Greed is a sin, especially when it comes to power, status, and above all: money. But since 35-year-old Guma Aguiar disappeared, last seen on June 19 in Fort Lauderdale, nasty and heated court battles have arose regarding who will acquire Aguiar’s $100 million fortune.

For those who knew Aguiar best, a successful business man that held a good reputation as a devoted husband and loving father, find it very difficult—almost impossible—that he would do what the media is considered Aguiar to have done: engineering his own disappearance.

Aguiar’s good friend Jerry Levine finds it very difficult to believe that he would just disappear, leaving his fortune and family. Levine told ABC News that Aguiar “was a very at ease guy, very comfortable in his own skin,” and that “he was funny, personable, charismatic.” Levine, who was also Aguiar’s filmmaker, finds it hard to believe that Aguiar would disappear in the middle of making a biographical documentary regarding Aguiar’s views on the Middle East, as well as his dedicated involvement with Israel’s sports teams.

The day after Aguiar was last seen, the early morning of June 20, his 31-foot fishing boat was found washed up on the shore with the engine still running and all of the lights still on. However, there was no sign of Aguiar himself.

So why would such a loving father with so much to live for just fake his own death or disappear? According to Levine, Aguiar also suffered from bi-polar disorder and depression, and seemed to be acting oddly during days leading up to his disappearance. Extremely stressed at the time of his disappearance, Aguiar was in a legal battle with former business partner, his billionaire uncle, Thomas Kaplan. In fact, the legal battle was over how to divide the $2.5 billion sale of the company that the two used to run together.

Levine describes Aguiar as either being extremely successful or nearly falling apart, just those two extremes and nothing in between.

“When he was at the top of his game, he could juggle like a juggler with, like, 12 balls. You’d see so many balls in the air. He really could do it, but when this disease would kick in, he’d lose grasp of that edge and all those balls would start falling down.”

But still as a close friend, Levine is positive that Aguiar did not commit suicide, despite rumors.

“I don’t think for a second he killed himself. It never even crossed my mind. A person like that was episodic, but still had his kind of capability and wasn’t all of a sudden going to take his life, certainly without leaving a note or doing something pretty obvious. The guy had a lot of guns that were accounted for. I mean, come on. You don’t want to die in the cauldron of a storm.”

Since no body has been found, one would think that those closest to him would be busy looking for him instead of fighting over his financial assets. Levine claims that both Aguiar’s mother, Ellen Aguiar, and wife, Jamie Aguiar, are known as gold-diggers.

According to ABC, “just a week after Aguiar’s disappearance, his wife and mother filed a flurry of legal documents seeking control of his assets and fortune.”

Now the two women are in a blow-out legal fight, making accusations against one another. Jamie claims that his mother was always just after his money, while Ellen is claiming that her son took off because his wife filed for divorce the very same day he disappeared.

Yet with no leads or evidence found regarding what has happened to Aguiar, the assets will not be granted to either of the women. A Florida court judge decided no woman will have control over his money and is giving control to attorneys that have represented neither of the women, until Aguiar is found—whether dead or alive.

Levine, as well as those who cared about Aguiar, is still holding onto a hope that is fading daily. “I still hope for the best, but the more time goes by, we’re expecting the worst,” he said.

The article Millionaire Missing: What Really Happened to Guma Aguiar? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Mcleam, Virginia, U.S.A - Honor for ALL, in cooperation with the Code of Support Foundation, announced that a special “Visible Honor for Invisible Wounds” event on June 27th will commemorate the third annual National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day. This day, that was introduced by Senator Kent Conrad (D, ND), calls for the nation to set aside this date to create a greater level of awareness and understanding of the issues facing many service members returning from war.

The event is open to the public and will include addresses by representatives of the Chiefs of our Armed Services, members of the Executive and Legislative branches, and distinguished individuals from the healthcare sector. Most important, affected service members and veterans will take part in the program. Senator Conrad will deliver the keynote remarks. Ceremonies will begin promptly at 10:00 AM in Upper Senate Park adjacent to the Russell Senate Office Building.

“Our goals are simple, but critically important,” said Thomas Mahany, president of Honor for ALL. “We want all Americans to understand the true nature of PTSD to help remove the stigma that still surrounds this type of injury. And, yes, PTSD is an ‘injury’ for which there is treatment and a healing process,” he added. “Just as our troops never leave a wounded comrade behind on the battlefield, we must not leave those who suffer from invisible wounds behind as we honor our troops, their family members and our veterans. By instilling dignity, we can preserve lives,”concluded Mahany with reference to the disproportionate rates of suicide among these groups.

