Tag Archives: United Kingdom

Power of Light Therapy

The Healing Power of Light Therapy

Light TherapyThe benefits of light are many but to most people exposure to sunlight has only one benefit associated with vitamin D. however there is much worse views that have been propagated in relation to exposure to sunlight and while the fact that the UV rays exposure may cause skin cancer and harmful sunburn, the cosmetic industry has blown this issue out of proportion and the reality however is the intensity of the UV rays that causes such harmful effects is rarely achieved. The benefits of exposure to light have been overlooked perhaps clouded by the negative comments that had been propagated in the past. Exposure to light has many benefits.

Ultraviolet light as a medical treatment has been used since the beginning of the century. The technique is merely using UV light to stimulate the immune system and various enzyme systems. It is a tested and proven therapy that has accomplished incredibly miraculous cures with absolutely no side effects, and yet until recently it has been suppressed and ignored by American medicine.

UV light for disinfection

The use of UV light in infection isn’t new; it has been used for several years and is still being used for the same purpose. The approach to use of UV light in disinfection requires use of little sophisticated equipment and works by stimulating the body’s own immune response and various enzyme systems. When this UV light is used for disinfection, a small amount of blood is drawn from the body and is treated with UV light (photoluminescence) and then the blood is reinjected into the bloodstream. When this is done the body’s defenses are rapidly organized to destroy all invading organisms whether viral, bacterial or fungal. According to William C. Douglass, M.D, an author of a book entitled; Into the Light, a husband and wife, who both had a flu one treatment completely, reversed the system in both patients within two hours. The author however states that in case of serious infections, marked reduction in toxic symptoms is observed in 12 to 48 hours.

Another doctor, Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, MD believes that the benefits of the UV light far more outweigh its risks. He believes that UV rays from the sun are the best source of the vitamin D your body needs to ward off cancer and dozens of other health problems. But that’s just the beginning of what ultraviolet light can do. Not only is it an extremely effective disinfectant with the ability to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the air and on surfaces but UV light also has the potential to prevent and even cure infections and diseases that other treatments are powerless against.

to many people the use of UV light in medical treatment may sound as a new technology but the reality however is that this treatment has been used since 19th century in prevention and treatment of diseases and hence isn’t a fresh area of research. The first experiment on the medical applicability of the UV light was done on the patients with lupus and sepsis. A breakthrough in the use of UV light saw a Danish physician named Niels Ryberg Finsen win a Nobel Prize for his work with UV light and the treatment of the disease in 1903.

Now that the benefits of light is known to you, there is a concern, why do we need light therapy when we can get all the benefits from the sun source UV light?

To answer this, I won’t dispute that the sun sourced UV light is the best but there are places or seasons when the sun isn’t seen and therefore there is need for a light therapy to help people in times of these times to evade dangers of deficiency of light. This is where light therapy comes in.

Light therapy also known as bright light therapy involves the use of light boxes emitting full-spectrum light similar in composition to sunlight. Daily exposure to this bright light is the treatment method most often recommended for patients with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression that occurs as a result of reduced exposure to sunlight in the fall, winter and spring. When the SAD symptoms become more severe doctors recommend the light therapy to help reverse the condition.

Light TherapyNormally, during the treatment the patient will sit in front of a light box for thirty minutes a day during the season when light is inadequate. The treatment works best when the patient goes for it immediately after waking up. The patient can read, write or eat when sited before the light but it is advisable for the patient to stop looking directly at the light box. Light therapy is believed to work by its effect on brain chemicals that play a role in regulating mood. This treatment can relieve symptoms within a few days, but sometimes takes as long as two weeks or more.

Conditions that can be treated with light therapy

The light therapy can be used for the following disorders; skin disorder psoriasis and some other skin conditions, as well as for a type of cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. This light therapy is also effective in treatment of depression, insomnia, anxiety and can also be used to counter the effects of antidepressants.

Eating disorders like bulimia have been also treated by light therapy. However this treatment is still being studied for treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders, premenstrual syndrome, jet lag, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Finally, Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced doctor who has been in the frontline in pursuit of integrative medicine that works best. He runs a website that equips readers of better ways to overcome not only drug addiction but also serious health problems that have caused nightmares to the world population. Get in touch with her today and learn more.

