April 6, 2000 [Volume 1, Issue 8]

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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Bed Rest Not an Effective Prescription
• Homeopathics for Arthritis Pain
• Too Much Added Sugar
• Body Fat and Breast Cancer

Bed Rest for Aches and Pains?

Not an Effective Prescription Bed rest has been recommended for many conditions, including low back pain and rheumatoid arthritis. The idea of prescribing bed rest for illness perhaps stemmed from a quote by the ìfather of medicine,î Hippocrates: ìIn every movement of the body, whenever one begins to endure pain, it will be relieved by rest.

Hippocratesí advice was proffered in the 4th century B.C., but the practice of prescribing bed rest remains, despite little evidence of its effectiveness. In a review published in the journal Lancet, authors evaluated 39 different studies on bed rest prescribed for 15 different conditions, involving a total of 5,777 patients.

Results of the analysis revealed that bed rest was not an effective treatment recommendation. In 24 trials investigating bed rest following a medical procedure, no patients improved significantly and eight worsened significantly. And in 15 trials investigating bed rest as a primary treatment, no patients improved significantly, while nine worsened significantly.

Healing involves much more than rest, a fact which this study seems to emphasize but which many doctors seem to ignore. Donít settle for quick medical advice (pills, bed rest, etc.) that may end up doing more harm than good, or no good at all. Consult with your doctor of chiropractic for information on active, noninvasive approaches to managing a variety of health problems.

Allen C, Glasziou P, Del Mar C. Bed rest: a potentially harmful treatment needing more careful evaluation. Lancet 1999: Vol. 354, pp1229-33.

Homeopathics for Relieving Arthritis Pain

Eleven million people suffer from osteoarthritis, a common form of arthritis in which cartilage, the "cushion" between bones, is gradually worn away. No more cushion means the bones rub together, causing considerable pain. In fact, pain relief is the top priority in most osteoarthritis patients, often considered as important than as treating the disease.

Acetaminophen (i.e., Tylenol) is a frequently used pain reliever, although upset stomach is a potential side effect and many people can be allergic to it. A study in the American Journal of Pain Management explored the possibility for an alternative -- a homeopathic preparation -- to relieve osteoarthritis pain.

Patients received either a liquid homepathic preparation or acetaminophen for one month. Results showed that the homepathic treatment was slightly more effective than acetaminophen, and that more than half (55%) of the patients reported pain relief of 40% or greater, compared with only 38% of the acetaminophen patients.

Homeopathy is a system of healing that emphasizes the use of small doses of different natural substances. Your chiropractor can tell you more about homeopathy and about some of the reasons why you should consider non-drug alternatives to treating your pain.

Shealey CN, Thomlinson RP, Cox RH, et al. Osteoarthritic pain: a comparison of homeopathy and acetaminophen. American Journal of Pain Management, July 1998: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp89-91.

Too Much Added Sugar

Carbohydrates, including sugars, comprise the body's primary source of energy. Sugar occurs naturally in many foods (i.e., fruits and dairy products), but there are countless processed foods that contain high amounts of refined sugar. A little sugar is OK, but too much can contribute to poor overall diet and poor health. The figures show that Americans consume far too much sugar on a daily basis.

As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, 15,010 people two years of age and older recorded a 24-hour recall of dietary intake. Researchers calculated intake of added sweeteners, paying specific attention to average intake from all sources and from specific categories; contribution of added sweeteners to total energy intake; and percentage contribution of each food category to total added sweetener intake.

* An average of 82 grams of carbohydrates per day came from added sweeteners, accounting for 16% of total energy intake. (Nutritional guidelines recommend that between 6-10% of carbohydrates come from sugars.)

* Adolescents consumed the most added sweeteners as a percentage of energy (20% of total energy intake).

* The primary sources of added sweeteners were soft drinks (33%), sweets (candies, syrups, honey, table sugar - 16.1%), and sweetened grains (cookies and cakes - 12.9%).

If you're consuming a lot of sugar, you're probably not getting enough of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients your body needs to function properly. In fact, the sweeteners Americans seem to consume most frequently (non-diet soft drinks, candy, syrups and jellies, etc.) possess no nutritional value whatsoever except for the sugar. Teach your children about the importance of a balanced diet that minimizes consumption of refined sugar. Your doctor of chiropractic can evaluate the nutritional status of your family and suggest appropriate modifications to maximize wellness.

Guthrie JF, Morton JF. Food sources of added sweeteners in the diets of Americans. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2000: Vol. 100, pp43-48, 51.

For information on nutrition, visit https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/nutrients.html

Body Fat and Breast Cancer

A number of factors have been implicated as substantial risk factors for breast cancer, including family history of the disease and early onset of menstruation. Recent research also hints at a link between hormone replacement and breast cancer (See "Hormone Therapy May Contribute to Breast Cancer" in the April 2000 issue of To Your Health).

A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reveals another possible contributor to this devastating disease: body fat distribution. As part of the Nurses' Health Study (1986-1994), 47,382 U.S. registered nurses reported their waist and hip circumferences at entrance and were monitored for the next eight years for incidence of breast cancer.

Increasing waist circumference was significantly related to breast cancer in postmenopausal, but not premenopausal, women. This association was maintained even when considering overall obesity and other breast cancer risk factors, and was even stronger among women who had never received hormone replacement therapy. Consult with a health care professional to learn how to minimize your risk of developing breast cancer.

Huang Z, Willett WC, Colditz GA. Waist circumference, waist:hip ratio, and risk of breast cancer in the Nurses' Health Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, Dec. 1999: Vol. 150, No. 12, pp1316-24.

For additional information on women's health issues, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/women.html

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