Healthy Food Choices

In an article written by Kristin Olhson titled, “6 Ways to Find Food From Good Soil”, she discusses the importance of soil health. She suggests buying organic food whenever possible. This helps protect the consumer from ingesting pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, GMO crops, and even antibiotics that are used in meat. Organic food growth can help increase the health of nutrients in the soil. If you are able to speak with the farmer where your food is coming from, there are a few questions to ask to inquire about the health of their soil. These questions include: “Do you practice no-till agriculture? Do you use synthetic fertilizer and killing chemicals? If so, how often? How does your farm promote biodiversity? Are there animals on the farm? Do you live on the farm?” These questions can help give you insight into the health of the soil and produce. If farmers are living on the land they farm, they are more likely to take care of the soil. 

It is critical to not only use your eyes to choose produce to buy but also using your sense of smell can give you insight into the health of soil. Plants that have strong scents can indicate phytonutrient levels, which can provide medicinal qualities. Speaking of using your eyes to choose produce, it is a myth that it is best to avoid ones that have blemishes or bruises. Oftentimes, those can be the healthiest produce available. It is because the produce has had to produce phytonutrients to protect and repair itself. It is best to buy meat, dairy, and eggs that come from pastured animals. Pastures can provide healthy soil and often contain many types of plants that can contain medicinal properties. Pastured animals are often eating herbs and plants all day that can provide health benefits. Foods that are grown right outside your home can provide one of the most nutritious produce. To find out more ways to keep yourself and body healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com.

Source: https://experiencelife.com/article/6-ways-to-find-food-from-good-soil/

Safe Water

Courtney Helgoe discusses in her article titled, “Truth on Tap”, about how the tap may be a better choice for water consumption. For endless years, water has been cycled through evaporation, condensation, and through rain and that is the only water that we ever have. Only three percent of the world’s water is fresh. 60 percent of the human body is made up of water, and we are only able to go three days without drinking water. 

There have been ideas spiraling that bottled water may be healthier, likely due to water crises similar to what was seen in Flint, Michigan. According to Helgoe, bottled water is not necessarily safer. Bottled water has had a long history. Well water was deemed best in the Middle Ages because of its healing properties. The wells likely had high mineral quantity, which could have been medicinal during that period of time. A specific well called St. Maelrubha’s may have contained lithium, which is used today to treat bipolar disorder. In Europe during the 19th-century, spa waters that contained minerals were utilized for healing. Spa owners would bottle up the water for consumers to take home with them. Perrier mineral water was introduced in the United States in the 1970’s. This type of water was seen as a special luxury. By 1999 though, bottled water was becoming increasingly popular. During 1999, it was found that Americans drank 17 gallons of bottled water each year and now that total is up to 40 gallons. The concerning part is that most of this water comes from single serve bottles. 

James Salzman, states that 55 percent of the bottled water comes from underground aquifers, and this can be claimed as “spring water”. Three brands in particular, Aquafina, Dasani, and Pure Life are “highly filtered tap water”. He goes on to explain that the $1.50 you may pay to purchase a bottle of water could help you to buy up to 1,000 gallons of tap water. To create a bottle of water, it relies heavily on resources, energy, and creates waste. When examining waste of bottles, 22 billion are thrown away each year by Americans. In regards to energy use, it can take three liters of water to create one liter of bottled water and shipping can also be a part of resource use. 

Contaminants can also enter bottled water, and regulations are less strict on bottled water as compared to tap. Bottled water is regulated by the FDA and is tested weekly, although they are not required to reveal if any contaminants are found. Most municipalities test their water daily, and most do even more often than that. Each water system is required to put out a yearly report to discuss any contaminants or any violations they had. This can provide the consumer with critical information about the water they are consuming, that may not be possible when drinking bottled water. The use of bottled water can reduce the amount of investments put into municipal water. 

To break a bottled water habit, there are some tips you can use. A glass or stainless steel bottle can be used and investing in a water-filtration system can be beneficial. It is important to be aware of water issues in the area you live in and making local lawmakers about them. 

To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com. 

Source: https://experiencelife.com/article/truth-on-tap/

Health Benefits of Saunas

Amanda MacMillan writes in her article titled, “The Surprising Health Benefits of Saunas” about the possibility of saunas reducing high blood pressure. A recent study researching Finnish men was featured in the American Journal of Hypertension. The results showed a decrease in high blood pressure by nearly half for those participants who used a sauna four to seven times a week for approximately 19 minutes, as compared to their counterparts who only used the sauna once a week.

