Welcome to Oak Hollow Chiropractic

Welcome to Oak Hollow Chiropractic

Women: One More Reason Not To Stress Out

Women, don't let this news stress you out, but a new study has found that stress can lead to increased pain during menstrual cycles.
The study, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, tracked 388 young women, ages 20- to 34-years-old, through over 1,000 menstual cycles. According to the study, approximately 44 percent of the participants noted having painful periods, characterized by at least two days of abdominal or low-back pain during a cycle.
Reseachers found that those women with high stress levels during the preceding month were 2.4 times as likely to have a painful period during the following cycle compared to their low stress counterparts. And women that reported having medium stress levels were 1.2 times as likely to have a painful period during the following cycle. The researchers suggested that women with painful menstrual cycles should try to reduce the stress in their lives.
If you are a woman that suffers from painful periods, ask your doctor of chiropractic to recommend a treatment plan. Routine chiropractic care not only helps with pain relief, but also facilitates stress relief. For more information on women's health, visit www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/women.
Reference: Wang L. Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Dec 2004;61: 1021-1026.

Drug companies "inventing dieases to boost profits"

E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER
Vienna, Virginia http://www.nvic.org
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UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN
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"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2128371,00.html
The Times, UK

April 11, 2006
Drugs companies 'inventing diseases to boost their profits'
By Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent

Pharmaceutical companies are systematically creating diseases in order to sell more of their products, turning healthy people into patients and placing many at risk of harm, a special edition of a leading medical journal claims today.
The practice of "diseasemongering" by the drug industry is promoting non-existent illnesses or exaggerating minor ones for the sake of profits, according to a set of essays published by the open-access journal Public Library of Science Medicine.
The special issue, edited by David Henry, of Newcastle University in Australia, and Ray Moynihan, an Australian journalist, reports that conditions such as female sexual dysfunction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and "restless legs syndrome" have been promoted by companies hoping to sell more of their drugs.
Other minor problems that are a normal part of life, such as symptoms of the menopause, are also becoming increasingly "medicalised", while risk factors such as high cholesterol levels or osteoporosis are being presented as diseases in their own right, according to the editors.
"Disease-mongering turns healthy people into patients, wastes precious resources and causes iatrogenic (medically induced) harm," they say. "Like the marketing strategies that drive it, disease-mongering poses a global challenge to those interested in public health, demanding in turn a global response."
Doctors, patients and support groups need to be more aware that pharmaceutical companies are taking this approach, and more research is needed into the changing ways in which conditions are presented, according to the writers.
Disease-awareness campaigns are often funded by drug companies, and "more often designed to sell drugs than to illuminate or inform or educate about the prevention of illness or the maintenance of health", they say.
Particular conditions that are highlighted in the journal include sexual function in both men and women. The prevalence of female sexual dysfunction, one paper claims, has been highly exaggerated to provide a new market for drugs, while the makers of anti-impotence medicines, such as Viagra and Cialis, have been involved with their presentation as lifestyle drugs that can boost the sexual prowess of healthy men.
Ordinary shyness is routinely presented as a social anxiety disorder and treated with antidepressants, while newly identified conditions such as "restless legs syndrome" — a constant urge to move one’s legs — are presented as being much more common than they really are.
Richard Ley, of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, rejected the accusations, pointing out that Britain has firm safeguards against disease-mongering. Many of the authors’ criticisms, he said, were aimed squarely at countries such as the United States, where pharmaceuticals can be openly advertised directly to patients.
"Drug companies are not allowed to communicate directly with patients, and we do not invent diseases," he said.
"We provide information that there are treatments out there that might help certain conditions, but at the end of the day it is down to health professionals to decide if they are appropriate.
"The best safeguard is that the doctor who knows the product and knows the patient’s history is the one who decides what to prescribe."

