What if I were to tell you that there is a life-threatening disease out there that usually has no symptoms and now kills more Americans than HIV — and that most of the people who die from it are middle-aged? Unfortunately, this is all true. Ironically, we’ve all heard of this disease — it’s hepatitis C — but few of us appreciate how dangerous it has become.

To learn why hepatitis C (or “HCV,” with a “V” for virus) is on the rise and why it hits middle-agers the hardest, I called John A. Donovan, MD, a hepatologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

HCV is a bloodborne infection that can be transmitted through a needle (like a drug or tattoo needle). from mother to child during birth… through unprotected sex with an infected partner… and you may remember that in a recent Daily Health News story (see the January 2, 2012 issue) I told you that, though it’s not as common, you can even get HCV at a barbershop or a nail salon if the manager doesn’t impose strict hygiene rules and a contaminated instrument nicks your skin.

But why is HCV on the increase? According to Dr. Donovan, the reason is that until 1992, there was no test to detect HCV in the blood, so it was also transmitted in hospitals through blood transfusions and organ transplants. “There has been a delay in the outbreak of the disease because it can take decades for HCV to quietly cause significant liver disease — the first symptom is often a serious health problem like cirrhosis” (when scar tissue replaces normal liver tissue), said Dr. Donovan. Before 1992, the dangers of bloodborne infections weren’t nearly as well-known as they are today — so there weren’t programs in place to warn people about the risks. “In other words,” said Dr. Donovan, “this is a tsunami wave that started decades ago but is now cresting.”

Dr. Donovan said that the HCV upsurge mostly affects baby boomers (as opposed to older people) because in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, there was a rise in intravenous (IV) drug use, and during those years, baby boomers were in their teens, 20s and 30s and most likely to participate in risky activities like that. People older than baby boomers who missed the drug culture of those eras might have contracted HCV through a blood transfusion or an organ donation, for example, but since it can take decades for the disease to develop, HCV isn’t affecting as many in that population — probably because they will likely die from something else before HCV manifests itself.

Testing for HCV is currently recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force and National Institutes of Health only for people with known past exposures or risks, such as IV drug use and those who got blood transfusions or organ transplants before 1992. But since baby boomers are at higher risk and the disease can progress without symptoms, some doctors, according to Dr. Donovan, are more aggressive and prefer to test everyone born between 1946 and 1964.

If you are too embarrassed to talk to your doctor about some previous risky behavior and ask for an in-office blood test, donate blood. All donated blood is screened for HCV. If screening shows that you have HCV antibodies in your blood, you will be told, and you will need more tests to determine whether your liver function is compromised and how much of the virus is in your blood.

But don’t panic. Only about 20% of people with HCV develop cirrhosis, and only 1% to 5% of that group dies from its consequences (liver cancer or liver failure). Meanwhile, even if your liver is healthy, it’s important to know whether you have HCV because certain habits, such as consuming alcohol, can accelerate its progression. So the earlier you know, the earlier you can start protecting yourself with lifestyle changes.

Source:

John A. Donovan, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine, department of medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

• Bismuth-based therapy. Bismuth salts, originally believed to simply coat ulcers and physically block erosive stomach acid, now are known to directly attack and impair H. pylori.

• Digestive enzymes. Once irritation is resolved, hydrochloric acid (usually the supplement betaine hydrochloride) helps reestablish efficient acid production, which may have been interrupted by the infection but is necessary for normal digestion.

• Manuka honey. Evidence supporting the use of this New Zealand honey is largely anecdotal, but you may find that taking some before meals and before bed, helps combat H. pylori. Discuss with your doctor how much to take if you want to try this therapy.

• Mastic gum. This natural resin from the sap of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), which grows mainly on the Greek island of Chios, inhibits H. pylori growth, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Capsules can be found at iHerb.com and in health-food stores.

• Broccoli sprouts. A small Japanese trial suggests that broccoli sprouts activate protective enzymes. Unlike mature heads, the sprouts contain high levels of sulforaphane, a potent natural weapon against H. pylori colonization. These can be eaten in salads or on sandwiches as a way to help keep H. pylori in check. (See Daily Health News, September 3, 2009, for more on broccoli sprouts.)

• Bovine lactoferrin. Studies show that this protein from cows (consumed as a powder added to shakes and smoothies) improves the effectiveness of other therapies against H. pylori. It can be purchased at iHerb.com and in some health-food stores.

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Bottom Line/Women’s Health interviewed JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, professor of medicine and women’s health at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Boston. She is one of the lead investigators for two highly influential studies on women’s health — the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study and the Women’s Health Initiative. Dr. Manson is the author, with Shari Bassuk, ScD, of Hot Flashes, Hormones & Your Health (McGraw-Hill).

Source(s):

Mark Houston, MD, MS, associate clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and director of the Hypertension Institute, Vascular Biology and the Life Extension Institute at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville. He is author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypertension (Grand Central) and the upcoming book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Heart Disease (Grand Central).

