What to do if you're depressed

OK, so January is not the brightest time of the year.

Unless you live in Brazil, it's cold, often overcast, and frequently dreary.

Add those to our not getting enough sun during this time of year, and it's a frequent recipe for depression.

Depression in the sense of a lingering feeling of sadness, of the blues, of being in the dumps for no reason you can think of.

Go to your doctor, and -- unless your doctor's different from most -- you're going to walk out with a prescription for some variety of anti-depressant.

Don't do that.

Here are some things you can do to help those feelings. Without the side-effects of prescription anti-depressants.

First, get some sun. I keep harping on this, but it's true: you need to get some UV exposure. And since it's usually a little brisk outside this time of year, that means a tanning bed. Maybe you've never been in one. That's OK. Tell the folks at the tanning place that you're a newbie, and let them tell you what to do.

Next, if you're having trouble sleeping, go to the vitamin store, and buy some Melatonin. Take one half an hour or so before you're going to bed, and let it work for you.

And while you're at the store, buy a bottle of St. Johns Wort herb. Immensely helpful in lifting mild depression, St. Johns Wort has virtually no downside. And it works, and well.

Depression is a nasty feeling. Using these three suggestions can help get it under control. Especially in January.

Big goals

"If you know what to do to reach your goal, it's not a big enough goal."

Bob Proctor,

author and speaker

Defining ourselves

"We must not allow other people's limited perceptions to define us."

Virginia Satir
Family Therapist, Lecturer, Trainer and Author

Getting things done

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned."

Peter Marshall, 1902-1949

author and minister

The habit of persistence

"There is no substitute for persistence! It cannot be supplanted by any other quality! Remember this in the beginning and it will hearten you when the going may seem difficult and slow.

Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure. No matter how many times they are defeated, they finally arrive up near the top of the ladder. Sometimes it appears there is a hidden guide whose duty is to test people through all sorts of discouraging experiences. Those who pick themselves up after defeat and keep on trying arrive; and the world cries, "Bravo! I knew you could do it!" The hidden guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test. Those who can't take it simply do not make the grade..

Those who can "take it" are bountifully rewarded for their persistence. They receive, as their compensation, whatever goal they are pursuing."

author Napoleon Hill

What to do when you have a cold

You won't die from a cold, but sometimes you'll wish you would.

Colds tend to hit us during the period from December to February. They are that miserable feeling of nasal irritation and congestion, often combined with a sore throat, coughing, and a generally nasty feeling. Colds seldom have fever with them, and since they are caused by viruses, you don't need antibiotics.

But what to do to help ease the nasty feelings and get them on their way?

First, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Getting a lot of fluids (water in particular) is important year round (I recommend 20 glasses a day) but during a cold, you'll feel better if you up that to 25 a day. This accomplishes 2 things with a cold: a sore throat will feel lots better, and it's a lot easier to bring up any congestion if your body is well-hydrated. If you're feeling lousy, the old chicken soup remedy is a good one.

Secondly, get some sun. Now unless you're living in Miami, that's not always easy, so get to a tanning bed. The benefits from UV rays are important any time, but in a cold, you especially need them. 10 minutes in a tanning bed (15 minutes if you're already doing it regularly) will make you feel a lot better, and some feel it shortens the duration and intensity of a cold.

Third, load up on the vitamin C. I normally take 3 grams (3000 milligrams) of vitamin C a day. If I get a cold, I will up that to 6 or 7 grams a day.

Finally, don't short-circuit your body's abilities to deal with the cold. Avoid cough-suppressants because these keep your body from coughing up any garbage the cold has induced. If you're having trouble sleeping because of a persistent, tickling cough, you might take one at bedtime, but make sure it's a nighttime variety: those are designed to avoid keeping you awake.

And take heart: colds really do go away, and these things will help them go away even faster.

Hawthorn extract helps with CHF(chronic heart failure)

from:

http://www.newsmax.com/health/hawthorne_heart/2008/01/23/66673.html

"Adding another twist to the ongoing debate over the value of an herbal treatment for patients with heart failure, a new review of existing research suggests that hawthorn extract "significantly" improves symptoms.

"If I had chronic heart failure, I certainly would consider (using) it," said review co-author Dr. Max Pittler, deputy director of complementary medicine at Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, England.

The review does not include results of a large new study - unpublished to date - that suggested hawthorn has only a limited affect on lifespan.

At issue is heart failure, a common condition that is both debilitating and deadly. An estimated five million Americans suffer from heart failure, which is often the result of clogged arteries that put stress on the heart by forcing it to work harder.

As a result, the heart becomes larger while failing to effectively move blood around the body. This causes fluids to build up in the legs and lungs, often causing shortness of breath and other symptoms.

Perhaps the most famous heart failure patient is Vice President Dick Cheney, who has suffered from a long history of cardiac problems and has a defibrillator implanted in his chest.

According to the new review, the hawthorn bush produces one of the most commonly used herbal medicines in the United States. Many believe that hawthorn extract improves heart health, lowers cholesterol and boosts antioxidant levels.

To determine whether hawthorn is actually an effective treatment, Pittler and colleagues searched the medical literature for high-quality studies into the use of the herb in chronic heart failure patients.

The review of the studies appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews like this one draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

The researchers found 14 studies that met their criteria, several of which looked at the use of hawthorn as an addition to conventional medications.

The review authors combined the results of 10 studies of 855 patients into a meta-analysis. Compared to placebo, hawthorn extract boosted the maximum level of physiological workload - a fact that the review authors described as significant, although they acknowledged they based the finding on small numbers of studies and patients.

The analysis found that hawthorn, as compared to placebo, also decreased the "pressure-heart rate product," a measurement of how much oxygen is used by the heart. In addition, the analysis reports that two other measurements - exercise tolerance, and shortness of breath and fatigue - improved "significantly" in patients who used hawthorn.

Side effects were reported to be "infrequent, mild and transient," and included nausea, dizziness and heart and gastrointestinal complaints. The studies reviewed did not examine death rates in detail, however.

Overall, the review showed a "significant benefit in symptom control and physiologic outcomes" in patients who took hawthorn, Pittler said. According to him, the extract appears to boost the strength of heart contractions, increase blood flow through arteries and reduce irregular heartbeats.

There are some caveats, however. Only seven of the 14 trials specified that patients were taking conventional drugs. In addition, patients included in the studies had mild-to-moderate heart failure. Pittler said hawthorn might cause greater side effects in patients who must take drugs that are more powerful to control their disease.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, director of the Heart Failure Program at the University of California at Los Angeles, said the larger hawthorn study whose results were released last year impressed him more. The study, which was not included in the review because it thus far remains unpublished, found only limited benefit.

"It does indeed demonstrate that [hawthorn] is not a harmful therapy, but it's one that is not particularly helpful nor that would be recommended," Fonarow said. "It's naturally attractive to think there is something over the counter or naturally occurring that may help improve outcome. Unfortunately, we've not been able to identify that so far."