It's best that you get the fiber you need each day from foods in your diet rather than supplements. Rift Gold Most people need between 20 and 35 grams of fiber each day. Some good fiber-rich food choices are:
Whole-grain breads, cereals, and pastas Fruits and vegetables Brown rice Dried beans Oatmeal Popcorn Getting fiber is great, but don't suddenly jump on the fiber bandwagon and ramp up your intake all at once. Take it slowly, and gradually increase your fiber each day to prevent side effects like diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, and gas.
Fiber in the Diet: Smart Choices
Now that you know what foods are fiber-rich and good for you, it's time to start finding ways to work them into your daily meals and snacks. RIFT Platinum Try these tips to get more fiber every day:
Have oatmeal or whole-grain cereal for breakfast; top with some fresh fruit. Eat fruits and veggies raw and with skins for more fiber (if appropriate). rift gold Snack on fruits — dried or fresh is fine. Have bulgur, barley, or couscous as a side dish. Munch on popcorn when you need a snack. Switch to brown rice from white rice. RIFT Platinum Replace white pasta with whole-wheat pasta in your favorite dish. Add vegetables to pastas and other dishes. Get a minimum of 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of veggies every day. Choose those highest in fiber like pears, berries, apples, spinach, sweet potatoes, and peas. Have a bran muffin for breakfast or a snack. Fiber is filling, delicious, and one of the healthiest things you can eat. There are a lot of easy and tasty ways to make fiber a big part of every day, and you'll quickly reap the health benefits. It's a simple way to feel full, be fit, and get your body into a healthy shape.
2011年4月21日星期四
Are you afraid that your child is eating too little or too much? According to a June 2010 survey conducted by Country Crock, 90 percent of parents are concerned about their child's diet. Jeannette L. Bessinger and dietician Tracee Yablon-Brenner, authors of "Great Expectations: Best Food for Your Baby and Toddler," agree that the types of foods you give your child in his first years can impact his eating habits and preferences for a lifetime. But you can stop poor eating habits in its tracks -- and the sooner, the better.
"After all, prevention is much easier than intervention," said Bessinger.
Here the two experts share seven tips on how to encourage to your child to be a healthy -- and less picky -- eater:
1. Breast-feed if possible.
While breast-feeding cannot be a reality for everyone, it has been proven to reduce the risk for obesity up to 20 percent, said Bessinger. Even though researchers haven't been able to pinpoint concrete reasons for this trend, one theory is that milk is released more slowly from a nipple, allowing the baby the chance to understand satiety.
"And breast milk will have subtle flavor differences, depending on the mother's diet," said Bessinger.
For example, sweeter milk is produced if the mom is eating sweet fruits.
"This variety will broaden the baby's palette right from the beginning, increasing the child's chances for welcoming more flavors in the future," she said.
2. Be neutral about food.
Most of us are conditioned to label food as "good" or "bad," but passing these beliefs to your child will actually backfire, said Yablon-Brenner. She suggested offering two to three healthy options in small amounts (about one tablespoon per age) at each meal.
"Don't make a big deal about their choices, and do not force food, tell your child to clean his plate or use food as a reward or punishment -- this just [makes food a loaded topic], which will cause problems down the road," she said.
So what happens when outsiders offer your child only foods high in sugar and/or fat? Yablon-Brenner advised to give your little one a small taste so she doesn't feel left out.
"Don't worry: Playdates and birthday parties will not destroy the foundation you've set at home," she said.
3. Be patient with food introductions.
According to Bessinger, research says it can take up to 15 times for a child to accept a new flavor. RIFT Platinum So even if your toddler rejects a new food at first, it may take several tastes before it becomes familiar and eventually accepted. It may also be more effective to spread the food tastings apart instead of trying 15 days in a row.
"Keep in mind that whatever a child eats the most is what he will prefer," she said.
And don't read into a funny face.
"Even if your baby makes a funny face when tasting something new, that doesn't always mean rejection," Bessinger added. "It could simply mean, 'Well, this is different!'"