The Healing Power of Light Therapy

 

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Alcohol Abuse Linked to Esophageal Cancer

Alcohol Abuse and Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal CancerAlcohol abuse has become prison walls to many people, needless to mention economies are crippled because of this societal vice that has made many people incapable of even fending for themselves. Apart from the whole known fight with alcohol addiction and its related consequences, alcohol abuse has also been identified by researchers as a cause of different cancers. Unfortunately alcoholism is not very easy to quit especially without professional help. Many people who try to stop alcoholism have to give in to the cravings for alcohol. Some may also be pulled back into alcoholism due to the withdrawal symptoms that may be hard to deal with. However hard dealing with alcohol addiction can be, there are numerous ways that medics can use to help an addict break the chain of addiction and help him reduce his chances of falling victim to certain cancers. One of the most important factors that will determine whether the addict will succeed in the fight against addiction is the willingness and commitment of the addict to put up with every advice of the doctors. If you are abusing alcohol and you haven’t seen the need to quit it, I guess you should since it has been linked to many different cancers. One of the cancers that alcohol abuse has been linked to is the esophageal cancer. You may not know much about it but it’s good to note that just like any other type of cancer, esophageal cancer is not lenient at all and so you should carve your path and walk away from this disease.

In this article we will look at how alcohol causes these two main types of esophageal cancers; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA). In the past it has been known that tobacco smoking is a leading cause of different types of cancers including esophageal cancer but recently research study reports have also indicated that excessive alcohol consumption increase the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Today, esophageal cancer (EC) is the 8th most common incident cancer in the world and, because of its high fatality rate, ranks 6th among all cancers in mortality. It is not surprising, therefore, that the etiology of EC has been investigated for over a century. Based on clinical observations, Craver in his Clinical study of etiology of gastric and esophageal carcinoma in 1932 and Watson in 1939 list excessive use of alcohol and tobacco, low socioeconomic status, poor oral health, and consumption of hot drinks as risk factors for EC. These two scientists even cited past research papers on EC etiology published to back up their findings. In particular Craver cites a 1920 article from Argentina that suggests maté drinking as a risk factor for EC.

Alcohol consumption has long been known to be a major cause of esophageal cancer in most areas of the world just like tobacco smoking which is known by many people as a huge cancer risk. Classic ecologic and case-control studies by Tuyns and others in the 1970s and 1980s in his study Cancer of the esophagus: further evidence of the relation to drinking habits in France, established alcohol as a strong cause of esophageal cancer in many countries, and showed that alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking interact to increase esophageal cancer risk in a multiplicative manner. IARC has classified alcohol drinking as a known cause of esophageal cancer.

Generally, it has been found that excessive alcohol consumption is a cause of esophageal cancer however alcohol abuse increases the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma than it does with esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA), but these are just different sides of the same coin-esophageal cancer. When used in excessive amounts (3 or more drinks per day), alcohol has almost universally been associated with an elevated risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; it typically increases risk by 3–5 fold. In contrast, there is little evidence for an association between alcohol drinking and esophageal adenocarcinoma. However, the majority of the case-control and cohort studies that have investigated this association have found no overall relationship between alcohol consumption and esophageal adenocarcinoma, or have found relatively weak associations between alcohol and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Nevertheless there has been some sort of controversy on this issue as some researchers have opined that some studies have suggested that only certain types of alcohol may be have effects on esophageal adenocarcinoma. for instance in this study; Obesity, alcohol, and tobacco as risk factors for cancers of the esophagus and gastric cardia: adenocarcinoma versus squamous cell carcinoma, done by Vaughan TL, Davis S, Kristal A, Thomas DB in 1995, the reports suggests that drinking wine may reduce risk. However no other study has come up to support these findings.

Esophageal CancerIn the past the link between alcohol and cancer was not easy to establish since alcohol itself does not bind DNA, is not mutagenic, and does not cause cancer in animals but there are mechanisms that have been known that has since helped to establish the link between alcohol abuse and increased risk of certain cancers. One of these mechanisms is that it is converted to acetaldehyde which is harmful as it causes DNA alteration leading to gene mutation which escalates risks to cancer. Alcohol is also a solvent to other mutagens and also causes nutritional deficiency.

Drug addiction is a vice that should be fought by all means that is why we at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to availing help to addicts and offering them a place to call home. We offer NER Treatment and Amino acid therapy that are the most effective approaches to addiction treatment and recovery. You call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) today and begin your journey to victory against addiction.

Alcohol Abuse and Esophageal Cancer

 

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Alcohol and Breast Cancer

Alcohol Abuse Increase the Risk of Breast cancer

Breast CancerThe risks of alcohol abuse are well known by even elementary school kids. However the link between breast cancer and alcohol abuse is something ma y people have never known. This is not so appropriate given that most recent research findings have shown the clear link between these two conditions. Studies have proved the links between alcohol use and breast cancer. Research findings points out that one in five (21.6%) of all alcohol-related deaths are due to cancer globally. Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women coming second after lung cancer.

