Sleeping Beauty: Sleep Hygiene Tips

Regular, uninterrupted sleep is an important habit which contributes to looking and feeling our best.  Sleep is the way our bodies reboot.  Everything gets reset as you unplug from your day to day activities. Below are some ideas I hope will assist you in having the best sleep possible.

The ABCs  for Improving Sleep 

Avoid bed clothes that twist or are tight

A hot bath or sauna 3 hours before bed can be relaxing or stimulating,  do which is most relaxing  for you.

Avoid alcohol as it can disrupt sleep cycle

Avoid caffeine after 2 pm  (tea, coffee, chocolate, sodas)

Avoid eating 3 hours before bed.

Avoid vigorous exercise or dramatic TV or reading, as well as argumentative discussions 3 hours before bed

Avoid harsh sounding alarms for waking up,  Try soothing music or a  sunlight clock

Buy the most hypoallergenic pillow and mattress you can and use sheets of a high thread count for softness

Breathe deeply through out the day to stimulate relaxation of the nervous system

Create a clean, quiet, peaceful atmosphere in your home, conducive for sleep

Drink chamomile tea

Drink most of your water during the early part of the day. First thing in the morning drink 16 - 32 oz  and avoid drinking 2 hours before bed to prevent waking to empty your bladder

Focus on your in and out breathe (mindful breathing) to induce sleep

Go to bed and wake up around the same time each day in order to set your circadian rhythms (important chemical processes take place in the body only when you are asleep and it is synchronized  with the earths rhythms)  

Get 20- 30 minutes of natural sunlight each day with out wearing contacts or any glasses.  This stimulates the pineal gland to make melatonin.

Get a massage as often as you can to promote relaxation 

Gently contract and relax each muscle group while lying in bed and deep breathe

If possible allow some fresh air to enter the room through a slightly raised window

If you have trouble with nasal stuffiness,  irrigate sinuses before bed with a neti pot or irrigation device. Make irrigation solution with  1 cup distilled water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Investigate Sleep Night Patches.http://www.energy1st.net/LifeWaveSilentNightsSleepPatch.html

Listen to calming music or try light (non-stimulating ) reading

Keep all wireless technology more than 3 feet from the head of your bed, or completely out of room if possible

Keep bedroom as dark as possible and as cool as possible. (even if you wear a sleep mask, light touches your skin and can interfere with sleep

Keep air purifying plants in your sleeping area (spider plant, peace lily

Listen to sleep inducing music, sounds of rain, ocean waves and nature serve as great white noise

Practice daily meditation which resets the fight or flight part of the brain

Repeat a mantra such as Sa Ta Na Ma or  So Hum when you awaken during the night, this keeps your brain from going ina hundred different directions and keeping you awake

Sleep alone if disturbed by another's snoring or movement

Sleep in a cool room, around 65 degrees or cooler

Take 3 mg of melatonin 45- 60 minutes (experiment with up to 6 or 10 mg)  before bed time or try Valerian Root or Chamomile

Talk to your self every night before you go to sleep that your sleep will be restful and restorative and thank your subconscious mind for working with you to give you  restful sleep

Use Lavender oil on your pillow or massage into temples or infuse into air

Visualize relaxing, peaceful scenes of nature that you have experienced or just imagine them

Walk daily for 30 minutes or perform some other form of exercise.  Avoid vigorous exercise 3 hours before going to bed. 

Yawn 10 times dilberately as this stimulates the nervous system  to relax

Zealously and purposefully laugh every opportunity you get during the day to keep endorphin levels high

Your Thoughts, Emotions, and Health: Guided Imagery and the Body

    As we think,  we cause chemical reactions to occur in the body, a negative thought causes a release of chemicals associated with fear, anger, or sadness and an uplifting thought causes a release of chemicals which create positive sensations like joy, satisfaction, and peace. Thoughts which are repeated over time becomes a belief. Our thoughts and beliefs creates our moods and emotional states.

We contribute to our health and well-being by repeatedly thinking thoughts of well-being and we create pain, upset, and disharmony by repeatedly thinking thoughts about how bad things are, how awful others are,  or how miserable we are.  Our body is aware of every thought we think and our thoughts  powerfully  influence the body's chemical and corresponding emotional state.

