Garlic 'remedy for hypertension'

Garlic may be useful in addition to medication to treat high blood pressure, a study suggests.

Australian doctors enrolled 50 patients in a trial to see if garlic supplements could help those whose blood pressure was high, despite medication.

Those given four capsules of garlic extract a day had lower blood pressure than those on placebo, they report in a scientific journal.

A UK heart charity said more research was needed.

Read the rest of this article on the BBC Health website - here

Exercise reduces colds

Research has found that people who exercise regularly have less colds.

Other factors affected them of course, such as their diet and stress levels, but according to the research, those who were more active had less colds - and when they did have a cold they weren't affected as badly.

According to the researchers, exercise boosts our immune system and therefore gives us better protection from infection. To read more click here.

Perfect gift for Christmas

If you're looking for the perfect present this Christmas, why not buy a gift voucher.

You can either stipulate the treatment you want the gift voucher to be exchangeable for, such as a relaxing massage, or it can be for an amount of money, so they can use the voucher for a treatment of their choice.

Buying is easy, just give us a ring and send or give us a cheque and we'll send you the gift voucher.

It's the perfect hassle-free gift.

"Acupuncture aids fertility"

There is an article on the Daily Mail Health website about a couple who resorted to acupuncture to help them have a baby.

You can read the full article here.

Ten-fold rise in gastric bands and other weight-loss ops

The number of people in England undergoing surgery on the NHS to help them lose weight has increased ten-fold in less than a decade.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports operations such as gastric banding and bypasses rose from 238 a year to more than 2,543 in 2007.

Researchers from Imperial College London said more obese patients were now aware that surgery could help them.

The Department of Health said drugs and surgery should always be a last resort.

Experts at the National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended in 2002 that people classed as "morbidly obese" should be considered for surgery if other weight-loss methods had failed.

You can read the article in full on the BBC Health website: HERE

A less invasive and expensive option is a virtual gastric band - fitted under hypnosis. Please get in touch with Jon Hosgood, our hypnotherapist, for an informal discussion or free initial consultation.

Drugs don't work: Top professor claims five in six new medicines have 'little benefit' to patients

Drug companies have been accused of conning the public by hyping up patented medicines with little new to offer while downplaying their potentially harmful side-effects.

A new study estimates that 85 per cent of new drugs offer few if any new benefits while having the potential to cause serious harm due to toxicity or misuse.

The author of the research delivered a damning attack on 'Big Pharma' at a meeting of sociology experts in the US.

Read more on the Daily Mail website: here

High stress 'delays pregnancy'

A scientific study has shown for the first time that high stress levels may delay pregnancy.

Oxford University experts measured stress hormones in women planning a baby naturally and found the most stressed had a reduced chance of becoming pregnant.

Relaxation might help some couples but more research is needed, they say.

The study, in the journal Fertility and Sterility, followed 274 healthy women aged 18-40 planning a pregnancy.

Age, smoking, obesity and alcohol are known to affect pregnancy success, but the influence of stress is less clear.

Markers for two stress hormones - adrenalin, the body's fight or flight hormone, and cortisol, connected with chronic stress - were measured in saliva.

Women with the highest levels of alpha-amylase (an indicator of adrenalin levels) had about a 12% reduced chance of getting pregnant during their fertile days that month compared with those with the lowest levels of the marker.

No difference in the chance of becoming pregnant was found with cortisol.

Anecdotal reports have long linked stress with infertility, but direct scientific evidence has been hard to find.

Yoga

Dr Cecilia Pyper, of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said their study aimed to improve understanding of the factors that influence pregnancy in normal healthy women.

She said: "'This is the first study to find that a biological measure of stress is associated with a woman's chances of becoming pregnant that month.

"The findings support the idea that couples should aim to stay as relaxed as they can about trying for a baby.

"In some people's cases, it might be relevant to look at relaxation techniques, counselling and even approaches like yoga and meditation."

The research was carried out in collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development in the US.

It is part of a larger study looking at the effect of factors like smoking, alcohol, and caffeine on chances of pregnancy.

Commenting on the study, Joanne Taylor, midwife for baby charity Tommy's said: "Stress does affect people in different ways, and therefore may affect some women's chances of trying to conceive.

"There are a number of ways in which women can prepare themselves for a healthy pregnancy - maintaining a healthy diet, taking folic acid supplements and keeping stress levels to a minimum is a good start."

BBC Health

Doubts raised over child food allergy rise

Doubts are being cast over the sharp rise in food allergies among children, with a health watchdog saying many could have been wrongly diagnosed.

