Courtesy of: Your Napa Chiropractor Dr. Joseph T. Megna

Health Alert: Despite Risks, Heart Disease Patients Often Keep Smoking. Among more than 2,600 adults with a history of heart attack or stroke, researchers found that 30% were smokers and only a third of this group had stopped smoking over the following four years, despite the majority knowing that smoking increases their risk for future cardiovascular events.                                                               Journal of the American Heart Association, June 2021

Diet: Backyard Poultry Safety Tips. Raising chickens in the backyard is a becoming more popular in recent years, but close proximity to fowl can also come with a risk for salmonella exposure. The Centers for Disease
Control offers the following tips for households raising chickens: always wash your hands for 20 seconds, keep flock and flock supplies outside of the house, don’t let children under the age of five years have contact with the birds, and don’t kiss the birds. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 2021

Exercise: HIIT Improves Spatial Memory. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of exercise that involves short intervals of near-maximal effort such as sprinting or stair climbing separated by intervals of moderate-intensity exercise, such as jogging or fast walking. A recent study found that HIIT may also improve spatial memory to a greater degree than either endurance training or inactivity.                               Cerebral Cortex, May 2021

Chiropractic: 1 in 5 Adults Have Chronic Pain. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, researchers estimate that 20.5% of American adults experience activity-limiting pain daily or on most days, most often in back, hip, knee, or foot. Chiropractic care is a common approach to managing chronic musculoskeletal pain.                                   Pain, April 2021

Mental Attitude: Life Satisfaction Linked to Reduced Risk of Pain and Disability. Researchers assessed life satisfaction in 2,116 functionally independent older adults and found that those who rated their life satisfaction as “high” were significantly less likely to develop disability over the following decade. The research team posits that individuals with high life satisfaction may be more likely to engage in lifestyle behaviors
associated with a reduced risk for chronic disease and painful conditions.                                                                                           Age and Aging, June 2021

Wellness/Prevention: Maybe Colonoscopy After 75 Should Be Recommended? Current guidelines don’t
recommend colonoscopy after age 75, except for patients considered to be high risk for colorectal cancer. However, an analysis of data on colon cancer cases and deaths from over 56,000 patients found that people who had colon cancer screening after the age of 75 had a 39% lower risk of colon cancer and a 40% lower risk of death from colon cancer, regardless of whether they had been screened at an earlier age. The findings suggest that colonoscopy guidelines may need amending.                                                                                          JAMA Oncology, May 2021

Quote: “If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow.” ~ William McFee

Your Napa Chiropractor Dr. Joseph T. Megna