PARENTING:Why I Breastfeed My Four-Year-Old Son

*One mother tells of how continuing to nurse her son has helped control his behavioural problems.

Vickie Krevatin's four-year-old son, Jessy, was recently at a party that left him uncontrollable with excitement. When Vickie's attempts to stop him knocking over drinks, shouting and throwing toys failed, she took him to a quiet room and let him suckle her breast.

Jessy is 3ft 3in tall and old enough to start school next month, but Vickie breastfeeds him five times a day because, she says, it alleviates his symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Every time he is offered 'boobies', he is calm," she says. "Breastfeeding is as effective as drugs for keeping his symptoms under control."

Despite the well-known health benefits of breastfeeding, only one per cent of British women do so exclusively for the World Health Organisation's recommended six months, while extended breastfeeding is so rare it is seen as a taboo. Last month, US mother Jessica Anne Colletti, 26, caused controversy when she posted a picture online of herself breastfeeding her 16-month-old son and his 18-month-old friend.

"I know people don't regard it as normal, but I don't care," says Vickie, 42, from Basingstoke, Hampshire.

ADHD's main symptoms are hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour, thought to be caused by underactivity of chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. Diagnoses have soared in recent years - the NHS estimates that between two and five per cent of school-age children suffer to some extent, although some experts believe the rise is due to other health complaints or a child's natural exuberance being misdiagnosed.

While there is no cure, the most common treatment is methylphenidate, a stimulant commonly known by the brand name Ritalin, which increases the activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline. Figures last month showed that prescriptions for Ritalin have more than doubled in a decade, reaching almost one million last year.

Jessy, diagnosed with ADHD in February, has been taking Equasym XL, another brand of methylphenidate, since March, but Vickie maintains breastfeeding is essential in helping to calm him. There is no research to support her claim, although breast milk does contain naturally occurring chemicals that induce sleepiness.

Research also shows that nursing may protect against ADHD developing in the first place. In June 2013, a study by Tel Aviv University found that children who were bottle-fed at three months of age were three times more likely to have ADHD than those breastfed during the same period, but it is not known whether this was due to the breast milk or the bond formed between mother and baby.

Being breastfed since birth, however, did not prevent difficulties with Jessy. "As a baby he wouldn't sit still for longer than 15 minutes. If I put him in a car or buggy, he would scream," says Vickie, who quit her job as a financial crime auditor when Jessy was six months old and now works from home as a jeweller. "As he got older, he was so destructive we would be reduced to tears."

The only thing that calmed him was being close to his mother, and for the first six months Vickie breastfed him up to 18 times a day.

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HEALTH: Constantly Sick? Get More Sleep

New research suggests lack of sleep has the greatest impact on overall well being, beyond smoking, drinking, or stress. But that's not all. Read this and you'll be having an early night.

People who slept less than six hours every night were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold, researchers at University of California, San Francisco found in a new study.

"Sleep was the biggest overall factor in well being," said Aric Prather. "It didn't matter how old the people were, how stressed, education or income, their ethnic background, or whether they smoked. The amount of sleep they got was a fundamental factor in determining how healthy they were."

The effects of sleep deprivation and the benefits of getting enough sleep are an oft-repeated mantra among health experts. But in a society that prizes sleep deprivation as a sign of productivity and commitment to work, Prather told dpa, "we need more studies to really hammer home the point that sleep is crucial for our well-being."

Here are a few other studies that illustrate how risky it is when you don't have a good night's 1. Memory and cognitive function are impaired

Beyond slowing our reaction times and hindering overall performance, lack of sleep actually has long term negative effects on our ability to learn, process new information, and on the functioning of our high cognitive abilities.

Dr. William Killgore at Harvard Medical School found in a 2010 study for the journal "Progress in Brain Research" that even when alertness and vigilance were restored, a person who was chronically sleep deprived also had difficulties with creative, innovative and "more divergent aspects of cognition."

In other words, while you may be able to pick yourself up and make good decisions at work after not sleeping for a week, you'll have trouble finishing that novel or painting or film.

