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Advanced NeuroMusculoSkeletal Center's Health
News, Notes and Quotes
Welcome to Health
News, Notes and Quotes. We have selected the
following categories and news items below
because I believe they can help educate you
about the importance of good health and the
benefits of chiropractic.
Articles:
Chiropractic Care
A Hot Way to Ease
Low Back Pain
If you’ve ever had low back pain, you know
that your doctor of chiropractic may try several
different procedures to make you feel better.
While some chiropractors may simply adjust your
back, others may offer a variety of treatments
ranging from heat to certain exercise routines.
A recent study compared the effectiveness of
these other treatments, and found that a
combination of heat and exercise worked better
than either therapy by itself.
Scientists examined 100 people with acute low
back pain and randomized them into one of four
groups. The first group wore a disposable
low-level heat wrap eight hours per day for five
consecutive days; the second group performed a
series of flexion and extension exercises at
various times for five days; the third group
used a combination of exercise and heat wraps;
and the final group received an educational
booklet. At baseline and other intervals, the
patients were examined to determine their
functional ability, along with the intensity of
their low back pain and any relief the therapies
offered.
By the time the study concluded, patients who
received the combination of heat and exercise
showed significant improvements in function,
disability and pain relief compared to the other
groups. In some instances, the improvements were
up to 175 percent greater; no adverse effects
were reported among patients using the
heat-exercise combination.
If you suffer from low back pain, talk to
your doctor of chiropractic about what
treatments may work best for you.
Reference:
Mayer JM, Ralph L, Look M, et al. Treating
acute low back pain with continuous low-level
heat wrap therapy and/or exercise: a randomized
controlled trial. The Spine Journal
2005;5:395-403.
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General Health
Less Fat, Please!
Anyone who’s seen the recent film “Super Size
Me” knows too much fat in the diet can lead to
an amazing array of health problems, the least
of which is weight gain. In healthy people,
about half of the fat derived from food is used
for energy, while the remainder is stored in
adipose tissue for future use. According to a
new study, however, eating too much fat can
accumulate in the liver and cause “fatty liver,”
which can lead to metabolic syndrome, cirrhosis
and other, more sinister disorders.
In this study, researchers sought to
determine the accumulation of fat in the liver
in a group of clinically obese people, all of
whom had been diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty
liver disease (NAFLD). Five days before having a
liver biopsy, study participants were given food
containing fats laced with deuterium, a rare
form of hydrogen, in order to trace the location
of the fat as it coursed through the person’s
body.
Analysis of liver tissue revealed that it
contained significant amounts of fat,
approximately 15 percent of which came from the
diet. In addition, the conversion of dietary
carbohydrates to fatty acids occurred at a rate
nearly five times higher than in healthy people.
Talk to your doctor of chiropractic about
creating a diet plan that includes a healthy
balance of fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
You’ll end up feeling much better – and so will
your liver!
References:
Donnelly KL, Smith CI, Schwarzenberg SJ, et
al. Sources of fatty acids stored in liver and
secreted via lipoproteins in patients with
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The Journal of
Clinical Investigation, May
2005;115(5):1343-1351.
To learn more about how to stay healthy,
visit
www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/general.
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Nutrition & Herbs
Red Meat, Fish and Cancer:
What Are the Risks?
It’s been well-established that consuming
large amounts of red meat may not be good for
you. Less well-known, however, are the benefits
that can come from consuming high quantities of
fish. A new study of more than 478,000 people
has revealed just what type of effects red meat
consumption can have on the body – and how fish
can help nullify those effects.
In the study, researchers examined the health
records of people in 10 European countries.
Among the items measured were daily intakes of
red meat, processed meat, and fish. All of the
people were free of cancer at the start of the
study, but after approximately 5 years, over
1,300 people had been diagnosed with colorectal
cancer.
Results: People eating higher amounts of red
or processed meat (160 or more grams per day)
were significantly more likely to develop bowel
cancer than those who ate lower amounts (less
than 20 grams per day). Fish intake, on the
other hand, seemed to have a protective effect;
people who consumed more than 80 grams of fish
per day were 31 percent less likely to develop
colon cancer, compared to people who consumed
less than 10 grams of fish daily. People who ate
high amounts of fish and low amounts of red meat
were also significantly less likely to have
colorectal cancer than those who ate low amounts
of fish and high amounts of red meat.
The message to take from this study? If you
want to reduce your chances of getting colon
cancer, reduce the amount of red meat you eat,
and start eating more fish. Your doctor of
chiropractic can develop a health plan that
includes a healthy balance of fish and meat,
along with fruits, vegetables, good sources of
dietary fiber, and regular doses of exercise.
For more information on health and nutrition,
visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/nutrition.
For more information on health and nutrition,
visit
www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/nutrition.
References:
Norat T, Bingham S, Ferrari S, et al. Meat,
fish, and colorectal cancer risk: The European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer and
Nutrition. Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, June 15, 2005;97(12):906-916.
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Sports & Fitness
Exercise Cuts the Fat, Keeps
the Bone
They say beauty is only skin deep. Regular
exercise creates benefits that go much deeper.
In addition to making you look better on the
outside, exercising causes significant changes
on the inside, such as strengthening your bones
and muscles. This is especially true among
elderly people, who generally have less bone
mass and muscle tone than the overall
population. A recently published study, however,
has found that routine exercise can help the
elderly gain muscle and lose fat without any
significant losses in bone mass.
In the study, 115 men and women ages 55 to 75
were asked to follow a series of government
recommendations on exercise for 6 months, or to
participate in a supervised program three times
per week, performing a series of stretching,
resistance training and aerobics. People in the
supervised program showed improvements in upper
body strength, lower body strength, lean mass,
body weight, and total body fat, with no
significant changes in bone mineral density in
men. Those who showed the highest gains in
fitness levels actually had an increase in bone
mass. In women, there were slight decreases in
bone mineral density, but these decreases were
comparable to those seen in women who did not
exercise.
As this study shows, not all of the benefits
of exercise are apparent on the outside.
Furthermore, it suggests a regular, moderately
intense exercise program can be useful for
people of all ages. To learn more about the
benefits of exercise, specifically in the senior
population, visit
www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/senior.
References:
Stewart KJ, Bacher AC, Hees PS, et al.
Exercise effects on bone mineral density.
Relationships to changes in fitness and fatness.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, June
2005;28(5):453-460.
For more information on the benefits of
exercise, visit
www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/sports.
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