If You Have Knee Arthritis, Is There Anything You Can Do About It?

11 Mar

Knee arthritis is not only common, it can be life-changing. Studies show that nearly 1 in 2 people may develop symptomatic knee osteoarthritis by age 85.

What Is Osteoarthritis Of The Knee?

Osteoarthritis or “OA” is the most common form of arthritis. OA is a condition where the cartilage between joints wears away, causing pain.

Then, when enough synovial fluid (a naturally occurring lubricant found in the knee) andcartilageisgone,thepaincanbeunbearable and require total knee replacement.

If You Have Knee Arthritis, Is There Anything You Can Do About It?

According to researcher, Dr. Tatyana Shamliyan, “Several guidelines recommend non- drug treatment, including exercise, electrical stimulation, tai chi and esthetics.” Her team analyzed the evidence and came up with results that were sometimes at odds with those guidelines. They looked at how the therapies affected pain, functioning, and disability. “Based on the analysis, we can’t conclude sustained benefit with tai chi, manual therapy or massage, or transcutaneous electrical [nerve] stimulation.”

Dr. Shamliyan’s team reviewed nearly 200 studies and found there was evidence that low impact aerobic exercise and water exercise improved function and decreased disability. Aerobic exercise, strength training and therapeutic ultrasound reduced pain and increased mobility. However, the best outcomes came when patients stuck to their exercise program. This is particularly important as exercise can increase knee pain in the short-term.

It should be noted that the study did not show that intense exercise was any better than moderate exercise.

The take home message here is that it looks like certain moderate exercise can help some of the symptoms associated with knee OA.

But this does not mean you should take it upon yourself to “just go exercise.”

If you suffer with knee OA, you should see a qualified physician. They will be able to determine the best treatment program for your individual case.

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Does Green Tea Decrease Risk Of Cancer?

10 Mar

A study recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition investigated the association of regular tea intake (greater than 3 times per week for greater than 6 months) with risk of digestive system cancers.

The study was based on middle-aged and older Chinese women.

Results: Women who consumed ≥150g tea/mo (2–3 cups/day) had a 21% reduced risk of digestive system cancers. The association was found primarily for colorectal and stomach/esophageal cancers.

Want To Add 4.5 Years To Your Life?

A recent study published in the medical journal PLoS One pooled self-reported data on leisure time physical activities and Body Mass Index (BMI) scores from nearly 650,000 individuals over 40 years old. Their goal was to calculate the gain in life expectancy associated with specific levels of physical activity.

A physical activity level equivalent to brisk walking for up to 75 minutes per week was associated with a gain of 1.8 years in life expectancy relative to no leisure time activity.

Even better, having a physical activity level at or above 150 minutes of brisk walking per week was associated with an overall gain of life expectancy of 3.4 – 4.5 years.

In another study, 150 minutes/week of moderate intensity leisure-time physical activity led to a 14% lower coronary heart disease risk compared with those reporting no leisure-time physical activity. Those engaging in the equivalent of 300 minutes per week of moderate- intensity leisure-time physical activity had a 20% lower risk.

What does this mean? Basically, it’s what we have known for quite some time. Moderate exercise is good and it can, most likely, extend your life.

But, what’s really important is you do not have to go crazy. Go for a brisk walk several times per week, or every day if you can, and you should see some healthy results.

Pay It Forward Here Is How.

10 Mar

Have you seen the movie Pay It Forward?

If you haven’t, you probably should. Let me give you a very good reason why…

In the movie, a little kid teaches the adults a very big lesson via a concept he calls “pay it forward.”

Pay it forward is used to describe the concept of asking that a good deed be repaid by having one done for others.

In other words, if I did a good deed for you, you would not do a good deed for me in return. Instead, you would find someone else and do a good deed for them.

This concept is not new. The movie just made it popular.

In fact, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about this concept in his essay, Compensation back in 1841: “In the order of nature, we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody.”

In 1916, Lily Hammond wrote, “You don’t pay love back; you pay it forward.”

The list goes on…

So, here’s our request to you: If you have gotten anything of value from visiting our office or reading our blog, we would like you to pay it forward.

In other words, if you have gotten pain relief… or good advice about health… or friendship… or anything at all… go do something good for someone else.

It doesn’t have to be a big thing. It just has to be something. You never know how much of an impact just being nice to someone can have on their life.

It can make all the difference in the world to that person. So please, pay it forward.

Do You Believe In Karma?

9 Mar

Recently, news stations ran a story about a United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent who got caught stealing from airline passengers.

When they interviewed him, he had ZERO remorse. He basically said he didn’t feel he got paid enough, and since everyone at the TSA was stealing, it was okay.

That’s shocking, especially if you believe in Karma.

Karma is basically the belief that your thoughts and actions create a “force” that helps shape the future.

In other words, if you do good things, you will build up positive energy and good things will happen to you. Conversely, if you do bad things, then bad things will happen to you.

Countless people believe in Karma and often cite this when something good happens to a good person or something bad happens to a bad person.

Many people make life decisions based on Karma and do good things because they believe good things will come into their life as a result.

Well, here is another take on Karma you may like…

Instead of making decisions and doing things based on what you think you might get back, why not simply do things because they are the right things to do?

Why not be nice to people because you should be nice?

Why not help people because you should help people?

If you have the opportunity to steal from an airline passenger’s bags, you don’t. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or do not make. It doesn’t matter how many others are stealing.

You know right from wrong.

Is Karma real? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s not important. What is important is that we all do the right things, and we do them for the right reasons.

If Karma exists, well, that’s one heck of a bonus!

Can Eating Cherries Lower Gout Risk?

7 Mar

If you suffer from gout, you are going to like this information. Gout is a kind of arthritis that occurs when uric acid builds up in blood and causes joint inflammation. Chronic gout is repeated episodes of pain and inflammation which may involve more than one joint. If too much uric acid builds up in the fluid around the joints (synovial fluid), uric acid crystals form. These crystals cause the joint to swell up and can be extremely painful. That’s why the findings of a new study published by the American College of Rheumatology are so promising. The lead author, Dr. Yuqing Zhang, Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Boston University and colleagues, recruited 633 gout patients who were followed online for one year. Participants were asked about the date of gout onset, symptoms, medications, and risk factors. Researchers also asked about cherry and cherry extract intake in the two days prior to a gout attack. A cherry serving was one half cup or 10 to 12 cherries. According to the study, “Cherry intake over a 2-day period was associated with a 35% lower risk of gout attacks compared with no intake.”

New research shows our ancient ancestors were eating meat 1.5 million years ago!

7 Mar

There is a debate raging in the diet and nutrition world. Some claim eating meat is healthy and others say it is not. The purpose of this information is to inform you and not to make a decision for you. According to a study that was published October 3 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, “Meat-eating was an important factor affecting early hominin brain expansion, social organization and geographic movement.”

Researchers used skull fragments found by anthropologists in Tanzania to show that our ancient ancestors were eating meat at least 1.5 million years ago. “Meat eating has always been considered one of the things that made us human, with the protein contributing to the growth of our brains,” said Charles Musiba, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Denver, who helped make the discovery. “Our work shows that 1.5 million years ago we were not opportunistic meat eaters, we were actively hunting and eating meat.” Authors of the study also noted, “This discovery highlights that by at least 1.5 million years ago, early human physiology was already adapted to a diet that included the regular consumption of meat.”

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