Up to 8% of children under three now have food allergies - a dramatic rise since 1990.

But NICE raised concern about the reliance on self-diagnosis, such as the use of testing kits bought online.

The health watchdog cited research showing that a fifth of self-diagnosed cases were inaccurate.

But it also called on GPs to improve their practices in some draft guidelines.

It comes as allergies are increasingly being seen as a major child health problem in western countries.

Read the article in full on the BBC Health website - here

How to spot the early signs of dementia

The early stages of Alzheimer's and other causes of dementia can be difficult to spot, but there are warning signs. However, they are not necessarily indicative of dementia.

Early signs of Alzheimer's can include:

• Regularly misplacing everyday items, or putting things in odd places – and then forgetting or even denying having done so.
• Problems with everyday tasks; for example, preparing a meal, putting it on the table, but forgetting to eat it and then preparing it all over again.

• General disorientation, such as failing to recognise familiar streets and frequently becoming confused about the time of day.

• Difficulty finding words or using inappropriate words.

• Diminished judgement, for example dressing inappropriately for the weather or being unaware of dangerous situations.

• Mood or behavioural problems which may resemble depression; usually a mixture of agitation, irritability, apathy and lack of care with personal hygiene.

Early signs of vascular dementia are similar, but the decline can happen in distinct steps rather than gradually.

Source: The Alzheimer's Research Trust

Overweight pregnant women are target of new guidelines

Mothers often say they get confusing advice about exercise during and after pregnancy

Obesity levels among pregnant women have reached epidemic levels, putting the health of their babies at risk, experts say.

The health watchdog NICE has issued new guidelines encouraging women in England to attain a healthy weight before they get pregnant.

It also advises them against eating for two once they conceive.

It says almost half of women of childbearing age are overweight or obese, which could harm their child.

Many women feel they are offered confusing and conflicting advice about their health during pregnancy.

The guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are aimed at cutting through that. They discuss weight and exercise before, during and after pregnancy.

Read more on the BBC Health webiste - here

Could calorie counting be a big FAT con?

Once it was seen as the bedrock of a healthy diet but new research suggests we need dramatically different numbers.

According to a new survey, 63 per cent of us have no idea how many calories we should eat in a day - and we're in danger of becoming ' calorie-oblivious'.

The problem with looking solely at the calorie content of food is that it can't distinguish good calories from bad. Eggs and nuts are high in calories but incredibly nutritious, so to cut them out could have detrimental effects on your overall diet.

Likewise, just because something is low in calories doesn't automatically mean it's good for you.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1297617/Is-calorie-counting-big-FAT-Once-seen-bedrock-healthy-diet-new-research-suggests-need-dramatically-different-numbers.html#ixzz0umTD3wNB


Read more: here

Depression may double dementia risk, say researchers

Having depression may nearly double the risk of developing dementia later in life, new research suggests.

Experts know that the two conditions often co-exist, but it is not clear if one actually leads to the other.

Now two studies published in the American journal Neurology suggest depression does mean dementia is more likely, although they do not show why.

And the researchers stress that the findings merely reveal a link, not a direct cause.

They say more studies are needed to find out why the two conditions are linked.

Read this article in full on the BBC Health website - here

Chocolate lovers 'are more depressive', say experts

People who regularly eat chocolate are more depressive, according to a study published in the Research in Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study shows those who eat at least a bar every week are more glum than those who only eat chocolate now and again.

Many believe chocolate has the power to lift mood, and the US team say this may be true, although scientific proof for this is lacking.

But they say they cannot rule out that chocolate may be a cause rather than the cure for being depressed.

Full article: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8644016.stm

Giving up smoking 'reduces stress levels'

Smokers often say they need a cigarette to calm their nerves but a British study has found that chronic stress levels may go down after a person kicks the habit.

A study of 469 smokers who tried to quit after being hospitalised for heart disease found that those who stayed away from cigarettes for a year reported a reduction in their perceived stress levels.

Stress levels were essentially unchanged among heart patients who went back to smoking, according to researchers from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The study, reported in the journal Addiction, supported the theory that, at least for some people, smoking actually contributes to chronic stress.

Read more

Women naturally more susceptible to stress

Women are twice as vulnerable to stress as men because of greater sensitivity to a substance produced at times of anxiety, new research suggests.
Neuroscientists believe that the study could provide a "biological" reason why women are more likely to suffer from depression and stress disorders than their male counterparts.

