ScienceDaily
A new study suggests that sleep problems lead to increased pain and fatigue in cancer patients. The results indicate that interventions aimed at trouble sleeping would be expected to improve both pain and fatigue in this patient population.
Results show that more than half the sample reported having trouble sleeping, with 26 percent reporting moderate or severe trouble sleeping. Compared with patients who reported no trouble sleeping, patients with moderate to severe trouble sleeping reported significantly more fatigue, pain and depressed mood. Using structural equation modeling analysis to evaluate causal relations and directions of effect, the best-fitting model indicates that trouble sleeping led to increased ratings of pain.
According to the authors, the relationship between pain and sleep often has been assumed to be reciprocal. In the present study, however, a model of reciprocal causation could not be fit to the data, and models in which pain caused trouble sleeping did not fit as well as the model in which trouble sleeping caused pain.
“We believed we would find a bi-directional relationship between insomnia and pain, but instead found that trouble sleeping was more likely a cause, rather than a consequence, of pain in patients with cancer,” said lead author Edward J. Stepanski, chief operational officer at the Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network in Memphis, Tenn.
The study included demographic, clinical and patient-reported outcomes data from 11,445 cancer patients undergoing treatment at the West Clinic, a large community oncology practice in Memphis. Participants had an average age of 61.5 years, and 74 percent were female. Breast cancer was the most common form of cancer, and about 25 percent of study subjects had received chemotherapy in the last 30 days. Increases in depressed mood also led to increased ratings of pain.
Younger age and recent administration of chemotherapy were both associated with increased trouble sleeping. According to the authors, younger patients often receive more aggressive chemotherapy than older patients; therefore, younger patients may be exposed to more treatment-related toxicity.
Stepanski stated that several studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) improves sleep in cancer patients who have insomnia. He believes that this type of intervention may decrease patients’ pain and fatigue by improving their sleep.

Adapted from materials provided by American Academy of Sleep Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Journal Reference:
1.The Relation of Trouble Sleeping, Depressed Mood, Pain, and Fatigue in Patients with Cancer. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, April 15, 2009

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Health and Nutritional Supplements, You Need Both

By: Tan Kim Kia

Health is the greatest treasure a man can have.

There are several factors that influence our health. Among them we find the pollution, stress, inadequate nutrition. All these factors are hurtful to our body.

Did you know that in a whole year we consume over four kilos and a half to five kilos of poisonous substances present in our food?

If not eliminated, these substances create a chaotic movement of our body cells and generate a favorable ground for the action of free radicals. These free radicals generate a great diversity of cancer forms.

Health depends on an adequate diet too. “Scientific evidence in support of the health benefits of nutritional supplements has grown dramatically in recent years,” said Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston. “We must now work to translate this knowledge to health care providers, policy makers and consumers so the simple actions people can take to promote their health and prevent disease can be more fully realized. The impact of a rational use of dietary supplements can also help reduce health care costs which escalate every year as our population grows older.

Symptoms

Many problems such as : lack of energy, insomnia, headaches, depression, mood swings, anxiety, easy bruising, bleeding gums, slow wound healing etc. can be traced directly to deficiencies in specific vitamins and minerals.

Circumstances

Because of the methods applied nowadays in agriculture, which destroy the natural mineral substances, we cannot be sure that the agricultural products ensure us the necessary vitamins and minerals. Although all people should try to have healthy and balanced diet, few in reality do.

Nutritional Supplements to bridge your nutrition gaps

More and more people try the nutritional supplements as a way to combat the nutritional deficiencies and to ensure the necessary of vital nutrients for maintaining the quality of their life. Before you start taking nutritional supplements you must know a few things about them.

Nutritional supplements represent a support to our body. The nutritional supplements clean the human body and restore the deficiencies present inside. While taken constantly, nutritional supplements promote good health and help prevent disease. Nutritional supplements represent a good thing that we need . Here are a few things that you might consider before taking nutritional supplements:

1. Everybody can consume nutritional supplement and mostly if is diagnosed with a nutritional deficiency.

2. You must find out if you have a nutritional deficiency.

3. Ask your physician if it is safe for you to take nutritional supplements.

4. Does this supplement interacts with any drug or food you are consuming?

5. If you want to know more you can read about it or you can find more information at nutritional supplements guide from the Internet.

