Courtesy of:
John H. Keefe III, D.C.
(918) 663-1111
CLICK FOR ENERGY
IN THE NEWS : CONSUMING ENERGY DRINKS LINKED TO RISKY BEHAVIORS IN TEENS Consuming highly caffeinated energy drinks like Amp, Red Bull or Rockstar could be a telltale sign of other problems for high school students, according to a Canadian study. The more often students reported drinking energy drinks, the more likely they were to also report feeling depressed, seeking out risky experiences, drinking alcohol or smoking. "Young people tend to mix alcohol with energy drinks - and that's also a problem," lead author Sunday Azagba told Reuters Health. Energy drink consumption was more common among kids who reported sensation-seeking and had high depression scores along with those that used cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol, the researchers found.
CLICK ON FOR NATURAL ANTIBOTIC
WELLNESS: PATHOGENS IN YOUR MOUTH CAN LEAD TO CANCER IN OTHER PARTS OF YOUR BODY Two independent new studies found a causal link between a common oral bacterium (F. nucleatum) and colorectal cancer; pathogens in your mouth can enter your bloodstream to colonize other parts of your body. The same pathogenic bacteria has been known to cause stillbirths in mice, but was recently found responsible for a pregnant woman’s intrauterine infection that resulted in her baby’s tragic stillbirth. Consuming naturally fermented foods and incorporating “oil pulling” with coconut oil are two effective ways of balancing your oral and gut flora, which will improve your oral health, as well as your overall health.
CLICK FOR MORE INFO
CHIROPRACTIC: AN EXPECTANT PARENT’S GUIDE TO CHIROPRACTIC What we cannot see are the millions of different hormonal changes and chemical reactions occurring both in the mother and the developing baby, all of which are controlled and coordinated through the nervous system. Now more than ever, during pregnancy you need a nervous system that responds immediately and accurately to changing requirements in all parts of your body, and therefore you need a healthy spine! Chiropractic care prior to conception promotes a more regular menstrual cycle and optimal uterine function. It prepares the body to be strong, supple, and as balanced as possible to carry the pregnancy. Restoring proper nerve supply to reproductive organs has helped many couples who thought they were infertile. And adjusting women throughout pregnancy is one of the most rewarding parts of our work, because a healthier pregnancy means an easier labour and delivery, and a better transition for the baby into this life.
Visit our web site: facebook.com/keefeclinic
Courtesy of:
John H. Keefe III, D.C.
(918) 663-1111
DIET: Use bamboo extract to improve skin and hair health Bamboo extract comes from the leaves and stalks of an edible grass that is eaten by many of the world's animals. It is a rich source of silica, which is an essential nutrient for humans, too. In particular, silica plays a great role in keeping the skin and hair healthy. In fact, daily supplements of silica through the use of bamboo extract can improve the condition of hair and skin, even to the point of alleviating eczema and psoriasis. In addition to its benefits to hair and skin, silica from bamboo extract can strengthen the musculoskeletal system, improve the condition of nails and teeth, and reduce triglycerides and cholesterol.
IN THE NEWS: STUDY: MEN GET GRUMPY AT AGE 70 If you're a male who's approaching 50, good news: A recent study found that 80% of the 1,315 men surveyed found that life improved around 50, as opposed to the 20% who said life didn't get easier until retirement age. But the good times apparently have an expiration date. The men found that their happiness began to diminish around age 70, which NPR dubs "the approximate moment when grumpiness kicks in for men." The study, published in March's Psychology and Aging, shed some light on why the men, who were between the ages of 53 and 85 during the 15-year study, found that life improved at first, then started to be a downer around 70. "Older adults," referring to those around 50, "on average have fewer hassles—and respond to them better—than younger adults," explains lead author Carolyn Aldwin. But as decades pass new "hassles" set in, and how the men "appraised" them changed.
CHIROPRACTIC: Panic Attacks and the Chiropractic Adjustment: A Case Report A 52-year-old female diagnosed with chronic panic attacks. She had been prescribed a variety of antidepressants and tranquilizers over the years, as well as undergoing counseling and relaxation training - all to no benefit. Chiropractic examination revealed areas of upper and mid cervical, upper and mid thoracic and right sacroiliac fixations. The patient's blood pressure would read 182/102 mm Hg and her pulse rate 120 beats per minute during an attack. Her blood pressure would drop to 140/80 and her pulse to 76 beats per minute four minutes after the adjustment. She had been free of panic attacks for more than two months which is the best she had been in years in spite of the fact that her M.D. cut her Xanax dosage in half after she began chiropractic care. Potthoff S. Penwell B, Wolf J. ACA J of Chiropractic, 1993 (December) 30:26-28.
Visit our web sites: facebook.com/keefeclinic
Casual marijuana use linked with brain abnormalities, study finds
Casual marijuana use may come with some not-so-casual side effects.
For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have analyzed the relationship between casual use of marijuana and brain changes – and found that young adults who used cannabis just once or twice a week showed significant abnormalities in two important brain structures.
The study’s findings, to be published Wednesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, are similar to those of past research linking chronic, long-term marijuana use with mental illness and changes in brain development.
Dr. Hans Breiter, co-senior study author, said he was inspired to look at the effects of casual marijuana use after previous work in his lab found that heavy cannabis use caused similar brain abnormalities to those seen in patients with schizophrenia.
