Dr Beecher’s May 2015 Monthly Chiropractic Newsletter
To download Dr. Beecher’s Monthly Newsletter, please click here!
“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.” ~ John Lubbock
New Research Shows Eating at Certain Times May Decrease Heart Disease Risk!
Study Shows Changing the Hours You Eat – Without Altering What You Eat – Gets Positive Results!
Also this month:
- Does when you eat also affect type 2 diabetes? A new study says, “YES.”
- Want to shorten the length of the common cold? Study says high doses of this supplement may be the answer.
- Why would dietitians recommend mini-cans of soda as a good choice for a snack? Find out why… (HINT: money talks!)
- One moment can change everything: The incredible story of a 13-year-old boy fighting a deadly autoimmune disease and how he’s trying to make history…
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ouston – Everyone knows what they eat has a huge impact on both their energy levels and their overall wellbeing. Because countless studies have demonstrated the effect nutrition has on many aspects of health, some experts even say that the majority of health problems can be avoided through proper diet (in addition to regular exercise).
In Other Words, You Are What You Eat
But what if there was a way you could be healthier without changing what you eat, even if you are already eating perfectly? If that sounds interesting, then you are really going to like this…
A new study conducted by scientists at San Diego State University found you are not only WHAT you eat but WHEN you eat. The research, published in the prestigious journal Science, found that, “By limiting the time span during which fruit flies could eat, they could prevent aging – and diet-related heart problems. The researchers also discovered that genes responsible for the body’s circadian rhythm are integral to this process, but they’re not yet sure how.
“Previous research has found that people who tend to eat later in the day and into the night have a higher chance of developing heart disease than people who cut off their food consumption earlier.”
But this study was done on fruit flies, what does that have to do with humans? Well, fruit flies have been long been used as a starting point to help identify the genetic basis of many ailments, including heart disease.
Some interesting details about the experiment: The fruit flies were split into two groups. One group was allowed to eat unrestricted all day and the other was only allowed to eat during a twelve-hour period. Researches kept track of the sleep patterns and amount of food eaten by each group.
Results: “Flies on the 12-hour time-restricted feeding schedule slept better, didn’t gain as much weight, and had far healthier hearts than their ‘eat anytime’ counterparts, even though they ate similar amounts of food.”
The researchers observed the same results after five weeks. According to researcher Dr. Shubhroz Gill, “In very early experiments, when we compared 5-week-old flies that were fed for either 24 hours or 12 hours, the hearts of the latter were in such good shape that we thought perhaps we had mistaken some young 3-week-old fruit flies [from a different part of the experiment]… We had to repeat the experiments several times to become convinced that this improvement was truly due to the time-restricted feeding.”
More Good News: The benefits of time-restricted diets were not restricted to young flies. When the researchers introduced the time restrictions to older flies, their hearts became healthier too.
What Is the “Take Home Message?”
Of course, more research must be done before the results can be extrapolated to real people, like you and me. There are several factors to take into consideration with humans, like the fact that humans do not eat the same thing every day and lifestyle often affects when someone can or cannot eat. Dr. Girish Melkani, a Biologist at San Diego State University writes, “Time-restricted feeding would not require people to drastically change their lifestyles, just the times of day they eat. The take-home message then would be to cut down on the late-night snacks.”
More Research Shows Timing
a Factor in Type 2 Diabetes
According to a new small-scale study published in Diabetologia, “The combined consumption of a high-energy breakfast and a low-energy dinner decreases overall daily hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetics.”
Researcher Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz notes, “We found that by eating more calories at breakfast, when the glucose response to food is lowest and consuming fewer calories at dinner, glucose peaks after meals and glucose levels throughout the day were significantly reduced.”
In other words, a big breakfast and small dinner helped control blood sugar levels throughout the day.
Here is an interesting finding from the research: Participants’ blood glucose levels rose 23 percent less after lunches preceded by large breakfasts. Dr. Jakubowicz adds, “By demonstrating that a diet of high-energy breakfasts and more modest dinners is more effective in lowering overall daily post-meal glucose surges, we suggest that such a regimen is a powerful therapeutic approach for improving glycemic control and may potentially reduce cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetic… It is not enough to tell the diabetic patient what he or she should or should not eat. It is more important to emphasize that a more advantageous meal schedule should be followed.”
