Weekly Health Update: Heads Up!

Mental Attitude: Low Self-Esteem?
According to a new study, a man is likely to feel worse about himself when his wife or girlfriend succeeds. Scientists discovered that men automatically interpret their partner's success as their own failure, even when they are not in direct competition. The study did not find that a woman's self-esteem is negatively affected by her partner's success.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, September 2013

Health Alert: Motorcycle Deaths.
Fatal motorcycle injuries in the United States (US) increased 227% from 1998 to 2010. Men face a 7.8 times higher risk of death from motorcycle crashes than women. In 2010, there were 149,992 traffic fatalities in the US, with motorcyclists representing 15% of these deaths.
International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, September 2013

Diet: Battle of the Binge.
Binge eating, or “the repeated consumption of large quantities of food in a short period of time without some other compensatory activity,” is a problem under-recognized in men. According to researchers, the discrepancy between overweight female binge eaters and overweight male binge eaters is that women gain weight faster and seek a diet sooner. There is also a cultural component that sends the message that men are expected to eat more.
Health Behavior News Science, September 2013

Exercise: Exercise, Alcohol Abuse, and Brain Damage.
Heavy drinking has previously been linked to brain damage. However, preliminary studies indicate that individuals who drink heavily but engage in regular physical activity can maintain the health of their white brain matter. The study's authors are quick to point out that this finding is not a license to drink as much as you can, provided you exercise. Alcohol abuse can still take a toll on many organs in the body, not just your brain.
University of Colorado at Boulder, April 2013

Chiropractic: Heads Up!
If your head is in a forward posture, it can add up to 30 lbs (~13 kg) of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine (neck). In time, this can pull the entire spine out of alignment. Forward head posture may even result in the loss of up to 30% of vital lung capacity. These breath-related effects are primarily due to the loss of the cervical lordosis (the inward curve of the cervical spine), which blocks the action of the inferior hyoid muscle responsible for helping lift the first rib during inhalation.
Rene Cailliet, M.D., January 1996

Wellness/Prevention: Stop Smoking.
Smokers are twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to people who have never smoked. Not smoking is the most important thing someone can do to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
European Society of Cardiology, August 2013

Weekly Health Update: Chiropractic for Every Inch!

Mental Attitude: Video Games are Good!
Scientists have developed a video game-based training strategy called NeuroRacer that could "repair" cognitive decline in older individuals. The 3D video game challenges cognitive control by providing a series of distractions on the screen that the players must try to avoid while driving. After playing the game, the study participants showed a dramatic increase in their multi-tasking abilities. These improved abilities continued to last for six months without any "booster" training on the game. EEG scans showed increased measurements in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, the area responsible for problem solving and complex thought.
Nature, September 2013

Health Alert: Young Adults and Stroke.
Hospital discharges in the United States for strokes among young adults (15-44 years old) increased at least 23% from 1996 to 2008. Lifestyle risk factors for stroke include obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels.
Neurology, September 20133

Diet: Vitamin D Deficiency.
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with osteomalacia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, and risk of fracture. Emerging evidence also points to increased risk for cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Good sources of vitamin D include sunlight, cod liver oil, salmon, mushrooms, mackerel, tuna fish, milk, orange juice, and supplements.
British Journal of Nutrition, September 2013

Exercise: Obesity and Post Heart Attack Mortality.
A study of French heart attack survivors found that obesity (BMI =35 kg/m²) is associated with the largest risk of absolute mortality five years later (+65%).
European Society of Cardiology, August 2013

Chiropractic: Every Inch!
For every inch your head is forward, your upper back and neck muscles have to hold an extra 10 lbs (~4.5 kg), as they have to work harder to keep the head (chin) from dropping to your chest. This also forces the sub-occipital muscles (they raise the chin) to remain in constant contraction, putting pressure on the three sub-occipital nerves. This nerve compression may cause headaches at the base of the skull or mimic sinus (frontal) headaches.
Kapandji, Physiology of the Joints, Volume III

Wellness/Prevention: Sleep and Your Brain.
Sleep increases the reproduction of the cells (oligodendrocytes) that form myelin. Myelin is the insulating material found on nerve cell projections in the brain and spinal cord that's responsible for allowing electrical impulses to move from cell to cell, similar to the insulation around electrical wires.
University of Wisconsin, September 2013

Weekly Health Update: Chiropractic Increases Productivity!

