Improve Your Health

Relieve Your Aches and Pains

It's difficult to stay healthy in  this fast moving, highly competitive world. The constant mental bashing of politics, the rush of getting somewhere on time, the constant pressure of getting a promotion, keeping up the demand of others, the problems of "eating out', the poisons found in our polluted air water, and simply the many hazards of our civilization that are slowly taking away from our health. Note that many of the luxuries of "the good life" present hidden hazards that are more dangerous than the most potent germs and viruses.

For example, heart disease is the nation's #1 killer, and it's caused primarily by poor eating habits and the lack of exercise. Over-stimulation of the nervous system by frantic living, tobacco and vape smoking, and drugs, also compounds abuse to the heart. The common cold is responsible for more lost wages than any other ailment; likely caused more by a lowered resistance than by germs. There are many diseases that occur because of the body's inability to fight them off or because of a breakdown in the body's mechanism, all because of poor living habits. Back trouble is second only to heart trouble as a leading cause of chronic disability among persons who must work for a living. Most of this disability can be attributed to back injuries caused by weak muscles, bad working postures and/or improper lifting techniques.

If you don't make a special effort to take care of yourself and to control your personal environment, you're almost certain to suffer from illness and/or aches and pains - head to toe. And, if you don't know how to utilize natural self-help techniques in relieving your symptoms and raising your resistance, you may suffer the fate of those chronically ill persons who spend fortunes on drug medications and doctor bills. Many persons think there is a pill for every ailment, and that they need only to see a doctor to rid themselves of aches and pains. So very wrong! Most of those people never regain their health, and many turn to excessive use of drugs for temporary relief of symptoms.

It's never too late to make changes in your life .... BE SMART - DO IT NOW!

"A healthy attitude is contagious, but don't wait to catch it from others."

Walking Cuts Blood Pressure

Thirty minutes of walking three times a week may be enough to help lower blood pressure and start
you on the path to better health.

A study shows that even a little bit of weekly exercise is enough to lower blood pressure and improve overall fitness. The results showed that 30 minutes of walking three times a week, even if it was broken into 10-minute walks throughout the day, was enough to have a healthy effect on blood pressure as well as measurements around the waist and hip.

National guidelines recommend that people exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week to maintain optimum health. But few people achieve that goal, citing lack of time as the biggest obstacle.Researchers say these results may help motivate people to fit in even a little exercise here and there to benefit their health.

Even a Little Exercise Helps
In the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, researchers invited 106 healthy but sedentary civil servants to take part in an exercise program for 12 weeks. About a third were told to briskly walk for 30 minutes, five days a week. Another third were told to briskly walk for 30 minutes a day, three days a week; the remaining third were told not to change their sedentary lifestyle at all.

The participants wore pedometers to monitor their walking, and researchers measured their blood pressure, blood cholesterol, weight, hip and waist size, and overall fitness before and after the study.
The results showed systolic (the top number) blood pressure dropped, and waist and hip measurements shrunk significantly, in both the three-day-a-week and five-day-a-week exercise groups.

Systolic blood pressure dropped by 5 points among those who exercised three days a week and by 6 points among those who exercised five days a week.

Waist and hip measurements fell by 2.6 centimeters and 2.4 centimeters respectively among the three-day-a-week exercisers and by 2.5 centimeters and 2.2 centimeters among the five-day-a-week exercise group.

No changes were found in the sedentary group.

A decrease of a few points in blood pressure and a few centimeters in the waist and hips is enough to significantly reduce the risk of death due to heart disease. They say the study shows even moderate exercise below the recommended levels can still have benefits.

Back Pain and Aging

Back pain is extremely common in our society. In fact, almost 80% of adults in the United States will encounter some form of back pain in their lifetimes. There are many reasons why so many people experience back pain, including poor posture, poor body mechanics, overweight, excessive strain on the spine, smoking, poor diet, as well as spinal diseases and other health conditions, but the most common cause of back pain in our country is simply aging. Read on to find out why aging can be a real pain.

The Spine

The spine is made up of individual bones called vertebrae, which provide support for the body. In between each vertebra is a disc that gives the spine flexibility and serves as a shock absorber for the body. Discs are made up of a tire‑like outer band (called the annulus fibrosus) and a gel‑like inner substance (called the nucleus pulposus). Together, the vertebrae and the discs provide a protective tunnel (called the spinal canal) through which the spinal cord and spinal nerves pass through.

