The Neurochemistry of Female Sex Addiction

May 3, 2015

The Neurochemistry of Female Sex Addiction

Female sex addiction Sex addiction is a problem that many people are battling with in the US and the world over. However in the past it was thought that men were the main victims of sex addiction but research has since proved that this is a lie as women are more prone to this vice as opposed to women. Another factor that makes women more of victims is the fact that generally society has always associated women who are addicted to sex as sluts while men who are addicted to sex are often thought as studs. The reality of the matter however is, both genders are at a loss when addicted but what makes it easier for men to find help is the fact that they are free and can express their problems when addressed by their therapists and this openness helps them find help. On the other hand, women afraid of all the negative tittles they will be associated are often afraid to open up and let the problem be known and this will manifest in various behavioral changes.

Orgasm and dopamine

Most people who engage in sex for recreational purposes are often in pursuit for the highest sexual climax otherwise known as orgasm. According Wilhelm Reich orgasm naturally helps in discharge of excess bio-energy with the additional liberation of feeling energy, and he also recognized the negative consequences of blocked sexual energies. However it’s quite unfortunate that in addition to exciting peaks, orgasms tend to produce powerful negative side-effects that are only now becoming better understood. This is due to predictable trends in hormonal activity which seem to be similar in all mammals to ensure certain evolutionary objectives, especially the wide mixing of gene pools and the safe raising of offspring. This is achieved with the following neurochemical changes.

As expected there are hormones that come to play; dopamine, the reward hormone; prolactin, the hormone of satiation; oxytocin, the cuddle hormone, and levels of androgen receptors, which all powerfully affect our mood, our desire for intimacy, our perception of our mate, as well as our susceptibility to addictive activities and substances. These hormones can also have different but generally related functions.

The levels of dopamine will abruptly fall and this will induce the usual withdrawal symptoms. The fall of dopamine is rather immediate in men while it takes time in women to occur. As the level of dopamine falls the level of prolactin will heighten and the androgen receptors fall after orgasm. Low testosterone in women is associated with irritability and anger. In sexually-satiated rats it has been shown that serotonin and endorphin levels also rise, and this also decreases dopamine and raises prolactin levels. Oxytocin levels fall after conventional orgasm but remaining in close contact may help to counter this drop and sustain oxytocin levels. It is the fall of dopamine to the lows that is associated with all the withdrawal effects and women, deprived of affection will engage in sex repeatedly to enjoy the magical bliss of dopamine heights during sex especially at orgasm. This is a ‘high’ that is often compared to the feeling those using drugs of pleasure often crave.

Apart from behavioral changes a female addict will suffer from disturbed hormone equilibrium that may last for a week or two, a period in which she will be battling these side effects; being more irritable, dissatisfied, and anxious or depressed. This is exactly the same process and length of time prolactin levels need to recover during withdrawal from cocaine.

Another stimulant that is involved in sex is the phenylethylamine (PEA). PEA is also present in cocoa and chocolate and elevates energy, mood and attention. PEA is produced in greater amounts when one is in love and when this stimulant is in low levels, a person will feel unhappy and deprived.

as mentioned in earlier article, most women get addicted to sex while in pursuit of love and affection, When a woman first fall in love she becomes bonded by rising PEA, oxytocin and dopamine levels .When she is are sexually aroused by close contact her dopamine level rises further and at the time of orgasm she will have a dopamine brainstorm which one researchers have compared to the effects of heroin on the brain. Dopamine is active in all addictions, even in people who have forgotten what sex is. Most of this activity is in the limbic system, the oldest part of the brain.

What causes addiction in women?

Female sex addiction The honest truth is that what causes sex addiction women is until now poorly understood but researchers have pointed fingers at childhood neglect or abuse, such as physical or emotional abandonment or other forms of trauma. Most of females who are sex addicts are reported to have experienced sex abuse as children. Early child abuse of nearly any kind can impair a child’s ability to bond in healthy ways as an adult, leading to chronic relationship intimacy issues that can eventually morph into sexual addiction.

Research suggests that there’s also a strong neurochemical component to both eating disorders and sexual addiction. One can become addicted to the potent neurochemical rush that occurs during an exciting sexual or romantic encounter. This neurobiological blend includes highly satisfying dopamine as well as adrenaline, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. Women suffering from emotional or psychological issues such as depression or anxiety and from childhood trauma or profound trauma as an adult can unconsciously use this neurochemical response to cope with stress and painful emotions. Compulsively reliving or re-enacting the pleasurable fantasies and experiences sets up an addictive cycle of using sex and sexual fantasies to control intensely painful emotions.

