Science Daily reports:
“Brightly-colored fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of chelators, as is green tea, with purple fruits considered to have the best chance of binding the iron effectively.”

Sources:
Science Daily December 8, 2010

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During this holiday season many of my colleagues are offering incentives to current and new patients that, in exchange for chiropractic adjustments, will help to provide money for local food banks or food items for charitable organizations to distribute directly to those in need.

And, as Thanksgiving approaches, I want to offer my gratitude to all of my loyal patients who, as they move from the limitations of health challenges and into the freedom optimal health, give me hundreds of reasons to continue to do what I do. And, my appreciation goes out to my chiropractic colleagues, as well, who believe deeply in the efficacy of chiropractic treatment and through their dedicated work make such a great contribution, and big difference, to the people in their communities.

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Here I go again talking about exercise, one of my favorite subjects as your Cameron Park chiropractor when it comes to an essential part of good health that no one can do for you but

But, with holiday shopping and other “to-do” activities, even the simple exercise options above might fall by the way side. Your lunch break becomes an opportunity to get pressing holiday necessities accomplished and if you’re in a rush, you may find parking close to a mall or market entrance, and taking an elevator instead of the stairs far less time-consuming.

However, many holiday activities offer ways for you to get the 30 minutes of daily moderate physical activity that your body needs. And, in addition to the usual health benefits, making sure you continue to get exercise will also help your body burn extra holiday calories! And, of course, as I’ve mentioned before, you don’t need to get in your 30 minutes all at once, but instead, exercising in 10- to 15-minute “chunks” can also be beneficial.

So, here are a few tips to healthfully get you through the holiday season:

If you’re holiday shopping and in a hurry, continue to park farther away from the mall entrance, and get your heart pumping by picking up your walking pace. You’ll save time and get a workout. Once you’re inside, remind yourself that taking the stairs may seem to take longer, but waiting for the elevator is often more time consuming. And, when your purchases aren’t too heavy or bulky, try carrying them instead of using a shopping cart to help get your heart pumping and strengthen your muscles.

If you’re hosting guests for the holiday, getting ready for them and cleaning after they leave can be a good way to get in your aerobic exercise. Housework, such as vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing, and even decorating (and “undecorating”) uses large muscle groups like those in your legs and back. The most important thing is to get your heart rate up at a consistent level for at least 10 minutes without stopping.

Don’t let inertia set in during the holidays. It’s hard to start exercising again once you’ve gotten out of the habit. And, if it helps, keep an image of Santa Claus and his big round belly in mind. Remember, he only exercises one night a year!

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The researchers at Osaka International University and Kobe University studied the differences between the sweating responses of men and women as they participated in exercises in which the intensities were changed, i.e., four groups of trained and untrained females and males cycled continuously for an hour in a controlled climate with increasing intensity intervals. The results? Men were shown to be more efficient at sweating, and that while exercise training improves sweating in both sexes, the degree of improvement is greater in men. Untrained females had the worst sweating response of all requiring a higher body temperature to begin sweating. The bottom line? According to the study’s coordinator, Yoshimitsu Inoue, “It appears that women are at a disadvantage when they need to sweat a lot during exercise, especially in hot conditions.” This finding may explain why men and women cope differently with extremes in temperatures, with women adapting better to hot environments, but men having greater efficiency of action under the same conditions.

But, sweat or “glow,” exercise for both sexes is essential for good health, including a strong musculoskeletal system.

Source: Experimental Physiology

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Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine reviewed records from 1,450 patients in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation database who had diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation or radiculopathy, a nerve condition that causes tingling and weakness of the limbs. Half of the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of curing low back pain. The other half had no surgery, even though they had comparable diagnoses. After two years, just 26 percent of those who had surgery returned to work. That’s compared to 67 percent of patients who didn’t have surgery. In what might be the most troubling study finding, researchers determined that there was a 41 percent increase in the use of painkillers, specifically opiates, in those who had surgery.

Researchers reviewed records from 1,450 patients in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation database who had diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation or radiculopathy, a nerve condition that causes tingling and weakness of the limbs. Half of the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of curing low back pain. The other half had no surgery, even though they had comparable diagnoses.

After two years, just 26 percent of those who had surgery returned to work. That’s compared to 67 percent of patients who didn’t have surgery. In what might be the most troubling study finding, researchers determined that there was a 41 percent increase in the use of painkillers, specifically opiates, in those who had surgery. The study’s lead author, Dr. Trang Nguyen, said that the study provides clear evidence that for many patients, fusion surgeries designed to alleviate pain from degenerating discs don’t work.

I have said it before (many times before), but it bears repeating: Before choosing surgery to get rid of your back pain, call your chiropractor for conservative chiropractic treatment first. Your chiropractor is a spine expert who is committed to helping back pain sufferers get out of pain through natural, non-invasive procedures. Call today. You have nothing to lose but your back pain!

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As I’ve written time and time again in my blogs, as a Cameron Park chiropractor I can’t say enough about the health benefits of exercise. And, I have to admit that I’d thought I’d run out of new exercise incentives to pass along to you. But, here’s one that you may not be aware of…exercise can actually help you to get a good night’s sleep. That’s right! Sleep experts say that an aerobic exercise routine during the day can offer relief from insomnia.

A recent study at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois tracked 23 previously sedentary adults, primarily women 55 and older, who had difficulty falling or staying asleep. After 16 weeks on an aerobics training program that included exercising on a treadmill or stationery bicycle, average sleep quality improved. Not only that bu one expert on sleep and exercise believes that an hour of exercise can do more good than an extra hour of sleep.

