LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

flow mediated dilation

So this Artery Walks Into a Bar…

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We all know that laughter is good for the soul, but did you know it was good for your arteries as well?

I guess the downside of this is that many of us in today’s society are under so much stress that we can’t really enjoy life, let alone let go and find laughter deep inside us.  We’re constantly focused on how many things are going wrong instead of how much positivity and joy we have around us.

Research has demonstrated that this stress begins to affect our children as well and increases their risk of depression later in life.  I know that since Keegan was young he frequently notes what a beautiful day it is and I always remind him of how lucky he is (about everything!) and how great life is.  Getting him started early on finding the joy in life and not having it squashed out of him…

I’ve heard it said that children laugh more than 100 times / day.  Adults?  A sad 15 times / day.

But what if the simple act of laughter was good for your blood vessels?  This particular study asked just this question.  Researchers took 17 healthy adults (23 to 42 years of age) and had them watch either 30 minutes of a comedy or a boring documentary.  Here’s what they found:

  • Heart rate and blood pressure increased while watching the comedy (no changes while watching the documentary).
  • Blood vessel health (as measured by ischemia-induced brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation) increased 17% while watching the comedy.
  • Blood vessel health decreased 15% while watching the documentary.
  • Carotid arterial compliance (by simultaneous application of ultrasound imaging and applanation tonometry) increased 10% immediately after watching the comedy and took 24 hours to return to pre-comedy levels.

So, the next time you think about turning on the Hallmark channel, your heart and blood vessels may better appreciate watching Jeff Dunham instead.

High Dose Vitamin D and Blood Vessel Health

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In this study looking at high dose vitamin D and blood vessel health (endothelial dysfunction), I’d like to point out the dosages used.  I have previously brought up the concept of overdose of Vitamin D, but look at the levels used in this study!!  10,000 / day for 3 months with no problems…  I know that I personally don’t usually exceed 6,000 / day, but the results of this study are pretty impressive.

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THOSE STUPID LIFESTYLE CHANGES DON’T WORK ANYWAY…

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For many, at first thought, the idea of adopting a healthier lifestyle seems almost painful and certainly not worth it.  Many have tried and did not see results in what they thought was a reasonable time frame.  Many think they have made healthy changes, but in reality their choices were the wrong ones.

A frequent retort to the suggestion of making healthier lifestyle changes usually runs along the lines of “Well–Uncle George smoked 6 packs of cigarettes per day, drank Jim Bean like water and never ate a vegetable in his life and he still lived to 104 until he was taken out skiing off a cliff on Machu Picchu…” 

I call this the “genetic lottery” approach.  How many of us sit on our duffs watching Jerry Springer reruns from the couch, assurred that we are going to win the lotto?  Do some people win the lotto?  Of course.  But do you want to hang your hat on that miniscule chance?  Didn’t think so.  So why are you so willing to do that with your health?

I have covered the concept of flow mediated dilation and pulse wave velocity in a prior post, but suffice it to say that these are very important markers for looking at how healthy our blood vessels are (or are not..).

This particular article looked at prediabetic patient adopting a low sugar diet combined with a high intensity workout (>3 times per week at >75% VO2 max) and found that, after 12 weeks and again at one year, pretty much every marker they looked at had improved pretty dramatically.  64% of the participants no longer met the criteria for prediabetes.

This is not a complete lifestyle overhaul, but rather very straightforward changes in merely two aspects of lifestyle.  Before you begin to shake your head and think you can’t adopt these simple changes, remember that your fate is not likely to mirror Uncle George.