Tag Archives: ill

Beat the monthly blues – new FREE guide

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Efamol with The National Association for Pre-Menstrual Syndrome support the nation’s women with a new FREE handbag companion to managing PMS.

84% of women in the UK experience PMS, with sufferers spending an estimated two years of their lives struggling with the symptoms*. But help is now at hand in the form of a new free handbag companion, offering simple daily living tips and advice to help women manage their PMS.

‘Magic Away Your Monthly Monster’ has been launched by Efamol Pure Evening Primrose Oil in association with the PMS charity, The National Association for Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (NAPS).

Packed full of information, the booklet includes a PMS diary to help women take control of their symptoms, expert advice and useful contacts for extra support. From diet commandments – including how supplementation with Evening Primrose Oil has been shown to benefit women’s hormonal health – to exercise such as yoga and relaxation, it also provides practical tips and tricks to make living with PMS more bearable.

Nick Panay, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Chairman of NAPS, commented: “PMS is a condition which affects vast numbers of women, many of whom battle on month after month without support. While the physical symptoms are unpleasant, PMS can also affect women’s mental health, making it even more important that help and advice is widely available.

“It is essential to have well balanced evidence based information regarding PMS – as such, this publication will be a welcome resource for PMS sufferers”

Claudine Domoney, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Trustee of NAPS, added: “The booklet aims to cover symptoms and management of PMS in a supportive style. The sensible advice and symptom diary will both be valuable for all women suffering with this common but poorly recognised condition.”

For FREEcopies of ‘Magic Away Your Monthly Monster’ or for more information about Efamol contact 01372 379828, email info@efamol.com or visit www.efamol.com
* Onepoll, 2007

About Efamol

Efamol has been the global leader in essential fatty acid supplements for almost 30 years, with a range of products that have been scientifically formulated to target particular health concerns.

About Efamol Pure Evening Primrose Oil

Research has shown that supplementation with Evening Primrose Oil can benefit women’s hormonal health. Women suffering from PMS are lacking in GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) making supplementation particularly beneficial. Efamol Pure Evening Primrose Oil contains up to 33% more GLA than other evening primrose oils.

Available from Boots, Waitrose, independent pharmacies and health food stores, Efamol Pure Evening Primrose Oil comes in both capsule and liquid format. For further information visit Efamol.com or call the telephone helpline 01372 379828.

About NAPS

The National Association for Pre-Menstrual Syndrome is a national charity which supports women suffering from PMS with information, medical contacts, networking events, new product evaluation and online advice. www.pms.org.uk

Germ-proof your body with Ayurveda

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Before Western medicine came along with its pills and injections, the ancient Indian healing science of Ayurveda advised a preventative approach to healthcare. By working out which ‘Ayurvedic body type’ you are and determining your dosha, a diet can be mapped out to suit your nutritional needs to prevent illness.

There are several alternative ways to help combat the symptoms of colds without having to reach for chemically packed pills in silver foil. One of these is Ayurveda, the oldest natural healing system originating from India, which offers preventative and curative measures in line with nature.

Ayush Wellness Spa in Jersey have crafted a cold prevention treatment that adheres strictly to the ancient Indian healing philosophy of Ayurveda mixing authentic therapies with luxurious treatments. While they have a number of treatments designed to offer relief from the discomfort associated with head and sinus problems, Nasya is a traditional treatment where the expertly trained therapists massage pressure points in the face, head and chest with medicated oils for instant relief and use steam to help clear nasal passages and aid in purification. Oils and powders are placed up the nose as a stimulant to release congestion.

Ayush Wellness Spa fosters a natural approach to health care that includes meditation, yoga, exercise, massage and daily and seasonal lifestyle routines. They seek to redress the chemical warfare that people wreak on their own bodies by using products that are 100 per cent natural. The spa boasts an apothecary kitchen where herbs and oils are mixed according to guests’ dosha. Once guests have had their imbalances addressed and dosha type determined with a treatment programme and complementary Ayurvedic meals, we can prescribe natural supplements and elixirs to take with you, so that you can continue on your path towards perfect health in the real world.

Yet for those who are susceptible to the common cold but may not be able to make it to Ayush Wellness Spa to rejuvenate themselves for the year ahead, Ayurvedic help is at hand online or at local herbal or health food outlets.

• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a shrub whose roots are widely used to boost immunity, reduce anxiety and increase longevity. A review of 58 articles, published in Alternative Medicine Review, concluded that ashwaganda has anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, antioxidant and immune-boosting properties. (600 to 1,000 milligrams a day, divided into two or three capsules) or guduchi (see below) throughout the cold and flu season.

• Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) is an herb that enhances immunity by boosting antibody production and the activity of powerful white blood cells called natural killer cells, says Simon. Studies conducted in India have shown that patients receiving guduchi before having abdominal surgery had fewer postoperative infections and significantly improved outcomes. Ayush advises taking 1 teaspoon twice daily or the recommended dose of ashwagandha if you catch colds and flu easily.

• Herbal jam, or Chavan Prash, which comes from the amalaki fruit (Indian gooseberry), is one of the richest natural sources of antioxidants and has immune-enhancing effects. Ayush advises taking it year-round for overall wellness. Spread 1 teaspoon on bread twice daily or take it in capsules.

For enquiries or to make a reservation contact Ayush Wellness Spa, Hotel de France, St Saviour’s Road, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands JE1 7XP on 01534 614171 or visit www.ayushspa.com

Alzheimer’s – join the campaign to fight against mental decline

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London: Research conducted by Help the Aged has revealed that the UK public rank mental decline higher than any other worry about ageing, including big issues like the pensions crisis and the fear of isolation (1).

In response to this concern, the Charity is today launching a new website www.disconnectedmind.org.uk to help mobilise public support for one of the world’s most promising scientific projects to combat the condition.

Help the Aged has committed to fund this historic project, called The Disconnected Mind, through to its conclusion in 2015. Donations are needed now to maximise the possibility of a breakthrough in the fight against early mental decline that usually leads to dementia (2).

The project is unique because the scientists leading the study at the University of Edinburgh will revisit 1,000 volunteers, who are now aged 71, who took part in the Scottish Mental Survey in 1947 – a survey that has not been repeated since. The project will compare the participants’ childhood mental ability, current ability, biological health and 60 years of life experience.

www.disconnectedmind.org.uk uniquely divides the project into tangible pieces so that the public can see how any donation from them, however small, can make a big difference. For example, just £45 would fund the in-depth examination of one participant’s test results, which could hold the secret to the prevention or treatment of mental decline.

Early mental decline often leads to dementia that affects 700,000 people in the UK. Tragically, this is expected to rise to over a million by 2025 unless new ways are found to combat it.

More on the Survey

(1) Survey by GfK NOP for Help the Aged. A sample of 1000 adults aged 16+ in the UK were interviewed during the weekend of 4th – 6th May 2007. This survey was designed to be nationally representative of the telephone owning population of the UK. It revealed that mental decline ranks higher (41% of responses) than any other concern about ageing, including big issues like the pensions crisis/lack of savings and fear of isolation. Initial mental decline often leads to full dementia which the survey revealed is the age-related health condition of greatest concern, with 53% of respondents ranking it above strokes, incontinence and osteoporosis.

(2) Four out of five people who experience mild mental impairment go on to develop dementia within six years.

The team of experts at the University of Edinburgh performing The Disconnected Mind project are Professor Ian Deary, Doctor John Starr, Professor Jim McCulloch, Professor Joanna Wardlaw, Professor Richard Morris and Doctor Karen Horsburgh.
Help the Aged is the charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people in the UK and overseas from poverty, isolation, neglect and ageism. It campaigns to raise public awareness of the issues affecting older people and to bring about policy change. The Charity delivers a range of services: information and advice, home support and community living, including international development work. These are supported by its paid-for services and fundraising activities – which aim to increase funding in the future to respond to the growing unmet needs of disadvantaged older people. Help the Aged also funds vital research into the health issues and experiences of older people to improve the quality of later life.

Wellcome Collection London – 2008 programme

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London: An analysis of 26 skeletons selected from the Museum of London’s collection of 17,000; textile designs based on patterns found in x-ray crystallography, not seen since the 1951 Festival of Britain; a newly commissioned film by Marion Coutts and an exhibition about the thoughts and wishes of the dying – are some of the forthcoming special exhibitions at Wellcome Collection during 2008. [full listings below].

2008 will end with a major exhibition exploring the complex relationship between War & Medicine and the ways in which mankind’s desire to repair and heal has tried to keep pace with its capacity to wound and kill. The exhibition will look back as far as the Crimean War and will be brought up to date by specially commissioned artwork addressing the problems of military medicine in the conflict in Afghanistan. This will be the second part of a two-phase collaboration with the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden, the first of which, Sleeping & Dreaming, opened on 28 November and closes on 9 March 2008.

Wellcome Collection www.wellcomecollection.orgthe new £30m public venue from the Wellcome Trust opened in June 2007. The building’s three galleries combine medicine, life and art to provide insight into the human condition. Exhibitions, both temporary and permanent, are supported through a public events programme that brings together experts from the arts, science and humanities to further explore human wellbeing. Wellcome Collection has been visited by over 100,000 people during its first five months of opening.

