According to a group of German researchers, we only have to look at pictures of delicious food to make us hungry.

Experts in Germany have found that the act of simply looking at images of tasty food is enough to change the level of the hormones that are responsible for controlling our appetite.

The study in question showed male volunteers pictures of delicious food and inedible objects whilst measuring their hormone levels at the same time.

The results of the research showed that levels of the appetite controlling hormone ghrelin, increased when the men were shown pictures of food – leading the experts who conducted the study to suggest that individuals looking to lose weight should avoid looking at appetising images of food.

Author of the study Petra Schüssler commented that the findings are the first to demonstrate that the release of ghrelin into the blood is also controlled by certain external factors.

‘We recommend that, where possible, individuals with weight problems should preferably avoid looking at images of appetising food.’ She said.

Study co-author Axel Steiger said that the scientific findings proving that the sight of delicious food could stimulate appetite, could mean that the presence of appetising food in the media could be contributing to weight increase in Western populations.

If you are struggling to keep your weight under control then hypnotherapy for weight loss could prove an effective tool in eliminating negative food messages.

For more information please visit our hypnotherapy for weight loss page and our gastric band hypnotherapy page to find out more.

View and comment on the original Daily Mail article.

Mr and Mrs Fieldsend believe that their son James’ battle with anorexia started as a result of a healthy eating class he took at school when he was seven years old.

Before the class, James appeared to follow a healthy, balanced diet, but it soon became apparent that he was suffering from an eating disorder. He became increasingly fussy and would often skip meals.

In October 2010, his weight plummeted to below five stone and his parents were forced to seek medical help.

With a body mass index of only 14, James was well below the healthy average for his age.

Mrs Fieldsend said: “He took part in an exercise in which pupils had to talk about the food they ate at home. They were given a star if healthy meals and a cross for junk food.”

Since the class, James would refuse to eat anything deemed unhealthy and his parents assumed it was simply a passing fad.

Over time, James began to develop worrying symptoms such as anaemia, heart palpitations and aching joints.

He is now being treated with the help of a dietician. According to his parents, James refuses to socialise or leave the house when he is not attending college. They have since called for more public awareness and understanding of anorexia in males.

Some hypnotherapists deal with eating disorders. It is used to find the route of the problem by viewing it from an emotional perspective. Hypnotherapy can be used to improve self-confidence and help sufferers to view themselves in a more positive light. Find a hynotherapist dealing with eating disorders.

View and comment on the original Mail Online article.

From the beginning of March 2012, cigarettes will no longer be available from vending machines in Northern Ireland.

According to health minister Edwin Poots, removing cigarette vending machines is an important milestone towards achieving a tobacco-free society and will bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK.

Poots is hoping that the move will help to reduce the number of children and young people who smoke by taking away these unsupervised machines.

He said, “A survey in Northern Ireland in 2010 highlighted that for 14% of smokers aged between 11 and 16 years, cigarette vending machines are a usual source of tobacco”.

Whilst Poots acknowledged that removing the vending machines would not solve the problem of children smoking in its entirety, it will remove an accessible source of tobacco for children who are underage as well as removing temptation from all of the individuals who endeavour to quit each year.

Cigarette vending machines were banned in England back in October 2011, with Wales set to introduce a ban in February this year and Scotland announcing it’s intentions to do the same in the coming months.

If you are a smoker who is looking to quit, you may find that hypnotherapy could be beneficial. Many individuals turn to hypnotherapy after failing to achieve success through other methods. To find out more, please visit our Quitting Smoking page.

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

Sarah Hart was a size 24 when she decided to share a joint wedding ceremony with her size 8 sister.

The resulting pictures shocked the mother of two into losing more than 11 stone in under two years.

‘My size was always in the back of my mind, but I was in denial at the time, because I was in love and happy. Looking back at the photos, I’m shocked. I never realised I was that big. The weight just crept up on me,’ the 30 year old claimed.

Mrs Hart decided to undergo gastro band hypnotherapy where she was hypnotised into believing she had undergone an operation to shrink her stomach to the size of a golf ball.

