Healthy Life Newsletter, January 2026
A Note from Dr. Mha Atma
Happy New Year! The year 2026 promises to be another challenging one for many folks but it can also be a year of growth, service, renewal and transformation.. We are all challenged to take very good care of ourselves–physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually–so that we can enjoy life and do our part to make our world a little better. Our job at Khalsa Chiropractic continues to be to support and encourage you to do the things that will help you become and stay healthy and then share those things with others. Sometimes just being kind to yourself and then to the folks you encounter in your life. can make a real difference in our world. Do what you can, and never give up!
Any day of the year we can choose to step back, take stock of our life and our circumstances and our needs, resources, challenges, desires, hopes and dreams, and set or renew our goals and intentions. But the beginning of a New Year often seems a logical time to do so. Our intention might include to create or promote a healthy life for ourselves, our families, and our world. This newsletter aims to provide some information and ideas to help you do so.
Patient of the Month: Hock Jaheemjahmah
In 2005 I had severe back pain. I could not walk. I was referred to Khalsa Chiropractic for treatment. By the time my visit was over I was instantly cured and I have been a patient ever since.
Doctors I had previously seen for my back pain were not helpful: a lot of machines and medications. My friend Kori told me about Dr. Mha Atma and how he had helped her. She suggested I see him. I had never been to a chiropractor before and I definitely had doubts. I didn’t see how simple cracking of bones would help.
I found the office to be very welcoming with an extremely friendly staff and a relaxing atmosphere. Dr. Mha Atma adjusted me and suggested I return the following week, which I did. The results were excellent—I had no more pain and I could walk again. And I have continued to return for treatment for 20 years. I continue because I like the office and the staff and I love the results I get from my visits. Dr. Mha Atma is the best chiropractor in town. And I love having a stronger back, spine and posture.
I have told neighbors, my barber and co-workers about the benefits of chiropractic. I think it helps the actual underlying issue, while traditional medical practice only gives out medication to mask the real problem. I encourage others to have an open mind and give it a try.
Dr. Mha Atma always shares advice and handouts on how to live better. I appreciate his talent and service a lot.
Practice: Steadying the Heart in Uncertain Times
In moments of overwhelm and distress, try this simple practice:
1. Pause & Feel: Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Notice where sorrow or heaviness resides in your body.
2. Soften & Name It: Gently acknowledge what’s present. You might note, “This is grief,” or “This is sadness,” making room for it to be held in loving awareness.
3. Breathe In Compassion: Imagine your breath caring for you—filling your whole being with strength and steadiness.
4. Breathe Out Connection: As you exhale, send some tender caring to all who are suffering, remembering that you are not alone in this.
5. Remember Joy: Finally, call to mind a small moment of joy—a kind smile, a sunrise, the sound of raindrops and laughter – something to uplift you.
From Trudy Goodman at Insight L.A. sptr.eocampaign1.com
Chronic Pain Can Wreck Your Life
_But It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way_
Chronic pain is pain that stays around, rather than going away after a short time (with or without treatment). Chronic pain is pain that lasts 3-6 months or longer …sometimes much longer. In fact, many people end up trying to “live” with their pain. The problem with chronic pain, besides the pain itself, is that it can do real damage to your quality of life for years – even decades.
Case in point: a new study that suggests people who experience chronic pain are more likely to experience poor general health, poor mental health outcomes and even joblessness years later. The study tracked pain patients from an average age of 44 through their 50s and 60s. Both short-term and chronic pain at age 44 predicted pain and poor health in later decades. Chronic pain in particular at age 44 was associated with pain (bodily pain and back pain) poor mental health (depression and general unhappiness), lower life satisfaction, poor sleep (fewer hours per night, more likely to be “troubled”) and joblessness at age 55. Findings appear in the research journal PLoS One.
In other words, chronic pain can wreck your life! But it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s where your doctor of chiropractic comes in. By evaluating and treating the root cause of your pain, your doctor can not only help avoid short-term pain from becoming chronic; he/she can also help prevent the pain from returning. In fact, you may prevent the pain from occurring in the first place if you receive consistent, preventive care from your doctor.
