Dr. Steve Chaney, Author at Health Tips From The Professor

Shoulder Muscle Pain Relief

January 19, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

You Can Enjoy Pain Free Living From Home

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

Yesterday I was at my sailing club and a man was sitting watching the water, rubbing his shoulder and clearly in pain. I asked him what was wrong and he said he had a sore shoulder for the past three months and he desperately wanted to find some pain relief. He loves to sail and this shoulder muscle pain was preventing him from going out on the water. He said he had already been to a massage therapist, a physical therapist, and a chiropractor. He finally went to an orthopedic surgeon and was told that surgery was the only way to relieve the pain of his sore shoulder, but he had decided that he didn’t want to take that path…yet.

Shoulder Muscle Pain Cause

I use an analogy that makes it so clear why spasms in will cause joint pain. If you pull your hair your scalp will hurt, but you don’t need to massage your scalp, or take aspirin for your headache, and you definitely don’t need brain surgery. You simply need to let go of your hair!

Your shoulder has more muscle attachments than any joint in your body.

Each muscle pulls your shoulder in a different direction, but as the muscle gets tight it puts pressure on the bone. Your shoulder muscle pain is the end result – just like pulling your hair hurts your head.

To get relief, all you need to do is release the tension in the muscles. ‘

Stretching WON’T Help Relieve Sore Shoulder Pain!

It is important to untie the knots (spasms) in the muscles before stretching. Think of what happens if you take a 12″ length of rope, tie enough knots in it so it is 11″ long, and then try to stretch it back to 12″ without first untying the knots. This is what will happen to your muscle fibers if you stretch without first releasing the spasms.

My years of working with athletes who not only have sore shoulder pain, but also have pain in every joint caused by their repetitive strain. Working with athletes showed me that it was vital to teach them how to do self-treatments they could use during a race or competition.

This led to several books and DVD programs, including my Focused Flexibility Training. On one DVD, I demonstrate how to self-treat every muscle from your head to foot, and then on two DVDs (1 Upper Body and 1 Lower Body) Ana Johnson, a fantastic yoga instructor, leads you through self-treating the muscles you will be stretching, and then a 30-minute yoga program. It works to quickly eliminate sore shoulder pain, as well as pain and stiffness throughout your body.

There are several treatments for sore shoulder pain, each addressing a different group of muscles that pull your shoulder and arm in the wide range of motions you make every day without even thinking about it.

Self-Treatment For Shoulder Muscle Pain

The photo to the left show you how to treat your Infraspinatus muscle. This muscle brings your shoulder back, like you’re taking a tennis serve. When your Infraspinatus muscle is in spasm, it will cause shoulder muscle pain as you try to bring your arms forward.

Place the Perfect Ball as shown in the picture, and lean your weight into the ball. Look for the “hot spot,” which will be tender. As you lean into the ball, then take the pressure off, and then lean again, you’ll find the muscle becoming less and less painful.

Move the ball to different areas of your shoulder, finding the various painful points. Each one is a spasm that is causing your sore shoulder pain. You can enhance this treatment by slowly drawing your arm across your body while you are still pressing into the ball. Since the spasms have been released, this movement will safely stretch the muscle fibers. As you release each spasm, and then stretch, you’ll find pain relief, and you’ll know how to stop pain quickly and easily should it return.

As for the man I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I’m happy to say that today he told me he slept through the night for the first time in weeks, and he’s getting better every time he does the self-treatments I taught him. That is so fulfilling — I LOVE my work!

With some knowledge of how to find spasms, how to self-treat them, and how to stretch properly, you can Stop Pain FAST!

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.

She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Should You Eat Often to Lose Weight?

January 12, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

6 Small Meals a Day Plan?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Should you eat often to lose weight? A friend, your doctor, or your favorite health guru may have told you with some conviction that eating 6 small meals a day, as opposed to 2 or 3 large meals, can help you lose weight. If you are like most people, you are probably wondering whether something so simple might be the secret to permanent weight control. Should you really eat like a bird?

The advocates of eating frequent, small meals argue that large meals cause a much larger spike in insulin resulting in more of the calories being stored as fat. They also argue that a long time between meals leads to excessive hunger and overeating when you do sit down to a meal. The opponents of this idea claim that those arguments are nonsense and that eating frequent meals can cause you to lose track of the calories you have consumed.

The clinical studies on this subject have not been much help. Some studies show that more frequent food consumption during the day is associated with lower body weight, while other studies find no association between frequency of food consumption and weight.

Your friend may have also told you that consuming your calories earlier in the day will help prevent weight gain. You’ve probably heard the saying: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”. This hypothesis is on a bit stronger footing, but there are far too few studies on the subject.

With both of those concepts in mind, a recent study provides an excellent perspective.

Should You Eat Often to Lose Weight?

A recent study (Aljuiraban et al., Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115: 528-536, 2015) used data from the International Study on Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure to evaluate the relationship between frequency of eating and time of eating with caloric density (calories/serving), nutrient quality and BMI (a measure of body weight). The study included 2,696 men and women aged 40 to 59 years from both the United States and England. The dietary data were obtained from each participants on two consecutive days at the beginning of the study and again 3 weeks later.

The results of the study were:

BMI was significantly less for those individuals consuming >6 meals per day than for those consuming <4 meals/day.

BMI was also significantly less for those individuals consuming their calories early in the day than for those consuming most of their calories late in the day.

What Is The “Rest Of The Story”?

Those of you old enough to have heard the Paul Harvey radio show might remember that he would tell a fairly ordinary story. Then, after the commercial break, he would come back and tell “The Rest Of The Story”, and that was always the most interesting part of the story. This study is no different.

