Sleep deprivation and Addiction

July 31, 2014

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Why it is important to sleep well

Sleep deprivation is not healthy at all. It becomes complicated if you are addicted to certain substances. Ensure you get enough sleep for good health.

After a long day of work you retire home and after taking a cold or warm bath and c nice healthy meal all you would want is to fall asleep. It is actually a routine that we retire to bed every night. What many may not know is that sleep is not just for relaxation of your body after work, it also has great benefits other than relaxing like good memory, health, looks, ability to lose weight and even positives on your sex life. It is therefore necessary that we have not just good but adequate sleep. The following are some of the consequences of not having enough sleep:

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Accidents

Majority of fatal accidents on our transport sector especially road transport is as a result of sleep deprivation. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk will. The problem is not just on the road poor-quality sleep also leads to accidents and injuries at the workstations. In one study, workers who complained about excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more work accidents, particularly repeated work accidents. They also had more sick days per accident.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down

Sleep plays a major role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep injures these cognitive processes in many ways. It impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently. Besides these during the night, various sleep cycles play a role in combining memories in the mind and if you are deprived of sleep, you may not be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the day.

Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems

Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for:

Heart disease
Heart attack
Heart failure
Irregular heartbeat
High blood pressure
Stroke
Diabetes

Lack of Sleep Kills Sex Drive

The experts are reporting that sleep-deprived people may report lower libidos and less interest in sex. Depleted energy, sleepiness, and increased tension may be largely to blame.

For men with sleep apnea, a respiratory problem that interrupts sleep, there may be another factor in the sexual slump. A study published in 2002 suggests that many men with sleep apnea also have low testosterone levels. In the study, nearly half of the men who suffered from severe sleep apnea also secreted abnormally low levels of testosterone during the night.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Depression

Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression. The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has the strongest link to depression. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, those with insomnia were five times as likely to develop depression as those without. In fact, insomnia is often one of the first symptoms of depression.

Insomnia and depression feed on each other. Sleep loss often aggravates the symptoms of depression, and depression can make it more difficult to fall asleep. On the positive side, treating sleep problems can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa.

Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin

Most people have experienced sallow skin and puffy eyes after a few nights of missed sleep. But it turns out that chronic sleep loss can lead to lackluster skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. In excess amounts, cortisol can break down skin collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic.

Sleep loss also causes the body to release too little human growth hormone. When we’re young, human growth hormone promotes growth. As we age, it helps increase muscle mass, thicken skin, and strengthen bones.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Forgetfulness

If you want to keep your memory sharp then get good and adequate sleep. Researchers have established that the brain events called sharp wave ripples are responsible for consolidating memory. The ripples also transfer learned information from the hippocampus to the neocortex of the brain, where long-term memories are stored. Sharp wave ripples occur mostly during the deepest levels of sleep.

Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight

When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. People who sleep for under six hours a day are almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.

Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite and sleep deprivation is associated with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin. Not only does sleep loss appear to stimulate appetite. It also stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. Ongoing studies are considering whether adequate sleep should be a standard part of weight loss programs.

Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment

Lack of sleep can affect our interpretation of events. This hurts our ability to make sound judgments because we may not assess situations accurately and act on them wisely.

Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially prone to poor judgment when it comes to evaluating the effects of lack of sleep in their lives. In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has become a kind of badge of honor. But sleep experts say if you think you’re doing fine on less sleep, then you’re very wrong for example if you work in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of functioning then this can be a big problem.

Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation they’ve gotten used to it. However if you look at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they continue to go downhill. So there’s a point in sleep deprivation when we lose touch with how impaired we are. In conclusion take time and sleep well because failing will not just be disastrous to you but even to others. In case of any problem of addiction or weight gain due to your action of sleeping less then you may want to visit AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care for professional help. Doctor Dalal Akoury will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE and you will have your life back completely.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Why it is important to sleep well

Angiogenesis and Metastasis

July 30, 2014

The Role of Angiogenesis Inhibitors In Integrative Cancer Care
Cancer patients always have a fear that their cancer may become metastatic. If it becomes metastatic it becomes a problem to treat and may cause lots of damage to the healthy cells in the patient’s body. Metastastasis however cannot happen without angiogenesis. Therefore if the cancer doctors find a way of avoiding angiogenesis then it can be easier to avoid metastatic cancer. One of the known characteristics of cancerous cells is that they divide rapidly and their growth is uncontrolled, this is a major challenge as the danger increases with how well they are well spread in the body. The best way to control the spread of cancer is to control angiogenesis by the aid of angiogenesis inhibitors.

What is angiogenesis?

Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels. This is a natural process that occurs majorly during growth and development of children. The mother’s womb has to form new blood vessels that are important in the development of the infant. This is a crucial process and is known as vascologeneis. However this process happens less often in adults and may happen during wound healing. In women it happens during the menstruation cycle. When this formation of new blood vessels is induced by tumor, it is referred to as tumor angiogenesis. This happens when the tumors release molecules that signal the surrounding tissues. It is this signaling that activates genes that make proteins to initiate growth of new blood vessels. These new blood vessels penetrate into the cancerous cells and help them grow by supplying them with the needed nutrients and removing wastes out of them hence creating an environment that favors their growth and metastasis.

For tumors to grow and metastasize, angiogenesis is a necessity without which the cancerous cells will become inactive and may even die. The network of newly formed blood vessels become very dangerous to the cancer patient as they enhance the growth of the cancerous cells, spreading to other parts of the body and inflicting pain. For this situation to be controlled there is need to cut the nutrient and oxygen supply to these cancerous cells.

Being that cancer cells depend on angiogenesis to grow and metastasize, cancer therapies that target angiogenesis can potentially help in treating cancer. Angiogenesis is necessary for growth and metastasis of all cancer cells irrespective of the type of cancer. Cancer treatments that target angiogenesis will definitely aid in treatment of all cancers. The basis of therapies that target angiogenesis is that if angiogenesis can be stopped then the cancerous cells will be killed as they will not access the necessary supplies hence will starve to death.

Copper and Angiogenesis

Copper is a trace element the needs to highly regulated as any slight homeostatic copper disruptions may result in serious health complications such as the Wilson’s disease. Copper is also known to be necessary for angiogenesis. Without copper angiogenesis cannot take place. Copper therefore fuels cancer tumor growth and metastasis. Anti-angiogenic therapies can be used to curb this situation. tetrathiomolybdate (TM) is effective in copper chelation. Researchers have proved that TM forms a stable tripartite complex with copper and protein. If given with food, it chelates food copper with food protein and prevents absorption of copper in the bloodstream. There is endogenous secretion of copper in saliva and gastric secretions associated with food intake, and this copper is also chelated by TM when it is taken with meals, thereby preventing copper re-absorption.

Researchers have tested the effects of the tetrathiomolybdate (TM) on mice that were injected with cancer cells and left for a week for angiogenesis to begin. After the new blood vessels had been formed the mice was injected tetrathiomolybdate (TM). The angiogenesis stopped and the tumor growth stopped. Tetrathiomolybdate (TM) is targeted by many researchers who want to verify if it can be used as a cancer treatment. However from researches that had been done in the past it was concluded that tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has a unique action on the copper that fuels angiogenesis and retarded tumor growth with little side effects. If cancer patients are given TM with food their copper balance become negative which does not support angiogenesis. The copper that is bound by TM cannot do any meaningful biological activity as it cannot be absorbed by cells and is excreted in the urine having been cleared by bile.

Typically the level of cancer that is needed for angiogenesis is much higher as compared to the amount of copper that is needed for cellular activities that are dependent on cancer like cytochrome function and heme synthesis. Cancer therapy that are based on anti-copper may work well as the copper needed for cellular activities will be retained even when TM is used to as an anti-copper angiogenic agent.

Low molecular weight heparins

Researchers have also found out that Low molecular weight heparins helps in improving the cancer patient’s chances of survival as it inhibits metastasis. The low molecular weight heparins are said to curb metastasis by preventing cancer cell triggered destruction of the endothelial glycocalyx. In experimental animal models and clinical tests; it was found that the low molecular weight heparins protects against cancer progression and metastasis. This is said by the scientists is possible as the low molecular weight inhibits metastasis interfering with the cancer cell binding on the platelets. Cancer cell needs to attach themselves to the platelets to move to other parts of the body. Low molecular weight heparins also inhibit metastasis through binding of heparanase or hyaluronidase thereby protecting the vascular endothelium from invasion by the cancer cells.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert in integrative cancer treatment and can avail you the best advice to help you cure or better yet prevent cancer. You can always call her for consultations.

The Role of Angiogenesis Inhibitors In Integrative Cancer Care

Alcoholism and Obesity

July 30, 2014

Alcoholism and Obesity – Their Relationship

Alcoholism and Obesity are two health conditions you must not allow to affect you all at the same time.

From the definitions of the two terminologies you may not see clearly the absolute similarities however these two conditions (alcoholism and obesity) may be much more correlated that you have ever imagined. If you look at the two conditions, you will realize that both are provoked by an episode of loss of control. It may not matter how the loss of control took place whether it was genetically instigated, propelled by environmental factors or it was just a moment of one’s weak moments does not count, the common denominator is there is a loss of control.

