Would you like a Coke with that? - December 30, 2011

Can you believe that in a few days it will be 2012?  It seems like 2011 just began and now its ending, and I don't know about you but my New Year's resolution was to lose weight and become healthier and as I look at myself in the mirror the image I see is not the one I wanted!  So again this year my resolution will be to lose weight and become healthier overall, both mentally and physically.  One important thing I have recently learned, is that its important to not only watch what we eat but also what we drink.  Here are some tips to help stick with your goals for a healthier lifestyle:

    1. Avoid drinking beverages that have large amounts of calories and sugar.  Also try to avoid sodas, sports                  drinks, juices, and fruit drinks which contain artificial dyes, flavorings, and other ingredients that your body just         simply does not need.

    2. When drinking coffee or tea, replace cream or creamers with nonfat milk.
    3.  Craving a fizzy drink?  Try adding a splash of juice or lemon slices to sparkling water, but be careful to get a          sparking water with no or low sodium.
    4.  When ordering out, order the smallest size beverage available.
    5.  Reusing plastic water bottles can actually cause a bacterial growth to form.  If you have to buy bottled                  water, transfer it into a glass, a pitcher, or a stainless steel water bottle to avoid the potential of bacteria                   growing. 

Of course an important step in becoming healthier or maintaining good health is getting regular chiropractic adjustments. 

Stress and Our Health

With the holidays upon us it is important to take a moment to step back and enjoy them, and life in general.  As a whole our society is always on the go, and thanks to wonderful technological advances we are able to do or find out just about anything at the drop of a hat, but it is this way of life that can be detrimental to your health and well-being.  Especially at the holidays everyone gets so busy preparing to celebrate that they forget to take the time to just enjoy the season, or for others the holidays cause an explosion of good and bad memories which tend to send our moods on a roller coaster ride!  It is important to remember that you need to live every day to its fullest, but that doesn't mean you have to be on the go constantly to get the most out of the day.  Simply sitting down looking out a window at the snow that is usually falling on us in December, or reaching out to a friend or loved one that you haven't been as connected to is a good way to slow down and fully enjoy the day.

Here are some tips to avoid letting the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and life get you down or stressed out.  First it is important to start out by planning your day.  Take five minutes when you wake up to sit and relax and create a to do list for the day.  This will un-clutter your life and it will be satisfying to you as you go through the day crossing off items on your list.  That sense of accomplishment will also help to boost your mood.

Another important and often overlooked asset to improving your day is the sound of music.  Music invokes so many emotions and memories, so turn on a favorite cd or radio station while accomplishing your to do list and the time will go by much more enjoyably.  In addition, music can be a wonderful way to motivate you while exercising.  Exercising even for short periods of time will get your body working in a positive direction to improve your physical and mental health, and will actually improve your energy levels.  Of course eating right and maintaining healthy snacks throughout the day will also improve your overall health and positively affect your mood.

Lastly, it is important to remember that sometimes a simple act of kindness towards a friend, loved one, co-worker, or even a stranger may dramatically affect that person's day and life.  It is impossible to know what is going on with the sullen cashier at the grocery store, but a simple genuine thank you to them after you have bought your groceries may show that person that there are people out there that care about them, even though currently they don't feel that there are.  Just remember it is the little things in life that matter, and they are truly priceless.

Migraines are not your typical headache - July 21, 2011

Migraines differ from other headaches because they occur in phases. The painful phase of a migraine is almost always associated with other bodily symptoms. Common triggers for a migraine include: Environmental chemicals, Liver problems, Rapid change in hormone levels, Dental pain, Certain foods (cured meats, red wine), Medical conditions (depression, severe hypertension), Medications, Changes in weather, Lack of sleep, and stress.

These are some ideas doctors have for possible triggers of migraine headaches but the specific causes remain elusive. It is believed that vascular changes in the brain  are responsible for the pain. Researchers have noted blood vessel contraction and dilations in the brain just prior to migraine occurrence. There are four phases involved with a migraine: prodrome, aura, headache and postdrome.

