Uncategorized Category

The benefits of exercise have been associated with longer life, reduction in risk of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, Alzheimer’s, asthma, and now, decreasing the mortality rate of cancer survivors.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that physical exercise is associated with reduced all-cause mortality in breast cancer and colon cancer survivors.

For decades, physicians have been telling sick or injured people, that bed rest and not exerting oneself when ill or injured, will help with the healing process.  While this may be true for some conditions, by in large, it is becoming quite clear, that movement, activity and exercise very often help and speed up the healing process and lead to less permanent disability or in many cases, complete recovery.

As long ago as 1966 a fascinating study carried out at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School looked at the benefits of healthy, hard-working, 20 year old men, resting three weeks in bed during a summer vacation.

3 weeks of rest and relaxation, what could be wrong with that? Well, it turns out a lot!  By the end of the three weeks in bed, the researchers found surprising changes that included: faster heart rates, increases in blood pressure, decreases in the hearts pumping ability, decreases in muscle power and a rise in body fat. These were characteristics found in men twice their age.  (This effect was due to too much rest, 7-8 hours of sleep a night is essential to over all good health).

Subsequently, the same men were put on an 8 week exercise regimen, which not only reversed the negative effects of bed rest but actually improved their health beyond their starting measurements.

Astronauts have learned the same lesson when traveling in space:  Exercise or get weak and/or sick!

These men agreed to be reexamined 30 years later. Though all remained relatively healthy, the effects of aging were quite noticeable.  They had gained an average of 50 pounds from their weight at age 20. Their body fat doubled, blood pressure increased, but despite these common effects of aging, they were still not as compromised as they were when they got out of bed after 3 weeks of bed rest.

Once again, the men, now 50 years old, were put on a moderate exercise regimen for 6 months. Though they lost only 10 lbs. on average, interestingly their heart function and blood pressure returned to close to where they were when they were 20 years old before the initial exercise program they participated in after getting out of bed.  Exercise reversed much of their age related decline.

Jean Baptiste LaMarck a scientist in the early 1800’s developed the theory of “Use and Disuse”.  The theory basically said “use it or lose it!”  Using your body in different and moderately challenging ways will help it resist the effects of time and aging.  For example using your lungs and heart to do aerobic exercise will keep them fit and strong.  Not using them often enough will weaken them.  Using your brain and cognitive skills to continue learning will keep most people sharp even into old age.

The handwriting is on the wall!  You have no one to blame but yourself, if you allow the effects of aging and time to rob you of your vim, vigor, vitality, physical skills and health.  If you are not exercising, there is no time like “today” to start.

Curt Hendrix M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

Women are twice as likely as men to suffer with urinary incontinence. It is estimated that as many as 45% of women have suffered urinary leakage at least once in the past year and up to 50% of women over 50 have repeated experiences with urinary leakage.

Urinary leakage can start at any age and especially after giving birth or entering menopause laughing, exercise, stress, and coughing can all put pressure on the bladder and cause small leakages.

For younger women and teens, high impact sports, even running, can damage bladder muscles and weaken the support structures of the bladder.

Certain foods have been associated with causing urinary leakage in some women:

• Alcohol is dehydrating and causes excessive urine output
• Spicy foods can irritate the bladder , i.e. wasabi, salsa mustard, vinegar, and raw onions
• Citrus fruits that are acidic, like oranges, pineapples, tomatoes, lemon, and limes can also be irritating
• Too much or too little fluid intake can cause leakage (6-8 cups a day recommended)

What about caffeine, which has been at the top of most list of ingredients to avoid for people with urinary incontinence or over-active-bladders (OAB).

It seems that caffeine may NOT be the culprit most healthcare professionals thought it was, relating to urinary leakage.

A recent study done at Harvard Medical School and published in the journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, found that in 21,500 women with moderate incontinence (1-3 times per month)  who were tracked for 24 months, intake of caffeine did not worsen the condition in 80% of them.  Whether or not caffeine would make urinary symptoms worse if studied for longer than 24 months, was not addressed in this study.

