Healthy Life Newsletter, March 2024
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.
Half and Half
Aerobic exercise is a proven, recommended activity for improving heart (cardiovascular) health; that’s why it’s nicknamed “cardio.” However, it’s not the only form of exercise that can strengthen your heart and prevent heart-related illness. Resistance training is also important – and combining the two in equal amounts may be as effective as aerobic exercise alone.
In a one-year study involving 400-plus adults (ages 35-70), researchers assigned participants to one of four groups for comparison: no exercise, aerobic exercise only (treadmill or stationary bike), resistance exercise (weight machines) only, or aerobic and resistance exercise. All participants were overweight/obese and had high blood pressure at the start of the study.
In the three groups that exercised under supervision for the year (one hour, three times weekly), body fat decreased significantly compared to the group that did not exercise, with body-fat reductions associated with lower risks of cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and metabolic syndrome. The combined-exercise group had the lowest scores for cardiovascular disease risk.
If you don’t have a gym membership or exercise equipment at home, don’t worry; there are countless ways to do aerobic and resistance exercise without either. Ask your doctor for help outlining a combined aerobic-resistance exercise program that will help optimize your heart health – and get you in better shape at the same time!
Your Brain Needs a Pet
Love your pet? Of course you do. But your heart isn’t the only organ in your body that benefits from pet ownership. Your brain loves pets, too; so much so that your risk of cognitive decline is lower if you own one. Let’s see what new research suggests about why your brain needs a pet, particularly as you get older.
If you’re getting older and live alone, your pet may offset the association between living alone and declining cognitive function – particularly when it comes to verbal memory and verbal fluency. That’s the finding from a study published in JAMA Network Open that evaluated living status, pet ownership and cognitive decline in nearly 7,500 adults ages 50 and older.
Specifically, the study found that living alone accelerated cognitive decline – but pet ownership appeared to mitigate the increased risk. That’s probably because people who live alone, but who have a pet, aren’t really living alone! Sure, they don’t have human companionship; but many pet owners might say that their pet is just as good (if not better). When it comes to brain health, it appears to make perfect sense.
Keep in mind that other research makes it clear that as we age, social interaction (with humans) is an important variable that helps us stay healthy and happy, too, so pet ownership isn’t the be-all, end-all. Age well by staying fit, eating right, minimizing stress – and as these results show, keeping companions – human and pet – front and center in your life.
That Pain in Your Back? It’s Really a Pain in Your Brain
BY NATHANIEL FRANK
As a chronic pain sufferer, I sometimes surprise people by telling them that my pain doesn’t have a physical cause. It’s a mind-body thing, I say, related to stress and emotions. To many, this sounds like admitting to being a little bit crazy. And when I up the ante by suggesting they’ve probably had this kind of pain too, some become outright angry, interpreting my words to mean their pain is “all in their head.”
All of which makes a new study published in the Journal of Pain a big deal. It offers robust evidence that the overwhelming majority of chronic back and neck pain cases — among the most common chronic pain complaints — come from the mind, despite the fact that most diagnoses cite a physical cause, such as bulging disks or bone spurs.
In the new study, doctors assessed 222 consecutive pain patients at an orthopedic care clinic in Louisiana — everyone who showed up, as long as they could complete a questionnaire. Just 12% showed evidence of a structural problem as the root of their pain. Eighty-eight percent, on the other hand, had what the researchers call “primary pain,” which refers to symptoms generated by neural circuits in the brain rather than by “structural” damage to the body.
Based on this and prior research, the authors believe that a process in the brain initiates the non-structural pain. The sensations could be the residual pain from a bodily wound that healed but didn’t notify the brain. Or the brain may have generated pain in the absence of any injury, perhaps in an effort to protect the patients from emotional wounds by occupying their attention with physical sensations instead.
To read the rest of this article go to: latimes.com.
Yes to Chiropractic
And no to most drugs, says the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently released its “Guideline for Non-Surgical Management of Chronic Primary Low Back Pain in Adults in Primary and Community Care Settings.” The purpose of the document is to “provide evidence-based recommendations on nonsurgical interventions for chronic primary LBP in adults” that will improve outcomes. “Spinal manipulative therapy” which includes chiropractic, is among the interventions the guideline recommends for all adults, including older adults. In addition to spinal manipulative therapy, the guideline is also in favor of structured exercise, acupuncture, massage, and topical cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens).
Among the medication interventions the guideline recommends against are opioids, antidepressants (tricyclic, serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), skeletal muscle relaxants, injectable local anaesthetics and pharmacological weight-loss medications. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) continue to be the only recommended pharmacotherapy.
Acetaminophen, benzodiazepines and cannabis-related pharmaceutical preparations received “no recommendation,” while listing potential harmful effects including “cardiovascular, renal and gastrointestinal harms and increased mortality risk” for acetaminophen; “potential harms including memory impairment, misuse, overdose deaths from respiratory depression, somnolence, fatigue and light-headedness potentially leading to falls” for benzodiazepines; and “evidence of possible adverse events, including harms associated with its nonmedicinal use” for cannabis-related pharmaceutical preparations.
