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health briefs
The American Academy of Pediatrics attests that neurofeedback is a Level 1 - Best Support for attention and hyperactivity behaviors. Seven different types of ADHD exist, so some children/adults do not respond to medication. Neurofeedback is a drugless, non-invasive approach to treating neurological dysregulation syndromes, such as ADD/ADHD, anxiety, insomnia, depression, chronic Lyme disease and others.
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The goal of neurofeedback is to transform an unhealthy, dysregulated brainwave pattern into a normal, healthy, organized pattern. Neurofeedback is based upon the principle that there is a normal pattern or brainwave activity and that the brain regulates itself based upon this pattern. More than 60 years of peer-reviewed, university-based research has demonstrated the efficacy of neurofeedback in addressing many neurological conditions.
Trained neurofeedback practitioners determine if an individual is a candidate for neurofeedback by performing a QEEG, then a program is developed to train the brain into normal patterns creating neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s lifelong capacity to change and adapt specific neural pathways and synapses in response to the demands placed upon it. This is the reason why neurofeedback training is a permanent change for these patterns. Therefore, the behaviors that the ADD/ADHD/anxiety patient may be displaying due to the dysregulatory patterns will disappear and regulate, allowing them to make better decisions.
Dr. Frank H. Duffy, a professor and pediatric neurologist at Harvard Medical School, states, “Neurofeedback should play a major therapeutic role in many different areas. In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy, it would be universally accepted and widely used.”
Contributed by: Dr. Sherry Morrissette of The Chiropractic Neurology Center of West Greenwich. See ad on page 11.
Eat Strawberries to Improve Blood Vessel Health
A new study from Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology demonstrates that strawberries increase flow in blood vessels and reduce systolic blood pressure. In the randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, overweight and obese adults with moderately high cholesterol were assigned to drink either a beverage containing 25 grams of freeze-dried strawberry powder or a similar drink without the strawberry powder twice daily for four weeks, followed by a four-week washout period. An hour after consumption, the strawberry powder improved flow-mediated dilation, indicating healthier blood pressure function; systolic blood pressure was lower even four weeks later.
Drink Green Tea to Ward Off Flu
Green tea, a staple of Japanese culture now enjoyed in many American homes, contains compounds called catechins that have significant antiviral activity against influenza, report researchers from Thailand’s University of Phayao in the journal Molecules. They analyzed eight studies involving 5,048 people and found that gargling or drinking green tea reduced the risk of influenza by 33 percent in randomized controlled trials and by 48 percent in longitudinal cohort studies.