4. Add mild herbs and spices to meals.
Once your child is about 9 months old, you can begin to add a dash of a gentle herbs or spices, to meals, such as ginger, basil, tarragon and cinnamon, says Yablon-Brenner.
"This little trick will help broaden your child's range of flavor," she said.
But she does recommend first introducing a new food in its plain state, then sprinkling on an herb or spice once your child has accepted the food's taste.
5. Involve your child in preparing meals and snacks.
Allowing your toddler -- or older child -- to help out in the kitchen will likely lead to better eating habits, said both experts. rift gold And if you're looking for your little one to add fresh veggies to his plate, consider planting a garden in your yard.
"It's a universal rule, so to speak, that when someone grows something from the ground, they will, in most cases, want to eat it," said Bessinger.
Yablon-Brenner added that it's also okay for your kid to play with her food from time to time.
"Let them feel the texture of new foods -- it's all about exploring," she said.
6. Surround your child with little healthy eaters.
Positive peer pressure can help your child develop a broader palate.
"Another term for it is parallel play, meaning that if even just one kid tries a food, the others will most likely follow suit," said Bessinger. RIFT Platinum "Children are wired that way, and this type of peer pressure starts as young as 2 years old and continues into the toddler years and even into the preteens."
7. Be a healthy role model.
It's no secret that a child's instinct is to mimic his parents, so if you want your child as far away as possible from the cookies, cakes and chips, steer clear of them yourself and keep them out of your home.
"On an unconscious level, Rift Gold we expect our child to like what we like and to dislike what we don't like, even when it comes to food," said Bessinger.
She recommends paying attention to the subtle signals you may be sending to your little one.
"After all, you may hate the taste of bitter green veggies, but your child may not," she said.
"After all, prevention is much easier than intervention," said Bessinger.
Here the two experts share seven tips on how to encourage to your child to be a healthy -- and less picky -- eater:
1. Breast-feed if possible.
While breast-feeding cannot be a reality for everyone, it has been proven to reduce the risk for obesity up to 20 percent, said Bessinger. Even though researchers haven't been able to pinpoint concrete reasons for this trend, one theory is that milk is released more slowly from a nipple, allowing the baby the chance to understand satiety.
"And breast milk will have subtle flavor differences, depending on the mother's diet," said Bessinger.
For example, sweeter milk is produced if the mom is eating sweet fruits.
"This variety will broaden the baby's palette right from the beginning, increasing the child's chances for welcoming more flavors in the future," she said.
2. Be neutral about food.
Most of us are conditioned to label food as "good" or "bad," but passing these beliefs to your child will actually backfire, said Yablon-Brenner. She suggested offering two to three healthy options in small amounts (about one tablespoon per age) at each meal.
"Don't make a big deal about their choices, and do not force food, tell your child to clean his plate or use food as a reward or punishment -- this just [makes food a loaded topic], which will cause problems down the road," she said.
So what happens when outsiders offer your child only foods high in sugar and/or fat? Yablon-Brenner advised to give your little one a small taste so she doesn't feel left out.
"Don't worry: Playdates and birthday parties will not destroy the foundation you've set at home," she said.
3. Be patient with food introductions.
According to Bessinger, research says it can take up to 15 times for a child to accept a new flavor. RIFT Platinum So even if your toddler rejects a new food at first, it may take several tastes before it becomes familiar and eventually accepted. It may also be more effective to spread the food tastings apart instead of trying 15 days in a row.
"Keep in mind that whatever a child eats the most is what he will prefer," she said.
And don't read into a funny face.
"Even if your baby makes a funny face when tasting something new, that doesn't always mean rejection," Bessinger added. "It could simply mean, 'Well, this is different!'"
4. Add mild herbs and spices to meals.
Once your child is about 9 months old, you can begin to add a dash of a gentle herbs or spices, to meals, such as ginger, basil, tarragon and cinnamon, says Yablon-Brenner.
