“Laughter is the best medicine.” We’ve heard the expression time and again. For decades, researchers have explored how humor helps patients relieve stress and heal. A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do.

Short-term benefits
A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects
Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long haul. Laughter may:

• Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can impact your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
• Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers. Laughter may also break the pain-spasm cycle common to some muscle disorders.
• Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.

Stay tuned for more tips on Mental Health in future newsletters from HealthFirst Wellness Center.

Resources:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034

Canisius College (2008, January 26). Laughter Is The Best Medicine. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 14, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/01/080124200913.htm

*This article has been reprinted from materials provided by the resources above with editorial adaptations by HealthFirst Wellness center staff.

Can Bad Posture Be Affecting Your Health?

Since the time of Hippocrates, the relationship between posture and health has been studied and examined. Ideal posture is really a matter of simple engineering. The human body is designed such that the centers of mass of the head, ribcage, and pelvis should be perfectly centered and balanced on each other. From the front, the spine is perfectly aligned with gravity. But the spine, when viewed from the side, contains three curves to properly balance the weight of the body and allow free movement. So, with posture abnormalities comes a restriction of movement, and with most cases pain.

Several factors contribute to poor posture:

· Stress

· Obesity

· Pregnancy

· Weak postural muscles

· Abnormally tight muscles

· High-heeled shoes

Back pain isn't the only sign of questionable back posture. A skeletal problem may induce perpetual or recurrent pain in the knees, hips, ankles or neck. As your alignment changes, you may be more susceptible to muscle strains.

Our office now offers a new comprehensive postural analysis tool which will be able to determine if you are suffering from postural abnormalities. Using the new iPod2, the results can be emailed directly to you for same day results. Call our office today to make an appointment!

Stay tuned for tips on how to improve or maintain your good posture!

Resources:

http://www.theamericanchiropractor.com/techniques/item/4195.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/96763-bad-posture-symptoms/#ixzz1RWKatwJl

http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1452

With just 4 minutes a day with Tabata Interval Training your whole body can experience huge improvements in health and fitness. Tabata training is a very intense form of interval training.

Tabata Training is broken down into 4 minute intervals to maximize your workouts. Here is how it works:

· Sprint as hard as you can for 20 seconds

· Walk for 10 seconds

· Repeat 7 more times for a total of 8 sets.

· Total workout time: 4 minutes

Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises. The idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups. Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells, Resistance Bands, or just Bodyweight exercises. You can also pair Tabata training with your favorite activity, such as cycling, to help improve endurance.

Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata, at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study on comparing the effects of moderate intensity endurance (aerobics) and high endurance intermittent training (tabata training intervals) on VO2 max and anaerobic capacity.

The results of the comparison were staggering. Subjects in the moderate-intensity exercise trial improved their VO₂ max by a healthy 9.5 percent, while their anaerobic capacity did not change at all. Subjects in the maximum-intensity intervals trial—despite exercising for only 20 minutes per week, compared to five hours per week for the other group—improved their VO₂max by 14 percent and their anaerobic capacity by a whopping 28 percent.

Since the study was published in 1998, coaches and athletes began to adapt the protocol to sports ranging from swimming to boxing. Virtually everyone who tried the Tabata protocol made the same report: It was excruciatingly painful, but it was effective.

Stay tuned for more tips and information on health and fitness. 

Why Sunscreen?

The purpose of most sunscreens is to protect you and your family from harmful UVA rays. The active ingredients of sunscreens are formulas created to absorb, reflect, or block harmful ultraviolet light. Sunscreens are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not as cosmetics but as over-the-counter drugs. They are rated based on their Sun Protection Factor (SPF); the higher the SPF, the better the protection against sunburn.

The Environmental Working Group says that the SPF rating on a sun product is only part of what consumers need to know, and that the biggest problems with sunscreens are that they don‘t offer appropriate protection and that many contain unsafe ingredients.

What does Sunscreen Protect Against?

