Month: March 2014

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” ~ Harry S. Truman

Surprising News: Exercise Without This May Not be Doing as Much Good for

Your Heart as You Think!

 

New study shows why nutrition may be more important than exercise for preventing the nation’s #1 killer…

 

Also this month:

• Is Your Lunch Missing a Key Weight-Loss Ingredient? A new study shows that eating this at lunch helped overweight adults feel fuller for longer!
• The One Thing You Should Never Do in the Morning: If you are like most people, you do this every day and it could be prematurely aging you and harming your health!
• The Janitor Who Traded His Mop for the Executive Jet: How a Mexican-American janitor went from cleaning the floors to being an Executive Vice President of PepsiCo of North America…

Houston – This is big news, especially if you want to increase your odds of living a longer and healthier life.            This news will also shock many people because it sounds counterintuitive. But, that’s one reason scientific research is done. You see, what seems obvious is not always correct.

For example, let’s take a look at two people: one has good cardiovascular fitness but is overweight and the other does not have good cardiovascular fitness but is lean.

Which Person Do You Think

is at Greater Risk of a Heart Attack?

According to the findings of a new study, the overweight but fit person may be at greater risk for a cardiac event than the lean not-so-fit person.

In other words, according to this study, being lean may be better than being in good aerobic shape.  But that’s not the whole the story, so let’s look at the study…

In the study published in the European Heart Journal, a research team found that physical fitness in a person’s teen years can reduce their risk for a heart attack later in life.

Researchers analyzed data from 743,498 Swedish men who received a medical examination at the age of 18 when they were conscripted into national service between 1969 to 1984.  Each man’s fitness level was measured with a bicycle test in which the resistance was gradually increased until he was too exhausted to continue.  The men were monitored for an average of 34 years until they suffered a heart attack, died, or until January 1, 2011, whichever came first.

According to researcher Dr. Peter Nordström, “We report a significant graded association between aerobic fitness in late adolescence and [a myocardial infarction or heart attack (MI)] later in life in men.  However, obese men with a high aerobic fitness had a higher risk of MI than lean men with a low aerobic fitness. 

            “While being physically fit at the end of your teens can reduce the risk of a heart attack, fitness alone does not appear to fully compensate for the risks with being overweight or obese.  In other words, having a normal weight is more important than being in good physical shape, but it is even better to be both fit and have a normal weight.”

How to Possibly Decrease

Heart Attack Risk by 18%

The researchers also ranked the men based on physical fitness and for every 15% increase in fitness, they found the men in that group had an 18% lower risk for a heart attack 30 years later. They also found that consistent fitness training into late teens can reduce risk of having a premature heart attack by 35%.

Dr. Nordström and his team also stated that several factors may have influenced their data.  For example, some people are born with bodies more equipped for higher levels of fitness and a lower risk for heart disease.

Scientific research is used to determine which treatments work, which treatments do not, and which treatments do more harm than good.

Countless drugs have been scientifically tested over the years, and drugs are often compared against each other, but very few studies have actually directly compared drugs with exercise and their effect on several common health conditions and diseases.

While more research needs to be done on this topic, here are two things that would not be a bad idea:  (1) If you are a parent, it is probably a very good idea to make sure your kids exercise regularly, whether in sports or just an exercise program.  It may dramatically decrease their risk of premature heart attack in adulthood. (2) Stay lean!  In other words, try to eat the best you can.  If this study is accurate, shedding some weight and staying lean may add years to your life.

The best possible scenario is to both eat right (stay lean) and exercise.  Once again, science is showing that simply eating right and exercising is by far the best medicine.

If you add stress reduction and proper sleep to the mix, barring genetic weaknesses or accidents, you should be in good shape to live a long, healthy life.

It is amazing how even chronically sick people can become healthy just by eating right, exercising, reducing stress, and getting the proper amount of sleep.

Most BIG diseases and health problems come from the cumulative effect of small, unhealthy things done over decades.

