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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #30 - Recorded February 3, 2006

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and informational Podcast.

In this week’s news:  We’ll Look At –

• Americans are Stressed

• Coffee and Exercise

• New Food Labeling Requirements

• Exercise and Healing Time

• Understanding Muscle Cramping

• Developing Poor Health Behaviors

• Low Calorie Diet and Heart Health

• And Finally, Chiropractic Corner Discusses the use of Adjunctive Therapies with Mr. Harlan Pyes

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #30, recorded February 3, 2006.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories.  Please surf to our web site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

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And Now for some news ….

Americans are Stressed

According to the “New Year, New You” Study — a national telephone survey of 1,000 U.S. adults sponsored by Brookstone, the product development company and specialty retailer — 56 percent of Americans said they experienced more stress in 2005 than in 2004, and are adopting new methods, such as massage therapy, for reducing stress and relaxing.

The study found that a majority of Americans believe massage is an effective way to relieve stress and one of the best ways to relax. In addition, most consumers would like to receive a massage product or service as a gift.

Key findings reveal:

• Seventy-six (76) percent said relaxation is very important to health and wellness;

• Seventy-three (73) percent rated getting a massage as either extremely relaxing or very relaxing;

• Sixty-nine (69) percent agreed that regular massage therapy is an important part of overall physical health and well-being;

• Fifty-two (52) percent would like to receive a massage product or service as a gift.

http://www.chiroeco.com/news/2006/January/AmerStress.php

Coffee and Exercise

According to a new study published in the January 17, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, having a coffee fix just before a workout may not be the best idea. 

Researchers in Switzerland found that the amount of caffeine in just two cups of coffee limits the body's ability to increase blood flow to the heart during exercise.

Whenever we do a physical exercise, myocardial blood flow has to increase in order to match the increased need of oxygen. The Authors of the study found that caffeine may adversely affect this mechanism. It partly blunts the needed increase in flow.

The caffeine did not affect heart blood flow when the participants were inactive. However, measurements taken immediately after exercise showed a slowdown in heart blood flow after they'd taken the caffeine tablets, compared to their previous results.

Further, the authors believe caffeine may block certain receptors in the walls of blood vessels, interfering with the normal signaling process that causes blood vessels to dilate in response to exercise.

While some people regard caffeine as a stimulant, this study suggests it may not increase athletic performance.

For more information, surf to Iowa State University at - www.extension.iastate.edu

http://www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/530404.html

New Food Labeling Requirements

Effective as of January 1, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration has established its own changes in regards to nutritional labeling. Prior to the change trans fats and specific allergenic proteins were listed obscurely on food labels making it necessary for consumers to seek out the ingredients list and decipher the meaning of each ingredient. A buyer not only had to be aware of the ingredients list, but also needed to understand the meanings of words such as hydrogenated, and casein (a milk protein).

Trans fats must now be cited on food labels, listing the exact amount in a serving, in the same way saturated fats are listed on the back of a food product. Even those most proficient customers who understood that the process of adding hydrogen to vegetable oil created trans fat and could locate partially hydrogenated oil on the ingredients list were left unaware of the accurate measure of trans fat the food product contained.

While knowledge of trans fat consumption can alleviate health concerns and promote proper eating, awareness of allergenic proteins can support a more stress free and safe life for those with potentially severe and hindering food allergies. Labels must now identify all and any allergenic proteins included among the major eight allergy inducing foods; these include eggs, milk, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, tree nuts and fish. In addition to clearly identifying the allergenic proteins, the proteins must be labeled in early reader form, ensuring that a child would be able to recognize their allergy on the label.

Trans fats can be found on a food label listed typically in the ingredients as “hydrogenated oil,” “partially hydrogenated oil,” “fractionalized oil,” and as of January 2006 the quantity of trans fat in the food product is required to be clearly labeled as grams of “trans fat.” Trans fats are the outcome of a procedure called hydrogenation. This refers to the addition of hydrogen gas to liquid fats.  This alters the chemistry of what are known as fatty acids, by changing the type of connections, known as bonds, that keep these fatty acids together.  This results in a greater amount of the cardiovascular negative saturated fats.

http://www.ncsf.org/enew/articles/articles-transfats.aspx

Exercise and Healing Time

According to the National Council on Strength and Fitness, Research conducted at Ohio State University been published in the Journal of Gerontology indicating that on top of the widely accepted beneficial results of regular exercise, recovery time from wounds can be added to the list.

