A healthy diet and the right amount of exercise are key players in treating and preventing obesity but we still know little about the relationship both factors have with each other. A new study now reveals that an increase in physical activity is linked to an improvement in diet quality.

The data from epidemiological studies suggest that tendencies towards a healthy diet and the right amount of physical exercise often come hand in hand. Furthermore, an increase in physical activity is usually linked to a parallel improvement in diet quality.

Exercise also brings benefits such as an increase in sensitivity to physiological signs of fullness. This not only means that appetite can be controlled better but it also modifies hedonic responses to food stimuli. Therefore, benefits can be classified as those that occur in the short term (of metabolic predominance) and those that are seen in the long term (of behavioural predominance).

According to Alonso Alonso, “physical exercise seems to encourage a healthy diet. In fact, when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet, treatment of obesity is more successful and the diet is adhered to in the long run.”

Exercise modifies the brain

Eating and physical activity are behaviours and are therefore influenced by cognitive processes that are a result of activity in different areas of the brain. Previous studies have already assessed changes in the brain and cognitive functions in relation to exercise: regular physical exercise causes changes in the working and structure of the brain.

Full Report

A little-known treatment by Dr. Carrick, a Canadian-born Chiropractor, is the key to Sidney Crosby’s comeback.

Dr. Carrick started is a Chiropractor, and has developed an encyclopedic understanding of the brain. Dr Carrick is a self-made man: he invented his discipline, and then founded an educational institution, the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies. He lectures and practises around the world, and today, 2,700 individuals in the world are board-certified to practise Chiropractic neurology.

The method used by Carrick and his colleagues is notably different from the current “rest and wait” approach endorsed by an international consensus group, which recommends patients refrain from any physical or mental activities until all symptoms have disappeared.

The treatment and recovery of Sidney highlights an important idea in health care – if the traditional approach doesn’t work, it’s time to try something else. During the first eight month’s of Sidney’s treatment, the medical community followed the “gold standard” of rest and limit physical activity. Then once he saw Dr. Carrick, he began a more aggressive, proactive form of treatment.

After Dr Carrick determine Crosby was ready to return, he sent him home to his team, to his fans, to the same rink where less than a year ago. In this way, nothing has changed: he is still the one hockey player everyone watches.

Macleans

Doing just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day may add three years to your life, a large study in Taiwan has found.Lead researcher Chi Pang Wen of Taiwan’s National Health Research Institutes said dedicating 15 minutes a day to a moderate form of exercise, like brisk walking, would benefit everyone.

After taking into account differences in age, weight, sex and a range of health-related indicators, they found that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day increased life expectancy by three years compared to those who remained inactive.

“The first 15 minutes…the benefits are enormous,” Wen said.

Reuters Link

Pediatricians write more than 10 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions every year for conditions such as the flu and asthma, contributing to potentially dangerous drug resistance, a study said.

In total, doctors prescribed an antibiotic at one in every five visits, with most dispensed for children with respiratory ailments such as sinus infections and pneumonia.

Some of those infections were caused by bacteria, warranting antibiotics. But almost one-quarter of all antibiotic prescriptions were given to children with respiratory conditions that probably or definitely do not call for antibiotics, such as bronchitis, the flu, asthma and allergies.

That translates to more than 10 million antibiotic prescriptions each year that likely won’t do any good but might do harm, said study leader Adam Hersh of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Half of all the antibiotics prescribed were “broad-spectrum” drugs, which act against a wide range of bacteria — killing more of the good bacteria in the bodies as well and perhaps setting the child up for more serious infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria later on.

“We think of antibiotics as being wholly beneficial, but they are not very specific, they hit everything in your body. By making our microbes that are supposed to be with us disappear, we can be causing other health problems we don’t know about.”

And to avoid over-prescription? Hersh said that one way might simply be to wait several days and check the child again.

Reuters

ABOUT ONE-THIRD of the most common cancers could be prevented through healthy diets, physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight.

This was the main message from a host of global organisations yesterday on World Cancer Day which this year focused on cancer prevention.

Dr Susan Higginbotham, director of research at the American Institute for Cancer, said making even small changes in the right direction could help lower the risk of cancer.

The institute has distilled the learning from thousands of studies on the subject of diet, weight, physical activity and cancer into the following recommendations: be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day; eat more of a variety of fruit and vegetables as well as whole grains and beans; avoid sugary drinks; limit the consumption of salty and processed foods and red meat; limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women each day; be as lean as possible without becoming underweight; do not use supplements to protect against cancer; mothers should breastfeed exclusively for up to six months, and, after treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

“When it comes to cancer, there are no guarantees,” Dr Higginbotham said, adding that the recommendations represent “the best advice available anywhere”.

The World Health Organisation also focused on the benefits of exercise in preventing certain cancers. It said if over-18s undertake 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity it can reduce their risk of breast and colon cancers.

John McCormack, of the Irish Cancer Society, said World Cancer Day was an opportunity to examine what we are doing to reduce our cancer risk. Each year about 12.7 million people discover they have cancer and 7.6 million die from the disease.