Banana A Day

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!! This is interesting. After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again. Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet. Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood. Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia. Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert. Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives. Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system. Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief. Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness. Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation. Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system. Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pre! ssure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady. Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach. Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan. Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack. Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine, "eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%! Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape! So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

What's Your Excuse

Exercise Excuses
While I was lying in bed this morning trying to motivate myself to get up and exercise, I realized how many great reasons I had to skip my workout today. First: rain. Sure I'm working out inside but everyone knows that a rainy morning is meant for lounging, not exercising. Second: low quality sleep after a night spent with my 17-pound cat alternately standing on my head, chewing on my hair and getting tangled in the blinds. How could anyone exercise after a night like that?
By the time I got to my third or fourth excuse, I realized I could spend my entire morning thinking of reasons not to workout. Then I thought about how I'd feel if I skipped my workout and that was enough to get me up and moving. But that doesn't always work and, like most people, there are times when my excuses win out over what I know I need to do. What about you? What's your excuse for missing workouts? Vote in this week's poll and tell us all about it.

Read the whole article at: http://exercise.about.com/b/a/256948.htm

Juice Plus and Vitamins

I have so many people ask me how does Juice Plus compare to vitamins. I thought this was worth sharing. Tina Wilson to Dr. Mays


If you are looking for the best vitamin supplement in town, then Juice Plus is not for you.
Juice Plus may come in a capsule, but it is not a vitamin and would not be found on the vitamin shelf if it were sold in the grocery store. As a FDA regulated food item, it would be found in the grocery aisle, if placed properly. You see, if I were to put an apple next to a bottle of vitamin C that had the highest RDA number, and that apple had a label on it, you would see that the average apple has only 5 or 6 mg of vitamin C in it (a dismal RDA). However, because an apple also has 10,000+ other plant nutrients that work in synergy together with the vitamin C, it would take 1,500 mg of isolated vitamin C to do the same job as the apple in protecting cells from free radicals-those culprits that cause oxidatvie stress and increase the aging process. These facts come from a study published in Nature, a leading scientific journal.

Now, here is the scary part: 1,500 mg of isolated vitamin C is toxi when introduced to cells in culture, as it hurts the DNA. The only reason people survive eating high amounts of isolated vitamins is because isolated vitamins are terribly "un-bioavailable.". That is, they are not readily absorbed by the cells and instead are flushed from the body as expensive urine-a process that can take its toll on the kidneys over time.
Furthermore, Dole Nutrition News reports that a "watershed study published last month in the Lancet reviewed 14 randomized trials with more than 170,000 participants to establish whether antioxidant pills reduce the risk of gastrointestinal cancer. Far from finding any protective benefits to such supplements, "on the contracy,they seem to increase overall mortality.". This is the difference between qualtative nutrition and quantitative nutrition.

Hence, Juice Plus, has become the number one encapsulated nutritional supplement in the world, because it provides the body with a new paradigm in supplementation-whole food supplementation that is bioavailable and works to slow down the aging process. It is not a matter of debate anymore. it has been proven by independent researchers all over the world.

Information supplied by Doctor Mitra ray, Ph.D

Did You know?

Hay Fever Sufferers should wash hair at night. They’ll remove any pollen and keep it from settling on pillows and bedding. (also avoid common irritants like tobacco smoke, automobile exhaust hair spray and perfume; wash hands frequently’ venture outdoors only when pollen counts are low).

Australian researches found a simple solutions if you’re allergic to dust mites and suspect your area rugs make you sneeze and itch – place the rug outdoors I direct sunlight for a few hours (the sun dries and heats them – exterminating mites.)

Moving to another location is no guarantee of relief for allergy sufferers, because they usually develop allergies to their new region’s pollens and molds within a few years of moving (most allergy-provoking grasses are wide spread throughout the world). As many as 20% of American believe they have a food allergy…but less than 1% really do. Most food “allergies” are actually signs of digestive problems, food poisoning or stress.

Lastly, one cup of black tea has enough h fluoride to help prevent tooth decay – and green tea has twice as much. Green tea is also much richer in flavonoids and antioxidants (TopHealth Fevbruary 2005)