What happens when we age?

For many of us, several things begin to happen to our spines as we age. Our vertebrae begin to thicken and our discs start to loose moisture and shape. As a result, the spinal canal becomes narrower putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerve endings and causing pain, numbness, or weakness in the body. This condition is called spinal stenosis. While stenosis can affect people in their 20s and 30s, it is most commonly seen in older patients. Spinal stenosis is a degenerative condition, meaning the symptoms tend to be progressive, increasing in severity as the patient ages.

Symptoms of Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis can occur in all areas of the spine, but occurs most often in the lumbar (lower back) and cervical (neck) areas. Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis may feel pain, weakness, or numbness in the legs, calves or buttocks. Symptoms often increase when walking short distances and decrease when sitting, bending forward, or lying down. Cervical spinal stenosis has similar symptoms in the shoulders, arms, and legs, and may also include hand clumsiness and gait and balance disturbances.

Treatment Options for Spinal Stenosis

The good news is that nearly 90 percent of spinal stenosis cases are successfully treated without surgery. Non‑surgical treatment options most commonly used for patients with stenosis include the following:

  

  $ Medications such as non‑steroidal anti‑inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce swelling and pain, and analgesics to relieve pain.

  $ Corticosteroid injections (epidural steroids) to reduce swelling and treat acute pain.

  $ Rest or restricted activity (this may vary depending on extent of nerve involvement).

  $ Physical therapy and stretching and strengthening exercise to help stabilize the spine, restore   mobility, and increase flexibility.

• Chiropractic care and physical therapies.

Severe cases of spinal stenosis may require surgery. However, surgery should not be considered unless several months of non‑surgical treatments have been tried. The most common surgery used to treat stenosis is called decompressive laminectomy in which the laminae (bony plates located on the back of the vertebra) are removed to create more space in the spinal canal.

Don't Ignore Back Pain

With all of the treatment options available today, it's no longer necessary to accept back pain as a normal part of the aging process. Back pain, especially if it continues to get worse, includes bowel and bladder difficulties, or prevents you from participating in your everyday activities, should not be ignored. Talk to your physician or see a spine specialist. They will help you find a treatment plan that can return you to your pain‑free life once more.

Observation by George Carlin

 
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter 
tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, 
we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more 
conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more 
knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, 
but less wellness. 
 
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive 
too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, 
watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. 
 
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, 
love too seldom, and hate too often. 
 
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life 
not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble 
crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not 
inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. 
 
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but 
not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish 
less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold 
more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and 
less. 
 
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small 
character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two 
incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of 
quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, 
overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. 
It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the 
stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when 
you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete. 
 
Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to 
be around forever. 
 
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that 
little person soon will grow up and leave your side. 
 
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only 
treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. 
 
Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of 
all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside 
of you. 
 
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not 
be there again. 
 
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious 
thoughts in your mind. 
 
And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but 
by those moments that take our breath away. 
 
George Carlin 

Physiology of Sleep

The Physiology of Sleep
The 100 billion cells that make up our brain interact to become our thoughts, feelings, dreams, hopes, memories, movement and how you sleep. The master clock in the brain is called he suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN. It regulates our circadian rhythm. Light regulates the master clock. The light passes through the pupils and ganglion cells relay the information to the SCN. When light passing through the pupils is inhibited, the SCN sends a signal to release melatonin. Levels of melatonin remain level throughout the night until interrupted by the light of the morning.

When you feel tired at night, that is determined in part when you are in the presence of sunlight in the morning. To keep the biological clock on a cycle, the brain needs input of sunlight through the eyes to reset itself each day. The tip here is to get natural light within one hour of being awake.

What happens in the brain when you are sleeping? The entire sleep cycle takes about 90 minutes and is then repeated: In stages 1 and 2, you first fall asleep, but are not in a deep-sleep state yet. During stages 3 and 4, you are in a deep, restful sleep. Your breathing and heart rate slow down, and your body remains still. In stage 5, your brain is active and you dream. Here's the entire 90-minute cycle: light sleep (lasts about 20 minutes), deep sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and repeat. It's interesting to note that your eyes move under your eyelids during REM sleep.

