 Be active to support strong bones Strong bones are essential for overall health and well-being, and there is a lot you can do to support better bone health. Here are some simple ways we encourage patients at our clinic to help their bones be their strongest and reduce the risk of osteoporosis:
By following these guidelines, you can take proactive steps to strengthen your bones and reduce the risk of osteoporosis or bone injuries.
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 Yoga away your stress & colds! The cold and flu season can be a miserable time, but there are several natural ways to improve immune system function and reduce your susceptibility to a cold or flu. With the weather changing, it is a good time to think about preparing to avoid the worst by improving your health habits.
By incorporating these natural strategies into your daily routine, you can significantly reduce your risk of catching a cold or flu. And if you do experience a cold, these consistent health habits can ease your recovery.  Enjoy pickleball without painful injuries Pickleball has been growing in popularity as a fun sport to play at most ages and fitness levels. It’s a great way to be active and enjoy time with others. Though pickleball tends to be relatively low impact in nature, injuries can occur, and we have seen an increasing number of these injuries in our clinic.
To minimize your risk of injury with pickleball (and improve your performance), consider the following tips:
Follow these tips and you can enjoy the benefits of pickleball while staying safe on the court. If you feel a little more soreness than usual, try applying ice or compression. For pains that don’t resolve within a couple days, schedule an evaluation. When injuries do occur, drug-free care like chiropractic can help you bounce back faster so you don't miss the fun!  Walk daily to help your knee arthritis While some mistakenly believe rest is best for knee health when osteoarthritis has developed, recent research confirms that low intensity activity like daily walking helps knee arthritis.
Researchers followed a group of patients who had been diagnosed with knee arthritis over two years. The study compared the amount they walked to a measured reduction in function (less ability to be active) over the two years. A significant benefit was found for those who walked daily compared to those who did not. How much should you walk to help knee arthritis? Those who walked at least 5000 steps a day maintained their ability to be active much better, cutting their risk of functional loss in half. For those who have not been active, 3000 steps is a good starting point. Working your way up to 7500-10000 steps each day is even more beneficial. Every 1000 steps equates to about 1/2 mile on average. Won't too much activity cause wear and tear with knee arthritis? Our joints are made to stay healthiest when they are moving. Wear and tear comes from extreme levels of activity (or injury), not from low intensity activity like walking. Find a pace that works for you and get moving!  Sugar is not so sweet for your heart. Sugar & Heart Disease Link Confirmed A study of over 40,000 Americans reviewed from 1988 through 2010 confirmed a strong link between sugar consumption and heart disease. Those Americans consuming the most sugar as a portion of their diet, increased their risk of dying from heart disease by multiple times. The sugar equal to drinking two cans of soda each day was enough to significantly increase the risk of death. Fat has long taken most of the abuse when it comes to nutrition and heart health. However, research has increasingly pointed to sugar being a bigger issue than fat. Natural fats like fish oils, olive oil, and coconut oils are actually heart healthy. When it comes to your heart, try to eat real foods and avoid the processed ones like sugar and margarine. Heart Risk Warning Re-affirmed for NSAID Naproxen Scientists recognized the increased risk of cardiovascular problems and death from taking NSAIDs about 10 years ago, and since then these common anti-inflammatory medications have been required to include a warning label. An FDA panel recently re-evalualted the necessity of this warning, specifically for Naproxen. Some believe it may not be as risky as other NSAIDs like ibuprofen. Experts confirmed there is weak data showing a smaller increase in heart problems with Naproxen, and that data may be flawed. They voted to keep the warning. It was also noted that the belief that short term use of NSAIDs is safe is not supported by research. There is little data to support the safety of taking NSAIDs for any length of time. Try reducing your inflammation with exercise and an anti-inflammation diet.  Should 1/3 of adults be on cholesterol meds? The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology recently issued new cholesterol guidelines that are estimated to double the number of American adults on statins (cholesterol lowering medications) from about 15% to 30%.
