Healthy Life Newsletter, September 2021
Dr, Mha Atma’s latest brief comments on our ongoing pandemic:
Thanks in large part to the Delta variant, we are having another Covid surge, and it seems more common that some folks who are fully vaccinated are testing positive. As you know if you’ve read my previous comments, I strongly encourage getting the covid-19 vaccination and wearing masks indoors where unvaccinated folks may be present, but I also remind everyone that a strong immune system is also essential for staying healthy through this pandemic and beyond. We can have a huge influence on our immunity by living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, which includes a diet with lots of fresh produce, healthy protein, and with minimal refined sugar, grain-flour products, and vegetable oils (othen than olive oil), plus regular exercise, adequate sleep and the best stress-management that we can engage in. AND with taking anti-inflammatory supplements, especially vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil or other sources).
The chance of contracting covid is very significantly reduced but not eliminated by vaccination, and the chance of getting very sick is extremely reduced. And the anti-inflammation lifestyle, as much as you can manage, very much increases our resistance and generally results in vastly improved overall physical and mental health.
Thyroid Function Improved with Vitamin D Supplementation Program
The thyroid is a gland that produces, stores, and releases thyroid hormones, which are important to the function of many systems and organs, including the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and skin. Thyroid hormones help regulate vital functions, such as breathing, heart rate, muscle strength, menstrual cycles, body temperature, metabolism, and more.
The thyroid is controlled through the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis, which is prone to circadian and seasonal changes. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between lower thyroid function during the winter months (when vitamin D levels are at their lowest) compared to the summer months (when people tend to have higher vitamin D levels), as well as an increased risk of autoimmune thyroid disease during the winter, especially among individuals with lower vitamin D levels.
The Thyroid May Need Higher Vitamin D Levels to Function at its Best
Vitamin D has many functions within the body, with response curves varying by system (such as skeletal vs immune). For example, while bone health may benefit from a vitamin D level of only 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L), the immune system may require a much higher level of at least 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L). Research, such as that discussed below, supports a higher level of vitamin D for thyroid function, similar to what may be needed for optimal immune system function.
Note from Dr. Mha Atma: If you or somene you are close to has an MRI of their spine you might want to read this whole article (click on link to read all of it).
Truths & Myths of MRI for Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a very common complaint. In fact, it’s the #1 reason for doctor visits in the United States! The economic burden of LBP on the working class is astronomical. Most people can’t afford to be off work for one day, much less a week, month, or more! Because of the popularity of hospital-based TV dramas over the past two decades, many people think getting an MRI of their back can help their doctor fix their lower back problem. Is this a good idea? Let’s take a look!
Patients will often bring in a CD that has an MRI of their lower back to a doctor of chiropractic and ask the ultimate question, “….can you fix me?” Or, worse, “…I think I need surgery.” Sure, it’s quite amazing how an MRI can “slice” through the spine and show bone, soft tissues, disks, muscles, nerves, the spinal cord, and more! Since the low back bears approximately 2/3 of our body’s weight, you can frequently find MANY ABNORMALITIES in a person over 40-50 years old. In fact, it would be quite odd NOT to see things like disk degeneration, disk bulges, joint arthritis, spur formation, etc.!
Hence, the “downside” of having ALL this information is the struggle to determine which finding on the MRI has clinical significance. In other words, where is the LBP coming from? Is it that degenerative disk, bulged disk, herniated disk, or the narrowed canal where the nerve travels? Interestingly, in a recent review of more than 3,200 cases of acute low back pain, those who had an MRI scan performed earlier in their care had a WORSE outcome, more surgery, and higher costs compared with those who didn’t succumb to the temptation of requesting an MRI!
Remember More: Take Breaks!
Whether you’re a student (of any age) digesting volumes of material for an upcoming exam, a motivational speaker memorizing your next presentation or anyone in any number of career paths that requires you to continually learn (and remember) information, this article is for you. In fact, it’s really for every person, of any age.
Our ability to remember has a profound effect on our everyday lives, but all too often, information seems to go in one ear and out the other. What can we do to remember more? Simple, according to new research: take breaks during the learning process. Researchers using a mouse model verified that the “spacing effect” – expanding time intervals between individual learning events – can help retain more information for a longer time.
To do so, researchers hid a piece of chocolate in a maze. Mice were allowed to explore the maze three consecutive times in a single day to find the chocolate; but with varying length of time between attempts. The next day, mice given longer pauses between attempts were better able to remember the location of the chocolate.
Of note, researchers also found that when taking longer breaks, the same brain neurons that were active during the first learning phase were used later. How much “space” is needed for optimal learning? According to the study authors, “Spacing trials by 60 min produced more robust memories than training with shorter or longer intervals.”
What’s your “maze” in life? How often are you able to navigate it to find the “chocolate”? If you’re having trouble retaining information, you may find that you’re spending too much uninterrupted time trying to learn and not enough time taking much-needed breaks, as this study (published in Current Biology) suggests.
Aerobic Exercise Can Help Your Child Build a Better Vocabulary
Developing a robust vocabulary is essential for becoming a good communicator, whether in one-on-one conversations or on-the-job interactions (e.g., emails to staff, presentations, etc.). Unfortunately, too many people find themselves at a loss for the right word at the right time – which can lead to miscommunication and confusion.
The process starts early, of course, in one’s childhood years. Interestingly, vocabulary growth may be linked to an activity that has nothing to do with memorizing words and definitions, reading books or similar pursuits; more exercise may be the key. Let’s see what new research published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research has to say on the matter.
Children ages 6-12 completed a word learning task under two conditions. In the first, children were taught names of different objects and then colored for three minutes before being tested on the words. In the second, instead of coloring, children exercised for three minutes (either aerobic – swimming, or anaerobic – “a Cross-Fit-like workout”). Aerobic exercise proved to be conducive to more accurate word recognition compared to both anaerobic exercise and resting conditions.
These findings likely don’t just mean your children can develop a better vocabulary if they study and then exercise for a few minutes. It could suggest consistent exercise – particularly the aerobic variety –is conductive to better learning. Research supports this potential, with studies associating physical activity with higher GPA, test scores and academic performance in general.
Bottled Water Is 3,500 Times Worse for the Environment than Tap Water, Say Scientists
Tap water is thousands of times better for the environment than bottled water, according to scientists. In fact, it takes three times as much water to produce a plastic bottle as it can hold.
This might not come as a surprise but researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) have crunched the numbers to work out just how much better it actually is.
The research focused on Barcelona, Spain which is home to around 1.35 million people - nearly 60 per cent of whom consume bottled water at least some of the time.
They used something called a “life cycle assessment” which estimates the environmental impact of an item over its entire lifespan. That includes the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use and disposal.
In the US alone water bottle manufacturing takes 1.5 million barrels of oil every year - more than it would take to power 100,000 homes. And that is without the fossil fuel or emissions costs of transporting them to shops.
The ISGlobal study found that if every resident in Barcelona switched to bottled water, extracting the raw materials would cost more than €70 million and lead to the loss of 1.43 animal species every year.
This would be 1400 times more of an impact on ecosystems and 3500 times higher cost to the environment for resources, than if the whole city were to drink tap water instead.