Keep your eyes closed. By controlling your thinking, you can make time seem to slow down. (The following is read progressively more and more slowly, with each word drawn out and with long pauses, i.e. of two to six seconds between the statements.) Tell yourself that there’s lots of time. There’s lots of time between each second. Time is stretching out and there’s lots of time. There’s more and more time between each second. Every second is stretching far, far out. Stretching out more and more. Lots and lots of time. There’s so much time, lots of time. Tell yourself that every second is stretching out. There’s a lot of time between each second. Lots of time. You do it yourself. You slow time down. Now bring time back to normal but keep your eyes closed.

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There is no reason for you to stop taking medication while you are having this treatment. However one of the main reasons for using TENS is to help you to reduce the amount of pain-killers you may be taking.

TENS is a method of encouraging your body to produce its own pain killers — the endorphins and enkephalins. Thus it is far preferable to take yourself off strong pain killers which may be putting your liver and kidneys at risk, as well as exposing yourself to the risk of drug addiction.

The benefits of TENS may well be enhanced by the use of an antidepressant at the same time. The use of TENS before going to bed may reduce the need for sleeping tablets. 8. Is treatment with TENS painful?

During TENS treatment you will experience a tingling or pulsing sensation under the electrodes or spreading away from the electrode site. TENS should never be painful as such pain would open the ‘pain gate’. The whole idea of TENS is help the body to close the gate.

In some types of treatment muscular contractions may be produced. These aid the breakdown of painful muscle spasms and increase the amount of blood flowing through the area. The strength of the muscle contractions should always be within your ability to cope without undue discomfort.

You should be able to wear a TENS unit for up to several hours without discomfort. If you experience pain during treatment you should speak to your doctor or therapist.

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At present, the only treatment for coeliac disease is to eliminate the foods that contain gluten, namely any food containing wheat, rye, barley or oats. Most sufferers have to avoid all traces of gluten, but some can get away with eating a small amount occasionally, and some do not have to avoid oats, which contain far less gluten than the others. However, it is very risky for coeliacs to experiment with eating gluten, even if they have avoided it for some years and are fully recovered. Some have an acute reaction to even the smallest amount, known as coeliac shock.

A few patients do not get better, even though they are very careful to avoid

gluten. This may be because their gut lining is badly damaged and needs time to repair itself. Zinc deficiency can contribute to this problem, and a zinc supplement may be useful. Continuing symptoms can also be due to lactase deficiency, a consequence of structural damage to the gut lining. Avoiding milk may help in such cases. Soya milk can be used instead, and yoghurt or cheese made from cow, sheep or goat milk can be eaten, but not cottage cheese.

Alternatively, persistent symptoms may be due to some other problem, such as a tumour, or a defective pancreas. More commonly, however, the patient turns out to have sensitivities to other foods, besides wheat. The damage done to the gut lining by coeliac disease makes it much more leaky, so other food molecules get through into the bloodstream, paving the way for food sensitivity. Soya is a common culprit, perhaps because it is so widely used in gluten-free products. Milk, fish, rice and chicken have also been known to cause this problem. They can perpetuate the damaging reactions in the gut lining long after gluten has been eliminated from the diet. In theory, any food might have this effect. An elimination diet should help to track down the offender, but this should only be tried under medical supervision.

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A recent study found a significant correlation between an increase in carbonated beverage consumption and esophageal adenocarcinoma decades later. In the past 25 years, the number of cases of this cancer has risen by 570% among Caucasian men in the US—the group that consumes the most soft drinks.

self-defense: Don’t drink more than 12 ounces of carbonated beverages daily.

Tight garments may contribute to deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially deadly ailment involving formation of a blood clot in the legs. Should the clot break away and travel to the lungs, this pulmonary embolism can kill within minutes.

self-defense: Avoid restrictive clothing if you’re at high risk for DVT. At-risk individuals include postsurgical patients, pregnant women and those who are bedridden.

Dental X rays may identify people at high risk for heart attack and stroke. Hardening of the carotid arteries, which lead to the brain, can often be seen in a panoramic dental X ray. This hardening of the carotids doubles risk of death from heart attack or stroke.

when x rays are taken: Ask your dentist to look for calcifications in the carotid arteries.

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Yes. Because of its beneficial effect on the immune system, it also helps fight infections. Studies conducted in China showed that supplemental selenium lowered the incidence of hepatitis B.

In another study, people with Alzheimer’s disease had 40% lower blood levels of selenium than people without the disease. In addition to folic acid and vitamin B-12, an adequate supply of selenium is needed for brain health.

Selenium also has anti-inflammatory properties. In some clinical studies, it relieved symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and acute and chronic pancreatitis.

