A picture of citrus fruits and their seeds. A grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin and orange. It is hard to tell the difference from the seed, but the fruit sure tastes different!
While driving to work this morning, I listened to the Craig and Mandy show on Star 104.5. They were talking about prophetic dreams. Mandy was a bit sceptical initially but after a few phone calls from listener’s she said “well I was proved wrong”. The story that got my attention the most was about this Dad who dreamt his daughter was on the other side of the railing on their veranda. When he saw her there he freaked out and yelled what are you doing there and so she fell. One week later in real life he looked over and saw his daughter on the other side of the railing. However because of his dream he realised that it was his freaking out that got her to let go so he remained calm and talked calmly to her to get her to come to safety. How wonderful was that! To learn from a dream to then get a wonderful outcome for his daughter.
I found the following article on yahoo from AAP. (https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24273134/music-may-aid-stroke-recovery-study/)
It is great that the knowledge about how a part of the body or brain can become “neglected” under certain situations is coming in to common knowledge and the researchers are looking for other ways to reengage those parts into the whole of the body’s functioning’s again. This is being studied with stroke victims, but from my experience this can also happen as part of the post-traumatic stress syndrome or chronic unresolved stress. I have pasted the content in case the link doesn't work after a while.
Stroke victims could make a quicker journey on the road to recovery if they take up a musical instrument, researchers claim.
Experts at Goldsmiths, University of London, have said that playing an instrument could help the rehabilitation of stroke survivors.
A very small study examined the spatial awareness of patients before and after four sessions with a music therapist and structured homework, which was completed twice a day.
The authors said that people recovering from so-called "neglect" - when damage to one side of the brain is suffered following a stroke causing spatial awareness problems on the opposite side of the patient's body - can benefit from such schemes.
They examined two patients who were taught how to play chime bars.
As the pair improved, the research team increased the distance between the chime bars to encourage the patients to play further into their left side of space.
Following the sessions, the authors said that both participants showed "significant improvement" in clinical tests for "neglect".
Dr Lauren Stewart, from the music, mind and brain team based in Goldsmiths' Department of Psychology, said: "Despite a good deal of research into rehabilitation approaches, treatment options are limited.
"Our research shows that playing a musical instrument could be an effective intervention for neglect patients.
"It would be great to invite more patients to participate in future studies, as well as see if the music intervention has the capacity to translate to improvements in everyday tasks."
The team of researchers are now planning to expand the small study into a formal clinical trial to determine the full impact of the intervention.
I went for a walk this afternoon for inspiration at a different beach than usual. The headland had rock types that had resisted erosion that were quite different from other beaches on our northern beaches area. I took a number of pictures from close up, showing the ocean connected to the headland, the area from up top as well as looking from the beach. It’s hard to see in one of the pictures, but I could see the sand and salt in the wind blowing up from the ocean that is carving the striking features. Write to me if you would like to see more of the ones I took.
I hope you find them empowering as I did. The power of perseverance!!
I woke up thinking of putting in my book, the concept around joining the dots, to consequences of our actions –with the scenario of the broken down car on the side of the road to represent our bodies. If you put impure oil or petrol in your car, it will break down like this unfortunate lady. Most people are actually much more likely to give attention to the fuel they put in their car than the food they put into themselves.
In my local paper The Manly Daily, they have a little column with comments by a doctor who has been writing for many a year Dr James Wright
The question he answered was this: “How is it that two similar people can undergo identical surgery but one does well and the other does not, when all conditions appear identical. “
His answer was: “Every person is an individual with their own genetic code, resistance factors, healing qualities, general stamina and mental attitude. These add up to the different outcomes. A positive attitude is always likely to produce a better outcome than a negative one. “
I was very happy for his bringing attention to the other factors which contribute to our wellbeing, whether we need surgery or not. A great deal of the purpose of my book is to provide a framework for individuals to look again at the subtle factors contributing to their quality of life.