Note from Dr. Mha Atma: Chiropractic care can be a vital solution to chronic pain. But there can be other healthy solutions, , which can include an anti-inflammation diet (as outlined in the book The Deflame Diet by David Seaman, available in our office or on line), rehabilitative exercise, acupuncture, and a mindfulness-based approach to “neuroplastic pain” (as outlined in the book The Way Out by Alan Gordon, available in our office or on line).
Eat to Sleep: Do’s & Don’ts
The painful reality is a considerable percentage of the population doesn’t get enough sleep and/or doesn’t sleep well. The reasons are varied and include everything from stress to technology; distracting sleep environment to “too many reasons to stay up”; and more.
What’s often overlooked / underappreciated in the sleep wellness conversation is how profoundly our eating habits can impact sleep. Let’s take a look at some of the eating do’s and don’ts that can determine whether you get a good night’s sleep … or just the opposite.
An extensive literature review published in the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics examined 45 years’ worth of studies (1975-2021) that focused on sleep quality and diet. Based on 20 studies that met the research criteria for inclusion in the review, three important points emerged; let’s call them the do’s and don’ts of eating for healthy sleep:
Diets higher in fiber-containing complex carbohydrates (whole grains) and healthier fats (avocado, nuts, etc.)
Diets higher in protein, particularly low-saturated-fat protein (fish, chicken, tofu, etc.).
Diets higher in fruits and vegetables, and low in saturated fat (red meat is one of the biggies to avoid)
Researchers evaluated “quality sleep” via various metrics including REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, deep (non-REM) sleep, how long it took to stay asleep, and frequency of waking after falling asleep. While the research doesn’t necessarily establish a clear causal link between diet and sleep, it makes sense. If you want to test the findings, start by evaluating how well you sleep – and how well you eat. If you’re not sleeping well, try following the dietary guidelines above and see what happens. We think you’ll sleep better, feel better – and definitely be healthier!
Baby Deserves Better
Antibiotic overuse is well-documented, particularly for viral conditions; medical doctors still seem to prescribe them for non-bacterial infections (bacterial infections are the only ones antibiotics can treat).
During pregnancy and a baby’s first year, antibiotic use is particularly ill-advised unless absolutely necessary. Why? One reason is that it increases the risk that your baby will develop this health condition.
The condition: eosinophilic esophagitis – inflammation and swelling of the esophagus; the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach. Maternal and infant antibiotic use were associated with an increased risk of the infant developing eosinophilic esophagitis, with higher antibiotic use increasing the risk vs. lower use. Use closer to delivery (third trimester to first six months after birth) seemed to yield the highest risk.
Currently, eosinophilic esophagitis has no cure; it is a chronic condition typically managed with dietary changes and – you guessed it – medication.
Interestingly, researchers found a similar association when evaluating maternal and infant acid suppressant use. Study findings are reported in JAMA Pediatrics, a journal of the American Medical Association dedicated to pediatric research.
The takeaway? Ask questions during pregnancy and your baby’s first year whenever your medical doctor prescribes anything for you or your baby. Your health, and the health of your baby, depend on it.
Your Brain Needs Exercise
Could twice a week be all it takes? We’re talking about exercise, specifically resistance exercise, and its ability to help seniors suffering from age-related mild cognitive decline (MCI). A review study in Neurology revealed twice-weekly resistance training for 26 weeks proved more effective than aerobic exercise in terms of improving “executive functioning” – the ability to plan, manage and organize thoughts.
Deficiencies in executive functioning are one of several symptoms characteristic of MCI.
The study authors suggest exercise in general (resistance and aerobic exercise) may be beneficial for MCI according to their review, going so far as to add it to a clinical practice guideline for the condition. The guideline has already been endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association. The authors also note that per their research review, little high-quality evidence suggests medications currently used to treat MCI (which raises the risk of dementias such as Alzheimer’s) are effective.
So, exercise works, medication doesn’t. Where have we heard that before? Your doctor can tell you more about how to treat mild cognitive decline and reduce your risk of age-related brain atrophy the drug-free way.
(Note from Dr, Mha Atma: Research also shows that muscle-building exercise, besides preventing age-related muscle wasting and frailty in older folks, optimizes blood sugar metabolism, preventing pre-diabetes and diabetes, which in turn greatly reduces the odds of developing heart disease and strokes.)