Other speakers scheduled to appear include the Surgeons General of the Army, Air Force, Navy and National Guard, and the Sergeant Major of the Army, Raymond Chandler. Speakers from key partner organizations include Kristina Kaufmann, Executive Director of the Code of Support Foundation, Pam Derrow from CAUSE, and Mark Robbins of the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

Honor for ALL, is dedicated to establishing visible recognition of the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, depression and survivor’s guilt. Its mission is to conquer the stigma, preserve the dignity of families, and most importantly, stop the tragic loss from suicide of service members, veterans and family members.

The Code of Support Foundation is dedicated to bridging the gap between the American people and our Armed Forces. Its mission is to ensure that all Americans understand the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families, and are committed and actively engaged in doing their part in support of our national defense. The foundation, a, was established in 2010, and helps identify, vet and support other non-profit organizations that support military communities.

Image Courtesy of  Truthout

The article June 27th Declared as the National PTSD Day appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

A recent study run by scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Granada has confirmed a link between consumption of sugary foods (doughnuts, cakes, etc.) and fast food (French fries, hamburgers, pizza, etc.) and depression.

Published in the Public Health Nutrition journal, the study concludes that consumers who eat fast food and sugary foods, compared to those who eat little to none, are 51 percent more likely to develop depression.  In addition, the results have shown that “the more fast food you consume, the greater the risk of depression,” according to Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, lead author of the study.

Participants in the study who ate great amounts of fast food and commercially baked goods were also revealed to have a greater chance of being single, less active, and have comparatively worse dietary habits, such as eating less nutritious foods like fruit, nuts, fish, vegetables, and olive oil.  Other unhealthy characteristics of this group included smoking and working over 45 hours each week.

Those who do not consume commercially baked goods and fast food in large quantities are still at risk for developing mental illness.  “Even eating small quantities is linked to a significantly higher chance of developing depression,” the university researcher from the Canary Islands noted.

The study sample consisted of some 8,964 participants that had no past history with either depression or mental illness and were members of the SUN Project (University of Navarra Diet and Lifestyle Tracking Program). They were studied for an average of 6 months, and 493 of them were diagnosed with depression or began to use antidepressants.

These new conclusions support the results of a previous SUN project from 2011, published in the PLoS One journal.  The project recorded 657 new cases of depression out of the 12,059 people taking part in the study over the course of a little more than six months.  A 42 percent increase in risks associated with fast food was noted, a finding lower than that found in the current study.

Sánchez-Villegas says, “Although more studies are necessary, the intake of this type of food should be controlled because of its implications on both health (obesity, cardiovascular diseases) and mental well-being.”

Over 120 million people suffer from depression worldwide, meaning it is one of the leading causes of disability across the globe. Furthermore, in countries with low and medium incomes, it is the most common cause.  There is little information, however, about what role diet plays in developing different forms of depression.

Studies from the past have suggested that certain nutrients have a preventative role, such as B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and olive oil. Healthy diets, such as those common in the Mediterranean, have been linked to lower risks in developing depression.

While the exact link between fast food and sugary foods and depression is not yet known, the study will hopefully pave the way for other experiments revealing the exact causes that link bad diets and depression.

The article Link Between Fatty Foods and Depression Discovered appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

People are relying on sleeping pills more than ever to get a good night’s rest, but a new study by Scripps Clinic researchers links the medications to a 4.6 times higher risk of death and a significant increase in cancer cases among regular pill users.

The results, published on February 27 by the open-access online journal BMJ Open, cast a shadow over a growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry that expanded by 23 percent in the United States from 2006 to 2010 and generated about $2 billion in annual sales.

“What our study shows is that sleeping pills are hazardous to your health and might cause death by contributing to the occurrence of cancer, heart disease and other ailments,” said author Daniel F. Kripke, M.D., of the Viterbi Family Sleep Center in San Diego.

(View the paper here: http://press.psprings.co.uk/Open/february/bmjopen850.pdf)

The research is the first to show that eight of the most commonly used hypnotic drugs were associated with increased hazards of mortality and cancer, including the popularly prescribed medications zolpidem (known by the brand name Ambien) and temazepam (also known as Restoril), Dr. Kripke said. Those drugs had been thought to be safer than older hypnotics because of their shorter duration of action.

