Studies and Progress Notes (February 2008)

* * * STUDIES and PROGRESS NOTES* * *       

* *  SPIRITUAL AWARENESS AND WHOLISTIC HEALING * *         

Chocolate and spiritual healing    

Objective: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled experiment investigated whether chocolate exposed to "good intentions" would enhance mood more than unexposed chocolate.
Design: Individuals were assigned to one of four groups and asked to record their mood each day for a week by using the Profile of Mood States. For days three, four and five, each person consumed a half ounce of dark chocolate twice a day at prescribed times. Three groups blindly received chocolate that had been intentionally treated by three different techniques. The intention in each case was that people who ate the chocolate would experience an enhanced sense of energy, vigor, and well-being. The fourth group blindly received untreated chocolate as a placebo control. The hypothesis was that mood reported during the three days of eating chocolate would improve more in the intentional groups than in the control group.
Subjects: Stratified random sampling was used to distribute 62 participants among the four groups, matched for age, gender, and amount of chocolate consumed on average per week. Most participants lived in the same geographic region to reduce mood variations due to changes in weather, and the experiment was conducted during one week to reduce effects of current events on mood fluctuations.
Results: On the third day of eating chocolate, mood had improved significantly more in the intention conditions than in the control condition (P = .04). Analysis of a planned subset of individuals who habitually consumed less than the grand mean of 3.2 ounces of chocolate per week showed a stronger improvement in mood (P = .0001). Primary contributors to the mood changes were the factors of declining fatigue (P = .01) and increasing vigor (P = .002). All three intentional techniques contributed to the observed results.
Conclusion: The mood-elevating properties of chocolate can be enhanced with intention.
Source: Dean Radin, PhD, Gail Hayssen, and James Walsh. Effects of intentionally enhanced chocolate on mood, Explore 2007; 3:485-492.

IJHC – WHR Observations

Vehicles for healing in several research studies have included water and cotton, demonstrating significant effects in animals and plants. Anecdotally, intuitives and healers report that giving healing to food enhances the nutritional benefits of the food. It is lovely to see a study confirming these reports in humans.

**  FUTURE RESEARCH IN WHOLISTIC HEALING * * 

The IJHC/WHR E-Zine features monthly suggestions for future research in healing.
READERS ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT SUGGESTIONS FOR TOPICS TO STUDY
If your topic is chosen, you ill receive free access to the IJHC for a month, including the current issue and all back issues. 
 

Vehicles for healing energies

Any object is a potential vehicle for healing energies. It is a common practice for some people to bless their food regularly, often while holding their hands around the dish of food before they eat. This is a form of healing. It would be lovely to see an epidemiologic study of the health and illness of people who do this vs people who don’t.

* *  WHOLISTIC APPROACHES * * 

Lifestyle changes can help prevent cancers

Changes in cancer rates in the UK between 1995 AND 2004
Cases of malignant melanoma rose from 5,783 to 8,939 - a 43% increase
Melanomas are preventable with care in sun exposure.
Cases of mouth cancer rose from 3,696 to 4,769 - a 23% increase
Preventable by not smoking; treatable in early stages of development

Cases of uterine cancer rose from 5,018 to 6,438 - a 21% increase
Cases of kidney cancer rose from 5,636 to 7,044 - a 14% increase
Preventable with weight control; incidence increased with obesity.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6938186.stm

IJHC – WHR Observations

This is not new information, but well worth repeating:
Healthy lifestyles with attention to diet, fitness and exposure to known contributors to cancer are worth pursuing if we want to prevent cancers.

Bill Maher on pills and other ways to stay healthy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXXTCc-IVg

With thanks to Stephen Feig for the forward


 * *  COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES * * 

Omega-3 fatty acids may delay or prevent development of schizophrenia

Australia's Melbourne Herald Sun (11/29) reports that omega-3 fatty acids could "help delay or prevent the onset of severe mental illness," according to a study to be presented today at the World Psychiatry Association (WPA) Conference in Melbourne. Paul Amminger, M.D., of the Orygen Research Center in Melbourne, and colleagues, "enlisted 81 'high-risk' young people aged 13 to 24 who had previously suffered brief hallucinations or delusions." If left untreated, "one-third of these individuals will go on to develop a sustained psychotic disorder." Half of the participants "were treated with capsules of fish oil, a rich source of omega-3 fats for three months, while the rest took a fishy-tasting dummy substitute." One year later, "three percent of those who had taken fish oil supplements had developed schizophrenia," as compared to "28 percent of those who had swallowed the placebo."