New Cholesterol guidelines would place 1/3 of adults on statins Dr. Neil Stone, who headed the cholesterol guideline panel, explained to reporters, "We're going to give statins to those who are the most likely to benefit." The guidelines increase the emphasis on factors like age, gender, race, and smoking rather than cholesterol levels. Trying to be more selective about the use of cholesterol medication sounds like a good idea, especially with increasing warnings about newly recognized risks over the past couple years. But when the plan results in doubling the number of American adults on cholesterol lowering medication (and those adults may not even have high cholesterol)...it seems like something went wrong. We're not the only ones wondering about the new guidelines. The AHA and ACC have taken considerable heat from doctors and researchers. Rita F. Redberg, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center and the editor of JAMA Internal Medicine and John D. Abramson, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School and the author of “Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine,” noted flaws with these guidelines in a New York Times article: "[This would be good news for patients] if statins actually offered meaningful protection from our No. 1 killer, heart disease; if they helped people live longer or better; and if they had minimal adverse side effects. However, none of these are the case." 5/9/2013 Natural News Update: Kidney Stone & Exercise, Pacifier-Sucking Parents, Hungry Shoppers Buy CaloriesRead Now Here's a roundup of recent natural news stories on kidney stones, pacifiers & allergies, and hungry shoppers:
Exercise Cuts Kidney Stone Risk A recent study found physically active women had about a 30% lower risk of kidney stones compared with women who reported no exercise. While more exercise activity during the week decreased the risk further, the intensity of the exercise did not matter much. Even those who performed light exercise had a significant reduction in the risk of kidney stones. The study also found a higher BMI (body mass index) or increased energy intake (eating more) increased the risk of developing kidney stones. This study confirms previous research that found healthy habits significantly lower the risk of developing kidney stones. Regular exercise (even gentle low intensity exercise) and a healthy diet help reduce systemic inflammation and associated problems like kidney stones. Pacifier-Sucking Parents Reduce Child Asthma & Allergies  Yoga helps atrial fibrillation It's been established that yoga benefits heart health, but how much could yoga help atrial fibrillation, a common condition that often requires medication to control abnormal heart rhythm? Researchers recently studied the ability of yoga to help atrial fibrillation, as well as looking at quality of life, depression, and anxiety.
Study participants performed a 60-minute yoga session two times per week over a 3-month period. Medical questionnaires were used to measure atrial fibrillation episodes, depression & anxiety, and quality of life before and after the 3-month period. Researchers noted significant changes with yoga and atrial fibrillation as well as the other measures All measures improved after 3 months of yoga only twice per week, demonstrating that yoga helps atrial fibrillation, quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Improvements in blood pressure were also noted. The researchers plan to perform a larger study to confirm the positive results, but why wait? Yoga is a great form of physical activity that can benefit a variety of people, young and old. Include yoga in your weekly routine to see how it can help atrial fibrillation among other health issues. 12/6/2012 Natural News & Research - Salt & Heart Disease, Bariatric Surgery & Halting Alzheimer's DiseaseRead Now Should you be afraid of salt? It's time again to catch up on some of the latest research related to natural ways to improve your health. From heart disease to diabetes and Alzheimer's you can do more than you think to prevent these diseases or stop them in their tracks...
Diet Benefits Beyond Meds for Heart Disease A study of over 30,000 men & women confirms that changing to a healthier diet can help prevent heart problems for those at high risk. A healthy diet also prevents further problems for those who already have heart disease. Researchers found a benefit to healthy eating regardless of medications being taken. Those who ate the healthiest diet had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular events (death, heart failure, stroke) than those eating the poorest diet. This confirms that eating well helps everyone, not just those who are already healthy. It's never too late to benefit from a healthier diet, so start now. Link Between Salt & Heart Disease Debatable  Less inflammation with every back stroke. Physical activity has long been recognized as an important part of staying healthy, but a recent study shows it has the potential to also improve our health by reducing inflammation.
