Reduce Calories for Your Heart's Sake

With the all holiday goodies and parties this time of year it is good to try to remember to try to keep the eating under control "for your hearts sake!" Dr. K

For decades, health professionals have believed that those who eat less tend to live longer, and a study recently released from the University of Wisconsin offers even more support for this belief. Researchers measured how caloric intake affects heart function and came to the conclusion that less food could possibly result in a healthier heart. "Based on our finding, it appears that if people reduce their current calorie intake between 20 and 40%, even starting in middle age, they may delay the development of heart disease or possibly even prevent it," according to professor of genetics Tomas Prolla, PhD. When hearts get older, the cells change their source of energy from fat molecules to carbohydrate molecules. Carbohydrate molecules are burned at a faster rate, which leaves the heart with less energy to perform its functions. In effect, the heart becomes stressed out - the first step of heart failure. But, when Prolla's team reduced the caloric intake of mice, the change in energy sources was seen less than those who maintained a normal caloric intake.

Allison, David B., Brand, Jaap, Lee, Cheol-Koo, Prolla, Tomas A., Weindruch, Richard. (2002) Transcriptional profiles associated with aging and middle age-onset caloric restriction in mouse hearts. PNAS 99: 14988-14993.

Tea causes Cancer?

We all have probably heard tea is good for us right? Well this next article suggest maybe not!
Keeping you Healthy,
Dr. K

A Cup of Hot Tea Is Good for You -- Or Is It?

Sitting down with a nice cup of hot tea feels positively virtuous these days. Every time we glance up at the evening news, there’s been another scientist telling us how good tea is for our health -- it’s those antioxidants! But now here comes another study with a decidedly different take -- tea can be dangerous... and the danger is cancer.

Tea? Cancer? Really? The study being reported found that drinking hot tea seems to be the reason people in a certain area of northern Iran have one of the world’s highest rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, an often deadly form of the disease. For the study, published in the online edition of BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal), researchers interviewed 300 people with esophageal cancer and 571 of their healthy neighbors. All had similar backgrounds and habits -- including regular tea drinking. The difference? Compared with those who drank their tea warm or lukewarm, people who drank their tea "very hot" were eight times as likely to develop cancer, and those who drank it "hot" were twice as likely. In other words, it seemed that the culprit might not be the tea -- but the temperature. Well, I thought, maybe there’s hope yet for us tea drinkers.

The Clearest Risk Factor

As we go to the study author, Farhad Islami, MD, PhD, at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, we learn more. He says that this particular group of Iranians were at otherwise low risk for esophageal squamous cell cancer -- very few smoked and most did not drink alcohol, two very significant risk factors for that disease. The study showed that tea drinking was a common habit among all subpopulations in the region (a total of 48,500 people) and that approximately 25% of the people there drink their tea at the hottest level -- about 149°F or higher. This was verified later when researchers actually measured the temperature. ("Hot" was considered to be 149°F to 158°F... and "very hot," above 158°F.) Although researchers aren’t sure why this is a problem, they believe that the heat may trigger inflammatory processes that stimulate potentially carcinogenic compounds in the esophageal mucous membranes. Perhaps even more likely, Dr. Islami says, is the fact that high heat can damage the esophageal lining, making it less able to protect itself against carcinogens coming in from the outside world.

Okay Then, What About Coffee?

America, of course, is a land of coffee drinkers, many of whom like their brew piping hot. Based on what the tea study tells us, is there reason to worry about coffee, too? Dr. Islami says it is important to note that the type of esophageal cancer most common in the West -- adenocarcinoma of the esophagus -- is not the same as squamous cell carcinoma, which is the most common type of esophageal cancer in Iran and worldwide. Furthermore, while a few reports suggest that other hot beverages, including coffee, might increase esophageal cancer risk, there is little research on hot coffee specifically. So we do need more studies. In the meantime, Dr. Islami speaks to common sense. "If the issue is damage to the esophageal lining, it would be safer if people do not drink very hot coffee or tea," he says. It takes only a few minutes or so to allow your hot beverage of choice -- coffee or tea -- to cool to 140°F and into the safety zone.

Source(s):  Farhad Islami, MD, PhD, research fellow, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.

