Healthy Life Newsletter, April 2021
Further Thoughts from Dr. Mha Atma Regarding the Virus and the Vaccines
By the time you read this, the state of California may already be opening up vaccine appointments for everyone over the age of 16. Although I have never actively promoted (nor opposed) vaccinations to my patients in the past, I strongly recommend that everyone (unless advised against it by your own medical physician) take the opportunity to get a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible because:
Ample research has documented that all the available Covid vaccines are remarkably effective and safe. And now that many millions have received them, there have been no unexpected negative outcomes, and research is accumulating that the increasing number of vaccinated folks is defintely slowing the spread of the virus.
The risk of contacting Covid-19 and what can happen if you do to you or your family is far greater than the risk of a vaccination, which appears negligible. There is some evidence that folks who get the virus, even if they have minimal symptoms, may suffer some long-term consequences.
“Herd immunity,” that is the achieving of a high level of immunity in 75 to 85 percent of the population, is required to end this pandemic and allow us to return to “normal” life without masks, social distancing and other restrictions. The choice for each of us is to do our part by getting vaccinated or “freeload” and hope enough other folks get vaccinated so we won’t have to.
It will be great when most Americans have immunity to Covid-19 and we can move on. But it won’t be enough. The whole world needs immunity, and currently billions of folks in mostly poorer nations have little or no access to vaccines. Helping them is not just an act of kindness–the virus unchecked may create new mutations that eventually could evade our vaccines and require booster shots or more. But right now the governments of the U.S. and other rich nations are refusing to support the demands of the World Health Organization to grant emergency waivers to vaccine patent rights, so that the vaccines can be much more widely manufactured in places like India, Africa, and South America without having to pay the pharmaceutical companies that are already making billions. So I encourage you to join me in calling your Senators and Representative and the President to demand that they force those companies to waive patent rights and put the health and survival of people above their surplus profits.
P.S. If for some reason you cannot or will not get vaccinated, and even if you do, it remains extremely helpful and important to eat an anti-inflammatory diet and to take enough vitamin D to ensure your immune system is functioning optimally. A healthy diet and vitamin D may not prevent folks from contracting Covid but they greatly reduce the chance of serious illness. And a healthy diet along with ample vitamin D levels also appears to reduce a person’s chances of dealing with other infections, depression, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and numerous other health issues.
Prevent Neck Pain with a Well-Fitted Mask
If you’ve noticed aches and pain in your neck, shoulders, and upper back during the COVID-19 pandemic, you are not alone. Some American Chiropractic Association (ACA) members report that their patients who wear protective masks for long hours are frequently experiencing these common musculoskeletal conditions.
Some believe the reason behind the pain, in addition to increased stress, is that masks can limit the lower field of vison—particularly if they are not well fitted—causing people to tuck in their chins, shift their body position and hold their necks and posture stiffly to maintain a line of sight.
“Teachers, health care workers, retail and factory workers, and even students have reported jaw pain, neck stiffness, upper back pain, headaches and eye tension,” confirmed Dr. Leo Bronston, an ACA member who practices in Onalaska, Wisc. “They are moving differently and holding awkward positions to accommodate their face coverings.”
“Protective masks, while necessary, can add to the already heighted tension of the COVID-19 era by causing people to force their heads and necks further forward or side-to-side to view their tasks,” said Dr. Scott Donkin, an ACA member who practices in Lincoln, Neb. “A pattern arose among my patients that I experienced myself: neck and upper back pain with stiffness that increased throughout the workday.”
If you experience aches and pain after wearing a protective mask for long periods, Dr. Bronston and Dr. Donkin recommend a few simple steps to help improve vision and prevent musculoskeletal strain:
Awareness first: Be aware of your head, neck, shoulder, arm and body positions while wearing your mask. Try to move as normally as possible.
Take a close look at the mask you are wearing to identify obstructions in your visual field that could be making you compensate by unnaturally shifting your head, neck or body posture. Try out different masks until you find one that stays in place, covering the mouth and nose without obstructing vision. Use masks with adjustable elastic or ties so they are snug but not too tight.