Possible non-drug solutions for correcting urinary incontinence and over-active-bladder:

• Kegel exercises to enhance bladder muscle control
• Using a tampon during times when leakage tends to occur
• Resisting the urge by breathing deeply and slowly when it occurs
• Being aware that certain medications like diuretics, muscle relaxants, and sleeping pills can lead to urinary leakage

Some of you may be curious as to whether or not there are any natural products or dietary supplements that may help with urinary incontinence and/or over active bladder?  Though there are many products that make claims in these areas, I have seen no well-structured, randomized, placebo-controlled trials supporting such claims.

Curt Hendrix, M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

How many times have you heard (perhaps even from your physician) to limit the consumption of eggs because they contain a lot of cholesterol and that by eating too many eggs, you will negatively affect your cholesterol levels?

Well, for those of you who love eggs but feel guilty eating them, there is some really good news.  All of those warnings about egg consumption were JUST PLAIN WRONG!

First of all, for about 70% of people, consuming cholesterol in your diet (from any source) has absolutely no meaningful effect on your cholesterol levels! There are several studies proving this and NOT one study showing that dietary cholesterol causes heart disease.

Secondly, it has been shown in the 30% of people whose cholesterol levels rise modestly when consuming eggs, that their LDL cholesterol particle size gets bigger….AND THIS IS A GOOD THING.

Dr. Maria Luz Fernandez of the University of Connecticut’s Department of Nutritional Sciences summarized the results of egg consumption on blood cholesterol levels. In children aged 10-12, in men aged 20-50, in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, in whites and Hispanics:  two or three eggs per day has little or no effect on the blood cholesterol levels of over two thirds of the population. (1)

But there was even good news in the less than 1/3 of the population whose cholesterol did go up with egg consumption.  Their good and bad cholesterol went up equally and there was no change in their ratio of LDL to HDL or even the ratio of LDL to total cholesterol both of which are considered much more important than total cholesterol levels.

But the good news continued. It turns out that the LDL in egg eaters actually became safer. When LDL particles are small and dense, they can more easily penetrate into the lining of your arteries and cause plaque. The LDL in egg eaters got larger and fluffier making it safer and less susceptible to damage from oxidation and less susceptible to causing plaque in the arteries.
In addition, other health benefits of eggs are:

1- Eye health – May help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts because of lutein and zeaxanthin levels they contain
2- Provide high quality protein and essential amino acids
3- Contain Vitamin D
4- Possible breast cancer prevention – In one study, 6 eggs/week reduced risk by 44%
5- Healthy hair and nail due to high sulphur content
Unfortunately, none of the above good news about the health benefits of eggs applies to chocolate Easter eggs.

Curt Hendrix B.S.  M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

(1)-Fernandez ML. Dietary cholesterol provided by eggs and plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006;9:8-12.

Every Easter thousands of cute little bunnies get turned into chocolate.  That’s just wrong!…..Oh, my partner just told me that they DON’T make chocolate bunnies out of real bunnies……Whew!  What a relief!……LIVE AND LEARN!

But one thing is for sure, they did used to use bunnies to test to see if women were pregnant.  Thus the phrase “The rabbit died” came into existence.
Actually, the rabbit dying had nothing to do with whether or not the woman was pregnant.  Let me explain…
Back in the 1920s a couple of scientists discovered that if you injected the urine of a pregnant woman into a female rabbit, a compound called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) which is in the urine of  pregnant woman, would cause the rabbits ovaries to swell and change.
But to see the change in the rabbit’s ovaries, the lab had to surgically open the rabbit.  So the rabbit would (unfortunately) die due to the surgery, NOT because the woman was pregnant.
Nowadays, those cute little bunnies are no longer part of pregnancy testing.  And those home testing pregnancy kits can detect the presence of HCG on a strip of paper that either turns color or produces a line on the strip, if the woman is pregnant.
I’m still not convinced, though about where those chocolate bunnies come from.  I think I need a second opinion!

