After years of recognizing trans fat as a safe food additive, the FDA has finally buckled under mounting research that finds no evidence of safety at any level. The FDA announced trans fats are no longer generally recognized as safe and will move toward eliminating them from the American food supply.

Trans fat has been allowed at low levels in a variety of processed foods. Food companies have even been allowed to label packages as "no trans fat" when the food actually has low levels of trans fat.

The elimination of trans fat from the American diet is expected to cause reductions in diabetes, cholesterol problems, heart attacks, and heart deaths.

Increased trans fat consumption came about with growing use of "healthy" processed liquid oils (corn, soybean, canola, "vegetable"). Manufacturers needed a way to stabilize these fragile liquid oils and in some cases solidify them (think margarine). Food refiners chemically altered them with hydrogenation to form trans fats that would last longer.

Eventually, research confirmed that "healthy" hydrogenated fats were unhealthy, but experts still promoted partially hydrogenated fats as a good choice. Finally, experts have recognized that "healthy" partially hydrogenated oils are unhealthy also because trans fats at any level increase health problems.

What now?

The change is not official yet. Food manufacturers and their "experts" will have a chance to voice their opinion. Fortunately for them, a new type of fat has been created by food scientists- "interesterified fat". Sound yummy? We recommend you avoid trans fats and processed oils, and eat good fats - butter, olive oil, coconut oil...

As part of National Chiropractic Health Month, we take a look at one the biggest issues affecting patient's ability to heal from injuries - delaying treatment.

The National Institute of Health notes pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined.

Why do so many Americans experience chronic pain?

It's common to wait after an injury to see if it will go away on its own, but waiting too long only makes it harder to bounce back. Research confirms that waiting more than 7 days to treat an injury increases your risk of chronic problems.

But why? It's all about how the body heals from an injury:

Initially, inflammation increases at the site of an injury. This means swelling, redness, warmth, and PAIN. Inflammation increases over 1-3 days, which explains why pain may not be immediate but can build after a day or two. Frequently, the pain and inflammation will start to reduced after a few days - this is where you can get in trouble...

Within a week of injury, the body starts repairing soft tissues with fibriotic scar tissue. Picture normal muscles and soft tissues as nicely organized fibers lined up next to each other. Now picture scar tissue as a tangled nest of fibers trying to patch up a hole. Pain may be fairly well controlled at this point, but as scar tissue builds, increased stiffness and joint restrictions can develop. If scar tissue develops enough to restrict a full range of motion in a joint, it's only a matter of time before pain and inflammation return -- because the joint can't function correctly.

Moral: Don't delay treatment more than one week or the risk of chronic problems increases

Chiropractic treatment is key to not only reducing pain and inflammation, but also improving scar tissue function so your joints are moving correctly again. The key is healthy movement. Chiropractic adjustments help the scar tissue align and reorganize to be more similar to your body's normal healthy soft tissues. This reorganization process can take months, but chiropractic care tends to accelerate  this natural response.

Don't rely on pain as your only indicator of health. If you pay attention to how well your body is moving and functioning, you may be able to avoid the pain in the first place.

As part of National Chiropractic Health Month, we take a look at recent news and research that has highlighted the growing epidemic of prescription drug problems:

CNN's story, "Let’s End the Prescription Drug Death Epidemic," reported on the increasing injury and death from prescription medication as Americans consume 80% of the world's pain medication for less than 5% of the world's population.

Harvard research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlighted increasing medical mismanagement of back pain as doctors continue to increase narcotic pain prescriptions and ignore medical guidelines that recommend safer, more effective options like chiropractic treatment.

A national report on prescription drug abuse ranked Ohio as 12th Highest Drug Overdose Mortality Rate in the US, with most deaths coming from prescription medications.

"Fifty Americans die a day from prescription drug overdoses, and more than 6 million suffer from prescription drug abuse disorders. This is a very real epidemic - and warrants a strong public health response," said Andrea Gielen, ScD, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.

What's Going On?

October is National Chiropractic Health Month. Discover how to improve your health with chiropractic care.

Joints are critical to all movement and allow us to carry out normal activities of daily living. Some 150 million to 200 million cases of back pain send people to the doctor every year—and many of those are related to joint injuries. The bones that make up the joint allow movement, but it is the muscles that pull the bones that produce the movement.

Use it or Lose it

The movements that you perform on a daily basis are critical to long-term joint health, as are proper nutrition, a healthy exercise regimen, and a healthy lifestyle. Moving a joint through its full range of motion serves several important purposes. Joints are not supplied directly with blood as are other organs within the body, but instead are nourished with synovial fluid that is forced into the joint cartilage through pressure resulting from body movement. So the saying, “Use it or lose it” applies to joint function.