"This little trick will help broaden your child's range of flavor," she said.
But she does recommend first introducing a new food in its plain state, then sprinkling on an herb or spice once your child has accepted the food's taste.
5. Involve your child in preparing meals and snacks.
Allowing your toddler -- or older child -- to help out in the kitchen will likely lead to better eating habits, said both experts. rift gold And if you're looking for your little one to add fresh veggies to his plate, consider planting a garden in your yard.
"It's a universal rule, so to speak, that when someone grows something from the ground, they will, in most cases, want to eat it," said Bessinger.
Yablon-Brenner added that it's also okay for your kid to play with her food from time to time.
"Let them feel the texture of new foods -- it's all about exploring," she said.
6. Surround your child with little healthy eaters.
Positive peer pressure can help your child develop a broader palate.
"Another term for it is parallel play, meaning that if even just one kid tries a food, the others will most likely follow suit," said Bessinger. RIFT Platinum "Children are wired that way, and this type of peer pressure starts as young as 2 years old and continues into the toddler years and even into the preteens."
7. Be a healthy role model.
It's no secret that a child's instinct is to mimic his parents, so if you want your child as far away as possible from the cookies, cakes and chips, steer clear of them yourself and keep them out of your home.
"On an unconscious level, Rift Gold we expect our child to like what we like and to dislike what we don't like, even when it comes to food," said Bessinger.
She recommends paying attention to the subtle signals you may be sending to your little one.
"After all, you may hate the taste of bitter green veggies, but your child may not," she said.
2011年4月20日星期三
U-17s advance 1-0 over Panama
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – Andrew Oliver scored the game’s only goal as the U.S. defeated Panama 1-0 to capture Group B of the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. Oliver’s second strike of the tournament gave the United States six points from two matches,rift gold the team having collected a 3-1 victory against Cuba in their opening match. Oliver won the aerial battle off a free kick delivered by Alejandro Guido, heading home in the 49th minute. Kellyn Acosta had been fouled harshly near the touchline, setting up the opportunity. Oliver now has two goals and an assist through two matches, one of three players in the competition to record multiple goals. With the win, the U.S. will face El Salvador on Feb. 22 at Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay in the quarterfinals. The winner of that match qualifies for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
Panama needed to lose by fewer than two goals to secure a place in the quarterfinals and, down by one goal late in the game, Panama was content to let the U.S. hold onto possession. By virtue of their scoreless draw with Cuba and a 1-0 loss to the U.S.,rift gold Panama held firm to second place in Group B. They will play Costa Rica on Tuesday with a FIFA U-17 World Cup berth on the line.
Panama needed to lose by fewer than two goals to secure a place in the quarterfinals and, down by one goal late in the game, Panama was content to let the U.S. hold onto possession. By virtue of their scoreless draw with Cuba and a 1-0 loss to the U.S.,rift gold Panama held firm to second place in Group B. They will play Costa Rica on Tuesday with a FIFA U-17 World Cup berth on the line.
Wind energy projects in Panama
In order to facilitate the construction and installation of wind turbines and renewable plants in general, and to regulate their development in Panama,rift gold the Government is drawing up a new legal framework. The Panamanian authorities have approved 25 applications for the construction of wind farm projects totaling 2,064 MW. A new regulatory framework will promote renewable energy sector. Wind power generation is a priority option for the government of Panama in order to increase the renewable share in the country’s electricity balance. The latter was confirmed by the National Authority of Public Services (ASEP), which informed that 25 wind turbines applications for the construction of wind farms have already been approved. Five of these have already received final authorization while the others are still waiting for the process to be completed. However, for the time being, only one wind farm project is actually under construction, in the province of Coclé, with a capacity of 225 MW. If all the submitted wind farm projects were to be implemented, the new installed capacity would amount to 2,064 MW,rift gold which alone could nearly cover the country’s total electricity needs, currently met with an installed capacity of 1,650 MW (mainly from oil) and partly from imports. In order to facilitate the construction and installation of wind turbines and renewable plants in general, and to regulate their development in Panama, the Government is drawing up a new legal framework.