If this study had just measured associations with BMI, it would have been just another boring food frequency study that just happened to show an association between more frequent food consumption and lower body weight. However, it also evaluated the association of food frequency and food timing with many other parameters. This was the most interesting part of the study. This was “the rest of the story”.

Those individuals consuming >6 meals/day had higher intakes of low fat dairy products, fruits and vegetables and lower intake of alcohol and red meats than those consuming <4 meals/day.

Those individuals consuming >6 meals/day also consumed less energy dense foods, fewer total calories, and more nutrient rich foods than those individuals consuming <4 meals/day.

Those individuals consuming >6 meals per day were much less likely to have their evening meal at a restaurant or cafeteria than those individuals consuming <4 meals/day.

Similarly, those individuals consuming the majority of their calories early in the day also had higher intake of low fat dairy products, fruits and vegetables and lower intake of alcohol and red meat than those consuming the majority of their calories late in the day. They also consumed less energy dense foods, fewer total calories, and more nutrient rich foods.

Although the difference was not statistically significant, it is perhaps worth noting that individuals consuming >6 meals/day tended to eat a higher percentage of their calories early in the day compared to individuals consuming <4 meals/day.

In other words, it was not necessarily the frequency or time of eating that was associated with body weight. It could simply have been the quality of the diet that determined body weight. It’s no secret that eating fewer calories, more fresh fruits and vegetable, eating lower fat dairy products, and consuming less alcohol and red meat is associated with a lower body weight. In today’s world of supersized portions, it’s also not surprising that frequently eating your dinner at restaurants is associated with higher weight.

What’s not clear from this study is why there was such a strong association between consuming a healthy, low calorie diet and frequency/timing of eating. It’s also not clear whether this is a universal association, or whether it was unique to this clinical study.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has shown that BMI was significantly less for those individuals consuming >6 meals per day than for those consuming <4 meals/day. BMI was also significantly less for those individuals consuming the bulk of their calories early in the day compared to those consuming their calories late in the day.

In both cases, it turns out that the individuals with lower BMI were also consuming healthier diets as measured by lower calorie intake, greater consumption of fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy and reduced consumption of alcohol and red meats.

Consequently, it isn’t clear from this study whether low BMI is associated with frequency of eating, timing of eating, or simply the quality of the diet.

The jury is still out on whether consuming frequent, small meals can help you lose weight. This just may be one of those approaches that works better for some people than for others.

The preponderance of evidence suggests that consuming the bulk of your calories early in the day may help you lose weight, but the evidence is far from definitive at this point.

However, there is universal agreement that eating a healthy, low calorie diet will help you lose weight. My money is with a healthy, low calorie diet.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Skinny Fat

January 5, 2016 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Overweight Vs. Obesity

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Are you skinny fat? Weight loss season is upon us. Many of you are jumping on your bathroom scales so that you can decide how much weight you need to lose this year. For some the motivation for these New Year’s resolutions to lose weight is purely cosmetic. You just want to look better. For others the motivation for losing weight is better health. Obesity is a killer. It is associated with increased risk of diabetes, heart attack and stroke – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But what if your bathroom scale says that you are normal weight? Are you off the hook? Maybe not. A recent study suggests that if you are normal weight but have central obesity (a fancy scientific term for belly fat), you are more likely to die prematurely than someone with normal fat distribution regardless of how overweight they are. That’s a pretty scary thought. It has even generated a new risk category called “skinny fat”.

How Can You Be Obese Without Being Overweight?

In recent years there has been some controversy about the health risks of obesity. Part of that controversy has arisen because obesity can be defined in multiple ways. Most of us simply hop on the scale and rely on actuarial tables to tell us what a healthy weight is for our height. Scientists, on the other hand use two very different measures of obesity.

#1 is Body Mass Index or BMI.BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms (kg) divided by his or her height in meters squared. By this measure:

Normal body weight is defined as a BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m².

Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25-29.9 kg/m².

Obesity is defined as a BMI of ≥30 kg/m².

#2 is waist to hip ratio or WHR. WHR is a measure of central adiposity (belly fat). By this measure:

Obesity is defined as excess central adiposity (excess belly fat), which is a waist to hip ratio ≥0.85 in women and ≥0.90 in men.

In general BMI and WHR correlate. However:

11% of men and 3.3% of women are normal weight according to BMI measurements, but have excess belly fat according to WHR measurements.These are the individualswho are obese according to their WHR measurements without being overweight according to their BMI measurements. These are the individuals often referred to as “skinny fat”.

There are similar percentages of men and women who are overweight or obese according to BMI measurements, but have low WHR measurements. These are often referred to as “pear shaped” obese individuals to distinguish them from the “apple shaped” obese individuals with a lot of belly fat.

Being Skinny Fat Can Kill You

Numerous studies have shown that “apple shaped” obesity is much more likely to be associated with disease and premature death than “pear shaped” obesity, but there have been very few studies comparing health outcomes for normal weight individuals who have excess belly fat (people who are “skinny fat”) with health outcomes of overweight and obese individuals. This study (Sahakyanet al, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2015 Nov 10 doi: 10.7326/M14-2525) was designed to fill that void.

These scientists analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey III (NHANES III). NHANES III collected BMI, WHR and health data from 15,184 Americans (52.8% women) aged 18 to 90 years (average age 45) and followed the study participants for 14.3 years. By that time 3222 of them had died, with 1413 of those deaths being due to heart disease. The results were enlightening:

Normal weight individuals with excess belly fat (“skinny fat” individuals) were 1.5 – 2.0 fold more likely to die during the 14.3 year follow up period than individuals who were normal weight and had little belly fat (“skinny lean” individuals). This was expected because this had been shown in several previous studies.

