TUESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture alters the way that the brain perceives and processes pain, a finding that suggests the traditional Chinese treatment can effectively relieve pain, according to a new study.
German researchers used functional MRI scans to measure brain activity in 18 people who received painful electrical currents from a device fitted to their left ankle. The researchers then placed acupuncture needles on the participants' right side -- including between the toes, below the knee and near the thumb -- and again inflicted pain in the left ankle.
Without acupuncture, there was major activation of pain-processing areas of the brain. Activation in these areas was significantly reduced when the volunteers received acupuncture.
The researchers also found that acupuncture reduced activation in areas of the brain that control expectations of pain.
The study was to be presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, in Chicago.
"Acupuncture is supposed to act through at least two mechanisms, nonspecific expectancy-based effects and specific modulation of the incoming pain signal," lead author Dr. Nina Theysohn of University Hospital in Essen, Germany, said in a news release from the society. "Our findings support that both these nonspecific and specific mechanisms exist, suggesting that acupuncture can help relieve pain."
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/646589.html
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Chiropractic For Stress
Everybody knows that stress is bad for you, and everybody knows chiropractic helps with spinal pain, but not everybody knows that chiropractic also helps the body recover from and deal with stress.
A study done by the University of Conneticut showed that those individuals who had chiropractic care had improved immune respone, likely due to a reduction in the stress response.
As the body is put under stress, the immune system is depressed. This goes for mental or physical stress; the origin doesn't matter.
Chiropractic care relieves the physical stresses that can cause a decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system and restores the body to proper functioning.
A study done by the University of Conneticut showed that those individuals who had chiropractic care had improved immune respone, likely due to a reduction in the stress response.
As the body is put under stress, the immune system is depressed. This goes for mental or physical stress; the origin doesn't matter.
Chiropractic care relieves the physical stresses that can cause a decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system and restores the body to proper functioning.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Skinny on Holiday Weight Gain
Reports of your holiday weight gain have been greatly exaggerated. Media stories often suggest that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And in surveys, people say they gain, on average, about five pounds this time of year.
But several studies now show that the average weight gain during the winter holidays is just one pound.
The news isn’t all good. Most people don’t ever lose the pound of weight they put on during the holidays, according to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine. Since the average weight gain during adulthood is about one to two pounds a year, that means much of midlife weight gain can be explained by holiday eating.
For people who are already overweight, the holiday weight news is worse. Although the average gain is only one pound, people who are already overweight tend to gain a lot more. One study found that overweight people gained five pounds or more during the holidays.
And we start packing on that extra pound of holiday weight early in life. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma studied holiday weight gain among college students during the Thanksgiving break. The students were weighed the day before Thanksgiving, then weighed again about two weeks later. The average weight gain for the 94 students was about one pound. Students who were of normal weight gained about a half a pound during the period. Students who were overweight, meaning their body mass index was 25 or more, gained about two pounds.
Holly Hull, the lead researcher on the Oklahoma study, says Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a “high risk” time for the overweight. “I think the number of people who only overeat at the Thanksgiving meal is slim to none,” said Dr. Hull. “The holiday season doesn’t represent one day of overeating. You have this period that extends through the new year where there’s more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods and appetizers that are energy dense.”
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/the-skinny-on-holiday-weight-gain/
But several studies now show that the average weight gain during the winter holidays is just one pound.
The news isn’t all good. Most people don’t ever lose the pound of weight they put on during the holidays, according to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine. Since the average weight gain during adulthood is about one to two pounds a year, that means much of midlife weight gain can be explained by holiday eating.
For people who are already overweight, the holiday weight news is worse. Although the average gain is only one pound, people who are already overweight tend to gain a lot more. One study found that overweight people gained five pounds or more during the holidays.
And we start packing on that extra pound of holiday weight early in life. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma studied holiday weight gain among college students during the Thanksgiving break. The students were weighed the day before Thanksgiving, then weighed again about two weeks later. The average weight gain for the 94 students was about one pound. Students who were of normal weight gained about a half a pound during the period. Students who were overweight, meaning their body mass index was 25 or more, gained about two pounds.
Holly Hull, the lead researcher on the Oklahoma study, says Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a “high risk” time for the overweight. “I think the number of people who only overeat at the Thanksgiving meal is slim to none,” said Dr. Hull. “The holiday season doesn’t represent one day of overeating. You have this period that extends through the new year where there’s more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods and appetizers that are energy dense.”
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/the-skinny-on-holiday-weight-gain/
Friday, November 19, 2010
Free Radical Damage
A lot of people have heard of free radicals, but not a lot of people know that they are related to the aging process.
Free radicals are charged particles that cause a lot of damage on the molecular level to basically anything they touch. They have this property due to the fact that they are missing an electron, which makes them highly reactive.
As free radicals contact the surface of various objects, they strip away an electron and destabilize that other molecule. So, in bits and pieces, free radicals tear down the fabric of whatever material they come into contact with.
This is a problem when that material is you. Free radical damage will break down and damage whatever cells they come into contact with, eventually leading to a loss of function. This gradual decline due to free radical damage is one of the major causes of aging.
