Health News.

HerbalResearchers investigating biofeedback at the Menninger Clinic discovered that whenever we have peace of mind, the body also becomes completely relaxed.

This led to their defining the law of biofeedback. It states: “Not only does every change in thought cause a corresponding change in body function, but every change in body function is accompanied by a corresponding change in our thoughts and feelings.”

By first calming the mind, the body quickly follows suit and it becomes easeful and relaxed. According to the law of biofeedback, this should also work in reverse. And indeed it does. By first relaxing and calming the body, the mind quickly follows suit and it, too, becomes calm and serene. When the mind is calm and serene, our immunocompetence is enhanced to its optimal level.

Researches quickly realized that we could speed recovery from a cold, flu or other disease by relaxing the body. Several behavioral scientists went a step further and discovered that if, while in a state of deep bodily relaxation, we made mental pictures of our immune system fighting and destroying viruses, recovery was even swifter.

Out of these discoveries was born the psycho-techniques of Deep Relaxation and Creative Imagery. Deep Relaxation is also known as Relaxation Training, Deep Muscle Relaxation or Progressive Relaxation while Creative Imagery may also be called Guided Imagery.

To demonstrate how swiftly and effectively these techniques bolster our immunocompetence, Mary Jasnoski, a Harvard psychologist, performed a test on thirty-two college students all of whom were known to be good at creative imagery. The students were divided into three groups. During a one hour training session, group one, the control group, received no training. Croup two practiced deep relaxation and slow-breathing techniques. Group three also practiced deep relaxation with slow-breathing but additionally, they visualized their immune systems as strong, powerful entities that were vigorously attacking weak cold and flu viruses.

Saliva tests were made immediately afterward to measure two immune system components: salivary immunoglobulin cells (which attack upper respiratory tract viral infections) and helper T cells which spur antibody production.

The control group raised neither count. The relaxation – only group boosted their salivary immunoglobulin level. But the group which practiced both relaxation and visualization significantly raised the level of both immune system components.

This study, which was presented recently at the Society of Behavioral Medicine in San Francisco, demonstrated that relaxation alone may help fight colds or flu. But when imagery is used as well, the overall level of immunocompetence is clearly enhanced.

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When the mucous lining of the membranes in the nose and throat dry out, they fail to trap invading viruses. Dry air also immobilizes the cilia which sweep trapped viruses into the stomach for destruction. Especially if your vocal cords are affected, or if you have laryngitis or a sore throat, you should try to avoid breathing very dry air.

During winter, many homes in the north are heated to high temperatures which cause the humidity to reach extremely low levels. This condition encourages viral infections.

The simplest way to raise the humidity indoors is to lower the temperature a few degrees. However, a humidifier or vaporizer provides an effective way to prevent the mucous membranes from drying out. Failing this, humidity can be restored by keeping a kettle of water simmering on a low burner. By placing a few drops of eucalyptus oil, or other essential oil, in a humidifier or vaporizer, you can create a pleasing vapor that will help soothe cold symptoms.

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In recent years, a panel of experts appointed by the FDA has reviewed the effectiveness, safety and accuracy of claims made on the labels of all OTC remedies for cough, colds and other respiratory ailments. Literally hundreds of specific products were found unsafe and ineffective and have been removed from the market. About those remaining on drugstore and pharmacy shelves, the FDA has released the following advice.

Medications consisting of a single ingredient tend to be more effective than those which attempt a shotgun approach by claiming to have “a combination of medically-active ingredients.” Many of the ingredients are often inappropriate for relief of cold symptoms. A brew of different drugs may also interact and work against each other, or cancel out each other’s benefits. They may also compound side effects. For example, large concentrations of caffeine are often included to offset the drowsiness produced by antihistamines which, in turn, offer no benefit at all to cold sufferers and are effective only against allergies. Many cold remedies contain a mix of antihistamine, pain relievers and nasal decongestants, usually in amounts too small to be effective.

If you do decide to use an OTC preparation, aim for a single-ingredient product designed specifically for the symptom you wish to relieve. Avoid a mix of many drugs, the only aim of which is to support the extravagant advertising claim on the product’s label.

Be aware, also, that many OTC nose and throat preparations may irritate the mucous membranes and prolong infection. Among the most common side effects of OTC cold, cough and hayfevcr remedies are drowsiness, dry mouth, headache, nausea, irregular heartbeat, blunted vision, skin rash, increased nervousness, mood alterations and raised blood pressure. To offset these side effects, some preparations contain aspirin substitutes.

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An antigen is also the surface receptor at which the host’s immune system directs its missile-like antibodies. Another cunning strategy developed by the rhinovirus has been to place these receptors in a deep, hard-to-reach cleft on each of its twenty facets. These subterfuges allow the rhinovirus to trick its way past the vigilantes of the body’s immune system—the powerful macrophage cells. Like sentinels eternally on watch, these large scavenger cells roam the nasal blood vessels, as well as every other blood vessel in the body, on a constant surveillance mission. Whenever they encounter an organism with a non-self antigen, they zero in for the kill.

The immune system is the body’s defense organization against infections and cancer. Essentially, it consists of one trillion white blood cells, each of which is totally dedicated to destroying all non-self cells and particles in the body, whether living or not. Once recognized as non-self, organic invaders like cold or flu viruses are immediately attacked by the full range of the immune response. Whether fungus, protozoa, bacteria, virus, multi-celled organisms or our own cancer cells (which become non-self), all are relentlessly attacked until either the immune system or the invader wins out.

As the surviving rhinoviruses fanned out and contacted the cells in human’s nasal passages, some of the viruses were recognized as non-self by roving macrophages. But the viruses so outnumbered the macrophages that only a few were caught.

Nevertheless, each macrophage within range closed in on a virus. Then, using its arm-like pseudo pods, the macrophages groped deep within the clefts on the viruses’ surfaces. Some were able to pluck out a viral antigen.

This triumphant act effectively sealed the virus’s fate. From now on, these captured antigens would serve as patterns for the manufacture of billions of antibodies. In a few days or a week hordes of antibodies would paralyze and destroy the unwelcome virus.

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The headache-causing beliefs we need to let go of arc known in psychology as conditioned beliefs. Many were picked up in early childhood or in school or in the armed forces or were learned from parents, teachers and other people. Some may have been appropriate in past situations, but the majority are inappropriate to our present lifestyle and they are filling our lives with emotional stress.

These conditioned beliefs based on the past cause us to perceive events in our present lives as stressful. The ultimate way to eliminate the stress that is causing our headaches is to change the way we perceive life events so that we now see them as nonthreatening.

We do that by restructuring our belief system, by letting go of the fear-based beliefs that cause emotional stress, and by adopting new love-based beliefs that liberate us from stress. This type of belief reprogramming can frequently heal chronic headaches in a very short time.

To put cognitive positivism to work, all you need do is to accept, one by one, each of the 29 positive beliefs. Starting with number 1, study it until you have accepted it completely. Don’t go past number 2 until you actually have chosen to forgive everyone whom you believe may have caused you harm at some time.

By the simple act of mentally accepting each positive belief, you will also be releasing its opposite belief, the inappropriate conditioned belief that caused you to perceive events as stressful and that, in turn, caused your headaches.

For example, past events may have conditioned you to believe that the only way to have security is to build a fortress of money. While it may still be prudent to provide for a possible rainy day and for retirement, it is much more appropriate to recognize that life offers an unlimited abundance of love and goodness and that we need no longer continue to look at everything from a position of lack.

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