The untimely passing of Robin Williams has shined a very bright and necessary light upon the diseases of addiction and depression. The comedian and beloved actor was widely regarded for his one-of-a-kind style and talents on stage and screen. However, his personal life was the opposite of what many of us could ever imagine.

The signs of depression and addiction can be as clear as deep sadness and never being able to function without a drink (respectively), to as seemingly faint as just feeling “blah” on a regular basis. Neither case should be ignored. Much like cancer or diabetes, you need to have these warning signs checked out as early as possible.

Depression and addiction are two separate, but often interrelated, diseases that need to be treated and openly shared with caring professionals. Long gone are the days when you have to hide and fear for being “found out” as suffering from depression or addiction. Williams, who was 63 at the time of his death, chronicled his struggles with the debilitating effects of depression and addiction, but he is an important example of how a “cure” takes time and many starts and stops. This does not mean it’s impossible by any stretch of the imagination.

Depression and Addiction: Celebrating Recovery

The day after the news of Robin Williams’ death, one half of the Mike and Mike Radio program on ESPN, Mike Greenberg, shared (and not for the first time) his decades-long success in the treatment of his depression. As he shared his thoughts, he made it clear that he was not the severest among the potential cases of depression, but his quality of life had dramatically increased once he was in the care of a trained physician. Through the use of therapy, medication and knowing the warning the signs, Greenberg has found it less difficult to deal with the highs and lows of depression.

On the addiction side, Robert Downey, Jr., the highest-paid actor in Hollywood today, was once on his final legs as an actor. His multiple rehab stints and arrests seemed ineffective, and he was hired less and less. Fortunately for us, the great actor was able to find the right combination of addiction treatment to give him the fresh start he needed. Now, he is healthier and happier and having the best decade of his life.

You can also overcome the depression and addiction that might be a part of your life. You are not alone, and there are wonderful people willing to help you. If you are committed to a seeking treatment, you are not guaranteed an immediate recovery success story. However, if you stick to it, and allow yourself the freedom of seeking help and sharing, then you have the best chance for a brighter tomorrow. You can do it!

We have listed only a few of the options available to you for depression and addiction treatment and recovery. Please explore them if you, or someone you know, are experiencing any signs of depression or addiction. Maybe the lose of a genius like Robin Williams can open our eyes to the importance of one another and our physical and mental health.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Half of Us

American Society of Addiction Medicine

Recovery

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Though I have my doubts that any of you were devastated by the lack of a post yesterday (since I use this space to complain for a few hundred words) I am back with the third and fourth editions of my Daniel Plan journal. The great folks here at Happy Healthy Hub have graciously given me this time to share my firsthand experience with the latest clean-eating diet plan sweeping the nation. As I stated before, this is not an advertisement for the makers of this eating program, and I am receiving no compensation for the write up. However, I will tell you what I am receiving — a great appreciation for my partner in crime: through this experience, my wife and I have become diet buddies.

I know that sounds strange, but much like peanut butter and jelly (as seen in that mouthwateringly beautiful picture at the top — eat ’em if you got ’em, because I can’t), we go together well. If we weren’t diet buddies, this little experiment would’ve ended the night before we started. This journal and my wife are keeping me on task. Otherwise, I would be on a PB&J bender right now since that is the craving of the moment. Yesterday it was buttered biscuits, and I don’t really like buttered biscuits. Go figure.

Diet Buddies: A Necessary Part of Any Health Plan

The Daniel Plan touts the importance of small group support. Whether you have two people or ten, the biggest success stories come from the result of people supporting one another. Hence our mutual need for diet buddies. We give each other the room to share our feelings on a particular food, exercise or craving, and neither of us are critical of the other. We both are going through it, so we both benefit from a caring ear. If she was not there for me, I’d probably be eating a calzone right now since that is the craving of the moment.

