Dr. Corbett's Words of Wellness

Relieving Arthritic Pain

2011-07-25T09:26:00.003-05:00

Arthritis breaks down the cartilage in your joints. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage absorbs the shock of movement. When you lose cartilage, your bones rub together. Over time, this rubbing can permanently damage the joint. Basically, the joint is wearing out.

Arthritis, or joint inflammation, includes more than 100 conditions, including gout, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and many more. It affects 20 million Americans or 1 in 13 people in the US. Rheumatoid arthritis affects over 2 million Americans.

Contrary to belief, arthritis can affect people of any age; not only those who are middle-age or elderly. Chiropractors mostly see patients with osteoarthritis.

Symptoms of arthritis:

Tender, warm, and swollen joints.
Pain and stiffness lasts for more than 30 minutes after a long rest.
Decreased ROM
Trauma - major trauma / mircotrauma, obesity or just getting old causes osteoarthritis. It can be diagnosed with X-rays, MRI or CT scans. Chiropractors alleviate the pain with spinal adjustments.

Consider the soft tissue component. Some arthritic pain can be treated with a simple technique called Graston. This technique utilizes specially designed stainless steel instruments to specifically detect and effectively treat areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation. Benefits to the patient include a greater range of motion, increased strength and reduce pain. In addition, chiropractic modalities such as joint mobilization, cold laser therapy, massage and electro-therapy may be used to aid in the treatment of painful and stiff joints. Therefore, the treatment depends on the patient and how severe the condition is. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are great nutritional solutions to joint pains.

Exercise can occasionally help. It depends on the degree of arthritis. Someone with severe knee or hip arthritis should not be running. Swimming or non weight bearing exercises like biking is a good way to keep in shape without the joint impact of running or doing other aerobic exercises.

Regular chiropractic care prevents osteoarthritis. If you keep your spine in proper alignment it will not become arthritic. If you already have arthritis, regular chiropractic adjustments can halt the progression of arthritis.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by phone or Facebook!

How Orthotics Can Help You

2011-06-22T10:28:00.001-05:00

The foot is a machine. It functions as our interface between the ground and the greatest deforming force on the human body which is gravity. Forces of 3 1/2 times the bodyweight passed to the foot with each step and the average person takes in excess of 10,000 steps per day most of which in our society is on concrete. This should give you some idea as to the enormity of the forces endured by the foot. As we age, even a normal foot flattens or we lose some degree in the arch of the foot. All of the common for problems such as the bunions, plantar fasciitis, metatarsal, hammer toes, calluses and corns are usually caused by the lack of enough arch in the foot when we are standing, walking or running. Because our feet are the foundation to our bodies and it is very important that we keep them in good shape. As we age, our arches tend to fall and when that happens, that can affect our ankles, knees, hips and even our backs. It's just a good idea to make sure our feet are in good shape at all times.

Orthotics are custom-made inserts that you can put in your shoe. They are designed to change the mechanical function of the foot. Orthotics work dynamically during weight-bearing activities like walking, running or standing. Ideally, it should provide full custom and corrected arch contact so that the foot works in a biomechanically correct way.
Making orthotics is quite an easy process. The patient sits down and an impression is made of their feet. The company I use is called Sole Supports. This company is actually owned by podiatrists. I just cast the feet and send the cast into the company and they make the orthotic.
As you can imagine, there are many orthotics companies out there. What makes Sole Supports unique is the orthotics themselves. The plastic piece that goes in your shoe is specially designed. The thickness of the plastic is dependent on the mobility of your foot and your body weight. So this orthotic is made out of plastic, but it also gives so there's some cushion to it. It's called a semi-rigid orthotic. So, it is not a super hard piece of plastic under your foot. Without question, the most common complaint I get about people purchasing orthotics elsewhere is that they are so hard and uncomfortable. The Sole Support also has a layer of foam on top of the plastic which make the orthotic very comfortable.

