The Vienna Declaration is a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies.
Scientists, health practitioners, organizations, and the public are invited to endorse this document, to bring these issues to the attention of governments and international agencies and to
illustrate that drug policy reform is a matter of urgent international significance. Click here for a brief listing of high-profile endorsements to date.
Empirical evidence supports the efficacy of psychodynamic therapy. Effect sizes for psychodynamic
psychotherapy are as large as those reported for other therapies that have been actively promoted as
"empirically supported" and "evidence based." Additionally, patients who receive psychodynamic
therapy maintain therapeutic gains and appear to continue to improve after treatment ends. Finally, nonpsychodynamic
therapies may be effective in part because the more skilled practitioners utilize techniques
that have long been central to psychodynamic theory and practice. The perception that psychodynamic
approaches lack empirical support does not accord with available scientific evidence and may reflect
selective dissemination of research findings. [...]
Psychodynamic or psychoanalytic [the author uses those terms interchangeably] psychotherapy refers to a range of treatments based on
psychoanalytic concepts and methods that involve less frequent meetings and may be considerably briefer
than psychoanalysis proper. Session frequency is typically once or twice per week and the treatment may
be either time limited or open ended. The essence of psychodynamic therapy is exploring those aspects of
self that are not fully known, especially as they are manifested and potentially influenced in the therapy
relationship. [...]
[...] We not only know placebos "work," we know there is a hierarchy of effectiveness:
Placebo surgery works better than placebo injections
Placebo injections work better than placebo pills
Sham acupuncture treatment works better than a placebo pill
Capsules work better than tablets
Big pills work better than small
The more doses a day, the better
The more expensive, the better
The color of the pill makes a difference
Telling the patient, "This will relieve your pain" works better than saying "This might help."
Hall's article provides an excellent review of the placebo effect, which clearly plays an important role in treatment.
In Placebos Do Work: Let's Consider Why, Christopher Lane (Shyness: How normal behavior became an illness)
expresses the hope that Hall's article will return attention to the "exciting opportunities and real quandaries (medical and ethical) that the placebo effect poses", in contrast to our largely exclusive focus
on biology and genes. Lane reminds us of an assertion by Philip Newton (3.12.08): In some controversial cases, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
(SSRI) anti- depressants, placebo effects are thought to account for a major proportion of the positive effects of a drug. He reviews a controversial paper by Irving Kirsch
and Guy Sapirstein (1998), emphasizes Kirsch's comment that their data show "virtually all of the
variation in drug effect size was due to the placebo characteristics of the studies," indicating that "the placebo component of the response to medication is considerably greater than the pharmacological
effect".
For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.
— Alice Kahn (b. 1943) American writer
[...] "Quality of life" is a common phrase. The majority of human endeavours are ostensibly aimed at improving quality of life, whether for the individual or the community, and the concept
ultimately informs most aspects of public policy and private enterprise.
Advancements in healthcare have been responsible for the most significant quality-of-life gains in the recent
past: that humans are (on average) living longer, and more healthily than ever, is well established. But "quality of death" is another matter. Death, although inevitable, is distressing
to contemplate and in many cultures is taboo.
Even where the issue can be openly discussed, the obligations implied by the Hippocratic oath — rightly the starting point for all curative
medicine — do not fit easily with the demands of end-of-life palliative care, where the patient’s recovery is unlikely and instead the task falls to the physician (or, more often, caregiver)
to minimise suffering as death approaches. Too often such care is simply not available: according to the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance, while more than 100m people annually would benefit
from hospice and palliative care (including family and carers who need help and assistance in caring), less than 8% of those in need access it.
Few nations, including rich ones with cutting-edge healthcare systems, incorporate palliative care strategies into their overall healthcare policy—despite the fact that in many of these
countries, increasing longevity and ageing populations mean demand for end-of-life care is likely to rise sharply. Globally, training for palliative care is rarely included in healthcare
education curricula. Institutions that specialise in giving palliative and end-of-life care are often not part of national healthcare systems, and many rely on volunteer or charitable status.
Added to this, the availability of painkilling drugs—the most basic issue in the minimisation of suffering—is woefully inadequate across much of the world, often because of concerns about
illicit use and trafficking. The result of this state of affairs is an incalculable surfeit of suffering, not just for those about to die, but also for their loved ones. Clearly, the deeper
inclusion of palliative care into broader health policy, and the improvement of standards of end-of-life care—raising the "quality of death"—will also yield significant gains for humanity’s
quality of life. [...]
Posit Science provides effective, non-invasive tools that engage the brain's natural plasticity to improve brain health.
With a large and growing global team of more than 50 leading university-based researchers, their staff scientists and other specialists collaborate on programs that address cognitive issues
related to healthy aging, as well as a broad range of other conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, and chemobrain.
