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Glossary
The glossary terms brought to you on the Mind Body & Spirit web site cover a wide range of holistic and alternative approaches to Creating Balance In Your Life. Like the guests who appeared on the Mind Body & Spirit TV Show, our Topics area features experienced practitioners who provide new insights and unique perspectives through their writings.
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Articles
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Research Studies
Infertility and Stress Study
Toxins and Obesity
Infertility and Stress Study
Research Summary
Citation for study: Klonoff-Cohen H, Chu E, Natarajan L, Seiber W. A prospective study of stress among women undergoing in vitro fertilitzation or gamete intrafallopian transfer. Fertility and Sterility 2001;76:675-687.
Description: In a study of women undergoing either IVF or GIFT procedures, researchers asked the question: Does stress affect fertility and pregnancy rates? The researchers looked at whether stress from a patient’s life situation or stress from the procedure negatively reduced the patient’s ability to achieve pregnancy or to have a live birth. The women were given questionnaires to rate their moods, feelings about infertility, expectation of achieving pregnancy, amount of social support, coping style, and overall stress levels. The questionnaires were completed at their first clinic visit, before and after hormone use and before embryo transfer.
Results: Women who had higher expectations of achieving pregnancy and had less overall stress had a greater number of eggs retrieved and fertilized, a higher number of embryos to transfer, and a higher pregnancy rate as compared to the women who had a lower expectation of pregnancy and a higher rate of stress.
Toxins and Obesity
By Mind Body & Spirit
TODAY 59 MILLION AMERICANS ARE OBESE-and 300,000 die annually from weight-related disorders. This global pandemic has led some investigators to consider explanations beyond diet, genes, and physical activity.
A British expert on human metabolism, Paula Baillie-Hamilton, MD, believes that growth hormones and many pesticides in the food supply are fattening to humans, as well as animals. Synthetic pesticides act as nerve agents, paralyzing the functioning of certain parts of the brain. They also may increase the levels of fattening hormones and appetite, while interfering with our ability to burn existing fats, she finds.
Admitting that research is still preliminary, scientists at a recent U.S. symposium, Obesity: Developmental Origins and Environmental Influences, suggest that in utero and neonatal exposures to environmental toxins-particularly endocrine disrupters-play some role in human obesity. Evidence that exposure to endocrine disrupters during critical stages of cell division may have long-term effects is compelling, says Retha Newbold, PhD, a developmental biologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). These exposures likely alter mechanisms involved in weight homeostasis (the bodys normal feedback system for weight control), she explains.
Low dose exposure to bisphenol A increases differentiation of fat cells and also increases glucose transport, both of which may affect later development of obesity, finds Frederick vom Saal, PhD, professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri. Bisphenol A is an estrogen-like chemical used in bottle caps and certain plastics in food and drink packaging, as well as water pipes, flame retardants, dental composites and sealants.
Instead, choose foods in PET or PETE, HDPE, LDPE, and PP plastics. Limiting your consumption of animal fats is generally a sensible policy, advises Dr. Baillie-Hamilton, because most environmental pollutants accumulate in animals and tend to be stored in fatty tissues. Choosing certified organic dairy and meats, as well as fruits and vegetables, is another way to reduce your exposure to dangerous-and possibly fattening-chemicals.
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