In this March 25, 2021 video, Dr. David Koivuranta of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic delivers a conversational daily health update covering six evidence‑based wellness topics. He begins by noting the purpose of the update – to inspire small daily health thoughts that can lead to an upward spiral of better choices. He then reviews recent research: (1) an Aging journal article linking early‑onset type 2 diabetes to increased kidney risk; (2) Mayo Clinic lifestyle recommendations for diabetes prevention, emphasizing activity, fiber, whole grains, and the Mediterranean diet while warning against fad diets; (3) a Journal of the American Heart Association study showing processed meat raises dementia death risk by 20 % and plant‑based protein cuts heart disease risk by 12 %; (4) a JAMA Network Open study finding light‑intensity activity (e.g., gardening, walking) reduces mobility impairment risk in older women by up to 46 %; (5) a Nature Scientific Reports investigation that a CD38 gene variant (CC) correlates with higher marriage satisfaction traits; and (6) a BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine survey revealing 42 % of competitive gamers experience musculoskeletal pain, with a case anecdote about a young gamer seeking help for carpal tunnel syndrome. Throughout, Dr. Koivuranta stresses personalized, holistic care, consulting nutritionists or naturopaths, and the importance of seeking professional help rather than going it alone. He invites viewers to request a printed copy of the update and signs off with encouragement to “feed your soul” over the weekend.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hope you're all doing well, enjoying your last full week of March. Coming at you today on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. Hopefully you're all out there doing well and creating those great experiences in your life. We'll see if we can help today with our daily health update. Gonna share with you 6 areas of health and wellness. Somewhere around this video you can magically read through those 6 areas. Encourage you to do so. And if you would like a copy, you can DM us on social, send us an email at the clinic or give us a call, good old-fashioned telephone, cell phone, and we'll make sure we get that copy to you. Not going to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, by tapping in, tuning in, and turning on some thought process behind health and wellness each and every day, even if for a moment, you can create an upward spiral with your own thoughts, decisions, and actions when it comes to your health and wellness, and thereby you can create some improvement in those areas where you may be looking for or wanting some improvement. But if everything is already good or great, then keeping plugged into some health information will help keep you that way, which is always awesome. Some information from the journal Aging, March 2021, talks about the early onset type 2 diabetes and kidney risks. Like any condition, the earlier the onset, the longer it's prevalent in a person's life, the more likely it is to create complications. And so younger people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be monitoring their kidney health. And according to the Mayo Clinic in February 2021, there are some tips for preventing diabetes. They recommend lifestyle changes that include being more active, eating lots of fiber, choosing whole grains, losing extra weight, and skipping the fad diets for healthier diets. Can't emphasize that enough. Fad diets will help you lose weight, but they are not necessarily healthier for you. And it's also questionable whether or not they actually help you lose healthy weight and to keep it off. But diets that are a little more researched and have been around for a long time, like the Mediterranean diet, when properly implemented, can definitely help you reach many health goals. Good to talk to a holistic nutritionist, perhaps a naturopath, and/or another qualified healthcare provider in that area to get some help if you need it. And along with those nutritional recommendations, there may be, uh, some focus on protein sources. And according to the Journal of the American Heart Association, publication, February 2021, if you eat processed meats, that can be an, a 20% increased risk of death from dementia. Never mind the other effects on the circulatory system, perhaps your heart and weight and otherwise, but even dementia. But if you have more of a plant-based protein source in your diet, you can decrease the risk from heart disease by 12%. So the sources of those proteins can be very valuable and again, good to customize, individualize, and personalize for your life. So again, good to work with someone in the know to create that for you in your life. Okay. The Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, February 2021, talked about light activity to preserve mobility, especially in women. In this particular case, in this study, I'm going to cough. Excuse me. Not good to do on a video, especially these days. But that's more just for me talking too much early in the morning. Researchers observed that older women who spent the most time time each day engaged in light-intensity physical activity—gardening or taking a walk, for example—were up to 46% less likely to develop mobility impairments during the following 6 years. So you do want to keep engaged in some level of activity. It doesn't always have to be that moderate to intense. It can also be light, but you probably want to vary it up. There is some benefit to that higher intensity as well, but those can be of shorter duration perhaps. But again, good to customize, individualize, and personalize for your health goals. Genetics, according to the Nature Scientific Reports, February 2021, may predict marriage happiness. For those of you getting into a relationship and looking to solidify it, or you're in one that's already been solidified, according to a study that followed 71 newly married couples for 4 years, those with a gene variation called CC in gene CD38 reported higher levels of traits corresponding to marriage satisfaction. One of the study authors says that CC individuals felt more grateful for their partner, reported higher trust in their partner, were more forgiving of their partner, and were more satisfied with their marriages. It's funny the correlation you can draw with science. Definitely to be taken with a grain of salt, but, um, you know, if you are this CC carrier in your genes, well, you may have a greater likelihood of having some marriage happiness. But a marriage, like everything else, has lots of variables, and being healthy, keeping each other healthy, keeps that relationship better so that nobody is in the position of having to take care or worry or be concerned about the other. So all you couples out there, married or not, take good care of each other. Don't let the other person live with something they could get improved. So many times someone reluctantly shows up at the office because someone who cares for them makes them come to the chiropractor, quite often the practitioner of last resort, but then they're so glad they did, and the partner can take all the credit for encouraging them to come because they are now better and can better serve that relationship so that the two of them can take better care of each other, not one looking after the other. And no genetics required, but it may be involved. The British Medical Journal Open Sport and Exercise Medicine had an interesting article August 2020 on musculoskeletal pain in esports. Questionnaires completed by 188 competitive gamers revealed that 42+ percent had musculoskeletal pain within the previous week, with lower back pain as the most common complaint. The participants also noted that musculoskeletal pain affects their ability to practice and participate in league games and tournaments. Interestingly, we had a call this week from a young gentleman in his early 20s who is a gamer, and he was looking for a referral for carpal tunnel syndrome. He's done everything, tried everything, but The practitioners are reluctant to send him for that neurosurgical consult because he is so young, and, but apparently he's tried all the non-invasive forms of care, and that's what he was looking for. And hopefully he continues with some care and can avoid that surgery, which is ideal. But hopefully he gets the relief that he wants because some people, this is what they do. It's not just for pleasure or entertainment, which is part of the deal, but some of them actually do it as a career or our profession, and they're very good at it. So you have to stay healthy no matter what you're doing, including gaming, so that you can continue to enjoy it and have those great experiences in your life. So big message today is seek out some help, and no one is an island. Everybody could use a little company when it comes to taking care of themselves and making sure that they haven't missed anything and/or can help get to where they want to be without feeling like it's not possible, because quite often it is. Thank goodness the the healing power of your body, right? So that's your daily health update for Thursday, end of the week, a little longer one, but, uh, well worth it so that you can stew over that. We'll give you a printed format tomorrow and you can read through that, get you through the weekend. We'll catch up with you next Monday, end of March, with your daily health update then. I hope you enjoy. Go out and do something nice for yourself this weekend. Feed your soul, share some smiles, have a good time, and we'll catch you next time. All the best.
