DAILY HEALTH UPDATE: Monday, September 09, 2013 Dr. Jeff Allyn, Berkley Chiropractic Clinic

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Mental Attitude: Color of Nightlight Could Affect Your Mood. Researchers have found that mood can be affected by the color of a nightlight. A study on hamsters showed that blue light elicited the worst response on mood, while white light had a similar (but not as severe) effect. Red light produced fewer signs of depression and total darkness resulted in an even better mood. If applicable to humans, these results indicate that people may benefit from total darkness at night, but if a light is needed, a red one would be the best choice. The Journal of Neuroscience, August 2013

Health Alert: Cancers Linked To Viruses Lower Than Once Thought. In 2011, scientists in Sweden suggested that up to 40% of cancers were linked to viruses. Recently, researchers sequenced RNA from 3,775 malignant tumor samples and then applied an algorithm to survey them for the presence of viral transcripts. Based on their findings, the association between viruses and cancers in humans should be much lower than 40%. A new estimate was not provided. Journal of Virology, August 2013

Diet: Soy Protects Against Colon Cancer. Scientists have discovered that eating genistein, a bioactive component found in soy foods, protects against colon cancer by repressing a signal that leads to accelerated growth of cells, polyps, and eventually malignant tumors. This study shows that colon cancer is most likely an epigenetic disease, that diet and environmental exposures can alter gene expression, leading to a change in susceptibility to the malady.
Carcinogenesis, August 2013

Exercise: Drug Mimics Exercise. Someday, a new drug may allow people who are disabled or incapacitated to attain some of the benefits of exercise without actually physically doing it. Researchers injected overweight mice with a compound that activated Rev-erb, a protein involved in controlling circadian rhythms and biological clocks. Muscle cells in the mice created new mitochondria and strengthened the existing ones, much like exercise does. Furthermore, the mice lost weight and improved their cholesterol levels.  
Nature Medicine, July 2013

Chiropractic: According To The United States Government… “Chiropractors, also known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians, diagnose and treat patients whose health problems are associated with the body’s muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems, especially the spine. Chiropractors believe that interference with these systems impairs the body’s normal functions and lowers its resistance to disease. They also hold that spinal or vertebral dysfunction alters many important body functions by affecting the nervous system and that skeletal imbalance through joint or articular dysfunction, especially in the spine, can cause pain.”   United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008

Wellness/Prevention: Omega-3s Reduce Stroke Severity. A recent study found that brain damage following a stroke in mice was reduce by 25% when DHA (a type of omega-3 fatty acid) was consumed daily. PLOSone, February 2013