Flu pandemics occur on a relatively predictable ratio of 3 per century, as the flu virus has “pattern cycles” which last around 40 years. For that period of 40 years, the virus will slowly evolve into newer strains, however when the pattern cycle is over, it will form an almost radically different strain of the virus, which is harder to combat by the body and easier to transmit. Since the last great pandemic was the 1957-1958 Asian Flu (there were a couple of other epidemics after that, however they were quickly quelled and did not reach the status of a pandemic) it is predicted that we are on the brink of a new flu pandemic threat. This theory has been confirmed in 1997, when bird flu triggered a shockwave in the scientific community as the disease killed thousands of flocks of birds all over the world and infected several humans.

It must be noted that the H5N1 virus is not yet capable of starting a new pandemic. In order for a virus to be a pandemic threat, it needs to fulfill three conditions: it needs to have the properties to cause a lethal condition, it needs to have an efficient way of passing from the carrier (birds in this case) to humans and it needs to have a quick way of spreading from human to human. At this point, the H5N1 virus only fully completes the first condition, of being deadly to humans.

The virus itself is not deadly, however it can cause several other conditions that are highly dangerous. The most common one produced by the H5N1 virus is the SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. This syndrome blocks air paths and affects the lungs quickly after the body has been infected and is in most cases lethal. If found on time, SARS can be treated but in most cases, the infected person will not realize he has the syndrome until it is too late.

The second condition, of the virus being transmittable from the carrier to a human being is not yet entirely fulfilled by the H5N1. Although the first few cases of bird flu in humans have been reported as early as 1997, the total number of documented cases remains under 300 on a world scale. The number itself is not alarming, however the rate with which the infections increased with each flu season is. Whereas in 2004 only 25 cases were documented, by January 2005 the 100 mark was hit. By April 2006 200 cases were reported and this summer the 250 mark was hit.

Lastly, the final condition for triggering a new flu pandemic is also not entirely complete. The H5N1 virus cannot transmit itself from human to human with ease and until a few years ago it was considered impossible for the virus to do so. And although only a handful of human-to-human spread cases are documented, it is alarming that the virus found a way to do so.

Laughter therapy is the use of humor as a complementary treatment for people suffering from physical or emotional disorders. In medical facilities, laughter therapy is usually available in a special room in the hospital or ambulatory care facility. These are rooms where patients can go to relax and get away for a while from the medical atmosphere. Usually, these rooms contain small libraries that include humorous books, videos, toys, and other amusing objects.

Some hospitals have volunteers who wheel carts filled with books, toys, audio and videotapes, and other objects to patients’ rooms. Trained laughter therapists are also available in some cities, and patients or family members often try humor therapy on their own.

Some states have volunteers with established transportable humor and laughter programs, consisting of cartons of items that they bring to inpatient facilities when invited. The items include rubber chickens and water pistols, which patients apparently use to everyone’s amusement with their physicians and dietary staff.

Humor also involves one on one interactions between patients and caregivers. One can benefit from reading, listening to, or viewing what they find funny. Because people differ in what they think is funny and what makes them laugh, laughter therapy is often individualized.

Laughter as a complementary therapy is recognized as helpful for many patient groups in many medical circumstances, all of which are complementary. Advocates do not claim that humor or laughter cures disease. Humor therapy is brought to cancer patients, sick children, people under treatment for depression, the elderly in nursing homes, cardiac patients, and other groups. The main goal of the therapy is to improve the quality of life, provide symptom relief by distracting the patient from constant awareness of pain, and improve emotional and psychological health by encouraging relaxation and stress reduction.

As part of support programs for patients, humor can provide a means of communication between patients and their caregivers and loved ones. Often it does this by serving as an icebreaker, allowing patients to convey their ideas or feelings that are often difficult or awkward to express in other ways.

Although common sense would seem to be the rationale for including laughter and humor in patient care settings, laughter has a long history in medical practice. Laughter was used as an “anesthetic” to distract patients during surgical procedures in the 13th century, and other references to it appear in ancient medical literature. Reports of the physiological benefits of laughter are also found in the American medical literature from the early years of the 20th century.