Spaniard Had Belongings of Don North
Several objects and documents belonging to the American Don North, who has been missing since January,rift gold were found in rented tents on the island of Chicheme in the Kuna Yala by the Spaniard Javier Martin, who has been arrested in this case for his alleged connections with the death of the Frenchman Jean Pierre Bouhard. Sources connected with the case said yesterday that on this island, used by tourists for vacation, Martin had rented two tents. In one of them, which was locked, the objects were found. These include two laptops, a camera, clothes and documents from Don North's sailboat the "Windancer",rift gold which was found on the same island near El Porvenir and renamed the "Green Twilight." Auxiliary Prosecutor Dimas Guevara, said yesterday he might be formulating new charges against Javier Martin in the coming hours.
Celiac Disease
Imagine what it would be like if eating pizza, pasta, most breads, cookies, cakes, candy bars, canned soup, or luncheon meats or drinking a beer left you with cramps, diarrhea, anemia, and even osteoporosis. For many people with celiac disease, that is a reality.
rift gold
Celiac disease, also called celiac sprue, is a hereditary disease that occurs when a protein called gluten found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats generates an immune reaction in the small intestine of genetically susceptible people. As a result, tiny hair-like projections in the small intestine, called villi, shrink and sometimes disappear. The villi then are not able to absorb nutrients from food, and the result is abnormally colored, foul-smelling stools and weight loss. This malabsorption also can deprive the brain, nervous system, bones, liver, and other organs of nourishment and cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies that may lead to other medical problems.
About 1 in 500 people in the United States has celiac disease—about 500,000 Americans. Some speculate that celiac disease has affected humans since they first switched from a foraging diet of meat and nuts to a cultivated diet that included high-protein grasses such as wheat. Physicians have gained an understanding of the disease and how to treat it in only the past 50 years. Today, people with celiac disease are able to lead nearly normal, healthy lives.
A gluten-free diet—a lifelong and complete avoidance of wheat, rye, barley, and oats and any foods that contain them— is the only way to treat this disease. Following such a diet is not as easy as it seems because many processed foods and medications contain gluten.
Once gluten is removed from the diet, the digestive tract begins healing within several days. Significant healing and regrowth of the villi may take several months in young people and as long as 2 to 3 years in older persons. Foods allowed in a gluten-free diet include fresh meats, fish, poultry, milk and unprocessed cheeses, dried beans, plain fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, and gluten-free grains such as corn and rice.
Identifying gluten-free foods can be difficult. People with celiac disease should discuss their food selections with their physician and a registered dietitian. A dietitian also can advise how best to improve the nutritional quality of a diet.
rift gold
Food manufacturers can be contacted to find out whether a product contains gluten. Celiac disease support groups and Internet sites also may have information on the ingredients found in food products.
rift gold
Celiac disease, also called celiac sprue, is a hereditary disease that occurs when a protein called gluten found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats generates an immune reaction in the small intestine of genetically susceptible people. As a result, tiny hair-like projections in the small intestine, called villi, shrink and sometimes disappear. The villi then are not able to absorb nutrients from food, and the result is abnormally colored, foul-smelling stools and weight loss. This malabsorption also can deprive the brain, nervous system, bones, liver, and other organs of nourishment and cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies that may lead to other medical problems.
About 1 in 500 people in the United States has celiac disease—about 500,000 Americans. Some speculate that celiac disease has affected humans since they first switched from a foraging diet of meat and nuts to a cultivated diet that included high-protein grasses such as wheat. Physicians have gained an understanding of the disease and how to treat it in only the past 50 years. Today, people with celiac disease are able to lead nearly normal, healthy lives.
A gluten-free diet—a lifelong and complete avoidance of wheat, rye, barley, and oats and any foods that contain them— is the only way to treat this disease. Following such a diet is not as easy as it seems because many processed foods and medications contain gluten.
