Tylenol not effective for back pain or arthritis? Let's take a closer look..

"Popular painkiller doesn't help low back pain, arthritis, study finds."

How's that for a sensationalized title? Sure, that will grab your attention...but is it entirely truthful?

One way to know for sure is to read and interpret the source study.

Don't worry, because I've already done that for you. :)

Take-home points from the actual research article:

• The BMJ (British Medical Journal) published a study in March 2015 evaluating the effectiveness and safety of paracetamol (ie Acetaminophen/Tylenol) on people with back pain and hip/knee arthritis.
• They performed this study because acetaminophen prescription is "the most common approach to treatment used by general practitioners for spinal pain and osteoarthritis" 
• This is a meta-analysis, which means the researches looked at select group of studies that had already been performed and compared the results. 
• The studies were chosen so they could understand the medication's effects on pain and quality of life, as well as potential side effects. There were 12 studies used based on their criteria, including over 5300 patients
• Their conclusions: 
• Patients taking acetaminophen had little to no relief of pain or increase in quality of life for these two conditions. 
• Patient's had higher risk of liver dysfunction/damage from the use of medication. The article states that patients using tylenol to manage these conditions "are nearly four times more likely to have abnormal results on liver function tests."

What this means for you:

• Doctors and researchers agree that there are many factors that can improve back, knee and hip pain, including
• Strengthening exercises
• Quitting smoking
• Dietary changes
• Proper ergonomics
• Physical modalities, including Chirorpactic care, Acupuncture and Physical Therapy. 
• Acetaminophen toxicity is the real deal, and accounts for "one-half of all cases of acute liver failure in the United States and Great Britain today." 
• It's time to re-examine whether use of acetaminophen should be the first line of defense used by doctors for back pain and arthritis. 

Finally, something we can all agree upon!

Thoughts about this article? Want to share your personal experience with back pain, arthritis and acetaminophen? Leave a comment below!

Can B Vitamins help to prevent Autism?

When we last left off, we examined the importance of the B Vitamins and the best ways to work them into our diets. Some time later, I received an email from a fellow Health Adventurer with some interesting questions and a link to some recent, and somewhat controversial, autism research. The study in question followed more than 85,000 children over the course of 10 years, with the hope of finding a connection between a pregnant mother’s folic acid intake and the risk of her baby developing one of the Autism spectrum disorders. In this brief article, we’ll learn a little bit about the Autism disorders, we’ll examine what this latest research study found, and we’ll discuss how you and your loved ones can use this information.

Autism Explained

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is an umbrella term for several developmental disorders that, according to the most recent studies, affect 1 out of every 88 children in the United States. Usually diagnosed at an early age, children with ASD commonly display communication deficits, socialization issues and specific types of repetitive behavior. It’s possible they will also exhibit cognitive deficits, although this isn’t always the case.

There is a large amount of research going on to try to pinpoint the reason that ASD is so prevalent in society today. It seems as if there are a variety of contributing factors, including diet, nutrition, genetics, mother’s health and medication use during pregnancy, and age of the parents during conception that may affect whether or not a child will develop ASD.

A New Study, a New Hope?

The study in question, published in February of this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed over 85,000 children from 2002 to 2008. In this particular case, researches were paying special attention to an expectant mother's B9 (Folic Acid) intake. As we already know, adequate levels of B9 in expectant mothers have been found to prevent subsequent birth defects. These researches wanted to see if taking B9 at key points during pregnancy, specifically between the 4th and 8th weeks, affected a baby’s chances of developing ASD.

Out of those 85,000 children, 270 were eventually diagnosed with ASD. When they took a closer look at the mother’s exposure to B9 at that critical time during pregnancy, they found 64 children out of 61,000 mothers who had taken B9 were later diagnosed with ASD, compared to 50 children from 24,000 mothers who had not taken B9 at that time. If you crunch those numbers, it turns out that the mothers from the B9 group had fewer children diagnosed with ASD than mothers who had inadequate B9. Their conclusion was that exposure to B9 near the time of conception seems to be associated with a lower risk of the baby later developing ASD.

So, What Does This Mean?

It’s important to note that, while fewer babies from the B9 mother group developed ASD, there were still some that did. Why is this the case? As we discussed earlier, there are still too many factors that may potentially contribute to a baby developing ASD. While there is progress being made, researchers cannot yet definitively point to B9 as a true cause, let alone the only cause. They still, ultimately, do not understand why a child will develop ASD. I know...it’s complicated and frustrating for them, too. They can, at least, use this information to further support the case for prenatal supplementation.

As the amount of information from different studies continues to grow, researchers have begun to notice trends which may increase the risk of a child developing ASD. While it’s no guarantee, avoiding certain risks is a great way to help improve the odds of producing a healthy baby. The pregnant mother’s age, diet, general health status, (obesity, diabetes) habits, (cigarette smoking) and medication use during pregnancy (especially psychiatric medication) have all been labeled as risk factors for an ASD diagnosis for the baby. The father’s age, genetic predisposition and health status during conception have also been looked to as increased risk factors.  

The Bottom Line

If parents try to lead a healthy lifestyle and avoid as many of these risks as possible, they’ll have the best chances of creating a healthy and happy child. Seems like an over-simplification of the issue, you say? Perhaps; but until we know more, it’s one of the only definitive, and the most honest, response resembling an answer you can hope to get.

The Official “B” Cheat Sheet: Your Guide To Understanding B-Vitamins

We've all heard of B vitamins. We know that they’re important, and that we need them to stay healthy. But what exactly do they do for us? How much of each vitamin do we need each day? Most importantly, what’s the best (and, ahem, the easiest) way to work them into our diets?

