chiropractic Santa Barbara is concerned about your total wellness and offers the following “health-full” information: Last week I read an article on sciencedaily.com regarding a study carried out on aged mice raised to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and the benefits of caffeine in decreasing memory loss. The article started with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.”  It went on to report on a sequence of studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that showed that caffeine considerably decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

However, before you make a decision to add an extra cuppa to your daily routine, let me add that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were at least two articles reporting on studies that showed the non-beneficial effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”

Nearly every point of view, I’ve noticed, especially when it has to do with age-related health issues, can be corroborated, or at least given credence, by other related studies. The “yin-yang” of caffeine benefits-deficits naturally aren’t, of course, the only ones. But, it did get me to considering about the reasonableness that there will never be any “one thing” that will with absolute certainty assist we, humans, in living longer, healthier lives. Humans are dynamic, biological creatures. We aren’t raised in unnatural confinement We are actively engaged in life. And, moreover, though Alzheimer’s disease may be on the rise, obviously none of us has been “singled out to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t going to be the “one thing” that will reverse or prevent it.

Our body is a splendid, involved system that is based on homeostasis (balance). Consequently good health is cultivated by a healthy, balanced approach to living, instead of our jumping on the bandwagon of the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one particular thing under the illusion that it will reverse all of the other over-indulgent and unhealthy things we have done to our bodies.

I believe, as a doctor of chiropractic, that every single day we have an opportunity to make healthy choices for our body, to decide what will assist us to live longer, healthier lives. We know what genuinely “feels” beneficial and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for our body. So, I just wanted to pass along a little something for you to keep in mind the next time you reach for that extra cup of coffee or second glass of red wine. Neither one of those things is the “one thing” that will do “everything” for your age-related health issues.

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