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by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
In Part 1, we introduced the Myers–Briggs Personality Indicator and the first pair of characteristics, Introversion and Extroversion. In Part 2 we covered the second pair, Intuition and Sensation, and in Part 3 the third pair, Thinking and Feeling. Here in Part 4 we explore the fourth pair, Perception and Judgement. Remember that everyone has, to varying degrees, both of the characteristics described in each of the pairs of attributes. The descriptions here are of extremes that rarely apply to real individuals, but rather indicate tendencies we all can recognize in ourselves and in others.
The fourth pair: Perception versus Judgement
If you’ve read prior posts in this 5-part series, you know that Carl Jung’s choice of descriptors can be somewhat problematic to our understanding the eight character traits he identified. With this fourth and final pair, we again need to blur the usual meaning of these words. The P and J characteristics differ from what we usually think of as perception and judgement.
The P here could sometimes stand for procrastinator. That, at least, is how it can appear on the surface. What the P type really indicates is a person who wants to gather as much information about a situation as possible before deciding or acting. They really do believe that an essential fact or opportunity may be revealed, right up until the final moment before a decision must be rendered or an action taken. This means that P types have, overall, a fairly high tolerance for uncertainty, because they are willing to leave things open-ended as long as possible, and don’t mind changing their minds.
The potential ramifications of this aren’t always desirable. Very broadly, a P type is somewhat more likely to be disorganized, to be chronically late, and to be indecisive (though this varies, as with all MBTI types, as everyone has all eight characteristics to a varying extent.) We could surmise that P types are probably the ones with the messy desks and messy rooms. And they can be frustrating to deal with, since they might seem hard to pin down, don’t want to commit, or are always thinking something better might come along. Come to think of it, this describes a lot of relationship problems, doesn’t it?
On the positive side, Ps can be refreshingly spontaneous, because they don’t make their minds up way in advance. They can be thoughtful, because they’re open to new information. And Ps are eminently flexible, which can be a very good thing—because sometimes, new information does comes up and new opportunities do arise, “late in the game.”
J types, by contrast, do not like uncertainty, at all. They want to collect the minimum amount of information necessary (within their own way of thinking and behaving) to make a decision or to take action, and then close the door. Indeed, judgement is an accurate descriptor for these people in the sense that they are in a rush to judgment, or at least to reach a decision. The hardest thing for a J type to bear is the time between having to make a decision, and making one.
Obviously, J types are decisive, an admirable quality. However, a compulsion to make decisions with inadequate information is a liability, not a strength. At their worst, J types go off half-cocked, and because they’re convinced they are right (they dislike changing their minds because it means having to admit new information), others might be left picking up the pieces that result from imprudent decisions.
Of all the characteristic pairs, this one is the biggest potential deal breaker in relationships. This could be as simple as one partner interpreting the other’s chronic lateness as disrespect, or a lack of caring, or selfishness. Whereas the P may be late for their own funeral: there was just too much other interesting stuff going on! It could also manifest as messiness vs neatness; differing views on commitment; or a fairly rigid J-type trying to live with an uber-flexible P-type.
Learn More
Visit the website of the Myers–Briggs Foundation »
Of the many excellent books and articles that explore MBTI to varying degree, What Type Am I? Discover Who You Really Are does a great job of simplifying the Myers-Briggs tool, making it easy to understand and apply to your own life »
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
How do you feel when you flip through the latest copy of Vogue? If you’re like many women, opening up a fashion magazine is like opening up Pandora’s box. The glossy pages unleash a fury of negative emotions that range from shame to envy. The models seem naturally glamorous and effortlessly beautiful. But, as one model is telling the world, looks can be deceiving.
Sara Ziff, a 31-year-old model who has worked for Tommy Hilfiger, Chanel, and other big names in fashion, revealed some of the industry’s ugly secrets in a recent interview with Salon. She tells lurid tales of sexual coercion, exploitation of minors, and the great lengths models go to be thin enough for the industry’s notoriously unrealistic standards.
Starvation. Liposuction. Eating disorders. Models have done all of these things to remain competitive in the world of fashion. What’s more, Ziff said, the industry often hires models of 14 or 15 who are pressured into trying to maintain girlish figures, even as they develop into women.
Through these extreme measures, many women are doing long-term damage to their health. Some no longer get their periods due to prolonged malnourishment or eating disorders, Ziff reported.
Her organization, Model Alliance, seeks to support working models and make positive changes to the industry. Model Alliance has uncovered some startling statistics. In an anonymous survey of 85 women in the industry, more than two thirds reported suffering from anxiety or depression, while nearly a third report a history of eating disorders. Six in ten of the models have been asked by their agency to lose weight.
The negative impact of the fashion industry on the body image of women and girls has been well documented. When women see pictures of ultrathin models in magazines, they experience a measurable decline in self-esteem and overall mood, according to research. Meanwhile, the gap between the average American woman and the average fashion model continues to grow.
The truth is, the beauty of fashion models is anything but effortless. These women often suffer mentally and physically to be thin. And sometimes, when these efforts aren’t enough, they are made even smaller through liposuction and even photo editing software.
So what can you do to avoid the ugly affects of high fashion? Unfortunately, many of these images are unavoidable as they are seemingly everywhere: on billboards, television, magazines, online ads, to name a few. But there are simple, healthy ways to feel good about yourself and boost your self-esteem. If you want to lose weight, do so through balanced eating and enjoyable exercise—and rope in a family member or a friend for extra support. Try the PMS Balance Diet to improve your health and reduce your premenstrual symptoms. And practice self-compassion and self-acceptance.
It’s not easy to learn to love yourself in a culture where even famous beauties are told they’re not good enough. But by rejecting fashion’s norms and pressures, you will be happier, healthier, and more at peace. So what can you do today to love yourself as you are?
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
In Part 1, we introduced the Myers–Briggs Personality Indicator® and the first pair of characteristics, Introversion and Extroversion. In Part 2 we explored the second pair, Intuition and Sensation, and here in Part 3, we take a look at the third pair, Thinking and Feeling. Remember that everyone has, to varying degrees, both of the characteristics described in each of the pairs of attributes. The descriptions here are of extremes that rarely apply to real individuals, but rather indicate tendencies we all can recognize in ourselves and in others.
