SITTING CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH!

People who spend hours each day without getting up and moving around are at greater their risk for chronic health problems, such as back pain, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Sitting is now considered a risk factor for poor health, as significant as smoking! Strangely enough, spending a few hours a week at the gym or otherwise engaged in activity doesn't seem to significantly offset the risk. Even if you exercise regularly, sitting for hours a day is still harmful to your health. 

The theory is that prolonged sitting can be harmful to your health because of the lack of muscle contractions and subsequent body movement. Muscle contractions help to stimulate blood flow and remove toxins from the body via the lymphatic system,the filtering system in our bodies. Muscle contractions are important to help clear fat (triglycerides) and glucose from our bloodstream. 

How do stop your chair from becoming a lethal weapon? I suggest the following:

1. Sit Right:  Set up your desk or work station to be ergonomically correct. See the diagram below:

 

2. Get Up and Walk Frequently: Every half-hour to an hour get up and walk a minute. Better yet, walk, stretch, do a couple of squats, push-ups, etc. The body isn't designed to stay in one position for hours at a time. The best posture is one that changes and moves continuously.

3. Stand More: 

• Stand while talking on the phone or eating lunch.
• If you work at a desk for long periods of time, try a standing desk — or improvise with a high table or counter.
• Walk laps with your colleagues rather than gathering in a conference room for meetings.
• When you get together with your friends have it involve activity, not just "sitting around" or watching TV.

4.  Use "Active Sitting"

• Sit on a stability ball.
• Use a moveable chair.

Sit less, move more, be healthy!

What A Woman Eats Can Reduce Her Risk of Breast Cancer By Up To 75%

If you're a woman who wants to help prevent breast cancer there's something simple you can do with your fork and knife; eat alot of plants.

In a 2013 study of Iranian women ages 30-65, consuming the following was shown to reduce breast cancer risk by up to 75%:

Vegetables

Fruits

Low-fat dairy products

Legumes

Olive and vegetable oils

Fish

Condiments

Organ meat

Poultry

Pickles

Soy

Whole grains

 

The study also found an increased risk of breast cancer was found in women consuming soft drinks, sugars, tea and coffee, French fries and potato chips, salt, sweets and desserts, hydrogenated fats, nuts, industrial juice, refined grains, and red and processed meat.

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23651876/

 

In another study of retired California female teachers over 14 years found that only those on a plant-based diet had a 15 percent reduced risk of breast cancer compared with those who did not include abundant fruits and vegetables in their diets.

 http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2013/10/09/ajcn.113.061184

 

 While these aren't the last words on the connection of diet and breast cancer, they are a very good start.

Chiropractic Care Helpful For Preventing Falls and Improving Balance

Chiropractic Care Helpful For Preventing Falls and Improving Balance

Branchburg, New Jersey. July 30, 2012 

Falls from loss of balance are on the rise according to data from the CDC. One out of three adults age 65 and older falls each year, making it the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma. Unintentional falls frequently result in cuts, fractures, and even death.

There are several things older adults can do to prevent falls. Performing balance exercises, having their

eyesight checked, avoiding dehydration, and checking with their medical doctor or pharmacist about

medication side effects that may lead to possible balance disturbances are all important in fall prevention.

A recent study looked at the role of hands on care, such as Chiropractic adjustments, in the  improvement of balance and stability and found encouraging results. Published recently in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, support was found for incorporating what is called “manual therapy” in a fall prevention program.

“This is good news for many people who have balance problems and are at risk of falls and tripping”, stated Dr. David Graber, a Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Chiropractor and board member of the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors . “Chiropractic adjustments and mobilizations to the spine, feet, ankles, and hips along with specific exercises help restore the body’s sense of balance or proprioception.”

In 2011 a study also found that the same type of hands on care by Chiropractors helps to resolve certain types of dizziness as well. “Unfortunately, many primary care medical doctors aren’t aware of these findings and don’t refer these patients to Chiropractic physicians to see if they may be helped by Chiropractic care,” says Dr. Graber. “The patients find us on their own.”

 http://blog.nj.com/premium/anjc_chiropractic_cares/2012/07/chiropractic_care_helpful_for.html

It's January 15, 2014. How are those goals and resolutions coming along?

Most people make goals or resolutions for January 1st (some just don't admit it!). Around this time of the month comes the frank realization that they've already broken some of them. Below are a few of the health goals that my patients shared on the white board in one of our treatment rooms:

If you've broken a resolution, or failed to make any because you've broken so many before, what do you do? Simple, don't make goals or resolutions. Instead, make promises.

If you make a promise the odds are much greater that you'll do it. If you break a resolution or don't make a goal, you'll feel disappointed. If you break a promise, it hurts. Why? It's just the way we human beings are built (most of us anyway). Your word is your bond, even to yourself. Even more to someone else.

For example, which statement has more impact:

"My goal is to lose 10  pounds by March 1st."
"I promise to lose 10 pounds by March 1st."

Keeping promises also gives you a feeling of pride and honor. Who among us doesn't want to be known as, "Someone of their word", or "A stand up person"? And, if you need help or support, who wouldn't want to help someone keep their word? 

If your are a patient or friend of mine and you want someone to witness your promise or help keep you accountable, I am more than willing to do so. That, I promise.

Eat your broccoli! Eating cruciferous vegetable protects against cancer of the colon.

 2 new research studies are out and they show that what you eat has a strong effect on whether  or not you will develop certain forms of cancer. In short, diet and lifestyle matter!

Here are a few of the findings:

~ Supplements of isolated nutrients are not better than diet for cancer risk.

~ Eating meat increases the risk of colon cancer by both the amount and frequency of eating it.

~ Moderate physical activity after breast cancer diagnosis contributes to 40% reduction of its recurrence.

~  Diet affects various types of cancer cells, including colon, lung, prostate, liver, and breast cancer.

~ Eating  cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and bok choy,  protects against cancer of the colon.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24341734


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24374225