Weekly Health Update for the Week of September 6, 2010

WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE

Week of: Monday, September 6th, 2010

Courtesy of: James Stapleton, D.C. & David Dahlkamp, D.C. (502) 633-1073 - www.ShelbyCountyChiropractic.com
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Mental Attitude: Improve Your Mind. Oxidative stress may play a key role in Alzheimer's disease. Oxidative stress occurs when the production of free radicals exceeds the antioxidant capacity of a cell. Walnuts contain linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid) and are high in antioxidants. According to the FDA, "research shows eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low-cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease." Mice on a diet without walnuts showed memory deficits, anxiety-related behavior, and severe impairment in spatial learning ability, position discrimination learning ability and motor coordination. Mice with walnuts in their diet showed significant improvement in learning, memory, emotional regulation and motor coordination. Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease, 2010

Health Alert: NFL Players Are 8 Times More Likely To Develop Lou Gehrig Disease! As reported on HBO's Real Sports, repeated head trauma suffered by NFL players produces toxic proteins that migrate to the spinal cord resulting in a disease very similar to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). According to a Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology article, the damage is made worse if the players don't rest after a concussion. It's suspected Lou Gehrig may have developed his name sake illness from at least six documented instances when he was knocked unconscious on the field. (He never took a day off).HBO's Real Sports

Diet: Get Your Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased odds of cognitive impairment and dementia later in life (a 42% higher risk for those deficient in vitamin D).University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School (UK), 2010

Exercise: Exercise And A Beer Belly? Sit-ups and crunches will strengthen core muscles and help hold in belly fat, but won't eliminate it. The way to lose belly fat is to lose weight. Aerobic exercises are best to reduce body fat. Visceral fat is more metabolically active and breaks down faster than other fat, so when you start losing weight, you lose it in the midsection first. Mayo Clinic

Chiropractic: Why Get Adjusted? A simple analogy is working out -- it must be done continuously or you lose your muscular strength and development. With the spine, maintaining proper motion is needed as we constantly overwork the joints. All the small jobs performed throughout the day add up and cause the muscles around the spine to shorten, trapping chemicals in the muscle and leading to adhesion formation in just a few days.

Wellness/Prevention: What's Wrong With A Beer Belly? Beer bellies are linked to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Subcutaneous fat around the waist, thighs, hips and buttocks is not as dangerous as visceral fat that surrounds organs. Visceral fat within the abdominal wall is measured by waist circumference and when it exceeds 35 inches for women and 40 for men, it increases risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome and overall mortality. Mayo Clinic

Quote: "Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war." ~ Donald Trump