Once gluten is removed from the diet, the digestive tract begins healing within several days. Significant healing and regrowth of the villi may take several months in young people and as long as 2 to 3 years in older persons. Foods allowed in a gluten-free diet include fresh meats, fish, poultry, milk and unprocessed cheeses, dried beans, plain fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, and gluten-free grains such as corn and rice.
Identifying gluten-free foods can be difficult. People with celiac disease should discuss their food selections with their physician and a registered dietitian. A dietitian also can advise how best to improve the nutritional quality of a diet.
rift gold
Food manufacturers can be contacted to find out whether a product contains gluten. Celiac disease support groups and Internet sites also may have information on the ingredients found in food products.
Mental Health and Psychiatry
Issues of human rights have always been intertwined with the history of psychiatry. In the history of many societies, the mentally ill were abused and treated without any respect for their rights or dignity. In some societies, such as medieval Europe, the mentally ill were thought to be possessed by demonic spirits. There were few attempts to cure them or ameliorate their suffering. In the early modern era,rift gold some countries funded “madhouses” for the mentally ill, but these were chambers of horrors, with screaming inmates chained to their beds, abused by ignorant and rapacious wardens. In the early nineteenth century, a new wave of doctors and reformers entered the profession and began to argue that the insane, as they were then called, needed to be treated with more humanity. By the twentieth century, treatment of the mentally ill had improved, but there remained, and remains, widespread human rights issues and abuses connected to mental health and psychiatry.
The right of the mentally ill to proper care is an internationally recognized human right. The United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) states that everyone has the right to “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” The United Nations expanded on this statement with an additional document addressed directly to the plight of the mentally ill, the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care (1991).
Treatment for the mentally ill has progressed since the days when they were locked away in madhouses and insane asylums, but abuses still remain. The mentally ill are particularly vulnerable to mistreatment because they are often looked down upon by the rest of society, whose members prefer to forget that they exist. Often unable to voice their concerns and complaints, they are defenseless against the abuses of unscrupulous or uncaring nurses and doctors. But in spite of many abuses, modern mental health facilities, particularly in the industrialized countries, are far better than they once were. Part of the reason for this improvement is the increase in empathy for the plight of the mentally ill, the result of a corresponding increase in respect for the human rights of all people. However, perhaps the most significant change since the eighteenth century is the arrival of a new idea: that mental illness can be treated and either cured or lessened in severity.
In the late 1890s, doctors like Sigmund Freud greatly expanded the field of psychiatry and with it tried to cure those troubled by mental illness. Their successes were real, but limited. Some people could be cured, or helped, by Freud’s talking cure; others, particularly the severely troubled, showed little or no improvement. With the discovery of psychotropic drugs in the 1950s, the treatment of the mentally ill took a giant leap forward, as doctors found that certain chemicals could dramatically improve the behavior and mental state of their patients. Previous abusive treatments, such as electroshock (where a patient was subjected to a series of electric shocks, sometimes damaging their personality or memory) and lobotomies (an operation in which the nerve fibers of the frontal lobes of the brain are severed, often leaving the patient passive and dull, an empty shell of a human being), were abandoned in favor of the new drugs. Although drugs have greatly improved the lives of many mentally ill people—allowing some of them to re-enter the world as happy and productive members of society—they have also sometimes been used in abusive ways. Some institutions have used the drugs to sedate their patients in order to make them easier to handle, rather than out of concern for their well-being.
Places of treatment have also changed since the dark days of the eighteenth century. Insane asylums, themselves an improvement on the old madhouses, were replaced with modern mental hospitals, staffed by trained doctors and nurses. Increased budgets allowed these hospitals to provide various forms of therapy, including painting, theatrics, and other group activities. Nevertheless, abuses continue in hospitals around the world.