The third pair: Thinking versus Feeling
Here we have another instance where Jung chose fairly imprecise words to describe the types he’d identified: in MBTI, thinking doesn’t mean thinking, and feeling doesn’t mean feeling! Instead, MBTI Thinker types tend to evaluate situations based on a set of rules. This rule-based view means that, to a Thinker, there are established rights and wrongs, norms, and hierarchies that are true and that determine the correct and best way to behave and proceed in a given situation. To a Thinker, these rules can lend structure to areas of life that might otherwise seem chaotic and difficult to navigate. The Thinker’s rules could be, but aren’t always, moral or religious; they could simply be “the way things should be done”—at least, from their perspective.
Feeling types, on the other hand, are more likely to view relationships as the essential guiding factor in evaluating a situation. In other words, how will this situation impact the people involved, and the relationships of the people involved? You can imagine that this might be a much more fluid and “hard to nail down” approach to life’s situations. People and relationships are constantly shifting and evolving, each individual is in relationships with many others, and every relationship holds a web-like connection to innumerable factors such as family, work, religion, culture, and so forth. Naturally, a Feeling type cannot possibly consider every permutation of these relationships; the main point is that Feeling is an entirely different way of relating to the world, and navigating life, than that of the rule-based Thinker.
At its best, the Thinking modality can be a great asset to organizations and to making life’s inevitable chaos manageable. At the extreme end, Thinkers can seem somewhat heartless, always sticking to a predetermined set of rules that they consider right and true, while appearing to ignore the impact of decisions and actions on people and relationships. Feelers would say—and from a certain perspective it’s hard to dispute the point—that any given situation is nothing more than the people and relationships that comprise it. Feelers, at their best, bring “heart” to their evaluations, and realize that fostering the best in people and relationships very often brings out the best in any situation. At the extreme end, Feeling types can end up making organizational and procedural objectives more difficult to attain than they might otherwise be. An F-type’s focus on people and relationships could interfere with important and necessary goals that might best be served by some degree of adherence to the rules, procedures, and established norms that a T takes to naturally.
Learn More
Visit the website of the Myers–Briggs Foundation »
Of the many excellent books and articles that explore MBTI to varying degree, What Type Am I? Discover Who You Really Are does a great job of simplifying the Myers-Briggs tool, making it easy to understand and apply to your own life »
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
In Part 1, we introduced the Myers–Briggs Personality Indicator® and the first pair of characteristics, Introversion and Extroversion. Here we explore the second pair, Intuition and Sensation. Remember that everyone has, to varying degrees, both of the characteristics described in each of the pairs of attributes. The descriptions here are of extremes that rarely apply to real individuals, but rather indicate tendencies we all can recognize in ourselves and in others.
The second pair: INtuition versus Sensation
The second letter designation in MBTI is N, which stands for iNtuition, or S, which stands for Sensation. This can be one of the more difficult distinctions to understand, but there is a relatively simple way to understand it.
Sensors gather information from the world around them on the basis of their five senses. Thus, the S type is generally one who is very grounded in the real world, and who basically thinks things are more or less (or exactly) as they appear, sound, feel, smell, taste. S types are eminently practical. Their tendency is not to spend a great deal of time pondering hypotheticals or wondering about the deeper meaning of things. Why would they? To a sensor type, things are what they seem, and they may well believe it is a waste of time to dwell in introspection or pondering “what ifs.” An S type is more likely to regard these activities as “contemplating your navel.”
It is something of a mystery why Carl Jung called this other quality iNtuition, because the word’s other meanings confuse this subject. A simple yet accurate way to think of an iNtuitive’s take on the world is that they don’t think things are necessarily as they seem. It’s not that they don’t gather information through their senses, but that they are more likely to look for underlying or “invisible” meaning than to rely solely on their eyes, ears, fingertips, and so on. It’s possible that Jung chose the word intuition to point to the fact that when Ns look beyond their senses for additional information about the world, they are most likely to look to their own thoughts and feelings.
This may sound as though Ns are deeper thinkers and more profound people than S’s, but this is not the case. These are just different ways of processing information, and relating to the world. What it does mean is that an N’s view of the world is likely to be more idiosyncratic, iconoclastic—in other words, unique, because to an N things are not necessarily as they seem. An S’s worldview, on the other hand, is grounded in perceptions that are much more likely to be shared (at least within the same culture). The catchphrase “think outside the box” could have been invented by an N, and thinking outside the box is much more of an N than an S quality.
Sensors are a much more common type than iNtuitives, and conflict can arise from an S’s impatience with, and lack of understanding an N’s mode of information gathering and processing. Sometimes it boils down to S’s thinking that Ns are impractical, which they might be. In fact, as a society we need the gifts and qualities of both types, and in any individual it is fortunate when there is a nice balance of the two tendencies—because, simply put, sometimes things are as they seem, and sometimes they are not.
Learn More
Visit the website of the Myers–Briggs Foundation »
Of the many excellent books and articles that explore MBTI to varying degree, What Type Am I? Discover Who You Really Are does a great job of simplifying the Myers-Briggs tool, making it easy to understand and apply to your own life »
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Have you ever heard people describe themselves or others using acronyms like INFP or ESTJ and wondered what they meant? The Myers–Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI®)test allows people to be characterized according to eight contrasting personality tendencies, yielding 16 different personality types. It is a remarkably accurate and helpful system, based on the insights of the early psychoanalyst Carl Jung. MBTI is used in corporations and organizations to help people improve their productivity and reduce interpersonal conflicts, and by therapists and counselors to help clients better understand themselves. It is a potentially intricate system, and it’s not possible to do it justice here. But it is worthwhile to understand its basics, because of what it can reveal about our inborn character and tendencies.
Some parts of us never really change. They are part of us, it seems, almost from the moment of birth. Understanding these aspects of who we are as revealed by MBTI can lead to greater self-acceptance, which can reduce stress by helping us to realize that we needn’t fight against our innate characteristics. It can also help us become more accepting of others, when we understand they, too, have an innate type.
“Understanding our personality type can lead to greater self-acceptance, which reduces the stress of fighting against our innate tendencies.”