If you choose to make a similar clean eating choice — no matter the plan you follow — seek support from others. Even if they are not doing it as well, trusted people can make the best diet buddies. Plus, as is the case for my fortunate situation, it can help the two of you become closer as a result of the emotional and physical struggles related to dieting and changing your lifestyles. Eventually when the two or more of you make it to the point where you can cheat from time to time, they can go with you to get enchiladas (since that is the craving of the moment).

My Daniel Plan Journal Day 3 and 4

Good: The day 4 dinner was fantastic — Walnut Pesto Chicken! There just wasn’t enough of it. However, it did teach me how to savor food in light of …

Bad: The Chia coconut brown rice breakfast bowl (I refuse to share a recipe because I like you) was something of my childhood nightmares. I ate 3/4 of it and quit before 3/4 of it returned to the scene.

Goal for tomorrow: To only speak positively of how I feel, instead of talking constantly about wanting fried chicken tenders (since that is the craving of the moment).

Recommendations to others considering the plan: Give yourself plenty of time to prep your meals, especially when you are taking it to work or out of town. I attended a conference yesterday, and I didn’t have the ability to cook in the morning/afternoon and the late night before was worth it. Also, if you are snacking in front of a room of strangers, be prepared for the glances you’ll get as you eat roasted chickpeas and a hardboiled egg. That is definitely not the sign of a stable person who you want to sit with at a conference.

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I had a good diet day. This was an unexpected development after the horrible first day my wife and I experience yesterday, We are attempting  to make it through the “40 Days to a Healthier Life” known as the Daniel Plan, and it has been harder than we thought. The first day found us struggling against stank tasting shakes, infant portion sizes and all the evils of less caffeine. By the time we exercised (which amounted to shuffling around our neighborhood for 30 minutes or so) in the evening, we were spent. We went to bed early and and slept late like I did when I ate anything I wanted and owned a beeper. But in the immortal words of Ice Cube, “Today was a good day.”

What really helped make this the good diet day worth noting was the return of some normal-like foods. We had an omelette in the morning, lettuce wraps at lunch and lean beef stew for dinner. None of which made me forget I was on a diet. And yet, if I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that I wanted to eat what I was having at that moment. It was a magical change from the day before. One the first day of our cleanse, I had to imagine the food as a less-awful tasting version of what I was actually eating. Not a task for the caffeine-deprived.

For my journal today, I’m going to briefly focus on the overall physical and mental feelings I had today compared to yesterday. The first day did a number on my mind, but the second gave me clarity and a vision for the rest of the 40 day cleaner eating journey.

Good Diet Day, Better Mental Health Day, Too

I can withstand a good deal of physical discomfort. That is a skill I developed as a runner, and it has carried over into my less healthy habits. However, when I am not mentally coherent, I am not the best person to be around. This goes for times when I need medication or when I am confused by a subject or issue. I always want to be in mental control.

The Daniel Plan stripped me of this ability very quickly. It’s probably because a lot of the poisons I have pumped into my system through the years have given me temporary results. Today was a good diet day because I felt more like myself.

That was the scary part of day one. I was easily distracted, had a raging headache and got angry very easily.  I expect more days like that one, but this one was a far more emotionally-sound day. Fortunately, in my desperation to find ways to get over writer’s block and work like normal, I didn’t grab another Diet Coke or a bag of potato chips. I feel better for it today and my gut thanked me for it. Audibly. With actual words and facial expressions. Maybe I’m not as put together as I thought!

My Daniel Plan Journal Day 2

Good: The beef stew dinner was almost like regular beef stew — it was filling, quasi-flavorful and lacked any resemblance to the previous day’s menu. Also, we “cheated” and had half an apple and half a banana with a little almond butter for “dessert” (so worth it).

Bad: The roasted chickpea “snack” was not as tasty as expected. I love chickpeas, so I was a little disappointed, but the “ho hum” dish might have been the result of our inexperience at preparing it.

Goal for tomorrow: Do whatever I can to only have a brain-splitting headache for part of the day.

