LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

stroke

ARE MIGRAINES GENETIC?

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Genes, migraines, stroke.  Overall, there is absolutely no doubt that migraines are NOT a problem isolate to the head.  They are a problem with the health of the overall patient.  This is why we see an increased risk of conditions like stroke and heart disease in migraine sufferers.

Without looking in depth as to the reasons WHY a migraine is occurring, we can’t . Meds do NOTHING to change the risk of other diseases. In this article, we see links between homocystein, migraine with aura and a genetic uniqueness (called a “SNP”) in the way we use folic acid. When it comes to SNPs, the MTHFR is probably the absolute most important one for you to be aware of. There ARE simple genetic test kits that can help.

Read entire article here

WHAT ARE THE RISKS INVOLVED IN VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY?

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Losing your mind? Could be Vit D deficiency. Study on nursing home residents found twice the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s and stroke in those low on Vit D.  Despite the massive research on Vit D, we are still slow to adopt decent levels of supplementation.  2,000 is a pretty standard dose (and VERY cheap–don’t ever pay more than $20 for a year’s worth!) and it just goes up from there.  I personally take 4,000 IU / day (due to a genetic uniqueness in my VDR receptor, for those who care) plus get good sun exposure.

Read entire article here

 

ARE EVERYDAY HEADACHES DANGEROUS?

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Last update December 19, 2014

Are everyday headaches dangerous?
Naeblys/Dollar Photo Club

I’ve been a strong opponent of the way we treat migraines in this healthcare system.  In general, we keep trying different medications until the doctor finds a medication that reduces or stops the headaches.  Then we all jump up and down and pat each other on the back and call the process a success.  If this is the approach your doctor has taken, then there ARE times when an everyday headache can be dangerous to your long term health.

Why?  Because a migraine headache is unquestionably a cerebral (brain) manifestation of a systemic problem.  If all we do is medicate the headache, we just signed an early death certificate for the patient because we have not fixed the problem.  All we have done is control the symptoms.  The “problem” was not a deficiency of Topimax or Depakote or Lyrica.  Giving these drugs may control the symptoms, but in now way fix the problem that caused the headache in the first place.

So what is the problem?

A great place to look is at the blood vessels.  Our vasculature that brings blood to every cell of our body.  With this blood comes important nutrients, vitamins and minerals for a brain cell to function at its best.

When there is a problem with our blood vessels, our brain cells can’t get the nutrients it needs to make ATP.  In case you don’t remember back to high school biology, ATP is the “energy currency” of our cells.  It is what every cell needs to do anything and everything.  The more ATP available, the healthier the cell.  The less ATP available, the sicker the cell becomes.

In cells that require very high levels of energy, such as our muscles, our heart and our brain, this process is absolutely critical.  If the brain does can not get the nutrients it needs to make enough ATP, a migraine or a seizure may be the result.

Ok.  “So what exactly is the problem with poor vascular health”, you ask.  With few exceptions, no one has a heart attack before they have a problem with the blood vessels leading to the heart.  No one has a stroke without first having a problem with the blood vessels in the brain.  Dementia begins with poor blood supply to the brain.

If you don’t fix the vascular problem that is contributing to the migraine, you are allowing unchecking damage to your blood vessels to occur.  With enough time, this will lead to a heart attack, a stroke or the slow process of dementia and loss of your cognitive function.

Medications will NOT fix this.  In fact, in several cases they will make the process worse.

This is strongly confirmed by this current study linking migraine with aura and cardiovascular disease.  Strangely, the risk of stroke was massive (380% increased risk) in women with NO established risk factors for heart disease.  However, in those women who DID have risk factors for heart disease and experienced migraines with aura, the risk of having a heart attack was increased 334%.

In other words, you can’t win either way.  Having migraines with aura will either lead to a heart attack or a stroke.  The ONLY way to save yourself is to make the changes needed to improve your vascular health.

Sadly,  despite all this research, I have yet to EVER have a patient come in with migraines that were given any type of lifestyle advice by any other provider (specialists included).  So yes–Everyday headaches can be dangerous.  Even deadly.

 

WORRIED ABOUT STROKE? IT’S EASY TO PREVENT

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It’s your brain. That vital structure sitting atop your neck and protected by your skull. Damage to our brains, whether through a slow process like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, or through a rapid event like a stroke, scares almost everyone. Frustratingly, we continue to live in a society that makes us think this is a random event and we have little to do with preventing these events.

This could not be further from the truth, whether we are talking about a disease such as Alzheimer’s or an event like a stroke.  This particular study against illustrates just how massively powerful healthy lifestyle choices are at protecting against stroke.

Participants were graded based on 5 factors– smoking, body mass index, physical activity, and vegetable and alcohol consumption.  Those with adherence of all 5 factors had a whopping 67% lower risk of having a stroke.  The association was graded, meaning that the more factors you had, the better the protection—so that even one had a beneficial effect.

It’s your brain. Without it you are merely an elected government representative.  Is it worth adopting these factors to protect it?

THREE CHEERS FOR THIS TREAT!

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Many times people are confused over what is good for us and what is bad. Many mistakenly believe that drinking bottled water and milk are good for you and that things like eggs and this wonderful food item are bad for you.

This particular study looked at over 114,000 participants across multiple studies to really answer the question about whether chocolate was good for us. I’ve seen a study where chocolate, in patients who have already had a heart attack, was more powerful at preventing a second heart attack than any medication available (66% reduction in heart deaths).

The authors determined that, at the highest intakes of chocolate there was a 37% reduction in the cases of heart disease and 29% reduction in stroke. This is pretty powerful for an “intervention” like chocolate.  Compare this with statins, which have side effects and are massively expensive–can you imagine the wonderful chocolate you could get for $3 / day!