As  infants we imitated our care givers and learned our original habits of thought from our parents, teachers, and environment.   Every experience we had caused a deepening of the neuro-circuits in the structure of our brain.  Those circuits begin to operate automatically, without any conscious thought on our part,  in the same way our ability to drive a car or play an instrument becomes an automatic process.

Within the unconscious part of our mind, resides the habitual thought patterns we have accumulated through out our life and these patterns are running our life today, like it or not!

If our unconscious mind could be free of all hatred, anger, dishonesty, violence, sloth, envy, jealousy, and condemnation we would have everything in life we desired. We would be unlimited, undaunted, and unstoppable because we would have only positive thought patterns and we would pursue our desires without fear, resistance, or doubt.

The limiting, self-destructive thoughts are part of the collective consciousness of humanity.  The good news is there are also beliefs of goodness, justice, kindness, peace, generosity, and  cooperation  in the collective consciousness as well.  It is up to us to decide which aspects will operate more noticeably in our day to day activities and we do this by setting our intention, focusing and making conscious choices.

If we can accept ourselves totally and completely, knowing these negative aspects are a part of us,  we are in a better position to have greater conscious choice over which ones  run automatically.   Our work isn't to despise our self  or others for having and acting on negative thoughts.  We are part of the collective consciousness and  we can not help that.   Our work is to love and accept our self and others while we do our best to function within the boundaries of our humanness.

We live in a  dualistic, material world which has built in contrasting forces. In the physical world we have strong/weak, hot/cold, light/dark, and in our consciousness we have  love/hate, joy/sadness, and so on. These contrasting forces exist in every person. It makes no sense, in fact it weakens us to want it to be different.  It is just the way things are!

By the thoughts we allow ourselves to focus on, the words we speak and the action we take, we are deciding which force will dominate our life.  An ancient story depicts this: A man explained to his son that a white wolf and black wolf  fights  inside of him.  The boy asks which wolf survives and the father says the "one you feed!"

We have the ability to affect our health and well-being by taking more conscious control of our thoughts. We can train our thoughts to love and accept what is and we can  train our thoughts to love and respect our bodies more.   By doing this, we can  improve the bodies performance and health.

Our imagination, our emotions, our habitual thoughts are affecting the state of health in our body all the time. Every cell in the body responds with a chemical reaction to our emotional state.   Emotions become chemicals (see the book, "Molecules of Emotion;" by  Candace Pert).  Therefore, deliberating focusing our thoughts and using our imagination to direct them, will have a powerful effect on the body.

We know the imagination affects the body very strongly because when we imagine tasting the juice of a lemon our jaws tighten and we salivate and if we image our self in a particularly stimulating sexual act, our body will react.  The body is stimulated by thoughts and  imagery and it cannot tell the difference between a real and imagined event.

Using the mind as a tool for healing is practical, effective and very cost effective. I believe in and practice regularly, a method of self-healing that works for me.  I enter into a quiet, peaceful state of relaxation or meditation and direct my thoughts to each part of my body in a loving, appreciative way. The more often this kind of practice is repeated the more profound the effect.

After about 10 minutes of focusing my attention on my breathing in order to quiet my body,  I  imagine I am inside my body and I begin to speak to it:

"I love and appreciate my eyes for allowing me to see all the beauty there is in this world, the colors, the textures, the patterns of everything fascinates and delights me.

My ears and the structures associated with hearing allows me to listen to music, to the voice of those I love, to birds, waterfalls, fire crackling and this delights and enlivens me.  I love and appreciate my brain, the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. I love learning, calculating, analyzing, sorting, and labeling which the left brain allows me to do and I love the peacefulness, the all inclusiveness, the artistic, poetic, musical, imaginative right brain.   I respect the functions of both sides of my brain and I am grateful for all they allow me to do.

I love and appreciate my amygdala,( the structure that is responsible for fight or flight response).  It takes good care of me whenever I need it.  I give it permission to relax and takes it's rest for I am safe, secure and well-being abounds for me.  I gently massage it and  place soft, fluffy, cottony clouds around it so it can relax and only activate when there is a real threat.  I am so grateful for the way my body supports me.

I love and appreciate my thyroid which sits on my windpipe, shaped like a butterfly, reminding me that metamorphosis is natural and possible, that I can transform any seeming bad condition to a better one.   I see it pollinating the environment of my body with the substance every cell in my body needs for balance and harmony.

