Hamburgers & Asthma?

Researchers from Germany, Spain and Britain who studied data on 50,000 children across the world found the link between burgers and asthma was strongest in rich nations where diets with high levels of junk food are more common.

A meat-heavy diet itself has no bearing on the prevalence of asthma, according to the scientists who conducted the study. Yet, frequent burger eating could be a signal for other lifestyle factors which raise asthma risk.

“This is a sign that the link is not strongly related to the food itself, but that burgers are a proxy for other lifestyle and environmental factors like obesity and lack of exercise,” said Gabriele Nagel of the Institute of Epidemiology at Ulm University, Germany, who led the study.

She added, however, that there were “biologically plausible” links for the positive effects of a healthier diet, which could be down to the antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables, and the omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish, which have anti-inflammatory properties.

“Fruit and vegetables contain antioxidants and other biologically active factors which may contribute to the favorable effect…in asthma,” Nagel said.

In particular, she added, foods rich in vitamin C have been linked to better lung function and fewer asthma symptoms.

Around 1.1 million children currently receive treatment for asthma in Britain, while in the United States it is the most common chronic childhood disease, with around 10 million children diagnosed with it.

Nagel’s team looked at data on 50,000 children aged between 8 and 12 years from 20 rich and poor countries around the world.

While diet was not linked to children being more prone to allergies in general, it did seem to influence the prevalence of asthma and wheezing, they found.

“Overall, more frequent consumption of fruit, vegetables and fish was associated with a lower lifetime prevalence of asthma, whereas high burger consumption was associated with higher lifetime asthma prevalence,” they wrote in the study, which was published in Thorax, a British Medical Journal title.

This study adds to an existing body of evidence showing the health benefits of a so-called Mediterranean diet — rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fish — including reduced risks of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and depression.

Source

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10 Ways To Make The World A Better Place

An important part of our growth and motivation as people lies in contributing to the greater good, being part of something greater than ourselves. There is plenty of room for simple acts that create small measures of happiness for you and in the lives of those around you.

Here are ten little gestures, all of them easily within our grasp, that can spread goodwill in our own communities, as well as increase our own sense of mindfulness about the people around us and our relationship to them.

Tip generously: When you have great service in a restaurant, leave a tip greater than the usual 15% to 20%. Leaving a larger than usual tip for great service not only puts a little extra money in your servers’ pocket, it tells them that they’re appreciated, a message that often slips our minds in our demanding, service-now society.

Compliment someone: Tell someone how much you like the job they’re doing, their outfit or new haircut, whatever. Be honest and sincere. Don’t expect anything in return, just let someone know that something they’re doing is great and move on.

Be totally open with someone: Let someone know exactly how you feel about something on your mind.  We often keep too much to ourselves; letting someone into your thoughts can be a great way to show your trust and appreciation of them.

Give someone a book you’ve read: Making a gift of something you’ve read and enjoyed is more than just a nice gesture, it’s a way of showing someone that a) you think of them, b) you understand them, and c) you want to share something with them. The moment doesn’t end when they take the book – once they’ve read it, you can talk about your reactions together.

Make something for someone: Bake an extra batch of cookies, draw a picture, decorate an extra Christmas ornament, and give it to someone for no good reason. Like giving someone a book, it tells them that you were thinking about them and wanted to do something nice for them, and that it’s something you made adds a nice touch. Give without expectations – whether they return the favor or not, whether they like it or not, whether they’re nice to you or not, these are all irrelevant.

Send a letter, email, tweet, or text message out of the blue: Email someone you haven’t spoken with for a while, or text someone you see every day just to be nice. Maybe they’ll respond, maybe not – it’s beside the point. They just need to know that they’re important to you.

Commend an employee to their manager: It’s one thing to tip or compliment someone for their service, it’s another to contact their manager and tell them what a great job they’ve done. If you don’t have time at the time of service, note the employees name and call, email, or write a letter later.

Teach someone how to do something: Share your skill or talent with someone by showing them how to do something. Not so they won’t bother you with it, but so they can move a little bit towards improved mastery of the world around them. Have patience and respect for the person you’re helping – you’re giving them a gift, not compensating for some lack in their character.

Let someone shine: Put a spotlight on someone else’s talents by letting them take over a presentation, deferring to their wisdom, asking them advice, or otherwise flex their “talent muscles”. Especially if they are junior to you, giving them a chance to strut their stuff shows that you trust them and appreciate them, as well as allowing them to get the attention they deserve (and which might often be obscured by your own shadow).

Connect like minds: Introduce two friends or colleagues who you feel have something to gain from each other. You’ll be letting them know you value them – and maybe creating a partnership that will make everyone better off.