Want to Shorten the Length
of the Common Cold?
According to findings published in BMC Family Practice, “High dose zinc acetate lozenges shortened the duration of common-cold associated nasal discharge by 34%, nasal congestion by 37%, scratchy throat by 33%, and cough by 46%.”
Because they observed no major adverse effects related to zinc consumption over three separate studies, the authors of the study conclude, “Zinc acetate lozenges releasing zinc ions at doses of about 80 mg/day may be a useful treatment for the common cold, started within 24 hours, for a time period of less than two weeks.”
Don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We’re here to help and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in providing you natural pain relief.
Inspirational Story Of The Month
(Names And Details May Have Been Changed To Protect Privacy)
One Moment Can Change Everything
The Incredible Story of a 13-Year-Old Boy Fighting a Deadly
Autoimmune Disease and How He’s Trying to Make History…
“A single moment can change your life forever. I had one of those moments today while shooting a video of a 13-year old boy who is dying from an autoimmune disease. His story is one of the most amazing and touching I have ever heard. And it’s personal because he is the son of one of my best friends.”
Those are the words posted on Facebook by the person documenting this incredible story in an attempt to raise over $350,000 to pay for medical treatments that insurance companies won’t cover. When contacted for this story, he asked to remain anonymous and added, “This story is about saving a 13-year-old boy’s life… not me. Please focus on him.” So, we will…
Imagine being a star athlete, a champion in multiple sports, and getting straight A’s in school… all by age 10! Imagine doing that while battling a terrible genetic disorder and suffering from several autoimmune diseases that can make it impossible to walk or even hold a cup. Now, imagine being told there is very little hope and there are no definite solutions to your genetic disorder, that your condition will lead to cancer and ultimately death before you reach adulthood.
At five months old, Louie was hit with his first autoimmune disease, which wasn’t diagnosed until after spending two months in the hospital. His body thought he had an infection and produced fevers ranging from 101 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit (~38-42 degrees Celsius). At one point, his heart stopped due to complications stemming from such high fevers. The attending nurse quickly prepared an ice bath, wet several small blankets, and then wrapped and placed the quiet baby in the water and prayed the cold shock would bring his fever down so CPR could be administered to bring him back. After a couple minutes in the ice bath, everyone heard a loud roar! It was Louis coming back and that incredible fighting spirit would come to characterize Louis’ entire life.
Because of his fevers, his doctor said that Louis should be brain dead or at the very least, have an undetermined amount of brain damage. Oh really? By age 10, Louis was evaluated and determined to be gifted, a “near genius.” To this day (age 13), Louis excels in school effortlessly all while battling a deadly genetic disorder.
Louis currently suffers from eight autoimmune diseases. He deals with massive amounts of hair loss, loss of skin pigmentation, skin rashes, painful eye bulging, thyroid disease, Grave’s disease, and very painful juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Nearly every day is a nightmare for Louis. He deals with pain, a dozen different medicines and their side effects, and sees doctors twice a week, all while trying to be a teenager and have fun.
His strength is uncanny and he doesn’t shed a tear and never complains. He fights with all his heart every day and treats every day as a new battle as a war he must win. He’s focused and determined, he’s unstoppable. Before his most recent diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Louis was a champion athlete. He could play nearly every position on the baseball field (including pitcher) and was both a multiple-time tournament Tae Kwon Do Champion and a Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Grappling Champion. He also enjoyed other sports like basketball and soccer. Unfortunately, his condition has now taken over his body. Most days holding a cup or making it from his bed to the bathroom in the morning is a difficult task that requires assistance. Playing his favorite sports and competing in martial arts tournaments are no longer an option for him.
Down but not out, Louis perseveres. When he is not seeing doctors, he demands to be in school. For him, anything less than an A+ is unacceptable. He’s focused on expanding his mind and learning as much as possible. He plans to be a doctor and he has been known to openly talk about curing diseases to save children, saying, “One day I will cure cancers that take children, the answer is in the genes. I just haven’t figured it out yet. I just need more time and more studying.”
Let’s hope the campaign is able to raise the funds through donations to give Louis the time he needs to make history. (See: http://www.gofundme.com/oe37s8 for more information.)
We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and
getting them feeling better! We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger!
Don’t be a stranger. You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!
Did You Know?…
Here’s How to Get More Health Benefits Out of Your Work Day!
Prolonged sitting can significantly impact both your cardiovascular and metabolic function. Ideally, limit your sitting to three hours a day or less, and make it a point to walk 7,000-10,000 steps each day.
Taking a walk during your lunch hour can improve your mood and help reduce the effect of work-related stress. You can get even more out of your walk by simply switching up your pace at regular intervals (3 minutes fast pace and then 3 minutes casual pace, for example).
Tracking your steps can also show you how simple and seemingly minor changes to the way you move around at work can add up. For example, you can walk across the hall to talk to a co-worker instead of sending an email; take the stairs instead of the elevator; park your car further away from the entrance; or take a longer, roundabout way to your desk.
Tip Of The Month
Why Would Dietitians Recommend Mini-Cans
of Soda as a Good Choice for a Snack?
First, what is a Registered Dietician? The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ website says they are, “The world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education, and advocacy.”
According to their website, “Registered dietitian nutritionists – RDNs – are the food and nutrition experts who can translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living. RDNs use their nutrition expertise to help individuals make unique, positive lifestyle changes. They work throughout the community in hospitals, schools, public health clinics, nursing homes, fitness centers, food management, food industry, universities, research and private practice. RDNs are advocates for advancing the nutritional status of Americans and people around the world.”
In other words, Registered Dietitians are serious nutrition experts. So, why would some registered dietitians suggest a mini-can of cola as a snack? In fact, according to an article in the Star Tribune, “In February, several… experts wrote online posts for American Heart Month, with each including a mini-can of Coke or soda as a snack idea. The pieces – which appeared on nutrition blogs and other sites including those of major newspapers – offer a window into the many ways food companies work behind the scenes to cast their products in a positive light, often with the help of third parties who are seen as trusted authorities.”
The answer to this puzzling question can be found in a statement given to the Star Tribune by a Coca-Cola spokesperson, “We have a network of dietitians we work with… Every big brand works with bloggers or has paid talent.”
The article also states, “Other companies including Kellogg and General Mills have used strategies like providing continuing education classes for dietitians, funding studies that burnish the nutritional images of their products, and offering newsletters for health experts. PepsiCo Inc. has also worked with dietitians who mention its Frito-Lay and Tostito chips in local TV segments on healthy eating. Others use nutrition experts in sponsored content; the American Pistachio Growers has quoted a dietitian for the New England Patriots in a piece on healthy snacks and recipes, and Nestle has quoted its own executive in a post about infant nutrition.”
In other words, it seems like these dieticians are getting paid to endorse a product that may not necessarily benefit the health of the people in their audience. Everyone knows celebrities and athletes get paid a tremendous amount of money to endorse all kinds of things, including junk food. Many times top athletes are paid more in endorsement deals than they make playing their sport, but is it really appropriate for certified nutrition experts to get paid to write about nutritional advice that may benefit their sponsors more than their readers?
Remember, we’re always here to help your body heal
and maintain the pain free body you deserve.
This information should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a health care professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.
Dr Beecher’s February 2014 Monthly Chiropractic Newsletter
To download Dr. Beecher’s Monthly Newsletter, please click here!
“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is
wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” ~ Helen Keller
New Study:
Is Exercise the
Best Medicine?
New research shows exercise can be just as effective as many frequently prescribed drugs for treating some major causes of death, including heart disease and diabetes!
Also this month:
- Fight the Common Cold… with Your Stomach! The health benefits of probiotics and how research shows they can reduce your child’s risk for the common cold.
- Scientists Discover a New Body Part! That’s right… After all these years, scientists have actually discovered a new body part, and knowledge of its existence may help doctors treat some knee injuries.
- The Tale of Two Homeless Men: Faced with one of the most difficult decisions of his life, this homeless man made the right choice and turned his whole life around…
Houston – It’s pretty sad, but in today’s society, it is common to boast and brag. It is also common to make things seem much better or worse than they really are.
We see marketers do it every day through the advertising they bombard us with. Who hasn’t bought something after watching a TV commercial only to find out it wasn’t half as good as claimed?
Well, what you’re about to read is different and without any hype, it could change both your health and your future.
