May 4, 2004 [Volume 5, Issue10]

To Your Health is brought to you by:

• Recommended Reading: "The Chiropractic Way" by Dr. Michael Lenarz, with Victoria St. George
• Nine Things Your Back Hates
• Taking it to Heart
• What Alcohol Can Do to Your Brain
• Grapefruit: More Than Just a Tangy Treat?

This month's featured title is "The Chiropractic Way" by Dr. Michael Lenarz, with Victoria St. George.

"The Chiropractic Way" is the first introductory book about chiropractic ever published by a major publishing house. With chiropractic leading the way in America's ever-increasing interest in alternative health care, many people wonder how chiropractic heals and what to expect with chiropractic care. Dr. Lenarz provides a short history of this growing industry to help the reader understand its extensive roots. The author then discusses the workings of the back and nerves, and the benefits of chiropractic when traditional medicine fails to produce the desired results. The author also addresses the critics of chiropractic and dispels the various "Myths about Chiropractic," highlighting the fact that chiropractors are all about their patients. Using various cases, "The Chiropractic Way" is a must read for anyone interested in knowing more about this form of health care.

Click here to read the complete review.

Since 1948, residents of Framingham, Mass., have been subjected to all manner of inconveniences in the name of science. The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) has examined volunteers there every two years, and data used during examination #22 (1992-1993) were used for a first-ever study on the contribution of back symptoms to overall physical disability in older adults.

Of the 1,710 surviving members from the original 5,209 taking part in the FHS, 1,007 contributed data on back symptoms. Subjects ranged in age from 70 to 100, and were surveyed regarding pain, aching and stiffness. Researchers then asked subjects about their difficulty in standing in place for 15 minutes; walking half a mile; stooping, crouching or kneeling; lifting a 10-pound object; entering and exiting an automobile; pushing or pulling a large object; putting on socks or stockings; extending arms above shoulder level; and writing, handling or manipulating small objects. Any of these activities was classified as a "functional limitation" if it could not be performed or performed with difficulty.

In all subjects, 18 percent to 34 percent of all functional limitations were attributable to back problems; moreover, women seemed particularly affected by these limitations. Don't let back pain limit you! Your doctor of chiropractic can help your spine "make friends" with the nine activities listed above.

To learn more about the benefits of chiropractic, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/whatis.html.

Reference: Edmond SL, Felson DT. Function and back symptoms in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society December 2003:51(12), pp1702-1709.

The term "broken-hearted" may be as literal as it sounds. Subclinical depression (characterized by persistent negativity, irritability, easy anger, and a general dissatisfaction with life), often goes undiagnosed and/or untreated, posing an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, A Women's Health Initiative (WHI) observational study followed 93,676 older or postmenopausal female subjects for an average of 4.1 years to gauge depression.

Approximately 16 percent of the subjects showed depressive symptoms; those individuals had a 50 percent greater risk for heart disease (or death from it) compared to women without depressive symptoms. For depressed women, the risk of death from any cause was shown to be 30 percent higher than nondepressed women. Does that mean that heart disease and depression are connected?

Lead author of the study, Dr. Sylvia Wasserthiel-Smoller, speculated, "It could be that people really have some kind of subclinical disease [and] maybe the first place it manifests itself is in the depressed mood," suggesting that a depressed mood itself may influence other variables that lead to disease.

Regardless, neither heart health nor depression should be taken lightly. For more information, visit the American Heart Association at www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3017091 and the American Psychological Association at www.apa.org/ppo/issues/pwomenanddepress.html.

For more information on women's health, go to www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/women.

Reference: Wassertheil-Smoller S, Shumaker S, Ockene J, Talavera GA, Greenland P, Cochrane B, Robbins J, Aragaki A, Dunbar-Jacob J. Depression and cardiovascular sequelae in postmenopausal women. Arch Intern Med 2004:164, pp289-298.

Atherosclerosis comes from the Greek word "athero" (gruel or paste) and "sclerosis," or hardness. Fatty deposits and other substances, or plaque, accumulate in the artery's inner lining, and are more prone to occur when a person ages. This can cause blockage of blood flow or clot different blood vessels, which can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke.

A group of 1,909 middle-aged adults underwent cerebral MRI exams. The study found that White matter lesions and ventricular and sulcal size increased as alcohol consumption increased. Lead researcher Jingzhong Ding explained: "There is no brain tissue in the ventricular and sulcal areas, as these areas are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Therefore, an increase in ventricular and sulcal size indicates a reduction in the brain tissue, or brain atrophy, around the ventricular and sulcal areas."

Previously, the Cardiovascular Health Study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, found that moderate alcohol intake was associated with fewer brain infarcts (dead tissue). This study adds to this existing evidence, and the researchers note that "the process might begin earlier in life than [previously] suggested."

For more information on general health, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/general.

Reference: Ding J, Eigenbrodt ML, Mosley TH, Hutchinson RG, Folsom AR, Harris TB, Nieto FJ. Alcohol intake and cerebral abnormalities of magnetic resonance imaging in a community-based population of middle-aged adults. Stroke 2004:35, pp16-21.

Grapefruit is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber, and it's a good way to get your recommended five daily servings of fruit and vegetables. Recently, researchers added diabetes protection to the potential list of benefits associated with regular grapefruit consumption.

Researchers surveyed 100 overweight volunteers who were on varying diets: One group ate half a grapefruit three times a day; another group drank a glass of grapefruit juice prior to every meal; while group did not consume any grapefruit. After 12 weeks, grapefruit eaters had shed an average of 3.6 pounds - with some losing as much as 10 pounds. Juice drinkers lost an average of 3.3 pounds, and those without grapefruit in the diet lost only 0.5 pounds apiece.

Researchers attributed the grapefruit-mediated weight loss to the burning of sugar, facilitated by insulin and indicated by lowered glucose levels, which could be good news to the estimated 18.2 million people in the U.S. that have diabetes. Moreover, this study paves the way for further research on a larger scale, researchers said.

Get a jump-start on the next round of results by consuming grapefruit (and a regular supply of fruits and vegetables) to maintain health, and if for nothing else - the taste.

For more on nutrition, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/nutrition/index.html

References: A full copy of the article is available from the SCI press office. Email: press@soci.org.

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