Activity

Gradually more control of muscular movements is gained. When lying on the back the baby is able to keep the head in the mid position, and is able to rotate the head in many directions, while sitting or while lying down. If a baby so desires, he is able to keep his head erect and still for short periods. He is able to lift his head to a right angle when lying on his tummy.

He frequently lies on his tummy with the arms outstretched, and will often flex the muscles of the lower limbs, partially raising his body. He tends to rock when lying on his abdomen, with the limbs stretched straight out, and the back arched, or he may roll from one side to the other. If pulled to a standing position, he will stand erect for short periods.

He gradually finds he can sit with support for upwards of a quarter of an hour. I lis head may remain steady, and the back quite erect.

He is able to use his hands to do more activities, and uses his fingers and toes. He grasps for objects with his palms, and often takes them between the fingers, either using the thumb and index or the index and second finger.

His aim when grasping is still often inaccurate. But he tends to grab and will follow objects as they pass to his hand. Often he misses an object when trying to grasp it.

Talk

Baby talk gains rhythm and pitch. It is gradually becoming more modulated, and he may continue with his baby babblings for 10 to 15 minutes, or even longer, at a time. His words, even though in baby talk, gradually take on some of the impressions of vowels of more mature speech.

The quality of his voice becomes more normal, and his cry stronger and more definite. He smiles when spoken to, and he often squeals and cooes. He starts to chortle, giggle, grin and goo, and may keep this up for half an hour. He becomes a great imitator.

Mind

Visual ability becomes more adult-like. He is able to discern colour, and his eyes adjust so that he focuses on objects irrespective of their position.

He becomes even more interested in objects and details and activity around him, and may concentrate for an hour. He becomes increasingly responsive.

His head and gaze will tend to follow objects, especially moving ones, in a more co-ordinated fashion. He will immediately react to a noise, such as a rattle or ringing noise.

He tends to co-ordinate his activities, and will make efforts of his muscle groups (arms, legs, body) to reach things he wants. He grabs for objects, including moving objects, with increasing skill and accuracy, although still often wide off the mark. He often carries objects in his mouth; persists in swiping at things whether he hits or misses them.

He starts to appreciate the third dimension, and is aware of height, depth and size. He will stare at a place from which something drops.

He can remember things over a span of 5-10 seconds. Recognition improves and he will often react to a face he knows. He can differentiate between faces and objects. He tends to dislike strangers, preferring the safety of those he is familiar with.

He can tell the difference between his hands and fingers. He smiles at himself in the mirror. His reaction to faces and those he knows or does not know will vary. He becomes aware of his own little act in life, realizing it is something a bit special and different from the general nature of the outside world.

He becomes aware of situations. He can pick and choose between toys. He often transfers a toy from one hand to the other.

Relationships

His personal relationships, both with himself and with others, gradually develop. He learns to laugh, protest, show anticipation, become excited, breathe heavily, as circumstances vary. He learns to soothe himself and often finds music calming. He clasps his fingers when at play. He shows interest in familiar faces, and will smile at his reflection in a mirror and readily reacts to the familiar features of his mother’s face.

He makes a variety of noises; ‘talks’ to himself as if vocalizing and socializing. He generally enjoys being handled and tends to enjoy being helped to sit or stand. He often indicates discontentment when he has to sit down again.

He is interested in his toys, often having a favourite plaything that he prefers. He enjoys playing, games and generally socializing.

His interest in his social surroundings often reduces his interest in eating. When he hears food being prepared, he anticipates its arrival. Will screw up his mouth when he sees food coming, or he is offered a bottle.

Sounds become quite readily distinguishable.

The time interval between feedings and bowel actions tends to become longer.

He obviously enjoys his bath, and will garrolously splash, kick and lift his head.

*4\87\2*

A number of marine organisms are poisonous to humans. These can be divided into those which are poisonous when eaten and those which are venomous, either stinging or injecting poison.

Ciguatera poisoning is caused by eating fish which have consumed toxic algae which colonise damaged coral reefs. Herbivorous fish graze on the algae, which is incorporated into their tissues, although it causes no damage to them. Carnivores eat the herbivores and the toxin is concentrated in their tissue. Eating large carnivorous species of tropical fish, such as Spanish mackerel, barracuda, snapper and trevally, can expose humans to ciguatera poisoning.