According to Drinkaware’s Chief Medical Advisor, Professor Paul Wallace, people should know that alcohol abuse can increase women’s risk of getting breast cancer.

“My impression is that my patients don’t know about the link between alcohol and breast cancer any more than they do about the association between alcohol and fertility. We can do more to increase awareness.” he says

The professor continued to give the following details on the link between alcohol abuse and breast cancer. True to his words there seems to be a lot of evidence that alcohol abuse increases the risk of breast cancer. However, he made it clear that drinking alcohol does not guarantee that you will get breast cancer but it increases your risk of getting the disease. How much you drink over your lifetime is what increases the risk.

He opines that although alcohol does increase the risk, taken with all the other factors, its contribution to overall causation of breast cancer is estimated to be about 4%. The advice is that if you do regularly drink it should be within the government’s lower risk guidelines.

However the evidences availed by Dr. Wallace aren’t the only ones available to back up this link between alcohol abuse and breast cancer. There are older evidences which show that alcohol increases the risk of developing breast cancer. Professor Wallace confirms that they have known for years that your risk of developing breast cancer increases when you overindulge in alcohol consumption. Overall, women have a 9.5% chance of getting breast cancer before they are 75.In one of these studies it was found that drinking every day even a small amount raises that risk to 10.6%. (4) Professor Wallace says, though, that the overall risk (anything that affects your chance of getting a disease) is based on how much you drink on average each day over a lifetime.

According to Professor Wallace, this link is real based on past research findings which have been reinforced by a recent research that was even done on a larger scope to establish the link between alcohol abuse and breast cancer. This study however is still going on. This study is done on 1.3 million women across the United Kingdom. This study has indicated that the overall risk of a woman to develop breast cancer increases by 7.1 percent for each 10 grams of alcohol drank

Despite the evidences that have been availed, the exact ways alcohol increases the risk of developing breast cancer are still not fully understood but researchers have made known some of the highly potential mechanisms through which alcohol consumption links to breast cancer. one of the mechanism that is suspected to be the major contributor here is the fact that ethanol is broken down into a toxic substance known as acetaldehyde, which can cause genetic mutations, a permanent change in the DNA sequence that makes up genes. This can trigger a response from the body leading to the development of cancerous cells.

Several studies have also reported that alcohol can potentially increase the production of the female hormone estrogen in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. One characteristic of a cancer cell is that it multiplies out of control and in certain types of breast cancer; high circulating levels of estrogen can make this more likely to happen. Alcohol also weakens the immune system leading to nutritional deficiencies, including folic acid, vitamins A, B6, D and E and zinc, all of which may make it more difficult for the body to fight cancerous cells making a person more vulnerable to breast cancer.

The risk of developing breast cancer as always known is much higher in women than in men; this can be attributed to the higher levels of hormone estrogen in women which has been known to increase risks of developing breast cancer. Professor Wallace therefore advices women to stop indulging in excessive drinking and to drink below statutory drinking regulation limits as that is the only way they can reduce this risk of breast cancer apart from dropping alcohol use entirely.

Breast CancerDrink within the government’s lower risk guidelines. When taken overall, looking at all the things alcohol does, the risk at these levels is minimal. Life isn’t about zero risk. Even if you lived in a bubble and didn’t ever go outside, you would still be likely to get osteoporosis because you didn’t exercise!” He adds.

Even men are at risk

The risk of breast cancer is not only to worry women but men as well. Though breast cancer is synonymous to women, men also are at a high risk of getting this disease especially later as they age since that is the time when their levels of hormone estrogen increases. It is therefore advisable for men to reduce the amounts of drinks they take and reduce this risk.

Finally, Alcohol abuse, addiction and cancer are problems that people cope with every day. These problems need to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.

Alcohol Abuse and Breast cancer

 

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Oxytocin May Remedy Drug Abuse Effects

Oxytocin May Reverse Corrosive Effects of Long-Term Drugs Abuse

oxytocinA person’s social life has a great influence in his possibility of using drugs of pleasure. Most of drugs of pleasure are used in social circles and therefore it is appropriate to say that social factors play an important role in the initiation, maintenance and recovery from addictions. There is now accumulating evidence of an interaction between the neural substrates of affiliate behavior and those of drug reward, with a role for brain oxytocin systems in modulating acute and long-term drug effects.