Deep sleep is crucial for immune system repair. Blood supply to muscles increases; tissue growth and repair occur; energy is restored; growth hormone is released, which is essential for growth and development, including muscle development; and other hormones are released, such as leptin and ghrelin, which keep your appetite in check, regulate fat storage and send signals to your brain when your stomach is full. UV damage also is repaired during deep sleep.

If you wake up during REM sleep, you might vividly remember your dreams. During REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular and shallow, and our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions. Our heart rate increases and our blood pressure rises.

REM sleep also allows our memory to improve. What's really important to understand here is that REM sleep promotes the consolidation of long-term memories for motor skills, facts and figures, and complex thought. If you are spending money on yourself or your child for a tutoring session (math, SAT prep, golf, tennis, soccer, swim lessons, etc.), and you / they don't get enough sleep, you are throwing money away!

One of the most important things that happens during sleep is that the brain's cells shrink. Researchers believe it's easier for brain cerebrospinal fluid (like lymphatic fluids) to flush out its many crevices. During sleep, proteins that could build up and become responsible for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders are removed more efficiently from the brain than during waking hours. In this way, toxins and other waste products are washed out.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

• A newborn baby might sleep 20 hours a day.
• By age 4, the average is 12 hours a day.
• By age 10, the average falls to 10 hours a day.
• Most adult people seem to need seven to nine hours of sleep a night, although after age 18, the sleep time necessary for optimal health / function becomes more individualized to the person.

Tips to Promote Healthy Sleep

When patients complain about being tired during the day, we talk about their sleeping habits. For most adults, it is essential to sleep for at least seven to eight hours every night. Some people need even more. There is evidence to suggest many people are biologically programmed to sleep not only for a long period in the middle of the night, but also for a short period in the middle of the day. Because of the sleep cycle, nap recommendations should include less than 30 minutes or a full 90 minutes (best option).

Here are some simple lifestyle changes / considerations to suggest to patients:

• Don't drink caffeine after 3 p.m.
• Keep alcohol consumption to one or two drinks with dinner, or eliminate consumption altogether.
• Turn off the TV, computer and cellphone at least an hour before bed so your brain has time to wind down, free of stimuli. Make sure all the lights are off (even cellphone screens, clock lights, etc.). If you need an eye mask, get one!
• Perform a calming activity such as reading, meditating, gentle stretching, or taking a bath an hour before bed.
• Don't eat dinner too late, especially if you're prone to digestive problems that keep you up at night.
• Go to sleep and wake up at the same time, even on weekends, so your body gets used to a regular sleeping pattern. Get early-morning light stimulation to reset your clock.
• Make sure your pillow adequately supports your neck and your mattress is comfortable.

Insomnia is often related to diet and lifestyle (too much caffeine and an overloaded calendar, which could potentially be disrupting diurnal cortisol rhythm). There are potential side effects of sleep drugs (Rufinamide, etc.), and although we cannot discourage someone from taking prescription medication, we certainly can recommend nutritional support and lifestyle approaches as first-line therapy.

Finally, a considerable number of patients seem to be taking prescription sleep aids. This seems unfortunate to me when we have many natural remedies to recommend. Prescription sleep drugs can cause severe allergic reactions and complex nighttime behavior that goes beyond sleepwalking.

Diet / Supplement Considerations

In terms of nutritional support, these are some of the common recommendations I offer to help patients maximize the quality and duration of their restorative sleep:

• Melatonin (1 mg per tablet; recommended dosage is 1-3 tablets, one hour before bedtime)
• Casein tryptic hydrolysate (enzymatically isolated decapeptide from whey milk that has natural, benzodiazepine-like properties)
• Passionflower extract (sedative and anxiolytic properties; similar mechanism of action as benzodiazepines)
• 5-HTP (the precursor for serotonin)
• Theanine and B vitamins to support balanced levels of GABA, serotonin, and dopamine, all of which are involved in regulating sleep
• DHA to support balanced levels of dopamine, GABA, and norepinephrine, which are important for cognitive function including memory formation and information consolidation during specific cycles of sleep
• Lavender scent or oils