Clinical depression is defined as ‘a persistent exaggeration of the everyday feelings that accompany sadness‘.

If you have severe depression you may experience low mood, loss of interest and pleasure as well as feelings of worthlessness and guilt. You may also experience tearfulness, poor concentration, reduced energy, reduced or increased appetite and weight, sleep problems and anxiety. You may even feel that life is not worth living, and plan or attempt suicide.

Depression can affect anyone, of any culture, age or background. About twice as many women as men seek help for depression, though this may reflect the greater readiness of women to discuss their problems.

One thing that may make it hard for doctors to recognise depression is that people with depression often complain of physical problems, commonly headaches, lethargy, stomach upsets or joint pains, rather than low mood, sometimes because these can be significant symptoms, but sometimes because they find it difficult to admit to feeling emotionally distressed for reasons they may not even be able to identify.  Read more...

Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart is not pumping blood as efficiently as it should and is not getting the required amount of blood to the organs in the body. Soon after the efficiency of the heart goes down the organs do not receive the right amount of oxygen and nutrients, and symptoms occur.

Symptoms of heart failure include:

Edema, irregular or rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trouble concentrating, wheeze, nausea, coughing with phlegm that is white or tinged with blood, appetite loss or fluid retention that results in fast weight gain.

Symptoms are not always apparent while resting but will almost always show up during some type of exercise. Exercise tends to cause an individual to become fatigued and dizzy. The blood pressure goes down and the body attempts to make up for the lost blood volume by setting off hormone and nerve signals that are meant to increase blood volume by retaining water.  Read more...

Treatment of CFS is about managing symptoms to improve the quality of life for sufferers. There is no current cure for the disease. Behavior therapy is a consideration.

What is cognitive behavior therapy? It is a form of treatment that examines the way that a person thinks about a situation and strives to change that thinking as a coping mechanism. This is not psychoanalysis where there is thought to be a deep-seated reason for all behaviors and disease processes. The answers to feeling better lie in learning to reduce the stress associated with the condition.

There is no easy way to handle a disease. You certainly are not happy about having it. The behavior therapy is designed to change your thoughts to change your emotions. Researchers believe in the mind/body connection. You see it with stress. As the stress on your mind gets worse, so does your body.  Read more...

A diet full of good nutrition can improve anyone’s health. With CFS, while there is no cure for the disease, eating a balanced diet may lessen the symptoms.

When illness strikes, the last thing you think about is what you eat. But, the foods you put into your body play a significant role in how you feel. Remember what happens when you eat a candy bar to gain a burst of energy?

There is no real secret about a balanced diet. It would include all of the food groups (only good fats). Let’s begin with protein.

Protein is essential to the body for repair, growth and function. Proteins wear many hats in the human body. They catalyze reactions as enzymes, stimulate processes as hormones and prevent illness as antibodies. Protein is used to build muscle tissue. One of the symptoms of CFS is muscle soreness and joint pain. Increasing your intake of the right kinds of protein may help alleviate these symptoms.  Read more...

by Warren Matthews of Xtend-Life

The content of this article is not based on any wonderful scientific study but rather is written from a common sense point of view and personal experience.

What has prompted me to write it is the recent death of my sister who at 64 years of age was 2 years older than me.

I have always maintained that genetics are overrated when it comes to determining how long you will live and/or whether you will enjoy good health or not as you age.   In fact, in previous articles I have been criticized when I have suggested that I think the influence that genetics have on your health is only about 10%.  (specific genetic disorders excluded).

When I stated that figure I was referring to the normal things that people get ill and die from such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes etc.  Read more...

There was a study conducted in Indiana University which revealed that fish oil is a very effective remedy for asthma symptoms, especially that caused by over activity or too much exercise.

Emergency medication is often needed by people who have severe asthma symptoms. The study involved 16 asthma patients suffering mild symptoms to severe ones. These individuals need daily asthma medications in order to control the attacks. The asthma patients were given high doses of fish oil which contain EPA or Eicosapentaenoic acid (3.2 gm) and DHA or Docosahexaenoic acid (2gm) for about three weeks.

Before fish oil administration, the lungs of the asthma patients were first examined through efficiency tests. Sputum samples were also taken and analyzed. The tests took note of the inflammatory cells and some markers. The same tests were conducted after the end of the study. After the 3-week period of fish oil administration, the patients showed 64% improvement in terms of lung efficiency and the need for asthma medications also reduced by about 31%. Fish oil contains fatty acids (Omega 3) which has an anti-inflammatory effect.  Read more...