SOCIATROPIN - Natural Anxiety and Mood Supplement

Good Sources of Omega-3′s - July 25th, 2009

Everybody already knows that salmon (wild salmon, not farm raised) is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids…so that’s no surprise.

And we also know the issues that come with eating fish higher on the food chain such as tuna and swordfish — the high mercury levels!

But there is a great alternative that is much higher in omega-3 fatty acids and doesn’t have the issues with mercury that tuna, swordfish, and other larger fish do… and that alternative is:

Sardines!

Now before you give the usual response I see from people — “Ewww, sardines are nasty”… you might want to give them an honest try first and maybe try the type of sardine sandwich melt that I make, which is delicious.

Sardines - A Great Source of Omega-3's Minus the Mercury!

Sardines are a great choice for a quick healthy meal — tons of muscle-building appetite-satisfying protein, super high in healthy omega-3 healthy fats, and much lower in mercury and other pollutants than most fish. And they’re delicious too in my “grilled sardine melt” recipe below.

Here’s the healthy grilled-sardine-melt that I make sometimes:

1 container of sardines
1 whole egg cooked over-easy (cage-free organic)
2 slices of sprouted-grain Ezekial raisin bread
a little mustard
1 slice of grass-fed organic cheddar cheese
a little virgin coconut oil to brush the bread with

I just stack the cheese, sardines, and the grilled egg on the bread (with outsides brushed with coconut oil) and then grill this sandwich up just like a grilled cheese. If you have some fresh basil leaves, that goes great inside this sandwich also. Mmm, gotta love basil!

I know this sandwich probably sounds a little weird, but I’ve yet to find somebody that didn’t think this was absolutely delicious when they tried it.

The sprouted grain raisin bread makes a nice sweet contrast to the sardines, egg, and cheese… it’s really good!

This is actually quite a filling sandwich with the egg, sardines, and the cheese on it… it’ll satisfy your appetite for hours. I like to have this healthy sandwich with a side salad of fresh greens and 1/4 or 1/2 of an avocado… and of course, some my unsweetened iced green/white/oolong tea mixture.

One of the benefits of sardines is also the long chain omega-3 fats, such as EPA and DHA… this is different than eating plant-based omega-3 fats for example, from flaxseeds or walnuts, where your body still needs to try to convert the shorter chain omega-3s to longer chain omega-3s. This is an inefficient conversion, so one of the best ways to provide your body with the important EPA and DHA are through fatty fish sources, fish oil, or krill oil.

That’s one of the reasons I’m such a fan of taking daily Krill Oil… especially considering that Krill Oil has been measured as having 47x the antioxidant power of fish oil, plus with the benefit of the phospholipids in Krill Oil.

This fitness tip courtesy of www.truthaboutabs.com contributor Mike Geary.

Coping With Anxiety And Panic Disorders - July 20th, 2009

Coping with anxiety can be challenging.  Millions of Americans are afflicted with GAD (general anxiety disorder). GAD symptoms manifest themselves during childhood or adolescence, triggered by family history, an imbalance in the brain’s neurotransmitters and environmental factors.

Anxiety and panic disorders are generally diagnosed and treated by trained mental health professionals. A thorough evaluation is made by reviewing the medical history and through a physical examination. There are no laboratory tests that can endorse the presence of anxiety and panic disorders, although the doctors might prescribe certain tests to check for existing illnesses that could be causing anxiety symptoms.

Coping with anxiety becomes essential when the individual’s symptoms become so severe that they start affecting their daily routine, work, social life and personal relationships. Treatment for coping with panic attacks and high anxiety is through medication combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. Medication helps in coping with anxiety to a certain extent, especially when it comes to GAD. The common prescription drug for GAD is benzodiazepines that are basically tranquilizers that calm and relax the patient. Antidepressants like Paxil and Effexor are also sometimes prescribed. The problem with prescription medication is the risk of dependency, in addition to a variety of side effects.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in coping with GAD, anxiety and panic disorders since it is participative therapy where the patient learns to identify and alter behaviors or thought processes that result in the symptoms and avoid them. It teaches the patients to view their worries in a more practical manner, helping them in coping with anxiety. It may not be easy to cure people with GAD. However, through treatment, the severity of symptoms can be controlled to a large extent.

