February News Letter for GDC

Health nutrition
movement
February
2018
Sciatic
Nerve
Super Food of
the month
Cardiovascular Adaptation
to Exercise
Safety Always
“While traveling on the
Bus”

Contents
Sciatic Nerve ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Super Food of the Month: Top 5 Health Benefits of Raw Cacao ...................................... 7
Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise ...................................................................................... 9
Top 15 Heart-Healthy Foods .......................................................................................................... 11
Effects and mechanisms of fruit and vegetable juices ...................................................... 13
Safety Always “While traveling in the Bus” ............................................................................. 14

Sciatic Nerve
The sciatic nerve is a large nerve in humans and animals. It begins in the lower back and
runs through the buttock and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest single nerve
in the human body, going from the top of the leg to the foot on the posterior aspect. [1] The
sciatic nerve provides the connection to the nervous system for nearly the whole of
the skin of the leg, the muscles of the back of the thigh, and those of the leg and foot. It is
derived from spinal nerves L4 to S3. It contains fibers from both the anterior and posterior
divisions of the lumbosacral plexus.
Sciatica
Pain caused by a compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve by a problem in the lower back
is called sciatica. Common causes of sciatica include the following lower back and hip
conditions: spinal disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, lumbar spinal
stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and piriformis syndrome.
Sciatica range from mild to severe and can be acute or chronic.
Acute sciatic pain occurs suddenly and usually heals within several days to weeks. The severity
relates directly to the amount of tissue injury. The source of pain may be in the spinal joints,
discs, nerves, or muscles and ligaments.
Chronic sciatic pain persists for more than 3 months and its source may be hard to determine.
Chronic pain may be felt all the time or worsen with certain activities. Contributing factors may
include nerve damage, tissue scarring, arthritis, or mental effects of pain. People with chronic
symptoms may be referred to a pain specialist
What are the causes?
Sciatica can be caused by a number of conditions that irritate or compress the sciatic nerve:

Piriformis syndrome: Tightening or spasm of the piriformis muscle can compress the
nerve.
Trauma: A sports injury or fall can fracture the spine or tear a muscle and damage
nerves.
Herniated disc: The gel-like center of a spinal disc can bulge or rupture through a weak
area in the disc wall and compress nerves.
Stenosis: Narrowing of the bony canals in the spine can compress the spinal cord and
nerves.
Osteoarthritis: As discs naturally age they dry out and shrink. Small tears in the disc
wall can be painful. Bone spurs can form. The facet joints enlarge and ligaments
thicken.
Spondylolisthesis: A weakness or stress fracture in the facet joints can allow a vertebra
to slip out of position and pinch the nerves.
What are the symptoms?
Classic sciatic pain starts in the low back and buttocks. It affects one leg traveling down the
back of the thigh, past the knee, and sometimes into the calf and foot. The pain feels worse in
the leg than in the back. It may range from a mild ache to severe burning or a shooting pain.
Numbness or tingling (pins-and-needles) can occur in your leg and foot. This usually is not a
concern unless you have weakness in your leg muscles or foot drop.
Sitting usually causes the most pain because of the weight this position puts onto the discs.
Activities, such as bending or twisting, worsen the pain, whereas lying down tends to bring
relief. Running or walking may actually feel better than sitting or standing for too long.
Seek medical help immediately if you have extreme leg weakness, numbness in the genital
area, or loss of bladder or bowel function. These are signs of a condition called cauda equina
syndrome.
What treatments are available?
Healing begins with self-care and nonsurgical strategies (Fig. 2). The goal is to correct the
problem, restore function, and prevent re-injury.
Self-care: Sciatica often resolves with rest, ice or heat, massage, pain relievers, and
gentle stretches. Reduce muscle inflammation and pain using an ice pack for 20
minutes several times a day during the first 48 to 72 hours. Thereafter, a warm shower

