Courtesy of: Your Napa Chiropractor Dr. Joseph T. Megna
Health Alert: Low Zinc Intake? Among a group of 142 female university students, researchers identified an association between low dietary zinc intake and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, short sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction. Biological Trace Element Research, August 2020
Diet: Is Chocolate Heart Healthy? A review of data from six studies that included more than 336,000 participants found that eating one or more servings of chocolate per week could reduce the risk for heart disease by up to 10%. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, July 2020
Exercise: Low Fitness Linked to Depression. Grip strength is often used in scientific research as an indicator
of physical function/fitness. In a study that included 867 teens and young adults, researchers observed an association between weak grip and an increased risk for depressive symptoms. The findings add to a growing body of research linking physical and mental health. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, July 2020
Chiropractic: Managing Chronic Neck Pain. In a recent clinical trial, researchers observed that neck-specific exercises and manual therapies are both effective interventions to address chronic, nonspecific neck pain, with manual therapies leading to faster improvements in pain perception and therapeutic exercises resulting in a swifter improvement in neck pain-related disability. Doctors of chiropractic often use a combination of manual therapies and therapeutic exercises for the management of chronic neck pain. Trials, July 2020
Mental Attitude: Visual Memory and Alzheimer’s. New research suggests that declines in visual memory may become apparent in seniors at risk for Alzheimer’s disease before the onset of clinical symptoms. This finding may help in the creation of assessments for identifying future cases of Alzheimer’s disease much earlier than current methods. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, August 2020
Wellness/Prevention: Banning Flavored Cigarettes Reduced Smoking Among Young Americans. A comparison of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2002 and 2017 revealed a 43% decline in smoking among teens and a 27% decline in smoking among young adults, which experts credit to the banning of flavored cigarettes in 2009. Study leader Dr. Matthew Rossheim writes, “This shows incredible promise for future comprehensive bans of flavored tobacco products, including those in e-cigarettes, which to-date have received significant exemptions… Policymakers should take note of the evidence from this study and pass legislation to extend flavor bans to other tobacco and nicotine products.”
Journal of Adolescent Health, July 2020
Quote: “The best thing to do now, is to do the very best you can.” ~ Allen Drury
Your Napa Chiropractor Dr. Joseph T. Megna