Vitamin D Reduces Recurrent Ear Infections in Kids

A recent study looked out how vitamin D supplements affected children with recurrent ear infections. Researchers found that the average blood level of vitamin D was lower than recommended in children with recurrent ear infections. They gave some of the children a daily 1000 unit supplement of vitamin D and found those children had significantly fewer episodes of ear infections.

Seattle Children's Hospital Researcher Craig Rubens noted this study confirms that doctors need to pay more attention to nutrition in cases of recurring ear infections.

Many kids with recurrent infections rely on repeated rounds of antibiotics and eventually ear tubes to control the infections. This study highlights the need to look into the nutrition of these kids.

Parents shouldn't fear child exposure to the sun.

Low vitamin D is frequent in our area of Northeast Ohio, especially in the winter, due to limited sun exposure. Repeated warnings about sun exposure during summer have also contributed to adults and children receiving less than a healthy amount of sun to produce adequate vitamin D. This leaves us more dependent on our foods which do not provide an abundant source of vitamin D.

It's a good idea to have your vitamin D level checked, especially if noticing recurrent ear infections.

What's hiding in your child's school milk? If the Food and Drug Administration approves a petition by the International Dairy Foods Association and National Milk Producers Federation, it's going to be harder to find out.

What is "milk"?

These dairy associations have asked the FDA to redefine what "milk" is, so they can add additives without including special labeling. Currently, if milk has been altered to include artificial sweeteners, milk manufacturers are required to label milk as "low calorie" or "reduced calorie" or print similar language on the front of the package. The dairy associations' primary goal is to add artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose without the current required labeling.

It doesn't stop with "milk"

The dairy associations are also requesting a revision of the definition of 17 other dairy products including yogurt (with help from the National Yogurt Association of course), to play the same game with those food labels. Dr. Oz and The Environmental Working Group have a nice explanation of the topic.

Would you define "milk" or "yogurt" as foods that contain artificial sweeteners? The research showing potential harm from the consumption of artificial sweeteners has only grown over the past few years. Milk is heavily processed as it is - removing fat, homogenizing, ultra-pasteurization, hormone use...

For those who enjoy dairy, we recommend using less processed dairy whenever possible. If you don't like dairy or have trouble digesting it, don't worry. You can get plenty of calcium from eating your veggies, especially dark leafy greens. The best alternatives to dairy are coconut or almond milk (but watch out for sweeteners).

Would you expect processed corn fiber to be added to juice marketed as an "all natural" "100% juice smoothie"? Would you expect synthetically manufactured vitamins to be tossed into your "all natural" beverage? How about industrially made "natural flavors"?

Pepsico's recent 9 million dollar settlement of a lawsuit demonstrates how little the "natural" label means when it comes to marketing food and drinks in the United States. While Pepsico led customers to believe its Naked Juice contained nothing but 100% fruit and vegetables, they were adding other surprising ingredients. Pepsico agreed in the settlement to no longer use the term "natural" for its Naked Juice, but it's unclear whether they were actually in violation of the extremely vague regulations regarding "natural" foods.

"All Natural" is a term regulated for meats and poultry -- containing no artificial flavors, colors, or chemical preservatives. This leaves food producers a wide opening to claim foods as "natural" when added chemical compounds can be found somewhere in nature.

We generally recommend skipping the marketing terms and looking directly at the ingredient list, but this recent settlement shows even the ingredient list can be misleading. The easiest food to trust is what you make at home. Then next best choice would be foods made by small companies that really care about the product they are selling. Otherwise, you may end up with synthetic additives in your "natural" juice.

It's time to eat more (good) fat. Too many "experts" have scared Americans away from eating fat for far too long, with little research and no common sense to back up their theories.  We've thrown out the butter and turned to mysterious butter-like yellow-dyed spreads. We've switched from animal fats to "vegetable" oils that are no closer to a vegetable than a fruit (why not market them as "fruit" oils while they're at it?).

Americans have made these supposedly healthy changes and now have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions than ever before. Good fat is essential to our health. When we go shopping at the store we automatically avoid foods labeled "low fat," "reduced fat," "no fat," or "fat free." Here's why we recommend you do the same:

1. Good fats help maintain healthy weight - large studies performed over multiple years compared women eating low fat or no fat dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) to those eating whole fat dairy. Those eating whole fat dairy maintained a healthier weight than the others. Now everyone can breath a sigh of relief - fat doesn't make you fat.
   
