Sugar's Dirty Little Secret

Sugar made headlines a few weeks ago as it was a key point of discussion in a New York Times article regarding the Sugar industry’s involvement in setting nutritional policy for our country.  As you may or may not have read, in 1967 the sugar industry essentially hired a group of Harvard nutrition professors to write a review regarding the safety of sugar.

At the time, sugar had been implicated as a leading cause of heart disease, but executives of the sugar industry weren’t thrilled by the idea of their secret being found out, so in order to keep public opinion at bay, they decided to fund their own research. To recognize what went wrong in this research process, you need to understand how research is compiled into reviews that are used to make public health policy.  Hang with me, the next paragraph is dense, but really important to understanding part of the reason we’re in the health crisis we have right now.

Sugar industry executives gave the

researchers hand-picked articles that

favored fats as the cause of heart disease

Traditionally when a group of researchers write a review of a certain topic, they will wade through the myriad of articles on a subject and select the best clinical trials that have the most direct evidence.  Well, instead of letting the professors independently select the articles they would review, the sugar industry executives decided that they would help in the process and give the Harvard professors hand-picked articles to use in their review that favored fats as the cause of heart disease.  This skewed the data and caused sugar to come out with a clean bill.  The fact this group of Harvard professors were being paid and given grants toward their future research as payment to write this review leads to further suspicion of the outcome.

And what was their conclusion?  Sugar is safe to eat and heart disease is caused by cholesterol.  They suggested that instead of curbing our appetite for sugar, that we should instead cut down our fat intake.  This review that implicated fats as our source of heart problems not only let sugar off the hook, but also shaped the research conducted on heart disease for the next 50 years.

Americans who get 17-21% of calories

from added sugar had a 38% higher

risk of dying from cardiovascular disease

Only recently has the obesity epidemic caused researchers to look for other culprits causing heart issues.  Within the past 2 years, the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine released a report that stated those who got 17 to 21 percent of calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who consumed 8 percent of their calories from added sugar.

That’s pretty significant considering that as of 2010 the average American got 14% of their calories from added sugars according to a recent study released by the British Medical Journal.  The recommended amount of added sugars we consume should consist of 10% of our daily calories.  The 4% difference between what we actually eat and the suggested levels equates to a difference of 85 calories or just over 5 teaspoons of sugar more than we should be eating.

Although this might not sound like a lot, if you eat 5 extra teaspoons of sugar every day for a year, which is what most Americans do, it equates to 24 pounds of extra sugar consumed annually.

The average American eats

24 pounds more sugar

annually than is suggested.

And as you might guess, this excess consumption leads to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.  So unfortunately the choices of a few professors from Harvard being swayed by sugar industry executives and shaping the public opinions and health directives of our country has lead us to this inconvenient situation we are currently in.

Luckily, you now have information that makes you empowered to change public opinion.  Better yet, you can use this information to change how you eat today.  You can decide to go to the grocery store or farmers market and get yourself some delicious fruit instead of picking up a soda or a pastry.  Not only will fruit fill you up more because it has more fiber than foods that commonly have processed sugar, but it’s also packed with vitamins and minerals that you’re not getting from your soda.

You get to choose, but as for me, I’d like to not die early of cardiovascular disease.  Now that I’ve shared sugar’s dirty secret, feel free to share it with others, or stay posted for more healthful hints for your everyday life.

Until then, stay well-informed and eat well!

Dr. Joel Dayton DC

I Give Because I Have

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were faced with a situation where someone asked for a couple of dollars from me on the street.  In the past, a lot of things have gone through my mind when faced with this situation.  Lately I've been trying to focus much more on giving because I have the means.  I consider myself very lucky to be in a situation where, although I have student loans and am starting a practice which can take a bit of a balancing with finances, my needs are met.  There are so many others in this world who want the opportunity to do the same.  In my opinion, it is the responsibility and opportunity of those who have resources available to them to help those who have a need.

