Keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction

September 26, 2015

Keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction: Finding solutions of addiction from the brain

Keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction will require serious soul searching so that your motivation to food will be right and to the correct and healthy foods only.

Did you know that life stop the moment the brain stops? Many people often feel the heart to confirm death of a person but the heart is not driving your life. In fact the functions of your life heavily rely on proper functionality of the brain. It therefore means that the brain is the center of everything that makes us alive and healthy. We want to use this plat form to educate us about the need of keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction. We are also aware that addiction is a serious threat to health and life in general and the sooner we find means of dealing with it the better for our health and that of our societies. Now we want to invite you to join us in the discussion as we engage the services of addiction expert of several decades doctor Dalal Akoury (MD) and also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. Ideally this facility was formed out of the deepest concern doctor Dalal Akoury after seeing and attending to many addicts of different substances. You can therefore become a part of the solution to this problem by calling doctor Dalal Akoury for a more in-depth and professional redress.

Doctor Akoury reiterates that the concerns of many people are that for any addictive behavior, a good place to start the journey of recovery is and should always be at the end of your fork. Remember that any effort towards beating an addiction and staying committed to sustained recovery will heavily depend on your optimal and perfection of your mental health, besides that there are scientific evidence that your mental health will be powerfully affected by what you feed on. A path to recovery from destructive addictions, including those to drugs, alcohol, compulsive eating or gambling, could start at your next meal. It is therefore very important that no time is wasted in dealing with all manner of addiction. The moment you notice signs of addiction, it is only fear that you seek for treatment immediately before it is too late to make any significance change.

Keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction: Effects of relapse to addiction

In my several decades of working with patients, I have seen how the 12-step approach can be very effective more so when there is willingness to be helped. Alongside that I have also established that without dietary changes being implemented on the part of the victim, any attempt of abstinence and recovery is needlessly more vulnerable to relapse. At the heart of the problem are a new set of dietary choices. And because many people are currently feeding on highly-processed foods, foods which are not originally designed by nature but designed in the laboratories, this can cause life to be very complicated in the long run. Remember that the main ingredients of such foods are sugar, refined carbohydrates, and vegetable oils and besides, the producers of such foods have designed them primary to taste good and appealing to the eye for the purpose of luring client into more consumption that is to say they are more of profit oriented than health. Professionally doctor Akoury is of the opinion that feeding on this kind of food will only succeed in lighting up the same pleasure-rewards areas in our brains that are activated by drugs like cocaine and heroin as well as by a variety of addictive behaviors. Ingesting dopamine-triggering foods, in other words, subjecting your brain to the ups and downs, highs and lows, of any addictive substance or activity since you are stirring the same neurochemical pot (no pun intended).

Keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction: Nutritional deficiency by substance abusers

Even as we progress into the discussion, it will interest you to note that many substance abusers deeply hooked on drugs and alcohol suffers from serious nutritional deficiencies that magnify the effects of their addictive illness. Alcohol dependency, for example, can lead to thiamine deficiency, and increases the risk of deficiencies of vitamin B12, vitamin D, and magnesium which are all very significant nutrients needed for optimal brain function. Professional nutritionist will tell you that all the processed foods, in particular, have been taken through various stages of manufacturing thereby stripping them of much of their natural nutritional value, so they fail to supply the essential nutrients our bodies need in general and all the more so when substances further deplete our body’s stores. It is also very important to appreciate that the other nutritional deficiencies can also result in the victims feeling rundown, foggy-brained, distractible and depressed. Take note that any diet of junk food combined with addictive tendencies is a combination that robs you of the neurochemical ingredients you need to function, and thus to bring your full capacities to recovery.

Finally in keeping your brain healthy to eliminate weight you will need a lot of commitment and determination if this exercise is to yield any meaningful truth. We appreciate that once addicted, denial and shame of being embarrassed will be a hard nut to crack, but remember that it is your health that is at stake here and the sooner you comes to the realization of the facts as they are the better. Remember that with addiction, there is no element of discrimination; everybody is vulnerable in almost equal measure. Therefore doctor Akoury registers that for us to be of help to you, the very first thing to do is to acknowledge that you have a problem, when this has been done then you can now schedule for an appointment with us for further deliberations. And up on visiting our facility at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, we will professionally carry out an evaluation to your individual health or addiction complications and based on the outcome of the tests and through evaluation, treatments can now be allowed.