The team found that the brains of females are more sensitive to a hormone produced at times of anxiety and thought to be involved in stress management.

They found that they are not only more sensitive to low levels of "corticotropin-releasing factor" (CRT) but less able to cope when levels are high.

The research was carried out in rats but CRT is known to play a role in all mammals including humans.

"Although more research is certainly necessary to determine whether this translates to humans, this may help to explain why women are twice as vulnerable as men to stress-related disorders," said the study leader Dr Rita Valentino, a neuroscientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Women have higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety problems than men.

But no one has yet been able to pinpoint the reason for the difference.

The study of rats undergoing a forced swim that causes stress showed female animals had neurons that were more sensitive to CRF.

The scientists also found that stressed male rats adapted by making themselves less responsive to the hormone, but females did not.

Dr Valentino pointed out that other mechanisms also played a role in human stress responses. But it was already known that CRF regulation was disrupted in people with stress-related psychiatric disorders.

Since much of the previous animal research on stress used only male rodents, important sex differences may have gone undetected, she added.

"Pharmacology researchers investigating CRF antagonists (blocking agents) as drug treatments for depression may need to take into account gender differences at the molecular level," said Dr Valentino.

The research is published in the online journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Taken from Telegraph Online - here

Coffee does NOT wake you up. It's all in your mind.

Many say their brain doesn't start working properly in the morning until they have had a cup of coffee.

But the stimulating effect for which caffeine is famous may be an illusion, say researchers.

Those who drink a lot of coffee may feel more alert after their first cup of the day.

But this is probably because it reverses the fatiguing effects of overnight caffeine withdrawal, say the researchers.

Their study suggests coffee drinkers may actually be better off without their habitual morning mug as it raises the risk of anxiety and high blood pressure.

Read more here

Asthma risk 'linked to burgers'

Children who eat a Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of developing asthma, but eating three or more burgers a week is linked to a higher risk, research suggests.

Researchers looked at 50,000 children from 20 countries.

Writing in the journal Thorax, they said eating fruit, vegetables and fish appeared to protect against asthma.

But they said eating burgers could be linked to other unhealthy habits, which may be the real trigger factor.

More here at BBC Health

Acupuncture pain molecule pinpointed

There have been several reports in the medai of new findings on the efficacy of acupuncture in pain research.


The BBC science pages carries this report - here

The Daily Mail also had an article - here

Post-natal depression in fathers 'often undiagnosed'

Many new fathers experience post-natal depression, yet most cases go undetected and untreated, experts warn.

One in 10 new fathers may have the baby blues, US researchers believe - based on their trawl of medical literature.

While this rate is lower than in new mothers, it is more than currently recognised, they told the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lack of sleep and new responsibilities, or supporting a wife with post-natal depression can be triggers, they say.

You can read the article in full here

Chocolate lovers 'are more depressive', say experts

People who regularly eat chocolate are more depressive, experts have found.

Research in Archives of Internal Medicine shows those who eat at least a bar every week are more glum than those who only eat chocolate now and again.

Many believe chocolate has the power to lift mood, and the US team say this may be true, although scientific proof for this is lacking.

But they say they cannot rule out that chocolate may be a cause rather than the cure for being depressed.

Read more here

The great detox myth

There is an interesting article on the facts that dispel some of the myths of Detox diets and regimes in the Daily Mail online today.

You can read it here

Dieting without exercise 'will NOT help you lose weight'

Those who stick to a low-calories diet in the hope of losing weight shouldn't bother unless they exercise as well, according to scientists.

A new study found that simply reducing portion sizes or swapping snacks for healthier alternatives was not enough to promote significant weight loss.

Scientists from Oregon Health and Science University said this appeared to be due to a natural compensatory mechanism that reduces a person's physical activity in response to a reduction in calories.

Read more here

Alcohol 'only protects non-smokers against stroke'

Sensible drinking can substantially reduce your risk of a stroke, but only if you don't enjoy a cigarette at the same time, research suggests.

A study of over 20,000 people in the UK found non-smokers who drank moderate amounts were nearly 40% less likely to have a stroke than non-drinkers.

But once cigarettes were added, this protective effect vanished.

Read the article in full here

Acupuncture 'can treat dental phobia'

People terrified of visiting the dentist can overcome their fear with acupuncture, researchers have claimed.

The findings, in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, may offer some comfort to the one in five people thought to have dental phobia.

See the article on the BBC News website - here

Homeopathy now available

We are pleased to announce that we now have a homeopath working within the practice.