Using her wedding pictures as inspiration and eating sensible portions, Mrs Hart managed to shrink down to a size 10 and has recently run a marathon.

Looking back now, she realises she should have taken action sooner and regrets allowing herself to grow so large. She admits to spending evenings tucking into fattening foods such as take away curries and chocolate, and once fell out with her sister after she called her fat.

Mrs Hart hopes to renew her vows with her husband Lee and knows she will finally feel happy with her photographs.

Discover more about weight loss by visiting our page about Gastric Band Hypnotherapy.

View and comment on the original Daily Mail article.

Dr Jennifer Wild of the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London has said that many sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are not receiving valuable and much needed help because GPs are misdiagnosing their symptoms.

Each year thousands of individuals in the UK suffer from PTSD. Unfortunately, as it stands many wait for long periods of time before gaining access to the treatment they need, either because they are too ashamed that they are unable to cope alone or because their GP fails to recognise the symptoms and misdiagnoses.

According to figures approximately 1.5% of England’s adult population suffer from PTSD, yet less than half of that number will actually visit their GP for help. In addition, when sufferers do eventually visit their healthcare provider for support, many GPs are actually misdiagnosing the symptoms because they are unfamiliar with PTSD and how best to treat it.

Because of the symptom overlap between depression, insomnia and PTSD – many doctors wrongly assume that they are at the heart of the problem and thus prescribe medication intended to treat them.

Drugs however – especially those for depression and insomnia, are not a very effective treatment for PTSD, with talking therapies such as cognitive-behavioural therapy proving to be far more beneficial in most cases.

According to experts on PTSD, when a patient complains of sleep problems or feeling low, the GP should also ask if the patient has experienced a traumatic event. If so they should then go on to asking about classic PTSD symptoms such as unwanted memories of the event, nightmares, flashbacks etc.

Individuals who are suffering from PTSD can then be referred for treatment such as cognitive behavioural therapy through their GP, which in many cases will set them on the road to recovery.

If you believe that either yourself or someone you know may be suffering from PTSD, or you believe you have been misdiagnosed – pay a visit to your GP. If you think you have been diagnosed incorrectly then discuss with them the reasons why so that they can refer you for more appropriate treatment. If you haven’t visited your GP regarding your symptoms before then be sure to relay all of your symptoms aside from just a difficulty sleeping and feelings of depression.

Many PTSD sufferers also find the use of hypnotherapy to be of use. If you would like to find out more about how the alternative therapy may be of use to you then please visit our hypnotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder page to find out more.

View and comment on the original BBC News article.

Celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson has made a statement apologising for his “stupid and irresponsible actions” after getting arrested for shoplifting at a local Tesco store.

Mr Thompson said: “I am not the first, and I certainly won’t be the last person to do something without rhyme or reason – what went through my head, only time will tell.”

The Ready Steady Cook star has made an apology to Tesco, with whom he claims to have shared a long and genuine working relationship with.

Tesco has refused to make any comments about the situation, instead describing it as a matter for the police only.

The chef’s actions may or may not be related to the closure of four of his restaurants in 2009.

Anthony Worrall Thompson claims to be devastated for letting his family and friends down with his strange actions.

If you have displayed impulsive or addictive behaviour that could hurt or harm others, you may benefit from visiting a hypnotherapist. To find out more about how hypnotherapy works, visit Hypnotherapy Area. Alternatively, use our search tool to find a hypnotherapist near you.

View and comment on the original BBC article

A resolution within Westminster to tackle obesity or to improve the nation’s diet each January is as certain as a chicken laying eggs. So what do they have in store for us this New Year, and most importantly is it going travel the same route as most of the nation’s other resolutions…down the pan?

Unsurprisingly January 2012 marks the beginning of another celebrity chef led campaign targeted at improving the diet of the average citizen. This year, Ready Steady Cook chef Ainsley Harriott has jumped on the fruit and veg wagon and is the latest Government sponsored chef who is taking on the arduous task of trying to slow the speed at which the UK’s waistband is expanding.