I love and appreciate my lungs as they expand and constrict.  They remind me of the natural rhythm of life, the in and out flow of air, of  the tides, the receiving and giving, the give and take that must take place in all interactions. My breath is my connection to life force, my connection to others.  As they breathe out molecules, I breathe them in.  Nature sends out oxygen and  I breathe it in and  I send out carbon dioxide and nature takes it in.  We are one in this energy soup of life.  Dependent upon each other.  Supporting each other.  I am so grateful life supports me in this way.

 I love and appreciate my heart.  As blood comes from the lungs in to the top, right chamber of my heart I am aware of the natural rhythm of contraction and relaxation.  Two opposing forces that must be in order for life to exist on the material plane.  The four chambers of the heart filling and emptying, receiving and giving, expanding and contracting,  pumping about 2,000 gallons of blood a day.  Pushing the blood out into the many blood vessels where it nourishes and cleanses trillions of cells.  I feel tremendous gratitude for its nonstop rhythm.  I imagine radiating the energy of love to my heart and I say thank you."

I continue through out my body,  focusing my attention on each organ, acknowledging what it does for me, and I radiate love to it and thank it.  At times I notice a response from a body part.  I have felt my pancreas shudder, my pelvic bones vibrate, my lungs more fully expand.  These responses have been the stimulus for me to continue my love and appreciation meditations.  I love experiencing the feeling that I am communicating directly with my cells.

Many people have used visualization and guided imagery as a tool for improving the health the body. It is an ancient technique, , used by Shamans and modern day healers.    I know of  many stories of cancer patients using visualization to help their bodies rid themselves of cancer.

Our  mind, our imagination, our beliefs and our emotions are the most powerful aspects we have and we can use them to improve any condition.  We can create a placebo effect with our imagination.  The body  responds to beliefs and beliefs can bring about spontaneous healing of  even the most threatening types of disease.

My very first experiment with visualization and healing was many years ago when I had a plantars wart.  I began to imagine it gone while I bathed every night and in a short period of time it was!  My interest in self-healing techniques grew from that experience.

A neurosurgeon I once worked with told me about a patient he had who had a brain tumor and wanted to use visualization to treat the tumor.  She began to visualize a white light entering into her skull and removing the tumor.  Unfortunately for the patient, the tumor continued to grow and surgery had to begin.  The surgeon described how moved and surprised he was when he shaved her head prior to surgery and found a white spot on her skull in the area where the tumor was located.  He admitted he wondered how much she could have achieved in her self-healing technique if there had been more time for her to practice it.

We our much more powerful than we know and allow ourselves to be.  Our mind, attitude, emotions are the best tools we have available to promote health within our bodies.  I hope you will investigate the idea further for it has been powerful for many.

If you would like more information or help developing a personal guided meditation,please click on the Contact Me button located on the right side of your screen.

Health and well-being are our greatest assets.  May you enjoy yours to the fullest.

Have You Ever Told Your Bone Marrow It Is Loved?

I have and it was a remarkable experience!   Why would I take the time to send love to my bone marrow. Well, here is my story:

A year ago I went for a mammogram and was told I needed to have a breast ultrasound to look more closely at a spot in the upper outer quadrant of my left breast.  I went for the ultrasound and was unpleasantly surprised to hear that the spot looked suspicious.  A needle biopsy was recommended and was told it could be done within the next two days.  

When the radiologist said these words, and they were the only ones he spoke to me, I felt as if  they were not really spoken to me but more or less into thin air.    There wasn't any warmth or friendliness in his words, no real interest in me, at least that is the way it seemed.   I had the thought, "You know, the people at Starbuck's know me better than you. They at least ask my name so they can write it on my cup."   No one, neither tech nor doctor, offered  a kind or understanding word about my situation.  I felt, metaphorically, that I had been slapped in the face and told, "Oh, that didn't hurt".    I was very aware that I needed to make a decision about the biopsy but was determined I would not be pressured in to making a decision right on the spot. 

Everything within me said don't proceed quickly with this.  "Take your time, think about this and determine if it is the right course for you," whispered by inner knowing.  You may be thinking, "What's the matter with her?   Why wouldn't she want to know right away if there was cancer in her breast."   

