Easy breathing with a fruity twist
Even though I've built my practice on using natural remedies whenever possible, I'm still always amazed by the simple ways we can improve our health -- ways that a lot of us would never think of. And that includes treating asthma.
In a recent study, researchers compared the diets of 515 adults with asthma to 515 adults without the disease. They found that the asthma patients ate less fruit each day than the asthma-free group. And the asthmatic patients who ate at least 46.3 grams of citrus fruits daily had about half the risk of suffering more serious asthma attacks than the people who ate no citrus fruit at all.
Guys, we're not talking about a lot of fruit here: A medium orange weights a full 145 grams.
At the end of the study, researchers had also tied low intakes of manganese, an antioxidant, to an increased risk of asthma.
They weren't sure why the asthma patients' manganese intakes were lower than in the non-asthmatic patients. But you can get more manganese by eating foods like pecans, brazil nuts, almonds, barley, rye, split peas, oatmeal, and raisins.
Down on the job, down in the dumps
This may not come as much of a surprise, but your job can have a huge effect on your mental health. It makes sense -- after all, you do spend a major portion of your day at work. So being happy with your job can ease a lot of potential mental strain. But the situation works in reverse to If you're unhappy at your job, chances are you're going to be unhappy all around.
According to a recent study from Denmark, being in a low-ranked job increases a woman's risk of developing severe depression. And for men, job insecurity does the same thing. In fact, in the study, the men who said they felt their jobs were in danger were twice as likely to develop depression.
The study involved surveys taken of 4,133 men and women over the course of five years, comparing their symptoms of depression to their work environments.
Researchers saw that women who had little authority or low standing in their workplaces were more than twice as likely to develop severe depression. Among the men, job insecurities -- such as worries about unemployment, lay offs, or transfers -- increased their depression by 50 percent.
Meanwhile, other job factors, like workload or co-workers, didn't seem to have much of an effect.
If you're lucky, your employer may offer mental health programs and counseling. Take advantage of them. Or, if your bad feelings about your work environment are the result of someone else's poor behavior, talk to your human resources office. Meanwhile, talk to you boss about things you can do to secure your job and hopefully move up in the work world.
But if none of that works -- or even if it does -- you might want to consider taking a mood-boosting supplement, like rhodiola (100 to 300 mg daily. I prefer starting with Rhodiola Force 100, which you can find at Vitamin Shoppe for about $15). And make sure to talk to your doctor. Depression is a serious problem and should be treated just as seriously as any other disorder or illness.
Until next time,
Dr. Alan Inglis
House Calls
