Weathering the storm
Well, hurricane season kicked off this month, and for those of you on the East and Gulf coasts, that means several months of worrying and stress. And if you're one of the unlucky ones to be hit by a storm, that means even more worrying and stress -- possibly in dangerous amounts. A recent study showed that the consequences of being hit by a hurricane could be devastating and hazardous to victims' mental health.
In the study, researchers monitored 975 survivors of Hurricane Andrew. By the end of the study they saw that the people who had dealt with the most stress (such as lost homes) before and after the storm were the most likely to deal with serious depression.
With scientists predicting that this hurricane season could be as bad as last year, and with thousands of people still dealing with the stress of recent hurricanes, including hurricanes Katrina and Charley, doctors should expect to see a lot more depression cases, especially in the areas closest to the storms, like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia.
This is a perfect example of how important it is to learn how to manage stress and trauma. Like I've always said, the best way to cope with stress is to expect it before it happens, and to prepare for the things that you know will stress you out.
Once the stressful event has occurred, there's not much you can do to turn back time. But I'd definitely advise seeing a therapist if you find yourself dealing with this kind of disaster. Better to ward off depression before it strikes.
There are also some great supplements out there -- like rhodiola, St. John's Wort, and SAMe -- have all been known to help fight mild to moderate depression. And don't rule out therapy. Research has shown that therapy can really help you deal with a major tragedy.
For more information on fighting depression naturally, keep an eye out for the August issue of America's Country Doctor. If you're not already a subscriber, visit www.AmericasCountryDoctor.com for details on how to become one.
Exercise can keep you cancer-free
To be honest, we're still not sure exactly how exercise and cancer relate to one another. But more and more research is showing that getting enough exercise can help ward off cancer.
Personally, I love it when I get the chance to promote exercise as a major health-helper without it sounding like a lecture. Now there's a new study out that's letting me do just that. This one backs up exercise as a way to prevent cancer, especially skin and bowel cancer.
In the study, researchers exposed mice to various amounts of ultraviolet rays. Meanwhile, certain mice were given exercise wheels while others didn't exercise at all.
The mice that didn't exercise developed skin and bowel tumors after just three and a half weeks. But it took seven weeks for the exercising mice to develop tumors, and those growths were smaller and less serious.
But I'm sure the decreased body fat doesn't hurt. You see, body fat is not an inert substance that just lies around doing nothing -- it's metabolically active. That means it's constantly secreting more than 30 different substances into your blood stream, nearly all of which can cause inflammation. And we know that inflammation doesn't just increase your risk of cancer, but also diabetes and heart disease.
