The scientific world is getting a bit wiser about the effect emotions can have on your health for better and for worse. How you handle your emotions may also affect the way your body manages the healing process too.

Scientists monitored the progression of healing of 93 patients with diabetic foot ulcers (neuropathic or neuroischaemic) four times during a 24-week span, taking into account their coping skills, cortisol levels and the psychological stress they felt.

Patients with a controlling personality -- My-way-or-the-highway, who-cares-if-you're-right folks -- were the least likely to heal from their foot ulcers. Because this disease requires long-term patience and treatment to recover, researchers believe those who seek to control and speed up the process also experience additional frustration and distress that work against healing.

Depression also contributes to the problem, as patients fighting their emotions demonstrated less healing and overall improvement by the end of the study, one more reason to seek out safer, gentler ways, like meditation, to calm your mind and body.

Diabetologia, Vol. 53, No. 8, pp. 1590-1598, August 2010

Bloomberg Businessweek August 6, 2010

Obesity may not only increase the odds a woman will be fighting cancer at some point in her lifetime. Those excess pounds may worsen her memory too, particularly if she is older. In fact, the memory drain is worse among women who have pear-shaped bodies (carrying extra pounds on the hips) than those with apple-shaped bodies (carrying more weight around the waist).

Researchers at Northwestern University discovered these anomalies while reviewing health data on 8,745 post-menopausal women (ages 65-79) culled from the Women's Health Initiative

Based on a 100-point memory test -- the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination -- that takes conditions like stroke, heart disease and diabetes into account, a one-point increase in a woman's BMI was directly connected to a similar numerical drop in her memory score.

Experts may not know which kind of fat is more harmful on a human body, but they do believe the kind deposited around the hips may explain why pear-shaped women had more memory problems and brain function deterioration. Excess fat may also contribute to the creation of plaque connected with hindering blood flow to the brain or Alzheimer's disease, scientists say.

All the more reason for you to review our recent feature about the many ways you can protect your brain, with many varieties of memory food.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society July 14, 2010

BBC News July 14, 2010

ScienceDaily July 15, 2010

Being a needle-phobe, it's hard for me to get my head around the insertion of long, thin needles in various pressure points throughout the body as being anything but painful. That said, acupuncture is growing in popularity as a safe, non-drug option to relieve pain, and an impressive number of studies are backing up its effectiveness too.

Although no heart-related improvements were observed (cardiac ejection fraction or peak oxygen uptake) in a recent study of 17 patients who had suffered from congestive heart failure, the ability to exercise among folks being treated with 10 sessions of "real" acupuncture was very noticeable: They could walk greater distances over a six-minute stretch than those receiving sham treatments that simulated a needle prick but never broke the skin.

What's more, patients in the acupuncture group recovered quicker from their exercise sessions and felt less exhausted than those in the placebo/sham group.

If you hate needles as much as I do, however, acupuncture may not be the best way to treat your pain, no matter how effective it can be. With that in mind, you'll want to read our latest newsletter feature detailing nine strategies that can ease your pain without drugs. Fortunately, only one of them involves needles…

Image source: Kyle Hunter

Heart June 15, 2010

PhysOrg.com July 1, 2010

More often than not, strong emotions can be problematic to one's health -- not to mention contagious -- and adding cancer to the mix will worsen things. So, why would doctors choose an impersonal way of conveying the news that their patients had X kind of cancer?

Imagine receiving that call, then your doctor hanging up before you could ask more questions. Or being left the most frightening news of your life on a 30-second voice-mail message…

Based on a recent study of 437 patients, just 54 percent of them were told about their cancer diagnosis in an office setting. Of the remaining 46 percent, however, 18 percent were told over the phone (sometimes, a very prudent thing to do depending on the situation) and the rest received the news at a hospital, with little-to-no privacy whatsoever. Arguably, the most damning number of them all: Thirty-nine percent of patients received the news by themselves.

No surprise, then, that 57 percent of the patients polled changed doctors after their diagnoses for multiple reasons, apart from distance or choosing an alternative treatment, like losing trust and general dissatisfaction. That said, doctors earned a median satisfaction score of 74 percent, and 16 percent of their patients expressed absolute trust in them.