2. Increased chances of obesity and metabolism problems

Several studies are currently in the works to determine whether sleeping longer can help you lose weight, as some studies have reported a connection between short sleep cycles and increased obesity.

Researchers have known for years that being obese can affect your sleep cycles: sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing is interrupted during sleep resulting in a loss of restorative REM sleep cycles, is often a sympton of obesity.

However, by Dr. Silvana Pannain and Dr. Gugliemo Beccuti at the University of Chicago Department of Medicine also found that short sleep cycles and poor sleep quality may also contribute to the development of obesity: Sleep is an important regulator of the body's metabolism functions, and less sleep means the body is less able to regulate how much it eats, leading to increased hunger.

3. Stress on the heart

A 2013 study found "a significant interaction" between sleep deprivation and blood pressure. Researchers tested a group of 20 healthy young adults who had previously not experienced any current or past sleep issues, and found that after one night of sleep deprivation, subjects' blood pressure went up, which in turn caused acute psychological stress. The stress on the heart and mind meant subjects did poorly in a series of standardized cognitive tests.est.
-DW.com

Sad life of man with humongous penis

*Lonely life of Roberto Esquivel Cabrera, the man with the world’s longest penis  

ROBERTO Esquivel Cabrera has just set a world record for having the longest penis.

The 52-year-old Mexican measured in at a whopping 18.9 inches (48.2cm), with a tip circumference of 10 inches (25cm), at certification by World Record Academy officials yesterday.

Mr Cabrera had been hoping for recognition by Guinness World Records but had to settle for the less famous certifier after Guinness confirmed it had no category for penis size.

The World Record Academy stepped in after Mr Cabrera shared his story with a local journalist in an interview that was picked up by the world press over the weekend.

He told how his massive member had ruined his life, preventing him from having a relationship and even getting a job.

“Look where it is, it goes far below the knees,” Mr Cabrera said.

“I cannot do anything, I cannot work, and I am disabled so I want authorities to declare me as a disabled person and give me support.”

Women were too frightened to have sex with him, so he had never had a long-term In 2011 Mr Cabrera was deported from US to Saltillo in the north-eastern Mexican state of Coahuila, where he lives alone in a room given to him by his brothers. He survives on social assistance and scavenges for food and materials on waste dumps. He has no friends and says people “shun” him wherever he goes.

Before his record was made official, Mr Cabrera had a medical examination and X-ray of his phallus to support his application for disability. Doctors at a medical institution in Saltillo have confirmed the scan is genuine, The Mirror reported.

Some experts have suggested Mr Cabrera consider a shaft reduction operation but it is not clear what his thoughts are on the subject.

The previous record holder for penis length was an American called Johan Falcon, whose 13.38 inch manhood (34cm) was dwarfed by Mr Cabrera’s.girlfriend, let alone a wife.

LIFE: Two Indian Sisters To Be Raped As 'Punishment' After Brother Eloped

Two sisters in India - one aged only 15 years - are to be raped as "punishment" for their brother running away with a married woman from a higher caste in the latest case to shock the country.

Meenakshi Kumari, who is 23, and her younger sister, will then be paraded naked with their faces blackened through the streets, according to a ruling from the all-male village council.

The sisters have petitioned the country's Supreme Court to be protected from the so-called "eye-for-an-eye" ruling from the village council in Uttar Pradesh state, 50 kilometres from the capital Delhi.

The family are from the Dalit caste, historically known as "untouchables". However, the brother fell in love with a woman from the higher, Jat, caste.

The woman was forced into an arranged marriage in February with a man from her own caste despite her relationship, according to Zee news, citing the elder sister Meenakshi.

The couple eloped in March, but returned to the village after the man's family were allegedly tortured by police.

The village council then made its ruling that the Dalit family should be dishonoured to "avenge" the brother's supposed crime.

Meenakshi and her sister ran away to the capital after the ruling was handed out and were able to submit their petition for protection for their family at the Supreme Court. However, they are still facing the punishment when they return home.

Telegraph, London