Mental Attitude: Dementia Linked to Osteoporosis? French researchers reviewed the health records of 2,041 older women
who had been treated for a peripheral fragility fracture and found these patients were three to four time more likely to have a
diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia than women of similar age in the general population.
Joint, Bone, Spine, October 2017
Health Alert: Smoking Bans Help Protect Children’s Lungs. A research review of 41 studies that included data concerning
more than 57 million births and 2.7 million hospital admissions found that anti-smoking measures are associated with a more
than 18% decrease in childhood lung infections requiring hospital care, a nearly 10% decline in severe asthma attacks, and
about a 4% decrease in preterm births. Researcher Dr. Jasper Been writes, “Our study demonstrates that children’s health
benefits substantially from smoke-free laws and raising tobacco prices.” The Lancet Public Health, September 2017
Diet: Cocoa Compound May Delay or Even Prevent Diabetes. A new animal study suggests that cocoa powder antioxidants
may help slow diabetes progression. In the study, researchers found that when rats ate a high-fat diet that included a cocoa
flavanol called catechin, their bodies were better able to control their blood sugar levels. It’s believed that the beta cells which
produce insulin are particularly sensitive to oxidative stress and the consumption of catechin helps to protect such cells. Study
co-author Dr. Andrew Neilson writes, “These results will help us get closer to using these compounds more effectively in foods
or supplements to maintain normal blood glucose control and potentially even delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.”
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, August 2017
Exercise: Exercise Can Improve Children’s Brain Power. In this study, children aged 7-13 years engaged in short bursts of
high-intensity training (HIT) for just ten minutes a day for six weeks. Compared with students in a control group who
maintained their usual routine, those in the HIT group demonstrated greater improvements in tasks involving memory,
information processing, and behavior, including the ability to focus on task completion without getting distracted.
eLife, August 2017
Chiropractic: Vitamin D levels May Be Associated with Low Back Pain. Blood samples taken from 600 participants with
either chronic low back pain, sub-acute low back pain, or no history of back pain showed no significant difference in the
prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among the three groups. However, the researchers did observe that the men and women in
both of the back pain groups were more likely to have greater levels of vitamin D deficiency, which suggests that severe vitamin
D deficiency may play a role in the development of low back pain. As a result, future guidelines for the management of back
pain may include vitamin D testing and treatment. Clinical Rheumatology, August 2017
Wellness/Prevention: Check Your Car for Recalls. The National Safety Council reports that drivers of cars manufactured
before 2012 are about half as likely to bring their automobile in for service in the event of a recall (44% compliance rate vs.
83% for newer cars). Experts from the council add that there are about 53 million vehicles on the road with unresolved recall
issues. You can visit checktoprotect.org or recalls.gov to find out if any components on your car have been recalled.
National Safety Council, September 2017
Quote: “One lives in the hope of becoming a memory.” ~ Antonio Porchia

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