Who Else Wants to Make Their Body Younger, Have More Energy and Decrease Your Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer, and Mental Dysfunction?

29 Dec

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing.  You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do.  In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the  quality and length of your life.

If you want to make your body younger, have more energy, and decrease your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and mental dysfunction by at least 80%, then the researchers who studied the men of Sweden, nurses from the United States, and patients at multiple locations, including the Cleveland Clinic, want you to know that making these five choices can help you do just that:

Choice #1: Eat a diet with less than four ounces of red meat a week, five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, only whole grains, and no added sugars or syrups.

Choice #2: Do at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day (this includes walking).

Choice #3: Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) under 25.

Choice #4: Avoid all tobacco products.

Choice #5: Drink only a moderate amount (less than two drinks) of alcohol per day, and never more.

While the Swedish men, nurses, and patients who made all five choices managed to cut their risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and mental dysfunction by at least 80%, the sad truth is that the numbers only accounts for 4% of those studied.

But, it may not be too late for you, even if you aren’t currently doing any of the five things listed above! You can always start making healthier choices now, even if you’ve already had a heart attack. Get your plan together today.

Thanks for reading. And feel free to send more questions, you can always send us questions at youdocs@gmail.com, and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr. Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

NOTE: You should NOT take this as medical advice.  This article is of the opinion of its author.  Before you do anything, please consult with your doctor.

You can follow Dr Roizen  (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories  of the week) on twitter @YoungDrMike.

Feel free to continue to send questions to youdocs@gmail.com. You can follow Dr Roizen on twitter @YoungDrMike (and get updates on the latest and most important medical stories of the week).  The YOU docs have a new web site: YOUBeauty.com  and its companion BeautySage.com the only site we know of where you can find skin products proven to meet the claims (opened for business on June 1st, 2012), and a new book: YOU: The Owner’s Manual for Teens.

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. His radio show streams live on http://www.healthradio.net  Saturdays from 5-7 p.m . E-mail him questions at YouDocs@gmail.com.   He is the co-author of 4 #1 NY Times Best Sellers including : YOU Staying Young and YOU: The Owner’s Manual. He is Chief Medical Consultant to the two year running Emmy award winning Dr Oz show– The Dr Oz show is #2 nationally in daytime TV.  See what all the fun is about, and what he, The Enforcer, is up to. Check local listings or log onto DoctorOz.com for channel and time. And for more health info, log onto youbeauty.com anytime. 

7 Possible Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

25 Dec

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition caused by compression of the median nerve as it travels through the carpal tunnel at the wrist, possibly resulting in numbness, tingling, and eventually weakness in the thumb and the index, middle, and ring fingers. “True” CTS occurs when the median nerve is pinched while it travels through the carpal tunnel; however, other conditions can mimic and/or contribute to CTS. Let’s take a look at seven possible causes of CTS…

  • Swelling of the flexor tendons: This is probably the most common cause of carpal tunnel symptoms and is usually due to overuse of the hands associated with highly repetitive tasks like line work, computer typing, sewing, knitting, or playing a musical instrument. When fast repetitive gripping is required, especially if firm gripping is needed and/or the environment is cold, symptoms can occur more quickly. There is a sheath that wraps around the tendons traveling through the tunnel that is lubricated by synovial fluid. This normally keeps the tendon sliding freely inside the sheath. In the CTS patient, the tendon and/or the sheath tightens and creates swelling as extra synovial fluid is produced in an attempt to remedy the excess friction. This increases the pressure inside the sheath and causes more swelling and pain, and eventually conditions such as tendonitis and/or tenosynovitis. If left untreated, this can result in “trigger finger” (stenosing tenosynovitis) that can be more resistant to treatment. This enlarged, swollen tendon-sheath complex places pressure upon the median nerve and results in the classic symptoms of CTS.
  • Misalignment of carpal bones: If one or more of the eight carpal bones become misaligned, it can cause the transverse carpal ligament (the floor of the tunnel) to tighten, narrowing the carpal tunnel and compressing it contents — including the median nerve!
  • Direct compression of the tunnel: ANY occupation that requires the use of hand tools or any other objects that apply pressure directly to the carpal tunnel can cause CTS. Examples include hammers, screwdrivers, drills, pliers, jackhammers, a computer mouse, and more.
  • Vibration: Any job or tool that requires firm gripping and vibration such as jackhammers, chain saws, hand buffers, or grinders can irritate the contents inside the carpal tunnel.
  • Cold Temperatures: Cold vasoconstricts blood vessels and decreases blood flow to the area. When the cold exposure is prolonged, the lack of blood flow can keep needed oxygen from reaching the tissues that need it, possibly causing injury or contributing to an existing injury. Meatpacking or poultry plants are good examples of jobs requiring highly repetitive work in a cold environment.
  • Arthritis: Old injuries (such as wrist fractures) or jobs that wear down the hyaline cartilage (smooth covering on joints) over time can result in spurs that can compress the nerve. Inflammatory arthritis, like rheumatoid, can also add pressure to the tunnel resulting in CTS.
  • Multiple crush: More than one compression location on the median nerve can worsen CTS. This added compression can occur at the forearm, elbow, shoulder, and / or neck.

