Mental Attitude: Antioxidants May Reduce Parkinson’s Risk.
A fifteen-year study that followed over 80,000 adults found that those with a diet high in the antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin E had a 9-13% reduced risk for developing Parkinson’s disease during that time.
Movement Disorders, September 2017
Health Alert: Are Young Adults Ignoring Their High Blood Pressure?
A survey of more than 41,000 Americans suggests that only half of the 6.7 million young adults with high blood pressure received treatment for it in 2013 and 2014. Senior study author Dr. Andrew Moran writes, “While hypertension awareness, treatment, and control have improved overall since the early 2000s, all three remain worse in young adults—those aged 18-39.”
Hypertension, August 2017
Diet: Breakfast Tips for Parents.
Studies show that children who eat breakfast tend to be healthier and perform better in school than those who skip what’s considered to be the most important meal of the day. The United States Food and Drug Administration offers these suggestions for choosing a good breakfast for your child: offer healthy foods that your child enjoys; include peanut butter or almond butter for an excellent source of protein; if your child prefers sugary cereals, mix the sugary offering with a more nutritious option; if your child is especially active or is going through a growth spurt, they may require more calories, notably at breakfast; offer healthy choices, even when everyone’s on the run, such as fresh fruit or a bag of trail mix; always read nutritional labels; and opt for unprocessed foods as much as possible.
Food and Drug Administration, September 2017
Exercise: Impact Sports Improve Bone Health.
Teenagers who engage in impact sports—basketball, baseball, football, and soccer, for example—appear to have greater bone density than adolescents who participate in non-impact sports, like swimming, or who refrain from athletics. Additionally, impact sport athletes also have a reduced risk for sustaining a stress fracture compared with non-athletes.
Journal of Sports Sciences, December 2017
Chiropractic: Are Diabetes and High Cholesterol Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Pain?
Using data from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort, researchers reviewed the health data of 10,044 men and women who were pain free in 2006 to see if diabetes and/or high cholesterol were linked with an elevated risk for back, neck, and/or shoulder pain (BNSP) in 2010. After adjusting for age, body mass index, physical activity, high blood pressure, and socioeconomic status, the research team found that diabetic men had a 64% increased risk for BNSP while high cholesterol levels led to a 19-23% elevated risk for BNSP in both men and women. The findings suggest that metabolic diseases may have an impact on the pathophysiology of musculoskeletal pain.
Scandinavian Journal of Pain, August 2017
Wellness/Prevention: Calcium in Arteries May Predict Risk of Heart Attack.
Individuals without calcium buildup in their arteries appear to have a significantly lower risk for heart attack and stroke. Researchers looked at CT scans of nearly 6,200 people and found that those whose arteries were free of calcium deposits had a less than a 3% chance for a heart attack or stroke over the next ten years. The findings held true even among those who had other cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high levels of bad cholesterol.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, August 2017