The physiological effects of laughter include an increase in heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen consumption, which in turn stimulate the circulatory system. Laughter also massages and exercises the muscles and organs involved in breathing, as well as causing the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural morphinelike compounds that help control pain. Advocates believe that these physiological effects explain the therapeutic benefits of laughter and humor.

Researches have documented the physiological effects of laughter, and anecdotal reports describe patients’ appreciation and positive experiences with humor and laughter. A recent university-based research concluded that laughing lowers blood pressure and increases muscle flexibility in addition to releasing endorphins. Endorphins not only reduce pain; they also induce a degree of euphoria, and therefore may further enhance the positive effects of
laughter.

Furthermore, there are evidence indicating that laughter increases immune activity, and that it can reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone associated with suppressing the immune system. The results of other investigations show that laughter increases natural killer cell activity in the immune system. These studies are preliminary, and so far have limited clinical implications.

All in all, laughter and humor are distracting and uplifting. They help people cope with stress and illness, and create an environment that is relaxing. They certainly enhances the quality of life for people in general.

There is absolutely nothing in the world that can take the place of sleep. We must not let the body go short on sleep, since there is simply no substitute for it. Experience and observation also tell us that bedtime has something to do with the going and coming of daylight. We are aware of the fact that sleep before midnight is more refreshing and relaxing than sleep afterwards. If we postpone our bedtime mainly to the hours after midnight, we will not derive the healing and strengthening benefits from sleep that we would by going to bed earlier, because the hours before midnight count double.

Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. The individual requirements lie generally between 6 and 10 hours. Anyone who cuts sleep short so that he can work more will soon notice that he has calculated wrongly. During the day his energy will decline and his efficiency will diminish. If we need much sleep in order to feel fresh during the day, we should not compare ourselves with those who get by with less. We must by all means obtain the amount that our bodies require.

People who are engaged in demanding employment are often so exhausted in the evening that they feel unable to cope with their duties. But how amazed they are the next morning, when after a good night’s rest and refreshing sleep they are able to easily deal with what the evening before seemed an insurmountable impossibility. That is why no one appreciates sleep more and experiences its revitalizing powers better than those who have had a busy day. But he who instead puts it off because of other activities or by means of stimulants, should not be surprised if in time sleep fails to perform its duty.

Many people complain that they cannot sleep. Even children are often unable to do so. All of these disruptions are either connected with overdoing or with taking things that stimulate. Children not yet subject to work pressure can nevertheless have this problem if their parents neglect to observe the routine the children’s age demands.

Years ago it used to be common for children to go to bed early. Today children often watch television late into the night. By thus resisting sleep they disorganize the natural sleep pattern. If in addition they have nutritional deficiencies, one need not wonder why their fresh, healthy looks disappear and become sick often. Children who are robbed of their necessary sleep over any length of time will become nervous and irritable and will gradually lose the benefits of invigorating sleep. This disadvantage cannot be corrected easily in later years.

Garlic contains compounds called thioallyls that research shows help dramatically lower blood cholesterol levels. These compounds also keep blood cells from clumping in arteries, thereby diverting a heart attack. These thioallyls may also be effective in lowering blood pressure. One of these compounds, called allicin, is released when a clove of raw garlic is crushed. Allicin not only gives garlic its characteristic smell, but also works wonders at unclogging arteries. Cooking garlic causes yet another heart-healthy compound to form, called ajoene, which acts a bit like aspirin and keeps the blood from clotting.

A large number of research studies show that garlic, either fresh, powdered, or extract, is effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels. In one study from the Brown University of Medicine and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, researchers gave men with already risky levels of LDLs garlic extract in pill form. The study participants also ate a low-fat diet.

After six months of garlic pills, researchers sampled blood cholesterol levels in the men. Blood cholesterol levels dropped significantly compared to a group of men eating the same low-fat diet and taking a placebo pill. Garlic pills also lowered LDL levels and nudged blood pressure down a few notches. Besides tasting a touch of garlic in their mouths, none of the study participants had any intestinal trouble (common with eating raw garlic).

How much garlic does the trick? A clove a day keeps the doctor away (or take at least the equivalent in powder or pill form). Should you use fresh, powdered, aged garlic extract or other types of garlic pills? According to researchers, get garlic into your diet any way you can. While it’s true that raw garlic has more of the cholesterol-lowering allicin than cooked, cooked garlic has other benefits such as keeping the blood thin. Garlic pills and tablets vary in the amount of active ingredients they contain. Generally, those that are not cooked or heat treated will have more allicin.

