Perth Wellness Centre Charity Gift Box 2016

Perth Wellness Centre Blog - Perth Wellness Centre Charity Gift Box 2016

We would like to thank all of our patients who participated in the Charity Gift Box Event 2016. Each year we attempt to organize donation boxes that will be given to the homeless. This year our focus was on everyday items that can be used for self care.

Is Snoring Harmful?

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog - Is Snoring Harmful

While snoring may seem normal to most people, there are certain health implications to it that we should be aware of. The snoring noise is produced when air pass thru soft tissue in the back of the throat causing a vibration effect. This soft tissue in the throat relaxes when sleeping and can sometimes obstruct airflow.

How to Treat a Bad Ankle Sprain?

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog- How to Treat a Bad Ankle Sprain

Everyone has experienced an ankle sprain at some point in their lives, it may have been a mild one which resolves in a few minutes, or it could be a severe one that last for weeks to months on end. If you have sprained your ankle as a once of incident, and the pain and symptoms were “mild” there is usually nothing too much to worry about.

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog- What is Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis is a very common condition experienced by many Australians. It doesn’t matter if you are a weekend warrior, endurance athlete or tradie, the heel/ foot pain experienced during a flare up can be both painful and irritating.

How Chiropractors Help Athletes Pt. 2

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog-How-Chiropractors-Help-Athletes

Sports Chiropractic Australia has a vision to enhance the health of physically active Australians through chiropractic care and to increase integration and cooperation with others in sports healthcare. The Sports Chiropractor focuses on the preventative, maintenance forms of treatment as much as the acute, immediate treatment of athletes.

What are Stress Fractures?

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog-What-are-Stress-Fractures

Stress fractures are less common injuries but are responsible for slow recovery times and time off sport and training. Statistics point that stress fractures only account for up to 20% of all sporting injuries and is sport dependent.

Bones are Living Tissues

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog-Bones-are-Living-Tissues

When it comes to bones, patients regularly have the image of ‘steel rods’ or ‘concrete pillars’ used to support the body and allow muscles to attach to. Fact is, the bones in our body are in constant change all the time. Bones are always undergoing remodeling and repair.

How Chiropractors Help Athletes Pt. 1

Perth Wellness Centre Blog - How Chiropractors Help Athletes 2

Sports Chiropractic provides care in the conservative management, rehabilitation or optimization of the neuromuscular system for the athlete to recover from injury and/or better performance. In Australia, sports chiropractic has been established for over 30 years.

World Spine Day 2016

Perth-Wellness-Centre-Blog-World-Spine-Day-2016

For World Spine Day on Sunday 16 October 2016, the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia (CAA) is encouraging people to ‘Straighten Up and Move’. World Spine Day is a global campaign to highlight the importance of physical activity and improving posture…

Is Sugar Addictive?

Perth Wellness Centre Blog - Is Sugar Addictive

Sugar is one of the main causes of obesity worldwide. According to the Australian institute of health and welfare, approximately 63% of Australian adults are overweight and obese. The rate of obesity increases with age with 79.4% of men and 65.7% of women aged over 45 years being obese.

Is Sugar Addictive?

Is Sugar Addictive?

Sugar is one of the main causes of obesity worldwide. According to the Australian institute of health and welfare, approximately 63% of Australian adults are overweight and obese. The rate of obesity increases with age with 79.4% of men and 65.7% of women aged over 45 years being obese. Obesity in itself is linked to various other health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart conditions.

While the average Perth citizen may already know about the health dangers of sugar, not everyone is familiar with it’s effect on the human brain. Whilst most people may enjoy the pleasures of sugar, just how addictive can sugar be….?

Very!

A research article published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE) found that refined sugar is in fact more addictive than cocaine. The study was conducted using rats as subjects mainly because rats and humans while different share a common basic physiology. We even share certain diseases, respond similarly towards infections and injuries and have nervous systems that are wired to work in the same way.

The study points out that when rats were given a chance to choose exclusively between sugar water and cocaine, would choose sugar water. Rats who were previously addicted to cocaine would also swap addiction towards sugar when given a chance.