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (11/29 http://au.news.yahoo.com/071129/21/153wd.html ) reports that the study participants "were given 1.5 grams of fish oil per day, similar to the range which can be reached with a very fish-heavy diet." While there have been previous studies "suggesting that fish oil could be used to treat schizophrenia," treatment was often "started in later stages of the disorder, and the studies [were] small-scale." The "researchers will now try and replicate their findings in nine centers around the world."
      ABC Online (11/29, Miller
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2104682.htm ) provides a transcript and an audio file of an interview with Dr. Amminger and colleague Patrick McGorry, M.D., Ph.D., also of the Orygen Research Center, in which they discuss their study and its implications.

IJHC-WHR Observations

Fish oil is a safe, inexpensive treatment. If use of antipsychotic medications can be avoided or if doses could be reduced, this would be a blessing to many who often are unhappy with the side effects of these drugs but become psychotic if not taking them.

More CAM reviews at
www.naturalhealthvillage.com
www.mdlinx.com/FamilyMDLinx 
 www.ucalgary.ca/~camig/litsearch.html
AMSA website
www.amsa.org/humed/camresources/camnews.cfm

* * TECHNOLOGY * *

Hydrogen as an alternative fuel

See a cool torch that can cut through steel efficiently.

See a hybrid car that runs on water and gasoline

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HF__Qlhtnws&search=water%20power

 

The art of science

“In the spring of 2006 we again asked the Princeton University community to submit images—and, for the first time, videos and sounds—produced in the course of research or incorporating tools and concepts from science. Out of nearly 150 entries from 16 departments, we selected 56 works to appear in the 2006 Art of Science exhibition.

The practices of science and art both involve the single-minded pursuit of those moments of discovery when what one perceives suddenly becomes more than the sum of its parts. Each piece in this exhibition is, in its own way, a record of such a moment. They range from the image that validates years of research, to the epiphany of beauty in the trash after a long day at the lab, to a painter's meditation on the meaning of biological life.

We thank all those who submitted their work to this year's competition. By sharing their imagination, as well as the fruits of their research, they have reaffirmed the deep links between art and science.”
 
http://www.princeton.edu/artofscience/gallery2006/

IJHC – WHR Observations

How delightful to see this blending of right and left brain creativity!

* *  ENVIRONMENT (HEALING OUR PLANET) * *

Blood levels of mercury are related to diagnosis of autism

Abstract
The question of what is leading to the apparent increase in autism is of great importance. Like the link between aspirin and heart attack, even a small effect can have major health implications. If there is any link between autism and mercury, it is absolutely crucial that the first reports of the question are not falsely stating that no link occurs. We have reanalyzed the data set originally reported by Ip et al. in 2004 and have found that the original p value was in error and that a significant relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, the hair sample analysis results offer some support for the idea that persons with autism may be less efficient and more variable at eliminating mercury from the blood.
Source: DeSoto, M. Catherine and Hitlan, Robert T. Blood levels of mercury are related to diagnosis of autism: a reanalysis of an important data, Journal of Child Neurology 2007 22(11), 1308-1311 http://www.sarnet.org/lib/BloodHg.pdf
See also:  Ip P, Wong V, Ho M, Lee J, Wong W. Mercury exposure in children with autistic spectrum disorder. J Child Neuro. 2004;19:431-434.

IJHC – WHR Observations

Chelation, a CAM approach that removes mercury from the bloodstream, is a treatment worth considering, although my impression is that this has not generall proved curative when done as a single approach to autism.
 

 * *  HUMAN ECOLOGY* * 

One in 10 suffers 'hospital harm'

Accidents, errors and mishaps in hospital affect as many as one in 10 in-patients, claim researchers.

The report in the journal Quality and Safety in Health Care said up to half of these were preventable.

Checks on 1,000 cases in just one hospital found examples of fatal surgical errors, infections and drug complications.”

Source: Sari, Ali Baba-Akbari et al. Extent, nature and consequences of adverse events: results of a retrospective casenote review in a large NHS hospital, Quality and Safety in Health Care 2007; 16: 434 - 439.
See also: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7116711.stm

 
IJHC – WHR Observations

While hospitals are supposed to cure illnesses and treat injuries, significant numbers of people suffer negative consequences from hospitalizations. Some of the worst include infections with organisms resistant to antibiotics and medical errors.