Lorraine Wallace is a registered member of the Society of Homeopaths and will be offering consultations every Thursday afternoon from 8th April.

You can find out more about Lorraine and homeopathy on our website.

We are delighted to have Lorraine join us and to further extend the range of therapies that we offer.

Hypnotherapy can help irritable bowel syndrome

Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist.

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10.

He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy is effective for IBS sufferers, it is not widely used.

This may be because doctors simply do not believe it works.

You can read the article in full on the BBC website here

Want to find out more about acupuncture?

Acupunture helps a wide variety of conditions from back pain and sports injuries to migraine and infertility.

If you'd like to find out more about acupuncture and whether it can help you, Andy White is offering a free 30 minute consultation where you can ask questions and see if it's the right treatment for you.

To make an appointment, call Andy on 07939 597102 or phone us at The Almond Tree Practice.

Back pain 'eased by group therapy sessions'

A form of group "talking therapy" is a cheap, effective way to alleviate low back pain, a UK trial has shown.

The positive effect was still seen a year after the short six-session therapy programme, The Lancet reported.

The 600 patients taking part in the trial were also offered standard GP treatment including pain medication.

You can read the article in full here

Acupuncture could help period pain

Acupuncture may be an effective way of easing severe period pain, a South Korean review of 27 studies suggests.

Researchers said there was "promising evidence" for acupuncture in treating cramps, but that more work was needed.

Read the article in full on the BBC website here.

New therapist joins the practice

We're pleased to announce that Claire Moore will be joining the practice from March 2010.

She is a fully qualified and is currently in her final year studying a Foundation Degree in Complementary Therapies at City of Bristol College.

You can find out more about Claire and Swedish Massage on our website and perhaps you may find that it may be benficial for you.

Soft drink consumption may increase risk of pancreatic cancer

Drinking two or more soft drinks a week can double the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a new study claims.
Researchers found that there was a correlation between drinking sugary drinks and the cancer which affects around 7,000 people in the UK every year.
Read the article in full here.

Three-quarters of Britons 'suffer from depression'

Three out of four people in the UK suffer from depression at some point but only a third seek help, according to a new poll.

Women are more likely to feel depressed than men, with 80% saying they regularly or occasionally feel down or unable to cope.

Money is the biggest cause of depression, with more than half of all people surveyed saying they have felt down about money over the last 12 months.

Men are particularly likely to have linked their depression to the recession, whereas women have been worried about family or relationships.

January is regarded as the most depressing month of the year, caused by post-Christmas credit card bills and cold weather.

Zelda Peters, director for mental health at the charity Turning Point, said even mild depression needs to be identified and treated early.

"We know that, if diagnosed early, mild depression can be successfully treated.

"If not, it can escalate and lead to unemployment or long-term sickness, and even to negative behaviours such as drinking more, missing work or college and lying to family and friends.

"Most people think anti-depressants are the answer and for some people they are.

"But there are a huge range of treatments beyond this on offer, such as psychological therapies which provide effective long-term relief."

Article from Daily Telegraph online - here

Warning for epileptics and the use of ginkgo biloba

People with epilepsy should be warned that using a popular herbal remedy may increase the risk of seizures, researchers say.

German scientists, writing in the Journal of Natural Products, said they had found 10 written reports of seizures linked to ginkgo biloba.

They said they were convinced the herb could have a "detrimental effect".

A leading UK epilepsy charity said the evidence was not yet compelling, although it said care was needed.

You can read the article in full here

Nine in ten food allergy cases 'are all in the mind'

Nine in ten Britons who believe they have a food allergy or intolerance are perfectly healthy, researchers say.

More and more people are denying themselves vital ingredients in their diet as they self-diagnose food allergies and parents are becoming unnecessarily over-protective wiht the food their children can eat. It is alleged that less than 0.1% of those who thought that they had a peanut allergy actually produced and allergic reaction.

You can read the article in full here

Depression

There is an interesting article on depression, its effects and the views of some sufferers on the treatments they have tried on the Telegraph Online today.

You can read it here.

Depression - is this the right approach?

Three quarters of GPs have prescribed anti-depressants even though they think another treatment would have been more effective, a survey has found.

The full article on this can be found on the BBC website - here

The Mental Health Foundation says meditation halves the risk of repeated depression and should be more readily available, but access is very limited.

Depression affects one in 10 people a year, with more than half of those experiencing more than one episode.

If you would like to find out how Cognitive Beahviour Therapy and Hypnotherapy can help against depression then please get in touch.