The first cigarette does not kill you, but smoking a pack or two a day for 30 years is a cancer time bomb.  Similarly, going for a walk today will not make you healthy, but walking every day for decades could prevent a heart attack or some other serious health problem.

Here is something very important:  Many people are mistaken about what exercise can do for you.

The Most Common Weight Loss Mistake…

It is common for people to believe that if they exercise, they can eat more… or eat poorly… and they will still lose weight.

It is believed that exercise will overcome poor nutrition.

Nothing is further from the truth.  In fact, no amount of exercise can make up for poor diet and poor diet is probably the biggest reason so many people work out like dogs, never see results, and quit.

On the contrary, you can lose a ton of weight by eating properly and not exercising at all.

Now, we are not saying you should not exercise.      Clearly, exercise is very beneficial and should be used in conjunction with eating right.  But, you must eat correctly if you want to lose weight and be healthy.

If you are serious about losing weight and getting fit, the only way to do it is to make a lifestyle change.              Diet and exercise fads do not work.  They only lead to frustration and rebound weight gain.

Forget about “magic” pills and foods that burn belly fat and simply decide to eat right for the rest of your life.

The same goes for getting fit.  There is nothing you can buy on an infomercial that will give you the quick and easy solution.  It simply does not exist.

If you need help, just ask. As your chiropractor, I am trained in nutrition and exercise physiology. I can give you the answers you are looking for and start you on a path to losing weight and a healthier, happier future.

 

            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 Janitor Who Traded His Mop for an Executive Jet

How a Mexican-American janitor went from cleaning the floors to being an

Executive Vice President of PepsiCo of North America…

 

The year was 1976.  Richard Montanez was a Mexican-American janitor at the Frito-Lay plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California.  He changed a popular snack food and his life in an instant and he has a very important message for you…

Here’s the story and it all started long before 1976.  When Montanez was just in grade school, his mother gave him a burrito to bring for lunch.  All the other kids had bologna sandwiches.  Feeling out of place, the next day Montanez asked his mother to make him a bologna sandwich.  His mother told him, “No.”  She told him that he is different and should be proud of who he is.  Then, she packed him a few extra burritos to share with his bologna sandwich friends.  Soon after that, Montanez had a little side business selling burritos to all the “bologna boys.”

His mother’s lesson stuck with him, and when Richard was working as a janitor in the Frito-Lay plant, he never thought of himself as just a janitor.  He thought of himself as an owner.  So, he acted like one.

He would mop the floors during the day and play around with recipes at night.  He invented a recipe to coat the Cheetos made by his company and tried it out on all his friends.  Everyone loved it, so he called the CEO.

Surprisingly, his call got through and he made an appointment to meet with the management team.  He had no idea what he was doing so he went to the public library and got some books on marketing.  He even bought a $3 tie to wear on what would be a life-changing day.  Rumor has it that he did not know how to tie a tie, so his neighbor did it for him.

To make a long story short, the big wigs not only loved his recipe, they loved him.  They promoted him and mentored him.  His recipe became a smash hit, mainly due to its appeal with the rapidly expanding Latino population in the United States.  You may recognize the recipe Montanez invented, it is called Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Montanez became a smashing success, too.  He has met several U.S. Presidents and has spoken at the United Nations.  He currently teaches leadership to MBA students at a California university and is frequently sought after for advice.

“My disqualifications are the very things that qualified me,” he said, particularly urging young minorities to be courageous and confident.  “Your own people will hold you back… Break ranks.  That’s diversity and inclusion.  Don’t just hang out with your own.”

He says diversity is what made him a successful burrito salesman as a child and also enabled him to drop his mop and board the executive jet.

“Maybe I wasn’t created to fit in.  Maybe I was created to stand out,” Montanez said unabashedly.  “My greatness is courage.  I’m willing to take a chance.”  His prime message is that there’s no such thing as “just a janitor” if you “act like an owner.”

