Multivitamin use and telomere length in women

This is only one reason why we recommend taking a quality multivitamin at SpineCare!


Abstract from: Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun;89(6):1857-63. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2008.26986. Epub 2009 Mar 11.

BACKGROUND:
Telomere length may be a marker of biological aging. Multivitamin supplements represent a major source of micronutrients, which may affect telomere length by modulating oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.


OBJECTIVE:
The objective was to examine whether multivitamin use is associated with longer telomeres in women.


DESIGN:
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from 586 early participants (age 35-74 y) in the Sister Study. Multivitamin use and nutrient intakes were assessed with a 146-item food-frequency questionnaire, and relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS:
After age and other potential confounders were adjusted for, multivitamin use was associated with longer telomeres. Compared with nonusers, the relative telomere length of leukocyte DNA was on average 5.1% longer among daily multivitamin users (P for trend = 0.002). In the analysis of micronutrients, higher intakes of vitamins C and E from foods were each associated with longer telomeres, even after adjustment for multivitamin use. Furthermore, intakes of both nutrients were associated with telomere length among women who did not take multivitamins.


CONCLUSION:
This study provides the first epidemiologic evidence that multivitamin use is associated with longer telomere length among women.


Since telomere length is associated with longevity, this study concludes that multivitamin use may lengthen your life!

Fuel for the Course

You can have the technical skills of a professional golfer, but if you are running out of energy by the 10^th hole, your golf game will never reach its full potential. Proper nutrition is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you are playing to your full potential. Golf is a game of short bursts of high intensity activity combined with long periods of low-energy-level standing, walking and sitting in a cart. It’s the relatively long duration (over 4 hours) of needed physical and mental sharpness that requires the body and brain to be operating properly.

    One of the goals of proper nutrition is to sustain a balanced blood sugar. The brain is one of largest consumers of blood sugar for it to function properly. Poor supply causes sluggishness, poor concentration, slow reaction, and altered communication with the body. Hence, poor golf performance.

    It is important to eat a well-balanced meal approximately one hour before your tee off time. Your meal should be approximately 35-45% complex carbohydrates, (fresh whole vegetables, some fruit and a minimal amount of whole grains), 25-30% protein and 20-30% fats, (lean meats, fish oil, eggs from vegetarian fed chickens, nuts etc.).

It is also important to bring nutritious snacks on the course with you, again to keep your blood sugar balanced to sustain mental and physical energy. Preparation is key, be sure to set aside some healthy snacks such as a banana, apple, celery with peanut butter or a protein bar, (bars with nuts or seeds are best). 

Finally be sure to drink plenty of water before, during and after your golf game. On average everyone should drink at least 8 glasses of spring or filtered water, (64 oz.) a day. When you are physically active or standing in the hot sun all day you should increase your uptake as well, try to drink some water at least every other hole. For those of you that think drinking pop, beer, or coffee will do the job, think again.  The caffeine and alcohol in these drinks will dehydrate you even more!

    If you are finding that you are just not getting the proper servings of vegetables we recommend getting a high quality supplement to get the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. One of the brands we highly recommend is Pure Encapsulations; www.pureencapsulations.com. Feel free to discuss this and other issues by contacting us at www.spinecarenc.com.

Car Accidents Cause Spinal Injuries

Did you know that even minor car accidents can injure your spine?  Back pain, neck pain, headaches, and shoulder pain are all symptoms commonly experienced following an auto injury. 
Typically joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons are all susceptible to injury with such a sudden impact.  If you were in a car accident, give us a call to have your spine checked.  Correcting the damage now is the best way to prevent future problems down the road.  We treat individuals from Cary, Raleigh, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Durham, and surrounding communities.

http://spinecarecary.com/conditions/auto-accidents/

Power Plate Rehabilitation

SpineCare Welcomes Power Plate Technology to enhance our rehabilitation protocols!  Power Plate is 3-Dimensional Advanced Whole Body Vibration Technology. It stimulates the body's natural response to vibration by activating muscle contractions 25-50 times per second.  It is a safe and effective way to more quickly get results.  It literally accelerates your improvements in strength, flexibility, and pain relief.  It can also aid in weight loss and cellulite reduction.

Call to schedule a consultation to see if Power Plate could enhance your results! 

Many Vitamins Don't Have What is Claimed

Here is an article about how many multivitamins contain either much less of certain nutrients or much more than is claimed on their labels.
Multivitamin Article
Make sure you are getting what you pay for by choosing supplements that are independently tested for their nutrient content and potency.  It can be dangerous to have too much of certain ingredients, and a waste of money and/or a lack of effectiveness to have too little.  This is why all of the supplements that we endorse contain exactly what is on the label.  We refuse to sell anything else in such an unregulated industry.

Could Correcting Your Feet Help With Your Back?

While most lower back complaints are relieved by our chiropractic approach, some issues need support from the ground up.  Custom Foot Orthotics can be fitted to correct imbalances in foot posture and alignment. 
If you think about it, the structure of our spine begins at the ground with our feet.  When our feet are misaligned, as in a colapsed arch, the knee and hip will bend and rotate which will tilt the pelvis and unlevel the spine.  Check out this information sheet.  If this happens, no amount of work on the spine itself will have as lasting of an effect without correcting the feet.
Many people will benefit from custom orthotics while some absolutely need the support.  This is especially true in individuals whose feet are behaving very different from one another.  For example the left foot is flat, and the right is a normal or high arch.  The over-the-counter alternatives cannot make up for this difference because they are a generic on-size-fits all size.  Even the so-called custom inserts from Dr. Scholl's group individuals into generic categories and most importantly do not find the corrected foot position that the orthotic should maintain.
This is why we recommend Sole Supports.  Their unique casting and fitting approach fully corrects each foot to its normal position.  We do not know of any other brand to do this.  Find the link to their site on our homepage at www.spinecarecary.com

Others Agree, Posture is Important!

A quick read on one aspect of how posture is important at maintaining muscular balance, preventing lower back pain, and preventing injuries.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/improve-posture/

There are also lots of good recipes on this site if you look for them.

Unequal Leg Length Tied to Arthritis

Check out this article: Unequal Leg Length Tied to Osteoarthritis about how having one leg shorter than another can cause arthritic changes in the knee.  I am sure that if it can cause this in the knee that it is surely not good for the hips and spine either.  Also please note that we are talking about anatomically unequal leg length, not to be confused with a functional leg length.  Anatomical differences are actual bone length differences that will show up at the level of the pelvis and base of spine as a tilt and can be accurately measured with a specific standing x-ray.  Functional differences are due to things like muscle spasm and will not show up on x-ray but rather when a chiropractor might lay you down on a table and eyeball your feet to see if they are equal.  Although there is a time and place for the functional approach, be aware that this measurement is highly unreliable and often very different from your true structural measurement.  SpineCare Chiropractic is one of only a few that will accurately measure anatomical differences on x-ray should we suspect a difference.  This simple measurement and the subsequent correction could prevent arthritic changes.

SpineCare is on Facebook!

Did you know that you can find lots of great articles, resources, tips, and happenings on our own facebook page?  Go to SpineCare Chiropractic Center - Cary Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/carychiropractic and "like" us.  That way you will be in-the-loop on what's current.