Recently an Australian town made headlines by being the first to ban the sale of bottled water (see link). This was done on the basis that water comes in plastic containers that “pollute” the environment.
Now the health of the planet is important. So is the health of the people who live on it. As I write in the upcoming book Dr Joe’s DIY Health - Putting you in charge of your health “The second pillar of health is water. The body is comprised of 70% water and to work at its optimum, water in the body needs to be turned over regularly.
There are different recommendations for how much water people should drink each day. The standard recommendation is 2 litres per day. Another recommendation is to drink between 30-35ml per kg of bodyweight per day. So, a person who weighs 70kg will need 2.1 to 2.5 litres. This is the amount of water that is required to turn over just for day to day normal activity”.
Some of the roles of water and hydration in the body are, transportation of nutrients, elimination of wastes, lubricating the joints and tissues, facilitating digestion, aiding concentration, keeping the skin looking younger and more vitality.
If you are doing any physical activity, then you need more water. People who work outdoors on hot days may require four, five or six litres of water per day. Researchers have questioned the need for this amount of water each day, but there is not really any need for researchers to tell us the body needs water. To illustrate why the water in the body needs to turn over and move, think about a stagnant pool and a flowing river. A stagnant pond doesn’t sustain life because it has no energy about it. A flowing river sustains life and has a tremendous energy about it. The molecules of water are the same, but the difference is the molecules are moving in the case of the river and not in the stagnant pond. Water needs to move through and not stagnate in the body.
Now an argument put up for the bottled water ban is that you can get water from the tap. That is true and whilst tap water is OK (as I wrote on March 16), have you ever seen what a water filter looks like after a few months use? We put one in at home and I was stunned when it was changed to see the amount of sludge and crud on the filter. Ordinarily my family would have consumed this. The filter picked it up and we didn’t. Bottled water is filtered and is better for us, even though tap water is OK and certainly is better than other beverages for hydrating the body.
Furthermore can you go into a lunch bar or deli and buy a glass of water (and take it with you)?
So the people in Bundanoon can drink fizzy or coloured drinks with lots of additives but not water even though the containers are the same and the effect on the environment is the same.
Some say they don’t like the taste of water. Overcome this by squeezing lemon or orange juice into the water. If you’re not used to drinking much water, every time you have one glass, have a second. Or, to start more gradually, have an extra half glass when you have one full glass of water and build it up from there. The aim is to get this to a stage where you actually miss your water if you don’t have it.
People who spend much of their lives in a slightly dehydrated form don’t have a comparison.
Common symptoms of this are tiredness headaches and problems concentrating. Once the body is hydrated, you will notice when your body is getting slightly dehydrated. This will send you running to replenish. When you are at this stage you have reached sustainability.
The body is 70% water and like a river the water needs to flow. It is easy once you get into the “flow” of it. Water-the second pillar of DIY Health
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25754710-421,00.html
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Pillar 6 of DIY Health-Relaxation
The sixth pillar of DIY Health is relaxation As I write in the upcoming book Dr Joes DIY Health-Putting you in charge of your health:
“Unwinding and letting go of tension and stress is essential for leading a healthy and happy life. Some people find it easy to relax, while others find it difficult and often get to the end of their holidays before they start to feel relaxed and carefree.
Research from Stanford University suggests that the ability to manage stress may be the most important factor in longevity. The body reacts physically to stress (either physically or emotionally) and releases hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol which increases heart rate and blood pressure. This is useful if you’re trying to escape a tiger, but certainly not helpful when you’re trying to go to sleep.”
Relaxation is about the things you do for the enjoyment they bring, not for any other purpose. It is about playing ball for fun not to win. It is walking in the park, listening to music, being with your loved ones or whatever you enjoy doing and has no time frame to it.
Recently it has been time to practice what I preach. With self-publishing a book and also getting a web site developed my stress levels also started to climb over the preceding weeks. It was therefore timely to have a 6-day break. With my family we went to the south coastal town of Albany.
Now Albany in the middle of July is cold and a bit wet. The beauty of this is that you can slow down. Country towns in general have a slow down feel about them and when the weather is cold this is amplified a bit.
So what does one do on such a holiday? Not very much. The best part is actually not having any commitments and not having to be at any particular place at any particular time. Now most days we did get out and about for a while. The countryside is pretty. Albany has a great farmers market on a Saturday morning .The organic eggs were brilliant and there was natural honey as well as fresh blueberry produce and organic olive oil.
