A recent study into the relationship between prostitution and drug addiction is turning up some interesting results. With successful drug treatment centers, the number of prostitutes should fall.

Many prostitutes admit that they were turned to prostitution specifically because of drug abuse and addiction.  A successful rehab facility  could give them hope, and ultimately their lives back.

It’s not uncommon for prostitutes to sell their body in order to support their growing habit for drugs.  Unfortunately in the process they are also putting themselves at risk for disease, jail, and even death.

Being able to cure both the physical and mental components of drug addiction is where the difficulty lies.  A good drug treatment center will be able to help both mentally and physically. This can hopefully lead to the prostitutes giving up drugs, increasing their health, and living a better life.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Have you ever wondered how you can prevent a relapse from anorexia?  According to research and information from anorexia treatment centers around the world there are a few secrets you might not know about.

If you have developed an eating disorder such as anorexia, you will continue struggling to be happy with your body and the way you look. Although the disease will affect you physically, it is actually caused by  psychological problems in your head.  Even if you do go through therapy and receive treatment there is still a change that you can relapse.  Just stopping the physical behaviors will not be enough to get rid of the disease.

Here are some things that you can do to decrease your chance of having a relapse.

Try to start out by thinking about why you became anorexic in the first place.  What were you trying to accomplish and why did you not feel good about yourself?  Try to compare this with the positive things you have in your life.  You will most likely see that risking your health over a matter of a few pounds is insignificant.  You need to understand that just because you lose more weight it doesn’t mean that all of your problems will be fixed.

Plan a diet that is healthy.  The most important thing you need to make sure of is that you are getting the proper amount of nutrients.  Do not limit that mount of food that you eat because then you will not receive the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy.  Try to eat foods that are better for you.

Incorporation a healthy amount of exercise into your daily life.  Be careful not overdo it, but taking part in a small workout once a day can keep you in great shape.

Anorexia can be deadly, so if you find yourself relapsing please see a doctor immediately.

Popularity: 10% [?]

As Spice Girl Geri Halliwell goes in and out of bulimia treatment centers, she says that she is determined to win the battle over her eating disorder.

Halliwell looked extremely tired and bloated recently as she was spotted leaving a treatment center in London.  She was also reportedly attending an Over Eaters Anonymous group nearby.

Bulimia involves a period of intense over eating know as binging, followed by excessive purging where the individual forces themselves to lose the food by either taking laxatives or throwing up.

Popularity: 11% [?]

10 years ago, many young adults in Kandahar, Afghanistan didn’t even know that heroin existed.  Today there are thousands  of opiate addicts fighting for treatment where the wait is hundreds of people long at opiate treatment centers.

As the cultivation of poppy booms, so does the use of and addiction to heroin.  The Afghanistan Ministry of Counter Narcotics says that there are only 36 rehabilitation and treatment centers for drug addicts in the entire country.  This is mostly because the funding comes from non-governmental private parties.

In Kandahar, the local treatment center has a list of over 600 people waiting to get in one of the 10 residential spaces to receive help for their opiate addiction.

The United Nations office on Drugs estimates that over one million people are addicted to some kind of drug, and that their are over 5,000 addicted to heroin in Kandahar city alone.   Within Kandahar it is estimated that over 30,000 heroin packets are sold each day.  Many believe that the rise in heroin addicts is increasing do to the current government.  Studies show that during Taliban rule the amount of heroin addicts was down significantly.

During the Taliban’s rule over the country the cultivation of poppy was almost completely gone.  However, after 9/11 and the collapse of the Taliban, thousands of farmers have returned to growing poppies in order to generate a steady income.  It is estimated that more than $3 billion is made each year from the sale of opium by Afghan farmers.

Many experts believe that treatment alone is not going to solve the addiction problems that the country is facing.  There is almost zero prevention, and until there is some prevention opiate addiction will run rampant.

Popularity: 8% [?]

A new study done by experts at eating disorder treatment clinics shows that anorexia might be genetic.  The study, which is being labeled as the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa collaboration, is taking place in multiple cities across north america and two in Europe.  The National Institutes of Health is doing the funding.

Research shows that if a family member has had anorexia, that the individual is almost 12 times more likely to develop the disease.   Just because it is your genetics however, your environment also plays a big role, says top eating disorder specialists.  Anorexia nervosa can occur when a certain number of factors are set in place.  These factors include your genetics, and the type of culture that you live in.

Most individuals who have anorexia nervosa develop a  strong disliking towards food which then leads to a very distorted body image.  Research shows that females between the ages of 11 - 15 are most likely to develop the the illness.  Scientists believe this to be the case because this is the period in their life when they gain a majority of their adult weight, nearly 40 pounds.

Many young women tend to be provoked into episodes of excessive exercise and dieting just by someone they know making a comment about ther weight gain.  This is why it’s such a critical time in their life to be happy with who they are.

Popularity: 8% [?]

New studies coming out of Italy are showing that more Italians are using cocaine than ever before.  The study says that Italian males between the ages of 24 and 35 have increased their cocaine usage over the past three years by 62 percent.  Health experts agree that a cocaine rehab treatment center can help aid in the addiction to cocaine.