Posit Science grew out of the pioneering work of well-known neuroscientist Dr. Michael Merzenich, whose discoveries continue to change how scientists and the medical profession look at the brain.
Tools for Personal Development An Online Journal Readings, writings and research on matters of health and well-being.
Homelessness and Poverty in Canada
SOCIO Homeless in Canada
Selected resources, news and statistics on housing and homelessness in Canada, with national
and provincial housing and homeless initiatives, developments and services in major cities, local Ottawa services and charities,
research and policy organizations, food banks by province, and a customized search engine for Poverty & Homelessness in Canada.
Homelessness Resource Center Special Journal Issues: Future of Homeless Services
A special issue of the Open Health Services and Policy Journal on "The Future of Homeless Services". Describes the services and supports needed to help
individuals and families exit homelessness and maintain housing. Nine open access articles. (2010)
Red Tent Campaign
Pivot Legal Society, the Citywide Housing Coalition and other partners launch their Olympic campaign to attract international attention to the problem of homelessness. Vancouver.
(25.01.10)
Changing Patterns for Street Involved Youth
Groundbreaking study reveals new information about the challenges and dangers facing Toronto's street-involved youth, and presents findings on how to address this growing crisis. By Public
Interest, for Yonge Street Mission and World Vision Canada (December 2009).
Predicting Homelessness Homeless Asset and Risk Tool (HART) — Calgary researchers have developed a short list of
questions to help identify people at risk before they lose their homes. (11.12.09)
Youth Homelessness in Canada : The Road to Solutions.
A document that outlines solutions to youth homelessness, based on three years of research and consultation with stakeholders across Canada. Raising the Roof. (November 2009)
Homelessness: Auditor General Identifies Need for Provincial Focus
BC Auditor General John Doyle's latest report, Homelessness: Clear Focus Needed, assesses government's efforts to provide adequate
leadership in reducing and preventing homelessness in British Columbia. Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia. (5.03.09)
$134,000 per year Lifestyle
That's what one Calgary study said it costs to support a chronically
homeless person: This week a major report recommends how Edmonton should handle its own crisis.
Richard Warnica, Edmonton Journal (26.01.09)
The Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts
Juha Mikkonen and Dennis Raphael. (May 2010) This must-read report, the only one of its kind in Canada, explores the key social determinants that affect Canadians, examines their ramifications, and
suggests specific economic and social policy strategies to remediate factors which negatively affect our health and longevity.
A Living Wage for Canadian Families The New Westminster City Council voted unanimously yesterday for a living wage bylaw
based on a calculation of the hourly wage required to keep a family with two children and two working parents above the poverty line. (28.04.10)
No Action: No Progress
Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action Report on Canada's Progress in Implementing Priority Recommendations made by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women in 2008. FAFIA (February 2010)
New Poverty Series by Michael Enright
(18 October 2009) [Podcast] — CBC Sunday Edition host Michael Enright launched a new Poverty Series on 18 October 2009, with an outstanding and timely set of interviews. He spoke with Conservative Senator Hugh Segal,
whose take on the issue is both informed and pragmatic; Segal explores the backward thinking and Victorian attitudes that prevent real progress on this front, and offers real solutions.
His approach is truly enlightening. The second interviews, with Ron Hikel and Evelyn Forget, provide important information with respect to MINCOME, a successful guaranteed annual income
experiment conducted in Dauphin, Manitoba, between 1974 and 1978.
(27.12.09) [Podcast] — Panel Discussion on Inequality, with Ed Broadbeny and Kate Pickett, social epidemiologist. Level of inequality has more devastating consequences than does
level of poverty.
Cost of Eating in BC
Released 15 December 2009 by Dietitians of Canada, BC Region and the Community Nutritionists Council of BC, this report was endorsed by 23 organizations and highlights the fact that
not all British Columbians have enough money to buy healthy food. Dietitians are calling for the provincial government to take some additional action to address poverty in this province. Accessed 2.07.10.
Do the Math Survey The Stop Community Food Centre today announced the second phase of
"Do the Math", the anti-poverty organization's campaign to highlight the failure of Ontario's current
social assistance rates to support healthy, dignified lives. (6.04.10)
A PROPOSAL FOR ODSP RULE CHANGES: 'Stupid Rules' Have Dire Consequences
This ODSP Action Coalition submission to the Ontario Social Assistance Review Advisory Council presents a number of short-term rules changes that would make a significant
difference in the lives of people who rely on ODSP benefits. The list of recommended changes is not exhaustive, but represents a start on reforming a system that offers
insufficient support to people with disabilities. (28.01.10)
Homeless, rooming house residents at risk for early death: study
Sheryl Ubelacker, Canadian Press (26.10.09) Study: Mortality among residents of shelters, rooming houses, and hotels in Canada: 11 year follow-up study, Hwang, et al. BMJ 2009;339:b4036, doi: 10.1136/bmj.b4036. (26.10.09)
This edition of the InBrief series outlines basic concepts from the research on the biology of stress, which show that major adversity can weaken developing
brain architecture and permanently set the body's stress response system on high alert. Science also shows that providing stable, responsive environments for children in the earliest
years of life can prevent or reverse these conditions, with lifelong consequences for learning, behavior, and health.
