How Diabetes Affects Heart Disease Risk

This article a repost from Harvard Medical School publications this month. Good Read. Dr Greg Millar DC CCEP. 

How diabetes affects heart disease risk

Diabetes raises the risk of heart disease by four to five times compared with people without the disease. For this reason, in addition to controlling blood sugar, people with diabetes need to pay close attention to controlling their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The treatment goals for people with diabetes are more stringent than those for people without diabetes. The good news is that lifestyle changes — and weight loss in particular—to improve your blood sugar usually will have a beneficial effect on the other values as well.

Blood pressure targets for people with diabetes

Your blood pressure reading has two parts, the systolic blood pressure (the first number) and the diastolic blood pressure (the second number). The systolic number represents the pressure while the heart is contracting and pushing blood into your vessels, and the diastolic number represents the pressure while the heart is refilling with blood between beats.

People with high blood pressure (known medically as hypertension) are more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as those with normal blood pressure. For that reason, people with diabetes are advised to keep their blood pressure as close to the ideal as possible, and always less than 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

Much of the dietary advice commonly recommended for people with diabetes—such as restricting salt intake, increasing physical activity, and losing weight—should help to lower your blood pressure. To make sure, your health care provider will test your blood pressure regularly. If diet and exercise alone do not bring your blood pressure into a healthy range, medications may be necessary to lower it.

The ABC's of diabetes control

Having diabetes increases your risk for cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke. If you have diabetes, you should pay close attention to factors that can put you at greater risk for heart trouble. These are often referred to as the "ABC's:"

• hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) blood sugar test
• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol.

"ABC" Goals

• HbA1cLess than 7%
• Blood pressureLess than 130/80 mm 
• HgLDL (bad) cholesterolLess than 100 mg/dL
• TriglyceridesLess than 150 mg/dLHDL (good) cholesterol
• More than 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women

Cholesterol levels

Your blood cholesterol level reflects the amount of one of the circulating lipids (fats) in your blood. This material travels in the bloodstream within spherical particles called lipoproteins. About two-thirds of blood cholesterol is in the form of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). This is sometimes referred to as "bad" cholesterol, because the higher the level of LDL cholesterol, the greater the risk for heart disease and stroke. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), on the other hand, counteracts the harmful effects of LDL. For that reason, HDL is sometimes referred to as "good" cholesterol. Another aspect of your lipid profile is the triglyceride level. Triglycerides are the main form of stored fat in the body and are carried by another type of lipoprotein. High triglyceride levels also increase the risk for heart disease, although not as much as LDL cholesterol.

Blood tests for cholesterol, which are measured after a fast of eight hours or more, provide information on total cholesterol as well as LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels. These measurements provide another indicator of whether the changes you have made in your diet and activity levels and any medications you take have reduced your risk for heart disease, and whether you need to make any further adjustments.

The goals for LDL cholesterol in people with diabetes are quite stringent, as diabetes, in and of itself, places people at high risk for heart disease. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recommends that everyone with diabetes keep LDL levels below 100 mg/dL. For people with diabetes whose cardiovascular risk is particularly high because they have a history of previous heart disease or other poorly managed risk factors (such as smoking cigarettes), the NHLBI suggests lowering LDL levels even further, to less than 70 mg/dL. Although dietary approaches are an important first step, medications are often required to reduce LDL cholesterol to ideal levels.

5 Exercise Tips For Chiropractic Patients To Speed Healing And Maintain Health

Chiropractic care is designed to alleviate pain and restore the body to its natural balance. For chiropractors, injury prevention is key for a healthy body. Good practices combined with solid exercises creates toned muscles that protect the body and spine from harm. While each patient receives exercise instructions for their specific condition, the following exercise tips for chiropractic patients apply to everyone.

Do Take Time To Warm Up Before Exercising

Before starting any exercises, it's important to warm up. A series of dynamic moves will boost your heart rate and heat up the muscles that you will be using during your work out.

Select whole body movements such as leg lunges paired with arm motion or walk in place while raising and lowering your arms. Once you've warmed up, you can safely stretch without risk of injury.

