The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

  By Chris Hammond It is yet another counseling appointment for Sam who is 13 years old and is struggling in school, home, and everywhere he goes.   He has been diagnosed with ADHD and depression in the past but all of the medications have failed to work and his is getting worse, not better.   He is a bright boy who can do well at school but he frequently falls asleep while doing homework saying that it is too boring.   Socially he struggles with his peers as he seems disconnected, detached, and distracted.   You are beyond frustrated, having tried numerous therapies and medications convinced that something is wrong but unable to identify it.   Finally you begin to believe that he is just lazy. While laziness may play a factor in Sam’s teenage brain, there might be something else.   Frequently, lack of proper sleep can have waking symptoms of ADHD or even depression.   Without proper REM sleep, a still growing teenager will struggle...

By Dr. Walt Larimore www.drwalt.com This is not an infrequent question for me to be asked. And, a very nice article by Mara Betsch at Health.com will give you the information you need to answer this question for yourself, your family, and your friends: You’ve heard it before: Drink eight glasses of water a day to keep your body trim, healthy, and happy. Though water is vital in a variety of bodily functions and processes, you may not have to drink as much as you think. Unlike other vital nutrients, water doesn’t have specific daily requirements. Just like everyone has different caloric needs, a person’s water intake is affected by age, weight, activity level, and environment. In a report from the Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine, the group offers a ballpark estimation: Women should drink approximately 2.7 liters (about 11 cups) and men approximately 3.7 liters (more than 15 cups) of total water a day. However, the key word in this sentence is total. In fact, you...

Is Spanking a Child Harmful or Helpful? – Part 7 By Dr. Walt Larimore Wednesday, 28 October 2009 Opposition to parents spanking their children has been growing significantly in elite circles over the past few years. And, my blogs on spanking are among the most read of those I publish. Therefore, I’ve decided to, with the help of the research of my friends Den Trumbull, MD, S. DuBose Ravenel, MD, to look a the arguments used against spanking, to see if they hold any water. This is the seventh of a 12 part series that counters More Information: Argument #6: Spanking teaches a child that “might makes right,” that power and strength are most important and that the biggest can force their will upon the smallest. Counterpoint: Parental power is commonly exerted in routine child rearing and spanking is only one example. Other situations where power and restraint are exercised by the average parent include: The young child who insists on running from his parent in a busy mall or parking lot....

By Pam Smith, Nutritionist and best selling author Flus, colds and viruses have been attempting terrorist-like "body invasions" for years -- long before the recent concerns around H1N1; it appears that there are always going to be threats of flu pandemics, real or sensationalized. The H1N1 alarm sounded in April. Just 6 months later, the never-before-seen swine flu has become the world's dominant strain of influenza. With flu's favorite chilly weather fast approaching, public health experts have great concerns that we are going to be a sick nation this fall. The big unknown is how sick. One in five people infected or a worst case -- half the population? Millions of vaccine doses are now arriving into the U.S., but the hopeful news: Even with no vaccine, winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere without as much havoc as doctors had feared, a heavy season that started early but not an overwhelming one. The strain that doctors call the 2009 H1N1 flu isn't any deadl...

By Walt Larimore, MD Monday, 5 October 2009 What’s the single most efficient way to catch H1N1 swine flu? OK, that’s a no-brainer. Having a sick person cough directly into your face cannot be a good thing. That gives you more than a 50% chance of getting sick. But if this doesn’t happen, what’s the next most risky thing you could do to dramatically increase your risk of catching the Swine flu? The risks were calculated by environmental health experts Mark Nicas, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley, and Rachael M. Jones, PhD, of the University of Illinois, Chicago, and reported by WebMD. Touching something contaminated with flu virus and then touching your nose, mouth, or eyes with your unwashed hand gives you a 31% chance at getting sick, Nicas and Jones calculate. Breathing in tiny particles left hanging in the air from a flu-infected person’s cough or sneeze gives you a 17% chance of infection. Breathing in larger particles – which hang in the air for a shorter time – giv...