Archive for health
Here’s another blog on exercise, my favorite topic as a Cameron Park Chiropractor other than talking about the benefits of chiropractic treatment. And, if you’ve read my other blogs on exercise, you know I’m a big believe in “move it or lose it.” But, if you’ve read the entire content of most of my blogs, you also know that I believe that exercise is just part of a healthy lifestyle. An essential part, to be sure, but eating nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water, and visiting your chiropractor (that last one may be slightly biased), along with giving up unhealthy habits like smoking, are crucial not only for maintaining good health, but in keeping body weight in check. That’s why I wasn’t surprised by the latest government data that indicated that more Americans are exercising, but rates of obesity and smoking have not changed.
health experts, such as chiropractors, and the U.S. government all recommend getting daily exercise — about an hour a day of moderate exercise for most adults — to keep weight off and prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Plus, we chiropractors are well aware that keeping weight off not only helps to prevent the diseases just mentioned, but it also helps to slow down, and often prevent, arthritis and stress injuries of the musculoskeletal system caused by excess weight.
But, excess weight is not only caused by, and sustained through, lack of exercise. Here are some more “fun facts” from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics:
- The prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over has increased from 19.4 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2009.
- In 2009, 9 percent of adults 18 and over had diabetes, up from 8.2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 1997.
- 20.6 percent of adults smoked, about the same as in 2008.
- Nearly 23 percent of adults had at least one day of binge drinking in 2009, defined as having five or more drinks in a day.
- Most Americans believe they are healthy. More than 66 percent said they had excellent or very good health, down from 68.5 percent in 2008. 2.4 percent said they had poor health.
- Just over 4 percent of all Americans said they had an asthma attack in the past year
There are no shortcuts and no way to get around it: Good health and vibrant wellness is created and maintained through an overall healthy lifestyle.
2555 Greenwood Ln Cameron Park, CA, 95682 USA
dr.yongkim@gmail.com • 530-677-7333
Your Cameron Park Chiropractor Talks About “When The Good Go Bad”
Posted by: | Comments
As your Cameron Park Chiropractor, I have a confession to make: I’m a health nut, plain and simple. I believe that the human body is an amazing organic instrument that, just like a musical instrument, requires care and attention in order for it to “play” the way it was designed to. Some health practices are obvious: Eat nutritious meals, avoid processed foods and too much salt and sugar, stay hydrated, get plenty of exercise, and last but not least, see your chiropractor on a regular basis! However, other health practices may not be quite so apparent, such as keep your refrigerator clean. Yep, that’s right! A refrigerator that contains old food or food spills, is a health hazard with major health consequences. How unhealthy? There is a detailed, and sometimes amusing, account of just how unhealthy “bad refrigeration” can be in an article by in Bloomberg Businessweek, which I highly recommend your reading if you have a chance. But, in the meantime, I would like to pass along a few things that you should be aware of.
Though office refrigerators were the focus of the article and studies, it’s equally important, of course, for each of us to ask ourself how often we clean out our home refrigerator. According to a study conducted by the ADA and ConAgra Foods, 44 percent of office refrigerators are cleaned once a month and 22 percent are cleaned only once or twice a year. The article suggested that the next time someone was looking for a relatively bacteria-free place to store their lunch, they should consider that the bathrooms in most offices are probably cleaner than the fridge. (At least they are cleaned more often!) According to the Agriculture Dept., the foods most likely to turn unhealthiest the quickest are casseroles, cold cuts, poultry, yogurt, and sour cream. Though such food items are healthy “in the beginning,” can go from bad to lethal. Last year at an AT&T Center in San Jose, California, a co-worker who was trying to be helpful, cracked open the office fridge to clean it and noxious fumes sent seven of her co-workers to the hospital and forced authorities to evacuate the building while men in hazmat suits spread down the fridge!
So, add “clean the refrigerator” to your health “to do” list. Even food that’s good for you when it’s fresh, can be bad for your health given enough time!
First of all, if you are someone who reads my Cameron Park chiropractic blogs, you know that as a Cameron Park Chiropractor I am a passionate advocate of living a healthy lifestyle that, as I’ve written so many times, includes a healthy diet, good hydration, plenty of exercise and, of course, regular chiropractic care! In addition, I’m sure that if you are someone who is already concerned about your health, you don’t get your diet and nutrition guidelines from watching television. We all know that most TV advertisements that are about food, especially “convenience” food, are meant to sell, sell, sell, whether or not the product is actually good for you. That said, it always nice to take a moment to reflect on just how “unhealthy” TV ads can be. So, I read with great interest an article today in the New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section on the subject. The article detailed a study that concluded that if Americans ate only foods advertised on TV, they would consume 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the amount of fat they need, but less than half the dairy, fiber, and fruits and vegetables. Yikes! Those statistics even shocked me!
