Migraine Triggers in your Food and Drink

Migraine symptoms can last anywhere from four to seventy-two hours and they include symptoms like nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, lightheadedness and sensitivity to light and sound. The pain can also be on one side of the head or it could be pulsating, throbbing pain throughout the whole head.

There isn't an exact way to prevent migraines, but there may be potential triggers that can make a difference in the number attacks. Consider these ingredients and foods:

Tyramine: This substance is formed from the breakdown of protein as foods age. Foods that have tyramine include aged cheeses (blue, Brie, cheddar, Stilton, feta, Gorgonzola, mozzarella, Muenster, Parmesan, Swiss and processed cheese), processed meat (hot dogs, sandwich meat, and bacon), and soy products (soy sauce, tofu, and miso). Olives, pickles, sauerkraut, dried fruit, red wine, and beer also have tyramine. 

Alcohol: Alcohol increases blood flow to your brain, which can cause a migraine. Red wine, beer, whiskey, and champagne seem to be the most common culprits. 

Tannins: These are plant compounds can be found in tea, red-skinned apples and pears, apple juice and cider and red wine. Some other foods that have this compound include lemons, limes, grapefruit, cantaloupe, guava, honeydew melon, green pears, oranges, pineapples, black berries, and apricots. Generally you will find most of the tannins in the skin of the fruit. 

Caffeine: Caffeine can be both a trigger and treatment for migraines. If you know you are sensitive to caffeine, avoid chocolate, coffee, soda, and tea. 

Other potential migraine triggers: Artificial sweeteners (aspartame), foods that contain MSG and some preservatives, including sulfites and nitrates.

To help identify your migraine triggers, it would be wise to keep a food journal to note and correlation between what you eat and how you feel. A good iPhone app that would be helpful is My Migraine Triggers.

Original Article: http://news.yahoo.com/migraine-triggers-food-drink-135825251.html

Visit us at www.oxborochiro.com

Stop Back Pain Before it Starts

Stop Back Pain Before it Starts

Sit Correctly

Have a chair that supports your back so its curved like an S and not a C.  Also, every once in a while get up and walk around to take some stress off your back.

Stand Tall

Your ears, shoulders, hips, and knees should all stack up along a line that you imagine going down through your body from the ceiling.  Your head should stack directly atop your neck.

Wear Soft Soles

When your foot strikes concrete, it jars the bones and muscles in your low back.  Make sure your shoes (or your home wear slippers or flip-flops) have soft soles to help lesson this impact.

Don't Smoke

In a 2010 review of 40 studies, it was found that smokers have more low back pain than non-smokers.  This can possibly be due to smoking reducing blood flow to the spine.

Learn How to Life

Lift with your legs, not your back!  Proper lifting can greatly reduce the chances of having acute low back pain.

Downsize your Pillows

Sleeping with too many pillows under your neck can strain your postural muscles.  Having fewer pillows can help keep the spine aligned and reduce the stretch put on your muscles while you sleep!

Original Article: http://healthyliving.msn.com/diseases/back-pain/stop-back-pain-before-it-starts-1

Oxboro Family Chiropractic: August Muscle of the Month

Oxboro Family Chiropractic: August Muscle of the Month

Sartorius

The sartorius is the longest muscle in the human body.  It is responsible for the hip motion required for crossing your legs or sitting cross-legged on the floor in the tailor's position.

Anatomical Information 

•Origin: Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS)

•Insertion: Proximal, medial shaft of the tibia at pes anserinus tendon

•Nerve: Femoral L2, 3, (4)

•Action: Flex the hip, laterally rotate the hip, & abduct the hip; flex the knee and medially rotate the flexed knee 

 

For more information on this muscle and our previous muscles of the month visit us at www.oxborochiro.com

August Muscle of the Month

Sartorius 

The Sartorius is the longest muscle in the human body.  It is responsible for many of the movements done by our hips.

•Origin: Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS)

•Insertion: Proximal, medial shaft of the tibia at pes anserinus tendon

•Nerve: Femoral L2, 3, (4)

•Action: Flex the hip, laterally rotate the hip, & abduct the hip; flex the knee and medially rotate the flexed knee 

 

 What do we use our sartorius for?

• Sitting cross legged

• Folding your legs when sitting on the floor  

For more information visit us at www.oxborochiro.com 

Strength Training is Good for Bones

There are many studies that support the benefits of strength training, especially for women! Many women fear of bulking up and looking to much like a football linebacker, but this is extremely rare. According to Prevention fitness expert Chris Freytag, "Ladies have too much estrogen in their hormonal makeup."  Here are nine reasons why women should strength train at least two to three times a week:

1.  Metabolism: when doing weight-bearing exercises, your metabolism starts running and keeps burning hours after your workout.
2.  Burn Fat: Muscle tissue is more "active than fat tissue. Each pound of muscle burns about 30 calories a day to sustain itself.
3. Tighter Body: Weights sculpt your body creating definition.
4. Fit into your Clothes Better: Muscle takes up less space than fat, your body will look less bulky and more lean.
5. Reduce the risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes: "Muscle helps remove glucose and triglycerides from the bloodstream, which reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as hardening of the arteries," says Timothy Church, MD, PhD, a preventive medicine expert at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
6. Blood Pressure Could Drop: William Haskell, PhD, says "Strength training lowers blood pressure for ten to twelve hours after each session, which gives the heart a break."
7. Easy to do; anywhere: It is easy to do strength training at home with little equipment. Use your own bodyweight to do pushups, planks, squats, and pull-ups to tone and strengthen your entire body.
8. Burn tons of Calories: Plyometric strength moves skyrocket your heart rate and in turn boosts the calorie burn of regular strength training routines. Work in squat jumps and burpees into your routine to help boost your calorie burn.
9. Good for your Bones: Strength training is one of the best ways to break-proof your bones; it helps counteract age-related bone loss.
   
   
   

To read the full article, go to: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/yourbestfitness/why-women-dont-should-lift-weights