What is oxytocin?

Oxytocin is a hormone that is made in the brain, in the hypothalamus, and it is transported to, and secreted by, the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain. Chemically it is known as a nonapeptide, (because it is a peptide containing nine amino acids), and biologically, as a neuropeptide. It acts both as a hormone and as a brain neurotransmitter. Due to its roles in behavior, this hormone has been given different names such as the love hormone, cuddle hormone, bliss hormone, moral molecule and even hug hormone. Researchers say that it is released when people snuggle up or bond socially.

However this hormone seems to have many functions that can be very helpful to clinical treatment of those enslaved by drug addiction. Researchers have been able to establish a link between addiction and oxytocin and the findings are promising as new approaches can be developed on the basis of the influence of oxytocin on drug addiction to help quell drug addiction and free addicts enslaved to drug use.

Past researchers have indicated that exogenous oxytocin administration can prevent development of tolerance to ethanol and opiates, the induction of stereotyped, hyperactive behavior by stimulants, and the withdrawal symptoms associated with sudden abstinence from drugs and alcohol. In addition to this finding, stimulation of endogenous oxytocin systems is a key neurochemical substrate underlying the prosocial and empathogenic effects of party drugs such as MDMA often referred to as Ecstasy and GHB mostly known as Fantasy. According to these early research reports, brain oxytocin systems exhibit profound neuroplasticity and undergo major neuroadaptations as a result of drug exposure. Many drugs, including cocaine, opiates, alcohol, cannabis, MDMA and GHB cause long-term changes in markers of oxytocin function and this may be linked to enduring deficits in social behavior that are commonly observed in laboratory animals after going through repeated exposure to these drugs. Very recent preclinical studies have illustrated a remarkable ability of exogenously delivered oxytocin to inhibit stimulant and alcohol self-administration, to alter associated drug-induced changes in dopamine, glutamate and Fos expression in cortical and basal ganglia sites, and to prevent stress and priming-induced relapse to drug seeking. Oxytocin therefore has fascinating potential to reverse the corrosive effects of long-term drugs abuse on social behavior and to perhaps inoculate against future vulnerability to addictive disorders. However clinical studies that are examining intranasal oxytocin effects in humans with drug use disorders are still awaited but hopes are high that the results may open ways into a new dimension in fighting drug addiction by using this hormone.

Targeted as a novel treatment of Drug addiction

Over the years researchers have had speculations that oxytocin may have an effect on drug addiction and related behaviors. Clinical doctors and other researchers have got the knowledge that people who are addicted to certain drugs exhibit antisocial traits and exhibit poor decision making in the social domain. There has also been a link between high levels of oxytocin and blossoming relationships as well as stable social bonds. Due to its speculated effects on drug addiction related behavior, oxytocin has been targeted as a novel treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. This has been catapulted by the realization that the acute prosocial effects of some popular recreational drugs most likely involve stimulation of oxytocin systems and that the neural substrates of social bonding and drug reward may be intertwined.

Some drugs of pleasure like MDMA when taken affect the person in a way that he becomes more loving and close to the people around him. He also becomes more naïve as to trust those with him and even to agree with most of their arguments. In preclinical tests these prosocial behaviors have been seen in animal models, for instance in strange pairs of rats meeting for the first time, MDMA markedly reduce aggression and increase a behavior known as adjacent lying; the rats cuddle inhibiting a feeling of love and trust as always the case with human beings under the influence of this drug. MDMA and its metabolites stimulate hypothalamic oxytocin release and after this hormone has been released in high levels then the prosocial feelings are exhibited.

OxytocinMany researchers have now proposed that the reason why many addicts go through drug addiction recovery programs successfully in rehabs may be because of this hormone. The addicts who are majorly summoned to anonymous meetings in the rehabs experience surge in this hormone as they relate to their fellow addicts, this is said to have therapeutic effects as they help resettle dysfunctional oxytocin pathways. In spite of it’s clearly involvement in the prosocial effects of some drugs, it is not clear whether oxytocin itself is rewarding. It is however appropriate to mention that there is still a lot that should be done on this field to avail information on how these past findings can help ease drug addiction treatment.

Finally, Drug abuse, addiction and independence are problems that people grapple with every day. These problems need to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.