Keep in mind that there are gradations of these characteristics in every individual. No one is purely one or another extreme. Everyone has some of all eight characteristics within themselves; some people are at the extreme range of one of the characteristics, while more are probably closer to the middle. But everyone has a “type,” a dominant mode of being and relating in the world.
The first pair: Introversion versus Extroversion
The first pair of letters in an MBTI type description is either I or E. Within MBTI, as opposed to the common usage of these terms, this doesn’t mean being shy or outgoing, though there are some parallels. MBTI introversion/extroversion has more to do with energy level and one’s preferred mode of interacting with people. Extroverts derive energy from being around people, and seek out company to sustain their vitality. Extroverts thrive on meeting new people, on being around people often, and on social stimulation. At parties, a “strong” extrovert will often meet nearly everyone at the party, having brief conversations with most of the guests. Rather than finding this form of interaction draining, an extrovert would find this fascinating and invigorating.
Introverts, in contrast, generally find that social interaction is draining. The more people they have to interact with or even be around, the more draining it will be. Concerts and stadiums are usually not among most introverts’ favorite places. An introvert is much more likely, at a party, to find one or two people they really like or are interested in, and spend the entire time having an in-depth conversation with mostly those few. Of course, an introvert might well prefer to stay home and entertain themselves to going to a party at all.
Introverts can have a bit of hard time in the world. Life and work have everything to do with social interaction, and if you find that drains you of energy, you may think you have a fatigue or attitude problem (something extroverts may be quick to point out!), when what you really have is an imbalance between your true needs, and what the world expects of you. Others may think you’re a little anti-social, a conflict that can pose difficulty in a marriage between an extreme extrovert and an extreme introvert. (Though it would be something of a marvel for two such different people to make it to the altar, plenty of incompatible couples do tie the knot.)
What’s more, our culture on the whole—as exemplified by popular media images—celebrates extroverts and extroversion, their sociability, outgoingness, and energy, which can make us think that everyone should be this way: always active, seeking more stimulation, and interacting with a large social circle.
In fact, usually introverts can deal with people just fine, but in a different way from extroverts. Introverts prefer deeper connections with a smaller social circle. They need time alone to restore and recharge their batteries (whereas extroverts recharge their batteries by being around more people and being more active).
Introversion is a less common trait than extroversion, making introverts something of a misunderstood minority in the world and in society. Recognizing these tendencies in yourself and in others—in most cases they won’t be quite as extreme as described above—can lead to greater acceptance of yourself and others. And that is an essential ingredient for coming to peace with yourself, your relationships, and the world.
Learn More
Visit the website of the Myers–Briggs Foundation »
Of the many excellent books and articles that explore MBTI to varying degree, What Type Am I? Discover Who You Really Are does a great job of simplifying the Myers-Briggs tool, making it easy to understand and apply to your own life »
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Probiotics may help prevent allergies and eczema in children—and could even help prevent asthma—according to a recent Finnish study that reviewed current literature on the subject.
Researcher Mikael Kuitunen found that when probiotics were administered before and after birth, fewer children experienced symptoms of eczema through age 2. Follow-up research suggests that the effects may continue until at least age 4.
Other research, published in the prestigious journal Pediatrics, found similar results. In this examination, investigators reviewed 25 different studies to assess the effects of probiotics on the atopic triad – that is, a family predisposition to seasonal allergies, eczema and asthma.
Overall, the study showed that certain probiotics had an affect on reducing the risk for allergic reactions. The effects became even clearer as time passed.
The research did not find that probiotics significantly reduced the risk for asthma, but researchers suggested that a longer-term study and a closer look at different types of probiotics might yield different results.
Both studies showed that the greatest affects were achieved when probiotics were administered both prenatally and postnatally.
So is there any difference between probiotics for prevention of allergies and eczema? The Finnish study showed that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus had the greatest affect. L. rhamnosus is sometimes used in yogurt and other dairy products. It is also marketed as the probiotic supplement Culturelle in the United States, as well as being available in a wide array of probiotic supplements and products. It is also available in other countries, but under different brand names. Surprisingly, the researchers found that widely available probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus—probably the most commonly used probiotic among the general public—was associated with an increased risk for allergy sensitization. Although it isn’t mentioned in the article, it seems possible that it isn’t acidophilus per se that causes problems, but rather that the most common source for it is in yogurt. Since dairy is a common food allergen, women and infants who consume acidophilus in yogurt may be inadvertently making things worse by consuming dairy.
For expectant mothers, this means that certain probiotics may be an effective natural preventative for allergies, eczema and even asthma, particularly if these conditions—the “atopic triad”—run in your family.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
We’ve written before about using weed—marijuana—to relieve PMS and PMDD symptoms. You can find the previous blog post here. It’s one of our most commented on posts, at least in part because—like much of our site, which provides the most comprehensive resource on PMDD and PMS on the web—it’s one of the few on the web on the subject of cannabis and PMS or PMDD. But many of the comments that have rolled in have told us something like “You don’t know what you’re talking about, pot works great for my premenstrual symptoms.”
So let us soften our previous message on this subject by pointing out:
However:
To briefly restate what we said in the previous post on this subject:
Attitudes towards marijuana are changing rapidly, so we’re posting on the subject again. After all the responses we’ve received, we feel it’s important to clarify our position on this controversial subject. Just as attitudes towards marijuana are changing, laws are changing, and even the president of the United States said in a published interview that pot is not quite as bad as it’s been cracked up to be.
If you can use marijuana judiciously, without descending into abuse, overuse, or dependency, and it helps you, we’re happy that you’ve found an effective, natural, albeit temporary solution to your symptoms. We don’t have a judgement about it, and we are all for women taking charge of their own health. We continue to dispute, however, the mistaken notion that marijuana is the only alternative to prescription drugs, and that it treats the cause of the problem. We are biased, but feel our products, and our website, are a superior solution for women looking to balance their hormones and their moods, naturally.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Should you take an antidepressant for PMDD only after you ovulate? We explain below why this idea either makes no sense, or means everything we’ve been told for years about how SSRIs and antidepressants work is just plain wrong.
