Social Significance

I’ve attempted in this column to cover numerous aspects of physical, chemical, and emotional well-being and how they relate to better health and wellness.  However, a journal article published in Nature Neuroscience reminded me that I’ve neglected the social aspect of health and its role in longevity.

The topic of social health became more significant in 1947 when the World Health Organization included it in its formal definition of health.  Increasing evidence has shown that those who are well integrated into their communities tend to live longer and heal better from disease while those who do not feel as connected are more prone to illness.  Numerous times, it has been proven that married people tend to live longer than individuals who do not marry.  In his book, Healthy at 100, John Robbins, M.D. documents the critical significance of a strong community network in all four of the cultures he studied where people often lived over 100 years with extraordinary health.  This recent research study set out to determine the neurological mechanism that makes these outcomes possible.  The conclusion of the study ties into a subject I’ve discussed numerous times in the past – stress physiology.  The researchers believe that a lack of community or even threats to social connection may tap into the same neural and physiological alarm system that responds to critical survival threats.  Having a strong social network appears to tap into basic reward related mechanisms in the brain.  What they are saying is that a good social support network shuts off the stress response and a poor social structure actually feeds the stress response.  Any perceived stress leads to what I have often called “stress physiology” which should be viewed as the predictable cascade of increased hormones that affect nearly all aspects of our physiology and over time can be linked to virtually every disease known to man.

The lesson to take home from this material is to work on your relationships.  Resist the temptation to go home and tune out.  Instead, spend time building meaningful bonds with your family and friends.  Join a club or group, or get involved in your church.  The more strong and meaningful relationships you maintain will not only make you feel better, but they will actually help you to live longer with less risk of disease and illness.

More Than a Luxury

When our patients begin their chiropractic treatment, I often recommend massage as part of a treatment plan. This seems to trouble some patients and they are reluctant to schedule massages. My only explanation for this is that people fail to see the health and wellness connection of massage therapy as they think of it merely as a spa experience or what I like to refer to as a Jacuzzi effect.  This is something that provides some benefit while you’re doing it, but by the next day, life remains relatively unchanged.  What I’ve come to see is that the people who undergo regular massage even for just once per week for a couple months learn the truth and experience the real benefits.

I did a quick review of the research on massage therapy and while there is too much to report, I made a laundry list of the broader benefits of this age-old procedure.  By increasing blood flow and circulation, research shows that massage often can reduce heart rate and blood pressure.  Similarly, by increasing the flow of lymphatic fluid, massage reduces swelling and strengthens the immune system.  By reducing muscle spasm, tension patterns, and adhesions, massage improves range of motion and flexibility while enhancing athletic performance and helping to prevent sports injuries.  Massage also releases the body’s natural painkillers endorphins, thereby reducing acute or even chronic pain.  It is well documented that massage will increase serotonin levels to help reduce stress and prevent depression.  There are research studies to show that massage can help with more specific conditions such as fibromyalgia, plantar fascitis, carpal tunnel, migraines, arthritis and even asthma and bronchitis.  A study that I kept coming across was one that showed premature infants who received massage gained weight much faster than those who did not.

The point is that massage is much more than a luxury.  Even amateur massage feels good and relaxing while it’s being done, and I’m not certain I’ve heard anyone complain about a “bad massage.”  However, in my experience, the good ones are ones where even after the first couple sessions, you know that something has changed and the results begin to become long-lasting.  There are numerous licensed massage therapists in the area.  If you haven’t tried massage in the past, call for a couple appointments to experience the health benefits of this safe and painless therapeutic approach.

Heart Health

I was attracted to an article titled “The Real Cause of Heart Disease” written by a heart surgeon of 25 years experience.  His article was more of a retraction letter apologizing for the bad advice he had promoted over the years.  He stated that the standard advice of cholesterol lowering medications and a low-fat diet are no longer scientifically or morally defensible.  25% of the population is taking cholesterol drugs, yet more Americans are dying of heart disease every year and 75 million Americans are currently suffering with some level of heart disease.

This surgeon sited recent research proving that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart and all cardiovascular disease.  Without this inflammation, cholesterol wouldn’t accumulate in the vessel lining to begin with.  It’s the inflammation that traps cholesterol in the internal lining of the arteries.  From this point-of-view, cholesterol in the arteries is not the cause of heart disease, but merely another symptom.  Inflammation from diet and stress is the real cause and also the solution.  What causes this inflammation?  It’s the processed carbohydrates such as sugar and flour products as well as the omega-6 corn, vegetable, soybean and sunflower oils.

To solve the heart disease epidemic we must begin to choose more natural and complex carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables over the processed grains and sugars.  Likewise, we don’t need to avoid fat because that strategy has not worked either.  Rather we need omega-3 fats found in fish oils, organically raised.

Today's mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That's a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today's food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy. Eating a balance of healthy fats improves overall health leading to less heart disease.