23/10/2009 by Cathy.

“From 2002 to 2006, the number of drugs that were axed after Phase-II clinical trials (volunteer trials) increased by 20% because the drugs couldn’t beat the placebos they were compared against. More recently, in 2008, a new gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease failed against the placebo. Similarly, in March 2009, Eli Lilly withdrew a new drug for schizophrenia because the placebo effect was double that expected. Also in March 2009, Osiris Therapeutics’ new drug for Crohn’s disease was also withdrawn due to a high placebo effect.
What is going on? ” - David R Hamilton PhD - October 2009

You can read the whole article from David’s October newsletter here.

If you like this, then I would stongly recommend his books. Backed by cited research he gives a real insight into the workings of the mind and the mind-body link.

How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body
It’s the Thought That Counts: Why Mind Over Matter Really Works

Both are a great read

http://www.cathysimmons.co.uk

Posted in Interesting Links, General Ramblings | Print | 1 Comment »

03/10/2009 by Cathy.

This is a quite disturbing article from the BBC about how mothers who smoke whilst pregnant can put their children at greater risk of psychotic symptoms.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8283723.stm

Get help at:

http://www.hampsteadsmokingclinic.com

Posted in Stopping Smoking, General Ramblings | Print | 1 Comment »

01/10/2009 by Cathy.

A recent article in the Daily Express tells the story of a lady who has been dieting since the age of 12. Pressures from teachers and family at that young age instilled the idea that she needed to be thinner leading to a lifetime of dieting, guilt and worry about weight.

Read the article here

The whole cycle of yo-yo dieting that is so easy to get into, ends up doing far more harm than good. By constantly restricting foods (maybe the overall amount or maybe just certain types of food) your body and mind are tricked into thinking that food is scarce and therefore kicks your body into ‘fat storage’ mode.

How many of us have fallen into that trap?
Are we a little bit afraid to stop dieting because we think we might put on even more weight?

But it is the dieting that causes us to gain weight!
If we turn this around it is actually good news, because it mean that it is possible to
stop dieting and lose weight!

By applying a straight forward approach to eating, understanding more about our relationship to food and learning some simple techniques for helping  when we are tempted to eat more than we should, techniques that can help with cravings and motivation to exercise, for example, then it becomes easy to change our approach to eating (without dieting), allowing us to gently and naturally achieve the weight loss that we want and to maintain it.

This approach is taught in a low-cost course called SlimQuest, for one hour a week over a period of six weeks, and the next weight loss course starts on Tuesday 13th October.  If you would like to know more you can contact Cathy on 07792 312 465, http://www.cathysimmons.co.uk/LoseWeight.html or http://www.slimquest.co.uk

Posted in Weight Loss, General Ramblings | Print | 1 Comment »