Many of our readers have asked us if they should take an antidepressant only in the two weeks before their period, rather than all month long. Of course, this is a question that should be taken up with your doctor. However, we checked the medical literature on this subject, and the research tends to agree that taking an antidepressant all month long works better than only taking the medication in the two weeks before your period (beginning at ovulation).
While it is an interesting idea that SSRIs like Sarafem® or Prozac® or Zoloft® could be taken solely in the two weeks after ovulation, it doesn’t make sense. Either that, or if it works, the whole psychopharmcology field, including psychiatrists and drug companies and all doctors who prescribe antidepressants need to hit the books, quick. That’s because for years we’ve been told that SSRIs specifically, and antidepressants in general, take weeks or even months to have their effect. And no one in the field of women’s medicine or gynecology has proposed that SSRIs have a different mechanism of action in PMDD compared to in depression or anxiety.
Why, then, would SSRIs work within ten days or so in PMDD, but need much longer in other conditions? It just doesn’t make sense.
Of course, we’re not big believers in drugs, whether they’re antidepressants or birth control hormones, for PMDD or PMS. We understand that they’re lifesavers for some women. But we hear from thousands of women that they didn’t work, or had terrible side effects, or that they just plain don’t trust them. And the deep history of SSRIs is fraught with bad science, drug company influence, and medical doctors who haven’t maintained their ethical standards.
There are alternatives to antidepressants and prescription medications for PMDD and PMS. This whole website, as well as our product offerings, are devoted to telling interested women about these facts. You can find out about a host of natural solutions to premenstrual suffering right here.
Here’s a teaser: St. John’s Wort may be effective for PMDD and PMS, but wouldn’t work only two weeks per month, for the same reasons as we’ve discussed above for SSRIs. You will need to take it all month long.
Vitex Chastetree, on the other hand—including our proprietary, doctor-designed PMS Comfort Herbal—may be effective if taken only in the two weeks before your period. This is because, unlike St. John’s Wort and SSRIs, Vitex is believed to work by helping to balance your hormones. Since the worst part of PMS and PMDD hormone imbalance takes place in the two weeks after you ovulate, it’s possible that this could work for you, especially if your symptoms are mild, or only occur for a couple of days before your period. In practice, however, we usually recommend they be taken all month long, because the hormonal balances associated with PMDD and PMS truly exist throughout the month, not just before your period; and because many of our readers, and most of our customers, are dealing with severe symptoms that have a big impact on their lives and their relationships, and taking the herbs only for two weeks per month probably won’t be enough.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
As we discussed in our last post asking “Are Vitamins Bad For You?”, a number of studies on supplements are getting a great deal of attention in the press lately. As usual, it’s negative attention. For some reason, the medical and mainstream media seem to ignore studies that find health benefits as a result of nutritional supplements, but they sure make a ruckus when there’s even a whiff of bad news. The three most recent studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine are being trumpeted all over the web and the airways as bad news for dietary supplements. Our post points out that that is a misguided conclusion, unsupported by the scientific evidence.
A couple of years ago there was a similar hoopla, and the same sources were making it sound like nutritional supplements are unscientific, a waste of money, and often bad for you. At that time, we interviewed one of the world’s foremost experts on nutritional medicine, Dr. Alan Gaby, to see if he agreed with the conclusions others were drawing about those studies. You can read his responses to see that, in fact, the studies were flawed, and the judgments delivered by the media were faulty.
Now, the media is again telling us that a succession of studies have found that supplements have either no health benefit or possible negative health consequences. We decided to examine some of these recent studies, and we again solicited Dr. Gaby’s opinion.
One of the oft-cited studies, from the November 2012 Issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed nearly 15,000 American male physicians who were fifty or older when the study began, with an average age of 65. They were followed for a period of 14 years during which they took either Centrum Silver® or placebo (sugar pill) daily. At the end of the study, the multivitamin had no effect on preventing heart disease or heart attack and stroke.
Of course, a study like this isn’t applicable to women, especially younger women. It does show that older men who begin taking a low potency multivitamin late in life shouldn’t expect too much benefit from it.
And, as Dr. Gaby points out, the product used in the study contains (according to the label) the non-nutritive additives crospovidone, butylated hydroxytoluene, FD&C Blue 2 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Red 40 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Yellow 6 Aluminum Lake, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, sodium aluminum silicate, sodium benzoate, talc, and titanium dioxide.
Dr. Gaby reminds us that
“It would be surprising if none of these chemicals were harmful with long-term use, and it is possible that one or more of them negated a beneficial effect of the nutrients.”
Even given the shortcomings of the product used in the study, among the men in this study who had already had cancer, those taking the multivitamin had a significant 27% reduction in new cancers. The men taking a multivitamin were also 6% less likely to die from any cause compared to those taking placebo, though this result could have been from chance, and would need to be more clearly demonstrated in another study. The men taking the multivitamin were 8% less likely to develop cancer during the study. Furthermore, a study using the same product was undertaken in China, where people are more likely to suffer from nutritional deficiency. In China, the multivitamin decreased heart disease deaths in men and in older people, but appeared to increase the risk of stroke deaths in women and in younger subjects.
All of these results merit further study, meaning they are not truly conclusive one way or another. Unfortunately, the editor of The Annals of Internal Medicine has twisted the facts, declaring that all of these equivocal results mean that "the case is closed", and that vitamins and supplements are a waste of money, and worthless. It is curious that, while championing the concept of science in medicine, and research advances, the overall medical establishment distorts research on dietary supplements. Stay tuned: this story will probably have many more chapters to follow.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Major media outlets like NPR, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and others are telling us that new studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine have conclusively proven that vitamins and supplements are a waste of money at best, and possibly even bad for you.
This is a familiar refrain of these large media outlets and the medical commentariat. A couple of years ago, a very similar story prompted this same kind of hysteria from the same sources. In that case, we found that it was easy to poke holes in the conclusions that were being trumpeted as “airtight.” In that case, we enlisted the help of Nutritional Medicine Expert Dr. Alan R. Gaby to help us understand the merits of the 2011 studies, and their very obvious faults.
There are three new studies that have caused this new hue and cry. We’re going to examine them one by one, and see if they really do tell us that vitamins are worthless.