Behaviour change is an essential component of restoring , maintaining and expanding our health. Health risk behaviours, like smoking, inactivity, poor eating habits, contribute to a population's morbidity/ mortality, disability and increased health costs.
To impact these health risk behaviour change is needed. The Transtheoretical Model of behaviour change is a useful model with six stages that people move through when modifying behaviour. You may recognise yourself to be in one stage about say smoking and another stage for exercise. it is good to be able to see clearly where we are at to be able to move forward more smoothly. You also may need more support to move through some stages than others and that will be different for each behaviour and between individuals.
Stage 1: Pre-contemplation - At this stage people do not intend to take action in the foreseeable future (next 6 months). People here may be labelled as resistant, in denial, unmotivated or unready for health promotion.
Stage 2 : Contemplation - At this stage of change people intend to change within the next 6 months and are weighing up the the pros and cons of a required change.
Stage 3: Preparation -Here people are planning to take action in the immediate future (within the next month). They have already taken some significant action in the past year toward their change in health risk behaviour.
Stage 4 : Action - At this stage people have made specific overt modifications in their lifestyle in the past 6 months.
Stage 5 :Maintenance- Here people have made specific overt modifications in their lifestyle and are working to prevent relapse. People at this stage are less tempted to relapse and they grow increasingly more confident that they can continue their changes. This stage lasts from 6 months to 5 years.
Stage 6 : Completion - This is the final stage of changing behaviour.Here people are no longer tempted by health risk behaviours. Whether they are stressed, depressed or anxious they will not return to their unhealthy habits as a way of coping.
Collaborative care
Collaborative care is taking into consideration that in your health journey, you are in the driver’s seat. That is not to say that you never experience a time when your life is completely in the hands of others as a baby is or in health professional ‘s hands from an accident or that you have a need for serious treatment or surgery. However for the most part we are responsible for our own wellbeing in co-operation with other people. Sometime you may feel most comfortable seeing a doctor or medical specialist, other times it may be an exercise trainer, nutritionist, naturopath, councillor, physiotherapist, acupuncturist etc. Each may be more appropriate for you to get advice from for a particular stage in your life, support, help you manage your stress, give treatment, lifestyle guidance and support but you are collaborating with each of them as you feel comfortable. It doesn’t matter what they think of each other’s methods but rather do you gain the help and benefit you need to be well at the appropriate time. There may be a period that you are using a few to build momentum to control chronic problems with your health.
At the same time you need to build inner collaboration between your mind, body and spirit. While you are talking to others about your health and getting their advice you are having your own inner conversations. They need to be acknowledged in the plan to deal with your problems.
As well I have had many patients say to me “I thought that was what was happening, but I wasn’t sure.” By listening and explaining what I thought was happening it helped them trust in their own inner voice more. As long as you’re not listening to worry it is amazing how accurate it is.
Another example is that you may see a doctor on a regular annually to keep an eye on your health parameters but you may see a herbalist if you get a cold, a naturopath for digestive issues and have a regular massage or acupuncture to deal with your stress or pain. They are part of your team that you collaborate with for your wellbeing.
The less you collaborate between your own mind and body the more you will have to rely on your outer team. Everyone agrees lifestyle choices are important.
Your wellbeing is one of the greatest treasures you will have.
Central to our wellbeing is establishing a nurturing mutual relationship of friendship between our mind and body.
Wellbeing is tied to the rhythm of life. We have our routine, on a daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual level. When you are young you think it is a bit of a bore and feel invincible , but time does quickly go by. I still remember thinking how old someone must be if they could took about something that happened 20 years before. Well, now I have been saying those things for a few decades now myself!!! Though we experience many things we have no control over like the weather etc but in the end we do have the choice of where we put our priorities. We choose what we put our attention, time and resources into and there in lies our wellbeing course.
You have joy and contentment to gain, by spending some time to reflect on what direction you are going with your regular routine as well as the extra adventures you sprinkle into it.
Making good habits. The two most important aspects in building good habits are preparing a supportive environment around you and self-correction based around 5 steps.