Recommendations to others considering the plan: No matter how whiny I come across right now, try to cut back on caffeine as the plan advises. The sacrifices you’ll make today will do wonders for you in the long-term. People may avoid you as you scream disturbing, made-up words at them, but it will lead to good diet days and a happier you.

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I really think this is a bad diet idea. This has not been a good day. I started the Daniel Plan today (this was written yesterday, July 21), and I am starting to regret gaining weight in the first place, because it forced me to lose it. I realize I will be a lot happier in 40 days, but this first day is crap.

I went nuts yesterday. I did everything I knew I wasn’t supposed to do in a healthy living lifestyle and compressed it into three days of bad choices and an upset stomach. I enjoyed barbecue on Friday; pizza on Saturday; and wrapped it up with a  day of hamburgers, fried everything and DQ. I thought to myself, “If I’m going to detox my system, I might as well go all out. I thought this would prepare me. I was wrong.

Before you think I’m going to quit or that I have already written this plan off, realize that it’s the hunger talking. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I’m stubborn enough to stick to something, but old enough to complain about it until it’s over. So bear with me, and I’ll do my best to share some useful thoughts in spite of the brain-splitting caffeine cravings.

Bad Diet Idea? Nah …

The Daniel Plan offers many of the standard foods you expect to eat during a healthy eating/food detox program. They’ve got the shakes (which I am getting as we speak from the lack of FOOD!) and vegetable combinations, snacks that before today would have been considered an insult and there’s the constant concern with drinking water instead of your other favorite beverages. I’m not unfamiliar with the ways of these types of plans. I went into this morning with this knowledge and knew I could harness it for the good of my sanity. I was wrong.

I started the day with a breakfast shake endorsed by one of the leading doctors who developed the Daniel Plan.This is when I began questioning whether this was a bad diet idea. My wife has joined me in this move for better health, and as I was attending to our daughters at breakfast, she began drinking what looks like an Oreo milkshake. She later dubbed it “stank.” Not the “stank shake” or “stank in a cup.” Nope, she kept it simple. Stank.

She walked around the room trying to choke down each mouthful. I offered my loving support by taunting her mercilessly. I laughed and giggled and took great humor in the fact that it would not be nearly as difficult for me. I can eat just about anything. I was wrong.

Fortunately, I went with the chug method. This was the only saving factor for me. If I would’ve attempted to drink it like a human being, then I would be at the big and tall store right now. The science behind this drinking and the other meals we enjoyed (?) today makes sense. We need to cleanse our bodies of the bad stuff so the good stuff can start happening. Nothing good happened today.

I must admit, I stay up late hours and wake up early. It’s a part of being a business owner and a wannabe good dad and husband. I drink A LOT of caffeine. This was the most difficult part of the day for me. I drink a lot of water already, but I also balance it out with more than 2 liters of soft drinks. I had a mere fraction of that today. This caused me to go to bed earlier than necessary. Not the most productive of activities, but the forced rest made me reconsider calling this a bad diet idea just yet.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow but as you can see from this post, this diet is messing with my mind. So I may just have a passerby take a picture of me passed out in the kitchen holding an unopened bag of cookies as my contribution to my Daniel Plan journal tomorrow. I hope I’m wrong.

My Daniel Plan Journal Day 1

Good: Enjoyed the quinoa lunch; most of my “good” list is a projection of the results, not of the day itself

Bad: Why bother …

Goal for tomorrow: Wake up at my goal weight

Recommendations to others considering the plan: If you are a nightly dessert eater, add something after dinner (my wife and I split an apple and string cheese). After exercise and making it through the meals, we were spent at 8 p.m.

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Needed more convincing that a sedentary lifestyle is harmful for your health? Researchers from the University of Regensburg’s Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine in Germany have discovered a connection between sitting down for long periods of time and certain forms of cancer.

Video Overview

This information was gathered from 43 previously conducted studies that monitored nearly 69,000 cancer patients. Dr. Daniela Schmid was the lead on this review of data, and she and her coauthor found an unfortunate link between patients diagnosed with colon or endometrial cancer and prolonged sitting or lying down. This does not mean that being an immovable T.V. watcher or office worker guarantees cancer.

