A few key points you should know about acupuncture

It almost seems like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Stick needles into your skin to ease pain. You’d think that sticking needles into your body would produce pain, but that’s not what happens. The art of acupuncture has been around for more than 4000 years. Though it is still not completely understood how it works, and many remain skeptical, those who have had acupuncture treatments will attest to its effectiveness. Scientists have recently made a correlation between a molecule called adenosine and the effects of acupuncture.

What is Adenosine

A team of scientist as the University of Rochester Medical Center identified the molecule, adenosine, as a major player in the pain-relieving effects of acupuncture. The report was published online in Nature Neuroscience, and indicated that scientists were able to triple the pain-relieving effects of acupuncture in mice by using a chemical which makes it harder for body tissue to remove adenosine.

How do I obtain acupuncture health insurance?

Acupuncture coverage generally falls under the larger category of alternative therapy coverage. This is a type of health insurance that offers benefits that are tailored to patients who are interested almost exclusively in alternative forms of health care (whether it is natural health remedies, chiropractic care, hypnosis, energy healing, homeopathy, and more). You can request a free quote for health insurance here, which will get you on the right track.

How Adenosine Works With Acupuncture

Adenosine is a natural compound that is known to regulate sleep, and has anti-inflammatory properties. Adenosine also acts as a natural painkiller by inhibiting nerve signals which signal the brain to feel pain. Adenosine dramatically increases the effects of acupuncture treatments by almost tripling the amount of adenosine in the muscles where acupuncture treatments are administered.

Research already shows that acupuncture creates signals in the brain that cause the body to produce the larger amounts of endorphins; another natural painkiller found in the body. This study shows has revealed the role of adenosine in acupuncture treatments.

For many people, acupuncture is a mainstay in their fight to relieve pain. Although it isn’t completely understood just how it works, thousands of people will attest that it does.

photo credit: sushiphotos

Who would have thought there were any dangers lurking in the fresh fruits and vegetable isle of your local supermarket? Whether organic or commercially grown, everyone agrees that fruits and vegetables are good for you. The more you eat the better, right? Well, this isn’t entirely true.

Pesticides in Your Fruits and Vegetables

It’s no secret that pesticides aren’t good for you, but did you know that the main source of pesticides found in the human body is a direct result of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables? It’s true. Organophosphate exposure mostly comes from consuming those otherwise healthy fruits and vegetables. Scientific study showed long ago that exposure to high levels of organophosphate is very harmful to your health, but new studies are indicting that even small amounts of pesticides (Levels that were once thought to be safe) can be extremely harmful; especially in child and teenagers.

Fruits and Vegetables and ADHD

A study published in the May 2010 edition of Pediatrics, suggested that low levels of pesticides were associated with a higher risk of developing Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in young children. The research comes from the University of Montreal and Harvard University. After testing the urine of 1,139 kids aging from 8 – 15, it was revealed that almost 95% of them had at least one of the chemical byproducts of pesticides in their systems. So what’s the answer?

Making Your Fruits and Vegetables Safe

For starters, you can change your diet to entirely organic. Although there is a higher cost involved with purchasing organic, the health benefits are remarkable. If your pocketbook can’t handle a diet that is entirely organic, the next best thing is to wash all your fruits and vegetables before consuming them.

Advocates of measures to improve the efficiency of health care have been advocating electronic prescribing for many years, and if recent efforts in this area are anything to go by, as many as 75% of doctors might be using e-prescriptions in just five years. E-prescriptions are paperless prescriptions, written electronically by your doctor and sent electronically to your pharmacy. No print-outs are involved at all – your doctor doesn’t print you a copy, and a copy isn’t faxed to your pharmacy. All the work is done electronically.

What Are the Benefits of Electronic Prescriptions?

