The Autism Retort Blog

I know I’m an acupuncture addict. I’ve been getting regular or semi-regular acupuncture treatments for years now, and for various health-related reasons. Well, two, actually. The main reason is to help ease acute physical symptoms of Hailey-Hailey, a rare, genetic, chronic skin disease that I’ve written about for Blisstree a few times. The other reason is for pregnancy-related symptoms like edema (lower leg or feet swelling), anxiety, or sleep deprivation. But I like to think that I’m an acupuncture addict in the best way possible. I’m not the kind of person who spends money on things that don’t work or are a waste of time, so if I thought acupuncture was simply an ancient Eastern promise never to be fulfilled, I would’ve ditched the entire practice a long time ago. (Plus, in the city where I live, acupuncture treatments aren’t exactly cheap, and most health insurance plans only cover part of the cost of some sessions, if at all.)

Like I said, I know I’m an acupuncture addict. But what I didn’t know is that I’m such a preachy acupuncture apologist. I will talk to anyone who will listen about acupuncture and the many health benefits it has afforded me over the years. (Not the least of which is stress relief. No matter why you seek out acupuncture treatments — sports injury, digestive problems, infertility, migraines, back problems, etc. — noticeable stress relief always seems to be an extra added bonus.) I will praise the expert hands and techniques of Anne and Peggy, my genius acupuncturists, and then I will launch into an amateur diagnosis and analysis about why I think the person I’m talking to should absolutely pursue acupuncture’s tiny needles to help cure what ails them.

This happens all the time, and it’s even happened a few times this week. The other night I found myself giving a mini-lesson about the pleasant side effects of acupuncture to several women in my childbirthing class. (Some of the male partners were listening, too.) These women had been complaining about different kinds of third-trimester pregnancy symptoms, and that was all the cue I needed to make my elevator pitch (even though there was no elevator, and I wasn’t shilling for an acupuncturist). Turns out, these women were eager to listen to any potential solutions to their problems. Of course, I really only had one. (But I guess the fact that they know I run a women’s health and wellness website reassured them.) After our exchange, several of them were convinced and asked me for my personal acupuncturist recommendations.

Throughout my years as an acupuncture addict and apologist, I’ve been most surprised by some of the reactions I’ve gotten from people once I tell them that I regularly visit a lady who I allow to stick a bunch of needles into my skin, turn off the light, and close the door behind her. Such reactions have included everything from concerned curiosity, alarm, incredulousness, disgust, fear, and utter horror. (Some people are really, really afraid of needles, no matter how tiny and thin. Some people also are really, really afraid of Eastern medicine, even though it’s been around a hell of a lot longer than Western medicine.)

I suppose these reactions shock me a little, because I assume that because I live in a heavily-populated, cosmopolitan, urban area where there are plenty of acupuncturists to go around for everyone, and plenty of places to get acupuncture treatments, that everyone else is aware of this truth. Not so. I’m also shocked by the amount of people I’ve met who didn’t know that you were even “allowed” to get acupuncture treatments while you’re pregnant, much less knew that acupuncture can really help you while you’re pregnant. (It can help you get pregnant, too.)

The funny thing is, the people I’ve met recently (women and men) who are skeptical to their core about the merits and benefits of acupuncture are all intelligent, well-educated, reasonable, and rational adults. Sure, they’re a tough crowd, but these people need to hear my tingly sermon. (Hell, even my own husband doesn’t buy into acupuncture, and he sees firsthand all the physical and mental benefits it provides me! Don’t worry: I’m still working on him.) As a rule, I’m not particularly preachy about religion, politics, or even a person’s diet or workout regimen, but I’m pretty damn preachy about acupuncture. And, just like my regular acupuncture treatments, I don’t envision that changing anytime soon.

photo: Thinkstock

Post from: BlissTree

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MINNEAPOLIS A - With all the cases of measles going around, vaccinations are once again becoming a hot topic.

Hi Everyone!

 My family and I are moving to the Dallas area the first week in July. We haven't rented anything yet because we decide where to move to. I was hoping to get some opinions. My son is 4 1/2  and his main issues are with speech, transitions, and concentration (in that order). We are looking at Plano, Richardson, Frisco, and McKinney. We want him to get the BEST public education he can. (we looked at park cities but can't afford anything there)...Which Dallas area city has the best special needs programs? Is it any of the above? Somewhere else? Let me know your opinion.

Thank you so much!