With rising insurance costs in the United States and other countries, this information may also save you a lot of money and time.
Here’s what this is all about: Healthcare professionals want to give their patients the best possible treatments but how does a doctor know which treatment is best?
Scientific research is used to determine which treatments work, which treatments do not work, and which treatments do more harm than good.
Countless medications have been scientifically tested over the years, and new drugs are often compared with older pharmaceuticals to prove their efficacy. However, very few studies actually directly compare drugs with exercise to treat common health conditions and diseases.
Until Now…
Huseyin Naci, a graduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Dr. John Ioannidis, the Director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine, studied the effectiveness of both drugs and exercise in lessening mortality among people who had been diagnosed with either heart disease, chronic heart failure, stroke, or diabetes.
The two researchers gathered all of the recent randomized controlled trials, reviews, and meta-analyses of older experiments relating to mortality among patients with those illnesses, and whether the study participants had been treated with drugs or exercise.
In total, they studied information from 305 studies, which included a total of 340,000 participants. Most of these past studies focused on pharmaceuticals. Only 14,716 of the subjects were prescribed exercise to treat their disease.
The results of their study were published in the October 2013 issue of the British Medical Journal. Their conclusion: “No statistically detectable differences were evident between exercise and drug interventions in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and pre-diabetes. Physical activity interventions were more effective than drug treatment among patients with stroke. Diuretics were more effective than exercise in heart failure…
“Although limited in quantity, existing randomized trial evidence on exercise interventions suggests that exercise and many drug interventions are often potentially similar in terms of their mortality benefits in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease, rehabilitation after stroke, treatment of heart failure, and prevention of diabetes.”
WOW!
According to this study, both drugs and exercise are more or less just as effective as treatments for those common and life-threatening diseases.
But here is what the study did NOT mention… Exercise is cheaper and does not come with dangerous side-effects!
What Does This Mean for You?
Clearly, health care is changing. With the restructuring of insurance in many countries and an aging population, it must change. Expensive treatments will be cut if cheaper and just as (or more) effective therapies are found. (Or, at least they should be.)
Clearly, insurance coverage is not what it used to be. Many times, patients have to pay huge sums of money out-of-pocket, even if they are insured by private or government insurance plans. Who wants to pay all that money if it can be avoided?
But even more important is doing what’s best for YOU. If exercise can help keep you healthy so you do not end up with heart disease, diabetes, etc., then it makes sense to add it to your lifestyle. Imagine what combining exercise, eating right, stress reduction, and chiropractic care can do for your long-term health.
Science Discovers New Body Part!
You read that correctly. In fact, science has discovered a new ligament in the knee, and its discovery is a pretty fascinating story.
One hundred and thirty-four years ago, French surgeon Paul Segond couldn’t explain the painful resistance in his knee after an injury. This led him to theorize about the existence of an undiscovered ligament.
Now, Belgian doctors have actually found it. The ligament is called the anterolateral ligament (ALL) and was found in all but one of the 41 cadavers they dissected to prove its existence.
According to The Star: “The discovery was shocking: all but one of the dissected bodies had the ‘well-defined ligamentous structure’ between the femur and the anterolateral tibia, or shin that was described by the French scientist. The finding led the doctors to conclude that most humans, about 97 percent, have the little lost ligament.”
Here is something very important: “The doctors also announced patients with ACL tears were likely suffering knee collapses because of ALL injuries.”
This may explain why many people (including athletes) have the diagnosis of a torn ACL but do not have instability or collapse of the knee. There are reports of athletes playing professional sports for years with a torn ACL.
This opens the door for new treatments and ways to approach knee injuries, especially for people with a torn ACL and knee instability.
What is amazing is how long it took scientists to discover a ligament they estimate is in 97% of people.
Can you imagine what will be discovered next?
Don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We’re here to help and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in providing you natural pain relief.
Inspirational Story Of The Month
(Names And Details May Have Been Changed To Protect Privacy)
The Tale Of
Two Homeless Men
Faced with one of the most difficult decisions of his life, this homeless man
made the right choice and turned his whole life around…
Imagine there are two homeless men begging for change on a street corner. A young man stops and makes them an incredible offer.