The sun produces two types of ultra-violet radiation: UVA and UVB rays. It’s important for consumers to understand the difference between them, and the risks associated by both.

UVB rays should be considered the ‘good ray’ that helps in the production of Vitamin D.

UVA is considered the ‘bad ray’ penetrating your skin more deeply and the cause of more free radical damage.  Not only that, but UVA rays are pretty constant during ALL hours of daylight, throughout the entire year – in comparison to UVB rays, which are low in morning and evening, and high at midday and are more directly related to direct sunlight.

If you’ve ever gotten a bad sunburn on a cloudy day, you can now understand why; it’s from the deeply penetrating UVA rays!

What Sunscreen Brands Don’t Want you to Know:

Several leading brands such as: Coppertone, Neutrogena and Banana Boat -- are the poorest performers when it comes to the health and wellness of your skin.

New studies have shown that over use of sunscreen can actually be harmful to your body; such as preventing the production of Vitamin D.  In fact, sunscreens reduce vitamin D production by as much as 97.5 to 99.9 percent!

Most sunscreens are created to help protect us against UVA rays, but do not seem to protect us against the almost constant effects of UVB rays; which have been shown to increase the risk of skin cancer or melanomas.

How to Stay Safe In The Summer Sun:

Be aware of the sunscreen your family relies on in the hot summer months. Try and choose a more natural approach to protecting your skin, including ingredients such as:

• Sunflower oil
• Vitamins A, D and E
• Coconut oil
• Jojoba oil
• Shea butter
• Eucalyptus oil

Resources:

Dr. Mercola, “Four Out of Five Sunscreens May Be Hazardous to Your Health”; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/07/01/four-out-of-five-sunscreens-may-be-hazardous-to-your-health.aspx

Organic Consumers Association June 29, 2008 

CNN Health July 1, 2008 

 WHAT IS THE PALEO DIET? The Paleolithic Diet (also known as the “Paleo Diet”) is based on the diet concept of our hunting and gathering ancestors who lived during the Paleolithic time period. The diet follows the idea that ancestor’s primarily ate non-processed high-protein foods with little grains, and were overall healthier than today’s average American; eating foods that were not only healthier, but easily processed within the human body. So, we have to ask ourselves, why not go back to our hunting and gathering ways?

IS THE PALEO-DIET A LOW CARB DIET? Yes, but the Paleo-Diet is not simply another low-carb diet. Instead of being based simply on carbohydrate consumption, it stems more from a historical perspective. For millions of years our ancestors ate substantially fewer carbs, grains, refined sugars, starches, and bread than in the modern, western diet. In fact, they ate virtually none of the above foods before our most recent agricultural revolution. These foods have proven to be disastrous to our bodies, which have gone unchanged since the Stone Age and are ideally adapted for a diet of lean meats, fresh fruits, and veggies.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS: Recent studies have uncovered that our ancestors ate fewer carbohydrates in their diet than previously thought. Although the ratio of animal/plant consumption varied between cultures, it generally shows that the average caloric distribution was about two-thirds animal foods (meat and fish), and only about one-third was being derived from plant foods. The switch to mass agriculture brought with it a huge shift in the human diet, and wit it a series of nutritionally related diseases that were virtually unknown to our hunter-gather ancestors.

HOW TO START?

1) Eliminate those foods that contain high amounts of processed sugars and starches.

2) Include high amounts of unprocessed protein, including items such as organic grass-fed beef.

3) Limit your consumption of grains, breads, and other carbohydrates.

4) Choose fresh produce; including naturally grown fruits and vegetables.

5) In summary: No grains, no beans, no boxes!

Resources: Cordain, Loren Ph.D., The Late Role of Grains and Legumes in the Human Diet, and Biochemical Evidence of their Evolutionary Discordance, “Cereal grains: humanity’s double-edged sword.” (1999) World Review of Nutrition and Dietics, vol. 84, pp. 19-73 http://www.thepaleodiet.com