Prodrome - most migraines are preceded by a phase which may cause depression, food cravings, neck stiffness, nausea, hyperactivity or fatigue in the days preceding the actual headache.

Aura - This is a collection of neurological symptoms that usually involve a person's visual experience. Flashing or wavy lights, strange smells, tingling sensations and cognitive difficulties. Only about 20% of patients with migraines experience aura symptoms.

Headache - Moderate to intense pain with a pulsating quality that lasts 4-72 hours. May be aggravated by loud noise or bright lights. Nausea or vomiting, depression/anxiety, hot flashes and chills, dizziness, confusion, dehydration or fluid retention.

Postdrome - Pain has usually subsided by this point but sometimes a person may experience lasting depression, fatigue or poor concentration.

Migraines tend to respond well to peace and quiet. Many studies have shown that chiropractic is a very effective tool to treat migraines. Sometimes it is immediate relief but most cases require ongoing care to manage painful episodes.

This is more than a headache! This is something more neurological it seems but because our bodies are all connected through nervous system, having regular adjustments can alleviate areas that are causing stress to your body.

GERD and the Purple Pills - June 16, 2011

Everyone has seen them, the commercials and print ads for acid-reflux medication. The purple pill... what do we really know about it?  I want to share some really interesting information with you about your digestive process and what these medications do to that process. Most often doctors will treat people with acid reflux, gas/bloating and other digestive issues by prescribing a pill that suppresses the acid production in your stomach or neutralizes it. The concern is that many people that have these symptoms are not suffering from too much acid but not enough.

The function of your stomach acid is to digest protein. So if someone's stomach isn't producing enough acid and they eat a piece of chicken or other meat, it hits the stomach and needs that hydrochloric acid to break it down, instead it sits there and begins to putrefy, creating acid and gases (not the good kind). Now this person will likely exhibit symptoms - a sour stomach, belching or even acid reflux.  This all happened because they didn't have enough acid to begin with.

It's important to have adequate amounts of stomach acid because it triggers the upper sphincter of the stomach to close when you eat to prevent any acid or food from going up into the esophagus. If you don't have enough acid, not only will you be unable to digest the protein properly but that sphincter will not be triggered to close tightly enough and acid reflux could occur. Low stomach acid also causes the lower stomach sphincter to stay closed, which leads to the feeling of being overly full because the stomach isn't emptying properly.

So if we are all taking acid suppressors we could be exacerbating the problems and causing more issues. There are many things that can be done to help eliminate stomach problems such as these and most of them don't include taking a purple pill. If you want more information on this topic you can read the rest of the article in the July/August issue of To Your Health in our lobby!

I hope everyone is well as we move through the month toward summer!

Is Chiropractic Scientific? - June 9, 2011

Is it at Memorial Day weekend that most people really feel summer has begun regardless of the summer solstice? I think it's the unofficial first day of summer anyway. I had a wonderful weekend and hope that all of you did as well. Remember that keeping up on your adjustments can help to make your summer activities that much more enjoyable by keeping your body in alignment!

If you missed Dr. Chris' talk on Total Health keep your eyes on our lobby slideshow coming up because it will be covering some similar information, not all of it mind you, but we want you to be aware of our goals in your health care at this office.

So here is a question for you, is Chiropractic scientific? I've heard some people mention that medical doctor's are real doctors. I wonder where that misconception comes from? Is it because there is no blood, needles or invasive procedures during an adjustment that some people believe chiropractors are not real doctors? Clearly we all know that chiropractors require as much or sometimes more schooling as medical doctors, the specialty is simply different. I assure you Dr. Chris knows just as much about the biology of the human body as a medical doctor. The difference I see, is that Dr. Chris sees you as a whole not broken down into symptoms or areas (heart, lungs, bones, muscles etc.) He knows that your body is a series of systems not single parts functioning independently. His goal is to get rid of interference in the communication between all the systems.