And, we have to consider that these studies did not focus entirely on dark chocolate. If they did, the protective effect was likely to be even higher. Combine your dark chocolate (the higher the cacao content the better) with some raw nuts and we’ll all have to take up smoking just to have any risk for a heart attack…

ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION?

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Need I say more?  You’d think that this problem, above almost any other besides kidney stones, would drive a male to change their lifestyle.  Unfortunately, I think that there is, once again, an education gap in society today.

Erectile dysfunction IS heart disease (or rather, vascular disease…).  How is that?  Healthy blood flow is required for an erection.  When the blood vessels begin to plaque up, you will have reduced blood flow and inability to maintain an erection.  So if the blood vessels are plaquing, it is only a matter of time before a heart attack or stroke occurs.

This article refers to ED as the “canary” of cardiovascular health.  I love this!  I just wish I had coined it myself, but alas…I’m merely the messenger.

So the use of meds like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra do nothing to fix the problem.  Ironically, these meds can’t be used by a patient currently under treatment for heart disease, which is arguably the reason the ED is present in the first place.

So what does one with ED do?  And, before you ladies shut out the recommendations, decreased libido could arguably be put into the same category…so pay attention.

Once again, lifestyle changes to lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease will help with ED.  That means avoidance of refined carbs, hydrogenated oils and processed foods as well as no drinking our calories.  Increased intake of healthy fats, whole grains, fruits and veggies, tea and exercise.  All on top of a calorie reduced diet.  The list is long to help in this process…

Read more…

THESE 2 COMMON CHILDHOOD SURGERIES INCREASE RISK OF DEATH YEARS LATER

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Were do I even begin on this one? There is no doubt that far too many surgeries done in today’s day and age are done without using appropriate conservative methods first. Far more are done without thought to the long term ramifications produced by the removal or alteration of our bodies.

The examples are endless. Overuse of orthopedic surgeries when conservative management such as chiropractic care are well documented to drastically lower the need for surgery. Surgery to remove the gallbladder has been shown to be largely unnecessary in upwards of 70% of cases. Long term outcomes of back surgery may be no better than conservative care. Removal of the gallbladder increases the risk of chronic diarrhea, colorectal cancer and fat soluble vitamin deficiencies.

And this study? Removal of the tonsils and / or removal of the appendix before the age of 20 leads to an increased risk of total mortality, cardiovascular death.  And these events were occuring very young–up to 43 years of age.

While the risk increase in relative percentage was large, the absolute risk was not that great because the risk of these events in this younger population overall is low, it is still an increased risk for surgical procedures that have other alternatives.

For the tonsillectomies, the restoration of healthy bacteria in the back of the throat using probiotics, the avoidance of antibiotics, gargling during flare ups with salt water and avoidance of foods known to thicken up the mucous in the throat (such as dairy) can go a long way towards making sure infections do not recur.

Appendicitis does carry a rather heavy risk of death if it ruptures, so this is not the time to think non-surgical. However, long before an acute episode there is disruption of the normal flora in the gut through stress, antibiotic use and a typical Western diet low in soluble and insoluble fiber. With these approaches, the risk of appendicitis will be lower.

Overall, though, this again suggests that alterations in both the way our immune system works (both organs play a role in immune function) as well as the balance of good bacteria in our bodies (both surgeries were likely preceded and followed up by antibiotic use) play a role in inflammation and our subsequent risk of chronic disease.

Bottom line, especially for our children, is to avoid these procedures at all costs and make sure that they have been exposed to healthy bacteria to help them reduce their risk of infections in the first place.

http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/05/27/eurheartj.ehr137.abstract

ADD THIS TO YOUR DIET TO DRASTICALLY LOWER RISK OF STROKE

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As I’ve written about in the past, the 90’s completely screwed up our concept of what constitutes healthy foods. An entire population was brainwashed with the idea that fat = fattening. Researchers at the time the USDA’s food guide pyramid was released (allocating fats and oils – use sparingly – at the top) were concerned about increased rates of most chronic diseases. Unfortunately, they were correct.

This study, among many others, continues to prove just how errant this thinking was. This particular study finds that those consuming high amounts of olive oil had a 41% lower risk of stroke. Considering that some of the most popular diets, such as Weight Watchers, promote the replacement of olive oil based dressings with “low fat” dressings. These low fat dressings replace olive oil with high fructose corn syrup. Clearly a health devastating tradeoff, and yet one that remains a popular choice among those trying to lose weight or maintain an otherwise healthy lifestyle.

Well—in case there is any question in your mind that avoiding olive oil because it is high in fat—dispel it now. Olive oil, especially as a component of a Mediterranean type diet,has numerous health benefits. It aids in the absorption of certain fat soluble nutrients like the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K as well as other phytonutrients like the fat soluble carotenoids. Lycopene, in particular, is high in Mediterranean diets because of the tomato intake.

Olive oil itself, particularly the cold pressed extra virgin forms, are very high in their own polyphenols that confer very high levels of protection.

A little tip when it comes to olive oil. There is no doubt that the less processed, the more virgin, the oil, the better it protects. So, these means the more expensive olive oils really are better for us. BUT…most of these polyphenols are destroyed by heat. This means that cooking with olive oil is likely to reduce the protective benefit of the expensive oils. It does still retain the benefits of the oil itself, however.

Bottom line is to keep two olive oils at the house. A more expensive one for the dips and dressings, and a less expensive oil for cooking. It’ll be a better use of your money.

http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2011/06/15/WNL.0b013e318220abeb.abstract