Within 12 hours of ingestion the sufferer may experience general weakness, aching limbs, tingling in hands, feet and lips, itching in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, reversal of hot and cold sensations, chest tightness, headache, toothache and convulsions. In severe cases, death can result. If the poisoning is recognised within six hours, vomiting should be induced. In any case medical attention should be sought urgently. In order to prevent exposure to ciguatera poisoning, fish should be eaten with caution.

A number of plankton-eating fish and bivalves (such as clams, mussels, abalone and shellfish) can accumulate high concentrations of toxins by feeding on toxic red-tide microalgae without harming themselves. Birds, fish, crabs, other animals and humans consuming such animals are affected by these toxins. Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by neurotoxins which can cause nausea, loss of balance, defective vision and, in severe cases, convulsions and death due to muscle paralysis. Diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning causes abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms develop within a few minutes to a few hours of eating contaminated fish or bivalves. Amnesic shellfish poisoning causes vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and permanent memory loss due to the loss of brain cells. Fortunately none of these forms of poisoning is common. However, increasing pollution of our coastal waters by nutrients from sewage outfalls may lead to increased outbreaks of shellfish poisoning. In countries where reported outbreaks have taken place, it is part of fisheries management practice to regularly monitor microalgae and make random checks of shellfish tissue.

A number of marine animals have venomous stings. These include jellyfish (see Bites and Stings).

The blue-ringed octopus is well-known for its venomous bite. Found in the southern coastal waters of Australia, the blue-ringed octopus is rarely seen because it has a span of only 12 cm, moves very fast and has excellent

camouflage. It also has a habit of hiding in discarded cans and bottles, dead gastropod shells or clumps of mussels.

Another animal with a poisonous bite is the cone shell, an oblong smooth dark brown shell with white markings, approximately 10-15 cm long. The following remarks apply to both animals. The initial bite is rarely felt. There may be slight bruising, but otherwise the wound is hard to see. Symptoms are numbness, nausea, visual disturbances, speech impairment, numbness of tongue and breathing difficulties. Paralysis may develop rapidly with respiratory failure, in severe cases within one hour. Medical aid should be sought urgently. Before paralysis sets in, the bite should be washed and a firm bandage placed all the way up the affected limb. The patient should be rested on her or his side. Following paralysis, EAR (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) should be applied, and in advanced cases cardio-pulmonary resuscitation may be needed.

Some fish, such as stonefish and bullrout have stinging spines which may inject poison when disturbed by humans. It is therefore advisable to wear protective footwear when walking on rocks on the shore or wading in deep water or on mud flats. Symptoms include immediate intense pain at the site of the puncture, followed by the spread of pain along the limb and swelling. The stinging spine may be present in the wound and the area sometimes turns grey or blue. Sweating, shock and irrational behaviour can also be signs. Medical aid should be sought urgently. The affected part should be placed in very warm fluids and foreign bodies should be removed if they come away easily. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation may be necessary if breathing stops.

Stingrays also have stinging spines halfway along their tails which can inflict painful wounds. Since these animals often lie submerged in the sand, care should be exercised when wading. The injection of a stingray’s barb will cause immediate intense burning pain, bleeding and possible difficulty in breathing. The barb should be gently extracted if visible and the wound bathed with hot water. Medical aid should be sought.

*3\69\2*

At different times we all experience nervous tension of some degree, and we are all familiar with the more obvious signs of anxiety. However, there is a multitude of ways in which anxiety may manifest itself, and some of these are of such a nature that they often mislead both patient and doctor into the belief that the trouble is due to some organic cause rather than to the disordered function of our mind.

I have seen quite a number of patients who had suffered from long-standing anxiety and nervous tension, and who had become so accustomed to their tensed-up state that they had grown to accept it as normal. Each of these consulted me on account of some bodily symptom, and when I commented on their general state of tension, they denied that they felt tense; and it was only after treatment that they realized that an easier and more relaxed way of life was possible for them. Strangely enough, one of these patients is a well-known surgeon.