One of the studies looks at what happened when people took a multivitamin, or a placebo (sugar pill) after they’d had a heart attack. Although we’re not sure what multivitamin was used, most such studies use the equivalent of Centrum Silver®. The average age in the study was 65; 18% were women; and the average time between the first heart attack, and beginning a multivitamin, was 4.5 years.
The results of this study don’t apply to people under the age of 65, or to women, or to people who’ve never had a heart attack, or to people who start taking a multivitamin shortly after a first heart attack! Unfortunately, you don’t get that impression from the media reports and from the medical doctors commenting on the study. You get the impression that this study concluded that for everyone, multivitamins are unhealthy and a waste of money. However, the authors themselves didn’t find any negative effects of taking a multivitamin in this group of older men, nor do they try to say that their results apply to younger people who haven’t had a heart attack.
The next study compared a multivitamin to placebo for its effect on cognitive decline, such as memory loss and Alzheimers. This study was conducted on close to 6000 male doctors aged 65 or older. Again, these results are meaningless for women; for people under the age of 65, and even for people with very different levels of wealth and education, compared to American male doctors.
The last study was not original research but rather a study of studies to examine whether vitamins and minerals could help prevent cancer or heart disease in those who had never had those conditions. This type of study allowed the researchers to look at existing scientific evidence for multivitamins as well as individual nutrients such as vitamin E, selenium, folic acid, and calcium. The value of this kind of study is that it includes very large numbers of study subjects, so the authors are less likely to be fooled by random occurrences. However, the conclusions they were able to reach were limited because in each study, different preparations of different nutrients were used. The authors concluded that two good quality studies on multivitamins showed a slightly reduced incidence of cancer in men but not women, and confirmed what many other studies have found: that isolated Vitamin E and beta-carotene raise risks of disease.
The authors actually give a conditional endorsement to the concept of using multivitamins in their article:
“One explanation for this result (that studies on individual nutrients often don’t find the benefit that some would expect) could be that the physiologic systems affected by vitamins and other antioxidant supplements are so complex that the effects of supplementing with only 1 or 2 components is generally ineffective or actually does harm.”
The editorial accompanying the three studies proclaimed “Enough is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Supplements.” Do you think these studies proved that supplements are a waste of money, or bad for you? For women, for people under the age of 65, and for those who choose to take high quality multivitamins, these studies don’t prove much of anything. They certainly don’t justify the headlines we’ve been seeing.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Children who are breastfed longer have better language skills and higher intelligence later in life, according to a new study. This Harvard Medical School study followed more than 1,300 mothers and their children over a period of seven years.
The study, published in the July 2013 JAMA Pediatrics, showed that three-year-olds who had been breastfed for longer periods had higher receptive language skills. Four years later, at age seven, these same children also had higher IQ scores than children who had received less breastfeeding.
Dr. Mandy Brown Belfort, the study’s lead author and a neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, told the New York Times that researchers don’t yet know why additional breastfeeding benefits children’s cognitive development. But one theory, she said, is that the nutrients found in breast milk may help with a baby’s brain development.
Belfort said the study results support the idea that breastfeeding for longer than is often recommended by most doctors and medical authorities appears to have distinct advantages for children. She acknowledged that the decision to breastfeed can be difficult for working moms. However, each additional month of breastfeeding gives babies extra benefits, she said.
Previous studies have shown that breastfeeding has other advantages for babies. In addition to the cognitive benefits, research has shown that breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of obesity, diabetes, asthma, allergies, and other health problems. Breast milk is almost always easier for babies to digest than cow’s milk, which, of course, is an ideal food for baby cows.
Breastfeeding mothers may also benefit. There is research suggesting that breastfeeding moms have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and even postpartum depression.
Recommendations vary for how long a mother should breastfeed, but many health organizations recommend children be breastfed for at least 12 months.
The Harvard study also showed that the children of women who ate two or more servings of fish every week had higher visual motor ability than those children whose mothers ate less than two servings.
If you have more questions on breastfeeding and its effects on you and the health of your baby, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet on breastfeedingor the United States chapter of the international group that promotes breastfeeding, La Leche League USA.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
We've discussed before on our blog, concerns that antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including Prozac® and Zoloft®, may be overprescribed and not as effective as their prevalence would suggest.
In recent years, the use of antidepressants has skyrocketed. According to a recent review in the New York Times, 1-in-10 Americans now takes an antidepressant. At the same time, some organizations are now encouraging doctors to curb the use of antidepressants. For instance, last year, the Dutch College of General Practitioners urged its doctors to limit antidepressant prescriptions to only the most severe cases, and instead focus on other lines of treatment first.
As you read on, you’ll see that evidence is building to confirm our suspicions. So while SSRIs have helped many overcome depression, PMDD, and reclaim their lives, medical science is coming to the conclusion that for those who don’t meet the criteria for major depressive disorder, there are other options that may be just as effective—without the side effects of these medications.
A couple of years ago, we told you about a study that found that 80 percent of antidepressants are written by practitioners who aren’t psychiatrists, and that those prescriptions are often for non-psychiatric uses, such as PMS and chronic pain.
We also told you about the acclaimed scientists who have questions about whether antidepressants actually work for many of the cases in which they’re prescribed. Some studies show that, for mild or moderate depression, antidepressants are not more effective than a placebo, and that SSRIs, supposedly wonder drugs, are no more effective than the antidepressants that were used a generation or two ago.
New research has been published that supports the notion that doctors write prescription for SSRIs too easily. In the April 2013 issue of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, it was found that two-thirds of patients diagnosed with depression did not meet the criteria for a major depressive episode as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (known as the DSM). In spite of this discrepancy, the vast majority of these patients were prescribed antidepressants.
SSRIs have a number of problematic side effects, including nausea, insomnia, reduced sexual desire, and weight gain or loss. And even for patients in whom they’re not effective, getting off SSRIs can be extremely difficult—and can lead to more depression and anxiety. For those patients who don’t benefit, these medications may be doing more harm than good.
