Chiropractic for neck pain related to arthritis.

A retrospective review of ten patients with arthritis of the top two vertebra yielded favorable outcomes for chiropractic care. Treatment included the combination of upper cervical manipulation and mechanical mobilization. Overall, clinical improvement was described as “good” or “excellent” in 80% of the patients. Study participants also reported an 80% improvement in pain and 90% improvement in range of motion.
Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics, February 2011

Kids Getting More Caffeine from New Sources.

A government study finds that kids are consuming more caffeine now than ever before thanks to the popularity of coffee and energy drinks. Experts agree that caffeine has no place in the diet of children, and instead of caffeinated drinks, kids should drink water and moderate amounts of juice.
Pediatrics, February 2014

Fruit Juice Not as Healthy as You Think.

Some researchers argue that fruit juice is just as bad for you as sugar-sweetened beverages. Fruit juice has come under fire since medical experts recently started looking more closely at the link between high sugar intake and the risk for heart disease. Dr. Jason Gill writes, “There seems to be a clear misperception that fruit juices and smoothies are low-sugar alternatives to sugar-sweetened beverages.” Research is beginning to show that, unlike solid fruit intake, which high consumption is linked either to reduced or neutral risk for diabetes, high fruit juice intake is linked to an increased risk for diabetes.
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, February 2014

Preventing Teen Prescription Drug Abuse.

Prescription drug abuse kills more people in the United States each year than cocaine and heroine combined. A six-year study on the efficacy of programs designed to curb teenage prescription drug abuse finds that school-based programs are largely ineffective unless they are coupled with home-based interventions. Still, even the best programs only decrease abuse rates by 10% suggesting that parents, educators, communities, and local governments need to work together to find better interventions to stop teenaged prescription drug abuse.
Preventive Medicine, February 2014

Mental Attitude: Stress Can Lead to Mental Illness.

A new study explains why people suffering from chronic stress are prone to mental health problems later in life. Researchers have found excess white matter in some areas of the brain in chronically stressed people. This excess of myelin disrupts the “delicate balance” of the brain, causing communication between brain cells to slip out of normal timing. It is this timing issue that most likely leads to anxiety and mood disorders.
UC Berkeley, February 2014

Health Alert: The Average Obese Person Exercises Less Than Four Hours Per Year!

Using data from a 2005-2006 United States government survey on nearly 2,600 adults, researcher Dr. Edward Archer at the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham calculated that the average obese women gets just one hour of vigorous exercise per year while the average obese man manages only 3.6 hours per year.
Mayo Clinic Proceedings, December 2013

Chiropractic: Whiplash May Cause or Aggravate Jaw Pain.

A review of 129 studies on temporomandibular disorders (TMD) found that TMD patients are three-times more likely to have experienced whiplash trauma. TMD patients who also suffered head-neck trauma reported more TMD-related jaw pain, headaches, and stress symptoms. According to the authors of the review article, “These results suggest that whiplash trauma might be an initiating and/or aggravating factor as well as a co-morbid condition for TMD.”
Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, January 2014

Heading Soccer Balls May Affect Cognitive Function.

Dr. Tom Schweizer, director of the Neuroscience Research Program of St. Michael’s Hospital, recently conducted a literature review of studies related to head injuries among soccer players caused by “heading” the ball. According to existing studies, players who head the ball most often were found to have greater memory, planning, and perceptual deficits and were more likely to perform poorly on verbal and visual memory tests. Other studies noted that older and retired players were more likely to report significantly impaired conceptual thinking, reaction time, and concentration. Dr. Schweizer also found that nearly two-thirds of high school soccer players suffered from concussion symptoms during their playing careers and that girls’ soccer ranked second in concussion injuries among all high school sports.
Brain Injury, February 2014

Diet: Mediterranean Diet Better than Low-Fat Diet for Heart Health.

A literature review of over a half-century of studies shows that people who eat a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet have a lower risk of heart attack and cardiovascular-related death compared to those who follow a low-fat diet. Investigators analyzed studies from 1957 to present and believe their findings show consuming a variety of cardioprotective foods in a diet is better at preventing heart disease by just eating less fat. The Mediterranean diet focuses on an increased intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, olive oil, nuts, and eating less meat.
American Journal of Medicine, December 2013

Diet: Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Increased with Higher Added Sugar Intake.

People who consume more than 21% of daily calories from added sugar have double the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality compared with people who consume less than 10% of their daily calories from added sugar. The risk almost triples for those who consume 25% of their daily calories from added sugar. The study authors write, “Our findings indicate that most [American] adults consume more added sugar than is recommended for a healthy diet. A higher percentage of calories from added sugar is associated with significantly increased risk of CVD mortality. In addition, regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with elevated CVD mortality.”
JAMA Internal Medicine, February 2014