, lack of sleep can make depression more severe. Treatment for depression can help improve sleep.

Better Love Life

Some antidepressants may dampen the libido. But often, the bigger roadblock to a happy love life is depression itself. One study showed that 70% of people with depression reported a loss of sexual interest while not taking medicine. Treatment may help restore your self-confidence and strengthen your emotional connection with your partner.

Pain Relief

Treatment for your depression can make you feel better emotionally and may reduce pain. That’s because depression can contribute to the discomfort of pain. Studies have found that people who have conditions like arthritis and migraines actually feel more pain -- and are more disabled by it -- if they're depressed. Seeking treatment may help provide relief.

Improved Health

If you are depressed, getting treatment may help prevent some serious diseases down the road. That’s because depression can take a toll on your body. One study found that women who were depressed had double the risk of sudden cardiac death than women who weren’t. Getting treatment may help lessen health risks.

Better Performance at Work

Depression can make it hard to hold a job. If you’re depressed, you might lose focus at work and make more mistakes. If you think depression might be affecting you at work, getting help now could head off serious problems.

Sharper Thinking and Better Memory

Feeling forgetful? Does your thinking seem fuzzy? Experts have found that depression might cause structural changes to the areas of the brain involved in memory and decision-making.

The good news is that depression treatment may prevent or reverse these changes -- clearing away the cobwebs and strengthening your recall.

Happier Home Life

Irritable and angry? Constantly snapping at your kids -- and then feeling bad about it? Getting depression treatment can help boost your mood. And that can help reduce tension around the house and improve your relationship with your family.

Healthier Lifestyle

Why does depression cause some people to gain weight? In part, it’s behavioral -- you may withdraw and become less active, or turn to food for comfort. It’s also physiological -- low levels of certain brain chemicals can trigger a craving for carbs. Getting treatment may change that while giving you the energy to exercise and eat well.

Less Chaos, More Control

When depression zaps your energy, even the most basic tasks -- like vacuuming or paying the bills -- can become impossibly hard. The more chaotic things get, the less capable you feel. Depression treatment can restore the energy you need to take control of your life and get it organized.

Lower Risk of Future Depression

People who have been depressed have a higher risk of becoming depressed again. But ongoing therapy or medication may help prevent depression from coming back. Even if it does return, treatment now will prepare you. You’ll know the early signs. You’ll know some coping skills. And you’ll know where to get help.

Stronger Ties With Friends & Family

Treating depression may improve your social life. Depression isolates people. It can sap your self-esteem, making you feel unlikeable. While therapy and medication can help restore some of that lost confidence, you still need to decide to reach out. Reconnecting to old friends when you’re depressed -- not to mention making new ones -- is hard. But it’s a crucial part of getting better.

Getting Help

Some people with depression try to wait it out, hoping it will get better on its own without treatment. That's a mistake. Studies have found that the longer depression lasts, the worse your symptoms may get and the harder it is to treat.

See your doctor. Schedule an appointment with a therapist. The sooner you get help, the better your odds for a healthy future.

Depressed brains may hate differently

Depressed people are often withdrawn and antisocial. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t like other people, but it could mean that their brains don’t process feelings of hate in a normal way, a new study suggests.

Scientists in China and the UK scanned the brains of people with and without depression, and they found a surprising pattern in nearly all of the depressed people: Their brain activity was out of sync in three regions collectively known as the “hate circuit”—so called because in previous experiments they have been shown to light up when people look at photographs of someone they can’t stand.

“We were a bit shocked when we first saw these results,” says lead researcher Jianfeng Feng, a professor of computer science at the University of Warwick who specializes in biology. Feelings of self-hatred are a common feature of depression, he explains, so one would expect those feelings to also be more intense when directed toward other people.

Instead, it’s as if the brains of depressed people hate incorrectly. The brain disruptions the researchers observed could be a sign that people with depression have an impaired ability to cope with—and learn from—social situations in which they feel hate, Feng says. This may explain why they often turn emotions such as hatred and anger inward, instead of handling them in more constructive ways, he adds.

The study, which was published today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, is the first to connect disruptions in the hate circuit to depression, and the findings may help doctors understand why depressed people react the way they do to certain circumstances, says Madhkar Trivedi, MD, director of the mood disorders program and clinic at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

“These patients start doubting themselves and they withdraw from social situations,” says Dr. Trivedi, who was not involved in the study. “The hate circuit might have something to do with that.”

Discoveries like this warrant a good deal of interest, Trivedi says, though he cautions that the results are preliminary. “It is exciting when something is this novel and this promising, but…I would of course like to see some results replicated by other researchers,” he says.

Feng and his colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 37 healthy people and 39 people who had received a depression diagnosis but had not sought treatment or responded to antidepressant medication. The makeup of each group was similar in terms of age, sex, and education levels.