Of course, in addition to their use in mild to moderate depression, antidepressants are the default treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD. The SSRI, Sarafem, Prozac® by another name, is specifically marketed to treat PMDD. While research shows that Sarafem can be effective for PMDD, the story here may end up quite similar to SSRIs and depression. Women may be best served by considering the full range of available treatments, not just pharmaceuticals. This includes natural and holistic approaches to PMDD and depression, including our PMS Comfort herbal relief product.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Nonheme iron is linked to reduced risk of PMS, says study.
Leafy green vegetables, fruits, beans, and nuts top many lists of the healthiest foods, and they’re all rich vegetarian sources of iron. But until recently, no one had ever proposed iron as a remedy, or important nutrient, for PMS or PMDD. So we were interested when a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that women who consume 20 mg or more of iron per day are less likely to develop and suffer from premenstrual symptoms.
Study Details Three thousand nurses were followed in this study, over a decade-long period. At the beginning of the study, none of them had premenstrual symptoms. At the end of the 10-year study period, one-third of the women had been diagnosed with PMS.
The researchers, from Harvard and University of Massachusetts at Amherst, analyzed the women’s diets and found that that those who consumed higher amounts of vegetarian (non-heme) iron from their diet and supplements were up to 40% less likely to develop PMS. It's worth noting that the daily recommended amount of iron for women is 18 mg.
Analysis While you may be inclined—especially if you are concerned about PMS or PMDD symptoms—to rush out to the grocery store or the health food store to pick up ground beef, spinach, and an iron supplement, there are several factors to consider regarding this study. One is that the most common source of iron in most people’s diet—meat and animal foods—had no relationship to PMS symptoms. That is, it didn’t make PMS or PMDD more or less likely.
There is also the problem, which is nearly impossible to purge from dietary studies, that studies like this can prove only correlation, not causation. What this means is that there is some relationship between these factors, but this study doesn’t tell us if it is a cause and effect relationship. In other words, it might be a coincidence.
A famous example of a medical study that showed correlation was one that determined that the more TVs there were in a household, the less likely the inhabitants were to have heart disease. Of course, TV ownership and TV watching don’t decrease heart disease. But the more affluent a household is, the more TVs they will have. Such a study, conducted in the current era, might find that these households have more computers and tablets and smart phones. And the more affluent people are, the more likely they are to get regular medical care, to be able to afford medication, to have a gym membership and to buy healthy food, and so forth. So, correlation is not causation. We don’t know whether iron has anything to do with PMS or PMDD.
Then there is the fact that this study was the first of its kind: in other words, there is no other research and no convincing basic science evidence indicating a link between iron status and PMS symptoms. Yes, it’s possible that vegetarian iron-rich foods can help lower the risk of developing PMS. But without additional studies, it would be a mistake to conclude that there is any relationship between iron, iron supplements, iron-rich vegetarian foods, and PMS symptoms.
Unfortunately, the authors of the study didn’t attempt to discern whether the benefit they attributed to iron was in fact a benefit of eating more fruits and vegetables, which seems like a logical question to ask. Of course, it’s not uncommon for flawed or very partial studies to be trumpeted in media reports as evidence of scientific certainty (something which, you may have noticed, is quite rare). This is yet another example where it’s very hard for you, the average consumer of food, supplements, and health information in the media, to decide whether a study and a headline have any valuable information to offer.
The bottom line is that eating vegetables, nuts, and fruits makes common sense for your health, and it may well prevent or improve PMS and PMDD symptoms, especially compared to a junk food diet. But, it is unlikely to be a cure, and in the end, this study—despite media reports—proves nothing.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
If you follow the news for PMS and PMDD information, you’ll occasionally hear about the latest new supplement or exotic herb being touted as a great breakthrough for women. We covered one of these before when we discussed saffron herb for PMS, which briefly got some attention from the media, and, not surprisingly, from some supplement companies as well.
There’s a new study that joins the ranks of the saffron study for several reasons. It was a small study comparing the herb fennel to exercise for the treatment of PMS, and of course some media outlets picked up on it. One headline from Europe even trumpeted, “Fennel could help millions of women beat the monthly misery of PMS.” While we like the herb fennel for a variety of reasons, this study doesn’t actually prove very much.
Like the saffron study, this one was done in Iran, where a surprising number of small studies have been done for PMS and herbs. And, kudos to the Iranian researchers who pursue these studies! However, usually these studies on herbs for PMS have similar problems: they’re quite small; they’re not placebo-controlled; and they are poorly designed.
Larger studies are always preferable to smaller studies. In a small study, it is easy to randomly arrive at a conclusion without realizing it is, in fact, random. When studies are done are large groups, it’s less likely that a random result will be confused with something significant.
When a study like the ones on saffron and fennel are not placebo-controlled, we can’t know if the women are helped simply by the belief that they are taking something that may help them. Our post about the powerful effects of placebo helps explain that even difficult conditions like depression can be helped by placebo, and that even supposedly scientific drugs like anti-depressants haven’t been proven superior to placebo. Often, scientific studies from non-westernized countries don’t use a placebo control group, which makes their results much less useful.
The design of a study is crucial to determining whether an herb, drug, technique, or other intervention is in fact useful. In the fennel study, fennel was compared to exercise, and a third group was simply observed (this third group is called “the control” group). Now, as we’ve pointed out before, no one has ever successfully proven that exercise improves PMS symptoms, even though we believe it does. But we know exercise does no harm, and is healthy no matter what. That is different than scientific certainty that it works. So an important flaw in this study is the comparison of one experimental treatment, fennel, with another unproven treatment, exercise, compared to nothing at all (the control group).
Another flaw is the way the researchers gave the fennel extract: three days before and three days after the women, in this case high school girls, got their period. The write up of the study was quite short, so the authors neither explained why they gave a PMS remedy for three days after the period, nor why they gave it for only three days before. Perhaps they didn’t understand PMS very well as we’ve pointed out so many times, many women get their PMS symptoms a week or two or even three weeks before their period. The administration of this potential remedy makes no sense.
Of course, treating only high school girls is a very limited population, so even if they had been successful, it wouldn’t have proven that fennel could work in any other age women. But given the small size of the study, this is only a small objection.