WELLCOME COLLECTION SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS 2008:
Full information on each temporary exhibition will be posted at www.wellcomecollection.orgthroughout 2008. Entry to all exhibitions is free.

Sleeping & Dreaming (28 November 2007 – 10 March 2008)

Sleeping & Dreaming, the second major temporary exhibition at Wellcome Collection, explores sleep – the mysterious state we inhabit for a third of our lives. 250 objects across five major themes enable visitors to explore the biomedical and neurological processes that take place in the sleeping body and the social and cultural areas of our lives to which sleep and dreams are linked. The exhibition is the first of a two-part collaboration with the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden. Exhibits range from artworks by Goya, Catherine Yass, Jane Gifford and Laura Ford, to an interview with a victim of sleep-deprivation interrogation; from a vehicle designed to provide homeless people with a mobile place to sleep to an extraordinary range of alarm clocks and a collection of traditional lullabies from around the world. Sleeping & Dreaming public events are detailed below.

Life Before Death (8 April – 18 May 2008)

The German photographer Walther Schels and journalist Beate Lakotta spent a year talking with terminally ill patients in hospices across Germany. They photographed 24 consenting patients shortly before and just after they died. The resultant portraits are shown side-by-side, accompanied by a short text which describes the patient’s experience of the situation in which they find themselves – having to come to terms with the imminent end to their lives.

Atoms to Patterns (24 April – 10 August 2008)

This exhibition brings to light an extraordinary collection of vibrant textile designs from the early 1950s, most of which have been lying unseen in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Science Museum for over 50 years. For the 1951 Festival of Britain a group of designers collaborated with some of the most distinguished scientists of the period to devise a range of fabrics and furnishings based on patterns revealed by x-ray crystallography – a means of visualizing the crystal structure of both organic and inorganic materials.

Marion Coutts (30 May – 29 June 2008)

The artist Marion Coutts will present a new film, commissioned by Wellcome Collection, which will use objects from the collections of Henry Wellcome and
from the Science Museum playfully to explore the workings of memory.

Skeletons (22 July – 28 September 2008)

The Museum of London has approximately 17,000 skeletons in its care, all removed for their preservation, from building sites under different parts of London. This exhibition will present 26 of these skeletons along with all the information about their health and likely social circumstances that can be gleaned from the location in which they were found and from a detailed analysis of their bones. The skeletons featured include some dating back to Roman times and many which reveal a great deal about the health and social conditions of the period in which they lived..

War & Medicine (November 2008 – March 2009)

The third major special exhibition at Wellcome Collection and, following Sleeping & Dreaming, the second of two exhibitions devised in collaboration with the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden. War & Medicine will assess the impact and influence that warfare and medicine have had on one another. It looks at the way mankind’s desire to repair and heal has tried to keep pace with its capacity to maim and kill, meeting sometimes with success and sometimes with failure. As with Sleeping & Dreaming, this exhibition will include the perspectives of artists, writers and filmmakers as well as those of medical scientists and social historians.

WELLCOME COLLECTION PERMANENT GALLERIES

Two of Wellcome Collection’s three galleries are permanent. These are:

Medicine Man (350 m2): This exhibition contains more than 500 strange and beautiful artefacts from Sir Henry Wellcome’s original collection, presented in a rich American walnut-panelled gallery, centred on a large ‘Wunderkammer’ cabinet.

Medicine Now (350 m2): The Medicine Now exhibition explores contemporary medical topics through the eyes of scientists, artists and popular culture in a bright contemporary environment.

SLEEPING & DREAMING PUBLIC EVENTS
All temporary exhibitions are supported by a series of public events that enable people to discover more about the subjects they cover. Below are the remaining public events for Sleeping & Dreaming that bring together experts from science, the arts and humanities to explore this twilight world. Events are free unless otherwise stated. All tickets must be booked in advance from < a href="http://www.wellcomecollection.org">www.wellcomecollection.org

Late-night Film Festival
Friday 25 January 2008, 19.00–23.00
Explore Wellcome Collection by night and see rare footage from the Wellcome Library collection screened alongside classic feature films and quirky shorts exploring sleeping and dreaming. Galleries, café and bookshop will be open throughout. A full screening programme will be available in December at www.wellcomecollection.org

Catherine Yass: Artist in Conversation and premiere of new film work
Thursday 7 February 2008, 19.00–20.30

The first opportunity of seeing a new work by leading British artist Catherine Yass that documents her waking moments and dream recall. Catherine will be joined in conversation by Lux Gallery Curator, Lucy Reynolds, and will discuss her interests in sleeping and dreaming.