In this study, it included 1,621 middle-aged men from Finland for 22 years. Sauna use in Finland is quite common. Men that had normal blood pressure and used a sauna for at least one day a week were included in the study. Over the study period of over 20 years, approximately 16 percent of the participants developed high blood pressure, which is considered to be greater than 140/90 mmHg. When adjusting for variables such as BMI, smoking, alcohol intake, cardiorespiratory fitness and SES, the participants who just took one sauna a week were at the highest risk of developing high blood pressure. For those that used the sauna two to three times a week, their risk decreased by 24%, while those that took saunas four to seven times a week, saw a decrease by 46 percent as compared to their counterparts who only took a sauna once a week. 
There are multiple reasons why saunas may be beneficial to health. Saunas can cause the body to warm up by 3.5 degrees causing vessels to dilate, which can decrease blood pressure and easing blood flow. Saunas can also increase heart rate from the typical resting heart rate of 60-100 beats per minutes to 100-150 beats per minute. This helps improve the pumping abilities of the heart. Another factor to why saunas may be beneficial for health include increasing sweat production. Sweat removes fluid from the body, thus decreasing blood pressure. Saunas can be quite relaxing and can help people manage their stress. 
It is important to remember when looking at the results of this study that Finnish saunas get quite warm, ranging from 176-212 degrees. The authors noted that the benefits of sauna use may depend on the type of sauna used. It is important to note that sauna use is deemed relatively safe, but if someone has heart or blood pressure issues, they should be aware of a potential drop in blood pressure after use. The benefits found from this study may not necessarily apply to other groups of people such as women or those that have not used saunas before. It is always best to speak with your healthcare provider before starting any new healthcare routine. To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com.

Source: http://time.com/4967605/sauna-lower-blood-pressure/

Thyroid Imbalance in Women

Women have been found to be 10 times more at risk of developing a thyroid imbalance, according to Jill Grunewald in her article, “Why Do Thyroid Disorders Affect Women More Often Than Men?”. Sara Gottfried, an integrative physician and gynecologist, explains why this may be. She states the increased risk of developing a thyroid imbalance is linked to certain female hormones, particularly estrogen. Laura Thompson, PhD, states that birth-control pills containing high estrogen can lead to low thyroid function. Hypothyroidism and a woman’s reproductive system are quite interrelated. Hypothyroidism can lead to issues such as infertility, miscarriages, PMS, osteoporosis, endometriosis, PCOS, irregular menstrual cycles, fibroids, low libido, and difficulty in menopause. 

Issues with the thyroid may develop when hormones are altered such as during childbearing, periods of intense and prolonged stress. Gottfried states that, “women are most vulnerable after pregnancy, during periomenopause, and menopause. Thyropause-which is a drop in reproductive hormones that often triggers hypothyroidism- is the main cause of fatigue, weight gain, and depression”. Many healthcare providers do not test for thyroid issues and if they do, they typically only test for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH is not an accurate representation of thyroid function. If you would like to have your thyroid tested by a provider, tests that look at Free T3, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies, TPOAb and TgAB, are more accurate of thyroid function. It may be beneficial to be tested for celiac disease because Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease involving the thyroid, can be interrelated. It is best to always speak with a provider if you are concerned about your thyroid function. To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com. 

Source: https://experiencelife.com/article/why-do-thyroid-disorders-affect-women-more-often-than-men/

Retirement

Karen Olson in her article titled, “Reimagining Retirement” discusses ways to plan for a meaningful retirement. Many of those approaching retirement age may ask themselves questions about what retirement will look like for them. It has been found that by the year 2050, 21 percent of elderly adults will be over 85 years old. This likely means that people may live another 30-plus years after their retirement, according to Jaye Smith, a coauthor of the book “The Retirement Boom: An All-Inclusive Guide to Money, Life, and Health in Your Next Chapter”. In the past few decades, 60 percent of those who retired went into “bridge jobs”, which are considered short-term positions. This is due to personal choice or out of necessity. A study done by Oregon State University found that those who continued to work after 65 had an 11 percent decreased risk of death than their counterparts who retired prior. 

People who are considering retirement are often worried about how much money needs to be saved up before retirement. Since people are living longer and pensions are diminishing, a better question to ask if “What can I do next?” according to Chris Farrell. Identifying the things that help get you up in the morning can be beneficial and planning a vision can sort out what you’d like to do. Taking time to create and ponder on a bucket list can be helpful to determine the types of activities, vacations, etc. that you can do right now rather than when you’re aging and the opportunity may not be available due to health. As you reach retirement age, it can be a good time to create your own business. 26 percent of start-ups are currently being created by those 55-64 years of age. Finding a vision and purpose for later years of life can be a beneficial way to create a meaningful retirement. To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com. 