Study participants who took sleeping pills were matched with control patients of similar ages, gender and health who received no hypnotics in order to eliminate the possibility that other factors led to the results.

“We tried every practical strategy to make these associations go away, thinking that they could be due to use by people with more health problems, but no matter what we did the associations with higher mortality held,” said co-author Robert D. Langer, M.D., M.P.H., of the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine in Jackson, Wyoming.

Even among patients who were prescribed 1 to 18 sleeping pills per year, the risk of death was 3.6 times higher than among similar participants who did not take the medications. The study looked at patients aged 18 years and older, and found the increased risk in all age groups.

Rates of new cancers were 35 percent higher among patients who were prescribed at least 132 hypnotic doses a year as compared with those who did not take the drugs.

Using data stored in an electronic medical record that has been in place for more than a decade, the researchers obtained information on almost 40,000 patients cared for by a large integrated health system in the northeastern United States.

The study included 10,531 sleeping pill users who were prescribed the medications for an average of 2.5 years and 23,674 control participants who were not prescribed the drugs. Information came from outpatient clinic visits conducted between Jan. 1, 2002, and Sept. 30, 2006.

“It is important to note that our results are based on observational data, so even though we did everything we could to ensure their validity, it’s still possible that other factors explain the associations,” said co-author Lawrence E. Kline, D.O., who is medical director of the Viterbi Family Sleep Center. “We hope our work will spur additional research in this area using information from other populations.”

Funding for the study came from the Scripps Health Foundation and other philanthropic sources.

The BMJ Open report should prompt physicians to consider alternatives to hypnotic medications, Dr. Kline said.

Clinicians at the Viterbi Family Sleep Center focus on cognitive therapy that teaches patients to better understand the nature of sleep. For example, some people suffering from insomnia might require less than the eight hours of sleep commonly recommended for each night.

Patients also can benefit from practicing good sleeping habits and relaxation, as well as taking advantage of the body’s natural clock, which is driven by the rising and setting of the sun, Dr. Kline said. “Understanding how to use the circadian rhythm is a very powerful tool that doesn’t require a prescription,” he said.

When insomnia results from emotional problems such as depression, doctors should treat the psychological disorder rather than prescribe sleeping pills that could prove to be harmful, Dr. Kripke said.

About  Scripps Health

Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a $2.5 billion non-profit community healthcare system based in San Diego, Calif. Scripps treats a half-million patients annually through the dedication of 2,600 affiliated physicians and 13,000 employees among its five acute-care hospital campuses, home health care services, and an ambulatory care network of physician offices and 23 outpatient centers and clinics.

Scripps is also at the forefront of clinical research, genomic medicine, wireless health and graduate medical education. With three highly respected graduate medical education programs, Scripps is a longstanding member of the Association of American Medical Colleges. More information can be found at www.scripps.org.

The article Sleeping Pills Increase Death Risk and Cancer Cases appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The Love is Louder movement, a project of The Jed Foundation and MTV created with actress Brittany Snow, launched a new site this week at www.loveislouder.com which features a #loveislouder blog, videos, artwork, and songs created by people around the world who have joined the movement.

Additionally, the campaign announced 2012 plans to help communities and campuses support the emotional health of teenagers and college-age students, as well as address issues like bullying, negative self-image, discrimination, isolation and depression.

“Through Love is Louder, The Jed Foundation is harnessing technology, the media and grassroots efforts to expand the current dialogue on bullying to include not only the negative voices and pressures that cause pain, but the feelings themselves and how to deal with those emotions,” says John MacPhee, Executive Director of The Jed Foundation.

The Love is Louder movement works online, through the media and in communities to strengthen emotional health by building resiliency, creating connectedness, promoting acceptance and empowering others to support their peers.  Hundreds of thousands of people have joined the movement online since its launch in 2010 and the new www.loveislouder.com expands that online presence to include:

• A #loveislouder blog that explores common emotional issues like feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone, and provides positive perspectives, coping strategies and resources for learning more and getting help if needed.
• Galleries of the thousands of photos, videos, pieces of artwork and songs that have been created by people around the world for the movement.
• New video features including a public service announcement starring Brittany Snow, Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp and others, and submissions from the Your Love is Louder Video Festival held in conjunction with the site launch.
• Information and tools that help campuses and communities plan events and start discussions that can increase connectedness, build coping skills, empower peers to support each other and encourage people to get help if needed.
• Connections to resources for learning more about and getting help for emotional health issues like depression, eating disorders and self-injury.