2. Fat stabilizes blood sugar - fat is the most stabilizing nutrient for blood sugar. This is important for everyone, but especially important for diabetics. We all benefit from keeping our blood sugar stable, avoiding the extreme ups & downs that can cause health problems.
3. Fat satisfies hunger & improves energy - switch from a carbohydrate-heavy breakfast (like cereal, toast, muffins) to one with good fats and you'll probably notice you don't need a snack or a shot of the gas station's energy tonic to get you to lunch. Fat provides a long lasting source of energy making you less hungry because it stabilizes your blood sugar (see #2).
   
4. Fat can be anti-inflammatory - one of the most anti-inflammatory foods you can eat is omega 3 fat. Fatty fish provide a good source of this healthy fat which has been linked to a variety of health benefits including heart health, brain health joint health, etc. Naturally fattier fish like salmon are even healthier because they provide more of these good fats. Green leafy vegetables and the animals who eat them (grassfed beef, pastured chickens, etc.) can also be a good source.
   
5. Fat helps vitamin intake & utilization - some vitamins are fat-soluble which means they are commonly found in fatty foods and are best used by the body when eaten in combination with these fats. This includes vitamins A, D, E, and K. Ever hear of vitamin D deficiency? Without fats, these vitamins can't help the body function at its best.
   

Which fats are good fats?

We recommend three fats for most of your kitchen creations: real butter, extra virgin coconut oil, and extra virgin olive oil. Organic is preferred but not required. Butter should be from grassfed cows ideally, but we won't fight about it. Butter and coconut oil are best for cooking. Olive oil should not be heated much; save it for salad dressings.

Other oils that can also be a healthy choice: flaxseed, grapeseed, and hemp seed. Quality fish oil is a great supplement for those not eating 2-3 meals of fatty fish each week.

Now do yourself a favor and eat more good fat.

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

Following the release of a recent study showing a link between lead exposure during child development and later violent crime, the CDC just reported that lead levels in a half million American children is too high.

What's the deal with lead & crime?

"The biggest source of lead [since World War II], it turns out, wasn't paint. It was leaded gasoline. And if you chart the rise and fall of atmospheric lead caused by the rise and fall of leaded gasoline consumption, you get a pretty simple upside-down U: Lead emissions from tailpipes rose steadily from the early '40s through the early '70s, nearly quadrupling over that period. Then, as unleaded gasoline began to replace leaded gasoline, emissions plummeted.

... if you add a lag time of 23 years, lead emissions from automobiles explain 90 percent of the variation in violent crime in America. Toddlers who ingested high levels of lead in the '40s and '50s really were more likely to become violent criminals in the '60s, '70s, and '80s." - motherjones.com

The good news on violent crime

For years, many industrial farmers have fed cattle antibiotics and injected them with hormones to accelerate their growth. Now there's a new miracle drug called Zilmax that causes cattle to pack on the pounds reported Slate:

"A new cattle drug called Zilmax is being widely used in the industrial feedlots where most of America’s beef comes from, but not because it produces a better sirloin. In fact, it has been shown to make steak less flavorful and juicy than beef from untreated cattle."

Designed to treat asthma in humans, Zilmax causes cattle to "swell up with muscle."

Designed to treat asthma in humans, the manufacturer later discovered Zilmax fed to cattle during the last weeks of life, causes them to "swell up with muscle." The drug is usually discontinued 3 days before slaughter to allow most of it to leave the animal's tissues.

Consumers won't notice the difference

The health benefits of omega-3 fats found in fish or fish oil supplements has been widely reported, but new research indicates the source of those healthy fats is more important than initially understood.

It has been recommended that Americans eat 2-3 meals of fatty fish each week (not fried) to benefit from their omega-3 fats. Those who don't like fish or don't eat fish often can substitute fish oil supplements to receive the health-promoting benefits to the heart and other areas of the body.

However, recent research on fish oil supplements from the University of Pennsylvania indicates it's not that simple. The researchers noted that one of the ways omega-3 fats improve health is by relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. But synthetically manufactured versions of omega-3 fats (DHA) do not produce the same beneficial effect that natural omega-3 fats do.

Synthetic fish oil supplements did not relax blood vessels the way natural fish oil fat does.

Many manufacturers have produced synthetic fish oils or added higher doses of synthetics to their fish oil supplements to keep costs low while assuming there will be no difference in health benefits. This study once again reinforces two points:

There's probably a lot more sugar in your favorite drink than you think. Americans drink their sugar for a hit of energy in the morning, throw back some more to keep them going in the afternoon, and often polish off dinner with a favorite sugary beverage. So how much are you drinking?

Below we have calculated total sugars in the most popular size (20 ounces) of 12 common beverages. You'll also see how many pounds of sugar that equals if you enjoy just one of your favorite beverages each day.

Surprised?
The sugars add up quicker than you think. If you drink one of these a day, you're increasing your risk of obesity, diabetes, stroke, and other serious health problems. It you drink more than one of these a day, it's time for an intervention. Drink more water!