Introduce Ergonomics Into Your Home And Work Space

One of the most important exercise tips for chiropractic patients is to take steps to keep your body in alignment as you move through your day. In the workplace, check with an ergonomics consultant to ensure proper positioning, especially if you spend most of the day seated or doing repetitive tasks.

A comfortable chair reduces muscle strain and prevents injury. Make sure that your feet sit firmly on the floor and that lumbar support is in place. At home, you should have a good mattress and supportive furniture.

Choose The Right Shoes

Before you buy your next pair of shoes, check for stability, flexibility, and comfort. During your test drive, make sure that the shoes feel firmly in place as you move through your entire range of motion for a stable gait during wear.

Footwear should be flexible enough to give easily at the base of the toe for a smooth gait, and there should be cushioning at all the right places with plenty of room for the toes to move. Shoes that properly fit your feet means that your walk will be more natural and healthy during exercise and in daily motion.

Sit And Stand With Posture In Mind

Perhaps the biggest reason that these exercise tips for chiropractic patients are so important is that strong and flexible muscles will help you have good posture. Be mindful of the following as you move through your day:

• When sitting, your feet should be on the floor, your shoulders should be relaxed, and your forearms should remain parallel with the ground.
• If you will be standing for a time, make sure that you maintain posture by tucking your stomach muscles in.
• When standing for an especially long period of time, be sure to shift your weight from one foot to the other and from the heels to the toes and back again.

These simple tips for maintaining good posture will passively work your muscles and result in a healthier spine.

Passive Stretches For Large Muscles

Finally, it is important to target large muscle groups with passive exercises. Use your weight to slowly stretch your hamstrings, your piriformis, and your entire back. Passive stretching is gentle and relieves stress points that cause back pain. These gentle exercises provide a great deal of relief and are easily adjusted to suit your current ability.

Your Millar Chiropractor will work with you to design an exercise program that is optimal for you. We call that "Complete Rehab."  Be sure to follow through with the plan and include these tips in your regular work out to experience the joy of healing from your chiropractic care.

Dr Greg Millar DC CCEP

The Shoulder Requires Proper Care

Dr Greg Millar, DC CCEP; Dr Ken Randolph, DC; Dr Dana Berthiaume, DC;
Dr Justin Walbom, DC; Dr Sherman Connell, DC

Shouldering the Load

Regular Chiropractic Care and Healthy Joints

We don't often think about the integrity of our musculoskeletal system. Rather, we expect our bodies to work efficiently without giving any thought to their physical and mechanical requirements. But there are numerous critical requirements for healthy functioning of our joints, muscles, and ligaments. The primary specification involves mechanical integrity of the spinal column. A healthy spine has full range of motion in three-dimensional space. Any loss of this capability will interfere with the function of other joints and muscle groups that are attached to the spine. For example, loss of spinal joint integrity in the neck will transmit mechanical faults to the upper ribs. Such mechanical compromise will then be transmitted to the collar bone and shoulder joint. Thus, shoulder joint problems often have their root cause in mechanical problems of the neck and elsewhere in the spine. Regular chiropractic care, by detecting and correcting these biomechanical issues, helps restore improved functioning to the shoulder and other important joints. As a result, regular chiropractic care helps you and your family become healthier and enjoy higher levels of wellness and well-being.

As with much in life that we take for granted, we are not usually concerned with the mechanisms of how our bodies work and how they do what they do. Such knowledge is not required for use of these magnificent machines that have been freely given to us. But just as a wise consumer will care for her or his car in terms of regular scheduled maintenance, our bodies require ongoing attention in order to maintain proper function. The shoulder joint, in particular, requires such proper care.