On the Sunday we travelled out to Denmark (a small town 50km to the west of Albany). Just out of there was a toffee factory, which also produces a range of, jams and sauces. The toffee has no artificial ingredients. Nearby is a small nature park where one can feed and pet a number of animals including kangaroos and Alpaca goats. This type of activity is very grounding and really allows you to slow down.
Back at the lovely 2-bedroom holiday apartment the whole family was able to catch up on some reading and watch a DVD or two as well as have quiet walks along the windswept beach. Quiet family time together without external commitments is also valuable. The proverbial icing on the cake was the capacity to sleep in and catch up a bit of a backlog of sleep.
Being able to do things at a slow pace and have no commitments allows us to literally slow down .The world today is rapid paced and it is no use hoping that it will slow down for you. Indeed it can be very productive and efficient to move at speed. However at some point there needs to be a balance. A break such as the one I have just had allows a recharging of the batteries. Virtually everything we did was done for its own enjoyment, and not to any pre conceived plan or time line.
This is true relaxation –an easy to overlook but nonetheless vital pillar of DIY Health
“Unwinding and letting go of tension and stress is essential for leading a healthy and happy life. Some people find it easy to relax, while others find it difficult and often get to the end of their holidays before they start to feel relaxed and carefree.
Research from Stanford University suggests that the ability to manage stress may be the most important factor in longevity. The body reacts physically to stress (either physically or emotionally) and releases hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol which increases heart rate and blood pressure. This is useful if you’re trying to escape a tiger, but certainly not helpful when you’re trying to go to sleep.”
Relaxation is about the things you do for the enjoyment they bring, not for any other purpose. It is about playing ball for fun not to win. It is walking in the park, listening to music, being with your loved ones or whatever you enjoy doing and has no time frame to it.
Recently it has been time to practice what I preach. With self-publishing a book and also getting a web site developed my stress levels also started to climb over the preceding weeks. It was therefore timely to have a 6-day break. With my family we went to the south coastal town of Albany.
Now Albany in the middle of July is cold and a bit wet. The beauty of this is that you can slow down. Country towns in general have a slow down feel about them and when the weather is cold this is amplified a bit.
So what does one do on such a holiday? Not very much. The best part is actually not having any commitments and not having to be at any particular place at any particular time. Now most days we did get out and about for a while. The countryside is pretty. Albany has a great farmers market on a Saturday morning .The organic eggs were brilliant and there was natural honey as well as fresh blueberry produce and organic olive oil.
On the Sunday we travelled out to Denmark (a small town 50km to the west of Albany). Just out of there was a toffee factory, which also produces a range of, jams and sauces. The toffee has no artificial ingredients. Nearby is a small nature park where one can feed and pet a number of animals including kangaroos and Alpaca goats. This type of activity is very grounding and really allows you to slow down.
Back at the lovely 2-bedroom holiday apartment the whole family was able to catch up on some reading and watch a DVD or two as well as have quiet walks along the windswept beach. Quiet family time together without external commitments is also valuable. The proverbial icing on the cake was the capacity to sleep in and catch up a bit of a backlog of sleep.
Being able to do things at a slow pace and have no commitments allows us to literally slow down .The world today is rapid paced and it is no use hoping that it will slow down for you. Indeed it can be very productive and efficient to move at speed. However at some point there needs to be a balance. A break such as the one I have just had allows a recharging of the batteries. Virtually everything we did was done for its own enjoyment, and not to any pre conceived plan or time line.
This is true relaxation –an easy to overlook but nonetheless vital pillar of DIY Health
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Fun and Purpose-Do what you love
The life expectancy of humans has been increasing at a steady rate for a bit over a century. The increase is about ¼ of a year life expectancy per year. The graph is not showing signs of plateauing. Claims that the next generation my be the first to see a decrease in life expectancy, is scare mongering on the part of public health officials.
The fastest growing sections of the population in the developed world are the over 90s and centenarians (albeit percentage increases are greater coming off a low base).
There are two vital things that people need to do as they get older. One is to maintain their health and the other is to have enough money to live on. There is currently little debate on either of these two issues at government levels.
The article from the Economist (see link) discussed retirement age and how pensions are going to be funded. In 1950 the OEDC average of people working to those over 65 was 7 to 1. Now it is 4 and the projection for 2050 is 2 to 1. Also in years gone by life expectancy was lower so the number of years on a pension was less. Today a person retiring at 65 may have easily another 15-20 years to live.
