Week of: Monday May 13, 2019

Courtesy of:

John H. Keefe III, D.C.

(918) 663-1111

IN THE NEWS: Scientists Discover Why Sleeping Less Than 7 Hours Is Linked to Heart Disease The link between sleep and health has never been stronger, but for all the data that chides us for not getting enough rest each night, there are still lingering questions. For instance, how is it possible that sleep can be linked to seemingly unrelated health effects, including cardiovascular disease and anxiety? Well, at least when it comes to heart disease, a new paper in Experimental Physiologyprovides some concrete answers. Lack of sleep can affect mood and academic performance, but it has also been linked to heart conditions in population-based studies. The CDC has published materials suggesting that sleeping for less than seven hours is linked to type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of heart disease. Working with Jamie Hijmans, a doctoral candidate and fellow in DeSouza’s lab, the team showed that sleeping for less than seven hours a night can reduce specific fragments of non-coding RNA molecules found in blood called microRNAs. Participants reported how many hours they slept per night, and the researchers divided them into two even groups: those who reported sleeping for seven hours or more, and those who slept for less than seven hours. That seven-hour mark isn’t a hard and fast benchmark for a healthy amount of sleep. Usually the range is somewhere from seven to nine hours of sleep — though seven seems to consistently be on the low end of the healthy range and is used in the CDC’s guidance materials. However, there are subgroups, like teens, which may require far more sleep to function normally. As far as microRNAs go, seven seems to work as a benchmark, adds Hijmans. NOTE: past studies have shown that sleep is also essential for the brain to detoxify which helps prevents dementia. If you have problems with sleep we can help.

WELLNESS: Nutrients that help keep you well. The fundamental problem with most of our chronic diseases is inflammation. To regulate inflammation you should eat foods that are anti-inflammatory you should eat more vegetables. People who eat fish outlive people who don't. Fish like tuna and salmon contain anti-inflammatory oils and should be eaten 2 to 3 times a week. Antioxidants that you find in foods like grapes, pomegranate, and blueberries can reduce free radicals within the bloodstream that can cause cellular damage. Antioxidants can reduce heart disease, cancer, arthritis and other chronic diseases. Nutrients like vitamin A and D and vitamin C helps stimulate a strong immune system and can help prevent as well as treat certain infections. Shingles can be a painful condition which comes from the virus that causes chickenpox. Even after a case of chickenpox is resolved this virus, in some cases, can remain dormant within certain nerves of the body only to show up as shingles later in life. L-lysine is an amino acid that helps the body control this virus. Taking l-lysine or immune formulas that contain l-lysine can be very effective in preventing as well as treating shingles. Nitric oxide formulas that center around the amino acid L-arginine can help raise the amount of oxygen and blood flow throughout the body, conditions like ED or cardiovascular problems respond well to these formulas. Type II diabetes is a growing problem in the US basically due to the amount of refined carbohydrates that the average American gets which produces too much insulin that eventually the cells get immune to and thus blood sugar is not controlled. A good B complex with minerals like chromium or vanadium and small amounts of cinnamon in the diet can rehabilitate the cells ability to recognize insulin and thus lower blood sugar naturally. All these nutrients work better with the proper diet so following your body type diet is crucial as a foundation to better health.

CONDITION OF THE WEEK: Sleep and sleep positions  For the best quality of sleep you need to support your neck and back in a way that relaxes the muscles along with spine. The proper sleep position will not only enhance the quality of sleep but will help prevent you from waking up with aches and pains. If you're someone who tosses and turns a lot at night you might benefit from a supplement called niacin. A time-released niacin tablet can keep your blood flowing in a way to make your muscles more relaxed and less likely to develop pressure points that require you to turn over. Stomach sleeping is the worst position that you can sleep in because you have to turn your neck all night to breathe and it stresses your low back. Side sleeping with the appropriate pillow thickness under your head to keep your neck and spine and align in keeping something you between your knees or for your bent knee a rest on it is important. For back sleeping support your neck not your head and consider a pillow under your knees.

FUNNY BONE: I got another letter from this lawyer today. It said “Final Notice”. Good that he will not bother me anymore.@@An eskimo brings his friend to his home for a visit. When they arrive, his friend asks, puzzled – “So where’s your igloo?” The friend replies “Oh no, I must’ve left the iron on…”@@Husband: Wow, honey, you look really different today. Did you do something to your hair? Wife: Michael, I’m over here!@@One company owner asks another: “Tell me, Bill, how come your employees are always on time in the mornings?” Bill replies: “Easy. 30 employees and 20 parking spaces.”@@Pete and Mick were in court and standing before the judge. "Why can't this case be settled out of court?" the judge asked. Pete looked up at the judge and said, "That's what we were trying to do, your honour, when the police interfered."@@ A big city lawyer was called in on a case between a farmer and a large railroad company. The farmer noticed that his prize cow was missing from the field through which the railroad passed. He filed suit against the railroad company for the value of the cow. The case was to be tried before the Justice of the Peace in the back room of the General Store. The attorney immediately cornered the farmer and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and the farmer finally agreed to take half of what he was claiming to settle the case. After the farmer signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't help but gloat a little over his success. He said to the farmer, "You know, I hate to tell you this but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your farm that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand." The old farmer replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself because that durned cow came home this morning!"