Spring has arrived!

Spring is finally here!  With this warmer weather brings yard work, barbeques, and farmers markets.  Farmers markets are a great way to get fresh fruits, vegetables, and sometimes even meat and fish.  Did you know that a large reason for the rise in obesity is that people have lost their connection to the soil, and subsequently their food and where it comes from?  In the past, you had to get fresh food that wasn't mass produced and injected with chemicals or covered with pesticides, but nowadays its much easier and sadly cheaper to run to McDonald's and get a cheeseburger than to make a homemade salad with fresh vegetables.  This has also led to children not wanting to eat their vegetables.  Simple solution, try planting a garden with your kids.  Teaching them how to plant the vegetables and/or fruits, how to take care of them, and them watching what they have taken care of grow into something they can eat will raise their awareness of what they put into their bodies and give them a new respect for fresh food.

 

5 Ways to Keep Your New Year's Resolution

Christmas is already over, and soon 2012 will be over too!  Every year we all make New Year's Resolutions, and unfortunately most of us don't stick to them.  Today I am going to give you 5 ways to keep your New Year's Resolution.

 

1.  Think it Through - One of the biggest mistakes is making a resolution without fully thinking it through.  Whatever your resolution, you have to figure out how to make it work or it probably wont work.

2.  Recruit Help! - Don't tackle your resolution by yourself.  Utilize your friends and family's experiences, encouragement, and support to help you stick to and achieve your goal.

3.  Remember Last Year - Succeed in 2013 by remembering why your resolutions in 2012 didn't pan out.  Remember that those who refuse to learn from their past are doomed to repeat it.

4.  Take Small Steps - The overwhelming majority of resolutions involve changing patterns or behaviors that can not be changed overnight.  Break your ultimate goal up into smaller challenges to help you reach your goal so its not such a large task but smaller tasks that all help you get to the desired end goal.

5.  Dream Big - Resolutions have a better chance of succeeding if they are accomplished in small, manageable steps, but that doesn't mean you have to think small.  If you set your sights to small, you might be more likely to quit because the goal isn't meaningful enough.  Remember this is your chance to make this year better then the last one, so dream big, but remember to utilize these other tips to help your achieve your New Year's Resolution.

Immune System

 Cold and flu bugs don't care how old we are or what we have planned, but we can help to combat these infections by keeping our immune systems strong and maintain adequate nutrition.

 

Two people can both be exposed to the same deadly microorganism (bug), and one could end up gravely ill while the other goes on with their daily life completely symptomless, as if nothing had happened.  Why is this?  It all comes down to your body's resistance, the strength of the immune system, which depends on your underlying health and nutrition.  If you fail to maintain adequate nutrition and a strong immune system and resistance, your body will fail no matter what pharmaceutical drugs you make take.  The proper nutrition and regular chiropractic adjustments will keep you in optimal health and allow you to fight off all of the cold and flu bugs that we each encounter on a daily basis.

 

 

Are You Getting Enough Calcium?

As many of us know, calcium is very important to all of us, but there are many things that us, adults, or our children suffer from that we may not have realized are actually linked to calcium deficiencies.  It is important that everyone has plenty of the right kind of calcium in their diet.  Usable calcium in the human body is calcium bicarbonate.  It is known as a blood buffer or natural antidote to too much acid.  Children, and adults too, are loaded up with phosphoric acid since it is in soft drinks, wheat products, processed foods, and breakfast cereals.  When too much acid builds up in the body without adequate calcium bicarbonate to buffer it, certain things will happen.  Children frequently become fidgety, nervous, and possibly hyperactive.  They will be easily upset, throw temper tantrums, and get frequent colds.  And the same goes for adults!  In addition, growing pains in children and osteoporosis in adults are a definite indicator of a calcium imbalance, which can hinder bone-building capacity.

Exercise at Any Age - June 21, 2012

This week I would like to share some tips for all of us no matter what age we are. 

Something important to remember is that exercise is a natural medicine. 

Step 1:Move: Sitting is dangerous to your health.
Step 2:Start a walking program.
Step 3:Stretch
Step 4:Do some strength training.

Remember that exercise doesn't have to be complicated to be effective.  Any of these steps can be done at any time, but making a conscious effort to do them at some point during the day will greatly improve your health.  Something as simple as getting up to change the channel, taking a walk around during commercial breaks, and even stretching after getting out of the shower in the morning will have an effect.

Advantages of Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Well we made it out of winter, and spring is finally here.  One of the greatest things about spring and summer is all of the fresh fruit and vegetables at markets and for some of us, even in our own backyards.  Everyone knows how important it is to get your daily intake of fruits and veggies, but there are some of us that just cringe at the thought of certain fruits and vegetables that are great for us.  Why not try juicing?  You can add lots of ingredients that you may not like such as kale, beets, or spinach, along with apples, carrots, and other fruits and veggies that you do like, and with just a push of a button you have a great tasting nutritional juice drink.  This allows you to still get the nutritional supplements from these ingredients while masking the taste or smell that kept you away from them before!  So head to the market or your backyard, and start enjoying a wonderful glass of juice that will satisfy your palate and your nutritional needs.

Tips to Avoid Winter's Dry Air - February 3, 2012

When you think of winter most likely you think of cold weather, ice, and snow, but you're forgetting one important component of winter is dry-air.  The moisture content in the air goes down dramatically both outside and typically inside your home as well when winter comes, so here are some tips to combat that winter dry spell.

1.  EYES - Use drops that say "preservative free" to avoid further irritation.
2.  NOSE - Use saline spray instead of petroleum-based ointments which can actually harm your nose's lining.
3.  SKIN - Don't take excessively long showers as this will dry out your skin, instead limit it to 15 minutes and use a fragrance free soap and finish off with a cream-based lotion.
4.  THROAT - Drink at least 2 liters of water a day.  In addition using cough drops and herbal or decaffeinated tea.

Remembering these tips will help you to avoid the itchy eyes, stuffy nose, cracked skin, and sore throats that are all a part of winter.