So what has all this got to do with health you may be wondering? Pillar 8 of DIY health is fun and purpose. As my friend George Helou says, “If you are looking forward to retirement you are in the wrong job”. When you look at those who have been highly successful in their business, often they are the same people who continue to work long past “retirement” age. Rupert Murdoch is one who comes to mind. Donald Trump is not yet 65 but there is no way he will retire at that age.
Successful business people could most easily afford to retire but don’t. It is not because they need the money. It is because they enjoy what they are doing. In my upcoming book Dr Joes DIY Health-Putting you in charge of your health I write about the importance of Authentic Happiness. This is defined (by Prof Martin Seligman) as fun, challenge and purpose.
What we do needs to be fun but eventually lying on the beach will get boring. We need a challenge because that stimulates us and we need to feel that what we do matters, that there is purpose in what we are doing.
People doing jobs, which provide none of these factors, will be hanging out for the next holiday and certainly looking forward to retiring. Those whose work (and it can be voluntary work or other pursuits such as writing) still enjoy a break but don’t want to stop, because they love what they do.
As I wrote in the book, “We all like to feel that we matter and what we do has some relevance. This may be at the family level, at work or at a broader community level. One level is not particularly higher or lower than the other. Purpose relates to your desire to contribute and be part of something that is bigger than yourself.
This connects us to our fellow human beings, be they in our family, business or community. Purpose is related to challenge in that having purpose is setting about obtaining a goal. This could be building a house, raising a family, starting a new business or doing voluntary work. Each person has unique skills and talents and deep down, we all feel that those skills and talents are meant for a purpose.”
When we are doing what we enjoy then retirement is not on the radar. We are having too much fun and don’t want to stop. In turn when what we do is of value then there will be an energy (money) flow and reliance on a pension becomes a non issue .
Do what you love and love what you do-fun and purpose is a pillar of DIY Health.
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13933716&fsrc=nwl
The fastest growing sections of the population in the developed world are the over 90s and centenarians (albeit percentage increases are greater coming off a low base).
There are two vital things that people need to do as they get older. One is to maintain their health and the other is to have enough money to live on. There is currently little debate on either of these two issues at government levels.
The article from the Economist (see link) discussed retirement age and how pensions are going to be funded. In 1950 the OEDC average of people working to those over 65 was 7 to 1. Now it is 4 and the projection for 2050 is 2 to 1. Also in years gone by life expectancy was lower so the number of years on a pension was less. Today a person retiring at 65 may have easily another 15-20 years to live.
So what has all this got to do with health you may be wondering? Pillar 8 of DIY health is fun and purpose. As my friend George Helou says, “If you are looking forward to retirement you are in the wrong job”. When you look at those who have been highly successful in their business, often they are the same people who continue to work long past “retirement” age. Rupert Murdoch is one who comes to mind. Donald Trump is not yet 65 but there is no way he will retire at that age.
Successful business people could most easily afford to retire but don’t. It is not because they need the money. It is because they enjoy what they are doing. In my upcoming book Dr Joes DIY Health-Putting you in charge of your health I write about the importance of Authentic Happiness. This is defined (by Prof Martin Seligman) as fun, challenge and purpose.
What we do needs to be fun but eventually lying on the beach will get boring. We need a challenge because that stimulates us and we need to feel that what we do matters, that there is purpose in what we are doing.
People doing jobs, which provide none of these factors, will be hanging out for the next holiday and certainly looking forward to retiring. Those whose work (and it can be voluntary work or other pursuits such as writing) still enjoy a break but don’t want to stop, because they love what they do.
As I wrote in the book, “We all like to feel that we matter and what we do has some relevance. This may be at the family level, at work or at a broader community level. One level is not particularly higher or lower than the other. Purpose relates to your desire to contribute and be part of something that is bigger than yourself.
This connects us to our fellow human beings, be they in our family, business or community. Purpose is related to challenge in that having purpose is setting about obtaining a goal. This could be building a house, raising a family, starting a new business or doing voluntary work. Each person has unique skills and talents and deep down, we all feel that those skills and talents are meant for a purpose.”
When we are doing what we enjoy then retirement is not on the radar. We are having too much fun and don’t want to stop. In turn when what we do is of value then there will be an energy (money) flow and reliance on a pension becomes a non issue .
Do what you love and love what you do-fun and purpose is a pillar of DIY Health.
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13933716&fsrc=nwl
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Fourth of July
Two years ago I had the pleasure of being in Hawaii on the Fourth of July. This was a family holiday and we were staying in Maui. This gave me the opportunity to see first hand some July 4 celebrations and also talk to people about the significance of July 4 to Americans.