Pause
Observe
Respond appropriately
Self adjust
Take action
If we can think of a good habit as like a tree that we are planting. Firstly we choose the tree that will fit a location, or clear the location when we really have to plant that tree. You could put some trees under the shade of another but many would not thrive. We would need to clear the ground. Also we would have to thoroughly dig the soil nearby not just making a hole that the tree’s roots just fitted into. We need to clear the way for the roots until they are strong enough to do it for themselves. We also have to care for it with water giving attention regularly and protecting it from bugs etc. We need to be sensible about which habits we seek to maintain first , and we need to clear the way inside of ourselves with self-reflection and understanding so they take deep root and can withstand challenges from the environment around us.
We are each born with a unique combination of information and energy that is us. Within us is a unique "seed" which contains many gifts for us and the world around us. Our "job" is to manifest that seed as best we can. Discovering, honouring and inviting as much as we can each day.
Sper
Catherine Hanrahan
Radiation from the laptop connected to Wi-Fi was three times higher than without Wi-Fi, and at least seven times higher than control conditions.
USING a laptop connected to the internet via Wi-Fi could be decreasing men’s fertility by affecting their sperm quality, a new study suggests.
Researchers conducted a simple experiment comparing sperm samples from 29 healthy donors left under a Wi-Fi connected laptop computer for four hours with sperm samples kept away from any electronic device. They found that progressive sperm motility was 80% in the control sperm compared with only 69% in the sperm sample exposed to the Wi-Fi laptop. The drop in motile sperm corresponded to an increase in non-motile sperm of around 25% in the sperm exposed to the laptop, compared to 14% in the control sperm. Similarly, more than twice the number of sperm, 8.6%, had fragmented DNA in the sample exposed to the laptop compared with only 3.3% of control sperm. “Our findings suggest that prolonged use of portable computers sitting on the lap of a male user may decrease sperm fertility potential,” the authors from Argentina said. Radiation from the laptop connected to Wi-Fi was three times higher than without Wi-Fi, and at least seven times higher than control conditions. The authors speculated that the detrimental effect on sperm quality was due to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves, not a thermal effect, because temperature was controlled during the experiment.
SOUTH Australia's Health Minister John Hill says phone surveys show most consumers want the government to regulate the way junk food is marketed to children.
Fifteen years ago, one-tenth of four-year-old girls and boys in South Australia were overweight or obese, but that figure was now around one in five, Mr Hill said in a statement on Wednesday. Research showed that between March 2010 and January 2011, the top nine food advertisers in SA were all fast food outlets, which spent $13 million on metropolitan TV advertising, nearly all in children's viewing time, he said. "This is over six times the amount of money Quit campaigns used to drive down smoking rates," Mr Hill said. He said the key problem was that voluntary self-regulation was restricted to children's and some general programs, when in reality children watched a much wider range of programs. Mr Hill wants the food industry to work with the government to take action, including defining a common criteria to decide which foods are healthy and unhealthy. He also wants them to extend voluntary initiatives to the times of day when large numbers of children actually watch TV, by extending restrictions into evening timeslots.
SA will be working with the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) and the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) to host a national seminar next year to discuss action on unhealthy food advertising.
AFP (Agence France-Presse)
PEOPLE who ate canned soup for five days straight saw their urinary levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) spike 1200 % compared to those who ate fresh soup, US researchers found.
"We've known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body," said lead author Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. "This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use." The chemical BPA is an endocrine disruptor that has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animal studies at levels of 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight and higher, though it remains uncertain if the same effects cross over to humans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This study did not measure BPA levels by micrograms per kilogram of body weight, but rather by micrograms per litre of urine, so a direct comparison to the EPA-cited danger level in animals was not possible. However, previous studies have linked BPA at lower levels than those found in the Harvard study to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity in humans, the lead author said. BPA is found in the lining of canned foods, cash register receipts, dental fillings, some plastics and some polycarbonate bottles. Seventy-five people took part in the study, eating a 12 ounce (340 g) serving of either fresh or canned soup for five days in a row and were told not to otherwise alter their regular eating habits. A urine analysis showed the canned soup eaters had 1221% higher levels of BPA than those who ate the fresh soup.
