10 Diseases Linked To Soda
10 Diseases Linked To Soda
Statistics shows that Americans drink more soda than ever before. They account for more than 25 percent of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000 -- about one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.
But here’s some information that may keep you away from opening the can:
1. Extra pounds
Soda is a significant contributor to obesity. Drinking a single can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more -- it may sound counterintuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks actually don’t lose weight. Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.
2. Liver damage
Soda damages your liver. Consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to the increased risk faced by chronic alcoholics.
3. Tooth decay
Soda dissolves the tooth enamel. Soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay. Soda's acidity is even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.
4. Kidney stones and chronic kidney disease
Colas of all kinds are well known for their high phosphoric acid content, a substance that changes the urine in a way that promotes kidney stone formation. Drinking one quart (less than three 12-ounce cans) of soda per week may increase your risk of developing kidney stones by 15 percent.
5. Diabetes
Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda also stresses your body's ability to process sugar. Some scientists now suspect that this may explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.
6. Heartburn & acid reflux
Heavy consumption of soda is a strong predictor of heartburn. Many carbonated beverages are very acidic. They also deliver a lot of air in the form of carbon dioxide, which can cause distension of the stomach. And that distension appears to be associated with more reflux.
7. Soft drinks = Soft Bones = Osteoporosis
Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid are definitely linked to osteoporosis (a weakening of the skeletal structure) because they lead to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones.
8. Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of soda leads to an increase in blood pressure. It doesn't matter if the soda is regular or diet.
9. Heart disease
Heavy soda drinkers are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. Research shows that drinking more than one soft drink a day is associated with an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome -- a group of symptoms such as central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, and low levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol. Having three or more of the symptoms increases your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
10. Impaired digestion (gastrointestinal distress)
Gastrointestinal distress includes increased stomach acid levels requiring acid inhibitors, and moderate to severe gastric inflammation with possible stomach lining erosion. Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the stomach and other gastric lining, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of the stomach and duodenal lining.
Sources: Squidoo January 23, 2009
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/28/2009 at 5:20 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Vitamin D Deficiency Harms Your Brain Function
Vitamin D Deficiency Harms Your Brain Function
Low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of cognitive impairment in the elderly, according to findings from the nationally representative British survey.
Researchers studied more than 1750 adults aged 65 or older. Blood samples were taken from them to measure circulating vitamin D levels, and their cognitive function was measured using the Abbreviated Mental Test, which includes 10 questions to assess attention, orientation in time and space, and memory.
The researchers found a significant association between lower levels of vitamin D and cognitive impairment. Older adults with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired as those with the highest levels.
Sources:
Reuters February 5, 2009
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/27/2009 at 5:27 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
How Cranberries Prevent Urinary Tract Infections
How Cranberries Prevent Urinary Tract Infections
Chemicals present in cranberries prevent infection-causing bacteria from attaching to the cells that line the urinary tract. It was previously thought that the acidity of cranberry juice caused the effect.
Adhesion of bacteria to cells lining the urinary tract is the first step in the development of a urinary tract infections (UTIs). Chemicals found in cranberry products called proanthocyanidins (PACs) prevent E. coli, which is the cause of about 85 percent of UTIs, from adhering to these urinary tract epithelial cells by affecting the surface properties of the bacteria.
Researchers exposed E. coli grown in culture to either light cranberry juice cocktail or cranberry PACs and measured the adhesion forces between the bacteria and a silicon surface using atomic force microscopy. They demonstrated that the longer the bacteria were exposed to either the cranberry juice or the PACS, the greater the decrease in bacterial attachment.
Sources:
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/26/2009 at 5:32 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Breastfeeding Reduces Risk of SIDS
Breastfeeding Reduces Risk of SIDS
Women who breastfeed lower the chances that their baby might die of sudden infant death syndrome, also known as SIDS.
A new study looked at more than 300 infants who died of SIDS and nearly 1,000 age-matched "control" infants. At 2 weeks of age, 83 percent of controls were being breastfed, compared to only 50 percent of SIDS infants.
Exclusive breastfeeding at one month cut the risk of SIDS in half. Partial breastfeeding at this point was also tied to a reduced risk.
Sources:
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/25/2009 at 5:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Is Salt Nature's Antidepressant?
Is Salt Nature's Antidepressant?
Many people consume too much salt, but new research may have uncovered one reason people crave it -- it might lead to a better mood.
Researchers found that when rats are deficient in sodium chloride (common table salt), they shy away from activities they normally enjoy. A loss of pleasure in normally pleasing activities is one of the most important features of psychological depression.
If salt is a natural mood-elevating substance, it could help explain why so many are tempted to over-ingest it, even though it's known to contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.
Sources:
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/20/2009 at 5:32 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Chiropractic Care For Women Offers Many Benefits
Chiropractic Care For Women Offers Many Benefits
Today’s modern woman has become much more knowledgeable in diet, nutrition, weight loss, exercise, sports and physical activity, and methods for maintaining wellness and general fitness - about which chiropractors have considerable expertise that they are eager to share. Chiropractic wellness programs are particularly well-suited to the special needs of pregnant women, new mothers, women who are overweight, who are in stressful situations, and others who need to protect and strengthen their bones, nerves, joints, muscles and overall health.