Chiropratic and Diabetes

What does your brain and nervous system have to do with your health? Everything! Here is a study showing how Chiropractic can help your body to function better! Enjoy, Dr. K
Chiropractic and diabetes - The connection between blood sugar and the spine Friday, April 13, 2012 by: Healthy Times Newspaper

(NaturalNews) The possibility for chiropractic care to help people with diabetes is an up and coming area of research, and it is an important one. Roughly one out of every three men and two out of every five women born in the year 2000 will suffer from diabetes in their lifetime.
Research points to evidence that chiropractic care may make a valuable contribution to a wellness protocol that helps those diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is the fifth deadliest disease in the United States and a growing epidemic worldwide, so help is desperately needed!
The average person may not recognize how diabetes and chiropractic are connected. What does the back have to do with blood sugar? Often, an electrician understands this faster than most people. Interfere with the current flowing through the wires and the appliances or areas of the house lose normal function or might even catch fire.
If the nerve supply from the upper neck or middle back (the two areas that supply the pancreas) are disturbed, pancreatic function suffers; maybe in it's ability to produce enzymes to digest proteins, fats and carbohydrates, or maybe insulin production, or both. Blood sugar and digestion become unbalanced, resulting in either in diabetes or hypoglycemia.

Studies suggest a chiropractic-spine-nerve-blood sugar connection

A study published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research illustrated the positive effects of chiropractic when used as part of an integrative treatment for adult onset diabetes diagnosed by a medical doctor. Along with chiropractic care, the patient also received nutritional and exercise guidance.
After one month of being on the program, the patient's glucose blood and urine levels normalized and remained stable. His medical doctor, who monitored his progress, said the patient would not need insulin if the condition remained stable.

Canada is currently leading the research effort
The National Post reported: "DIABETES BREAKTHROUGH: In a discovery that has stunned even those behind it, scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure of the disease that affects millions of Canadians. Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.
'I couldn't believe it,' said Dr. Michael Salter, a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children. 'Mice with diabetes suddenly didn't have diabetes any more.' The excitement of the team from Sick Kids, whose work is being published today in the journal Cell, is almost palpable.
A recent case study published in the November 2011 edition of the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal, & Family Health documents a case of a four-year-old child who had terrific results stabilizing her blood sugar through chiropractic care. The patient was diagnosed with spinal subluxation in the upper cervical region. She began chiropractic care and was seen a total of 24 times over a two-month period. During this two-month period, she experienced a decrease in hemoglobin A1C from 7.2 percent to 6..5 percent. She also decreased the amount of insulin used from 15 units to 11 units per day.
These results are quite remarkable because the literature states that intensive medical treatment of type I diabetes often does not succeed in lowering A1C levels under 7.0 percent. Chiropractic care works by optimizing the neural connections throughout the body. This enhanced brain-body connection works to better coordinate immunity and hormone function throughout the body.
Article contributed by Murray Galbraith, D.C., of Galbraith Chiropractic.

Foods That Fight Memory Loss

 None of us want to slowly lose our memory right? Wellness Chiropractic is focused the health of your on Central Nervous System which is the Brain and Spinal cord! Here's a great article that talks about foods that fight memory loss! Enjoy! Dr. K

 

There’s a new way to potentially prevent Alzheimer’s—a disease that we know frustratingly little about—and it’s not some exotic, expensive or potentially dangerous drug. It’s actually an affordable, natural component that’s found in everyday foods. For the first time, there’s a human study that confirms an association between dietary choline, an amino acid found in eggs and some other foods, and better cognitive performance. The study, from Boston University School of Medicine, appeared in the November 2011 issue of theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

BRAIN BOOSTER

Researchers investigated the dietary habits of 744 women and 647 men ranging from 36 to 83 years of age. None had dementia when the study started. In the early 1990s and then again between 1998 and 2001, participants filled out a questionnaire about their diets—they were asked how often they had eaten particular foods in the past year. After the second questionnaire was given, the researchers performed neuropsychological tests to evaluate the participants’ cognitive skills, including verbal memory (remembering a story) and visual memory (remembering images). They also did MRI brain scans to see if there were any tell-tale lesions in the white matter areas called white-matter hyperintensities (WMH). WMH in the brain is considered a marker of vascular disease and is strongly associated with cognitive impairments that precede Alzheimer’s disease.

The results: First, this study demonstrated that people who were currently eating the most choline performed better on tests of verbal and visual memory, compared with those who currently had the lowest choline intake. Researchers also found that those who had eaten the highest amounts of choline years earlier (as demonstrated by the first questionnaire) were more likely to have little or no WMH. In other words, eating lots of choline may make your memory sharper, and it also may reduce the risk for damage to the brain and even Alzheimer’s disease.