The surgeon was referred to me by another doctor in the hope that I might be able to help him with a long-standing difficulty with his speech. I could see that he was a tense person, but when I asked him about it, he strongly denied that he was in any way tense, and added that everyone who knew him regarded him as particularly relaxed. His wife was with him at the time, so I asked her to lift up my arm and let it go suddenly. It flopped down with its dead weight on to the arm of my chair. I then asked her to do the same thing with the patient. When she let his arm go it remained stuck up in the air for a moment, held there by the tension in the patient’s muscles. Try as he might, he could not let his arm fall naturally and relaxed.

One day after two or three sessions of the relaxing exercises, he smiled, and said, “I never really knew that I was tense like that.”

Although it has not been completely cured, his speech is much improved, and he has achieved an ease in his ordinary way of life which he had not thought possible.

The signs of anxiety are elusive and may well escape even the physician who does not specialize in this aspect of medicine.

*5\57\2*

I recently discussed the subject of pre -menstrual tension during my regular ’spot’ on BBC television’s programme Pebble Mill At One. The result was the biggest postbag I have ever had on any medical subject!

Which only goes to show that vast numbers of women want help and advice about

pre-menstrual (and menstrual) problems. Fortunately, the new freedom to speak about these matters means that frank, helpful advice can be given. It’s only a few years since a television company prevented me from discussing period pain on another programme to which I was a regular contributor. The reason? ‘Because the schoolgirls might see it!’

Beryl Kingston gives just the sort of advice which both schoolgirls and adult women need in order to help them cope with their periods. If you suffer from the pre-menstrual syndrome, or from period pain, or from heavy, prolonged and tiring periods.

You’ll find that Beryl Kingston is particularly good on treating these problems with relaxation, a subject which—as a National Childbirth Trust lecturer —she knows a lot about. We ought to make much more use of the sort of relaxation therapy she describes, because people are far too ready to turn to powerful drugs these days when a spot of gentle relaxation would be much better for them. And it’s free of side-effects!

However, there’s no doubt that many women with period problems do need the help of modern drugs, even if it’s only a simple question of going on the Pill to abolish the miseries of period pain. Beryl Kingston discusses the various possible drug therapies for period trouble, with great common sense and with a degree of impartiality which is quite rare in these days when too many people seem to be ‘pushing’ some particular brand of therapy for commercial reasons.

*1\177\2*

Charles Henderson, a prominent businessman, came to see me because he was troubled by mental exhaustion, mental confusion, and fatigue. He was a top executive of a large company who dictated to a battery of secretaries from morning to night. One of his secretaries pointed out to him that he did not give understandable dictation during the late afternoon. This was hard for her, for Henderson usually scolded her the next day for not accurately reproducing his previous day’s dictation.

In desperation, the secretary suggested that Henderson relax with the office staff in the afternoon and have a snack. Once he did so she was able to comprehend his words and directions somewhat better. For this man, a snack meant only one thing: eggs. In fact, he had eggs for breakfast, egg salad for lunch, and some dessert containing eggs at dinner almost every day. His secretary literally “egged him on” to have eggs at break time, as well.

When I finished taking this man’s history I told him, “Mr. Henderson, I think you are allergic to eggs.”

He jumped from his chair and said, “Doctor, you obviously didn’t understand what I just told you! Let me repeat it: eggs are the one food I know agrees with me. Now you tell me I may be allergic to them. That doesn’t make any sense to me at all.” He was clearly on the point of walking out of the office. He knew what he was allergic to and what he wasn’t. This episode took place in the late 1940s. I had just finished a rather intensive study of drug addiction and had privately reached the conclusion that food allergy and drug addiction were aspects of the same problem. I decided to explain the problem to Henderson in terms of addiction. I explained that he seemed to have a three-hour “high” from eggs, after which he started to come down, with attendant symptoms of confusion and fatigue. He had to eat eggs every three hours or so in order to remain “high.”

