Food can be a drug. This is something we've heard acknowledged in passing conversation -- but now our speculations have been scientifically confirmed. U.S. researchers have found that when obese people eat to excess, the same brain circuits are active as when drug addicts think about their cravings. The hope of the researchers is that this fact may lead the way for more effective treatment -- maybe like fat rehab. Obese people use food to fill up their emotional holes just like junkies use drugs to numb their pain. The researchers found more links between emotions, memory and desire to eat in the brain activity associated with eating excessively. Obese people need compassion and support just the way drug addicts do.

By Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates, one million adults and two million children have prescriptions filled each month to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The drugs are stimulants and as such, pose potential risk for heart problems, stunted growth, seizures, vision problems and psychotic behavior.

Recent decisions will now require drug makers to include a warning with the medication about the possible risk of serious health problems and sudden death.

According to the Reuters news release, Canadian health authorities have already publicly warned people with high blood pressure, heart disease and other medical problems to avoid taking medications for ADHD.

The two drugs specifically mentioned as requiring the new warning are GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Dexedrine and Novartis AG's Ritalin. There are other ADHD drugs prescribed, Johnson & Johnson's Concerta and Eli Lilly's Strattera, but it has not been confirmed if these two will also be required to carry the new warning.

The National Institute of Mental Health has published a comprehensive booklet online about ADHD that gives the reader a detailed idea of what ADHD is and might offer an understanding of why many critics state that ADHD is not only over-diagnosed but over-medicated as well.

Broiled and baked fish consumption has been found to be beneficial not just for improving irregular heart beats, but also to the hearts electrical circuitry as well -- preventing fatal heart rhythm diseases. The Harvard based Cardiovascular Health Study documented the effects of fish n-3 fatty acid intake in 5096 subjects aged 65 and older.

The study showed the participants heart rate reduced with a weekly dose of baked or broiled fish. The healthy heart rhythm benefits increased the more frequent the fish was consumed -- as often as five times a week. Conversely, the evidence of benefits weakened if fish was eaten less than once a month. Consumption of fried fish, which is the most common preparation for fish in the U.S. -- think fish burgers and fish sticks -- had zero health benefits.

Long QT syndrome (LQTS), a genetic heart condition, is the leading cause of sudden death among children and young adults, according to recent Italian research. Often, symptoms may not be apparent. Screening is being recommended for babies as young as 3 to 4 weeks old.

An estimated 250 lives could be saved in the European Union a year by screening for the electrical heart rhythm disorder. Deaths caused by LQTS are often mistaken as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), say researchers. Symptoms can include fainting and abnormal heart rhythm. In certain inherited types of LQTS, deafness can occur. It can be treated if diagnosed, often through surgery involving a defibrillator implant or with drugs such as beta blockers.

Although Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest actress Keira Knightley's grandmother and great-grandmother suffered from anorexia, the ultra-thin young woman insists she does not suffer from the same disease. When she showed up at the London premiere of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie in a low-cut, backless bronze Gucci dress, she was confronted with questions about her health regarding her waif-like appearance.

Knightley assured the reporters that she is fully-aware of the signs and dangers of anorexia because of her family history with the disease and that she does not have an eating disorder. She would certainly not be the first Hollywood actress to come under suspicion for anorexia, as it seems a current trend to be as thin as possible these days. But anorexia is not simply a matter of being underweight, it is a disease that can kill.

According to the Mayo Clinic, heart disease is the most common medical cause of death in people with severe anorexia. Anorexia can cause irregular heart rhythms; smaller heart muscles because the heart muscles lose size during starvation; drop in blood pressure and an imbalance of minerals essential to good heart health.

Evidence produced using the HeartMath Freeze-Framer shows a link between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and cardiac arrhythmia in children. The HeartMath Freeze-Framer heart rhythm coherence feedback system is a tool to monitor real-time heart rhythm patterns. Use of this system "objectively quantifies a beneficial state known as psycho-physiological coherence," says Shari St. Martin, Ph.D. The object of working with this tool is emotional-refocusing, a skill that helps self-manage stress under any condition or circumstance. The learning process incorporates the use of specific games in conjunction with the Freeze Framer to redefine the childs coping mechanisms.

St. Martin taught HeartMath tools to ADHD students, ages 6 to 18, in Guadalajara-- in both educational and clinical settings. Upon using the Freeze-Framer system to read their heart rhythms, she discovered most of the children shared abnormal heart rhythm patterns, or cardiac arrhythmia. This evidence was then confirmed by a local cardiologist. It also points to an important mind-body connection in the manifestation of ADHD symptoms.

