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Fast Food and Depression

A recent study found that eating fast food can lead to depression and negatives effects on one’s mental health. The study found that people who ate fast food were 51 percent more likely to become depressed or exhibit signs of depression. Interestingly, those that were more likely to indulge in fast food were single, less physically active, smokers, and those that worked more than 45 hours per week. Limiting these types of foods is great, however eliminating fast food altogether is best. Eating smaller amounts of fast food was also linked to having a higher chance of developing depression.

Many of those that suffer from food caused depression take anti-depressive medication. Recent studies have shown that taking anti-depressive medication can actually increase depression and suicidal tendencies according to the Food and Drug Administration. Anti-depressive medication are powerful drugs that have a number of negative side effects, so it’s not uncommon to see suicidal thoughts and increase of depressive moods as side effects.

Moral of the story => avoid fast food.

If you suffer from depression => give chiropractic a try. Sure beats the side effects of anti-depression medication.

Dr. Khoury serves the Tri-Valley area including Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Tracy at Advanced Health Chiropractic in Livermore. Dr. George Khoury also specializes in fitness and nutrition.

Is Red Meat bad for you?

Previous research has found that red meat is linked to higher rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease. However these findings are very misleading since previous studies do not differentiate between feedlot cattle (cattle fed with grain) and grass-fed cattle.

Grain-fed red meat is detrimental to one’s health, whereas grass-fed red meat can help support good health. Studies performed by both California State University-Chico and the University of California-Davis compared the differences between feedlot meat and grass-fed cattle. Both studies found that grass-fed cattle was by far more superior to grain-fed meat in virtually every nutritional category evaluated. Grass-fed cattle contains an omega-3 profile similar to that of fatty fish. Omega-3’s are linked to a number of health benefits, which include: cardiovascular support and can act as an anti-inflammatory. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a healthy fat that fights obesity, was also higher in grass-fed cattle. Carotenoids, an organic antioxidant pigments that protect cells from cancer-causing free radicals and promote healthy immunity and reproductive function, was also found to be higher in grass-fed cattle. Cattle are like human, the more greens one consumes the better health they are in. Whereas cattle fed with grains are unhealthy. You are what you eat.

Dr. Khoury serves the Tri-Valley area including Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Tracy at Advanced Health Chiropractic in Livermore. Dr. Khoury also specializes in fitness and nutrition. 

Back Pain and Exercise

Many people with low back pain think that simply stretching and working out is the answer to all their low back troubles yet there is only some truth to this theory.

Cons to exercise

• Exercise can exacerbate muscle imbalances- due to certain activities of daily living (i.e sitting at a desk all day long or driving/sitting in a car all day) chronic pain can result from muscle imbalances that repetitive posture/movements create. The hip flexors and the hamstring muscles get really tight while the gluteus maximus muscles get elongated and inactivated. To make matters worse, most people go on exercise machines trying to tone their abs via crunches yet instead they further exacerbate the muscle imbalances going on by tightening their hip flexors. The same goes with hamstring muscles. Many people have tight hamstring muscles and they work them out which causes further muscle imbalance.

• Incorrect form- many people do not know how to have correct form during their work outs, which can lead to injury and further muscle imbalance. Poor posture and working out with muscle imbalances can lead to incorrect form and posture.

Exercise along with chiropractic care will address muscle imbalances and posture. The goal of chiropractic care is to correct vertebral subluxations, which will break up adhesions and scar tissue at immobile joints as well as provide proper nerve flow to the rest of the body. To get even better results one should incorporate corrective stretches as well as functional exercises. Corrective stretches are stretches that correct muscle imbalances by elongating muscles that are tight and activating muscles that are inactive. Functional exercises such as squats, deadlifts, push- ups, pull-ups, planks, etc., are exercises that mimic daily movements as well as target muscle groups throughout your body. The combination of functional exercise and corrective stretches will help chiropractic adjustments to hold better.

Dr. Khoury and his staff are experts in corrective stretches and functional exercises. Dr. Khoury serves the Tri-Valley area including Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Tracy at Advanced Health Chiropractic in Livermore.

Poor Posture

Socially, poor posture is associated with depression, feelings of dejection, and is often viewed as unattractive. As humans, our innate ability to recognize body language interprets poor posture as an uninviting gesture. Our posture is a window into our spine and overall health. Poor posture can reduce lung capacity, adds stress to the spine, accumulates muscular tension, and leads to a higher susceptibility to injury.

Muscle fibers perform certain tasks and assume certain postures due to muscle memory while our spines adapt to this particular posture. Eventually our bodies recognize this posture as normal. Corrective stretching and exercises may help with improving poor posture however it is imperative that one gets chiropractic care. Getting adjusted will correct subluxations, misalignments in the spine which cause compression and irritation of nerve pathways, and will retrain our spine leading to better posture.

Dr. Khoury and his staff are experts in the correction of poor posture, utilizing gentle and safe chiropractic techniques as well as corrective stretching and exercises. Dr. Khoury serves the Tri-Valley area including Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Tracy at Advanced Health Chiropractic in Livermore.

Scoliosis

  Scoliosis is defined as an abnormal curving of the spine when looking at it from front to back. Instead of being straight, the spine can actually look like the letter “C” or “S.” The causes of most scoliosis cases are unknown and commonly affect more girls than boys. Symptoms related to scoliosis may include: backache, low back pain, tired feeling in the spine after sitting or standing for a long time, uneven leg lengths, uneven hips, uneven shoulders, rib prominence, shoulder blade prominence, and/or uneven musculature on one side of the spine. Many times symptoms may not manifest until the scoliosis gets more severe.

Chiropractic care involves non-invasive procedures and techniques that can provide some benefits to those with scoliosis. The main principle of chiropractic treatment is to focus on the body’s natural healing ability through the correction of vertebral subluxations. According to the research that was conducted by the National Scoliosis Foundation, chiropractic adjustments have been a good alternative treatment to those who are suffering from scoliosis. Chiropractic treatment does not only treat the current problems that are associated with scoliosis but it can also help in alleviating and controlling the symptoms that comes with it. Scoliosis patients who have been treated with chiropractic care have been reported to have noticeable improvement with regards to the size of the curves. Chiropractors can also monitor your progress to ensure that you are doing the right thing and to see if the treatment yields favorable results.

 Get your kids checked! Make sure that they do not develop scoliosis later on. Dr. Khoury serves the Tri-Valley area including Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Tracy at Advanced Health Chiropractic in Livermore.