Teenagers and young children who eat fast food could be increasing their risk of developing asthma, eczema and hay fever, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal’s respiratory journal Thorax.

“We found clear associations between certain foods and severe asthma, hay fever (or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis) and eczema in the largest study of allergies in children (aged 6-7 years) and adolescents (13-14 years) to date,” said study author Hywel Williams of the Centre for Evidence Based Dermatology, Queen’s Medical Centre, University Hospital, Nottingham, UK.  According to Williams, the associations between allergic diseases and fast food were “only really convincing for severe disease.”

Researchers saw a protective effect against severe asthma for those who ate fruit at least three times a week.  Those consuming fast food three or more times a week had about a 30% increased risk of severe asthma, hay fever and eczema, a chronic skin condition that causes scaly, itchy rashes.  The results were consistent in both age groups.  Affluence and gender did not change or affect the outcome.

Either way, Williams said, there is a take-home message for parents.  He says you don’t have to stop eating fast food entires, ” but to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and maybe less fast food – one or two times per week rather than three or more.

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The nervous system and immune system are hardwired and work together to create optimal responses for the body to adapt and heal appropriately. Neural dysfunctions due to spinal misalignments are stressful to the body and cause abnormal changes that lead to a poorly coordinated immune response. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to boost the coordinated responses of the nervous system and immune system.

In 1975, Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor in Environmental Health at New York University, began researching the most scientifically valid ways to estimate individual susceptibility to various chronic diseases. He has conducted a tremendous amount of research in this area that includes over 160 published reports in peer reviewed journals.

Pero was fascinated by the relationship cancer-inducing agents had on the endocrine system. Since the nervous system regulates hormone balance, he hypothesized that the nervous system had to also have a strong influence on one’s susceptibility to cancer.

To support this argument he found a substantial amount of literature linking various kinds of spinal cord injuries and cancer. Pero found that these injuries led to a very high rate of lymphomas and lymphatic leukemias. This understanding led Pero to consider Chiropractic care as a means of reducing the risk of immune breakdown and disease.

Pero’s team measured 107 individuals who had received long-term Chiropractic care. The chiropractic patients were shown to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care, and a 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer or serious diseases. Interestingly, Pero found no decline with the various age groups in the study demonstrating that the DNA repairing enzymes were just as present in long-term chiropractic senior groups as they were in the younger groups.

Pero concluded, ‘Chiropractic may optimize whatever genetic abilities you have so that you can fully resist serious disease…I have never seen a group other than this show a 200% increase over normal patients.’

Kent, Christopher. Models of Vertebral Subluxation: A Review. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research. August 1996, Vol 1:1. Pg 4-5

Sternberg EM, Chrousos GP, Wilder RL, Gold PW. The stress response and the regulation of inflammatory disease. Ann Intern Med 1992; 117 (10):854

Brennan PC, Triano JJ, McGregor M, et al. Enhanced neutrophil respiratory burst as a biological marker for manipulation forces: duration of the effect and association with substance P and tumor necrosis factor. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1992; 15(2):83

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Do the Brain Benefits of Exercise Last?

It is well established that exercise bolsters the structure and function of the brain. Multiple animal and human studies have shown that a few months of moderate exercise can create new neurons, lift mood and hone memory and thinking.

But few studies have gone on to examine what happens next. Are these desirable brain changes permanent? Or, if someone begins exercising but then stops, does the brain revert to its former state, much like unused muscles slacken?

Researchers studied the effects of stopping exercise on rats by putting them through a maze after a period of in-activity. The longer the rats went without exercising, the greater the time needed to complete the maze.

The animals inactive for three or six weeks also performed far worse on the water maze test than the animals that had been inactive for only a single week. In fact, their memories were about as porous of those of the control animals, “indicating,” the authors write, “that the exercise-induced benefits may be transient.”

In other words, the brain benefits “wear off quickly,” said Dr. Michael Mazurek, a professor of neurology at McMaster, who oversaw the study. “This is analogous to what happens to muscle bulk or heart rate following exercise withdrawal.”

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So have some fun and pick an activity that you love to do. By choosing an activity you love, you will experience the benefits for a very long time. 

Low-back pain is frequently the source of missed playing time and disability in athletes. While a wide-range of treatment options exist,  it can be difficult to discern which therapies will enable you to return to play as safely and as quickly as possible.

A recent study determined which treatment option was the best for athletes with back pain. The researchers analyzed previous studies of low-back pain treatments, including application of cold or heat, ultrasound or laser treatments, traction therapy, electrical nerve stimulation, and lumbar supports or back braces. Acupuncture, massage, exercise therapy, physical therapy, and chiropractic care were also evaluated. The medications studied included steroid medications, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, opioids, antidepressants, and injection therapy.