Selenium enters the human food chain from the soil through grain crops and forage crops (those that are eaten by animals). Levels of selenium in soil are highly variable and often very low.

In the US, for example, soil in the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic Northeast is selenium deficient. People living in these low-selenium regions may get only 50 meg of selenium daily.

In high-selenium regions, such as Nebraska, South Dakota and some of the other Great Plains states, it is common for adults to get 200 meg to 300 meg of selenium per day. Overall, most Americans are getting more than 55 meg per day, the government’s current recommended dietary intake.

My research has consistently shown that an adult requires 200 meg to 300 meg of selenium per day to receive its full protective properties.

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No other element or compound comes close to selenium’s versatility of functions. My own research and that of other investigators—conducted on cells in animals and epidemiological studies—suggests that adequate selenium intake helps to reduce the risk of developing most major forms of cancer, including malignancies of the breast, lung, prostate, colon, rectum, stomach, ovary, pancreas, kidney, bladder, liver, skin and blood (leukemia).

Subsequent selenium supplementation trials in humans also found evidence of selenium’s cancer-protection effects. One of the best-known studies is the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and conducted from 1983 to 1996. It was intended to determine whether 200-microgram (meg) supplements of selenium could prevent the recurrence of skin cancer in 1,312 American adults, 75% of whom were men.

Although skin cancer recurrence rates were the same for both the placebo and selenium groups, the overall cancer mortality in the selenium group was reduced by 56%. Specifically, selenium reduced the incidence of prostate cancer by 64%, and of colorectal and lung cancer by 58% and 46%, respectively. Although the study involved mostly men, previous research suggests that selenium protects women from cancer, too.

*13/47/1*

How else does selenium work in the body?

Twenty-five selenoenzymes have been discovered so far, but the functions of only some have been identified. One group of selenoenzymes converts the inactive thyroid hormone T4 into T3, its active form. For this reason, the thyroid gland is particularly rich in selenium.

High levels of selenoenzymes have been detected in the testes, where they are believed to protect sperm from oxygen radical damage. Selenium also protects us against environmental irritants, such as ozone in the atmosphere, and several toxic heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium.

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Ask a health-conscious adult to name the key nutrients that are necessary for optimum health, and you’re likely to hear vitamins, such as Ñ and E, and minerals, including calcium and iron.

How many people would name selenium? Not many. Few people are aware of the disease-fighting powers of this essential nutrient.

What is selenium, and how important is it for good health? To maintain our health and, in fact, to stay alive, we need not only vitamins and minerals, but also more than a dozen trace elements. As the name implies, trace elements are nutrients that our bodies require in very small amounts. Selenium is one such nutrient.

Is selenium an antioxidant, like vitamin C?

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This is a short but important phase of the consultation which only Neighbour (1987) has separated out. The doctor summarizes in the patient’s language what has been heard. This gives the patient an opportunity to check that the doctor has fully understood the problem and has taken into account her ideas, concerns, expectations and feelings. The patient has her own ideas about the nature of the problem, its causes, its importance and its possible outcomes. Likewise, the patient may have concerns, for instance that the Pill may cause some damage to her body. Or she may have expectations about the management of problems, such as that the doctor will refer her to a gynaecologist on account of breakthrough bleeding.

Summarizing provides direct feedback to the patient. If accepted, the consultation moves on. If not, the patient explains what it is that she feels the doctor has misinterpreted and then the doctor tries again.

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Suddenly the memory of the ‘fifth partner in six years’ flashed into the doctor’s mind. Tentatively she continued, ‘I noticed in your records that you have changed partners several times. Do you find it difficult to let them into how you are feeling as well?’ The girl muttered again and the doctor just caught, ‘One of the doctors said I didn’t need a smear if I wasn’t doing it.’ ‘Wasn’t doing what?’ asked the doctor stupidly, and then realized what Miss K. had said. ‘Oh, you mean that you’re not having intercourse. Why do you keep coming for the Pill, then?’ (Oh dear, thought the doctor, I’m really making a mess of this.) The girl lifted her head enough to give the doctor a glimpse of dark brown eyes and dilated pupils. ‘Tricia brings me down with her every time I start going out with a new man. She’s worried that I’ll get pregnant like she did, but there’s no chance of that!’ and she laughed harshly. The doctor felt very intrusive and clumsy. ‘Do you want to tell me about it?’ There was a long pause and then Miss K. gave a great shuddering sigh. ‘I don’t think I can,’ she whispered. There was another pause. ‘Could I see you again next time I come?’ she said and then, with a great effort, ‘You won’t make me have one of those things?’ and gestured at the couch. ‘Not until you’re ready,’ promised the doctor, feeling very protective, and made special arrangements to see Miss K. herself in two weeks.

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