Adopting an e-prescribing system has a number of benefits for both doctors and patients. The system is more efficient, potentially saving millions of dollars in health care expenditure, and meaning shorter waits for people getting prescriptions filled. More importantly, it could completely eliminate the harmful errors that can result when a doctor’s handwriting is misread by a pharmacist. (more…)

Many of us are predisposed towards a mistrust of drug companies. The fact is, they make billions of dollars every year, and it seems like most would do anything for a buck. Recent news that AstraZeneca allegedly suppressed negative information about Seroquel, an anti-psychotic drug, is not helping the tarnished image that the pharmaceutical industry has earned.

A Washington Post article published recently outlines the study, known as “Study 15,” and reported that AstraZeneca had suppressed the study’s negative results, and at the same time promoted more positive results from other studies with less stringent protocols.

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When a doctor explains treatment options to a patient, it’s often little understood; frequently glossed over; and delivered in over-technical terms. A new movement in health care is makings strides to change the status quo, and with it the decisions of a whole new group of patients.

Case Examples of Informed Consent Opportunities

Currently, the most effective early warning signal for prostate cancer is an elevated level of prostate-specific antigen in the blood. But that test is nowhere near perfect – many men with prostate cancer test negative for PSA, and men who are overweight and have developed prostate cancer often have reduced PSA levels. Up to 25% of men with prostate cancer test negative for elevated PSA.

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The $787 billion economic stimulus package that was signed into law last week includes one or two health-related measures that haven’t been widely publicized, but which are no less important for it.

One of these is the $1.1 billion that has been assigned for a study to compare the effectiveness of a large number of medical treatments, drugs, surgeries, and other current standard medical procedures and devices. A council of fifteen federal employees will be set up to coordinate the research and advise the President and Congress on where the money would best be spent.

The program is a response to growing concerns that doctors have little solid evidence on which to base the value of many of the treatments that are currently considered standard.

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The medical breakthroughs that get reported in the media rarely end up being the miracle cures they’re often portrayed as. In 2008, however, there were several important advanced made in medical science that could have a significant impact on public health in years to come.

1. The question of whether organic food is good for you has finally been answered: A review of studies on nutrient content of organic fruits, vegetables, and grains has confirmed that these have up to 25% more nutrients than conventionally-grown produce.
2. Another long-held myth—about the efficacy of antibiotics for sinus infections—was also dispelled in 2008. Over the course of nine studies involving 2,500 participants, it was found that antibiotics didn’t significantly hasten recovery. According to allergist Neil L. Kao, MD, taking a decongestant or mucus thinner, along with a painkiller as needed, is just as beneficial.

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Off-label prescribing—the practice of prescribing medication for a condition for which it is not indicated or approved—is very common in America, particularly in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. In 2001, an estimated 21% of prescriptions for the 160 of the most commonly-used drugs were off-label.  And 75% of those off-label prescriptions were written for conditions for which there is absolutely no scientific evidence to prove they work!

The law doesn’t prevent this practice, although it does prevent pharmaceutical companies from promoting off-label prescribing. Often, there’s no real harm in off-labeling, but equally so, there’s even more often no scientific proof that those off-label drugs are doing you any good. The only evidence is what’s called anecdotal – evidence that has been noted by doctors, but there has been no scientific study carried out to provide hard proof.

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photo credit: Dashu Pagla

Imagine constructing a human being synthesized completely through science—a seemingly supernatural fabrication of life. You may think Frankenstein. You may visualize Iron Man. But it’s called bionics.

The field of bionics doesn’t necessarily create entire human beings, but rather constructs body parts for better human functionality. People have been losing body parts and use of body parts since the beginning of time. Non-functioning limbs have been replaced with plastic, wood and even steel.

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With all the controversy over statin drugs recently, you might be on the search for a healthy, over-the-counter alternative. A few recent studies have found a common chinese supplement could help dramatically reduce cholesterol.

The Merits of Red Yeast Rice

A Chinese supplement, red yeast rice, is a natural remedy for lowering cholesterol and preventing heart attacks. Studies have showed that 5,000 Chinese heart attack patients who were taking red yeast rice pills cut their risk of getting another heart attack by nearly 50%. They also reduced their chances of needing heart procedures like bypass surgery or angioplasty. Chances of dying from cancer were also reduced by two-thirds.

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