Tight collars
Loosen up
Sometimes health problems arise from everyday circumstances that you just don’t suspect. A study in the British Medical Journal of Ophthalmology noted that tight neckties increase the risk of glaucoma. Tight neckties constantly pressing on the jugular vein increase intraocular pressure (IOP) which is one of the risk factors of glaucoma as this continual pressure destroys the optic nerve. Other eye specialists point out that a false diagnosis of glaucoma can be made if a tight necktie is worn during an eye examination.
Maybe it’s a more macho look. But good sense dictates that the constant pressure on jugular veins impeding the flow of blood from the brain is not a healthy situation. Nor is it prudent to decrease the flow of oxygenated blood in carotid arteries to the brain. So it’s prudent to be able to insert two fingers between the neck and buttoned collar.
What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease?
The jury is out. So prevention is key. None of my colleagues nor readers have been able to report a single patient on high doses of vitamin C and lysine who developed Alzheimer’s Disease.
Can’t Sleep?
Try Counting Sheep
Are you over-worked and can’t sleep, or traveling across too many time zones? Do you rely on melatonin to ensure better sleep? Or wonder if you should take it when traveling? A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has some points you should know about melatonin.
Melatonin regulates the body’s sleep cycle. It’s synthesized from seratonin and secreted by the pineal gland. Its concentration is greatest at 2 AM. For airline travel, this study shows melatonin provides more benefit if you are flying eastward and crossing more time zones.
But how much does melatonin help sleep? Compared to a placebo, not as much as one would think. The study claims you sleep 12.8 minutes longer. The best dose was found to be 0.3 milligrams. No serious side-effects have been reported up to three months of use.
Melatonin should be used with caution if you suffer from epilepsy or if you’re taking a blood thinner, as drug interactions have occurred.
This study once again shows the power of placebos. Many studies reveal that for most drugs the placebo effect varies from 30 to 50 percent! So counting sheep may be better!
What Pharmaceutical Companies Don’t Tell You
Drugs to treat Alzheimer’s Disease
Health Canada has reported that donepezil (Aricept and Aricept RDT) used to treat Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is linked to serious side-effects such as rhabdomyolysis and neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS).
Rhabdomyolysis may cause broken-down muscle products to travel to the kidneys and block renal function, resulting in either serious kidney disease or death. The symptoms of rhabdomyolysis cause severe muscle pain involving the entire body. It’s associated with muscle weakness and passage of dark coloured urine. If you experience these symptoms you should seek immediate medical attention. Luckily it is a rare problem. But nearly two decades ago, cerivastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, was removed from the market due to 52 deaths caused by rhabdomyolysis.
NMS affects the cardiovascular, nervous and muscular systems. It’s another example of the dangers of synthetic drugs.
These potential complications are worth mentioning because doctors may suggest that you should increase the dose of statin drugs. Studies show that the stronger the dose of cholesterol-lowering-drugs, the greater the risk of this disease.
Pathological studies of the Alzheimers brain show multiple areas of arterial degeneration due to atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries). We also know that vitamin C and lysine (available as Giff’s Own CardioVibe) can prevent and reverse atherosclerosis. Be sure to think about your options.
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