However, the surprising finding was that normal weight individuals with excess belly fat were also more likely to die than individuals who were overweight or obese. Specifically:

Men who were “skinny fat” were 2.2 – 2.4 fold more likely to die prematurely than men who were either overweight or obese, but did not have excess belly fat (men with a “pear shaped” fat distribution). “Skinny fat” women were 1.3 – 1.4 fold more likely to die prematurely than overweight or obese women with “pear shaped” fat distribution.

Men who were “skinny fat” were even slightly more likely to die prematurely than overweight or obese men with excess belly fat (men with “apple shaped” fat distribution). “Skinny fat” women were just as likely to die as overweight or obese women with “apple shaped” fat distribution.

When they looked at deaths due to cardiovascular disease the results were essentially the same.

These results were novel and should, perhaps serve as a wake-up call for normal weight individuals with excess belly fat.

The authors concluded:

“Our analysis of data…show that normal-weight U.S. adults with central obesity [excess belly fat] have the worst long-term survival compared with participants with normal fat distribution, regardless of BMI category.”

“To our knowledge, our study is the first to show that normal-weight central obesity, measured by WHR, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.”

“Our findings suggest that persons with normal-weight central obesity may represent an important target population for lifestyle modification and other preventative strategies.”

Why Is Being Skinny Fat So Dangerous?

As the authors of this study pointed out, it is well established that excess belly fat is associated with:

Insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes and predispose to heart disease.
High triglycerides and high levels of “bad” cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease.
Inflammation, which can lead to a number of deadly diseases.

The metabolic effects of excess belly fat are sufficient to explain why someone who is “skinny fat” is more likely to die prematurely than someone who is “skinny lean”. However, the effect of excess belly fat is not sufficient by itself to explain why a “skinny fat” individual is more likely to die prematurely than someone who is overweight or obese.

To understand this we need to recognize that both fat and muscle contribute to body weight (and to BMI). The “skinny fat” individual has more fat mass AND less muscle mass than a “skinny lean” individual of the same weight. That is a huge factor because metabolically speaking muscle is protective. It opposes all of the bad metabolic effects of belly fat.

Simply put, being “skinny fat” is extremely dangerous because you have increased all the bad metabolic effects of excess belly fat, ANDyou have decreased the protective metabolic effect of muscle mass.

How Do You Go From Being “Skinny Lean” To “Skinny Fat”?

Most of us were lean in our younger years. For those of us who end up as “skinny fat” as we age, it is pretty obvious that there are two processes going on simultaneously.

#1: Loss of Muscle Mass:It would be easy to say that becoming “skinny fat” is a natural part of aging. The natural tendency is to loose muscle mass and replace it with fat mass as we age. If we “just go with the flow” all of us will end up being “skinny fat” at some point. However, the loss of muscle mass as we age is accelerated by our sedentary lifestyle and our diet (more on that below).

#2: Gain of Belly Fat:To some extent whether we store excess fat as “pears” or “apples” is genetically determined. However, what we eat can also exert a major influence. For example:

Alcohol: The term “beer belly” says it all. Excess alcohol consumption is associated with an increase in belly fat. Once you understand the metabolism of alcohol the explanation is pretty simple. Alcohol causes blood sugar to drop, which increases appetite. Alcohol also interferes with our judgement, which can cause us to make poor food choices.

Excess saturated fat tends to be stored preferentially as belly fat.

Excess sugars and simple carbohydrates are rapidly converted to fat stores and stored as belly fat.

What Can You Do If You Are Already Skinny Fat?

Let’s start with what you shouldn’t do. You should not go on a reduced calorie weight loss diet to get rid of your excess belly fat. The last thing you want to do is to end up being underweight with excess belly fat! Here is what you should do:

#1: Increase Your Muscle Mass:I said that loss of muscle mass was a natural part of aging. I didn’t say that it was an inevitable part of aging. If you want to prevent or reverse loss of muscle mass you need to:

Get really serious about exercise. I’m talking about 30 minute workouts at least 3-5 times per week. These workouts need to include strength training as well as aerobics and flexibility exercises. I would suggest you ask your health professional what kind of exercise program is best for you and start your exercise program under the guidance of a personal trainer or physical therapist.

Make sure that your diet contains enough protein and enough of the essential amino acid leucine to maximize the gain of lean muscle mass following your workouts. I have covered the latest age-appropriate recommendations in, leucine and muscle gain, a previous “Health Tips From The Professor.”

#2: Lose Your Belly Fat:To some extent you will start to lose your belly fat naturally if you follow the recommendations above. In addition, you will want to:

Drink alcohol in moderation.

Make food choices that allow you to replace saturated fat with monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fats, especially the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.

Replace excess sugars and simple carbohydrates with complex carbohydrates from fresh fruits and vegetables along with modest amounts of whole grain foods.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has shown that being “skinny fat” (having normal body weight, but excess belly fat) is more likely to result in premature death than if you were overweight, or even obese.

The most likely explanation for this alarming statistic is that someone who is “skinny fat” has excess belly fat, which predisposes to a number of diseases, and a loss of muscle mass, which protects against those same diseases.

If you are overweight or obese, you need to reduce your caloric intake to lose weight. However, if you are “skinny fat”, you don’t want to reduce your caloric intake. You need to change your exercise and diet habits.

Loss of muscle mass and gain of fat mass is a normal part of aging. However, you can slow or reverse the age-related loss of muscle mass with an exercise program and enough protein and leucine in your diet to maximize the effects of that workout program (details above).

You can prevent or get rid of excess belly fat by:

Following the exercise program and nutritional support of that exercise program described above.

Making food choices that replace saturated fats with monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.

