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Walking Great for Your Brain, Study Says

November 22, 2010 | Filed under: Brain Health,General Interest

In a study of elderly individuals over a span of nine years, it was found that those who were active and walked daily maintained more brain mass than those who did not.  With the brain, according to the article from CBS News, size does matter.  The brain shrinks with age, and shrinkage can lead to dementia later in life — but the brains of those with active lifestyles did not shrink at the same rate as those with more sedentary lifestyles.

Other things that help protect the brain besides exercise:  eating leafy greens and fruits, exercising your brain (especially during middle age) with crossword puzzles and other things that stimulate the creation of new connections in the brain, remaining socially engaged, and having a pet.

For back pain sufferers, surgery isn’t always the answer

November 19, 2010 | Filed under: General Interest

An article in the LA Times reports that increased rates of back surgery in recent years do not necessarily correspond with increased patient reports of improvement.  More doctors are now arguing that physicians should think about alternatives before resorting to surgical procedures.

Talk with Dr. Cohen at his San Francisco office about alternatives to back surgery.

Top 8 Mediterranean Super Ingredients

November 17, 2010 | Filed under: General Interest,Heart Health,Nutrition

A study of the Mediterranean diet by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the University of Athens Medical School in Greece discusses the benefits of eight foods that are the main components of the diet.

1.  Olive Oil  -  It can help lower cholesterol, but should be used in moderation.

2.  Lots of fruits and vegetables.  Researchers reported that once your diet is comprised of mostly vegetables and fruit (preferably at every meal), the additive benefits of other foods are small.   These should be a mainstay in your diet.

3.  Fish and Seafood.  Emphasis was made on eating wild fish and preparing fish in a healthy way.

4.  Nuts.  Walnuts and almonds are the best; they help with heart health, as long as they are not prepared with lots of salt and sugar.

5.  Beans.  They contain protein, fiber, iron and tons of nutrients.

6.  Alcohol — red wine, but only in moderation, can help prevent heart disease.  Too much can have an opposite effect.  The key ingredient is resveratrol, which is also found in grapes and pomegranates.

7.  Cereals.  Researchers emphasize that whole grain cereals are beneficial, while sugary, processed cereals are not. (Dr C note: I suggest sticking to the less common whole grains Emmer, Brown rice, Farro, Einkorn, Rye, Spelt,  Millet, Quinoa, Amaranth, and  Sprouted Grains.

8.  Cutting Back on Dairy. (Dr. C note: If you are doing dairy make sure it’s at least organic so you don’t have the hormones and antibiotics that are so prevalent. If you can find a local farmer at your farmers market who will provide you with fresh local milk that’s even better. I am also not a fan of non fat dairy because i think it converts to sugar too quickly in your body).

For more info, read the ABC News article here.

Another Way to Avoid The Flu This Coming Winter

November 16, 2010 | Filed under: Kids,Nutrition

In March, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study performed on school-aged children that found that children who supplemented their diets with vitamin D during the winter months demonstrated significantly lower incidences of influenza than children who did not supplement with vitamin D.

It also seemed to reduce asthma attacks.

Sounds worth the try!

Source: Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren

Can’t Sleep? Try these tips.

November 15, 2010 | Filed under: General Interest

ProActive Chiropractic patients often complain of issues sleeping and too often are put on medications before they have tried simple solutions:

1. Retire only when sleepy. Do not force sleep.
2. Keep a standard wake-up time on both weekends and workdays. This
prevents a constant struggle for your circadian rhythm.
3. The bedroom should be used for sleep and intimacy only. Do not
read, watch TV, work on the computer or catch up on office work
while in bed. Reading or watching TV prior to sleep reduces the
amount of circulating melatonin because of the exposure from the light.
If you associate your bedroom with activities other than sleep, you may
be tempted to work during awakenings at night.
4. Get out of bed when you are unable to sleep. If you have been
awake more than 20 minutes, get out of bed. Go to another room and
engage in a non-stimulating activity in very dim light, such as mediation
or simple housework that is easily finished in a short time. Light from a
reading lamp or a TV will reduce the amount of melatonin produced and
decrease the quality of sleep.
5. Don’t worry or plan in bed. Make a time in the day or early evening
for constructive worry or planning. During this time, you can write
down your plans and concerns. This should include tasks that you have
to do the next day or personal worries about finances, heath or family
members. If you wake up, know that you have your thoughts down on paper
and that you will deal with them the next day.
6. Avoid daytime napping. There are two separate drives that control
sleep: circadian and homeostatic. The circadian drive for sleep is biphasic,
which causes us to be sleepy right after lunch and again in the
late evening. A nap in the daytime decreases the homeostatic drive for
us to sleep when going to bed that night. By avoiding the urge to sleep
during the afternoon circadian drive for sleep, you will have a stronger
homeostatic drive for sleep in the late evening..

These tips are taken from ACANews.

I would also suggest making sure your bedroom is dark by utilizing blackout curtains.
Minimize noise with insulated glass or a white noise maker or fan.

Nutrition and exercise also play a large role in quality sleep. If these simple suggestions do not help discuss your specific issue with Dr. Cohen.

Study Finds That for Low Back Pain, Starting with Chiropractic Saves 40% on Care

November 11, 2010 | Filed under: Dr Cohen,General Interest

A new study finds that care for low back pain initiated with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) saves 40 percent on health care costs when compared with care initiated through a medical doctor (MD), the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) announced today. The study, featuring data from 85,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield beneficiaries, concludes that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractic care for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions.


Low back pain is a significant public health problem. Up to 85 percent of Americans have back pain at some point in their lives. In addition to its negative effects on employee productivity, back pain treatment accounts for about $50 billion annually in health care costs—making it one of the top 10 most costly conditions treated in the United States.

Published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), the new study, “Cost of Care for Common Back Pain Conditions Initiated With Chiropractic Doctor vs. Medical Doctor/Doctor of Osteopathy as First Physician: Experience of One Tennessee-Based General Health Insurer,” looked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year span. The insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays.

Results show that paid costs for episodes of care initiated by a DC were almost 40 percent less than care initiated through an MD. After risk-adjusting each patient’s costs, researchers still found significant savings in the chiropractic group. They estimated that allowing DC-initiated episodes of care would have led to an annual cost savings of $2.3 million for BCBS of Tennessee.

“As doctors of chiropractic, we see day in and day out how chiropractic can save money by preventing expensive surgeries and long term medication use.  By putting the most conservative type of care first it only makes sense it will save money and get people back to work and back to play quicker, which is what everyone really wants,” says Dr. Andrew Cohen of San Francisco, California.

The full study is available online and will appear in print in the December issue of JMPT.