Patients need and expect their oncologists, not only to have the necessary expertise to treat their cancer, but to possess the emotional intelligence that makes receiving this life-changing news simpler to digest intellectually AND emotionally.

Journal of Clinical Oncology July 6, 2010

Yahoo News July 7, 2010

Still skeptical about the benefits of complementary alternative medicines (CAM) and therapies, like acupuncture and meditation? Perhaps, you should take a second look, based on a review of 77 randomized controlled trials from 1993-2007 on Tai Chi and Qigong.

This review of studies about the benefits of these gentle therapies was broad and positive, ranging from the psychological to the cardiopulmonary, and also included research that measured the effect of Qigong (the art and science of using breathing techniques, gentle movement, exercise and mediation to rechannel and replenish one's health and vitality) and Tai Chi (a subset of Qigong focusing on movement) on physical and immune functioning and bone density.

Unfortunately, there was no way to quantify the benefits of these trials, researchers say, because the design, measures and outcomes of each study varied greatly, probably a relief to skeptics who don't see much value in such treatments. The randomness of analytic methods didn't stop scientists from concluding, however, that Tai Chi and Qigong "demonstrated consistent, significant results for a number of health benefits."

Also, the average age of the patient participating in these trials was 55, and for studies on balance the median shot up to 80, meaning middle-aged folks (me) and seniors who had experienced physical limitations were transitioning successfully to more gentle forms of exercise that allow them to keep moving for their health and improve their quality of life.

Discover more safe, drug-free options to alleviate your pain by reading this month's Health Tips Newsletter, Nine Strategies for Easing Pain Without Drugs.

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American Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 24, No. 6, July-August 2010

PhysOrg.com June 30, 2010

Gail Sheehy is an American treasure and one of this nation's best writers, whose signature work Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life changed the way we look at the inner lives of adults forever more than three decades ago. She has written 11 more books since Passages in 1976, yet none of them have interested me more than her latest, Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos Into Confidence.

Her recent Newsweek column (hit the link below) describes this book's abrupt turn in focus from her 1995 sequel, New Passages, that urged women to celebrate their fiftysomething years as "the most liberating passage" in their lives, to warning Baby Boomers about "the Boomerang," the time in a middle-ager's life when she or he has to take on the role of a day-to-day caregiver all over again for a family member or parent whose life expectancy is far longer today than it has ever been.

In her latest, Sheehy chronicles the 17 years she spent as a caregiver for her husband Clay Felker (journalist and founder of New York Magazine) who eventually died of throat cancer in 2008, as well as the many life lessons she learned along the way, some of which we've discussed in this space, as well as many tips and resources for the caregiver.

The universal truth that keeps hitting home with me in stories written by or about Sheehy and her newest book: Because the task of caregiving is often a long and difficult one, you must take care of yourself as well as you would the person you're guiding through this impossible passage of life. Do something good for yourself every day, without guilt.

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Newsweek June 18, 2009

San Francisco Chronicle June 21, 2010

AARP Magazine May 2010

Tomorrow marks the 23rd annual National Cancer Survivors Day, celebrated with events across the globe "to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be meaningful and productive." No question, it's a wonderful day for cancer survivors to mark milestones and celebrate another day of living with their families and caregivers.

All that said, however, what truly inspires me these days are cancer survivors who just keep going despite their fears, living life every day without calling a whole lot of attention to themselves, except when they need help. You know the kind of folks I'm talking about: The ones who are just too busy living life to let cancer slow them down very much. Call it inner strength, perseverance or just plain ol' stubbornness, but these people have much to teach us, if we're willing to take a minute or two to pay attention.

Like Roger Tunsley who wrote about turning a corner, in the most recent issue of Coping with Cancer. A Stage III cancer survivor of esophageal cancer, Roger overcame his fears of remission so well that he almost forgot about his next regularly scheduled CAT scan appointment, after using them as many cancer patients do to remind him that his body was healthy and clear of cancer. His first-person account moved me with its simplicity and grace.