Curt Hendrix

In an article published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers found that diabetic women who were not taking folic acid supplements at the time of their conception may double the risk of having a child born with birth defects.

The researchers who were from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that, “Clinicians should encourage all patients contemplating pregnancy to initiate prophylactic (preventive) folic acid supplementation.”

A good way to get your folic acid would be to take a multiple vitamin containing between 400-800 mcg per day of folic acid and also contained at least 100 mcg per day of vitamin B-12.

Curt Hendrix M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S.

The American Academy of Neurology recently issued a report stating that Moms who suffer with migraines are 2.5 times more likely to have colicky babies.

Colicky babies were defined as healthy babies who had unexplained periods of distress. The researchers stated that this early behavior may be a precursor to child and/or adult migraines.

It’s interesting to note that 29% of children whose mothers have a history or migraines were colicky and only 11% of other children.  (That is close to 3 times as many colicky children in mother’s who have a history of migraines).

A child is considered colicky if he/she cries continuously for 3+ hours a day, for 3+ days a week, for 3+ weeks. The colic is often thought to be caused by GI discomfort though there is little proof of this.

The study doesn’t prove that colicky children will definitely become migraine sufferers, but their tantrums will not help their migraine suffering moms.

Other researchers think that other non-headache symptoms like vomiting and vertigo may also be linked to the development of migraines later on.

It is known that there seems to be a genetic link with migraines as well. Even when fathers were asked about their migraine status, it turned out that 22% of colicky babies had a father with migraine history as opposed to only 10% whose father didn’t suffer with migraines. I assume it would be a double whammy if both parents are sufferers, but I didn’t see any data on that.

Curt Hendrix M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

When a child has one sided throbbing head pain, that may or may not be accompanied by visual, motor or cognitive dysfunction, there is a chance that your child is suffering from migraines.

If your child has cycles of vomiting and nausea and possibly abdominial pain, that last for hours and recur every few months, it is possible your child is suffering from migraines, and a specialist may be need to confirm this diagnosis.

If you or your spouse suffers from migraines, there is a 45% chance that your child will. If both you and your spouse suffer with migraines, there is a 70% chance that your child will.

It has now been shown in a recent study published in the respected headache journal, Cephalalgia, 2011 that children who are migraine sufferers are much more likely than non-sufferers to have pressured or painful arteries on their scalp. In fact the sufferers were almost 250% more likely to have these pressured painful scalp arteries than non-migraine sufferers.

The arteries in question that were most often a source of the pressure pain were the frontal branch of the superficial artery and the superficial temporal artery itself before it splits and one part of it forms the frontal branch.

The superficial temporal artery runs up from the side of the neck (near the carotid artery) in front of the ear and can be felt around the temple. The frontal branch of this artery runs upwards to the forehead and can be felt on the side of the forehead.

I am providing this information so that you can make informed decisions about what may be causing your child to have symptoms like those described above. Please do not attempt to diagnose this condition by yourself because other serious conditions can cause similar side-effects.

If your child suffers any or all of these symptoms, it would be advisable to discuss them with your pediatrician and he or she will decide whether or not you need to consult a neurological specialist.

Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S

MAGNESIUM HELPS WITH MUCH MORE THAN JUST MIGRAINES

Many of you who use or know about just how effective the doses and types of magnesium that are found in MigreLief can be for helping prevent migraines, may not be aware of its other substantial health protecting benefits.

For example, a recent article in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that people who eat foods rich in magnesium reduce their risk of stroke caused by blood clots in the brain (referred to as ischemic stroke) by 9% for each 100 mg. increase in their daily magnesium intake and by 8% per 100 mg. of magnesium for all other kinds of strokes. (An extra 400 mg. per day of magnesium in addition to the other health benefits listed below, will reduce your risk of stroke due to a blood clot in the brain by 36 %.)

