Healthy Life Newsletter March 2025
https://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=3361Chiropractic:
For Much More Than Pain
Chiropractic: For Much More Than Pain
Pain, particularly back and neck pain, is a primary reason why patients
visit chiropractors, and it's a smart decision to do so, because
chiropractic is proven to be an effective pain reliever – and without
the potential side effects of medication. But pain certainly isn't the
only reason to visit a chiropractor, and new research makes it
abundantly clear.
In addition to pain relief, chiropractic spinal adjustments have broad
impacts on mood, sleep and overall quality of life. That's the
conclusion involving 76 people with nonspecific, chronic low back pain
who were divided randomly into chiropractic and control groups. Both
groups received "usual care," while the chiropractic group also received
spinal adjustments, with health improvements compared from baseline to
four weeks after intervention.
According to the study, "usual care" consisted of "any care recommended
or prescribed by non-chiropractic health providers for CLBP, including
self-management advice, pharmacologic pain management, physical therapy,
or referral to a pain clinic."
Members of the chiropractic group had significant increases in length of
light sleep and overall quality of life during the four-week
intervention, including improvements in anxiety, depression and fatigue.
(This was in addition to improvements compared to controls in pain
intensity and pain interference.) Findings appear in the research
journal Brain Science.
The takeaway: Chiropractic works – and it works for much more than just
chronic pain relief. Pass it on...
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https://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=3097
Managing Low Back Pain: Tips and Strategies for Relieving Your Pain at Home
Self-care is extremely important to our physical, social and mental
well-being. There are a variety of ways to take care of your health, but
many people overlook the importance of simple home remedies that can
effectively manage low back pain.
Here are just a few of the things you can do at home to help manage
lower back pain.
Exercise Regularly
Staying active is one of the most important things you can do to manage
your pain levels. Regardless of how you exercise (as long as you're not
overworking your back), engaging in regular physical activity can help
to improve your flexibility, strength and overall health, resulting in
less pain. If you are worried about what activities you can safely
engage in with low back pain, talk with your chiropractor.
(Not interested in staying active? You will be glad to know that most
people who choose to not make any lifestyle changes to speed up the
recovery process will still get better eventually.)
According to one study, Pilates, stabilization or motor control,
resistance training, and aerobic exercise training are the most
effective treatments for adults with low back pain. So if you have low
back pain, consider starting a regular exercise routine that includes
any of these – or try them all and see what works best for you!
Go for a Walk
In addition to a regular exercise routine, another way to help manage
low back pain is by walking regularly. Not only can regular walking help
keep your muscles flexible and strong, but it also allows you to get out
of the house or office and enjoy some much-needed fresh air and natural
sunlight. To get started, start with short walks at a slow pace and
gradually build up your endurance.
Apply Heat or Ice Packs
Applying heat or ice to your low back can be a great way to relieve
tightness and pain. If you're dealing with chronic pain, try using an
ice pack first to help reduce inflammation and swelling. Then, keep
using it regularly as needed throughout the day to help soothe
discomfort. Alternatively, if you're dealing more with stiffness than
pain, try using a heat pack instead to loosen up your muscles and
increase circulation.
Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
Believe it or not, the power of your mind can affect the severity of
your pain. By practicing mindfulness and other relaxation techniques,
you can manage your discomfort more effectively.
In fact, according to one study, mindfulness is associated with the
deactivation of the prefrontal and greater activation of somatosensory
cortical regions. In short, mindfulness can help relieve your pain by
changing the way you think about it.
If you're feeling stressed or anxious, practicing mindfulness and
relaxation techniques can be a great way to lower your stress levels and
help reduce overall pain. Breathing exercises, meditation, listening to
soothing music, or journaling can be helpful and reduce the pain.
Take-Home Points
Overall, managing low back pain doesn't have to be difficult or
complicated. Talk with your chiropractor today about doing some simple
self-care activities at home that can keep your back healthy and ease
discomfort!
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https://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=3358
How Much Aerobic Exercise?
Aerobic exercise is invaluable for improving overall health and
specifically for weight loss, as it both burns calories and increases
metabolism (which burns even more calories while you're at rest).
But how much aerobic exercise do you need to do every week to get the
most benefit when it comes to weight loss? Let's look at what new
research suggests.
According to the analysis of 116 clinical trials involving nearly 7,000
overweight and obese adults, aerobic exercise up to 300 minutes per week
(performed at moderate to vigorous intensities) reduces body weight,
waist circumference and body fat, with reductions increasing with every
additional 30 minutes of exercise. According to the research team,
"aerobic training exceeding 150 minutes per week at moderate intensity
or greater may be needed to achieve associations with clinically
important reductions."
OK, so what if you're struggling to find the time to do any aerobic
exercise, much less 300 minutes? Start small and gradually build your
way up. Motivation and results are powerful, but remember to give it
time. Too many people get frustrated after a few weeks or months and
give up before they've achieved the weight loss they need to optimize
their health and wellness. If you're one of those people, stop the cycle
now ... by jumping on one and doing some aerobic exercise!
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https://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=3363
Diet and Chronic Pain
One reason diet is associated with chronic pain is because added weight
from eating a poor diet puts more pressure on muscles and joints, and
makes recovery from an injury take longer. The solution seems
common-sense: eat more sensibly and lose the weight, reducing the
incidence of chronic pain. But there's much more to the story.