So, the next time you’re tempted to “sit it out” instead of rising to the occasion and exercising, remember that keeping with a regular exercise routine during the day can help you to have “sweet dreams” at night!

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As I have been writing about (and hopefully you have been reading about), obesity  frequently has detrimental effects on the musculoskeletal system. Excess weight causes back and neck strain, and can contribute to osteoarthritis, which often keeps obese people from physical activity. This official emphasis on preventative healthcare provides important recognition and confirmation that in addition to pain relief and prevention, doctors of chiropractic are trained nutrition specialists, as well, and can offer natural ways for patients to combat obesity.

Dr. Gerard Clum, president of Life Chiropractic College West and also a spokes person for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, stresses that there are many strategies that are used to address obesity concerns. The most important and the most well established are basic changes in lifestyle related to food, physical activity and personal motivation. “Doctors of chiropractic represent an under-utilized resource for addressing this critical health and societal concern,” says Clum. “The hands-on nature of chiropractic care lends itself to opportunities for advice, counseling and encouragement to address this important health risk.”

The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on the many benefits associated with chiropractic care) is joining the ACA in this year’s obesity prevention campaign by offering the following healthy living tips:

- Follow a balanced diet – emphasize vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans

- Eat less harmful food – reduce intake of sugar, soda, fats and processed foods

- Drink plenty of water – try for several glasses a day

- Exercise regularly – aim for 20 – 30 minutes, three to four times a week

- Stay positive – the right attitude will lead to greater success

Source:
Foundation for Chiropractic Progress

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I don’t know about you, but as a kid I was not only encouraged to eat my vegetables, such eating was mandatory if I wanted to be excused from the table. And, as far as exercise went, I walked to school or road my bike whenever the weather permitted. And, I wasn’t the only one.  Did you know that in 1969, nearly 50 percent of children walked or biked to school? And, that percentage increased greatly the closer the children lived to school. In fact, 87 percent of kids living within one mile walked or biked to school! But, not these days. According to Safe Routes to School (SRTS) (a network of nonprofits, government agencies, and schools supporting a movement to encourage kids to walk to school) fewer than 15 percent of children today walk or bike to school!

The ramifications of this shift are that kids today are less active, less independent, and less healthy. In addition, many children are overweight or obese. Could walking to school make such a difference? Yes, according to one recent study that found that children ages 10 to 13 who walked to school daily were 80 per cent less likely to be obese than those who rode to school.

Are children today lazier or just plain spoiled? Do they sleep in more than we did as kids and start out for school too late to walk? Not necessarily. The main reason cited for this lack of simple exercise was safety.  Not all neighborhoods have designated bike routes or sidewalks. Walking to school can be dangerous where there are no sidewalks and, in addition, many parents encourage their children to ride their bikes on sidewalks because they feel they are safer than riding with traffic. Social environment was another factor cited as a major concern to parents. But, where these concerns do not exist, it is important for parents to encourage their children to walk to school or ride a bike. Healthy childhood habits more often than not turn into healthy adult habits that, in turn, are beneficial to the entire body, from healthy organ function to a strong musculoskeletal system. (But watch out for the size and weight of those backpacks!)

To read more about safe routes to school, go to: saferoutespartnership.org

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What specifically did the researchers discover?  “We show that levels of acute pain depend not just on the signals sent to the brain, but also on how the brain integrates these signals into a coherent representation of the body as a whole,” said researcher, Patrick Haggard, of the University College London. He, and his colleague, Marjolein Kammers, also of University College London, made the discovery by studying the effects of self-touch in people who were made to feel pain using an experimental condition known as the thermal grill illusion (TGI). When TGI was induced in an individual’s two hands and then the three fingers of one hand were touched to the same fingers on the other hand immediately afterwards, the painful heat experienced by the middle finger dropped by 64 percent compared to a condition without self-touch. Now, before you start thinking that you don’t need your chiropractor anymore because your hand is singularly healing, the study also found that relief didn’t come when only one hand was placed under TGI conditions. Partial self-touch, in which only one or two fingers were pressed against each other, didn’t work either. Nor did it work to press the affected hand against an experimenter’s hand (though none of those hands were a chiropractor’s!) that had also been warmed and cooled in the same way.

The bottom line? The researchers’ believe that their findings might be put to practical use: “Our work suggests that therapies aimed at strengthening the multisensory representation of the body may be effective in reducing pain,” Haggard said. And, that’s just what chiropractic treatment is all about!

Source:
Cell Press

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New research at Mid Sweden University and the Karolinska Institue found that the maximum capacity for oxygen uptake is twice as great among active senior men compared with men who do not exercise. (Twice as much oxygen intake!) “The high values for maximum oxygen-uptake capacity that we have measured have never been reported before in a population of men of advanced age,” says Per Tesch, professor of sports science who led the study of seniors who are still active skiers. (Some of Sweden’s skiing icons, some now more than 90 years old, took part!)

The conclusion of this study is that “humans have a great potential to maintain a high level of physical work capacity and, thereby, a better quality of life even at advanced ages.” The study is part of a larger collaborative project whose ultimate purpose is to study how musculature, the circulatory apparatus, and performance are affected by lifelong exercising well into senior years.

So, there you have it… One more good reason to get your body moving and to keep going no matter what your age!

Sources: Expertanswer, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

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