Millions of women rely on chiropractors because of the caring interaction that develops between patient and doctor and because of chiropractic’s effective combination of expert care, effective spinal adjustments, exercise and nutritional guidance, and lifestyle counseling.
Chiropractic offers demonstrated relief for many of the specific health challenges that affect women based on their female anatomy and the fact that the female body is designed to be able to bear children. Pregnancy and the menstrual cycle are centrally important health matters for women. Being pregnant, preparing for pregnancy, and recovering from childbirth are just some of the uniquely female issues. Pain during the menstrual period (dysmenorrhea), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and chronic pelvic pain are among the distressing conditions which disrupt the otherwise healthy lives of many women.
Older women are much more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease (which burdens the afflicted with near-total memory loss and reduced mental functioning) and osteoporosis (in which the bones become weak, brittle, and porous; the posture stooped with the shoulders rounded). These are just two of the problems of aging that women must be aware of and can take steps to prevent.
Women may get headaches during menstrual periods and pregnancy, as well as under ordinary circumstances. Women are more likely to be bothered enough by headache pain to seek a way to overcome it. When the bones of the spine lose their normal position or motion, the sensitive nerves and blood vessels to the head become compromised. When these delicate tissues are stretched or irritated, they can produce certain types of headaches. While aspirin or other medications may cover up the symptoms, they do not really correct the cause of the headache.
Similarly, women are often victims of osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) and have a 200 to 300 percent greater chance than men of suffering rheumatoid arthritis.
Because the nervous system controls and coordinates all of the different functions of your body, any disruption in nerve communication to your organs and body tissues will result in abnormal function. Chiropractors help restore normal nerve function and communication, thereby allowing your body to work normally and naturally.
The result is often a reduction in pain and inflammation, as well as prevention of further deterioration. Research has also demonstrated that arthritic changes begin in the spinal joints in as few as three days after a joint becomes fixated. Relief from pain and prevention of further deterioration are among the many “side effects” of regular chiropractic care.
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/19/2009 at 5:03 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Drugs Prescribed for Subluxations Cause Suicide
Drugs Prescribed for Subluxations Cause Suicide
A Senate inquiry found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “isn’t keeping track of how drugs are marketed for off-label use, even though marketing for off-label use is illegal and it’s the FDA’s job to enforce that law,” Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa said in a statement. “As a result, drug makers aren’t being held accountable for promoting unapproved use of medicine and patient safety is diminished.”
The report from the Government Accountability Office delves into a gray area of medical practice and federal oversight: the use of medications to treat conditions other than the ones the drugs were approved for, a practice known as “off-label” prescribing. The Wall Street Journal reports that studies have found off-label use accounted for 40% to 50% of all prescriptions.
Drug companies are forbidden to promote medications for uses that have not been validated by the FDA on evidence from clinical trials. Doctors, however, can use independent judgment in prescribing medicines. Also, under guidance proposed by the FDA this year, drug companies could distribute to doctors “scientific articles” that suggest new and unapproved uses for medications
The review that Grassley requested by the investigative arm of Congress found that the FDA is ill-equipped to catch even blatant marketing abuses by drug companies. The agency does not have any staff exclusively assigned to monitor whether companies are following the rule against marketing drugs for unapproved uses. Although widely accepted, off-label prescribing can amount to an uncontrolled experiment. Many people have been harmed by unexpected side effects.
The study found that it takes FDA an average of seven months to issue a warning, according to a draft report by congressional investigators. It typically takes four more months for the company to fix the problem. During the ensuing 11 months, a lot of prescriptions can be written.
From 2003-2007, the office issued only 42 notices of possible violations, which usually (but not always) prompted the drug maker to drop its promotional claims.
Why does this matter to me as a chiropractor? One word: Neurontin.
Neurontin is a controversial anti-seizure drug approved for epilepsy, which was widely and illegally promoted by Pfizer for pain. Pfizer also illegally promoted the drug for bi-polar disorder and anxiety disorder.
In 2004, Pfizer pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in the promotion of Neurontin, and agreed to pay $430 million. Neurontin was approved for limited use as a supplemental anti-seizure treatment for epilepsy, but was promoted by Lambert-Warner (now Pfizer) and a consortium of paid physicians who promoted and prescribed the drug for everything from ADHD, mental illnesses to a variety of pain conditions, including migraine headaches. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2004: “use of Neurontin for unapproved uses - estimated to account for 90% of the $2.7 billion in sales last year - continues to rise despite stepped up prosecutorial efforts aimed at curbing the practice. At the same time, studies show that much of the unapproved use of Neurontin isn’t even effective.”