or heating pad on low setting may be added to relax the muscles. A short period of bed
rest is okay, but more than a couple of days does more harm than good. If self-care
treatments aren't working within the first couple of days, see your doctor. (See Self
Care for Neck and Back Pain).
Medication: Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as
aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen, can bring relief. A muscle relaxant may be prescribed
for spasms. If pain is severe, an analgesic may be prescribed that can be taken with the
NSAID or muscle relaxant.
Steroids can reduce the swelling and inflammation of the nerves. They are taken orally
(as a Medrol dose pack) tapered over a five-day period or by injection directly into the
painful area (see epidural steroid injections and facet injections). Steroids may provide
immediate pain relief within 24 hours.
Physical therapy: For most leg pain, we recommend a nearly normal schedule from the
onset. Physical therapy can help you return to full activity as soon as possible and
prevent re-injury. Physical therapists will show proper lifting and walking techniques,
and exercises to strengthen and stretch your lower back, leg, and stomach muscles.
Massage, ultrasound, diathermy, heat, and traction may also be recommended for
short periods. Patients may also benefit from yoga, chiropractic manipulation and
acupuncture.
Surgery: Surgery is rarely needed unless you have muscle weakness, a proven disc
herniation, cauda equina syndrome, or severe pain that has not resolved after a
reasonable course of nonsurgical treatment. Surgery for a herniated disc, called
a discectomy, removes the portion of the disc compressing the spinal nerve. People
with stenosis may benefit from a decompression of the nerves.
Recovery and prevention
A positive mental attitude, regular activity, and a prompt return to work are all very important
elements of recovery. If regular job duties cannot be performed initially, modified (light or
restricted) duty may be prescribed for a limited time.
Prevention is key to avoiding recurrence:
1. Proper lifting; avoid sitting for long periods
2. Good posture during sitting, standing, moving, and sleeping
3. Regular exercise with stretching and strengthening
4. An ergonomic work area
5. Good nutrition, healthy weight and lean body mass
6. Stress management and relaxation
7. No smoking

Stretching Exercises:
Face up
Siting
Written by: Lic. Sofia Rojas
Source: https://www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Sciatica.htm
https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/tc/sciatica-topic-overview

Super Food of the Month: Top 5 Health Benefits of Raw Cacao
The health benefits of raw cacao are fantastic: it can improve your memory, reduce
heart disease, shed fat, increase immunity, boost your bliss, and give you loads of
energy. It may surprise you that cacao raw chocolate contains about four times the
antioxidant content of processed dark chocolate, which is 20 times more than
blueberries and 119 times more than bananas.
The benefits of raw cacao are only found in the raw form. Below are
Righteously Raw’s top health benefits of raw cacao:
1) Increase Bliss with Cacao:
Raw Cacao is one of the healthiest foods you can consume and contains the
mood booster, anandamide — known as at the bliss molecule, which gives you
a feeling of euphoria. Raw chocolates, like Righteously Raw’s organic chocolate,
are delicious and healthy cacao superfoods that everyone will love.
2) Protect Your Heart and Prevent Cardiovascular Disease:
Raw Cacao is an anti-inflammatory and heart protective antioxidant. Raw cacao
in chocolate can reduce the risk of stroke and help improve blood circulation.
Try Righteously Raw’s chocolates to see for yourself!

3) Cacao Can Prevent Premature Aging:
Raw cacao has the same polyphenol antioxidants as green tea and red wine.
Next time you eat raw cacao chocolate for dessert, pair it with a nice glass of red
wine or hot green tea. These anthocyanin’s (found in red wine) can protect your
cells from premature destruction and make you feel younger and healthier!
4) Cacao Can Help You Shed Fat:
Drinking a cup of hot cacao before nutritious meals can help you shed fat. This
is due to raw cacao’s MAO inhibitors, which reduce appetite. Righteously Raw
has 100% raw cacao mixes for your next healthy, delicious raw chocolate drink.
Or, put 2tbsp of raw cacao in your next meal to get that extra benefit.
5) Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally:
Many studies show that the benefits of raw cacao are found to be decreased
blood pressure. To get the most health benefits out of raw cacao, put 2bsp of
our raw cacao powder in hot water or organic, vegan milk. You’ll love the taste!
6) Balance Hormonal Mood Swings:
Cacao boosts brain levels of serotonin, the feel good brain chemical. When women
are experiencing PMS serotonin levels drop dramatically. The benefits of cacao are
proven to boost the brain levels of calming hormones and restore feelings of wellbeing.
There are many more physical and mental health benefits of raw cacao chocolate,
including better sleep, lower fatigue, and stronger hair, skin and nails. Including a
moderate intake of raw cacao in your lifestyle can improve your well-being and
longevity.

Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise
Muscle tissue adapts to the demands placed upon it - on this page you'll learn
what types of training produce the most significant adaptations in the muscles
of the heart and blood vessels
Aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, and muscular
endurance training place larger demands on the heart
than any other type of training. Over time these
demands result in adaptations to the cardiovascular
system such as:
Physiological Adaptation
Heart Size The muscular walls of the heart increase in thickness, particularly in the left
ventricle, providing a more powerful contraction.
The left ventricles internal dimensions increase as a result of increased
ventricular filling.
Stroke
Volume
(SV)
Resting
Heart Rate
(RHR)
Cardiac
Output (Q)
Blood
Pressure
(BP)
The increase in size of the heart enables the left ventricle to stretch more
and thus fill with more blood. The increase in muscle wall thickness also
increases the contractility resulting in increased stroke volume at rest and
during exercise, increasing blood supply to the body.
As cardiac output at rest remains constant the increase in stroke volume is
accompanied by a corresponding decrease in heart rate.
Cardiac output increases significantly during maximal exercise effort due to
the increase in SV. This results in greater oxygen supply, waste removal and
hence improved endurance performance.
People with blood pressure in the ‘normal’ ranges experience little change
in BP at rest or with exercise; however hypertensive people find that their

BP’s reduce towards normal as they do more exercise. This is due to a
reduction in total peripheral resistance within the artery, and improved
condition and elasticity of the smooth muscle in the blood vessel walls.
Other training types such as hypertrophy training can also result in these adaptations
occurring in the cardiovascular system however the degree of adaptation will be less
significant than the adaptation caused by aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness and
muscular endurance training.
By Lic. Angel Martinez Ruiz
Vida Optima Sport Director.

Top 15 Heart-Healthy Foods
1. Yogurt: studies show how yogurt helps to prevent gum disease reducing the risk of
heart disease, because probiotics have been linked as a protector of the gums and thus
prevent the growth of certain bacteria. In addition to improve digestion and increase
the immune system.
2. Raisins: Raisins antioxidants also fight the growth of bacteria in the gums, caring for
both gums and heart.
3. Whole grains: They have a higher content of antioxidants, Phytoestrogens and Fito
sterols which protect against coronary heart disease. The fiber in whole grains
decreases up to a 40% risk of heart disease, because they help to reduce LDL (bad
cholesterol). Increase consumption of foods such as oats, barley, beans, Eggplant and
citrus fruits such as oranges.
4. Beans: Regular consumption of beans is good for your heart. Half a cup a day lowers
cholesterol because of their high content of soluble fiber. Besides its contribution of
flavonoids, inhibit the adhesion of platelets in the blood and thus reduce the risk of
heart attacks and strokes. You can also find this compound in wine, berries and bitter
chocolate.
5. Salmon: the consumption of 2 or more times per week of salmon is associated with 30
percent less risk of heart disease, because of its content of fatty acids omega 3 and 6.
Among the benefits is that they lower blood pressure and lower levels of cholesterol
and triglycerides.
6. Nuts: They are composed of vitamins, minerals, and monounsaturated fats that are
healthy to heart.

7. Chocolate: eating dark chocolate moderately can benefit your cardiovascular health
since it is rich in flavonol, an anticoagulant which also stimulates the immune system to
reduce the inflammation. Another benefit of the cocoa is the decrease of the blood
pressure by its high content of epicatechin, compound which increases the nitric acid
crucial to decrease blood pressure.
8. Tomato: is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium and fiber. They also
provide us lycopene a nutrient that works in conjunction with vitamins and minerals for
the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
9. Apple: Is associated with a lower risk of coronary death and cardiovascular disease due
to its supply of antioxidants including flavonoids, which are key to decrease LDL
cholesterol. They are also rich in pectin a form of soluble fiber, which lowers
cholesterol levels as well.
10. Berries: such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries among others are
associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure and a decrease in LDL cholesterol.
Its content of anthocyanin and ellagic acid increase the level of nitric acid levels, which
relaxes the blood vessels and reduces blood pressure.
11. Grenades: this fruit may help reduce the buildup of plaque in the arteries and decrease
blood pressure. Its content of polifenoles including anthocyanin (found in food blue,
purple and red) and the tannins (including tea and wine) have antioxidant capacity.
12. Banana: this fruit brings up to 12% of the daily recommendation of potassium, a mineral
which helps to maintain the normal functioning of the heart and the balance of sodium
and water in the body. It also helps the kidneys to excrete the excess of sodium for a
healthy blood pressure.
13. Popcorn: natural popcorn contain polyphenols/antioxidants which improve the health
of the heart
14. Green tea: studies show people who eat 2 cups of green tea a day decreases up to 50%
the chance of having a heart attack because of their content of antioxidants.
15. Wine: people who drink moderately 1 or 2 glasses of wine a day are less likely to suffer
heart since it increases HDL (good cholesterol) cholesterol, also increases the production
of estrogen, which equally is a cardiovascular protective.
By: Dra. Mariamalia Escoto, Nutricionista de Salud Completa.
Source: Eating Well. Our Top 15 Heart-Healthy Foods.