The 2012 campaign involves the TV chef joining forced with Jamie Oliver and Lloyd Grossman to produce a cookbook of healthy “supermeals”, all of which come in at £5 and under in a bid to demonstrate how it is possible to eat healthily on a budget.

So far three large supermarket chains (Asda, Co-op and Aldi) have agreed to sell the ingredients needed at a discounted rate and four million recipe cards are set to be posted to families.

It is not yet known how much of a discount that chains will offer, but even so, Shadow Public Health minister Diane Abbott is already sceptical about it working – coining it “an advertisement for big business”.

If you are struggling to eat a healthy diet and can’t seem to shift your bad and unhealthy eating habits then you may wish to consider hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy has proven to be an effective weight loss method for many individuals – retraining the mind to replace negative habits with new and more positive ones instead.

If you are interested in contacting a hypnotherapist in your local area, please visit the homepage and use the search tool to locate a qualified professional near you.

View and comment on the original Independent article.

The British Liver Trust advises drinkers not to bother cutting out alcohol for a ‘one month detox’ because it will not help.

After the excess enjoyed by many over the festive period, opting for a temporary abstinence now will make little difference to liver health.

The Trust is instead advising the public to avoid alcohol for a few days a week, all year round. This is based on the idea that the liver should be given time to recover after alcohol intake each week.

The liver is thought to take as little as 24 hours to recover completely, providing there is no severe damage.

Chief executive of the British Liver Trust, Andrew Langford, has said: “People think they’re virtuous with their health by embarking on a liver detox each January with the belief that they are cleansing their liver of excess following the festive break.”

However, liver health should be addressed as a long-term issue, and not as something that can be rectified over a space of four weeks.

Dr Mark Wright of Southampton General Hospital has warned against the quick-fix mentality of detox diets. They encourage a binge-like cycle of indulgence and abstinence that is incredibly unhealthily for both the body and the mind.

The British Liver Trust is launching a campaign called ‘Love Your Liver’, designed to encourage the public to take care of their livers by eating well and exercising regularly.

To find out how hypnotherapy could help you to adopt a healthier lifestyle, please visit our Hypnotherapy Areas section. 

View and comment on the original BBC article.

Cramps? Constipation? Diarrhoea? Bloating? No one wants digestive problems when there’s so much great food on offer over the festive season.

IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, is the more common form of digestive problem. It is thought to effect  about 1 in 10 people in the UK and is most common among women aged between 25 and 45.

IBS can be debilitating, causing sufferers to feel depressed and stressed. Although it can be life-changing, it is not life-threatening and is not thought to develop into bowel cancer.

Recent research shows that ‘mind’ therapies, such a hypnotherapy, can be effective at relieving the symptoms of IBS.

If you want to enjoy your full turkey dinner without disappearing to the bathroom every two seconds, you could book a session with a hypnotherapist. To find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you with IBS, please visit our Hypnotherapy Areas section.

View and comment on the original Daily Mail article here. 

Companies who do not address the mental health problems of their employees could face a high number of absences and reduced productivity in the work place.

According to research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, one in four individuals in the UK workforce have experienced a mental health problem at some point during employment.

However, very few employers have taken action to manage this important issue, with many workers still feeling afraid to speak out before their problems escalate into long term absence.

The results of the survey showed that only 25% of the 2,000 employees that were surveyed said their employers encouraged openness regarding mental health problems and only four in 10 said they would feel comfortable opening up about a problem if they had one.

Mental health related absences cost the economy an estimated £8.4bn per year and there is lots more that employers could be doing in order to both reduce this cost and to increase workplace productivity.

Potential solutions which have been suggested include a temporary reduction in hours, or flexi-time if employees have experienced personal issues such as a bereavement or relationship breakdown.

If either yourself or someone you know are suffering from poor mental health and/or stress and it is effecting your ability to perform your job role then your first port of call should be your GP who will be able to provide you with appropriate advice about the best treatment avenue for you.

Hypnotherapy has long since been used as an alternative therapy for mental health problems such as depression and stress reduction. It can either be used alone, or alongside conventional medical treatment. To find out how it could help you, please visit our fact-sheets to find out more.

View and comment on the original Guardian article.