When it comes to addiction and willingness to work, rats were also shown to work harder to receive sugar.

Sugar has a unique effect on the human brain.

When sugar is consumed, a region of the mid-brain that controls dopamine (a neurotransmitter linked to reward and pleasure) signaling in the ventral striatum part of the brain is activated. This region has much to do with providing signaling during a reward and learning process. In short, sugar primes our brain to provide us with reward signals; with time sugar exposure conditions the brain to seek and pursue these reward signals. The study also found that sweet consumption may deliver a dopamine signal that is more intense than cocaine.

Another study pointed out that refined sugar is fairly new to the human diet. Highly sweetened foods and drinks that are commonly available may be providing society with a supernormal stimuli (a stimulus more effective than a naturally occuring stimulus). The significance of refined sugar being a supernormal stimuli is that it may override normal human cravings and behaviors as well as perceptions in self-control. Either way it is concerning that sugar addiction can take precedence over such an addictive drug as cocaine.

By West Perth Physio Wayne Sun

References

LENOIR, M., SERRE, F., CANTIN, L., AHMED, S. H., & BAUNE, B. (2007). Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLoS ONE. 2, e698.

TINBERGEN, N. The study of instinct. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

NORGREN, R., HAJNAL, A., & MUNGARNDEE, S. (2006). Gustatory reward and the nucleus accumbens. Physiology & Behavior. 89, 531-535.

VOLKOW ND, & WISE RA. (2005). How can drug addiction help us understand obesity? Nature Neuroscience. 8, 555-60.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Is Sugar Addictive?

Perth Wellness Centre Blog - Is Sugar Addictive

Is Sugar Addictive?

Sugar is one of the main causes of obesity worldwide. According to the Australian institute of health and welfare, approximately 63% of Australian adults are overweight and obese. The rate of obesity increases with age with 79.4% of men and 65.7% of women aged over 45 years being obese. Obesity in itself is linked to various other health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart conditions.

While the average Perth citizen may already know about the health dangers of sugar, not everyone is familiar with it’s effect on the human brain. Whilst most people may enjoy the pleasures of sugar, just how addictive can sugar be….?

Very!

A research article published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE) found that refined sugar is in fact more addictive than cocaine. The study was conducted using rats as subjects mainly because rats and humans while different share a common basic physiology. We even share certain diseases, respond similarly towards infections and injuries and have nervous systems that are wired to work in the same way.

The study points out that when rats were given a chance to choose exclusively between sugar water and cocaine, would choose sugar water. Rats who were previously addicted to cocaine would also swap addiction towards sugar when given a chance.

When it comes to addiction and willingness to work, rats were also shown to work harder to receive sugar.

Sugar has a unique effect on the human brain.

When sugar is consumed, a region of the mid-brain that controls dopamine (a neurotransmitter linked to reward and pleasure) signaling in the ventral striatum part of the brain is activated. This region has much to do with providing signaling during a reward and learning process. In short, sugar primes our brain to provide us with reward signals; with time sugar exposure conditions the brain to seek and pursue these reward signals. The study also found that sweet consumption may deliver a dopamine signal that is more intense than cocaine.

Another study pointed out that refined sugar is fairly new to the human diet. Highly sweetened foods and drinks that are commonly available may be providing society with a supernormal stimuli (a stimulus more effective than a naturally occuring stimulus). The significance of refined sugar being a supernormal stimuli is that it may override normal human cravings and behaviors as well as perceptions in self-control. Either way it is concerning that sugar addiction can take precedence over such an addictive drug as cocaine.

By West Perth Physio Wayne Sun

References

LENOIR, M., SERRE, F., CANTIN, L., AHMED, S. H., & BAUNE, B. (2007). Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLoS ONE. 2, e698.

TINBERGEN, N. The study of instinct. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

NORGREN, R., HAJNAL, A., & MUNGARNDEE, S. (2006). Gustatory reward and the nucleus accumbens. Physiology & Behavior. 89, 531-535.

VOLKOW ND, & WISE RA. (2005). How can drug addiction help us understand obesity? Nature Neuroscience. 8, 555-60.

Australian Bureau of Statistics