Actually, I have quite a few  reasons for not wanting to jump into it head first, or breast first in my case, without knowing more.   I didn't want to become a customer of the medical system and be over-treated for a problem that would be best left alone.  It could be something I would die with but not from if I left it alone.  I didn't want to assume the worst about the situation  nor did I want to interfere with a natural process that could be going on in my body that was working to heal and repair the  area.  However, I didn't want to die because of being  stupid either.  There was a lot to think about!

So what shall I do?   I knew I would take my time about deciding, that was a given, considering my natural, cautious, curious, nature.  I would take my time and learn as much as I could about complex cysts and I would also meditate and contemplate about the next right step for me without pressure from the medical system .  

The radiologist report described the area as hypoechoic, meaning that it reflected fewer  sound waves.  It was described as being wider than tall and an avascular lesion. It had slightly increased in size from a previous ultrasound.  The lesion could be a cyst, a fibroadenoma or cancer.  The radiologist did not offer to explain anything he saw on the ultrasound other than, statically there was a 20% chance  it could be cancer.   I would have welcomed him sharing his knowledge with me, explaining what he saw and why he thought it might be cancer.  Had he attempted to educate me,  I might have been comfortable enough to say yes to having the biopsy. ( One of the problems with being a nurse is you know a little bit about a lot of things but never as much as you would like.)  

As fate would have it, with in the next few months I became acquainted with Linda Christine Beauregard, author of the book, "I Gave Myself Cancer, I Can Take It Away," and Jean Sumner, founder of World Wellness Education, and I met Charles Majors, author of  "Cancer Killers" and Ursala Kaiser, author of

 "A Wealth of Health".  These people were eager to share their knowledge with me and each one of them had healed themselves of cancer by nutrition and alternative therapists.  I sat up and took notice!

Nutrition, health, and personal growth have always been subjects that interest me and I was ripe and ready to learn more.  I have a great deal of respect for the intelligence of my body, after all it, breathes me with out me doing a thing, and it digests food and eliminates without a passing thought from me.  That inner intelligence has taken  care of me for sixty four years.   I was not about to start mistrusting it now, nor was I about to turn against it by having needles, poisons, or radiation administered by a system that focuses on disease rather than health without my being fully informed.

I have made eye contact with the Grim Reaper about three times in my life and have brushed the sleeve of his garment even more than a few times so I feel very blessed to still be here and I want to be here for a lot longer.   I trust my intellect, my imagination and my intuition to guide me through this process.  I was willing to take charge of my life  and I began  to make some much needed changes.  

Feeding  and cleaning  the cells is the short version of how to promote health and prevent disease so  I switched to eating more organic foods,  more raw foods, purified water and lots of it, lots of green drinks, herbs to support my immune system, a daily meditation and guided imagery practice, detoxification of the body with food, water, coffee enemas, herbs, dry brushing,  and increased exercise.  

While sitting in my daily meditation practice of sending love to all the organs in my body, I had an unexpected experience.  I felt them respond!  I am not speaking metaphorically here.  My pancreas actually fluttered, the bones of my pelvis rattled as I sent thoughts of appreciation to my bone marrow!  My heart swelled and caused tears of gratitude to stream down my face. 

I know the mind is in the body, in every cell,  but I didn't know that you could cultivate an intimate relationship with your organs.   They know when the mind is flooding them with love, when they are being ignored and when they are being neglected.  I am forever changed by this simple practice of sitting quietly in meditation and sending appreciation to my body. 

I am humbled by this awareness and by the realization that I have sent many uncaring, negative  messages to my body through the years.  I grew up in an atmosphere of neglect, abandonment and rejection and I have told myself the story of being un-lovable over and over again.   I did not know how to love, nurture, soothe, or comfort myself until my breast started  asking for my attention.  Imagine all that my cells have overheard.

I knew the happiest time of my life was when I was a new mother.  It was wonderful holding someone I loved so much in my arms and feeding them at my breast (I have two children).  I was filled with love and concern, and demonstrated very caring behaviors toward them.  I breast fed them during a time when it wasn't popular, made my own baby food, and wouldn't let any harmful substance  near them if I could help it.  Ask the smokers around me if they remember my admonishments?    I was protective,  diligent, and determined when it came to taking care of them.  

The time has come in my life when I must show that same amount of care and concern for myself that I did my babies.  Today I am more mindful of the critical thoughts and I will stop them and tell another story. However, I am a work in progress and I fall short more than I like.  I want to nurture and care for myself in the same manner I did my babies and I want to consider it a privilege to do this just as I felt as a new mother.