Our world needs healing, and although we may not have much to give, it's important that we give to those around us the healing we each have in us.  These past 3 months our yoga class has raised funds for victims and the families of the Pulse club shooting in $2 donations at a time.  Although our total of $300.67 may not seem to be an exorbitant amount of money, this represents big hearts that want to help heal our community.  It is a representation of people who have a longing to give to those who are grieving and struggling for answers in the aftermath of this tragedy.  We are grateful to have been a small part of helping to add love to our little part of the world.

It has been an honor to see the goodness of people as we have practiced yoga in our group the past few months.  It gives me hope to know there are people who want to help make a change from the divisiveness and pain we so often see.  The upcoming 3 months we will be focusing our efforts on an issue that has been ignored for many years, human trafficking.  We are grateful to be able to help support Operation Underground Railroad which combats and brings greater awareness to this destructive practice. 

Often times before we start yoga, our instructor Ashley invites us to set an intention for our practice.  Following her example, we decided to create an "intention to heal" board on which the members of our group are invited to share their intent to help others heal over the next three months.  We sincerely hope that more people can set their intention to help heal the world in whatever their small sphere of influence may be.

Dr. Joel Dayton
Chiropractic Physician

 

Can Candy Fix Your Stomach Ache?

You may remember hearing your mom say something like, “Don’t eat too much candy or you’ll get a stomach ache.” Although that is true for most candies, there may be some that can actually relieve abdominal discomfort.

A friend of mine recently reminded me of this while telling me of how her grandmother would give her a candy cane as a child when she had an upset stomach.  Although this may sound counter-intuitive to many people, when considering the main ingredient, it makes a lot of sense.  Peppermint is an excellent remedy to help calm down an upset stomach.  People may also notice similar effects when eating black licorice when feeling nauseous, as fennel is one the main ingredients in this candy.

Several peer-reviewed studies demonstrate the relieving effects of peppermint in digestion, constipation, and diarrhea. One research study even determined the benefit peppermint oil capsules had on children suffering from irritable bowel syndrome*. In fact, there was a 75% reduction in severity of pain reported after 2 weeks.

Now, if you’d like to avoid the sugar in candy, which is definitely better for you, lucky for you there are many great options to find peppermint and fennel today.  Essential oils are a great form that’s easy for your body to digest and use immediately. Not all oils are the same, so you’ll want to make sure it is at least of a certified pure therapeutic grade in quality. Another option is sipping a peppermint or fennel tea.  And of course, there is always the option of eating it in its raw plant form as a leafy garnish and adding it to a dish.

If you want more practical ways of decreasing your stomach issues and healing your digestive tract, you’re in luck because we are teaming up with Ricardo Bannatyne, a pharmacist turned alternative pharmacist to teach you how.  Ricardo has been a pharmacist for 20 years and utilizes herbs and other natural remedies as alternatives to many common medications. We’ll be hosting an in-office lecture Thursday August 11th @ 6:30pm.

Here are a few topics we’ll be covering:

-       What are probiotics and which is the right one for me?

-       How are my emotions involved with my digestive discomfort?

-       How does my nervous system contribute to the health of my digestive organs?

-       And other practical and nutritional insights…

We’re excited to share this empowering information with you so you can have more comfortable digestion and work towards healing your digestive system. Seating is limited, so we do need for you to RSVP by Aug 9. Call us at 407-286-5926 or email us at clearroutehealth@gmail.com.

In the meantime, enjoy some peppermint and happy digesting!

Dr. Crystal Nix
Chiropractic Physician

*Cline, Robert, et al. "Enteric-coated, PH-dependent Peppermint Oil Capsules for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Children." The Journal of Pediatrics 138.1 (2001): 125-28. Web.

OUCH! How to naturally treat your knee pain.

Many people who come into our office are looking for things they can do in addition to coming in for treatment to more efficiently heal their knee pain.  Our office is completely supportive of such individuals because we believe that healthcare really should be in the hands of the patients.  After they are equipped with advice on how to best manage their bodies, they are prepared to take charge of their own healthcare.  We were pleased to partner with Dr. Ally Cox, Doctor of Physical Therapy, last night in our office summer lecture series. She and I taught on how patients can take an active role to naturally heal their knee pain.  Here are some healthful hints of things to do in and out of the office to get you back into the activities you love.