Fungi are closely related to us in phylogenetic terms and, for at least four millenia in Asia, they have been used for medicinal purposes. Mushrooms and the mycelium contain an array of active
contituents, including steroids, lactones, alkaloids, polyssacharides and triterpenes. Some mushrooms have been shown to have antibacterial, antiviral, immunomodulating, adaptogenic, and antitumor
effects. This page presents three amazing videos and a brief introduction to the mycelium, then focuses on a more in-depth examination of the adaptogenic and therapeutic uses of mushrooms,
including immune enhancement and the treatment of a wide range of conditions and illnesses. Selected journals, references, resources, books, sources for supplements and extracts, and additional
videos are also presented.
Nordic Walking is a low-stress walking exercise that employs specially designed poles and a grip-release technique to engage the upper body in a workout similar to cross-country
skiing. Developed in Finland and officially launched in 1997, Nordic Walking is very popular in Europe. Clinical studies
have found that this technique delivers a broad range of physical and psychological benefits. Anecdotal reports include
remarkable results achieved by fitness enthusiasts as well as those suffering from chronic medical conditions. Nordic Walking
can be adapted to individual fitness levels — it isn't just for the fitness enthusiast who wants a high-intensity, total body
aerobic workout. Virtually everyone who can walk, and many who have difficulty walking, can go Nordic Walking.
Genetically engineered crops have raised a host of issues — ethical, ecological, medical, social, legal, and
more — deeply dividing both the scientific community and the general public. GMOs have been linked to
toxins, allergies, infertility, infant mortality, immune dysfunction, stunted growth, and death. Testing is not required for foods that
fall under the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) designation of the FDA, and producers effectively decide if the GM product and plant
that produces it are exempt from testing. Is there reason for concern? We believe there is, and that it's important to know what might
not be working in our best interests.
Minerals have been used for medicinal purposes, both topically and internally, for millennia. Clay minerals have been used for the treatment of wounds, skin afflictions,
stomach and intestinal problems, malaria, for cleansing, as anti-inflammatories, cicatrizers, and more. The adsorptive and absorptive properties of natural clays, with their fine
particle size and high cation exchange capacity, make them useful in a range of industrial, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications. They
are effective absorbers of secretions and toxins, exhibiting bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties...
Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) Credit: US Food and Drug Administration
Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia. Adapted.
Some types of fish and seafood are safe to eat, some should be consumed in moderation, and some should be avoided altogether. There are two reasons for this. First, contaminants such as
PCBs, mercury, and other toxins in some fish and seafood poses a cumulative health risk for consumers. Second, over-fishing of certain species or groups of species has resulted in a dramatic decline in numbers.
Greenpeace reports that "[n]inety per cent of large, commercially valuable species such as cod, tuna and swordfish have vanished from the oceans, and 27 million tonnes
of marine life are caught incidentally and thrown overboard dead or dying each year". From a health perspective then, both human and marine, it is important to know which fish are safe to eat and how frequently,
as well as which fish have been obtained from well-managed sources and/or caught in an ecologically responsible manner that preserves biodiversity and habitat.
Dried Psilocybe cubensis magic mushrooms. Credit: Erik Fenderson, Wikipedia (3.12.06)
In a 2006 paper entitled Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning
and spiritual significance, authors R.R. Griffiths et al. find that volunteers administered psilocybin under supportive
conditions subjectively identify personal meaning and spiritual significance in psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences
similar in nature to those that occur spontaneously. In a follow-up study published 1 July 2008, the authors report that, "[w]hen administered under
supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences that, at
14-month follow-up, were considered by volunteers to be among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant
of their lives".
New study shows comprehensive anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects of plant compound resveratrol in humans
Resveratrol is a popular plant extract shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties in vitro and in animal models.
