Chiropractic, Alternative Healthcare & Nutrition News:

Monitoring your blood pressure: What are normal ranges?

• Normal blood pressure: Systolic (top number) <>
• Pre-hypertension: Systolic 120-139 mmHg or Diastolic 80-89 mmHg.
• Stage 1 Hypertension: Systolic 140-159 mmHg, or Diastolic 90-99 mmHg.
• Stage 2 Hypertension: Systolic 160 mmHg+, or Diastolic 100 mmHg +
  Note: Recent smoking or exercise can increase the numbers slightly. Try to take your pressure at the same time every day. 3 successive high reading are needed to establish hypertension on different days. If your numbers are high, take 3 successive readings one minute apart. Very high numbers are at risk for strokes.
  

Heart Attack Signs:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness
  As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
  

Heart attacks are also more prevalent during holidays and cold weather with the peak incident level on December 25th.

Stroke Warning Signs The American Stroke Association says these are the warning signs of stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
  If you or someone with you has one or more of these signs, don't delay! Immediately call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical services (EMS) number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can be sent for you. Also, check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It's very important to take immediate action. If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke. tPA is the only FDA-approved medication for the treatment of stroke within three hours of stroke symptom onset.

Signs of Peripheral & Autonomic Neuropathy:

Peripheral Neuropathy signs: This is especially important for diabetics.

• Tingling or burning in your toes, feet, legs, fingers, hands, or arms?
• A "pins and needles" feeling?
• Pain or cramping?
• Numbness or loss of sensation?
• Insensitivity to heat and cold?
• Extreme sensitivity to even the lightest touch?
• Muscle weakness in your hands or feet? Loss of coordination

Autonomic Neuropathy:

• Trouble feeling when your blood sugar is low?
• Chronic constipation or diarrhea?
• Frequent indigestion, nausea, or vomiting?
• Problems with urination?
• Problems with sex or orgasm?
• Faintness or dizziness when you stand up?
• Trouble seeing well enough to drive at night?
• Changes in sweating, either much more or less than usual?

Some things you can do to handle peripheral neuropathy.

• NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories)-aspirin, ibuprofen, Aleve, etc. Can cause stomach issues. Prescription strength- Lodine, Relafen, Celebrex.
• Tylenol – no anti-inflammatory properties therefore easier on stomach.
• Creams and gels: capsaicin (Capsaicin, Zostrix). Made from chili-peppers; can take a week to act; some get allergies; may interfere with healing (diabetic problem); can burn if sweating or open pores right after a shower. Lidocaine-can be bought in non-prescription strength or can get with a prescription. Don’t waste your time on Aspercreme or Ben Gay as they have not been shown to be effective.
• Anti-Seizure Drugs- Neurontin, Lyrica, Cymbalta.
• Anti-depressants- SSRIs- prozac, paxil, SNRIs-Cymbalta, Effexor. Tricyclic anti-depressants-Elavil.
• Opiods.

Nutrition/Diet News:

• Using a combination of simvastatin and red yeast rice and fish oil supplements in a study showed more significant drops in LDL, triglycerides and body weight as reported in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 2008. The triglyceride and body weight drops were where significant compared to the control group. Turns out there is a way other than statins to achieve these good results.
• The association between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women in a review indicates a possible biochemical mechanism occurring between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women, warranting further studies of these variables using rigorous methodologies.
• Epidemiological studies and clinical trials suggest that soy isoflavones have beneficial effects on bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, and bone mechanical strength in postmenopausal women. The long-term safety of soy isoflavone supplements remains to be demonstrated.
• The INTERHEART study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, shows that the risk of heart attack crosses geographic boundaries and correlates strongly to the so-called Western diet that favors salty snacks and fried foods, and to a lesser extent, meat increases heart attack risk globally.
  

Nutrition Update, Cancer, Women's Health

Chiropractic, Alternative Healthcare & Nutrition News:

• Good news for dark chocolate eaters- it may reduce C-Reactive Protein (inflammatory marker) just don’t eat too much since it can increase lipids (blood fats).
• Energy drinks-looking for a boost in your energy. LOOK OUT. Some of the energy drinks out there have the caffeine equivalent of 14 cans of Coca Cola. On top of that they are laden with sugar (I’ve seen them have been 20-30 grams of sugar). It’ll give you energy but what are the health effects. The caffeine will keep you up for a long time and once the sugar wears off you could have a serious drop in blood sugar. It gives a jolt-crash phenomenon and you people are particularly susceptible to it. It can cause heart palpitations. There may be some links with drug use as well.
• Vitamin C may prevent gout.
• Exercise and diet might help preserve muscle mass in the elderly.
• Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to risk factors for Multiple Sclerosis.
• Mediterranean Diet and Disease-The researchers found that people who followed a strict Mediterranean diet were:
  9% less likely to die from heart disease or other cardiovascular problems
  6% less likely to develop cancer or die from it
  13% less likely to have Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease
  The Mediterranean diet was first popularized in the U.S. in the 1990s. It is low in saturated fat and high in fiber and monounsaturated fat and includes vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes, fruit, and moderate red wine. The main cooking fat is olive oil.

Medical News:

• Progressive muscle issues and weakness may be an early sign of a serious problem developing called ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) according to a Medscape article.

Women’s Health News:

Women's Heart Attack Symptoms:

• Many women don’t have chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained fatigue
• Pressure in lower chest or upper abdomen
• Weakness
• Nausea
• Back pain
  

Cancer Information:

What Are the Symptoms for Endometrial Cancer?
Some women with endometrial cancer experience no symptoms until the disease has spread to other organs. However, endometrial cancer is usually diagnosed by the appearance of symptoms -- like vaginal bleeding -- as the malignancy begins to grow. The most likely symptoms are:
· Abnormal vaginal bleeding which occurs in 9 out of 10 women diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Before menopause, this means unusually heavy irregular menstrual periods or bleeding between periods. After a woman enters menopause, this means any vaginal bleeding, unless she is on post menopausal hormone therapy (HT). Postmenopausal women on HT may have monthly bleeding that resembles menstruation; any unusual or heavy bleeding should be reported to the doctor.
· Vaginal discharge that may range from pink and watery to thick, brown and foul smelling. Difficult or painful urination.
· An enlarged uterus, detectable upon pelvic examination.
· Pain during intercourse.
Unexpected weight loss; weakness and pain in the lower abdomen, back or legs. This occurs once the cancer has spread to other organs.

Colorectal Cancer:

• The second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States is colorectal cancer, according the March-April 2008 issue of CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
• The American Cancer Society guidelines for colorectal cancer screening include sigmoidoscopy every 5 years and colonoscopy every 10 years.
• Vegetables and fruit may protect men from colorectal cancer.
• Fecal Occult Blood Testing (FOBT) is likely helpful as a screening tool for colorectal cancer according to the Cochrane Report.