Healthy Life Newsletter, January 2022
Randomized Clinical Trial Shows Benefits of Vitamin D for COVID-19 Recovery
A study gave patients hospitalized with Covid either 1,000 or 5,000 IU/day of vitamin D3 for just two weeks. All subjects started with low D levels under 30 ng/ml. The group receiving 1,000/day exhibited no change in D levels, while those receiving 5,000/day had a 19% increase in 2 weeks and their symptoms of cough and loss of smell improved significantly faster. Read more details about this study, and you can see an actual abstract.
Most children are not getting enough vitamin D
According to 2009-2014 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on children under the age of 18 in the United States, 93% of children in the general US population have vitamin D levels below 40 ng/ml (deficient) and 16% below 20 ng/ml (very deficient). Vitamin D levels tend to drop among children and teens as they age, likely due to the need for increased intake as they grow bigger. A general requirement for vitamin D intake from all sources is around 35 IU/pound per day, on average.Not testing children’s levels as they age and grow can easily lead to vitamin D levels below what is recommended. Studies show children can also benefit from having enough vitamin D to help decrease the risk of severe COVID-19. More information on vitamin D for children.
Taking Aspirin to Prevent a Heart Attack? Not So Fast
In recent years, taking aspirin to prevent a heart attack has become more than just a recommendation for people at high risk for experiencing a cardiac event
(or who’ve already suffered one).
More and more healthy people from middle age on are taking daily aspirin as a preventive measure, “just in case.” Not so fast.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, “an independent panel of experts in
primary care and prevention that systematically reviews the evidence of effectiveness and develops recommendations for clinical preventive services,” has issued a draft recommendation on aspirin use for heart disease / stroke prevention. According to the recommendation:
Adults ages 40-49 who are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease
(but do not have a history of CVD) should discuss whether to start taking aspirin with their doctor (not just start taking it on their own).
Adults ages 60 and older should not begin taking aspirin for heart disease.
The draft recommendation is based on a risk vs. benefit evaluation of taking
aspirin. According to the task force, particularly in seniors ages 60 and older, “once people turn 60 years old, they should not consider starting to take aspirin because the risk of bleeding cancels out the benefits of preventing heart disease. The latest information also shows a closer balance of benefits and harms than previously understood.”
Most people don’t know that aspirin and a long list of, well, every other medication, has potential risks associated with their use. That’s why nondrug options should be your first choice whenever possible; and why when your medical doctor suggests a prescription, you always ask about the risk vs. benefit and whether other options that don’t involve taking drugs are available. It’s your health; take ownership of it starting today.
Why Too Much Screen Time Is Bad for Your Young Child’s Brain
Excessive screen time may be “associated with differences in the structural integrity of brain white matter tracts that support language and literacy skills in preschool-aged children,” according to research.
What’s considered “excessive” when it comes to screen time? Per the study, findings from which appear in the research journal Pediatrics, more than one hour per day of non-quality screen time impacts brain “tracts involved with language, executive function, and emergent literacy abilities” in this age group.
Current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend a limit of one hour or less of high-quality educational programming per day for children ages 2-5. The AAP excludes “quality time interacting with others” from the screen-time limit (e.g., video chatting with grandparents or other family friends).
One hour or less a day? If you’re wondering how you can possibly keep your child away from the screen - any screen - for that amount of time every day, here are some tips from the AAP that may help:
“Be with young kids during screen time and interact with them. That can mean playing an educational game with your child or talking about something you see together in an age-appropriate TV show or video.
Research games and apps before getting them for your child. Thousands of apps and games claim to be educational, but not all of them are. Search online to see which ones educators and doctors consider the best. When possible, preview before sharing with your child.
Schedule plenty of non-screen time into your child’s day. Playtime is important for learning and building creativity. Preschoolers should have time to play away from screens every day. Schedule lots of time for hands-on learning and interacting with caregivers and friends. Also, make sure your child is physically active every day and gets plenty of sleep.
Turn off screens during meals and at least 1 hour before bed. Keep TVs and other electronics out of kids’ bedrooms.
Set a good example. Turn off TVs and other screens when not in use. Don’t leave screens on in the background. Turn off or mute your phone when you’re not using it, like during family meals, and make time to focus on playing with your child.”
Time for Less Sodium
If the average American tabulated their daily sodium (salt) intake, they’d probably be floored - approximately 3,400 milligrams a day. When you consider that the recommended daily limit is more than 1,000 mg below that number, you can see the problem.