HOW THE NUTRIENT PROTECTS YOUR NOGGIN

To learn more, we go to study coauthor Rhoda Au, PhD, associate professor of neurology at Boston University. Dr. Au emphasized that this is an observational study, so it doesn’t prove cause and effect, but it does show a link between choline and memory. Why? Choline’s crucial contribution to cognition, said Dr. Au, may be as a building block for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which is known to help transmit information between neurons faster.

DIET “DOs”

How much choline do you need each day? The recommendation from the Institute of Medicine for men is a daily intake of 550 mg and for women, 425 mg. The richest food sources are…

• 3.5 ounces of beef liver—430 mg
• One large egg—126 mg
• 3.5 ounces of salmon—91 mg
• 3.5 ounces (just under one-half cup) of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower or navy beans—approximately 40 mg.

Other sources of choline include cod, almonds, tofu, milk and peanut butter.

Supplements of choline are available, but high doses (more than 3,500 mg per day for adults over age 18, according to Institute of Medicine) can cause symptoms like vomiting and excessive sweating. So if you want to take a supplement, talk to your doctor first—discuss how much you eat in your diet already so you can figure out whether (and what amount of) a supplement is necessary.

What’s so exciting about this research, in my view, is that while most studies concerning dementia are performed with people who already show signs of it, this study set out to investigate what people can do that might prevent dementia—and the choline connection seems promising. It’s so easy to get more choline in our diets—it’s in our refrigerators right now!

Source: Rhoda Au, PhD, associate professor of neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, and director of neuropsychology, Framingham Heart Study.

SLEEP LATE TO RESTORE BRAIN POWER

Oh boy, do I have good news to share!

Evidence demonstrates that sleeping in on the weekend is a smart idea after a tough week at work (or anywhere else). I’ve been known to sleep late myself on occasion, but always with a twinge of guilt, since we’re told that it’s better to go to sleep and get up at the same time every day. But juggling my job, kids, household tasks and other requirements all week sometimes leaves me weary and sleep-deprived by Friday afternoon -- and I bet you know exactly how I feel.

Americans have a sleep debt that makes the national budget deficit look minor, warns Matthew Edlund, MD, MOH, an expert on rest, biological clocks, performance and sleep based in Sarasota, Florida, and author of the new book, The Power of Rest. Sleep is as important to health as food and water, and we should stop feeling guilty for allotting time for our bodies to rest, recharge and regenerate, he said.

Here’s Proof...

At the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, researchers conducted a study of the effect of sleep deprivation on the brain power of 159 healthy adults aged 22 to 45. A control group of 17 spent 12 consecutive days in the sleep lab -- 10 hours in bed each night for seven nights -- while the others spent 10 hours in bed for the first two nights, then were in bed only from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for five consecutive nights. Next, this group was assigned randomized amounts of recovery sleep, up to 10 hours per night.

All participants completed 30-minute computerized tests to assess their levels of alertness and neurobehavior performance every two hours while awake -- and no one will be surprised to learn that in comparison with those who had adequate sleep, people with restricted sleep experienced:

• Impaired alertness
• Shortened attention span
• Reduced reaction time.

Why You Need a Vacation

But here’s the happy finding: Normal function (alertness and performance, as above) was restored in sleep-deprived participants after just one solid night of recovery sleep -- 10 hours, or the equivalent of squeezing in extra shut-eye on Saturday morning after a long week. (The more recovery sleep, the higher the scores.) In contrast, participants whose sleep continued to be restricted to an average of four to six hours per night performed poorly on tests and continued to get worse as their restricted sleep continued. Researchers also warned that even 10 hours of sleep in one night is not enough to bounce back if you continually push yourself too hard and burn the candle at both ends. Dr. Edlund said that, in fact, many studies have shown that even a few weeks of normal sleep won’t make up for a longtime habit of sleep deprivation -- and he added that nowadays people rarely know what it’s like to feel fully rested. In that case, it is likely to take more than a day -- think many weeks, and that’s only if you don’t go back to your old ways -- to get back to par... which is why we need to take vacations!

These results were published in the August 2010 issue of the journal Sleep.

Just as we don’t expect our bodies to function without adequate nutrition, we can’t expect to feel fully fueled and alert without sufficient sleep, Dr. Edlund says. The best scenario, of course, is to not allow yourself to become sleep-deprived in the first place -- but this is not always possible. Most people require seven or eight hours a night to be at their best the next day. But when that doesn’t happen, we now know that you can get tremendous benefit from snoozing a little longer even for just one morning. It gives your brain time to recover and reboot -- you’ll be more focused, productive and energetic as a result.

