More Foot Power, Less Car Pollution Best for Health
Posted on 27. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractic
Walking and cycling plus low-emission vehicles may reduce future disease burden, researchers say
(HealthDay News) — Encouraging city dwellers to walk and bicycle instead of using cars would offer much greater public health benefits than increased used of low-emission vehicles, U.K. researchers have found.
The study compared the projected health effects in 2030 of alternative urban land transport scenarios for London, England, and Delhi, India: business-as-usual (no greenhouse gas reduction policies); motor vehicles with lower carbon emissions; increased walking and cycling (active travel) plus less motor vehicle traffic; and a combination of increased walking/cycling and low-emission vehicles.
In both cities, reductions in carbon dioxide emissions achieved through increased active travel and less use of motor vehicles offered much greater health benefits than increased use of low-emission vehicles. The benefit was over 40 times greater in London and over seven times greater in Delhi. The greatest health benefits would be achieved by combining active travel and increased use of low-emission vehicles, according to the report published online Nov. 27 in The Lancet. Read more…
Your Sacramento Chiropractor: Growing Older Doesn't Have to Hurt
Posted on 26. Nov, 2009 by admin in arthritis
If you’re over 40 you know that as we age our body responds differently than it did when we were younger. It just doesn’t seem fair that as our mind appears to improve and become more “inventive,” our body seems to become less “cooperative.” We’re stiff when we get out of bed; certain activities during the day make us sore at night; and, if we’re not cautious, even a movement as simple as turning too hastily or bending over to pick up a dropped pencil, can send our back or some other muscle group into spasm. Fortunately, there is natural treatment accessible that can not only slow down the aging process of the body, but help us to avoid some of those problems altogether.
For instance, arthritis. Most of us would agree that, with the exception of pharmaceuticals, conventional medicine does little to take care of this age-related condition. What is the basis for such a limited approach? The answer is that most medical professionals focus only on the symptoms of arthritis. The chiropractic method is to uncover the root of the affliction and get rid of the pain at its source. For over a hundred years, chiropractors, like your Sacramento Chiropractor, have been helping individuals suffering from back pain and other problems caused by arthritic changes in the musculoskeletal system.
Arthritic changes occur as your body ages because, over time, degeneration of certain joints takes place as the result of repetitive stresses, as well as years of poor gait, improper posture, and lack of beneficial movement. Chiropractic treatment brings back motion into your joints and relieves pain, and it corrects any vertebral misalignment that may be causing irritation and restriction. In addition, did you know that misaligned vertebra, along with causing arthritic changes in the spine and escalating pain, can also weaker your resistance and immunity? It’s true, and this may be one of the reasons why it may seem to you that as you get older you experience more health issues and that it frequently takes longer for you to feel better again. According to studies done on older individuals, those who received regular chiropractic care stayed healthier. To put it another way, as you get older, chiropractic treatment is good for what ails you!
When it comes to the health of the musculoskeletal system, chiropractors are highly proficient whether it’s the small, growing frame of an infant or the full-grown body of a mature adult. Your chiropractor is well aware of the body’s aging process and has special observational and diagnostic skills that aid in detecting spinal misalignments and joint problems. In fact, a chiropractic examination can often reveal some age-related conditions before they’ve had a chance to create noticeable pain. Furthermore, your Sacramento Chiropractor can evaluate your posture and check your gait to identify inappropriate patterns that might create further arthritic changes.
So, if feeling your age has become a painful experience, call your Sacramento Chiropractor today!
Studies: Fighting global warming reduces diseases
Posted on 26. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractor
Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, says officials, as they releases studies calculating the health benefits of a less sickly climate.
Slashing carbon dioxide emissions could save millions of lives, mostly by reducing preventable deaths from heart and lung diseases, the studies show. They are published in a special issue of The Lancet British medical journal, released Wednesday.
The calculations of lives saved are based on computer models that looks at pollution-caused illnesses in certain cities. The figures are also based on the world making dramatic changes in daily life that may at first seem too hard and costly to do, researchers concedes.
Cutting carbon dioxide emissions will also reduce other types of air pollution, especially tiny particles that lodge in the lungs and cause direct health damage, doctors says. Other benefits can come from encouraging more exercise and less meat consumption, to improve heart health, researchers says. Read more…
Bypass Food Reactions – Learn How to Read Food Labels
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractic
If you are a regular food label reader, did you know that even the most diligent scanning can still result in food reactions? If you have problems with gluten or dairy, those supposed gluten-free and dairy-free foods still may have some type of enzyme or chemical derived from the very types of food you are trying to circumvent. Because of this issue, the FDA is devising a number of standardized definitions for the description of foods so that you will be able to tell what each ingredient is.
Food labeling is necessary to comply with the law. Any major food allergy triggers must be clearly displayed on the packaging if it contains any ingredient or derivative of the ingredient. While the foods may not contain the actual allergic ingredient, if the food is made in the same manufacturing plant as another product that does create food products with those allergens, there is a possibility of cross contamination. The food labels must clearly state this scenario as well. For instance, cookies may have a food label saying they contain no nuts but other cookies in the factory may be baked with nuts and so the label must indicate the possibility.
How to read food labels
It is smart to read food labels, but you must be more aware of the variety of ways ingredients can be described, especially if they are derivatives of foods you are allergic to. Here are some important aspects to keep an eye out for:
Even if it is a product you have purchased for years, read the food packaging. Sometimes, food manufacturers change the production process or modify ingredients without any type of warning. It is important, therefore, to always read food labels, even for those “tried and true” go-to safe products.
Please note that food labels that proclaim it is free of something like “dairy-free” are not always accurate. These proclamations are not regulated by the government and therefore these food products could still have minute amounts of the supposedly absent ingredient. For example, powdered creamers for drinks sometimes mention they are dairy-free but there is usually a powdered form of some type of milk derivative.