This ties in with his recent talk on Total Health. So many medical doctors are trained so specifically they tend not to view how their treatment of your heart issue, for example,  might affect another area of your body. So please know that we are not just interested in getting you in and out for a monthly adjustment but to get to the bottom of why certain areas need to be adjusted in the first place and focus there.

We encourage questions on this matter, so please stop in, call or write back here. We are interested in your input and opinion. Have a great week!

TV and Depression - May 26 2011

I found an interesting article on how TV can affect depression levels in children and teenagers. It is directly related to the number of hours spent watching TV daily. The study showed that it was TV specifically not just media in general. So while it's important to limit media exposure including video games, internet, movies and TV altogether it was the TV watching that seemed to be most tied in with the depression.

Now the article didn't specify any research or thoughts on why this is but I'll share some of my opinions. Think about what the purpose of TV is, most use it as some form of escape from their life. Well if life was good then why escape from it for one. Two, depending upon what is being watched many shows portray a false reality (especially it seems, the "reality" shows). Everyone is beautiful, everyone has everything they want, it often glorifies bad situations to seem glamorous. Then this child has to wake up and go to the same school with the same clothes they had in their closet the day before and the same people. While these things shouldn't be bad, the constant barrage of "You need more, You have to have this to be happy, You aren't this smart or this pretty", will wear anyone down after awhile.

I don't think TV is bad, fullstop, but I do believe most of what is on is pretty worthless. I believe if TV is a staple in a family then it could be tempered with genuine interaction and loving situations and words from adults then perhaps depression wouldn't have an opportunity to get in. If a child knows the truth about themselves and understands that TV doesn't show reality it would probably be less interesting to them anyway!

I'm curious your thoughts on this as well, since this was mostly all my opinion anyway! I encourage you to write me back and share!

Back Surgery: The Best Option? - May 19, 2011

I found a really interesting article to share with you today. It addresses back surgery; cost, effectiveness and alternatives.  There is a lot of information covered in this article so I won't be addressing all of it here. So research suggests that 500,000+ disk surgeries are performed annually in the US. This is about 40% higher than any other country. It shows that back surgery rates increased with the per capita supply of orthopedic and neurosurgeons. In other words the more back surgeons there are the more back surgeries tend to take place. The question is whether they're necessary surgeries or could have been avoided.

There is a lot of research that shows back surgery to be relatively ineffective in attaining it's goal of patient recovery and relief from back pain (especially when the cost in taken into account as well - surgeries running anywhere from $24,000-$81,000). In 2010 records from 1500 patients were reviewed who had a diagnosis of disc degeneration, disc herniation or tingling of the extremities caused by nerve conditions. Half the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of resolving the pain. The other half didn't have surgery though their diagnosis was the same or comparable. After two years only 26% of the patients who had surgery had returned to work while 67% of the non-surgery patients returned. Of the lumbar fusion patients, 36% had complications and 27% had to have another surgery. Permanent disability rates were 11% for those who had surgery, compared to 2% for those who did not have surgery. There was a 41% increase in the use of pain killers and 76% of the surgery patients continued the use of opioids (morphine) after their surgery.

What could possibly be an alternative!? Well chiropractic of course. In fact it has been shown that chiropractic care is the most effective, safest and affordable treatment for back pain. The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research concluded that "spinal manipulative therapy is the most effective and cost-effective treatment for acute low back pain".  So now we just wait for everyone else in the world to figure out what we already know. Or maybe we could start by telling our friends and family. Really let them know how chiropractic has helped you. Your testimony speaks volumes because no one can argue against your own personal experience. Whether they agree with chiropractic or not.

As I said there is way more information in this article and I encourage everyone to check it out. It's in the June issue of To Your Health. I hope everyone is having a great week!