Very few of the studied treatment modalities had clear evidence of effectiveness for athletes. Among the most effective treatments were superficial heat, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, and skeletal muscle relaxants. Chiropractic spinal adjustments were found to have the strongest evidence of benefit, along with the lowest risk of side effects.

The researchers point out that back pain is a symptom with many causes, including ligament sprains, muscle strains, and soft-tissue contusions. Diagnosis of the cause of the pain must be reached before an appropriate treatment can be selected.

Whether you’re recovering from an injury or suffering from non-specific pain, a Chiropractor can help identify and treat the root of your back pain. Studies suggest that Chiropractors can also help with the management of other sports injuries like hernias, shoulder impingement, and neck pain.

Study

Infantile colic is a distressing problem, characterised by excessive crying of infants and it is the most common complaint seen by physicians in the first 16 weeks of a child’s life.

The systematic review, which is published December 12, 2012 in the Cochrane Library, assessed six randomised trials involving a total of 325 infants who received Chiropractic treatment or had been part of a control group.

Five of the six studies measured the number of hours colicky babies cried each day and their results suggest that crying was reduced by an average of one hour and 12 minutes per day by this treatment, which was statistically significant.

Professor George Lewith, Professor of Health Research at the University of Southampton, comments: “The majority of the included trials indicate that the parents of infants receiving Chiropractic therapies reported fewer hours crying per day than parents whose infants did not. This difference is statistically significant and important for those families who experience this condition. These studies show that in this small sample there were no adverse effects from using these treatments.

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Jonathan Toews wasn’t fully recovered from a concussion when he played during last season’s playoffs.

While Toews was symptom-free and had cleared all the NHL-imposed concussion protocols before returning to the Hawks’ lineup, there were lingering effects from the injury that even the 24-year-old center didn’t realize were affecting him. They included balance and eyesight issues that were discovered and solved during a five-day stint at an Atlanta-area chiropractic neurology facility last week.

“But (the chiropractic neurology work) got me back to Square One and I feel great. When I walked out of there I was definitely really tired because you’re doing a lot of exercises that wear on you, but it’s definitely a good thing.”

Toews returned Saturday after spending time undergoing a battery of tests and corrective methods at the Carrick Institute at Life University in Marietta, Ga. The institute has treated other high-profile athletes, including the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, who has had his career threatened by concussions.

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Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), a national network of hospitals focusing on complex and advanced stage cancer and known for their comprehensive, fully integrated approach to cancer treatment, opened CTCA  at Southeastern Regional Medical Center (Southeastern) in Newnan, Georgia with licensed chiropractors offering chiropractic services to all patients.  As at CTCA at Southeastern and the other four CTCA  hospitals located in Chicago, Philadelphia,  Phoenix and Tulsa, chiropractic services are available to all patients as part of the Patient Empowered Care   model, where each member of the integrated team comes to the patient – all part of what they call the Mother Standard of care.

Dr. James Rosenberg, National Director of Chiropractic Care at CTCA, encourages patients to make chiropractic care part of their treatment plan.

He says, “Chiropractic care is one of the most commonly practiced and widely accepted therapies utilized today. And at CTCA, it’s a piece of the puzzle. It’s another way in which we’re taking care of the body as a whole.”

“Chiropractic care at CTCA is an important piece to the integrated healthcare approach by providing patients with an evidence-based, low risk approach to care,” shares Dr. Rosenberg, happily interjecting that all CTCA chiropractors currently have a patient waiting list. “A steadfast commitment to excellence continues to fuel the demand for our services.”

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Can a little bit of exercise make you smarter?

Or, stated more precisely, can regular activity help slow the cognitive declines associated with aging?

A small but intriguing study suggests that the answer to those two questions is Yes. Adults could, over a period of just a few months, significantly improve standard measures of cognition including the the ability to think clearly, recall and make quick decisions. Oh, and they also lost weight, shrunk their waist size, became more flexible and dramatically improved their endurance.

The key exercise was the interval training, which consisted of pedalling to maximum ability for 45 seconds, followed by 45 seconds rest, this for a total of 20 minutes. (The Montreal Heart Institute uses this method to help rehabilitate heart patients.)

“In the end, cognitive decline is largely a blood vessel problem. The brain is loaded with blood vessels and if you make those healthier with exercise, you reduce the risk of decline,” he said. “It’s very similar to the heart.”

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