Orignal Article

Annual flu shots protect only about 59 percent of the population — far less than previously thought — according to a new study led by University of Minnesota researchers.

The study found “major holes and gaps” in the vaccine given to tens of millions of Americans every year to prevent influenza and its complications, said Michael Osterholm, the lead scientist and head of the university’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

But until a better vaccine comes along, Osterholm said, 59 percent “is a lot better than zero.”

In the past, experts have estimated that annual flu shots protect 70 to 90 percent of the population. But the new analysis found that on average, the vaccine worked on about 59 percent of adults younger than 65.

In fact, flu vaccines may have had little, if any, effect during some flu seasons, according to the report, which was published Tuesday. The most common flu shot had no noticeable impact in four out of 12 seasons studied.

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Expert horse trainer, competitive rider, and the performance editor for the publication Horse Journal, John Strassburger, wrote an article in the August 23, 2011 issue of Horse Journal explaining why he believes in chiropractic for himself and his horses.

In the article, Strassburger begins by saying, “I’ve been meaning to write about why I’m a big fan of chiropractic treatment for horses and for humans for a while.” He notes that he has been under chiropractic care for some time and goes to see his chiropractor every 4 to 8 weeks. He also has an equine chiropractor come to see his horses every 4 to 6 weeks. He reports, “Our horses have been her (Suzanne, his equine chiropractor) patients for about three years.”

In the article, Strassburger offers his testimony of how chiropractic has helped by stating, “I truly believe, based on my observations of my own body and those of well more than a dozen horses, that using chiropractic treatment is an example of how traditional and non-traditional medicine (including chiropractic) should be complementary. Every horse Suzanne has worked on has felt better and, thus, performed better, and I can think of four horses with whom it’s caused tremendous improvement.”

In the course of writing the article, he also explains his own story with chiropractic by saying, “I’ve fallen off dozens and dozens of times over the last 45 years, and many of those falls have wrenched my neck. The only thing Western medicine has to offer is a wide range of inflammation-reducing and pain-relieving drugs. Again, from experience, I know that those drugs certainly do have their uses, but I don’t really care to live on them. But a visit to my chiropractor never fails to relieve the pain in my neck—and it’s my neck that’s the reason why I’m going again this afternoon.”

John Strassburger completes his article with the story of a horse named Bill, a 2-year-old warm blood gelding. Strassburger was having trouble training Bill as the horse would rear backwards with certain maneuvers suggesting that Bill was experiencing neck pain. Strassburger had the equine chiropractor work on the horse and the results were dramatic. The horse can now perform many of the maneuvers that Strassburger was trying to teach him. Strassburger reports, “Bill’s now had two treatments, and—I swear—he’s almost like a different horse. He’s far more relaxed and confident (he hasn’t reared back on the crossties since his first treatment) and he’s now longeing, in tack, at all three gaits.”

Not only are Chiropractic adjustments effective at eliminating low back pain (LBP), but ongoing maintenance care results in better long term outcomes. These findings are from a study published in the journal Spine.

The prospective, blinded, placebo-controlled study tracked 60 patients, with chronic, nonspecific LBP lasting at least 6 months.

According to the article, patients “were randomized to receive either (1) 12 treatments of sham adjustments over a 1-month period, (2) 12 treatments, consisting of adjustments over a 1-month period, but no treatments for the subsequent 9 months, or (3) 12 treatments over a 1-month period, along with “maintenance spinal manipulation” every 2 weeks for the following 9 months. To determine any difference among therapies, we measured pain and disability scores, generic health status, and back-specific patient satisfaction at baseline and at 1-, 4-, 7-, and 10-month intervals.”

Results revealed that “patients in second and third groups experienced significantly lower pain and disability scores than first group at the end of 1-month period. However, only the third group that was given Chiropractic adjustments during the follow-up period showed more improvement in pain and disability scores at the 10-month evaluation.”

The study’s authors conclude: Chiropractic adjustments are effective for the treatment of chronic nonspecific LBP. To obtain long-term benefit, this study suggests regular Chiropractic care every 2 weeks after the initial intensive manipulative therapy.

Spine – August 15, 2011;36:1427-1437.

Fighter pilots often suffer from neck pain as a result of the high g forces they experience during combat.

An 18-question survey was used to determine type and effectiveness of various strategies used by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fast jet (FJ) aircrew in self-referral and management of flight-related neck pain.

The questionnaire was given to 86 eligible RAAF aircrew to determine aircrew demographics, their incidence of flight-related neck pain, and their self-referral strategies to manage these neck injuries. The results are quite dramatic: Ninety-five percent of the respondents experienced flight-related neck pain.

The most commonly sought treatment modalities were on-base medical and physiotherapy services. Many respondents reported using on-base treatment and ancillary services such as chiropractic care.

The pilots reported that chiropractic care was the most effective treatment for alleviating their neck pain.

Studies like this explain why Retired Brigadier General Rebecca Halstead are active supporters of Chiropractic.

Military Medicine 2011 (Jan); 176 (1): 106–109