A recent study looked at the effect of volunteering on indicators of heart health. The researchers noted, "The idea that individuals who help others incur health benefits themselves suggests a novel approach to improving health while simultaneously promoting greater civic orientation in our society. The present study is the first experimental trial, to our knowledge, of whether regular volunteering can reduce cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents."

The study actually looked at teenagers in and out of a volunteering program organized through their school. The volunteer work took place at elementary schools for 10 weeks during the fall semester. The after-school programs for volunteers included helping with homework and clubs that focused on sports, science, cooking, cards and games, and arts and crafts.

Those that volunteered had a significant improvement in inflammation markers, cholesterol levels, and body mass index compared to those who did not volunteer.

The researchers noted that the volunteers had increases in empathy and improvements in mood that likely helped reduce the risk factors associated with heart health. The best way to help yourself may be to help others. It can't hurt. Start volunteering to help your heart health!

Recent studies on breastfeeding & c-sections have reinforced the importance of raising children naturally whenever possible, while noting how poorly a job we are doing at encouraging women to do so. Here's a quick summary of four recent studies.

Breastfeeding Rates Improving, but Still Way Too Low

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, followed by continued breastfeeding for at least 12 months due to multiple known health benefits for mother and child. A CDC analysis of American infants born between 2000-2008 revealed improvement in breastfeeding levels, but less than half of American babies meet breastfeeding recommendations for 6 months of feeding, and very few exclusively breastfeed for 6 months.

44.4% breastfed (often not exclusively) for 6 months & only 23.4% breastfed for the recommended 12 months

These rates of breastfeeding from infants born in 2008 represent an improvement over those born in 2000. Among infants born in 2000, 34.5% breastfed for 6 months, and 16.0% breastfed for 12 months. The American Pediatric Association recognizes very few reasons to avoid breastfeeding such as an active tuberculosis infection or undergoing chemotherapy. Read about the numerous benefits of breastfeeding here.

Breastfeeding, C-sections & Baby's Gut Bacteria

Researchers involved in a recent study noted, "The gut microbiota is essential to human health throughout life, yet the acquisition and development of this microbial community during infancy remains poorly understood. Meanwhile, there is increasing concern over rising rates of cesarean delivery and insufficient exclusive breastfeeding of infants in developed countries."

Pepsi recently announced that Gatorade drinkers will no longer be drinking flame retardant chemical BVO in the future. But don't worry, you'll still sweat green, blue, red, or whatever color you drink.

Why is flame retardant BVO in Gatorade?

It's actually used in a variety of manufactured beverages as a way to make them look more appetizing. BVO attaches to flavor chemicals in drinks and helps them mix throughout. This prevents the ingredients from unpleasantly separating.

A recent Scientific American article noted increasing concern about the accumulation of this chemical in the body. BVO has already been banned in some countries, and needs further testing to determine safe limits.

Watch this Dr. Oz clip that explains the issue with flame retardant BVO in Gatorade and other drinks.

Rather than follow European rules of proving safety of products before sale to the public, America requires products to be proven unsafe before they can be banned from sale. Fortunately, Pepsi doesn't plan on waiting months or years for the FDA to ban BVO. Gatorade will soon be replacing BVO with...another chemical.

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.

Smoking trims a decade off lifespan, but those who stop smoking by age 40 regain most of those lost years.

Details of a smoking study that analyzed health & death records of American was recently released:

"Quitting smoking before age 40, and preferably well before 40, gives back almost all of the decade of lost life from continued smoking," said Dr. Prabhat Jha, head of the Centre for Global Health Research.

Dr. Jha's team found that people who stop smoking between ages 35 and 44 gained about nine years and those who quit between ages 45-54 and 55-64 gained six and four years of life, respectively.

Women and men who smoke both lost a decade of life. Current male or female smokers ages 25-79 had a mortality rate three times higher than people who had never smoked. Never smokers were about twice more likely to live to age 80 than were smokers.

"This study brings out how great the threat actually is, and shows that risks of death from smoking are even larger than previously thought," said Professor Sen, who was not involved in the study. "The result is of great global significance."

Cost of Smoking May Rise

Experts (including doctors) have long told Americans not to worry about being harmed by the chemical cocktails of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides used to grow our produce bigger, faster, and blemish-free.

However, research has now shown that Americans, including newborns, have surprising levels of pesticides accumulating in their bodies. Now that research has linked these chemical to health problems, scientists and medical organizations are finally starting to sound the alarm.

American Academy of Pediatrics Recommends Reducing Pesticide Exposure

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a new policy statement describing the harmful effects of pesticides and how to reduce exposure. Here are highlights of the AAP statement on pesticides: