EAT WELL!!!!

WHY?!

WHY SO IGNORANT!? Last night, nightline reported on chiropractic therapy and children. While the report wasn’t all negative, per se, it most definitely had its bias and share of misinformation. So I just felt like allowing some who will read this to use facts and logic to formulate a more educated opinion instead of an un-researched skeptic observation.

DISCLAIMER I would like to state that I do not carry malice for or distain toward medical doctors. I do not feel that medical doctors are poorly educated; I do not feel that they are money hungry, or selfish. I do feel that they have a concern for patients and generally would like to improve the health of society.
So last night Nightline had part of the segment showing a interview with a MD working in California who claimed that a chiropractic adjustment could paralyze a child. Now maybe that is her opinion, but that is where the truth of that statement ends. There is no research anywhere that shows that DCs cause paralysis is men, women or children. In fact children have been seen by chiropractors since 1895 and have never had an accusation that it causes paralysis that has proven to be true. Along with that, chiropractic type techniques have been documented to have been used in ancient China over 2000 years ago as well without this risk.
Now let’s look at the alternative…medicine. Medicine, including MD error, is the 3rd leading cause of death in America. That is not my opinion that is according to JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). Chiropractic has not cause a single death in the World. Nor has the chiropractic adjustment been the cause of paralysis. However the “side-effects” of prescription drugs and ridicules.
Now like I said, I don’t hate MDs or even medicine. As long as that type of care known its place, I have no problem! So what is the role of MDs or what should it been? Let me share with you an analogy.
If your house is on fire who are you going to call? The fire department, of course! They are going to come out with their axes and fire hoses and they are going to do everything that they can to save your house. Now your house might be damaged severely because of the axes and fire hoses, but at least the fire is out. But now what do we do? After the fire is out, who do you call? A general contractor, to coordinate the: carpenter, painter, plumber, cleaners, electrician etc. We would never think to call the fire department.
If your mind and body is your house then MDs are the fire department and DCs are the general contractor. Does this mean that it is never appropriate to take drugs or have a surgical procedure? Of course not! That would be unscientific. It is scientific fact that medical interventions can save a life in a crisis and we should all be grateful for the wonderful innovations that medicine has developed in this area.
However, it is also a scientific fact that no drug or surgery will ever make your cells function better, improve your health, or prevent you from getting sickThe fire department is very appropriate if your house is on fire (in an emergency crisis) but totally inappropriate if you want to repair or maintain your house.
One of the major problems is that people are ignorant to what chiropractic intervention and what medical intervention really are. As stated medical intervention should be for emergency care, they can come in with their axes and fire hoses (drugs and surgeries) and save a life. Chiropractors are not meant to do that same thing. Chiropractic is not a treatment for cancer, diabetes, or anything else per se. Chiropractic is a form of healthcare to allow for balance and a homeostatic environment to be maintained within the body.
If we were to understand the human body better then we would look at health differently. MDs have been trained to diagnosis a symptom or a group of symptoms. (DCs get that training as well) All a diagnosis is is a name given to symptoms. Then the training for an MD is what drug can be used to mask symptoms, or kill organisms that seem to be the problem, or what surgery can be done to either remove something or relocate something in order to “fix” the problem.
There is no such thing as pathology! There are only pathological environments. This is where medicine goes wrong, and out steps its bounds. Here is a great scenario to look at this more logically. Truth is logic. Back in the 70’s there was an issue of the fish in the Great Lakes becoming diseased and dying. The birds were eating the diseased fish so naturally they were becoming diseased and dying and the entire ecosystem was affected.
Now should we have dumped medicine into the lakes or maybe made fish/bird hospitals and preformed surgery? Or did scientists realize the toxic environment caused by pollution and cleaned it up and then the diseases disappeared?
The point is there is no drug for poor choices, there is no drug that corrects poor eating habits or sedentary lifestyles. Chiropractic is based in a pyridine of holism, claiming that diseases are cause by toxins and traumas. These toxins and traumas can be of a structural, chemical, of emotional in nature. More easily put, is that the key to health is to get rid of toxicity and deficiency and places that with purity and sufficiency. This is done by eating well, moving well, and thinking well.
Earlier I wrote that there is no such thing as pathology, only pathological environments. Go look into an animal that is taken from the wild and put into captive and find out whether or not that animal is as healthy as the same species living in the wild. They are not! We live in a captivity-like lifestyle, we do not eat right, we do not move right, we do not think right. Therefore we are plagued with chronic diseases and ailments that are 100%preventable!
I literally could go on and on and on. But I will just say that I am soon to be a chiropractor, I will continue to be treated by a chiropractor to maintain health (proper cell function). My wife and children will continue to receive chiropractic treatment, without fear. It is sad that we let fear motivate us. That is not thinking well! My family will continue to eat, think and move well.