There is a lot of research interest in the connection between strategies for coping with panic attacks, anxiety and panic disorders. A study investigated the changes in the results on the “coping inventory for stressful situations” in 49 outpatients suffering from major depression and anxiety disorders. They found that task oriented coping was affected by depression and emotion-oriented coping was influenced by anxiety. According to the study results, depressive or anxiety symptoms and treatment phase play a major role in coping measurement.

Another research study by the Washington University in St Louis delved into what happens in the brains of people affected by clinical depression and anxiety disorders. The study found that there are a variety of options when it comes to coping with anxiety especially in individuals that did not respond to antidepressants or psychotherapy. These studies are of special relevance as they mean a wider range of treatment options

It is difficult to prevent high anxiety. However, there are different coping strategies that can improve the quality of life.  This includes regular exercise and a healthy diet. It helps to cut down on stimulants that could initiate a depression symptom.

SociaTropin, a 100% natural nutritional supplement, has been developed by a team of doctors, herbalists and fitness experts to specifically address stress relief, to boost energy levels in the body and to relieve depression, anxiety and panic disorders through its special ingredients.
This nutritional supplement makes coping with anxiety a healthy process as it nourishes the body, even as it balances the nutritional deficiencies in the body.

How To Stop Anxiety Attacks Naturally - July 16th, 2009

Anxiety can be debilitating when the worry controls every aspect of life. However, there are many ways to stop anxiety attacks through treatment and self help. These can also gradually reduce anxiety attacks symptoms and bring back some semblance of order into life.

To stop anxiety attacks, it is important to understand what causes anxiety attacks. Worry is a normal part of life, especially when under pressure or in a situation that is filled with stress. The body naturally responds to this with anxiety. Anxiety actually inspires us to resolve issues. But there are times when anxiety overpowers every aspect of a person’s routine and relationships, and develops into anxiety disorders.

Anxiety Attacks Symptoms

Anxiety attack symptoms are a result of intense fear and can occur with no prior notice. There could be some kind of trigger usually depending on the present situation. Once anxiety attack strikes, it can rapidly get worse and last for about thirty minutes. During this brief time, the individual can feel terrified to such an extent that there could be total loss of control. Specifically, anxiety attacks symptoms can range from a rush of devastating panic, a sense of loss of control, rapid pulse rate and chest pain, a sensation of being about to pass out, difficulty with breathing or feeling choked, hot flashes, shivering, nausea, a sense of being removed from reality, etc.

What Causes Anxiety Attacks

The causes of anxiety attacks or panic attacks is said to be because of a shift in the manner in which the brain controls the anxiety response and the behavior of this part of the brain when anxiety is triggered. Anxiety attacks can also be a result of emotional imbalance, where the individual does not know how to respond to a specific situation. These situations can be the death of a loved one, a divorce, financial problems, a major accident, loss of job, drug use, etc.

The causes of anxiety attacks are not restricted to the above; one could have anxiety attack symptoms from minor events as well. Sometimes it can be difficult to zero in on what exactly caused the anxiety attack. The good news is that controlling anxiety attacks is possible by taking a few pro-active steps. These simple steps can actually help stop anxiety attacks from occurring or getting worse.

•    It is important to remember that just as the body responds to panic, so does it respond to being calm.  This means it is possible to teach oneself to be calm when anxiety attack symptoms are apparent.
•    Anxiety attacks symptoms can be controlled in a few minutes if the individual stays calm, preventing adrenaline levels from rising.
•    Learning at least one relaxation technique and practicing it on a daily basis at least thrice a day helps in controlling anxiety attacks.
•    Practicing slow breathing by inhaling and exhaling through the nose when a panic attack comes on helps to a great extent.
•    Self talk, telling oneself that in a few minutes it will be possible to calm down and handle the situation can minimize anxiety attacks symptoms.

A natural way of controlling anxiety attacks is through the use of SociaTropin, a 100% natural nutritional supplement that has more than twenty proprietary ingredients especially chosen to fight depression, enhance mood and cure anxiety and panic disorders. This unique formula also corrects imbalances in the brain’s chemical make up, which are responsible for triggering anxiety and panic attacks.

An Overview Of Common Mood Disorders And Treatment Options - July 12th, 2009

Some of the most common mood disorders include bipolar disorder, depression, dysthymia, seasonal affective disorders and schizoaffective disorder. Most of these are mental illnesses that can be treated with drugs or psychotherapy. Other mental health disorders include psychological disorders that include anxiety, depression, personality disorders and behavioral disorders, eating disorders and psychotic disorders that are usually treated by a psychiatrist.