Garlic powder available in the spice aisle at your local grocery store is one of the least expensive ways to get cholesterol lowering allicin into your diet. Garlic powder can be added to foods during cooking or sprinkled into salads and other fresh foods. Give garlic powder a try, especially if you like fresh garlic, but it doesn’t like you.

Fresh garlic, crushed or chopped, can be added to virtually anything. When selecting garlic in the produce aisle, look for firm, compact bulbs without any green sprouts coming out of the ends (a sign that it’s old). You can also purchase ready-to-use crushed garlic in jars. Check the label as oil is often added. But since a teaspoon or two of garlic is used in cooking (unless you want to wake up your neighbors with your breath), this extra oil is not worth the worry.

As a cousin to garlic, onions also fight hard for your heart’s health. When taking a quick
look at onion’s nutritional profile, you don’t notice anything too outstanding - a bit of fiber, vitamin C, folate, potassium, and about 30 calories per half-cup raw. Take a longer look, though, and you find a host of powerful phytochemicals. These warriors against heart disease are called flavonoids, and according to several large research studies from around the world, they significantly reduce the risk of death from heart disease.

The standout flavonoid in onions, quercitin, has been shown experimentally to protect the bad cholesterol carriers, LDLs, from oxidizing and damaging artery walls. In addition, quercitin also keeps blood from getting too sticky and jamming up blood vessels leading to an actual heart attack or stroke. In a Finish study, women with the greatest intake of quercitin from onions had half the risk of dying from heart disease compared to women in the study with the lowest intake. The researchers suspect the quercitin performed its two-pronged magic to protect the women from a fatal heart attack.

Quercitin levels in onions depend on their color. White onions have next to nothing in the way of this phytochemical, while yellow and red or Bermuda onions are packed with quercitin. Since onions are so versatile, they can be added to almost every dish - raw or cooked. If the strong odor of onions bothers you, thanks to similar sulfur compounds responsible for garlic’s aroma, try some of the sweeter onion varieties that have less of these offensive chemicals.

Red onions are usually sweeter than standard yellow onions and can be used raw in salads and on sandwiches. The Maui onion from Hawaii is so sweet, you can eat it like you would a piece of fruit off a tree. Select onions that are hard and firm without soft spots, and that are not beginning to sprout. Always store onions in a dark, cool, dry place such as a basement, cool pantry, or cellar. Putting an onion in the refrigerator about 30 minutes before slicing or chopping will help reduce the amount of tearing you may endure when preparing onions.

Fasting involves restricting your dietary intake to a liquid. The liquid may be water, tea, or fruit juice. Proponents of fasting recommend occasional regular short fasts, lasting two to five days, as part of a general health-maintenance regimen. Advocates recommend that longer fasts for health maintenance or the healing of illness, lasting a month or more, be conducted under medical supervision.

For fasts lasting more than one week, fruit juices are given to supply the nutrients needed to maintain health. Some add enemas as part of the detoxification fasting regimen. Proponents claim that because the body is relieved of its usual chore of breaking food down into its elemental nutrients, fasting allows the body’s inner resources to focus on cleansing and healing. Cleansing is said to be accomplished through the elimination of existing toxins.

Fasting claims to enhance the immune system and reduces the demands placed on it. In addition to its role as part of health maintenance, some believe that fasting is an effective way to treat illnesses, including arthritis, ulcers, heart disease, asthma, and other problems.

The ancient belief that fasting purifies the soul has been extended to the current view that fasting also can purify the body. Fasting maintains and restores health through physiological mechanisms. Included in these mechanisms are shifting physiological effort from food conversion to the elimination of toxins, reducing the immune system’s workload, releasing pesticides and other chemicals from body fat, and eliminating the body of nonessential tissue.

It is helpful to look at these beliefs in terms of scientific information about the well-studied sequence of events that occurs when people start fasting. When body weight declines, water and fat, but not toxins, are lost from cells. Toxins are left behind. Nutrients are needed to sustain immune competence, the ability of the body’s disease-fighting immune system to make antibodies and other proteins and cells. Immune system failure, not enhancement, occurs when people do not eat enough to provide the nutrients that sustain proper immune function. Instead of reducing its workload, fasting impedes the immune system.