1. Kinesiology Tape

If you've watched any sports over the last few years, chances are you've seen an athlete wearing what may look like some sort of weird tattoo.  What you're actually seeing is called Kinesiology Tape.  In the past, athletes and non-athletes alike have widely used braces to restrict motion of joints.  While this is sometimes called for in helping a recovery process, braces used for too long can cause muscle atrophy.  Kinesiology tape not only encourages normal motion, but also helps to retrain the brain on where our joints are supposed to be in space, a process called proprioception therapy.  In our office, we show patients how to tape their joints for their specific injury and invite them to maintain this when they experience similar symptoms.
 

2. Eat Pineapple

What?  Why pineapple?   Funny you should ask.  Pineapple is loaded with an enzyme called bromelain.  This enzyme has an inhibitory effect on inflammation in your joints if you have a recent injury or even if you're dealing with osteoarthritis.  In fact, a study has found that bromelain was just as effective as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with treatment of pain in osteoarthritis (1). You’ll want to up your intake of pineapple, especially the core of it, when you’re trying to manage your pain naturally. One easy way to do this is by blending the pineapple core and drinking it with other anti-oxidant berries, such as blueberries.
 

3. Correct movement

Pain in our knees is often caused by repetitively moving it in ways it’s not supposed to move. When this happens we can eat all the pineapple we want, and it still won’t stop the pain and inflammation that occurs.  These symptoms do a great job of letting us know there’s a problem in our body, but without helping the joint move back to its original motion, the pain will stay.  When restricted motion occurs in our joints, chiropractic adjustments can be very helpful in restoring normal movement and reducing your pain.
 

4. Exercise

As simple as it sounds, proper exercise will help hold your joints in the correct place and will reduce the amount of wear and tear on the soft tissues inside your joints that lead to early osteoarthritis.  Our office gives exercise routines to each of our patients to take home with them.  Seeing a physical therapist for specific muscle retraining can also be very important in helping to retrain muscle groups to correct muscle imbalances or inefficiencies you may have.

Well that’s the short list to get you started on how you can heal your knee pain.  If you have additional questions about pain you may be experiencing, please feel free to contact us through our office number here on our website. 

Here’s to your health,

Dr. Joel Dayton
Chiropractic Physician

(1) Klein G., Kullich W., Schnitker J., Schwann H. Efficacy and tolerance of an oral enzyme combination in painful osteoartritis of the hip. A double-Blind, randomised study comparing oral enzymes with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. 2006;24(1):25–30. [PubMed]

Effects of Stress and 5 Ways to Cope

Since some of you weren't able to come to our health talk last Thursday, we figured we'd kick off a new thing we'll be doing on our blog called "Healthful Hints" with just a couple of things you can do to improve your stress levels.

Today our topic is stress.  All of us deal with it, but what actually goes on inside our bodies when we experience stress might help you understand why you might want to learn some effective coping mechanisms to work through it.  (Spoiler Alert: we've got some stress relieving tips at the end of this post if you want to skip the technical jargon ;)

Now on to the affects of stress: Here's the skinny, when we get overloaded at work, or the kids won't stop screaming, or we can't figure out how to balance our everyday hectic lives, our body creates a way to cope with this.  Within our brain, signals are sent to our amygdala and hypothalamus that causes certain hormones to be released. 

Two of these hormones include adrenaline and ACTH.  Adrenaline causes our heart beat to increase and raises our blood pressure to prepare us to take action.  The purpose of ACTH is to stimulate the adrenal glands, which sit on top of our kidneys, to release cortisol.  The main function of cortisol is to increase the amount of sugar we have in our bloodstream to help supply the energy we will need to overcome physical or emotional obstacles.  These obstacles are perceived by your body as the same, and thus your body responds to both with an increased release of cortisol.