Another alarming statistic showed that girls between the ages of 14 and 24 have doubled the amount of cocaine they have been using.  Many believe that the increase in cocaine usage is due to the prices decreasing all over the country.  Experts say that the prices have been dropping for some time now.

Many Italians do not consider many of the softer drugs to be dangerous anymore, such as marijuana.  While the prices of the drugs fall, the prices of the treatment centers rise.  The report says that treatment centers for such drugs as cocaine take up 10.5 billion euros out of the health care system’s and welfare budget.

For more information please visit the history of cocaine.

Popularity: 8% [?]

At only 25 years old Nicole Richie may be in danger of losing her baby if she does not get help from an anorexia treatment center.

Medical experts say that her battle with anorexia mixed with alcohol and cocaine abuse are probably putting her baby’s life in danger.  If Nicole was to enter an anorexia treatment center she would probably get the help she needed and her pregnancy would not be as at risk.

The 12 weeks pregnant Nicole still struggles to stay sober everyday.  Experts also believe that she still has a long way to go to become completely sober.  Doctors says that if Nicole had drugs in her system when she got pregnant or shortly there after, she has a greater risk of birth defects, or even a miscarriage.

Nicole’s anorexia also presents her pregnancy with another huge risk.  Many are surprised that she was even able to get pregnant at all.  During the course of her pregnancy she will need to gain 40 pounds or more just to be able to feed and nourish the baby properly.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Back when Ally McBeal was the hottest show on television many wondered if Calista Flockhart would soon be checking herself into an anorexia treatment facility.

Many anorexia rumors were flying around during her time on the show.  Calista played a ditzy lawyer and her incredibly thin figure was the root of much gossip.  She always insisted however that she never had an eating disorder and actually had never even dieted.

“I have honestly never dieted in my life.  my parents and friends tell me that I have always looked the same since high school.  But during Ally Mcbeal, when we were filming and working so hard, I became stressed and did not eat as much as I should.” said Calista.

She also says that she hated all of the negative attention that was put on her body.  She really is puzzled to this day as to what actually happened to her body during that period of her life and why she got so thin.

Calista wasn’t the only one who became rail thin on the show.  Other co-stars such as Portia De Rossi and Courtney Thorne-Smith also seemed to be losing weight at a tremendous rate during their time on Ally McBeal.

Popularity: 8% [?]

A new treatment for alcoholism has been discovered in the form of a drug currently being used to curb smoking known as Varenicline. The drug, currently marketed by Pfizer, is also known as Chantix.

Research has shown that not only will Varnicline curb smoking urges, but it can dramatically lower drinking by those suffering from alcoholism.  The drug originates from a cytosine compound which can be found in a Eurpean Labumum tree.  This compound combined with an alkaloid from the poppy plant makes up the synthetic drug Varenicline.

Scientists say the drug can have a dramatic effect of most people because nearly 85 percent of all alcoholics are also cigarette smokers.   With a dual addiction such as this one, Varenicline might just be the next wonder drug. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has already approved the drug for human use, so drug companies such as Pfizer are likely to be able to add the new indication very quickly.  Some of the other FDA approved drugs for alcoholism right now are Campral, Revia, and Antabuse.

How does the drug work?  The neuronal of the brain is disrupted by the drug.  Dopamine is prevented from releasing and reaching the receptors involved in arousal and attention.  This happens because Varenicline binds to certain acetycholine receptors.

Many health professionals believe that since alcoholism is a disease, it needs to be treated just like any other disease with treatments and cures.

Popularity: 4% [?]

There are many eating disorder residential programs out there to choose from, but which one will actually be the healthiest?

You can become addicted to dieting very quickly, which can lead to numerous health problems.  It today’s world, when one person loses some weight, everyone around that person wants to learn how they did it and try the same diet.  Unfortunately not everybody has enough determination and dedication to stay on the diet.  This results in sticking with the diet for a week or so and then returning back to normal eating habits.  Some people will start the new diet at the beginning of the week, but by the time Friday rolls around they are eating fast food hamburgers and french fries again.  This is known as Yoyo dieting.

One of the biggest dangers of Yoyo dieting is the constant weight changes.  Many organs in your body, such as the heart, are not designed to take on the amount of stress that frequent weight change brings.  Many health professionals will even recommend that is is healthier to be a few pounds overweight than to have your weight yoyo all the time. It is important for people to begin a diet to stick with it.

It is also very easy to become malnourished when frequently dieting because most diets require you to cut out certain foods.  Most of these foods that are being cut out contain essential vitamins and minerals for the human body.  Even normal fat is important for your body.

Another big concern with dieting is that the diet can eventually develop into an easting disorder.  You can become so obsessed with your appearance and weight that you become physically and psychologically addicted to losing weight, and eventually develop a disorder.

If you are considering going on a diet make sure to research  the best available options.  More importantly however, if you do plan on dieting try to stick by it and don’t fall into a routine of yoyo dieting.

Popularity: 3% [?]