Short and Sweet

It wouldn't be this way if more people used chiropractors: Back Pain Biggest Source of Global Disability:  Nearly a tenth -- 9.4 percent -- of the world's population has lower back pain, with the prevalence highest in Western Europe, followed by North Africa and the Middle East, and the lowest in the Caribbean and Latin America, a study found. The figure includes children. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/lower-back-pain-chronic-pain-work-related-handicaps-disability/2014/03/25/id/561600#ixzz2x0FVGnpX  

‘Cutting yourself some slack’ could help people live longer: Researchers say that being able to forgive yourself for mistakes is the key to staying healthy, and that constant stress over small things like traffic should be a warning sign.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2600004/Could-chilling-save-life-Researchers-say-cutting-slack-help-people-live-longer.html

Infants 'unable to use toy building blocks' due to iPad addiction: The Association of Teachers and Lecturers warn that rising numbers of children are unable to perform simple tasks such as using building blocks because of overexposure to iPads. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10767878/Infants-unable-to-use-toy-building-blocks-due-to-iPad-addiction.html

Scientists say sugar at levels considered safe is harmful: The study shows "that added sugar consumed at concentrations currently considered safe exerts dramatic impacts on mammalian health," the researchers said in the study, published in the journal Nature Communications. "Many researchers have already made calls for reevaluation of these safe levels of consumption." http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sn-sugar-20130813,0,982020.story

How the craze for running ever longer distances can damage the heart: 
Elderly athletes with a lifelong history of endurance training and competing are prone to heart rhythm disturbances, known as arrhythmias. 
This is due to molecular changes in the heart's pacemaker from the exercise training, according to scientists from the University of Manchester. 
But Professor Boyett stressed that although endurance exercise training can have harmful effects on the heart, 'it is more than outweighed by the beneficial effects'. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2627279/How-craze-running-longer-distances-DAMAGE-heart.html#ixzz31erDpLmX 


How gaining weight makes us hungrier and hungrier: For most of the last century, our understanding of the cause of obesity has been based on immutable physical law. Specifically, it’s the first law of thermodynamics, which dictates that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. When it comes to body weight, this means that calorie intake minus calorie expenditure equals calories stored. Surrounded by tempting foods, we overeat, consuming more calories than we can burn off, and the excess is deposited as fat. The more calories we lock away in fat tissue, the fewer there are circulating in the bloodstream to satisfy the body’s requirements. If we look at it this way, it’s a distribution problem: We have an abundance of calories, but they’re in the wrong place. As a result, the body needs to increase its intake. We get hungrier because we’re getting fatter. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=0

The "O" Zone

The Eight Taxes On Your Health

I don’t want to make this too political, but I have learned something about health from our government’s policies. Every so often—about monthly, it seems nowadays—the government comes down with a new rule. These rules are supposed to be good for us. But, invariably these rules require additional time, effort, staff and cost to comply with. A few years ago we got the OSHA guidelines that require us to have MSDS sheets (a list of the chemicals in the workplace and the steps to take in case of poisoning, etc.) readily available on every chemical in our office. Now, that’s not a bad idea, but it does require monitoring and maintaining; I figure to the tune of about $200 a year. This additional cost of doing business is the by-product of the government’s reach into our lives. 

In actuality it is not a cost of doing business, but it is a cost of government intervention. I like to call it another “tax.” It drains the supply of available equity to use in life. It really isn’t a tax, but it is no different when it is all said and done, other than the fact that it is far more efficient than a tax. I could number many, many more such “taxes,” that are actually costs of being governed. Who pays for that? Ultimately, you do as the consumer. I can swallow a few of these taxes, and most are far more expensive than that particular OSHA regulation but, ultimately, I have to raise my fees to be able to stay in business, and you end up paying for these government “taxes.”

Now, I got thinking, how do we TAX our health? What do you take into your body—I will refer to those things as "taxes"—that reduces the equity you have to operate in life? If you are feeling fatigue, pain, stress, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, weight gain, or lack of enthusiasm about your life, you are being over-taxed. Consider where those taxes come from and how you can reduce the unneeded taxes on your health. We take in foods that sometimes are a big tax to our health, and sometimes we take in non-foods, like soda, that are very taxing to our health.

Here are the eight highest-cost taxes I see in people’s lives in today’s world:

Soda, Candy, Ice cream: Sugar, Corn Syrup and artificial sweeteners cause serious taxation in our bodies. They deliver little if any nutrient, but require massive resources to react to, process and cleanse them out of our systems. 

Alcohol, Cigarettes: These tax our livers, lungs and probably almost every other system in the body. While small amounts of alcohol can have some benefits, the net effect in society is massively negative. Modern tobacco products have no redeeming benefits as we use them. 

Air Pollution: Remedies are difficult, but the harm is hard to argue with. 

Pasteurized Dairy: This is difficult to digest, and causes so many problems in the body. Let’s get our calcium from the same sources as do the cows: green leafy vegetables. 

Refined whole grain products: White flour, etc. These cause massive inflammation in our bodies, and are very stressful to our digestive system. No fiber and a very high glycemic index, which stresses our sugar handling system, causing an increased release of insulin, which causes weight gain, inflammation and an increase in hunger and appetite. If you want to pay that tax, munch away. If you think the price is too high, reconsider.

