You are probably used to TV commercials and doctors telling you to drive your cholesterol lower and lower. So you may be surprised to hear that low cholesterol can be dangerous. But a new study confirms that low cholesterol puts you at risk for physical and mental health problems.

Recently published in the Archives of Neurology, doctors from King’s College in London discovered that low levels of cholesterol precede the diagnosis of dementia by at least 15 years. If you experience muscle weakness or pain while taking a cholesterol lowering drug, herb, or natural product,including red rice yeast extract and Tocotrienol (a form of vitamin E), you should report the pain or weakness to your doctor. Stopping the medication could save your life.

Rhodiola Rosea is a root, like Ginseng. It is belongs to the plant family Crassulaceae and is also known as “golden root” or “roseroot”. There are more than 200 species of Rhodiola in the world. The better known ones include the Tibetan Rodiola, the Chinese Rhodiola and the Hong Jing Tian. Experts say only the Rhodiola Rosea is a medicinal root because of the Rosavin and Salidroside it contains.

These are compounds which are known to have an energizing effect on the human body, improves both physical and mental performance, reduces fatigue, and even prevents high altitude sickness. For centuries, Rhodiola Rosea has been used in the traditional medicine of Russia, Scandinavia and other countries. Rhodiola Rosea is preferred by some experts over the ginseng because it does not lead to some of the problems that some people might have with ginseng such as over-excitement or constipation.

Call it a bloody stressful job.  When Mr Chotisak Asapaviriya quit his post as president of Airports of Thailand last month, he told the press that the stress of his job had gotten so bad that he had nosebleeds during board meetings. He had been under great pressure since the new Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok opened last September, as it had been plagued with problems like cracks on the runways. It’s not common, but doctors here say that it’s possible for stress to trigger a nosebleed.

That is because when someone gets stressed, blood is pumped around the body more quickly.  Blood pressure rises around the body, as well as in the blood vessels inside the nose. When that happens, the blood vessels could be more likely to burst, either by themselves or when they are scratched.

It’s made worse the fact that stress tends to lower one’s immunity, which results in the person catching a cold more easily and having to blow his nose a lot – resulting in a greater possibility of blood vessels bursting. Nosebleeds are just one of the manifestations of stress.

Human bodies react this way because when the brain identifies a stressful situation, it prepares the body to deal with it. “Stress hormones” like adrenaline or cortisol are secreted which give the body a temporary body in and alertness, or reduced sensitivity to pain.

For instance, adrenaline gets the heart pumping more quickly in a fight-or-flight response. By doing this, the body can circulate more blood to the muscles increasing physical performance and alertness for short bursts of time. It’s an early evolutionary adaptation that allows people to cope with adverse situations.

As a result, a response that was meant to serve a temporary function sometimes becomes an extended reality in the modern world. But if a person is subject to levels of stress for extended periods, it may seem like a physical condition. It can take the form of gastric pain, pimple outbreaks and asthma, among others.

Furthermore, the “overworked” organs may also show signs of fatigue, which will manifest as physical symptoms. Stress may also start a vicious circle because someone who is affected tends to have poor lifestyle habits as well.

For example, a person who suffers from a lot of work stress might skip lunches, sleep poorly and not have time to exercise.  All these affect the body physically as well.

Psychiatrists can help identify the stress factors, which could be caused by the individual or circumstances.  Stress can be reduced by changing one’s lifestyle, learning relaxation techniques or with medication.

Taking pills for their headaches are what most people resort to or are prescribed by their doctor when afflicted with chronic pain. But there is an increasing number of people seeking alternative cures. One of these alternative treatments hails from a traditional Chinese method - Acupuncture. It has shown to be excellent in combating headaches, based from the results of clinical trials.

Why conventional medicines do not work on some

Conventional medications usually work for treatment of migraine headaches, with others are effective in helping cluster and temple headaches. However, it has been shown that they are not effective in treating a wide range of headaches. Worse, they can cause a simple migraine to turn into something called Chronic Daily Headache (CDH), which presents an even bigger problem because it’s much more difficult to treat. CDH can occur 10 to 15 times or more in a month. Further evidence points to CDH cases increasing in numbers, prompting both victims and doctors to seek other forms of treatment. Acupuncture is one of them.

Acupuncture Treatment

For more than five thousand years, the Chinese has refined the art of acupuncture. It has been used as an alternative therapy for all sorts of ailments from sprains and fractures to weight loss and skin problems. 

Acupuncture involves the practice of inserting extremely fine needles at certain points known as ‘Qi’ (pronounced as ‘Chi’) points in the body. Practicioners of Eastern medicine believe that the body has this Qi or energy force which can at times, become unbalanced. Placing needles in precise locations on the body where they believe energy lines are near the skin’s surface can balance the Qi, thus providing healing to the patient. The needles are left in place or by use of electrical impluses to stimulate the ‘Qi’. 

While acupuncture has seen use in healing for a  very long time, its effectiveness in the treating of headaches has only recently, been studied with any great depth.

Studies Shows That Acupuncture Works

In a study from the Britain, which was published by the prestigious British Medical Journal it was shown headache sufferers took fewer sick days after they underwent acupuncture treatments for a period of 2 to 3 months. In the US, a study conducted  by the University of North Carolina provided results which showed positive improvements for CDH sufferers after acupuncture treatment.

Many GPs around the world have now begun to offer acupuncture as an alternative headache treatment. Compared to pills using acupuncture has no harmful side effects.