I came across a fascinating article today, especially with the unexplained rise in Autoimmune disease in recent years.

Title - Drinking Baking Soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease.
( April 25, 2018 , Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University)

A daily dose of baking soda may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scientists say.
This cheap, over-the-counter antacid can encourage our spleen to promote instead an anti-inflammatory environment that could be therapeutic in the face of inflammatory disease, Medical College of Georgia scientists report in the Journal of Immunology.
The study shows that when rats or healthy people drink a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) it becomes a trigger for the stomach to make more acid to digest the next meal and for little-studied mesothelial cells sitting on the spleen to tell the organ that there's no need to mount a protective immune response.

Full report here:
https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-soda-inexpensive-safe-combat-autoimmune.html

Poor fitness in middle age is a risk factor for heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction, which is a direct consequence of sedentary aging.
In a recent study titled above and conducted by the American heart and stroke association, it was concluded that in previously sedentary healthy middle-aged adults, 2 years of exercise training improved maximal oxygen uptake and decreased cardiac stiffness. Regular exercise training may provide protection against the future risk of heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction by preventing the increase in cardiac stiffness attributable to sedentary aging.

For the full article go to:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2018/01/03/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030617

I saw an interesting article today posted back in August 2017

The article urges uses of NSAIDS (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs) to exercise caution as they significantly increase the risk of Heart Disease and stroke.

The warnings from the FDA point out:

• Heart attack and stroke risk increase even with short-term use, and the risk may begin within a few weeks of starting to take an NSAID.
• The risk increases with higher doses of NSAIDs taken for longer periods of time.
• The risk is greatest for people who already have heart disease, though even people without heart disease may be at risk.
• Previous studies have suggested that naproxen may be safer than other types of NSDAIDs, but the more recent evidence reviewed by the expert panel isn’t solid enough to determine that for certain.

Their advice:  Using NSAIDs safelyTaking an NSAID for a headache, or for a few days to ease a sore shoulder isn’t likely to cause a heart attack or stroke. It’s more prolonged use that can get risky.
In view of the warnings, it is best for people with heart disease to avoid NSAIDs if at all possible, and for everyone who is considering taking an NSAID to proceed with caution. Here are some strategies:

• It’s important to take the lowest effective dose, and limit the length of time you take the drug.
• Never take more than one type of NSAID at a time. There appears to be risk associated with all types of NSAIDs.
• Try alternatives to NSAIDs such as acetaminophen. It relieves pain but does not appear to increase heart attack or stroke risk. However, acetaminophen can cause liver damage if the daily limit of 4,000 milligrams is exceeded, or if you drink more than three alcoholic drinks every day.
• If nothing else works and you need to take an NSAID for arthritis or other chronic pain, try taking week-long “holidays” from them and taking acetaminophen instead.
• If you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or sudden weakness or difficulty speaking while taking an NSAID, seek medical help immediately.

The most common over the counter NSAIDS in Australia - Voltaran, Ibruprofen (Nurofen), Celebrex, Advil.

So if you get chronic headaches and/or back pain and joint pain and you use these medications regularly.  Do yourself a favour and try Chiropractic. 

For the full articla:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fda-strengthens-warning-that-nsaids-increase-heart-attack-and-stroke-risk-201507138138

Researchers from the University of Sao Paulo discovered that Chronic migraine sufferers, which is defined as having 15 days or more a month of attacks, are also three times more likely to have severe temporomandibular disorder (TMD) (Jaw dysfunction).

They monitored 84 young women, made up of 21 chronic sufferers, 32 with episodic migraine, and 32 healthy controls. Every single one of the chronic sufferers also had the severest TMD, and 80 per cent of those with episodic migraine had some TMD, as did half of the participants who didn't have migraine.

The researchers say that TMD doesn’t cause migraine but if you get migraines, then having TMD is likely to increase the severity and frequency of migraines.

TMD, which affects the joints that act like a sliding hinge that connects the jawbone to the skull, is stress-related and has to do with muscle overload, muscle imbalance. Its symptoms include joint pain, reduced jaw movement, difficulty chewing, clicking or popping of the jaw, and muscle pain and fatigue that can radiate to the face and neck.