“Cancer is a complex disease and has numerous possible causes, including genetic factors, environmental factors, and lifestyle factors,” Schmid told Reuters Health. “Prolonged sedentary time has been linked to other chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease as well as cancer.”

Sitting, Cancer and Television

The amount one sits over the course of a day, or the total time spent at a desk for work, did not appear to have the same harmful affect as sitting and watching TV. For many people, according to the research, TV time is a perfect opportunity to have a snack (usually not of the “doctor recommended” variety), enjoy a cigarette or drink sugary beverages.

Connections were not drawn to other cancers, including prostate, ovarian, testicular, breast and esophageal. However, lung cancer appeared to be affected by extended time sitting (not necessarily in front of the television).

It is not a surprising study in the sense that being inactive can cause harm. However, the fact remains that most people do not draw the line from cancer to sitting around. The concern many years ago was that sitting and watching TV could cause cancer, but it was due to the television set itself.

And yet, as with many cancers, diabetes and heart disease, poor health is an issue of the accumulation of multiple factors. For instance, endometrial cancer is often seen as brought about by obesity. If one sits and watches TV, they are not immediately given a bad diagnosis. It’s the combination of taking in too many calories and never burning them that makes the person obese.

Once the person is obese, and they have moved from choosing to live a life of sitting around (not all people make that choice from the start; this example only applies to those who do) to having no choice in the matter, then illnesses and disease rear their heads.

Doctors recommend that all people need to break up their sitting time by getting up, moving around and going outside. Plus, if you do find yourself sitting in front of the TV, avoid snacks that you know better than to eat in the first place.

These simple steps do not guarantee avoiding cancer, but they do give you a chance at better healthy.

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A study published in the journal, Neurology, reports that diets heavy in protein will lower blood pressure, and in turn, minimize the possibility of stroke. The Nanjing University School of Medicine in China conducted the survey, and their researchers made this dramatic discovery by using meta-analyisis of any and all related data (the United States and Japan were countries that had data analyzed for the study).

The numbers were impressive: survey participants who consumed the highest levels of protein were 20% less likely to suffer a stroke. On average, if a person eats an additional 20g of protein daily, strokes are 26% less probable, according to the research.

Stroke Risk Reducer: What does it Mean Moving Forward?

The American Stroke Association says that each year more than 795,000 U.S. citizens have a stroke for the first time, or suffer from the recurrence of a previous stroke. A diet high in fat, as well as being overweight, causes high blood pressure, which allows fatty plaques in arteries to back up, which leads to atherosclerosis and potentially stroke. Any advances brought about by protein cannot entirely combat a person’s fat intake and poor eating habits, but it can provide a basis for future dietary and lifestyle changes.

Preferably, individuals should select proteins derived from animals over vegetables. Also, with red meat connected to higher stroke risk, the researchers encouraged people to eat fish instead of steak and its counterparts. It should be noted that with Japan as a studied nation, the connection to fish is interesting since is a larger staple in Japanese diets.

Ultimately, all of the positives in the study seem to point to protein and blood pressure, rather than a direct connection from protein to stroke. Further research is expected to incorporate more participants who eat vegetable proteins and to highlight other medical variations. The researchers estimated that the risk reduction translates into nearly 1.5 million fewer stroke-related deaths worldwide and fewer people suffering from the health difficulties caused by the aftereffects of stroke.

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In 1991, the percentage of teenagers who admitted to smoking cigarettes was at 27.5%, but a recent revelation gives hope for the future health and well-being of our country. According to a biennial survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2013 percentage for teen smoking has dipped to the lowest numbers in the survey’s history: a surprising 15.7%.

“I think the bottom line is that our teens are choosing health,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said.