Quality

Regarding their quality, the nutritional supplements must be natural, easy to assimilate, must have a high nutritional value, must come from ecologically non-polluted areas and must be certified.

On the market are thousands of dietary supplements. Great companies fight for a place on the market. Each of them offers a diversity of products. These products seem to bring the same benefits to our body but they are in fact very different one from another. The difference is obvious when you read the label and you see the ingredients. The ingredients are the ones which make the products so valuable.

Research

The nutritional supplements are usually obtained after a period of research.

The research services work hard in order to offer us good products having great and rapid effects. It would be good for you when you choose to take nutritional supplements to inform upon the company which produces the products. If it is a world leadership or if it is among the greatest in the world than you may decide to consume the products it proposes to you. They are first tested over and over again and are only then offered to the public.

So we must be very careful when choosing nutritional supplements and do not forget to consult your physician!

About the Author:

Allan Tan Kim Kia is an nutrition scholar and author of Best Vitamin Supplements Guide who provides tips and advice how to choose and where to buy best vitamin supplements online. http://www.best-vitamin-supplements-guide.com

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This podcast helps businesses understand how novel H1N1 flu can affect their business and how to keep their workers and worksites safe.

This podcast helps businesses understand how novel H1N1 flu can affect their business and how to keep their workers and worksites safe. Created: 5/20/2009 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Date Released: 5/20/2009.

[Announcer] This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC – safer, healthier people.

CDC understands that businesses are concerned about the health and safety of their workers and worksites during this outbreak of novel H1N1 flu. This podcast answers many of the questions we’ve received from the business community and will provide your organization with information on resources and tools to effectively respond to the outbreak.

Novel H1N1 is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. The virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009; other countries have also reported people sick with the new virus. CDC expects that more cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from this outbreak will occur over the coming days and weeks.

Businesses are essential partners in protecting the public’s health and safety during this outbreak. The health of employees during an outbreak such as novel H1N1 influenza plays a critical role in the continued operations of a business. The workforce, like the public, needs clear, concise, consistent information.

H1N1 flu is a completely new disease that isn’t comparable to the seasonal flu we see each year. One of the differences is that H1N1 flu is attacking healthy teens and adults. With seasonal flu, the very young and the very old are at greatest risk because their immune systems are less effective than those of healthy adults.

It’s difficult to make accurate predictions on the length of time it may take for the novel H1N1 flu to run its course in the U.S. Past outbreaks have had different durations and affected different percentages of the population in different ways. Outbreaks of new influenza viruses usually last much longer than seasonal flu, and often come in waves. The health impact in terms of severity of each wave has also varied.

Here are some ways to protect employees and worksites:

Sick employees should stay home and not come to work. People who have the flu can spread it to others and the flu virus can spread easily when people are close together. If someone is sick with novel H1N1 flu, they’ll probably have symptoms similar to those of seasonal flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. A significant number of people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting.

Tell employees you don’t want them coming to work sick so they don’t worry about losing their job. Let them know their job is safe if they need to care for someone who is sick or are sick themselves. CDC recommends that people who are sick with novel H1N1 flu stay home for seven days after the onset of illness or at least 24 hours after symptoms have subsided, whichever is longer.

To stay healthy or to stop the spread of the virus, remind your employees to do these four things:

1. Cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when they cough or sneeze and then throw the tissue in the trash.

2. Wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing, or use an alcohol-based hand cleaner if soap and water aren’t available.

3. Avoid touching their eyes, nose, or mouth to prevent spreading germs.

4. Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

In order to ensure business continuity, develop a plan to protect your employees and maintain operations during this H1N1 flu outbreak. Companies that provide critical infrastructure services, such as power and telecommunications, have a special responsibility to plan for continued operation in a crisis, including consideration for significant absenteeism. Having a contingency plan is essential.

There are no special precautions for workers who handle or deliver packages, other than practicing good hand hygiene. If soap and water aren’t available to these employees, make sure they have a supply of alcohol-based hand cleaner. Instruct them to use it after each contact with customers, including after sharing a pen with customers.