The commercially successful marketing “miracle” of Neurontin was achieved through a collaborative effort of the company and leading physicians who were given financial incentives to encourage their colleagues–under the pretext of providing “continuing medical education”–to prescribe a largely ineffective drug for unapproved, diverse and unrelated conditions. Essentially physicians were “educated” to use their prescribing license to increase profits rather than to improve their patients’ health.
Neurontin and its successor Lyrica work by depressing the central nerve system. They are widely prescribed for “neuropathy”, “peripheral neuropathy” or “nerve pain”. The pharmaceutical answer to the subluxation is as follows: if there is a problem with the signals being transmitted over the nerve system, chemically shut down the transmission network.
The marketing for these chemicals include statements such as: “Peripheral Neuropathy is one of the most common diseases most people have never heard of…and yet, upwards of 20 million Americans have it. Peripheral neuropathy is caused by damage to your body’s peripheral nerves. This damage disrupts the body’s ability to communicate with its muscles, skin, joints, or internal organs. It is like the body’s wiring system breaking down.” They go on to explain that the nerve interference can be caused by: “compression, drugs and toxins, or of unknown psychological causes”.
Sound familiar to anyone? Improper communication between the brain and the muscles, skin, joints, or internal organs caused by physical, chemical or emotional stressors.
Drugs that chemically shut down the nerve system are raking in billions of dollars for drug companies who are promoting them as the only solution for “neuropathy”, which literally means “changes in the pathology of the nerve”. But wait, it gets worse.
Neurontin has been documented to cause potential side effects of depression, aggression and suicide. There are currently over 100 lawsuits pending in federal court from suicides that are allegedly tied to Neurontin. A researcher involved in the clinical trials that preceded Neurontin’s approval testified last month that the company was aware of the side effects as early as 1995.
In June 2008, the FDA officially announced that Neurontin, Lyrica and nine other epilepsy drugs are associated with a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. They are working, as you read this, on requiring that patients finally be warned of the associated risks with a “black box” warning, the FDA’s strongest safety notice.
In the mean time, millions of unsuspecting consumers are taking these potentially lethal chemicals to treat “nerve interference” causing back pain, neck pain, headaches or any other nerve related pain.
One more thing, Lyrica is the world’s first drug ever approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia. The time is now to stand up and have your voice heard. If you don’t do it, who will?
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/18/2009 at 5:47 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Boy With Chronic Constipation Responds To Chiropractic Adjustments
Boy With Chronic Constipation Responds To Chiropractic Adjustments
The January, 2007 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics highlights a case study involving an 8 year old boy who responded very well to chiropractic care after suffering from chronic constipation since birth.
When his mother first brought him to the chiropractor, he was only having a very painful bowel movement every 1-2 weeks. His doctors were never able to diagnose a cause for the problem and had treated him with laxatives, lots of fluid and fiber, none of which worked.
His chiropractor examined him and found out his sacrum, the large triangular bone at the bottom of the spine, was subluxated (out of its normal position). Adjustments were given and the results were almost immediate. His mother reported that he had a bowel movement that first day and then another one two days later. She was excited and said this had never happened before.
Care continued for another four weeks and he continued to improve to the point he was experiencing completely normal bowel function. Indeed, a follow up phone call 13 years later found he was still regular.
Previous research has indicated that 3% of kids’ visits to their family doctors and 30% of those to pediatric gastroenterologists are for chronic constipation. The usual treatments, which failed in this case, normally fail in up to half of the kids treated.
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/17/2009 at 5:20 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Some Dietary Supplements Help Seniors Live Longer
Some Dietary Supplements Help Seniors Live Longer
Taking certain dietary supplements could help seniors live independently longer, and offset healthcare expenditures by billions of dollars, a new study by the Lewin Group finds. The supplements studied — omega-3 fatty acids and lutein with zeaxanthin — have reported savings of $3.1 billion and $2.5 billion respectively over five years, resulting from reduced hospitalizations, physicians’ visits, and avoided transitions to dependency, the report shows. Underscoring the important health and cost benefits of dietary supplements for the U.S. seniors, members of Congress took one step closer to recognizing the role of dietary supplements in the health regimen of Americans, when Congressman Chris Cannon (R-Utah) announced the creation of a bipartisan caucus on dietary supplements, which he will co-chair with Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). Cannon introduced H.R. 1545 earlier this year, which would allow supplement costs to be paid by Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
The study’s key findings centered upon how omega-3 fatty acids and lutein with zeaxanthin allow seniors to avoid common conditions such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The supplements help them live independently longer and reduce the level of disability associated with these conditions.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a qualified health claim for omega-3 fatty acids and a qualified health claim is currently pending for lutein.
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/16/2009 at 5:22 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Pharma Not in Business of Health, Healing, Cures, Wellness
Confessions of an RX Drug Pusher - Gwen Olsen
"Thank you for reading my Blog. I plan to have new material daily! If you have anything that you would like answered or discussed please place it in the comment box and I will do my best to answer all your questions. Thank you once again, have a blessed day! Dr. Jerod
Posted by: Dr. Jerod on 9/15/2009 at 5:44 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
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