Keeping your brain healthy to eliminate addiction: Finding solutions of addiction from the brain

Vitamin D for Fibromyalgia

March 26, 2015

The Use of Vitamin D for Fibromyalgia

Vitamin D As mentioned in an earlier written article, Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread muscle pain, joint stiffness, and fatigue. The condition is chronic but pain comes and goes and moves about the body. The cause of this disorder is unknown and therefore it is often misdiagnosed or unrecognized and is most of the times complicated by anxiety and mood disorders. this is a common disorder that according to the American College of Rheumatology diagnosis criteria affects about 3-5% of women, most of whom are between ages 20 and 50, but only 0.5- 1.6% of men. This disease is more common in adults than in children but it affects women more than men. This disease is debilitating and is not easily cured. The patients also suffer a lot of pain and use of drugs to manage this pain can result in problems of addiction and dependence on the pain management drugs. The quest to find effective treatment for this disease has led to many researchers doing lots of research on possible treatments or therapies that can be utilized to help mitigate on the adverse symptoms of fibromyalgia. One of these possible alternatives that have been unearthed by past researchers is the use of vitamin D.

Vitamin D being associated with fibromyalgia should not be a surprising discovery as vitamin D has been known to be a strengthening factor to bones especially during early life in a person’s life. Practice such as basking in the sun is common in most parts of the world with biggest benefits being that the sun helps in activating vitamin D that hence works to strengthen bones. Deficiency of vitamin D in children is often characterized by bone deformities such as bowed legs.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in Boston studied patients with fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis, they found that the patients who had levels of vitamin D fared much better than those with lower levels. The result of this study was published in JAMA Neurology.

During this study the vitamin D levels of 465 participants were examined. The patients were then followed over a five year period as part of a study to monitor patients given Betaseron which is an FDA-approved multiple sclerosis drug. They discovered that increasing vitamin D levels within the first 12 months of drug therapy resulted in a 57 percent lower risk of relapse. According to the study, patients with low vitamin D levels early on in the course of the disease had a higher risk factor for long-term multiple sclerosis progression. However this study did not show whether multiple sclerosis causes a fall in the level of vitamin D in the body or whether low vitamin D plays a role in aggravating the disease. however the lead author of the study expressed a belief that the disease is most likely worsened by a fall in the levels of vitamin D. the lead author Alberto Ascherio, D.P.H., M.D., a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at HSPH said, “Most likely, disease activity is exacerbated by low vitamin D levels,” based on what they found in the study when interviewed by Healthline.

Vitamin D supplementation for fibromyalgia

The research on the effects of vitamin D on patients suffering from fibromyalgia was done in Vienna, Austria by Dr. Florian Wepner, of Orthopedic Hospital Vienna Speising. This research showed that higher vitamin D levels are associated to lower levels of pain and fatigue in fibromyalgia patients. In this study there were thirty participants who were all suffering from fibromyalgia. The thirty participants were divided into two groups. One group received vitamin D supplements while the other group was put on a placebo treatment. The researchers noticed that the patients who were put on vitamin D supplements had shown significant reduction in both pain and fatigue symptoms.

According to the findings of this study it can be shown that supplementing vitamin D can help alleviate the suffering of pain that patients suffering from fibromyalgia have to put up with. However the study lead investigator Wepner, M.D advised that fibromyalgia is a very complex condition that cannot only be explained by vitamin D deficiency alone.

“[Vitamin D] may be regarded as a relatively safe and economical treatment and an extremely cost-effective alternative or adjunct to expensive pharmacological treatment,” Wepner said in a journal news release.

Apparently, Dr. Wepner is not the only person that has promoted Vitamin D supplementation as a viable therapy for those suffering from fibromyalgia. Another doctor Dr. Kiran Patel has endorsed the same thought. Dr. Kiran is a pain medicine specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and often deals with fibromyalgia, he said, “Fibromyalgia patients and those with chronic pain should certainly have their vitamin D blood levels checked and, if low, consider supplementation under the guidance of a physician,”

It’s good to bask in the sun

Despite the failure of this research to show the link between vitamin D and fibromyalgia or better yet the mechanism by which vitamin D helps mitigate on the symptoms of the disease, the benefits of vitamin D supplements have been seen and therefore it is good to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D for overall health purposes. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for people ages nine and up, the safe, maximum intake level is 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day. This level of vitamin D can be enough to keep you on the safety levels of vitamin D.