Although the current H1N1 flu virus is new and scientists are still studying it, studies on other forms of flu viruses have shown that influenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces, such as books, countertops, door knobs, and money, and can infect a person for up to eight hours after being deposited on the surface. It’s important to note that in the transportation and shipping industry, banking institutions, and retail businesses – where money and goods move daily – workers have not shown an increase in infection rates during periods of seasonal influenza. To prevent the spread of the virus, it’s important to keep surfaces, especially commonly touched surfaces, such as work stations, countertops, and bathroom surfaces, clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant, according to label directions.

Employees who need to travel for business can protect themselves by doing a few simple things. All travelers should wash their hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand cleaner. Travelers may also want to bring alcohol-based sanitizing wipes that can be used to clean hard surfaces near their seat on the airplane, such as seat arms, seatbelt, fold-down tray, and overhead bins.

For more information on how to stay healthy during travel and any updates on CDC travel notices, please visit CDC’s Travelers’ Health website at www.cdc.gov/travel.

For help in preparing your business for the novel H1N1 flu, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/business where you’ll find resources, tools, and information for businesses OR call 1-800-CDC-INFO, that’s 1-800-232-4636.

[Announcer] For the most accurate health information, visit www.cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO, 24/7.

Page last modified Wednesday, May 20, 2009

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800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: (888) 232-6348, 24 Hours/Every Day – cdcinfo@cdc.gov
USA.gov: The U.S. Government’s Official Web PortalHHS.govDepartment of Health and Human Services

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2009 H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. This virus is spreading from person-to-person worldwide, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a pandemic of 2009 H1N1 flu was underway.
Why is 2009 H1N1 virus sometimes called “swine flu”?
This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs (swine) in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and bird (avian) genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus.

2009 H1N1 Flu in Humans

Are there human infections with 2009 H1N1 virus in the U.S.?
Yes. Human infections with the new H1N1 virus are ongoing in the United States. Most people who have become ill with this new virus have recovered without requiring medical treatment.
CDC routinely works with states to collect, compile and analyze information about influenza, and has done the same for the new H1N1 virus since the beginning of the outbreak. This information is presented in a weekly report, called FluView.
Is 2009 H1N1 virus contagious?
CDC has determined that 2009 H1N1 virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human.
How does 2009 H1N1 virus spread?
Spread of 2009 H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something – such as a surface or object – with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people?
The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.
How severe is illness associated with 2009 H1N1 flu virus?
Illness with the new H1N1 virus has ranged from mild to severe. While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with this virus have occurred.
In seasonal flu, certain people are at “high risk” of serious complications. This includes people 65 years and older, children younger than five years old, pregnant women, and people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions. About 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with this 2009 H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing people at “high risk” of serious seasonal flu-related complications. This includes pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease.
One thing that appears to be different from seasonal influenza is that adults older than 64 years do not yet appear to be at increased risk of 2009 H1N1-related complications thus far. CDC laboratory studies have shown that no children and very few adults younger than 60 years old have existing antibody to 2009 H1N1 flu virus; however, about one-third of adults older than 60 may have antibodies against this virus. It is unknown how much, if any, protection may be afforded against 2009 H1N1 flu by any existing antibody.
How does 2009 H1N1 flu compare to seasonal flu in terms of its severity and infection rates?
With seasonal flu, we know that seasons vary in terms of timing, duration and severity. Seasonal influenza can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Each year, in the United States, on average 36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. Over 90% of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalization occur in people older than 65.
When the 2009 H1N1 outbreak was first detected in mid-April 2009, CDC began working with states to collect, compile and analyze information regarding the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak, including the numbers of confirmed and probable cases and the ages of these people. The information analyzed by CDC supports the conclusion that 2009 H1N1 flu has caused greater disease burden in people younger than 25 years of age than older people. At this time, there are few cases and few deaths reported in people older than 64 years old, which is unusual when compared with seasonal flu. However, pregnancy and other previously recognized high risk medical conditions from seasonal influenza appear to be associated with increased risk of complications from this 2009 H1N1. These underlying conditions include asthma, diabetes, suppressed immune systems, heart disease, kidney disease, neurocognitive and neuromuscular disorders and pregnancy.
How long can an infected person spread this virus to others?
People infected with seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu shed virus and may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after. This can be longer in some people, especially children and people with weakened immune systems and in people infected with the new H1N1 virus.