Advocates explain that people feel sick when fasting because toxins are leaving the body. Actually, fasting decreases the immune system’s ability to destroy and eliminate toxins. Fasting also causes a drop in blood sugar levels, which causes a breakdown of tissues needed for energy. This leads people to feel sick because the brain and other tissues fail to receive needed sugars, and the body’s metabolism is forced to remove the needed nutrients from muscle and liver tissue. At the same time, the liver and kidneys are not able to do their work of handling the by-products of protein breakdown.

Fasting can harm all organs. It is extremely dangerous to health, especially for those who are malnourished by chronic illness, yet some proponents recommend fasting to treat chronic illnesses. The slimmer the individual, the more dangerous a fast will be. The longer the fast, the more life-threatening it becomes. Studies show that when people reach 56% of their appropriate body weight, death occurs. The body cannot distinguish between intentional fasting and starvation.

Solid scientific research does not support the claims of fasting advocates. To the contrary, it contradicts those claims and indicates the dangers of fasting, even with water or juices. Reducing the number of calories you eat while maintaining a normal, balanced diet will reduce your weight. But consuming only water, tea, or juice is harmful, not helpful, to health and should be avoided especially by those who are ill.

Advocates believe that fasting can produce fatigue, anemia, irregular heartbeat, body aches, nausea, dizziness, and other negative effects. They refer to these as temporary problems that precede feelings of well-being, mental clarity, internal cleanliness, and other benefits.

Contrary to advocacy claims, fasting does not and cannot heal medical conditions, assist immune or other physiological function, or play a role in health maintenance. The decreased supply of blood glucose leads the body to break down muscle for energy, causing weakness, depression, fatigue, and sick feelings.

Bottled water generally can be relied upon to be safe from bacteria and free of chlorine.
Many consumers believe that bottled waters are of higher quality than tap water, although it is not generally true. Many bottled waters are only processed tap water, and their quality varies widely depending on the quality of the local water and the type of filtration used.

Buying “pure” water in a plastic bottle defeats the purpose, because the plastic quickly leaches into the water. Federal and state regulations for bottled water are confusing and changeable; and some bottled waters are even exempt from regulation! Fluoride levels in some brands were five times higher than those in tap water. High pollutant levels are allowed in bottled water based on an industry-wide assumption that bottled waters are consumed as a beverage - a health conscious alternative to an alcoholic beverage or soda pop and not as the primary source of drinking water.

There are many excellent brands of bottled water on the market today that can be enjoyed as a refreshing beverage even if not as a regular source of drinking water. Bottled water is defined by the Food and Drug Administration as simply “water that is sealed in bottles or other containers and intended for human consumption.” Federal regulations require that bottled waters marketed across state lines meet federal standards for drinking water. Those bottled waters sold only within individual states need to meet only state requirements, which can vary from federal standards.

The purity of bottled water is controlled under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (mineral waters and soda waters specifically are exempt and thus are not regulated at all). Legally accepted sources for bottled water are wells, springs, and public water right from the tap. No requirements specify that the source of the water or any treatment it has undergone be listed on the label, but if any information is given at all, it must be truthful and not misleading. Manufacturers have an excellent selling point in telling if the water has come from a well or a spring, so if the source of the water is not revealed, chances are the water is treated tap water.

Bottled waters are divided into two types: still (without bubbles) and sparkling (with bubbles). Even though there are no state or federal regulations for the labeling of bottled-water containers, the labels do use certain generalized descriptive terms. Drinking water is tap or well water processed in some way before bottling while spring water is water that emerges from the earth’s surface under its own pressure, sometimes through a pipe.

Water in bottles labeled “Spring water” must come from a spring; “Natural spring water,” unlike plain spring water, may not be processed in any way before it goes into the bottle. Beware of companies with the word “spring” in the company name rather than in the name of the product, or companies referring to the product as “spring-fresh,” “springlike,” or “spring-pure.” Do not mistakenly assume that this water is from a spring.