Position your mask for maximum protection while optimizing your posture and movements. Fit your mask closely to the contour of the bridge of your nose as well as your cheeks. This will minimize reduction in your visual field.
Take frequent “unwinding” breaks to lean back, move and stretch in the opposite direction to relieve cumulative tension or pressure. Try to flex the jaw, neck, shoulders and upper spine.
When possible, take a walk outside to relieve stress.
For more information on musculoskeletal health and wellness, visit the American Chiropractic Association’s consumer website, HandsDownBetter.org .
Know Your Vitamin D Level and Take Steps to Decrease Your Risk of COVID-19 (watch the video at youtube.com
Here is a quick summary of what this 90-second video discusses, along with additional information and details about vitamin D:
Vitamin D is essential for bone health as well as immune health. In fact, virtually every cell in the body uses vitamin D, and it even influences the expression of approximately 2000 different genes.
Vitamin D deficiency is an unnecessary risk factor to COVID-19 as well as many other diseases - it is easily modified through testing and supplementation. There is NO reason to allow vitamin D deficiency to go unnoticed or unaddressed.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of getting COVID-19 as well as an increased risk of disease severity and mortality. One study showed a 53% lower positivity rate with higher vitamin D levels.
A case-controlled study shows 80% of patients with severe or critical cases of COVID-19 were also vitamin D deficient at hospital admission
A randomized controlled trial treated 50 hospitalized patients with oral calcifediol (25(OH)D) and compared outcomes to a control group who did not receive the prescription vitamin D. Of the 26 patients in the control group, 13 (50%) required admission to the ICU with two resulting deaths, while only one patient out of the 50 (2%) in the vitamin D group required admission to the ICU, with no resulting deaths. In other words, vitamin D treatment nearly erased the need for ICU admission and did eliminate deaths.
It is difficult to get enough vitamin D from food or sun alone; supplementation with vitamin D is essential for the majority of the population to get enough. The current RDA of 600-800 IU per day is way too low. 4,000 IU per day is considered safe, however, may not be enough for many to reach the scientists’ recommended 40-60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L) vitamin D level. Due to high variability in how each person responds to supplementation, vitamin D testing is necessary.
Can you take too much vitamin D? Toxicity is very rare and difficult to achieve. However, it is good to know your levels and re-test after increasing supplementation to ensure you have achieved your target level and to avoid toxicity.
from Dr. James Bogash. Another video to watch at youtube.com
Sleep, Dementia Strongly Linked: 4 Sleep Tips to Protect Your Brain
Sleep. We all do it. Some better than others.
The ones who do it poorly, however, are doing severe damage to their brains.
Not sleeping well (which would include sleep apnea) is one of the worst things you can do for your health. And you can’t just medicate it away–the use of sleep hypnotics (think Tylenol PM, benzos and Ambien) is linked to over 500,000 deaths per YEAR.
We’ve known about the links between sleep problems and dementia for a long time, but this study puts the problem into perspective.
In this group of 2,812 seniors over 65 who were followed for 5 years, those who got 5 hours or less of sleep per night had a 204% higher risk of dementia and 238% higher risk of dying from anything (all cause mortality).
Assuming that we’d all like to protect our brains, here’s 4 sleep tips that you can try to get better sleep.
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Insulin resistance / prediabetes is linked to insomnia. Fix your diet.
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Supplements for sleep like Valerian root, 5-HTP and L-theanine.
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Nocturnal hypoglycemia
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Melatonin / blue light at night
Fixing these will help most sleep problems.
Find out more detail in the video
Start Pain Relief Early with Chiropractic
When it comes to spinal pain, it’s a big mistake to limit the conversation to adults. In fact, anyone at any age can suffer spinal pain, which makes chiropractic care essential for people of all ages. What’s more, research shows that even in adolescent, teen and young adult populations, chiropractic is effective at relieving pain.
