DAILY HEALTH UPDATE Wednesday, October 28th, 2015 Courtesy of: Dr. Darren Taylor

Mental Attitude: Suicide Risk Greater for Some After Weight-Loss Surgery. Individuals who have undergone weight-loss surgery are more likely to attempt suicide following the procedure than beforehand. Researchers found bariatric surgery patients are about 50% more likely to try to take their own lives after losing a lot of weight, and more than 9 out of 10 suicide attempts involved a patient with a history of mental health problems. Study author Dr. Amir Ghaferi writes, "While we are clear and confident about the medical benefits of weight loss, especially through weight-loss surgery, I think we're not as attentive to the potential psychological benefits or harms of it." JAMA Surgery, October 2015

Health Alert: Being Overweight During Adolescence May Lead to Clogged Arteries Later in Life. Portuguese researchers examined nearly 1,000 teenagers and found those with a body mass index of 25 or more (indicating they are either overweight or obese) are 2.3 times more likely to have high blood pressure than their peers who are at a healthy weight. Previous research indicates that pre-hypertension or hypertension during young adulthood is associated with a greater risk for calcium deposits in the arteries during later adulthood. Brazilian Medical Association, August 2015

Diet: High-Fructose Diet Slows Brain Injury Recovery. Your diet may determine your ability to recover from mental deficits after head trauma. According to the results of an animal study, a diet high in processed fructose sabotages the brain's ability to heal after an injury to the head. The research team found rats with induced brain trauma fed a fructose diet took 30% longer to find the exit to a maze compared with those in a control group that drank water. Researcher Dr. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla writes, "Our take-home message can be boiled down to this: reduce fructose in your diet if you want to protect your brain."

Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, October 2015

Exercise: Social Networks Effectively Encourage Exercise. Social networks can be a powerful motivator to encourage an individual to engage in more physical activity. In a randomized controlled trial, researchers created a website where 217 graduate students enrolled in free exercise programs at their college gym. Participants either received promotional messages or were placed into social networks with other peers. Those in the social networks were able to monitor each other’s progress online and were informed when others had signed up for a certain exercise class. After the thirteen-week study, the research team found the grad students in the social network group exercised twice as often as those who only received promotional messages. Study author Dr. Jingwen Zhang adds, "We were able to use the positive signals to form a reinforcing loop that pushed everyone to exercise more."

Preventive Medicine Reports, August 2015

Chiropractic: Balance Exercises Improve Post Surgical Rehab of Knee. Proprioception (joint position sense) is usually compromised in patients recovering from injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), resulting in poor balance that could increase their risk for further injuries. A new study finds that a rehabilitation program focused on proprioceptive exercises can provide considerable improvement in not only proprioception but also functional status and pain levels for patients recovering from an ACL injury. Common examples of proprioceptive exercises include the use of a gymball, balance board, or wobble board. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, June 2015

Wellness/Prevention: New Test May Predict Future Heart Disease & Diabetes Risk. Heart disease kills about 610,000 Americans every year. According to researchers, a new test could be used to help predict if adolescents may have a future risk for both heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The test works by assessing an individual's metabolic syndrome status (a cluster of modifiable factors that raise heart disease risk), providing people with an opportunity to make lifestyle changes now to lower the likelihood of developing heart disease and diabetes later in life. Diabetologia, September 2015

Quote: “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” - Albert Einstein

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Dr. Darren Taylor