The young man offers them each two choices: You can have $100 in cash right now or no money and two months of coding lessons. (Coding is a term computer programmers use in regards to writing software programs.)
Now, imagine one homeless man takes the $100 and the other decides to learn to code. What happened to both men? The hypothetical homeless man with a $100 bill would likely spend it and still be on the streets. As for the other man, the one who took the coding lessons, we don’t have to speculate his future because we actually know it.
You see, a 23-year old computer programmer by the name of Patrick McConlogue made this exact offer to a 37-year old homeless man named Leo Grand. Leo chose the programming lessons.
So, McConlogue started by spending one hour a day with Grand before work. After their morning session, McConlogue would go to work and Grand would practice what he learned on a Google Chromebook McConlogue gave him.
Grand would practice his daily lesson until the battery in his Chromebook died. (He found places to charge it overnight while he slept on public benches.)
At the end of the two months, Grand had learned a lot, but both men decided they wanted to do more. That’s when McConlogue’s boss, John Katzman, stepped in.
Katzman allowed McConlogue to teach Grand full-time at the New York office of his company “Noodle.” After five more weeks of full-time work, Grand had completed and released his first app. An App… or application… is a type of software program that allows you to perform specific tasks. Applications for desktop or laptop computers are sometimes called desktop applications, and those for mobile devices are called mobile apps.
Grand is currently researching for his next app and is looking for a full-time job as a computer programmer.
Even better, McConlogue has started a mentorship program for programmers. So far, 150 programmers have signed up to teach someone to code for one hour a day for two months. McConlogue is still figuring out how to run his new mentorship, but the impact he could have on so many lives is incredible.
It’s amazing what a little delayed gratification can do. Grand decided to pass up on the quick and easy $100 now for the possibility to create a wonderful life in the future.
Not only that, you just never know how far one small act of kindness can reach. It would have been much easier for McConlogue to just walk right by Grand or to throw him some spare change. Instead, he took a chance. He opened his heart and gave Grand the opportunity of a lifetime, an opportunity that meant a lot of dedication and work for both men.
Altruism is rare, but it is clearly not dead.
We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and
getting them feeling better! We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger!
Don’t be a stranger. You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!
Did You Know?…
Good News About Cherries!
Did you know that eating cherries could lower inflammation in the body drastically enough to alleviate arthritis symptoms? In at least one study, powdered cherry consumption actually led to a change in the functioning of inflammation-regulating genes in mice.
Like all dark-skinned fruits, cherries are high in antioxidants and other phytochemicals that promote human health in ways that science is only just beginning to understand.
While sweet cherries may be more fun to eat, the most potent inflammation-fighting cherries are the tart variety. In addition to fighting inflammation and arthritis, cherries have also been found to fight gout, reduce body fat, and lower levels of cholesterol. Think it can’t get any better? At least some tart cherries contain high enough levels of the hormone melatonin that they can actually help you fall asleep.
Tip Of The Month
Fight the Common Cold… with Your Stomach!
No one wants to get sick. In fact, I bet you never want to get the common cold or the flu ever again in your life. While that would be nice, it is impossible. But, new research has shown a way children may get the common cold less often, and shorten the time they have it when they do. This is extremely important because the common cold is responsible for the largest amount of school and work absenteeism and causes a huge economic burden.
A double-blind randomized controlled trial was performed during the winter season in Thailand. Children ages 8-13 were given either a two-strain combination probiotic or placebo twice a day for three months.
According to the study, “Children in the probiotics group had significantly lower risk of fever, cough, rhinorrhea, school absence, and school absence related to common cold compared to children in the placebo group. There was no impact on diarrhea and vomiting.”
What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are microorganisms that offer some form of health benefit to their host organism and they can be found in various different foods. Probiotics are believed to play very important roles in regulating proper intestinal function and digestion by balancing intestinal microflora. Probiotics are normally consumed in fermented foods with active live cultures, such as yogurt, though they are also available in supplement form as capsules, liquid, and chewables. There are many different strains of probiotics, but the most common strains available today are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
Remember, we’re always here to help your body heal
and maintain the pain free body you deserve.
This information is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a healthcare professional who is familiar with your updated medical history. We cannot be held responsible for actions you may take without a thorough exam or appropriate referral. If you have any further concerns or questions, please let us know at 281-286-1300.