Taping 28 days of prime-time TV (as well as Saturday-morning programming) on the four major broadcast networks, researchers identified 800 foods promoted in 3,000 ads. Then, using a nutritional software program, they analyzed the content of the items, comparing the foods’ nutritional values with the government’s food guide pyramid and recommended daily intake values for various nutrients (based on a 2,000 calories per day diet).
Are you ready for this? Not only would a 2,000-calorie diet made up solely of foods from commercials provide too much cholesterol, saturated fat and salt, and not nearly enough nutrients like iron, calcium or vitamins A, D and E, just one advertised food item by itself would provide, on average, three times a person’s daily recommended servings of sugar and two and half times the daily recommended servings of fat.
The study will be published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
A Pill Won’t Cure Obesity-Related Conditions
Posted by: | CommentsI was talking with a new patient of mine, a fifty-year-old woman who’d come to my chiropractic clinic for relief from hip pain, and as we were discussing her health history, she mentioned that she “used to have” high blood pressure, but now that she was on medication, it was “normal.” She said that she was very happy that she no longer needed to worry about her high blood pressure. She was surprised when I explained to her that her medication merely “regulated” her condition, but that it did not eliminate problem. As this woman was obese, I explained to her that her weight, in addition to causing her hip pain, was also the culprit that continued to cause the high blood pressure for which she needed the medication. I told her that as a chiropractor, I could temporarily relieve her hip pain with chiropractic treatment, but that it would likely come back again unless she lost some of the excess poundage she carried around each day.
Obesity is a serious condition that causes innumerable health problems such as heart disease, risk of stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and a plethora of musculoskeletal problems that, more often than not, lead to osteoarthritis. The only prevention is weight loss. The only “cure” is weight loss. The only hope for a healthy outcome is weight loss. Pharmaceuticals may regulate the symptoms of conditions caused by obesity, and chiropractors can help to temporarily relieve the pain, but there is not a traditional or alternative therapy that can rectify obesity.
There’s no getting around it, either. Losing weight is hard work and the more an individual needs to lose, the harder it can be. And, the indisputable fact is that no one can lose weight for you. But, the health “rewards” are worth it. Just ask anyone who’s lost a significant amount of weight. Health-wise, it’s a life-changer. And, studies have shown that many people with high blood pressure problems who lose their excess weight are often able get off their blood pressure medications altogether.
The Best Things in Life Are Not Only Free, But Healthy!
Posted by: | CommentsObesity, Health Concerns Rise As Parks And Recreation Programs Decline
One way to help address the epidemic of obesity in the United States is improved access to pleasant hiking trails and an ambitious parks and recreation program, a recent study suggests, but programs such as this are increasingly being reduced in many states due to budget shortfalls.
The analysis, done by researchers in Oregon, found that some of the health issues that plague overweight and obese people can be aided by a stronger commitment to recreational opportunities. Cutting such programs to save money may be counterproductive to community health, scientists said. "Research is now showing there's a close correlation between public health and recreational opportunities, both close to home and in state parks," said Randy Rosenberger, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. "And it's not just about losing weight. It's been found that active obese individuals have lower morbidity and mortality than normal weight individuals who are sedentary."(Read more…)The Best Things in Life Are Not Only Free, But Healthy!
Posted by: | CommentsObesity, Health Concerns Rise As Parks And Recreation Programs Decline
One way to help address the epidemic of obesity in the United States is improved access to pleasant hiking trails and an ambitious parks and recreation program, a recent study suggests, but programs such as this are increasingly being reduced in many states due to budget shortfalls.
The analysis, done by researchers in Oregon, found that some of the health issues that plague overweight and obese people can be aided by a stronger commitment to recreational opportunities. Cutting such programs to save money may be counterproductive to community health, scientists said. "Research is now showing there's a close correlation between public health and recreational opportunities, both close to home and in state parks," said Randy Rosenberger, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. "And it's not just about losing weight. It's been found that active obese individuals have lower morbidity and mortality than normal weight individuals who are sedentary."(Read more…)Amidst a great deal of emotion and rhetoric coming out of Connecticut this week regarding the stroke issue The Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation has just released a very clear position statement on the issue of chiropractic and strokes.