This made some sense to him, and he agreed to take a test to prove its validity. Since it takes between two and three days to clear any particular meal from the intestines, Henderson ate no eggs, or product containing eggs, during the next few days. He suffered from withdrawal symptoms, and was so weak that he could not get out of bed to go to work.

He began to feel better after the eggs were entirely out of his system. Then he came back to my office, where he was fed eggs in a testing room. Within less than an hour, he had returned these eggs, through violent projectile vomiting, halfway across the room. He was terribly embarrassed, but amazed to see that his “favorite” food really did not agree with him at all.

By staying off eggs for six months or so he was able to break his addiction to them. After that, he was able to reintroduce eggs into his diet, but only once every four days, in order to prevent the addiction from reforming. By controlling this and other food allergies, he was able to restore his ability to think and dictate clearly.

Henderson’s case is fairly typical of food allergies in general. The man had multiple symptoms, including some which are vaguely called “mental” problems. Yet they were not “mental,” in the usual sense of that term: they stemmed from actual, physical exposures, and not from psychological conflicts.

The basis of the problem lay hidden from sight and could not be readily deduced by the patient himself. In fact, common sense had led him to believe that eggs relieved his symptoms, when, in fact, they caused them.

The relationship between eggs and Henderson’s fatigue was suspected on the basis of his history, but it was demonstrated by an actual feeding test, a procedure which will be described more fully later.

One should not conclude from this story that eggs, in and of themselves, are somehow particularly addicting and dangerous. One could substitute any commonly eaten food, or combination of foods, in this story, and it would still be realistic.

Food allergy is the result of an interaction between an individual and his own particular environment. Whether or not a person actually develops a food allergy depends, first of all, on his ability to react. Anyone can develop such an ability, but people with a family history of-allergy have a greater chance of becoming sick in this way. If a patient tells me that he suffers from hay fever, for example, or that one or both of his parents does, I am more likely to suspect the existence of food allergies in his case. But a lack of overt allergies is no guarantee that the person cannot develop hidden food allergies.

Second, the development of such allergies depends on exposure. The more frequently a person is exposed to a food, the greater is his tendency to become addicted. An unusual, massive exposure can also trigger a susceptibility problem. Some patients, for example, appear able to tolerate wheat in moderate doses. But a big spaghetti dinner might bring on obvious symptoms. As can be seen from the addiction pyramid (page 18), the most rapidly absorbed portions of food, such as sugars and alcohols, are more readily addicting than more slowly absorbed foods.

Even more addicting than foods per se are food-drug combinations. These include alcoholic beverages, which are mixtures of ethyl alcohol and various food fractions. Alcoholism is, in a sense, the acme of the food-addiction problem (see Chap. 10). Coffee is a natural combination of a food (the coffee bean) and a drug—caffeine. Some kinds of coffee contain 2.5 percent caffeine. Chocolate, cola drinks, and tea are similar food-drug mixtures.

Despite the fact that our culture treats these beverages as harmless foods, many researchers now consider them to be potentially harmful mixtures of food and drugs. Caffeine, even in modest amounts (a few cupfuls of tea or coffee), can affect the heart rate, heart rhythm, blood-vessel diameter, coronary circulation, blood pressure, urination, and other bodily functions.5 Knowing the billions of doses in which these substances are taken and the often compulsive way in which people crave their favorite beverage, one begins to suspect the existence of a widescale food-addiction problem in the United States.

Other environmental factors which may cause addictions include tobacco, drugs, and environmental chemicals. All of these may have a cumulative effect. Pollens, dusts, molds, danders, and other inhaled substances are less apt to be associated with addictive responses because exposure to them is seasonal or intermittent.

It is natural to want to know how common these food allergies or addictions are. In my experience, food allergy is one of the greatest health problems in our country. Combined with the chemical-susceptibility problem, which is discussed later, it is a growing source of ill health and particularly of those chronic, vaguely defined problems which almost never respond to conventional medical treatment.

Marshall Mandell, M.D., author of a recent book on allergies, has estimated that “50 to 80 percent of the daily medical practice of many doctors” is the result of allergy and chemical susceptibility.6 The late Dr. Arthur Coca believed that as many as 90 percent of all Americans had one or more food allergies.7

Many of the people reading this book are probably suffering from some form of these problems; and the majority of their chronic illnesses which do not respond well to conventional therapy are probably caused by some undiagnosed allergy or susceptibility.

