Opera is ‘Music for the heart’
Listening to the right kind of music can slow the heart and lower blood pressure, a study has revealed.
Rousing operatic music, like Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, full of crescendos and diminuendos is best and could help stroke rehabilitation, say the authors.
Music is already used holistically at the bedside in many hospitals.
Not only is it cheap and easy to administer, music has discernible physical effects on the body as well as mood, Circulation journal reports.
Music with a faster tempo increases breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, while slower-pace music does the reverse.
Dr Luciano Bernardi and colleagues, from Italy’s Pavia University, asked 24 healthy volunteers to listen to five random tracks of classical music and monitored how their bodies responded.
They included selections from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, an aria from Puccini’s Turandot, Bach’s cantata No 169, Va Pensiero from Nabucco and Libiam Nei Lieti Calici from La Traviata.
Every musical crescendo – a gradual volume increase – “aroused” the body and led to narrowing of blood vessels under the skin, increased blood pressure and heart rate and increased respiratory rates.
Conversely, the diminuendos – gradual volume decreases – caused relaxation, which slowed heart rate and lowered blood pressure.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8112247.stm
No rush to lose excess weight following child birth
Trying to copy celebrities who are back in skinny jeans weeks after giving birth is unrealistic and dangerous, new mothers are being warned.
It can take women six months or even a year, not weeks, to shed the weight they put on in pregnancy, say experts.
Crash diets and intensive exercise programmes are not only likely to fail but can harm mother and baby.
The advice comes from Germany’s Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.
According to the Institute, women are under too much pressure to lose weight quickly after giving birth, when many need some of that extra weight to provide nourishment for the baby.
And celebrities who snap back to their normal weight within weeks of having a baby are not a true reflection of real life.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8114262.stm
Related links:
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care
Green tea ’slows prostate cancer’ study shows
A chemical found in green tea appears to slow the progression of prostate cancer, a study has suggested.
Green tea has been linked to a positive effect on a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
The research, in the US journal Cancer Prevention Research, found a significant fall in certain markers which indicate cancer development.
A UK charity said the tea might help men manage low-risk tumours.
Although previous studies have shown benefits from drinking green tea – including some positive findings in relation to prostate cancer, there have been mixed results.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8108831.stm
Related links:
Therapists and Practitioners – an opportunity to have your own page on islandcomplementarytherapies.com
We are pleased to announce the opportunity for Isle of Wight Therapists and Practitioners to have your own page on islandcomplementarytherapies.com.
The page would be devoted to information about the services you are able to offer and would be linked from the therapy.
The charge for this facility is £75 per annum.
Additionally, a domain name can be obtained for £12 per annum and this can be pointed to your page.
If you are interested in this service then please contact us to purchase this facility and obtain further information.
Terms and conditions apply.
Use of complementary therapies low amongst British cancer patients
Use of complementary therapies is “surprisingly” low among British cancer patients, a study suggests.
A survey of 200 patients in London found only one in five used alternative medicine and most of those did not think it would cure them.
Similar studies from the US had shown use was as high as 80%, the researchers at Hammersmith Hospital said.
The study also found patients have a high level of faith in their doctors and their treatment.
Study leader Professor Jonathan Waxman said because of the widespread publicity around complementary medicine he would have expected to see a much higher take up.
Yet only 22% of people questioned – across a wide range of ages and cancer types – had supplemented their conventional treatments.
Among those who had tried alternative therapies, the most common were multivitamins, with selenium, omega-3 preparations and homeopathy also popular choices, the Quarterly Journal of Medicine reported.
Patients surveyed rarely spend more than £100 in total on complementary medicine and most of those who used it said it should be available on the NHS.
Source and more informaton: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8017238.stm
Welcome to the new Island Complementary Therapies website
Welcome to the new Island Complementary Therapies website.
Over the coming months there will be some great developments for the site and opportunities for complementary therapists on the Isle of Wight to inform and educate current and potential customers abou the therapies and treatments they are able to offer.
Island Complementary Therapies was established to allow Islanders and visits an easy way to locate their local therapist in the chosen form of treatment they require.
Over the past couple of years it has become established as a superb resource and directory for Islanders seeking a complementary therapist on the isle of Wight.