MVChiro.com - From Dr. Harriott to You

Chiropractic Care Featured on “The Dr. Oz Show”

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:16:00 +0000

“The Dr. Oz Show” recently touted new research that found chiropractic care is just as effective as over-the-counter pain relievers for back pain.

Dr. Oz explained how the spine gets misaligned and what chiropractic care can do for patients.

The episode even featured an adjustment right in the studio. Watch the segment now.

Turns Out That Anti-Microbial Soaps Really Are Bad For You...

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:56:00 +0000

Well, if it shows up on Fox News, then it has to be true, right? LOL...

But really... Chiropractors have been warning for years that trying to kill the bug is not the correct path to health. Fortify the host!!!! That is the secret to real health. The contention is that simply trying to kill and organism that has a life cycle in terms of hours or days is futile. That in reality, you will just drive the next phase of evolutionary change that will leave you with an even more dangerous bug to deal with - just like what we see with antibiotic abuse.

But now, this lawsuit comes out which accuses the FDA of delaying appropriate regulation of two chemicals found to be in most of the antimicrobial soaps that we use EVERY DAY! The chemicals are triclosan and triclocarban and the plaintiffs in this case assert that the FDA has been aware of the harmful effects of these chemicals on our sexual hormones and thyroid hormones for 30 years and has yet to do anything about it. They cite a study which found that residues of these chemicals are found on over 75% of our population over the age of 6.

I don't know about you, but I'm making sure my patients know that regular old soap is just fine without the toxic soup, thank you very much. Just look at the active ingredients in our liquid hand soap at home and at work and throw it out when you find it.

New Guidelines for Fall Prevention in Elderly

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:50:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comments:

Chiropractic has a significant role in fall prevention as well... Balance is a result of successful integration of accurate sensory inputs and muscular control. Sensory inputs include middle ear vestibular feedback, visual signals, as well as neurological feedback of our position in space from the mechanoreceptors in our joints.

Joint dysfunction, which is a primary area of focus in chiropractic, causes inhibition of muscular control, and faulty position sense feedback from our joints. Also, when pain signals dominate the feedback then mechanoreceptor signals of our position in space is compromised. So proper management of painful joint dysfunction then is clearly another important part of fall prevention that high quality chiropractic care can assist with.

With the recent study (see full text here) showing that all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) pose cardiovascular threats of increased incidence of stroke and infarction on the order 2 to 4 times, it is clear that simply "dealing with it" isn't a reasonable option for the elderly, or anyone else for that matter.

Everyone needs a chiropractor on their healthcare team. In Mission Viejo, everyone has a chiropractor at Mission Viejo Chiropractic, whether they know it or not.
==================================

January 13, 2011 — The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the British Geriatric Society (BGS) have updated their 2001 guidelines on preventing falls in older persons and have published a summary of the new recommendations online January 13 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. All healthcare practices for older adults should include fall screening and prevention, with new assessments involving feet and footwear, fear of falling, and ability to carry out daily living activities. All interventions for fall prevention should include an exercise component, with additional interventions to be considered including starting tai chi and reducing medications.

New Recommendations

Recommendations for interventions that are new since the 2001 guidelines include the following:

Multifactorial interventions should always include an exercise component, such as tai chi, physical therapy, or other exercise for balance, gait, and strength training, in group programs or as individual programs at home. Endurance and flexibility training may be prescribed, but not apart from strength training. On the basis of currently available evidence, exercise programs are recommended only for community-dwelling older persons.
Environmental adaptation by a healthcare professional should be considered to reduce factors in the home and in daily activities that could increase fall risk.
Cataract surgery should be performed if indicated, but this or other vision intervention should not be administered in isolation apart from a multifactorial assessment and intervention strategy.
Medication reduction or withdrawal is recommended, particularly for sedatives, antidepressants, and other drugs affecting the central nervous system, regardless of the number of medications prescribed. This is a change from the 2001 guidelines, which recommended reducing medications only if patients were taking 4 or more.
Orthostatic hypotension, arrhythmias, and heart rate abnormalities should be managed appropriately as part of a multifactorial intervention strategy. Older persons with cardioinhibitory carotid sinus hypersensitivity who have unexplained recurrent falls may benefit from dual-chamber cardiac pacing.
All older adults at risk for falls, and those with known or suspected vitamin D deficiency, should receive a daily Vitamin D supplement (800 IU).

6 Cancer Fighting Superfoods

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:16:00 +0000

The cure for cancer is in your refrigerator..."All the studies on cancer and nutrition point to eating plant-based foods for their phytonutrients and other special compounds," says Richard Béliveau, PhD. Dr. Béliveau is a profressor at the University of Québec at Montreal and also the author of Foods to Fight Cancer.

We should try to get five to nine daily servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables - and the short list should include as many as possible of these special sources of cancer fighting nutrition...

1. Broccoli
Cruciferous vegetables (the crisp, water-filled veggies like cauliflower, cabbage, kale...) contain cancer-fighting properties, but broccoli is unique in that it also includes sulforaphane, a particularly potent element that that hellps maintain the body's protective enzymes and helps to flush out toxic compounds. Recently, a study at the University of Michigan found that sulforaphane also targets cancer stem cells in mice — those that ultimately become cancer cells that grow together to form cancerous tumors.

Reduces Incidence of: stomach, bladder, breast, liver, lung, prostate, and skin cancers

Recommendation: Eat as much as you can. Every culture has its staple foods (like rice for the Asian cultures, olive oil for the Greeks or corn meal for those in South Africa). Consider making brocolli a staple food in your home.

2. Tomatoes
The red color of tomatoes comes from a carotenoid called lycopene, according to Béliveau. Lycopene has been shown to stop endometrial cancer cell growth in a study published in Nutrition and Cancer.

Reduces incidence of: endometrial, stomach, prostate and lung cancers

Recommendation: Inteerestingly, cooked tomatoes provide more absorbable lycopene than fresh ones. So eat more tomatoes in your cooked meals (like in pasta sauces and such).

3. Berries
All berries are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Blueberries, black raspberries contain a great deal of phytochemicals called anthocyanins. According to Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine in The College of Medicine at Ohio State University, these anthocyanins slow down the growth of pre-cancerous cells and inhibit the growth of new arterial blood vessel to supply those cells.

Reduces incidence of: skin, colon, oral, and esophageal cancers

Recommendation: A half-cup serving of berries a day is a great source for all the anthocyanins you need.

4. Walnuts
Their phytosterols (cholesterol-like molecules found in plants) have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth, says Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.

Reduces incidence of: breast and prostate cancers

Recommendation: Hardman's research found that an ounce a day of walnuts yields great benefits.

5. Beans
Beans are a great source of butyrate, a fatty acid that has been shown to reduce cancer cell growth. A Michigan State University study found that black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats and another study publsihed in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans helped to prevent breast cancer in rats.

Reduces Incidence of: breast and colon cancers

Recommendation: A half-cup of legumes a few times a week is a very beneficial addition to your dietary choices.

6. Garlic
Phytochemicals in garlic have been found to inhibit creation of nitrosamines, which are cancer causing agents formed in the gastro-intestinal tract when you consume nitrates, a common chemical preservative in prepared foods. The Iowa Women's Health Study found that women that ate higher amounts of garlic had as much as a 50 percent lower risk of certain colon cancer than those who ate little to no garlic.

Reduces Incidence of : stomach, esophagus, breast, and colon cancer

Recommendation: Crush, then chopped cloves of fresh garlic should be added to your foods whenever possible, and, of course, appropriate for the recipe. Note that crushing the garlic first releases particularly beneficial enzymes.

Living Near A Freeway During Pregnancy Doubles Risk of Autism

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 22:22:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comments:

I am interested in understanding which is the predominant influence, pollution or noise. I would imagine it is toxic airborne chemicals of incomplete combustion that are prevalent.

But then again, this study considered "close" to be within 1000 feet of the freeway centerline. I don't know about other areas of the country, but I would swear that some of our local freeways are 1000 feet across. I guess if you are living right smack next to the freeway, then, yes, noise could be an issue. Bottom line: If you are pregant, please move as far away as possible. And, if you have a choice, move even if you aren't pregnant.
=========================================================================
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20101217/fast-lane-to-autism-living-near-freeways

Fast Lane to Autism: Living Near Freeways Autism More Likely in Kids Whose Moms Live Near Freeways
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Dec. 17, 2010 --

Having a mother who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway while pregnant doubles a child's odds of having autism.

The finding comes from a study looking at environmental factors that might play a role in autism. University of Southern California researcher Heather E. Volk, PhD, MPH, and colleagues collected data from 304 California children with confirmed autism and from 259 children who developed normally.

"It has been estimated that 11% of the U.S. population lives within 100 meters [328 feet] of a four-lane highway, so a causal link to autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders would have broad public health implications," the researchers note.

Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is suspected of a wide range of negative effects on the fetus. A particularly crucial period may be the third trimester, when the brain develops rapidly.

Air pollution is particularly heavy within a thousand feet of a highway. Volk and colleagues found that the 10% of women who lived closest to a freeway during pregnancy were within about 1,000 feet of center line. Children born to these women were 86% more likely to have autism than kids born to women who lived farther from the freeway.

The relationship was stronger for women who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway during their third trimester. Children born to these women were 2.2 times more likely to have autism.

Interestingly, the odds of autism remained unchanged when the researchers controlled for factors such as child gender or ethnicity, household education, maternal age, and maternal smoking.

It's becoming clear that a child's genetic inheritance has a lot to do with whether that child has autism. But genes do not explain why one child develops autism while another does not. Many researchers believe that something or a combination of things in the environment trigger autism in genetically susceptible kids. That exposure may come while the child is still in the womb.

