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August 8, 2006 [Volume
7, Issue 17]
In this issue of To Your Health:
- Good Posture Starts Early
- Diabetic Patients Benefit From
Vegan Diet
- Exercise Balls vs. Mats: And the
Winner is...
Good Posture Starts Early
 We've all
heard, "Sit up straight!" more than once, usually while sitting in
a classroom many years ago. Posture was not taught, it was
demanded. In an effort to weigh the possible benefits of back
education, a group of researchers led a two school-year study of
Belgian schoolchildren that concluded positive immediate and
long-term results.
The study involved more than 350 9-
to 11-year-old children. The program consisted of lessons on good
posture, positive reinforcement from their teachers and the
addition of exercise balls and sitting wedges in each class. The
students, under the supervision of their teachers, were evaluated
with a pre- and posttest that included 10 questions on the content
of the lessons, a section on general posture knowledge, and an
evaluation of back and neck pain in the previous week. In
addition, three children in each class were randomly selected for
observation of their posture.
Results showed that students who
received back education showed increased back posture knowledge,
improved posture, and a decrease in how often they sat with their
backs bent forward and their necks craned at school.
Are your children aware of the
benefits of proper posture and how to achieve it? If you aren't
already doing so, now's the time to take them to an expert on
appropriate care of the back: your chiropractor.
Geldhof E, Cardon G, Bourdeaudhuij
I, et al. Effects of a two-school-year multifactorial back
education program in elementary schoolchildren. Spine
2006;31(17):1965-1973.
Diabetic Patients Benefit From
Vegan Diet
 Although
it is a difficult diet to follow faithfully, veganism has many
health benefits. Not only are animal products avoided (meat, fish,
poultry), but animal byproducts, such as honey and milk, are also
not consumed. A recent study provides evidence that a vegan diet
can help sufferers of type 2 diabetes. The study sought to
investigate whether a low-fat vegan diet improves glycemic control
and cardiovascular risk factor.
Ninety-nine individuals with type 2
diabetes were randomly assigned to either a low-fat vegan diet or
a diet following the American Diabetes Association (ADA)
guidelines. The ADA suggests eating a wide variety of foods
including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nonfat dairy products,
beans, and lean meats, poultry and fish. Forty-three percent of
the vegan group and 26 percent of the ADA group reduced diabetes
medications. Body weight decreased 14.3 pounds in the vegan group
and 6.83 pounds in the ADA group. LDL cholesterol fell 21.2
percent in the vegan group and 10.7 percent in the ADA group for
individuals continued taking their lipid-lowering medications.
The researchers concluded that both
a low-fat vegan diet and a diet based on ADA guidelines improved
glycemic and lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients, but that
these improvements were greater with a low-fat vegan diet.
Exercise Balls vs. Mats: And the
Winner is...
Fitness comes in all forms these
days. Every channel you flip to has a commercial with the latest,
greatest and easiest-to-use exercise equipment. But what is
legitimate and what is smoke and mirrors? Researchers from the
Universities of Waterloo and New Brunswick, Canada recently
conducted a study on the effectiveness of exercise balls for
certain abdominal exercises.
All eight male participants were
active and healthy, and none complained of lower back pain for a
year preceding their involvement in the study. During the
exercises, 14 pairs of electrodes were placed on the skin of each
participant over seven different stomach muscles. Measurements
were recorded while the participants performed three exercises on
the mat and the same three on the exercise ball.
The results showed that the use of
an exercise ball did not increase the degree of muscle use or work
the abdominal muscles harder. There did not seem to be a training
advantage associated with the use of an exercise ball while
performing the basic extension exercises versus the use of a mat.
If you're looking to get into the
exercise "game" but don't know where to start, talk to your
chiropractor, who can outline a daily regimen of safe exercises
suitable to your needs.
Drake J, Fischer S, Brown S, et al.
Do exercise balls provide a training advantage for trunk extensor
exercises? A biomechanical evaluation. Journal of Manipulative
and Physiological Therapeutics 2006;29(5):354-362.
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