WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE Week of: Monday June 18, 2018

Courtesy of:

John H. Keefe III, D.C.

(918) 663-1111

IN THE NEWS: Avoid a heart attack by eating blueberries and strawberries, according to Harvard Medical School We all know that eating fruits and vegetables is good for your health. Now new research out of Harvard Medical School is confirming that eating more berries can contribute greatly to heart health. In fact, blueberries and strawberries (in particular) contribute dramatically to this area of health, lowering the risk of a heart attack. For the study, health data came from 93,600 women who had signed up for the Nurses’ Health Study from ages 25 to 42. Over 18 years, they gave information regarding their diet. Looking at relatively young women at low risk of heart attack allowed the researchers to see many heart attack risk factors more clearly. The evidence is clear: Reduce heart attack risk up to 34 percent by eating blueberries and strawberries. The researchers determined women who ate the least strawberries and blueberries were at a higher risk for having a heart attack. Those who ate the highest amounts of these fruits were a full 34 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack.

WELLNESS: How to Get Rid of a Cough Contrary to what many people believe, a cough is not a disease in and of itself – rather, it’s a symptom, a warning sign that your body gives out to let you know that there’s something wrong with your health, and that there’s an underlying condition that you need to take care of. For example, a cough can present itself with the common cold and other types of respiratory illness. It may manifest if you have gastrointestinal problems like GERD, or may be triggered by prescription medications. In some cases, it may be a sign of a severe health disorder, such as if you’re coughing up blood – a condition called hemoptysis, which can be indicative of tuberculosis, bronchitis or even lung cancer. So what you do with a simple cough? A study found that raw honey works just as well as dextromethorphan, an ingredient used in OTC drugs, to soothe cough triggered by upper respiratory tract infections, particularly in children. Drinking enough water helps thin out mucus. It also keeps mucous membranes moist, which may reduce the need to cough. NOTE: If you have signs or symptoms of getting sick call for an appointment and try a natural approach first. There are no safe drugs plus they don’t get the roots of the problem.

 CHIROPRACTIC: Is chiropractic your first choice in healthcare? We have said for many years that if you have a health challenge you should consider chiropractic/natural healthcare first, drug second and surgery last. You might have to think about this for a while to understand the wisdom. Here is a case history that demonstrates some of the wisdom of this recommendation. The patient was a female in her mid-20s and she recently had a child but was unable to hold it because of seizure activity. She was involved in a serious car accident where she was almost thrown through the windshield of the car. She had significant head trauma which led to seizures. She was put on seizure medication which controled them for a period of time but then she started having breakthrough seizures which made it dangerous for her to hold her child without supervision. Her doctor informed her if they raised the level of her medication it could be fatal. It is common that our patients are referred to us by other patients which is how she came to make an appointment. She presented with not only seizures but of course she had neck and back pain from the accident, she suffered from significant headaches since the accident, she had knee pain which they were considering surgery for and she also complained of pain over her last remaining ovary. Her other ovary was removed because of pain they could not control. Our exam indicated she had subluxations (spinal misalignments) and other signs of trauma that appeared in her x-rays and physical exam. She began treatment and soon noticed her seizure activity was diminishing, within time she was seizure free and was excited she could hold her baby again. Her headaches became a thing of the past along with her knee pain (no surgery necessary) and then what excited her the most is she was no longer having pain over her last remaining ovary. This was important because she wanted to have more children. I see this type of story repeated hundreds of times in my practice. Patients come in with conditions no one else can help them with and through chiropractic adjustments, nutritional therapy and other lifestyle changes their bodies get well. Who do you know who would benefit from chiropractic? Maybe you’re not sure if their condition will but send them to us anyway we would be the first to tell them if we couldn’t help them. Only a chiropractic physician knows if chiropractic could help.

FUNNY BONE: I used to be a people person…. But people ruined that for me@@I just checked my account balance at the ATM. It printed me a coupon for ramen noodles@@I don’t mean to brag but… I finished my 14 day diet and three hours and 12 minutes.@@When a woman says “what?”, It’s not because she didn’t hear you. She’s given you a chance to change what you said.@@I’m jealous of my parents, I’ll never have a kid as cool as they did.@@Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let her sleep.@@If your parents never had children, chances are you won’t either.@@I’m not shy, I’m holding back my awesomeness so I don’t intimidate you.