Finally, sex addiction is not a light matter. It’s a problem that is still holding many women captives .This problem needs to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.

The Neurochemistry of Female Sex Addiction

Vitamin D as a Seasonal Stress Hormone

May 3, 2015

Vitamin D as A Kind of “Seasonal Stress Hormone,” Chronobiological Stress Hormones.

The benefits that a person can draw from vitamin D are too much to be listed. We know that one of the reasons that make people bask in the sun is to help in the synthesis of this crucial vitamin. Without this vitamin there are several ailments that a person is bound to suffer from. Basic knowledge of vitamin D is that it helps in strengthening bones of teeth but it has far more benefits that many people have never known of, one of its many benefits is that it is a chronobiological Stress Hormone

Vitamin D as a Chronobiological Stress Hormone

If you haven’t taken to basking in the sun seriously, it is time you need to begin doing so for as Alexander Wunsch has it, vitamin D is a kind of “seasonal stress hormone,” explaining that chronobiological stress hormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and adrenaline-cortisol hormone blends are what enable you to get up in the morning, and help regulate the blood sugar concentration in your body, just to name a couple of their functions. According to Wunsch, Vitamin D has greater importance that if the sun would stop shining then very many creatures will lose life.

the sun should shine but we have summer and winter among other crucial seasons, in these seasons the body ought to balance the thermal energy so as to ensure optimal health, during the summer the main focus of the body is to concentrate on cooling down the system while during the winter the focus of the body is to concentrate on heating the system. Therefore it is prudent for a person to bask in the sun during the summer, laying naked in the sun as that’s the best way to get more of the light, digest enough of the energy that is eventually is transformed into thermal energy.

As it has been taught, learnt and rehearsed, vitamin D has very vital functions for our health. There is need for this crucial hormone to ensure that our systems perform optimally. Our bodies are dependent on this crucial vitamin that is sourced from nature’s shine. The need for this crucial vitamin can’t be erased by the fact that some of us are not fortunate enough to live in areas where there is perpetual sunshine but are rather barred by cold weather from getting adequate sun exposure. it is therefore required of people in this areas to eat foods that are rich in Vitamin D to help in its supplementation but whenever there is a slight chance to bask in the sun, the chance should be utilized as the sun is the best source of vitamin D. in other scenarios when the lack of this vitamin may cause to even bigger health risks, it is advisable for the victim to seek Sun therapy.

Heliotherapy

Heliotherapy is a better idea to help equip the body impoverished of vitamin D. heliotherapy involves exposing oneself to sunlight or UV light from sources which are safe. exposure to sunlight may expose you to risk of skin cancer as have been taught but the intensity that cause cancer is rarely actualized, therefore it is prudent to say that the benefits that you can draw from basking in the sun far outweighs the risks. In the past before the risk of cancer began scaring us, the sun therapy was already being used to treat such diseases as rickets, tuberculosis and other diseases caused by vitamin D deficiency. Risk or no risk we need to accept the reality that we need sun at certain dosages and levels to ensure that our systems are working efficiently without flaws.

There is something that many people have never known; your capillaries are modified under the sun and that the skin is linked to the autonomic nervous system, vitamin D is also a seasonal stress hormone popularly known as a chronobiological stress hormone. This is a phenomenon that needs no rocket science to be proven; if you are keen you will realize that after basking in the sun your stress levels go down and this is not the only benefit, there is more you will gain when you look far beyond the UVB portion of the spectrum. The UVB helps in synthesis of vitamin D.

According to Wunsch the sun is a life giver; “We all should be aware of the fact that when the sun was to stop shining, nothing would be alive in two or three days on this planet,” Wunsch says.

“When we are eating, we are eating transformed light. We can prove this scientifically, as you know. I think even if we are not able to estimate the influence light has on our biological system as a whole, it starts on the single cell level and it ends in our consciousness, in our mental functions. Light is a symbol in our culture, which will always be our companion.” he concludes

From what we have gathered in research findings and the massive research work by Alexander wunsch we can conclude that vitamin D is a crucial part of our health and is also a therapy for seasonal stress. Basking in the sun helps relieve stress and therefore there is lots of reason in concluding that vitamin D, the sunshine hormone is seasonal stress hormone that everybody should consider supplementing.