Now, in a human trial conducted by University at Buffalo endocrinologists, a
Polygonum cuspidatum extract containing resveratrol has shown a comprehensive suppressive effect on oxidative
and inflammatory stress in normal subjects.1
Resveratrol is a compound produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. It is found in the skin of red grapes, in red wine, in the berries and seeds of muscadine grapes2, in peanuts and berries of
Vaccinum species, including blueberries, bilberries, and cranberries.3,4
Resveratrol is sold as a nutritional supplement of red wine extracts and red grape extracts containing resveratrol and other polyphenols,3 or may be produced by chemical synthesis derived primarily from Japanese knotweed.5
"Since there are no data demonstrating the effect of resveratrol on oxidative and inflammatory stress in humans," says Paresh Dandona MD PhD, UB distinguished professor of medicine and senior
author on the study, "we decided to determine if the compound reduces the level of oxidative and inflammatory stress in humans.6
A nutritional supplement containing 40 milligrams of resveratrol was used as the active product in this trial, where 20 participants were randomized into two groups of 10, with one group receiving the supplement
and the other group, an identical pill containing no active ingredient. Participants took the pill once a day for six weeks. Fasting blood samples were collected as the start of the trial and at weeks one, three and six.
Results showed that resveratrol suppressed the generation of free radicals, or reactive oxygen species, unstable molecules known to cause oxidative stress and release proinflammatory factors into the blood stream, resulting
in damage to the blood vessel lining. Blood samples from persons taking resveratrol also showed suppression of the inflammatory protein tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and other similar compounds that increase inflammation in
blood vessels and interfere with insulin action, causing insulin resistance and the risk of developing diabetes. These inflammatory factors, in the long term, have an impact on the development of type 2 diabetes, aging, heart
disease and stroke, noted Dandona. Blood samples from the participants who received the placebo showed no change in these pro-inflammatory markers. The study didn't eliminate the possibility that something in the extract
other than resveratrol was responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects. "The product we used has only 20 percent resveratrol, so it is possible that something else in the preparation is responsible for the positive effects.
These agents could be even more potent than resveratrol. Purer preparations now are available and we intend to test those."6
Washington, D.C. - The fourth annual Sunscreen Guide by Environmental Working Group (EWG) gives low marks to the current crop of sunscreen products, with a few notable exceptions.
EWG researchers recommend only 39, or 8 percent, of 500 beach and sport sunscreens on the market this season.
The reason? A surge in exaggerated SPF claims (SPFs greater than 50) and recent developments in understanding the possible hazards of some sunscreen ingredients, in particular,
new government data linking a form of vitamin A used in sunscreens to accelerated growth of skin tumors and lesions.
Industry's lackluster performance and the federal Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) failure to issue regulations for sunscreens lead EWG to warn consumers not to depend on any sunscreen
for primary protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Hats, clothing and shade are still the most reliable sun protection available.
Products with high SPF ratings sell a false sense of security because most people using them stay out in the sun longer, still get burned (which increases risk of skin cancer) and subject
their skin to large amounts of UVA radiation, the type of sunlight that does not burn but is believed responsible for considerable skin damage and cancer. High SPF products, which protect
against sunburn, often provide very little protection against UVA radiation. Also, most people don't get the high SPF they pay for: people apply about a quarter of the recommended amount.
In everyday practice, a product labeled SPF 100 really performs like SPF 3.2, an SPF 30 rating equates to a 2.3 and an SPF 15 translates to 2.
"Many sunscreens available in the U.S. may be the equivalent of modern-day snake oil, plying customers with claims of broad-spectrum protection but not providing it, while exposing people
to potentially hazardous chemicals that can penetrate the skin into the body," said Jane Houlihan, EWG Senior Vice President for Research. "When only 8 percent of sunscreens rate high for
safety and efficacy, it's clear that consumers concerned about protecting themselves and their families are left with few good options."
This year, new concerns are being raised about a vitamin A compound called retinyl palmitate, found in 41 percent of sunscreens. The FDA is investigating whether this chemical, when applied
to skin that is then exposed to sunlight, may accelerate skin damage and elevate skin cancer risk. FDA data suggest that vitamin A may be photocarcinogenic, meaning that in the presence of the
sun's ultraviolet rays, the compound and skin undergo complex biochemical changes resulting in cancer. The evidence against vitamin A is not conclusive, but as long as it is suspect, EWG
recommends that consumers choose vitamin A-free sunscreens.
EWG has again flagged products with oxybenzone, a hormone-disrupting compound that penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream. Biomonitoring surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention have detected oxybenzone in the bodies of 97 percent of Americans tested. In all, EWG researchers assessed 1,400 sunscreen products, including beach and sports lotions,
sprays and creams, moisturizers, make-up and lip balms. The 39 top beach and sports products that earned EWG's "green" rating all contain the minerals zinc or titanium. EWG researchers were
unable find any non-mineral sunscreens that scored better than "yellow."
Some blame falls on the FDA, which has yet to finalize regulations for sunscreens promised since 1978. FDA officials estimate that the regulations may be issued next October – but even then,
they are expected to give manufacturers at least a year, and possibly longer, to comply with the new rules. That means the first federally regulated sunscreens won't go on store shelves
before the summer of 2012.
"Both world wars, the creation of Medicare and the planning and execution of the moon landing combined took less time to achieve than FDA's promised sunscreen regulations," said Houlihan.
