I read, in this month's Men's Health magazine, about this new FDA-approved pillow that supposedly helps with sleep apnea. I thought it might be of interest to some of you.
I had a friend years ago who had sleep apnea.
Shirley could drop off anytime, anywhere, even while
driving.
Scary I made sure that when we went places
together, that I drove us.
Yes, I was a chicken
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Thanks Harry, I mailed that site to my daughter... she has alot of trouble sleeping. But she is afraid to get a sleep apnea test done for fear it going onto her military record, maybe this pillow would help her
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The pillow looks like it might help with obstructive sleep apnea, but would not do a thing for central sleep apnea. Only a sleep study (overnight stay in a sleep lab) will reveal which type of apnea it is.
I disagree with your daughter's approach to keeping this or any condition off her military medical records. Indeed, the proper procedure is to have every ache, pain and affliction documented while she is on active duty. After her separation or retirement, should she develop a cardiac, vascular, respiratory, etc. condition that can be related to sleep apnea in any way, then she can claim VA disability for that condition secondary to sleep apnea and get compensated for the disability for the rest of her life. On the other hand, if sleep apnea is not documented in her military medical records, then any possibly related conditions that appear down the road cannot be connected to her military service.
Aardvark, I understand and agree with your reasoning, but she is bound and determined that she wants nothing on her record that will make her undeployable... she is wanting to go back to Iraq, and is afraid that would stop her. I am hoping to get her home long enough to get some testing done by our naturopath... hopefully that will help!
__________________ God is and all is well
~John Greenleaf Whittier~
Chemicals found in green tea may be able to stave off the cognitive deficits that occur with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study published in the second issue for May of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Researchers examined the effects green tea polyphenols (GTP), administered through drinking water, on rats who were intermittently deprived of oxygen during 12-hour “night” cycles, mimicking the intermittent hypoxia (IH) that humans with OSA experience.
People with OSA have been reported to have increased markers of oxidative stress and exhibit architectural changes in their brain tissue in areas involved in learning and memory. Chronic IH in rats produce similar neurological deficit patterns.
“OSA has been increasingly recognized as a serious and frequent health condition with potential long-term morbidities that include learning and psychological disabilities […],” wrote David Gozal, M.D., professor and director of Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the University of Louisville, lead author of the article.
“A growing body of evidence suggests that the adverse neurobehavioral consequences imposed by IH stem, at least in part, from oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling cascades.”
GTPs are known to possess anti-oxidant properties, acting as a free radical scavengers, and research has shown that the compounds may reduce the risk of a variety of different diseases.
“Recent studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective activity of GTP in animal models of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease,” wrote Dr. Gozal.
In this study, the researchers divided 106 male rats into two groups that underwent intermittent oxygen depletion during the 12-hour “night” cycle for 14 days. One group received drinking water treated with GTP; the other received plain drinking water.
They were then tested for markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, as well as for performance in spatial learning and memory tasks—namely a water “maze” in which the rat had to memorize the location of a hidden platform.
The IH-rats that received the green tea-treated water performed significantly better in a water maze than the rats that drank plain water.
“GTP-treated rats exposed to IH displayed significantly greater spatial bias for the previous hidden platform position, indicating that GTPs are capable of attenuating IH-induced spatial learning deficits,” wrote Dr. Gozal, adding that GTPs “may represent a potential interventional strategy for patients” with sleep-disordered breathing.
Harry, I'm sure you've noticed that green tea seems to be beneficial for many types of problems.
but, I wonder if you compared the incident of these problems in countries where green tea is part of the culture (like Japan) against America where even though green tea is becoming more popular, it still isn't the main drink of the populace - I'm getting wordy here - but I wonder if statistics on these problems would show a difference? and what that difference would be?
like the studies of cancer between the US and India, where curcumin is a main spice. And I'm not saying these types of statistics prove anything... but you would think if something has been shown to help, then the stats should back it.
and green tea seems to be so beneficial in so many ways. so, I would think the stats would support this for those conditions improved by green tea.
I kind of doubt that such data currently exists or will be published anytime soon. A few reasons for this:
1. The green tea doesn't appear to stop the apnea. People with SA are likely to still snore as loudly, toss-and-turn as often, suffer from daytime cognitive-impairment (which is somewhat subjective anyway), etc.
2. The physical/mental measurements that improved, in the green tea study, would be hard to quantify in a population-based study.
They'd have to do before-and-after brain-testing (a huge maze? ) and they'd have to test the subjects for markers of oxidative stress and inflammation (in their brains no-less). In essence, we'd need human-rats.
3. There would likely be other confounding factors, like weight and physical fitness. I'd bet that countries that are generally less-obese than others ... would have lower-rates of SA (whether they drink green tea or not).
Lately, I've been drinking more white tea. I sometimes even replace a cup of coffee with a cup o' tea. I brew it strong though ... three-bags to the cup.
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well, I wasn't really just talking about apnea and green tea. and perhaps this is not the best "condition" to see if stats for different countries would back up what was found in these studies. I was talking about any of the studies with green tea. I was just thinking about this since green tea is consumed every day by a lot of people in japan - because of culture. As opposed to a certain fruit or food, or tree bark
Harry, I've been drinking more green tea since reading all your studies.. so, your posts are affecting my life!!! but forget the white tea. didn't like it. I'd go with red before white, and the rooibus is supposed to be very good, too. and no caffeine, so it is good at night.
but... your posts have also plunged me deeper into depravity. And I am holding you directly accountable. everytime I fix something new with my instant coffee... I mutter, Harry is making me do this!!! If only Harry had never posted about Mt. Hagen coffee... it was the beginning of the end!!!
So, after discovering how good instant coffee is with yogurt, I have now discovered mixing instant coffee with milk and a little sweetener, and pouring it over ice, to make ice coffee. and wondering if I can mix instant coffee with some instant cocoa and make hot chocolate coffee... hey, maybe next time, I will make coffee chocolates?
and at 3:00am, 4:00am, when I'm posting here.. I'm thinking of you, Harry... muttering...
Last edited by scorpiotiger; 05-15-2008 at 06:27 PM.
Harry, I've been drinking more green tea since reading all your studies.. so, your posts are affecting my life!!! but forget the white tea. didn't like it. I'd go with red before white, and the rooibus is supposed to be very good, too. and no caffeine, so it is good at night.
...
So, after discovering how good instant coffee is with yogurt, I have now discovered mixing instant coffee with milk and a little sweetener, and pouring it over ice, to make ice coffee. and wondering if I can mix instant coffee with some instant cocoa and make hot chocolate coffee... hey, maybe next time, I will make coffee chocolates?
ST,
I'll just say this ... white tea can be successfully masked (and made into something quite delicate and tasty, IMO). The key is to use 1 delicious tea bag along with a few (not so delicious) white tea bags. I actually enjoy the taste when I brew it that way.
Rooibos is also quite healthy but it's not nearly as well researched as actual tea. I don't care for it's taste but, I suppose the same principal would apply - add a yummy tea to the rooibos and bingo-bango.
I love iced-coffee. Coffee and cocoa? You better believe that's a winning combo. You just have to find the right balance ... and I know you will.
Mutter-away!
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Help for Sleep Apnea
I made sure that when we went places 
) and they'd have to test the subjects for markers of oxidative stress and inflammation (in their brains no-less). In essence, we'd need human-rats. 
And I am holding you directly accountable. everytime I fix something new with my instant coffee... I mutter, Harry is making me do this!!! If only Harry had never posted about Mt. Hagen coffee... it was the beginning of the end!!!
Linear Mode
