In this January 19, 2021 daily health update, Dr. David Koivuranta (Dr. Dave) of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic delivers a concise, conversational briefing on six recent research studies spanning cancer risk, nutrition, environmental health, cardiovascular wellness, brain injury recovery, and musculoskeletal imaging. He begins with a friendly greeting and explains the purpose of the segment – to share evidence‑based health news without providing medical diagnoses. The first study (BMC Medicine, Dec 2020) shows that a 5‑point BMI increase raises colon cancer risk by 23 % in men but only 9 % in women, while a similar rise in waist‑to‑hip ratio raises risk more in women. The second item (WebMD, Dec 2020) lists potassium‑rich foods and cautions about carbohydrate spikes from potatoes. The third (Environmental Pollution Report, Dec 2020) links long‑term exposure to fine particulate matter with a higher 10‑year dementia incidence in older adults. The fourth (Journal of Clinical Hypertension, Dec 2020) reports that 30 minutes of relaxing music five days a week for four weeks lowers systolic blood pressure and resting heart rate in young adults at risk for hypertension. The fifth (Brain Injury Report, Jan 2021) describes a pilot study where aerobic exercise improved mood symptoms in concussion patients. The final study (Spine, Dec 2020) reveals MRI‑detected fat infiltration and reduced cross‑sectional area in neck muscles of individuals with whiplash‑associated disorder, suggesting targeted exercises aid recovery. Dr. Dave wraps up with encouragement to apply these insights, offers contact information for a hard‑copy summary, and emphasizes the positive momentum of daily health engagement.
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Hello everyone, it's Dr. Dave. Hopefully you're all doing well, you had a nice start to the week, you're staying comfy and warm. Coming at you on behalf of the Toronto Neck and Back Pain Clinic with your daily health update. It's Monday, January 19th, 2021. Coming at you with 6 different areas of health and wellness news based on the latest and greatest research and literature. Somewhere around this video you can read through all 6 areas. If you'd like a hard copy, DM us on social, give us— send us an email, or give us a call here at the clinic. We'd be happy to get that to you. Not going to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any illness or disease with our time together today. However, you might just stumble across something that's useful for your own health and wellness sake, or for those around you. And just for tuning in, tapping in, plugging in to this information on a daily basis, you create some positive momentum in your life when it comes to your own thoughts, decisions, and actions for your health and wellness on a daily basis. According to the BMC Medicine journal, December 2020, obesity influences colon cancer risk in men differently than women. They looked at some data of nearly 116,000 adults, nearly half of whom had had a history of colon cancer, and researchers report that an increase in body mass index by 5 points is associated with a 23% increased risk in colon cancer in men, but only 9% in women. However, an equivalent increase in waist-to-hip ratio revealed a 25% increased risk for colon cancer in women, but only a 5% elevated risk in men. So the authors say that the largest, um, their study, which is the largest to look at the difference between body fat and colorectal cancer risk in men and women, revealed the need for a more nuanced approach when trying to prevent cancer. But again, a lot of this we know. Although there can be a genetic, a familial, and an environmental component, there's also a big lifestyle component, and you will not go wrong trying to manage those lifestyle factors when it comes to your health and wellness to help decrease the likelihood of those major chronic diseases that we suffer from in North America and now around the world with cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. One of the things you can do with your diet and your nutrition, according to WebMD, December 2020, is to get your potassium. It's an element that's important for the function of the cells, nerves, and muscles in your body. Dietary sources for potassium include beans, lentils, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, spinach, Swiss chard, tomatoes, oranges, bananas, avocados, yogurt, clams, salmon, and coconut water. All good things. Just maybe watch those potatoes. Make sure you're having some potato— um, some protein with them and balance out some of those carbs, those starchy carbs. Watch out for the blood sugar spike there. But potassium is a valuable micronutrient mineral that you need in your diet for sure. Air pollution can increase dementia risk according to the Environmental Pollution Report, December 2020. They did a study of, or looked at about 60,000, 67,000 older adults, and they observed those with greater long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the following 10 years. That fine particulate matter in our environment is increasing globally, and is thought as a contributing factor to sterility rates and the inability for couples to conceive globally, especially in the East, where they have large populations and pollution is more common on a daily basis. Relaxing music can benefit your heart, according to the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, December 2020. For young adults at risk for hypertension, a recent study found that passively listening to relaxing music for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week for 4 weeks can lead to a significant reduction in both systolic blood pressure and the resting heart rate. So good to crank that music up sometimes and enjoy, but occasionally you may wanna plug into some relaxing music and get the known therapeutic benefit of that in your environment. Aerobic exercise is good for concussion patients according to the Brain Injury Report, January 2021. A pilot study involving 16 traumatic brain injury patients revealed that aerobic exercise is effective improving mood symptoms including depression, anxiety, and anger in patients recovering from a concussion. So good to get that body moving, stimulation to the brain from the joints and the muscles from that movement, as well as the increased aerobic nature and the circulatory effects of that aerobic exercise. Probably all very good for the brain. And finally, on the chiropractic side of things, according to the journal Spine, December 2020, whiplash and neck muscle changes were looked at through a comparison of neck MRI eyes with individuals that have whiplash-associated disorders or no history of neck pain in association between whiplash-associated disorder and both fat infiltration and reduced cross-section area of some muscles in the neck that support flexion and extension. Um, so they found, um, uh, changes to the actual structure of tissue of the parts of the neck with, those studies after experiencing a whiplash-associated disorder. So quite often, uh, providing the correct exercises as well as treatment for the neck will help with the recovery of that whiplash disorder. All right, so, uh, that's your daily health update for Tuesday this week. Hopefully the rest of your week goes well. Have a great day today. Share some smiles, make the world a better place. Keep taking care of yourself and those around you, and, uh, we'll be back here tomorrow to keep supporting you in that process. Enjoy.