Replacing foods high in sugar and simple carbohydrates with fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains in moderation.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

8 Tips on How to Eat Less

December 29, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Avoid Mindless Eating

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Weight loss season is just around the corner. In just a few days you will probably be making your New Year’s resolutions, and weight loss will probably be near the top of the list. You may be considering the latest new diet fad – never mind that you’ve tried lots of diets in the past and have always regained the weight you lost.

What if you could learn just a few tricks that would help you discover how to eat less every day? Would that be of interest to you? Do you think it might help you lose some weight and keep it off?

This week I’m going to share 8 tips for eating less every single day from Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University. He is Director of their Food and Brand Lab. He has devoted his career to studying how external clues influence our eating patterns. He is the author of the best-selling books “Mindless Eating” and “Slim by Design”. He is the world expert on this topic.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of attending a seminar he gave. Here’s a quick summary of what I learned.

8 Tips on How to Eat Less

Tip #1: The Size Of The Container Matters

In one of his research studies he gave moviegoers who had just eaten dinner either a big bag or a small bag of stale popcorn. Those given the big bag ate 34% more. Think about that for a minute. The subjects in his study weren’t hungry. They had just eaten dinner. The popcorn wasn’t particularly tasty. It was stale. Yet they ate 34% more based solely on the size of the bag!

The take home lesson is always to choose the smallest container when given a choice. This is also why you want to serve your meals on small plates and drink your beverages in small glasses or cups. If you want to snack while you watch TV, place your snack food in a very small container and store the rest out of sight.

Tip #2:Don’t Fall For Marketing Hype

He was asked to consult for a cafeteria serving health food because they weren’t attracting enough customers. He just advised them to change the names of their menu items (e.g. “Succulent Tuscany Pasta” instead of “Italian Pasta”). Sales increased by 27%.

The take home lesson is not to fall for the marketing hype. Restaurants and food manufacturers know all the tricks. They know how to make even ordinary foods sound delicious. Make your food choices based on the ingredients of the food, not on the marketing description.

Tip #3: Make Junk Food Inconvenient

In another study he put clear glass dishes of candy either on a secretary’s desk or 6 feet away on a cabinet. The secretaries consumed 125 more calories/day from candy when it was on their desk. Think about that for a minute. 125 excess calories/day could amount to around one pound of weight gain/month, 12 pound/year, 60 pounds every 5 years, and a whopping 120 pounds over 10 years!

The take home lesson is to make high calorie snacks and junk foods inconvenient. Put them in the back of your refrigerator, on the top shelf of your cabinets, or other out of the way places. Even better, don’t bring them home in the first place.

Tip #4: Watch The Refills.

When he used a refillable soup bowl (it never goes below half full) people ate 73% more soup than those given a regular bowl of soup. When he asked the people with the refillable bowl if they were full, they replied “How could I be? I only ate half a bowl of soup”.

Of course, most of us will never experience a refillable soup bowl. However, if you are having a meal with friends and enjoying the conversation, it is easy to ignore the refills – either from your waiter at a restaurant or your favorite aunt at a family gathering.

Tip #5: Low Fat Doesn’t Mean “Eat More”

When he took a batch of trail mix and labeled some as “low fat” and some as “regular” people ate 21% to 46% more calories of the “low fat” trail mix. This was not an idle exercise. In fact, many low fat foods aren’t low calorie, but people assume that they are and use that as an excuse to eat more.

The take home lesson is to not assume you can eat more just because a food is labeled low fat, gluten free or some other healthy sounding description. In many cases, it has just as many calories as the full fat version. Even if it is, in fact, lower in calories, the only way you benefit from the reduced calories is when you consume the same portion size as you would for the full fat food it replaces.

Tip #6: Health Foods Are Not Necessarily Healthy

When he showed people an Italian sandwich and told them that it was from either “Jim’s Hearty Sandwich Shop” or from “Good Karma Healthy Foods”, people estimated the calories as 24% lower if they thought it came from Good Karma.

The take home lesson is that health foods are not necessarily healthier. Food manufactures know that health food is in, and they market their products accordingly. If you walk down the aisles of your favorite health food store, you will find foods that are just as high in sugar, fat and calories as the junk food you can buy at the convenience store down the street. They may contain “natural” fats and sugars, but those have just as many calories as the “unhealthy” fats and sugars in the junk foods. You still need to read labels and choose unprocessed fruits, vegetables and whole grains whenever possible.

Tip #7: Don’t Call It Exercise

When he took students on a walk around a lake before dinner, they ate more calories at dinner if they were told that it was an exercise walk than if they were told that it was a sight-seeing walk – and most of the extra calories came from dessert. Think about that for a minute. It is a human tendency to reward ourselves for virtuous behavior, but when that reward involves eating, it becomes self-defeating.

The take home lesson is two-fold.

Reframe our virtuous behavior. If we call it exercise or a work-out, it implies that we have done something virtuous and deserve a reward. If we call it a nature walk or think of it as a sport, it becomes its own reward. If we think of substituting a salad for a dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy as virtuous behavior, we may think we deserve a dessert as a reward. If we think of the salad as a gourmet experience, it can become a reward in its own right.

Rethink our rewards. The reward doesn’t need to be food related. It could involve reading a book, watching a show, or whatever you favorite activity might be.

Tip #8: Knowing This Stuff Isn’t Enough.

The fascinating thing is that his research shows it doesn’t matter how intelligent or well informed you are.

He did a study with 60 graduate students. Just before winter break, he gave them a lecture on external eating cues in which he specifically told them that they would eat more from a big bowl of Chex Mix than from a small bowl. The students then spent 90 minutes in small group exercises designed to show them how to overcome external eating cues.

After winter break he invited those same students to a Super Bowl party in which he divided them into two rooms and gave them, you guessed it, either large or small bowls of Chex Mix. The ones given the large bowls ate 53% more!