Speaker: Catherine Yass, artist featured in exhibition

Facilitator: Lucy Reynolds, Curator, Lux

Sleep Talk

A unique symposium exploring insomnia and sleeplessness
Friday 22 February 2008, 19.00–21.00
Saturday 23 February 2008, 10.30–17.00
Tickets: £30 / £20 concessions

This symposium will explore insomnia and sleeplessness through science, psychology, history, sociology and art. The event will begin with a special performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations by innovative classical music group, Manning Cammerata. When Johann Sebastian Bach first composed this music, it was used as a curative for Count von Kaiserling’s insomnia.

Speakers Include
Ann Coxon, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern,
Kenton Kroker, Science and Technology Studies, York University, Toronto
Eluned Sumners Bremner, Department of Women’s Studies, University of Auckland
Kevin Morgan, Director of Clinical Sleep Research Unit, Loughborough University
Chris Idzikowski, Director, Edinburgh Sleep Centre
Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, University of Oxford

An End To Feeling Shattered? If you could live without sleep, would you?
Friday 28 February 2008, 19.00–20.30
Drugs that enable you to stay awake 24 hours a day have been produced but would you want them? Should they be made available? What would be the impact on your body, your relationships and your life? Join a panel of outspoken speakers to debate whether drugs are the answer to 21st-centruy life.

Speakers
Simon Williams, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Warwick
Danielle Turner, Neuroscience coordinator, University of Cambridge
John Harris, Professor of Bioethics, University of Manchester

Facilitator
Toby Murcott, Science writer and presenter

What is the Wellcome Collection?

Wellcome Collection is a new £30 million visitor attraction from the Wellcome Trust that opened on 21 June 2007. Wellcome Collection is a world first. It combines three contemporary galleries together with the world-famous Wellcome Library, public events forum, café, bookshop, conference centre and members’ club, to provide visitors with radical insight into the human condition.

Wellcome Collection builds on the vision, legacy and personal collection of Wellcome Trust founder Sir Henry Wellcome and is part of the Wellcome Trust’s mission to foster understanding and promote research to improve human and animal health. The building is centred around three substantial galleries totalling 1350m2 and the world famous Wellcome Library.

About the Wellcome Trust: www.wellcometrust.ac.uk

The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK and the second largest medical research charity in the world. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending around £500 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing. Wellcome Trust funding has supported a number of major successes, including:

*sequencing the human genome
*establishing the UK Biobank
*development of the antimalarial drug artemisinin
*pioneering cognitive behavioural therapies for psychological disorders
*building the Wellcome Wing at the Science Museum
* the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, the largest ever genetic study of common diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and bipolar disorder

The Wellcome Trust is a charity registered in England, no. 210183

Cosmetic surgery patients more likely to be suffering from mental illness

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London: People who seek cosmetic surgery for their face or body are more likely to be suffering from psychiatric problems than those don’t according to new research.

And women who have breast implants appear to have a higher than usual risk of suicide, says a report in the current issue of the New Scientist.

Evidence from the United States and Canada suggests that up to three times as many women who have had the cosemetic procedure kill themselves than those who have not.

The link has emerged from studies that were intended to assess whether breast implants had any effect on cancers and autoimmune diseases. No association was found but the studies, of 37,000 women, did find that an abnormal proportion of those who had enhanced their breasts by surgery subsequently killed themselves.

Joseph McLaughlin, of the International Epidemiology Centre in Rockville, Maryland, said: “The only consistent finding from all the studies has been the unexpected one of suicide.”

Many scientists think it likely that women who have breast surgery may have psychiatric problems that predispose them to suicide. In another study, led by David Sarwer, of the Centre of Human Appearance and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, 18 per cent of patients having cosmetic surgery were found to be taking drugs to treat psychiatric conditions, compared with 5 per cent of those having other operations.

It is also possible that women whose surgery had a poor outcome commit suicide; more recent patients, who have newer implants, may not have the same reaction.

Hormone link to child obesity

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San Francisco: Children in developed countries are becoming fatter because their diets play havoc with their hormones, according to a new study by scientists.

Robert Lustig, a paediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of the University of California in San Francisco, said: “Our current western food environment has become highly insulinogenic, as demonstrated by its increased energy density, high-fat content, high glycaemic index, increased fructose composition, decreased fibre, and decreased dairy content.”

Overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults, putting people at greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

In the latest issue of Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology and Metabolism, Dr Lustig says the obesity epidemic rests on effects of processed food, which has sugar added to a wide variety of products that used never to include it and has fibre removed. This upsets the balance of two hormones which regulate how much we eat – leptin and insulin.