CDC.gov

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Secondary Benefits

• Strengthen and protect the immune system
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One Virus Particle Is Enough To Cause Infectious Disease

ScienceDaily (Mar. 14, 2009) — Can exposure to a single virus particle lead to infection or disease? Until now, solid proof has been lacking. Experimental research with insect larvae at Wageningen University and Simon Fraser University in Canada has shown that one virus particle is theoretically enough to cause infection and subsequent disease.

A virus population is usually composed of a collection of variants of virus particles. In order to  investigate whether virus particles (virions) can cause an infection independently from each other, and therefore individually, the researchers set up an experiment with two ‘marked’ virus variants. They exposed a population of hosts (caterpillars) to both variants.

The experiment showed that exposure to a low dosage of virus particles resulted in a small number host infections (20%). The majority of these hosts (86%) turned out to be infected by a single virus genotype. In contrast, exposure to a high dosage of virus particles resulted in virtually all the hosts (99%) becoming infected, where most of the hosts were infected by both types of virus. Only 14% were infected by only one of the two variants.

Based on the assumption that every virus particle operates independently from all other virus particles, the researchers set up a probability model. This model predicts how many virus particles have caused an infection and how many different virus genotypes are present in infected hosts, such as plants, insects or people. The results of the infection experiment with the susceptible insects are in agreement with the model predictions. From this it can be derived that the virus particles have an independent effect, and that a single virus particle can indeed cause infection and/or disease.

If there are few virus particles that lead to an infection, the number of virus particles determines the degree of diversity that can be present within the host. This is an important finding because the interactions between virus variants, such as competition and exchanging genetic information, determine the progression of disease and the evolution of the virus.

Until now, it was unclear whether a virus must be seen as an individual that can infect a host independently, or whether a cloud of viruses ‘cooperates’ to cause an infection. It is not yet known if the viruses that affect people can also act individually, but this research shows that it is possible.

The researchers recently published this finding in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Journal reference:

1. Mark P Zwart, Lia Hemerik, Jenny S Cory, J. Arjan G.M de Visser, Felix J.J.A Bianchi, Monique M Van Oers, Just M Vlak, Rolf F Hoekstra, and Wopke Van der Werf. An experimental test of the independent action hypothesis in virus%u2013insect pathosystems. Proc. R. Soc. B, 2009; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0064..Adapted from materials provided by Wageningen University and Research Centre.

Strengthen Immune System-Build white blood cells

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ScienceDaily (May 1, 2006) — Breast cancer survivors who suffer from persistent, debilitating fatigue years after their diagnosis have something in common: their immune systems don’t shut down following treatment, according to researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center.

This constant immune system activation, which researchers discovered by measuring specific proteins in blood samples from survivors, may be causing the fatigue, UCLA researchers theorize. Their discovery may lead to behavioral interventions such as tai chi and yoga that will help alleviate persistent fatigue, which affects about a third of breast cancer survivors for years after they complete treatment.

The study is the first to look at the cellular basis for immune activation in fatigued breast cancer survivors, said Dr. Michael Irwin, a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and the study’s lead author. The research appears in the May 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer Research.

“Without knowing why this fatigue happens at the cellular level, we can’t develop efficient therapies to treat it,” said Irwin, who also serves as director of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.

“Breast cancer survivors can be severely disabled by fatigue and that can dramatically impact their quality of life. That’s the tragedy of our treatments for cancer,” Irwin said. “We have focused on treating the disease, but we should also focus on the patient’s well being later. Right now, we have no treatment for cancer-related fatigue and we need something that will allow patients to return to their prior level of functioning.”

Dr. Patricia Ganz, a nationally renowned expert who has studied quality of life in breast cancer survivors for two decades, agrees that fatigue is a serious problem for survivors, a fact that their primary care physicians don’t always understand.