"Meanwhile, more than one million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. every year. This could be the poster child for government inaction."
Notes on Vitamin D
Vitamin D Council provides a wealth of information on the critical importance of vitamin D
in the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body, from birth until death. The navigation box above will take you to specific areas of research.
Listen to the new One Radio Network interview with Vitamin D Council Executive Director Dr. John Cannell, explaining why vitamin D is so important for health: One Radio Network, Health - Podcasts/Diet and Nutrition (11.12.09)
Patrick Timone interviews John J. Cannell MD, on the importance of Vitamin D.
Source: "Sunshine Vitamin" Link to Cognitive Problems in Older People
EurekaAlert!, Peninsula Medical School News (22.01.09)
[...] The study was based on data on almost 2000 adults aged 65 and over who participated in the Health Survey for England in 2000 and whose
levels of cognitive function were assessed. The study found that as levels of Vitamin D went down, levels of cognitive impairment went up.
Compared to those with optimum levels of Vitamin D, those with the lowest levels were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired. [...]
Source: Vitamin D and Your Health — Autism
John Jacob Cannell MD, Executive Director, Vitamin D Council (2007.05.01; updated 2009.02.02) [Accessed 22.09.09] Emphasis added
The Food and Nutrition Board set the current Upper Limit for medically-unsupervised intake by infants and babies (up to the age of 1 years-old) at 1,000 units/day.
This means the government says it is safe to give infants and babies up to 1,000 units a day without getting a blood test. Of course, with correct sun exposure in
the summer this is not necessary, but it will be in winter. Children over 1 years of age, according to the Food and Nutrition Board, may safely take 2,000 units/day — again,
without requiring a blood test.
For adolescents, pregnant women, and other adults, the government's Upper
Limits are a problem. While a 2,000-unit Upper Limit is entirely appropriate for
younger children, such limits in heavier adolescents, adults, and pregnant women
limit effective treatment of vitamin D deficiency. However, these limits no more
impair a physician's ability to treat vitamin D deficiency with higher doses than comparable Upper Limits for
calcium or magnesium impair
their ability to treat calcium or magnesium deficiencies with higher doses, should those deficiencies be diagnosed.
In the absence of sun exposure and in winter, heavier children, adults, and pregnant women may require doses above 2,000 units daily (depending on
pre-existing blood levels, body weight, degree of skin pigmentation, age, and latitude of residence) in order to obtain and maintain levels of
50–80 ng/mL. For example, Professor Heaney at Creighton University has
estimated that about 3,000 units/day is required simply to assure that 97% of adult Americans obtain levels greater than 35 ng/mL. Healthy adult men utilize up to 5,000 units of vitamin D per day, if present in the body. Professors Bruce Hollis and Carol Wagner, in South Carolina, have been giving pregnant women
4,000 units/day for years. Professor Vieth, at the University of
Toronto, found that actual vitamin D toxicity, with systemic symptoms,
is exceedingly rare and requires much higher doses than those discussed above. When exceeding the Upper Limit, periodic serum 25(OH)D and calcium levels will reassure both
physician and patient that such amounts are safe as well as convince all concerned that the government should revise their 10-year-old (yet most current) recommendations — the sooner the better.
Selected Food Sources of Vitamin D
Food
IUs per serving*
Percent DV**
Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon
1,360
340
Salmon (sockeye), cooked, 3 ounces
794
199
Mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet light to increase vitamin D, 3 ounces (not yet commonly available)
400
100
Mackerel, cooked, 3 ounces
388
97
Tuna fish, canned in water, drained, 3 ounces
154
39
Milk, nonfat, reduced fat, and whole, vitamin D-fortified, 1 cup
115-124
29-31
Orange juice fortified with vitamin D, 1 cup (check product labels, as amount of added vitamin D varies)
100
25
Yogurt, fortified with 20% of the DV for vitamin D, 6 ounces (more heavily fortified yogurts provide more of the DV)
80
20
Margarine, fortified, 1 tablespoon
60
15
Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 2 sardines
46
12
Liver, beef, cooked, 3.5 ounces
46
12
Ready-to-eat cereal, fortified with 10% of the DV for vitamin D, 0.75-1 cup (more heavily fortified cereals might provide more of the DV)
40
10
Egg, 1 whole (vitamin D is found in yolk)
25
6
Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce
6
2
Table Source: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D, Health Professional Fact Sheet, Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Updated: 13.11.09. Retrieved 9.04.10.
Also see: Vitamin D Deficiency, Holick MF.
N Engl J Med 2007;357:266-81. Includes illustraions of vitamin D activity and food list.
**DV = Daily Value. DVs were developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help consumers compare the nutrient contents of products within the context of a total diet. The
DV for vitamin D is 400 IU for adults and children age 4 and older. Food labels, however, are not required to list vitamin D content unless a food has been fortified with this nutrient.