Australia and The USA share some common background. The British colonized both and both are countries made up predominantly of migrants. Both have welcomed the diversity migrants bring to the countries. Australians and Americans have shared ideals and have served side by side to protect freedom in this world.
However, Australia never had to fight for its independence nor forge a constitution in the way the USA has done. Australia has never endured civil war.
There is something profound in having established a country through a war of independence. Whilst this was over 200 years ago (and 12 years before Australian settlement) the spirit, which has made America great, lives on today.
Being in the USA on July 4 made me understand better why Americans are as proud of their country as they are. Every country makes mistakes but the ability of the USA to learn from these and forge new ideas is unmatched.
I would like to wish all my American friends a happy Fourth of July.
Australia and The USA share some common background. The British colonized both and both are countries made up predominantly of migrants. Both have welcomed the diversity migrants bring to the countries. Australians and Americans have shared ideals and have served side by side to protect freedom in this world.
However, Australia never had to fight for its independence nor forge a constitution in the way the USA has done. Australia has never endured civil war.
There is something profound in having established a country through a war of independence. Whilst this was over 200 years ago (and 12 years before Australian settlement) the spirit, which has made America great, lives on today.
Being in the USA on July 4 made me understand better why Americans are as proud of their country as they are. Every country makes mistakes but the ability of the USA to learn from these and forge new ideas is unmatched.
I would like to wish all my American friends a happy Fourth of July.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The best way not be sick is to be healthy
Over the last 30 years we have seen the rise of preventative health. Three recent articles shine a spotlight on this and raise good questions. A US study (link 1) questions the cost effectiveness of certain health programs. In Germany (link 2) it is suggested that many “preventative” health programs may do more for doctor’s wallets than patients. Along the same theme questions are raised over the value of routine bone density screening (link 3)
Earlier this year in a UK study that simple lifestyle changes would reduce rates of bowel cancer far more than screening programs (testing blood in the stool). An Australian bowel cancer screening program is currently in disarray due to problems with lab results. Mass skin cancer screening in Australia has seen the ratio of spots removed per cancerous spot go from 1 in 4(1980) to 1 in 30 today.
The issue with most public health and preventative health campaigns is that are focused on trying to detect or prevent specific diseases. There is rarely an emphasis on keeping people healthy overall.
Now, lets be clear, it is better to find disease early than late. However this is not the same as not getting disease and certainly not the same as focusing on being healthy
There are unintended consequences of this “disease specific” approach For example; skin cancer campaigns that urge people to stay out of the sun may be partly responsible for a staggering increase in vitamin D deficiencies. This may be causing more cancers (bowel and breast for example) than it is preventing. Vitamin D deficiency is also possibly linked to diabetes
Since the late 1970’s, there has been a big push to reduce fat intake. This has come about because of concern that cholesterol in the blood stream leads to heart disease. Interestingly, the original study (Frammingham), which sparked this whole reduced fat movement, never actually concluded that circulating cholesterol levels were the problem. It was always to do with the build up of cholesterol plaque in certain artery walls and even more to the point, the rupture of this plaque. The reasons why this occurs in certain individuals and not others, has always remained a mystery.
Indeed, there are populations around the world who have very high levels of cholesterol and very low levels of heart disease and vice versa and up to 40% of people with heart disease have none of the “common risk factors”.
Nevertheless, the “fat is bad” mantra gained traction.
The proverbial baby has been thrown out with the bathwater, as many people may not get enough good fats. Omega 3 and omega 6 are called essential fatty acids because the body can’t make them and needs them. Also in a push to lower fat intake, consumers sought out low fat foods. What people didn’t think about was these foods were very high in carbohydrates (sugars) in general and refined carbohydrates in particular. Not only those, but also these foods do not provide much nourishment and often leave you with the munchies two hours later.
If the body gets excess calories it will store them. It can’t store them as sugars, it stores them as fat, so regardless of how many low fat foods a person eats, the excess calories are converted to fat. The gradual result of this over 25 years has been an increase in the rates of obesity. People have been eating less fat but guess what happened? They have been getting fatter.
The next knock-on effect has been an increase in the rate of diabetes. Obesity has skyrocketed since the mid 1980’s - all this under the watchful eye of the public health and preventative disease authorities. By focusing on trying to prevent one illness, a whole range of other effects were overlooked. The messages are not bad or negatively intended in any way, but too narrow in trying to stop one particular disease.
