6O Million Americans currently have issues withBlood Sugar Control 1 in 4 American Adults has Metabolic Syndrome*Get in Control with Reliv’s GlucAffect^™A ground breaking formula ~ clinically shown to improve  Blood Sugar Management and Weight Loss

*If you have three or more of the following components, you may have MetabolicSyndrome:  High Blood Pressure, Low Good Cholesterol, High Bad Cholesterol,                                 Elevated Triglycerides, Fasting Glucose Over 100,             Men – Waist over 40 inches ~ Women – waist over 35 inches GlucAffect^™    WORKS In an eight-week clinical study of overweight individuals with moderately elevated blood sugar levels, test subjects taking four daily servings of Reliv’s GlucAffect^™ dietary supplement and participating in a diet and exercise program lowered their fasting blood glucose by an average of 30% and lost an average of fifteen pounds. That’s Reliv’s GlucAffect^™This revolutionary breakthrough formula brings together, for the first time ever, many cutting-edge nutritional ingredients, clinically shown to support blood sugar management, weight loss and promote overall health and wellness.  Reliv ~ the world leader in optimal nutrition Susan Bushell   916-784-6719

GlucaffectWorks@redshift.com

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November is Bladder Health Month and a good time to learn more about how to manage bladder conditions like interstitial cystitis (IC) that affect millions of people in the United States. In support of Bladder Health Month, the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) is offering a new, free, online educational fact sheet.

 
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Study Shows Fibromyalgia Is a “Real Disease,” Related to Brain Dysfunction http://www.efluxmedia.com/news

By Alice Carver 15:00, November 4th 2008

According to a new brain scan study, fibromyalgia may be related to a dysfunction of cerebral pain-processing. Pain researchers in Marseilles, France, used single photon emission computed tomography, also called SPECT, in an attempt to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions of the brains of patients with fibromyalgia. This technology allows precise measurements of blood flows in different regions of the brain and offers an image of electrical activity.   There is no known cause or accepted cure for fibromyalgia, a painful syndrome in which the patients describe chronic and severe pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons. Pain in the neck and shoulders is common but sufferers also report problems with sleep, anxiety and depression. More of 90 percent of fibromalgya sufferers are women. Fibromalgya has been called the “invisible syndrome” because it can’t be diagnosed based on a lab test or X-ray. The researchers looked at 20 women diagnosed with fibromalgya and 10 healthy women. Participants were given brain scans and they answered questions to asses measures of pain, disability, anxiety and depression. In women with fibromalgya, researchers found an increase in blood flow in the parts of the brain responsible for sensing pain and a decrease in an area involved in emotional responses to pain. The results confirmed that patients with fibromalgya have “a real disease/disorder” and suggest this disorder “may be related to a global dysfunction of the cerebral pain-processing.” The research found no relationship between these abnormalities in cerebral blood flow and presence of depression or anxiety.

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Fibromyalgia No Longer an “Invisible” Disease

By: Drucilla Dyess
Published: Wednesday, 5 November 2008

The chronic disorder known as fibromyalgia is characterized by extensive muscle pain lasting for at least three months coupled with heavy fatigue. Other symptoms include problems with cognitive function and memory and concentration, as well as sleep disturbances and stiffness. The condition affects between two and four percent of the world’s population with most of the victims being women.

Until now, fibromyalgia has been labeled the “invisible syndrome” as it could not be diagnosed through lab tests or X-rays. But a group of French researchers have recently detected abnormalities in the brains of those suffering from the condition.
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 Diet

Many interstitial cystitis (IC) patients find that diet modification helps to control symptoms and avoid flare-ups. Others note that what they eat or drink seems to have little effect on how they feel. Anecdotal evidence collected by doctors and the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) reveals that determining which foods and beverages may act as triggers is an individual matter.

Although these are broad guidelines that most IC patients can follow, discovering which particular foods may cause you problems requires perseverance. Many IC patients report that restricting their diet is an effective form of treatment and believe that it is worth the effort.

