Mental Attitude: Toxic Bosses Bad for Employee Health. Twelve hundred participants completed questionnaires related to their own psychological wellbeing, prevalence of bullying at their workplace, and their manager’s personality. Their responses revealed that those who work for leaders with psychopathic and narcissistic traits had lower job satisfaction and were also more likely to experience depressive symptoms. Furthermore, not only did employees’ wellbeing suffer, they were also more likely to engage in undesirable behaviors at work. British Psychological Society, January 2017
Health Alert: Peroxide Ingestion Can Be Deadly. Ingestion of high-concentration peroxide as promoted in some alternative medicine circles poses numerous life-threatening issues. Investigators examined ten years of poison control records regarding high-concentration peroxide ingestion (10% or greater concentration) and found that nearly 14% of reported cases had an embolic event and 6.8% died or exhibited continued disability. Study author Dr. Benjamin Hatten writes, “This is a caustic liquid, and as with many poison prevention efforts, we recommend keeping this product in its original container and adding both child-resistant capping and a colorizing agent to reduce the possibility of accidental ingestion.”
Annals of Emergency Medicine, January 2017
Diet: What You Eat Can Improve Your Sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following dietary tips to raise your odds for getting a good night’s rest: reduce saturated fat and increase fiber intake; reduce sugar consumption, as too much sugar increases the likelihood that you’ll wake up in the middle of the night; avoid food and drinks that are spicy, greasy, sugary, or alcoholic to reduce your risk of sleep-interrupting heartburn; and consume more B vitamin-rich foods, such as dairy, eggs, meat, poultry, and fish, as they can regulate melatonin and help stabilize your sleep.
National Sleep Foundation, February 2017
Exercise: Regular Exercise Reduces Depression Risk in Children. In a new study, researchers assessed about 700 children at ages six, eight, and ten and found that kids who participated in regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise were less likely to develop depression over those four years. Lead study author Dr. Tonje Zahl explains, “Being active, getting sweaty, and roughhousing offer more than just physical health benefits. They also protect against depression.” Pediatrics, January 2017
Chiropractic: Try Drug-Free Options First, Say Experts. New treatment guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommend that people with a new episode of low back pain should try drug-free therapies before considering medication. In general, the guidelines recommended that those with back pain that has lasted less than twelve weeks should consider non-drug therapies such as heat wraps, massage, acupuncture, and spinal manipulation (the primary form of treatment offered by chiropractors) to ease pain and restore function. The ACP stressed that powerful opioid painkillers should only be used as a last resort in some cases of long-lasting back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine, February 2017
Wellness/Prevention: Weight Loss Lowers Risk of Uterine Cancer. A review of data concerning more than 35,000 American women between the age of 50 and 79 found that weight gain/loss after age 50 can affect a woman’s risk for developing endometrial cancer. Researchers report that older women who lost 5% of their body weight reduced their uterine cancer risk by 29%, while the same reduction among obese women cut the risk by 56%. On the other hand, older women who gained more than ten pounds (4.53 kg) increased their risk for endometrial cancer by as much as 26%!
Journal of Clinical Oncology, February 2017
Quote: “Open your mind before your mouth.” ~ Aristophanes

I found that Dr. Joe Megna is one of the best chiropractors I have found in the Napa region.