Mineral water is water containing a legally specified level of minerals. “Natural mineral water” is sparkling or still water, usually from a spring, which contains only the naturally occurring minerals. Regular “mineral water” may have had minerals added or removed.

Sparkling water is water that contains bubbles made by carbon dioxide gas. “Naturally sparkling” water contains the bubbles when it is underground; when the water is drawn from the spring, the natural carbon dioxide is removed separately and reinjected during bottling. Some still waters also are carbonated, with either natural or manufactured carbon dioxide.

Club sodas and seltzer water are not controlled by federal regulations. Both are merely filtered and carbonated tap water; club soda also contains added mineral salts. The quality of these waters will differ greatly, depending on the local water and the method of filtration used.

Honey is nature’s healthiest candy. But what makes honey so valuable? Apart from dextrose and fructose, which go straight into the blood stream without putting a strain on the digestive organs, we must take into consideration valuable traces of enzymes, vitamins and minerals that are contained in honey. Natural remedies alleviate coughs and colds faster when taken along with honey. Grated horseradish mixed with honey is a wonderful natural antibiotic with no hidden dangers and is good, especially for strained vocal cords and hoarseness.

The production of honey is in itself a miracle. In spite of its tireless work a whole summer long, the little bee can contribute only half a teaspoonful, but the united work of the entire bee colony makes success possible. All bees produce only good honey. If we happen to get some that is of poor quality, the problem lies in its treatment. Careless, unprofessional or unclean treatment is bad for honey and impairs its basically good quality. For example, honey should never be heated over 40 degrees Celsius. Nor should wild honeycombs be pressed out, because dead larvae might still be in them.

Various kinds of honey can differ very much one from the other. It depends on the flowers the bees feed on. That is why there are so many varieties of honey on the market, including orange blossom honey, linden blossom, eucalyptus, thyme, lavender, rosemary, acacia, and chestnut blossom honey. We differentiate especially between light-colored blossom honey and dark pine tree honey. Wherever mono-culture is practiced (offering the bees large fields of one kind of plant), a certain type of honey will be produced.

Honey is the best carbohydrate and the body is able to assimilate it very easily. Experience points to honey as increasing the effect of all natural remedies that are intended to soothe the respiratory organs. If you want to take advantage of this, just take the indicated number of drops of a natural remedy with a teaspoon of honey or in warm water sweetened with honey. There is a twofold benefit in sipping honey water together with the remedy. Medicines taken with honey definitely work faster and are stronger in relieving colds and catarrh, the bronchials or the lungs.

Tea made with lemon balm, orange blossom, hops, valerian, avena sativa, passiflora, is better if sweetened with honey. When added to herbal tea, honey can give good results by promoting and maintaining undisturbed sleep. For old, slowly healing wounds, mix a tenth of horseradish with honey, using either finely grated horseradish or the fresh juice or tincture. Apply this tried and proven natural remedy to the wound. The effect is astounding.

Honey also brings relief for painful arthritis and gout. Pour one teaspoon of comfrey tincture on four tablespoons of honey. After thoroughly mixing, put the ointment in a cup heated in a bain-marie. Soak a cloth folded three or four times in this hot honey preparation and apply it where the pain is worst, the hands, elbows, knees or feet. It is best done in the evening, leaving the pack overnight. For the heat to retain longer, a bag with heated cherry stones can be put on top. Also effective is using a bag filled with hot and moist hayflower or chamomile, wrapped around with a warm cloth. This method has been a tremendous help to a number of people who were able to walk again or to move their hands without pain.

While adults can generally tolerate the low levels of lead that may be present in our homes, top officials in our federal government are now calling lead poisoning the nation’s primary environmental threat to children. According to the EPA, one out of nine children under age six has enough lead in his blood for it to be a health problem.

Lead is a naturally occurring metallic element whose toxicity is well established. It is a cumulative poison, so while one small exposure may not seem harmful, repeated exposures can build up over time. Because lead is an element, it never decomposes into another substance that might be more easily tolerated, and it never leaves your body. Damage from consistent lead exposure is usually irreversible.