Some of the widely accepted beneficial results of regular exercise include the following:

• decreased cholesterol

• decreased body fat

• increased lean muscle mass, and

• increased aerobic capacity

Researchers determined that those individuals who exercised regularly on average experienced healing 10 days quicker than there sedentary counterparts. The results are significant because the quicker a wound heals, the less likely an individual is to have an infection develop. This finding is of particular interest to the older adult population, who tend to have an increased risk of infection with minor wounds as they age.

As always, COT’s HealthBeat always recommends discussing any Exercise techniques with a qualified healthcare professional.

For more information, surf to the Journal of Gerontology.

Understanding Muscle Cramping

In another National Council on Strength and Fitness eNews bite, a discussion on Muscle Cramping was presented. 

Defined as an involuntarily and forcibly contracted muscle that does not relax, a muscle cramp can last anywhere from a few seconds to a quarter of an hour, and may, in a few physiological conditions, last longer. A cramp may recur multiple times before it finally dissipates and normal function is restored. Cramping can vary in severity, as well as in the affected musculature. A cramp can involve a part of a muscle, the entire muscle, or a muscle group.

Voluntary muscles are in a constant state of contraction and relaxation to control locomotion, posture, and deliberate movement. Numerous physiological occurrences act to control these purposeful mechanisms in an ongoing process to facilitate normal everyday human function.

Cramps are a fairly common physiological phenomenon. In fact, almost every human will experience some form of cramping in their lifetime. Although cramps can occur anywhere, most complaints stem from muscles of the lower extremities with many occurring in the calf.

Skeletal muscle cramps have been classified into four major types according to their different causes and the muscle groups they affect. These include true cramps, tetany, contractures, and dystonic cramps.

True cramps can occur in response to vigorous activity, from muscle spasms following injury, or when muscle fatigue and long duration static position is maintained.  Internal environments can also cause true cramps. Fluid loss from activity or chronic body fluid volume depletion as well as body fluid shifts can predispose the muscle for cramps. The use of diuretic containing products or medications, poor fluid intake, or accumulative dehydration may act similarly to predispose an individual for cramps.

If you suffer from Cramping, it is recommended that you contact a Qualified Healthcare Professional, such as your Doctor of Chiropractic.

For more information, surf to - http://www.ncsf.org/

Developing Poor Health Behaviors

According to research published in the January 2006 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, by the time they reach early adulthood, a large proportion of American youth have begun the poor practices contributing to three leading causes of preventable death in the United States: smoking, overweight and obesity, and alcohol abuse.

Researchers analyzed the responses of a nationally representative sample of more than 14,000 young adults who were followed since early adolescence. The survey respondents, recruited from high schools and middle schools around the country.  For nearly all groups surveyed, diet, activity level, obesity, health care access, tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use and likelihood of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease worsened as the youth reached adulthood.

According to the researchers, these findings underscore the importance of ongoing preventive efforts related to smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity and alcohol consumption, early in the course of life.

For more information, surf to our Show Notes for a link to this story - http://www.fitnessbusiness-pro.com/news/syndicate/unhealthy_behaviors_early_011206/

Low Calorie Diet and Heart Health

According to a study published in of the American College of Cardiology, A low-calorie diet may be an effective way to prevent the heart from aging.

In Western countries, a significant number of deaths are attributable to a phenomenon known as secondary aging. This term is used to describe health problems resulting from conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and other preventable conditions that contribute to premature death.

But scientists are beginning to find effective ways to fight secondary aging.

A new study used ultrasound examinations to inspect the hearts of individuals on restricted calorie diets. The exams showed that the subjects' hearts appear to be more elastic, which allows the heart to relax between beats in a manner similar to younger individuals.

The study looked at 25 individuals who had consumed a very low calorie diet (about 1,400 to 2,000 calories per day) for an average of six years. The hearts of these individuals were compared to the hearts of 25 individuals who had routinely eaten a typical Western diet (about 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day). The participants ranged in age from 41 to 65.

As always, COT’s HealthBeat always recommends discussing any Dietary and Nutritional advice with a qualified healthcare provider.

For more information, surf to the January 17, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology - http://heart.healthcentersonline.com/newsstories/balancedlowcaloriedietappearsprevent.cfm

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

Chiropractic Corner – At the recent New York State Chiropractic Association Mini-Convention, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Harlan Pyes, who discusses the role of various Adjunctive Therapies available to assist in patient treatments.

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Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"Always tell the truth. Then you'll never have to remember what you said the last time." 
– Sam Rayburn

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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