Many people suffering from these conditions normally invest heavily in the management of their addiction occasioned by various factors like struggling to maintaining control, feeling guilty or just juggling with when they will access their addictive elements that is alcohol or food. With this both conditions can grow progressively worse and when taken to the extreme can be life threatening.

The powerful ingredients making alcoholism and obesity to be similar are the contents of what causes their being addictive which are ethanol and food and how they work on the brain. For instance ethanol stimulates reward centers in the brain exactly the way sugar, salt and fat also do. It is because of this that people with a tendency of over-drinking may also have the same tendency to overeating.

Alcoholism and Obesity – Alcohol and Weight loss

Ignorantly people often say that alcohol consumption increases appetite and therefore alcohol consumers are motivated to eat more thereby gaining weight. This is not true since ethanol which is the key addictive ingredient in alcoholic drinks and fat from foods have approximately the same amount of calories however those people suffering from alcoholism have a tendency not to be affected by obesity primarily because they are often malnourished due to poor feeding habits having replaced a portion of their food calories with calories from alcohol

According to a study conducted in 2005 sampling regular alcohol consumers it was established that those who drank the smallest amount (i.e. one drink per day) with the extreme frequency (i.e. three to seven days per week) had a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who drank more occasionally, but in larger units. Even though we may not rely heavily on these findings they may indicate some relationship between over-drinking and overeating.

Connection between Alcoholism and Obesity

Early 2010 researchers from Washington University School of medicine released one of the most important findings regarding the connection between obesity and alcoholism. The study was based on two large alcoholism surveys previously done where 80,000 people participated in both. They then put proper control on all the factors of the study and the ultimate finding was that in quite recent survey those with a family history of alcoholism had a greater chance of being affected by obesity. For women, who had a 49 percent greater chance, this was especially true. One possible reason is that in trying to avoid the alcoholic behaviors observed in their families, people replace alcohol with a different addiction.

Surprisingly enough researchers did not find any connection or association between obesity and family history of alcoholism in the first survey. The fact that the link strengthened as much as it did in the relatively short amount of time between the two surveys suggests that environmental factors (the increase in sedentary times; the increased prevalence of fatty, sugary and salty foods in grocery stores and restaurants; and the reduced access to opportunities for activity) are involved. In brief a genetic risk might be submissive in a world that makes maintaining one’s weight a relatively straightforward task. But, change the environment to make unhealthy eating easier and being active harder, and the problem will become apparent.

Finally in their (researchers’) comments in their publication they focused on changes to our food environment, suggesting that obesity may be rising in “individuals vulnerable to addiction. This may be specifically the result of a changing food environment and the increased availability of highly palatable foods.”

Alcoholism and Obesity – Overlapping Brain Pathways

More and more, neuroscientists are finding similarities in the pathways that lead to excessive eating and dependence on alcohol and other drugs. Both obesity and alcohol addiction have been linked to the brain’s reward system. Overconsumption can trigger a gradual increase in the reward threshold, requiring more and more palatable high-fat food or strengthening alcohol to satisfy cravings. It is no secret that addiction and obesity the two major and most challenging health problems in U.S and many other nations across the globe today. It is therefore important that we learn from these research findings to not just keep talking but to put into practice some of the knowledge we have gathered about addiction to the study of overeating and obesity.

Every day possess an opportunity to learn something new and we are privileged to be learning more about how eating and drinking are indistinguishably connected at the physiologic level. These physiologic commonalities help to explain why the behaviors of excessive food intake and excessive alcohol consumption share so many similarities. Nonetheless, in appreciation of possible link between obesity and alcoholism we all have a duty to unlock the link and use the findings to understand, treat and most importantly prevent these two diseases from further damaging our societies and families.

It will finally take a collective approach for all of us to win this race. On your part you can contribute by talking to the experts like Dr. Dalal Akoury, Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center concerning all that may be bothering you concerning these these health conditions. Doctor Akoury and her team of experts are there for you and your friends to ensure you are not just educated but well treated by offering exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to you, your friends, other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Remember together we will win and celebrate having chosen to be a part of this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Alcoholism and Obesity – Their Relationship

Buprenorphine

July 30, 2014

Buprenorphine – Addiction treatment

Buprenorphine drug may not be the best for addiction treatment and it has to be prescribed by a doctor and not across the counter

The prevalence of drug abuse in our streets is in the rise and unless something is done fast to contain the increase then the dangers are likely to be fatal. Besides rehab centers we can also use certain medications like buprenorphine which is helpful in keeping off drugs like heroin from the streets by reducing the bad withdrawal symptoms when one ceases to use drugs. This medicine closely related to heroin and often administered as treatment replacement. It is the choice drug for many even though some people choose to progressively limit their dose and eventually come off it. Normally this drug last longer in the body system and therefore its prescription is a once daily dose. To regulate its use users may be required to be taking buprenorphine in the presence of a supervisor normally the pharmacist dispensing the drug to the user. This close supervision is to ensure that only the right dose is taken and with time the user can be allowed to be taking it all by themselves after ascertaining regular dose maintenance.