Even a Modest Amount of Walking May Protect Against Alzheimer’s
A new study suggests just 3,000 to 7,500 steps per day can slow early cognitive decline by 3 to 7 years in older adults at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Key Takeaways
A modest increase in physical activity can delay early cognitive decline in older adults at risk of Alzheimer’s, according to a new study.
Adults who got 3,000 to 7,500 steps per day slowed mental decline by three to seven years compared with inactive adults.
The findings underscore that small, consistent amounts of physical activity boosted brain health, particularly in people who had been sedentary.
To read the whole article, go to everydayhealth.com
The ADHD Diet
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common pediatric neurodevelopmental conditions, affecting nearly one in 10 children ages 2-17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If your child has an unusually hard time paying attention or controlling impulsive behaviors, they may be suffering from ADHD.
The condition is chronic, although symptoms may wane with age and management strategies may be successful. One strategy: Research suggests what we feed our kids can actually impact ADHD symptoms significantly. What’s the secret? More of this … and this.
We’re talking about fruits and vegetables, and the benefits of consistently eating them, whether young or old, aren’t limited to ADHD improvements. However, research findings published in Nutritional Neuroscience suggest fruit and veggie consumption plays a key role in reducing one of the hallmark symptoms of ADHD: problems with attention.
After reviewing questionnaires completed by parents of ADHD-symptomatic children that detailed the typical foods / portions their children ate over a three-month period, researchers discovered that children who ate more fruits and vegetables had less severe episodes of inattention compared with children who ate fewer fruits and veggies.
Considering that ADHD is commonly managed with medication (Adderall and Ritalin, among others), which have potential side effects more damaging than the ADHD symptoms they’re designed to treat, understanding that eating more fruits and vegetables can help is great news. Talk to your doctor for more information about natural ADHD treatment and how improving your child’s diet can benefit not only their ADHD, but also their overall health.
Breathing for BP
With all the blood pressure-lowering medications on the market, it’s easy to be convinced that drugs are the only solution for high BP. That’s not the case; in fact, lowering your blood pressure may be achievable by doing something your body does naturally approximately 20,000 times per day: taking a breath.
OK, not exactly, but researchers are definitely on to something. A five-minute daily breathing workout that involves breathing through a hand-held device that provides resistance (30 breaths per day, six days a week) appears to reduce systolic blood pressure dramatically after six weeks – as much or more as that achieved by walking 30 minutes daily, five days a week, or taking BP-lowering medication Study findings, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, suggest that results are maintained for at least six weeks after discontinuing the breathing workout.
The breathing exercise is known as High-Resistance Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST), and it’s actually not new. It was developed in the 1980s to help patients critically ill with respiratory diseases. You may not have a resistance device such as that used in IMST protocols, but that doesn’t mean you can’t train your breathing muscles in the same fashion. It’s all about teaching your body to breathe under conditions that involve “resistance” - more challenging than the norm. Think any type of exercise that makes you breathe harder; perhaps swimming is an ideal example (which may explain why swimming is regarded as an excellent exercise for reducing BP and optimizing cardiovascular health overall). Your doctor can tell you more about how exercise and diet play a huge role in preventing high blood pressure and helping reduce it if it’s too high.
(Note from Dr. Mha Atma: Breathing exercises, aerobic exercise, magnesium supplements, an anti-inflammation diet, and meditation have all been shown to help lower blood pressure, all with only positive side effects.}
Fast Food Slows Down Fertility
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 6 million women ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant. Infertility, defined as not being able to get pregnant after one year of trying (for women under age 35) and after six months for women age 35 and older, can be devastating for couples who long to start or grow their family.
Fast food isn’t doing women any service when it comes to fertility, according to a study in Human Reproduction. Women who rarely or never ate fast food had an 8 percent risk of infertility, while the risk was double in women who ate fast food at least four times a week.
Interestingly, fruit intake also influenced fertility: Women with the highest fruit intake had an 8 percent risk of experiencing infertility, whereas the risk jumped to 12 percent in women with the lowest fruit intake. A direct connection between fruit intake and fast-food intake was not established, but one can at least generally assume that people who eat lots of fast food may be inclined to eat less fruit (vegetables and other healthy whole foods).
If you’re trying to become pregnant, talk to your doctor about the potential role your diet may play in the process. A few fewer trips through the drive through may make the process a whole lot smoother.