But what is it about living near a freeway that might trigger autism? Is it really air pollution? Or could it be the noise?

Volk and colleagues note that their findings should be confirmed in studies that measure the actual air pollutants to which pregnant women living near freeways are exposed.

The Volk study appears in the Dec. 16 online issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Mercury Exposure Due to Dental Fillings of Superfund Site Magnitude: Biologist

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:56:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Commentary:

I won't have amalgam used in my children's teeth. I had all the amalgam removed from my teeth. All I need to know is that mercury is a neurotoxin that vaporizes in the oral cavity from amalgam deposited there. While there is debate about how much damage is being caused, that seems awfully academic considering that we still put this in our bodies. I say, and without adding any academic or professional value here, I admit) "Get it out of me!!!".
Can I hear a "heck yeah!" on that?

=====================
by: Robert Lowes
December 15, 2010 — Millions of Americans with mercury-based dental fillings are exposed to levels of mercury vapor that qualify toxic waste sites for the federal Superfund program, a scientist told an advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday.
The scientist, biologist G. Mark Richardson, PhD, appeared among a parade of researchers, dentists, and consumer advocates who spoke for and against the use of mercury-based fillings — also known as dental amalgam — on the first day of a 2-day hearing of the FDA's dental product panel.
Last year, the agency reclassified dental amalgam from a lower-risk class I medical device to a moderate-risk class II device with a new label stating that fetuses and young children may be more sensitive to its neurotoxic effects. Nevertheless, the agency declared that the material was safe for adults and children aged 6 years and above.
Opponents of dental amalgam, who link it to diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer's, have petitioned the agency to reconsider its 2009 decision and either ban the filling material or classify it as a high-risk class III device. The FDA convened the advisory panel to hear out these opponents, but not to recommend new regulations for dental amalgam.
Two prime questions for the panel are how much mercury is absorbed by people with dental amalgam and what the reference exposure level (REL), or safety threshold, for mercury vapor should be. Estimated mercury doses can be calculated from exposure levels to the vapor.
In its 2009 decision, the FDA put the mercury dose absorbed by individuals with 7 to 10 amalgam fillings at 1 to 5 ?g/day. The range is roughly identically to permissible doses for children and adults derived from an REL for mercury vapor — 0.3 ?g/m3 — set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Such an REL, also called a reference concentration, is considered safe for even the most susceptible individual.
Dr. Richardson, the lead author of a dental amalgam study commissioned by a group advocating mercury-free dentistry, disagrees with the FDA's daily dose calculation and states that the amount of mercury absorbed can range up to 22 ?g, based on a conservative scenario of amalgam use. In his study, he estimates that 67 million Americans with dental amalgam exceed the permissible mercury dose associated with the EPA's REL.
Dr. Richardson told the panel that RELs such as those for mercury vapor "do mean something."
Of 1500 toxic waste sites in the EPA Superfund program, almost half contain elemental mercury, according to Dr. Richardson. Those mercury-contaminated sites make it on the list "because levels of exposure...exceed the EPA reference dose." RELs and reference doses, he said, also shape guidelines for cleaning up these sites.
"When they're cleaned up, the doses from those sites should not exceed the [REL]," said Dr. Richardson, a former employee of the Canadian equivalent of the US Department of Health and Human Services who now works for the environmental division of a Canadian engineering and construction firm.
Dr. Richardson believes that the EPA's REL for mercury vapor is set too high and views the REL of 0.3 ?g/m3used by the California EPA as more accurate. All Americans with dental amalgam — some 122 million of them — are exceeding permissible mercury doses linked to this stricter safety threshold, according to Dr. Richardson.
"I Have Amalgams in My Own Teeth"
During a public comment section of the hearing, representatives of organized dentistry countered claims by Dr. Richardson and others that dental amalgam is a public health threat.
Dennis Charlton, DDS, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Dental Association, asserted that millions of patients have used dental amalgam with no adverse effects. He explained that mercury, normally toxic to humans, is rendered harmless by its combination with other metals in dental amalgam, just as poisonous chlorine gas combines with sodium to form perfectly safe sodium chloride — otherwise known as salt.
Dr. Richardson's research came under fire from Rod Mackert, DMD, PhD, a dental materials researcher and professor in the School of Dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Dr. Mackert, speaking on behalf of the American Dental Association, said Dr. Richardson reached his "ludicrous" assertions about the need for a lower REL for mercury vapor by discounting valid studies and relying on a flawed one.
A number of dentists told the panel that their support of dental amalgam has nothing to do with their economic self-interest, as some critics charged.
"I have amalgam in my own teeth, and I have used it to treat members of my own family," said Jonathan Knapp, DMD, from Bethel, Connecticut, a member of the American Dental Association's Council on Dental Practice. "If had any doubt — any doubt — about the safety of amalgam, I would never use it to treat my family."
Mercury Issue Rarely Mentioned to Patients
Another contingent of dentists was on hand yesterday to denounce dental amalgam and tout mercury-free alternatives.
"Mercury exposure is no longer a price we have to pay to be successful in restorative dentistry," said Stephen Koral, DMD, from Boulder, Colorado, a past president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, which opposes the use of dental amalgam.
"I learned mercury was toxic in the second grade," added Janet Stopka, DDS, from suburban Chicago, Illinois. "Mercury fillings have been a 200-year-old mistake."
The panel also heard a number of individuals who bore painful witness to a host of health problems such as panic attacks, memory loss, food allergies, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and cancer that they attributed to dental amalgam fillings and subsequent mercury poisoning. Several of them said their conditions subsided after they had these fillings replaced with mercury-free substitutes. They might have avoided their ordeals, they said, if their dentists had informed them about the risks of dental amalgam.
"Placing mercury in the mouths of patients is reckless and dangerous, and I am proof of that," said Stephanie Bernier-Adamson from Fullerton, California. "The issue of mercury was never mentioned in any dental office where I was a patient."
Medscape Medical News © 2010 WebMD, LLC
Send comments and news tips to news@medscape.net.

A Word on Chiropractic Training

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Sonoma, CA Chiropractor, Todd Lloyd has uploaded an article in is Sonoma Chiropractic Blog posted a great table comparing the educational requirements of a chiropractic doctor degree against those of a medical doctor degree.

Subject	Chiropractic Schools		Medical Schools
	Hours	% of Total	Hours	% of Total
Anatomy	570	40	368	31
Biochemistry	150	11	120	10
Microbiology	120	8	120	10
Public Health	70	5	289	24
Physiology	305	21	142	12
Pathology	205	14	162	14

Total Hours	1,420	100	1,200	100

I have reproduced that table from his website above. I can tell you from personal experience, as someone who also earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, that the class hours spent in chiropractic college were quite extensive. And for every hour spent in class, we spent about 3 hours outside preparing for lectures, reveiewing materials, preparing assignments, and reviewing for exams. On top of all of that, during and after this course of study, we were required to undergo 4 different national licensing exams and then another license exam specific to the state in which we were to practice. Amazing to look at in restrospect.

At any rate, many of my patients are amazed to learn that we actually had more hours in anatomy, physiology, radiology and neurology than our MD counerparts. On the other hand, they had to go through gruelling pharmacology courses that we were not asked to study as that is outside of the chiropractic scope of practice.

Some of the most interesting classes? I enjoyed the 4 semesters of cadaver lab work. Sounds grotesque if you have never done it, but there is nothing that compares with seeing the actual structures laying right there in front of your eyes just the way our creator planned it or as we evolved it (depending on your beliefs). Oh yeah, and that reminds me of something that I kept thinking as we would sit in our physiology lectures... "I wonder why they designed it that way... oops... it wasn't designed that way... it's only that way because it works!"

Interesting stuff... no matter who you are :)

Now, at this point, I would point out that the chiropractic subject matter that is taught in chiropractic college is not taught anywhere else. Just as an MD will suggest that we do not have identical educations and thus we cannot do their job, we can say the very same thing about MDs, physical therapists, physical trainers, and I dare say even osteopaths. These professions do not include training in the specific vertebral adjustment to address subluxation. Many are surprised to learn that even Osteopaths do not require adjustive or manipulative techniques in their curriculum and those procedures (which are substantially less specific than the corresponding chiropractic procedures, by the way) are taken as an optional elective and nowhere near enough time is provided to develop proficiency.

Edward Harriott, DC

Mission Viejo Chiropractic

24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

(949)360-1112

http://www.mvchiro.com

If you want to reach more from Dr. Lloyd's Sonoma Chiropractor blog, fee free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in Sonoma, CA, you can find him at:

Todd Lloyd, DC; Chiropractor in Sonoma

525 3rd Street West, Suite C

Sonoma, CA 95476

(707) 408-2225

http://lloydchiro.com

http://lloydchiro.com/?page_id=7

Sound Activated Voice Recorder to Screen for Sleep Apnea, Teeth Grinding

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:02:00 +0000

San Mateo Chiropractor, Reza Abusaidi recently uploaded information in his San Mateo Chiropractic blog about a new iphone app called Night Recorder. This app is available in the apple app store for $2.99. It is ostensibly intended to help you to determine if you are grinding your teeth at night.

I am really excited about the idea and as an android user, I immediately looked in the Android Marketplace but alas, I have come up empty handed. I was told by the developer of Livo Pro are working to develop a voice activation feature in their voice app but they have no planned release date. As as of this date, I have not been able to find an android app that will record upon sound activation and then shut off with silence.

If you are a Windows Pocket PC user, the Yoho Voice Recorder application has voice activation.