Research suggests a healthy diet can reduce chronic pain regardless of
weight. The study, involving more than 650 women, evaluated diet quality
over a 12-month window with a 40-question food frequency questionnaire
that gathered data on what participants ate and how often they ate it.
Researchers discovered that better diet quality was associated with
lower levels of body pain, particularly in women. Even more
significantly, being overweight or obese did not influence the
relationship between diet quality and pain.
These findings don't mean you should ignore your weight, particularly if
you're overweight or obese. After all, excess weight and fat is linked
to numerous negative health outcomes. But don't ignore dietary changes,
because as this study suggests, it's associated with lower levels of
pain, regardless of how much weight you have to lose. Talk to your
doctor for more information.
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https://nutritionfacts.org/blog/eating-to-reverse-heart-failure/
Eating to Reverse Heart Failure
Written By
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM •
An entire issue of a cardiology journal dedicated to plant-based
nutrition explores the role an evidence-based diet can play in the
reversal of congestive heart failure.
It is a hopeful sign of the times when an entire issue of a cardiology
journal is not just dedicated to nutrition, but to a plant-based diet in
particular. Dr. Kim Williams, past president of the American College of
Cardiology, starts his editorial with a quote attributed to the
philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: “All truth passes through three stages.
First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is
accepted as being self-evident.” He goes on to write that “the truth
(i.e., evidence) for the benefits of plant-based nutrition continues to
mount.” We’ve got the evidence. The problem is the “inertia, culture,
habit, and widespread marketing of unhealthy foods. Our goal must be to
get the data out to the medical community and the public where it can
actually change lives—creating healthier and longer ones.” That’s
essentially my life’s mission in four words: Get the data out. Based on
what we already know in the existing medical literature, “plant-based
nutrition…clearly represents the single most important yet underutilized
opportunity to reverse the pending obesity and diabetes-induced epidemic
of morbidity and mortality,” meaning disease and death.
The issue featured your typical heart disease reversal cases, including
a 77-year-old woman with such bad heart disease that she couldn’t walk
more than half a block or go up a single flight of stairs. She had
severe blockages in all three of her main arteries and was referred to
open-heart surgery for a bypass. However, instead of surgery, “she chose
to adopt a whole-food plant-based diet, which included all vegetables,
fruits, whole grains, potatoes, beans, legumes and nuts.” Even though
“she described her previous diet as a ‘healthy’ Western one,” within a
single month of going plant-based, “her symptoms had nearly
resolved”—and forgot about walking a block. “She was able to walk on a
treadmill for up to 50 min without chest discomfort or dyspnea,”
becoming out of breath. Her cholesterol dropped about a hundred points
from around 220 mg/dL (5.7 mmol/L) down to 120 mg/dL (3.2 mmol/L), with
an LDL under 60 mg/dL (1.5 mmol/L).
For the rest of this fascinating article go to
https://nutritionfacts.org/blog/eating-to-reverse-heart-failure/.
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https://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=3242
Tackle Back Pain Early
Are you ignoring your low back pain (LBP) – or masking the pain
temporarily with over-the-counter pain medication? That's two mistakes
that can lead to chronic LBP – pain that lasts more than a few months
and is tough to resolve.
In fact, according to new research, once your back pain becomes chronic,
your chances of getting rid of it are much lower, which makes early
intervention / prevention – for example, with chiropractic care – a
great choice, whether you're experiencing LBP or want to reduce your
risk of experiencing it.
An international research team reviewed nearly 100 studies that
investigated low back pain of various durations, including chronic LBP
(pain lasting 12-52 weeks). People with persistent low back pain
continued to experience moderate to high levels of pain and disability,
with minimal improvement over time, compared to people with LBP that
lasted for shorter time frames. On the other hand, people with LBP of
shorter duration ("acute" pain, lasting less than six weeks) were more
likely to recover quicker and more completely.
The takeaway is clear: Tackle your back pain early! That means two
things: going to your chiropractor whenever you experience low back
pain; and visiting your chiropractor periodically, even when you're not
in pain, so you can prevent pain from starting in the first place. Now
that's a win-win for your health and wellness.
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Metabolic syndrome is a condition that often results in excess weight gain, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and blood pressure dysfunction. If left uncorrected, metabolic syndrome can lead to conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and gynecological disorders.
Cardiometabolism describes the effects of our metabolic health on cardiovascular function. Our cardiometabolic health heavily influences the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke. According to a study published in 2022 only 6.8% of US adults have optimal cardiometabolic health (less than one person out of 14!), and that rate has been steadily declining.
Findings from a New Meta-Analysis on Vitamin D and Cardiometabolism
Previous studies have demonstrated how optimizing vitamin D, omega-3s,
and magnesium status can help improve cardiometabolic measures, such as
blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar regulation (see
below).
A new meta-analysis by An et al. looked at data from 99 randomized
controlled trials on vitamin D, involving 17,656 participants, and found
a clear association between vitamin D intake and specific markers of
cardiometabolic health. In analyzing the studies, they found that an
average intake of 3320 IU vitamin D per day was significantly associated
with several cardiometabolic benefits when compared to placebo,
including
-
better systolic and diastolic blood pressure
-
lower overall cholesterol levels
-
lower HbA1c levels (better blood sugar regulation
-
lower fasting blood glucose and insulin levels
According to the paper,
“Vitamin D supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in all glycemic parameters across the entire study population.”
For more go to https://www.grassrootshealth.net/blog/less-1-14-us-adults-optimal-cardiometabolic-health-research-shows-nutrients-can-help/
