Tampa Chiropractor

Chiropractors, like your Tampa Chiropractor, are committed to making sure their patients know the importance of drinking a sufficient amount of water everyday. The positive repetitive stress is on “Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!” In order for humans to survive, they must have air and water (in that order). Survival instincts, then, would appear to guarantee that we would drink enough water as naturally as we breathe in air. (Most people aren’t getting enough oxygen either, but let’s talk about why staying well-hydrated is so important.) Your good health depends on your drinking water, and lots of it. Every system in your body — every cell, tissue, and organ — needs water to function adequately. Your saliva, and the fluids surrounding your joints, are essentially water. Your blood is kept circulating and your body temperature and metabolism are moderated by water. The improvement of nutrient absorption and toxin removal, as well as the reduction of heartburn, hypertension, exhaustion, and headaches have been attributed to staying well-hydrated.

Athletes are particularly at risk when it comes to functional challenges caused by dehydration. “Physiologically, their core body temperature could be higher than it should have been if they were hydrated. Their heart rate will be higher, and they’re going to perceive that they’re working harder than they actually are,” said Susan Yeargin, assistant professor of athletic training in Indiana State’s College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services.  According to researchers at Indiana State University, a high percentage of collegiate and professional athletes begin the season dehydrated, putting their health at risk even before they begin strenuous workouts. In fact, Pre-season physical examinations, in fact, found that 80 percent of football players presented with.

Just how much water is enough water might have you confused. Chiropractors, like the majority of other health care professionals, suggest no less than eight, 8-ounce glasses of water every day for most patients, however for our patients who are athletes, or for those who carry around excess weight or exercise or work in a hot environment, we recommend even more. There is a fairly uncomplicated way for you to know if you’re drinking a healthful quantity water. The color of your urine is a good guide. If it comes out a light, pale yellow, it’s evidence that you’re well-hydrated!

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Recently I saw an article on sciencedaily.com how caffeine decreased memory loss in aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The article began with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.”  It went on to report on coterminous studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that proved that caffeine considerably decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

But, before you opt to add another cup of coffee to your morning routine, let me warn you that under “Related Stories” on the website were at least two articles about studies that professed to prove the not-so-healthy effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”

In my experience, I’ve noticed that there are more than likely studies that will corroborate, or at least bolster, nearly any view point, especially when it is about age-related health issues. The “good/bad” studies related to caffeine certainly aren’t, of course, the only ones. Even so, it did get me to thinking about the reasonableness that there will never be any “one thing” that will incontrovertibly help we, humans, to live longer, healthier lives. Humans are dynamic, biological beings. We are actively engaged in life. We’re not confined to a cage! And, let’s face it, though Alzheimer’s disease may be on the rise, obviously we, cage-free humans, have not been “bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t going to be the “one thing” that is going to reverse or prevent it.

Our body is a splendid, involved system that is designed to function homeostasis, that is to say, balance. It makes sense, then, that good health is about a healthy, balanced attitude towards living, instead of our being momentarily convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one specific thing in the hope that it will reverse all of the other immoderate and harmful things we do to our bodies.

I believe, as a doctor of chiropractic, that every single day we have an opportunity to make decisions that will assist us to live longer, healthier lives, healthy choices for our body and mind. We know what genuinely “feels” beneficial and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for our body. So, the if you reach for that extra cup of coffee or that second glass of red wine, I hope that you’ll keep this in mind. Neither one of those things is the “one thing” that will do “everything” for your age-related health issues.

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Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) affects an estimated 90% of women, at one time or another, and nearly 20% of those women afflicted undergo severe to disabling symptoms. Suggesting to a woman that her PMS is “just in her head” can be not only just plain dangerous, it’s also just plain wrong! There are physiological causes of PMS in the majority of cases, including one that might surprise you — spinal misalignment. That’s right. Your back could actually be the culprit. Spinal subluxations, expressly in the lower back, can commonly produce a complex variety of female health problems in addition to Premenstrual Syndrome, such as pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, incontinence, and even infertility.

Are you wondering how chiropractic can relieve the symptoms of PMS? Chiropractic adjustments get rid of nerve impingement in your body. Your nervous system governs and regulates every cell, fiber, tissue, organ, and system in your body. This includes your reproductive system. If your reproductive system isn’t functioning properly due to nerve disturbance, it can generate a variety of symptoms such as those analogous with PMS. You would most likely experience agitation, pain, heavy bleeding, or severe cramping if your reproductive system were overactive. Under-activity can cause missed periods or infertility. The good news is that if nerve impingement is creating your PMS symptoms, then chiropractic treatment can help because spinal manipulations restore unimpeded activity to your nervous system and, as a result, assisting it in functioning more normally.