The solution of course is to focus on being healthy rather than trying to prevent specific diseases, especially when trying to prevent one disease can lead to getting another. This is the essence of DIY Health and is covered in my book, Dr Joes DIY Health due out in August . Some practical ways to stay healthy are also covered in previous blogs
The best way not to get sick is to be healthy.
1 http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/06/12/does-preventing-disease-really-save-money
2 http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/06/12/disease-prevention-in-germany-is-mostly-good-for-doctors
3 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/338/jun23_2/b2266
Earlier this year in a UK study that simple lifestyle changes would reduce rates of bowel cancer far more than screening programs (testing blood in the stool). An Australian bowel cancer screening program is currently in disarray due to problems with lab results. Mass skin cancer screening in Australia has seen the ratio of spots removed per cancerous spot go from 1 in 4(1980) to 1 in 30 today.
The issue with most public health and preventative health campaigns is that are focused on trying to detect or prevent specific diseases. There is rarely an emphasis on keeping people healthy overall.
Now, lets be clear, it is better to find disease early than late. However this is not the same as not getting disease and certainly not the same as focusing on being healthy
There are unintended consequences of this “disease specific” approach For example; skin cancer campaigns that urge people to stay out of the sun may be partly responsible for a staggering increase in vitamin D deficiencies. This may be causing more cancers (bowel and breast for example) than it is preventing. Vitamin D deficiency is also possibly linked to diabetes
Since the late 1970’s, there has been a big push to reduce fat intake. This has come about because of concern that cholesterol in the blood stream leads to heart disease. Interestingly, the original study (Frammingham), which sparked this whole reduced fat movement, never actually concluded that circulating cholesterol levels were the problem. It was always to do with the build up of cholesterol plaque in certain artery walls and even more to the point, the rupture of this plaque. The reasons why this occurs in certain individuals and not others, has always remained a mystery.
Indeed, there are populations around the world who have very high levels of cholesterol and very low levels of heart disease and vice versa and up to 40% of people with heart disease have none of the “common risk factors”.
Nevertheless, the “fat is bad” mantra gained traction.
The proverbial baby has been thrown out with the bathwater, as many people may not get enough good fats. Omega 3 and omega 6 are called essential fatty acids because the body can’t make them and needs them. Also in a push to lower fat intake, consumers sought out low fat foods. What people didn’t think about was these foods were very high in carbohydrates (sugars) in general and refined carbohydrates in particular. Not only those, but also these foods do not provide much nourishment and often leave you with the munchies two hours later.
If the body gets excess calories it will store them. It can’t store them as sugars, it stores them as fat, so regardless of how many low fat foods a person eats, the excess calories are converted to fat. The gradual result of this over 25 years has been an increase in the rates of obesity. People have been eating less fat but guess what happened? They have been getting fatter.
The next knock-on effect has been an increase in the rate of diabetes. Obesity has skyrocketed since the mid 1980’s - all this under the watchful eye of the public health and preventative disease authorities. By focusing on trying to prevent one illness, a whole range of other effects were overlooked. The messages are not bad or negatively intended in any way, but too narrow in trying to stop one particular disease.
The solution of course is to focus on being healthy rather than trying to prevent specific diseases, especially when trying to prevent one disease can lead to getting another. This is the essence of DIY Health and is covered in my book, Dr Joes DIY Health due out in August . Some practical ways to stay healthy are also covered in previous blogs
The best way not to get sick is to be healthy.
1 http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/06/12/does-preventing-disease-really-save-money
2 http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/06/12/disease-prevention-in-germany-is-mostly-good-for-doctors
3 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/338/jun23_2/b2266
Thursday, June 18, 2009
ADHD- A different perspective
News recently (see link 1) that the FDA has advised parents not to stop giving their children ADHD drugs yet despite a government backed study showing a six fold increase in deaths in children on medication compared to those not on medication. In the same week a cold remedy was pulled off shelves (link 2) due to it affecting the sense of smell.
Let me be up front on this. I do not believe that attention issues in children (or adults) are caused by a lack of amphetamine like stimulant medication in the blood stream. Lets examine the facts .
There are children who display behaviors, which are consistent with some of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. This presents a genuine management issue for the child, their parents and often the school as well. There has been a significant increase in the number of children (and more recently adults) who are being diagnosed ADHD or similar over the last 20 years.
