When Soft Drink Consumption Rises, So Do The Risks of Cardiovascular Disease

Have you ever taken a good look around the tabletops of a fast food restaurant and observed what people are drinking? A quick survey will probably reveal that a majority of the patrons are enjoying a large, extra-large or super-sized refillable soft drink along with their meal. This is likely quite a change from what you would have seen at a restaurant table 40, 30 or even 20 years ago.

The effects on the population regarding this increased soft drink consumption and the health of individual drinkers was the research topic of a recent study at the Boston University School of Medicine through the Farmingham Heart Study. Researchers found that persons consuming more than one soft drink per day had an increased risk of the factors that are associated with heart disease. Interestingly, both regular and diet soft drinks were seen as equal contributors to these threats to heart health.

These factors of heart disease risk have been clustered into a group of symptoms know as “Metabolic Syndrome.”
This grouping includes excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides (fats), elevated glucose levels, and a lower level of the good HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein). According to the researchers, three or more of these factors present in the body indicates a higher risk for heart disease and for diabetes as well.

“We were struck by the fact that it didn’t matter whether it was a diet or regular soda that participants consumed, the association with increased risk was present,” said Ramachandran Vasan, M.D., and professor at Boston University School of Medicine. “In those who drink one or more soft drinks daily, there was an association of an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome.”

The Farmingham Study involved some 9,000 personal observations made in middle-aged men and women at 3 different times over a 4 year period. When this study began, researchers immediately observed that persons consuming more than one soft drink per day had a 48 percent higher presence of metabolic syndrome than those consuming one drink or less a day.

Also interesting was the increased risk noted over the course of the study for persons who had no evidence of a metabolic risk at the start, but who consumed one or more soft drinks per day. At the end of 4 years, those who consumed this amount of soft drink had a 44 percent higher risk of developing new-onset metabolic syndrome. Also noted for this group was a 31 percent greater risk of developing new on-set obesity, a 30 percent increase in developing increased waist size, a 25 percent increase in triglycerides and glucose levels, and a 32 percent risk of having lower HDL levels. These results were published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

With obesity statistics for American adults and children rising each year and with the onset of diabetes also rising, a change in lifestyle and health practices is obviously overdue.

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”
Gautama Siddharta

Speak up and educate others,

Dr. Craig

Flossing Your Spine for Health and Longevity

I see it day in and day out, the difference that exists between people who “get it”… the why’s and how’s of spinal hygiene, and those that don’t. One of the saddest things to witness for me is someone who comes to me for help, but is too far gone to make any significant improvements. In frustration I wonder how could they let things get this bad, how could they ignore the warning signs? Looking at x-ray after x-ray I can’t help but think: this could have been avoided if they just knew better!

Of the many goals we have in this office, awareness of personal choices is perhaps the biggest one. For instance, the concept of good dental hygiene is really just a series of healthy personal choices that we learned to make while we were young. Consider the following basic principle: maintaining healthy teeth and gums to prevent damage and decay requires consistent health practices like brushing, rinsing, and flossing. Most people understand this to be as true as 2+2=4. So, why the mental block when it comes to spinal hygiene? Herein, is both our greatest frustration and challenge in being health care advocates.

One of the major benefits of getting your spine adjusted by a Doctor of Chiropractic is similar in nature to that of flossing your teeth. You have been taught to floss your teeth to ensure that no hidden food particles remain behind that can lead to the formation of a cavity. By the same token, we adjust your spine to ensure that no hidden joint stress remains behind that can lead to disc decay and joint arthritis. As you use a daily brushing and rinsing strategy to promote health in the future, we use exercises, stretches and ergonomic advice to promote health in the future. We all have regular, routine dental checkups. We should all, and I mean everyone, have regular spinal checkups.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are just talking about bones here... the ones in your mouth versus the ones in your back! They will respond favorably to healthy personal choices and practices, just as they will rot and decay from neglect and abuse.

I have seen enough rotting, decaying spines to know that maintenance and prevention is the way to go. I have also seen the quality of life in many people increase dramatically simply because they decided to start “flossing their spine” on a regular basis.

Are you looking for a means by which to ensure a great state of health and function well into the future? Your spine is part of that equation, and there is no way around that fact.

I for one do not want to be on medication when I am older. I do not wish to need the assistance of a cane, walker or wheelchair. I plan on having the strength, mental clarity, and ambition to be as active as any 80, 90, or 100 year old has ever been. I do not have all the answers, but I do know that the only way this is possible is through awareness of my personal choices.

Society did make dentistry a no brainer for me as a kid, but the rest seems up to me to figure out as an adult. In any case, my goal of having a healthy mind and healthy body seems worth the effort. And, I am hoping to educate and motivate as many people as possible to do the same.

“To preserve health is a moral and religious duty, for health is the basis of all social virtues. We can no longer be useful when we are not well.”
Samuel Johnson

Speak up and educate others,


Dr. Craig