Week of: Monday June 10, 2019

Courtesy of:

  John H. Keefe III, D.C.

(918) 663-1111

IN THE NEWS: Is it time to treat sugar like smoking? BBC news Over the past decade, smoking has become marginalized and stigmatized. There are signs sugar is heading the same way. Sugary drinks are already taxed - and now a leading think tank has even suggested sweets, snacks, and sugary drinks should be wrapped in plain packaging to make them less appealing, given the excess consumption of the sweet stuff. The call has been made by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in a new report. IPPR director Tom Kibasi believes it could make a real difference. "Plain packaging would help us all to make better choices and reduce the hassle of pester power for busy parents," he said. The industry has been quick to object, with trade body the Food and Drink Federation arguing that branding is "fundamental commercial freedom" and "critical to competition". The same sort of arguments was put forward by the tobacco industry, but successive governments have still increasingly shown an appetite to get tough. There is a recognition that bold moves are needed if the ambition to halve the child obesity rate by 2030 is to be achieved. As the debate rages about obesity, expect to hear much more about the merits of radical action on sugar.

WELLNESS: Children who grow up with dogs are less likely to develop food allergies, a new study has found Children who grow up with dogs are less likely to develop food allergies, a new study by the University of Dundee has found. Young children from the age of three months who live in a household with two or more dogs are 90% less likely to develop food intolerances compared to those living without any pets. "The exposure of children to diverse environmental microbiota among household dust has been associated with protection from developing atopy and asthma," Professor McLean added. Food allergies affect between six and 10 percent of children in the UK, with many of them having intolerances to milk, eggs, peanuts, soy and wheat. According to the NHS, the most common allergy for young children is hay fever. The study also found that...Children who lived on farms were also less likely to suffer from allergies--Those growing up with more siblings were also not as allergic--Identical twins are likely to have the same allergic diseases--The exposure of household dust can also help children with allergies. Pet ownership is a huge benefit to our lives. As well as helping with allergies, dogs make brilliant companions for young children and help to reduce any stress and anxiety they may be facing. Just another reason to adopt one of your own.

CHIROPRACTIC: Chiropractic Care for Whiplash Written by Stewart G. Eidelson, MD If you have neck pain caused by whiplash, you may want to visit a chiropractor who can provide many non-surgical treatment options for relief. Whiplash is an injury to the neck muscles from rapid forward and backward motion of the neck caused by a trauma (eg, a car accident). It can cause acute (short-term) neck pain as well as restricted movement in your neck. Stages of Whiplash Treatment Soon after whiplash occurs—in the acute phase—the chiropractor will work on reducing neck inflammation using various therapy modalities. He or she may also use gentle stretching and manual therapy techniques (eg, muscle energy therapy, a type of stretching). The chiropractor may also recommend you apply an ice pack on your neck and/or a light neck support to use for a short period of time. As your neck becomes less inflamed and the pain decreases, your chiropractor will perform gentle spinal manipulation or other chiropractic techniques to restore normal motion to your neck's facet joints. Chiropractic Whiplash Treatments Your treatment plan depends on the severity of your whiplash injury. The most common chiropractic technique is spinal manipulation. Some spinal manipulation techniques commonly used are: Flexion-distraction technique: This hands-on technique is a gentle, non-thrusting type of spinal manipulation to help treat herniated discs with or without arm pain. Your whiplash injury may have aggravated a bulging or herniated disc. The chiropractor uses a slow pumping action on the disc instead of direct force to the spine. Instrument-assisted manipulation: This technique is another non-thrusting technique chiropractors often use. Using a specialized hand-held instrument, the chiropractor applies force without thrusting into the spine. This type of manipulation is useful for older patients who have a degenerative joint syndrome. Specific spinal manipulation: The chiropractor identifies spinal joints that are restricted or show abnormal motion (called subluxations). Using this technique, he or she will help restore motion to the joint with a gentle thrusting technique. This gentle thrusting stretches soft tissue and stimulates the nervous system to restore normal motion to the spine. Chiropractors look at the whole person—not just the painful problem. They view neck pain as unique to each patient, so they don’t just focus on your neck pain. They emphasize prevention as the key to good long-term health. In addition to these treatments, your chiropractor may also prescribe therapeutic exercises to help restore normal motion in your spine and reduce whiplash symptoms. Using these chiropractic techniques, a chiropractor will help you increase your daily activities. He or she will work hard to address any mechanical (how the spine moves) or neurological (nerve-related) causes of your whiplash.

FUNNY BONE:  “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”– Bernard Baruch@@ “Money won’t buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a large research staff to study the problem.”– Bill Vaughan@@“The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.”– Bill Watterson @@“I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland to see what the army does with those wee red knives.”– Billy Connolly@@ If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.@@To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.@@The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.@@ If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.