Source: https://experiencelife.com/article/reimagining-retirement/

Sugar

Lisa Drayer explains in her article about how to remove sugar from your diet. Her article is titled “One-Month Sugar Detox: A Nutritionist Explains How and Why”. It has been found that approximately 10 percent of Americans are truly addicted to sugar. When people consume sugar, the rewards and cravings are similar to addictive drugs. One of the biggest concerns when it comes to sugar is that it is hidden in the foods we consume like salad dressings, tomato sauce, breads, etc. We can essentially be consuming sugar all day long if we are not aware. By eliminating sugar in a diet, unwanted weight can be lost, you can feel better and have a radiant complexion.

In research done by Robert Lustig, they found when children deemed obese eliminated extra sugar from their diet for a total of nine days, every measured part of their metabolic health improved. When detoxing from sugar, it is best to do it “cold turkey”. When sugar detox is done in this way, taste palates change and they are able to taste the sugar in items such as fruits, vegetables and dairy. Brooke Alpert the co-author of “The Sugar Detox: Lose the Sugar, Lose the Weight— Look and Feel Great” suggests that for the first three days, people should avoid added sugars, fruits, starchy vegetables (corn, sweet potatoes, peas, butternut squash, etc.), dairy, grains and alcohol. For that time period you are essentially consuming protein, vegetables and fats. Artificial sweeteners are not included in this plan because they cause our palates to become dull and less sensitive to the sweetness in foods. Artitifical sweeteners also cause an increase in fat storage and could cause you to overeat later. Alpert states that after that three day period, food becomes more sweet. 

Starting on day four, you can add one apple and one dairy (full-fat and unsweetened) product each day. You can also start eating vegetables like carrots, snow peas and one serving of high-fiber crackers. Three glasses of wine are also allowed that first week. Further information for weeks two, three and four are included in the CNN article if you would like to learn more about the specifics of Alpert’s sugar detox program. In 80 participants, in 31 days on the program they lost between 5-20 pounds. Other reported changes included brighter eyes, better skin, less dark circles, increased energy and decreased mood swings. When choosing what days to start the detox, choose days that may be conducive to potential withdrawal symptoms that may occur such as fatigue, crankiness and brain fog. If you truly start to feel poorly, Alpert states you can have a piece of fruit but it is best to power through and drink water in order to stop sugar addiction. This particular detox plan may not be appropriate for athletes, diabetics, pregnant women or anyone taking medications to control blood sugar. It can be beneficial to have a friend to rely on for support during this time. To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com. 

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/09/health/sugar-detox-food-drayer/index.html

Tips for School

As Labor Day has come and gone, most students are back to the regular routine of school. Gabrielle Flank gives some advice for college students in her article titled, “8 Back to School Tips Every Student Should Know”. Her first tip for students to get organized and excited for school by buying folders and binders that include patterns and designs. Flank suggests that students buy a planner to keep organized throughout the school year. This can help students manage time and outside of school activities. She believes time management is essential for being successful and staying organized. She goes on to suggest the importance of knowing and keeping a copy of the class syllabus. This can be a reference for any assignments or tests that will be due and allow students to get ahead to ensure there is enough time to complete the requirements for the class. Flank states that it is best to avoid procrastination and develop a habit of studying for each class everyday. A new habit takes 21 days to develop and “stick” and studying for each class will hopefully positively impact the outcome of learning in the course. 

Students should pay attention to what their teachers are expecting of them in regards to workload and what they want students to get out of the class. Communication with teachers is one of the keys to success. Becoming involved with the school students attend can be a great way to meet peers and pursue certain interests. Research has shown that students who engage in school activities have higher GPA’s. Flank suggests that it is important for students to understand what type of learner they are. The types of learning include auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Understanding your learning style can aid in creating better results when students are studying and maybe even better test results. Finally, she states that it may be beneficial to list goals for the year. Writing down goals can help create a plan and what to do to prepare to meet those goals. 

To find out more ways to stay healthy this school year, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabrielle-flank/8-back-to-school-tips-every-student-should-know_b_8018594.html

Boosting Your Energy

Kathy Summers discusses in her article titled, “5 Ways to Eat for Energy” about ways to keep your energy intact throughout the day. If you are someone who grabs convenience foods, caffeine or candy to help get through a busy day, it is likely that your body is not receiving critical nutrients to keep it working at an efficient pace. Here are some ways to keep up your body’s natural energy. Liz Applegate, a director of sports nutrition and senior lecturer in nutrition, suggests starting the day with protein and making sure to drink enough water to avoid dehydration, which could lead to fatigue and headaches. Applegate states large meals and eating close to bedtime should be avoided. If you tend to eat meals fast, it is best to slow down so enzymes can work to digest food. Focusing on the meal you are consuming can be beneficial because it can increase the metabolism of that specific meal. 