Other plans for 2012 announced include outreach to help educators and the media better understand and talk about the connection between bullying and emotional distress, research around tools to build connectedness and encourage help-seeking in community and campus settings, speaking events with Brittany Snow and other spokespersons, and the development and testing of technology to enhance resiliency and coping skills.

The Jed Foundation (www.loveislouder.com) is a national nonprofit organization working to reduce the prevalence of emotional distress and the rate of suicide among college and university students.

Over the last 10 years, the organization has launched innovative programs for students, campuses and parents, including the Peabody Award-winning Half of Us campaign with mtvU (www.halfofus.com) that uses the stories of students and high-profile artists to decrease stigma around mental health issues and increase help-seeking behaviors;

ULifeline (www.ulifeline.org), a comprehensive online resource center on emotional health with an anonymous screening tool and campus-specific information for getting help; and a model and portfolio of tools that help colleges and universities create healthier and safer campus communities.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/joinloveislouder

The article ‘Love is Louder’, A Site Created to Expand Dialogue on Bullying appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

New research suggests women who have migraine or have had them in the past are at an increased risk for developing depression compared to women who have never had migraine. The study was released on February 22, 2012 and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

For the study, researchers classified 36,154 women without depression who were enrolled in the Women’s Health Study and had provided information about migraine. Women were classified as either having active migraine with aura, active migraine without aura, past history of migraine (but not within the last year) or no history of migraine. Women also provided information about diagnoses of depression.

A total of 6,456 women had current or past migraine. During an average 14 years of follow-up, 3,971 of the women developed depression. Women with any history of migraine were about 40 percent more likely to develop depression than women without a history of migraine. The results were the same regardless if a woman had migraine with aura, which involves visual disturbances that appear as flashing lights, zigzag lines or a temporary loss of vision.

“This is one of the first large studies to examine the association between migraine and the development of depression over time,” said Tobias Kurth, MD, Sc.D., with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Inserm in France and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. “We hope our findings will encourage doctors to speak to their migraine patients about the risk of depression and potential ways to prevent depression.”

The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Cancer Institute. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

The article Women with Migraine at Higher Risk of Depression appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind, a new text on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from AFB Press, author Lindy Bergman recounts her journey with macular degeneration, and offers suggestions on how to remain positive and get the most out of life. The book also contains highly informative chapters on the nature and treatment of AMD authored by world-renowned experts from The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.

Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind examines the impact of untreated depression and other emotional and psychological reactions among older adults with vision loss, a topic often overlooked or ignored during the rehabilitation process. The book came to fruition as the result of a partnership between The Chicago Lighthouse and AFB Press, the publishing arm of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).

“This book fills an information gap on depression and helps patients understand that they are not alone, while giving professionals the tools they need to care for their patients’ vision loss and emotional well-being,” said Carl R. Augusto, AFB president and CEO.

With one in three persons over age 75 affected by AMD, and as the 79 million baby boomers near retirement age, Ms. Bergman’s personal perspectives combined with the medical and other insights from professionals makes Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind a must-read for both newly diagnosed patients and their families, as well as the professionals who serve them.

In Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind, readers will find:

• The latest information about the causes and treatment of AMD
• Concise and informative overviews of the effects of aging on vision, the emotional and psychological components of vision loss, and essential components of low vision services
• An emphasis on the integration of the individual’s psychological recovery into low vision service delivery
• A cutting-edge model of rehabilitation that meets the challenges of service provision today

“We want people facing a progressive retinal degenerative disease to receive the best care possible, and we believe the information and practice methods in this book will play a major role in quality care,” said Janet P. Szlyk, Ph.D., President and Executive Director of The Chicago Lighthouse.

The article New Insight on Depression Treatment with AMD Diagnosis appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Netsmart, the leading provider of clinical solutions for health and human services organizations nationwide, has announced the launch of www.EveryDayMatters.com, an interactive, informational website designed to highlight the positive clinical and financial impacts provided by the behavioral health community.