Atlanta, GA, January 07, 2010 –(PR.com)– According to the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation there is no human experimental evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations are causally related to strokes. “While plaintiff’s attorneys and expert witness make claims and statements contending that such a causative link exists, the fact remains that these are based largely on anecdotes, case reports, and case controlled studies and cannot be used to prove causation” stated Foundation President Christopher Kent DC, JD a chiropractic researcher and attorney. According to researchers and the scientific method itself there are all sorts of biases and distortions that effect conclusions drawn from such studies and other criteria must be used to determine whether such a link exists. “What this boils down to is a simple lack of understanding of biostatistics and epidemiology” stated Foundation Vice President Matthew McCoy DC, MPH, a chiropractic researcher and public health expert. “Words like ‘association’ and ‘causation’ and ‘risk’ have very specific meanings when it comes to their use in epidemiology and it’s clear that laypersons involved in this debate are using these terms inappropriately.” While the experience of a stroke can be devastating and no one would suggest ignoring the concerns of those who have suffered one, the reality is that when it comes to the contention that chiropractic causes strokes – the evidence just isn’t there. And while the strokes these people have experienced are indeed real, McCoy suggests there are often other issues involved and offered an example. “Millions of people visit a dentist every year and a certain number of those same people get into car accidents on their way home. If we were to run the stats on it we might find that there is a statistical association between visiting a dentist and getting into a car accident on the way home. But no one would even consider suggesting that the dentists are causing the car accidents.” Self described chiropractic stroke victims say there is a risk and that people should be advised about it prior to undergoing chiropractic care. The majority of chiropractors would agree that patients should be informed of the risks, benefits and alternatives of any health care intervention, but according to Dr. Kent “Such informed consent must be based on appropriate information and since there is no scientific evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations actually cause strokes, it is inappropriate to require a doctor to suggest that such a risk exists.” Dr. McCoy added another often overlooked issue “Chiropractors utilize a number of techniques to address joint dysfunction and vertebral subluxation and in fact there are over 300 named chiropractic techniques and many do not employ the type of manipulation that has been alleged to be a factor in vertebrobasilar accidents. This adds to the inappropriate nature of such a disclosure.” In the end, chiropractic has an impressive safety record compared to traditional medical care with estimates are that anywhere from 100,000 (Institute of medicine) to 750,000 (Null et al) people die every year from medical care. In comparison, other than some minor soreness following chiropractic treatment, research has shown chiropractic to be very safe.Do You Have the Sugar Blues?
Posted by: | Comments
from Integrative Nutrition Blog
Do you have cravings for sweets that you see as treats? Do you think indulging in a pint of ice cream is your reward for making it through the day? Are you looking for something sweet to overcome that 3pm slump? For some, sugar is just as addicting as caffeine, tobacco or alcohol and it keeps us from losing the pounds we long to shed.
The United States is the largest consumer of sweeteners and one of the largest global sugar importers. We started in 1689 when the first sugar refinery was built in New York City. Colonists soon began to sweeten their breakfast porridge with refined sugar, and within 10 years, individual consumption had reached 4 pounds a year. The average American now consumes more than 100 pounds of sugar and sweeteners per year. The USDA recommends we get no more than 10 teaspoons per day, yet most Americans eat about 30 teaspoons per day—that’s three times the liberal recommended daily value.
Humans love sweet things. Even before we started refining sugar, we sought out foods with sweet tastes. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that occurs naturally in foods such as grains, beans, vegetables and fruit. When unprocessed, sugar contains a variety of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and proteins. When brown rice or other whole grains are cooked, chewed and digested, the natural carbohydrates break down uniformly into separate glucose molecules. These molecules enter the bloodstream, where they are burned smoothly and evenly, allowing your body to absorb all the good stuff. Read more…
Researchers in the US studying people with chronic diseases found that physical activity may reduce depression and fatigue by increasing self-efficacy, or the belief that one can master physical goals and attain a sense of accomplishment from applying oneself.
These were the findings of a study by lead author Dr Edward McAuley, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois in Champaign, and colleagues, and appears in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. A person’s self-efficacy is the belief they can attain a certain goal: an example of my self-efficacy would be that I believe I can climb several flights of stairs or jog around the block without stopping. While there is lots of evidence that physical activity influences well-being, the reason why is less well understood. Read more…Music of Mozart Soothes the Preemie Baby
Posted by: | CommentsRepetitive melodies encourage less energy use, more growth, study finds
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
(healthDay News) — Could the music of the 18th century classical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart help tiny infants born today?
Yes, suggests an Israeli study that found that listening for just 30 minutes a day helped premature babies use less energy, which may help them grow faster.
“Within 10 minutes of listening to Mozart music, healthy infants [born prematurely] had a 10 percent to 13 percent reduction of their resting energy expenditure,” the study authors wrote. “We speculate that this effect of music on resting energy expenditure might explain, in part, the improved weight gain that results from this Mozart effect.”
The findings were published online Monday in Pediatrics, and are slated to appear in the January print issue of the journal. Read more…