Vitamin D as A Kind of “Seasonal Stress Hormone,” Chronobiological Stress Hormones.

Why are Stem Cells Important?

May 3, 2015

What are stem cells, and why are they important?

Stem cells are very special, powerful cells found in both humans and also in other animals. Stem cells are the precursors of all cells in the human body. What makes stem cells special is that they are regenerative and malleable. They have the ability to replicate themselves and to repair and replace other tissues in the human body. Some tissues, like skin, need constant renewal, which could not take place without skin stem cells. Other stem cells repair damage to the body’s tissues, for example, rebuilding damaged or degenerating muscle tissue. New research also indicates that stem cell malfunction or damage may be responsible for certain cancers and even muscular-degeneration diseases like Muscular Dystrophy.

Stem cells differ from other kinds of cells in the body. All stem cells have three general features that make them different from other body cells. These features are: they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods. They are unspecialized and they can give rise to specialized cell types. Stem cells are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods. Unlike muscle cells, blood cells, or nerve cells which do not normally replicate themselves, stem cells may replicate many times, or proliferate.

The stem cells have a unique ability to divide and become more specialized cells forming cells like bone, blood, or muscle. It is this ability that makes them attractive agents in many areas of medicine. They can therefore be used to fight very many diseases in the regenerative medicine. Another advantage of stem cell therapy treatments is that autologous stem cell transport is made possible. This means that a person may be treated by doctors harvesting the stem cells from the patient and having the stem cells reimplanted into the same patient after finding out what was lacking in the patient. This reduces risks of infection as well as rejection which are helpful to the patient.

Importance of stem cells

the stem cells are very important cells in the body and have been since targeted for treatment of degenerative diseases. They have been called the center pieces of regenerative medicine. Medicine that involves growing new cells, tissues and organs to replace or repair those damaged by injury, disease or aging. there ability to proliferate into other cells of the body like the bone and muscle tissues have made them a priority in treatment of various degenative diseases like aging and even osteoporosis among others. here is how stem cells work in treatment of various diseases.

Rejuvenation– the stem cells can be used in rejuvenation process. through rejuvenation the bodies healing ability is boosted. Typically, the body is programmed to naturally repair itself that is why after you get a cut you can stay without going to hospital but still get healed within a very short time. However there other crucial organs that when damaged do not easily get repaired. When the body’s cells cannot get differentiated to give rise to new healthy cells and heal the damaged cell then there is a problem. According to Mayo clinic the cells that were once thought of as terminally differentiated including the heart, lungs and nerves which are more specialized are able to remodel as they possess ability to self-renew. However researchers are still working to come up with strategies through which the ability of these cells to self-heal can be enhanced.

Replacement– here the stem cells can be used to replace the damaged cells.in degenerative diseases like osteoporosis the damaged tissues can be replaced with fresh stem cells that will proliferate into more functional bone issues and relieve the system of the damaged tissues. the stem cells can be transplanted in autologous manner where the stem cells will be harvested in the adipose or the bone marrow and be used to replace the affected cells in organ. with autologues stem cell transplant the issue of donor is not a problem neither are there issues of rejection nor the need for immunosuppression .

Regeneration- Through regeneration the stem cells are delivered to diseased tissues or organs, where they will ultimately restore tissue and organ function. This can be done through cell-based therapy or by using cell products, such as growth factors. Bone marrow transplants are an example of regeneration. Regeneration aims to awaken cells that are not functional or have malfunctions. With stem cell therapy there is hope for affordable healthcare solutions that heal the body whole without life threatening side effects.

Stem cells are a cutting edge

Stem cells are capable of self-renewing giving rise to several copies of themselves. They also have the capability of shifting shape and changing type, therefore they can be used to form the cells that are damaged and restore the functions of the damaged tissues. The stem cells can be used to replace the cells that have malfunctioned due to structural damage. The amazing part of the stem cell differentiation is that when a stem cell divides both the daughter cell and the parent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into different cells or to still remain as stem cells. Owing to this ability of stem cells to differentiate into more specialized cells, they can rebuild lost blood vessels, reverse scarring, regenerate damaged nerves, and bring back the healthy you.

Stem cell therapy has a lot to offer to patients, Visit us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Centre at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) an expert in integrative and regenerative medicine will be able to help.

What are stem cells, and why are they important?