Early symptoms of lead poisoning include abdominal pains, loss of appetite, constipation, muscle pains and weakness, irritability, a metallic taste in the mouth, excessive thirst, nausea and vomiting, headache, insomnia, depression, and lethargy. Repeated low-level exposure has been found to produce anemia, stomach ailments, and permanent neuropsychological defects and behavior disorders in children, including noticeable learning difficulties, poor scores on IQ and development tests, and short attention spans. In very high doses, lead can cause brain damage, nervous system disorders, and death, although such heavy poisoning is unlikely from exposure around your home. There is no safe level for lead.

The household lead exposure people generally think of first is caused by lead-based paints. Manufacturers removed much of the lead from paint in the 1950s, and the federal government banned lead in paint altogether in 1978. While this means we don’t have to worry about lead in a new can of paint, there is still great concern about the lead that is already on the walls in millions of homes across America. 75% of all private housing built before 1980 has some lead paint. Since lead was a standard ingredient in paint at that time, lead-painted walls may be found in houses in all older neighborhoods, whether well-to-do or poor.

Many children get lead poisoning not from eating paint chips, but rather from breathing fine paint dust stirred up by the opening and closing of windows with lead-painted window frames, or from the removal or disturbance of old paint during renovations. It can be found on the exterior and interior of houses - on walls, window and door trims, railings, baseboards, and radiators.

It takes very little lead to cause lead poisoning. The Centers for Disease Control has set ten micrograms per deciliter as the level above which some sort of action should be taken. A child can reach lead/blood levels of three times that amount by ingesting lead equivalent to one granule of sugar a day, which could easily happen if a child touches a windowsill and sucks his thumb on a regular basis.

Tap water is another source of lead. Lead in water causes 10 to 20% of overall childhood lead exposure. If your water comes from a well, travels through old lead-soldered pipes, or is known to be very corrosive, you may have cause for concern.

The glaze on ceramic and pottery dishware can also cause significant lead exposure. Lead is used to create bright colors and mask deficiencies in the pottery and has been known to be a problem, especially in imported pieces. The federal government prohibits the sale of dinnerware that releases lead in amounts greater than 2,000 parts per billion, which prevents direct cases of lead poisoning. However, in 1986, the state of California passed legislation requiring written warnings on any dishware that releases lead in amounts greater than 224 ppb, based on the potential longterm health risk to young children and developing fetuses.

Pregnant women should be especially careful during pregnancy, as developing fetuses are the most vulnerable. Most important, do not start to strip paint or wallpaper to prepare the new nursery now if there is any chance that old layers of lead paint may lurk below.

Children are most likely to get lead poisoning between the ages of six months and six years, when lead dust from carpeting, toys, or the floor can most easily get in their mouths and lungs. Your doctor can order a blood-lead test for your child if you suspect your child has been contaminated.

If you live in a house or apartment built before 1980, inspect your building carefully for signs of paint chips or dust. Look at windowsills, baseboards, and especially door frames, where friction can grind up paint layers. To remove dust, damp-mop or wipe with a solution of trisodium phosphate (TSP), which can be purchased at paint or hardware stores. As with asbestos, it is better to leave lead paint in place if intact rather than create a hazard by disturbing it. But if you find you have a major problem that requires removal, hire a qualified contractor. Complete removal might cost thousands of dollars, but you can significantly reduce the hazard by replacing doors, window frames, or contaminated carpeting, or by putting up wallpaper or paneling.

To remove lead from drinking water, you will need a reverse osmosis system or distiller. Inexpensive carbon filters will not remove lead . Before you buy ceramic or pottery dinnerware, ask about the lead used in glazes. Lead releases can vary from style to style from a single manufacturer, so be specific. When in doubt, don’t buy it.

Philosophers, poets, and theologians strongly believe that love is the very essence of spiritual experience. Every world religion teaches the importance of giving and receiving love. Now scientific research is beginning to verify the healing power of love.

One important reason love improves health is because it generally inspires support from other people. One of the main reasons that frequent attendance at religious services is associated with better health may be that church attendance promotes social support and a sense of belonging, especially among older adults. Social support has been found to be a protective factor in preventing or alleviating many diseases.

In a 1979 study done in Alameda County, evidence showed that social support was one of seven factors that was found to have a positive benefit for health and longevity. People with many close social ties had a lower risk of death than those with few social ties. Moreover, people with close social ties and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors lived longer than those who had healthy behaviors but lacked close social ties.