Add to that the health consequences of excess sodium intake, including high blood pressure, heart disease ans stroke, and you can see why addressing sodium, namely by reducing how much we consume every day, is so critical. A recent paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association titled, “Reducing Sodium Intake in the US: Healthier Lives, Healthier Future,”
emphasizes the necessity and potential health benefits of reducing sodium intake. According to the authors, who rely on data from several major sources including What We Eat in America, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2016; and Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, reducing average daily sodium intake to 3,000 mg/day (still substantially
above the 2,300 mg/day recommendation, but at least a start) “could produce large public health benefits, resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality as well as cost savings.”
The 3,000 mg/day limit is a short-term target goal issued by the Food and Drug Administration for industry - significant because industry (e.g., the companies that make all the preprepared and/or packaged foods Americans increasingly eat) is often the culprit when it comes to the sodium problem. In fact, as the authors state, “More than 70% of sodium intake in the US is from packaged
food and food prepared away from home, including restaurants and food service operations; just 11% of sodium intake is from sodium added at the table or in cooking at home and almost all of the rest is inherent in foods.”
So, while we wait for restaurants, fast-food chains, frozen-food manufacturers and others to change their sodium habits, what can you do to kick-start your life without (as much) sodium? Easy: prepare more food at home from scratch, where you can control how much salt you flavor your foods with (if any at all). Let’s start kicking sodium to the curb and reap the health benefits in the process.
Why Opioids Became an Epidemic and How Chiropractors Can Help Solve It
Need another reason to avoid opioids and embrace drugless options such as
chiropractic care for pain relief (not to mention pain prevention)? Try money and manipulation – both used shamelessly by opioid manufacturers to fuel the opioid epidemic, which costs nearly 100 Americans their lives every day.
While growing awareness of the opioid crisis has spurred ongoing changes at both the policy and practice level, it might not have been necessary if not for the relationship between opioid manufacturers and advocacy groups, according to a shocking new report from the U.S. Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee.
Evidence That Can’t Be Ignored
Fueling an Epidemic: Exposing the Financial Ties Between Opioid Manufacturers and Third-Party Advocacy Groups “provides the first comprehensive snapshot of the financial connections between opioid manufacturers and advocacy groups and professional societies operating in the area of opioids policy,” according to the executive summary, which outlines the disturbing nature of the “connections” and their impact on the opioid epidemic:
“Disclosures from Purdue Pharma L.P., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mylan N.V., Depomed, Inc., and Insys Therapeutics, Inc. … describe nearly $9 million in payments from these manufacturers to 14 outside groups working on chronic pain and other opioid-related issues between 2012 and 2017. In addition, physicians affiliated with these groups accepted more than $1.6 million in payments from the five manufacturers between 2013 and the present.”
“Initiatives from the groups in this report often echoed and amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use — and ultimately, the financial interests of opioid manufacturers. These groups have issued guidelines and policies minimizing the risk of opioid addiction and promoting opioids for chronic pain, lobbied to change laws directed at curbing opioid use, and argued against accountability for physicians and industry executives responsible for overprescription and misbranding.”
Why Chiropractic Matters More than Ever
If there’s any possible upside to the opioid epidemic, it’s that the crisis is now front and center. Policy- and practice-level changes are being implemented to replace prescription pain-relief medications such as opioids with safer alternatives as the first option – including chiropractic care. Of course, chiropractors have always practiced drugless care and provided effective, natural pain relief for a variety of conditions. Now, they’re being increasingly recognized for that care not only on its own merits, but as a better, safer option that can save lives by helping patients avoid opioids – and the horrible conspiracy that fueled their use and abuse. Chiropractors didn’t cause the opioid crisis, but they sure can help end it. Talk to your chiropractor for more
information.
Making the Pain Worse
When you’re experiencing pain, you want relief – as quickly as possible. Pain caused by migraine headaches, often described by sufferers as among the worst pain imaginable, is the perfect example. Migraine sufferers
want relief – immediate and total relief. That desire for relief often leads to medication use, either over the counter or something stronger – and more dangerous – such as opioids.
The opioid epidemic continues to kill hundreds of Americans every day due to misuse, abuse and addiction. Research suggests when it comes to managing migraine pain, opioids have another major drawback; they accomplish the exact opposite of what they’re intended to accomplish: pain relief. Opioids appear to increase both the frequency and severity of migraines, and researchers now understand why.
Migraine pain and pain caused by opioid overuse seem to share a specific peptide – a chain of amino acids that can regulate brain-signaling pathways, among other functions. The peptide in question is called pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide, but knowing its name is far less important than appreciating its role in
migraine and opioid pain – and understanding that opioid use can actually make migraine pain worse. Study findings are published in Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.
The moral to the story: Use opioids at your own peril, particularly if you suffer from migraines. Talk to your doctor about nondrug solutions for your pain, whether from migraines or any other issue.