John Di Bartolo’s House of Step

My neck and lower back have been feeling tight recently, and I’ve been considering going to a chiropractor for a little twisting and joint-cracking. An article I just read, however, gives me pause.

A study published in the Neurologist showed that young stroke patients were five times more likely to have had neck manipulation within a week of their stroke. Yikes!

Perhaps it’s too soon to react to this. Just because one event occurs after another doesn’t imply a causal relationship. An alternate explanation could simply be that head and neck pain, which often precede strokes, cause the already stroke-prone patients to seek relief from chiropractors.

It’s already been established that using Red Bull as a mixer in cocktails is a bad idea. Now it’s looking like drinking Red Bull even by itself is dangerous.

A study by the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital showed that even one can of Red Bull was enough to make the cardiovascular condition of university students similar to that of people with heart disease.

The caffeine content in a can is equal to that of a cup of coffee, certainly nothing to be concerned about. It’s the combination of the caffeine with taurine, an amino acid commonly found in energy drinks, that seems to be causing the adverse effects.

Although Red Bull is the product being picked on in the study, there’s no reason to absolve other energy drinks which use the same combination of caffeine and taurine. It’s probably a good idea to stay way from these energy drinks altogether.

The assailant

At the end of last month, a woman described as a “very large lady” was using the abductor machine at the Harlem NYSC when she was suddenly flung across the room.

The abductor machine is the one which gives you resistance as you open your legs, giving your outer thighs a workout. My guess is that she somehow locked the machine in the open position, and that when she tried to get off, the lock popped open and the legs swung shut. (For the machine to have flung such a large person so far, she must have loaded up a tremendous amount of weight.)

File this one under disgusting-but-on-second-thought-I-might-try-this.

Since razors are no longer a legal way for pedicurists to remove dead skin from callused feet, there hasn’t been a good alternative way to do the job… until now. In a spa in Alexandria, VA, customers can soak their feet in a tank of tiny carp, allowing the “doctor fish” to nibble away only at the dead skin, leaving the live, healthy skin behind.

Slightly nauseating but intriguing at the same time, this method has proven itself to be quite effective not only at giving people smooth feet but also at bringing attention to the Yvonne Hair and Nails Salon, the only place at the moment that offers this treatment.

Did you know that natural cures for everything from Attention Deficit Disorder to depression to diabetes exist right under our noses? Are you aware that bodies with high pH are immune to cancer?

The FDA, drug companies, and the American government are all conspiring to keep information like this from you. At least that’s what Kevin Trudeau tells us in his book “Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You To Know About!” Rest assured, readers — this piece of literature blows the lid off this conspiracy and exposes these “natural cures” for all of us to finally use.

So throw away those antidepressants. Get rid of that insulin. Say goodbye to that pesky chemotherapy. The answers to your problems are in your kitchen cupboard!

Kevin Trudeau is someone who has made a lucrative career out of giving people false hopes, causing many of them to follow treatments which have seriously compromised their health. (Almost every claim he has made has been debunked.) Do yourself a favor and steer clear of anything written by this jackass.

Just 99.9% horrible. The remaining 0.1% is a surprising benefit. According to recent findings, the nicotine in cigarettes may help boost memory and concentration. The effect is strong enough that it is being studied further in the hopes of finding a better treatment for Alzheimer’s patients.

Is having a sharper brain a good enough reason to take up the habit? Only if cancer and heart disease don’t bother you.

Yes, it’s true. Nothing is sacred — not even the lowly flip-flop.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, that a crappy sole strapped onto your foot through the space between your toes constitutes an unhealthy piece of footwear.

A recent study showed that people wearing flip-flops alter their gait in a way that can cause damage to the plantar fascia, the thick connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot.

The last thing any of us needs is a foot injury from beachwear. A better option: sandals with heel straps.

A recent study has shown that bartenders may be serving their customers portions of alcohol that are larger than they should be. Wine and mixed drinks were reported to be about 50% too big, and draft beers about 25% too big. For those who are trying to watch what they eat and drink, the oversized portions can make it difficult to monitor their calorie intake.

Fear not, health-conscious New Yorkers. The study was performed in Northern California, not in New York City, where getting too much for your money rarely seems to be a problem.

For reasons mentioned before, classes at NYSC are occasionally taken from instructors and given to Group Exercise Coordinators or Fitness Managers. Because of this, when the new schedule kicks in on 6/23, I unfortunately won’t be teaching the Club Strength class on Thursdays any more. The class will be changed to a Sports Circuit class (I think), and it will be taken over by the club’s Fitness Manager.

In what may come as a blow to those who work in customer service oriented industries, a recent study shows that people forced to put on a happy face when they’re not feeling happy are harming their own health. If indeed this discovery is true, it’s at odds with the old advice that smiling is good for you, even if it isn’t genuine.

It should be noted that the study was performed in Germany, a country for which the “problem” of fake smiling does not seem to be an issue.