He later gave the same lecture to a meeting of The American Diabetes Association (Those are the experts) and then repeated the same experiment with them – and they still ate more from the large bowls.

How Can You Avoid Mindless Eating?

Dr. Wansink’s research clearly shows that overeating is mindlessly dependent on external eating cues, AND that you can’t avoid being influenced by those external clues even if you are intelligent and motivated! How to eat less?

Dr. Wansink recommends planning ahead. For example:

Serve your food on small plates and don’t leave food lying around where you can see it or get to it easily.

If you bring home a box or bag of snack food (hopefully healthy snack food), divide it up into healthy portion sizes as soon as you bring it home.

Put the healthy food choices in the front of your refrigerator or cupboard where you will see them easily and hide the unhealthy foods in the back (or don’t bring them home to begin with).

However, the most important thing is to realize most of this behavior is mindless. It is not enough to simply understand these external eating cues at an intellectual level. We need to be constantly vigilant for external eating cues, or we will find ourselves overeating without really understanding why.

Hopefully, these tips will help you eat less and attain a healthier weight next year than you did this year. However, these 8 tips are just the tip of the iceberg. If this article has piqued your interest and you’d like to learn more, I recommend you read one of Dr. Wansink’s books.

The Bottom Line

Brian Wansink’s research has shown that overeating, to a large extent, is mindlessly dependent on external eating cues, and that you can’t necessarily avoid being influenced by those external clues even if you are intelligent and motivated!

I have distilled his research into 8 simple tips to help you eat less and attain a healthier weight next year than you did this year.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Merry Christmas

December 22, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

The Christmas season is a wonderful time of year. It is a time when we get together with family and reconnect with friends. It’s a time of year when we remember the joy of giving and the joy of making the world a better place.

For those of us who are Christians, it is a time to remember that God gave us his only son. But, no matter what our religion, it is a time of year when we can focus on the common beliefs we share and the true purpose of our lives here on earth.It is a time to share the Christmas spirit of peace on earth and good will to all.

The Professor and his family wish you a blessed Christmas and happy, healthy & prosperous New Year

SI Joint Pain Relief

December 15, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

You Can Enjoy Pain Free Living From Home

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

I received a call from a distressed client about her son’s unbearable SI joint pain that refuses to hold a chiropractic adjustment. Her son has dealt with the pain for several years. His pain is beginning to turn his life into a bad dream since it’s prohibiting him from playing the sports he enjoys and he doesn’t see an end in sight. Maybe you can relate.

What Causes SI Joint Pain?

The sacroiliac joint is the point where the sacrum (white area) and the ilium (red area) join together (circled in yellow).

When the muscles that surround the joint are either too tight or too loose, or if you have an accident, the joint can be pulled out of alignment.

This misalignment will cause pain in the immediate area, and also cause symptoms that are similar to low back pain and/or sciatica.

Imagine the overlapping area (circled in yellow) moving in a manner that separates the two bones…ouch! You can imagine how this not only strains the sacroiliac joint, but also causes a misalignment at the hip and pubic joint.

This can cause low back pain, SI joint pain, hip pain or groin pain. The pain can also refer down the leg and even into the foot.

Why Chiropractic Adjustments May Not Hold

We love chiropractors and the care they provide. Spinal health is essential for longevity and vitality.

Some adjustments may not hold, whether it’s an adjustment for SI joint pain, sciatica, back pain, shoulder pain, or anything else, because the muscles that pull the bones out of alignment in the first place aren’t being released prior to the adjustment. (When releasing a muscle you are releasing tiny muscle fiber knots that cause the muscle to shorten and pull on the bone.)

Think of this analogy, imagine you had a length of rope with a stick tied in the middle. As you pull one side of the rope to tug the stick in that direction in order to bring the stick back to the middle you have to first release the tug (tension) on the rope.

This is similar to what happens when adjustments are unable to hold. The tight muscle is pulling on the joint, the chiropractor pushes (adjusts) the joint back into place and then the tight muscle pulls it right back out again. This can go on and on until the muscle knots are released.

Get SI Joint Pain Relief with this Muscle Release Technique

STEP 1: Place a Trigger Point Treatment Ball (or a firm tennis ball) directly on your SI joint.

Ease your body down onto the ball gently. It’s important to stay in the “hurts so good” range; it may feel uncomfortable but not a sharp pain. If you feel a sharp pain, move the ball to a spot nearby, but not directly on the joint.

Move the ball around the entire area to release the tension (muscle knots) in all of the muscles. Stay on any tender points for about 30 seconds.

STEP 2: Once you feel you have released the tender areas (trigger points), place the ball directly on your SI joint. Bring your same-side leg up, resting your lower leg on the thigh of your opposite leg. (The same movement as crossing your leg in a chair.) The intention here is to add an additional stretch to the muscles surrounding your SI joint.

This muscle release technique may take a few times before the muscles completely relax and the SI joint is no longer being pulled out of alignment.

Now the next time you see your chiropractor you’ll get an adjustment that lasts! You may even find that this technique allows the joint to move back into alignment on its own.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The Fake Chocolate Study

December 8, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

How To Game The Peer Review Process

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Peer review is supposed to assure that clinical studies are well designed, well executed, and correctly interpreted before they are accepted for publication. That is why I frequently advise you, my readers, to look for clinical studies on their nutritional products that are published in peer reviewed scientific journals as a criteria for choosing a supplement company that you can trust.

But, can the system be gamed? Sadly, the answer is yes. There are journals that only pay lip service to the peer review process. Earlier this year an investigative reporter set out to prove just how easy it is to game the peer review process. It is a fascinating story of how a journalist created the fake chocolate study.

