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July 25, 2006 [Volume
7, Issue 16]
In this issue of To Your Health:
- Never Too Old to Exercise
- Better Diet, Better Cholesterol
Profile
- Low Back Pain in Women: Hormonal
Influences
Never Too Old to Exercise
 You're
never too old to live healthy. Changes in diet and the addition of
exercise into your lifestyle can make significant differences to
your health and overall wellness.
In a study published in the
Journal of Aging and Health and conducted at the University of
South Florida School of Aging, Professor Ross Andel and
co-researcher Robert Simons, executive director of the Bonsai
Holistic Spa and Wellness Center in Largo, Florida, demonstrated a
noticeable increase in body strength, flexibility, balance and
agility in study participants. The 64 volunteers, ranging in age
from 66 to 96, were divided into a walking group, a resistance
training group and a control group that did not exercise. In the
training group, warm-ups, stretching and flexibility exercises
were followed by workouts on resistance training equipment.
The walking and resistance training
groups both benefited from the study, suggesting that physical
activity can offset physical declines that come with aging and
preserve functionality among seniors. Your doctor of chiropractic
can tell you more about the benefits of consistent exercise and
help outline a program suitable to your needs.
Simons R, Andel R. The effects of
resistance training and walking on functional fitness in advanced
old age. Journal of Aging and Health 2006;18(1):91-105.
Better Diet, Better
Cholesterol Profile
 A
recent study suggests that a change in diet may supersede the need
for cholesterol-lowering medication. The drawback for some and the
plus for others (depending on your eating habits) may be the
necessary inclusion of tofu and oatmeal in the diet.
The study, published in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and headed up by Dr.
Cyril Kendall and David Jenkins of the University of Toronto,
included 55 middle-aged women and men. Members of the research
group, already following a healthy diet, were told to include
specific foods such as tofu and other soy foods, raw almonds,
oatmeal, barley, okra, eggplant and plant sterol-enriched
margarine. Those who faithfully followed the newly prescribed diet
lowered their cholesterol by an average of 29 percent after one
year. Other participants who did not follow the diet as strictly
as others still lowered their cholesterol by 10 percent to 20
percent.
If you're not used to eating
healthy, you may have trouble adhering to this type of diet, which
also includes low-fat dairy products, smaller portions of lean
meat and skinless poultry, and substituting soy products for meat
as much as possible. However, as you can see from the results, the
benefits are substantial.
Kendall C, Jenkins D, Faulkner D,
et al. Assessment of the longer-term effects of a dietary
portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods in hypercholesterolemia.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006;83:582-591.
Low Back Pain in Women:
Hormonal Influences
Women, take note -- you may be at
particular risk for developing an all-too-common common ailment:
low back pain. In a study that included 11,428 women, hormonal and
reproductive factors were associated with LBP.
The researchers used information
from a study of the general population, ages 20 to 59, in three
towns in different regions of the Netherlands, that evaluated risk
factors for chronic diseases. Female participants were given a
physical exam and asked to fill out a questionnaire.
Duration of oral contraceptive use,
number of children, estrogen use during menopause, young maternal
age at first birth, irregular or prolonged menstruation, and
hysterectomies were associated with chronic LBP. The researchers
concluded that factors related to an increase in estrogen may be
the common thread.
Wijnhoven H, Vet H, Smit H, et al.
Hormonal and reproductive factors are associated with chronic low
back pain and chronic upper extremity pain in women - the MORGEN
study. Spine 2006;31(13):1496-1502.
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