So what has led to this increase in diagnosis and, what can be done to manage the problem? The diagnosis of ADHD is based on fulfilling certain criteria and is completely subjective. There is no scan or blood test to detect the condition. Certain behaviours may be acceptable in certain circumstances but not others. For example, grabbing a person and throwing them to the ground is acceptable on some sports fields but not in the street. The behaviour is the same but the context is different. Answering questions early is rewarded on TV quiz shows with buzzers but is one of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD in a classroom setting.
The issue then is how we look at behaviours may have changed more over the last 20 years than the behaviours themselves. Furthermore, children are not actually designed to sit still for long periods of time. Boys in particular need to be running around to use up pent up energy. The number of avenues for them to do this has decreased. Fewer children walk or ride to school and they are less likely to run around in a park after school. They still have the same amount of energy to burn up as their predecessors. Bottle up this energy and it may well come out where you don’t want it.
Another significant change has been the teaching methods for literacy. The whole of language approach, which has become almost a religion in certain education circles does not serve the interest of all children and particularly not a large number of boys who will learn literacy in a phonetic manner. Guess what happens to a child sitting in a classroom if they are not able to keep up or understand the lesson. They will get bored and they will misbehave.
By creating circumstances that don’t necessarily suit children and restricting their outlets for letting off steam behavioural issues can be created. However, these are behavioural issues and do not necessarily constitute a medical illness which requires a drug treatment.
Another big issue with children these days is their nutritional status. There is a growing view that children are often overfed but malnourished. This paradox comes about because whilst they are consuming increasing amounts of food, they are not getting the nutrients that they need and in particular, not the essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, their bodies may be exposed to a variety of preservatives and toxins, which their young bodies are even less designed to cope with than adult bodies.
We need to look at the child in their total environment, look at what their genuine needs are and consider what expectations are placed on them. Not all children will be brilliant scholars and it is ridiculous to expect them to be so. This is not to say that doing your best in school is not important, but many extremely successful people did not score brilliantly in school exams. One of the justifications for use of medication is that it improves academic performance. This argument would not be acceptable in a sporting environment.
Ensuring that simple things like vision and hearing have been checked is important. Ensuring that children do have the opportunity to be active and are encouraged to be so is critical. Allowing children to have a variety of interests and be on the move is also important. Simple dietary changes like cutting down on processed and packaged foods, minimizing food colorings and additives and ensuring adequate intake of key minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids is critical. The study in link 3 shows that children eating a Mediterranean type diet (lots of fruit and veg) had less behavioral issues than those eating a “typical” western diet of processed grains. This may mean saying no to demands for soft drinks and other packaged foods. Parents need to be aware that saying no is quite ok.
It is likely that in 20 years time, people will look back in horror at the medicalisation of behavior that we have seen over the last two decades and in particular, the over medicalising of childrens behavior where we have repackaged behavioral phenomenon and labeled it a disease and provided a drug treatment. By that time we will hopefully be catering to the genuine needs of our children rather than seeking to force them to fit a narrow definition of “normality” and labeling them as diseased when they don’t.
1 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31371497/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/?ocid=twitter
2 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31388177/ns/health-cold_and_flu/?ocid=twitter
3 http://tinyurl.com/rx2twa
Let me be up front on this. I do not believe that attention issues in children (or adults) are caused by a lack of amphetamine like stimulant medication in the blood stream. Lets examine the facts .
There are children who display behaviors, which are consistent with some of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. This presents a genuine management issue for the child, their parents and often the school as well. There has been a significant increase in the number of children (and more recently adults) who are being diagnosed ADHD or similar over the last 20 years.
So what has led to this increase in diagnosis and, what can be done to manage the problem? The diagnosis of ADHD is based on fulfilling certain criteria and is completely subjective. There is no scan or blood test to detect the condition. Certain behaviours may be acceptable in certain circumstances but not others. For example, grabbing a person and throwing them to the ground is acceptable on some sports fields but not in the street. The behaviour is the same but the context is different. Answering questions early is rewarded on TV quiz shows with buzzers but is one of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD in a classroom setting.
The issue then is how we look at behaviours may have changed more over the last 20 years than the behaviours themselves. Furthermore, children are not actually designed to sit still for long periods of time. Boys in particular need to be running around to use up pent up energy. The number of avenues for them to do this has decreased. Fewer children walk or ride to school and they are less likely to run around in a park after school. They still have the same amount of energy to burn up as their predecessors. Bottle up this energy and it may well come out where you don’t want it.
Another significant change has been the teaching methods for literacy. The whole of language approach, which has become almost a religion in certain education circles does not serve the interest of all children and particularly not a large number of boys who will learn literacy in a phonetic manner. Guess what happens to a child sitting in a classroom if they are not able to keep up or understand the lesson. They will get bored and they will misbehave.