Modern animal proteins: Too many chemicals, hormones and drugs get passed into our system for them to safely process. Even if the meat is healthy, we should keep it to a very modest level of consumption.

Stress: We are going to talk about stress, but what I mean by stress is unhealthy stress, or Dis-stress. Stress is a choice. If we don’t like the feel of the stress, all we have to do is to change our attitude about our circumstances. There are many approaches to that process, but the key is that it always works. Stress is a killer, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter what you know, it is what you don’t know that will help you out of stress: stress demands that you ask better questions, that you change your view of yourself and of others. It demands change. When you change in a healthy way, stress melts away like the frost of late spring in the morning sun. 

Structural misalignments: These are energy drainers. It is just like if your car had a bad misalignment. It would still run, but the operating costs just got a lot higher. Tires, tie rods, fuel, steering mechanisms, etc., will all wear out and be used up more quickly. Keep your spine in alignment! It removes one more burdensome tax on your health and thus on your quality of life. 

If you are TAXING your health, stop it. Rethink. Is it worth the cost to the rest of my life? What are you not able to do because of the taxes you are paying on your health and wellbeing? Is your health tax too high? You are the only person who can change it. Get started today. Make a decision to choose more wisely and to act more intelligently.

Fabulous Foods

While a few cold days have snuck themselves in, summer is just around the corner! Sure, I could do without the thick, heavy humidity, but I can’t help but grow giddy as summer draws near. You see, to me, summertime means farmers markets, and farmers markets mean real, fresh, clean, local, organic produce on my plate every week.

Sure, we all could motivate ourselves to plant gardens, but a farmers’ market is the next best thing. Personally, I love going back every year to smile, talk to, and shake hands with the person who grows my food. The produce you see here is more colorful and vibrant then anything you will find in a store, and offers greater variety, too. 

One of my favorite things to stock up on is nutritious, leafy greens. The options are endless, and these light, seasonal vegetables help our systems to clean out the thicker, richer foods we have been eating all winter long. Greens are so easy to include as a part of your daily diet, and the benefits to your body are infinite. For starters, consider the following top ten reasons to eat your leafy greens!

1. Boosts immune function

2. High in vitamins known to prevent cancer

3. Improves circulation

4. Purifies the blood

5. Provides steady energy

6. May ease feelings of depression

7. Promotes healthy intestinal flora

8. Improves liver, kidney, gallbladder function

9. Clears congestion, especially in the lungs

10. Helps reduce inflammation (1)

This list doesn’t even include my favorite reason: beautifying the skin.

For me, the easiest way to include leafy greens is to blend them all together with some frozen fruit for a delicious treat—and the bonus is that it helps you cool off. A bed of delicious, farm-fresh greens with some salmon on top is a quick go-to meal, and don’t forget you can always load them up on your sandwich if you’re trying to sneak more greens into your day.  

I think we can all agree Popeye knew what he was doing. Try to follow a little more closely in his footsteps this summer, and discover for yourself the amazing health benefits of including leafy greens in your diet.

-Megan

(1) The list of top ten reasons to eat leafy greens comes from Paula Rothstein’s article at http://www.naturalnews.com/033208_leafy_greens_nutrition.html

Short and Sweet

High doses of antidepressants appear to increase risk of self-harm in children and young adults: 

The rate of suicidal behavior (deliberate self-harm or DSH) among children and adults (24 years or younger) who started antidepressant therapy at high doses was about twice as high compared with a matched group of patients who received generally prescribed doses. The authors suggest this corresponds to about one additional event of DSH for every 150 patients treated with high-dose therapy. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140428164111.htm

“Why I've ditched statins for good”:

As experts clash over proposals that millions more of us take statins to prevent heart disease and stroke, a vascular surgeon explains why he feels better without them. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10717431/Why-Ive-ditched-statins-for-good.html

US court pays $6 million to Gardasil victims: 

Gardasil, the vaccine for HPV (human papillomavirus), may not be as safe as backers claim. Judicial Watch announced it has received documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealing that its National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has awarded $5,877,710 dollars to 49 victims in claims made against the highly controversial HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines. To date 200 claims have been filed with VICP, with barely half adjudicated. http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/stress-and-health-dr-lind/2013/apr/10/us-court-pays-6-million-gardasil-victims/#ixzz2QV4Fdx3L

Exercise just as good as drugs in war on major disease: 

A study of more than 300 trials has found that physical activity was better than medication in helping patients recovering from strokes - and just as good as drugs in protecting against diabetes and in stopping heart disease worsening. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10515917/Exercise-just-as-good-as-drugs-in-war-on-major-disease.html

Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters: 

The vegetarian diet — characterized by a low consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol that includes increased intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products — carries elevated risks of cancer, allergies and mental health disorders. http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/04/01/study-vegetarians-less-healthy-lower-quality-of-life-than-meat-eaters/

Radical Remission Among Cancer Patients: 

Every year, countless terminal cancer patients — some given only months to live — somehow survive to beat the odds, even after doctors have told them conventional treatments are not working. So how do they do it? Is it just a matter of luck or are there common characteristics of such remarkable, long-term cancer survivors? Read the full article to learn why some terminal cancer patients beat the odds. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/cancer-remission-recovery-terminal/2014/05/01/id/568869#ixzz30WdN6IPd