In a healthy brain, the waves recorded by fMRI move up and down together in a continuous pattern. But when brain function is disturbed, the waves move out sync with each other—a phenomenon known as “uncoupling.”

The brain waves in the hate circuit were uncoupled in 92% of the depressed patients, the researchers found. Depression was also associated with disruptions in parts of the brain involved in action and risk-taking, emotion and reward-seeking, and attention and memory processing.

Most MRI research in depressed people has treated the brain as a group of discrete regions, by targeting very specific areas or by looking at how regions behave independently. This study, by contrast, observed the entire brain system at once—an approach that helped the researchers spot connections and patterns across multiple regions.

Feng and his colleagues performed the scans while the subjects were resting. This minimized interference from any outside stimuli, but it also means the researchers can’t be sure if the brain disruptions they observed are likely to carry over into active settings, such as social situations.

Further research will be needed to confirm and extend his team’s findings, Feng says. In the future, he says, a focus on the hate circuit may open new avenues for treatment—including new drugs and psychotherapies—that target this and other specific circuits in the brain.

“We might have to think about depression from more wide angles,” he says.

Too much television can give you diabetes

A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers has indicated that prolonged TV viewing is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

"The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching can significantly reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and premature mortality," said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH.

"We should not only promote increasing physical activity levels but also reduce sedentary behaviour, especially prolonged TV watching," he added.

Hu and first author Anders Grontved, a doctoral student and visiting researcher in the HSPH Department of Nutrition, conducted a meta-analysis, a systematic assessment of all published studies from 1970 to 2011 that linked TV viewing with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

Eight large prospective cohort studies from the United States, Europe, and Australia met the researchers'' criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.

The results showed that more than two hours of TV viewing per day increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and more than three hours of daily viewing increased risk of premature death.

"Sedentary lifestyle, especially prolonged TV watching, is clearly an important and modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," Grontved added.

The study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association .

Rejuvenate greets you Happy Dussehra

Dussehra in the north

In North India, mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, Dussehra is celebrated with Ramlila, that ends with burning an effigy of Ravan, the ten-headed demon. It symbolises the victory of good over evil. According to Hindu mythology, Ravan kidnapped Sita, the wife of Ram, the prince of Ayodhya. Ram along with his brother Lakshman conquered Lanka (Ravan’s kingdom) with the help of Sugreeva (king of monkeys) and his army. The prince returned with his brother and wife on the auspicious day of Dussehra

Durga puja in the east
In Indian states like Orrisa, Assam and Bengal, the last four days of Navratri are celebrated as Durga puja. And on the last day, they take idols of durga for visarjan. They celebrate the victory of Maa Durga over the demon Mahisasura who captured Swarglok (heaven).  The married women then play sindoor khela, where they smear each other with sindoor or vermillion powder.

Exchanging gold in the west
In Maharashtra too, Dussehra symbolises the victory of good over evil. Other than exchanging gifts and sweets, they also exchange leaves of the Aapta tree. The leaves symbolise gold and are meant to bring prosperity. Maharashtrians also think that it is an auspicious day to start new ventures.

Vijayadashami in the south
In the south, Dussehra is more commonly known as Vijayadashami. In Tamil Nadu, bomai kolu or different dolls and statues are placed on miniature platforms/steps. On the last day, the kolu is removed. In most parts of Kerala, the last day is dedicated to Saraswati puja. It is also known as vidyarambham. Three days before Dussehra, students wrap their books in a cloth and keep it in front of Saraswati (Goddess of learning). They are unwrapped on the day of dussehra and are read in front of Saraswati’s idol.  Little children are initiated into education by making them write on rice.

How do you celebrate Dussehra? Leave us a comment and let us know.Diwali, Christmas, New Year... the festive season has only yet begun and we can already feel the excitement. The best part is it's contagious! Keep Smiling and enjoy life. .

http://www.effectivelivingclinic.com/



Parkinson's disease - A brief understanding

Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, often starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while tremor may be the most well-known sign of Parkinson's disease, the disorder also commonly causes a slowing or freezing of movement.

Friends and family may notice that your face shows little or no expression and your arms don't swing when you walk. Speech often becomes soft and mumbling. Parkinson's symptoms tend to worsen as the disease progresses.

While there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, many different types of medicines can treat its symptoms. In some cases, your doctor may suggest surgery.

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can vary from person to person. Early signs may be subtle and can go unnoticed. Symptoms typically begin on one side of the body and usually remain worse on that side even after symptoms begin to affect both sides. Parkinson's signs and symptoms may include:

·         Tremor. The characteristic shaking associated with Parkinson's disease often begins in a hand. A back-and-forth rubbing of your thumb and forefinger, known as pill-rolling, is common, and may occur when your hand is at rest. However, not everyone experiences tremors.

