Have a happy and healthy New Year!

Posted on by drjbdunphy

At this time of year you may be energetically and economically burnt out so here at Dunphy Medical we’d like to share some easy and cost-effective tips to have you on-track for the new year.

1.  Golden Honey – Honey is delicious and has antiseptic and  anti-bacterial properties and turmeric is an immune-boosting powerhouse, it is an excellent antioxidant and antibiotic; it has cancer-fighting properties and it is also anti-inflammatory. It has been used in Ayurvedic and eastern medicine for thousands of years, partly thanks to curcumin, it’s active phenol which also causes turmeric’s yellow colour.

Golden Honey is simply a mixture of these two ingredients, just mix 1 tbsp of tumeric powder with 100gr of raw organic honey, store in a clean glass jar, you can leave it at room temperature and take a spoon as needed. 

turmeric-honey-super-booster (4)

http://www.WithFoodandLove.com recommends taking a spoonful directly in your mouth, or diluted as a drink with hot water, or taken as a spread on toast to ward off allergies in spring time.

And upon the first symptoms of colds and flu, http://www.BestHerbalHealth.com recommends keeping the Golden Honey mixture in your mouth until it completely dissolves for:

  1. Day 1 – Take ½ tsp. every hour during the day.
  2. Day 2 – Take ½ tsp. every two hours during the day.
  3. Day 3 – Take ½ tsp. three times a day.

Golden Honey is also useful to combat respiratory diseases and it lowers blood pressure, and turmeric reduces blood sugar levels.

Turmeric also causes muscle contractions of the gallbladder so avoid turmeric if you suffer from gallbladder disease.

 

2. A turmeric, lemon, cinnamon and black pepper drink is delicious, quick, healthy, warming and cheering at this time of year.

Simply add a pinch (or two) of turmeric, a pinch of cinnamon and a grind or two of black pepper to some hot water with some sliced lemon. Stir occasionally as the spices can sink to the bottom.

 

Black pepper makes the wonder-spice turmeric more easily absorbed by the body and cinnamon, along with tasting yummy and festive, also boasts anti-inflammatory properties and helps regulate blood-sugar levels.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, cinnamon is used to help treat muscle spasms, vomiting, diarrhea, infections, the common cold, loss of appetite, and erectile dysfunction.

 

According to a study in Diabetes Care, cinnamon may help improve glucose and lipid levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, and at Tel Aviv University researchers discovered that cinnamon may help prevent Alzheimers disease.

 

Cinnamon may also help stop the destructive process of multiple sclerosis (MS) according to a neurological scientist at Rush University Medical Center, and Penn State researchers revealed that diets rich in cinnamon can help reduce the body’s negative responses to eating high-fat meals.

 

 

Lemon has antioxidants and vitamin C which is always useful, but it’s particularly great when the immune system is busy battling colds, flus and various bugs at this time of year.

 

3. Exercise! It boosts the immune system, causes a rush of endorphins and it is vital to balance your body and your brain to keep you healthy and happy. Here’s a favourite video of ours that nicely sums up the benefits of exercise.

 

4. Smile and Laugh! It floods the body with feel-good chemicals called endorphins, it relieves stress, boosts the immune system, relieves pain, improves heart health (it improves blood vessel function and increases blood flow) and it fosters social bonding.

And it’s 100% free, it has no side-effects (bar perhaps the odd wrinkle!) and almost everyone can do it almost everywhere, but best of all, it’s contagious! So by making yourself happier and healthier, you’re also helping others to do the same!

5. Remember the ratio 5:1 – Eminent psychologist Maureen Gaffney has found that the golden ratio of positive to negative thoughts that you need everyday to push (or keep) your life in a positive, fulfilling upward spiral is 5 positive thoughts to 1 negative. So keep that in mind throughout the day and pay attention to all the positives, there may be many more than you realise! For more tips on making 2015 your best year yet check out Gaffney’s book called ‘Flourishing’.

 

Tech Talk

Posted on by drjbdunphy

Could computers replace doctors? Are we entering a new age of exponential growth in artificial intelligence that far outstrips our own? Or are we entering an unprecedented phase of human advancement and an economics of abundance? Three inspirational videos pointing to a future of technological advancement, computer learning and very fast change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Internet use among the elderly ‘good for health’ – article from the Irish Medical Times

Posted on by drjbdunphy

VariousOlder people who are active internet users and who regularly indulge in culture may be better able to retain their health literacy, and therefore maintain good health, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

The Institute of Medicine defines health literacy as the degree to which a person is able to obtain, understand, and process basic health information so they can make appropriate decisions about their health.

Low levels of health literacy are associated with poorer self-care, higher use of emergency care services, low levels of preventative care, and an overall increased risk of death.

The most important factor governing a decline in health literacy in later years is thought to be dwindling cognitive abilities as a result of ageing, which gradually dulls the brain functions involved in active learning and vocabulary.

The researchers wanted to find out if regular internet use and engaging in civic, leisure, and cultural activities might help to maintain health literacy skills, irrespective of age-related cognitive decline. They therefore assessed the health literacy skills of almost 4,500 adults aged 52 and older, all of whom were taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) between 2004 and 2011.

At the start of the study, around three out of four people (73 per cent) had adequate health literacy. After six years, scores fell by one or more points in around a fifth (19 per cent) of people, regardless of their initial score, while a similar proportion improved by one or more points.

There was a link between age and declining health literacy, and being non-white, having relatively low wealth, few educational qualifications, and difficulties carrying out routine activities of daily living.

Poorer memory and executive function scores at the start of the study were also linked to greater decline over the subsequent six years.

Around 40 per cent said they never used the internet or email, while one-in-three (32 per cent) said they did so regularly. Similar proportions said they engaged in civic (35 per cent) and/or leisure (31 per cent) activities over the six-year period.

Almost four out of 10 (39 per cent) said they had regularly engaged in cultural activities, such as going to the cinema, theatre, galleries, concerts or the opera, during this time.

Across all time points, internet use and engagement in civic, leisure, or cultural activities were lower among those whose health literacy declined.

J Epidemiol Community Health 2014;0:1–6. doi:10.1136/jech-2014-204733.

Problematic alcohol consumption is still going unnoticed

Posted on by drjbdunphy

Despite huge increases in alcoholic liver disease in the last 10 years, particularly in younger people, a new study shows that many students are not concerned about the long-term health impacts of alcohol consumption.

The study found that twice as many college students were likely to reduce their alcohol consumption for cost reasons compared to those who would reduce consumption to prevent negative health impacts.  As reported by the Irish Medical News, the study consisted of a survey of first year students at University College Cork.

According to the study, two-fifths (or 39%) of students surveyed admitted to going out with the intention of getting drunk, knowing that it would affect their duties the next day.

The study has prompted the Irish Society of Gastroenterology (ISG) to call for legislation to target alcohol consumption.

The ISG has warned that alcohol related deaths and hospital admissions continue to rise in Ireland, particularly in younger people and deaths related to cirrhosis of the liver have doubled between 1994 and 2008.

Perhaps a public awareness campaign is needed to educate our young people that the health costs of over-zealous alcohol consumption are far more costly in the long run that the initial monetary outlay.