Unique Properties of Stem Cells

May 3, 2015

What Are The Unique Properties Of All Stem Cells?

The stem cells have been hailed for their efficacy in treatment of certain diseases especially those that are degenerative in nature like the Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis and even the Huntington’s disease. To accomplish all its medicinal capabilities the stem cells must have certain properties that are not present in other body cells. They therefore differ from other cells in the body. The stem cells are available majorly in the bone marrows and the adipose tissues but can also be harvested from placentas after a safe delivery. The stem cells have three general properties regardless of their source. These properties are; they are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods; they are unspecialized; and they can give rise to specialized cell types. It is these distinct characteristics of the stem cells that make them effective in treatment of degenerative diseases.

The other cells found in the body like the nerve cells, the muscle cells and the blood cells are not able to replicate themselves unlike the stem cells that are able to proliferate after long periods of time. Typically, a starting population of stem cells that proliferates for many months in the laboratory can yield millions of cells. What is more is that the daughter cells are capable of long term self-renewal giving rise to more unspecialized cells.

Despite the vast research that has been done on the stem cells and their ability to treat certain diseases there are some information that are still required which we can only hope that researchers will one day find an answer to. These questions are as follows:

Scientists are trying to understand two fundamental properties of stem cells that relate to their long-term self-renewal:
Why can embryonic stem cells proliferate for a year or more in the laboratory without differentiating, but most adult stem cells cannot; and
What are the factors in living organisms that normally regulate stem cell proliferation and self-renewal?

When these answers are addressed there will be a valid explanation to how cell proliferation is regulated during normal embryonic development or during the abnormal cell division that leads to cancer. Such information would also enable scientists to grow embryonic and non-embryonic stem cells more efficiently in the laboratory to help in treatment of diseases.

The stem cells are unspecialized

Stem cells remain unspecialized even after long hours in the laboratory after getting harvested. The scientists have spent years of research trying to find out factors that make the stem cells unspecialized and differentiating into different cell types. It took two decades to learn how to grow human embryonic stem cells in the laboratory following the development of conditions for growing mouse stem cells. In a similar manner the scientists must first understand the signals that enable adult stem cell population to proliferate and remain unspecialized before they will be able to grow large numbers of unspecialized adult stem cells in the laboratory for medicinal use.

The stem cells are not specialized and hence are not able to perform specific functions. Unlike heart muscle cells, the stem cells are not able to pump blood through the body, they can neither carry oxygen molecules through the bloodstream like red blood cells nor can they kill pathogens like the white blood cells but they can give rise to more of all these cells; they can form bone, heart muscle cells, blood cells and even nerve cells. So they are then unspecialized cells that have the unique ability to give rise to specialized and more vital functional specialized cells.

The process through which undifferentiated stem cells give rise to specialized cells is known as differentiation. It is through this process of differentiation that the stem cells become even more specialized. Scientists are just beginning to understand the signals inside and outside cells that trigger each step of the differentiation process. The internal signals are controlled by a cell’s genes, which are interspersed across long strands of DNA and carry coded instructions for all cellular structures and functions. In contrast, the external signals for cell differentiation include chemicals secreted by other cells, physical contact with neighboring cells, and certain molecules in the microenvironment. The interaction of signals during differentiation causes the cell’s DNA to acquire epigenetic marks that restrict DNA expression in the cell and can be passed on through cell division giving rise to more specialized cells.

There are however some questions that should be addressed and these may include; Are the internal and external signals for cell differentiation similar for all kinds of stem cells? Can specific sets of signals be identified that promote differentiation into specific cell types? Finding answers to these questions may help scientists to find new ways to control stem cell differentiation in the laboratory, thereby growing cells or tissues that can be used for specific purposes such as cell-based therapies or drug screening.

With these distinct characteristics of the stem cells especially their ability to give rise to different specialized cell types, the stem cells are a cutting edge to treatment of diseases. Degenerative diseases have debilitated many people but it is treatable. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert in integrative medicine and a founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Center located at Myrtle Beach South Caroline. Visit her for more information on most lifestyle diseases.

What Are The Unique Properties Of All Stem Cells?

