2008-01-03T12:13:26-08:00
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00
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2008-01-03T14:38:04-08:00
Laughter is the Best Medicine!
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00
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2008-01-03T12:19:47-08:00
The Healthy Humorist--Brad Nieder, M.D.
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2008-01-03T14:51:54-08:00
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><STRONG><SPAN class=size_3><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman">"Laughter is the Best Medicine" </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P align=center><STRONG><SPAN class=size_3><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman">The Healthy Humorist--Brad Nieder, M.D.</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"> </SPAN></SPAN> </P>
<P align=center><STRONG><FONT size=3>866-HUMOR-MD</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P align=center><A href="http://www.healthyhumorist.com/" mce_href="http://www.healthyhumorist.com"><SPAN class=size_3>www.healthyhumorist.com</SPAN></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%" mce_keep="true"> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Patients frequently come up to me and say, “Dr. Bruce, you always say, ‘Laughter is the best medicine,’ but listen to this: my sister’s friend’s second-cousin-once-removed’s brother-in-law was drinking a beer last weekend and the dog made him laugh so hard that he snorted the beer up his nose and ended up with a sinus infection. So, you see, doc, laughter ain’t such a good medicine after all, is it?”</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">“My name’s Brad,” I reply. </SPAN></P>
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<P class=sub style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in"><STRONG><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">My Hypothesis</SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">But they got me thinking, those clever patients. Is laughter really the best medicine? Perhaps that common phrase isn’t accurate at all. Perhaps laughter really is harmful to one’s health. Some people claim to have laughed so hard they’ve been “in stitches.” Others state they have been “weak in the knees” with laughter. Some folks even say they have “bust a gut” laughing. </SPAN><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">I decided to investigate the theory. Who’s better qualified than I? After all, I’m a trained physician and comedian, educated in the art of observing people naked without laughing, and armed with a white coat, safety goggles, and urinalysis cups. I can speak in acronyms such as: “We have an SOB with SOB and AOB. He's also got BO. I mean PU! Apparently it was a DUI in his BMW. So, start an IV. Draw a CBC with a PT and PTT. Get a UA and an ABG and an EKG and an MRI. Call the ICU and the OR and his PCP ASAP. Give him some TLC. In fact, turn on the NBA on NBC on his TV--I hear the MVP tore his ACL! I just have to take a quick TO and SUV to the ATM to get a BLT and some LMNOP and 'Now I know my ABC's!' Next time HMO pay me!"</SPAN></P>
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<P class=sub style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in"><STRONG><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Testing the Hypothesis</SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=sub style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"><SPAN color="#000000"> Feeling eminently qualified, I set out to test the hypothesis that laughter is the best medicine. View my findings below!</SPAN></SPAN></P>
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00
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2008-01-03T13:14:35-08:00
Laughter--The Best Medicine?
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00
2008-01-03T15:04:58-08:00
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Perhaps the popular phrase should be revised to read: “Laughter is the Best Medicine . . . unless you have an infection. Or you’re having a heart attack. Or you’re recovering from surgery. Or you have ‘giggle incontinence.’ So, laughter is really about the 5th or 6th best medicine.”</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">On the other hand, let’s face it, laughter <EM>is</EM> very powerful. It’s no secret. We’ve known the benefits of laughter for a long time. In fact, way back in the 17th century, a physician named Thomas Sydenham wrote, “The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than twenty asses laden with drugs.”</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Times have changed a little bit, because these days you can’t call the drug reps “asses.” I've tried, and they cut you off on the free pens and the steak dinners. You just can't get away with it.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">We all know, of course, that Dr. Sydenham was referring to donkeys. Well, there I was researching laughter as medicine, and I came upon his curious statement. It got me thinking about a new treatment modality. Check it out below. </SPAN></P>
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00
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2008-01-03T15:39:55-08:00
Tickle Therapy
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00
2008-01-03T15:51:32-08:00
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Since Dr. Sydenham’s day, numerous studies have been conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of laughter as a medicine. I haven’t read these studies. I just don’t have the attention span. I think it’s a little ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) thing; no big deal. It’s quite common actually. In fact, we all have a little ADD. A recent study in the <EM>New England Journal of Medicine</EM> stated that 80% of people with ADD have . . . Whoa! A smiling paperclip just knocked on my computer monitor at me! Hey guy! Nice eyebrows!</SPAN></P>
<P class=sub style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in"><STRONG><SPAN class=size_3 style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Read the Studies</SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"><SPAN color="#000000">Anyhoo, where was I? Oh, yes, medical studies. Even if I had the attention span, I just don’t have the time, what with my busy schedule of keeping patients waiting for hours in backless paper dresses browsing issues of <EM>National Geographic</EM> two decades old while I practice my putting. But I encourage you to read the studies.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"><SPAN class=size_3 color="#000000">If you do manage to review the <EM>Annals of Long and Boring Articles</EM>, the <EM>Journal of Absurd Medical Minutiae,</EM> and other fine compendia, you’ll find the following benefits of laughter:</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>1.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>Laughter is free (a great benefit in today’s age of seeking cost-effective treatments).</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>2.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It’s free of dyes and perfumes (not to mention free of artificial flavors and colors, fat-free, sugar-free, sodium-free and cholesterol-free).</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>3.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It enhances our resistance to illness by boosting the immune system.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>4.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It reduces levels of stress hormones such as cortisol in the blood.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>5.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It enhances pain management by raising pain thresholds.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>6.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It provides a good, quick aerobic workout for the heart and lungs.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>7.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It provides a workout for the abdomen, diaphragm, and facial muscles.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>8.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It doesn’t require filling out time-consuming insurance claims.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>9.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: " face="'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=size_3>It enhances romance. After all, numerous surveys indicate that a sense of humor is the most desirable trait in a mate. Who needs oysters? </SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; tab-stops: list .75in"><SPAN color="#000000"><SPAN class=size_3></SPAN></SPAN><FONT size=3>10. It keeps us young. It actually slows the aging process. Listen below to an excerpt from my "Laughter is the Best Medicine" CD.</FONT></SPAN> </P>
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2008-01-03T17:37:00-08:00
Slowing the Aging Process
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2008-01-03T17:41:43-08:00
<P class=sub style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in"><STRONG><SPAN class=size_3 color="#000000">Second Opinion</SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 color="#000000">I can tell you’re still skeptical. If you want a second opinion, let me refer you to a lady who was in the audience during one of my recent speaking engagements. She came up to me after the presentation, her hand trembling from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, and said, “You see my hand, doctor? See how it shakes? Well, it stopped shaking when I was laughing at your jokes. Thank you for treating me!” Wow! Powerful stuff! And better than most pills. Even Percocet.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 color="#000000">So you see, laughter is indeed good medicine. I hope that soon Aetna will begin to accept physician referrals to comedy clubs (“still a two-drink minimum in addition to your copay”), but even if we do see that day, laughter can’t stand alone. It’s no miracle cure. Rather, it’s effective as an integral part of a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle. </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt 0in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN class=size_3 color="#000000">With that thought in mind, here’s a final bit of wellness advice, offered in the form of a tribute to my true mentor and favorite doctor: Dr. Seuss.</SPAN></P>
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2008-01-03T14:07:30-08:00
Wellness Poem Finale
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2008-01-04T00:04:19-08:00