Why spinal chiropractic adjustments?

My goal is to help those here obtain a general understanding of Chiropractic.
Chiropractic is a discipline that works with the body to allow it to have an optimal environment to fight and prevent disease. A major component of Chiropractic is the adjustment to the spine. Today’s entry is going to focus mostly on why chiropractors look to the spine to bring about health and wellness
To start off I would like to mention a little about the history of Chiropractic. Spinal treatment to allow the body to function properly and heal or cure disease is not a new concept at all. Chinese records as old as 2700BC depict chiropractic type therapy for a treatment of disease. Still today they use back walking as a method of healthcare. They are not the only people to have this in the records, ancient Egyptians, native Americans, Mayan, Aztec, Toltec, Incas, and Greek all have some form of documentation indicating the use of chiropractic type adjustments to cure, treat and prevent disease. Hippocrates, also know as “The Father or Medicine” said “Get knowledge of the spine, for it is the requisite for many diseases.” Rome’s Claudius Galen known in Rome as “the prince of physicians” used spinal treatment to treat his patients. DD Palmer is said to be the discoverer of chiropractic. This title suggests that chiropractic existed before him. DD Palmer merely restored the practice to the mainstream this took place in 1895. Since then it has continued and still continues to grow worldwide as major form of healthcare.
Why though do chiropractors look to the spine, like Hippocrates recommended so long ago? The spine is made up of 27 moving bones, included the base of the skull called the occiput and the base of the spine called the sacrum and coccyx. All of these bones are meant to move in many ways. Just think of how we can bend and twist and move our body in so many directions. We will return to this movement of the spine in a minute. Next thing that is needed to be understood is that one of the major proposes of the spine is to protect the spinal cord. We will discuss the important of this a little later.
Back to the idea that the spine has so many moving parts. Many times in our life, in fact very often in our lives we will get a decreased or restriction of this movement. We are not talking about flexibility, simply movement of bones in their appropriate plans of motion. These movement deficiencies are known to chiropractors as subluxations. Subluxations or movement deficiencies have grand effects to the body and body systems which we will go into detail about in a moment.
First let’s touch on the causes of subluxation, movement deficiency. There a three causes of subluxation. In chiropractic we call it the triad of health. They are trauma, toxins and autosuggestion.
Trauma can be macro, big, or micro, small. Macro trauma are things like; birth, falls, sports injuries, and accidents. Micro traumas are; poor posture, sedentary (lack of exercise) lifestyle, and overuse injuries.
The next cause of subluxations is toxins. Toxins come in many forms. Environmental toxins are those most commonly talked about on the news, pollutions, and mostly popular to talk about currently on the news are plastic bottles. Toxins that are not mentioned that often are food additives and preservatives. Along with this is the lack or deficiency of the minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients that we need. This will be discussed more in-depth in a subsequent entry.
Lastly autosuggestion, or our mental processes or thoughts is the last cause of subluxation. Most people understand this to be stress. We will discuss stress, including mental stress in detail. For now it is sufficient to say that mental stress is a cause of subluxation. As was mentioned earlier, subluxations have many effects or the body. The rest of this entry will focus on these effects.
The most common reason for patients to go to the Chiropractors office is because of pain. As we continue you will hopefully see that this is unfortunate with all that chiropractic can do, but pain is an effect of subluxation. Truth be told the majority of our pain is perceived subconsciously. What this means is that our brain is aware of pain that we are not. However as the subluxation remains our threshold to pain is reaches which makes ourselves more sensitive to pain. Meaning that we will feel more pain with less of a stimulus. Wait right there, how is something pain if we don’t feel it?

