Researchers at The University of California at Berkley conducted an interesting experiment. They used an.
Whether you are traveling across the country, or picking up a holiday shift, here are some simple things to help fight jet lag (and keep your brain healthy):
    .    Time your flights. If you are only flying over two to three zones, avoid the “red eye” flights as much as possible. Remember, jet lag is worse if you traveling east.
    .   
    .    Get outside and get some sunlight! Light helps reset your circadian rhythm and reduces the effects of jet lag.
    .    

    .    Adjust with exercise. Exercise also helps reset your biological clock. I would not suggest running a marathon, but while you are outside getting sunlight, consider taking a brisk walk.
    .    

    .    Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Both will negatively affect your sleep cycle, which will already be slightly off.
    .    

    .    Resist napping on the plane. You may need to fall asleep earlier than your body is used to at your new destination. Being a little more tired could be helpful.
    .    

    .    Melatonin might not be the best answer; the studies on its effectiveness are mixed. As I have “blogged” before melatonin often comes in an overdose amount — we’re talking anything over one milligram. It’s important to check with your doctor before taking this hormone.
    .    

    .    Consider a jet lag calculator app. These can help guide you through overcoming and preventing jet lag. Virgin Atlantic offers one that I enjoy from Mental Workout.

Read the full article here

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health experts, such as chiropractors, and the U.S. government all recommend getting daily exercise — about an hour a day of moderate exercise for most adults — to keep weight off and prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Plus, we chiropractors are well aware that keeping weight off not only helps to prevent the diseases just mentioned, but it also helps to slow down, and often prevent, arthritis and stress injuries of the musculoskeletal system caused by excess weight.

But, excess weight is not only caused by, and sustained through, lack of exercise. Here are some more “fun facts” from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics:

• The prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over has increased from 19.4 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2009.
• In 2009, 9 percent of adults 18 and over had diabetes, up from 8.2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 1997.
• 20.6 percent of adults smoked, about the same as in 2008.
• Nearly 23 percent of adults had at least one day of binge drinking in 2009, defined as having five or more drinks in a day.
• Most Americans believe they are healthy. More than 66 percent said they had excellent or very good health, down from 68.5 percent in 2008. 2.4 percent said they had poor health.
• Just over 4 percent of all Americans said they had an asthma attack in the past year

There are no shortcuts and no way to get around it: Good health and vibrant wellness is created and maintained through an overall healthy lifestyle.

Technorati Tags: exercise, healthy lifetyle, weight loss, Where:Ventura-CA

Though office refrigerators were the focus of the article and studies, it’s equally important, of course, for each of us to ask ourself how often we clean out our home refrigerator. According to a study conducted by the ADA and ConAgra Foods, 44 percent of office refrigerators are cleaned once a month and 22 percent are cleaned only once or twice a year. The article suggested that the next time someone was looking for a relatively bacteria-free place to store their lunch, they should consider that the bathrooms in most offices are probably cleaner than the fridge. (At least they are cleaned more often!) According to the Agriculture Dept., the foods most likely to turn unhealthiest the quickest are casseroles, cold cuts, poultry, yogurt, and sour cream. Though such food items are healthy “in the beginning,” can go from bad to lethal. Last year at an AT&T Center in San Jose, California, a co-worker who was trying to be helpful, cracked open the office fridge to clean it and noxious fumes sent seven of her co-workers to the hospital and forced authorities to evacuate the building while men in hazmat suits spread down the fridge!

So, add “clean the refrigerator” to your health “to do” list. Even food that’s good for you when it’s fresh, can be bad for your health given enough time!

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First of all, if you are someone who reads my Ventura chiropractic blogs, then you know that as your Ventura Chiropractor I am a passionate advocate of living a healthy lifestyle that, as I’ve written so many times, includes a healthy diet, good hydration, plenty of exercise and, of course, regular chiropractic care!  In addition, I’m sure that if you are someone who is already concerned about your health, you don’t get your diet and nutrition guidelines from watching television. We all know that most TV advertisements that are about food, especially “convenience” food, are meant to sell, sell, sell, whether or not the product is actually good for you. That said, it always nice to take a moment to reflect on just how “unhealthy” TV ads can be. So, I read with great interest an article today in the

Taping 28 days of prime-time TV (as well as Saturday-morning programming) on the four major broadcast networks, researchers identified 800 foods promoted in 3,000 ads. Then, using a nutritional software program, they analyzed the content of the items, comparing the foods’ nutritional values with the government’s food guide pyramid and recommended daily intake values for various nutrients (based on a 2,000 calories per day diet).

Are you ready for this?  Not only would a 2,000-calorie diet made up solely of foods from commercials provide too much cholesterol, saturated fat and salt, and not nearly enough nutrients like iron, calcium or vitamins A, D and E, just one advertised food item by itself would provide, on average, three times a person’s daily recommended servings of sugar and two and half times the daily recommended servings of fat.

The study will be published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Technorati Tags: health and fitness, healthy lifestyle, nutrition, Where:Ventura-CA

Excess weight, in the form of body fat, overburdens the structure of the human body. It was not designed for the added. The musculoskeletal system can literally be put on overload with only an additional 20 or 30 pounds. For example, in an effort to compensate (counterbalance) for weight in the belly, the pelvis tilts forward. This causes joints in the low back to compress. Joint compression inhibits nerve function and produces painful inflammation. Most individuals who are overweight suffer from low back pain caused by a pinched sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that impinge nerves due to weight-bearing stresses. Misaligned vertebra can not only produce new arthritic changes in the spine, but can continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have already taken place over the years.

You may be wondering how chiropractic can help. First of all, to be clear, a healthy body weight is requisite in order for the musculoskeletal system to perform the way it is meant to. That said, in addition, chiropractic treatment relieves nerve impedence in the spine and helps to restore motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, like in the low back, hips, and knees. A spine in alignment and joints that have good mobility make exercise and physical activity a lot easier. Exercise will not only help in weight reduction, but it can actually decelerate degenerative changes as a person ages.

It is always a good plan to make an appointment with a healthcare professional, like your chiropractor, to discuss diet and exercise. Chiropractors not only help people get pain relief from back challenges and joint inflammation due to arthritis, but in addition they offer highly knowledgeable advice on the type of lifestyle changes that can aid a person in staying healthier and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be inevitable. The human body was meant to move, to walk, even to dance, without pain, for a lifetime.

So, if you’ve been throwing your weight around and all you’ve been getting in return is back and joint pain, your chiropractor can help relieve your suffering. Make an appointment today!

Technorati Tags: arthritis, chiropractic, Chiropractor, excess weight, weight loss