In the 1950s, governments in the United States and Great Britain began to release mental patients into the outside world in an effort to deinstitutionalize or mainstream them. The rate of mainstreaming was increased after the early 1970s, when mental hospitals, ignored by much of the country, had reached a low point in their quality of care. This nadir was revealed in 1972, when a young reporter, Geraldo Rivera, smuggled a television camera into Willowbrook, a Staten Island institution for the mentally retarded, and revealed wards crowded with disabled children and fecessmeared walls. Since then there has been substantial, but uneven, improvement in the quality of care.
The main result of reports like Rivera’s, however, was to accelerate the process of mainstreaming, because mental health advocates believed that the mentally ill might be best served by being released from mental hospitals and state institutions. The goal of mainstreaming may have been laudable, but the funds to support the patients in outpatient programs were not sufficient, and many mental patients ended up swelling the ranks of the urban homeless. This decision to leave hundreds of thousands of mental patients without sufficient care was and is a clear human rights violation, as defined by the UN resolutions on mental health. For all its faults, mental health care in wealthy countries like the United States is reasonably good—certainly better than it was fifty years ago. In Third World countries, however, the situation of the mentally ill remains abysmal. Because these countries have too little money to help even the sane and healthy, the mentally ill are often ignored, aided only by the small amounts of money that trickle in from international charities. Abuses reminiscent of the old European madhouses continue in Africa and South America.
In Hidalgo, Mexico, a 1999 investigation by human rights advocates revealed a state mental hospital that epitomized the neglect with which mental patients are treated in much of the world. Inmates in the Hidalgo institution were locked in giant wards, with hundreds of men or women sharing a single dormitory-style room and only a few undertrained hospital personnel to supervise them. The hospital floors were covered with feces and urine, most patients went around shoeless and partially clothed, and some were entirely naked. Many of the patients were not even mentally ill, but rather mentally retarded, yet there were no provisions or plans for releasing them into the kinds of group homes for the mentally retarded that are common in the United States. And as bad as Mexico’s mental health institutions can be, all around the globe there are many institutions that are worse.
One place, worldwide, where the mentally ill continue to face systematic abuse is in prison. Mentally ill prisoners can be the most troublesome, and for that reason prison authorities often treat them with excessive harshness. In many of the new super-maximum security (“super-max”) prisons in the United States, mentally ill patients are locked in small,rift gold isolated cells for twenty-three hours a day. They may be kept in these cells for years, at great cost to their already unbalanced mental state. Human Rights Watch has called this treatment tantamount to torture, a clear violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which bans torture and other degrading punishments. Dr. Carl Fulwiler, a psychiatrist who investigated Indiana’s placement of mentally ill prisoners in super-max facilities, said: “To force prisoners with serious psychiatric disorders to live in extreme social isolation and unremitting idleness in a claustrophobic environment is barbaric.”
The right of the mentally ill to proper care is an internationally recognized human right. The United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) states that everyone has the right to “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” The United Nations expanded on this statement with an additional document addressed directly to the plight of the mentally ill, the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care (1991).
Treatment for the mentally ill has progressed since the days when they were locked away in madhouses and insane asylums, but abuses still remain. The mentally ill are particularly vulnerable to mistreatment because they are often looked down upon by the rest of society, whose members prefer to forget that they exist. Often unable to voice their concerns and complaints, they are defenseless against the abuses of unscrupulous or uncaring nurses and doctors. But in spite of many abuses, modern mental health facilities, particularly in the industrialized countries, are far better than they once were. Part of the reason for this improvement is the increase in empathy for the plight of the mentally ill, the result of a corresponding increase in respect for the human rights of all people. However, perhaps the most significant change since the eighteenth century is the arrival of a new idea: that mental illness can be treated and either cured or lessened in severity.