By creating circumstances that don’t necessarily suit children and restricting their outlets for letting off steam behavioural issues can be created. However, these are behavioural issues and do not necessarily constitute a medical illness which requires a drug treatment.
Another big issue with children these days is their nutritional status. There is a growing view that children are often overfed but malnourished. This paradox comes about because whilst they are consuming increasing amounts of food, they are not getting the nutrients that they need and in particular, not the essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, their bodies may be exposed to a variety of preservatives and toxins, which their young bodies are even less designed to cope with than adult bodies.
We need to look at the child in their total environment, look at what their genuine needs are and consider what expectations are placed on them. Not all children will be brilliant scholars and it is ridiculous to expect them to be so. This is not to say that doing your best in school is not important, but many extremely successful people did not score brilliantly in school exams. One of the justifications for use of medication is that it improves academic performance. This argument would not be acceptable in a sporting environment.
Ensuring that simple things like vision and hearing have been checked is important. Ensuring that children do have the opportunity to be active and are encouraged to be so is critical. Allowing children to have a variety of interests and be on the move is also important. Simple dietary changes like cutting down on processed and packaged foods, minimizing food colorings and additives and ensuring adequate intake of key minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids is critical. The study in link 3 shows that children eating a Mediterranean type diet (lots of fruit and veg) had less behavioral issues than those eating a “typical” western diet of processed grains. This may mean saying no to demands for soft drinks and other packaged foods. Parents need to be aware that saying no is quite ok.
It is likely that in 20 years time, people will look back in horror at the medicalisation of behavior that we have seen over the last two decades and in particular, the over medicalising of childrens behavior where we have repackaged behavioral phenomenon and labeled it a disease and provided a drug treatment. By that time we will hopefully be catering to the genuine needs of our children rather than seeking to force them to fit a narrow definition of “normality” and labeling them as diseased when they don’t.
1 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31371497/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/?ocid=twitter
2 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31388177/ns/health-cold_and_flu/?ocid=twitter
3 http://tinyurl.com/rx2twa
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Pigs might fly but the sky is not falling
I keep waiting for sanity to return when it comes to dealing with swine flu. Looks like I could be waiting a while. Not surprisingly this strain of flu like thousands upon thousands before it and thousands yet to come is spreading like … a virus.
Every winter, people all over the world get cold and flu illnesses. Schools are not closed and people are not put into quarantine and masks are not recommended.
The question arises what is actually different about this strain? To the best of my knowledge and based on events that have occurred, the answer is…nothing.
In my city of Perth ,literally half way around the world from the beginning of this issue in Mexico, schools are being closed this week. One child went on a school camp before even getting ill triggering one closure (see link 1). An 11 year old told the West Australian Newspaper that apart from having a sore throat, blocked nose and slight cough he felt fine. His whole school has been closed .The health department has ordered two class years of another school be shut down for a week. If I were a kid I would love this.
Here are some interesting questions. What is so special about a week? If this is the average incubation time than some may come down with it on day 8 or 9. What about siblings in other years? If a child in one of the “closed” years has a brother or sister in another year, maybe at another school what do they do? What about the parents going to work?
Above all else, what is the big deal with swine flu? It is the flu-like any other, possibly less serious than most. The “death” toll is smaller than the usual winter flu and it is spreading in the way any flu does. The same authorities who are running around like chicken little saying the sky is falling have also conceded that the virus will spread and that a large number of people may get it .If so, then why the current circus?
Plans are also underway for a vaccine. The likelihood is that by the time it comes out the whole issue will be yesterdays news. In 1976 a vaccine developed in similar circumstances (ie panic) lead to 500 deaths from complications of the vaccine. Hardly a great result.
The other interesting question is why the authorities are so keen on Tamiflu. A look at the product information reveals that if used at onset of symptoms the median time to resolve symptoms was reduced by 30 hours compared to placebo. In other words you will get better one day earlier if taking it compared to not taking it. In teenagers the difference was 24.2 hours. For those in “high risk” groups (people with cardiac or respiratory disease) there was no difference. In terms of preventing spread the studies in the product information show reduction is spread of between 3 and 10%. This is not massive.
There have been reports out of Japan (see link 2) of suicides associated with use of Tamiflu. This may be coincidence. However the more widely a drug is used ,the more one sees rare side effects It would be a travesty if more deaths arose from the “cure” than the disease.