Heather

I wasn’t expecting last night’s episode of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters to raise such Blisstree-worthy issues, but it did. And that’s because it was a crossover episode featuring the current cast of NBC’s The Biggest Loser. The chefs’ elimination challenge went like this: Host (and Australian chef) Curtis Stone presented the competing chefs with a table covered with the absolute favorite meals of each Biggest Loser contestant. (The dishes may still be their favorites, but they certainly haven’t eaten them — or anything like them — since being on The Biggest Loser and beginning their strict weight-loss regimen.)

What I saw was pretty much a fair representation of the Standard American Diet in three breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners: Deep-dish pizza, a meatball and cheese sub, a Chinese buffet, a bacon cheeseburger, fried chicken, and French toast, to name a few. Each chef was paired with a Biggest Loser contestant and was tasked with replicating their favorite dish in a much healthier way. The chefs would be split into teams of three, and would serve the dieters and critics (judges) breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Doesn’t exactly sound like a challenge worthy of masters of their craft, does it? Oh, I forgot to mention that the calorie count for all three meals per team couldn’t exceed the maximum amount for the contestants: 1,500. It bears repeating: That’s three meals that are supposed to be delicious and nutritious at no more than 1,500 calories — total.

Considering that many of the guilty-pleasure foods on that table totaled more than 2,000 calories on their own, this sounded like crazy talk to me. The teams of chefs, none of whom are conscious calorie-counters either at home or in their restaurants, were then paired with nutritionists to make sure they didn’t surpass their calorie restrictions. The chefs were skeptical, The Biggest Loser contestants were hungry, and I was intrigued.

That table of tempting treats (okay, fattening foods) reminded me of the “hot lunch” offerings at my elementary school. “Hot lunch” happened every other Thursday. The rest of the time, everyone brought their hopefully healthy-ish lunch to school, which may help explain why most of my class (including myself) didn’t grow up to be obese. This was a private, Catholic, co-ed school (but no uniforms!) with a big kitchen, but no staff to run it. Hence, “hot lunch” could only happen once every two weeks, when enough moms could (or, more likely, were forced to) volunteer for “hot lunch” duty. “Hot lunch” consisted of these foods: Hamburger, hot dog, sloppy Joe (my personal fave), a choice of potato chips, Doritos, or Fritos, homemade cupcakes and brownies, and a choice of not-so-homemade Coke, orange soda, or grape soda. Let’s just say it was a damn good thing “hot lunch” only happened every other Thursday.

Scarily, before they began on The Biggest Loser, these contestants were eating my “hot lunch” every single day — sometimes more than once a day. I have to admit that low-calorie alternatives to high-calorie foods don’t sound all that appealing to me. (I happened to be eating Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream while watching last night’s episode of Top Chef Masters, as is my custom with reality-TV-viewing, and wouldn’t have traded it for non-fat frozen yogurt if you’d paid me.)

The good news here is that the Top Chef Masters contestants pulled off their terrifying challenge. By utilitzing food products that were lower in fat, calories, and sugar (vegetable burger! French toast with Ezekiel bread! low-fat mozzarella!), they all managed to stick within the insanely reduced calorie counts (some dishes went from 2,000 calories to 350 — astonishing!), make the dishes look good, and, in most cases, also make them taste pretty good, according to the dieters and critics. The even better news is that The Biggest Loser contestants are all dropping a lot of weight on that show, which, if they can keep it off as part of a healthy lifestyle, will surely extend their lifespans.

I think this is why Jamie Oliver is trying to do what he’s doing over on his reality show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. He doesn’t want American kids to grow up to be contestants on The Biggest Loser (or even qualify to audition for it). And I don’t, either. So, because I’ll be giving birth to my first baby in a few weeks, I plan to lay off the ice cream pints while watching reality TV shows that are centered around food, dieting, obesity, and weight-loss. Who says TV can’t teach us valuable health and life lessons?

image of Top Chef Masters courtesy of Bravo

Post from: BlissTree

Top Chef Masters and Biggest Loser Count Calories Together to Lose Weight

Researchers are focusing on prairie voles as a new model to screen the effectiveness of drugs to treat autism. They are starting with D-cycloserine, a drug resarchers have shown enhances behavioral therapy for phobias and also promotes pair bonding among prairie voles. Giving female voles D-cycloserine, which is thought to facilitate learning and memory, can encourage them to bond with a new male more quickly than usual.

A brief checklist that parents can fill out while waiting to see their child's pediatrician may aid in diagnosing autism earlier, new research suggests.