You’ve probably heard the saying “Practice random acts of kindness”, and that’s basically what I’m talking about here. Anything that shows people you care about them has the potential to make the world, or your small corner of it, a better place.

Have a great day!

Dr. Jason Gerard DC

Source: Lifehack.org

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Exercises For Neck And Shoulder Pain

As you can probably imagine, I have a lot of patients who struggle with neck and shoulder pain.  Many people who work in offices and on computers complain of frequent neck pain and tightness.

Here’s a way to target the neck and shoulders: dumbbells.

Strength training using dumbbells not only reduces pain, but also improves the function of your neck and shoulder area.  Here are 5 exercises that you can do with dumbbells to reduce pain and improve function in the neck and shoulders.

1. The one-arm row

2. Shoulder abduction

3. Shoulder shrug

4. Reverse fly

5. Upright row

Start with light hand weights and increase the weight of your dumbbells only after you are comfortable with the lighter weights.  The starting weight should be 6 to 12 pounds.

Perform these exercises 3 times per week.  Mix up your workouts.  Do exercises 1, 2, and 5 one day, and then the next day do exercises 1, 3, and4.  Switch back and forth each time you exercise.

When starting out, do 2 sets of each exercise 8 to 12 times.  As you get stronger, add a third set.  Once you can do an exercise comfortably for 3 sets, then increase the weight slightly.

These exercises are a great compliment to your chiropractic adjustments.  Try them out and see how it goes!  If you have any questions about the exercises, email me or ask me at your next appointment.

Have a great day!

Dr. Jason Gerard DC

Sources:

Science Daily December 28, 2009

Journal of Applied Physiology November 2009; 107(5):1413-9

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CT Scans Linked To Cancer And Deaths

In December, two studies were released and they said that CT scans deliver far more radiation than has been previously believed, and they may contribute to 29,000 new cancers each year, along with 14,500 deaths.

The information comes from the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In one study, researchers found that people may be exposed to up to four times as much radiation as previously estimated by earlier studies.  They determined that a patient could get as much radiation as 74 mammograms, or 442 chest x-ray.  (That’s a lot of radiation).

Young people have the highest risk from excess radiation, partly because they have many years ahead of them in which cancers can develop.

However, not all doctors agree about the risks of CT scans. Scientists have not yet determined whether low doses of radiation actually increase cancer risk or whether the risk rises only after exposure levels reach a certain threshold, says James Thrall, chairman of the American College of Radiology.

He says it’s also tricky to compare cancer rates between people who have had CT scans with those who haven’t. People undergoing scans may have underlying health problems that predispose them to cancer, he says.

In many cases, CT scans can be lifesaving. In other cases, there’s no evidence a CT scan is really better than other approaches. It is estimated that up to one-third of all CT scans are unnecessary.

So what should you do if you or someone you know is considering a CT scan?

First, ask your doctor about alternative options that may be available to you.

Second, make sure you keep all of your medical records handy should you need to consult with another doctor.

Third, ask your doctor if the CT scan facility has been accredited by the American College of Radiology.

Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon,

Dr. Jason Gerard DC

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Do You Ever Feel Off Course?

Do you ever get the feeling that there’s something you are supposed to do but can’t remember what it is?  I think that happens to all of us at one time or another, but did you see the story this fall about the plane that flew past its destination?

I wonder if the two pilots flying Northwest Airlines Flight 188 had a feeling in the back of their minds that said, “Isn’t there something I’m supposed to be doing right now, but I can’t remember what it is?”

After all, their flight was scheduled to land in Minneapolis, but both pilots were so busy on their laptops that they overshot their destination by 150 miles.

How pathetic is that?  You would think the pilots would have been paying attention to minor details like:

* The fact that they were flying at 35,000 feet and were responsible for the safety of 144 passengers on board.

* Flight control had been trying to contact the pilots for over an hour

* People were trying to call the pilots on their cell phones

* The pilot’s instrumentation in the cock pit showed that they had veered off course

* The time on their watch would suggest they were late for something they were supposed to do…land the plane in Minneapolis and hour ago.

This was such a debacle that the White House was being briefed and F-16 military fighter jets were ready to take off…because the flight was off course, off schedule, and out of contact.

This is definitely an “Are You Kidding Me” moment.  But we’ve all seen this story before by countless individuals.  Think about it.  How many people do you know who set goals, talk about their dreams, and plan out their objectives for a better life only to become distracted?  They’ve veered from their flight plan and find themselves off course and off their schedule.

Does this sound familiar to you?  Because all of us have had a time when we find ourselves a long way from the plans we made and the goals we set.

I think it’s a great idea to make plans and goals to improve your life.   But remember, there is a good chance that circumstances will cause you to veer from your plan.  And when that happens, don’t stress out about it.  Just make the decision to get back on course.

Dr. Jason Gerard DC

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