Week of November 10th Health Update

 
Mental Attitude: Get A Daily Dose Of Vitamin D.
People can help manage their mood by getting at least 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day. Recent studies show an association between low serum levels of vitamin D and higher incidences of four mood disorders: PMS, seasonal affective disorder, non-specified mood disorder and major depressive disorder. Get vitamin D from: short periods of sun exposure, vitamin D supplements, and foods. Vitamin D is in: fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel, beef liver, cheese and egg yolks, but the primary source of dietary vitamin D is fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals, breads, juices, and milk.
Nutrition, February 2009

Health Alert: Malpractice Costs In The Billions.
$55.6 billion, 2.4% of all annual health spending, is spent on medical malpractice. The estimate includes defensive-medicine activities, such as ordering tests or treatments, which alone costs $45.6 billion per year.
Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, Sept 2010

Diet: Blueberries!
Drinking blueberry smoothies helped obese adults who were pre-diabetic improve insulin sensitivity. 67% of people who drank a blueberry smoothie twice a day for six weeks experienced a 10% or greater improvement in their insulin sensitivity, compared with 41% of people in the placebo smoothie group. Compounds in blueberries, called anthocyanins, have antioxidant properties, which may contribute to health benefits such as improved insulin sensitivity.
Journal of Nutrition, October 2010

Exercise: High-intensity, Short-duration Metabolic Training.
It's a great way to burn fat and build muscle. Perform as many sets of 2-3 exercises as possible within a time frame. For example: 10 pushups, 10 squats, 10 biceps curls, performed continuously for three minutes. Adjust the length of time according to your fitness level, and choose any number/variety of continuous exercises for any number of reps.
Chelsea Cooper, MPA, CPT

Chiropractic: Good News For The Neck.
Cervical spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement in headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck pain and/or neck dysfunction and headache.
Duke Evidence Report, 2001

Wellness/Prevention: How Flexible Should You Be?
As always, moderation is the key. Flexibility is great for the health of your muscles, ligaments and other surrounding soft tissues as mobility maintains proper elasticity of the tissue, which, in turn, maintains proper circulation of fluids. If your muscles are tight, then your soft tissue does not excrete metabolic waste products efficiently. On the other hand, if you overstretch, you can cause long-term damage to your ligaments known as hyper-mobility. Hyper-mobility leads to muscles having to constantly contract to hold the joints together, which may lead to chronic muscular fatigue and/or joint degeneration.
Carolyn M. Kaelin, MD, MPH