Mental Attitude: The Brain and Learning a Second Language.
Learning a second language requires the brain to create and strengthen new neural connections in the brain's inferior frontal cortex. This is similar to the structural changes seen in people learning complex motor skills, such as juggling.
Montreal Neurological Institute, September 2013

Health Alert: Obesity in the United States.
78 million adults and 13 million kids are obese in the Unites States (US), with the total number increasing to 113 million by 2022. 60-70% of the US population is either overweight or obese, putting them at risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
American Heart Association, September 2013

Diet: Vitamins and Violence.
Deficiencies of vitamins A, D, K, B1, B3, B6, B12 and folate, and of minerals iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, chromium and manganese can all contribute to mental instability and violent behavior.
Sylvia Onusic, PhD, April 2013

Exercise: Watch Your Step!
When exercising, the force centered on your ankle can exceed up to seven times your body weight. 23,000 people sprain their ankle every day in the United States, resulting in 1.6 million doctor office visits annually. The direct and indirect costs (e.g., lost days from work) associated with treating ankle sprains exceed $1.1 billion annually. To make matters worse, these numbers do not take into account the long-term disability often associated with ankle sprains. Overweight athletes with a prior history of ankle sprain are 19 times more likely to suffer another ankle sprain.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, February 2011

Chiropractic: Increased Productivity!
A small, one-year study of office workers with neck and upper extremity pain found that chiropractic care combined with improved workstation ergonomics resulted in decreased pain, increased quality of life, and up to 100% increased productivity.
Work, September 2013

Wellness/Prevention: Obesity Microbes?
New research suggests changing the mix of gut microbes can prevent obesity, but only if combined with a healthy diet. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables encourages leanness-related microbes to populate the gut leading to better weight control. However, a diet high in saturated fat and low in fruits and vegetables thwarts the invasion of microbes associated with leanness.
Science, September 2013

Weekly Health Update: Spinal Pain Treatments Compared

Mental Attitude: No Yelling.
Harsh verbal punishments, such as shouting, cursing, or using insults, are just as harmful to adolescents as physical discipline. Adolescents whose parents used harsh verbal punishment are more likely to suffer from depression and are more likely to engage in vandalism or aggressive behavior. Parental warmth, love, emotional support, and affection between parents and their kids is not enough to outweigh the negative effects of harsh verbal discipline.
Child Development, September 2013

Health Alert: Advances in Infant Mortality.
European infant mortality rates fell from 178 deaths (< 1 year of age) per 1,000 births in the 1870s to 120 per 1,000 during 1911-1915. In the 1950s, these rates fell to 41 per 1,000, and in the late 1970s, they continued to fall to only 14 per 1000. In 2010, the mortality rate was 4.1 per 1,000 births. Factors for these improvements include increased income per capita, more sanitary living conditions, better general education about health and nutrition, better social services and health systems, and medical advances.
Oxford Economic Papers, September 2013

Diet: Chew Your Food.
It is not a surprise that almonds are a great source of healthy fats and extra energy. However, the extent that almonds are chewed can make a difference in how much nutrition is absorbed by the body and how much is expelled. The more you chew, the more your body can use.
Institute of Food Technologists, July 2013

Exercise: Sudden Cardiac Death Risk and Exercise.
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for 50% of all deaths from coronary heart disease, and is defined as death with cardiac origin within 24 hours after onset of symptoms. A 19-year study looked at the impact of high leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) combined with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on the risk of SCD. The results showed that the risk of SDC was nearly double among men who are inactive (low CRF and low LTPA).
Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, September 2013

Chiropractic: Spinal Pain Treatments Compared.
In this study, acupuncture, medication, and chiropractic care were compared on a patient population with spinal pain, including neck and back pain. Only spinal manipulation provided both short-term and long-term benefits.
Spine, July 2003

Wellness/Prevention: The Great and Powerful Ginger.
Ginger is an herb that is used as a spice and also has therapeutic qualities. The underground stem (rhizome) can be used fresh, powdered, dried, or as an oil or juice. Ginger is used for treating loss of appetite, nausea/vomiting after surgery, flatulence, upset stomach, colic, morning sickness, motion sickness, upper respiratory tract infection, bronchitis, cough, menstrual cramps, arthritis, and muscle pain.
National Library of Medicine, September 2013

