Week of: Monday Dec. 9, 2019
Courtesy of:
John H. Keefe III, D.C.
(918) 663-1111
IN THE NEWS: Staying healthy in winter with Super Foods Do your immune system a favor and pack more fruits and vegetables on your plate. They're loaded with nutrients, called antioxidants, that are good for you. Add more fruits and vegetables of any kind to your diet. It'll help your health. Some foods are higher in antioxidants than others, though. The three major antioxidant vitamins are beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. You’ll find them in colorful fruits and vegetables, especially those with purple, blue, red, orange, and yellow hues. Beta-carotene and other carotenoids: apricots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, green peppers, kale, mangoes, turnip and collard greens, nectarines, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, squash, spinach, sweet potato, tangerines, tomatoes, and watermelon . Vitamin C: berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, honeydew, kale, kiwi, mango, nectarine, orange, papaya, snow peas, sweet potato, strawberries, tomatoes, and red, green, or yellow peppers. Vitamin E: broccoli (boiled), avocado, chard, mustard and turnip greens, mangoes, nuts, papaya, pumpkin, red peppers, spinach (boiled), and sunflower seeds. These foods are also rich in antioxidants:Prunes, Apples, Raisins, Plums, Red grapes, Alfalfa sprouts, Onions, Eggplant, Beans. Other antioxidants that can help keep you healthy include: Zinc: oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, seafood, whole grains, some fortified cereals (check the ingredients to see if zinc has been added), and dairy products Selenium : Brazil nuts, tuna, beef, poultry, fortified breads, and other grain products Cooking tip: To get the biggest benefits of antioxidants, eat these foods raw or lightly steamed. Don’t overcook or boil them.
WELLNESS: Fatty liver can cause kidney failure without warning signs According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 1 in 7 Americans are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the vast majority of people still in the mild stages of this life-altering disease don’t even know they have it. Today, we feature research from the American Journal of Kidney Disease, which reveals the often overlooked risk factor for kidney failure – nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Unfortunately, research also shows that liver disease signs and symptoms are often overlooked or nearly non-existent, too – even in advanced stages. This means millions of individuals could be careening toward fatty liver disease and life-threatening kidney failure, which hurts their chances of doing something positive to avoid it. NAFLD occurs when there is a build up of fatty tissue in a person’s liver, even if they drink little to no alcohol. This can reduce liver function over time and may also lead to dangerous scarring on the liver (cirrhosis) which further impairs liver health. The study featured in today’s article looked at the data of 262,619 patients newly diagnosed with NAFLD and 769,878 patients without it. After controlling for a variety of factors, the researchers discovered that the incidence of CKD was significantly higher among people with a NAFLD diagnosis. Why the link? Authors of the paper published in The American Journal of Kidney Diseases point to “experimental evidence” which indicates that “nonalcoholic fatty liver disease itself may exacerbate systemic and hepatic insulin resistance, cause [elevated levels of triglycerides and small-dense low-density lipoprotein and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol], and release a variety of proinflammatory, procoagulant, pro-oxidant, and profibrogenic mediators,” all of which are key movers in the development of CKD. NOTE: To avoid fatty liver it's important to follow your body type diet and reduce the amount of refined carbohydrate that gets stored and thus clogged within the liver. We can do blood work to check your liver enzymes and they get testing to determine the amount of stress in your liver as well as what nutrients can help.
CONDITION OF THE WEEK: Whiplash 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 Adjustments or other chiropractic techniques to restore normal motion to your neck's facet joints. A past publication of the Journal of Neurology stated that chiropractic is the only recognized treatment for whiplash. Drugs might help with symptoms but they don't realign the spine or correct the injury.
FUNNY BONE: “Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.” – Victor Borge@@“My husband’s idea of getting the Christmas spirit is to become Scrooge.” – Melanie White@@“Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.” – Dave Barry@@“Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and receipts for all major purchases.”– Bridger Winegar@@“I haven’t taken my Christmas lights down. They look so nice on the pumpkin.” – Winston Spear@@“The principal advantage of the non-parental lifestyle is that on Christmas Eve you need not be struck dumb by the three most terrifying words that the government allows to be printed on any product: “Some assembly required.”” – John Leo@@“Nothing’s as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas.”– Kin Hubbard@@“What I like about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with the present.”– Don Marquis@@ “I love Christmas. I receive a lot of wonderful presents I can’t wait to exchange.” – Henny Youngman@@“For Christmas this year, try giving less. Start with less attitude. There’s more than enough of that in the world as it is – and people will usually just give it back anyway!”– Anne Bristow