Common Mood Disorders

A person suffering from psychological disorders would experience symptoms like confusion, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss and headaches. When depression becomes chronic, it is called dysthymia. Its symptoms continue to last for a couple of years or longer. While it may not prevent the individual from going about her daily routine, there is a persistent feeling of unhappiness. Not much research has been carried out for treating dysthymia specifically. However, medications that are used in treating major depressive disorder are also used to treat dysthymia. These medications could be tricyclic antidepressants, MAOI antidepressants and SSRI antidepressant medications. Apart from this psychotherapy and familiarizing the patients with this illness appears to help them cope better with this common mood disorder.

In the present scenario, almost 45 million Americans suffer from some sort of mental disorder. According to research, a majority of serious mental illnesses are a result of imbalances in the brain’s chemicals. Two of the most common mood disorders are bipolar disorder and depression.

Bipolar disorder, also called manic depressive illness is characterized by major mood swings alternating with normal behavior. This can be hereditary and generally appears to manifest itself when the person is in the mid twenties.  Treatment is a must, failing which the individual can go through a lot of distressing life events like substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, broken marriage, losing job etc. These people tend to be hyperactive and excessively energetic alternating with feelings of guilt, low self-worth, suicide attempts, fatigue and poor sleeping habits.

It can be difficult to recognize bipolar disorder right away. A comprehensive medical evaluation needs to be done to check whether there are other mental and physical disorders.  Once diagnosed, treatment is usually mood stabilizer medications.

The other common mood disorder, depression manifests itself as persistent sadness over a period of time. Serotonin and norephinephrine are the two neurotransmitters in the brain that are said to trigger depression. When depression lasts for more than a couple of weeks, it needs medical help. Seasonal affective disorder, another form of depression is related to seasonal changes in the intensity of daylight. Depression is treated with SSRIs.

Psychological disorders or personality disorders are common today. Some recent research from Johns Hopkins suggests that panic disorder and bipolar disorder could be different forms of a complicated biological condition rather than two separate diseases. They examined the diseases lineage in 203 families where at least one member had bipolar disorder and found that there was a family history of a major mood disorder or psychological disorder in the family.

Considering the fact that diagnosis of common mood disorders is not always immediate and also that drugs may not always be the right choice, it makes sense to go in for alternative remedies. SociaTropin, a 100% natural nutritional supplement combines more than twenty herbal ingredients that are proven to cure depression, anxiety and panic disorders.  SociaTropin has specific amino acids that balance the brain’s neurotransmitters, which is crucial for mood and psychological health.

Mind-Body Healing With A Holistic Approach In Medicine - July 8th, 2009

Recent times have seen an increased interest in the holistic approach in medicine. This is obvious from the number of holistic practitioners actively working with patients. Holistic alternative medicine or healthcare encompasses natural, complementary and alternative therapies. It is an approach that combines traditional and alternative medicine to trigger the ability of the body to heal it self naturally.  This means the patient gets the benefit of integrated medicine that helps prevent disease and promotes overall wellness.

The uniqueness of a holistic approach in medicine lies in its method of treatment, including the individual’s mind, body and spirit. It takes a look into the daily routine in the life of the person, so that they may make choices that help them work towards a sense of well being.

Why Is A Holistic Approach In Medicine So Popular?

Holistic alternative medicine has become more widely preferred today for various reasons. The rising costs of healthcare, the harmful side effects of prescription drugs, difficulty with diagnoses have all contributed to people seeking holistic practitioners. These specialists encourage their patients to take charge of their own health so that they work pro-actively towards treating themselves, healing from within and prevent illness.

The Harvard Medical School conducted a study that revealed that complementary and alternative medicine is now part of traditional medicine. There has been a 47% increase in health conscious people turning to holistic practitioners in the areas of herbal medicine and alternative therapy for treatment. In fact, physicians are training in oriental medicine.  The Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a survey, which found out that there is a 25% increase in the number of Americans seeking alternative therapies. A majority of medical schools offer courses in alternative medicine and complimentary therapies like acupuncture, massage therapy, hypnotherapy, meditation, yoga, aerobics and tai chi.

While traditional medicine is the choice for medical emergencies, holistic alternative medicine is effective in pain management in place of drugs. Complementary therapy is used alongside conventional treatment so that the side effects of traditional treatments can be minimized.