Finally, as is often the case in these studies, the authors conclude that the remedy worked. Given all the flaws in this study, if the herb did appear to work—and the authors concluded it was more effective than the exercise—all that is really reasonable to conclude is that it should be studied again, with an improved design, with proper administration, in a placebo-controlled study.
There are proven natural solutions to PMS and PMDD: Vitex herb, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin B6 all have been shown to be effective in well-designed, placebo-controlled studies. We also have plenty of common-sense suggestions that can help you get a handle on premenstrual suffering.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Imagine: your child, or a child you’re caring for, wants to eat nothing but candy all day long, What do you do? Do you put them down and tell them they’re lazy, irresponsible, and weak? Or do you offer them support by explaining that too much candy is unhealthy; provide healthy alternatives; and help them proactively make better choices? Of course, you would always try to do the latter, supporting a vulnerable person in need of healthy guidance. In the same way, you can support yourself through the trying symptoms of PMS and PMDD, by treating yourself with respect and care.
For instance, now imagine: you’ve just done something you wish you hadn’t done. Maybe it’s related to food, or relationships, or family, or work. How do you treat yourself? Do you put yourself down? Do you berate yourself and make yourself feel terrible? Or do you treat yourself with kindness and compassion?
Self-compassion means treating yourself charitably, just as you would always try to do for anyone you care for. Instead of berating yourself for gaining a few pounds, not getting that promotion, or having relationship troubles, you can verbally encourage yourself, realizing that no one is perfect, and all you can do is do the best you can. You can remind yourself that everyone has ups and downs in life, not to mention strengths and weaknesses.
Self-compassion is not self-indulgence. It’s more than pampering yourself, or taking yourself shopping when you’re upset, or treating yourself to sweet or rich foods after a hard day. And, contrary to what many of us have been taught, treating yourself well does not mean treating others poorly.
Self-Compassion, Depression, and Anxiety
Have you noticed—women tend to be a lot harder on themselves than they are on others? And when you’re in the midst of a full-blown PMS or PMDD episode, it’s all too easy to fall into those self-denigrating emotional and mental patterns, where you verbally beat yourself up and put yourself down. At times like these, it can feel like you’re your own worst enemy, and certainly your own harshest critic. In fact, this kind of negative self-talk is often what is really behind self-destructive behaviors, and many cases of depression and anxiety.
But we do have the choice to be kind, supportive and compassionate—to ourselves! The irony is, women who tend to treat others with kindness and compassion often seem to treat themselves poorly and with less self-compassion. Put another way, women are taught, and tend to behave as if, they have to make a choice: to treat others well, you have to treat yourself badly, and if you treat yourself well—well, you’re just being selfish. Fortunately, new research is showing us that this is just plain false.
According to Dr. Neff, most of her patients confuse self-compassion with being or seeming self-centered. In fact, true self-compassion actually leads to greater feelings of compassion and concern for others.In other words, more kindness you show yourself, the more kindness you’ll have available for others.
A 2011 New York Times article reported on this emerging psychological field, which has been pioneered by the University of Texas professor Dr. Kristin Neff. Dr Neff has found that those who practice kindness and compassion toward themselves feel happier, more optimistic and tend to experience lower levels of anxiety and depression. That’s great news for all women, but may be especially big news for women who suffer from PMS and PMDD symptoms. When premenstrual hormones are raging, negative patterns and self-criticism tend to kick in. While you may have spent the whole month being kind and polite to others, during those few days or weeks before your period you may find yourself lashing out, being short, and sometimes just plain unpleasant to friends, family, and co-workers—and, importantly, yourself.
Learning Self-Compassion
Self-compassion doesn’t always come naturally, but you can learn how to treat yourself well, improving your own health, and your relationships, in the process:
Practicing self-compassion leads to more, not less, kindness to others. It definitely doesn’t mean that you’re indulging yourself. In fact, it’s really just the opposite; by treating yourself with kindness, you’re more likely to treat those around with compassion, as well. And in the process, you’ll be lowering your stress level, and counteracting one of the most painful aspects of the emotional symptoms of PMDD and PMS.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
Most of us love sweets and we all have our favorites: moist chocolate cake covered in frosting, a towering cone of peppermint stick ice cream, or some delectable sugar cookies perfect for dipping in milk. Whatever your poison, our modern supermarket can supply it in cheap abundance. And it turns out those sweets truly are poison, especially if you overdo it.
Natural health advocates have been saying it for 100 years: sugar is dangerous. It has taken some time but finally the mainstream media such as the New York Times has caught on, thanks in large part to a new study in the journal PLoS One that strongly links increased sugar consumption with increased rates of diabetes. One important take away from this study: you don’t have to be obese to get diabetes. Just eating too much sugar can cause it too. And, the double-edged sword: even if you didn’t start out obese, eating too much sugar can cause you to gain weight, especially in the belly. Worth taking note of here is that sugar doesn’t mean just white table or baking sugar: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and sodas all count. So do supposedly healthy sugars that are sometimes added to “health food”: fructose, dextrose, concentrated fruit juice. You really have to become a label detective, since the food manufacturers know that sugar will make you want to eat and buy more of whatever they’re selling.
So how do you protect yourself from diabetes and your waistline from extra inches and pounds? Smart food choices are your best defense.
Healthy carbohydrates such as whole grains (whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, for instance) and beans and legumes (soy, navy, and kidney beans, and chickpeas, lentils and peas, for instance) are a great place to start. But all the bad carbohydrates have a lot in common with sugars. You can add white flour and white rice to the refined carbohydrate list, and pile them all on the list of what not to eat.
Refined sugars and refined carbohydrates are high on our list of “foods” that contribute to PMS and PMDD symptoms: all contribute to blood sugar spikes and moodiness, and can lead you down the path to hypoglycemia and even eventually diabetes, as we have now learned—conclusively.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
The supplement industry has begun to promote the herb Saffron as a natural PMS remedy, based on a study from Iran from 2007 that found that saffron, an exotic spice that was as valuable as gold in ancient Europe, helps relieve PMS symptoms. This sounds promising, if only because there is actually a little science behind it: the study double-blind and placebo-controlled, and published in a relatively reputable journal.