Oxytocin May Reverse Corrosive Effects of Long-Term Drugs Abuse

 

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Substance Abuse Promotes Violence Against Women

Women with Substance Abuse Problems Exposed to Violence Against Women by Men

substance abuseWomen are type vulnerable lot. They are the victims of most violence against women cases that happen in homes and even outside home in clubs and public places. However when a woman engages in substance abuse she even become more vulnerable. It is not strange to see a woman who has got drunk being dragged away by men who do not even know her, in most cases women are raped when they are drunk by people who are closest to them. In this society women who have become dependent on alcohol are an easy prey to men who insult and use them for all their benefits; their handbags snatched, they get physically harmed and in extreme cases where they drink too much to contain the have been victims of gang rape.

In family setting, in a home where a woman is a drunkard there will always be fights between her and her husband, women increase their chances of being physically hurt by their husbands when they get drunk and hence are unable to reason well as they would without the influence of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs taken often interfere with the cognitive abilities of the people who use them and women are no exception, with this impaired cognitive abilities in a person nothing happens the same and for women it places them at risk of assault not only from their spouses but also from the general public. Some  have also turned to substance abuse or alcohol, as a result of exposure to violence against women perpetrated by men . When someone is exposed to violence the will suffer Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms which is majorly characterized by emotional numbing, intrusion, hyper arousal and even avoidance, a woman experiencing PTSD will turn to alcohol and other forms of substance abuse to escape these memories but this will only make her even more vulnerable. Women who might have also been brought up by parents who constantly fought face a problem in the future as the woman has the syndrome in her, she grew up seeing her mother being victimized by the father and that in itself is a myriad dosage of inferiority complex, making her view herself as a someone to be subjected to a man’s control hence giving in to constant harassment by men. This problem can be light in normal circumstances but if she also takes alcohol or uses other drugs then the risk of substance abuse is greatly escalated.

Research study in Stockholm

Between March 2009 and April 2010, 79 women with substance misuse in Stockholm were interviewed; 35 WwH (WwH) participating in outpatient treatment for substance misuse, and 44 HW (HW) with or without treatment for substance misuse in contact with Social Services. When in contact with Social Services, there is a standing offer to participate in treatment for substance abuse problems, though not mandatory for receiving help. Women were asked to participate in the study by the staff at the respective units or by a researcher when visiting each participant unit.

HW in the present study were individuals without a residence, owned or rented, had no permanent address, had to rely on temporary housing options, or were living rough. Women in shelters or temporarily living in institutions were also included.

There were some missing data on items randomly distributed over the measurements for one of the subjects included in the HW group.

A shortened version of the World Health Organization questionnaire of male violence against women – experience of men’s physical and psychological violence, sexual abuse, number and incidence of assault, and domestic violence between the adults during childhood was completed by the subjects. Questionnaires concerning relation to male perpetrators like partner, father, acquaintance, etc., if the violence against women was reported to the police, if the report passed to prosecution, any help they got and from whom, and experienced satisfaction with this help/support, were formulated for this study by the authors. ASI, Addiction Severity Index, was also used to seek information about substance misuse problems, physical and psychological health, family situation, marital status, children, and experience of the justice system.

The results of the study

In total, 91% (72 of 79 women; WwH 29; HW 43) had experienced  violence against women by men. In total 99% (WwH 97%; HW 100%) reported experiences of emotional/psychological violence against women, 90% (WwH 83%; HW 95%) physical, and 61% (WwH 59%; HW 63%) sexual violence. Nearly two fifths (WwH 18%; HW 82%) of the women had been assaulted during the past year and about one-fifth (WwH 10%; HW 33%) from their current partner, most exposed by numbers and times were the HW. About a third of the women (WwH 34%; HW 28%) had been abused by the father or another male relative, for further information about the number of women in the respective group subjected to violence against women during childhood.

substance abuseThe study, on substance abuse, also found out that alcohol dependence was a contributor to the injustices that women were put through. The mean score for the WwH alcohol consumption days during the last 30 days was 6.8 days (SD=9; range 0-30). Most frequent substance abuse during the last 30 days was amphetamine used by 24 of the HW in mean 7.3 days (SD=12.2; range 0-30). Both groups were suffering from physical ill health as prolonged physical damage/illness (WwH 51%; HW 82%), receiving medication for physical problems (WwH 43%; HW 45%), and had Hepatitis C virus infection (WwH 6%; HW 70%).

In conclusion, it is clear that women who engage in are more exposed to violence against women than those who are not. It is therefore necessary for women addicted to drugs to seek treatment. We at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to availing help to addicts by availing some of the most integrative approaches to healing an addict. We advocate for natural healing to all kinds of addiction. Call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for help.

Women with Substance Abuse Problems Exposed to  Violence Against Women by Men

 

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