Finally, fibromyalgia is a serious threat that has no known treatment. There is need to come up with safer yet effective alternatives of treating it. This is why here at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center we are committed to availing the best integrative approaches to treatment of diseases. Visit as at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) will be of help.

The Use of Vitamin D for Fibromyalgia

Thiamine Before Glucose Always For Alcohol Addiction

November 18, 2014

Thiamine before Glucose Always For Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol addiction has become chains of slave to many and economies are crippled because of this societal vice that has made many people incapable of even fending for themselves. 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. 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. One of the methods that doctors will use to help an addict is the use of thiamine.

Alcohol-Addiction

What is thiamine?

Thiamine or Thiamin also known as Vitamin B1 is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. This vitamin is needed so that our bodies can use carbohydrates as energy. It is a necessity for glucose metabolism. Thiamine also plays an important role in nerve, muscle and heart function.

Thiamine is found in many foods such as yeast, cereal grains, beans, nuts, and meat. It is part of vitamin B vitamins with which it is often used in making vitamin B complex products. Vitamin B complexes generally include vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin/niacinamide), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), and folic acid.

There are situations when a person will require to take Thiamine, thiamine deficiency syndromes such as beriberi and neuritis that may arise during pregnancy require supplementation of thiamine. It is also used to treat digestive problems which may include ulcerative colitis, diarrhea and even poor appetite.

This vitamin has many uses, some of its uses include; it is used in vision problems like cataracts, it is also used by HIV patients as an immune booster, used in treating brain damage and in prevention of cervical cancer. It can still be used to enhance learning abilities and to enhance positive mental attitude. It also increases energy and is also useful in preventing memory loss.

Despite its many uses thiamine is widely used in treating a memory disorder known as Wernicke’s encephalopathy syndrome. However it has been found to be effective in fighting alcoholism which in itself is an indication of thiamine deficiency.

Alcoholism and glucose

Excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful to your health is a phrase that many people are familiar with. However many people do not know how it harms your health. To begin with addiction to alcohol lowers blood sugar level and that means there is energy deficiency. This is because the majority of alcohol metabolism takes place in the liver, which is also the primary location of glucose production. Because of this, alcohol intake can interfere with the liver’s production of glucose and may cause hypoglycemia to correct this situation there is need for glucose supplementation to restore energy levels. One of the ways through which the levels of energy can be increased in a person addicted to alcohol is to break down carbohydrates to release energy. Even if glucose can be supplied through other means there is something that is still needed to help the person break the glucose to release energy and that is where thiamine comes in. thiamine is necessary for glucose metabolism and so it is vital to supplement thiamine before supplementing glucose in a person addicted to alcohol.

Thiamine and alcohol addiction

Why it is necessary to give thiamin before glucose

The biological pathways will become unregulated when there are nutritional deficiencies. In this case the precursors of ATP production like glucose will be rapidly used by the cells. However there will be an inability by previously produced enzymes to help in the process of glycolysis to help in utilization of glucose so that ATP can be produced in normal levels. This will cause a backup in the system as a result of accumulation of intermediate products in the pathways. When this happens ATP will not be produced adequately, it will also cause accumulation of pyruvate which is the result of continued glycolysis, the pyruvates will be converted to lactic acid by the cells after failing to enter the TCA cycle. This is done to maintain glycolysis by generation of NAD+ which is necessary for generation of 2 ATP3. Therefore when you feed the cells more glucose without supplementing the needed thiamin to allow for complete ATP generation you will only increase generation of lactic acid. The acidic conditions, the inability of the pentose pathway to protect the cells from reactive oxygen species that damage the cells and he increased stress in the cells causes cell death or induces apoptosis.

To prevent this cell death it is vital to give thiamine first to enhance the utilization of the glucose supplemented to form ATP and prevent the generation lactic acid that may accelerate cell damage in the brain. In chronic alcoholism the degree of cell damage is high owing to thiamin deficiency. This will cause cognitive impairment as well as poor musculoskeletal coordination. The alcohol addict will risk death when the deficiency in thiamine is too severe. It is however good to note that thiamin deficiency cannot be corrected by single IV administration of thiamin. It will take long to correct the deficiency.

Finally, Here at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center we 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.

Thiamine before Glucose Always For Alcohol Addiction

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