The current totals are nearly 20% less than the all-time high of 36.4% in 1997, and well ahead of the U.S. government’s goal of  less than 16% by 2020. Vince Willmore, spokesperson for the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, believes that cigarette taxes and anti-tobacco education has made an impact on our nation’s teen smoking rates. However, his satisfaction with the improved numbers is tempered by the fact that there are “still 2.7 million high school kids who smoke.”

If Fewer Teens are Smoking, Then What are They Doing Instead?

Every positive in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, seemed to correlate to a no change or negative. The CDC polls more than 13,000 teenagers every two years on topics not just limited to smoking, including drinking, sexual activity, food and soda consumption, exercise decisions and much more. The private and public school students who participated in the 2013 survey gave valuable insights into how they spend their time and what risks they are willing to take.

• As previously stated, the number of teenagers smoking cigarettes has dipped to historically-low levels, but this does not represent a full disavowal of tobacco and related products. Cigar, e-cigarette and hookah use is on the rise, while smokeless tobacco has remained steady for 15 years.

• More teenagers are using birth control to combat pregnancy, but condom use has decreased from 63% in 2003 to 59% among the sexually-active one-third of the teen population. (Obviously condoms serve as a form of birth control, but they are vital in the prevention of HIV and STDs.)

• The percentage of teenagers who watch television for three hours each day has dropped from 43% to 32% since 1999. Conversely, the number of teens who use their computers for “non-school activities” increased by nearly 20% since 2003: from 22% to 41%.

The overall survey numbers are only a sampling of the wider range of risky behaviors teenagers engage in regularly. Other areas of note included a decrease in school fights and weapon possession, no change on the national rate of teenage heroine users and a new focus upon texting/emailing and driving. The survey is broken down regionally, and many of the numbers fluctuate dramatically based upon the teen’s location in the country.

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the latest figures in what appears to be a losing battle against new cases of diabetes: from 2010-2012, three million people were diagnosed with the illness. This was an increase from 26 million to 29 million total individuals; nearly 1 out of 10 people have diabetes, with one out of four diabetics not knowing they have it.

In addition, approximately one-third of U.S. adults, or 86 million people, suffer from a condition dubbed, “prediabetes.” When a patient has this type of diabetes, he or she has high blood sugar levels, but these levels are not at type 2 diabetes levels. However, if the pre-diabetic person does not make changes in nutrition, exercise and other related factors, he or she runs a 15-30% higher risk of contributing to the next set of CDC diabetes numbers.

Diabetes on the Rise: Now What?

Before we can fully understand the uphill battle our nation’s doctors face when it comes to diabetes, it is important to have a basic understanding of the disease itself. The illness can come in one of two forms: Type 1 — often inherited, this type relates to the autoimmune system and is brought about by the pancreas’s trouble to create necessary cells used in the production of insulin; or Type 2 — this version relates more closely to obesity and appears after a passage of time.

“These new numbers are alarming, and underscore the need for an increased focus on reducing the burden of diabetes in our country,” according to Ann Albright, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “Diabetes is costly in both human and economic terms. It’s urgent that we take swift action to effectively treat and prevent this serious disease.”

Albright’s concern with the economics of diabetes is not unfounded: medical costs, work leaves and lost wages accounted for $245 billion in 2012. With the seemingly unrelenting increases, it appears the disease will remain ever-present as long as younger populations do not change their habits. Nearly 210,000 Americans under the age of 20 years old have already been diagnosed with one of the diabetes types.

The disease itself can cause sufferers a multitude of health issues, and the potential for kidney failure, heart problems, stroke, limb amputation and death are very real for those who do not know they have diabetes, or for those who refuse treatment. If a person is willing to check blood sugar levels, take proper medicine, watch his or her diet and get active, the disease can have a minimal impact on the ill person’s daily life. Just a few steps can take a person from sick to well, but it is up to us to educate ourselves and others in order to avoid unhealthy and bad choices.

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A Boston mother-to-be feared for the worst when she went into labor after only 24 weeks of pregnancy with her twin boys. When Lindalva DaSilva arrived at Tufts Medical Center, the doctors had only one option — deliver the babies, or at least they thought that would be the end of the story. (You probably see where this is going since the article title calls them “miracle twins,” but play along, it’ll be fun!)

