Health Information
At ProActive, we want you to be informed. Knowing about your body gives you control over your own health and allows you to be truly proactive. Over time, we'll be adding to this list of resources to include more and more easily accessible and understandable research and information about health issues.
Introduction
Listen to Dr Cohen's Health Philosophy and How You Fit In
In this audio clip (mp3 format), Dr Cohen offers a brief introduction to chiropractic care in general, his health care philosophy, and the ProActive office. This is a good place to begin your ProActive approach to health.
Set Clear Health Goals
It is important to set realistic health goals. Here is Dr Cohen's 7-Step Program to help you implement healthy changes in your life.
Protect Your Spine
Step One: Get Adjusted
We hope you've already seen that chiropractic care can help. Now you are wondering how to keep your spine healthy between visits. We will discuss this in great detail during your visits and customize a treatment plan which may include specific exercises, stretches, a workstation evaluation, weight loss, and aerobic exercise, to name a few. To start implementing small changes into your day, click this link.
Is Your Desk Breaking Your Back?
Ergonomics is crucial to spinal health. The U.S. Department of Labor has a checklist for you to determine if your computer workstation is set up correctly. Even if your desk is set up correctly, there are significant risks from prolonged periods of activity (specificallly sitting too long) and ways you can provide recovery time for overused muscles. Ergonomics is not just a problem for adults anymore. It's becoming very important for children, too.
Smoking Is Bad For More Than Your Lungs
Smoking may slow down your healing time and also may lead to problems with the discs in your spine. If you have contemplated quitting, this workbook is a good source of information that will help you begin the process. Feel free to discuss this issue with Dr. Cohen, as he may be able to help you prepare for a successful voyage to a smoke-free life.
Healthy Night Sleep & Stress Reduction
Overcoming Sleep Problems (PDF file)
Sleeping pills are rarely the answer. This file covers various topics concerning sleep. It can help you identify any sleep disorders you may have or just give a few good tips on how to feel more relaxed and get a better night's sleep.
Learning to Relax
In addition to getting good sleep, just learning to relax in general can help eliminate stress and lead to more comfortable daily living. But relaxing takes practice. Check out these techniques for relaxing.
Relax and Reduce Your Blood Pressure
Research shows that a single session of mental relaxation or slow breathing can result in a temporary fall in blood pressure. To find more information about hypertension, the University of Maryland Medical Center has helpful resources.
Sleep More or Gain Weight
A long-term Nurses Health Study of middle-age women reports that too little sleep can lead to weight gain. They found that women who slept only five hours or less each night were 32 percent more likely to gain at least 33 pounds during the 16 years of the study, compared with those who averaged at least seven hours of shut-eye. The study could not correlate the weight gain to diet or exercise habits. Scientists suspect decreased sleep modifies the metabolism or it is possible that fewer calories are burned during the day because the subject was too tired to "fidget."
Nutrition
The Mediterranean Diet is Effective
Recent research shows that the Mediterranean diet is more effective than low-fat diets in lowering participants' blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels. The Mediterranean diet is characterized as high intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, fish, and unsaturated fatty acids (mostly olive oil); low intake of saturated fats, meat and poultry; low to moderately high intake of dairy products (mostly cheese or yogurt); and a regular but moderate intake of alcohol (primarily wine) with meals. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.
Trans Fats Make You Fat
It seems trans fats are not just terrible for your health but also make you heavier than other fats, according to new research. "Diets rich in trans fat cause a redistribution of fat tissue into the abdomen ("apple" body type) and lead to a higher body weight even when the total dietary calories are controlled," said Lawrence L. Rudel, Ph.D., professor of pathology and biochemistry and head of the Lipid Sciences Research Program at Wake Forest University.
Healthy Oils Are a Must
If you have not integrated Omega-3 Fatty Acids into your diet, you should. These healthy oils protect your heart, joints, brain, skin, immune system, gastrointestinal tract, lungs and skin. They are also a healthy way to decrease the inflammation in your body without the harmful side effects of NSAIDS (i.e. ibuprofen).
Antioxidants for Migraines
Research from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center suggests that antioxidants may help migraine headache sufferers who did not respond to medications. This small study used the MIDAS test (a measure of migraine severity) before and after three months of antioxidant therapy, and involved patients who were not responding well to beta-blockers, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor agonists. On average, the test scores were cut in half at the end of the study. Headache episodes dropped from an average of 15 per month to about 9; severity decreased as well. A small percentage of the volunteers showed no improvement. The supplements contained pine bark extract and vitamins C and E. This is an encouraging study for those who either have had no relief through drug thereapy or are interested in reducing side effects of medications.
Tips For Eating Out
As more Americans eat out more often, it is important to keep some basic guidelines in mind before you order. The American Heart Association gives some good tips for eating out.
Aspartame Causes Cancer in Rats, and Makes Humans Fat
Aspartame can be found in diet soft drinks, chewing gum, and even some cheap supplements. Yet research is showing that even in low doses, it increased the incidence of cancer. The European Journal of Oncology found the results alarming and indicative of urgent re-examination of permissible exposure of APM (aspartame) in both food and beverages, especially to protect children. Research is also showing that the more diet soft drinks someone drinks, the more weight he or she gains. The researchers said there was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day.
Exercise
Helpful Resources
The American Heart Association and the President's Challenge website offer information on why exercise is important, how much you need, and how to set up a program. Also fill in the 7-Step Program to help you implement health changes into your life.
Lose Weight and Reduce Heartburn
The New England Journal of Medicine found that women who put on a few pounds, even if they still are not considered overweight, tend to have more problems with heartburn (GERD). The researchers found that as little as 10 pounds of extra weight could trigger heartburn episodes. Fortunately, many women who subsequently lost the gained weight reported that their symptoms improved. The data were taken from the ongoing large-scale Nurse's Health Study and tracked more than 10,000 women and their health (June 1, 2006).
Pregnant Mother
During pregnancy, the average woman gains 25-35 pounds, which is healthy; however this places increased stress on the body as specific hormones dramatically change and affect the ligaments. These biomechanical shifts and changes in posture will cause aches and pains. Medication is not encouraged because many medications cross the placental barrier affecting your unborn child. Chiropractic is a safe, drug free way to help you cope with the aches and pains of pregnancy. The adjustments are very gentle and effective, especially during this period. Here is some great basic information for our expecting mothers.
Being Active With Your Newborn
After pregnancy, parents often integrate their infants into their normal fitness activities such a jogging, biking or walking. This is a great way for the parents to stay fit, reduce the likelihood of postpartum depression, and bond with their children. However, proper equipment is important when exercising with your baby.