A woman's breast symbolizes loving, nurturing, motherly love,  sensuousness and softness.  It is nestled right beside the heart; the organ that symbolizes love.  Love is the medicine I need more than anything else.   During  my life there were many times I felt unsupported.  Now I am looking at life  differently.  I see that support is the basic fabric of life.  I can see it in my own body.  I have two eyes, two ears, two lungs, two kidneys, each one  supporting the other.  Really there isn't  any part of the body that isn't supported by the other parts.  They are all interconnected by an amazing feedback loop. We have one heart but it has four chambers. Isn't that wonderful?  We are sitting in an ocean of love and support and often can't experience it!

When I thought I was unsupported it was only because I was not fully aware of all that is.  I've been near death, had heartbreaks, and  lonely times but life has always supported me through those times.    I am very grateful to be awakened to my ability to love and my lovableness.  My heart just fluttered and my eyes well up.  Ahh the feeling of gratitude.  What a wonderful thing!  

My next step is uncertain but I will proceed in the direction that I believe is right for me.  I will continue to work at loving and supporting myself  and looking forward to the journey that lies ahead

To be continued. 

Brain Health

Recently I attended a lecture and read two books by  a local neurologist named David Perlmutter MD.

The books are entitiled Power Up Your Brain and The Better Brain Book.  I highly recommend the information to any one with concerns about dementia, stroke, Alzheimer's, MS, Parkinson's and brain health in general.

The brain has been my favorite source for  learning ever since I was a young nurse so I am always interested in what  Neurologist' s have to say..   When I lived in Springfield, Missouri I had multiple opportunities to learn from Dr. Norm Shealy, another renown neurologist,  who has practiced there for years.  I feel fortunate to have learned from these men.

The information Dr. Perlmutter provides regarding diet and supplements in the Better Brain Book is invaluable.  Check it out at your local library and see if you are drawn to try some of his suggestions.

Follow him on twitter : @DavidPerlmutter or check out his websites:
http://www.powerupyourbrain.com/
http://www.perlhealth.com/                           

Stay well!!

Susan Ellison RN BSN

                                                                  

61 Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

I enjoyed reading this list so I am passing it on to you.  Hope you enjoy it. 

61 Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Post date: 

Thursday, June 7th 2012 at 9:00 am

Written by: 