Caffeine should not be used as an energy source as it can deplete the body of essential vitamins (B and C), magnesium and micro minerals. The endocrine system plays a large role in the hormones circulating in the body. Dr. Mark Hyman suggests ways to keep your thyroid healthy. You can focus on cutting back on caffeine and eating more foods like seaweed, sea vegetables, sardines, salmon, Brazil nuts, scallops, herring, dandelion and mustard greens. These items can help increase iodine, selenium, omega-3 fasts and vitamins. It is possible that you may be experiencing low energy due to vitamin or mineral defiency. If this is the case, a multivitamin, B vitamins, fatty acids, supergreen supplements, digestive enzymes, amino acids or other supplements may be beneficial. As always, any supplement should be discussed with a provider before starting a regime. If you are looking for ways to increase your energy, it is best to start by doing things mentioned in this article that seem doable right now because small changes can make a big difference over time. To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com.

Source: https://experiencelife.com/article/5-ways-to-eat-for-energy/

Happiness

Amanda MacMillian describes in her article titled, "It's Official: Happiness Really Can Improve Health", about the benefits that happiness can bring to all aspects of health. A comprehensive review that detailed information from 20 literature reviews and more than 150 studies was published that discussed how people evaluated areas of their lives and aspects of their physical health. One of the lead authors of the review, Edward Diener, states that there is "almost no doubt" that happiness can influence one's health. He suggests it may be because those who are happy are more likely to take better care of themselves and choose healthy habits like exercising, eating well and getting enough sleep at night. Happiness has been found to have positive effects on the body in regards to the immune and cardiovascular system, amounts of inflammation and improving wound healing. Happiness has also been associated with increasing the length of telomeres which appear at the end of chromosomes that typically shorten as one ages. 

Evidence is strong enough that happiness seems to be linked to health for some, but not always for others. It is not always a guarantee that if you are happy, you will have better health. In 2015 research based on one million women, happiness had been found to not have an effect on mortality rates when researchers considered self-reported health. This is why Diener wanted to complete a more research to defend how happiness could affect health. He is hoping through this research that doctors will continue to start monitoring positive emotions during physicals, not solely negatives ones. Diener states that learning to enjoy work, increasing gratefulness and having postivie relationships are important for achieving true happiness. To find out more ways to keep yourself healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com. 

Source: http://time.com/4866693/happiness-improves-health/

Protecting Your Brain

In an article written by Michael Dregni titled, "CTE Found in 99 Percent of NFL Players Studied" he discusses information from an interview with Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, about the impact that high-contact sports can have on the brain. CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and it has been found to be quite prevalent in football players. CTE is associated with repeated trauma to the head. 202 deceased football players' brains were researched and CTE was found in 177 of those players. 110 of the 111 players that played in the National Football League had been found to have CTE. Families were interviewed about their loved ones to discover more information about their histories. Among those diagnosed with severe CTE, 89 percent were found to have behavioral disorders, mood disorders or both. 95 percent of them had cognitive issues and 85 percent had indications of dementia. The research is limited by the fact that the participants of the research may have been motivated to participate because of the awareness that repetitive blows to the head can cause CTE. 

Bennet Omalu was the first person to discover it in 2002 when he was performing an autopsy on former Pittsburg Steelers lineman, "Iron Mike" Webster, who died at the age of 50. Webster was known for never missing a football game from 1975 to 1986. Webster suffered from ailments such as dementia, delusions, paranoia and explosive moods for the last years of his life. Omalu states that CTE is caused by trauma by blunt force or acceleration-decleartion injuries through sports or car accidents. Some of the symptoms of CTE include depression, bipolar disorder, decrease in executive processing, substance abuse, impulsivity, memory loss and decreased intelligence and language. CTE can be diagnosed based on symptoms in those who are living but only a definitive diagnosis can be made after death. Omalu believes that eventually CTE could have a treatment or at least an intervention that can slow down how the disease progresses. 

Omalu believes that pharamological interventions may be more helpful than technological devices. He states that no children under the age of 18 should participate in activites like boxing, football, hockey, wrestling, mixed martial arts or rugby because the brain is not fully developed. In sports like soccer, he suggests removing "heading the ball" for those under 18 years of age and participation in soccer to start around the age of 12-14 years old. Some noncontact sports that could serve as alternatives include track and field, basketball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, swimming, table tennis, etc. He states that high-impact, high-contact sports put people at an increased risk of developing a brain injury, and that we should keep our children away from such activites. To find out more ways to keep you and your family healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com. 

Source: https://experiencelife.com/article/cte-concussions-nfl-football/