In this solo daily health update, Dr. David Koivuranta (Dr. Dave) of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic reviews six recent health and wellness findings and offers practical advice. He highlights a rising incidence of throat cancer in people under 50, noting difficulty swallowing as an early warning sign and urging prompt medical evaluation. He cites a Journal of Nutrition study showing that eating one avocado daily boosts fiber‑degrading gut microbes in overweight/obese adults, potentially supporting weight‑loss efforts. He discusses a Sports Medicine trial where tai chi improved mood, energy, and sleep in older women, with benefits persisting weeks after the program. He warns that developing hypertension later in life may signal an elevated risk of cognitive decline or dementia. He references research linking low vitamin D levels to severe dysmenorrhea symptoms in women of childbearing age, suggesting testing and supplementation. Finally, he reports that a large proportion of nurses experience low back pain and recommends massage, physiotherapy, chiropractic, and exercise to protect frontline workers. Throughout, Dr. Dave encourages viewers to invest in their health, offering a hopeful, motivational close and inviting contact for a written copy of the update.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, you enjoyed your February weekend, you're having fun in the snow if you live in and about where there's been some snow happening, like here in the Toronto area. Very exciting. Coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. It's Monday, February 22nd, 2021. Gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness. Somewhere around this video you can magically read through all 6 areas If you'd like a copy, let us know. DM us on social, call us at the clinic, send us an email. We'll be sure to get that to you. Not gonna treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, for your Monday, the start of your week, picking up some momentum again after the weekend where hopefully you had some time for yourself, looked after yourself and those around you a little bit, to continue looking at what might support you on that health journey to create those great experiences you'd like in your life every day. And it's just a little bit by a little bit, inch by inch, and, uh, living a good healthy life can be a cinch. Or at least we definitely like to try. According to the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention Report, December 2020, throat cancer is on the increase in people under the age of 50. Typically it was more often seen in people over 50. It's happening with increased incidence and it does not bode well if you get it before 50. Apparently the outcome is not so positive. So one of the hallmarks, one of the presenting signs may be trouble swallowing, difficulty swallowing. So if you notice that, you may want to talk to your doctor so they can look at prescribing the right test just to see if anything is going on. Prevention is important, and early detection can lead to increased early intervention, which can also improve outcomes. So, uh, keep an eye out for that. The Journal of Nutrition, December 2020, talks about how avocados are good for your gut microbiome. Uh, they looked at 163 obese or overweight adults, and they found that consuming 1 avocado a day led to an increase in microbes in the digestive system known to break down fiber and support gut health. And I'm a— I'm, I'm assuming that if we read that report, even though it doesn't say here in our briefing, that those people may have improved outcomes with their weight loss efforts when their gastrointestinal system has a healthier environment. Just me extrapolating, but that's probably a good bet. Tai Chi is awesome. Chiropractors love to see their patients engaging in something that moves their body, but it's great because tai chi also helps reconnect the brain to the body and maybe reconnect to source, as they say. It's a calming activity. It improves mood, energy, and sleep according to the research in Sports Medicine, January 2021. They looked at older women in this study for weeks, uh, and they did it and they had improved vigor, mood, and sleep that persisted for up to 4 weeks following the conclusion of the intervention. So some continuing lasting benefit from those tai chi efforts. So That's something you may wanna look at adding to your routine. Very simple, but highly effective in terms of supporting your health outcomes. If you get hypertension later on in life, it may be an increased sign that you may be at risk for cognitive decline. Now hypertension, high blood pressure has, in your history, has always been a marker for potential to have increased likelihood of cognitive decline or dementia. However, if you develop hypertension or high blood pressure later on in life, that can be an indicator of even higher risk for that cognitive decline or dementia. And if you are unfortunately one of those 84.1% of women in childbearing age who have dysmenorrhea, the symptoms of which could be tiredness, headache, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and lower abdominal pain, and that discomfort can also radiate from the low back to the thighs— sorry, from the abdomen to the thighs and the lower back— then you may want to have your vitamin D levels checked. They're finding that those with the most those severe symptoms are typically quite often low in vitamin D. So if you experience that, you may want to talk to your doctor and let them know that according to Obstetrics and Gynecology Science, January 2021, there may be a correlation with your vitamin D levels. Right now, our frontline workers are working very hard, bless them for their efforts, putting themselves at risk to be able to help those in their greatest time of need, perhaps. And nurses, according to the ACTA Biomedica report, November 2020, are are an increased likelihood or is common to have low back pain. They looked at 256 nurses and revealed that 44.5% had experienced low back pain during the previous week, and 80% have had it in the preceding year. So if you are a nurse, seek out some massage therapy, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, some athletic therapy and/or personal training. Get some exercises in, take care of yourself so you can better take care of others. And thank you for the hard work that you are doing. That's our daily health update for Monday. I hope it encourages you to keep an eye on your health and wellness this week. You won't go wrong spending time, money, and effort on your own health and wellness, as well as the health and wellness of those around you. It's your biggest asset, your most valuable commodity, and because you live your life through this body of yours, you want to take good care of it because when you do, the experiences should be in your favor. So let's ramp it up this week, uh, and spring is coming soon. It may not look like that in some areas, again, especially in the Toronto area today, But it is coming and we want to wrap up February with some good health momentum so we can take advantage of that positive effect that happens when spring comes and we're revitalized a bit. Alright, so get on it and do some good work today with your health and wellness. Enjoy your week. I'll catch you tomorrow, Tuesday, with the next daily health update. All the best.