That's why antioxidants are so popular... they protect you from the effects of free radicals by absorbing them before they can hurt you.
Source: How To Live Longer
Free radicals are charged particles that cause a lot of damage on the molecular level to basically anything they touch. They have this property due to the fact that they are missing an electron, which makes them highly reactive.
As free radicals contact the surface of various objects, they strip away an electron and destabilize that other molecule. So, in bits and pieces, free radicals tear down the fabric of whatever material they come into contact with.
This is a problem when that material is you. Free radical damage will break down and damage whatever cells they come into contact with, eventually leading to a loss of function. This gradual decline due to free radical damage is one of the major causes of aging.
That's why antioxidants are so popular... they protect you from the effects of free radicals by absorbing them before they can hurt you.
Source: How To Live Longer
Friday, November 12, 2010
Green Tea
Green tea has been known as a healthy beverage for centuries, and a recent scientific article backs up traditional knowledge. Japanese researchers reviewed a large amount of data from many different sources and summarized several conclusions.
Most of their findings were centered around the antioxidant properties of green tea. These are pretty well known, and help increase health and vitality throughout the body, but especially in the blood vessels (it helps keep them elastic).
There's more to it than that, though. Green tea also helps to mineralize (strengthen) the bones, help combat obesity, and even has some anti-viral and anti-fungal properties as well.
Add some green tea in to your daily routine to promote some wellness!
Source article: Health Benefits of Green Tea
Most of their findings were centered around the antioxidant properties of green tea. These are pretty well known, and help increase health and vitality throughout the body, but especially in the blood vessels (it helps keep them elastic).
There's more to it than that, though. Green tea also helps to mineralize (strengthen) the bones, help combat obesity, and even has some anti-viral and anti-fungal properties as well.
Add some green tea in to your daily routine to promote some wellness!
Source article: Health Benefits of Green Tea
Friday, November 5, 2010
Garlic Oil Helps Your Heart
Some new research has shown how garlic helps with keeping the heart and cardiovascular system healthy.
While garlic has been advised for a long time to aid in this sort of health, it's only recently that science has been able to figure out why it's so helpful. It turns out, the antioxidants in garlic are strongly protective to damage caused by free radicals.
Free radicals are damaging, toxic chemicals that are found both in the environment and inside of the body. On contact with body tissues, they chip away at them and make them weaker slowly over time. This is particularly true with heart tissue and the lining of blood vessels.
Antioxidants protect the body from free radicals by essentially absorbing and neutralizing them. Garlic, in particular, has powerful antioxidants that seem particularly effective in protecting the body against the specific free radicals that damage heart muscle versus other kinds of tissue.
So don't skimp out on the garlic! Your heart will thank you!
Source article: Garlic Heart Health
While garlic has been advised for a long time to aid in this sort of health, it's only recently that science has been able to figure out why it's so helpful. It turns out, the antioxidants in garlic are strongly protective to damage caused by free radicals.
Free radicals are damaging, toxic chemicals that are found both in the environment and inside of the body. On contact with body tissues, they chip away at them and make them weaker slowly over time. This is particularly true with heart tissue and the lining of blood vessels.
Antioxidants protect the body from free radicals by essentially absorbing and neutralizing them. Garlic, in particular, has powerful antioxidants that seem particularly effective in protecting the body against the specific free radicals that damage heart muscle versus other kinds of tissue.
So don't skimp out on the garlic! Your heart will thank you!
Source article: Garlic Heart Health
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Exercise Increases Growth Hormone
One benefit of exercise you may not have been aware of is that it increases the level of growth hormone circulating throughout human body. Growth hormone is a vital component of the body's endocrine system that essentially keeps your body young and vibrant.
The effects of increased growth hormone include:
-increased protein synthesis
-increased immune response
-increased muscle mass
-decreased body fat
-increased calcium retention in bone
While growth hormone is occasionally used by athletes looking to gain a competitive edge (this is illegal, by the way), your body naturally secretes it from the pituatary gland, located at the base of the brain. GH levels start to decline around age 30 to 35, and slowly diminish as the years go by.
However, intense exercise has been shown to boost the levels of this hormone, which really does make exercise an anti-aging therapy! Especially helpful are exercises like the leg lunge, a multi-joint body weight leg exercise. For more information on the topic, stop in the office and ask to talk to our personal trainer Ann!
The effects of increased growth hormone include:
-increased protein synthesis
-increased immune response
-increased muscle mass
-decreased body fat
-increased calcium retention in bone
While growth hormone is occasionally used by athletes looking to gain a competitive edge (this is illegal, by the way), your body naturally secretes it from the pituatary gland, located at the base of the brain. GH levels start to decline around age 30 to 35, and slowly diminish as the years go by.
However, intense exercise has been shown to boost the levels of this hormone, which really does make exercise an anti-aging therapy! Especially helpful are exercises like the leg lunge, a multi-joint body weight leg exercise. For more information on the topic, stop in the office and ask to talk to our personal trainer Ann!
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