Or, a recent post from a new blog Change Is Possible written by a Phoenix woman named Heather who is a music teacher, certified personal trainer and a Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor. Lots of people tell Heather she's been a huge inspiration in their lives. No wonder, considering she can run a 5K in under 30 minutes and is training to be a triathlete. (Comparatively, I'd be very happy to complete an upcoming 5K walk in little more than an hour, so Heather is Wonder Woman to me.)

But Heather knows from experience what most people are really telling her is that they're impressed, but not truly inspired. "Inspiration, to me, incites movement, change, growth. If you are really wowed by someone or something but then you go back to your life as it always was, are you really inspired? I don’t think so."

When you're celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day with your family, have fun, but be on the lookout for life lessons that inspire you to take action. Some of them may be hiding in plain sight.

Coping with Cancer May/June 2010

Change Is Possible

Caregiving can be very tough, especially when you go it alone. And, because our focus is the well-being of our friend or family member, often, we forget to take care of ourselves, to the extent we don't even realize when we really do need to ask for help. Unfortunately, there's a deadly price to pay for ignoring our basic human needs, according to a recent study of spouses who cared for their partners stricken with dementia.

After studying the health of more than 1,200 married couples (age 65 and older) living in Utah over 12 years, scientists discovered spouses of patients who had been previously diagnosed with dementia were six times more likely to succumb to this mind-robbing condition than those without an affected partner.

Even worse, the risk of declining memory was comparable to that of the well-known APOE gene variant, already associated with Alzheimer's disease. (This tracks with earlier, smaller studies that found spouses who served as caregivers demonstrated greater memory issues than those who weren't caregivers.)

Although scientists aren't sure why this link with dementia exists, they believe stress levels have an impact on the brain health of caregivers nonetheless. But you CAN do something about better managing your stress, and my checklist, culled from an number of outstanding sources, can help you.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Vol. 58, No. 5, pp. 495-500, May 6, 2010

ScienceDaily May 5, 2010

healthfinder.gov May 5, 2010

Had you ever heard of green exercise before you read the headline above? I certainly hadn't, until I reviewed the abstract for this meta-analysis of 10 British studies encompassing some 1,250 patients that linked outdoor activity in the presence of nature -- anything from a walk in the park to gardening, boating, fishing, biking and even farming -- to improved mental health.

Although there's plenty of evidence that shows how people benefit from a mental health standpoint by doing some kind of physical activity in a natural setting, this study determined how much time it actually takes to reap those benefits. Surprisingly, the optimal mix of nature and activity that had a positive effect on self-esteem didn't amount to much of an investment in time at all. In fact, it was just five minutes.

Of note, when discussing their results, British researchers used the words dose and self-medicate to describe the positive effects activity in a natural setting had on the human psyche, further underscoring the idea that exercise and physical activity should be treated like a drug that must be accurately prescribed -- with the help of a physician or professional trainer -- so the patient can derive the best results.

If physical activity in the presence of nature doesn't work with your schedule, however, consider short-term, high-intensity interval training (HIT) that could maximize your time at the gym and improve your mood with great results.

Environmental Science & Technology March 25, 2010

ScienceDaily May 1, 2010

LiveScience May 2, 2010

Remember that laundry you forgot to put into the dryer yesterday? Or that keycard to the office you misplaced for the umpteenth time just as you were ready to leave out the house 10 minutes late this morning to make an 8 o'clock meeting? If these situations sound all too familiar and coming more frequently, you're probably a card-carrying member of the Baby Boomer generation beating yourself up regularly for experiencing "senior moments."

Don't worry, I'm a card-carrying member of the "senior momentitis" club too. But I'm not stressing out about being somewhat forgetful as much as I used to be, particularly after reading about New York Times deputy science editor Barbara Strauch's latest book, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain.