Why would this be so great? Well, teeth grinding is a significant dental problem and it contributes to a lot of temporomandibular joint pain (TMJ). If I had a patient with TMJ, besides treatment, I would immediate advise them to record themselves in sleep for several days to see if they are grinding. That would then lead to an oral orthotic to eliminate or mitigate the problem.

Another big problem that this would help detect would be sleep apnea. This is a problem that a lot of people have. It is more prevalent in the overweight population, however even those who are not overweight can suffer from sleep apnea. In sleep apnea, the patient stops breathing during sleep. Typically a result of soft tissue blockage in the oropharyngeal region, this apnea results in a low oxygenation of the body in sleep, which will elevate the heart rate and eventually the primitive survival centers kick in and the person gasps for breath breathing very heavy and subsequently relaxing only to repeat the cycle. This contributes to abnormally shallow and non-restful sleep (sleep deprivation), mental fogginess, high blood pressure and enlargement of the heart. This is a very serious condition that needs to be screened for for anyone who is overweight.

A sound activated recorder on a phone would be a very inexpensive way to check for grinding, sleep apnea or just to prove that your spouse snores too :)

Edward Harriott, DC

Mission Viejo Chiropractic

24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

(949)360-1112

http://www.mvchiro.com

If you want to reach more from Dr. Abusaidi's' San Mateo Chiropractor blog, fee free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in San Mateo, CA, you can find him at:

Reza Abusaidi, DC

San Mateo Chiropractic

16 41st Ave.,

San Mateo, CA 94403

(650) 345-7010

www.greatback.com

www.greatback.com/blog/

Tension-Type Headaches

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:58:00 +0000

http://advancedbacksolutions.com/dasblog/2010/11/09/TensionHeadachesChiropracticOptions.aspx

Livonia, MI Chiropactor, Dr. Kevin Venerus posted an interesting article on his Livonia Chiropractic blog about tension headaches. In his post, he suggests that recent findings have resulted in a conclusion that the cause of "tension-type" headaches is not due to muscle tension as it was once thought. His point is that the muscle tension as measured in "tension-type" headaches and the presence of "tender trigger points" in the upper, middle and lower neck is not unique to these headaches and are also found in the same frequency and severity in headaches of other known causes.

I respect Dr. Venerus' attempts to stay on top of the latest research, however I must take issue with the conclusions. From a purely logical standpoint, the fact that muscle tension and trigger points occur in headaches of other known causes does not mean that muscle tension and trigger points are not a source of headaches in and of themselves. One might question whether there is another mechanism that we just haven't found and that would be a reasonable consideration, but it is premature to dismiss muscle tension and/or trigger points as a potential cause of headaches.

In my practice, there are relatively few headaches that do not respond to some degree to an adjustment. I typically will find a reduction in muscle tension and trigger point intensity after treatment and so this is not a mystery to me. On the other hand, when the mechanism is not strictly musculoskeletal (ie. when it is not simple spinal subluxation), and thus remains active post-adjustment, it is reasonable to expect that the headache will return at some point. At that point, I advise a patient to pay close attention to body temperature (early indication of possible viral or bacterial infection), any dizziness, nausea, etc (possible migraine or other cuases), and to work on postural exercises. And I will advise the patient on measures to be taken at home to reduce the muscle tension and trigger points.

Cadaver dissection protocols developed over hundreds of years, consistently destroyed a connection between the Rectus Capitus Posterior Minor muscle at the base of the neck and the dural tissues encapsulating the cervical spinal cord and lining the cranium. We know that the pain sensing nerve endings in the brain are confined to dural membranes and vasculature, leaving the actual brain cells without the ability to produce pain sensation. We also know that vascular pain (ie. migraine) has unique qualities and characteristics absent in a typical tension-type headache. The headache that one gets with brain injury is typically a result of stretch or tension in the dural membranes resulting from swelling. The finding of the fibrous connection between the RCPM muscle and the dura mater at the base of the neck, the acknowledgement of the presence of muscle tension in relation to headaches of all etiologies, and the reduction and frequent resolution of "tension-type" headaches post-adjustment with notable persistent reduction in muscle tension and trigger point activity do support the contention that this is truly at least one of many causes for headache pain.

My point here is that muscle tension and trigger points are not mutually exclusive of other headache causes and so we cannot conclude that just because muscle tension and trigger points exist in the presence of other known headache causes that they are not a source or cause of headache in and of themselves.

Interesting article Dr. Venerus... thank you. Let's keep an eye out for further developments and keep taking care of neck subluxations in headache patients as I know you continue to do so well.

Edward Harriott, DC

Mission Viejo Chiropractic

24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

(949)360-1112

http://www.mvchiro.com

If you want to reach more from Dr. Venerus' Livonia Chiropractor blog, fee free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in Livonia, MI, you can find him at:

Kevin Venerus

Advanced Back Solutions

10988 Middlebelt

Livonia, Michigan 48150

www.AdvancedBackSolutions.com

www.AdvancedBackSolutions.com/dasblog

The New Chiropractic Story

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:34:00 +0000

I get asked a lot about what chiropractic is, what it does, how it works, etc. In his recent blog post, Freehold, NJ Chiropractor, Russell Brokstein shares what chiropractors have fondly referred to as, "The Chiropractic Story".

As he relates in the article, the critical elements of The Chiropractic Story are:

1. The Nervous System (which includes your brain, your spinal cord, all the nerves that emanate from the spine) controls every organ and tissue in your body. It is this system which regulates all the critical functions required for you to survive.

2. In order for survival to occur at it's optimum level, in other words, in order for once to be healthy and to truly thrive, rather than just get by while on a path of gradually increasing disability, this system needs to be unencumbered by interference of any kind. Your nervous system has to have clear channels of communication with every organ and tissue, unimpeded by major or minor blockages.

3. Misalignments in the spine can create irritation to these delicate nerves, and interfere with that clear communication. In this way, nerve stress manifests as changes in all the tissues in the vicinity of that misalignment, all the tissues downstream which are directly innervated by the nerves that emanate from that spinal level, and this WILL lead to a cascade of events that has the potential of negatively affecting the health and function of organ systems that rely on proper efficient function of the affected tissues and nerves. Recognizing that the organism that is our body has no extra parts, it is obvious that all organ systems rely on all others and consequently, failure in one will eventually degrade all the others, either directly or indirectly.

4. Health is only achievable through a properly functioning nervous system. These stressors, misalignments, irritations are called subluxations. Subluxations are, by definition, impediments to proper nerve function and should be resolved. Chiropractors are the only primary care physicians that are trained to detect and correct subluxation. Chiropractic is also the only primary health care approach that does not rely on drugs or surgery to facilitate the recovery of health.

The Rest of the Chiropractic Story (with references to the corresponding numbered elements above):

Dr. DD Palmer was the one who first developed the therapeutic strategy of adjusting specific spinal vertebrae for the express purpose of relieving pressure or stress on the nerves that emanate from that portion of the spine. DD Palmer's son, Dr. BJ Palmer first referred to this classic explanation of chiropractic as "The Chiropractic Story". BJ Palmer bears most of the credit for the development of the profession now known as Chiropractic.,

With that background, and considering that it has beem nearly 113 years since the first chiropractic adjustment in Davenport, IA it is entirely understandable that a lot has been learned about anatomy, physiology and the therapeutic benefits of the chiropractic adjustment. I will not try to deliver that entire body of scientific knowledge here, but I would like to identify a few directions in which this story has developed in the last 112 years...

1. We know that there is an automatic nervous system that is entirely voluntary requiring no conscious monitoring in order to function. This is called the Autonomic Nervous System and includes two subsets called the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems. With injury, we will often get into a hyper-sympathetic state, created an imbalance in that normal interplay with the parasympathetic system. This affects immuncehealing, cardiovascular function, sleep patterns, pain perception, and mental clarity, to mention a few. Studies have demonstrated a decrease in sympathetic dominance with the delivery of chiropractic care.

We also have gained a better understanding that our system of glands and hormones are an extension of our nervous system that was not appreciated early in the history of chiropractic. The secretion of hormones are directly controlled by nerves from the central nervous system which act in response to the needs of the organism perceived through communication by way of feedback again, by nerves. So we now better understand that nerves are utilized for short acting immediate actions while hormones are released into the bloodstream to affect changes that are longer lasting (ie. hours to days instead of miliseconds to minutes). This led to a better understanding of the benefits of chiropractic adjustments in hormone-influenced functions such as sleep, reproduction, immune response, etc.

2. It is clear that there is no way to have absolutely no interference. That is impossible. On the other hand, leaving a source of interference in place without simple efforts to minimize it, manage it, mitigate it in some way can only serve to have the situation snowball to the point at which it becomes unmanageable. If you have ever had a low engine oil light come on in your vehicle, you know that 1) cars consume oil and so this is not cause for panic, but that 2) it is very important that oil should be replenished immediately in order for continued proper operation. Would you ever consider not putting oil in just because teh engine still sounds good, starts just as easily, accelerates with great power, and every other function of the car seems unaffected by the low oil level? Of course not. You know, either from your own experience or the wisdom passed to you from others that ignoring the oil light will lead to catastrophic failure of the engine, possibly without any further warning. And, if you listened, you will understand that sometimes the oil light doesn't work, so, really, you should manually check your oil every time you get gas.

Do you rely on your body any less that your vehicle? Does it make sense to wait for symptoms of pathology or sickness to occur before you maintain your body? The central nervous system is so important and yet so delicate that it is the only organ system completely enclosed in bone (the cranium and spine). Since this is the computer that runs the whole system, don't you think those structures deserve at least some maintenance for proper function? You maintain your teeth. You maintain your car. This is obvious stuff, right?