Within the short list of recommended interventions, most chiropractors provide at least three: spinal manipulation, structured exercise and massage. Some also provide acupuncture as part of a multidisciplinary clinic. Thus, it is not hard to conclude that doctors of chiropractic should be the first choice when it comes to chronic low-back pain management.
Stress Consequences
Eat right? Exercise religiously? Too much stress in your life can lead to metabolic syndrome anyway, elevating your risk of diabetes and other health issues. The mechanism behind the connection? Inflammation.
Metabolic syndrome (also known as insulin resistance syndrome) is characterized by excess belly fat, high blood pressure, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high fasting blood glucose. For a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, you need to be suffering from at least three of the five variables.
Researchers have found that not only is there a link between stress and metabolic syndrome, but that inflammation explains more than 60% of the association. Findings appear in the research journal Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health.
The bad news: It’s estimated the approximately one in three U.S. adults suffers from metabolic syndrome, either diagnosed or undiagnosed. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, metabolic syndrome increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke – or all three.
There’s good news, though: It stands to reason that reducing your stress can reduce the risk factors that lead to metabolic syndrome. As many of the variables are related to exercise and eating habits (when we’re stressed, we’re less likely to work out or eat right), it makes perfect sense.
15 Minutes a Day
No matter how busy you think you are, we’re guessing you can find a mere 15 minutes a day to do something that will effectively cancel out one of the major health risks you may be facing. We’re talking about a sedentary lifestyle (particularly sitting), and only 15 minutes of sitting less can counter it, according to research.
While people who spend most of their workday sitting are more likely to die sooner of any cause and specifically from cardiovascular (heart) disease compared with people who don’t sit much at work, increasing physical activity away from work by at least 15 minutes daily appears to mitigate the increased risk. The people who sat most of the day, but increased their activity, had similar health risks compared to the people who didn’t sit much, but were essentially inactive away from work.
Published in JAMA Network Open, the study was big (nearly 500,000 adults), with participants followed for more than a decade after researchers initially assessed their sedentary behavior. Of note, people who alternated sitting and standing (e.g., with a sit-stand desk) during work hours also had similar risks as people who sat less (non-sitters).
The bottom line: Get up and move more! Whether it’s during the workday or after you get home, make sure you keep your body moving. You’ll live longer and live healthier. (This is one of many studies suggesting, as we’ve said before, that “movement is life.”) If you struggle to motivate yourself to get active after a busy workday, ask your doctor for help outlining a post-work exercise routine. Remember, a mere 15 minutes makes a big difference.
5 Foods You Should Be Eating Every Day
In our world of fast food, microwaveable meals and processed, boxed, bagged empty calories, too many of us are getting less and less of the foods we should be eating. Let’s change that right now: Stock your fridge with these five foods and eat them every day (or at least most days).
You’ll feel better and be healthier for it:
1. Broccoli: Who knew a little green “tree” could pack so much power? We do, and so should you. Broccoli contains sulfur compounds (e.g., sulforaphane) that help fight cancer, and research proves it. Can’t stomach broccoli? Try dicing it into your favorite dish or pulverizing it into a smoothie.
2. Berries: Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries – you name it! Berries have a long list of health benefits, not the least of which are protection against chronic disease and cancer. So get your daily antioxidants with a cup of berries today!
3. Oats: Worried about high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart health in general? It’s oats to the rescue! This whole grain features beta-glucan, which helps keep cholesterol and BP in the safe range. So swap out those high-sugar cereals and plain bagels with a cup of oats every morning; your heart will thank you for it.
4. Lean Protein: It’s a carb world, at least in the United States, and those excess carbohydrates are leading to weight gain, diabetes and a host of other health complications. The solution: balance your diet with more protein! Protein contains amino acids, the building blocks of muscle; and may help increase your metabolism, which in turn will help burn more fat. Think fish, skinned turkey or chicken, beans, tofu, yogurt (particularly Greek yogurt), or powdered protein sources for your favorite shake.
5. Tea: Sodas and sweetened beverages are destroying our teeth, promoting weight gain and leading to insulin resistance. Go the healthier route by switching to plain water and tea, the latter of which has been shown to protect against heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Cannabis on Fertility and Pregnancy
To read the full article go to: nutritionfacts.org
Key Takeaways
About one in six couples are labeled infertile and unable to conceive after a year, and a male factor has been identified in up to half of all cases.
Smoking cigarettes has been linked to diminished sperm production, and smoking cannabis more than once weekly has been associated with 28 percent lower sperm concentration and lower total sperm count (though no adverse association was found for use less than once a week).
Findings were similar for women: A quarter fewer eggs were retrieved from women who used cannabis more than 90 times in their lifetime or had been using the year before.
Medical authorities encourage women who are pregnant, contemplating pregnancy, or breastfeeding to discontinue marijuana use, but use has increased in recent years despite the warnings.
Risk factors have been identified, such as infants being more likely to be anemic or have lower birth weight, but because of confounding factors, it’s “difficult to determine the direct effects of maternal cannabis use on the developing fetus.”
Links have been found between prenatal marijuana exposure and learning problems later in life, highlighting concerns about the potential long-term effects on brain development.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Check out my video Natural Treatments for Morning Sickness to see how marijuana use during pregnancy can sometimes be a lifesaver.