“When breast cancer survivors talk to their physicians about being tired and how it affects their lives, they’re often told that they survived cancer, so they should be grateful to be alive,” said Ganz, one of the co-authors of the study. “But their fatigue is a very real problem that needs to taken seriously and addressed.”

A small study at UCLA had previously demonstrated abnormalities in immune activation in breast cancer survivors. If researchers could determine the biological factors underlying this activation, and therefore fatigue, they could uncover a biomarker for the condition that could help them predict which patients would suffer from fatigue and which would not, Irwin said.

Irwin and his colleagues took blood samples from breast cancer survivors one to five years out from diagnosis and placed them into two groups, those who suffered from persistent fatigue and those who did not. The researchers measured the levels of a pro-inflammatory cytokine protein in their blood — levels that indicated the immune system was turned on. Irwin said the pro-inflammatory protein levels were significantly different between the two groups. Those with persistent fatigue had 30 percent more of the proteins circulating in their blood. Additionally, their immune cells produced more cytokines in laboratory analyses than the cells from survivors without fatigue, and those cytokines were more efficient at producing the pro-inflammatory proteins driving the immune response.

“This study proved that there is an aberrant immune response in breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue,” Irwin said. “With this information, we may now be able to identify those patients at greatest risk for persistent fatigue and implement interventions early on that will lessen the severity and duration of the fatigue.”

The immune systems of women undergoing treatment for breast cancer are activated at high levels to help them fight disease and help the body recover from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Some data suggest that survivors who develop fatigue might have immune system changes before the cancer and the treatments may be exacerbating that. Further studies are needed to understand how this immune activation occurs and what clinical factors predispose to it, Irwin said

“We know from studies that animals with immune activation and cytokines circulating in their blood don’t move around a lot, they don’t eat, they don’t engage in sexual activity,” Irwin said. “From our study, we believe that the severity of fatigue in breast cancer survivors is not related to the type of treatment they received or its duration, but rather that the fatigue is driven by constant immune activation. Their immune systems simply don’t shut down after treatment.”

Irwin and his team studied 32 breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue and compared their blood samples to 18 survivors who did not suffer from fatigue. The pro-inflammatory proteins in the blood of fatigued cancer survivors could be used as a biomarker to classify those women who may suffer from fatigue after treatment. In those who appear to be predisposed to fatigue — the women whose immune systems have not shut off as they should — it may be possible in the future to provide interventions can right away that might eliminate or, at the least, alleviate the severity and duration of the fatigue.

While there are drugs such as statins that can be used to dampen immune response, future studies by Irwin and his team will focus on behavioral interventions such as tai chi and yoga. Exercise and meditation, Irwin said, have been shown to decrease levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the blood.

“If we can identify survivors at greatest risk of persistent fatigue, we can implement interventions early on to help them,” Irwin said. “That would be good news for the increasing numbers of women who are surviving breast cancer every year.”

The number of breast cancer survivors is steadily increasing due to advances in screening and treatment strategies. More patients are being diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and are surviving longer. In fact, breast cancer survivors are the largest group of patients to overcome any type of cancer in the United States. It is estimated that there are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today.

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• Strengthens immune system
• Increases and regulates white blood count and red blood cell count – read clinical study
• Boosts energy
• Activates NK cells
• Stimulates macrophages
• Relieves fatigue
• __________________________________________________________

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have devised a novel method to expand the number of immune system “natural killer (NK)” cells from blood cells outside the body. They have found that adding such cells to anti-cancer therapies involving monoclonal antibody drugs is more effective in killing cancer cells, and perhaps someday may improve treatments.

Reporting April 18, 2007 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Los Angeles, scientists led by Takami Sato, M.D., K. Hasumi Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University showed in laboratory studies that adding such NK cells to a monoclonal antibody, Herceptin, which targets the HER2/neu protein on breast cancer cells, was more efficient at killing the cancer cells. The HER2/neu protein is expressed in approximately one-quarter of all breast cancers.

According to Dr. Sato, monoclonal antibodies help kill cancer cells by attaching to the cancer cell surface, in turn stimulating an outpouring of “effector” cells such as NK cells that attempt to neutralize the cancer. NK cells alone are often powerful cancer fighters, he notes, but NK cell function in cancer patients can be diminished, and chemotherapy can make things even worse.