Foods providing 20% or more of the DV are considered to be high sources of a nutrient.
A growing number of foods are being analyzed for vitamin D content. Simpler and faster methods to measure vitamin D in foods are needed, as are food standard reference materials with certified
values for vitamin D to ensure accurate measurements [31].
In the August 2010 Vitamin D Newsletter, Cannell considers the question of vitamin D toxicity and reviews selected papers describing massive doses administered to patients
in clinical trials as early as 1935. See Gary Null and Vitamin D Toxicity.
CONCLUSIONS: Oral cholecalciferol supplementation in HD patients seems to be an easy and cost-effective therapeutic measure. It allows reduction of vitamin D deficiency,
better control of mineral metabolism with less use of active vitamin D, attenuation of inflammation, reduced dosing of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, and possibly
improvement of cardiac dysfunction.
In view of the multiple health benefits of vitamin D and the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, as well as the easy, safe, and inexpensive ways in which
vitamin D can be supplemented, we believe that the implementation of public health strategies for maintaining a sufficient vitamin D status of the general
population is warranted.
Conclusion: At total intakes on the order of 2000 IU/day, an adult has very little vitamin D reserve, despite intakes 10x the current recommendations. Those recommended inputs need to be increased by at least an order of magnitude. Food tables that fail to take into account
25(OH)D content of various meat products lead to underestimation of dietary vitamin D intake.
In analyses adjusted for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, serum phosphorus, albumin, hemoglobin, stage of chronic kidney disease, albuminuria, and
socioeconomic status, individuals with serum 25OHD levels less than 15 ng/ml had an increased risk for all-cause mortality when compared to those with levels over 30 ng/ml. [...] The broad public
health implications of our findings cannot be overemphasized given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among individuals with chronic kidney disease, and the ease, safety, and low cost of
maintaining replete vitamin D levels.
Because it has been well documented that a vitamin D deficiency can precipitate the influenza virus, we strongly recommend that all health-care workers and
patients be tested and treated for vitamin D deficiency to prevent exacerbation of a respiratory infection.
On Thursday, 12 November 2009, CBC Ideas ran an interview with Sue Johnson EdD, an internationally recognized couples therapist. The interview explored the importance of secure
attachment in the formation and maintenance of lasting relationships. Dr. Johnson spoke at length about the science of love, and emphasized the pioneering work on attachment theory by
John Bowlby (1907-1990), a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
Hold Me Tight provides a streamlined version of EFT, walking the reader through seven conversations that capture the defining moments in a love relationship, showing how to shape these moments to create a secure and lasting bond.
Case histories and exercises in each conversation bring the lessons of EFT to life1.
Sue Johnson EdD is Professor of Clinical Psychology at The University of Ottawa, Director of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute Inc. and the International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy.
She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, and the Journal of Family Psychology. She is a Distinguished Research Professor in
the Marital & Family Therapy Program, Alliant University, San Diego.
Emphasis in original.
[...] Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) [is] a systematic, rigorous, tested set of interventions based on the attachment
view of love and bonding. I recently summarized attachment based approaches in a manner that can be offered to clients and the public in
Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. The great strength of this new
scientific perspective is exactly that it offers a rigorous body of observation and research into what love is all about and how it changes shape and color. More so, it is a tested approach to
intervention with excellent outcome data and clinical relevance. Clients also tell us that this way of seeing and working does indeed go to the heart of the matter. In this article I will summarize
the attachment perspective and how it is supported by different strands of relationship science (these science strands will be in italics to find or avoid, as you wish!) and how it translates into
practice in EFT.
A new scientific and practical theory of love
The multitude of studies on adult attachment that have emerged over the last decade tell us that the essence of love is not a negotiated exchange of resources (so why teach negotiation skills?),
a friendship, Nature's trick to get you to mate and pass on your genes, or a time-limited episode of delusional addiction. Love is a very special kind of emotional bond, the need for which is
wired into our brain by millions of years of evolution. It is a survival imperative. The human brain codes isolation and abandonment as danger and the touch and emotional responsiveness of loved
ones as safety, a safety that promotes optimal flexibility and continual learning. Jaak Panksepp, in his neurobiological studies finds that loss of connection from attachment figures triggers
"primal panic," a special set of fear responses. As Bowlby notes the words anxiety and anger come from the same etymological root and both arise at moments of disconnection, when attachment
figures are non-responsive. This need for emotional connection is not a sentimental notion. The basic image of who we are and what our most basic needs are, namely, that we are social animals
who seek such connection is reflected in health studies. For example, it is now clear that emotional isolation is more dangerous for your health than smoking and that it doubles the likelihood
of heart attack and stroke.