Creating The Fake Chocolate Study Hoax

The fake chocolate study was a hoax put together by John Bohannon, an investigative journalist and correspondent to Science (a very well respected scientific journal) to test the peer review system. The study was real, but it was seriously flawed. For example, it had only 16 subjects, there was no effort made to determine what the subjects were eating other than chocolate, and the conclusions were not supported by the data. In short, it was a very bad study—one that would have been rejected by any reputable journal.

For the purposes of the test he called himself Dr. Johannes Bohannon from the “Institute of Diet and Health”, a nonexistent entity that consisted of nothing more than a fake website he set up. He then wrote up the study and titled it “Chocolate with High Cocoa Content as a Weight Loss Accelerator” with the conclusion (not supported by the data) that “Long-term weight loss, however, seems to occur easier and more successfully by adding chocolate. The effect of chocolate, the so-called ‘weight loss turbo’, seems to go hand in hand with personal well-being, which was significantly higher than in the control groups.”

Journals Take The Bait

In March 2015 he submitted the article to 20 online journals. Several accepted it within 24 hours. He chose to publish it in the “International Archives of Medicine.” His paper was published online without any revisions a mere two weeks later. [Note: You should not assume the fact that several out of just 20 journals accepted his paper as in indication that a significant percentage of journals accept sub-standard papers without serious peer review. He had, in fact, done previous research for Science magazine identifying those journals most likely to accept flawed studies. It was those types of journals he sent his study to.]

John Bohannon was later quoted as saying “Editors of reputable journals reject [these kinds of studies] out of hand without even sending them to peer reviewers. But there are plenty of journals that care more about money than reputation.” [It costs $650 to have an article published in the International Archives of Medicine.]

The Media Fans The Flames

If this study had just been published in an obscure journal and had been ignored, that would have been bad enough. But the story gets even worse. He then created a press release that he sent to news outlets. The press release made some pretty outrageous statements and even contained a link to an unrelated music video. However, the study made news headlines in more than 20 countries in half a dozen languages. For example, headlines from the Daily Express in England blared: “Chocolate Accelerates Weight Loss: Research Claims it Lowers Cholesterol and Aids Sleep.”

John Bohannon’s take was: “The key is to exploit journalist’s incredible laziness. If you lay out the information just right, you can shape the story that emerges in the media almost like you were writing those stories yourself. In fact, that’s literally what you are doing, since many reporters just copied and pasted our text.”

For the complete story of how John Bohannon pulled off this hoax, read his blog post about the “fake study.”

The Bottom Line

An investigative reporter for Science magazine demonstrated recently just how easy it is to get a fake study published in a peer-reviewed journal.

He created a completely bogus study about chocolate aiding weight loss.

He submitted it to several journals that he had previously identified as having substandard peer review processes.

Several journals accepted it within 24 hours without any peer review process. One published it two weeks later without any revisions.

The story of a new “study” showing that chocolate aids weight loss was picked up by the new media and made the headlines in more than 20 countries in half a dozen languages.

The vast majority of journals have a very exacting peer review process, which means that most published clinical studies have been thoroughly reviewed and edited prior to publication. For the most part the peer review process works exactly as it is supposed to.

However, this hoax shows just how easy it would be for an unethical supplement company to subvert the peer review process and publish bogus studies to support their product claims. That is why when you are choosing a supplement company it is important to choose one with a reputation for scientific integrity.

This hoax also shows just how easy it is for bogus information to be picked up by the media and make it into the headlines. You simply cannot believe everything you read in the press, see on the TV and view online. That is why I created “Health Tips From The Professor.” I wanted to create a place where you can go for accurate information.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Heart Disease Risk and Multivitamins

December 1, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

It’s so confusing. One week vitamins are going to reduce your heart disease risk and cancer risk. The next week they are worthless. They might even kill you. So when you saw the recent headlines suggesting that multivitamin-mineral supplement use might decrease heart disease risk in women, you probably weren’t sure what to think.

More to the point, you may be thinking “Why is it so hard to get this right? Why can’t scientists decide once and for all whether vitamins are beneficial or not?”

Perhaps, the best way to understand the significance of the present study is to look at the strengths and limitations of previous studies. Then we can start to gain perspective on why it is so difficult to come to a definitive conclusion about this very important question.

How Good Is The Evidence That Multivitamin Use Doesn’t Reduce Heart Disease Risk?

Medical authorities are fond of telling you, with a great deal of confidence, that studies have conclusively proven multivitamin use does not decrease heart disease risk. However, in fact, that conclusion is based on only a few studies, and those studies have their limitations.

For example, the Physician’s Health Study II (Sesso et al, JAMA, 308: 1751-1760, 2012) reported that use of a multivitamin-mineral supplement for 11 years did not decrease cardiovascular incidence or mortality. It was a double-blind, placebo controlled clinical study. That’s the best kind of study, so it would be tempting to consider the case closed.

However, this study looked at a very small segment of the population. The participants were all male, primarily non-Hispanic whites, well to do, highly educated and health conscious. It also turns out that the participants that were in the poorest health and had the poorest health habits tended to drop out of the study and were not included in the final data analysis.

That means that the vast majority of participants in the study were at low risk of heart disease and were eating relatively healthy diets. Those are the people who would be least likely to benefit from supplementation. In short, this study proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the people least likely to benefit from supplementation did, in fact, not benefit from supplementation.

The studies that medical authorities quote as proving their case for women have all looked at antioxidant supplements and cardiovascular disease. There are three double-blind, placebo controlled studies that have all come to the conclusion that antioxidant supplements do not decrease cardiovascular risk in women. Once again, it might be tempting to consider the case closed.

