A friend is having a terrible health issue with drowsiness – lots of medical tests but no good explanation for his problems. He has been healthy and active until recently. Apparently no potential nutritional or dietary causes have been explored.

Nutrition, Toxic Dosages and Side Effects of Vitamins and Minerals

Calcium >2,000 mg Drowsiness, extreme lethargy, impaired absorption of iron, zinc and manganese, calcium deposits in tissues throughout body, mimicking cancer on X-ray

Vitamin A, acute (adult) 2 million IU Headache, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting

http://www.1stholistic.com/Nutrition/hol_nutr-toxic-dosages.htm

magnesium

Magnesium toxicity can also be associated with very generalized symptoms like increased drowsiness or sense of weakness.

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=75

Foods that make you sleep

Eating sugary foods such as ice cream or those made from flour, such as bakery products or pastas, causes blood sugar to rise higher than normal. This causes your pancreas to release large amounts of insulin, which drives one of the protein building blocks called tryptophan from your bloodstream into your brain, where it is converted to serotonin.
In addition, drowsiness occurs after any big meal, regardless of the meal components. Digestion of any large meal, whether it\’s a high-protein, a high-fat or a high-carbohydrate meal, causes the familiar after-meal drowsiness. The body wants to focus its efforts on digestion.
Many people can avoid feeling sleepy after eating by restricting foods high in sugar and flour. When it is important for you to be alert, eat foods that do not cause a high rise in blood sugar, such as vegetable salads, nuts, seeds, meat, fish and chicken. Try to eat 2 or 3 small meals instead of one big meal.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Nutrition-Dieting-939/Foods-sleep.htm

Something has messed up so there is too much melatonin?

Health and nutrition supplements: benefits of melatonin

Melatonin is a natural hormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland. As our bodies age, the level of melatonin production goes down. The secretion of melatonin is also affected by light, more is produced in the darkness and it is inhibited by daylight. The hormone works by causing sleepiness and lowering your body temperature much as natural drowsiness does.

http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/healthnutrition_sjde.htm

Other conditions with sleepiness, drowsiness

Parkinson\’s disease
http://www.pdf.org/news/news.cfm?type=1&selectedItem=348

Maybe Fosamax isn’t the answer.

Calcium & Milk
What’s Best For Your Bones?

article on calcium and milk at Harvard School of Public Health
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium.html

There are a number of lifestyle factors that can help with the latter:

* Getting regular exercise, especially weight-bearing and muscle strengthening exercise.
* Getting adequate vitamin D, whether through diet, exposure to sunshine, or supplements.
* Consuming enough calcium to reduce the amount the body has to borrow from bone.
* Consuming adequate vitamin K, found in green-leafy vegetables.
* Not getting too much preformed vitamin A.

Osteoporosis Prevention

# Ways to prevent bone loss naturally are to create an alkaline body system. Avoid foods that create an acid system which causes calcium to leach from bones. Avoid caffeine because it promotes calcium excretion. Avoid animal protein because it causes calcium leaching due to creating an acid body system.

# Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, especially dark leafy green veggies. Get adequate Vitamin D (hormone) because it’s as important to bone health as calcium. Body makes Vitamin D when exposed to adequate sunlight each day.

# Get Vitamin K (leafy green veggies) which plays a role in bone formation and calcium regulation.

# Exercise is one of primary ways to prevent osteoporosis. Weight bearing exercise signals the bone to keep building and remodeling.

# The answer to many health problems is eat healthy (i.e. whole food, largely raw diet) and exercise.

http://healthydiet.weblogstop.com/2007/07/26/osteoporosis-prevention/

Publish Your Book Today with iUniverse
http://www.iuniverse.com/ad/ggl/?cid=ggl_selfpub&iusc=ggl3&s_kwcid=self%20publishing%7C890834066&gclid=CIa3y4fzzI0CFSUCYAodjiU4GQ

With iUniverse, you can publish your book, your way—today! Our top-quality publishing, editorial and marketing services make it simple for writers just like you to quickly and affordably publish professional-looking books. – starting $399
http://www.iuniverse.com/packages/

# We limit the number of graphics in the manuscript to 50. Otherwise, the manuscript file can become so large that you may have trouble uploading it to us and we may have trouble opening it.
# All illustrations are produced in black and white or grayscale; we cannot process color inside the manuscript.

6 Tech Trends for the Next Five Years
Various Authors, Ed Tech
————————————————————-
http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=41042
I had to check twice to make sure this wasn’t just a cribe
of the NMC’s Horizon Report
http://www.nmc.org/horizon/2007/report, but it wasn’t. It’s
close, though – a set of predictions for the next five
years of technology in learning that includes the 3D web,
wireless, user-generated content, and more. Probably the
most interesting section is the one on “revolutionizing
high school” which describes the ‘Classrooms of the Future’
initiative in Pennsylvania. Via Pacific Rim Exchange
http://pacificrimx.wordpress.com/2007/07/24/6-tech-trends-for-the-next-5-years/.
http://www.edtechmag.com/k12/issues/august-september-2007/6-tech-trends-for-the-next-five-years.html

• Becta Research Report
  http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rp_02&rid=14007

• Helen Barrett, E-Portfolios for Learning
  Helen Barrett links to and discusses the Becta report,
  Impact study of e-portfolios on learning , and in
  particular, displays an interesting graphic of “the three
  distinct components of an e-portfolio system: the digital
  archive (repository of evidence), tools to support
  different processes, and different presentation portfolios
  developed for different purposes and audiences.”
  http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/2007/07/becta-research-report.html