Weekly Health Update: Chiropractic Adjustments Validated

Mental Attitude: Control Over You Own Life?
When people were provided with scientific evidence that supported the ability to predict the future, they felt a greater sense of control over their lives. One group of study participants read a paragraph stating that researchers had found evidence supporting the existence of precognition, while another group read a paragraph that refuted these findings. On a subsequent survey, people who read the paragraph confirming the ability to predict the future agreed more strongly with statements like "I am in control of my own life"; "My life is determined by my own actions"; and "I am able to live my life how I wish."
PLOS ONE, August 2013

Health Alert: Taxing Sugary Beverages?
Obesity rates in the United States are 36% for adults and 17% for children. Medical costs associated with obesity are ~$147 billion per year. A sugary beverage tax may reduce the consumption of soda but will likely lead to an increase in calories, salt, and fat intake from untaxed foods and beverages.
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, August 2013

Diet: Comfort Food Preferences?
Researchers found that rats exposed to heightened levels of stress during their first few days of life were more likely to be prone to anxiety and stress in later life and preferred sugary and high-fat foods. This is the first study to demonstrate that comfort food preference could be enhanced by such an early stress exposure.
Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, August 2013

Exercise: Teenaged Physical Fitness Reduces Suicide Risk in Adulthood.
An analysis of over one million Swedish men found a link between physical fitness at age 18 and suicide risk up to 40 years later. Young men who performed poorly on an exercise bike test had an adulthood risk of suicide nearly 1.8 times that of their peers who were deemed physically fit.
Psychological Medicine, June 2013

Chiropractic: Adjustments Validated.
Patients with neck pain, neck dysfunction, and headache showed significant improvement with cervical spine adjustments.
Duke Evidence Report, 2001

Wellness/Prevention: Breastfeeding and Alzheimer's.
Mothers who breastfed their children have a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life. Researches have two theories on why this may be the case: 1) Breastfeeding deprives the body of progesterone and progesterone is known to desensitize the brain's oestrogen receptors. This may increase the amount of oestrogen in the brain, a hormone that may play a role in protecting the brain from Alzheimer's. 2) Breastfeeding restores a woman's insulin sensitivity after pregnancy. Alzheimer's has been characterized as a resistance to insulin in the brain so much so that it has even been referred to as type 3 diabetes.
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, August 2013

Weekly Health Update: Headaches and Your Neck

Mental Attitude: Tidy Or Messy Desk?
According to research, disorderly environments (like an untidy desk) seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights and creativity. Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe.
Psychological Science, August 2013

Health Alert: Clean Water and Soap Please!
Stunting, or a reduced growth rate, affects 165 million children worldwide and results in long-term impacts on physical and mental development, increasing the risk of mortality, and reducing productivity in adulthood. Researchers identified 14 studies c onducted in low and middle-income countries that provided data on the effect of water, sanitation, and hygiene programs on the physical growth of children. Clean drinking water and effective hand washing could reduce the prevalence of stunting in children under age five by 15%.
Cochrane Review, August 2013

Diet: Obesity and Sleep.
Brain scans of people after a sleepless night s how that sleeplessness reduces the so-called higher order powers of our brain and creates an excessive response in more primitive parts of the brain. Researchers say this combination of brain activities may lead to poor food choices, such as eating junk food.
Nature Communications Journal, August 2013

Exercise: Is Hot Yoga Safe?
The concern that heated yoga classes (those with temperatures ranging from 90-95°F) are dangerous is unfounded. However, it is important to properly hydrate before, during, and after class. It can take 10-14 days to fully acclimate to exercising in the heat.
American Council on Exercise, June 2013

Chiropractic: Headaches and Your Neck.
For some headache patients, the three nerves that exit the top of the spine (upper neck) may be at least partially responsible for their headaches. These three nerves travel into the head and have to pass through a very thick group of muscles in the upper part of the neck near where these muscles attach to the base of the skull. This is why when you have headaches and rub the back of the neck, the muscles may feel tight and or tender. In fact, if enough pressure is applied over one of these three nerves, pain will radiate into the head following the course of the nerve, sometimes all the way into the eyes. When chiropractic treatment is applied in the upper neck region, a reduction of the headache and neck pain may occur because the muscle tension is decreased and joint motion is restored.
Steve Yeomans, D.C., April 2010

Wellness/Prevention: Don't Take Your Team's Loss So Personally.
Seeing your team lose can cause you to eat more sugars and saturated fats, especially in close games that are lost at the last second. However, researchers found you can counteract this behavior by simply writing down what's most important in your life immediately after the game.
Psychological Science, August 2013

Weekly Health Update: Faster Recovery, Less Money!

