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Participating in community service activities and helping others can help alcoholics and other addicts become and stay sober, according to a researcher from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Maria E. Pagano, associate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, in a review article shed light on the role of helping in addiction recovery.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

“The research indicates that getting active in service helps alcoholics and other addicts become sober and stay sober, and suggests this approach is applicable to all treatment-seeking individuals with a desire to not drink or use drugs. Helping others in the program of AA has forged a therapy based on the kinship of common suffering and has vast potential,” Dr. Pagano says.

In her research, Dr. Pagano highlights the helper therapy principle (HTP), a concept embodied by AA, as a means of diminishing egocentrism or selfishness, a root cause of addiction.

The HTP is based on the theory that, when a person helps another individual with a similar condition, they help themselves. The principle is reflected in the stated purpose of AA, which is to help individuals “stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.”

Helping other alcoholics is viewed as the foundation for the alcoholic helper to stay on the path to recovery, Dr. Pagano says in her overview of the AA program. In addition to outlining the basis for AA-related helping,

Dr. Pagano reviews the data to date that illustrates the health and mental health benefits derived from helping others. She likewise examines several empirical studies she conducted previously which show how helping others in 12-step programs of recovery help the recovering individual to stay sober.

The article has been published in the Volume 29 issue of Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly.

Popularity: 7% [?]

A new study has suggested that long-term committed relationships are good for physical as well as mental health and the benefits can increase over time.

Married people live longer on an average, according to David and John Gallacher from Cardiff University.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

They say that women in committed relationships have better mental health, while men in committed relationships have better physical health, and they conclude that, “on balance it probably is worth making the effort.”

Men’s physical health probably improves because of their partner’s positive influence on their lifestyle and “the mental bonus for women may be due to a greater emphasis on the importance of the relationship”, they write.

But the journey of true love does not always run smoothly, maintain the authors, pointing to evidence that relationships in adolescence are associated with increased adolescent depressive symptoms.

And not all relationships are good for you, they add, referring to evidence that single people have better mental health than those in strained relationships.

They also confirm that breaking up is hard to do, saying “exiting a relationship is distressing” and divorce can have a devastating impact on individuals. Having numerous partners is also linked with a risk of earlier death.

The study has been published in the Student BMJ.

Popularity: 3% [?]

According to Marks and Spencer, a supermarket, a range of ready made meal can help people lose as much as 10 lb in just four weeks, without any exercises.

Researchers, who tested the Simply Fuller Longer regime from the supermarket, have found that it actually deliver those results, reports the Daily Mail.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

The diet, which was tested on 45 overweight volunteers who were restricted to 1,000 calories a day, reduced the average waist measurement by 1.6 inches and also improved body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Devised using principles developed by experts at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, the range is high in protein, which was found to make the volunteers in the trial feel full, eliminating the need to top up on snacks.

According to M and S, the food is particularly successful with men because it includes substantial main meals, rather than salads and soups.

For example, there is a 400g portion of roasted beef meatballs and spaghetti with spiced tomato and pepper sauce and a 420g beef and red wine casserole.

M and S nutritionist Claire Hughes said, “We knew from studies that diets higher in protein are better for weight loss. It’s really encouraging to see that this has all been proven by our research.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

If you are looking for tips on how you should take care of your hair, the advice of Dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C., is just meant for you.

The dermatologist remarked, “One of the most common misconceptions about hair is that it is alive, when in fact hair is nonliving and does not heal itself once it is injured.”

From in.news.yahoo.com:

To keep healthy hair looking its best, Dr. Draelos provided the following tips:

1. The less you do to your hair, the better. Avoid over-styling or processing hair.

2. Be sure to wash the scalp, which is where the oil is, and then let shampoo run through the hair. Shampoo is meant to clean the scalp primarily and can damage the hair if overused.

3. Let how oily your scalp is, determine how often you wash your hair. If your scalp is oily, wash hair more frequently than if the scalp was drier.

4. Conditioner should be used on the ends of the hair, not on the scalp, for best results.

5. Pick a shampoo and conditioner based on your hair shape, such as curly or straight, and your hair condition, such as damaged, fine, or frizzy. These products don’t need to be expensive to work well for your hair.

6. Wear a hat to protect hair from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Dr. Draelos says, “Women need to understand that the very things that they do to hair to make it appear beautiful, such as using hair dyes, perms and products that straighten the hair, will eventually end up damaging the hair’s structure and ultimately affect its appearance.”

Popularity: 3% [?]

According to a new study conducted by a US-based chocolate company, chocolate is healthier than many fruit juices and is a ’superfood’ in its own right.

Debra Millar, who led the study, said chocolate should be labelled a ’superfruit’.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Superfoods are high in anti-oxidants and compounds that help prevent damage to healthy cells.

Researchers from the Hershey Centre for Health & Nutrition in the US found that powdered dark chocolate had more anti-oxidants and polyphenols, believed to protect us from cancer and cardiac conditions, the Chemistry Central Journal reports.

They compared single servings of dark chocolate, cocoa, and hot chocolate mix with fruit juices including acai berries, cranberries and pomegranates, according to a Hershey statement.

Both dark chocolate and cocoa had more antioxidant activity and more flavonols than fruit as per the research.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The total fertility rate (TFR) in India has declined to 2.6 in 2008 from 2.9 in 2005, according to the Indian government.

Minister of Health and family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad told the Lok Sabha, “While 14 states or Union Territories out of 35 states have achieved the replacement level of TFR of 2.1, four states, viz Daman and Diu, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura have TFR of 2.2-2.5 and seven states have TFR between 2.6-3.0.”

From in.news.yahoo.com:

“Ten states (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Dadra and Nagar Haveli) have TFR between 3.0 and 3.9,” Azad told the House in a written reply to a question.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime.

He said that a meeting of National Commission on Population was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 21.

“The discussions focused on assessment of the population situation and the strategic required to increase the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate, reduce the unmet need and making Family Planning Services available in a reliable manner to eligible couples,” the Minister said.

“Government is contemplating introduction of Health Insurance Scheme for the Central Government employees and pensioners on pan India basis after obtaining requisite approvals, if found feasible, it may be offered to accredited journalists also,” Azad added.

Popularity: 33% [?]

According to a research presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta, long duration space flights could have a negative impact on bone health in the long term.

The research revealed that exposure to microgravity (also known as weightlessness) during space flight results in rapid bone loss.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Researchers recently set out to determine the impact of long-duration space missions on long-term bone health by assessing bone mineral density, which is a measurement of mineral bone content and an indirect estimator of bone strength.

The researchers studied 28 U.S. crewmembers (24 men and four women with a pre-flight age range of 36 to 53 years) whose missions in space ranged from 95 to 215 days.

All 28 crewmembers had their BMD measured both before and immediately after (within 33 days) their space flight, while 24 had their BMD measured again between six and 18 months following their return from space.

Post-flight BMD changes were compared with what would be predicted if crewmembers had not experienced long-duration space flight.

Shreyasee Amin, MD, MPH; associate professor at the Mayo Clinic and lead investigator in the study, said, “Our results complement the work of others and show that even after one year following return from space, the BMD at some sites-particularly the hip-will not have completely recovered for some crew members.”

Popularity: 4% [?]