The shoulder has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the human body. The shoulder is capable of 360º of mobility from front to back (the sagittal plane), 360º of mobility in the frontal plane, and 180º of mobility to the right and the left (horizontal plane). Taken together, these optimal ranges are termed circumduction. But the shoulder's remarkable capabilities come at a price. The shoulder girdle is the least stable joint structure and is readily subject to sprains (of the acromioclavicular joint) and dislocation injuries (of the glenohumeral joint). Additionally, the rotator cuff, the group of muscles that protect the shoulder girdle and move the shoulder joints through three-dimensional space, is commonly injured, owing to the substantial mechanical stresses involved in such extensive motion.1

We can help prevent such injuries by engaging in regular physical exercise such as yoga and strength training. These activities place weightbearing loads on the shoulder, progressively training the muscles, tendons, and nerves that supply the shoulder joint structures to handle mechanical stresses.2,3 As a result of such training, when called upon to manage the shock of an unusual mechanical force, the shoulder will be able to respond effectively while likely preventing injury.

The choice of yoga versus strength training is not mutually exclusive. Many people will enjoy taking one yoga class per week and doing two strength training sessions per week. For persons taking yoga class, the two strength training sessions could focus on (1) the chest and back and (2) the shoulders and arms. Almost every yoga exercise involves weightbearing loads on the arms. Regarding strength training, a representative shoulder program includes seated dumbbell or barbell press (for the entire shoulder girdle), standing lateral raise (for the middle deltoids), and seated bent-over raise (for the rear deltoids). If you're doing yoga, strength training sessions for the legs may not be necessary. Of course, a complete exercise program includes specific cardiovascular exercise such as walking, swimming, bicycling, or running.

It may not be possible to prevent every shoulder injury. Engaging in a regular program of vigorous exercise, including yoga, strength training, and cardiovascular exercise, is the best means of ensuring optimal biomechanical health and wellness and the best overall method for preventing injury.
 

Sources

1Camargo PR, et al: Eccentric training as a new approach for rotator cuff tendinopathy: Review and perspectives. World J Orthop 5(5):634-644, 2014
2Miller RM, et al: Effects of exercise therapy for the treatment of symptomatic full-thickness supraspinatus tears on in vivo glenohumeral kinematics. J Shoulder Elbow Surg  2015 Nov 24. pii: S1058-2746(15)00485-1
3Awad A, et al: Effect of shoulder girdle strengthening on trunk alignment in patients with stroke. J Phys Ther Sci 27(7):2195-2200, 2015

Thanks for your time. Your health and long life is important to us.
Dr Greg Millar, DC CCEP
And the Doctors of Millar Chiropractic ClinicsTM

For Information or Appointments at any office call
Toll Free 1-800 Go Chiro 1-800 462-4476

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Getting In Shape for the Summer

Getting in Shape for Summer Again

Reposted from Millar Chiropractic Clinics Website www.millarchiro.com

Pay Attention to Your Body

Everybody likes to have fun. We work hard, and when we play, we like to go all out. When exercising or playing sports however, it's important to pay attention to the feedback our body is giving you.  If you ignore the friendly messages your body is sending you, your body will probably get your attention in a more unpleasant way. And when that happens, there may be significant recovery time involved. Paying attention to your body's signals can save a lot of downtime. Important warning signs include shortness of breath, feeling faint, and sometimes intense muscle soreness and other pain. Any of these symptoms mean you're working too hard, doing too much, or working beyond your current physical capabilities. Slow down and back off a bit. Tell yourself that's enough for the day and you'll be able to get back to it again tomorrow. Your chiropractic physician can help you design challenging and fun exercise routines that will work best for your particular body and current state of fitness. They will be able to recommend stretches, sports, and other activities that align with your fitness goals and interests - helping you to be active, healthy and well

Summer is finally here! It's time to have fun in the sun, making the most of these extra hours of daylight.  If you have let things go a bit, getting back into shape may seem like a very good idea right about now.  We all like to look good in our shorts, tank tops, swimsuits and other summer attire. Even more importantly, we want to be able to participate in all the fun activities we enjoy without huffing and puffing, and without having to constantly think about restrictions and limitations.