Other very important health reasons you need to consume enough magnesium on a daily basis are:

• Helps to maintain healthy blood sugar levels

• Helps to maintain healthy blood pressure levels

• Helps to prevent heart attacks

• Helps keep the heart beating regularly

• The citrate form along with potassium helps to prevent kidney stones

• Helps with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• Reduces risk of heart pains (angina)

• Helps prevent spasms of breathing pathway in asthma

• Helps protect the bones against osteoporosis (may be more important than calcium)

• Helps to prevent the symptoms of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)

• Helps to reduce urinary urgency in women

• Helps to reduce or eliminate leg cramps

• Helps to prevent constipation

Daily intake of magnesium should be about 800 mg. per day from all sources. Good sources of magnesium are:

• Bran (rice, wheat, and oat) – ½ cup contains about 460 mg.

• Dark chocolate – 2 ounces contain 200 mg.

• Nuts – i.e. almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts approximately 200 mg. in 2 ounces

• Sunflower seeds – 200 mg. in 2 ounces

• Edam me – (cooked soy beans) – 225 mg. in 2 ounces

So for those of you using MigreLief to control your migraine headaches, know that you are also getting these important health benefits as well.

For those of you fortunate enough as to not suffer from migraines, I hope this article convinces you to pay attention to your daily intake of magnesium. It is an excellent investment in both your short and long-term health.

Curt Hendrix M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.

It is estimated that 51% of people will experience neck pain and that 15% of the population suffers chronically with neck pain.

A recent study followed patients who had recently developed neck pain. It was found that after 3 months the patients who chose either a chiropractor or exercised were more than 2X more likely to be pain free than people who took pain medications.

Patients who took drugs experienced only a 13 percent success rate. The patients who chose chiropractic care had a 32% success rate. The patients who chose exercise had a 30% success rate. The success rate for people who did both chiropractic and exercise was not reported and would have been interesting to know.

Besides the potential side-effects of some pain medications, they just didn’t compare to the other non-drug options.

Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S.

What makes us attracted to one type of look and not another? Is there really such a thing as “Love at First Sight”?

Do chemicals within our bodies play a role in determining when, who and why we fall in love or get a crush that makes our heart flutter and our palms sweat?

Non-verbal signals very much play a role in both initial and continuing physical attraction.

For example, it is known that testosterone (T) levels can determine the level of lust in women as well as men. Though lust can be an overwhelming and exciting sensation, there may also be a downside. Recent research has shown that higher T levels in men causes them on average to have more sexual partners and increases their chance of remarriage. No such effect was shown in women.

Lots of neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and vasopressin can cause both psychological and physical responses related to desire, love and commitment to a relationship.

For example oxytocin, a pregnancy hormone that induces uterine contraction and milk flow, is also known to bond mothers to babies, couples and increase intimacy. A study of new couples showed that after 6 months the couples with higher levels of oxytocin tended to remain together.

While oxytocin may keep a couple together, it may be dopamine that initially brings you together. A study at Stony Brook University looked at the brains of couples who had just recently fallen madly in love. The areas of the brain that were most stimulated were those areas known to be high in dopamine, a pleasure and addiction related neurotransmitter. A New York Times article titled “Dear, I love you with all my brain” may be very accurate, but I don’t think Valentine’s Day cards with brains all over them, instead of hearts, will be a big hit.

Norepinephrine, a stimulant neurotransmitter, may be why we get nervous and our palms sweat when in the initial stages of lust and attraction.

For some answers to fun and interesting questions like, “Is there really such a thing as love at first sight” or “What time of the month is your husband or boyfriend most attracted to you?” or “Is love similar to addiction?” check out this WebMD slide show. I think you will enjoy it.

WebMD:  Sex-Relationships & the Science of Love 

Curt Hendrix M.S. C.C.N. C.N.S.