Case in point: a study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice that evaluated chiropractic management of younger people (ages 10-24) with spinal pain. All study participants had spinal pain in one or more of the four regions of the spine (cervical – neck; thoracic – upper- / mid-back; lumbar – low back; and sacral – bottom of the spine / tailbone).
Patients showed “statistically and clinically significant improvement on the numeric rating scale (NRS) in all four spinal regions following chiropractic management,” which included spinal manipulation and other techniques commonly performed by chiropractors under their scope of practice, including mobilization, soft-tissue therapy and other modalities. Simply put, chiropractic relieved some or all of their pain.
By the way, while this study evaluated children as young as age 10, research also suggests chiropractic care is effective – and necessary – for children at any age, including infants. Birth / delivery trauma, childhood falls, poor posture, excessive sitting / slumping and a variety of other life events can cause spinal pain. Talk to your doctor to learn more about how anyone can benefit from the power of chiropractic!
Your Child’s Diet Could Be Setting Them Up for GI Problems
The gut microbiome contains millions upon millions of microbes (bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, etc.) that are actually essential to good health in the proper balance.
If that microbiome balance is disrupted – which oftentimes occurs due to poor eating habits, not to mention antibiotic overuse – major health problems can ensure.
Which brings us to the title of this article, and how what your child eats when they’re young can set the stage for GI microbiome health - or health problems. According to research, poor eating habits (particularly excess intake of fat and sugar) as a child may alter their microbiome for life, setting the stage for disease. The study in question utilized a mouse model to examine the potential connection between diet and microbiome viability. Mice who were fed a less healthy “Western diet” (in humans,the equivalent Western diet is characterized by high amounts of carbohydrates, sugar and fat, often in the form of processed snacks and foods, fast food, etc.) had significantly reduced levels of healthy GI bacteria compared to mice fed a healthier diet.
Writing about their findings in the Journal of Experimental Biology, the researchers emphasize the importance of starting children off right in terms of their dietary habits: “These results constitute one of the first reports of juvenile diet having long-lasting effects on the adult microbiome after a substantial washout period.”
So, think your child’s diet doesn’t really matter because they’re normal weight and don’t seem to have any health issues? Think again. You may not see the problems yet, but below the surface, it the gut microbiome, trouble is brewing.
Treating Urinary Tract Infections: Is Your Medical Doctor Getting It Wrong?
Antibiotics are the medical standard for treating urinary tract infections in women. That means a lot of women are taking antibiotics, since according to the World Health Organization, at least 50 percent of women suffer at least one UTI in their lives.
Let’s ignore (for a minute) the fact that antibiotics have short- and long-term health risks of their own and focus on another problem revealed by new research: Medical doctors may be giving women the incorrect prescriptions for their UTIs.
When comparing antibiotic prescriptions for UTI to clinical guidelines, researchers discovered that nearly 50 percent of women received prescriptions for the wrong antibiotics to treat their UTI, and more than three of four women who received an antibiotic prescription were told to take it for an inappropriate amount of time (too long). In general, taking antibiotics for more than 10 days at a time, or taking antibiotics too many times, can lead to bacterial resistance to the antibiotic, eventually making it more difficult to treat the condition. In addition, as with any medication, antibiotics may cause short- or long-term side effects, including rash, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, and tendon ad nerve damage (Source: WedMD).
There are also well-established ways to reduce your risk of getting a UTI in the first place (and thus eliminate your need for an antibiotic prescription to treat it), including drinking enough water and peeing frequently (as opposed to “holding it”), taking showers instead of baths, urinating after sexual activity, avoiding the use of feminine douches, powders and sprays, and proper toilet (wiping) habits.
You don’t want a urinary tract infection, but you also don’t want the potential health consequences of taking too many antibiotics - or, as this study suggests, taking an antibiotic counter to clinical guidelines. The solution: If you think you have a UTI, always ask your medical doctor / OBG-YN about the potential risks, how long you need to take it, and whether there are nondrug options to either treat the current UTI or prevent it from recurring.