Pain is a perception of neural stimulus called nociception. Nociception is transmitted to the brain but you are not always aware of the transmission. Only until is reaches and exceeded threshold, will you know that there is nociception, which you perceive as pain. So to recap, pain is the awareness of nociception after it exceeds the maximum level that the brain can tolerate without us knowing. This increase in nociception is one of the effects of subluxation.
With chiropractic care movement is restored. As movement is stored and fixations and restrictions are eliminated the nociception, pain signals, to the brain are decreased and the pain that we are aware of goes away. Also with continually care, resulting in proper motion the nociception with farther decease and therefore it will take much more stimulus for you to feel pain where the pain previously existed.
The next effect of the subluxation goes hand in hand with the increase of nociception, pain signals. This is a more serious consequence than pain. This is something that none of us are able to since, unlike pain. Remember how not all nociception is perceived by us consciously. Well like me introduce another term to you, proprioception. Proprioception, like nociception is a signal to the brain. The message that proprioception gives to the brain is the position of our bones. It is a message from the body to the brain telling it where the body is. If your arm is above your head, it is proprioception that tells you brain that your arm is there.
Why is this important? You might ask. First is that another role of proprioception is to inhibit pain, or nociception. When proprioception is decrease then nociception is increased. Second is that with decrease proprioception, your balance, coordination and proper movements are altered. Third and perhaps the most important is that the combination of decrease proprioception, joint positioning, and an increase in nociception, pain signals, leads to and/or contributes to the stress response.
The stress response is misunderstood by most healthcare providers, including medical doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists. As when mentioned earlier when someone speaks about stress they immediately associate is with a mental feeling of being overwhelmed.
They think of the mother of four, who has to have dinner ready and homework done and the house clean and the bills played and on and on. While this is a form of stress, stress is much more than this. Stress is a physiological change in our body, known more commonly as the stress response. Webster’s medical dictionary states that stress is “A physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.”
Interestingly these are the same three components of the chiropractic triad of health. The stress response was studied most thoroughly by a scientist named Hans Selye. He found that no matter what the stressor was, the response was the same. The response that happens every time is; 1^st alarm, 2^nd attempt to adapt, 3^rd fatigue 4^th death. Every stressor, every time the same response.
The key to understanding how this affects us is by understanding what goes on in the body during this response. That is what physiology is, it is the stuff that goes on inside the body.The changes that occur are

Increase cortisol
Increase catecholamines
Increase heart rate
Increase vasoconstriction
Increase blood pressure
Increase glucose levels
Increase lipid levels
Increase blood LDL cholesterol levels
Increase noradrenalin levels
Increase clotting factors
Increase protein degradation of muscle and connective tissue
Increase sensitively of sensory
Increase insulin resistance
Increase recognition of stress, fear, anxiety and depression
Decrease blood HDL cholesterol levels
Decrease short term memory, ability to concentrate, and learn new material
Decrease serotonin levels
Decrease immunity
Decrease in anabolic hormones
Decrease bone density and changes in muscle fibers

I understand that many things on this list are things that some people have never heard. The key though is to understand that these changes are necessary in certain times. An example would be that when we are on the freeway and a car in front of us does something that we have to react to in order to avoid a wreck our body goes into the stress physiology but as soon as that it over, our body is meant to return to a normal state, a non-stressful state.

