As a chiropractor, I am a voracious reader when it comes to any new study about a natural food or supplement that aids in good health and may also help to prevent a certain disease. I am also aware that there isn’t any one thing, no matter how good it sounds, that is the “be all, end all” when it comes to good health. It’s our total approach to our health, good nutrition, regular exercise, plenty of water, and lowering stress levels all add up to a total health package that will keep an individual healthy, strong, energetic, and often disease-free. That said, I was still excited to read about a new study that indicated that eating lots of garlic may lower the levels of a certain cancer-causing process within the body. That’s right, garlic’s not just beneficial for keeping vampires at bay! My excitement stems from the fact that I love garlic, pure and simple. If you do, too, read on…
The study, published in a recent issue of the journal Analytical Biochemistry, used a new type of urine test that shows that eating garlic may lower levels of the cancer-causing process called nitrosation that converts some substances found in foods or contaminated water into cancer-causing compounds. Nitrosation is most commonly caused by nitrates from certain processed meats or high-heat food preparation methods, or by water contaminated by industrial or agricultural runoff.
The urine test results showed that the more garlic that was consumed, the less there was a marker for the risk of cancer. Though the precise mechanism by which garlic and other compounds affect nitrosation is not clear at this time,” said senior study author Earl Harrison, a professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University and an investigator at the university’s cancer center, the mechanism is under extensive investigation.
As a Chiropractor in San Diego, I counsel many individuals who come to my clinic who want to lose weight. I know how hard it can be, and I also know how important it is to lose those extra pounds. What’s the harm in being just a few pounds overweight? Over time, those pounds can add up to a substantial number of health issues from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back challenges and joint degeneration. Surplus poundage puts harmful stress on organs, like the heart, not to mention on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. A shocking 62% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is an extremely compelling number and an enormous dilemma (no pun intended).
Though we try to pretend otherwise, most of us know that the human body was not intended to carry around surplus weight in the form of body fat. Just 20 or 30 extra pounds can veritably overload and even overwhelm the joints and muscles of the body. Added weight in the belly, for example, makes it necessary for the body to compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. This shift puts pressure on the joints of the low back. Joint compression restricts nerve activity and causes painful inflammation. The majority of individuals that have a “spare tire”experience low back pain as the result of a compressed sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that impinge nerves as a consequence of weight-bearing stresses. If ignored, misaligned vertebra generally produce new arthritic changes in the spine over time, as well as persist in irritating the degenerative changes that have already taken place.
You’ll be happy to hear that chiropractic treatment can help. First of all, to be clear, a moderate body weight is necessary in order for the musculoskeletal system to function in the way it is built to. Chiropractic treatment can not only help to decrease pain caused by excess weight compensation, but it can aid in weight reduction. Here’s how. Chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve impingements in the vertebral column and help to get movement back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, especially in the low back, hips, and knees. And, of course exercise and physical activity is a lot easier, and more beneficial for the body, when the the joints have good mobility and the spine is aligned. The added benefit of exercise the, in addition to helping with weight reduction, it can actually slow the potential for degenerative changes as we age.
Healthcare professionals, like your chiropractor, can talk to you about your diet and exercise alternatives. In addition to helping men and women suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors can provide trained advice on the type of lifestyle modifications that can help you to stay healthier, more vigorous, and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be unavoidable. The structure of the human body is intended to carry a person through an entire lifetime of pain-free movement.
So, if you’ve been thinking that a few extra pounds won’t hurt, think again! As your chiropractor in San Diego, and someone who cares deeply about your overall health, I’d like to help you to make healthier choices. Make an appointment today!
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