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Thursday
Oct282010

B Vitamin Not Living Up to the Hype

For years some optimistic scientists and people who are tediously devoted to high-doses of vitamins of all kinds have touted the miraculous properties of the B Vitamin known as Folic Acid. Crucially important to health (without Folic Acid red blood cells produced in the bone marrow fail to divide properly), many have fervently hoped for a panacea in taking high levels of this water soluble vitamin that the body can not produce on its own.Fresh green vegetables are the best source of Folic Acid. Overcooking can rob plants of this nutrient.

While the new findings do not eliminate the need for women to take Folic Acid during pregnancy (Folic acid deficiencies cause neural tube defects), the new study does pull the rug out from under Folic Acid's cure-all status. The vitamin recently caved under the intense scrutiny of a meta-analysis--which is when a group of brainiac scientists come together and go over old research with a fine-toothed comb in search of definitive answers.

Why no one had done this up to now is a mystery, but here's what they found after looking at studies that represent a total of 37,485 people taking Folic Acid for 5 years and experiencing their share of medical catastrophes (3,990 major coronary events, 1,528 strokes, 5,068 revascularizations, 3010 cancers and 5,125 deaths).

Does Folic Acid prevent heart disease? No

Does Folic Acid prevent cancer? No (at least not over 5 years)

Does Folic Acid prevent death? No

Does Folic Acid cause any of the above? No

But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Folic acid deficiencies are still associated with heart palpitations, anemia and fatigue. The main source of folic acid in the diet is fresh vegetables (and we know how miserably most people are at eating vegetables). So the recommendation to take a multivitamin with folic acid is still wise. This new analysis just tells us that in the case of Folic Acid, more is not better.

 

 

 

 

Thursday
Oct142010

Yoga: Alleviates Fibromyalgia, New Research

David Life's partner, Sharon Gannon, shows us how it's done.In a study published in the November issue of the journal PAIN (where yoga is rarely subject to scrutiny) researchers report patients paritcipating in a "Yoga of Awareness" program showed significantly greater improvement in symptoms of Fibromyalgia (a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue) compared to patients on a standard care program of medications accompanied by exercise and coping skills training. Given the much higher prevalence of Fibromyalgia in females (80%), researchers chose to include only women.

The program was designed to specifically address the most common FM symptoms: pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and emotional distress. Each Yoga of Awareness class included approximately 40 minutes of gentle stretching poses, 25 minutes of mindfulness meditation (awareness of breath, awareness of awareness itself), 10 minutes of breathing techniques (full yogic breath, breathing into sensation), 20 minutes of didactic presentations on the application of yogic principles to optimal coping, and 25 minutes of group discussions (experiences while practicing yoga at home). Let's just say that half of the study lucked out.

At the end of the 8 week program, women assigned to yoga showed significantly greater improvements on standardized measures of FM symptoms and functioning. Dr. Carson and colleagues observed, "In addition, the results suggested the yoga intervention led to a beneficial shift in how patients cope with pain, including greater use of adaptive pain coping strategies (i.e., problem solving, positive reappraisal, use of religion, activity engagement despite pain, acceptance, relaxation) and less use of maladaptive strategies (i.e., catastrophizing, self-isolation, disengagement, confrontation)." If that's all the women achieved, it would seem to be worth the price of a yoga class.

 

Saturday
Oct092010

Rolfing Makes a Comeback (But Might We Suggest a Name Change?)

Ida Rolf, shows off her renowned bodywork.The unfortunately-named deep bodywork technique of Rolfing is shedding its vintage-bell-bottoms image, and becoming a credible therapy for chronic pain syndromes. Rolfing aims to manipulate fascia (the sheath-like connective tissue that surrounds and binds muscles together) whereas therapeutic massage targets muscles and chiropractic manipulation targets bones. Rolfers (who take their name from Ida Rolf, a biochemist from New York City who invented the technique in the 1920s) use their knuckles, fists and elbows to go deep enough to loosen tendons and ligaments, and attempt to break up the knots and even scar tissue that cause pain. 

“It’s tough to go to these sessions. It’s painful, very painful, emotionally and physically. But you feel such a relief when you leave that it’s just the most amazing feeling,” dancer and Rolfing devotee, Anna Zahn, told The New York Times.

Dr. Merrell's Take:  Rolfers have a certification program (overseen by the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration), which requires 731 hours of certified instruction, so do look for certified practitioners. Also, don't be afraid to make noise during a session, it helps you relax into the work, which tends to produce better results.

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