Recent scientific studies and scholarly research have reached some startling conclusions about what makes people happy. To help understand how you can use this information, we spoke to Harvard lecturer and best-selling author Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD.
Each semester, more than 800 Harvard students register for his life-changing class on positive psychology. Students explore the question How can we help ourselves and others to become happier? The students read academic journal articles, test ideas, share personal stories and, by the end of the year, emerge with a clearer understanding of what psychology can teach us about leading happier, more fulfilling lives.

Is a person just “born happy” or “born unhappy”?
There is a genetic component to happiness. Some people are born with a happier disposition than others or with personality traits that are strong predictors of happiness, such as being sociable, active, stable and calm.
However, that doesn’t mean how happy we feel is out of our control. Our genes define a range, not a set point. “Grumpy” may not be able to cultivate the same view of life that “Happy” enjoys. A natural-born whiner may not be able to transform himself/herself into a Pollyanna. But we all can become significantly happier. Most people fall far short of their happiness potential.

Your research suggests that money and success matter little in terms of happiness.

Yet wouldn’t most people be happier if they won $5 million or a Nobel Prize?

This is a concept that my students and our society in general struggle with. Happiness largely depends on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. It depends on what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and on our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?
One of the most common barriers to happiness is the false expectation that one thing — a promotion at work, a prize, a revelation — will bring us eternal bliss. As soon as you achieve your goal, the “what’s next” syndrome kicks in, leaving you as unfulfilled as before.
Let me tell you a personal story. When I was 16 years old, I won the Israeli National Squash Championship. I always believed that winning the title would make me happy and alleviate the emptiness I felt so much of the time. Winning the championship was necessary for fulfillment. Fulfillment was necessary for happiness. That was the logic I operated under.
After a night of celebration, I retired to my room to savor that feeling of supreme happiness. But my feelings of emptiness returned. I sat around trying to convince myself that perhaps substituting a new goal — winning the World Championship — would finally lead me to happiness.
What I came to realize was that a major victory can contribute to our well-being, but at best, it forms a small part of the mosaic of a happy life. The fairy-tale notion of happiness — that something will carry us to the happily ever after — inevitably leads to disappointment. A happy life is rarely shaped by some extraordinary life-changing event. Rather, it is shaped incrementally, experience by experience, moment by moment.

So what does make us happy?
We must first accept that this is it! All there is to life is the day-to-day, the ordinary, the details of the mosaic. We are living a happy life when we derive pleasure and meaning while spending time with our loved ones or learning something new. The more our days are filled with these experiences, the happier we become.
The other significant component of happiness is that helping oneself and helping others are inextricably intertwined. The more we help others, the happier we become… and the happier we become, the more inclined we are to help others. Our nature is such that there are few more satisfying acts than sharing with others, than feeling that we contributed to the lives of others.

What else can people do to be happy?
There are several things you can start right away…

Simplify.
We are too busy trying to squeeze more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.

Introduce rituals into your life that are motivated by deeply held values.
Think about what rituals would make you happier. It could be watching two movies a month or going on a date with your spouse every Tuesday. People are resistant to the idea of introducing ritualistic behavior in their lives because they think it will detract from spontaneity. But if you don’t ritualize activities you cherish, you often don’t get to them.

Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, rather than taking them for granted.
One of the best ways to do this is by keeping a daily gratitude journal. Each night, before you go to sleep, write down at least five things that made or make you happy. These can be little or big — from a meal you enjoyed to a meaningful conversation you had with a friend, from a project at work, to God.

What if a person is going through a really hard time in his life — for example, he dislikes his job, but there’s nothing he can do about it right away. How can that person be happier?
We all must endure periods, sometimes extended ones, in which much of what we do affords us minimal satisfaction. During those times, it’s important to see these periods with a broader perspective and find ways to imbue them with meaning.
In a fascinating study of hospital janitors, one group experienced their work as boring and meaningless, but the other group perceived the same work as engaging and meaningful because they crafted their work in creative ways. They interacted more with nurses and patients, and they saw their work not merely as removing the garbage and washing dirty linen but contributing to the patients’ well-being and the smooth functioning of the hospital.
When changing your perception isn’t feasible or effective, I find that one or two happy experiences during an otherwise uninspiring period can transform our general state. These brief but transforming experiences, which I call “happiness boosters” provide us with meaning and pleasure.
For example, I met a partner in a top consulting firm. Now in his 50s, he no longer enjoys consulting, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to leave his profession or give up the lifestyle that he and his family have grown accustomed to. He was able to reduce his workload enough to spend two evenings each week with his family. He also plays tennis twice a week and reads for three hours. He joined the board of his former high school, where he feels he can contribute in a meaningful way to the next generation. In an ideal world, he would be spending his working hours doing something he is passionate about, but he is still happier than he has been in a long time.

Source(s):
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD, one of Harvard University’s most popular lecturers. For the past 10 years, he has taught personal and organizational excellence, leadership, ethics and self-esteem. His best-selling book, Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment (McGraw-Hill), has been translated into more than 20 languages