Your Daily Choices Can Increase Or Decrease Your Health and Longevity
Last week I saw an article on sciencedaily.com detailing a study done on aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and the benefits of caffeine in reversing memory loss. The article lead with the suggestion that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.” It went on to report on back-to-back studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that showed that caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice that had developed symptoms of the disease. However, before you decide to add another cup of coffee to your daily routine, let me, Dr. Jamie Phillips add that under “Related Stories” on the website were at least two articles about studies that showed the not-so-healthy effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.” Nearly every viewpoint, it seems to me, especially when it comes to age-related health issues, can be confirmed, or at least given credence, by a number of specific studies. The “good/bad” studies related to caffeine naturally aren’t, of course, the only ones. Even so, it did get me to thinking about the likelihood that there will never be simply “one thing” that will with absolute certainty aid we, humans, in living longer, healthier lives. We are dynamic, biological creatures. We are actively engaged in life. We’re not confined to a cage! And, furthermore, though Alzheimer’s disease is likely on the rise, obviously no one has been “artificially induced to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t absolutely the “one thing” that is going to reverse or prevent it. Our body is an exquisite, complex system that is designed to function homeostasis (balance). It is likely, then, that good health is cultivated by a healthy, balanced attitude towards living, as opposed to our jumping on the bandwagon of the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one particular thing under the illusion that it will reverse all of the other immoderate and harmful things we have done to our bodies. I believe, as a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, that every moment of the day we have an opportunity to make decisions that will assist us to live longer, healthier lives, healthy choices for our body and mind. We know what actually “feels” right and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for us. So, the next time you reach for that extra cup of coffee or that second glass of red wine, I hope that you’ll think about this. Neither one of those things is the “one thing” that will do “everything” for your good health.  |
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