·         Slowed motion (bradykinesia). Over time, Parkinson's disease may reduce your ability to initiate voluntary movement. This may make even the simplest tasks difficult and time-consuming. When you walk, your steps may become short and shuffling. Or your feet may freeze to the floor, making it hard to take the first step.

·         Rigid muscles. Muscle stiffness can occur in any part of your body. Sometimes the stiffness can be so severe that it limits the range of your movements and causes pain. People may first notice this sign when you no longer swing your arms when you're walking.

·         Impaired posture and balance. Your posture may become stooped as a result of Parkinson's disease. Balance problems also may occur, although this is usually in the later stages of the disease.

·         Loss of automatic movements. Blinking, smiling and swinging your arms when you walk are all unconscious acts that are a normal part of being human. In Parkinson's disease, these acts tend to be diminished and even lost. Some people may develop a fixed staring expression and unblinking eyes. Others may no longer gesture or seem animated when they speak.

·         Speech changes. Many people with Parkinson's disease have problems with speech. You may speak more softly, rapidly or in a monotone, sometimes slurring or repeating words, or hesitating before speaking.

·         Dementia. In the later stages of Parkinson's disease, some people develop problems with memory and mental clarity. Alzheimer's drugs appear to alleviate some of these symptoms to a mild degree.

When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you have any of the symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease — not only to diagnose the illness but also to rule out other causes for your symptoms.

Risk factors for Parkinson's disease include:

·         Age. Young adults rarely experience Parkinson's disease. It ordinarily begins in middle or late life, and the risk continues to increase with age.

·         Heredity. Having a close relative with Parkinson's increases the chances that you'll also develop the disease, although your risk is still no more than about 4 to 6 percent.

·         Sex. Men are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than women are.

·         Exposure to toxins. Ongoing exposure to herbicides and pesticides puts you at slightly increased risk of Parkinson's

Complications

Parkinson's disease is often accompanied by these additional problems:

·         Depression. Depression is common in people with Parkinson's disease. Receiving treatment for depression can make it easier to handle the other challenges of Parkinson's disease.

·         Sleep problems. People with Parkinson's disease often have trouble falling asleep and may wake up frequently throughout the night. They may also experience sudden sleep onset, called sleep attacks, during the day.

·         Difficulty chewing and swallowing. The muscles you use to swallow may be affected in the later stages of the disease, making eating more difficult.

·         Urinary problems. Parkinson's disease may cause either urinary incontinence or urine retention. Certain medications used to treat Parkinson's also can make it difficult to urinate.

·         Constipation. Many people with Parkinson's disease develop constipation because the digestive tract works more slowly. Constipation may also be a side effect of medications used to treat the disease.

·         Sexual dysfunction. Some people with Parkinson's disease may notice a decrease in sexual desire. This may stem from a combination of psychological and physical factors, or it may be the result of physical factors alone.

Medications for Parkinson's disease also may cause a number of complications, including involuntary twitching or jerking movements of the arms or legs, hallucinations, sleepiness, and a drop in blood pressure when standing up.

Tests and diagnosis

No definitive tests exist for Parkinson's disease, so it can be difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages. And parkinsonism — the symptoms of Parkinson's disease — can be caused by many other types of problems. For example, other neurological disorders, toxins, head trauma and even some medications — such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), prochlorperazine (Compazine) or metoclopramide (Reglan) — can cause parkinsonism.

A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is based on your medical history and a neurological examination:

·         Medical history. As part of your medical history, your doctor will want to know about any medications you take and whether you have a family history of Parkinson's.

·         Neurological exam. This examination includes an evaluation of your walking and coordination, as well as some simple hand tasks.

A diagnosis of Parkinson's is most likely if you have:

·         At least two of the three cardinal Parkinson's signs and symptoms — tremor, slowing of motion and muscle rigidity

·         Onset of symptoms on only one side of the body

·         Tremor more pronounced at rest, for example, when your hands are resting in your lap

·         Significant improvement with levodopa, a Parkinson's drug

Alternative medicine

Forms of alternative medicine that may help people with Parkinson's include:

·         Coenzyme Q10. People with Parkinson's disease tend to have low levels of coenzyme Q10, and some research has suggested it may be beneficial. However, subsequent research hasn't confirmed this benefit. You can buy coenzyme Q10 without a prescription in drugstores and natural food stores. Talk with your doctor before taking this supplement to ensure that it won't interfere with any medication you may be taking.

·         Massage. Massage therapy can reduce muscle tension and promote relaxation, which may be especially helpful to people experiencing muscle rigidity associated with Parkinson's disease. These services, however, are rarely covered by health insurance.

