Friday, December 31, 2010

Brain Health: Vitamin D

Just in time for the winter months is a reminder about sunlight, blue light, sleep, and that all-important hormone, vitamin D.

We’ve talked at length about the importance of sleep hygienethe sleep-wake cycle, diet and exercise—but also of critical importance is the “sunshine vitamin,” the hormone we call “Vitamin D.” Readers of the BOOK- "It's not Mental" know how all this tied in to my daughter's full recovery from bipolar/schizoaffective disorder.

Historically, the FDA made a grave error in its vitamin D recommendation level due to a misunderstanding in the scientific community about what vitamin D does. Their recommendation was just high enough to prevent immediate damage (rickets) and immediate death but, at the time, they did not realize that this did not prevent slower long-term damage (“mental” illness, autoimmune diseases, lower immune function, obesity) and earlier deaths (cancer, heart attacks).

Sunday, December 5, 2010

It‘s Not Mental — The Book Description — Availability

Otherwise mentally healthy children can experience sleep problems, symptoms of depression, bipolar mood swings, and/or psychosis. 

The award-winning book, "It's Not Mental - Finding Innovative Support and Medical Treatment for a Child Diagnosed with a Severe Mental Illness" is currently available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other on-line booksellers, and, in Lexington and Midway, Kentucky,  at:  

Being distributed through Ingram Books, any book store can order a copy of the book for you. 

If you live in Lexington, KY, please shop local!

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Thursday, December 2, 2010

How to SWALLOW PILLS - Video

The issue of how to teach children to swallow pills gets brought up so often! In my family we started by giving the children tiny hard candies to swallow with a sip of water.

That was fine, but this training video from Dr. Bonnie Kaplan in Canada is awesome! It is for both the child AND parents to watch.