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Health & Fitness

DAILY HEALTH UPDATE: Saturday, October 26, 2013 Dr. Jeff Allyn, Berkley Chiropractic Clinic

Taking care of "The Ultimate Human Machine" for over 20 years. Check out our blog www.DrJeffAllynBlog.com for more information! We NEVER charge for a consultation! Call Wendy today 248.398.1155

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." ~ Ernest Hemingway

Mental Attitude: Some Cholesterol Medications May Impair Memory. Scientist recently tested two popular statins (medications used to lower cholesterol levels) on rats for 18 days. They found that pravastatin impaired the rats' ability to perform simple learning and memory tasks. These effects reversed soon after the rats stopped consuming the drug. Atorvostatin, the other statin in the test, did not appear to have the same impact on learning and memory. PLoS ONE, September 2013

Health Alert: Over 40 Million Cases of Poor Care in Hospitals Every Year Worldwide. A recent worldwide analysis has revealed that every year there are approximately 43 million episodes of harm caused by poor hospital practices. Researchers focused on seven markers for substandard care: harm from prescribed medications, urinary tract infections associated with catheters, bloodstream infections associated with catheters, pneumonia acquired in the hospital, blood clots, falls, and bed sores. The authors calculated an annual loss of about 22.6 million years of life to death or disability as a result of substandard care. Quality & Safety, September 2013

Diet: Physical Activity and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer. In a study of over 73,000 postmenopausal women, those who walked for seven hours a week had a 14% reduced risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women who walked under three hours per week. Women who walked more than seven hours a week and who also performed more vigorous exercises had up to a 25% reduced risk. This study also noted that obesity did not play a factor in results, and women obtained benefits regardless of their body mass. American Cancer Society, October 2013

Exercise: High-Intensity Exercise and Heart Disease. High-intensity exercise is a popular and time-saving method for getting fit and protecting against coronary heart disease. High-intensity training occurs when an individual's heart rate (HR) is 85-95% of HR max. One way to calculate your HR max is to subtract your age from 220. For example, the HR max for a 40 year-old adult is 180 (220-40=180). A new study has found that high intensity exercise can also be utilized by patients who already have coronary heart disease to get into shape. In a 12-week study, participants utilized the 4x4 model: 4 minutes of high-intensity exercise followed by 3 minutes of less intense exercise, repeated 4 times. Researchers used the participants' VO2 max (maximal oxygen intake) to measure progress. Participants who exercised at an intensity that was greater than 92% of their HR max during the high-intensity periods experienced greater improvements in their VO2 max compared to participants who exercised at the lower range of HR max. This indicates that there is a dose-response relationship even in the 85-95% high-intensity zone. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, September 2013

Chiropractic: Chiropractic Outperforms NSAIDs and Acupuncture. A pilot study involving 77 patient with chronic spinal pain received either nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acupuncture, or spinal manipulation. After 30 days, spinal manipulation was the only intervention that achieved statistically significant improvements according to outcome assessments.  Journal of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, July 1999

Wellness/Prevention: Combining Chinese and Western Medicine for Cancer Patients. Xiaoji is a traditional Chinese formula consisting of 14 herbs has been shown to be beneficial to cancer patients, but scientists did not know why… until now. New research presented at the European Cancer Congress last month revealed that Yangzheng Xiaoji works by blocking a pathway which stops the spread of cancer cells in the body. Combing Yangzheng Xiaoji with conventional therapies, such as chemotherapy, may lead to more effective treatments in the near future for liver, lung, colorectal, and bone cancer. European Cancer Congress, September 2013

This information is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a health care professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

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