wfn.org | 'A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like a Medicine'

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

April 3, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Feature: 'A Merry Heart Doeth Good Like a 
Medicine'

Loma Linda, California, USA -  A recent article in 
USA TODAY featured Lee S. Berk, DrPH, MPH, Loma 
Linda University School of Medicine assistant 
research professor of pathology, School of Public 
Health assistant clinical professor of health 
promotion and education, and associate director 
for the Centre for Neuroimmunology.

Christine Sparta, author of the Thursday, January 
28, article, reported on the "business of using 
laughter/humour as a complementary tool in 
medicine."

 Dr. Berk, who is the leading researcher at Loma 
Linda University on this subject, and one of the 
leading authorities in the nation on laughter and 
healing, calls laughter "internal  jogging," and 
has found that it decreases significant stress 
hormones such as cortisol, a substance that 
suppresses immune system components.

Dr. Berk also reported in the article that 
mirthful laughter appears to increase antibodies 
called immunoglobulins that help fight infections.

In a study reported in the USA TODAY article, it 
was noted that children laugh about 400 times a 
day, while adults average only 15. "Somewhere 
between childhood and adulthood we lose the 
ability to laugh," Dr. Berk says.

Dr. Berk receives several calls per week from 
medical institutions that want to add more whole-
person components such as laughter/ humour and 
music (positive mood states) to their total 
healing curriculum.

Not only does Dr. Berk receive calls from medical 
institutions, but he is also in demand from the 
press and electronic media as an expert in this 
field.

Dr. Berk's research and the studies he has done 
with Stanley Tan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of 
medicine, have appeared in numerous newspapers and 
magazines throughout the Untied States and 
overseas.

Dr. Berk's research has been featured nationally 
and internationally on ABC, NBC, CBS, Christian 
Lifestyle Magazine, The Discovery Channel, and The 
Learning Channel; in addition, Dr. Berk and his 
research have been the subject of stories on 
several local television stations. His most recent 
national television interview was aired on ABC's 
World News Tonight with Peter Jennings on Friday, 
December 4, 1998.

ABC interviewed Dr. Berk about the potential 
medical scientific credibility of laughter's 
benefits in health care and prevention. The 
interview was conducted in conjunction with a 
piece about the motion picture, Patch Adams, 
starring Robin Williams, which tells the true 
story of Patch Adams, MD.

Dr. Adams, who is a friend of Dr. Berk, used 
humour and laughter for years in his care of 
patients. In the movie, Dr. Adams attempts to 
'educate' the educators, that indeed A merry heart 
does good like a medicine. [99/09/05]