So how do we return to fitness? There are three main aspects on which to focus - losing excess weight, increasing strength and muscle tone with weight-training, and improving aerobic fitness.^1,2

Whether you want to lose ten or twenty pounds or more, the basic principles remain the same. First of all, watch the size of your portions, choosing to eat several small meals each day.  Eat slowly by putting your fork down between bites, chew your food well, and do not overeat.  You should never feel stuffed after eating.  In fact, you should really not even feel full.  Instead, pay attention to your body's cues that tell you you've had enough before you get too full.

In order to keep your energy up and keep your hunger at bay, make sure that each meal includes both protein and healthy fats such as pasture butter, organic coconut oil or organic olive oil. This will help to retrain your metabolism, helping you to become naturally leaner. This will also help to optimize your energy, balancing your insulin levels throughout the day. This is especially crucial for those who are pre-diabetic or hypoglycemic. Be sure to check with you doctor to make sure your new eating and fitness plans are appropriate for you.

Regaining aerobic fitness is very important for summer activities. The simplest way to begin is to start with a very basic walking program - just ten or fifteen minutes of easy walking each and every day. Chances are, you'll be surprised at how enjoyable it is.  After getting in the habit of enjoying this short walk each day for a week or two, slowly increase the length of your walks by a minute each day until you've built up to thirty-minutes. When it becomes very easy for you to walk for thirty minutes, increase your pace, but do it gradually over several weeks. 

At some point, depending upon various factors such as your age, weight, general condition, cardiovascular health and any musculoskeletal concerns, you may want to consider alternating walking with a few short sprints.  Intermittent sprinting is very effective for losing weight and improving your metabolism, but it can be particularly challenging to your cardiovascular system and hard on your joints. Because of this, it is especially important to get advice from your doctor before beginning this type of high intensity intermittent training.  (Particularly if you are overweight and/or have any health issues.) 

Please also make sure that you stay well hydrated.  This is especially important with the increased summer temperatures and humidity here in Alabama, and increased physical activity.  Avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day and don't be afraid to take a break if you feel yourself getting overheated.

Elliptical machines, treadmills, stair machines and stationary bikes can be a very good alternative for increasing your aerobic fitness - especially if you have joint problems that preclude sprinting as an option.  As with the walking program described above, it is very important to build up gradually. Building up to using high intensity interval training methods, with one or more of these activities, is a great way to get in shape and improve your cardiovascular fitness.  Most of these types of fitness equipment have options that you can choose that will alternate between easier and more difficult settings, providing an effective interval workout.

Weight-training is another important aspect of physical fitness.  It tones your muscles, prepares your body to do physical work, and best of all, it causes your metabolism to burn fat even while you're resting. There are many excellent books and workout videos available that can help you to begin your weight-training program. If you have a knowledgeable friend, ask them to check your form and offer advice.  Or take a few classes with an experienced instructor or trainer if you're feeling overwhelmed. That should give you the confidence to continue your workouts on your own.  Remember to start slow and use lighter weights with fewer repetitions than you think you can do, as your body gets used to the new movements. The benefits of strength training are well worth your efforts.

If at any time you experience DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) which will usually occur a day or two after overdoing it, try an abbreviated session doing the same types of movements with little or no weights, followed by plenty of stretching once your muscles are nice and warm.  This will usually help your body clear the lactic acid from your muscles, thereby reducing soreness.  And don't forget to visit your chiropractor to make sure you are in optimal condition for exercise.

You'll soon find that you're feeling better and stronger, and ready to enjoy all that summer has to offer.

 

¹Simkini-Silverman LR, et al. Lifestyle intervention can prevent weight gain during menopause. Ann Behav Med 26(3):212-220, 2003
²Knuttgen HG. Strength training and aerobic exercise: comparison and contrast. J Strength Cond Res 21(3):973-978, 2007
 

 

 

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Is Your Lifestyle Making You Sick?

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

Is Your Lifestyle Making You Sick?