*2\110\2*

Bruises are made up of blood that has escaped from capillaries (tiny blood vessels) or larger blood vessels and can be seen through the skin. They vary from pinhead-size to several centimeters across. Bruises usually are black and blue in color. If they are near the skin’s surface, they appear maroon or purple. Bruises of the whites of the eyeballs are always blood-red. As blood in a bruise moves back into the bloodstream, a bruise often becomes yellow or green.

If the escape of blood has been deep in the tissues-as with torn ligaments or broken bones-it may take days to reach the skin’s surface as a visible bruise. Escaped blood often travels to other parts of the body. For example, a bruise of the forehead may travel to form black eyes.

Most bruises are caused by physical injuries. Most normally active children always seem to have one or more bruises. Children with fair complexions bruise more easily than children with darker complexions. Areas most likely to bruise are the shins, knees, arms, and thighs. Bruises may take days or weeks to disappear, depending upon their size.

A different type of bruises, called spontaneous bruises, may be a cause for concern. Spontaneous bruises suddenly appear on their own even though no injury or blow to the skin has occurred. Spontaneous bruises may be caused by abnormally fragile capillaries (sometimes due to scurvy, or a lack of vitamin C); capillaries injured by infections or by allergic reactions; or a lack of proper clotting of the blood.

Remember, however, that bruises often are caused by injuries that were simply not noticed. But if bruises appear in areas not likely to be injured, or if a great many bruises appear, it is less likely that they were caused by unnoticed injuries; these may be spontaneous bruises.

There is another type of bruise known as a petechia. Petechiae are pinhead to one-eighth inch in size. They are dark red or maroon in color and often appear by the hundreds. Forceful vomiting or coughing can sometimes cause many petechiae to appear on the body from the neck up.

Petechiae may also appear in one smaller area when caused by a blow to the skin.

Signs and symptoms

Bruises are easily recognized when an area of the skin is discolored (black, blue, purple, red, green, or yellow). Bruises can be distinguished from other skin marks or rashes by a simple test. A bruise of any size does not blanch (turn white or lighter color) when pressed; all other red or purple marks or skin rashes will blanch when pressed.

Home care

Cold applications soon after an injury has occurred help decrease bleeding and lessen bruising. Warm applications 24 or more hours after the injury can help the body reabsorb the blood in the bruise.

Precautions

• Spontaneous bruising should always be examined by a doctor. Spontaneous bruising may be a sign of illness.

• Petechiae scattered over the body can indicate an urgent situation. If there is also fever or prostration (extreme exhaustion or collapse), a true emergency exists. Don’t waste any time: See your doctor at once.

Medical treatment

For bruises caused by injuries, a doctor’s treatment is the same as home care. For spontaneous bruises, including petechiae that are scattered over the body, your doctor will give a complete physical examination. The examination may include a blood count; platelet count; blood coagulation studies; nose, throat, and blood cultures; spinal tap; and bone marrow studies. The patient may be hospitalized to be given intravenous fluids and antibiotics.

*28/84/5*

This is the most basic male fertility test. The man is asked to produce a sample by masturbating directly into a sterile container. Some clinics will ask the man to collect the sample at home and bring it into the lab within 0ne hour, while others will ask the man to produce the sample at the clinic. The man will be asked to abstain from sex for a minimum of 48 hours but not longer than seven days before giving the sample. Some men may have difficulty producing a sample by masturbation or their personal beliefs may prohibit this. If so, special condoms can be provided by the clinic to collect the sperm. Ordinary condoms cannot be used because lubricants, spermicides and even the type of rubber can affect the sperm. The lab will look at the sample and measure the following factors:

• the number of sperm per milliliter (i.e. the sperm count) ‘ • the percentage of sperm moving (i.e. motile sperm)

• the quality of that movement called progression (graded from 1-4, with 1 being the highest grade)

• the percentage of abnormal sperm

• volume of semen

The World Health Organization’s 1992 recommendations state that there should be more than 20 million sperm, more than 30 per cent of which should be normal and more than 50 per cent moving actively.