Strauch concurs with many other experts that the brains of Baby Boomers do decline as time passes, short-term memory -- particularly for names -- "gets a bit dicey along the way," and we may be more distracted and flummoxed about stuff than ever before, but that's not necessarily horrible. All in all, Strauch thinks it's pretty normal…

In fact, our older brains are quite capable of solving problems better than younger ones. The other piece of good news: The accepted belief that older brains lose as much 30 percent of their neurons isn't true. But it takes real work to keep your brain healthy, and completing daily crossword puzzles alone won't do the trick, which is why I urge you to read a lengthy piece I wrote last year about the memory food your aging brain needs to survive and thrive.

To get a fuller taste for what Strauch, the deputy science editor at the New York Times is talking about, listen to an interview with NPR Fresh Air host Terri Gross and read an excerpt from her book here.

New York Times: Well April 30, 2010

WowOWow April 19, 2010

When I started writing online full-time six years ago, understanding that most of my communication with co-workers and work contacts would come via e-mail -- a pothole-pocked sector of the social networking universe where the laws of civility often don’t apply and the context in which someone conveys a sincere opinion or emotion can be easily misconstrued -- I followed two very simple rules that have served me well ever since.

1. Don’t say something in an e-mail or on a message board you wouldn’t say to someone’s face. (I learned this lesson a long time ago during the dawn of the Internets almost 20 years ago.)

2. No matter how heated the conversation gets, always say thank you, acknowledging that you respect the honest exchange of ideas, at the very least, especially when people disagree (as they always will).

The first one keeps me out of trouble even when conversations get very testy, while the second is a conscious and sincere decision of mine to express gratitude for keeping the lines of communication open at all times. If this sounds a bit too touchy-feely or new-agey for your tastes, speaking from experience, a consistent, sincere "thank you" keeps the conversation pleasant, respectful and open even in the presence of 180-degree disagreements. It’s just the better, higher road to go, in my opinion.

So, imagine my surprise when I discovered this series of studies from a Florida State University researcher about the benefits associated with expressing gratitude not only to friends and loved ones, but the personal ones related to communal strength, the amount of responsibility one person feels for another.

You can read more about the study specifics in the links below, but here’s an important quote from lead researcher Nate Lambert, who works in the psychology department at Florida State University, that sums up his thoughts and mine quite nicely. "The person doing the thanking comes to perceive the relationship as more communal, to see the person more worthwhile to sacrifice for, to go the extra mile to help out. [And] those who are being thanked will often feel the urge to reciprocate. … It can become kind of an upward spiral."

Indeed, it can…

Psychological Science March 5, 2010 Free Full Text Study

healthfinder.gov April 11, 2010

If you haven't been fortunate enough to visit or live in Chicago for any length of time, you may not be aware of this. Contrary to what you may have assumed, Roger Ebert may be off your TV going on four years and not in the best health -- multiple cancer surgeries removed much of his jaw bone and robbed him and us of his voice -- but is very much alive, cancer-free and still writing movie reviews and columns at a machine gun-like pace for the Chicago Sun-Times.

You may not also be aware about a long and pretty wonderful interview with Roger by Canadian writer Chris Jones recently for Esquire (hit the free link below) that goes into far more detail about his surgeries before and after he lost his jaw and voice in 2006 along with the futile attempts so far to restore both, and all the subsequent physical limitations that have resulted from fighting cancer to the ground.

At age 67, Roger isn't getting any younger, and his film criticism is noticeably less biting than it was before he and we lost his voice. As you pour through his columns, however, we haven't lost the man behind the voice who is still teaching us about a great many things, not the least of which is living a fulfilling life after cancer, a good thing.

As I write this blog entry about this non-stop movie critic/storyteller, I'm reminded of my father, William T. Beamer, who, by his own recollection, had sailed around the world at least seven times during his thirtysomething years as a merchant marine before throat cancer took his voice and all of his stories from us in the summer of 1977.

Some 19 months after his larynx and lymph nodes were removed, Bill died, all the while deeply frustrated and darkly depressed that he could never master the electrolarynx nor esophageal speech that would allow him to be heard, even faintly, briefly. Fact is, reading Roger's words makes me happy, very hopeful and a bit sad, in retrospect, that a relatively inexpensive laptop computer (by today's standards) might've helped my Dad live a little longer, if not a more comfortable and happier existence.