3. We have discovered that misalignments absolutely do exist. Irritations and their influences do exist. But these are also controlled by your nervous system. Chiropractors absolutely do affect alignment, but not by simply restacking the blocks (vertebrae) of your spine. The effect of the adjustment is by way of neurological (data, information, impulse) input to the central nervous system by way of sensory receptors in joints and other body tissues. Your alignment does change, but it is not simply putting a bone back into place. This is not a procedure like taking a pill or undergoing a surgical procedure. What the chiropractor does is best described as a "soft reset" on your computer. With the gentle, specific, and safe input of a chiropractic adjustment, we wipe away all the misplaced 0's and 1's that have your system spinning around in a fog and allow your brain to take new inventory of your body's state and of the influence of your environment and reset the 0's where 0's should be and the 1's where the 1's should be so that, over the next 12 to 24 hours a new strategy, that is current, appropriate and accurate, is in place to allow you to jump the hurdles that remain to the absolute healthiest function you can attain.

4. This one is simple and it remains true as ever. For most of the 112 years all the other health care professions denied what we do. Now, they are beginning to recognize the absolute pure truth of the concept that was discovered first by the CHIROPRACTIC PROFESSION; that our bodies heal themselves... we have all the drugs we need, we have all the tools we need... inborn. We simply need to maintain our bodies properly. So as the PT's and MD's and who knows who else fall over themselves to try to claim proficiency at "spinal manipulation", the truth is that they still don't understand how to determine where to adjust or why... They still think it is a "pill". And it doesn't work that way. Only chiropractors are trained to detect and correct subluxations.

Edward Harriott, DC

Mission Viejo Chiropractic

24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

(949)360-1112

http://www.mvchiro.com

If you want to reach more from Dr. Brokstein's Freehold Chiropractic blog, fee free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in Freehold, NJ, you can find him at:

Russell Brokstein

Hometown Family Wellness Center

9 Broadway

Freehold, NJ 07728

(732)780-0044

www.chiropractorfreehold.com

www.chiropractorfreehold.com/chiropractic-blog/

Seasonal Allergies and Chiropractic Care

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Omaha Chiropractor Tyler Baker recently published some useful tips for people suffering from pollen-related seasonal allergies. Specifically , Dr. Baker discusses the irrigation of the nasolarynx with Neti pots. These are small squeezable plastic bottles with tubes that create a fountain of water when squeezed. What you would do is to melt a saline packet that comes with the kit in good clean luke warm (ideally boiled and then cooled to luke warm) water. Then, you would lean over the sink and flush the solution up through the nasal passages until it comes out the mouth. You would do this whenever you come in from an area in which you were likely to have been exposed to airborne allergens. This mechanically washes away the irritating antigenic particles causing the allergic reaction. It also will help to lubricate and soothe any irritated or sensitive nasal tissues and reduce, at least temporarily, post-nasal drip which is a major cause of sore throat. This can also be helpful with colds and flus.

Dr. Baker also notes that the highest amount of air-borne pollen is released in the temperate mornings and evenings, with significant reductions in pollen release during the heat of the day and cold of the night. He advises that those suffering from seasonal allergies would do well to stay indoors during the morning and early evening hours while the temperatures are going through their greatest change.

A more allopathic approach would be to scrub the air of such allergenic particles in your homeand workplace so that you're system is not insulted in your sleep or at work. An indoor HEPA-style air filter does a good job of this.

And Dr. Baker makes a point that getting adjusted will help. How could adjusting the spine help with seasonal allergies? Well, the benefits are both direct and indirect:

Very often, allergies cause a great deal of sneezing and/or coughing. This can easily cause misalignment of the neck and upper back or lower back. It is also very easy to misalign the heads of the ribs that make up the rib cage. These misalignments can create local joint and soft tissue irritation which will cause an increase in nerve stress for those organs served by the nerves that eminate from the spine at the affected levels.
Spinal misalignments or subluxations also affect the autonomic nervous system (I like to call this the automatic nervous system because its actions require no conscious thought) which can exacerbate or amplify your immune reaction to the allergens.

In the end, someone suffering from allergies needs to develop healthy natural strategies to deal with these seasonal episodes in order to avoid the over-the-counter or prescription medications that will inevitably skew your natural biochemical internal processes in unintended ways. While we may not notice the bad side effects of every dose of medicine we take, there are unquestionably effects that are not positive and that will affect us over a lifetime. Those who have a condition such as this that may well last a lifetime would do well to find a natural way to deal with it.

Edward Harriott, DC

Mission Viejo Chiropractic
24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(949)360-1112
http://www.mvchiro.com

Tyler Baker, D.C

Active Motion Chiropractic
13027 Arbor Street
(402) 334-2244
ActiveMotionChiro.com
http://www.activemotionchiro.com/Blog.html

If you want to reach more from Dr. Baker's Active Motion Chiropractic blog, feel free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in Omaha, NE, you can find him at:

Tyler Baker

Active Motion Chiropractic

Address: 13027 Arbor St., Omaha, NE 68144

Phone Number:(402)334-2244

ActiveMotionChiro.com

Orem Chiropractor explains Forward Head Posture

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:21:00 +0000

There are several standard exam elements in every chiropractic exam in my office. There are the vitals, the range of motion, the strength evaluations, the neurological tests. And, of course, there is the palpatory exam where I actually put my hands on the spine so I can see through the eyes that I have apparently managed to grow in my fingers (I am humbled and my patients are often amazed by the ability I have to find problems with the simple touch). And, sometimes, I have to get x-rays if the case indicates that is needed. But the one element of the exam that we all have the ability to do ourselves every day is the postural evaluation.

In his recent blog post, Orem Chiropractor, Dr. Ned Arthur does a great job describing a very common postural abnormality that we refer to as forward head posture. He even has a experiment for his readers to try to illustrate the effects of forward head posture. I would like to share two common experiments that I use with those using Orem Chiropractic services from Dr. Ned...

The first one is to have the patient hold a pencil straight up in his fisted hand and put the weight of my hand on the up eraser end and remind the person that their head weight 10 to 13 pounds on average. Then I have the person tilt the pencil forward slightly and put my hand back on the eraser and this demonstrates how little forward shift dramatically increases the load on the neck and shoulders.

Then, I ask the person to "point" his chin or tilt his head slightly forward (thereby exagerating the forward head position) and have the person put his fingers lightly on the muscles in the back of his own neck just to the sides of the central bony spiny prominences from his neck bones. Then I ask the person to "slide" his head directly backward until his head is well back over his shoulders and have him feel those same muscles and how much less work they are doing and how much more relaxed they are.

Be sure to go read Dr. Arthur's write-up on forward head posture. You will learn a lot about why this is such a bad situation and why we really should be doing something about it now, rather than waiting for the wraning lights to go off.

Edward Harriott, DC
Mission Viejo Chiropractic
24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(949)360-1112
http://www.mvchiro.com

If you want to reach more from Dr. Arthur's Orem Chiropractor blog, fee free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in Orem, UT, you can find him at:

Ned McArthur

Orem Chiropractor

Address: 560 S. State #C2 Orem, UT 84058

Phone Number: 801-225-1311

Will The True Chiropractic Lifestyle Please Stand Up?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:44:00 +0000

In the past, I often had patients that would wait for two weeks with some sort of pain before calling me for an "urgent" adjustment. Sometimes, that same person would ask me something like, "Doc, are there any exercises that I can do that will stop this problem?" The other common question was, "Are there any supplements that I should be taking considering that this keeps happening to me"?

At this point, I would worry. I'd worry that I hadn't done my job in explaining what I offer as a chiropractor. I'd worry that if I didn't recommend a supplement or an exercise that they would go away. Or that if I recommended a supplement or exercise and their problem didn't disappear, that the patient would figure that I didn't know what I was talking about and go somewhere else.

But where would they go? To the chiropractor down the street who just makes sure that he recommends enough things or difficult enough things that the patient won't comply and so he can always blame the patient? "After all, Skippy, how can you expect to get better if you don't stretch 3 hours every day like I told ya' to?"

In my own life, I can see that what we are doing as a society is contrary to a logical expectation for a healthy life. This is constantly beaten to death in the popular media, so I won't waste your eyes reading another rehashing of all the bad stuff we do. But as I pursue my post-graduate studies in functional medicine so that I can help those with metabolic problems, immune over-reactions and various toxicity-related pathologies and as I continue to learn about the musculoskeletal movement pattern deficiencies that lead us like a herd of buffalo into "inevitable" and "normal" arthritic states and varying levels of "stiffness of old age" so that I can reverse that process for my patients... As I study more about how to truly help my patients, with the chiropractic adjustment that resets the microcomputer that controls the body and removes communication interference and stress from the body... Well, I am dumbfound by how screwed up we really are.

I currently am almost 47 years old. I stand six feet tall. A few years ago, I weighed about 215 pounds. I ate pretty well, not too many snacks, high quality veggies, good protein, blah, blah blah. I would get out and play with my kids on the weekends and do the office warrior thing during the week. But I figured I was "one of the smart ones" who got adjusted regularly, didn't drink to excess, didn't take drugs, didn't eat a bunch of polyunsaturated fats, or avoid fruits and veggies. I had a small dessert after every dinner, sure, but I didn't jump at a pharmaceutical or run to the MD for every little problem. Surely, I wouldn't develop serious health problems, right?

I have to say, that as I read recent news items like the one that says 1 in 3 Americans will be diabetic by 2050 I started to wonder if I was going to be that "one" after all. Well, I am coming to the conclusion that we are more screwed up that we even know. And it is deeper than the dessert, or the exercise, or the prescription drug. It is in the very core of our societal being. Chiropractic absolutely has it right. But even chiropractors can miss the big picture... after all, we are human too. The issue is around what is tolerable, what is unhealthy, what concerns us enough to do something different.