Many women find an improvement in their reproductive health, along with improved general health, while under chiropractic care. So, if you’ve been thinking that your PMS is just in head, think again! Then call your Tampa Chiropractor. chiropractic care is  an all natural answer for PMS that could assist you in avoiding periodic misery, without medication, and keep you healthy and energetic all month long.

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Doesn’t it seem that healthy lifestyle information is everywhere you look these days? There are magazines and TV shows all about healthy foods and beneficial exercises. There are even recipes for nutritious meals in the newspaper. But, even though more Americans today are aware that eating nutritious meals, getting exercise, and keeping their body weight down is essential for health and longevity, a new study reported in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine has found that the number of middle-aged and older Americans who have adopted a healthy lifestyle has actually declined substantially in the past two decades. Using data from a large government health survey, researchers found that in 2006, only 26 percent of Americans ages 40 to 74 said they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. That’s down 16 percent from the 42 percent who responded in the 1988 survey! When it came to exercise, the same kind of decline was reported. Only 43 percent said they worked out at least 12 times per month, versus 53 percent in 1988. Not surprisingly, the rate of obesity in the United States went in the opposite direction, from 28 percent in 1988 to 36 percent in 2006.

The findings were based on data from the National Health and nutrition Examination Survey, a regularly conducted government health survey. Researchers focused on surveys conducted between 1988 and 1994 and between 2001 and 2006, which together included more than 15,000 Americans between the ages of 40 and 74. They looked at rates of five lifestyle factors involved in preventing a range of health risks: maintaining a normal weight, getting regular exercise, eating enough fruits and vegetables, not smoking, and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol.

Though the study cannot tell us why healthy lifestyle habits are on the decline, lead researcher, Dr. Dana E. King, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said that one reason may be that these changes are just difficult to make. “People’s increasingly hectic lives may be making it hard to fit in regular exercise, or to sit down to healthier, home-cooked meals rather than eating take-out.” He suggested some simple steps can make a difference. “It’s not hard, for example, to take some fruit to work with you, instead of going to the vending machine.” (Parking a little farther away from your destination and walking a bit can help, too.) Most importantly, Dr. King stressed that “it’s never too late” for middle-aged and older adults to make lifestyle changes for the better. In fact, in an earlier study, King and his colleagues found that when middle-aged adults newly adopted a healthier lifestyle — including regular exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables — their risk of developing cardiovascular disease or dying over the next several years fell by as much as 40 percent.

If you think about it, there aren’t many things in life that carry an “it’s never too late” guarantee. So, why not start today, no matter what your age may be? Your healthy future is depending on you!

Technorati Tags: cardiovascular disease, healthy lifestyle, middle-aged adults

Are you ready for this? For years (and years) chiropractors like me, plus nutritionists and other health-conscious professionals have been advising men, women, and children to lay off the fast foods. Everyone is aware already of the artery-clogging, fat-producing effects of a fast food diet. So, tell you something you don’t know, right? Well, here it is: It’s not just the fast food, itself, that can shorten your life span, but the wrapper it comes in that is a risk to your health and longevity, as well!

Add to the growing list of chemicals showing up in human blood, chemicals called diPAPs. They’re found in the compounds that make food wrappers grease-proof. These chemicals are fairly new and scientists don’t know yet if they are harmful to human health. But diPAPs break down into another worrisome chemical, called PFOA (perfuorooctanoic acid), which is in a class of compounds called perflurochemicals, and may be carcinogenic.

PFOA and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate, another perflurochemical) are resistant to oil and water, which makes them perfect for use as fast food wrappers, and as liners on nonstick pans, microwave popcorn bags, and pizza boxes, not to mention carpets clothes, and electronics among many other applications. The problem is that these compounds end up in the environment, our food and our bodies.

“The take-home message is that some chemicals that make our lives easier, better and more satisfying end up in our bloodstream with unknown toxicological consequences,” said Scott Mabury, a chemist at the University of Toronto. “We should be smart enough to design chemicals that do what we want them to do without causing a chemical pollution problem.” Imagine that — designing chemicals that wouldn’t harm our bodies or pollute the environment. I wonder why no one has thought about that until now?

For the complete article, go tohttp://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/15/food-wrapper-chemical.html?campaign=w01-101-ae-0001

Technorati Tags: diet, fast food, health, pollution