Love is a very special kind of emotional bond, the need for which is wired into our brain by millions of years of evolution. It is a survival imperative.
Attachment theory states that we need a safe haven relationship to turn to when life is too much for us and that offers us a secure base from which to go confidently out into the world.
This is effective dependency. Many psychotherapy clients learn that their problem is that they are too close or undifferentiated from loved ones. The approach discussed here offers a larger
picture. The evidence is that secure close connection is a source of strength and personality integration rather than weakness. Studies show that the securely connected have a more articulated
and positive sense of self. Eighteen months after 9/11, researcher Chris Fraley found that securely connected survivors, who could turn to others for emotional support, were able to deal
with this trauma and grow from it, whereas insecurely attached survivors were experiencing significant mental health problems. Secure connection is shaped by mutual emotional accessibility
and responsiveness. This is the heart of the drama that plays out in the couple therapist's office. The fights that matter in a relationship are only superficially about the kids or money.
Partners and therapists can spend many hours talking about these content issues instead of focusing on how the couple talk and more specifically, on the key attachment questions that drive
a couples negative dance. The key questions are: "Are you there for me?" "Do I matter to you?" "Will you turn towards me and respond to me?" Partners often do not know how to ask these questions
and therapists often miss them or even see them as a sign of immature dependency. [...] [Read in full]
The Next Chapter Podcast (23.05.09)
Shiela Rogers interviews Sue Johnson on "Hold Me Tight"
Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human
health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of
ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.
What's the Difference?
EWG research has found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen list consume an average of
10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2
pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load.
Will Washing and Peeling Help?
The data used to create these lists is based on produce tested as it is typically eaten (meaning washed, rinsed or peeled, depending
on the type of produce). Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the
drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible.
How Was This Guide Developed?
EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly 96,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between
2000 and 2008 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You can find a detailed
description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at our dedicated
website, www.foodnews.org.
As noted in the EWG excerpt above, rinsing reduces but does not entirely eliminate pesticides, but more thorough cleaning
may nevertheless help remove topical impurities to which fruit or produce has been exposed in the journey from producer to consumer. Here are a few examples of
popular products and approaches.
Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.
— Rumi (1207–1273)
Hearing Voices...
Source: The International Network for
Training, Education and Research into Hearing Voices (Last Updated: 07.03.08) [Emphasis in original.]
We have found there are many people who hear voices, yet are not troubled by them or have found their own ways of coping with them
outside of psychiatric care. This is very significant as it shows you can hear voices and remain healthy.
However, there are also significant numbers of voice hearers who are overwhelmed by the negative and disempowering aspects of the experience. Many are
diagnosed as having a serious mental health problem such as schizophrenia – a harmful and stigmatizing concept, in our eyes.
The experience of hearing voices prevents some people from living a fulfilled life in society (especially those in psychiatric and social care) and can lead to having a
very poor quality of life. We seek to enable voice hearers troubled by their experience to change their relationship and attitude to their voices and to take up their lives
again. We also want to ensure that our innovatory approach is better known by professionals, family members and friends.
We have spent the last 20 years trying to better understand why some people can cope with the experience and others can't. We have discovered that those people who are
not able to cope with their voices, on the whole have not been able to cope with the traumatic events that lay at the roots of their voice hearing experience.
Significantly, the search for ways of doing this began with the people who were best able to provide the answers, the voice hearers themselves including psychiatric
patients, and equally importantly, people who heard voices who had never needed to seek the assistance of psychiatric services.
Our network focuses on solutions that improve the life of voice hearers in the knowledge that these methods have been co-developed by voice hearers and professionals.
The most important factor in the success of our approach is the importance placed on the personal engagement of the people involved. This means that everybody is considered
an expert of their own experiences. We see each other first as people, secondly as equal partners and thirdly as all having different but mutually valuable expertise to offer.
This can either be through direct experience of hearing voices or having worked with voice hearers (and/or wanting to).
We now know, because we have met a lot of voice hearers who have recovered from the stress caused by their voices, ...that understanding the meaning of the
voices is of great significance. It is important, therefore, that we promote this information in a more systematic way to ensure that our message is clear and coherent.
One outcome of this is the development of this online community. [Visit Site]
Gartner Says Work Will Change
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Gartner Inc. is a leading information technology research and advisory company founded in 1979. With some 4,300 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, they research, analyze
and interpret the business of IT for more than 60,000 clients in 80 countries around the world.
Egham, UK, August 4, 2010 — The world of today is dramatically different from 20 years ago and with the lines between work and non-work already badly frayed, Gartner, Inc. predicts that
the nature of work will witness 10 key changes through 2020. Organizations will need to plan for increasingly chaotic environments that are out of their direct control, and adaptation must
involve adjusting to all 10 of the trends.