Buprenorphine – Side Effects

Just in like all other medications buprenorphine drug treatment equally has side effects for instance when you start using buprenorphine you may not get it out of your system with ease irrespective of what option you went for be it inpatient or outpatient in a rehab program.

As with all medications, Buprenorphine (Suboxone) drug treatment also has some disadvantages. It is still a medication and if you prefer to break free from any kind of addiction immediately, then Buprenorphine may not be the way to go. Also, you may not be completely Buprenorphine-free by the time you leave drug treatment, even if you opt for an inpatient drug rehab program.

Some may consider these disadvantages while others consider them well worth the advantage of avoiding opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Initial studies on long-term use of Buprenorphine suggest that there are anti-depressant effects of the drug as well.
The dosing schedule is also relatively easy to maintain as most don’t even have to take it every day.
Additionally, you can’t abuse Suboxone, get high off of it or overdose on it like you can with some other opiate addiction maintenance or detox drugs, like methadone.

Much as this may offer treatment for addiction, it is in itself addictive and should not be encouraged. Its shortcomings far much out ways the advantages as illustrated in the paragraphs below.

Buprenorphine – Before using buprenorphine

Certain medications are so reactive to people and especially to those with certain health conditions. Buprenorphine is such medicine that needs to be used with extra care being taken therefore before this medication is administered, your doctor must be aware of the following to help them make a decision whether to allow or not.

Do you or have you ever had liver or kidney problems.
Do you or have you ever had prostate problems or any difficulties passing urine.
Do you have any breathing problems like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Have you ever been told that you have low blood pressure
Do you have any problems with your thyroid or adrenal glands
Are you epileptic?
Do you have any problem with your bile duct
Are you pregnant or breast-feeding
If you have been constipated for more than a week or have an inflammatory bowel problem.
Do you have a condition causing muscle weakness, called myasthenia gravis?
Have you in the recent past had a severe head injury
Have you ever had an allergic reaction to any medicine
Are currently taking any street drugs or medicines including any medicines you are taking which are available across the counter without a prescription like herbal and complementary medicines.

Buprenorphine – Achieving the best from your treatment

Occasionally when using buprenorphine you may experience some discomfort during the first 3 days, this is a normal reaction and you must not attempt taking heroin on top, and again do not take more than what the doctor instructed.
Periodically keep regular consultations with your doctor or clinic for proper review of how you’re progressing. During these meetings you are likely to be requested to give specimen of urine from time to time for the evaluation exercise.
You cannot get Buprenorphine without a doctor’s prescription and you will not be able to ask for any changes to be made to your supply because your pharmacist can only dispense the prescription exactly as per the instructions of your doctor.
There are several different brands and strengths of buprenorphine tablets, so each time you collect a supply, check to make sure it contains what you are expecting.
You are more likely to succeed in staying off heroin if you have support and counseling in addition to taking buprenorphine. Local drug community teams, self-help groups and other agencies may be of help.
You must refrain from any street drugs or drinking too much alcohol while using buprenorphine because other street drugs such as benzodiazepines (benzos) and alcohol can affect buprenorphine and increase the chance of unwanted effects.
You should tell the DVLA that you are taking buprenorphine if you are a driver. You are likely to be banned from driving at first, although you may be allowed to drive again later, subject to an annual medical review. Your doctor will tell you when you can resume driving.
When there is need to stopping using buprenorphine discuss this with your doctor before stopping. It is important that buprenorphine should be taken regularly to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms occurring. When you are ready to consider becoming drug-free, your doctor will be able to help you decide on the best way to do this in order to keep withdrawal effects to minimum and manageable levels.
If you are planning any visit abroad, you should carry a letter with you from your doctor to explain that you have been prescribed buprenorphine. This is because buprenorphine is classed as a ‘controlled drug’ and is subject to certain restrictions.
If you buy any medicines, check with a pharmacist that they are suitable for you to take with buprenorphine. Many other medicines have similar side-effects to buprenorphine and taking them together will increase the risk of unwanted effects.
If you are having an operation or dental treatment, tell the person carrying out the treatment that you are taking buprenorphine.