Make an Appointment for Healthy Living

Have you, like many people, been thinking about making positive lifestyle changes for a long time?  Would you love to lose some weight and to be one of those admirable souls who seem to somehow be able to fit daily exercise into their busy lives?  It's certainly easier for people who have the luxury of making their own schedules with plenty of leisure time to exercise and prepare healthy food. What about the rest of us who work long hours, especially if we are also raising a family?  In this case, it is more challenging to live a healthy lifestyle, but also perhaps even more critical, because a healthy lifestyle will help us combat stress and be there for our loved ones. Whatever your particular circumstances are, it's still up to you to determine how to find the time to do things that are in your long-term interest. To make sure you get regular exercise, try making it a priority and scheduling your workout first thing in the morning.  You may even have to get up a little bit earlier, but the pay-off will be a greater sense of well being and increased energy in the short-term, and knowing that you are doing something very positive for your long-term health and well-being. It gets much easier once it becomes an established habit, and you will eventually feel so much better that you won't want to miss a morning workout.

Does your overall lifestyle promote good health and wellness?  Are the choices you make helping to keep you and your family well and healthy over the long term?

Many people think that some of the most common causes of sickness and death, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, are all strongly determined by either genetics or just plain luck of the draw.  That's not really the case, however.

For example, only about 10% of cancers are determined by a person's genetics.  Most of the time, cancer is linked to the way we live our lives - from the food we eat, the exercise we get or fail to get, our environment including exposure to toxins, and whether or not we have positive, loving and supportive relationships.

In recent years, research studies have shown a significant correlation between overweight/obesity and a person's likelihood of developing cancer.  The evidence seems to suggest that fat cells are not simply passive storehouses of excess energy in the form of fat. Instead, it appears that fat cells are more like tiny metabolic furnaces that spew out a wide range of chemicals, including various hormones and inflammatory agents that may cause normal cells and tissues to become cancerous.¹ The majority of people and even many physicians are completely unaware of this.

The connection between lifestyle and both type 2 diabetes and heart disease, on the other hand, tends to be much more obvious to many people.^2,3  But cancer, we now know, is also often the result of an unhealthy lifestyle. The great news is that by being willing to make health-enhancing lifestyle choices, we can stack the deck in our favor and create more positive long-term changes in our health and well-being.

 

The best news is that these choices are in your hands. Every day you get to decide for yourself whether or not to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Of course, it can be easier some days than others to consistently make those healthy choices.  If you travel a lot for work, it may be extra challenging to find good, healthy food and to fit exercise into your daily routine.  If that's the case, just do the best you can and remember that living a healthy lifestyle is a lifetime endeavor.  If you manage to eat a nutritious and healthy diet and get regular exercise most of the time, you can take a short break here and there without noticing too much of a negative effect, as long as you get back to your positive, healthy habits as soon as possible.  Thinking long term and making sure you choose a healthy lifestyle most of the time, will usually allow you to get back on track quickly.

Chiropractic care is another very important aspect of healthy living. Chiropractic care helps to make sure that your body is functioning optimally.  It also helps you to get the most benefit from the healthy food you're choosing and the regular, vigorous exercise you're getting. Your Millar chiropractor will be happy to assist you in creating an exercise and nutritional program designed to address your particular needs and concerns.

 

 

¹Chan AT, Giovannucci EL: Primary prevention of colorectal cancer. Gastroenterology 138(6):2029-2043, 2010

²Shi Y, et al: Cardiovascular determinants of life span. Pflugers Arch 459(2):315-324, 2010

3Ma J, et al: Evaluation of lifestyle interventions to treat elevated cardiometabolic risk in primary care (E-LITE): a randomized controlled trial. BMC Fam Pract 10:71, 2009

 

 

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Back Pain - Are You At Risk?

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

Back Pain - Are You At Risk?

Your Family History

Back injuries are most often caused by various mechanical issues, and the tendency to get such injuries is not inherited. On the other hand, people do have family-related behavioral tendencies, and while these particular behaviors are not literally "inherited", they are often passed down through the generations. These are the various habits of daily living we learned from our families, that can become ingrained and may eventually contribute to back injuries. A lack of interest in sports or exercise, poor posture, and a tendency to be overweight can be some of the behavioral patterns we learned from our family. As adults it's important to become conscious of and evaluate these unhealthful patterns, and to take an active role in developing a new more positive set of behaviors that can increase our health and overall well-being. In addition to these habits we picked up from our family, we may also have various health challenges that include a genetic component which can make us more susceptible to back problems. Your chiropractic physician can help you identify such additional risk factors.

