Center For Health, Health News, Notes and Quotes

Welcome to Health News, Notes and Quotes. We have selected the following categories and news items below because I believe they can help educate you about the importance of good health and the benefits of chiropractic.

Articles:

Women's Health

A Bare-Bones Look at Bone Health

Contrary to what you might think, there is more to supporting healthy bones than drinking milk. While calcium is an essential nutrient for your bones, it is by no means the only nutrient your bones need. Your bones are made up of living tissues that are continually breaking down and building up. This process, called remodeling, occurs throughout your lifetime. When you are young, bone buildup outpaces bone breakdown until you reach peak bone mass between 25-35 years of age, depending on your genes and gender. Once you reach peak bone mass, bone breakdown begins to surpass bone buildup. That is why it is essential to develop healthy eating and exercise habits during childhood and adolescence. Research suggests that you can reduce your risk of bone disease by achieving a higher peak bone mass. In addition to whole-food sources of nutrients that support bone health, like calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, zinc and dietary protein, lifestyle factors also play a critical role in the health of your bones. Exercising, avoiding tobacco products and limiting the amount of alcohol you consume can help you maintain healthy bones. Your bones, like your muscles, will strengthen with exercise. Bones need specific types of exercise – weight-bearing exercise and resistance (or strength) training – to maintain and build density. Weight-bearing exercises are exercises that require your bones to support your body’s weight. For example, when you jog or walk, your legs are bearing the weight of your body. Resistance or strength training involves using weight or resistance to build strength. Research has shown that strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk for fractures, particularly for postmenopausal women who have a high risk for bone disease. Smoking and alcohol may be linked to increased loss of bone. Researchers have linked smoking to an increase in fractures and hypothesize that for some women, smoking may interact with estrogen in a way that could reduce intestinal calcium absorption. While moderate alcohol consumption has not been linked to osteoporosis, studies have shown that consuming more than two alcoholic drinks a day may decrease bone formation and reduce your body's ability to absorb calcium. To learn more about bone health and bone disease prevention, talk to your doctor. The good news is that you can prevent bone disease with a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Nutrition & Herbs

Keeping Your Body Energized

Healthy eating is more complex than adopting a low-carb, low-fat or high-fiber diet. It’s important to understand how the food you eat affects your body, so you can provide balanced, sustained nutrition to keep going strong. The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on glucose (blood sugar) levels. Glucose is assigned a value of 100, while other carbohydrates are ranked relative to glucose. Essentially, carbohydrates that break down rapidly during the digestive process have the highest GI values. The blood glucose response is fast. On the other hand, carbohydrates that break down slowly and release glucose gradually into the bloodstream have low GI values. The GI index is an important consideration for a number of reasons, particularly with respect to the benefits of consuming low-GI foods: • Low-GI foods keep you fuller for longer. • Low-GI foods cause a smaller rise in blood glucose levels following meals. • Low-GI diets can help you lose weight. • Low-GI diets can improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. And according to the authors of a 2002 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “sufficient, positive findings have emerged to suggest that the dietary glycemic index is of potential importance in the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases.” Healthy eating requires consideration of much more than just high- and low-GI/GL foods – but the underlying premise is important: providing balanced, sustained nutrition that the body can utilize effectively to generate energy, build muscle, repair tissue, fight infection and perform a host of other vital functions.

Ergonomics & Orthotics

The Agony of the Feet

Have you taken a good look at your feet lately? What do you notice? Are there any calluses, corns or bunions? Do your feet look red or do your toes look cramped and pushed together? Sore, aching feet can be more than inconvenient – they can put you out of commission. Conditions ranging from calluses and heel spurs to plantar fascitis and Achilles tendon injuries can severely impact your quality of life. Long-term problems will result from these conditions if the proper treatment is not sought. Here are possible treatment options to give you an idea of how to help yourself and when to seek help from a professional. • Have your chiropractor adjust your feet. If you have never had your feet adjusted by your chiropractor before, you don’t know what you are missing. Aside from helping to support your three arches by getting the bones to move back to where they should be, it feels great. • Ask your chiropractor about flexible, custom-made, three-arch foot inserts (orthotics). Since the connective tissue under your feet is now permanently stretched out to some degree, you need the support from now on. Once you get the inserts, wear them appropriately. You want to keep your feet stabilized so they don’t get any worse. • Do exercises. Keep the underside of your feet loose by rolling a racquet ball, tennis ball or golf ball under them. Thirty seconds, twice a day will help keep your feet more relaxed and stretched. • Get supportive shoes. Wearing a shoe that fits properly and offers the best support will help keep your feet from overpronating. Talk to your chiropractor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, and get some help. Remember, your feet are telling you a story. Are you listening?

