It isn’t news to anyone that elderly people are more prone to bone fractures, especially of the hip. Fortunately, there are a number of preventative measures that older adults can take to help avoid bone fractures, especially from falls. As a chiropractor, I recommend a number of preventative measures to my older patients, not the least of which is for them to have regular chiropractic treatment to help to improve and maintain balance and to keep their body in good alignment. As far as I’m concerned, in addition to balance challenges and poor muscle strength, an aging body that is out of alignment is a hip condition waiting to fracture.

According to a new study by Dr. Marian Hannan, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical school and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Research Program at the Institute for Aging Research, elderly people who eat more protein are less likely to suffer hip fractures. Why? Because consuming proteins such as meat, eggs, fish or cheese helps to build stronger muscles in the legs, which, in turn can reduce an older individual’s chances of falling.  In addition to helping to build stronger muscles, other studies have shown that protein intake can increase bone density.

For more on protein study go to: dailymail.co.uk

Posted via email from healthandfitnessnews’s posterous

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Dr. Jamie Phillips

Just the other day I saw an article on sciencedaily.com how caffeine improved memory loss in aged mice raised to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The article started with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.”  It went on to report on back-to-back studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that demonstrated that caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice displaying symptoms of the disease.

However, before you opt to add another cuppa to your daily intake, let me, Dr. Jamie Phillips elaborate by saying that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were a couple of articles reporting on studies that demonstrated the non-beneficial effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”

In my experience, I’ve noticed that there are conceivably many studies that will affirm, or at least support, nearly any view point, particularly when it has to do with health and longevity. The “good/bad” studies related to caffeine certainly aren’t, by any means, the only ones. Nonetheless, it did get me to thinking about the reasonableness that there will not ever be just “one thing” that will irrefutably assist we, humans, in living longer, healthier lives. We are dynamic, biological beings. We aren’t raised in unnatural confinement We are actively engaged in life. And, moreover, though Alzheimer’s disease is likely on the rise, obviously none of us has been “artificially induced to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t entirely the “one thing” that will reverse or prevent it.

The human body is an exquisite, complex system that is designed to function homeostasis, i.e, balance. It makes sense, then, that good health is cultivated by a healthy, balanced attitude towards living, rather than our being momentarily convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one specific thing in the hope that it will reverse all of the other immoderate and unhealthy things we do to our bodies.

I believe, as a doctor of chiropractic in Santa Barbara, that every single day we have an opportunity to make decisions that will assist us to live longer, healthier lives, healthy choices for our body and mind. When it comes to what is good for our body, we know what truly “feels” right and what doesn’t. So, the if you reach for that extra cup of coffee or that second glass of red wine, I hope that you’ll think about this. There is no “one thing” that will do “everything” for your age-related health issues.

Dr. Jamie Phillips
601 E. Arrellaga St. #201
Santa Barbara, CA, 93103
http://www.santabarbarachiropractic.org

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