December 2015 Health Newsletter

With the holidays upon us, headaches become very common. To avoid headaches, the following is recommended:

• If you spend a long amount of time in one fixed position (ie in front of a computer), take a break and stretch every 30 minutes to one hour.
• Avoid teeth clenching as this can lead to TMJ and tension headaches.
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to avoid dehydration that causes headaches.
• Engage in low impact exercise to relieve the pain associated with primary headaches.

If headaches are chronic and persist, visit your doctor of chiropractic for treatment. He or she can provide the right course of treatment through spinal adjustments, dietary changes, and give advice on exercises, posture or relaxation techniques.

Experts have been debating bacon for years, but could this delicious food really lead to cancer? According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), there's a link between the regular consumption of bacon, along with other processed meats like hot dogs, and the risk for contracting colorectal cancer, which is cancer of the bowels.  WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer also found a link between prolonged processed meat consumption and the risk for both pancreatic and prostate cancer as well. The IARC report estimated that for every 1.8 ounce of bacon consumed per day, the risk for bowel cancer rises by 18%. The findings from this report led WHO to deem processed meats as true carcinogens, just like tobacco. But not everyone is buying the argument that processed meat is as bad as tobacco. Almost a million deaths a year are caused by smoking cigarettes. While experts agree that over consumption of processed meats isn't healthy, bacon and other meats can be enjoyed in moderation without concern according to the National Resources Defense Council. The advocacy group also urges people to avoid the processed meat section and to buy fresh meat from high-quality sources instead.

Prescription drug use is a phenomenon that will continue to rise with the regular introduction of new pharmaceutical drugs. One study set out to find why prescription drug use rose by 8% percentage points with adults in 10 years. The NHANES study surveyed around 37,000 people, aged 20 and above, in the United States. Over a course of 30 days, participants were asked a series of questions about their prescription drug use habits. Researchers found that the increase in prescription drug use was much greater among the age 40 and older demographic. It's important to look at the type of prescription drugs being used by adults as well. The NHANES study discovered a general increase in prescriptions for depression, blood pressure, and cholesterol problems. One professor from the University of Illinois pointed out that an increase in prescription drug use isn't necessarily an indication of something wrong. However, we disagree. Increasing usage of prescription drugs is an indication that society is continuing to become less healthy and is putting more and more emphasis on a passive fix rather than making more natural and simple lifestyle changes such as positive dietary and physical activity changes. In fact, depression, blood pressure and cholesterol levels can all be positively influenced with rather basic changes to diet and implementation of an exercise regime.

It's always encouraged to get a full 8 hours of sleep, but the quality of that sleep is just as important. Waking up repeatedly throughout the night can put anyone in a bad mood the next morning, but one study set out to prove that disrupted sleep indeed causes mood problems. A research group from John Hopkin's University enlisted 62 individuals with no known sleep issues to participate in a special lab study. The participants were assigned a different kind of situation by random; either sporadically interrupted sleep times, continuous interrupted sleep, or sleep with no interruptions whatsoever.  Each group was given the same amount of time to sleep. By the end of the study, researchers concluded that it was a combination of both the time put into sleep and whether or not the individual was disrupted. Participants who were occasionally disturbed or completely interrupted while sleeping experienced far less moments of actual "deep" sleep, which in turn led to a negative mood the following morning. Participants who lacked sleep also reported to have less energy overall, a lack of friendliness toward others, and a decrease in empathetic feelings.