Mental Attitude: The 9 Risk Factors of Young-Onset Dementia.
A 37-year follow-up study found the major risk factors associated with young-onset dementia disease (dementia diagnosed under age 65) included alcohol intoxication, stroke, use of antipsychotics, depression, below average height, father's dementia, drug intoxication, low cognitive function at 18 years of age, and high systolic blood pressure at 18 years of age. Men who had at least two of the nine risk factors and were also in the lowest third of cognitive function at age 18 had a 20-fold increased risk for a dementia diagnosis before age 65.
JAMA Internal Medicine, August 2013

Health Alert: Concussions in High School Sports.
Between the 1997-98 and 2007-08 school years, concussion rates increased across the board in most high school sports. While football accounts for more than half of all concussions and has the highest incident rate (.6 per 10,000 athletes), girl's soccer had the most concussions among female sports and the 2nd highest incident rate among all sports at .35 per 10,000 athletes.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine, January 2011

Diet: Zinc Deficiency and Old Age.
Zinc deficiency may develop with age, leading to low-grade chronic inflammation that has been associated with cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Low zinc levels have also been associated with a weakened immune system response. In animal studies, older subjects showed signs of zinc deficiency even though their diets should have provided adequate amounts of the nutrient. The researchers believe the aging process alters the body's ability to efficiently transport zinc to our cells. When the test animals were given more than the recommended daily amount of zinc, biomarkers related to chronic inflammation returned to levels seen in younger subjects.
The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, January 2013

Exercise: More Reasons.
Physical fitness helps to maintain an independent lifestyle and reduces the level of abdominal obesity, a significant health-risk factor.
Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, 1996

Chiropractic: Faster Recovery, Less Money!
In a 52-week study of patients with neck pain, manual therapy (spinal mobilization) resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy (mainly exercise) or general practitioner care (counseling, education, and medication). Costs of the manual therapy were about one-third of the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care.
British Medical Journal, April 2003

Wellness/Prevention: Save Your Brain!
50% of Alzheimer's and dementia cases may be preventable! Preventable or treatable risk factors include smoking, physical inactivity, depression, mid-life high blood pressure, diabetes, and mid-life obesity.
The Lancet Neurology, September 2011

Weekly Health Update: Meet The Average Chiropractic Patient.

Mental Attitude: Feeling Left Out?
People who feel isolated are more inclined to make riskier financial decisions for bigger payoffs. The more often people felt excluded, the more they chose the longer odds for bigger lottery payoffs, took greater risks with their finances, bet on horse races, and gambled in casinos. In the absence of social support, forlorn consumers place more value on the power of money to secure what they want socially.
American Psychological Association, August 2013

Health Alert: Gluten-Free?
The Food and Drug Administration explained that a new regulation regarding “gluten-free” foods is aimed at helping in the voluntary labeling of food products. Three million Americans have celiac disease. People with celiac disease have to avoid eating foods containing gluten, otherwise the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged, affecting the proper absorption of vital nutrients into the bloodstream. For a food to be labeled as gluten-free, it must contain no more than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. Patients with celiac disease can tolerate this trace amount without experiencing adverse health effects.
Food and Drug Administration, August 2013

Diet: Grape News!
Compared to people who don't eat grapes, consumers of fresh grapes (including raisins and 100% grape juice) eat more whole fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. They also had lower intakes of added sugars, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
Journal of Food Science, August 2013

Exercise: Moderate Exercise Does Not Worsen Fibromyalgia Pain.
While fibromyaglia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskelatal pain, moderate exercise (such as a brisk walk or light jog) for 20 minutes per day can actually help patients over the long term by improving sleep quality, decreasing fatigue, and decreasing pain levels.
Arthritis Care & Research, July 2013

Chiropractic: Meet The Average Patient.
After a 2005 survey of over 200 chiropractic practices, researchers revealed the average chiropractic patient is a 44-46 year old female with back pain. Back pain accounted for 41-46% of chief complaints with other common complaints including neck pain and headaches. The average patient either sought out care on her own (self-referral) or was referred by a friend, family member, or acquaintance.
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, November-December 2005

Wellness/Prevention: Pregnancy Food Risk!
Laboratory tests on rats found that pregnant females who ate too many fatty and sugary foods while pregnant produced offspring that exhibited hyperactivity and stronger responses to alcohol and commonly abused drugs, like amphetamines.
American Psychological Association, August 2013

Weekly Health Update: Chiropractic and Chest Pain.