So why are the authorities running around like chicken little making such a big issue of this? It makes them look important. They are keen to do “what they can” regardless of whether it makes a difference Mainly they are paranoid about being accused of not doing something.
There is no need to be frightened of swine or any flu. All you need to do is look after your health and support your immune system .As I wrote on April 27, “there is much that can be done to strengthen our immune system. Putting the right fuels (foods) into your body is the key. Eat a balanced diet with adequate fruit and vegetables as well as sources of essential fatty acids such as fish, olives (or olive oil), linseed or nuts. In addition to this many people may benefit from vitamin supplements, particularly antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E which help the immune system. Zinc, Vitamin D and Folate supplements are also helpful.
Make sure you get enough sleep, as this is the bodies recharge the battery time and drink 35ml/kilo of water each day.
Most importantly examine your workload and stress levels and take steps to reduce them before they reduce your immunity to illness.”
None of this guarantees you cant get ill at times .It does mean that you are less likely to and that you will get better quicker, without need for quarantine or expensive antiviral drugs.
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-faces-pig-flu-outbreak-20090606-byzv.html 1
http://www.watoday.com.au/national/tamiflu-linked-to-suicides-20090531-brbe.html 2
Every winter, people all over the world get cold and flu illnesses. Schools are not closed and people are not put into quarantine and masks are not recommended.
The question arises what is actually different about this strain? To the best of my knowledge and based on events that have occurred, the answer is…nothing.
In my city of Perth ,literally half way around the world from the beginning of this issue in Mexico, schools are being closed this week. One child went on a school camp before even getting ill triggering one closure (see link 1). An 11 year old told the West Australian Newspaper that apart from having a sore throat, blocked nose and slight cough he felt fine. His whole school has been closed .The health department has ordered two class years of another school be shut down for a week. If I were a kid I would love this.
Here are some interesting questions. What is so special about a week? If this is the average incubation time than some may come down with it on day 8 or 9. What about siblings in other years? If a child in one of the “closed” years has a brother or sister in another year, maybe at another school what do they do? What about the parents going to work?
Above all else, what is the big deal with swine flu? It is the flu-like any other, possibly less serious than most. The “death” toll is smaller than the usual winter flu and it is spreading in the way any flu does. The same authorities who are running around like chicken little saying the sky is falling have also conceded that the virus will spread and that a large number of people may get it .If so, then why the current circus?
Plans are also underway for a vaccine. The likelihood is that by the time it comes out the whole issue will be yesterdays news. In 1976 a vaccine developed in similar circumstances (ie panic) lead to 500 deaths from complications of the vaccine. Hardly a great result.
The other interesting question is why the authorities are so keen on Tamiflu. A look at the product information reveals that if used at onset of symptoms the median time to resolve symptoms was reduced by 30 hours compared to placebo. In other words you will get better one day earlier if taking it compared to not taking it. In teenagers the difference was 24.2 hours. For those in “high risk” groups (people with cardiac or respiratory disease) there was no difference. In terms of preventing spread the studies in the product information show reduction is spread of between 3 and 10%. This is not massive.
There have been reports out of Japan (see link 2) of suicides associated with use of Tamiflu. This may be coincidence. However the more widely a drug is used ,the more one sees rare side effects It would be a travesty if more deaths arose from the “cure” than the disease.
So why are the authorities running around like chicken little making such a big issue of this? It makes them look important. They are keen to do “what they can” regardless of whether it makes a difference Mainly they are paranoid about being accused of not doing something.
There is no need to be frightened of swine or any flu. All you need to do is look after your health and support your immune system .As I wrote on April 27, “there is much that can be done to strengthen our immune system. Putting the right fuels (foods) into your body is the key. Eat a balanced diet with adequate fruit and vegetables as well as sources of essential fatty acids such as fish, olives (or olive oil), linseed or nuts. In addition to this many people may benefit from vitamin supplements, particularly antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E which help the immune system. Zinc, Vitamin D and Folate supplements are also helpful.
Make sure you get enough sleep, as this is the bodies recharge the battery time and drink 35ml/kilo of water each day.
Most importantly examine your workload and stress levels and take steps to reduce them before they reduce your immunity to illness.”
None of this guarantees you cant get ill at times .It does mean that you are less likely to and that you will get better quicker, without need for quarantine or expensive antiviral drugs.
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-faces-pig-flu-outbreak-20090606-byzv.html 1
http://www.watoday.com.au/national/tamiflu-linked-to-suicides-20090531-brbe.html 2
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