Even processes such as childbirth can be influenced by social support, according to a 1980 research. Among a group of women receiving social support, mean delivery time was 8.7 hours, compared with 19.3 hours for the group receiving only standard treatment. Mothers who received social support had fewer complications during delivery and more readily bonded with their babies.

In a study done in Alameda county, a 17 year prospective follow-up study by Reynolds in 1990 concluded that among women, social isolation was a risk factor for the onset and progression of cancer. Other studies confirm that social support appears protective against cancer. A 1996 study of women with advanced breast cancer found that having social support was associated with longer survival time.

Social support may promote health and healing in several ways. One way is by helping people resist unhealthy behaviors. Social support also improves health by decreasing the level of stress. Another aspect of love that increases health is the active concern about the well-being of others. Altruistic activities were reported to produce marked benefits in the personal health and well-being of the highly successful individuals.

Giving of oneself to help others enhances well-being and produces feelings of usefulness, especially among older adults. A 1992 study by Dr. James House of the University of Michigan found that volunteer work, more than any other activity, produced a dramatic increase in life expectancy and improved health. Men who did no volunteer work were two and one-half times more likely to die than those who volunteered at least once a week.

Studies suggest that altruistic behavior has a positive effect on immune response even when it is merely observed, rather than engaged in. In a 1985 Harvard University study, noted psychologist Dr. David McClelland found that when students were shown a film about Mother Teresa, they showed an immediate and significant increase in the immune antibody. When students were shown a film about Attila the Hun, their antibody levels dropped.

1. Do modern concrete structures present a hazard to our health? Some people notice traces of rheumatism and neuralgia after only a few weeks, or an increase in stiffness of the limbs or in the neck. Even depression may set in, although unknown before. If shortly after moving into a concrete structure, you notice these or other disturbances, you should experiment by spending a holiday with friends or relatives who live in a wooden or brick building. If your symptoms disappear while you are staying there, it would be reasonable in the interests of health to exchange the concrete structure, despite its modern conveniences, for a healthier dwelling place.

A humid home with little exposure to the sun can damage our health just as much as a concrete building. Pain and psychological suffering can be avoided if, in questions of where to live, we consider not only the cost but also the effect on our health. Living in a healthy home is of greater value than having modern conveniences.

2. Are We Watching Too Much Television? Television has intruded into our everyday life to such an extent that most people cannot imagine life without it. But what about its effects on our health? Cathode rays from the screen are really not harmless. They can damage our health in accord with our own susceptibility. However, rays particularly affect glands and the nervous system. You should therefore consider well whether a program is really worth seeing before you expose yourself to such damaging rays.

One should watch from a distance of about 12 to 18 feet. People subject to lymphatic trouble and those with poor nerves should expose themselves to the rays as little as possible. Watching television is particularly widespread among children, so little wonder that these show signs of striking ill-health. A very unfavorable effect on the nerves and mind has been noted. But instead of paying close attention to the symptoms and removing the cause, many doctors unfortunately disregard them, prescribing medicines to suppress the symptoms. Relief is expected from psychiatric drugs, but sadly in vain, because the harm done is too great to be completely removed.

Even youths are not always strong enough to get over such consequences, and nervous breakdowns have been reported. Parents should be more sensible and see to it that their children do not become addicted to television and exercise necessary control in supervising their viewing carefully.

Modern conveniences can make things easier but, on the other hand, they can put a greater strain on our nerves and minds. Let us select only worthwhile programs and use the rest of our time getting much required rest and relaxation.

Do not leave your television set running without thinking, for it is not good either mentally or health wise to soak in all these harmful things. Particularly in these times of stress, we should take care to get necessary rest, relaxation and quietness to help us recover and rally the forces needed to maintain a healthy mind and body. Though radio and television provide food for the mind, we should not thoughtlessly indulge.

The rays a television screen emits, especially from a color television set, are in no way harmless. Some of them are equal to X-rays. They can cause sensitive persons radiation damage to the skin similar to what is found in nurses working with X-rays. This could be mainly a chronic skin inflammation that does not easily heal. Remember that this can happen when we expose ourselves too long to rays coming from a television screen.