Category Archives: mood changes

Research: Holy Basil Plant May Relieve Anxiety

Posted on March 17, 2009 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Ocimumn sanctum, an Indian medicinal plant, has been on trial for its role in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in hospital based clinical set-up. Hamilton’s brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and thorough clinical investigations were used to screen the subjects. Thirty-five subjects (21 male and 14 female; average age 38.4 years) were medicated with the plant extract in a fixed dose regime (500 mg/capsule, twice daily, p.o. after meal).

They were thoroughly investigated clinically and using standard questionnaires based on different psychological rating scale at baseline (day 0), mid-term (day 30) and final (day 60). The observations exhibited that, O. sanctum significantly (p<0.001) attenuated generalized anxiety disorders and also attenuated its correlated stress and depression. It further significantly (p<0.001) improved the willingness to adjustment and attention in human.

Therefore, it may be concluded that O. sanctum may be useful in the treatment of GAD in human and may be a promising anxiolytic agent in near future

Bhattacharyya D, Sur TK, Jana U, Debnath PK.

Department of Pharmacology, Dr. B.C. Roy Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, 244B, Acharya J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata 700020, India. surtapas_2007@rediffmail.com

Posted in Anxiety, depression, mood changes, women, women's health

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Back to School: Feeding Children Healthy Lunches

Posted on August 26, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

by Catherine Carter

No need to be overwhelmed with packing the kid’s lunches. Packing a healthy lunch doesn’t require one to be a dietitian or a nutritionist it just takes label reading and a little planning. You will save money and build your young one’s health.

One of the challenges of the mid-day meal is that if it is too heavy it interferes with mental work. After all, nodding off in the classroom will lead to other problems. Have the children start off with a healthy breakfast of a whole grain cereal, such as steel cut oats. It’s good for mom and dad too. The oats have plenty of fiber and b-vitamins which are excellent for the nervous system, the brain and emotional stability. Add a protein shake for extra nutrition. Eating a nutritious breakfast cuts down on cravings and will enable you to make it to lunch time with out feeling famished.

Less Healthy Lunch Options
For lunch avoid processed meats, the salt, the sugar, the additives, the source of the meat itself all lend it to be not a great choice. Avoid white bread and sugary snacks. Avoid items with artificial colors. Repeatedly these substances, although labeled by the FDA as “generally recognized as safe” , have been implicated in aggravating hyperactivity and mood disorders. One last thing to avoid are sugary drinks. Young people are developing diabetes at an astounding rate and even fruit juice has been implicated as a factor. Consider diluting fruit juice with mineral water for a tasty lunch beverage.

Healthier Lunch Options
Prepare sandwiches made with whole grain bread. Use a tasty home made spread. It is cheaper and you have better control over the quality of the ingredients. And of course nothing can substitute for the love you put into it. Slice veggies like carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower with a dip. Use delicious nut butters for sandwich spreads. Bean burgers are very easy to make and are tasty alternatives to meat as are grain burgers. Adding a few nuts and seeds or a home made trail mix to the lunch box is tasty and nutritious too.

Posted in breakfast, children, diabetes, diet, family, food, fruit, lunch, mood changes, nutrition, teens, Uncategorized, wellness

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Help for Emotional Eating

Posted on April 22, 2008 by continuum wellness| 1 Comment


Isn’t the “mind” amazing? It has the ability regardless of one’s age, to continue to form associations.
These associative links inside the brain can be for good or not so good.

As we age, if we never take a look at all of these associations, it is easy to see how a feeling of being lost may develop. It is like being full of things that have no meaning, and within them you lose yourself. This sense of loss can show up anywhere. Is it because we are simply too full and really need to create inner space?

Food is often used to to abate, soothe, squelch, drown or otherwise turn on or off emotions.
Which leads to the question, “what are you hungry, for”? “What’s eating you?”

Take a look at these signals, from the authors of Think Thin, Be Thin. Is your hunger truly physical or a sign of something deeper?

Physical Hunger
- Builds gradually
- Strikes below the neck (e.g. growling stomach)
- Occurs several hours after a meal
- Goes away when full
- Eating leads to feeling of satisfaction

Emotional Hunger
- Develops suddenly
- Above the neck (e.g., a “taste” for ice cream)
- Unrelated to time
- Persists despite fullness
- Eating leads to guilt and shame

Relax…instead of eating, go for a walk, take a nap, take a soaking bath with fragrant oils, write your thoughts out on paper, draw, paint or just sit still and take a moment to simply, be.

Posted in adolescents, food, Health, healthy body, healthy eating, healthy mind, mood changes, nutrition, stress, Uncategorized, wellness, women

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FDA Probing Possible Link Between Asthma Drug and Suicide Risk

Posted on March 28, 2008 by continuum wellness| 3 Comments

FDA is investigating a possible association between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) and suicide. Singulair is a medicine in the drug class known as leukotriene receptor antagonists. Singulair is used to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itching of the nose) and to prevent exercise-induced asthma.

Over the past year, the maker of Singulair, Merck & Co, Inc., has updated the prescribing information and patient information for Singulair to include the following post-marketing adverse events: tremor (March 2007), depression (April 2007), suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior) (October 2007), and anxiousness (February 2008).

In February 2008, FDA and Merck discussed how best to communicate these labeling changes to prescriber’s and patients. Merck plans to highlight the recent changes in the prescribing information in face-to-face interactions with prescriber’s and provide prescriber’s with patient information leaflets about Singulair. The Singulair website includes the most current prescribing information and patient information for Singulair (www.singulair.com).

FDA is working with Merck to further evaluate a possible link between the use of Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in response to inquiries received by FDA. FDA has requested that Merck evaluate Singulair study data for more information about suicidality and suicide. FDA is reviewing the postmarketing reports it has received of behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in patients who took Singulair.

Due to the complexity of the analyses, FDA anticipates that it may take up to 9 months to complete the ongoing evaluations. As soon as this review is complete, FDA will communicate the conclusions and recommendations to the public.

Other leukotriene modifying medications include zafirlukast (Accolate), which is also a leukotriene receptor antagonist and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR), which is a leukotriene synthesis inhibitor. FDA is reviewing postmarketing reports it has received of behavior/mood changes, suicidality and suicide in patients who took Accolate, Zyflo, and Zyflo CR and will assess whether further investigation is warranted.

This early communication is in keeping with FDA’s commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety reviews of drugs.

The FDA urges both healthcare professionals and patients to report side effects from the use of Singulair, Accolate, Zyflo, and Zyflo CR to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program

Posted in adverse events, allergies, asthma, common cold, depression, drugs, FDA, mood changes, side effects, Singulair, suicide