Healthy Life Newsletter, October 2025
Patient of the Month: Bibi Esquivel
I was having neck and back pain from sitting at a desk all day. My body was holding onto so much stress and tension. The pain in my shoulders, neck and back had lasted for months and was only getting worse. It often interrupted my activities of daily living, And pain meds can only do so much.
A friend recommended Dr. Mha Atma, so I decided to give chiropractic a try. It was the BEST DECISION EVER. You don’t know how much you need it until you have it!
Of course, I had doubts that my issues could be fixed with chiropractic treatment. I had never tried it before.
I found the office to be lovely, with a very homey feel, and I love the selection of teas. Dr. Mha Atma really cares about his patients and thoroughly explains his diagnosis, treatment and home exercises. He recommended regular chiropractic treatments and home stretches to maintain improvement.
I started seeing Dr. Mha Atma about five months ago and my body shows SO much improvement! I stand up straight, walk taller, have better posture, and less pain in my everyday life.
I recommend chiropractic care to all my coworkers—to come and try treatment if they have any pain. And let’s face it, we all have pain. I think chiropractic is amazing. The benefits are fantastic, and everyone should try it and incorporate it into their self-care, just like any other routine to stay healthy.
I’m so grateful to have found this office and Dr. Mha Atma. He takes the time to explain every detail of the treatment in a way that make me feel informed and supported. What I appreciate most is that his care goes beyond adjustments—he genuinely cares about my overall health and well-being. From thoughtful guidance during appointments to the monthly email newsletters he puts together, it’s clear how much effort he puts into being the best doctor he can be—kind, patient and dedicated. I’m always left feeling better.
A Better Life with Chiropractic
Why take your kids to the chiropractor? For many of the same reasons every adult should be visiting a chiropractor on a regular basis. Plain and simple, your quality of life improves with chiropractic care.
Look no further than a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, which evaluated nearly 900 children ages 8-17 who received chiropractic spinal adjustments and related therapies commonly provided by DCs.
Quality of life, measured in terms of depression, anxiety and interference with daily activities due to pain as part of the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)-25 assessment tool, was significantly higher in children under the care of a chiropractor. Specifically, children were significantly less likely to report any symptoms of depression, anxiety or pain interference following a trial of chiropractic care. The researchers also accounted for variables that could have influenced the outcomes, such as number of visits, pain level, motivation for care, etc.
Give your children (and yourself) a better life with chiropractic. The sooner your kids experience the health and wellness benefits of regular chiropractic care, the better. After all, what parent doesn’t want their children to grow up with as little depression, anxiety and pain as possible? Talk to your chiropractor for more information. To learn more about chiropractic for kids, including additional research documenting the safety and health benefits of pediatric chiropractic, visit the website of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA).
Do Headaches Start in the Neck?
While the cause of primary headaches, the most common of which are tension-type headaches and migraines, remains unclear, your chiropractor can help relieve the pain – and prevent it from returning. And that brings us to the neck, specifically the neck muscles, and how inflammation in these muscles can cause headache pain.
Neck pain is commonly associated with primary headaches. Why? Researchers have discovered that inflammatory changes in neck muscles not only increase neck pain, but also the number of days experiencing headaches.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of 50 adults (20-31 years of age) with headaches and 22 healthy controls revealed that T2 values of the trapezius muscles (higher values indicate more inflammation) were significantly greater in people suffering from tension-type plus migraine headaches, corresponding with both an increased number of headache days and the presence of neck pain.
If you’re suffering from neck pain, your chiropractor can help. If you’re suffering from headaches, particularly tension headaches or migraines, this research provides more evidence that your chiropractor also can help. That’s a win-win for you – without having to rely on over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription pain medication. Talk to your chiropractor to learn more.
Stress Buster: Sit Up Straight
What do you feel when you’re stressed? If you’re experiencing a high level of stress right now, this may be an easy exercise for you. For many people, the physical reaction can include a sense of painful, stiff weight on the neck and shoulders; as if some mysterious force is pulling you down, urging you to curl up into a little ball and avoid the stress triggers. That’s stress in a nutshell, and one of the consequences, as you might imagine from the above picture, is poor posture.
According to a recent study, stress might not only cause poor posture; the opposite might actually be the case. The study compared upright, seated posture to slumped seated posture to evaluate how different postures affected emotions / mood, particularly in the face of stress. Results showed that “upright participants reported higher self-esteem, more arousal, better mood, and lower fear, compared to slumped participants.”
The researchers’ concluding remarks were even more revealing: “Adopting an upright seated posture in the face of stress can maintain self-esteem, reduce negative mood, and increase positive mood compared to a slumped posture. Furthermore, sitting upright increases rate of speech and reduces self-focus. Sitting upright may be a simple behavioral strategy to help build resilience to stress.”
The take-home message: Sit up straight and reduce your stress! By the way, proper posture is also a great way to prevent spine-related aches and pains. Talk to your chiropractor for more information.
The Development and Intensity of Chronic Pain is Influenced by Vitamin D
A new systemic review finds that vitamin D levels influences the intensity of pain, with higher levels related to better outcomes among individuals at risk of developing chronic pain
Chronic pain affects approximately 30% of adults world-wide, negatively influencing quality of life, increasing the risk of disabilities, and poorly affecting social relationships. Pharmaceutical drugs often produce insufficient pain relief while also increasing the risk of side effects and addiction.