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAS) For Addiction Treatment

April 24, 2015

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAS) To Treat Addiction

After a prolonged use of drugs of abuse, the brain chemistry becomes altered. The brain becomes damaged. Entirely the nervous system is the target of many drugs, they inhibit the coordination between the nerves and after a long time of drug use some neurotransmitters like dopamine becomes depleted to an extent that by natural release the level of dopamine can never be enough for optimum functioning of the brain and the entire nervous system. Eventually the effect of the breakdown in communication in the nervous system is exhibited in poor health and behavioral misnomer. By the time this abnormal behavior is seen in a person the brain has become addicted to the drug of abuse that it won’t operate normally without it. This causes such feelings of anxiety and stress. However dangerous the effect of drug abuse is it is made worse with poor nutrition, stress, inflammation and excess oxidation. Drug abuse destroys nerve cells and disrupts neural circuitry. Obviously, this aggregate damage can affect behavior, mood, memory, impulse control, cognitive functioning, and decision making. Fortunately, the brain is forgiving and nerve cells can regenerate and rewiring takes place through a process known as neuroplasticity. Though psychotherapy stimulates growth and repair, healing will be compromised and slowed without the addition of critical nutrients and sound dietary practices; your choice of meals may worsen or help you overcome addiction. Researchers have shown that eating foods that are rich in some essential fatty acids can help in treatment of addiction disease.

Essential Fatty Acids

The Essential Fatty Acids

For a long time fats in a diet have been fought for no apparent reason. Everybody is going for a low fat diet forgetting all the benefits that can be drawn from some essential fats. I am not saying that you can just eat any fat anyhow, it is just that the name fat has been associated with serious health problems like obesity and the irony is even after evading fats and going for the low fat foods, the number of people dying from obesity are still increasing. The truth however is there are unhealthy fats but also healthy fats are not extinct.

EFAS are Essential

Essential fatty acids also known as EFAS are as essential as the name suggests meaning that without them then a person’s health will be deteriorated and he will be prone to many infections. EFAs should not be avoided as they help rather than interfere with the body’s metabolic function and significantly aid in weight loss. Unlike the unhealthy fats that you are always told to sweat off, these essential fatty acids will help to build your fuel-burning metabolic machinery. So eating these fats can actually help you become leaner and healthier as they provide your body with adequate energy to keep the cells nourished and rejuvenated. And establishing a proper ratio and intake of EFAs will reap you other major benefits as well, including increased athletic performance and better mood and brain function which are known to be deficient in most addicts.

There are three main EFA substances that work together to promote health. The first is omega-3 fatty acid, or alpha-linolenic acid. The second is omega-6 fatty acid, or linolenic acid. When these EFAS are taken in the right ratios they will help the body the producing other important derivatives like the omega-9 fatty acids. The other group of EFAS include these substances that are also very essential for cognitive functions and general wellbeing, they are; lecithin, carotene, chlorophyll and vitamin E, among others they are important for their valid health contributions.

The most commonly EFA associated with its ability in addiction treatment is Omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 fatty acids are one of three categories of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) important in human biology. The other two PUFA categories are omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids. . Some drugs of abuse such as tobacco have been found to be a major cause of peroxidation that is why most cigarette smokers are having low levels of omega- 3 fatty acids. When the levels of omega-3 PUFAs are low, the neurogenerative process is accelerated leading to slowed nervous transmission in mesocortical areas of the brain, disrupting pathways involved in reward and punishment. As a result, the craving for nicotine is reinforced, interfering with smoking cessation therapy. While this mechanism constitutes a vicious cycle, a group of Israeli researchers found that omega-3 supplementation can bring the cycle to an end.

Essential Fatty Acids

EFAS contribution to cell energy goes a long way in helping in addiction treatment. Most addicts suffer since their mitochondria have been severely affected to an extent that production of energy needed by the body is altered. By enriching the body with energy such withdrawal effects like anxiety, depression and stress can be effectively taken care of.

For addicts who are low on these EFAS it is advisable to supply sufficient omega 3 fatty acids from fish oils, nuts, flaxseed each day for nerve cell repair and maintenance. These essential fatty acids are critical to nerve cell receptors because they make the membrane more flexible to capture the chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. Fats make up 60% of the brain’s dry weight and the majority of this fat is an omega 3 called docosohexanoic acid (DHA). Fats also speed up the transfer of electrical information by severing as insulation (myelin sheath) for the brain’s wiring system, it is therefore necessary to supplement the EFAS during addiction treatment.

Lastly, Here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to finding the best solutions to addiction and dependence on substances. We are located at Myrtle Beach. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for help.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAS) To Treat Addiction

Category Archives: addiction