Mind over matter—or not

 When I was in college and for a few years after, I used to get a rash on my chest whenever I was stressed. I don’t know how I deduced that stress was the cause of the rash, but I’m sure my diagnosis was correct. The rash was a nice clue to let me know I needed to chill, as the young people say. The rash always went away as soon as I settled down.

In addition to rashes, psychological distress can cause psoriasis, acne, impotence, coughing, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, and low and high blood pressure. Stress can also lead to nonepileptic seizures, tremor, visual impairment, back pain, and gait abnormalities. Scientists have repeatedly shown that psychology plays a vital role in worsening or improving outcomes of people with heart disease, cancer, and other medical illnesses. For example, depression, anxiety, and stress are all major risk factors for morbidity in patients with coronary artery disease.

The majority of people in the US and UK with common mental illnesses, such as anxiety and depression, will seek medical help not for their mental problems but because of physical problems—especially gastro-intestinal problems. Typically, the doc can find nothing wrong. The common expression is that “it’s all in your mind.” Your mind might be involved, but so is your body. It’s all of a piece. Many biological phenomena have a psychological component. Take blushing, for example. Embarrassment triggers a reaction in which chemicals and hormones cause our veins to dilate and bring blood to the surface of our skin. Our heart rate also increases. Such bodily reactions are all a part of the human condition.

Even if you learn that your stomach issues—or whatever—are caused by stress and not by something organic, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, now you know what to do. Chill!

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.

Have a swig of lithium!

 7-Up used to contain lithium until scientists discovered that it could be lethal if consumed in large quantities. Taken in proper quantities, however, it has been shown to be beneficial. In fact, it has been shown to reduce the rate of suicides in places where it occurs naturally in the water.

In 1990 a study of 27 counties in Texas, researchers discovered that, in the places where the water had the least amount of lithium, people had significantly greater levels of suicide, homicide, and rape than the people whose water had the higher levels of lithium. In fact, the group whose water had the highest lithium level had nearly 40 percent fewer suicides than that with the lowest lithium level. In Japan, a study of more than a million people over a five-year period found that suicide rates were inversely correlated with the lithium content of the local water supply. Similar studies in Greece and Austria have corroborated these findings. Moreover, in reanalyzing the Japanese study, researchers discovered that those people with higher levels of lithium in their water supply had lower levels of “all-cause mortality.”

Lithium is the third element to have emerged from the Big Bang, along with helium and nitrogen. It occurs in sea water, granite, mineral springs, and in all of us. Because elements on the periodic table can’t be patented, pharmaceutical companies have little interest in developing uses for it. However, if you’re feeling a little down and like to try it, you can buy lithium water online as Lithia Spring Water. 

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.

Sperm counts are dropping!

 From 1973 to 2011, the sperm count of average men in Western countries fell by 59 percent (probably more now). Sperm are also more defective: two heads, or lethargic, for example. Not only that, but infant boys are developing more genital abnormalities, more girls are experiencing early puberty, and adult women appear to be suffering declining egg quality and more miscarriages. A wide range of animals are similarly affected by genital anomalies.

The culprit is a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors that mimic the body’s hormones and fool our cells, wreaking reproductive havoc. These chemicals are everywhere: plastics, shampoos, cosmetics, cushions, pesticides, canned foods, and even ATM receipts. Chemical companies lobby against even testing these endocrine disruptors, so we have no idea about the safety of the products we use.

Various experts give this advice: store food in glass containers, not plastic, and not covered with plastic wrap; avoid pesticides; avoid tobacco or marijuana; use a cotton or linen shower curtain (not vinyl); don’t use air fresheners; prevent dust buildup. 

A good site for learning about all of the products to avoid is that of the Environmental Working Group. I looked up the information on this site. It was quite thorough, but I only skimmed it. Although I think these chemicals should be tested and regulated, I figure it’s too late for me. Besides, most of the products didn't even exist when I was growing up. The material used for plastic bags was invented in 1953, when I was a junior in high school. I have a whole drawer full of plastic containers, but maybe you should get rid of yours.

Note to houseguests: the shower curtain in the guest bathroom is made of heavy cotton duck, not plastic. I bought it because I liked it.

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.

Forget your annual physical exam (redux)

My last physical exam (annual checkup) was in 2003. At that time, the doctor told me my cholesterol was high. Because I don’t care about that and didn’t want to argue with him, I just quit having the exams—to no ill effect. It turns out that I’m in good company. Examples:

• The Society for General Internal Medicine says, "Don’t perform routine general health checks for asymptomatic adults” (people who feel fine).
• Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, oncologist and a vice provost at the University of Pennsylvania, says, “from a health perspective, the annual physical exam is basically worthless.”
• Dr. Ateev Mehrotra, a primary care physician and professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School says, "Patients should really only go to the doctor if something is wrong, or if it's time to have an important preventive test like a colonoscopy.” Plus, he says, annual physicals are a waste of money, costing us about $10 billion a year, which is more than we spend on breast cancer.
• Dr. Michael Rothberg, primary care physician and a health researcher at the Cleveland Clinic, tries to avoid giving physicals. "I generally don't like to frighten people, and I don't like to give them diseases they don't have. If you get near doctors, they'll start to look for things and order tests because that's what doctors do."
• The Cochrane Collaboration, is an international group of medical researchers who review the world’s biomedical research. After examining the records of 182,000 people from 1963 to 1999, they concluded that the annual physicals did not reduce mortality overall or for specific causes of death from cancer or heart disease.
• The United States Preventive Services Task Force — an independent group of experts making evidence-based recommendations about the use of preventive services — does not have a recommendation on routine annual health checkups. The Canadian guidelines have recommended against these exams since 1979.

I wrote a blog about this on January 10^th, 2015. Even if you were reading my blog then (unlikely), you will have forgotten. 

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.