I ask two vital questions of each patient who comes to my office: 1. How’s your energy? and 2. How’s your sex drive? No doubt, a change in either of these factors is a very good indication that something’s out of balance with your health. Unfortunately, a lot of us are out of balance. According to an extensive study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, about 43% of women and about 30% of men experience symptoms of sexual dysfunction including lack of desire, arousal issues, inability to orgasm or ejaculate, premature ejaculation, painful intercourse, lack of enjoyment, erectile dysfunction, and performance anxiety.

If you think sex has fallen away simply because you’re getting older, aren’t in a relationship, or haven’t done it in a long time, think again. Pleasurable sex is something that every adult should enjoy for a lifetime – with or without a partner. And remember, sex doesn’t just mean intercourse alone. Masturbation (on your own or with a partner) and other forms of sexual play that get your hormones revving are definitely recommended. If you’re currently having great sex, keep at it, because it’s good for you.

Have sex all your life, and your body, brain, muscles, and fat cells will thank you for it. Sexual function is a lot like lean muscle – if we don’t use it, we lose it. Here are six health benefits that come with it:

1. Stress Reduction

Many of us know that a healthy sex life can help to eliminate stress. A great orgasm encourages the release of oxytocin (the hormone that negates the adverse effects of stress hormones), makes us feel calmer, more relaxed, and can even lower our blood pressure. Sex, alone or with a partner, improves our sleep and reduces the risk of depression, both of which are essential to maintaining lasting health, preventing fat gain, and improving hormonal imbalance.

2. Anti-Aging

Orgasms also spark an anti-aging surge of DHEA. So, having at least two orgasms could magically slow your aging process. Scientists have looked at 100-year-old men and women who have maintained sexual intimacy, love, and function well into their advanced years. Turns out that these centenarians living in Okinawa, Japan, and Bama, China, have higher levels of testosterone, DHEA, and estrogen than typical 70-year-olds in the U.S.

3. Calorie Burning

Depending on the duration and “energy level” of the session, sex can help us burn calories and improve the fitness and function of our heart.

4. Pain Relief and Boost Immunity

I guess the old line “Not tonight honey, I have a headache” may no longer have much merit, because we now know that sex causes the release of endorphins that help ease pain and boost immunity.

5. Reduced Depression

Sex (including masturbation) improves our sleep and reduces the risk of depression. To me, this sounds better than many antidepressant medications, some of which often have the reported side effect of reduced libido or ability to climax. And evidently, this mood-enhancing effect may be even more pronounced for women whose male partners don’t use condoms. In June 2002, Gallup, Burch, and SUNY colleague Steven Platek surveyed 293 college women at SUNY Albany about intercourse with and without condoms, and then gave them a standard test of mood, the Beck Depression Inventory. Compared with women who “always” or “usually” used condoms, those who “never” did showed a better mood overall, along with fewer depressive symptoms and fewer bouts of depression. It appears this benefit is related to many mood-elevating compounds present in semen that are naturally absorbed through the vaginal wall. Now, let me be clear that I am not promoting unsafe sex. But for healthy, monogamous couples, and especially for those women in peri-menopausal or menopausal stages of life, the hormone-enhancing effect of semen offers a definite health benefit.

6. Appetite and Craving Control

Sex is a basic human need, just like food and shelter. You won’t be surprised to learn, then, that our desire to “get some” is controlled by the hypothalamus, which also regulates our appetite, body temperature, and circadian rhythms. Many of the same hormones that are involved in appetite regulation also control our sex drive. The dose of dopamine we get from sex, which increases steadily to the point of orgasm and then declines, helps curb our need to feed. Apparently, the dopamine pathways in the brain involved in stimulating desire for both sex and food are shut down by the hormones released immediately after we have an orgasm. Can you imagine better news for appetite and craving control?

My advice to you is this: If you’ve noticed a change in your libido, don’t let the latent underlying cause go unaddressed. There are many factors, beyond relationship issues, aging, and stress that interfere with a healthy libido including depression, performance anxiety, obesity, lack of self-confidence, diabetes or blood sugar imbalances, high blood pressure, prostate conditions, arthritis, lung conditions or osteoporosis (these may interfere with the physical ability to engage in sex), and prescription medications, particularly those for anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure.

We guide our patients through a process to help them get back in balance at Clear Medicine, but you can begin this same progression on your own right away with the simple process outlined the international bestselling book, The Hormone Diet.

Remember, good sex is good for you – and you should enjoy it over and over again. So – don’t stop.

photo: Thinkstock

Post from: BlissTree

6 Health Reasons to Have More Sex (And Not Use Condoms)