Archive for October, 2009
Close to Last Place and Still a Winner?
October 13th, 2009 | 
Author: “Close to last place” isn’t generally a phrase we associate with success. In fact, very few things in life count much at all, it seems, if you don’t “win the gold.” Fortunately, this may not be an absolute when it comes to an extended lifespan. As a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, who has many middle-aged patients and who is also fully dedicated to encouraging my patients to exercise at every age level, I was very curious about the following study.
Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” of the nearly 4,400 healthy Americans in their recent study, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels doubled the risk of dying over the nine years of the study as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (To put it another way, those 20 percent who were almost at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the familiar “bad news/good news” outcome. It is obviously bad news if you are a confirmed sofa spud. However, it is undoubtedly good news for those who haven’t entirely embraced a sedentary lifestyle but are not, by any means, “exertive.” Apparently, those people who continue to be even moderately fit as they grow older may have a longer lifespan than those who are entirely out-of-shape, the study suggests.
The study included 4,384 middle-aged and older men and women whose fitness levels were determined during exercise treadmill tests sometime between 1986 and 2006. For an average of nine years thereafter, the researchers pursued the study groups progress. The study considered such factors like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This, in and of itself, underscores the significants of being physically fit. In an email to Reuters Health, lead researcher, Dr. Sandra Mandic of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, wrote: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”
Nearly two-thirds of the least-fit study participants were not getting the minimum recommended amount of exercise, which is at least 30 minutes of moderate activity (like brisk walking) five or more days a week. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”
After classifying the study group participants by fitness levels, the researchers found that 13 percent of those who were in slightly better shape had died during the study period. However, 25 percent of the least-fit participants had died during the same period. Only 6 percent of the most-fit group (i.e., the ones who “won the gold”, so to speak) had died during the follow-up period.
The notable finding was that overall, the five fitness-level groups showed little difference in their reported exercise routines over their adult lives, but where they differed was their activity levels in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”
And, of course, just think of the health benefits we could all derive if we sought to achieve the higher levels of fitness.
SOURCE: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 2009.
Here’s to a healthy future
A recent article in Time magazine addressed the condition of our current food system, which provides government subsided, low-cost food products to an overfed yet undernourished American public. While the cheap price tag is alluring, the long-term effects of this broken system have become second thought, ultimately leading to a string of unpleasant results. Our farm crops are doused with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, livestock are treated with hormones and medications so they can be bred industrially, and the percentage of food-related disease in humans continues to rise. At what cost are we negatively affecting our precious natural resources and our own health?
The good news is that the buzz words are circulating–sustainable food, eco-friendly, green living–but the truth is that public awareness isn’t enough. Let’s make conscious decisions to act in more socially responsible ways. Small changes can lead to big results. Imagine a world with more accessible, inexpensive organic food and a happy, healthy population!
Think about what you could do in your community, among your family and friends, and even around your dinner table to improve our environment. Shop at the local farmer’s market or join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture, where you buy a share in a farmer’s crop for the season), encourage neighbors to grow gardens in their yards and swap produce, consider eating less meat, reduce your carbon footprint by using cloth shopping bags and reusable water bottles rather than plastic, and walk or bike instead of driving.
What other changes could you make to ensure the quality of our food and our future?
Remember, small changes add up.
Natural Remedies for Flu Symptoms
Good Hydration Is a Key to Good Health
Chiropractors, like your Santa Barbara Chiropractor, are real “fanatics” when it comes to making our patients aware of the importance of drinking enough water daily. The mantra is “Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!” Water, second only to air, is fundamental for human survival. Survival instincts, then, would presumably guarantee that we would drink enough water as instinctively as we breathe in air. (Most individuals are not breathing enough either, but let’s talk about why staying well-hydrated is so important.) You you cannot maintain or regain good health without drinking a sufficient quantity of water. Drinking plenty of water helps every cell, tissue, and organ in your body and maintains the proper function of every system. Your saliva, and the fluids surrounding your joints, are fundamentally water. Water regulates the temperature and metabolism of the body, and keeps the blood circulating. The improvement of nutrient absorption and toxin removal, as well as the reduction of heartburn, hypertension, exhaustion, and headaches have been attributed to consistent hydration.
Athletes are distinctly at risk when it comes to problems produced by dehydration. “Physiologically, their core body temperature could be higher than it should have been if they were hydrated. Their heart rate will be higher, and they’re going to perceive that they’re working harder than they actually are,” said Susan Yeargin, assistant professor of athletic training in Indiana State’s College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services. A high percentage of collegiate and professional athletes begin the season dehydrated, putting their health at risk even before they begin strenuous workouts, according to researchers at Indiana State University. In fact, Pre-season physical examinations, in fact, found that 80 percent of football players exhibited dehydration.
Wondering how much water is enough water? Chiropractors, like the majority of other health care professionals, advise at least eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day for quite a few of our patients, though for our patients who are athletes, or for those who carry around excess weight or exercise or work in a hot environment, we propose even more. How can you tell if you, personally, are drinking an adequate amount of water? Your urine color is a good gauge. You’re well-hydrated if it comes out a light, pale yellow!
Posted in wellness | 
Tags: chiropractors, drinking enough water, exhaustion, headaches, heartburn, hydration, hypertension | 
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