Keep an eye out for food packaging that says something like “may contain” on its label. This possible claim covers manufacturers in the event of a consumer has an allergic reaction but it can be quite a nuisance for you when shopping for safe foods. This “may contain” phrase basically means that your supposedly safe food product could have been contaminated by an allergen. Any manufacturer that uses nuts for some products but not for others uses this proclamation quite a bit.
Some food labels are a bit nebulous. Is it safe to take a chance on a food product with “may contain” on the label? Is there any way to avoid these foods altogether? When food allergies are mild, you can probably chance it and be ok. However, if you have a life threatening allergy or one that makes you completely miserable, it can be tough to shop for food. This ambiguous food labeling is the very thing the FDA is trying to remedy.
The best thing to do is avoid anything suspect and purchase only fresh foods that have not seen the inside of a factory. Look to internet grocers that cater to people with severe allergies and only market safely manufactured foods. Health food stores are good options to shop in. However, the only way to be absolutely certain about your food is to read food labels diligently.
Moderate Drinking Guards the Heart
Posted on 22. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractor
But protective effect can wear off at higher levels in men, study finds
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay News) — A Spanish study has found that long-term moderate drinking decreased the risk of heart disease by up to one-third in men and to a lesser degree in women.
The type of alcohol — beer, wine or spirits — made no difference, the researchers reported in the Nov. 19 online issue of Heart. The Spanish analysis used 10-year data on 15,500 men and nearly 26,000 women who were participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study.
But for men, there was a point at which the coronary benefits of alcohol declined, and risk began to rise again.
The rate of coronary heart disease for non-drinking women in the study was 56 per 100,000. For women listed as low drinkers, averaging less than 5 grams a day, it was 42. For women who were moderate drinkers (5 to 30 grams a day), it was 36; for high drinkers (30 to 90 grams a day) it was 12; and for heavy drinkers (more than 90 grams a day) it was 12.
The rates for men were 398 per 100,000 for those who never drank, 318 for low drinkers, 255 for moderate drinkers, 278 for high drinkers and 334 for heavy drinkers, the researchers reported. Read more…
Health Tip: Stretch Your Feet
Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractor
Exercising them will feel good
Little else feels better than a good foot massage or stretch.
The American Podiatric Medical Association offers these suggestions for keeping your feet happy and healthy:
- Stretch your arch, either by placing a towel around the ball of your foot and gently pulling with your hands, or by standing in front of a wall and slightly leaning forward until you feel your arches stretch.
- Strengthen toes by placing a toe separator between them and squeezing toes together for five seconds; do it 10 times. Or, wrap toes with a rubber band and spread against the resistance.
- Grab a golf ball or other similar-sized ball, and place it on the floor under your bare feet. Gently roll it around under your feet.
- Stand up on the balls of your feet and hold for five seconds; do this 10 times.
- Stand with feet flat, then one at a time lift your heel from the floor and roll weight into the ball of your with your toes pointing down. Flex your foot, hold, and repeat on each foot.
Baby Boomers May Prove More Disabled Than Their Elders
Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractic
Wave of disabilities could overburden health-care system, researchers fear
(HealthDay News) — Baby boomers in the United States may enter their 60s with far more physical disabilities than previous generations, which could spell trouble for an already overburdened health-care system.
That’s the finding of University of California, Los Angeles researchers who analyzed data from the 1988 and 1999 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to identify changes in disability trends among older adults.
The study authors looked at four areas of disability: basic daily living activities, such as walking from room to room and getting in and out of bed; instrumental activities, such as doing household chores or preparing meals; mobility, including walking one-quarter mile or climbing 10 steps without stopping for rest; and functional limitations, such as stooping, crouching or kneeling.
Between 1988 and 1999, disability among people in their 60s increased between 40 percent and 70 percent in all areas except functional limitations. The increases were considerably higher among non-white and overweight people. During that same time, there were no significant changes among people aged 70 to 79. Among those 80 and over, there was a decrease in functional limitations. Read more…
Healthy Recipes Can Ward Off Headaches
Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractic
Low-Fat Diets help with Diet Mood Blues
Posted on 10. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractor
Comparison of plans finds differences in mood despite similar weight loss
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay News) — Both a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet such as the popular Atkins program and a low-fat, high-carb diet appear to help people lose pounds over the course of a year.
But as for mood? Only the low-fat diets will result in long-term improvement in mood, according to a study in the Nov. 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
People on both diets consumed roughly the same number of calories.
"Both an energy-reduced, very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and a conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet are equally effective for achieving weight loss in overweight and obese individuals," explained study author Grant D. Brinkworth, a research scientist with the food and nutritional sciences division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Adelaide, Australia.
Good Sleepers More Likely to Eat Right
Posted on 06. Nov, 2009 by author in chiropractic
Adequate shuteye is linked to healthier food choices in study
(HealthDay News) — Getting enough sleep can help you make healthier food choices, researchers say.
The new study included 542 male motor freight workers, who often work long hours and have irregular shifts. The average age of the participants was 49, and 83 percent were white.
The researchers from the sleep medicine division at Harvard Medical School found that adequate sleep was a strong predictor of healthy food choices, while work experiences were not significant predictors. The findings suggest that adequate sleep mediates the effects of the workplace on healthy food choices.
“Sleep duration and sleep quality are contributing factors to increasing chronic disease trends, in that insufficient sleep duration and sleep disruption have been linked to weight gain, diabetes and early mortality in the long term,” the study authors wrote. “Our findings suggest that sleep adequacy, by enhancing [healthy] dietary choices, is one means by which workplace factors may influence chronic disease risk.”
The study was published online Nov. 4 in the American Journal of Public Health.
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