Daily Health Update for July 15 2021 by Toronto Chiropractor Dr. David Koivuranta in Davisville.

Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, enjoying your week, taking good care of each other. Coming at you today on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update for Thursday, July 15th, 2021. I'm gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness news, information, and tips. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 of those areas. If you'd like a copy or you have questions, you can DM us on social, send us an email, do Give us a call here at the clinic. We're always happy to help you out. Not gonna treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, do promise to share with you something of note, something of interest, maybe even a little bit entertaining with respect to health and wellness news, research, and literature so that you can keep health and wellness on the forefront of your mind each day to support that journey of yours that you're on, creating those great experiences every day that you're looking for and that you want to have. An article from the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, July 2021, that talks about obesity being a major risk factor for pediatric sleep apnea. An analysis of information from the Kids Inpatient Database suggests that children classified as obese are nearly 23 times more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea than their peers with a healthier weight status. And I was surprised to learn actually that sleep apnea is a consideration among children. And certainly that is concerning 'cause it can affect not only their health and wellness, but their development at that stage because it's a stressful condition to have and something that does need to get investigated. So good to be healthy and good to seek out some care and advice when there are some challenges. So especially if you're a parent and you notice that your child stops or has periods, even if relatively short, they're not breathing when they're sleeping, uh, and it's not a normal healthy rhythm to that sleep breathing, then please do get them checked, right? The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, June 2021, looked at the Mediterranean diet and how it can help improve grades. The Mediterranean diet is an eating pattern focused on eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, olive oil, and whole grains while avoiding red meats and processed meats. Dairy, saturated fats, and refined sugars. A study that included 563 high school students revealed that greater adherence to this diet is associated with higher academic performance. So of course, the Mediterranean diet is a favorite of ours on the Daily Health Update. It's, uh, one that provides a lot of variety of foods, and when followed in moderation, uh, can be supportive of healthy outcomes for your body, but also your grades apparently. So that's good. Keep that cognitive function high. The Frontiers in Endocrinology, June 2021, looked at aerobic exercise and how it might protect against Alzheimer's. Among a group of 23 middle-aged adults with normal cognitive function but an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease based on genetic and familial factors, researchers observed that engaging in a 26-week supervised treadmill training program improves several Alzheimer's disease-related biomarkers. This finding suggests that exercise may offer neuroprotective benefits to individuals at elevated risk for Alzheimer's disease. So our activity levels, of course, are good for our heart, our lungs, our body, our muscles, but there is a spillover to all those organs, glands, tissues based on cellular function, and that includes cognitive function. So get out there and keep moving every day. And sometimes some of the science is just designed to motivate us to know that our efforts do make a difference. So good for you. Get out there and enjoy your day with some activity. The Rand Corporation, June 2021, looked at stress and how it's maybe driving teachers out of their profession. A survey of public school teachers revealed that 1 in 4 are considering leaving the profession. Further analysis showed that the teachers considering a career change are 2 times more likely to report frequent job-related stress and 3 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms. Teaching is a challenging occupation, but a very noble one. Takes a certain personality and a type of person to who wanna educate and help others go forward with their lives and what they need and want to do, especially as young people. But because it comes with its own challenges, not always easy, so we reach out and give a high five to our teachers out there. You're doing a great job. And of course, taking care of yourself as a teacher is also part of the challenge in that when you're helping someone else, even if it's academically, and not taking care of yourself or creating balance in your life, that imbalance with any work that we do, including be a teacher, can catch up with us. So just one strategy, but if you are a teacher and it being summertime, knowing that maybe you had a harder year, especially with COVID do reach out to some healthcare providers of different nature, depending on what it is you'd like to see improve. Take good care of yourself and hopefully next teaching year will be better. We do love and need you in our classrooms. Obesity Action Coalition, June 2021, talked about some wellness tips for us once again. So to become healthy, get an annual physical exam, get at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity each week, and do some muscle strengthening activities at least 2 days a week. Eat a healthy diet, reduce screen time, and involve friends and families to help you reach your health goals. All good information, good suggestions. Now, Most of us know several of these things. Just a matter of implementing, being consistent, and persisting towards those results that we want, and/or simply the act of maintaining. The Journal of Functional Morphology Kinesiology, April 2021, talked about core stability exercises and chronic low back pain. A recent research review concluded that core stability exercises are effective for reducing pain intensity and improving function and quality of life in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain. Many manual therapists, of course, incorporate core stability exercises in their treatment recommendations for chronic low back pain. It's part of the recovery of function, and, uh, it's a good way to go. So if you've had some low back pain that's lingering, doesn't seem to be getting better, seek out some care and advice, including someone who can guide you through some core stability exercises. Perhaps there may be other components that also need to be addressed, so a good assessment is always a good place to start. All right, that's your daily health update for Thursday. We'll throw a written format at you tomorrow on all the social media channels. Keep an eye out for that. Enjoy your summer weekend coming up. Get out there and make the most of it, and we'll see you on Monday with your next daily health update. Then we'll look forward to joining you once again then. So take care, be well, we'll talk soon. Bye.