If the woman is fertile then it is still possible for her to conceive with a man whose sperm count is as low as 20 million, as long as everything else about the sperm is healthy.

The medical terms used with the sperm count are oligozoospermia (too few sperm) and azoospermia (no sperm at all). With both of these, further tests should be done to see if there is a reason for the result. High levels of abnormal sperm are called teratozoospermia and low motility is called astenozoospermia.

Seminal Volume

The normal volume of seminal fluid is between 2 and 6 ml and this level can vary depending on the length of abstinence before giving the sample. If the volume is low, this may interfere with the transportation of the sperm and they may not reach the cervix. If the man has a low volume of semen then the fructose test is done. This test can show whether there is a blockage in the ducts.

High volume can also be a problem, although this is more unusual. The high volume may dilute the density of the sperm and affect their motion.

As always, it comes back to getting the right balance. It is no good having too few or too many sperm; it can also be a problem if there is too low or too high a volume of semen. The aim is homeostasis, where the body and all its physiological processes are able to maintain their own equilibrium.

If one semen analysis shows up a problem in any area (such as count or motility) it is worth repeating the analysis. Periods of stress, or illnesses such as flu, can produce unusual sperm samples. One man, who had been following the suggestions in this book to improve his sperm sample, re-did the sperm analysis soon after attending his mother’s funeral and it looked as if the sperm quality had actually decreased from his previous sample, but the lab rechecked a few weeks later and everything was fine.

*1/73/5*

The vegetable juices below work in different ways to help protect you against heart disease. Vegetable juices are a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phyto chemicals, all helping to keep your cardiovascular system healthy. Juices are an easy and tasty way of upping your fruit and vegetable intake. Vegetable juices are powerful antioxidants, and in this way help to keep the inner lining of your blood vessels healthy, and prevent the oxidation of cholesterol in your body. Each juice below works on a different principle, all helping to lower your risk of heart disease. It is best to make each of these juices regularly, concentrating on your particular risk factors. It is recommended you consume these juices immediately after you make them. However, it is possible to squeeze a little lemon juice into the vegetable juice, to act as a preservative, and then keep it refrigerated for a maximum of one day.

Cholesterol lowering and antioxidant juice

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup black grapes

1 slice red onion

2 stalks celery

Dilute with 1/2 cup strong green tea

Elevated LDL cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. However, if your cholesterol becomes oxidized, due to a lack of antioxidants in your diet, or the consumption of fried, processed foods, it becomes especially harmful.

Blueberries contain the natural compound pterostilbene, which acts to lower LDL cholesterol. Grapes contain the antioxidant resveratrol, which helps to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol, and keeps the arteries healthy. Onions contain the powerful antioxidant quercetin. Celery acts as a natural diuretic, helping to keep blood pressure normal. Green tea contains powerful antioxidants that prevent the oxidation of cholesterol, reduce inflammation in the arteries, and green tea has a direct cholesterol lowering effect.

Inflammation fighter

5cm slice pineapple

1 cm fresh ginger root

1 grapefruit – including the pith

1 carrot

People with too much inflammation in their bodies often have elevated blood levels of C-reactive protein. This is a major risk factor for heart disease. Excess inflammation causes damage to the inner lining of the arteries.

Pineapple is a strong natural anti-inflammatory. Ginger reduces inflammation in the body, improves circulation and helps to prevent the oxidation of LDL “bad” cholesterol. Grapefruit contains organic salicylic acid which is a natural anti-inflammatory. Carrot and celery both contain phthalides, which inhibit inflammation.

Infection fighter

1 clove garlic

1 slice red onion

2 red radishes

1/4 pineapple

1 ripe tomato

1/2 lemon

Hidden chronic infections are strongly linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Garlic and onion are powerful natural antibiotics. Radishes are cleansing, helping to clear the bloodstream of toxins. Pineapple has strong mucus fighting properties, helping to clear respiratory infections in particular.

Tomatoes contain natural antiseptic properties. Lemon helps to break up mucus and is a natural antiseptic.