We have all had indigestion. We've all had a headache. If you have one, and you take something (or not) and it goes away... No harm, no foul. This is par for the course. This stuff just happens. But if it doesn't go away... Well, NOW we've gotta do something about it. And what are you going to do? Really... what? Go to the drug store? See a doctor? Heaven forbid that you body should adapt and it goes back to once a week or once a month like it was before it "wouldn't go away". And on we go... Then, you turn 45 and it starts happening once a week again and every once in a while you'll have it two days in a row. Must be getting older, right? Par for the course. Now I see what my dad was always talking about...

No, it is time that we finally go back and relearn the lessons that chiropractors have been teaching us since DD Palmer and his son BJ Palmer first developed this wonderful approach to real health. A symptom is not an enemy, it is a signal. Symptoms are our friends! Unless we don't heed the message. If you ignore a warning light in your car, you will be sorry. We understand that. The car may even seem to be running fine when the low oil light comes on. But if you don't add oil, you will be sorry. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, or next month, but you WILL BE SORRY.

The problem with our society is this dialogue about what is normal. Stop it, folks! It is normal for indigestion to occur when you are not digesting properly. But just because someone downplayed it in your youth, on a commercial, on the radio, the billboard and everywhere else in our society... that doesn't mean you shouldn't do something about it. And I don't mean to buy something, a Rolaid or a Tums. Come on, what does the signal mean? Do you buy duct tape to cover that pesky oil light?

I am highly trained to provide biomechanical input with gentle, focused and controlled forces into a complex human machine and remove hurdles to a more complete and vigorous expression of that machines inborn capacity to function and heal. But beyond that miraculous thing we call the chiropractic adjustment, I help my patients on a path toward a chiropractic lifestyle where natural healthy expression of life is actually achievable. You won't find that in an M.D.'s office. When you find yourself there, you can be pretty sure that you waited too long to do something right.

Everyone needs a great chiropractor just like he needs advice from a friend. Everyone needs a chiropractor, just like he needs a good meal and a glass of clean water. Everyone needs a chiropractor like he needs a brisk walk every day. Everyone needs a chiropractor like he needs a challenging puzzle, a funny story, a pleasant holiday with the family.

Our problem is that we still see not having a chiropractor, or good healthy food in rational quantities, or a lot of clean water, or frequent exercise, or intellectual challenges, or not provideing for times to relax alone or with friends and family... We see these things as an optional.

And they are... Just like diabetes. Optional.

Edward Harriott, DC
Mission Viejo Chiropractic
24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(949)360-1112
http://www.mvchiro.com

Massage Therapist Calendar Up To Date as of 8:30 pm, 11/2/10

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:34:00 +0000

If you care to schedule an appointment for massage, as of this evening, the online calendar represents the latest existing appointment distribution and a request for an open appointment is likely to be confirmed exactly as you request it.

I hope you can take advantage of my new LOW LOW massage and/or chiropractic rates.

See you soon,..

Thought Fructose was the Good Sugar? Think again

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:46:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comments:

In general, a good rule of thumb is that anything real sweet is not something you want to eat a lot of. Tone it down or turn it down... for good health.

===================================

Fructose Linked to High Blood Pressure

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: July 01, 2010
Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner

People who consume the amount of fructose found in two-and-a-half regular soft drinks a day appear to have a higher risk of hypertension, a cross-sectional study showed.

Consumption of at least 74 grams per day was associated with 26% to 77% greater odds of crossing various thresholds of elevated blood pressure (P<0.05 for all), compared with lower levels of consumption, according to Diana Jalal, MD, of the University of Colorado Denver, and colleagues.

"Limiting fructose intake is readily feasible, and, in light of our results, prospective studies are needed to assess whether decreased intake of fructose from added sugars will reduce the incidence of hypertension and the burden of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. adult population," they wrote online in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Action Points

Explain to interested patients that this cross-sectional study could not establish a causal relationship between fructose consumption and hypertension.
Point out that not all previous studies exploring the link between fructose and blood pressure have identified a significant association.

There has been a recent increase in the consumption of fructose in developed nations due primarily to the addition of table sugar or high fructose corn syrup to soft drinks, bakery products, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, and candies.

At the same time, the prevalence of hypertension has been rising. However, epidemiological studies have yielded conflicting results as to an association between the two trends.

To explore the issue, Jalal and her colleagues used data from 4,528 adults without a history of hypertension included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2006.

The majority (61%) had a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg. Another 30% were prehypertensive (systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mm Hg).

The rest of the participants had either stage 1 or stage 2 hypertension (6% and 2%, respectively).

Fructose intake was determined through a self-administered dietary questionnaire. Consumption of natural fruits was excluded to isolate intake of added sugar.

Median intake was 74 grams a day. Increasing systolic blood pressure was associated with increasing fructose intake, a trend that reached borderline statistical significance (P=0.05).

After adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, physical activity, smoking, total kilocalorie intake, and dietary confounders including total carbohydrate, alcohol, salt, potassium, and vitamin C intake, as well as other factors, fructose intake of 74 grams per day or higher was associated with higher odds of elevated blood pressure at the following thresholds (P<0.05 for all):

135/85 mm Hg: OR 1.26
140/90 mm Hg: OR 1.30
160/100 mm Hg: OR 1.77

Additional analyses showed that fructose intake was associated with systolic -- but not diastolic -- blood pressure.

The reason this study, and not some previous studies, found an association between fructose consumption and hypertension could be because of the high level of consumption in the current study, according to Jalal and her colleagues.

In addition, some previous studies looked only at soft drink consumption or included naturally occurring fructose from fruit in their analyses.

There are several possible mechanisms that might explain the positive association between fructose and blood pressure, the authors wrote, "including stimulation of uric acid, inhibition of [the] endothelial nitric oxide synthase system, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, or by directly increasing sodium absorption in the gut."

The study was limited, they wrote, by the inability to establish a causal relationship between fructose and blood pressure using cross-sectional data, the reliance on self-reports, and the possibility of confounding by glucose in the foods assessed on the dietary questionnaire.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Jalal reported no conflicts of interest. One of her co-authors is listed as an inventor on several patent applications for lowering uric acid as it relates to blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. He is also author of The Sugar Fix.

Primary source: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Source reference:
Jalal D, et al "Increased fructose associates with elevated blood pressure" J Am Soc Nephrol2010; DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2009111111.

Got Colic? Here's a Natural Treatment that really helps

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Probiotic Reduces Crying Time in Infants With Colic
/www.Medscape.com

June 17, 2010 (Stockholm, Sweden) — One week of supplementation with the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis reduced crying time in colicky babies by 74%, compared with 38% with placebo, according to a double-blind study presented here at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition in Istanbul, Turkey.

"The data with L reuteri are convincing and confirm, in a placebo-controlled study, our earlier data with this probiotic [Pediatrics. 2007;119:e124-e130]. We believe these results will have an impact on the treatment of infants with colic," study presenter Francesco Savino, MD, PhD, from the Department of Paediatrics, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, University of Turin, Italy, noted in a statement issued by Swedish biotechnology firm BioGaia AB, the developer and marketer of the probiotic.

In the study, 50 infants with confirmed infantile colic were randomly assigned to L reuteri Protectis (5 drops, 108 colony forming units/day) or placebo drops for 21 consecutive days. The primary outcome was a reduction (by day 21) in average crying time to less than 3 hours per day, which is the limit of colic, Dr. Savino noted.

With L reuteri, "we saw improvement after 1 week, and at the end of the study there really was a significant effect," he told conference attendees. In addition, 84% of the L reuteri–supplemented infants reached the primary outcome by day 21, compared with 43% of infants in the placebo group (P < .05), he reported.

At baseline, median crying time per day was 370 minutes in the probiotic group and 300 minutes in the placebo group. On day 7, crying time had been reduced to 95 minutes in the L reuteri group and to 185 minutes in the placebo group (P = .082).

At the study's end (day 21), there was a significant difference in median daily crying time between the groups; it was 35 minutes in the L reuteri group and 90 minutes in the placebo group (P < .05), Dr. Savino reported.

He also noted that on days 7, 14, and 21, the proportion of infants responding to the supplementation, defined as a 50% or greater reduction in median crying time, was significantly greater in the probiotic group than in the placebo group.

In an email to Medscape Gastroenterology, Eamonn Connolly, PhD, senior vice president of research for BioGaia, in Stockholm, Sweden, said complete data from the study are scheduled to be published in a medical journal shortly.

Mechanism of Action Not Clearly Established

The effects of L reuteri noted in the study "could be due to a change in the intestinal commensal bacteria," Flavia Indrio, MD, PhD, who has studied the gastrointestinal effects of probiotics extensively, noted in an email to Medscape Gastroenterology. Dr. Indrio is a pediatric gastroenterologist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Bari in Italy, and was not involved in this study.

"The crying infant who received L reuteri showed a reduction in Escherichia coli in the intestinal microflora, compared with the infant treated with placebo," said Dr. Indrio.

She added that "the target of the L reuteri action could be the intestinal motility pattern, as shown in the study published by me and my coworker in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2008. Another study is running in newborns to confirm this effect."

"Definitely, treatment with probiotics could open a new therapeutic approach in some gastrointestinal diseases," Dr. Indrio concluded.

The study was sponsored by BioGaia, which develops and markets probiotic products. Dr. Savino reports being an independent investigator with no relationship with BioGaia. Dr. Indrio has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. Presented June 10, 2010.