How Water Cures What Ails You

We all know the benefits of drinking water and with New Years resolutions happening now I thought this article on the benefits of hydrotherapy may show you another way to be healthier using water besides drinking it! Watching your back, Dr. K

Hydrotherapy can help with everything from easing the symptoms of arthritis and side effects of chemotherapy. These treatments are best performed under the watchful eye of an expert. However, individuals can use hydrotherapy to help with fevers, stress relief and detoxification.

HOW IT WORKS

Hydrotherapy has been used in all cultures since the beginning of civilization. Sometimes warm or hot water is used in hydrotherapy, other times cold... while alternating hot and cold has an especially intense impact on the body internally.
Heat calms and soothes, quieting the body, explains Dr. Kruzel. When you are anxious and your muscles are tense and tight, a hot shower or bath (I like to add Epsom salts and lavender) is just what the doctor ordered. This technique has worked wonders. In contrast, cold energizes and stimulates. When you are overtired and dragging, try a warm shower or bath followed by a short, cold rinse for a quick burst of energy.
According to Dr. Kruzel, hydrotherapy has a number of specific physiological effects on the body, depending on the type of therapy. It can...

• Stimulate circulation, ease digestion problems and thyroid function.

• Increase blood and oxygen flow.

• Boost white blood cell count and enhance immunity.

• Calm the central nervous system, easing anxiety, tension and insomnia.

• Loosen tight muscles.

• Kick temperature up a half degree or more.

HOW IT'S USED

Hydrotherapy comes in many forms. We're all familiar with hot baths and cold showers, but there are also sitz baths (baths taken in a sitting position that cover the hips and buttocks), foot baths, hot and cold compresses, steam inhalation, whirlpools, saunas and more. Here are Dr. Kruzel's favorite do-it-yourself techniques...

• Reduce congestion associated with colds and flu. Try a home steam treatment. Inhaling steam helps loosen secretions, thus reducing congestion. Simply fill a third of a bowl with hot water, pull a towel over your head and inhale the steam for several minutes. (Some people like to add a drop or two of an essential oil such as eucalyptus to the water.) Warm compresses with Epsom salts can also help sinuses drain.

• Melt away stress. Soak in a hot bath, or better yet a whirlpool, which has a massage-like effect. You might want to add soothing herbs to your bath, including lavender and chamomile.

• Sooth sore feet. Add a tablespoon of Epsom salts and three to five drops of your favorite essential oil to a bowl of hot water. Soak feet for five to 15 minutes.

• Sweat out metabolic wastes. After your workout at the gym, visit the sauna or steam room for 15 to 20 minutes. To prevent overheating, wipe your face and neck frequently with a cold, wet washcloth. Also: See precautions below.

For upper respiratory infections (URIs) and fever: Wet a T-shirt and socks with cold water, and wring as much water out of them as possible. Next take a warm shower, and afterward don the T-shirt and socks. Cover with a dry, warm sweat shirt and a dry pair of sweat socks, and climb into bed. Sounds uncomfortable, but Dr. Kruzel assures me that it calms the nervous system, and causes the fever to spike and then break. Note: This treatment should be supervised initially by a health-care professional.
More fever relief: Wet a towel with cold water, and wring it out. Wrap the towel around the base of the skull and neck. This cools blood going to the brain. Try dunking your feet in ice water for only a minute and toweling dry. This can draw circulation down away from the head. Alternatively, just take a cool bath.

A FEW SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS

If you want to utilize hydrotherapy as part of a regular treatment plan and want specific guidance, Dr. Kruzel recommends that you seek the care of a naturopathic doctor (ND). Other simple precautions to follow are...

• If you are pregnant or have abnormal blood pressure or heart disease, do not use saunas or steam baths.

• If you have diabetes, do not apply hot applications to the legs or feet as you may not be able to have accurate temperature sensation in the limbs.

• Do not use cold applications if you suffer from Raynaud's syndrome (a condition that causes parts of the body -- such as the fingers and toes -- to feel numb in response to cool temperatures or stress).

• The very young and the very old should avoid extended hot treatments. And -- those with heart problems, MS and pregnant people should do these treatments under the care of a physician.

Anyone who has ever luxuriated in a hot bath or soaked in a whirlpool is already aware of the symptomatic benefits of water therapy!