“Diversity and inclusion programs can open doors,” he said, “[but] if you have confidence, you can walk into any room. Your job is to prepare yourself to walk through the doors.”

He made one point crystal clear.  He said that diversity and inclusion programs can create opportunity – but that is just opportunity.  You must be prepared for that opportunity and have the courage and ability to make the most of it.

 

 

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?…

How Does Salt Enhance Flavor?

“Saltiness” is actually one of the five primary basic tastes the human tongue can detect.  Those five tastes include salt, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami. (If you’re not familiar with umami, it is from glutamic acid. It’s found in many foods, particularly some meats, and is the basis of the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG).

Salt has other effects outside of simply making things taste more salty.  Adding salt helps certain molecules in foods release more easily into the air, thus helping the aroma of the food, which is important in our perception of taste.

Salt also has been shown to help suppress the bitter taste.  So, adding a bit of salt won’t just increase your salty taste perception, but will also decrease the bitter taste in any given food (which is why it is often sprinkled on grapefruit before eating, for example).

Finally, adding salt to sweet or sour things — while not shown to suppress sweet or sour flavors as with bitter flavors — will help balance out the taste a bit by making the perceived flavor less one-dimensional.

Tip Of The Month

Eat This at lunch if You Want to Feel Full for Longer!

If you are like most people, you love to eat!  In fact, many people say eating is their favorite thing to do.  Nothing is worse than trying to lose a few pounds and feeling hunger pangs.  Well, there is a certain kind of food that is not only good for you but also helps you feel full for several hours.  This is wonderful because it also puts great nutrients into your body and will keep you away from snacking on fattening and unhealthy junk food.

What is this food?  It’s the avocado!  New research shows that eating half an avocado at lunch helped overweight adults feel full for longer in the hours after lunch and before dinner.  Dr. Joan Sabate, a Professor of Nutrition at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, writes, “Avocados are a very popular and delicious fruit, and from the results of our study, may also be helpful for people who are looking to better manage their weight.”

In the study, the group who ate half an avocado with their lunch was 40 percent less likely to want to eat again over the three hours following lunch and 28 percent less likely to want to eat again over the five hours following lunch compared with the group who did not have any avocado in their lunch.  The downside to this study is that it was only done with 26 people, so the results may not hold true for the population as a whole.  But, who cares? Avocados are great for you so give it a try and see how it works for you!

The One Thing You Should Never Do in the Morning!

       Almost everyone does it, but doctors and sleep experts are saying it is bad for you…  We are talking about HITTING THE SNOOZE BUTTON!  According to experts, hitting the snooze button is a bad idea for several reasons.  First, it is a sign that you either are not getting enough sleep or enough QUALITY sleep.  You are hitting the snooze button in an attempt to get the sleep your body desperately needs.  But, hitting the snooze button will not help.  In fact, it may make things worse.  This is because, according to Dr. Robert Rosenberg, “When you hit the snooze alarm, you are disrupting your current stage of sleep.  Unfortunately, in many ways, fragmented sleep is worse than no sleep.  As an example, if you are in REM sleep and you interrupt it with the snooze alarm, this can lead to an inability to process and reconcile emotionally laden memories from the previous day.  In addition, fragmented sleep can result in moodiness, cognitive problems, and trouble paying attention.”

The best thing to do is to go to bed a little earlier and turn off any blue-light emitting devices at least one hour before bed time.  It is a bad idea to watch TV or play on the computer, iPad, or smartphone right up until the time you want to go to sleep.  Turn all these things off and give yourself a “cool down” period.

Getting enough quality sleep is vital to your health.  Besides the obvious feeling tired and miserable all the time… lack of sleep quickly affects your body! After just one night, you will be hungrier and more likely to eat more.  You will also be more likely to get in an accident.  Getting six or less hours of sleep triples your risk of a drowsy-related accident.  You will also not look as good and be much more likely to catch a cold.  Over time, lack of sleep increases your risk of stroke, obesity, and may even increase your risk of certain cancers.

 

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.