"The interaction of marijuana with brain development could be a significant problem."- Dr. Hans Breiter, co-senior study author
“There were abnormalities in their working memory, which is fundamental to everything you do,” Breiter, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com. “When you make judgments or decisions, plan things, do mathematics – anything you do always involves working memory. It’s one of the core fundamental aspects of our brains that we use every day. So given those findings, we decided we need to look at casual, recreational use.”
For their most recent study, Breiter and his team analyzed a very small sample of patients between the ages of 18 and 25: 20 marijuana users and 20 well-matched control subjects. The marijuana users had a wide range of usage routines, with some using the drug just once or twice a week and others using it every single day.
Utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the researchers analyzed the participants’ brains, focusing on the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and the amygdala – two key brain regions responsible for processing emotions, making decisions and motivation. They looked at these brain structures in three different ways, measuring their density, volume and shape.
According to Breiter, all three were abnormal in the casual marijuana users.
“For the NAC, all three measures were abnormal, and they were abnormal in a dose-dependent way, meaning the changes were greater with the amount of marijuana used,” Breiter said. “The amygdala had abnormalities for shape and density, and only volume correlated with use. But if you looked at all three types of measures, it showed the relationships between them were quite abnormal in the marijuana users, compared to the normal controls.”
Because these brain regions are central for motivation, the findings from Northwestern help support the well-known theory that marijuana use leads to a condition called amotivation. Also called amotivational syndrome, this psychological condition causes people to become less oriented towards their goals and purposes in life, as well as seem less focused in general.
Given these eye-opening results, Breiter said that more research is needed to look into marijuana’s effects on the brain – even in those who use the drug only once or twice a month.
“We need to see what happens longitudinally,” Breiter said. “What happens as you follow people over time? What happens if they stop using – do these bad effects continue? What happens if you can intervene early?...My worry is we haven’t studied this compound and here we are looking to change legislation on it.”
Although Breiter’s team members did not examine the patients’ cognitive symptoms, they do believe that the brain abnormalities seen in their study could lead to substantial effects on brain development and behavior, especially given the young ages of the participants. Breiter also acknowledged the problems of analyzing a very small study sample – but said that their findings should still serve as a wake-up call to others.
“This study is just a beginning pilot study, but at the same time, the results that came out are the same as a canary in a coal mine,” Breiter said. “...The interaction of marijuana with brain development could be a significant problem.”
Courtesy of:
John H. Keefe III, D.C.
(918) 663-1111
IN THE NEWS: FLU AND TAMIFLU NEW STUDY A team of researchers who have been studying the flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza released a new report that they say raises new doubts about the benefits of the drugs. The report, published jointly by the influential Cochrane Review and the British Medical Journal, seeks to cast doubt on the widespread use of the two drugs, which doctors give to treat influenza and to prevent it in people who have a high risk of complications.“The balance between benefits and harms should be considered when making decisions about use of both neuraminidase inhibitors for either the prophylaxis (prevention) or treatment of influenza,” Dr.Tom Jefferson, Dr.Carl Heneghan and Dr. Peter Doshi of the Cochrane Neuraminidase Inhibitors Review Team wrote.
WELLNESS: GOOD VS. BAD BACTERIA - THE FLORA WAR How does consuming pesticide ruin your good bacteria in your gut that are responsible for maintaining 80% of your overall health, including your immunity? The answer is simple. An acidic environment starts the damage. Once your body is acidic, it welcomes inflammation, gastric issues and a weakened immune state. The "GMO Ocean" in your gut What kills the good bacteria in your system the quickest? Bug killer and weed killer. Pesticide destroys your good bacteria, sometimes in one fell swoop. Keep your gut healthy! "A healthy gut has about 20% bad bacteria and 80% good ones. Each of us has roughly 4 pounds of bacteria in their gut. That's right, it's a lot! And when some bad strains become more prominent, we get ill. So this is why it's important to keep them in balance, with the good bacteria keeping the bad ones in check." READ ABOUT KIFER
CHIROPRACTIC: Studies confirm chiropractic treatment prevents heart attacks and lowers blood pressure The popularity of chiropractic care has grown dramatically since the middle of the 20th century. Although most people seek chiropractic treatment to relieve musculoskeletal pain, certain types of pain may be indicative of the patient experiencing a heart attack just before or during treatment. Studies at Palmer Chiropractic College investigated the effects of chiropractic treatment on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in reference to an analysis of heart rate variability. Findings indicated that chiropractic adjustments do reduce pain and lower participant's mean heart rate. Additionally, evidence indicates that adjustments of the atlas, or first cervical vertebra, may stop some heart attacks while they are occurring, according to chiropractor, Dr. Christopher Clarke of the Vibrance Family Chiropractic Center in Nashville. Chiropractic treatment also has a significant effect on blood pressure and anxiety levels, according to a study reported in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. The study examined systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels and patients' anxiety levels before and after an adjustment. In all cases, those subjects who received active treatment experienced a distinct drop in blood pressure and a decrease of their anxiety levels. Results of this study provide evidence that chiropractic treatment offers support to the cardiovascular system.
Visit our web site: keefeclinic.com-facebook/keefeclinic.com