*26/53/5*

Are You Drinking Too Much?

One in 10 people who drink will become an alcoholic. While moderate drinking yields health benefits, problem drinking wrecks lives. If you have trouble with alcohol, you should not drink at all, states the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. Check yourself for the following signs that you may or could develop a problem with alcohol.

•     Heredity. If your mother or father had a drinking problem, your risk is fourfold.

•     Drinking mom than two. The national government and other experts draw the line at two drinks a day for men. Drink more than that and you put yourself at higher risk for developing a problem.

•     High tolerance. If you drink excessively without really feeling any ill effects, you also may have a drinking problem.

•     Secret drinking. If you’re sneaking drinks, won’t talk about your drinking, feel loss of control, or have blackouts, you need help with your drinking.

The cancer connection

Though heavy drinkers have higher risks for cancers in areas like the mouth, esophagus, and liver, people who drink less – six or fewer drinks a week-show no increased risk. And those who drink moderately may actually lessen their risk for lung, prostate, and other cancers, say scientists.

Researchers in Chicago found that one particularly potent wine compound, resveratrol, not only fought cancer at several stages but also actually seemed to reverse it. In a similar study, researchers from the University of California, Davis, found that when they fed dehydrated wine solids to mice who had been genetically altered to develop cancer, those who ate the wine feed took approximately 40 percent longer to develop tumors than the mice who didn’t eat the wine solids. “The antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds like catechin and quercetin may play a major role in this cancer prevention,” says researcher Susan E. Ebeler, Ph.D., of the University of California, Davis. “But we need more research to know for sure.”

*34/36/5*

Screening specific groups of people who are either totally without symptoms or who have symptoms that prompt a search for disease in its earliest stages has been a part of preventive medicine in the UK for about seventy years, since the regular examination of schoolchildren was first introduced on a national basis. Shortly afterwards-during World War I-pre-natal care for mothers and the medical examination of young babies were recommended and soon became commonplace. In 1943 mass X-ray screening for tuberculosis started nationally. The idea behind this was not only to find people with the disease and treat them but to remove them from contact with others, so limiting the spread of the disease. Today, the importance of infectious diseases has lessened and most screening programmes are on the lookout for degenerative or potentially chronic conditions. But why should people want to be screened for diseases they don’t have?

Perhaps the most widespread form of general health screening in the adult population is the insurance medical for a job, a mortgage or a life-insurance policy. Naturally the insurance company wants to try to reduce the odds in this gamble. Put simply, the policy-holder is betting the company that he or she will die and that it will have to pay up. The company, on the other hand, is betting that the policyholder will live-at least until all the premiums are paid. This kind of screening protects the insurance company and ensures that they win more ‘bets’ than they lose. It does nothing for the health of the individual.

The second reason for screening is to protect other people in the community. The control of infectious diseases and the health screening of people who work dangerous machinery are two good examples. Again the main intention is not to protect the individual screened.

In the USA, and to a lesser extent in other westernized countries, screening has become a fashionable alternative to personal health services. Millions of people every year go through a broad batch of screening tests and procedures instead of seeing a doctor. Abnormal results then ensure that they get to see a doctor. People in the US have been brought up to think of the ‘annual physical’ as an essential part of preventive health care but the mood of experts is changing on this. It is now thought that healthy young people (under 40) need only have a thorough medical check-up every five years-not yearly as was recommended in 1947 by the American Medical Association. The concept of even a five-yearly checkup from this age is alien to most British people. After the age of 40 more frequent checks are recommended in the US.

The fourth reason for screening someone is to obtain a ‘healthy’ baseline of data so that should anything go wrong with the person in the future better clinical judgments will be made. The best example of this kind of screening is an electrocardiogram on a middle-aged man.

The final reason for screening an apparently healthy population is to detect conditions that are not apparent and which the medical profession can hope to influence in a positive way. But screening large populations is very expensive and time-consuming, and has an effect on the people being screened, so it behoves us to ask some tough questions before deciding to spend vast amounts of money and other resources on what is at first sight unquestionably a ‘good thing’.

*28/72/5*