SuperSize Me... The Comparison Study

ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2008) — Too much fast food and too little exercise can harm the liver, reveals a small study in the journal Gut. The findings are based on 18 slim, healthy people (12 men and six women) who took a “fast food challenge” for four weeks, and a comparison group, matched for age and sex, who ate a normal diet.
The fast good group restricted their levels of physical activity to not more than 5000 daily steps and ate at least two fast food meals, preferably in well known outlets, every day.
The aim was to double calorific intake and increase total body weight by between 10% and 15% to see if these had any impact on their liver health.
Blood samples were taken before the challenge began and then at regular intervals throughout the study period, to check on their liver enzyme and fat levels.
At the end of the four weeks, those in the fast food group had put on an average of 6.5 kg. Five increased their weight by 15%, and one person put on an extra 12 kg in just two weeks.
The increases were linked to weight gain and especially higher sugar and carbohydrate intake.
Only one participant developed “fatty liver,” but test results from the other participants showed a steep rise in fat content in their liver cells, which is associated with insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance is associated with the metabolic syndrome, a collection of biochemical abnormalities which are linked to an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
No such changes were seen among those who continued to eat their normal diet.

Journal reference: Fast-food based hyper-alimentation can induce rapid and profound elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase in healthy subjects Online First Gut 2008; doi: 10.11.36/gt131797
Adapted from materials provided by British Medical Journal, via Newswise.

Dr. Zach's Comments:

• There are multiple take home points of this study.


• 1) Processed foods are toxic. Your body (especially your liver) has to work terribly hard to metabolize processed foods.


• 2) The primary villain in our problem with obesity in this country is carbohydrates from sugars and refined grains, NOT fats as we are led to believe.


• 3) Weight gain is simply calories in verses calories out. This group restricted their calorie output and increase their calorie intake. Guess what happened... they gained significant weight. Your body is designed to be very active AND consume moderate amounts of food. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle or eat the average American diet you will be overweight, and both of those activities (inactivity and overeating) are risk factors for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.


• Health however is not about calories in vs. calories out. You can be at an ideal body weight and be very unhealthy. You can be mildly overweight and be quite healthy. Health is by definition a state of physical, social, and mental well being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity (form the World Health Organization), therefore in order to attain health, you must strive for excellence in all three categories by incorporating activities in your life that address these issues AND avoid lifestyle activities that would deter from any of the categories.


• How do you become truly healthy. 1)Eat raw, preferably organic, fruits and vegetables, free range or wild meats and whole grains (sparingly). Avoid processed foods, sugar, and refined carbohydrates. 2) Be active: exercise regularly and maintain your body structure through chiropractic care, massage, yoga, pilates, etc. 3) Find spiritual peace. 4)Continue to learn. 5) Maintain friendships and social interactions. These are just a few of the activities you can do to truly attain health.

Neck Pain Study Sheds Light on Best Care

TORONTO, Feb. 15, 2008- A seven-year, international study published today finds that some alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic and massage are better choices for managing most common neck pain than many current practices. Also included in the short-list of best options for relief are exercises, education, neck mobilization, low level lasertherapy and pain relievers. Therapies such as neck collars and ultrasound are not recommended. The study found that corticosteroid injections and surgery should only be considered if there is associated pain, weakness or numbness in the arm,fracture or serious disease.


The Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders 236 page review of the current research on neck pain ispublished in the journal Spine. The multi-national and inter-disciplinarystudy team included Canadian, American, South American, Australasian andEuropean researchers. The Task Force was created to help neck pain sufferers and health professionals use the best research evidence to prevent, diagnoseand manage neck pain.


In addition to its comprehensive review of the existing body of researchon neck pain, the Task Force also initiated a new study into the association between chiropractic care of the neck and stroke. This innovative piece of research found that patients who visit a chiropractor are no more likely to experience a stroke than are patients who visit their family physician. The study concludes that this type of stroke commonly begins with neck pain and/or headache which causes the patient to seek care from their chiropractor or family physician before the stroke fully develops. "This type of stroke is extremely rare and has been known to occur spontaneously or after ordinary neck movements such as looking up at the skyor shoulder-checking when backing up a car," noted the study's lead author,Dr. David Cassidy, professor of epidemiology at the University of Toronto and senior scientist at the University Health Network at Toronto Western Hospital.


Top findings for neck pain suffers: - Stay as active as you can, exercise and reduce mental stress. - Don't expect to find a single "cause" for your neck pain. - Be cautious of treatments that make "big" claims for relief of neck pain. - Trying a variety of therapies or combinations of therapies may be needed to find relief - see the therapies for which the Task Force found evidence of benefits. - Once you have experienced neck pain, it may come back or remain persistent. - Lengthy treatment is not associated with greater improvements; you should see improvement after 2-4 weeks, if the treatment is the right one for you. - There is relatively little research on what does or does not prevent neck pain; ergonomics, cervical pillows, postural improvements etc. may or may not help.


The Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and ItsAssociated Disorders is composed of a group of international researchers and scientist-clinicians who have spent the past seven years undertaking a comprehensive and structured review of the current research on neck pain. TheScientific Secretariat of the Task Force is composed of 13 members and has been supported by an international Advisory Committee of 17 members. The TaskForce and Advisory Committee members represent 14 disciplines ranging from neurology and rheumatology to epidemiology, chiropractic and physical therapy from across nine countries.

Dr. Zach's Comments:

Highlights of this study:

• Alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage are better choices for managing most common neck pain than many current practices.
• Therapies such as neck collars and ultrasound are not recommended. The study found that corticosteroid injections and surgery should only be used as a last resort.
• The research found that patients who visit a chiropractor are no more likely to experience a stroke than are patients who visit their family physician, as this type of stroke commonly begins with neck pain and/or headache which causes the patient to seek care from their chiropractor or family physician before the stroke fully develops.