Why does reducing inflammation matter? Inflammation has been linked to most all chronic diseases and conditions including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma & allergies, digestive problems, arthritis, Alzheimer's, aches & pains, etc. Many conditions that are considered a part of aging are more likely the result of increasing inflammation. Temporary localized inflammation may be helpful for healing a cut or scrape, but inflammation throughout the body is a growing problem with many Americans. Research on physical activity & inflammation: In a study published in the Journal Circulation1, 4289 participants reported their level of physical activity, and blood tests measuring inflammation (CRP and IL-6) were performed over an 10 year period. Physically active participants had lower measured levels in inflammation. Based on this data the researchers noted, "Regular physical activity is associated with lower markers of inflammation over 10 years of follow-up and thus may be important in preventing the pro-inflammatory state seen with aging." "Regular physical activity...may be important in preventing the pro-inflammatory state seen with aging." This is powerful news for those who have not heard it before. Regular activity could help prevent or improve a variety of chronic conditions. Exercise can help us stay younger and healthier. Now before you start looking for a shortcut to living younger, consider that anti-inflammatory medications will not automatically provide the same health benefits. That handful of pills carries an increased risk of stroke (in otherwise healthy individuals) among other problems. You can't cheat your way to better health, but there is another way to boost your inflammation-killing routine even further: an anti-inflammation diet. Combine regular physical activity with an anti-inflammation diet to supercharge your health. The basics of an anti-inflammation diet include:
For more on an anti-inflammation diet read our article. Take charge of your health and see how much you can benefit from naturally reducing your inflammation.  Diabetics may be able to improve their DNA with exercise One of our favorite topics is the growing research on epigenetics and healthy lifestyle. Epigenetics refers to the expression of our genes. Think of each gene in our DNA having an up and down switch that controls whether the gene works a lot or a little. This is a powerful topic because it shows that we can change our genes with simple lifestyle choices like eating well and exercising. We are not slaves to "bad genes".
A recent study on epigenetics found that within just a few hours of exercise, genes involved in muscle oxidation, DNA transcription, and glucose regulation were upregulated (told to "work harder"). Researchers had thought these types of changes were slow to occur, so there is excitement about the speed at which these positive changes happened. Genes that reduce a diabetics ability to regulate sugar were positively improved with exercise. The scientists involved noted the important application of their findings to diabetes. Prior research has shown diabetics have an altered expression of these genes in their muscles. They are not as active as they should be. It helps explain why diabetics are less sensitive to insulin and have trouble regulating glucose levels. The same genes that reduce a diabetic's ability to regulate sugar with insulin were positively improved with exercise. The benefits of exercise for diabetics was clear already, but this new research sheds light on the benefits of exercise at a genetic level. This makes sense. Our bodies are designed to move and be active. When we move our bodies they work the way they are meant to and adapt well to a changing environment. When we don't move our bodies, we're in trouble. Exercise once for a few hours and your DNA is set for life, right? So you can exercise once for a few hours and your DNA is set for life, right? Nope. The researchers found that the positive epigenetic changes reversed several hours later. Clearly, regular exercise (not hours a day) is the key to making healthy changes. Expect future research to explore how a long-term exercise program results in long-term epigenetic benefits. For now, get away from the computer and get moving. R. Barres et al., “Acute Exercise Remodels Promoter Methylation in Human Skeletal Muscle,” Cell Metabolism 15:405-11, 2012.  Tai chi can help with balance and stability. Exercise has been recognized as an important part of the management of Parkinson’s disease to slow the deterioration of motor function and to prolong functional independence. Now research on alternative forms of exercise, such as tai chi, are showing potentially more improvement in balance, gait, and function in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
In the four-year project funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, researchers randomly assigned 195 patients to one of three exercise groups: tai chi, resistance training, or stretching. The patients participated in 60-minute exercise sessions twice a week for 24 weeks. The results of the study showed that the tai chi group performed consistently better than the stretching group in how far they could lean in any direction without losing balance, as well as demonstrating better levels of directional control of the body and walking ability, such as longer stride length. Tai chi participants also outperformed those in the resistance training group on the balance and stride length measures. Finally, tai chi training was shown to significantly lower the incidence of falls compared to stretching, and was as equally effective as resistance training in reducing falls. Read more... Exercise is an important part of maintaining health and mobility as we age. Improved balance is one of the many benefits researchers have documented with regular exercise. Tai chi is becoming increasing popular as a low to moderate intensity exercise option for any age. It can be performed almost anywhere and does not require equipment. For those looking to improve their balance or general health, tai chi is a great exercise to consider. 1/17/2012 Annals of Internal Medicine: Chiropractic & Exercise Better than Meds for Neck PainRead NowA study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared the treatment of 272 adults with neck pain lasting at least 2 weeks. They were treated with chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), home exercises, or medications (anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, pain killers). Improvement was periodically evaluated over 52 weeks.
The researchers found that chiropractic and exercise were significantly more beneficial than medications for patients suffering neck pain. This significant improvement was noted within 8 weeks for chiropractic treatment and within 26 weeks for home exercises. The improved benefit lasted at least 52 weeks (the length of the study). Read the neck pain study here. |
THE NATURALS
AuthorsDr Aaron McMichael + Dr Ryan McMichael Categories
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October 2024
Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your treating doctor. This blog is not a doctor and will not diagnose or treat your problems.
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