Mental Attitude: Learning to Play Music Improves Kids’ Brains. MRI scans of children who received musical training showed greater thickness in the areas of the brain that influence working memory, self-control, organization, and planning for the future. The research team claims their findings “underscore the vital importance of finding new and innovative ways to make music training more widely available to youths, beginning in childhood.”
Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, December 2014
Health Alert: Cancer Death Rates in the US Continue to Drop. Death rates from cancer in the United States (US) continue to fall (down 22% since a peak in 1991), according to the annual report from the American Cancer Society (ACS). The ACS argues that continuing the fight against cancer across all segments of the population could lead to even greater reduction in cancer related deaths. Dr. John R. Seffrin, the CEO of ACS adds, “The change may be inevitable, but we can still lessen cancer’s deadly impact by making sure as many Americans as possible have access to the best tools to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.” American Cancer Society, January 2015
Diet: Eat Your Fruits and Veggies! A 24-year study including 9,112 Japanese men and women found that those who ate the most servings of fruits and vegetables each day had a 24% lower risk for total cardiovascular disease, a 20% lower risk for stroke, and a 43% lower risk for coronary heart disease when compared with their peers who ate the fewest daily servings of fruits and vegetables. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2015
Exercise: Daily Physical Activity Helps Maintain Vascular Health. Researchers have found that reducing daily physical activity for even a few days can lead to decreased function in the inner lining of blood vessels in the legs of healthy, young individuals. However, their work demonstrates that it’s possible to start the repair process by walking at least 10,000 steps a day. Study co-author Dr. Paul Fadel adds, “The best treatment is to become more active, and our research lends proof to that concept. If you do not realize how harmful sitting around all day and not doing any activity is to your health, this proves it.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, December 2014
Chiropractic: Lumbar Manipulation & Exercise for Knee Pain? A new case study supports the use of lumbar spinal manipulation for anterior knee pain and quadriceps weakness. A 20-year-old man who underwent ACL reconstruction of the left knee with continued knee pain and quadriceps weakness presented for chiropractic care. He was prescribed exercises to improve his quadriceps strength and received side-lying rotational spinal manipulation. After a course of eight weekly treatments, he returned to pain-free participation in recreational sports.
International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, December 2014
Wellness/Prevention: Water Coolers at School Encourage Students to Drink More. When water dispensers were installed in a few New York City schools, students drank three times more water at lunchtime than students at schools that did not install water coolers in their lunch rooms. Researchers found that 80% of students noticed the water dispensers, two-thirds of those who noticed them actually used them, and 50% who noticed the coolers actually drank more water at lunchtime. Officials plan to install water dispensers in over 1,000 New York City public schools.
American Journal of Public Health, December 2014
Quote: “It is better to be alone than in bad company.” ~ George Washington

When it comes to deciding which are the best chiropractors many factors must be considered.
I found that Dr. Joe Megna is one of the best chiropractors I have found in the Napa region.