All Sodas Increase Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Online health news, Medscape reported on Febuary 14, 2013 that a new study from France suggests that women who drink large amounts of diet soda are at increased risk for type 2 diabetes.

The study followed  66,118 women in France exploring links between diet and cancer.  What they found was that there were 1369 new cases of type 2 diabetes diagnosed during the follow-up period from 1993 to 2007.

In self-reported dietary consumption of soft drinks, the average intake of regular sodas was 328 mL/week, while for diet sodas it was higher, at 568 mL/week.   The study considers this high consumption.  For those of us here in the States let me convert that for you.  328 mL = about 11 oz. or slightly less than one can of regular soda/WEEK.  568 mL = 19 oz of diet soda/WEEK.  I'm guessing many of us know friends, family, co-workers or ourselves that consume more than this amount through the week.

The risk for type 2 diabetes was elevated among the women by about 30% with consumption of regular soda greater than 11 oz./week and more than doubled with consumption of diet soda greater than 19 oz./week.  These are risk factors after adjusting for other influencing variables.

Moral of the story?  Don't be fooled into thinking that diet means that it is better for you and that there are no health consequences with its consumption.

What the body needs and what most of us don't get enough of is water.  Try replacing soda consumption with water consumption.  Carry a water bottle with you, keep one on your desk at work if possible, get frequent drinks during any breaks through the day, whatever it may take.  Many common health complaints from mental fog, to muscle aches to back pain to fainting have been related to dehydration (lack of water).

In the interest of your better health,

Dr. Heller




Photo Credit: © Pkruger | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

Friends for Life = Friends for Health

It is pretty self-evident that spending time with those close to us, that we can share with, laugh with and just spend time with make us feel better about ourselves and our lives.  Evidence is now coming out that the benefits are not only emotional they are truly physical.

Most of us have heard that pets and deep friendships with others can extend life and improve quality of life.  A recent study appearing in the from Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting in New Orleans has found why.

Researchers found people who were more lonely showed signs of elevated latent herpes virus reactivation and produced more inflammation-related proteins in response to acute stress than people who felt more socially connected. 

It seems that loneliness boosts inflammation.  Inflammation is linked to coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and most other chronic disorders.  Inflammation can lead to

tissue damage throughout the body accelerating aging and predisposing you to other disease processes.  Currently these chronic conditions are typically addressed with anti-inflammatory drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s).  Listening to the news and the disclaimers on advertising we should understand that this approach is not without significant risks.

It is clear from previous research that poor-quality relationships are linked to a number of health problems, including premature mortality and all sorts of other very serious health conditions. And people who are lonely clearly feel like they are in poor-quality relationships," stated the lead author.

So as you are taking steps in the New Year to keep yourself healthy, make sure you include time with friends, family and other companions in your daily or at least weekly schedule to improve your well-being.  

Yours for Better Health,

Dr. Heller 

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Multiple Vaccines Per Visit Increases Risk

A new study, published in Human and Experimental Toxicology analyzed more than 38,000 reports of infant hospitalizations and deaths following vaccinations. Researchers have found statistically significant correlations between the number of vaccine doses administered to infants and infant hospitalization and mortality rates: babies who receive the most vaccines tend to have higher (worse) hospitalization and death rates.


While each childhood vaccine has individually undergone clinical trials to assess safety, studies have not been conducted to determine the safety (or efficacy) of combining vaccines during a single physician visit as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) guidelines.

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The Importance of Posture

I get asked often about why we have such a focus on a person’s posture as we work with practice members and speak with individuals in public.  The reason being is that posture is a direct result of skeletal alignment and balance.  You might say that posture is  a low tech way of evaluating spinal alignment and balance.

Balanced, (proper) posture should present a straight line, parallel to the ground, if a line is created by connecting the two endpoints representing the right and left sides, typically the eyes (or top of ears), shoulders, hips, kneecaps and ankles.   In the side view of the individual a plumb line would pass from the ear canal downward through the center of the shoulder, through the hip joint, through the center of the knee joint to just in front of the ankle joint at approximately the highest part of the instep of the foot.  Any posture where one of these “landmarks” deviates away from the visualized line will create unnatural, unnecessary and detrimental stresses to every tissue of the body.  Theses stresses (compression, twisting, stretching, changes in chemistry) will affect the way that the tissue functions which will lead to pathology and symptoms and eventually tissue destruction.  The stresses from the forward leaning posture is the most detrimental.

Over the past dozen or so years, several studies have been published that demonstrated the importance of proper postural balance. A 1994 study appearing in American Journal of Pain Management found that “posture affects and moderates every physiologic function from breathing to hormonal production. Spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, pulse, and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture…..it appears that homeostasis (healthy balance of systems) and autonomic regulation are intimately connected with posture.”(1)   Another study in 2005(2) found that the posture of carrying the head or body forward of the above mentioned plumb line found “All measures of health status showed significantly poorer scores as [the] plumb line deviation (forward lean) increased.”  Translated, this says that the greater the forward lean, the greater was the severity and occurrence of reported health problems.  Sleep apnea has also been associated with a forward head posture.(3) It has also been found that “Older men and women with hyperkyphotic (forward bent) posture have higher mortality (death) rates.”(4)

This is only 4 of the many studies, but their implications of poor posture on an individual’s health are great.  “Despite considerable evidence that posture affects physiology and function, the significant influence of posture on health is not addressed by most physicians.”(1)  So don’t think that since your medical doctor didn’t mention it that it shouldn’t be a concern.

It is due to these far reaching effects of posture on the individuals overall well being that dictates the necessity of not only looking at the pain pattern of our patients but also their overall posture and its potential effect on their future well being.

The individual may choose to only address the symptoms, but we believe that they should also be aware of circumstances that could jeopardize their future health and what can be done about them through chiropractic care.


Yours in health,

Dr. Heller


1.   Lennon J., Shealy C., Cady R., Matta W., Cox R., Simpson W. Postural and Respiratory Modulation of Autonomic Function, Pain, and Health. AJPM 1994; 4:36-39.
2.   Glassman, Steven D. MD; Bridwell, Keith MD; Dimar, John R. MD; Horton, William MD; Berven, Sigurd MD; Schwab, Frank MD  The Impact of Positive Sagittal Balance in Adult Spinal Deformity, Spine, Volume 30(18), September 15, 2005 pp. 2024-2029
3.   M. Murat Özbek, Keisuke Miyamoto, Alan A. Lowe and John A. Fleetham,  Natural head posture, upper airway morphology and obstructive sleep apnoea severity in adults,  European Journal of Orthodontics 20 (1998) 133–143.
4.  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2004