WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE from your Rio Vista Chiropractor, 11-24-2025

Health Alert: Sepsis Risk Increases with Type 2 Diabetes. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the
body’s extreme response to an infection causes widespread inflammation leading to organ dysfunction and
potentially death. A study that looked at long-term data concerning more than 7,000 adults revealed that type 2
diabetics have double the risk of sepsis over a ten-year time frame, especially those who smoke, don’t effectively
manage their blood sugar, or have experienced diabetes complications.
European Association for the Study of Diabetes, September 2025
Diet: Keto Diet Benefits University Students with Depression. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, very lowcarbohydrate
eating plan that shifts the body’s metabolism into a state of ketosis, causing it to burn fat for fuel
instead of carbohydrates. Researchers from Ohio State University report that college students with major depressive
disorder who followed the ketogenic diet for longer than ten weeks experienced a 70% reduction in their depressive
symptoms, as well as significant improvement in well-being, cognitive performance, and metabolic health.
Translational Psychiatry, September 2025
Exercise: How Exercise Suppresses Hunger. Past studies have shown that exercise suppresses appetite, but the
precise mechanism remained a mystery. Now, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine report that when lactate
accumulates in the muscles during intense or prolonged physical activity and subsequently enters the bloodstream,
it’s combined with the amino acid phenylalanine by the enzyme CNDP2 to form a compound called Lac-Phe. This
molecule then travels to the brain, where it directly inhibits hunger-promoting neurons in the hypothalamus, helping
to reduce appetite. Nature Metabolism, September 2025
Chiropractic: Most Dancers Develop Low Back Pain. A survey of 77 recreational and professional dancers
revealed that 64 (~83%) experienced at least one episode of low back pain during the previous year. Interestingly,
dance style did not appear to influence low back pain risk. Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, June 2025
Mental Attitude: New Dementia Cases Have More Than Doubled in Last 30 Years! Using data from the Global
Burden of Disease study, researchers report that the annual incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
worldwide increased by 157% between 1990 and 2021. While much of this rise is attributable to the growing and
aging global population, researchers suggest that addressing modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline—such as
high blood sugar, obesity, and smoking—could help slow the global dementia epidemic.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, September 2025
Wellness/Prevention: Low Birthweight Can Have Lifelong Reproductive Health Implications. An analysis of
data from 40,795 middle-aged and older women revealed that having a low birthweight was associated with a shorter
reproductive span (by about eight months), a higher risk of menstrual irregularities, and a greater likelihood of not
having children. Journal of Epidemiology, October 2025
Quote: “Perception is reality.” ~ Steve Young

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