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs.  If you, a friend, or family member requires care for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, we would be honored to render our services.

Low Back Pain – What To Do & NOT Do!

24 Dec

Low back pain (LBP) can strike at any time or place, often when we least expect it. There are “self-help” approaches that can be of great benefit, but many of these approaches can fail, or worse, irritate the condition. Here are some “do’s and don’ts” when self-managing low back pain!

Ice vs. Heat? Typically, people are almost always confused about which is better, ice or heat? This decision can be significantly helpful or hurtful, depending on the case. Generally, “ice is nice,” as it vasoconstricts and pushes out inflammation or swelling, which usually feels relieving and helpful even though the initial “shock” of ice may not be too appealing to most of us! This is probably why MOST people will wrongly choose heat as their initial course of self-care. This is usually wrong because heat vasodilates, which draws blood into the injured area that is already inflamed and swollen, thus adding more fluid to the injured area — sort of like throwing gas on a fire! Heat may feel good initially, but often soon after, increased pain intensity and frequency may occur. When LBP is chronic or NOT new / acute, heat can be very helpful, as it relaxes muscles and improves movement by reducing stiffness (but never use heat more than 20 minutes per hour). The biggest mistake about the use of heat is leaving it on too long – some people even burn themselves with a heating pad they’ve left on for hours of continuous use – sometimes overnight (PLEASE DON’T DO THAT!). When using ice, there are MANY ways one can apply it. If you only have 5-10 minutes, that is better than nothing! However, an ideal approach is to apply the ice pack or bag as follows:  On 15 min. / off 15 min. / on 15 min. / off 15 min. / on 15 minutes (total time: 1:15 hr). The “off 15 minutes” helps the area to warm up by allowing the blood to come back into the low back area, which avoids frost bite and sets up a pump-like action. Even better is an approach called “CONTRAST THERAPY” where we start and end with ice and use heat in between as follows: ICE 10 minutes / HEAT 5 min. / ICE 10 min. / HEAT 5 min. / ICE 10 min. (total time: 40 minutes). This approach creates a stronger pump-like or “push-pull” action that pushes out fluids/inflammation (with ice) followed by pulling in fluids (with heat). Both approaches are effective! If you ever feel worse after icing, PLEASE STOP AND CONTACT US, as you may have a unique case or situation.

How active should I be? Here too, most people usually try to do too much even after they feel “warning signs”. It’s human nature to want to “…get things done,” so sometimes we push ourselves beyond the limits of our tissue’s capacity, resulting in an injury. Once we’ve hurt our back, we STILL try to stay with our daily routine, ignoring our LBP the best we can. Generally, it’s BETTER to be a little active than it is to be too sedentary, but there is also a limit, as too much activity is like “…picking at a cut,” only prolonging healing and recovery. If every time you bend over results in a sharp, dagger-like pain in your low back, PLEASE STOP and assess the situation! Position preference is the KEY to determining what type of stretches or other exercises may be best for you. So, if bending over REDUCES LBP, pull your knees to your chest (we’ll show you how)! If bending backwards feels better, we’ll show you several extension exercises that can be done multiple times a day. Remember, too much sitting or lying down will weaken your low back muscles. Emphasize positions that feel good and avoid sharp, lancinating pain!

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs.  If you, a friend, or family member requires care for back pain, we would be honored to render our services.

Is Multi-Tasking Bad for Your Brain?

23 Dec

If you are a proud multi-tasker and think you are more productive because of your “gift” for multi-tasking, what you are about to discover may be a rude awakening for you.  Here is why: A recent study conducted at Stanford University found that multi-taskers are LESS productive than those who do one thing at time and multi-tasking might ever harm your brain.

According to Forbes, “Research conducted at Stanford University found that multi-tasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers also found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.” 

But what about those people who have a special skill for multi-tasking?  Glad you asked.  The study compared two groups: those who multi-task a lot and think multi-tasking makes them more productive and those who prefer to do one thing at a time until that one thing is completed. Results:  People who claimed to be more productive when multi-tasking were actually worse at multi-tasking than people who usually do one task at a time until completion.  Also from Forbes, “The frequent multi-taskers performed worse because they had more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at switching from one task to another.”  The reason for these results seems to be because the brain functions best when focusing on one thing at a time.  When time is split between two or more things, performance is decreased for all tasks involved.