If you would like to explore the role diet may play in your symptoms, it is best to begin with an elimination diet that includes only those foods and beverages listed in the “okay to try” sections, which most IC patients report they can tolerate. Try eating several small meals instead of one large one. Keeping a diet diary where you record everything you eat and drink is a useful technique for monitoring diet. After a few weeks, start introducing the foods and beverages listed in the “avoid” sections, one at a time. If, after consuming a given food or beverage, you have no flare-up in symptoms, you should be able to continue consuming this item without problems. If any symptoms do occur, eliminate the given food from your diet.

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“Fibromyalgia may be related to a global dysfunction of cerebral pain-
processing,” study author Eric Guedj, MD, of Centre Hospitalo-
Universitaire de la Timone, in Marseille, France, says in a news
release. “This study demonstrates that these patients exhibit
modifications of brain perfusion not found in healthy subjects and
reinforces the idea that fibromyalgia is a ‘real disease/disorder.‘”

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Don’t dread the wintertime blues. Get a jump start in heading off the symptoms associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The condition can begin as early as October or November and persist through March for this common mood disorder. Symptoms include a depressed mood, loss of interest, low energy, social withdrawal, anxiety, feelings of guilt, cravings for starchy or sweet food, increased appetite, weight gain, and insomnia.¹ Patients will say that their worst month is either January or February. Many people who experience the winter blues are not aware that they have SAD. They may simply view this seasonal lull in mood as a normal stage that everyone goes through when the days are shorter and the body gets less sunshine. Because SAD is often overlooked, most patients endure roughly 13 seasonal episodes of this condition before getting treated for it.

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IC Cookbook Available!

Confident Choices: A Cookbook for Interstitial Cystitis and Overactive Bladder

In her new book just released this month, Café ICA feature columnist Julie Beyer, RD, draws from personal experience with IC, professional expertise as a registered dietitian, and activism in the interstitial cystitis community to create her second book for patients with bladder symptoms.

Confident Choices: A Cookbook for Interstitial Cystitis and Overactive Bladder is over 200 pages and contains over 200 recipes, food preparation hints, and personal reflections.

Click Here to Order!

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16 Ways Depression Is Like a Pumpkin

1. It comes in all shapes and sizes (and diagnoses).

2. With enough creativity, you can it put it to good use.

3. You have to carefully monitor kids around it.

4. It arrives in October, and stays through the holidays.

5. It can be heavy and cumbersome.

6. It can be ugly.

7. It never grows alone, and it has long roots.

8. You can carve different faces on it.

9. Birds and humans crap all over it.

10. It likes ghosts and dead people (the past, in general), and phobias of all kind.

11. Like an 11-year-old boy, you really want to smash it.

12. It can make you think of Thanksgiving, and everything you have to be grateful for.

13. You can’t just hide it or forget about it, because after a few months, it will rot, decay, and stink up your entire house.

14. It’s orange, meaning “ALERT: something isn’t right.”

15. A lot of people have one, but most don’t put theirs out on the porch (like I do) for everybody to see (and comment on).

16. After you dig out its guts and give it a light, it can be made into something beautiful (at least temporarily).

We believe this was written by Therese Borchard at the blog Beyond Blue

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“Reset” Your Disrupted Internal Clock Naturally - Using a Dawn-Dusk Simulator

October 7, 2008

Circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour daily cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living beings – from plants and animals to fungi and single-cell cyanobacteria. The term “circadian,” coined by pioneer researcher Franz Halberg, comes from the Latin circa “around,” and diem or dies, “day,” meaning literally “approximately one day.”

The formal study of biological temporal rhythms such as daily, tidal, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms, is called chronobiology. Circadian rhythms can be trained by external cues. The primary one is daylight. These rhythms allow organisms to anticipate and prepare for precise and regular environmental changes.

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