In an era of huge budget deficits, improvement of health and healthcare cost containment cannot be achieved without the coordination of behavioral and physical health. It is with this thought in mind that www.EveryDayMatters.com was developed to highlight the enormous contribution made by behavioral health providers to the nation’s health.

Content on the website includes videos, blogs, news feeds, social media links and an interactive message board. Behavioral health organizations, clinicians, practitioners, consumers and industry vendors are encouraged to visit the site and share stories that celebrate successes and debunk myths and stigma about mental health issues.

The site allows visitors to be aware, inspired and enlightened by each other’s stories, ask questions, share opinions, eliminate barriers and celebrate successes. Current topics and news articles will also be shared for education and discussion.

“The care provided by those who work in behavioral health changes lives. You cannot treat just the mind or just the body; you must coordinate care to treat the whole person,” said Mike Valentine, CEO, Netsmart. “As healthcare in the U.S. evolves to address the health of populations, we want to ensure that the millions that suffer from some type of mental illness are not left behind.

For them – and the people that serve them – every day matters. For us, that starts with www.EveryDayMatters.com. It’s a venue where those in the community can share success stories, tell their personal stories and learn more about behavioral health.

“We also believe that technology can play a big role in advancing care in behavioral health,” said Valentine. “The primary care world spent the last 10 years integrating evidence-based medicine into their electronic health record systems. Our goal is to do it for behavioral health in half that time.”

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in four adults, or approximately 57.7 million Americans, experience a mental health disorder in a given year. The World Health Organization has reported that four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the U.S. and other developed countries are mental disorders.

By 2020, major depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children. As a leader in the industry, Netsmart is committed to transforming the way care is delivered. Part of that transformation includes new innovations that lead to improved care and outcomes.

“EveryDayMatters.com is where we can share, learn from each other, educate, and start conversations across our industry,” said Dr. Steve Ronik, CEO of Henderson Behavioral Health, the oldest and largest community-based, not-for-profit behavioral health system in South Florida. “Anything we can do to hear directly from those who have insights into mental health issues and increase awareness will only serve to benefit us all as we look at services, treatments and results.”

“Our goal is that the site becomes a trusted resource for insight, education, innovation, advocacy and awareness about mental health issues,” said Valentine. “While Netsmart is proud to sponsor this site, it is not a Netsmart site. The site is an open, public forum for all to use.”

The article EveryDayMatters.com to Raise Awareness on Behavioral Health appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

While music is both soothing and entertaining, several studies have also shown that music therapy can help people who have illnesses, learning disabilities or emotional problems.

Music therapy is a technique that uses music to improve a person’s mental as well as their social function. There are four ways of using this technique: listening to music, dancing, singing or making musical improvisation using all types of instruments. The therapy has been found very useful for helping people who have a wide array of health problems.

Music for the elderly

One of the most important areas where this therapy is getting great results is with the elderly. In the 50+ age groups, people can withdraw themselves from an active life and lose interest in what surrounds them, which can decrease their self-esteem. Music can help these individuals feel better and to diminish negative feelings.

In some nursing homes, staff organize music therapy group sessions with the goal of making communication easier. They use the music as a stimulant. Depending on the objectives they want to achieve, the staff will use different types of songs. If they want to arouse emotions they will use songs that remind patients of moments from their past. These kind of songs favor the memory.

Other times they use melodic songs to stimulate physical activity. With all these techniques, the goal is to overcome physical problems derived from boredom, fear of death, personal stagnation or loneliness.

Music to fight off diseases

Music has been shown to diminish pain and reduce anxiety and stress. Some researchers have demonstrated that people who have practiced this therapy before surgery have suffered less pain than the ones who didn’t. This therapy has also had positive results with people who suffer Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

Other ways music can help 

Music therapy is also used on pregnant women for their labor preparation because this is an important relaxation factor. You can also obtain benefits through singing practice. In some music therapy sessions they encourage people to sing to show their personality and to improve their diction, their attention and memory.

Types of music 

The type of music you use will depend on the person and his or her personal situation. Melodies should go against the patients state of mind. Paradoxically, when feeling depressed, the patient shouldn’t listen to any upbeat, rhythm song because in that case that song won’t have the same effect or meaning.

Similar to the treatment of the elderly, songs shouldn’t be completely unfamiliar, otherwise they won’t pay attention to them. However songs shouldn’t be very popular either because it will have a negative effect as well. It is very important to be treated by a credible therapist. He or she will be the one that will know which is the perfect song for each patient.