Finally you have had all the attached effects and conditions while using this drug, you may wonder why use such medicine with so much conditions and believe me you are right therefore for good healthy and user friendly alternatives talk to Dr. Dalal Akoury, Founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. She is a medical doctor with over two decades of addiction treatment and together with her team of experts she is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to all patients across the globe as well to other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Your condition will be safe at this facility and you will be among many individuals and qualified professional joining this truly successful and fast addiction recovery treatment.

Buprenorphine – Addiction treatment

Stress Relief and Cancer

July 29, 2014

Stress Relief Is Essential in Cancer Care
Stress Cancer is a disease that has caused much pain and has made us victims in one way or the other. The moment a person receives a news that he has cancer, fear become his uninvited companion as no one is ever sure of surviving the disease even with availability of many alternative cancer treatments in the hospitals. Researchers have done lots of work to ease this feeling but history knows that very many people have lost their lives to the disease. Some of the people who lost their lives did not die because of the disease itself but because the treatment was not holistic enough to suppress all the tension that the patient had. Cancer treatment is not just about injecting the patient with drugs that are aimed at killing the cancer cells. This approach of cancer treatment may not succeed because a cancer patient goes through lots of psychological trauma that needs to be addressed as well during the treatment and this is the reason why having an integrative cancer doctor attend to your cancer patient can be very beneficial as they focus on the whole person healing that is the body, the spirit and the mind. Stress is a culprit in cancer treatment and so needs to be addressed well for the cancer treatment to be effective. The patient needs to obtain a peace of mind for the drugs to have effect on the patient. Stress has been mentioned by many researchers as a factor that may make cancer treatment even more complicated.

Stress causes cancer

Many medical research findings have linked stress to cancer. Researchers have found that a gene ATF3 is a crucial link between cancer and stress. The gene is activated during stressful conditions in all types of cells, in normal conditions the gene can protect the body since incase of dangerous stressors; the normal cells can commit suicide to avoid the spread of the poison to other cells.

The researchers however proved that the cancerous cells will coax the immune system that have been put in place closer to the tumors to influence the expression of the ATF3 gene hence makes the ATF3 to inhibit the activity of immune cells making them to act erratically and allow the cancer cells to spread from the tumor to other parts of the body. In that manner stress is linked to metastasis.

It is highly recommended for a cancer patient to engage in practices that helps in reducing the stress levels in the body which in a broader way will help in reducing your risk of getting cancer. The patient ought to be well taken care of by avoiding all stressful conditions.

Stress relief is not only important to those who are already sick of cancer, stress relief is necessary for those who are not sick as well. This is because stress may make a person to involve in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, drinking alcohol and having multiple sexual partners all in a bit to find relief. Smoking tobacco is a major cause of lung cancer while having multiple sexual partners is known to cause cervical cancer.

How to relieve stress in a cancer patient

To relieve stress we need something that may distract the patient from his streams of hopeless thoughts. There are a number of activities that may help a patient be relieved of stress but still the person’s attitude towards the activity will matter so it is important to incorporate the patient’s likes and feelings in every strategy towards stress relief.

Reflexology

Reflexology involves the practice of massaging or applying pressure to various acupressure points on the body with the goal of reducing stress and supporting overall health. This however needs to be done by a qualified integrative cancer doctor in order to reap the desired benefits.

Sound therapy CD

Sound therapy is effective in stress relief in cancer patients. It involves the patient listening to the vibrations from the harmonics overtones of the 5^th interval and the 7h cord which is made up of two 5^th intervals. The vibrations are said to promote healing in the parts of brains that are responsible for endorphin release by causing a pathetic resonance to these parts. Endorphins are brain chemicals that transmit signals from one neuron to the other and help in reducing stress and enhancing the immune system.

Ballroom dance

Exercise is a great way that helps in stress reduction not only to cancer patient but also to people who dot have cancer cells in them. However for a cancer patient, he may not be having strength enough for a gym workout needless to mention the exercise they need to do is one that is fun like ballroom dancing which increases the blood circulation and reduces muscle tension. It also activates hormonal activities which is key in cancer treatment.

Valid company

Stress Stress can be worse if the patient is kept in isolation where he does not meet his family and share his moments with them. This explains why patients undergoing home treatment may recover within a short time. Keeping the cancer patients accompanied at all times reduces their stress as they know they have people they can count on.

You need to learn on ways to prevent the disease. You need reliable information to help you do this. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for more information on health matters and be empowered to take good care of your life. Check her website for more information. As always she is readily available for consultations.

Stress Relief Is Essential in Cancer Care

Category Archives: Dr. Dalal Akoury