BPA is typically eliminated in the urine so more studies were needed to examine how long elevated levels may remain in the body, the researchers said. JAMA 2011:306:2218-20
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Professor Garry Egger
Learning to deal with negative thoughts in a positive way may help manage depression.
Far be it for me to paraphrase a great French philosopher, but I’m sure if Descartes was alive today he would agree that his famous dictum, “I think, therefore I am”, could be made more topical by adding “...depressed, anxious, self-conscious, happy, sad, disturbed... whatever!” Similarly, Brillat-Savarin, who first said you are what you eat, might be tempted to reposition this to ‘you are what you think’. Thought is the basis of emotions. As such, it’s the driving force of much behaviour (and lack of it) associated with mental and physical health. It can influence fear, depression, stress and distress. Indeed, most modern psychological therapies, from CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) to RET (rational emotive therapy), are based around different ways of changing an individual’s way of thinking. The importance of this is summed up by some of our greatest thinkers through the ages. Over 2000 years ago the philosopher Epictetus said: “People are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them.” This view was shared by Shakespeare, who had Hamlet muse that “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”, and Mark Twain, who personalised this concept in his self-deprecating expose that “I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened”. Perhaps the most powerful influence of thought on mental health is exemplified through its effect on depression. At least in its milder forms, depression can start as a series of adverse experiences (reactive depression). Coupled with a non-resilient personality and genetic influences, a downward spiral can then develop, through depressive thought cycles, into biological changes in the brain from which escape becomes more difficult. Where this is the case, early intervention is paramount. Simple lifestyle changes, like increased physical activity and dietary improvements can help slow, and even reverse, some of the central neural atrophy associated with being ‘bitten by the black dog’. More relevant however is a change in the processes of thinking. Thoughts, like behaviours, can be changed. But for someone who has had a lifetime of thinking in a certain way, this is not as simple as just telling him or her to think positively. A first stage in the process is to recognise that thoughts are not reality. They are a learned way of interpreting the world. Next is learning to differentiate between functional thoughts, or those required for daily living, and non-functional or emotion based thoughts that are generally egotistical and can be either irrationally positive or negative. This latter type can become ‘cemented’ into the mind through constant recurrence. If this was positive, all might be well. But usually it’s the negative and the ‘me-based’ thoughts that recur more often, and therefore stick hardest.
Good treatment, whether psychotherapy, meditation or reality approaches, helps the individual differentiate functional from non-functional thought and reduces the potency of the latter, hence bringing learning into the cognitive process. In some instances this means reducing the opportunity for negative thought. A common prescription for the early stages of depression is, for example, to exercise in the morning after waking early, rather than lie in bed, ruminating. Problems can occur in a sound healthy body via various microbes and destructive lifestyles. Problems also get in the way of a sound mind through learned and ‘me-centred’ non-functional thinking. Negative thoughts are like the bad microbes of the mind, for which ‘psychological immunisation’ through learned thinking can be likened to a regular flu shot. The body’s immune system is functional at birth and acts to restore physical health in the presence of invading pathogens. In a similar way, the inherent tendency of a sound mind towards maintaining good psychological health is like a psychological immune system that struggles to restore a natural core of good mental health in light of life experiences. If negative, non-functional thoughts can be reduced, the natural core of good psychological health becomes the default mode, just as good physical health is the default mode when the body’s immune system fights off disease. Perhaps the last word comes from the author and psychologist Dr Richard Carlson, who made the point in his book Stop Thinking and Start Living that “being upset by your own thoughts is similar to writing yourself a nasty letter – and then being offended by that letter”. The trick is in learning how to stop writing such letters to oneself.
Director, Centre for Health Promotion and Research, Sydney; Professor of lifestyle medicine and applied health promotion, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.