Michael J. Vipond, B.Sc., D.C.
CHIROPRACTOR / www.vipondchiropractic.caE-mail:
S / #215-2902 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6K 2G8
Phone: 604.737.7161
Fax: 604.737.3943 / / 15157 Roper Ave
White Rock, BC V4B 5C9
Phone: 604.531.3322
Fax: 604.536.0505
Bits and Bytes February 2017
INFLUENZA FACTS Canada is in the midst of the flu season, with cases mounting across the country. Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about influenza.
Q: What is the flu? A: The flu is a contagious respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus, which infects the nose, throat and lungs. Infection can cause mild to severe illness, and in some cases lead to hospitalization and even death.
Q: What are symptoms of the flu? A: Fever, running nose, sore throat, cough, muscle or body aches, headache and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, although those symptoms are more common in children.
Q. How does the flu spread? A: Influenza viruses are believed to spread from one person to another mainly by air-borne droplets when infected people cough, sneeze or talk. Contacting a surface or object contaminated by the virus and then touching your mouth, eyes or nose can lead to infection.
Q: How soon do symptoms begin?
A: Symptoms begin about one to four days after exposure- on average, in about two days.
Q: How long is a person contagious?
A: Flu can be passed to someone else even before symptoms appear. Most adults may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after getting sick. Some people, especially young children and those with weakened immune systems, may be infectious for even longer.
Q: How do I know if it's the flu or a cold?
A: Influenza and the common cold are caused by different viruses, but both share some common symptoms. However, fever is rare with a cold and body aches, if they occur, are generally mild, while those associated with the flu can be intense. Extreme fatigue is common with the flu, but unusual with a cold.
Q: How can I protect myself from getting the flu?
A: Infectious diseases experts say the best way to prevent infection is to get a seasonal flu vaccination. Other preventive measures- staying away from the people who are sick, covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing,frequent hand-washing an avoid touching your face– also help slow the spread. Source: The Vancouver Sun, Jan 17, 2017
The Dangers of HIIT, Hot Yoga, Circuit Training & CrossFit
Keeping with the “new year, new me” mentality, resolution makers are always looking for ways to reboot their workouts with 2017’s top fitness trends. However, jumping straight into a HIIT workout or CrossFit class without knowing what you’re getting yourself into can create a recipe for overtraining or injury that can stop any resolution in its tracks.
Allowing your body and mind time to adapt to a new fitness program is essential. Controlled and steady progress brings the best (and lasting) results.
1. HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) These workouts promise to burn maximal calories in minimal time through short, high-intensity bouts of an exercise followed by brief rest periods. But because of the intensity, it’s important to evaluate your fitness level honestly before participating in the program. According to the International Sports Sciences Association, those who are out of shape have a harder time performing the exercises properly and will need to build their strength and conditioning at lower intensities before attempting a HIIT workout. Mastering the proper technique requires time, so you need to be patient. Beginners who ignore these guidelines put themselves at risk of orthopedic injuries like rotator cuff tears, shoulder dislocation, meniscus tears, ACL tears and hip or ankle injuries.
2. Hot Yoga
Yoga is known for it's calming and mobility enhancing benefits, but overeager yogis can push themselves too far, resulting in strained muscles, rotator cuff tears, torn cartilage in the knees and lower-back injuries. With the added heat element, hot yoga dehydrates the body more quickly. If you’re not properly hydrated beforehand or have low blood pressure you run the risk of passing out in class. In order to avoid injury, do a few warm-up stretches before class and a nice cool down after the workout (but not too quickly). Keep the body hydrated before, during and after class.
3. Circuit Training Similar to HIIT, circuit training can be dangerous for beginners because of the speed of the rotations. The dynamic movements in each rotation have the potential to push the body (especially your knees) to the limit. With circuit training, it’s important to understand that pain is an indicator to that you need to slow down and relax the joint. Beginners will benefit from slower, more focused training to remain injury-free. It’s also important to maintain proper form while exercising.
4. CrossFit Fitness experts are split as to whether it’s a dangerous program, especially for beginners, or whether it’s just an intense (but perfectly safe) training method that whips the body into shape. People often get involved in this program unprepared and as a result they end up with severe shoulder and knee injuries. All physical activities and workout programs require slow and steady progress, but when it comes to the cautiousness needed to practice safely, CrossFit tops them all. It often involves complex lifts and advanced exercises. It’s not uncommon to feel tired and weak after a CrossFit workout, but if you feel unusually tired, you should slow down immediately. Pain in your body is a message. You should pay attention to what it says. Overextending your limits almost always leads to injuries or illness. Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/1012714-dangers-lurking-top-4-fitness-classes/
Scientists discover way to give milk chocolate the same beneficial properties as dark chocolate Peanut skins hold the key in altering the nutritional benefits of the confectionery without affecting the taste. Phenolic compounds from peanut skins were made into a sweet edible powder, which was then incorporated into milk chocolate, giving it the same antioxidant property of dark chocolate. A total of 80 people were given samples of milk chocolate with the peanut skin extract and normal milk chocolate and results showed they were liked an equal amount, the authors posted in the Journal of Food Science. The tests showed that the amount of peanut skin added to the chocolate did not affect the taste.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/milk-chocolate-healthy-as-dark-chocolate-peanut-skins-scientists-a7388496.html
Sitting & Blood Flow Sitting for hours on end may make your blood vessels less flexible. Researchers had 11 healthy young men sit for six hours without getting up or moving their legs. Sitting reduced blood flow and shear stress in the lower legs and forearms. Shear stress can help blood vessels relax and may help keep them healthy. What's more, small blood vessels in the participants' arm and legs were less able to relax at the end of the six-hour sit. The good news: The flexibility of the blood vessels in their legs ( though not their arms) was completely restored after a 10- minute walk. What to do: Get up out of your chair, move about or take a brief walk every hour or so. Source: Nutrition Action Health Letter , December 2015
The longest running streak ever ended at 19,032 day The longest recorded running streak in history ended on Jan. 28, 2017, when England's Ron Hill completed a one-mile run. The 78-year-old former Olympian did not run the next day for the first time in 52 years and 39 days — a streak that dates back to Dec. 21, 1964, five days before the Beatles topped the Billboard charts with the single “I Feel Fine.” In a statement released by Streak Runners International, Hill, who suffers from an undiagnosed heart problem, said that after less than 400 meters, “my heart started to hurt and over the last 800 meters, the problem got worse and worse. I thought I might die but just made it to one mile in 16 minutes and 34 seconds. There was no other option but to stop. I owed that to my wife, family and friends, plus myself.” Streak runners must run at least a mile every day, regardless of injuries, surgery or other circumstances. The records are submitted by runners on the honor system, but Mark Washburne, who keeps both the U.S. and world lists, tries to check out claims of lengthy streaks. The end of Hill's streak gives Jon Sutherland, 66, of West Hills, Calif., the longest active streak in the world at 17,417 days, or a little more than 47½ years, according to the U.S. Running Streak Association. When Hill reached 50 years, he told Runner's World that the most serious threat to his mark came in 1993 when he broke his sternum in a car accident. Fortunately, he had already run that day. The next day, he managed to put in a mile. He also had bunion surgery the same year. He said his son picked him up from the hospital and took him to a track, where he ran a mile, using two canes. A week later, he abandoned the canes and continued his daily streak in a special cast. Hill won the 1970 Boston Marathon in 2:10:30, a course record at the time. He has run 115 marathons — all but three at times under 2:50 Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/01/30/the-longest-running-streak-ever-ended-saturday-at-19032-days/?utm_term=.377ade9887a2