DAILY HEALTH UPDATE: Thursday, December 12, 2013 Dr. Jeff Allyn, Berkley Chiropractic Clinic

“When life gives you hundred reasons to cry, show life you have a thousand reasons to smile.” ~ Unknown

Mental Attitude: Brains Differ in Social Butterflies. A new study suggests that parts of the brain may differ depending on whether a person is a social butterfly or a loner. The research included 18 people who were asked about how many people they encountered over the past 7 and 30 days. The researchers then scanned the brains of the subjects in the study and looked for anything that people with similar social lives had in common. Compared with the brains of loners, three parts of the brains in people who had larger social networks appeared to be more developed and they were more strongly connected to other regions of the brain. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, November 2013

Health Alert: FDA Orders 23andMe to Cease Marketing its Personal Genome Service! The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered 23andMe, Inc. to cease the sale of its Saliva Collection Kit and Personal Genome Service because they lack FDA clearance and approval as required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Of particular concern to the FDA is that the genetics tests performed by the company could result in false positive or false negative results that may prove dangerous to unknowing consumers. For example, harmful mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes could increase a woman's risk for breast cancer or ovarian cancer. According to the FDA's press release, a false positive for harmful mutations to the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes "could lead a patient to undergo prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention, intensive screening, or other morbidity-inducing actions, while a false negative could result in a failure to recognize an actual risk that may exist." U.S. Food and Drug Administration, November 2013

Diet: Adding Probiotics to Fruit Juices Improves Nutritional Value. Common dairy foods with added proboitics present problems for some people due to lactose intolerance and cholesterol content. Regular fruit juices have proven to be poor vehicles for probiotic delivery but new research shows that a fruit juice that includes grape seed extract, green tea extract, and vitamin C could serve as a carrier for probiotic genera such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria. After six weeks of storage, nearly 90% of the probiotic bacteria in the juice remained viable. Journal of Food Science, October 2013

Exercise: Exercise Preserves Movement Function During Aging. New research on elderly rats shows that just twelve consecutive days of exercise on a treadmill is enough to improve their mobility, even for rats that were previously inactive. According to PhD candidate Jennifer Arnold of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, "Our study shows that treadmill exercise could be a useful treatment to not just maintain, but actually improve mobility in the elderly… This could provide a relatively easy, non-drug approach to help people remain active as they age." Society for Neuroscience, November 2013

Chiropractic: Benefits Chronic Back Pain. A past study demonstrated that patients treated with chiropractic care derive more benefit and long-term satisfaction than those treated by hospitals, especially for individuals who suffer from chronic low back pain. British Medical Journal, August 1995

Wellness/Prevention: Colon Cancer Screening Guidelines Not Being Met. Colon cancer is the second-leading cancer killer for both men and women in the United States and current recommendations are for men and women 50 years and older to have a colon cancer screening. According to a recent telephone survey, about 30% of people in this age group are not getting screened and one of the top reasons is that doctors are not recommending colon cancer screening to their patients. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, November 2013

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(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.)