So if you suffer migraine it is worth having your jaw checked to see if it is involved.  It is also very important to check your neck as this is heavily related to migraine frequency and severity.
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Source: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 2017; 40: 250

A recent study, published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal, followed almost 9000 Australian adults and found that for every additional hour spent watching TV each day, risk of severe inflammation increased by 12 per cent (Including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and kidney disease).

However, experts in this field suggested that watching TV was just one example of the many common sedentary tasks in everyday life.

Researchers say chronic disease prevention should address reducing sitting time in addition to promoting physical activity.

Sitting has previously been associated with an increased likelihood of developing Type two diabetes, certain types of cancer (breast and colon) and cardiovascular disease.

In addition to watching TV, people sit while driving, riding public transport, eating, reading and while on the computer, totalling about 11 hours each day.

One way to reduce sitting time in the work place is with standing desks. However, if standing desks aren’t possible for whatever reason in your workplace, find the opportunity to stand up more. Example - remove the bin from under desk to force you to get up to walk to the bin, go to the toilet on a different floor, drink more water and take more toilet breaks, stand up when on the phone.

We know from epidemiological studies that some of these sitting activities are strongly associated with poorer physical and mental health, and some are actually associated with better physical and mental health.  Researchers say that TV comes up particularly badly but, reading and social activities perform well.

Also, researchers find that often people tend to snack more while watching TV.

On the positive side, We also know that when people do relatively large amounts of physical activity – say an hour to 90 minutes a day – the effects of even very large amounts of sitting are almost zero.

Conversely - Other research shows that too much standing can also be detrimental for health.
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So the key seems to be adequate daily physical activity and frequent alterations between sitting and standing.

Article Source:
http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2017/09/23/sedentary-lifestyle-bingewatching/

Low fat diets have long been promoted as a good health option but recent research disputes this.

The Lancet study of 135,000 adults found those who cut back on fats had far shorter lives than those enjoying plenty of butter, cheese and meats. In fact, low-fat diets could raise the risk of early death by almost one quarter.

But the latest research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, in Barcelona found those with low intake of saturated fat raised chances of early death by 13 per cent compared to those eating plenty. 
Consuming high levels of all fats cut mortality by up to 23 per cent.

Researcher Dr Andrew Mente, from McMaster University, said: “Our data suggests that low fat diets put populations at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

“Loosening the restriction on total fat and saturated fat and imposing limits on carbohydrates when high to reduce intake to moderate levels would be optimal.”

Lead researcher Dr Mahshid Dehghan, said: "A high carbohydrate diet - greater than 60 per cent of energy - is associated with higher risk of mortality.

“Higher intake of fats, including saturated fats, are associated with lower risk of mortality.”

But diet had little impact on heart death risk, suggesting it had a greater impact on other killers such as cancer, dementia, and respiratory disease.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra said it was time “for a complete U-turn” in Britain’s approach to diet, and demonisation of fat.

“The sooner we do that the sooner we reverse the epidemic in obesity and diabetes and the sooner start improving health.”
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For the full article - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/29/low-fat-diet-linked-higher-death-rates-major-lancet-study-finds/

 I have a fascinating piece of research to share today. A case study was recently published in:

The Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine

Title: Increased Telomere Length and Improvements in Dysautonomia, Quality of Life, and Neck and Back Pain Following Correction of Sagittal Cervical Alignment Using Chiropractic BioPhysics® Technique: a Case Study.

Conclusion: "The case suggests that correction of cervical lordosis and forward head postures by CBP® Mirror Image® methods improved the sagittal spinal alignment and posture and was temporally associated with lengthened telomeres, improved nocturnal polyuria, neck and mid-back pain, quality of life, and autonomic nervous system adaptability."

So ignoring the improvements to back and neck pain (which we know chiropractic is good at correcting),  I wanted to focus on the increased Telomere length.  Telomeres are the tails at the end of our DNA strands and are a biomarker of the health and aging of the cell, and its ability to reproduce.  This case study suggests that Chiropractic can have an effect in improving DNA telomere length, which is improving health and aging at a cellular level.  Quite ground breaking!