·         Tai chi. An ancient form of Chinese exercise, tai chi employs slow, flowing motions that help improve flexibility and balance. Several forms of tai chi are tailored for people of any age or physical condition.

·         Yoga. Yoga is another type of exercise that increases flexibility and balance. Most poses can be modified, depending on your physical abilities.

Coping and support

Living with any chronic illness can be difficult, and it's normal to feel angry, depressed or discouraged at times. Parkinson's disease presents special problems because it can cause chemical changes in your brain that make you feel anxious or depressed. And Parkinson's disease can be profoundly frustrating, as walking, talking and even eating become more difficult and time-consuming.

Although friends and family can be your best allies, the understanding of people who know what you're going through can be especially helpful. Support groups aren't for everyone, but for many people, they can be a good resource for practical information about Parkinson's disease, as well as a place to find understanding from people that are going through the same things you are.

To learn about support groups in your community, talk to your doctor, a Parkinson's disease social worker or a local public health nurse. Or contact the National Parkinson Foundation or the American Parkinson Disease Association.

For more details contact us at drkurien@effectivelivingclinic.com

Burn fat without getting fried!

Those who have tried various methods for achieving 6-pack abs agree with one big fact - that burning fat (especially tummy fat) is quite a complicated process. There is no one surefire method to burn fat that guarantees success. According to experts, it is a combination of methods that works best, which includes sensible eating, strength training to build muscles, and interval training (high-intensity workout).

Sensible Eating

The key suggestions of fitness experts are the following:

·         Avoid Dairy Products: Dairy products tend to build excess mucus in the body, which is bad for quick digestion and elimination of food. Try to avoid or greatly reduce dairy products, especially when you are on a fat-burning mission.

·         Include Probiotics: Probiotics are the good bacteria which are present in our gut, but get destroyed by various factors, and need to be supplemented. Probiotics lend many health benefits by itself.

·         Include Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds contain essential fatty acid, omega-3 fatty acid, in plenty. Apart from its various other health benefits, these help burn fat.

·         Increase Raw Foods: We all know that we must include plenty of raw fruits and vegetables in our diet. However, experts suggest that raw fruits and vegetables should be had alone, not with other boiled food. You can start the day with a fruit. They also suggest that you should refrain from having a mixed fruit diet, as different fruits take different lengths of time to digest.

·         Reduce Salt Intake: Excess salt hinders the mechanism of osmosis in cell walls. This results in the passage of nutrients from the blood to the cells less efficiently, and results in retention of water and wastes. Therefore, greatly reduce salt intake even when you are not on a fat-burning mission.

·         Things to Avoid: Avoid processed foods and junk foods. Junk foods have no nutritional value, just empty calories. Processed foods are processed using highly refined wheat flour, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil and contain hidden salt, sugar, and fat, all of which are bad for you. A lot of innovation is happening in the processing world too. Nowadays, there are some processed foods that are healthy, but you should read the labels and choose wisely.

·         Others: Apart from this, sufficient water intake and adding fiber to your diet are also important. These help in detoxification and proper evacuation of waste from the body.

Strength Training to Build Muscles

Everyone knows the benefits of strength training to burn fat. For those who have just come out of some kind of hibernation, this is how strength training helps burn fat. With strength training, your lean body mass (muscle mass) increases, and lean body mass is directly proportional to basal metabolic rate. When there is a rise in the metabolic rate, the body's energy requirement rises which is fulfilled by burning fat. The body will continue to burn fat even when you are not working out during the day.

Interval Training

Health and Fitness experts say that if you want to effectively lose stomach fat, you must engage in interval training. However, they say that before embarking onto it, you must make your body fit with 30 minutes of aerobic exercises 4 to 7 days a week for at least 3 months.

The first level of interval training consists of the following steps:

1.     Warm up for 2 to 5 minutes by fast walking on the treadmill.

2.     Increase the pace and do moderate jogging for 1 minute.

3.     Sprint for 1 minute.

4.     Decrease the pace and do moderate jogging for 1 minute.

5.     Back to fast walking for 1 minute.

Repeat these steps for 20 minutes excluding the warm-up period.

According to fitness experts, interval training should be done 3 to 4 times a week, leaving gaps of 24 hours between 2 sessions. By working at high intensity, the fat burning and muscle building hormone will be released, and your metabolic rate will go up drastically. When combined with sensible eating, this will go to work for you even during the period between 2 sessions.    

When you take up any exercise regimen, one thing to remember is that everybody will not get the same kind of result because of different body types. Therefore, if your friend did get a faster result than you, don't get dejected. Consistency, regularity, and the right technique are the keywords. Sticking to your exercise regimen will surely bring the desired results.