In the late 1890s, doctors like Sigmund Freud greatly expanded the field of psychiatry and with it tried to cure those troubled by mental illness. Their successes were real, but limited. Some people could be cured, or helped, by Freud’s talking cure; others, particularly the severely troubled, showed little or no improvement. With the discovery of psychotropic drugs in the 1950s, the treatment of the mentally ill took a giant leap forward, as doctors found that certain chemicals could dramatically improve the behavior and mental state of their patients. Previous abusive treatments, such as electroshock (where a patient was subjected to a series of electric shocks, sometimes damaging their personality or memory) and lobotomies (an operation in which the nerve fibers of the frontal lobes of the brain are severed, often leaving the patient passive and dull, an empty shell of a human being), were abandoned in favor of the new drugs. Although drugs have greatly improved the lives of many mentally ill people—allowing some of them to re-enter the world as happy and productive members of society—they have also sometimes been used in abusive ways. Some institutions have used the drugs to sedate their patients in order to make them easier to handle, rather than out of concern for their well-being.
Places of treatment have also changed since the dark days of the eighteenth century. Insane asylums, themselves an improvement on the old madhouses, were replaced with modern mental hospitals, staffed by trained doctors and nurses. Increased budgets allowed these hospitals to provide various forms of therapy, including painting, theatrics, and other group activities. Nevertheless, abuses continue in hospitals around the world.
In the 1950s, governments in the United States and Great Britain began to release mental patients into the outside world in an effort to deinstitutionalize or mainstream them. The rate of mainstreaming was increased after the early 1970s, when mental hospitals, ignored by much of the country, had reached a low point in their quality of care. This nadir was revealed in 1972, when a young reporter, Geraldo Rivera, smuggled a television camera into Willowbrook, a Staten Island institution for the mentally retarded, and revealed wards crowded with disabled children and fecessmeared walls. Since then there has been substantial, but uneven, improvement in the quality of care.
The main result of reports like Rivera’s, however, was to accelerate the process of mainstreaming, because mental health advocates believed that the mentally ill might be best served by being released from mental hospitals and state institutions. The goal of mainstreaming may have been laudable, but the funds to support the patients in outpatient programs were not sufficient, and many mental patients ended up swelling the ranks of the urban homeless. This decision to leave hundreds of thousands of mental patients without sufficient care was and is a clear human rights violation, as defined by the UN resolutions on mental health. For all its faults, mental health care in wealthy countries like the United States is reasonably good—certainly better than it was fifty years ago. In Third World countries, however, the situation of the mentally ill remains abysmal. Because these countries have too little money to help even the sane and healthy, the mentally ill are often ignored, aided only by the small amounts of money that trickle in from international charities. Abuses reminiscent of the old European madhouses continue in Africa and South America.
In Hidalgo, Mexico, a 1999 investigation by human rights advocates revealed a state mental hospital that epitomized the neglect with which mental patients are treated in much of the world. Inmates in the Hidalgo institution were locked in giant wards, with hundreds of men or women sharing a single dormitory-style room and only a few undertrained hospital personnel to supervise them. The hospital floors were covered with feces and urine, most patients went around shoeless and partially clothed, and some were entirely naked. Many of the patients were not even mentally ill, but rather mentally retarded, yet there were no provisions or plans for releasing them into the kinds of group homes for the mentally retarded that are common in the United States. And as bad as Mexico’s mental health institutions can be, all around the globe there are many institutions that are worse.
One place, worldwide, where the mentally ill continue to face systematic abuse is in prison. Mentally ill prisoners can be the most troublesome, and for that reason prison authorities often treat them with excessive harshness. In many of the new super-maximum security (“super-max”) prisons in the United States, mentally ill patients are locked in small,rift gold isolated cells for twenty-three hours a day. They may be kept in these cells for years, at great cost to their already unbalanced mental state. Human Rights Watch has called this treatment tantamount to torture, a clear violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which bans torture and other degrading punishments. Dr. Carl Fulwiler, a psychiatrist who investigated Indiana’s placement of mentally ill prisoners in super-max facilities, said: “To force prisoners with serious psychiatric disorders to live in extreme social isolation and unremitting idleness in a claustrophobic environment is barbaric.”
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