Dr. Sato, international research study coordinator Mizue Terai, M.S., and their co-workers decided to try a different approach. They cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which are a mixture of immune cells, including NK cells, for three weeks in the test tube with their novel technique. The resulting population of NK cells increased 500 to 1,000-fold. In subsequent experiments, they showed that the combination of NK cells and Herceptin was effective in killing HER2/neu-expressing breast cancer cells, though the effect depended on the amount of antibody.

They found that the expanded group of NK cells and antibody had little effect against breast cancer cells that did not express the HER2/neu protein.

“It [the results] doesn’t mean that the antibody and the NK cells will cure the cancer,” Dr. Sato notes, “but it shows that using an antibody that recognizes the cancer cell along with added NK cells can be very effective against the tumor.”

The researchers also found that the monoclonal antibody Rituxan greatly enhanced the cancer cell-killing ability of the expanded NK cells against another cancer cell line, B-cell lymphoma cell line. Rituxan is typically used in combination with chemotherapy to treat patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Dr. Sato says that the technique can be applied to “any cancer that has a monoclonal antibody available.”

The team’s next step is to test the effectiveness of the added NK cells in an animal model. The group is also in the process of starting an early phase clinical study.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2007)

Adapted from materials provided by Thomas Jefferson University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Soothe Insomnia

• Reduce Stress
  
• Regulates nervous system
• Relieves stress, anxiety, mild depression, and insomnia
• Promotes optimal sleep patterns
• __________________________________________________________

By: Chuck Arnone

Many studies have shown a link between stress and illness. Stress seems to have become a constant factor in today’s fast-paced society which can weaken the immune system and accelerate the aging process.
We talk about the three most significant stressors, namely, unwanted aloneness, loss of control, and loss of hope.If you can address those three stressors, you can enhance the power of the immune system,which may have an effect on how it’s able to fight those cancer cells and lessen the effects of cold and flu symptoms.

What we are looking at is if you can enhance the power of the immune system by doing things that make you happy, you will be healthier. Immune cells spend much of their lives circulating in those blood vessels.Immune systems of optimistic people have been found to fare much better under stressful conditions than those with a negative attitude.Chemotherapy has an affect on many cells in your body.

There is no question that good nutrition is necessary for a healthy immune system and that means a healthy variety of proteins, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, vitamins, fluids, etc. Your nutrition choices as well as your emotions can have a big impact on your body’s ability to keep up your energy levels and immune system.

In one small study, researchers found that moderate exercise (three or more times a week) increased the immune cell counts of women undergoing breast cancer treatment back to normal levels, and also improved the women’s mood and ability to handle their feelings comfortably. A healthy immune system regulates our body’s healing process and protects it against infections and diseases. Premature aging and fatigue are just part of the problem with stress and your immune system. Sleep time is when your body and immune system do most of its repairs and rejuvenation. Tea is a wonder drink as it has the ability to strenghten your immune system and fight off germs.

The field of study that examines the link between stress and the immune system is known as psychoneuroimmunology. Several studies in this area indicate that physical and emotional stress can have either good or bad effects on the immune system’s response. Autoimmune diseases are a result from this attack; the more commonly occurring examples include systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), Grave’s disease of the thyroid, and rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune diseases are very sensitive to any kind of stress and symptoms worsen during that time. It is also interesting to note that many autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and Grave’s disease, occur more commonly in women than in men. A positive attitude, connecting to other human beings, and minimizing stress all have a lot to do with immune system health, as well.

Part of the solution to living longer and being healthy is to protect your immune system. A healthy system regulates our body’s healing process and protects it against infections and diseases. Stress influences our health so profoundly because of the way it affects our nervous and immune systems. Because of the connection between stress and health, stress management should be a cornerstone of your healthy lifestyle. Think about your state of health for a moment. And also the health of those you know. How we learn to deal with stress makes a huge difference in how healthy we are. Studies have shown that how a person deals with stress affects your health.

About the Author:

Chuck Arnone’s research into the immune system and it’s affect on your health can be very informative.

Printed From: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/stress-will-harm-your-immune-system-296958.html

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