But it gets even worse…  There is evidence multi-tasking actually lowers your IQ!  According to the Forbes article:  “A study at the University of London found that participants who multi-tasked during cognitive tasks experienced IQ score declines that were similar to what they’d expect if they had smoked marijuana or stayed up all night.”  Not only that, the evidence suggests the damage done by multi-tasking may be permanent.  MRI scans of people who are high multi-taskers found that areas of the brain responsible for empathy and cognitive and emotional control were less dense.  If you want to be more productive and maybe even smarter, then stop multi-tasking and do one task at a time until completion.

Remember, we’re always here to help your body heal and maintain the pain free body you deserve.

This information should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a health care professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.

Four Plants with Health Benefits!

22 Dec

Cranberry: While current research doesn’t support the notion that drinking cranberry juice will cure a urinary tract infection (UTI), it has shown that regularly consuming cranberries does indeed help prevent UTIs. Researchers have observed that daily consumption of cranberries “significantly reduced” the incidence of UTIs over the course of a twelve-month study involving 150 women.

Pomegranate: While it won’t replace toothpaste anytime soon, there is evidence that shows that an extract from pomegranate has antibacterial properties that can help control dental plaque bacteria in the mouth.

Purple Passion Flower: An extract from purple passion flower may help those suffering from uncomfortable, or even debilitating, anxiety. In a four-week study that compared the extract to both a standard pharmaceutical treatment and placebo, researchers observed no significant difference between the extract and drug in reducing anxiety, except that participants who took the extract were less likely to report job performance issues when compared with those who received the medication.

Echinacea: Recent studies indicate that those who took a daily echinacea supplement were about half as likely to get a cold when exposed to rhinovirus.  If you do happen to get sick, at least one meta-analysis has concluded that echinacea can reduce the length of your cold by 1.4 days.

The Pampanga Project

18 Dec

“We never know how far reaching something we may think, say, or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow.”  Those were the words B.J. Palmer (1882-1961), known as the “developer” of chiropractic and the son of its founder, D.D. Palmer.

But, who B.J. Palmer was is not nearly as important as the relevancy his words have for the incredible story you are about to discover.  This story brings that powerful statement to life and demonstrates exactly how powerful the seemingly insignificant things you do each and every day can change the lives of countless people in the future.  It’s amazing how much power and impact the actions of a single human being can have on thousands or even millions of people.

Here is the story…

The scene is almost surreal.  A young man is kneeling down cutting the hair of a woman in the middle of the sidewalk in Manhattan.  At first glance, this seems strange.  Upon closer examination, things are even more odd than expected.

You see, the man doing the hair cutting is Mark Bustos.  Mark is a 30-year-old hair stylist who works in New York City.  Mark is quite talented, and his hair cuts start at $150.  But who would pay $150 or more to get their hair cut in the middle of the sidewalk?

Probably no one.  On this day, Mark is cutting the hair of a homeless woman for free.  And this is not an unusual day.  Mark does this all the time, and his selfless actions have started an international movement.

Most pass right by the homeless without even looking at them or try to scurry by them as quickly as possible.  To the contrary, Mark seeks out homeless people and asks them if he can do something nice for them, if he can give them a great hair cut and make them feel awesome.

What’s incredible is that Mark’s acts of kindness started in a small town in his parent’s homeland of the Philippines.  In 2012, Mark and his girlfriend (a hair color specialist) rented a small barber shop in Magalang, Pampanga to start his project by giving away free haircuts to children who could not afford them.

This was the birth of the Pampanga project, and since that time, Mark has given free haircuts in New York City, Los Angeles, California, Jamaica, and Cost Rica.

Here’s what Mark said when interviewed in The Philippine Star, “The experience is always different, yet very similar. No matter what part of the world you are in, everybody loves the feeling of having a haircut. It is a universally known luxury that every demographic and walk of life can appreciate.”

The real story here is not the haircut itself.  The real story here is that Mark cares.  In a sea of people rushing by the homeless and not so much as giving them a glance, Mark stops and shows them some humanity.  He shows them compassion.  He gives them hope and love no haircut alone could ever give.  Mark happens to be a very skilled hair stylist, but the magic is in the act itself and the kind words he shares.

The real lesson is that you do not need Mark’s hair cutting skills to make a difference in the world.  In fact, you do not need any special skills at all.  The only thing you need is empathy and the willingness to show people you care.

We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and getting them feeling better! We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger!

Don’t be a stranger. You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!

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