"Work will become less routine, characterized by increased volatility, hyperconnectedness, 'swarming' and more," said Tom Austin, vice president and Gartner fellow. By 2015, 40 percent or more
of an organization’s work will be ‘non-routine’, up from 25 percent in 2010. "People will swarm more often and work solo less. They’ll work with others with whom they have few links, and teams
will include people outside the control of the organization," he added. "In addition, simulation, visualisation and unification technologies, working across yottabytes of data per second, will
demand an emphasis on new perceptual skills." [...]
1. De-routinization of Work
The core value that people add is not in the processes that can be automated, but in non-routine processes, uniquely human, analytical or interactive contributions that result in words such as
discovery, innovation, teaming, leading, selling and learning. Non-routine skills are those we cannot automate. For example, we cannot automate the process of selling a life insurance policy to
a skeptical buyer, but we can use automation tools to augment the selling process.
2. Work Swarms
Swarming is a work style characterized by a flurry of collective activity by anyone and everyone conceivably available and able to add value. Gartner identifies two phenomena
within the collective activity; Teaming (instead of solo performances) will be valued and rewarded more and occur more frequently and a new form of teaming, which Gartner calls swarming,
to distinguish it from more historical teaming models, is emerging. Teams have historically consisted of people who have worked together before and who know each other reasonably well,
often working in the same organization and for the same manager. Swarms form quickly, attacking a problem or opportunity and then quickly dissipating. Swarming is an agile response to
an observed increase in ad hoc action requirements, as ad hoc activities continue to displace structured, bureaucratic situations.
3. Weak Links
In swarms, if individuals know each other at all, it may be just barely, via weak links. Weak links are the cues people can pick up from people who know the people they have to work with. They
are indirect indicators and rely, in part, on the confidence others have in their knowledge of people. Navigating one's own personal, professional and social networks helps people develop and
exploit both strong and weak links and that, in turn, will be crucial to surviving and exploiting swarms for business benefit.
4. Working With the Collective
There are informal groups of people, outside the direct control of the organization, who can impact the success or failure of the organization. These informal groups are bound together by
a common interest, a fad or a historical accident, as described by Gartner as "the collective." Smart business executives discern how to live in a business ecosystem they cannot control;
one they can only influence. The influence process requires understanding the collectives that potentially influence their organization, as well as the key people in those external groups. [...]
5. Work Sketch-Ups
Most non-routine processes will also be highly informal. It is very important that organizations try to capture the criteria used in making decisions but, at least for now, Gartner does not
expect most non-routine processes to follow meaningful standard patterns. Over time, we believe that work patterns for more non-routine work will emerge, justifying a light-handed approach
to collecting activity information, but it will take years before a real return on investment for this effort is visible. In the meantime, the process models for most non-routine processes will
remain simple "sketch-ups," created on the fly.
6. Spontaneous Work
This property is also implied in Gartner’s description of work swarms. Spontaneity implies more than reactive activity, for example, to the emergence of new patterns. It also contains proactive
work such as seeking out new opportunities and creating new designs and models.
7. Simulation and Experimentation
Active engagement with simulated environments (virtual environments), which are similar to technologies depicted in the film Minority Report, will come to replace drilling into cells in spreadsheets.
This suggests the use of n-dimensional virtual representations of all different sorts of data. The contents of the simulated environment will be assembled by agent technologies that determine what
materials go together based on watching people work with this content. People will interact with the data and actively manipulate various parameters reshaping the world they’re looking at.
8. Pattern Sensitivity
Gartner has published a major line of research on Pattern-Based Strategy. The business world is becoming more volatile, affording people working off of linear models based on past performance
far less visibility into the future than ever before. Gartner expects to see a significant growth in the number of organizations that create groups specifically charged with detecting divergent
emerging patterns, evaluating those patterns, developing various scenarios for how the disruption might play out and proposing to senior executives new ways of exploiting (or protecting the
organization from) the changes to which they are now more sensitive.
9. Hyperconnected
Hyperconnectedness is a property of most organizations, existing within networks of networks, unable to completely control any of them. While key supply chain elements, for example,
may be "under contract," there is no guarantee it will perform properly, not even if the supply chain is in-house. Hyperconnectedness will lead to a push for more work to occur in both
formal and informal relationships across enterprise boundaries, and that has implications for how people work and how IT supports or augments that work.
10. My Place
[...T]he employee will still have a "place" where they work. Many will have neither a company-provided physical office nor a desk, and their work will increasingly happen 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. In this work environment, the lines between personal, professional, social and family matters, along with organization subjects, will disappear. Individuals, of course,
need to manage the complexity created by overlapping demands, whether from the new world of work or from external (non-work-related) phenomena. Those that cannot manage the underlying
"expectation and interrupt overloads" will suffer performance deficits as these overloads force individuals to operate in an over-stimulated (information-overload) state.
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