The article Music Therapy: How Can it Help You? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Life is not always easy and most people go through difficulties at least once in their lifetime. However, some people eventually realize as the years pass, that things happens for a reason. Distance, time and reflection are some of the factors that play an important  part of coming to terms with events of the past. Have you ever experienced a difficult break-up? Lost someone you thought would be a part of your life forever? After episodes like this, it is natural for a person to feel immediately scorn and resentful but what they will realize in time is that those experiences often bring along positive side-effects. Perhaps you met a better person afterwards? Perhaps because of the situation you moved to another place and found your dream job? There is no predictable pattern of ‘fate’ but we know that many people have won after losing.

According to the Spanish psychologist Begoña Odriozola, the following advice can help you overcome the problem and move on:

1. You have to learn from your mistakes and find the positive sides afterwards.
2. You have to learn how to distinguish between the events that depend on you and the ones that you are unable to control. Your focus needs to be on the situations you can change.
3. You will benefit from a positive attitude and the belief that things will get better with time.
4. Do not become seized by frustration.
5. Set goals and figure out what you need to do to achieve them.
6. By feeding your confidence, you provide yourself with the strength to carry on despite the problems you may have to overcome. We have to believe that everything has a purpose.
7. Believe in yourself. We all have the solution inside of us; you have to know yourself enough to figure out how.
8. You have to realize that the difficulties you overcome shows how strong and brave you can be. The experience will also prepare you for similar obstacles in the future. You have to constantly learn from your battles.
9. You cannot expect that your life will always happen the way you want it to. Expecting this will only lead to frustration.
10. You have to look for the beauty in the most complicated situations.
11. You should always enjoy the triumphant feeling that follows when you have successfully solved or overcome a problem.
12. You must always ask yourself – what did I learn from that situation? What did this problem mean to me? And then move on.

The article Positive Living, A Guide appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The research on the positive impact of human-canine relationships on health is extensive. For nearly 25 years, research had indicated that living with pets can have a positive influence on a person’s health.  Although all pets to some degree improve an individual’s health, dogs in particular have been studied.

Dogs allow improved independence and mobility for the blind.  They are used as service dogs with people that suffer from epilepsy because they are able to detect seizures before they come.  Dogs lower their owner’s blood pressure, significantly reduce anxiety, and boost immunity.

A growing number of studies suggest that children who grow up with animals will have less risk of asthma and allergies.  In a recent study, researcher James E. Gern, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, analyzed the blood of babies immediately after birth and one year later. He was looking for evidence of an allergic reaction, immunity changes, and for reactions to bacteria in the environment.   The results may surprise you.  If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies – 19 percent vs. 33 percent. They also were less likely to have eczema, a common allergy skin condition that causes red patches and itching. In addition, they had higher levels of some immune system chemicals — a sign of stronger immune system activation.

Studies have also shown that people with Alzheimer’s disease have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home.  Walking a dog or just caring for a pet — for elderly people who are able — can provide exercise and companionship.  Elderly that have a pet are less likely to feel depressed and are more likely to have fewer hospital stays than their petless counterparts.

Although, not as studied as some other areas, research also suggests that owning a dog can help prevent diabetes.  According to research by exercise scientist Cindy Lentino, dog owners who regularly walk their dogs had about one-third of the risk of diabetes in comparison to non-dog walkers. Dog owners also had additional signs of good health not seen in the non-dog walking group, like lower rates of depression.

Pet owners are likely to have better mental health than those who don’t own a pet.  In one study, stockbrokers with high blood pressure who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did people without pets.

Studies show a link between these stressful chemicals, Cortisol and norepinephrine, and plaque buildup in arteries, the red flag for heart disease, says Blair Justice, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and author of Who Gets Sick: How Beliefs, Moods, and Thoughts Affect Your Health.

Like any enjoyable activity, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine — nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties, Justice said.  “People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature,” says Justice, who recently hiked the Colorado Rockies with his wife and two dogs.

Heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without, according to several studies. Male pet owners have less sign of heart disease — lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels — than non-owners, researchers say.  According to preventive cardiologist Barry Franklin, Ph.D., of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, patients with heart disease who have dogs and walk them have a better prognosis.

The article Dogs’ Positive Impact on Physical and Mental Health appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.