The February 2014 hospital trip resulted in the arrival of Alexandre DaSilva, who weighed just 1 pound, 10 ounces. In most cases, when a child is delivered around the 24-week point, he or she has a 50/50 chance of living. Now that the first of the two babies were in the medical staffs’ hands, it was time for Lindalva to turn her attention to the next delivery. However, as Mother Nature would have it, the miracle twins began earning their name: the delivery process ended, and the doctors decided to extend Lindalva’s pregnancy. This is a rare, but not entirely uncommon options for mothers who experience early deliveries.

Miracle Twins: Welcome Home!

Ronaldo DaSilva was not ready to make his grand entrance into the world. So he waited. And waited. And waited a little more. In total, Alexandre experienced 24 days of life while his brother was still in the womb. Fortunately for Ronaldo, the time was well spent: he met Boston for the first time weighing in at three times his brother’s birthweight.

The people who have been with the miracle twins at both stages of their arrival are convinced they are two extra special fellas. Of course their mother and father feel this way, but it is hard to hear this story and not become convinced that Alexandre’s survival and Ronaldo’s later arrival are phenomenal examples of perseverance. Alexandre defied the doctors’ dire mortality rate and Ronaldo arrived in good health — fashionably late, even.

Hopefully these little guys will get home by the end of the month, maybe on or around their original due date. It already appears they are willing to go to extremes for their personal space, so it may be wise for their parents to give them their own rooms!

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Germaphobia may have moved from annoying quirk to harmful habit. A study published in the  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, finds that newborn children who are in extra-clean environments are more likely to develop allergies, asthma and other related health issues, by the time they turn 3 years old.

The researchers noted that a child who is rarely or never in and around household bacteria and rodent, roach or pet allergens has a higher rate of developing wheezing, asthma and other similar ailments. Surprisingly, the research showed that homes with allergens and bacteria aplenty produced 41% of children who live with a clean bill of health (i.e., no wheezing or asthma).

This is not a new theory — the hygiene hypothesis had already put us on notice, especially all parents who take pride in their germaphobia. Ultimately, children who grow up in “overly clean houses are more apt to suffer allergies because their bodies don’t have the opportunity to develop appropriate responses to allergens.” Furthermore, according to Dr. Todd Mahr, an allergist-immunologist in La Crosse, Wis., and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section on Allergy & Immunology. “The environment appears to play a role, and if you have too clean of an environment the child’s immune system is not going to be stimulated.”

Germaphobia Alert: Before You Throw Away Your Hand Sanitizer Holster

The new study involved 467 babies still the womb that were tracked from before they born until now. Each of the newborns were from an inner-city in New York, St. Louis, Baltimore or Boston. Researchers became a regular presence in the newborn’s home to measure allergens and to collect bacterial dust samples in 1/4 of the homes. (And for the purposes of the study, parents were not labeled as “germaphobes” or any other term.)

As we noted before, the study was not kind to germaphobia and spotless cleaners. Three-year-old children who were not exposed to animal dander, roach waste or mouse “stuff,” had a higher rate of wheezing, coughing and allergic reactions than children who were regularly in or near it. They found that 51% of children raised by extra clean parents were likely affected by allergens, as opposed to 17% of the children who were around it all of the time. The same was true for bacteria exposure: households that had bacteria present had children with fewer related health concerns. One can conclude that the combination of allergens and bacteria are critical for the children to receive the needed exposure that even germaphobia can’t stop.

Robert Wood, M.D., chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center made it clear: “The combination of both — having the allergen exposure and the bacterial exposure — appeared to be the most protective.” However, “We would not take any of this as information we could use to give advice.” “Please don’t get an intentional cockroach infestation in your house. There’s no reason to think that would help.”

Now that I had to bathe in Purell after that last comment, I’ll leave the rest of the technical stuff to the experts at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

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