However when these changes are with us chronically, or over long periods of time, as Hans Selye proved, our body begins to fatigue and eventually dies. Demonstrations of this fatigue are heart diseases, cancer, diabetes, fertility inabilities, obesity, hypothyroid, chronic fatigue. Honestly THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON.
Please do not misunderstand, chiropractic adjustments are not a treatment for these diseases directly in all cases, we’ll discuss one way that they can be, but in this case the subluxation leads to stress physiology and stress physiology leads to diseases. Therefore, by chiropractic adjustments the stress response is decreased and the stress physiology is decrease and therefore the internal environment of the body is in a healthy state and less likely to develop disease. Please note that all of the most common diseases in our society are preventable!!!
So in review, movement deficiency, or the subluxation, will lead to an increase in pain signals called nociception. Also it will lead to a decrease in joint positioning signals called proprioception. These two things combine will lead to an increase in the pain we feel, a decrease in balance and coordination, and most importantly will lead to and contribute to the stress response. These affects that subluxation has on the body and huge and those alone should be reason to be on chiropractic care, there is still one more effect that we would like to talk about tonight.
The final component that we would like to discuss tonight is a reaction known as the somatoviseral response. Many are aware that certain diseases can cause pain in unrelated areas. For example prostrate cancer can cause low back pain. Gentlemen please don’t worry that you have cancer now if you back is hurting. The point is that we can have a disease in one part of the body and another part is affected, that is seemingly unrelated.
The somatoviseral response is the same thing. When we have subluxation, another area of the body can be greatly affected. Do you recall how earlier we mentioned that one of the major purposes of the spine is to protect the spinal cord? To make it very simple the brain controls all the parts of the body. This is done by nerves. Neurons send signal to, and receive signals from the brain. The spinal cord is what connects the neurons to the brain.
Think about it this way. Your brain is a major shopping center; your spinal cord is a highway, with on and off ramps. At each entrance and exit are the nerves that come and go to their homes. So what we are saying is that there can be a subluxation in the lumber area, low back, and that that subluxation can cause changes in the intestine and in our bowels, causing problems like acid reflux and other ailments in areas that are innervated by the nerves that exit and enter that highway, spinal cord, at that level.
The most accepted theory on why this occurs is because the subluxation leads to inflammation. This inflammation cause impedance to nerve conduction which causes decreased function to those parts of the body that are controlled by the nerves that use those off and on ramps near the inflamed areas. Again to make sure we understand this, subluxation can lead to changes in the areas of the body that are controlled by the nerves that leave that spinal cord at the area of subluxation.
All these causes and effects can happen at any joint, the wrist, elbow, shoulder, the ankle, the knee, and the hip. To conclude I would like to just take a moment and return to the causes of subluxations. Toxins, traumas, and thoughts are the causes.
These three things will be the topics of our subsequent entries.

Vaccines and Autism

This is a great book to educate yourself!!!

CNN House Call


Dr. Boyd Haley is a professor and chair of the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky. This is Part I of a four part interview. The rest of the parts can be found at youtube.com if you search by the professor's name.

ADD/ADHD

Nutritional Protocol for ADD/ADHD Patients

Suggested readings:

The Feingold Cookbook (Dr. Benjamin Feingold)

Why your Child is Hyperactive (Dr. Benjamin Feingold)

Plan of action:

Keep a food daily journal until new eating patterns are established.

Make sure to read the food labels and know alternate words for the same chemical or product.

Call ahead to a restaurant to make sure that their menu offers meals without contraindicated ingredients. Be patient and understand that change takes time.

Dietary considerations:

Eat as natural as you can, buy whole foods, cook at home using mostly plant-based foods. Use healthier oils, such as olive or coconut as opposed to canola or vegetable. Avoid all synthetic (artificial) food colorings; these are colorings that are made from petroleum. Most are made from petroleum; some are made by other means, and have not been studied like those that are made of petroleum. But it is a sound practice for ADD/ADHD patients to eliminate any and all artificial coloring. Along with that, eliminate all artificial flavors and added preservatives. Also do not consume any artificial sweeteners, which have been show to have a harmful affect on the nervous system. (ADD/ADHD is a neurological disorder) Limit animal based foods, this is a suggestion for all people, not just those with this condition, the benefits and been shown to be grand. I usually suggest that there may be three meals a week that animal products can be used, the rest of the meals should be prepared using only plant-based foods. Avoid all Dairy products, J. Robert Cade M.D., and the developer of Gatorade, researched and studied the effect of Beta-casomorphin-7 (milk’s major protein) and found that it has a negative effect which is negatively synergistic with those who already had neurological disorders. Limit egg consumption. When eating grains, eat only whole grains, such as whole grain pasta and brown rice, avoid anything that is “refined.” Obviously if there is a gluten intolerance or celiac disease then grains should not be consumed. Lastly, initially eliminate all salicylate containing foods. A list can be found on the internet of foods that contain salicylates. These foods do not always have to be avoided, this will be discussed later. A list of the more common salicylate containing food is included. Random foods to avoid are: apple cider vinegar, bacon, butter, candy, catsup, chocolate, corn, soy, carbonated drinks, and drinks for concentrate.

