We’re All Guinea Pigs in a Failed Decades-Long Diet Experiment

posted July 6, 2017

By TONIC, Eat This: Markham Heid

Let's say you want to lose some weight. Which of these foods would you choose: A skim-milk latte, or the same drink with whole milk? A low-cal breakfast bar or steak and eggs? A salad tossed in light dressing or the same salad doused with buttermilk ranch?

If you're like most Americans, you either aren't sure how to answer, or you're very sure—but very wrong. And it's not your fault. It's the fault, experts say, of decades of flawed or misleading nutrition advice—advice that was never based on solid science.

The US Department of Agriculture, along with the agency that is now called Health and Human Services, first released a set of national dietary guidelines back in 1980. That 20-page booklet trained its focus primarily on three health villains: fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

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Back Pain Facts & Statistics

posted June 1, 2017

By AMERICAN CHIROPRACTIC ASSOCIATION

Although doctors of chiropractic (DCs) treat more than just back pain, many patients initially visit chiropractors looking for relief from this pervasive condition. In fact, 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time.1

A few interesting facts about back pain:

  • Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2010.
  • Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.
  • One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.2 Experts estimate that as much as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives.3
  • Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
  • Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.4

What Causes Back Pain? ....

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10 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER, BACKED BY SCIENCE

posted April 28, 2017

By JOE MARTINO

We are all in search of happiness it seems. For me I prefer to look at it as the search for peace and joy in life as I find happiness can be too conditional and anytime we have to look for or chase something we are looking outside of us. Surely some of this is just semantics but for lack of a better word, happiness in my view is a state of being that comes from within and isn’t fickle.

I came across this great article about the science of happiness and how researchers have been able to discover that various simple things that we can adjust in our daily lives can bring more happiness to our state of being. Again I believe happiness is a long term thing, not short spurts of emotion that we chase, but something that is born within and sustained naturally in our being.

1. Exercise more – 7 minutes might be enough: You might have seen some talk recently about the scientific 7 minute workout mentioned in The New York Times. So if you thought exercise was something you didn’t have time for, maybe you can fit it in after all.

Read the full article.

Chiropractors and Healthy Eating: Linking the Two

posted March 3, 2017

By Genevieve Cunningham

Eating a healthy and well balanced diet has long been regarded as a key component of a healthy lifestyle. The benefits are well known, and millions of people have experienced the goodness that comes from a healthy diet for themselves. But when it comes to living a healthy life, is that all there is to it? If you’re looking for another way to enhance your health with very little hassle, take a look at how chiropractic care and healthy eating are linked, and how they work together to boost your health in a big way.

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How Neuroscientists Explain the Mind-Clearing Magic of Running

Scienceofus.com - It is something of a cliché among runners, how the activity never fails to clear your head. Does some creative block have you feeling stuck? Go for a run. Are you deliberating between one of two potentially life-altering decisions? Go for a run. Are you feeling mildly mad, sad, or even just vaguely meh? Go for a run, go for a run, go for a run.

The author Joyce Carol Oates once wrote in a column for the New York Times that “in running the mind flees with the body … in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms.” Filmmaker Casey Neistat told Runner’s World last fall that running is sometimes the only thing that gives him clarity of mind. “Every major decision I’ve made in the last eight years has been prefaced by a run,” he told the magazine. But I maybe like the way a runner named Monte Davis phrased it best, as quoted in the 1976 book The Joy of Running: “It’s hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time,” he said. “Also, there are those hours of clear-headedness that follow a long run.”

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How Does Cupping Therapy Work?

You might find just as many people talking about Michael Phelps' purple spots as you will his numerous gold medals. In fact, if you look closely several Olympic athletes have the mysterious spots, which are raising lots of questions.

Read more about Cupping Therapy here.

What Does The Sock Do?

This easy to use, inexpensive device is designed to keep tension on the tissue (plantar fascia) so it heals in a stretched position at night. In this way many users find a reduction of their morning pain, some have noticed a reduced recovery time and yet others have reduced the need for medications.

What is plantar fasciitis?

You probably never thought much about your plantar fascia until the pain in your heel jolted you. A thin ligament that connects your heel to the front of your foot, the plantar fascia, can be a trouble spot for many people. Heel pain affects more than 50 percent of Americans, and the most common cause is plantar fasciitis. Repetitive motion from running or step aerobics, or added pressure from weight gain can damage or tear the plantar fascia, causing inflammation and pain.

Click here to read more.

Cancer and Sugar: Study Suggests a Link

Large prospective study finds higher risk of gallbladder cancer

People who reported daily consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks had a higher incidence of biliary tract cancer and gallbladder cancer, according to a new study.


Researchers in Sweden studied nearly 71,00 adults and found that those who reported drinking two or more servings of soda or other sugary drinks per day had a greater risk of extrahepatic biliary tract cancer (hazard ratio 1.79, 95% CI 1.02-3.13) and of gallbladder cancer (HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.02-4.89) than did those who drank no soda at all after about 13 years.

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EXCLUSIVE: Unpublished Material from NYT Magazine Story on Cancer Metabolism

This post is very exciting for me.

It covers a subject I care deeply about (cancer), and it’s exclusive, unpublished material from a New York Times Magazine feature entitled “An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death.” Written by Sam Apple, this piece got a lot of attention.

Now, here on this blog, you can read what didn’t make it in.

Headaches & Chiropractic

If you have a headache, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten Americans suffer from headaches. Some are occasional, some frequent, some are dull and throbbing, and some cause debilitating pain and nausea. What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache? Do you grit your teeth and carry on? Lie down? Pop a pill and hope the pain goes away? There is a better alternative. Research shows that spinal manipulation – the primary form of care provided by doctors of chiropractic – may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck. Read More.

Chiropractic Treatments for Lower Back Pain

Chiropractic is a health care profession dedicated to the non-surgical treatment of disorders of the nervous system and/or musculoskeletal system. Generally, chiropractors maintain a unique focus on spinal manipulation and treatment of surrounding structures. Read More.