It is important to remember that this is a case study(1 person) and needs to be conducted now on a larger group of people.  It is also important to note that how long this benefit lasts has not been measured.  It may be temporary, or it may be permanent.

The benefits of Chiropractic on Migraine Headaches have long been known and reported but I came across an interesting article in:

Journal of Musculoskeletal Science and Practice

Title - Adverse events in a chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy single-
blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial for migraineurs
Volume 29, June 2017, Pages 66–71

The researchers in this paper have looked at adverse events from manipulation for Migraine Headaches.  700 subjects were sorted into two groups, 355 receiving placebo and 355 receiving manipulation.

The results: Local tenderness was the most common AE, reported by 11.3% and 6.9% of the CSMT group and the placebo group, respectively, and tiredness on the intervention day was reported by 8.5% and 1.4% of CSMT group and the placebo group, respectively.

There were no serious adverse events at all.

This research adds to the growing body of research on the safety of Chiropractic treatment for conditions such as migraine headaches, the medications for which often have numerous side effects.

An interesting article surfaced last week regarding Chondroitin in medical news.

High-quality chondroitin sulfate is as effective as celecoxib in treating knee osteoarthritis, according to an international trial in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Roughly 600 adults over 50 with primary knee osteoarthritis were randomized to receive pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate (800 mg) plus placebo, celecoxib (200 mg) plus placebo, or double placebo daily for 6 months.

At the conclusion of the trial, the chondroitin and celecoxib groups had significantly greater reductions in pain relative to the placebo group, with no difference between the two active treatments.

At 3 and 6 months, chondroitin and celecoxib conferred significant improvements in function relative to placebo, with no difference between the two active groups.

Noting the risks associated with long-term use of NSAIDs and acetaminophen, he authors suggest chondroitin sulfate "should be considered a first-line treatment in the medical management of knee OA."

This is promising news following the recent discovery that arthroscopes for osteoarthritis of the knee has no clinical relevance.

I saw this article recently in Sydney Morning Herald on line and wanted to share it.

Website source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/many-operations-more-harmful-than-beneficial-top-surgeon-warns-20170512-gw3pbc.html

This article quotes a top orthopaetic surgeon who explains that many surgeons are performing operations that are likely to do more harm than good.
About half of orthopaedic surgical procedures have no scientific evidence from randomised trials proving they work better than non-operative treatment, Ian Harris told a meeting of 1900 surgeons this week.

Research showed another 25 per cent are no better than non-surgical alternatives. Yet many of these are still being performed.
Among the list of ineffective and potentially harmful operations are: knee arthroscopy for arthritis, some forms of spinal surgery for low back pain, Achilles tendon repairs, some shoulder arthroscopic procedures, and wrist and ankle fracture fixations.

Despite many studies showing knee arthroscopy was not beneficial for almost all patients with arthritis, many medical guidelines continue to support the procedure for such people.

Some surgeons also continued to perform spinal fusion surgery to treat low back pain despite studies showing no benefit over non-surgical alternatives.

A 2012 study of people who had the procedure for low back pain through workers' compensation schemes in NSW found only 3 per cent had returned to pre-injury work duties two years after the surgery. About 70 per cent were still taking strong opioids such as OxyContin in an attempt to manage their pain.

His warning comes amid mounting evidence of ineffective, wasteful and harmful medical treatments worldwide, and not just in surgery. In January, an international group of leading doctors and academics said up to one-third of medical interventions were now being done unnecessarily, causing physical, psychological and financial harm that could threaten the viability of healthcare systems.

The Australian government is reviewing the Medicare Benefits Schedule to eliminate ineffective medical services taxpayers should not be paying for, so it can fund more effective care.
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Bruce Robinson, an endocrinologist who is leading the review, said he was preparing to release new recommendations about changes for spinal surgery and orthopaedics in coming weeks. He estimated the government would start acting on these recommendations at the end of 2018.