Have you ever wondered what the risk factors are for back pain? Why some people suffer from it and some people don't?  What you can do to avoid being one of the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic back pain? Your Millar Chiropractic physician can help answer these very important questions.

One major risk factor is related to exercise.  We have all been admonished by health authorities to either "use it or lose it".  If you fail to get regular exercise, your back muscles can become deconditioned rather quickly.  When that happens, you are more vulnerable to the strains and sprains that can cause or contribute to back pain.

When your muscles are required to do work, they become stronger.  Another related benefit is that exercise helps to "train" the tendons and ligaments surrounding your joints.  These are crucial joint-supporting tissues, and regular exercise increases their ability to withstand mechanical stresses and loads without becoming injured. Basically, when you engage in regular vigorous exercise, your body gets "smarter", stronger and more resilient, and you're less likely to suffer from those annoying back problems.¹

Another major risk factor for back pain is weak abdominal muscles. When you were a young kid in gym class, did one of your teachers tell you to "suck in your stomach"?  As it turns out, that's not bad advice. Your abdominal muscles support the muscles of your lower back.  If you commonly let it "all hang out" letting your abdominal muscles droop rather than keeping them activated and engaged, your abdominal muscles can become weak and deconditioned from this continual lack of use.

When this happens, your lower back muscles end up having to hold up the weight of your torso, without the normal assistance of your abdominal muscles. Your lower back muscles are not designed to for that.  Their normal job is to help move your spine through its normal ranges of motion.  They're not designed to rigidly support your body weight without the assistance of your abdominal muscles. And if they're left as the sole support for your body weight, they will eventually give way under the continual excessive strain. The result is usually a very painful lower back injury.

Abdominal exercises are easy to do and don't take a lot of time. The key is to make sure that you actually do them several times a week, in addition to your other regular vigorous exercise. It is also very important to make sure to use your abdominal muscles as you go about your daily routine. Imagine these muscles are being pulled in and lifted up.  Think of "activating" your abdominal muscles rather than tightening them. Your body will know what to do, once you've started adding consistent abdominal training to your exercise routine.  You should also notice your posture improving as you get in the habit of keeping your abdominal muscles activated.  Your body will breathe a sigh of relief at finally being properly supported.

There are other back pain risk factors that may also be found in your personal and family medical history.² During your initial chiropractic visit, your doctor will ask you about surgeries and accidents you've experienced, and talk with you about any significant elements in your family history. For example, a surgery to remove your appendix or galllbladder or to repair a hernia may have weakened your abdominal muscles. Accidents involving a motor vehicle or a serious fall may have caused injuries that either healed incompletely or with soft tissue scarring, which can contribute to back pain.

Knowing about potential risk factors and taking appropriate action will help you have a healthier, stronger and more flexible lower back.

¹Jones MA, et al. Recurrent non-specific low-back pain in adolescents: the role of exercise. Ergonomics 50(10):1680-1688, 2007
²Plouvier S, et al. Biomechanical strains and low back disorders. Occup Environ Med 2007 (in press)

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Do I Need to Take Vitamins and Minerals?

This is a repost from the Millar Chiropractic Clinic website.

Do I Need to Take Vitamins and Minerals?

Should I Eat According to the Food Pyramid?

The short answer is, probably not.  Not unless you'd like to become fat or obese, that is. The U.S. government's "food pyramid" recommends that the largest percentage of one's daily calories should come from whole grains.  This is despite the fact that there is a tremendous amount of evidence that grains break down into sugar in the body - increasing insulin resistance, encouraging an increase in fat storage, and increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other diseases. According to the highly respected natural health expert, Dr. Joseph Mercola, the reason grains and other unhealthful foods are promoted so heavily is because these are the foods that are subsidized by the U.S. government. Dr. Mercola has developed his own "food pyramid", as an alternative, which is based on nutritional science.  You can see it in the article linked above, or view it here.