Mental Attitude: Live To Be 120?
When people were asked whether they would want medical treatments to extend their lives by decades so they could live to be 120 or more, 56% of adult Americans aged 18 and over declined the offer. When asked how long they would like to live, 69% gave an answer of between 79 and 100 years. The median ideal age is 90 years, about 11 years longer than the current life expectancy of Americans.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 2013

Health Alert: Destroy Your IQ?
Two serious fight-related head injuries can impact a teenage boy’s IQ to the equivalent of losing a whole year of school. For girls, a similar loss of IQ is possible after just one serious fight-related head injury. Falls in IQ are linked to lower academic and professional performance, behavioral problems, mental disorders, and decreased life spans. Each fight-related injury resulted in a drop of 1.62 IQ points for boys and a fall of 3.02 IQ points for girls. Missing a whole academic year is equivalent to a loss of between 2 and 4 IQ points.
Journal of Adolescent Health, August 2013

Diet: Antioxidents and Conception.
Women undergoing fertility treatment often take dietary supplements, including antioxidents, to improve their chances of becoming pregnant. However, a study of over 3,500 women who attended fertility clinics found that antioxidents had no effect on conception, either in improving pregnancy rates or hindering them.
Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2007

Exercise: Little Girls Not Exercising Enough.
Just 38% of seven-year-old girls in the United Kingdom (UK) get the recommended amount of daily exercise, compared to 63% of boys in the same age group. UK guidelines call for children to exercise just one hour per day.
BMJ Open, August 2013

Chiropractic: Chiropractic and Chest Pain.
Over six million Americans suffer from angina pectoris (chest pain), the most common form being stable angina pectoris. A study of 50 patients with cervicothoracic angina (a form a stable angina pectoris) found that 70% benefited from eight chiropractic treatments over a four week period with improvements in chest pain, emotional health, mental health, and vitality. Patients in a control group who received no treatment reported no such improvements.
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, November 2005

Wellness/Prevention: Resetting Your Clock.
According to new research, camping in the wilderness for a week can synchronize our internal clocks to the solar day, allowing our bodies to normalize melatonin levels. On average, study participants went to bed and awoke two hours earlier when only exposed to sunlight and campfire light. All of the participants' sleep patterns synchronized with sunset and sunrise, despite the fact that the study included both early birds and night owls.
Current Biology, August 2013

Weekly Health Update

Mental Attitude: Healthcare Incentives?
When faced with paying higher health insurance premiums for not exercising, a study found that 97% of enrollees met or exceeded a set fitness goal of 5,000 steps per day within one year.
Behavioral Translational Medicine, May 2013

Health Alert: Painkiller Drug Overdoses!
From 1999 to 2010 there was a five-fold increase (48,000 deaths) in women dying from prescription painkiller overdoses. Painkiller deaths greatly outnumbered overdoses from illegal drugs and from motor vehicle crashes. Overall, drug overdose suicide deaths accounted for 34% of all suicides among women, compared with 8% among men in 2010.
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, June 2013

Diet: Western Diet?
Children of women with a "Western dietary pattern" (characterized by high intakes of organ meat, red meat, processed meat, pizza, legumes, potatoes, French fries, condiments, and mayonnaise, but low intakes of fruits) had a higher risk of giving birth to a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate. Women who consumed the greatest amount of these foods had nearly double the risk compared with those who consumed the least.
Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2007

Exercise: Good Reasons.
Exercise makes your heart a more efficient pump and helps to decrease left ventricular hypertrophy (a thickening of the walls of the left ventricle) in people with hypertension.
Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health, 1996

Chiropractic: Effective Care!
Many companies say chiropractic coverage has lowered their medical and workers' comp costs while also raising overall health and productivity. Work time lost for employees with back injuries who used chiropractic care was only nine days as compared with 34.5 days for workers who used medical care.
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, December 1997

Wellness/Prevention: Lower Your Risk.
During a decade long study, participants who slept 7 hours or more per night, exercised 3.5 hours or more per week, ate a healthy Mediterranean-style diet, consumed only moderate amounts of alcohol, and didn't smoke had a 65% lower risk of a cardiovascular disease event and an 83% lower risk of dying from one.
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, July 2013