However, in two of those studies (Lee et al, JAMA, 294: 56-65, 2005; Cook et al, Archives of Internal Medicine, 167: 1610-1618, 2007) when they looked at the subset of women who were at high risk of cardiovascular disease (either because of age or pre-existing disease), antioxidant supplements significantly decreased the risk of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular deaths. In short, these studies showed that those people most likely to benefit from supplementation, did, in fact, benefit from supplementation.

Finally, medical authorities have chosen to completely ignore a recent study reporting that multivitamin use significantly decreased heart attack risk in women, especially if they had been using the multivitamins for 5 years or more (Rautiainen et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92: 1251-1256, 2010). In short, previous studies have not conclusively proven much of anything except that it is really hard to get definitive answers to this kind of question.

Does Multivitamin Use Decrease Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Women?

The current study (Bailey et al, Journal of Nutrition, 145: 572-580, 2015) compared multivitamin use in 8678 adults(65% women) 40 years or older, from the USDA’s NHANES III database and compared it with cardiovascular death reports in the National Death Index 18 years later.

At the time of the NHANES III study, 45% of the adults surveyed had used some kind of supplement within the past 30 days. When the researchers broke the data down further:

21% were using multivitamin-mineral supplements (3 or more vitamins and 1 or more minerals)

14% were using multivitamin supplements (3 or more vitamins, no minerals).

Among multivitamin-mineral and multivitamin supplement users, only 46% had been using them for 3 years or more.

When they compared supplement usage with cardiovascular deaths 18 years later, the results were as follows:

When they asked if multivitamin-mineral or multivitamin use at the beginning of the study affected cardiovascular mortality 18 years later, the answer was a clear no.

When they looked at women, use of a multivitamin-mineral supplement for 3 years or more was associated with a 35% decreased risk of cardiovascular mortality.

However, they did not find any cardiovascular benefit from long term use of a multivitamin supplement alone for women. From this, they concluded that the beneficial effects of the multivitamin-mineral supplement came from one of the minerals, most likely magnesium or calcium.

There was a slight hint that multivitamin use might be beneficial for men, but the number of cardiovascular deaths in that group was too small for the results to be statistically significant.

What Does This Study Mean?

This study suggests that long term use of a multivitamin-mineral supplement may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease deaths in women. Whether long term multivitamin use also reduces risk of cardiovascular disease in men is an open question. This study is consistent with another recent study looking at multivitamin use in women (Rautiainen et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92: 1251-1256, 2010). However, these studies are just a piece of the puzzle. It will take time and more studies before we will really be able to definitively say whether or not multivitamin use can decrease the risk of heart disease, or any other disease.

How Can You Reduce Your Heart Disease Risk?

The surest way to reduce your risk of heart disease is to develop a heart healthy lifestyle.

Lose weight and/or maintain ideal body weight. Overweight and obesity dramatically increase all of the major risk factors for heart disease – LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, diabetes, hypertension and inflammation.

Exercise for more than 30 minutes – 3 times or more/week. Regular exercise reduces the risk of heart disease by 30-40%.

Follow a diet low in saturated fat and trans-fat (substitute monounsaturated fats like olive oil and omega-3 fats); low in sugars and artificial sweeteners; and high in fiber, whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and fish.

Work with your physician to control predisposing diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

What about supplementation? What role does it play in a heart healthy lifestyle? At present it’s pretty clear that the scientific community cannot definitively prove whether supplementation reduces the risk of heart disease or not. All the available evidence suggests that supplementation is most likely to prove beneficial for those who are at highest risk for heart disease and/or are most likely to be deficient in key nutrients – either because of poor diet or genetic variations that increase nutrient requirements.

In the best of all possible worlds we would know who was at high risk for heart disease and who was deficient in key nutrients. We would know who would benefit from supplements and who would not, but we don’t live in the best of all possible worlds.

Most people don’t know they are at risk for heart disease until it is too late. For far too many people the first symptom of heart disease is sudden death.
Genetics can greatly increase the need for key nutrients, and most people are completely unaware of those genetic predispositions until it is too late. In the future, we may be able to design genetic tests to determine individual nutritional requirements with precision, but we are decades away from that Utopian age at present.

Finally, many people are either blissfully unaware how unhealthy their diet is, or they just don’t want to do anything about it.

For all of the reasons above, I recommend a balanced supplementation program as part of a heart healthy lifestyle. The supplements most likely to be beneficial are a multivitamin-mineral supplement, antioxidants, omega-3s, and B vitamins. I have covered the evidence for the role of each of these nutrients in preserving heart health in previous issues of “Health Tips From the Professor”. Of course, I do not recommend supplementation as an alternative to a heart healthy lifestyle. Taking a multivitamin along with your Big Mac is probably not going to do much for your heart health.

The Bottom Line

A recent study reported that women who used a multivitamin – mineral supplement for 3 years or more decreased their risk of dying from heart disease over the next 18 years by 35%. The men in the study may have received some benefit from multivitamin – mineral supplementation, but the numbers were not large enough to be statistically significant.

This study is fully consistent with the results of a previous study with women. However, when we look at all of the available studies it is not possible to definitively conclude whether supplementation decreases the risk of heart disease or not.

All of the available evidence suggests that supplementation is most likely to be beneficial for those people who are at highest risk of heart disease and/or are most likely to be deficient in key nutrients.

In the best of all possible worlds we would know who was at high risk for heart disease and who was deficient in key nutrients. We would know who would benefit from supplements and who would not, but we don’t live in the best of all possible worlds.

Most people don’t know they are at risk for heart disease until it is too late. For far too many people the first symptom of heart disease is sudden death.
Genetics can greatly increase the need for key nutrients, and most people are completely unaware of those genetic predispositions until it is too late. In the future, we may be able to design genetic tests to determine individual nutritional requirements with precision, but we are decades away from that Utopian age at present.