People often wonder whether they should be taking any vitamin and mineral supplements. Are they worthwhile? Which supplements would be best for me?  The answer to these questions are yes, and ask your knowledgeable chiropractor for supplement recommendations.

Why should we even bother with vitamin and mineral supplementation? The objective is to make sure you have all your bases covered -- to make sure your body has everything it needs to be healthy. How can you be sure you diet is providing you with all the vitamins, minerals and cofactors your body needs to function properly? Not to mention all the important antioxidants needed to fight free radical formation and the various phyt­onutrients that seem to help slow down the aging process and lower your risk of cancer and other diseases.

Mineral deficiencies are rampant in the United States, largely due to the majority of our food supply being grown in mineral depleted soil.  It is difficult to obtain necessary minerals such as magnesium, iodine, chromium, calcium and selenium from diet alone.

Many people are also deficient in the B vitamins such as folate, B12 (cyanocobalamin), B2 (riboflavin),  B6 (pyridoxine), B1 (thiamin), and B3 (niacin). Taking a good multivitamin or a B vitamin supplement is an easy way to make sure that these requirements are met.

So which supplement brand is the best? There's really no single right answer to that question.  It depends on the individual's needs, and there are often various practical considerations. You can usually tell that a particular brand is the right choice for you if you notice some improvement after taking it regularly for several weeks. Your chiropractic physician can help you by providing expert advice and recommendations.  The important thing to remember is that vitamin and mineral supplementation is often necessary in order to optimize metabolic functioning and promote physical well-being.

What about taking specific supplements for specific health challenges, such as regularly taking a calcium supplement after a bone-density study has revealed a reduction in bone mass (osteoporosis)? Is this an effective therapy? Well, in the postmenopausal setting¹, it is critical to also perform regular weight-bearing exercise in order for your body to be stimulated to actually use the calcium to increase bone density.  If you only take calcium supplements but fail to exercise, the calcium with just be excreted, instead of being used to strengthen the bones.  

What about calcium supplements for younger women?  Once again, exercise is the of utmost importance in helping to prevent or minimize osteoporosis².  Making sure you are getting a sufficient amount of calcium each day is also important. The recommended daily requirement for calcium is 1000-1200 mg.  So, lets assume that a typical vitamin/mineral supplement supplies 500 mg of calcium. A small container of yogurt adds another 250 mg. A glass of milk or a piece of cheese can add another 250 mg. If you're avoiding dairy, other good sources of calcium include turnips, spinach, sardines (including bones), and calcium-fortified orange juice. So, you can get the recommended requirement by combining both a daily supplement and eating a variety of calcium rich foods.

Magnesium deficiency is another very common mineral deficiency in the United States.  Magnesium and calcium balance each other, so if you do supplement, look for a product that ideally contains equal amounts of both.  Having a lot of muscle tension may be a sign that you are low in magnesium.  Appropriate magnesium levels are also important for promoting cardiovascular health, regulating blood pressure and controlling blood sugar.  Spinach, almonds, pumpkin seeds, swiss chard, cashews, and black beans are all very good sources of magnesium.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are an easy way to make sure you are getting the nutritional support your body needs.  By supplementing your diet appropriately, you can make sure you are receiving a consistent and optimal dose of the most important nutrients. Eating a varied diet of healthy whole foods along with getting regular exercise, will help to ensure vibrant and glowing good health³.


1Rosen CJ: Clinical practice. Postmenopausall osteoporosis. N Engl J Med 353(6):595-603, 2005
2Swanenburg J, et al: Effects of exercise and nutrition on postural balance and risk of falling in elderly people. Clin Rehabil 21(6):523-34, 2007
3Speckerr B, Vukovich M: Evidence for an interaction between exercise and nutrition for improved bone health during growth. Med Sport Sci 51:50-63, 2007

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