By definition, alternative medicine is any form of medicine that is outside the scope of traditional medicine or allopathy and it has been in existence for centuries across various cultures. There are different types of alternative therapies being offered by holistic practitioners. Scientific studies prove that this kind of healing can result in a rise in the level of hormones that prevent illnesses in our body, while strengthening the immune system.  These treatments also keep hemoglobin levels balanced while suppressing the growth of cancer-causing cells.

A holistic approach in medicine therefore promotes the use of integrated medicine that includes allopathic along with complementary therapies like Reiki, acupuncture, acupressure, aromatherapy, ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, feng shui, yoga, herbalism, hypnotherapy, homeopathy, and of course, exercise.

From this, it is obvious that holistic alternative medicine can be highly beneficial, especially for ailments where drug therapy causes severe side effects. A team of doctors, herbalists and fitness experts has specially developed SociaTropin, the world’s first social enhancement nutritional supplement that focuses on total health by boosting natural energy levels, reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and corrects imbalances in the system using herbs that rejuvenate and heal. SociaTropin works by getting to the root of the problem and preserving health endorsing the fact that alternative medicine helps our body heal itself when disease-causing factors are directly addressed.

Anti Anxiety Drugs – What Is The Best Anxiety Medication? - July 4th, 2009

Anxiety is a common problem but it could get severe enough to warrant treatment through anti anxiety drugs. Most people experience the symptoms of anxiety based on their response to stressful situations. This is usually manageable. However, if anxiety attacks are frequent and intense, anti anxiety medication is the answer to relieve the problem since anxiety can disturb the individual’s daily routine significantly.

Anti Anxiety Medications Come in Many Names and Shapes. Do Your Research and Speak with Your Qualified Healthcare Represenative Before Choosing Any Medication

Anti anxiety drugs are used for those suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) as well as other anxiety disorders like panic, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders and stress disorders.  Anti anxiety medications can help to relax the person and gradually prevent the symptoms, over time. Quite a few prescription drugs are now marketed and used. Benzodiazepines used to be considered the best anxiety medication.  Common FDA approved anti anxiety medication names are benzodiazepines like Alprazolam, Diazepam, and Chlordiazepoxide. These act fairly quickly. For GAD, a non-benzodiazepine called Buspirone is used.

Sometimes, people also use antidepressants like clomipramine, fluoxetine, and fluvoxamine when panic or anxiety attacks bring on depression.  Whatever anti anxiety medication is prescribed, the initial dosage is always low so that the physician and patient can keep track of the side effects. Some people experience drowsiness and some loss of coordination, combined with confusion. If the patient is on any other medication for an existing medical problem, then that must be taken into account as well to ensure that there is no interaction between the two medications.

While benzodiazepines, buspirone, antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs are usually used as anti anxiety medication, sometimes antipsychotic, antihistamine, barbiturates and betablocker drugs can sometimes be prescribed depending on specific issues with the patient.

Vistaril for anxiety is an antihistamine that is prescribed before switching to benzodiazepines, although these days this is fairly rare. Vistaril controls anxiety related to psychoneurosis. According to studies, the risk of Vistaril addiction is low, which is why doctors prefer it. Its ability to act quickly provides short term relief from anxiety, particularly if it is linked to OCD.

SSRIs produce fewer side effects and considered safer than the antidepressants since they can treat a wider range of anxiety disorders.  Common SSRIs used are fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa) and sertraline(Zoloft).

Yet another class of anti anxiety drugs are monamine oxidase or MAOI or inhibitors which are usually used only in specific instances of anxiety and depression. These drugs act on the brain’s neurotransmitter levels.  However, clinical studies reveal that these can trigger hypertension and liver damage.

The anxiety medication names mentioned above are effective to a degree, but quite powerful. Adjustment to these takes a few weeks and there are instances where the anxiety becomes worse. The use of these anti anxiety drugs must be monitored closely and tapered off at the right time. Unfortunately, with almost all anti anxiety drugs, there is the problem of developing tolerance and eventually becoming dependant, which leads to abuse. If the drug is stopped, the symptoms can get rapidly worse. For this reason, there is no such thing as the best anxiety medication if we look at prescription drugs.

The undesirable side effects of anti anxiety drugs are well known. Because of this, the tendency to seek natural anti anxiety medication is on the rise. There are nutritional supplements that can act on the source of the disorder, relieving and gradually preventing the symptoms of anxiety. SociaTropin is a unique 100% nutritional formula that has all the vital ingredients that can cure anxiety disorders and depression, while enhancing overall health. It is safe and effective, especially for those who cannot withstand the effects of anti anxiety drugs.