Finally many people are either blissfully unaware how unhealthy their diet is, or they just don’t want to do anything about it.

For the reasons above, I recommend a balanced supplementation program as part of a heart healthy lifestyle. The supplements most likely to be beneficial are a multivitamin-mineral supplement, antioxidants, omega-3s, and B vitamins.

Of course,I do not recommend supplementation as an alternative to a heart healthy lifestyle. Taking a multivitamin along with your Big Mac is probably not going to do much for your heart health.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Healthy Thanksgiving

November 24, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

The Holidays Don’t Have To Be Unhealthy

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

It’s time for my annual “Healthy Thanksgiving” blog. While “Healthy Thanksgiving” doesn’t quite have the appeal of the more familiar “Happy Thanksgiving” greeting, I used it here to make the point that Thanksgiving dinner (and many other holiday meals) doesn’t have to be an unhealthy affair.

After all, there is a lot to like about the ingredients in Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey can be a healthy, low- fat meat, if prepared correctly. Sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash and pumpkin are all loaded with vitamin A and other important nutrients. And cranberries are a nutrition powerhouse.

Healthy Thanksgiving

Here are some tips to make your Thanksgiving meal one that contributes to your health:

1) Skip the basting. Choose a plain bird and cook in a bag to seal in the moisture. Remove the skin before serving.

2) Refrigerate the turkey juices and skim off the hardened fat before making gravy and use a gravy cup that pours from the bottom to minimize fat.

3) Use ingredients like whole wheat bread, vegetables, fruits (cranberries, raisins, dates or apples), nuts and your favorite spices for the stuffing and bake it in the oven rather than in the turkey.

4) Serve your sweet potatoes or yams baked rather than candied and let your guests add butter to taste.

5) Use skim milk or buttermilk rather than whole milk and skip the butter for your mashed potatoes.

6) Give your meal gourmet appeal by cooking your green vegetables with garlic, nuts and herbs rather than creamy or fat-laden sauces.

7) Don’t serve the meal on your largest plates. By using smaller plates you ensure smaller portion size and even that second helping isn’t quite so damaging.

8) Use the Shaklee 180 meal replacement products for one or more meals the day before and/or after Thanksgiving so that your total caloric intake over the three day period is not excessive.

By now you have the idea. There are lots of little things that you can do to make your Thanksgiving dinner one that your waist and your heart will thank you for. Bon Appetit and have a Happy, Healthy Thanksgiving!

The Bottom Line

If you make healthy food choices and choose your portion sizes wisely, you can make this a Healthy Thanksgiving as well as a Happy Thanksgiving.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Bulging Disc Treatment You Can Do At Home

November 17, 2015 by Dr. Steve Chaney

Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert

Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney

This past week I taught an ultra-cyclist how to relieve a bulging disc that was causing him a great deal of pain and preventing him from riding the distances he loves.

The problem is aggravated by the aerodynamic position a cyclist is in while riding.

A bulging disc can happen to anyone though, especially if one sits a lot. As we sit we do the same movements, only we contract the muscles and then hold them contracted for a long period of time as we sit

What Causes A Bulging Disc?

It’s easy to see why an ultra-cyclist would have a bulging disc with the extended riding times in the bent over aerodynamic position.

In the aerodynamic position the muscle of your anterior lumbar; the psoas, is held shortened. Also, the muscle on the inside curve of your pelvis, the iliacus, shortens each time the leg is brought up toward the body when pedaling.

This position is great for riding, but when you stop and stand the tight muscles pull your lumbar vertebrae and your pelvis forward and down. At first you may walk bent over, unable to stand up straight. As your muscles relax you’ll begin to straighten, but many times it may take a while before you can fully stand upright and even then you may feel low back pain.

What Happens To The Vertebra?

When a vertebra is pulled downward and toward the vertebra beneath it, it puts pressure on the disc between the two vertebrae. That pushes the gel-like substance inside the disc to press out the side.

A good analogy is to consider what happens if you step on one side of a jelly donut — the jelly pushes out the opposite side!

A bulging disc is when the gel pushes out the side but doesn’t break the outer lining of the disc. A herniated disc is when the membrane cracks and the gel now squeezes out of the disc.

If the bulging disc, or herniated disc, presses into a nerve or your spinal curve, treatment is necessary to reverse the situation. This is definitely a time when prevention is worth a pound of cure!

A Bulging Disc Treatment and Stretch That Works!

The Treatment:

Start by releasing the tension in your thigh muscles. It sounds weird to release the muscles in your thighs to stop a bulging disc problem, but it’s important.

Using your forearm (as shown) press down deeply and slide your arm toward your knee. Place extra focus, 30-60 seconds, on each tender spot (trigger point) you feel as you slide down your thigh.

Do this treatment several times on each leg. This muscle release technique allows your pelvis to rotate back into proper position.

The Stretch:

Stand up straight, as shown, place one of your lower legs on to a chair. Keep your body as straight as possible. Without moving your pelvis at all, lean back with your mid-back.

Visualize your abdominal muscles stretching — be sure not to move your pelvis.

You are now stretching both your psoas and iliacus muscles. Repeat stretch using other leg.

You may feel a twinge of pain in your low back as the muscles stretch and pull on your lumbar. This is normal. It should not be a sharp pain.

An Alternative Stretch:

And as an alternative stretch, if you are able to use the floor, the Sphinx pose is a perfect stretch for the psoas and iliacus. Be sure to keep your pelvis on the floor.

Releasing the tight muscles of your back allow your vertebrae to separate naturally. Whether you sit for hours at a time, or you ride for hours, this bulging disc treatment will give you relief and will prevent further disc injury.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.