Do you WANT IT? Then, PROVE IT!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:43:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comments:

Dr. Regina Benjamin is currently the Attorney General of the United States. She just announced a new initiative called, "Exercise is Medicine". Nice try Dr. Benjamin, but the problem is that we want people to exercise MORE and take Medicine LESS, right? In what universe can you then say that they can be seen similarly? And how are they similar?

Is everyone ready for the answer? - pause - pause pause.....

The answer is that the powers that be want us to continue to see Medicine as Healthy. This is a transparent effort to shift the population to a healthy lifestyle (because medicine is making our society sicker) while shizophrenically hoping that we will retain our faith in Medicine as a reasonable approach to health. Pardon my stating the obvious here -

Medicine is NOT HEALTHY..., no, not by a long shot.

Medicine is about sickness, pathology, pain, weakness, inability to function well enough to heal from or prevent illness or injury, or about just being overcome by a traumatic injury or an invading organism your immune system was unable to repel. In adverse functional states like this, at this level of a loss of health... this is when you might reach for medication to give yourself a helping hand. But ultimately, it is still up to you and your body to restore your health, because I guarantee you, medicine will NOT create or restore health.

At best, medicine gives your body a temporary "unfair advantage". In most cases, it gives you a crutch so you don't have to heal if you aren't willing to make the changes necessary. At it's worst, medicine will KILL you.

You see, that "advantage" that medicine gives a person comes at a cost in other aspects of our physiology. The costs vary from medicine to medicine, disease to disease, person to person, heck, even day to day...... Sometimes the costs are reasonable, sometimes they are not. Most of the time, we can't predict. But this is our health care business...This is our system... Convince the population that you will be there for them, so live your life without worry or concern. Then, once the person gets sick, he's all alone now. The health team players all dance and behave as though the King Medicine actually is wearing the most amazing clothes and that if you can't see it, well, clearly the problem is with you.

Too late, too sick, too unhealthy, too far gone,...

too bad :(

Exercise, Good Nutrition, Positive Mental Attitude, a good hug once in a while, a regular adjustment... That is HEALTH, my friends!!!!!

So, Ms. Attorney General, Dr. Regina Benjamin... let's just leave medicine where it belongs, in the hospitals, the pharmacies and the MD's offices. Please don't associate Medicine with anything healthy because it is confusing. Dump the "Medicine is Health" program name. Rename the campaign to something like

Exercise the Health Out of Yourself!!!

or how about a slogan like...

Health IS Exercise
Do you Really Want Health?
Then Prove It....

Exercise Daily

Eat well... lots of veggies, less meat, smaller portion sizes on maximum 9 inch plate

Get enough sleep

Get adjusted regularly. A chiropractic adjustment helps to re-boot your awareness of your physical status, your position in space, and allows your brain to re-evaluate it's functional strategies toward emotional stress, movement, posture, healing, gravity, and physical limitations.

Have fun... do this well and often.

Dr. Harriott

Maps Listings II

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:17:00 +0000

I have just added link files to my website for my Google Maps listings to help people find me when they search on Google... You needn't click these now. If you want to see the listing, go to
http://tinyurl.com/2eczcyt

These are the actual links to the files:

Mission Viejo Chiropractor

Mission Viejo Chiropractor

Maps Listing

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:16:00 +0000

32.5 Million US Infants Innoculated with Pig Virus DNA

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comment:

Great... how many years later and now we learn that we have been innoculating our infants with pig virus DNA.

Oops!

But don't worry, folks... we have no proof that the 32.5 MILLION infants dosed in the U.S. will have any long term negative effects from the pig virus DNA.

Wow, I feel so much better :(

========================
Original Publication:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/19986?utm_content=GroupCL&utm_medium=email&impressionId=1273307416380&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=mSpoke&userid=241758
=================================================

Visit us online at www.MedPageToday.com

FDA Says Viral Contamination Found in Second Rotavirus Vaccine

By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
Reviewed by
May 07, 2010

Review
GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- DNA from a pig virus has been detected in Merck's RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine, an FDA official announced during the opening session of a hearing on rotavirus vaccines.

The announcement means that both rotavirus vaccines on the market have been found to harbor the contaminant, although officials said there was no immediate health hazard.

Merck researchers detected "very low levels" of porcine circovirus 1 and 2 (PCV1 and PCV2) DNA in RotaTeq and immediately shared the results with the FDA, according to Merck and the FDA.

"There is no evidence at this time that DNA from PCV causes any disease in humans," said a statement posted on Merck's website. "We remain confident in the safety profile and quality of RotaTeq."

In March, the FDA reported that PCV1 had been detected in Rotarix, a rotavirus vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Although the FDA said the virus didn't appear to be harmful to humans, with an alternative vaccine available, the agency recommended that clinicians discontinue use of Rotarix.

In the latest action, the FDA did not say whether RotaTeq should be avoided, but a top FDA official again stressed that the virus doesn't appear dangerous to humans.

"There is no evidence PCV1 poses a safety risk," said Norman Baylor, PhD, of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at a Friday meeting of the FDA's Vaccine and Related Biologics Advisory Committee (VRBAC).

Data on PCV2 is less robust, and the agency only became aware of the PCV2 contamination shortly before Friday's meeting.
Researchers with GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that their data prove the virus is benign, but that the company is committed to revamping its vaccine manufacturing process in order to produce Rotarix that is not contaminated with PCV1.

"This is a complex process and will take time," said Barbara Howe, MD, vice president of North American Vaccine Development.

Howe said the company is prepared to make the vaccine available again in the U.S.

Merck is the main provider of the rotavirus vaccine in the U.S. The company has distributed 30 million doses of RotaTeq here, and another seven million in other parts of the world.

GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix meanwhile, is twice as widely-used as RotaTeq in foreign countries, but the company has provided just 2.5 million doses in the U.S., according to David Martin, MD, MPH, acting chief of CBER.

The VRBAC, which is a panel of outside experts, is meeting to discuss the contamination in Rotarix and the benefits and drawbacks of using new, more sensitive tests to check for viruses in the human vaccines. Those advanced detection methods were responsible for finding PCV1 in both rotavirus vaccines.

Both rotavirus vaccines are given orally to infants to prevent rotavirus disease, which can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration and is deemed responsible for the deaths of more than 500,000 infants around the world each year, primarily in low- and middle-income countries.

Disclaimer
The information presented in this activity is that of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, MedPage Today, and the commercial supporter. Specific medicines discussed in this activity may not yet be approved by the FDA for the use as indicated by the writer or reviewer. Before prescribing any medication, we advise you to review the complete prescribing information, including indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse effects. Specific patient care decisions are the responsibility of the healthcare professional caring for the patient. Please review our Terms of Use.

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Infant Dies 12 Hrs After Seasonal Flu Vaccine

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:52:00 +0000

Sad Story Out of Queensland, Australia...

National Flu shot fatality - toddler dies 12 hours after having vaccination
By Suellen Hinde
From: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
April 25, 2010 1:40AM

Twins given flu job; Ashley dies, Authorities caution jab for under-5s. Girl, 2, was fine 12 hours earlier

A FAMILY is in mourning after their toddler unexpectedly died less than 12 hours after receiving a seasonal flu vaccination.

Two-year-old twin Ashley Jade Epapara had been "perfectly fine" before dying at her Upper Mt Gravatt home, on Brisbane's southside, on April 9. Parents David and Nicole are shattered by the mysterious death of their baby girl. "It's dreadful, it's a very hard time," Mr Epapara said
yesterday.

National health authorities have ordered doctors to stop giving seasonal influenza vaccinations to children under five after dozens of serious reactions, including convulsions. Ashley's death is being investigated by police and the office of the coroner. A spokesman for Brisbane coroner John Lock confirmed yesterday that a report was being prepared.

Mrs Epapara told The Sunday Mail that "tests are being carried out" on her little girl. But the young mother didn't want to comment further as she began shaking and her eyes welled with tears. Ashley's twin sister, Jaime, also received the flu jab at the same time and is believed to have been vomiting the night before her sister died.

Asked whether he or his wife thought the influenza vaccine had anything to do with their child's death, Mr. Epapara said: "It's very coincidental."

More than 45 children experienced convulsions and fever, with some having to be taken to hospital in intensive care after receiving the vaccine in Western Australia. Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young confirmed 15 children in Queensland had been recorded
as having an adverse reaction to the vaccine. Australia's chief medical officer Professor Jim Bishop said in a statement that the West Australian events were being "urgently investigated by health experts and the Therapeutic Goods Administration".

The World Health Organisation last year said a "small number of deaths" had occurred in people
vaccinated for influenza, with 65 million people vaccinated globally.

Copyright 2010 New s Limited. All times AEST (GMT +10).

Vitamin B-6 Cures Colorectal CA?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comments:

Below my comments is an interesting abstract of meta-analysis study showing the relationship between vitamin B-6 and colorectal cancer.

We hear from time to time some news blurb about how vitamins don't significantly affect lifespan. Typically this conflicting information comes from studies funded by the medical industry itself. Nonetheless, vitamin supplements exist in the marketplace because of other studies... just like this B-6 study. So who is right?

In the end, the truth of the matter is that the healthiest person gets proper nutrition, exercise, sleep, and takes care of his/her body, mind and soul. When a problem does become apparent, the solution is not automatically sought in a pill bottle, but rather the root cause is pursued.

Proper nutrition is only one piece of the puzzle so simply taking B-6 will not prevent colon cancer. But if you are eating and living right, you will likely have plenty of vitamin B-6 naturally. And with greater levels of B-6 through your diet, or a combination of dietary sources and B-6 supplementation, it is clear that your chances for developing colon cancer is reduced by a significant amount. The same can be said of the results one can expect from taking any other "miracle vitamin" that has "research which shows" its benefits for this or that "disease".

