GOOD HEALTH STEMS FROM THE CHOICES YOU MAKE

By DR VICKI BISMILLA

Our health is a matter of priority. I have been reading the quarterly magazine Mind Over Matter published by the Women’s Brain Health Initiative and you too can read their issues at https://womensbrainhealth.org/mind-over-matter-magazine.

Although it is a wonderful magazine for women’s health their articles apply to everyone.

In the most recent issue, they cover obviously loud and clear priorities such as tinnitus which so many of us suffer as we age; also, not so well-known stress management techniques like relaxing your tongue which, when you put your mind to it, is not easy!

In addition to being part of a voluntary nervous system which we control when we eat, for example, the tongue is also a part of our involuntary nervous system and often acts in ways that we may not be aware of. 

So, for example, during quiet meditation the tongue often actually moves to the words of our mantras in our minds. Relaxing the tongue is a technique that yogis have practised knowing that relaxing the tongue helps to spread relaxation throughout the body.

The next time you are meditating on a silent mantra in your mind notice your tongue – it’s moving with your thoughts without you realizing it!

Another important piece of research contained in this quarterly’s edition is the cognitive health impact of chronic social isolation. I know that many parents as elders in families often feel lonely like when their grown kids have to go to work, and they are quite necessarily and unavoidably left alone at home. Even we as not so elderly adults felt what isolation can be like when we were forced to experience it during the pandemic. But for many elderly people social isolation has become a fact of life.

With a brain research grant Dr Derya Sargin, using lab animals at the university of Calgary, found cells that are critical for social interaction, and she found that the activity of these cells is compromised when animals are isolated. Using lab animals her team was able to establish that the behaviours of these animals mimicked social anxiety in humans. Their next step is to explore possibilities of intervention.

Other brain research grants are focusing on important connections between serotonin and Alzheimer’s. Serotonin is the chemical released by brain neurons that is central to social, cognitive and mood regulation. A disruption in the brain’s serotonin system has been associated with mood changes and social impairments which can be seen much earlier than Alzheimer’s disease.

The magazine also discusses research into what has been colloquially called the Blue Zones to describe geographical regions of the world inhabited by some of our planet’s most elderly people. Those listed include Ikaria, Greece, where people eat a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil and lots of home-grown vegetables. Also, Sardinia in Italy is home to some of the oldest men who live in mountain regions, work on farms and drink red wine. Okinawa, Japan, is home to the oldest women who eat a lot of soy-based foods and practise tai-chi, a meditative form of exercise. The diet in Nicoya, Costa Rica, is based on beans and corn tortillas and the people work hard at physical jobs long into old age. The Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California, are strict vegetarians.

So, diet and exercise in these Blue Zone regions appear to play an important role in the long lives of its people.

A troubling health trend that this edition covers is termed secondary traumatic stress (STS) also known as insidious trauma.

This is the psychological toll that can be caused by indirect or second-hand exposure to others’ trauma.

In a world gone so completely wrong with wars, massacres, disasters, poverty, famine and grief, we, as ordinary and distant witnesses to these crimes and tragedies can absorb the trauma psychologically.

STS was first diagnosed in nurses working in war fronts where they treated severely injured soldiers. The research then extended to medical staff working in paediatric oncology wards witnessing and assisting with patients with life-threatening illnesses.

Also, the vicarious trauma (VT) experienced by therapists who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic details are examined.

Research suggests that the rate of STS is high among therapists and counsellors who care for those in high trauma occupations. Also, children can be susceptible to STS in certain life circumstances. There is a team of professionals called Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium in Kingston, Ontario, that is studying treatment options for sufferers of secondary traumatic stress disorders.

This edition also examined research into the connection between spirituality and health; anxiety disorders; urinary tract infections; the effects of fatigue on health and many other current issues that impact us all.

Many of us know a lot about common sense approaches to everyday life and good health. We know about the importance of drinking water, walking for exercise, deep breathing, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables (a rainbow of bright coloured produce), we know to power down from our screens and devices, refrain from or limit alcohol, not smoke and sit less. 

We know, too, that there are many good sources of health information like researched peer-reviewed articles in medical journals and even good websites from world renowned hospitals. But it’s very important for us to remember not to go down the rabbit hole of the internet where uninformed people post sensationalized unproven, unresearched, unintelligent nonsense about health problems and bizarre treatments.

It’s always best to ask your family doctor, local clinic or area hospital if you or family members have health concerns.