FOR BREAKING N EWS VISIT www.qns.com OCTOBER 6, 2016 • HEALTH • The queens CourieR 19 ▶health IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER By Ronda Addy Using laughter to make people feel better has been around since the time of King Solomon. Back in the 1300s, Doctor Henri de Mondeville told jokes to patients in the recovery room. In the 1600s, Richard Mulcater, an educator, told people suffering from head colds to laugh to feel better. Throughout history, kings have had court jesters who would make them laugh when times got stressful. Let’s take a look at how laughter can help make you feel better. Thanks to studies over the past 20 years, research shows that a good laugh will boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, reduce pain, increase your lung capacity, improve your mood and overall state of well-being, and reduce your stress level. Because of this, hospitals, doctors and health clinics have begun instituting laughter programs, involving visiting clowns and humorous TV shows. One of the most important contributions to the laughter and feeling better theory is a book written by Dr. Norman Cousins. In 1964, Dr. Cousins was diagnosed with a crippling and painful disease. His will to live and get better led him to the use of natural resources to improve his condition. Dr. Cousins began focusing on laughter to create a positive factor that would change his body chemistry and help it heal. Dr. Cousins recovered from his illness and went on to write the book, Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. What is it about laughter that makes you feel better? • Laughter increases your white cell count and raises your antibody level. This increase in antibodies helps your body fight infections and illnesses. • Laughter improves your blood circulation and increases the oxygen supply to your heart muscles. • Laughter increases your endorphin levels and lowers your level of pain. • Laughter improves your lung capacity and increases the oxygen levels in your blood. • Under stress your body produces a hormone called cortisol (also called the stress hormone). Laughter reduces high cortisol levels and brings your body back to a more relaxed state. You’ve determined that you don’t laugh enough and you’d like to remedy the situation, but what can you do? Here are some suggestions. • Cut out funny cartoons, sayings or jokes when you see them. Put them in a humor file, and when things get stressful, pull it out and look at it. • Do things you did as a kid. Go to the zoo or a park and swing on the swings. • Make your work environment humorous. Bring toys like silly putty or a slinky to play with when the stress gets too much. Have funny pictures of family or pets on your desk. • Blow a stressful situation out of proportion. You will then see that the problem is not as bad as you thought. • Rent or go see a funny movie. • Throw a come-as-you-are party. Just have everyone come when you call no matter what they look like. • Invite friends over for a slumber party. Stay up all night, eat junk food and have a pillow fight. The ability to laugh is something you are born with. It’s good for you, you can share it with others and it’s free. Who says you can’t get something for nothing? TACKLING OBESITY AT LIJ FOREST HILLS Queens has an obesity problem. In a borough where upward of 30 percent of residents are obese, there are less than a dozen bariatric surgeons who perform weight-loss surgery in Queens. That means the majority of people opting for the life-changing and often life-saving surgery seek treatment in Manhattan or Long Island, said Allison Barrett, MD, director of bariatric surgery at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital. The hospital is trying to stem that tide by expanding its bariatric program and bringing on a third full-time bariatric surgeon – Queens native John Afthinos, MD – to help serve the needs of the borough. Prior to joining LIJ Forest Hills, Dr. Afthinos was a faculty attending surgeon, performing both general and bariatric surgery for five years at Staten Island University Hospital, another one of the 21 hospitals comprising Northwell Health. Together, with Dr. Barrett and Michael Drew, MD, the trio of surgeons and staff involved in the LIJ Forest Hills bariatric program are working toward elevating the level of care at the hospital. The average bariatric patient at LIJ Forest Hills is more than 30 years old, at least 100 pounds overweight and has been trying to lose weight for many years through diet and exercise, according to Dr. Barrett. While health issues, such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, often go into remission after weight-loss surgery, perhaps the biggest boost for patients is longevity. “If I operate on an obese, 30-year-old patient, their life expectancy increases by 10 to 15 years,” said Dr. Barrett. LIJ Forest Hill surgeons are equipped to do a full spectrum of bariatric surgeries, including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve surgery and lap band surgery. By far the most requested surgery is the gastric sleeve, accounting for nearly 80 percent of bariatric surgeries done at the hospital. “It’s popular because of its simplicity,” explained Dr. Barrett, who recently spoke about the surgery on American Health Front on CBS. “It’s an operation on the stomach only, so it doesn’t involve operating on the intestines. The recovery is fairly simple as well, with patients in the hospital just one night after surgery.” During gastric sleeve surgery, surgeons remove more than half of a patient’s stomach, creating a small, sleeve-shaped stomach about the size of a banana. LIJ Forest Hills performs surgeries on most obese patients, with the exception of those with a BMI greater than 55, and severe medical complications, such as dialysis and cardiac disease. In those instances, patients are operated on at another Northwell hospital, North Shore University Medical Center in Manhasset. For patients considering weight-loss surgery, Dr. Barrett cautions that it’s not an overnight decision. The process can take up to six months and involves a formal consultation with a bariatric surgeon, meeting with the hospital’s nurse coordinator, monthly checkups with a primary care doctor, and tests such as an echocardiogram and endoscopy. After surgery, patients are seen fairly regularly to make sure they are complying with post-operative instructions and also that they’re maximizing their weight-loss potential. Patients are usually seen five to six times in the first year after surgery. They are also encouraged to see the nutritionist regularly and are invited to attend post-operative support groups and nutrition classes offered through the bariatric program. “We provide a comprehensive level of care for patients both before and after surgery,” said Dr. Barrett. “This includes not just care from the surgeons, but nurses, nutritionists and social workers who provide comprehensive, team-based support and education to patients.”
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