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A Balanced Lifestyle Can Benefit Good Health and LongevityLast week I saw an article on sciencedaily.com how caffeine improved memory loss in aged mice raised to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The article began with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.” It continued by reporting on back-to-back studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that showed that caffeine notably decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice that had developed symptoms of the disease. But, before you decide to add an extra cup of coffee to your daily intake, let me, Dr. Jamie Phillips elaborate by including that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were at least two articles about studies that demonstrated 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.” Almost every angle of thought, from my experience, especially when it has to do with health and longevity, can be corroborated, or at least supported, 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 thinking about the probability that there will never be just “one thing” that will irrefutably aid we, humans, in living longer, healthier lives. Humans are dynamic, biological creatures. We are free to make choices in life. We’re not bred in a cage! And, furthermore, though Alzheimer’s disease apparently is on the rise, obviously we, cage-free humans, have not been “artificially induced to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t absolutely the “one thing” that is going to reverse or prevent it. The human body is an exquisite, involved system that is based on homeostasis, i.e, balance. It is likely, then, that good health is cultivated by a healthy, balanced approach to living, rather than our being blindly convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one particular thing under the illusion that it will reverse all of the other excessive and unhealthy things we have done to our bodies. I believe, as a doctor of chiropractic in Santa Barbara, that every moment of the day we have an opportunity to make healthy choices for our body, decisions that will help us to live longer, healthier lives. When it comes to what is good for our body, we know what actually “feels” right and what doesn’t. So, I just wanted to pass along a little something for you to keep in mind the next time you consider having that extra cup of coffee or second glass of red wine. There is no “one thing” that will do “everything” for your good health.
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