Resveratrol, due to its estrogenic and high antitumor activity could be a safer alternative to hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women and could help prevent breast cancer, according to a new study. Resveratrol is found in grapes, pomegranates, and red wine.
Proper Vitamin D Levels Will Increase Your Chances of Living Longer
November 20, 2009 | Filed under: General Interest
CONCLUSION: In noninstitutionalized older adults, a group at high risk for all-cause mortality, serum 25(OH)D levels had an independent, inverse association with CVD and all-cause mortality. Randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in older adults are warranted to determine whether this association is causal and reversible.
Summary in English: This recent study found a direct relationship between those older adults with vitamin D inadequacies and an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and all cause mortality. So basically if you don’t have enough Vitamin D your likelihood of dying is significantly higher.
They are going to do more research, but why wait? Vitamin D is actually more like a hormone than a vitamin, so it makes sense that it is so crucial. It is easy and cheap to test for Vit D and to supplement with it.
Vitamin D can be produced within your body by the sun but it’s very difficult to get enough sunlight in the Bay Area to provide you with adequate Vitamin D levels (current research states 32 ng/mL as the threshold for optimal health, meaning it should be above this).
Come in we’ll order a quick and easy blood test and determine what your levels are and if you need to supplement how much you’ll need. Vitamin D is also something you don’t want to overdose on, so it’s important know where you are.
Improve GERD Symptoms Without the Weight gain and Other Drug Side Effects
November 18, 2009 | Filed under: Drugs,General Interest,Headaches
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD, which is a return of stomach contents up into the esophagus and frequently causes heartburn, is typically treated with a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPI) such as Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium. The commonly know side effects include diarrhea, headaches and even hip fractures.
A recent study published in the World J Gastroenterology found that patients on PPIs gained an average of 8 pounds over 2 years of use compared to those receiving a placebo.
This is a significant problem. The study goes on to say that “patients should be encouraged to manage body weight through lifestyle modifications.” That is good advice, but many patients already battle with weight gain so another card stacked against them is not ideal.
I have been able to improve GERD symptoms through natural supplements which are supported by research that they do not have this negative side effect. When I work a patient up from a functional medicine approach, this is a common problem that quickly responds favorably to conservative care. Even if a person is on a PPI, the natural supplement that I use has been commonly shown to decrease heartburn and the need for the medication. The patient’s medical doctors are often shocked but excited about the improvement because typically a person is on a PPI for life.
These drugs are commonly prescribed prophylactically when a patient has pain that is being managed by NSAIDs due to gastrointestinal events (or bleeding in the patient’s gut). Very often a person’s pain can be managed through chiropractic care so the need for both the PPI and the NSAID will be dramatically reduced.
Bottom Line: Drugs should be utilized short-term while the health care provider and patient search for the cause of the problem. Too often patients are put on drugs for life (e.g., NSAIDs or PPIs) and the cause of the problem is then forgotten about. EVERY drug has a side effect, many of which we don’t know yet. So utilize medications conservatively and just for short-term periods of time so you can cope while a more sustainable solution is found.
Drug firms exaggerate diseases to promote med sales, BBC article reports
November 15, 2009 | Filed under: Drugs,General Interest
Pharmaceutical companies are exaggerating conditions and presenting them as serious diseases, such as menopause, irritable bowel syndrome, and osteoporosis, according to an article by the BBC. Researchers from Newcastle University in Australia say that companies exaggerate conditions and diseases in an effort to sell more medications. Click on the link to read more.
San Francisco Chiropractor Adds Another Tool (the Xtensor) to Keep People Out of the Office and Away From Surgery
November 9, 2009 | Filed under: Dr Cohen,General Interest,Sports
I see wrist complaints day-in and day-out from patients from all over the Bay Area Usually the symptoms are improperly classified as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It is because of this that I decided I would invent something to help create balance for the hand. My practice focuses primarily on balance and our hands, like our trapezius or shoulder muscles, are often under tons of stress from the typical desk job so we need to make sure we balance out the opposite muscles.
In the hands, the finger flexors are overworked and the finger extensors are under utilized. As I type this out I feel my flexors working (not the extensors).
I used to suggest a rubber band over all of the fingers and simply extend (my close friend Dr. Ti Pence, a well-known chiropractor in Japan, swears by the broccoli rubberbands because they’re strong and cheap). Yet I wanted something that evenly distributed the resistance because I noticed my pinky and ring finger weren’t pulling their fair share.
Before I sank money and time into creating a new device, I researched what was out there and ran across the Xtensor, which seemed to do exactly what I wanted it to do without worrying about patents and marketing. So I’ve been using it for a few days and am impressed at the workout it gives my hands which is useful to negate the typing on my computer, on my Iphone (or Blackberry), rock climbing, swinging a tennis club (or golf club if I played more), working on patients, and even writing. Think about your daily life — I imagine you over utilize your finger flexors as well.
I’d suggest the Xtensor as a great conservative way to restore balance to the wrist. I bought a case of them and will be selling them at a price lower than the product’s own website because I think balance is something we should have, especially in the hands which we all want to keep agile.
This is yet another way that ProActive Chiropractic gets you Back to Work, Back to Play.