However, this says more about the tendency of the supplement industry to want to be appear scientific than to actually be scientific. The real reason Saffron is being promoted is because it’s new, and it’s foreign and exotic, and these are the types of products that drive sales in the supplement industry.
The truth is, though, that a single study doesn’t make a product scientific, even when it’s a very good study. The essence of science is “reproducibility”, which means you can repeat a result, just like you can reliably turn on a light by flipping a switch. Turning on the light is a reproducible result. The next study on saffron may have different results, so you need more than one study to make something “scientifically proven.” Unfortunately, in the last 5 years, there have not been any more studies on saffron for PMS – so the only thing anyone can say about saffron and PMS is that it requires more study.
On the other hand, there are many natural products that have been the subject of multiple studies for PMS relief, but the supplement industry doesn’t trumpet them because they’re not new. Vitex, or Chastetree—which is an exotic herb, with origins in the middle east—is the best proven herb or supplement for PMS, and is the number one prescription for PMS in Europe. Yes, in many parts of Europe, doctors prescribe herbs for health conditions.
Calcium supplement is an effective natural PMS remedy and has the studies to prove it. Magnesium supplement works for PMS, as does vitamin B6. None of these are new, exotic, or sexy, so you’re less likely to hear about them or encounter any marketing for them. We here at PMS Comfort discuss and recommend them because they’re scientifically proven to work, with multiple studies proving their results are reproducible.
Evening Primrose Oil is an example of something that showed initial promise, but in multiple scientific studies it was found that it actually doesn’t work for PMS.
There are other things that work for natural PMS relief that you’ll never hear about from the supplement marketers: caffeine avoidance, healthy diet, and other things you can do yourself that don’t cost a penny.
The take-home here is that the marketing of science often has more marketing than science in it.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
We modeled our PMS Balance Diet on the famous Mediterranean Diet, which has been proven in thousands of scientific studies to outperform any other dietary pattern for preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. It also closely matches what many now refer to as an “anti-inflammatory diet.” Our PMS Balance Diet helps your body balance hormones, detoxify properly, and has the added benefit of being an excellent plan for keeping off those extra pounds.
Now, scientists at Loma Linda University have published a study showing that people who eat more of the foods typical of the Mediterranean Diet—and thus, of the PMS Balance Diet—are happier. They found that people who ate more vegetables, fruits, legumes/beans, nuts, and olive oil had “a more positive affect”, which is a scientist’s way of saying that these people were more cheerful, pleasant, and happy!
By comparison, people who ate more sweets and desserts; soda; and fast food had a more negative affect, which is a scientist’s way of saying these people were grumpier, crabbier, and less happy. Not so coincidentally, this describes how women with PMS symptoms often feel before their period.
Of course, people who eat more of these unhealthy items are much more likely to be hypoglycemic, meaning they’ll have frequent rapid drops in their blood sugar. This kind of unstable blood sugar makes everyone feel worse. In fact, a large percentage of all mood swings, bad moods, fatigue, and energy swings could be eliminated if everyone followed our hypoglycemia plan, and avoided the “foods” on our what not to eat list. The PMS Balance Diet emphasizes both eating healthy Mediterranean-style foods and avoiding the unhealthy junk food.
We’re happy to hear that science confirms our belief that eating along the lines of our PMS Balance Diet may do more than just help your premenstrual symptoms and prevent the degenerative diseases associated with aging: it may make you happier.
by Dr. Daniel J. Heller
One of the hardest things to discuss about women’s health and women’s medicine is the heartbreaking prevalence of abuse and trauma, including sexual abuse. This isn’t limited to abusive relationships, which were recently brought into the headlines by the sad story of Kasandra Perkins and her boyfriend Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs. Abuse, trauma, and sexual abuse leave a mark on their victims no matter when they occur.
This is an important factor in PMDD & PMS. These occur more often in women who have PTSD, whether that post-traumatic stress is a result of serving in the armed forces in Iraq or Afghanistan; a rape that occurred as an adult or sexual abuse that occurred as a child; or even losing your home in a storm or tornado or flood. Although these might seem like very different circumstances, the body and mind’s reaction to them is quite similar. The victim lives in a near-constant state of alarm, feeling like at any moment everything in their life could be turned topsy-turvy or taken away, and as a result feeling unbearable and constant stress and tension.
When an event like last week’s murder-suicide of a professional athlete hits the headlines, the discussion often turns to well-worn subjects: guns, professional athletes, and the like. Perhaps because of what we mentioned at the beginning – just how difficult a subject this is – all too often the more painful discussion of the abuse of women, and the sexual abuse of women and girls is left untouched. Domestic violence is estimated to affect 25% of women during their lifetime (the number is as high as 70% in other countries). The numbers are similar for child sexual abuse: 15-25% of girls are sexually abused, while 5-15% of boys are.
The point here is to realize that a) this is more common than is usually discussed in polite company; and b) this has real consequences for health. Obviously, the headlines are full of the difficulties that veterans experience after returning from battle. For many of them, it is difficult or impossible to enter normal life again. But PTSD, abuse, and trauma are much more widespread than that, and affect the health of a broad swath of our society.
In fact, an amazing research study that began in Southern California has shown that violence and neglect in childhood leads to poor health in adulthood. While PMDD and PMS aren’t specifically part of this study, it’s clear enough that the consequences of childhood abuse and trauma affect all of a person’s health: physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual. What these doctors and researchers have found is that childhood trauma, in the form of neglect and violence, have an impact many years down the road. Interestingly, a doctor at Kaiser Health Plan in San Diego who was directing a weight loss program discovered this. He found that these “adverse childhood events” were present in many of the people who, despite initial success in the weight loss program, dropped out. These individuals tended to have many other elevated health risks. So far, these studies indicate quite clearly that there is a definite connection between how well people take care of themselves, and how well taken care of they felt as children.
This study is so compelling and important that it has now been taken up by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in partnership with Kaiser of San Diego. Whether it’s a woman with PMDD or PMS, or simply anyone who has experienced childhood trauma (take their test to see if you have), this is an important and too often overlooked area of health, especially women’s health. The fact that it is a difficult and painful subject does not mean that we should ignore it, or remain ignorant of it.
Resources:
http://www.womenshealth.gov/violence-against-women/