Since 2001, St. Martin has successfully treated 396 ADHD children using the HeartMath techniques, enabling them to self-regulate their emotions-- thus controlling their own behavior. The HeartMath tools also corrected the arrhythmia, helped boost their self-esteem, and prevented the need for medication. Though the symptoms of cardiac arrhythmia may contribute to the manifestation of ADHD behaviors, the American Psychiatric Association and its DSM-IV diagnostic criteria maintain that ADHD is not a biologically founded disorder. ADHD is viewed primarily as a result of the childs environment. Helping these children learn to emotionally cope with stress contributes to better behavior and improved health, without the use of mind-altering drugs.

Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating can be detrimental to overall health, especially the heart. A new study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine reports that insecure attachment and early separation anxiety, which have a direct relation to an individual's self-worth, are key factors in developing the negative body image that leads to eating disorders.

Attachment theory explains that early experience shapes the adult personality. Babies that are not properly cared for emotionally, who are neglected or rejected by their caregiver, can develop a very low sense of self-worth and require much attention and approval from others. This insecure attachment consistently leads to a negative body image and an impossible pursuit of perfection.

Many -- more than you may be aware -- suffer from anorexia and bulimia, psychiatric conditions with the highest incidence of death. These eating disorders can result in many health problems including congestive heart failure. If laxatives or water pills are used for weight loss, heart palpitations can occur. With binge-eaters -- related to bulimics, but without the purging -- obesity will develop while trying to cope with stress and rejection using food. This weight gain can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks and diabetes. If you have an eating disorder, do not be ashamed. It is an affliction of many, and help is available from your doctor. 

Aggressive and impulsive behavior in teens is linked to first-time cigarette, marijuana and alcohol use, concludes a new study. First-time use is linked to future vulnerability to substance abuse. The aim of the study is to understand the behavioral factors that lead to use and abuse early in life, so as to initiate preventative measures for individuals and society. Substance abuse is generally tied to an overall unhealthy lifestyle that could lead to future illness such as heart disease.

Researchers followed 78 twelve to fourteen-year old ADHD diagnosed boys and girls for four years. The associations between substance-use initiation and aggressive or impulsive behavior were independently linked, and did not have association with the ADHD diagnosis. The study suggests there are particular biological factors that predispose a person to trying a particular substance. Of the 41 participants who had tried a substance by the end of the four-year study, those who were more aggressive were prone to try cigarettes and pot, while those who exhibited more impulsive behavior were more likely to try alcohol.

Suddenly he's honking the horn and screaming at another driver. Out of nowhere, she starts breaking dishes on the floor, enraged. Family members freeze, wait it out. Doctors have finally named a long-misunderstood condition-- intermittent explosive disorder. As many as 16 million Americans experience these uncontrollable temper outbursts. Recent studies have shown that people who are angrier in life are more prone to heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases.

Intermittent explosive disorder is defined as multiple outbursts that are hugely out of proportion to the situation. For most sufferers, episodes begin in early adolescence and continue to cause problems later in life. The disorder involves a serotonin deficiency, the brain chemical that regulates mood and controls behavior. Many sufferers tend to use alcohol and drugs to self-medicate, which in turn aggravates the condition. Treatment is available, involving a combination of anti-depressants and anger management behavioral therapy.

Depressed children are more likely to become smokers as adults, a new study from Finland found. Researchers tracked male children over a ten-year period, beginning at age eight. The boys with symptoms of depression were 20 percent more likely to smoke at age 18. They were also 40 percent more likely to become heavy smokers, raising the risk of future heart problems even higher.

The study, the first of its scope, identified boys afflicted by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as 20 to 30 percent more likely to smoke than other boys. As smoking calms the nerves and slightly improves focus, it is indisputably claimed by researchers as self-medication for the depressed and hyperactive.

About 3.3 million Americans 19 and under and almost 1.5 million over 20 take ADHD medicines. Nineteen child deaths were reported to the FDA from 1999 to 2003. At least 54 other cases involving serious heart problems were reported.

Attention deficit drugs like Ritalin, Concerta and Adderall send thousands of children and adults to emergency rooms every year. Many visits are the result of side effects such as chest pain, stroke, high blood pressure and accelerated heart rate. The first national estimates report two-thirds of the ER cases are accidental overdoses and could be prevented by parents locking the pills away, say researchers.

There are alternative methods by which to treat and prevent ADHD, such as biotechnology, visualization and meditative-based practices. These practices do not involve altering body chemistry with drugs. Instead they calm and maintain healthy coherent heart rhythms. Specific techniques can be found at the Institute of HeartMath.