Effects and mechanisms of fruit and vegetable juices
On cardiovascular diseases
Many studies have demonstrated that some natural products have high antioxidant activity, as
Vegetables, fruits, cereals, mushrooms, micro algae, wild flowers and herbs, which might be used to prevent
diseases.
There is a large amount of clinical evidence showing a reduction in the risk of many diseases to live a healthy life by
eating fruit or vegetable juices, some of these diseases are cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular
diseases. Cardiovascular disease includes disorders of blood vessels and the heart, such as hypertension,
cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, coronary heart disease and many others. Cardiovascular
diseases are one of the main not communicable causes of deaths, usually associated with metabolic disorders,
including diabetes and obesity.
Mechanisms of action of juice in cardiovascular diseases
Through clinical studies, it was confirmed that after eating rich antioxidant juices daily, the oxidation of lipids in
plasma decreased significantly (- 29%), while the antioxidant capacity of the plasma increased (+ 115%) after
the intervention. In addition some diet managed to reduce tissue inflammation process, which if persistent is
related to most chronic diseases, therefore, could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In Li et al. study, he
assessed the effect of lycopene present in tomato juice on the protein-1 tactical chemo of monocytes (MCP-1) and
the result showed that MCP-1 dropped sharply after the consumption of the juice.
Possible adverse effects of juices
It should be noted that the caloric content of the juice could complicate the health. Some commercial juices of fruit
/ vegetables contain too much sugar, which can increase the risk of increasing weight and diabetes. Regular
consumption of beverages sweetened with sugar related to type 2 diabetes, and sweetened fruit juice was not a
healthy alternative to prevent diabetes.
In summary the effects of fruits and vegetables juices in cardiovascular diseases, is positive because they could
prevent the increase of blood pressure and lipid levels improve. The main underlying mechanisms of
cardiovascular protection include antioxidant effects, the improvement in endothelial function, inhibition of
platelet aggregation, the anti-inflammation and the prevention of hiperhomocisteinemia.
It is always important to consult with a professional to assess the issue.
Edited by: Dr. Josue Cordero
Reference
Jie Zheng 1, Yue Zhou 1, Sha Li 2, Pei Zhang 1, Tong Zhou 1, Dong-Ping Xu 1 and Hua-Bin Li 1,3,*
1 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health,
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; zhengj37@mail2.sysu.edu.cn (J.Z.);
zhouyue3@mail2.sysu.edu.cn (Y.Z.); zhangp95@mail2.sysu.edu.cn (P.Z.); zhout43@mail2.sysu.edu.cn (T.Z.);
xudp@mail2.sysu.edu.cn (D.-P.X.)
2 School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; u3003781@connect.hku.hk
3 South China Sea Bioresource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center,
Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Safety Always “While traveling in the Bus”
Please take few minutes to review our safety recommendations while
traveling.
Fasten your seat belt
when you are in the bus and
invite others passenger
around you to do the same.
Wait for the bus to
stop completely before you
get in or off.
Be especially careful
during the rainy season.
The step on the bus may be
wet and slippery.
Get on and off the bus carefully holding the handrail to avoid a fall.
To prevent awkward postures and reduce ergo risk, refrain from using
your computer on the bus.
We care about you and your safety