The most important thing to understand, then, is that a disease is not a thing that you "zap" with a vitamin. It is a loss of proper function in your body. And such dysfunction typically does not cause just one disease, but rather increases your risk for many different problems. And the initiating dysfunction, or "cause", was what you do or don't do everyday.

Q. "What kind of a disease or dysfunction is your high blood pressure?"

A. "High blood pressure is not a disease, it is a symptom. The root cause or initiating dysfunction that caused this symptom is what I did every day for the last twenty years. The crappy food choices I made and when I chose to eat, not getting enough sleep, not properly dealing with stress, not making time to exercise, ... The dysfunction started out behavioral, and eventually worsened until it has now affected my organ systems. My solution will not be found in a pill, but rather in going back and correcting the root cause - the behavioral dysfunction that started it all."

Bottom line: Do the right thing and live well. It's just that easy...

And I can help. Your body's ability to adapt and right itself is dependent on neurological perception of your environment and coordination/control of your organ systems. I can help guide you and with chiropractic, I can help you to maintain full clear communication within your nervous system through chiropractic adjustments so that you can heal closer to 100% and more quickly recover your optimal health.

If you haven't been to my office, print out a coupon from my website http://www.mvchiro.com. If you are a patient already, print out a coupon for someone you love. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Dr. Harriott

=======================

Vitamin B6 and Risk of Colorectal Cancer
A Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies

Susanna C. Larsson, PhD; Nicola Orsini, PhD; Alicja Wolk, DMSc
JAMA. 2010;303(11):1077-1083.

Context Mounting evidence indicates that vitamin B6, a coenzyme involved in nearly 100 enzymatic reactions, may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

Objective To conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis of prospective studies assessing the association of vitamin B6 intake or blood levels of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP; the active form of vitamin B6) with risk of colorectal cancer.

Data Sources Relevant studies were identified by a search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases to February 2010, with no restrictions. We also reviewed reference lists from retrieved articles.

Study Selection We included prospective studies that reported relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between vitamin B6 intake or blood PLP levels and the risk of colorectal, colon, or rectal cancer.

Data Extraction Two authors independently extracted data and assessed study quality. Study-specific RRs were pooled using a random-effects model.

Data Synthesis Nine studies on vitamin B6 intake and 4 studies on blood PLP levels were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled RRs of colorectal cancer for the highest vs lowest category of vitamin B6 intake and blood PLP levels were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.75-1.07) and 0.52 (95% CI, 0.38-0.71), respectively. There was heterogeneity among studies of vitamin B6 intake (P = .01) but not among studies of blood PLP levels (P = .95). Omitting 1 study that contributed substantially to the heterogeneity among studies of vitamin B6 intake yielded a pooled RR of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.69-0.92). The risk of colorectal cancer decreased by 49% for every 100-pmol/mL increase (approximately 2 SDs) in blood PLP levels (RR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.38-0.69).

Conclusion Vitamin B6 intake and blood PLP levels were inversely associated with the risk of colorectal cancer in this meta-analysis.

Author Affiliations: Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Tips to Lower LDL Cholesterol

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:43:00 +0000

We know that in cases of arterial blockage, cholesterol is a significant constituent of the material that builds up. The conventional medical wisdom recognizes that the severity and frequency of such blockages are statistically greater with higher serum levels of LDL cholesterol. Many health professionals believe that that the culprit is actually damage that occurs to the lining of the blood vessels to which the cholesterol adheres. They believe that the vessel damage is but one manifestation of a more systemic pro-inflammatory condition and that the maintenance of high serum cholesterol levels is the body's reaction to that systemic inflammation. In other words, if your entire body is at in elevated inflammatory state, then the inflammation in the lining of the blood vessels actually attracts cholesterol as a sort of self defense mechanism and ultimately results in clogging of the affected vessels. But we should understand that this happens along with a host of other problems occurring simultaneously in other organ systems elsewhere in the body. Clearly, we all know by now that clogging arteries is not the only bad thing going on in this scenario. So my picking this apart is intened to provide you with a clearer picture of what is happening than to simply attribute this to some faceless pesky cholesterol generator gone awry.

This, by the way, reminds me of a story that was attributed to the developer of Chiropractic, Dr. BJ Palmer. In this story, he told of a time when he had occasion to see the carcass of a dead cow in a field. Upon inspection, he observed that the body cavity was full of fly larvae and reached the only logical conclusion... That the cow had died of a maggot attack. - LOL

Yes, I do believe that the cholesterol issue is more of a chicken or egg question than the medical establishment purports it to be (pardon the pun :). Conveniently, though, the non-pharmaceutical action steps you should take to correct the situation are identical whether your intent is to reduce your systemic inflammatory state or to lower your serum cholesterol levels. In fact, were it not for the medical industry's "solution" of prescribing statin drugs to force the cholesterol numbers down, I would say that the question is moot. But since cholesterol is a primary component of the the cell membrane, the "brains" of every single living cell of your body, blindly forcing cholesterol numbers down will eventually be shown to be another well-intentioned but not entirely correct approach to improving overall health.

It is with this background, that I present you with an edited version of "11 Tips to Cut Your Cholesterol Fast", which was originally written by David Freeman and published on MedPage Today. You can get the unedited version on MedPage where you will find that I removed their suggestion for statin drug prescription, "Tip #2", and a statement that "if your cardiovascular risk is high, you may need to take a cholesterol lowering drug." I'm not saying that there is no place for drug therapy, only that every single individual should only consult an MD about drug therapy for high cholesterol after attempting to address the other risk factors such as obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and poor dietary habits.

10 Tips to Cut Your Cholesterol Fast

Got high cholesterol? Learn what you can do to lower it quickly -- starting today.

If you think that the normal reading you got back in 2004 (or earlier) means you're in the clear, think again: Cholesterol levels often rise with age, and cardiologists say everyone 20 or older should be screened for high cholesterol at least once every five years, with more frequent screenings for anyone deemed to be at high risk for heart disease. If it's been awhile since your last cholesterol screening, now's a good time to ask your doctor if you're due for one.

The good news? If your fasting total cholesterol level exceeds the desirable level of 200, or if your low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad”) cholesterol is above 100, getting it down to a safer level could be easier than you think. In fact, with simple lifestyle modifications people often see significant reductions in cholesterol within six weeks.

Here are 10 tips from WebMD health experts on how to cut high cholesterol fast:

Get Your Personalized Cholesterol Health Assessment

1. Set a target.
You know you've got to get your cholesterol number down, but how low do you need to go? That depends on several factors, including your personal and family history of heart disease, as well as whether you have cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking.

If your risk is deemed high, "most doctors will treat for a target LDL of less than 70," says James Beckerman, MD, a cardiologist in private practice in Portland, Ore. If your risk is moderate, a target LDL of under 130 is generally OK, Beckerman says. If your risk is low, less than 160 is a reasonable target. "The trend now is to treat people earlier, especially if they have two or more risk factors," he says.

2. Get moving.
In addition to lowering LDL "bad" cholesterol, regular physical activity can raise HDL "good" cholesterol by up to 10%. The benefits come even with moderate exercise, such as brisk walking.

Robert Harrington, MD, professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., urges his patients to go for a 45-minute walk after supper.

Peeke tells WebMD, "I ask people to get a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day. If you work at a desk, get up and walk around for five minutes every hour."

Whatever form your exercise takes, the key is to do it with regularity. "Some experts recommend seven days a week, although I think five days is more realistic," Richman says.

3. Reduce your consumption of saturated fat.
Doctors used to think that the key to lowering high cholesterol was to cut back on eggs and other cholesterol-rich foods. But now it's clear that dietary cholesterol isn't the main culprit. "Eggs don't do all that much to raise cholesterol," Beckerman says. Recent data suggests that excessive consumption of saturated fat correlates with higher cholesterol levels.

"One of the first things to do when you're trying to lower your cholesterol level is to take saturated fat down a few notches," says Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, the author of several nutrition books, including the forthcoming Tell Me What to Eat If I Have Heart Disease. "The second thing to do is to start eating more 'smart' fats," Magee says. She recommends substituting canola oil or olive oil for vegetable oil, butter, stick margarine, lard, or shortening while cutting back on fatty meats while eating more fish.

4. Eat more fiber.
Fruits and vegetables, including whole grains, are good sources not only of heart-healthy antioxidants but also cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber. Soluble fiber, in particular, can help lower cholesterol. Beckerman says it "acts like a sponge to absorb cholesterol "in the digestive tract. Good sources of soluble fiber include dried beans, oats, and barley, as well as fiber products containing psyllium. [This seems to contradict the finding that "dietary cholesterol is not the main culprit". But if you look at the reduction of saturated animal fats which are known to be raw materials that lead to the overproduction of the primary inflammatory agent, arachidonic acid, you can see that shifting the diet towards more anti-oxidant-rich fruits and vegetables will certainly help counteract that inflammation, and, thus, lower blood cholesterol as well - Dr. H].

