In this concise daily health update, Dr. David "Dave" Koivuranta of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic shares six evidence‑based wellness insights drawn from recent scientific studies and professional guidelines. He explains how a morning chronotype is linked to lower heart disease and diabetes risk, how a Western‑style diet can damage Paneth cells and promote gut inflammation, how 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week can raise HDL (good cholesterol), how smoking and poor cardiovascular health can impair verbal memory as early as age 18, how nail melanoma may present with dark streaks or nail changes and warrants dermatologist evaluation, and how impaired lumbopelvic proprioception contributes to low back pain, with recommendations to restore joint motion, strength, and stability. Throughout, Dr. Dave emphasizes small, actionable lifestyle changes, encourages early detection, and invites viewers to contact the clinic for further guidance.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, enjoying your week. You made it to Thursday, it's almost the weekend. Coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update for Thursday, June 17th, 2021. Gonna share with you 6 areas of health and wellness information somewhere around this video. You can read through all 6 areas. If you'd like a copy or you have any questions, you can DM us on social, give us a call here at the clinic, or send us an email. We'll be sure to help you out. Not gonna treat, diagnose, prevent or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, when you start making small changes, good choices, taking action steps with your health and wellness, sometimes based on some of the things we share with you, otherwise just motivated by the things that we share with you, you never know what your body is capable of getting better from and/or you can prevent or keep well in the future. So excellent that you're here. Happy to have you. The European Congress on Obesity in May 2021 talked about staying up late and how it increases health risks for those of us who deviate from that closer to ideal body weight. Using data from an ongoing study that's monitoring the health of obese middle-aged adults, researchers report that those who self-identify as morning people are significantly less likely to have heart disease and type 2 diabetes than those characterized as night owls. Very interesting. So, uh, sleep, and not just the amount but also when you get it, is very healthy for your body. All right, so let's try to go to bed a little earlier and maybe even wake up a little bit earlier. Same amount of time for you to enjoy during the day, we're just going to shift it a bit. Cell Host and Microbe, May 2021, looks at the Western diet and how it increases gut inflammation. The Western-style diet is characterized by high intake of fat, sugar, and processed foods. A recent study found that the Western diet pattern can damage the paneth cells, which help keep inflammation in the gut at bay. Without the help of these important immune cells, individuals are more likely to develop digestive disorders like inflammatory bowel disease. So to help keep that gastrointestinal tract of yours healthy, be cautious of following or not being aware of those items, food choices, and products that we have access to in North America, in the— especially in the West, because they can cause health problems. Stick to more traditional, real food, whole food, natural-based food diet, and you'll support your body better for sure. The Mayo Clinic, May 2021, looked at using exercise to help benefit your lipid levels in the body, hopefully creating some healthy fats. Experts from the Mayo Clinic note that engaging in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week can increase one's high-density lipoproteins, the good cholesterol levels in your body. So exercise, not just about your fitness level and, and how it looks, but importantly, of course, how it feels, keeps you feeling good, but it also has a physiological effect on your body. This case in helping to promote those healthy fat or high-density lipoproteins that we need in our body, the good cholesterol. Scientific reports, May 2021, looked at the connection between dementia as well as smoking and cardiovascular disease. They looked at data on more than 70,000 individuals worldwide. And they found that smoking and poor cardiovascular health can affect verbal learning and memory as early as age 18. The findings highlight the importance of practicing healthy lifestyle habits even at a young age. Courage us, us. Sometimes there's no immediate gratification to doing these good things for our health, but in the long term, uh, helping our body do what it was originally designed and created to do will ensure that we have that quality for as long as possible and give us more days to enjoy. The American Academy of Dermatology, May 2021, talks about melanoma. Of course, we know that as a form of skin cancer, but they want to caution you about looking at your nails to keep an eye out for that. Melanoma is a deadly skin cancer, but most people don't know it can also occur in and around your fingernails and toenails. In addition to checking skin for signs of cancer, experts advise examining nails for the following things: dark streaks, dark skin next to the nail, nail lifting from the fingers or toes, splitting of the nails, and a bump or nodule under the nail. Dermatologists add that nail melanoma is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage than melanoma on the skin, making it more dangerous for the health. If you notice any changes to your nails, including a new dark band on your nail, make an appointment to see a board-certified dermatologist, or have your family doctor refer you to a dermatologist if there's some concern. The PLOS One journal, April 2021, looked at lumbopelvic proprioception being impaired in low back pain sufferers. So your ability to balance and know where you are positionally in your lower back and pelvis has a role with low back pain. Proprioception is the body's ability to sense where its various parts are in relation to one another for purposes of movement and balance. When proprioception is impaired, an individual may exhibit abnormal movement patterns which can increase their risk for injury in the immediate and 8 adjacent areas of the body. A review of data from 16 studies found that individuals with low back pain often have altered lumbopelvic proprioception. Treatment to restore proper joint motion in the hips and lumbar spine, the lower back, such as therapies provided by manual therapists, can help to improve proprioception as well as reduce pain and disability. So the fitness and strength and stability of your back is important from a fitness component And you can always make something stronger, but making something that's not sitting and moving right stronger, even though it can provide relief and keep it functional, is not necessarily dealing with the cause or source of the problem. You do want to check for that joint function, recover as much of that joint function as you can, and then make that system as strong and stable and functional as you can. And that will serve your body much better over the long run. All right. Sometimes you can feel good. Sometimes you can have strength and stability, but still have a part that's not sitting and moving well. And over time, it's, uh, ability to function will deteriorate until one day when you finally do have a symptom or it keeps you from doing something, it may be harder to correct. So ensuring joint function throughout life is very valuable, especially then when we look at the spine and how it may correlate with the nerve function and communication through that system. Even when there aren't symptoms, there can be interference to that quality of communication and function through the neuromuscular— neuro— the neuromusculoskeletal system, and we want to make sure that's as healthy as possible for our entire lifetime. All right, so get those little aches and pains or those stiffnesses checked so that you can stay nice and healthy all the time and get out and do what you need and want to do every day. That's your daily health update for Thursday heading you into the weekend. We'll have a written format for you tomorrow on Friday. Enjoy yourselves, get out and enjoy some of the nice weather, and stay active. Be happy, share some smiles, and we will see you on Monday. All the best.