Pat Robinson

1. There is strong evidence that omega-3 fatty acids have a beneficial effect in bipolar disorder.
2. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation is associated with reduced mania and depression in juvenile bipolar disorder.
3. Clinical studies have reported that oral fish oil supplementation has beneficial effects in rheumatoid arthritis and among some asthmatics.
4. Fish oil improves tubular dysfunction, lipid profiles and oxidative stress in patients with IgA nephropathy.
5. Dietary supplementation with flaxseed oil lowers blood pressure in dyslipidaemic patients.
6. Omega 3 fatty acids improve the cardiovascular risk profile of subjects with metabolic syndrome, including markers of inflammation and auto-immunity.
7. Omega-3 in modest doses reduces cardiac deaths, and in high doses reduces nonfatal cardiovascular events.
8. Dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids reduces the incidence of sudden cardiac death in patients with myocardial infarction.
9. Omega-3 fatty acid reduce the total mortality and sudden death in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
10. Raising blood levels of omega-3 fatty acid levels may be 8 times effective than distributing automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and 2 times more effective than implanting implanting cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in preventing sudden death.
11. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces total mortality and sudden death in patients who have already had a heart attack.
12. Consuming small quantities of fish is associated with a reduction in coronary heart disease.
13. Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D supplementation results in a substantial reduction incoronary calcium scores and slowed plaque growth.
14. Omega-3 fatty acids prevent atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery.
15. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation has a therapeutic effect in children with ADHD.
16. A combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as magnesium and zinc consumption provide a beneficial effect on attentional, behavioural, and emotional problems of children and adolescents.
17. Fish oil supplementation has a significant therapeutic effect on children with autism.
18. Omega-3 fatty acids appear to be an effective treatment for children with autism.
19. The consumption of omega-3 fatty acid supplements decreases homocysteine levels indiabetic patients.
20. Omega-3 fatty acids improve macro- and microvascular function in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
21. In patients with stable coronary artery disease, an independent and inverse association exists between n-3 fatty acid levels and inflammatory biomarkers.
22. Omega-3 fatty acids improve endothelial function in peripheral arterial disease.
23. Fish oil has a beneficial effect on blood viscosity in peripheral vascular disease.
24. Fish oil supplementation improves walking distance in peripheral arterial disease.
25. The omega-3 fatty acid docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) reduces the risk of peripheral arterialdiseaseassociated with smoking.
26. An 8-month treatment with omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) has a positive effects, such as decreasing inflammation, in patients with cystic fibrosis.
27. Omega-3 fatty acids may have a protective effect against mucus over-production caused by pulmonary bacterial colonization in cystic fibrosis.
28. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces inflammatory biomarkers, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and interleukin-8 concentrations in cystic fibrosis patients.
29. DHA increases resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.
30. EPA supplementation has therapeutic value in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients.
31. EPA and DHA have therapeutic value in the treatment of systemic lupus erythmeatosus.
32. Omega-3 fish oil reduces the severity of symptoms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
33. Fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and total mortalityin diabetic women.
34. Higher plasma concentrations of EPA and DPA are associated with a lower risk of nonfatalmyocardial infarction among women.
35. Omega-3 fatty acid consumption is inversely associated with incidence of hypertension.
36. Fish oil, but not flaxseed oil, decreases inflammation and prevents pressure overload-induced cardiac dysfunction.
37. The consumption of fish reduces the risk of ischemic stroke in elderly individuals.
38. A moderate intake of EPA and DHA may postpone cognitive decline in elderly men.
39. Omega-3 fatty acids may have a therapeutic effect on postpartum depression.
40. Omega-3 fatty acids may have therapeutic value in the treatment of dry eye syndrome.
41. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation exhibits therapeutic value in the treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology.
42. Fish consumption reduces the risk of ischemic stroke in men.
43. Omega-3 Fatty acids supplementation prevents and reverses insulin resistance.
44. Omega-3 fatty acids prevent the formation of urinary calcium oxalate stone formation.
45. Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for children with bronchial asthma.
46. Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation may contribute to the prevention of early preterm birth in both low-risk and high-risk pregnancies.
47. Fish consumption is associated with a 63% reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality.
48. Omega 3 fatty acids decrease the severity of autoimmune disorders.
49. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may have a therapeutic role in attenuating pulmonary hypertension.
50. Omega-3 fatty acids resulted in an improvement in weight bearing in dogs withosteoarthritis.
51. Primary open-angle glaucoma patients have reduced blood levels of DHA and EPA.
52. Omega-3 fatty acids alleviate insulin resistance and fatty liver in obese mice.
53. Intake of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids from fish may be associated with areduced prevalence of allergic rhinitis.
54. Cod liver oil (omega-3 Fatty Acids) reduces the need for NSAIDs in patients withrheumatoid arthritis.
55. Omega-3 Fatty Acids has significant therapeutic benefits and drug sparing activity in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
56. Diets containing EPA and DHA have an inhibitory effect on breast cancer growth and metastasis.
57. Dietary Omega-3 fatty acids may protect smokers against chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
58. Omega-3 fatty acids were shown to be more effective than placebo for depression in both adults and children in small controlled studies and in an open study of bipolar depression.
59. The omega-3 fatty acid EPA is as effective as fluoxetine (Prozac) in treating major depressive disorder.
60. A diet low in trans-unsaturated fat and rich in omega-3 fatty acids and olive oil may reducethe risk of age-related macular degeneration.
61. Higher intake of omega 3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of pneumonia.
    
    
    Did you like this information? You can download a PDF with 319 studies relevant to 250+ health benefits associated with Omega-3 fatty acids, linked back to the original citation on the National Library of Medicine, at our downloadable document store.  Reminder:Professional and Basic members can download them with their reserve of accumulatingGMI-tokens.

Pat Robinson was in the medical industry for decades. She has invested over 10,000 hours learning about natural alternatives, reading hundreds and hundreds of medical research studies, and assisting thousands of people about holistic health issues.

Pat is passionate about sharing the amazing power of the body to heal itself.

Pat's Farmacy focuses on wellness promotion through whole food nutrition, so that you can Heal Thyself!

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.