Study is the First to Link Elevated Body Mass Among Football Players with Cognitive Impairment; Daniel G. Amen, MD Says The Dinosaur Syndrome Can Improve with Treatment

Newport Beach, Calif. (PRWEB) January 17, 2012

Psychiatrist and brain-imaging researcher Daniel G. Amen, MD, founder of the Amen Clinics, Inc. (ACI) in Newport Beach, recently completed the first study to determine if there is a link between obesity and cognitive impairment among football players.

According to Dr. Amens work, obesity among football players is a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease and has been shown to adversely affect cognitive function. He also said professional athletes who participate in sports which expose them to repetitive concussions, may be at heightened risk for cognitive impairment.

In this study, published online this week in Translational Psychiatry, Dr. Amens team investigated the effects of being overweight, as measured by waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) on brain blood flow using brain SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) imaging in 38 healthy weight and 38 overweight active and retired National Football League players.

The results showed that overweight players had significant levels of decreased blood flow in the attention, reasoning and judgment parts of the brain. In addition, overweight athletes showed impairments in attention and memory on cognitive tests.

Dr. Amen said this is the 12th scientific study to show a connection between obesity and decreased brain size or function–but the first to examine football players.

I affectionately call this The Dinosaur Syndrome, said Dr. Amen who has the largest database of brain scans on football players. Big body. Little brain. Become extinct.

These findings suggest that a weight management and supplementation program may be critical to the health of athletes who have been exposed to mild brain trauma during their careers.

Obesity is a critical problem to address for brain health reasons, as well as all of the other reasons we know about, such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer, he said. In previous published research studies, weve shown playing football can lead to brain-health problems, including dementia, memory loss, aggression, and depression. Symptoms may appear early, or decades after injury.

But there is hope, said Dr. Amen. In another study we published last year, we were able to demonstrate high levels of improvement in brain health and symptoms such as memory and mood, when players engaged in a brain healthy program that included weight loss, if needed, simple supplements, exercise and a proper diet. That was the most exciting part of the study. We demonstrated that even if you have been bad to your brain, on the right program you can often reverse the damage and improve your life.

The Amen Clinics have performed more than 70,000 brain SPECT scans on patients from 90 countries. They have also treated NHL players who have many of the same issues as NFL players.

Daniel G. Amen, MD founded the Amen Clinics, Inc. (ACI) in 1989 and now has offices in Newport Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. ACI specializes in using detailed clinical histories, brain imaging, and lab testing for innovative diagnosis and treatment for a wide variety of problems, including weight issues, ADD, anxiety, depression, autistic spectrum disorders, and memory problems.

Bulk Herb Store Research Finds That With All Of Its Advanced Medical Care The U.S. Has The Second Highest Infant Mortality Rate Among Developed Countries

Nashville Tennessee (PRWEB) January 17, 2012

While researching material for the Making Babies Series, Bulk Herb Store (BHS) learned over 98% of healthy women under a trained midwifes care can safely have a natural home birth. Years ago the induction rate was about 8%. Today it is over 80%, not because of emergencies, but because of convenience. Induction provides an unnatural medication which prevents the natural hormonal process from giving the mother an easier labor and most importantly prevents the natural bonding a mother and newborn experience during the first few moments of life. This can never be replaced. A CNN report showed the U.S. with all of its advanced medical care has the second highest infant mortality rate among developed countries

Without drugs, the complications and need for a C-section is dramatically reduced. Less than 2% of healthy women need a C-section. Women are not adequately told their options! Women need to know their options. They need to be informed to have the ultimate natural birth experience.

Today OB/GYNs are happy with scheduling C-sections. No longer do they have to be at the hospital through a 10-12 hour labor. In NY more C-sections are scheduled by the doctors at 4:00 p.m. and then again at 10:00 p.m. so they can perform this major surgery in less than a half hour, and be home in time for dinner or the late night news.

Why is it that so many healthy, low risk women are receiving C-sections? Answers can include labor intervention drugs, not providing mothers with informed choices, a relaxed attitude about C-section surgery (major surgery), fear of malpractice claims, insurance regulations, and time efficiency. Tragically most OB/GYNs have never witnessed a natural birth.

Having a baby is a miracle! It is a spectacular event when the sperm and egg meet and make a life inside of a woman. A tiny living heartbeat. A tiny living soul. A baby that is part of every mother, living inside of her body. A mother is its very life. A mother nourishes her baby and helps it grow. She introduces it to food, sound, movement, feelings, and so much more. She is a Mother!

Bulk Herb Store, a family owned business by James and Shoshanna Easling was established in 1998 and is located in Lobelville TN. They recently expanded their business by starting a publishing division for the publication of the Making Babies Series adding to their product line of Herbs, Herbal Mixes, Water Filters, Videos, Books, and Heirloom Seeds.

Their site offers herbal solutions for conditions from Acne to Yeast Infections and everything in between for both the new herb users to the experienced herbalist. The more read from their website, the more confident a person will be with herbs and natural remedies.

The Making Bay Series follows Shoshanna from shortly after the birth of her first child through the natural home delivery of her second child. The events are chronicled through her book and video series and is packed full of interviews with natural and medical specialists including, Dr. Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP; Nancy A. Armetta, MD; Hohan C. Dinklemann and DC; Elaine M. Wakefield, CNM; prominent healthcare professionals.

The Making Babies series mixes modern advances with grandma’s wisdom taking readers back in time to when 95% of babies were delivered in the comforts of home (1900). Since 1955 only about 1% of births are at home and that number remains unchanged today. In many countries midwives account for 70%-80% of all births resulting in a higher survival rate for mother and baby. Know the facts. The birth experience should be selected by the mother not the doctor.

The series is a natural approach to pregnancy, birth, using herbs, diet and exercise. It is designed to show the simplicity, beauty, and pure fun a natural pregnancy and birth can be. It is an alternative to having a baby in a hospital setting.

The 480 page Book is presented in a fun, informational, artistic, and colorful manner. Readers will learn many ways to stay active and healthy as a mother builds her baby.

The DVDs are over seven hours of information covering deliciously healthy recipes, wonderful gluten-free recipes, grandmas remedies, herbal concoctions, and need-to-know facts, and is packed with research about fertility, conception, morning sickness, pregnancy, birth, nursing, postpartum issues, losing weight, and more!

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