Supplement considerations:

Patients should be on a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral. Make sure that they are high quality and do not contain any of the contraindicated items as mentioned in the “dietary considerations” section. A high quality probiotic, such as the one offered by innate choice, or one with similar contents. Daily CoQ10 supplements should be taken. Take three grams of ultra purified fish oil as a source of omega 3 essential fatty acid daily. If unable to consume fish, use flax seed at a higher dose. Folic acid, B-complex, vitamin C, should also be supplemented, unless the multi-vitamin contains a sufficient amount. Keep in mind that the RDA’s are not the amount needed for optimal effect/health, but are the minimum amount to avoid a deficiency that would lead to disease. At bedtime take magnesium and calcium for its calming effect.

Herbal considerations:

St. John’s wort has been shown to have a positive affect on those with ADD/ADHD, especially those who also deal with mild depression associated with their condition. Gingko biloba increases blood flow to the brain and has been shown to increase brain function and concentration. Others that have shown a positive affect are: valerian root extract, catnip, gotu kola, hops, kava kava, lemon balm, licorice, oats, passionflower, skullcap, thyme, wood betony. With all herbs, follow warnings, such as whether or not to use while pregnant and others indications.

Lifestyle considerations:

Just like artificial flavors, preservatives, and colorings are to be avoided in food, they are also to be avoided in other commonly used products. These included but are not limited to toothpaste, mouthwash, skin care products (lotion, soap, shaving cream, ect.), perfumes, cough drops, lozenges, hair care products. Have silver [mercury] amalgam oral fillings replaced with composite resin fillings which do not contain mercury.

Plan of action concerning salicylates:

Salicylate containing foods are not bad for those with ADD/ADHD per se. The goal is to find out if the patient has an adverse reaction to any of these foods. So what is done is a complete elimination for a period of four weeks. During that time regular detoxification via foot baths and saunas should be utilized. After the four week detoxification from salicylate containing food, one food at a time is reintroduced. Reintroduce the food; one at a time, for a three day period, if there are no negative reactions, then that food is able to be part of the normal diet again. Then move on to the next food. If at anytime there is an adverse reaction to a reintroduced food, then that food should be avoided on a permanent basis.

Common foods containing salicylates:

apples, almonds, grapes, apricots, berries, cherries, cloves, coffee, cucumbers, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pickles, plums, prunes, raisins, tangelos, tangerines, tea, tomatoes. There are many more, the internet can provide a more complete list.

Research considerations:

Many of the above considerations follow suit with the Feingold program. The Feingold program was said to have “NO VALID SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT”, in 1973, by the Nutrition Foundation, whose members include Dow Chemical, Coca Cola and others who make and use the products that Feingold removes in his program. Since then many other studies have been done and have shown that at least 70% of those with ADD/ADHD has a positive response to the removal of that mentioned above. The most recent of these studies was concluded in 2007 that correlated the artificial colorings have negative interactions with those with ADD/ADHD.

Last thought:

ADD/ADHD is a neurological disorder. The diet will have a great effect on the condition of the body as a whole and with direct and indirect affects as to the function of the brain. However, other considerations are very necessary, such as, chiropractic adjustments to stimulate various areas of the CNS, and correct structural imbalances. Certain activities to farther develop the frontal lobe of the brain, such as cross crawl activities and being actively engaged in projects outside the home, these could included building a tree house, planting a garden, or just working/playing outdoors. Also there should be careful consideration of home schooling, an ADD/ADHD individual is not less intelligent or slow then others. For the most part it is just the opposite. However most school systems do not teach or have programs that are meant to work with and not against the learning methods of those with this disorder.

First Thought

"The significant problems
we face [today] cannot be
solved at the same level of
thinking we were at when
we created them."