When we are experiencing an event that is truly a crisis such as being chased by a bear or escaping a burning building, this stress mechanism using cortisol works very effectively to supply the energy we need to get you us safety.  However, when we experience excess stress without having a real need to use the excess cortisol, the cortisol begins to block the uptake of sugars into your cells by inhibiting insulin.  It's believed that this may be part of the mechanism which perpetuates development of Diabetes type 2.

Now this isn't a bashing cortisol session, but cortisol does have one more negative affect and that is that it encourages redistribution of fat to more visible places such as the abdomen.

Okay, so now that we've gotten through all the technicalities, we hope it makes a little bit more sense why you might want to start becoming aware of options you have to effectively deal with your stress.  Here are a couple of Healthful Hints to help modulate your stress throughout your hectic day:

5 Healthful Hints to Reduce Stress

1) Balance your gut bacteria
- It's probably not what you were thinking would make our top 5 list, but the most recent research is leading scientists and medical professionals alike to believe that our digestive system has a close connection with our neurological health.  In fact, did you know that 95% of seratonin, the hormone that greatly affects our ability to feel happy, is created by our intestines?  We suggest everyone use a good probiotic to help regulate a healthy digestive system.

2) Get active
- If your body's got excess sugar pumping through your bloodstream because of your cortisol levels, why not put that burnable energy with a good workout.  Join a walking club, lift some weights or get involved with a yoga group.  We launched our community yoga group just a couple of weeks ago and we recommend that all of our patients use it to help relieve their stress and strengthen their postural muscles.  Our last blog post has all the deets on when and where we meet, so check it out below if you'd like to join.

3) Create a Stress-Reduction List
- Make a list of your favorite things to do that helps you relieve stress and then choose one to do each day.  If you make a daily habit of doing things you enjoy it will give you an opportunity to relax each day and take a load off your mind.

4) Meditate
- Taking 15 minutes each morning or evening is shown to not only reduce emotional stress, but it also can help reduce physical symptoms of pain that plague many people.  As a daily practice, I meditate every morning before I get out of bed.  It calms my mind and creates a reprieve before I start my busy day.

5) NET treatment
- This is a special stress-reducing therapy that originates from acupuncture.  It's focus is on reducing the emotional components of our stress that we may not even be aware are affecting us.  It is extremely effective and suggested if you have tried other methods of stress reduction and just can't seem to get the results you'd like.  Dr. Nix has been trained as an NET practitioner and would love to help you get to a happier, healthier state through this treatment. 

Well, that's all for this edition of Healthful Hints.  If you'd like to get more of our advice on your health and well being, please subscribe to our blog below and we'll be sure to keep you in the loop.  Until next time,
Here's to your health,

Dr. Joel Dayton D.C.
 

Out of tragedy, into healing

One of the most frustrating things in life is really wanting to help, but not knowing exactly what to do.  After scrolling through facebook and seeing all the sadness, grief, frustration and anger over the events that happened in Orlando, we felt we had to do something more.

A few Saturdays back we began our community yoga class.  Our class has two main purposes, first, we want to help people to have the physical health that they seek as they exercise and strengthen their core muscles.  Secondly, we want to be able to support charities which need our support.  As we do this, we believe we will help people to engage more in healing the world around them.

In the wake of this terrible tragedy that occurred right in our back yard we want to offer the help and support to our reeling community.  As a result, for the next month we will be donating all the contributions from our class to the victims and their families through the Planting Peace Organization. If you'd like to hear more about them, please check out their website and feel free to donate: http://www.plantingpeace.org/

Although we just announced our contributions would be going to help curb human trafficking, we felt that supporting our immediate community was the most appropriate at this time.  In September we will resume donating to Operation Underground Railroad as we had done this past week.

We'd love to have you come support our community and help us all to heal as we join together Saturday Aug 13th @ 8:30 off Park avenue and Morse Blvd in Central Park of Winter Park.  Feel free to bring your friends and family also.