1. A new study suggests acupuncture is good for depression in pregnancy. . .or does it? -
In other words, acupuncture specific for depression produced an effect that was not different from that of one of the controls. But by creating a group that combined non-specific acupuncture (ineffective) with massage (effective), they were able to create a composite that was ineffective, and then they compared the experimental group with the composite. But that doesn’t change the fact that acupuncture for depression was no better than massage.
Have the authors shown that acupuncture specific for depression is effective for treating depression in pregnant women? I don’t think so. If it offers no advantage over massage, we can forget about acupuncture and simply offer depressed pregnant women a day at the spa. It is no less effective and probably far more enjoyable.
2. Smile or Die: How positive thinking fooled America and the world – In her new book, Barbara Ehrenreich presents the evidence of numerous studies demonstrating that positive thinking has no effect on survival rates. She also provides testimonies that suggest that possibly great harm comes from this false hope.
Pity, for example, the woman who wrote to the mind/body medical guru Deepak Chopra: “Even though I follow the treatments, have come a long way in unburdening myself of toxic feelings, have forgiven everyone, changed my lifestyle to include meditation, prayer, proper diet, exercise and supplements, the cancer keeps coming back. Am I missing a lesson here that it keeps re-occurring? I am positive I am going to beat it, yet it does get harder with each diagnosis to keep a positive attitude.”
New Age mysticism may sound harmless enough but here is a great example of how dangerous such irrational beliefs are.
3. A gene mutation is linked to autistic symptoms in mice – Once again, this is research that would not exist if J.B. Handley, Jenny McCarthy, and their anti-vaccine cohorts were making the decisions because they have zero interest in exploring the genetic basis for autism.
4. Stem Cells restore sight to blind mice – I feel like this news story is a rerun. Anyway though, once again this is research that might not have existed if George Bush was president.
An international research team led by Columbia University Medical Center successfully used mouse embryonic stem cells to replace diseased retinal cells and restore sight in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. This strategy could potentially become a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a leading cause of blindness that affects approximately one in 3,000 to 4,000 people, or 1.5 million people worldwide.
For more information find a licensed acupuncturist and step your relaxation game UP!
Bonita is a 47 year old mother of a six year-old. She has a genuine smile and passionate concern in her eyes as she speaks of her child. With a small child at home, life definitely didn’t slow down for her when she got cancer. Amazingly, she is still able to do most things she did for her daughter pre-cancer. Yet, she mentions launching her child’s toys to the loft above the living room is a bit more difficult after her mastectomy. While the lingering pain doesn’t stop her, the incessant anxiety that developed later does keep her from returning fully to her normal routine. Her mind constantly turns about the possibility of the cancer coming back and about people in letting her down again, just as she had experienced when she was first diagnosed. There was so much support to “get through” the treatments but little support to manage what this post-chemotherapy and radiation period would be like. The first wave of anxiety developed early on with the initial diagnosis and didn’t dissipate. After the chemotherapy to the radiation and moved to the ‘dreaded checkups with only two options – good or bad news.’ She tells of how she loves to paint. She paints pictures of beautiful faces and bodies. This is how she distracts herself from the ugliness she believes to still be inside her body.