Meanwhile, vitamin D deficiency has consistently been linked to higher pain intensity, a known risk factor for chronic pain. Observational studies have found that low vitamin D levels are associated with musculoskeletal pain, myalgia, chronic lower back pain, and chronic headaches. It has also been shown that appropriate vitamin D supplementation can result in enhanced pain relief among individuals with certain pain conditions. One study showed a high risk of vitamin D deficiency among those experiencing persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain; supplementation decreased pain, suggesting that the pain could be due to vitamin D deficiency itself.
Could Vitamin D Help Prevent the Development of Chronic Pain?
“…vitamin D plays an important role in pain mechanism development, with emerging evidence suggesting it influences pain perception, inflammation, and nerve function.”
Sometimes, acute pain, due to circumstances or conditions such as surgery, trauma, lower back pain, osteoarthritis, chemotherapy and radiation, can transition into long-term chronic pain. A new systematic review by Abrego-Guandique et al. (June, 2025) explored the existing published evidence to determine if there is a relationship between vitamin D levels and the transition from acute to chronic pain; 14 different studies were included in the review.
To read the rest of this article go to grassrootshealth.net
Drinking Water Boosts Weight Loss
If you drink two cups of water, the adrenal hormone noradrenaline can surge in your bloodstream, similar to the response of smoking a few cigarettes or having a few cups of coffee.
Given the 60 percent surge in noradrenaline within minutes of drinking just two cups of water, might one be able to get the weight-loss benefits of noradrenaline-releasing drugs like ephedra—without the risks? You don’t know until you put it to the test. Published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, the results were described as “uniquely spectacular.” Researchers found that drinking two cups of water increased the metabolic rate of men and women by 30 percent. The increase started within ten minutes and reached a maximum within an hour. In the 90 minutes after drinking one tall glass of water, the study participants burned about an extra 25 calories (100 kJ). Do that four times throughout the day, and you could eliminate 100 additional calories (400 kJ). That’s more than if you had taken ephedra! You’d trim off more calories drinking water than taking weight-loss doses of the banned substance ephedrine (the active component of ephedra) three times a day. And we’re just talking about plain, cheap, safe, and legal tap water.
Using the Ten-Calorie Rule I’ve explained previously, drinking that much water could make us lose ten pounds over time unless we somehow compensated by eating more or moving less. Concluded one research team, “In essence, water drinking provides negative calories.
Read the whole article at nutritionfacts.org.
Four Quick Wins to Minimize Alzheimer’s Risk
What can a person easily do to prevent getting Alzheimer’s later in life? An international Alzheimer’s Prevention Expert Group have calculated that over 80 percent of dementia cases could be prevented, cutting your future risk to less than a quarter, just by tackling four quick wins – more vitamin D, omega-3, B vitamins, and less sugar.
A study in the Netherlands last year found that those having low blood levels of vitamin D, omega-3 (found in oily fish), and B vitamins had more than four times the risk of developing dementia. The fourth quick win is cutting back on sugar and sugary drinks. A study just published this month in the Neurology journal involving 2 million people shows that those with sugar problems (metabolic syndrome) are 24% more likely to develop dementia early. Diabetics have double the risk of cognitive decline.
To read the rest of this article go to grassrootshealth.net
Turn Back Time with Exercise
Aging is something most of us assume is out of our control. Each birthday adds another number, and over time, we expect our bodies to slow down, stiffen and wear out. But scientists are discovering that the story of aging is not so simple – and not so inevitable.
New research suggests one of the most powerful tools for keeping your body biologically young isn’t tucked away in a lab or sold in a bottle. It’s something you can do today: exercise.
The Science Behind Cellular Aging
When it comes to aging, there’s more than just the number of candles on your cake. Scientists often measure “biological age” using what’s called an epigenetic clock. This clock tracks subtle chemical markers on your DNA that reveal how fast your cells – and in turn, your body – are really aging.
In a new study published in Aging (August 2025), researchers reviewed mounting evidence that exercise doesn’t just slow the clock; it may actually help wind it back.
More than Muscles: A Whole-Body Effect
While exercise is often praised for building strength or burning calories, its influence reaches much deeper. The review found that aerobic activity and strength training can slow or reverse aging markers not just in muscle tissue, but also in the heart, liver, fat, and even the gut.
In both human studies and animal research, these changes suggest exercise is working at the cellular level to preserve or even restore youthful function.
Why This Matters for Everyday Life
The implications are striking. Instead of relying on futuristic drugs, the key to longevity may already be within reach. Regular workouts could act as a kind of natural anti-aging treatment, keeping the body resilient and energetic well into later life.
That means the steps you take on a morning walk, the weights you lift in the gym, or the laps you swim in the pool may not only make you fitter today – they could be protecting your future health by slowing down the biological clock ticking inside you.
Putting It into Practice
So, what does this mean for your weekly routine? Experts recommend aiming for:
Aerobic activity such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming for at least 150 minutes per week
Strength training 2–3 times per week using weights, resistance bands or bodyweight exercises
Consistency over intensity: regular movement counts most, not occasional all-out efforts
The Bottom Line
Aging may be natural, but it isn’t entirely beyond our influence. This research adds to a growing body of evidence that exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have – not just for fitness or weight management, but also for staying younger at the cellular level.
So, the next time you lace up your sneakers, remember: You’re not just working out for today; you may be training your body to stay biologically younger for years to come. Talk to your doctor for more information on slowing your body’s epigenetic clock.