Senior Health

Caring for the Mature Spine: Helping Seniors Enjoy Their Golden Years

In the United States, a senior citizen is defined as someone able to retire with full social security benefits at age 65. Regardless of whether you have reached that age yourself, or have parents and grandparents who fit into that category, it is important to understand and appreciate the unique health problems faced by seniors, along with possible health solutions. Seniors lose height in their intervertebral discs as they age because the cartilage dries out and degenerates. Restoring joint mobility and nerve function through chiropractic adjustments is critical. The goal for optimum senior functioning is to achieve at least 80 degrees of rotation in their neck if they are still driving, and 60 degrees of rotation if they are no longer driving. In terms of their peripheral body movement, seniors need at least 160 degrees of shoulder flexion and 60 degrees of straight leg rising. Doctors of chiropractic can monitor a senior’s range of motion and help improve spinal restrictions caused by subluxations and muscle imbalance through regular chiropractic adjustments. There are many things seniors can do to ensure a high quality of life well into their golden years. Simply put, seniors need to stay active as long as they possibly can. They should attempt housework, yard work and hygienic practices daily. Seniors in independent or assisted-living facilities should be encouraged to attend the daily exercises offered by the activities director. Finally, the foods seniors eat are very important. A diet emphasizing vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, lean meat and coldwater fish is ideal – for people of all ages. These simple lifestyle choices, along with regular chiropractic care, can make all the difference.

Pediatric Health

Raising Baby Einstein

Pregnancy is a time of great expectation, of new beginnings, and the excitement of bringing life into the world. Wouldn’t it be nice to know some of the latest techniques from clinical neurobiology to increase the IQ of your unborn child? Preconception care in America is aimed at reducing risk of birth defects and disease – not maximizing the intellectual potential of your unborn child. We can increase our IQ as we age by challenging ourselves with new skills such as learning a new language or taking piano lessons. (Of course, having an intelligent spouse is also a great leap forward in producing a gifted child.) The most critical element in a newborn’s health is the overall health of the parents. Maternal health is addressed in the majority of medical literature, but poor paternal health and subsequent sperm quality can compromise the future mental health of a child, increasing the probability of schizophrenia, autism and Down syndrome. A common-sense approach would be for the mother and father to eliminate smoking, drug and alcohol use, and caffeine and reduce the mother’s exposure to heavy metals, solvents, cleaning products, MSG, aspartame and processed foods leading up to and during pregnancy. An organic diet for both parents would be the optimal way to go. One surefire way to optimize fetal development is to provide the basic building blocks of neurological tissue: omega-3 fatty acids. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study showed that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation increases birth weight and lowers complications of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery and gestational hypertension. However, results were inconclusive in terms of the infants’ cognitive development. The best advice for couples who are planning a family is to take excellent care of themselves – get plenty of exercise, at least eight hours of sleep each night and quality supplements to improve their health, which in turn offers their children the best chance at a strong mind and healthy body. Although DVDs, CDs and modern toys may stimulate your baby’s brain, nothing can replace the neurobiological components of a healthy mind. Any way you look at it, boosting your child’s IQ starts with caring for yourself. Ask your doctor if you are doing everything you can to create a bright future for your baby.

General Health

Living With Arthritis

Arthritis is one of the oldest known afflictions and can affect virtually every part of the body, from the feet to the knees, back, shoulders and fingers. More than 50 million (about one in six) Americans suffer from arthritis. The most common types are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and gouty arthritis. There are natural ways to improve your arthritis symptoms. Dairy products, caffeine, citrus fruits, paprika, salt, tobacco and sugar should be reduced or eliminated from your diet, as these foods may increase joint inflammation. Additionally, nightshades (e.g., red, green, and yellow bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, white flesh potatoes) should be avoided because they have a tendency to intensify arthritic symptoms. Foods containing sulfur, such as asparagus, eggs, garlic and onions, are important for the repair and rebuilding of bone, cartilage and connective tissue, and also aid in the absorption of calcium. Other good foods include green, leafy vegetables (which supply vitamin K), fresh vegetables, non-acidic fresh fruits, whole grains, oatmeal, brown rice and fish. Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a powerful natural anti-inflammatory agent, which works by stimulating the body’s production of prostaglandins. One of the most overlooked approaches to improve the discomfort associated with arthritis is hydration. Depending on your level of activity, a good rule of thumb is to drink half of your weight in ounces. Thus, if you weigh 180 pounds, you should consume 90 ounces of pure, filtered water per day. Arthritis in any form can be a debilitating condition that prevents you from living the life you want. Rather than immediately accepting the dangerous side effects of drugs and risky surgeries, talk to your doctor about natural alternatives to keep your muscles and joints in optimal condition.