Here are the keys to decoding these B’s

If we understand the roles they play in our bodies, it becomes easier to see why not getting enough of them every day will result in certain problems. As a group, the B’s work together to keep the cells in our bodies healthy – this goes for the skin, blood, and nerve cells. What does this mean for you? Well, if you are lacking in the B department, you’ll develop problems with the skin (rashes, acne) blood (anemia) and nervous system (numbness/tingling, altered brain function, birth defects). 

The B’s also work together to keep homocysteine levels in check. Homocysteine is an amino acid found in the blood that is broken down by the B vitamins. Research is still being done on the long-term effects on the body, but many studies have found a connection between high levels of homocysteine and an increased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and bone fractures.

If that weren't enough, B’s play an essential role in turning the foods we eat into the energy we use every day, a process called metabolism. I’ll discuss metabolism in more detail in a later post.

Several simple sources of B-Vitamin Goodness

Ok, so now that we understand why these B’s are so important to us, which foods can we eat to give us our Vitamin B fix?  Different meats such as liver, beef, and fish are great sources of some of the harder-to-find B’s such as B5 and B12. Other good sources of B vitamins include: nuts, seeds, eggs, dairy products, mushrooms, whole grains, beans and leafy greens. B7 is a particularly difficult vitamin to find in generous amounts in food, but you'll find it in eggs, chard, peanuts and liver.

Fair enough, but how much do I need?

It can be tricky to make sure we’re getting enough of our B vitamins in our daily diet to stay healthy. Because of this, you may want to supplement with a multi-vitamin. Something important to remember: People who have restricted intake of certain foods as a result of vegetarian or vegan diets, or who are already managing certain conditions that deplete the B's in our body, may also need to supplement with whichever B they are lacking. Certain medications and even your age may also affect how well you can break down and use your B vitamins. Before starting any supplementation routine, please see your Doctor to make sure you take exactly what you need for your specific nutritional needs. Just like anything in life, too little OR too much of something can lead to problems.

Get to the good stuff!

Good news! I've compiled a nifty cheat sheet for you to use at home to help keep these B’s straight. Each section provides a mini-breakdown on how much of each B you need every day, what will happen if you’re not sneaking enough into your diet, and the foods that provide the highest B-bang for your buck.

 “But we are a practical group!” you cry out. “We demand recipes!” To reward your enthusiasm, I've included examples of meals packed to the brim with beautiful B’s at the end of this post.

B1	Thiamine	How much do I need: 1.5 g per day What if I don’t get enough: Altered brain function! Emotional disturbances! Weakness/pain in limbs! Irregular heartbeat! (Rare: Beriberi disease!) Where can I get it: sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, pecans, pork, fish, cauliflower, eggs, kale
B2	Riboflavin	How much do I need: 1.2 mg per day What if I don’t get enough: Cracked lips! Inflamed tongue! Skin disorders! Where can I get it: milk, cheese, mushrooms, almond, dark leafy veggies
B3	Niacin	How much do I need: 14-16 mg per day What if I don’t get enough: Insomnia! Skin disorders! Diarrhea! Dementia! (Rare: Pellagra disease!)  Where can I get it: chicken, beef, mushrooms, peanut butter, legumes
B5	Pantothenic Acid	How much do I need: 5 mg What if I don’t get enough: Acne! Nerve dysfunction! Where can I get it: meat, whole grains, broccoli, avocado
B6	Pyridoxine	How much do I need: 1.5 mg What if I don’t get enough: Anemia! Rashes! Depression! High blood pressure! Where can I get it: grains, nuts, potatoes, starchy veggies
B7	Biotin	How much do I need: 30 micrograms What if I don’t get enough: Thinning of hair! Rashes! Depression! Tingling in arms/legs! Where can I get it: leafy greens, peanuts, eggs
B9	Folic Acid/Folate	How much do I need: 400 micrograms What if I don’t get enough: Depression! Anemia! Birth Defects! Where can I get it: leafy greens, beans, lentils, sunflower seeds
B12	Cobalamin	How much do I need: 2.4 micrograms What if I don’t get enough: Anemia! Depression! Constipation! Memory loss! Nerve dysfunction! Where can I get it: fish, beef, cheese, eggs, yogurt, milk

White potato (large, baked, with skin); Salmon, (½ fillet); 1 cup cooked spinach with mushrooms

B1        [][][][][]     55% 

B2        [][][][][][][][][][]     95% 

B3        [][][][][][][][][][]     100%

B5        [][][][]    45%  

B6        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]    140%

B7        minimal

B9        [][][][][][][][]    85%  

B12      [][][][][][][][]    80%

Hamburger, (beef patty, 90% lean) 1 Avocado, 1 cup mushrooms, wheat  bun;  ½ cup black beans, ½ cup brown rice

B1        [][][][][]    55%

B2        [][][][][]    55%

B3        [][][][][][]   60%

B5        [][][][]   40%

B6        [][][][]   40%

B7        0%

B9        [][][][][][][][]   80%

B12      [][][]    35%

1 cup of Lentils, 1 cup of Spinach, 1 Avocado, 1 cup mushrooms

B1        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]    140%

B2        [][][][][][][][][]   85%  

B3        [][][][]    40% 

B5        [][][][][][][]    75%  

B6        [][][][][][][][][]   90%  

B7        minimal

B9        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]   310%

B12      0%

2 Egg omelet with Spinach and Mushrooms

B1        0%

B2        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]    130%

B3        0%

B5        [][][][][]    55%  

B6        0%

B7        minimal

B9        [][][][][][][][][]   95% 

B12      [][][][][]    50%  

1 cup of Oatmeal with ½ cup sunflower seeds

B1        [][][][][][][][]    80%

B2        []   15%

B3        [][]   25%

B5        [][][][][][]   65%

B6        [][][]    35%

B7        0%

B9        [][][][][][]   60%

B12      0%