In this 6‑minute daily health update, Dr. David Koivuranta (Dr. Dave) of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic shares six concise, research‑backed health insights for the public. He begins with a striking statistic from the 2021 Tobacco Control Report showing that menthol cigarettes may have recruited 10 million extra smokers between 1980‑2018, contributing to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and increased risk of COPD and lung cancer. He then offers practical spring‑allergy mitigation tips sourced from Verywell Health, such as staying indoors during high pollen counts, using HEPA filters, and showering before bed. Next, he cites an International Journal of Eating Disorders analysis of the ABCD Study, noting that each additional hour of screen time for pre‑teens raises their one‑year risk of binge‑eating disorder by 50 %. He follows with evidence from the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that a six‑month aerobic exercise program slowed disease progression in older adults with mild‑to‑moderate Alzheimer’s. He then discusses a Biomedical Research International study showing that deep cervical flexion exercises improve neck pain, disability, and muscle endurance in teachers with chronic neck pain, linking this to upper‑crossed‑syndrome postural issues. Throughout, Dr. Dave emphasizes that while the video does not diagnose or treat, the presented information can help viewers create a healthier environment for their bodies. He invites viewers to request full references via DM, email, or phone, and signs off promising another update the next day.
Chapters
Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well. You enjoyed the start of your week, last few days of March here in 2021. Coming at you today on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. It is Tuesday, March 30th, 2021. Gonna look at 6 areas of health and wellness today. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 areas. It's a good one today. Some interesting information from the research and literature for you. If you'd like a copy, you can DM us on social, send us an email here at the clinic or give us a call even, and 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, you just never know what your body is capable of when you create a good environment for it to do what it was designed and programmed to do. And sometimes getting some good health information can help you do just that every single day. So good for you for being here. Um, an interesting statistic to, to start, especially for, uh, those smokers out there. From the Tobacco Control Report, February 2021, they looked at the menthol cigarettes, and they estimate that about 10 million extra smokers were lured to smoking between 1980 and 2018 because of adding menthol as a cooling sensation into the cigarettes for the throat and airways, and that reduced the irritation from smoking the cigarettes. So, um, they thought that that encouraged even young smokers, new smokers, to start smoking, and difficult to quit, interestingly. So maybe there were about 378,000 premature deaths from those 10 million new smokers because of the addition of that menthol, according to this report. So most of us know that some things are not good for us, and yet we choose to engage in them because there's something attached to that engagement, and it's not always easy to quit. But from a health and clinical standpoint, definitely a good idea. It's one of the leading contributors to some health problems like chronic obstructive obstructive pulmonary disease later on in life, breathing disorders, as well as of course lung— 90% of lung cancer cases are due to smoking, either from smoking or secondhand smoke. And of course, it probably ages us faster according to some research and literature in total. So good, interesting little bit of information there, I guess. I thought it was interesting. Spring allergies could be an issue for many, according to Verywell Health, March 2021. It's not possible to always completely avoid those allergies because they're environmental, but you can take some measures to try and avoid, avoid exposure. So you can stay inside if pollen and mold counts get high, use a HEPA filter to remove airborne particles, close your windows when driving, vacuum and dust frequently. And shower before bedtime to remove pollen on your body and avoid drying clothes outside during that time, especially if you know you're prone to those sensitivities. So some good tips there for those spring allergies that may be coming your way. Of course, sometimes that overreactive, hyperreactive body, the sensitivity to those particular allergens, could be mitigated with some changes and an approach maybe by a naturopath, homeopathic practitioner. Good to into, because any effort that might bring some improvement to those sensitivities would be good and probably well worth it. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, March 2021, looked at screen, screen time and binge eating. They looked at data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, and researchers estimate that for each hour a preteen spends on social media or watching television each day, their risk for binge eating disorder within the next year increases by 50%. So sometimes we catch ourselves snacking or uncontrollably eating if we're spending more time in front of the screen. So decreasing that screen time probably also increases other activity that will keep us away from having to do some of that eating. The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, January 2021, looks at exercise slowing Alzheimer's progression. 96 older adults, mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. They observe the condition progressed more slowly among those who participated in a 6-month aerobic exercise program. The collective evidence on its benefits supports the use of aerobic exercise as an additional activity for therapy in Alzheimer's disease. So probably good, as we know, for prevention, but even to treat many conditions, including some cognitive dysfunction, exercise can be a good addition to that approach. Finally, the Biomedical Research International Journal, January 2021, looked at deep neck muscle training benefits. It helps improve your neck posture, especially, and it becomes deconditioned. Those muscles do become deconditioned in chronic neck pain. So they looked at an experiment involving teachers with neck pain, and they did the deep cervical flexion exercises, uh, throughout the day. Then they had greater improvements in their neck pain, disability, and muscle endurance than participants in either a conventional exercise or control group. We look at this as part of something called an upper crossed syndrome. Those posture changes that we have quite often now tied into some of the technology we use. So there is a way to improve it. You could be assessed and see if those imbalances in your muscles are happening, and if they are, some specific exercises can help balance it out. So there you go, all 6 areas today we covered in the daily health update for you on your Tuesday. Some good information to keep you going here at the start of the week. And of course, we'll be back tomorrow, Wednesday, with your daily health update once again. We'll look forward to chatting with you then. Enjoy your day, stay well, take care.