5. Go fish.
Fish and fish oil are a great source of cholesterol-lowering omega-3 fatty acids. "Fish oil supplements can have a profound effect on cholesterol and triglycerides," Beckerman says. "There's a lot of scientific evidence to support their use." Fish oil is considered to be quite safe, but check with your doctor first if you are taking an anti-clotting medication. [Their beneficial effect is understood to shift the balance of fat metabolism away from the production of arachidonic acid, thus lowering system inflammation, and subsequently, reducing the maintenance of high serum cholesterol levels. - Dr. H]

Magee recommends eating fish two or three times a week. "Salmon is great, as it has lots of omega-3s,"she says. But even canned tuna has omega-3s, and it's more consumer-friendly. The American Heart Association also recommends fish as the preferable source of omega-3s, but fish oil capsule supplements can be considered after consultation with your physician. Plant sources of omega-3s include soybeans, canola, flaxseeds, walnuts, and their oils, but they don't provide the same omega-3s as fish. The biggest heart benefits have been linked to omega-3s found in fish. [ Beware of the fact that eating too much fish can expose you to additional mercury, which is a bad thing, so do this in moderation. - Dr. H ]

6. Drink up.
Moderate consumption of alcohol can raise levels of HDL "good" cholesterol by as much as 10%. Doctors say up to one drink a day makes sense for women, up to two a day for men. But given the risks of excessive drinking, the American Heart Association cautions against increasing your alcohol intake or starting to drink if you don't already.

7. Drink green.
Magee suggests green tea as a healthier alternative to sodas and sugary beverages. Indeed, research in both animals and humans has shown that green tea contains compounds that can help lower LDL cholesterol. In a small-scale study conducted recently in Brazil, people who took capsules containing a green tea extract experienced a 4.5% reduction in LDL cholesterol.

8. Eat nuts.
Extensive research has demonstrated that regular consumption of nuts can bring modest reductions in cholesterol. Walnuts and almonds seem particularly beneficial. But nuts are high in calories, so limit yourself to a handful a day, experts say.

9. Switch spreads.
Recent years have seen the introduction of margarine-like spreads and other foods fortified with cholesterol-lowering plant compounds known as stanols. [I haven't removed this item, but I will say that you're better off just eating less butter than adding hydrogenated fats, stanols or no stanols. Bottom line is that if it is a vegetable oil product that is solid at room temperature, you're better off sticking with the butter. Just try to eat less of it. - Dr. H]

10. Don't smoke.
Smoking lowers levels of HDL "good" cholesterol and is a major risk factor for heart disease.

Maternal Folate Supplementation Culprit in Childhood Asthma?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:42:00 +0000

Dr. Harriott's Comment:

If you know someone who is pregnant, please share this information with them. Typically, folate supplementation has been recommended as part of prenatal vitamins for years to prevent congenital developmental spinal disorders, such as spina bifida. OB's will likely continue to recommend supplementation. However, with a 66% increase in asthma risk, this is a conversation an expectant mother wants to have with her OB regarding supplementation levels and timing. Apparently, the recommendations are still a work in progress.

=======================================

AAAAI: Folate-Asthma Link Depends on Timing

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: March 03, 2010
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner

NEW ORLEANS -- High folate levels in utero may increase a child's future asthma risk, while those in the child's early years make little difference, according to two studies reported here.

In a Norwegian cohort, second trimester maternal folate levels over 17.84 nmol/L -- a level that might be expected with supplementation -- were associated with 66% elevated risk of the child having asthma at age 3 years (95% CI 16% to 237%).

This appeared to be a dose-dependent relationship (P<0.01), said Siri E. Haberg, MD, PhD, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, who presented the results at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology meeting.Action Points
Explain to interested patients that high folate levels in utero may increase a child's future asthma risk, while those in the child's early years make little difference, according to two studies reported here.

Note that these studies were published as abstracts and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
In an American cohort, children's own folate levels at age 4 held little correlation with development of asthma by age 6, according to a second group led by Adesua Y. Okupa, MD, of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Timing may be important, Haberg noted.

Any mild deleterious effects on asthma risk from folate use wouldn't outweigh the benefit of preventing life-threatening congenital defects, said Haberg's co-author Stephanie J. London, MD, DrPH, of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Women of childbearing age should not stop taking folic acid supplements -- recommended to prevent neural tube defects -- based on these observational results, agreed Stanley J. Szefler, MD, of National Jewish Health in Denver, who was not involved in either study.

But the findings seem to fit with emerging evidence in animal studies that more is not always better, he said.

"Giving too much folate can also have effects on DNA methylation, which may trigger off genes to work maybe the way you don't want them to," Szefler told MedPage Today.

There may be an optimal level of folate to maximize neurological and congenital development of an infant, but minimize harmful epigenetic effects, he said.

Until studies determine what that is, women should take the amount deemed necessary but avoid taking excessive amounts, Szefler recommended.

Haberg's group analyzed outcomes for 507 children with athsma and 1,455 without it at age 3, all of whose mothers had provided blood samples at around 18 weeks' gestation as part of the larger, population-based Norwegian Mother and Child Study.

Norway is a good place to look for folate effects because it does not fortify the food supply with folic acid and thus has a greater range of levels among the population, London noted.

Overall, women in the highest folate quintile had the significant 66% elevated risk of their child having asthma as a toddler, after adjustment for maternal atopy, smoking, and other confounders.

Those in the intermediate quintiles conferred 16% to 48% higher adjusted risk to their child as well compared with the lowest 5.54-nmol/L and under group, although only significant for the third quintile with folate levels of 7.68 to 10.60 nmol/L.

In a sensitivity analysis of 422 women not on folic acid supplements at the time of their second trimester blood test, the adjusted risk of asthma in the child rose again with folate exposure in utero (P=0.011). The adjusted odds were significant for women over the 70th percentile (odds ratio 1.34 at 7.297 to 15.835 nmol/L) and those over the 95th percentile (OR 1.44 for above 15.835 nmol/L).

Okupa's study was an analysis of the prospective Childhood Origins of Asthma study of a high-risk birth cohort.

Among 220 kids with folate measured at age 4, 30% developed asthma and 49% were positive for allergic sensitization by age 6 years.

Allergies appeared to be more common in children with higher folate levels (P=0.01), whereas asthma showed no such association (P=0.81). Adjustment for socioeconomic status and other confounders didn't impact these results.

"It is possible that there is a critical period where folic acid supplement dosages may be manipulated to maximize neuroprotective effects yet minimize the adverse respiratory effects," Okupa said at the session where she presented the results.

Haberg's group cautioned that, despite adjustment for important variables, confounding remained a possible explanation for the modest effects seen in their study. The study was also limited by follow-up only to 3 years at this point, which may not be old enough to establish a diagnosis of asthma, Haberg said in an interview.

Szefler noted that folate levels fluctuate from day to day based on diet, so a single blood measurement may not have accurately conveyed exposure.

"It's very hard to make those comparisons," he said in an interview. "Right now there's not a standard level that you should have."

Okupa's study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Okupa reported no conflicts of interest.

London's study was supported by the Norwegian Research Council. The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health Division of Intramural Research, NEIHS/NIH, NIH/NINDS, and the Norwegian Research Council/FUGE.

Szefler reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

Primary source: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Source reference:
Haberg SE, et al "Maternal folate levels in pregnancy and asthma at 3 years of age" AAAAI 2010; Abstract 505.

Additional source: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Source reference:
Okupa AY, et al "Relationships among folate, allergic sensitization, wheezing, and asthma" AAAAI 2010; Abstract 217.

Is Dad Going Deaf From Aspirin & Tylenol?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Harriott, DC) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Doctor Harriott's Comment: This is a case in point about the use of drugs for relief only. We need to know the cost of "pharmaceutical comfort" and the healthy alternatives.

If you have an acute injury, and take acetominophen or aspirin to reduce inflammation, well, that is a simple protocol to be discussed between you and your medical doctor.

But if you regularly take a baby aspirin because you think it is "good for you", do a little more research. Or you take a daily dose of aspirin or tylenol because you regularly come home sore after a long day at work or have your "regular" daily headache... that is a whole different story. You need to come see me or your own chiropractor or functional medicine doctor to try to figure out what is really going on. (See my previous post re: chiropractors and drugs: http://drharriott.blogspot.com/2010/03/chiropractic-position-on-drugs.html#links)

=========================================
Reprint from
The American Journal of Medicine
Volume 123, Issue 3, Pages 231-237 (March 2010)

Analgesic Use and the Risk of Hearing Loss in Men

Sharon G. Curhan, MD, ScMaCorresponding Author Informationemail address, Roland Eavey, MDb, Josef Shargorodsky, MDac, Gary C. Curhan, MD, ScDad

Abstract

Background

Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, yet prospective data on potentially modifiable risk factors are limited. Regularly used analgesics, the most commonly used drugs in the US, may be ototoxic and contribute to hearing loss.

Methods
We examined the independent association between self-reported professionally diagnosed hearing loss and regular use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and acetaminophen in 26,917 men aged 40-74 years at baseline in 1986. Study participants completed detailed questionnaires at baseline and every 2 years thereafter. Incident cases of new-onset hearing loss were defined as those diagnosed after 1986. Cox proportional hazards multivariate regression was used to adjust for potential confounding factors.

Results
During 369,079 person-years of follow-up, 3488 incident cases of hearing loss were reported. Regular use of each analgesic was independently associated with an increased risk of hearing loss. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios of hearing loss in regular users (2+ times/week) compared with men who used the specified analgesic <2 times/week were 1.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.20) for aspirin, 1.21 (95% CI, 1.11-1.33) for NSAIDs, and 1.22 (95% CI, 1.07-1.39) for acetaminophen. For NSAIDs and acetaminophen, the risk increased with longer duration of regular use. The magnitude of the association was substantially higher in younger men. For men younger than age 50 years, the hazard ratio for hearing loss was 1.33 for regular aspirin use, 1.61 for NSAIDs, and 1.99 for acetaminophen.

Conclusions
Regular use of aspirin, NSAIDs, or acetaminophen increases the risk of hearing loss in men, and the impact is larger on younger individuals.