Take a couple of minutes to reminisce about the days of TV film criticism at its finest with this clip from the Siskel & Ebert program as Roger and Gene Siskel, his late, great colleague at the Chicago Tribune, skewer Frozen Assets, the worst movie of 1992, and, quite possibly, one of the worst comedies ever made.

Image source: Esquire, Ethan Hill

Esquire February 16, 2010

Chicago Sun-Tines February 18, 2010

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, are you the kind of person who uses "we" or "our" a lot when referring to your life partner/boyfriend or girlfriend/spouse? Or, when talking about your significant other, are your descriptions sprinkled with lots of "I's," "you's" and "me's"?

While studying the behaviors of 154 couples in their Baby Boomer years and beyond, University of California, Berkeley researchers discovered the difference between "we" and "me" may go a long way, not only toward defining the quality of the relationship you have with your special someone, but resolving conflicts more amicably.

Previous studies have shown how using "we" or "us" to define closer relationships with loved ones rather than separateness words like "I" or "me" are indicative of stronger satisfaction among young married couples.

Generally, the same results apply here, even more strongly, for older folks in longtime relationships. Folks who used separatist pronouns like "me" and "you" were generally less satisfied with their relationships and their use of these specific descriptors was linked to unhappy marriages.

Conversely, the sprinkling of "our" and "us" in conversations was a indicator of greater caring among couples and reduced physiological stress. This was especially true among older couples faced a great many roadblocks in their long lives together, yet possessed the emotional resilience and, perhaps, a greater sense of shared identity, according to the study.

As my wife and I head toward our 20th wedding anniversary this July, without question, these findings speak loudly and clearly to a great many folks we know. Including "us."

PubMed.gov

University of California, Berkeley News January 27, 2010

Although too many of us to count have been touched in some way by either cancer or Alzheimer's, you've rarely heard of both diseases affecting the same individual. And, at least among Caucasians, there's evidence that suggests a protective link between the two, based on a review of 3,020 seniors (age 65-older).

More than 160 and 522 patients had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or cancer, respectively, at the beginning, and roughly 850 more patients developed one condition or the other during the course of the study. Surprisingly, the risk of a future bout with cancer among patients who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at the start of the study dropped by an amazing 69 percent compared to folks who didn't have the mind-robbing disease in the beginning. And, among Caucasian patients, those who were already fighting cancer at the outset of the study were 43 percent less likely to succumb to Alzheimer's

The same didn't hold true for patients of color, however, specifically for folks treated for cancer at the beginning of the study who had a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's. Even though this finding sounds very distressing, researchers played down its significance due to the low number of patients tracked (29).

All that said, these findings tended to support previous studies that found brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease may share some of the same molecular underpinnings with cancer. These interesting connections could partly explain why an existing cancer drug may be used to fight Alzheimer's some day.

Neurology December 23, 2009

ABC News December 23, 2009

EurekAlert December 23, 2009

There's little doubt that negative emotions can be hazardous to your health, especially when cancer is in the picture. As in a previous study we featured in this space about absence lessening a spouse's ability to survive cancer, isolation can be a very deadly variable too.

These latest findings in a series of reports from the University of Chicago investigating the connection between social isolation and breast cancer development on Norway rats (very social creatures, as are humans) underscore just how harmful loneliness, stress and isolation can be, especially for females.

Rats kept in isolation or subjected to stressful situations (like the smell of a predator) were more likely to produce the stress hormone corticosterone, and it took them longer to recover from stressful situations than rats living in small groups. Moreover, isolation had a greater impact on the formation of tumors than the availability of high-energy food.

The numbers paint an even grimmer picture.

* Rats living in isolation developed 135 percent more tumors than those in groups.

* Tumors grew by more than 8,000 percent among isolated rats.

* Overall, stress and isolation increased a rat's risks of developing cancer more than three-fold.

Insciences.org December 7, 2009 Free PDF Study

EurekAlert December 7, 2009