The plastic portion of the orthotic will last a lifetime. The top cover which is made out of foam usually needs to be resurfaced every 10 years. I also guarantee the fit. The last thing I want is for someone to purchase a pair of orthotics from me and have them sit in a closet somewhere. I will guarantee that they will be comfortable so you will be wearing them every day. From start to finish it usually takes about two weeks.

They’re great for runners too! Runners put high demands on their bodies, especially their feet and arches. A typical 150-pound athlete who runs 10 miles per week will hit the ground with about 10 million pounds of impact load each week. This puts a much greater demand on the feet and body than somebody with a relatively sedentary lifestyle.
Contact our office to learn more about purchasing your own pair of orthotics.

Top 12 Cancer Prevention Strategies

2011-06-21T11:13:00.002-05:00

We CAN prevent cancer. My top 12 cancer prevention strategies include:

1. Reduce or eliminate your processed food, fructose and grain carbohydrate intake. Eat tons of whole foods, Veggies, fruits, meats, beans. Anything that doesn’t take a “process” to make.

2. Normalize your vitamin D levels by getting plenty of sunlight exposure and consider careful supplementation when this is not possible. If you take oral vitamin D and have cancer, it would be prudent to monitor your vitamin D blood levels regularly. To learn what your vitamin D level is, go to your MD and have your blood drawn.

3. Control your fasting insulin and leptin levels. (Improved insulin and leptin control is the natural outcome of reducing or eliminating fructose, grains, and processed foods from your diet.) Leptin is a hormone that has a central role in fat metabolism. Leptin was originally thought to be a signal to lose weight but it may, instead, be a signal to the brain that there is fat on the body.

4. Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by taking a high-quality fish oil and reducing your intake of most processed vegetable oils.

5. Get regular exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

6. Get regular, good sleep.

7. Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are sorely underappreciated. However, some cancer specialists are now using nutritional typing as an integral part of their cancer treatments. Check out “Eat Right for Your Type” on Dr. D’Adamo’s website: http://www.dadamo.com Find out your blood type (typo O, A, B, AB) from your MD.

8. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

9. Limit your exposure and provide protection for yourself from EMF (Electronic Magnetic fields) produced by cell phone towers, base stations, cell phones and WiFi stations. On May 31, 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared that cell phones are "possibly carcinogenic to humans." To protect yourself, try not to wear it next to your body. When I am in the car I put it on a cup holder. At the office I set it on the desk. Talk as little as you can on the cell phone. Use a land line if possible.

10. Avoid frying or charbroiling your food. Boil, poach or steam your foods instead.

11. Have a tool to permanently reprogram the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. Energy psychology seems to be one of the best approaches and my particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.

12. Eat at least one-third of your food raw. Eat as much fruits and veggies as you wish. If you love apples feel free to eat 4-5 on them a day!

The 12 Principles of Success

2011-06-14T10:32:00.001-05:00

1. You have to know where you’re going.

Have a dream. Know what your dream is. Paint a picture of it. Let it dominate your life every day – morning and night. Your dream should wake you up in the morning and keep you up at night! Life has a purpose for being here. When you go on vacation or a trip, what’s the first thing you decide? Where are you going?

2. You have to know how to get there.

Plan, plan, plan. Use my vacation analogy: You have to follow your plan (or your map) in order to get there the easiest and most efficient way. Prior to running a marathon, how many miles do you have to run each day or week? To start a new career, do you have to take some classes? If so, which ones?

3. You have to LOVE it.

You have to really believe in this one. Never wish you had a different one or a better one - whatever “it” is. Be committed to it. Love covers some cruddy stuff. There will always be junk. LOVE always wins. If you love it, it will never fail. Look at Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg...successful people love big!

4. This is important — in order to change your future, you must change your direction.

You have to be willing to change for it. It’s much easier to stay where you are, but your change will change others. Carefully examine your friends, advisors, peers, co-workers, etc. Draw from the winners. You’ve heard the expression “soar with the eagles.” Don’t peck along the ground with the chickens.

5. This is sometimes hard for people to talk about: You have to sacrifice for it! WORK IT.

The number one disease in the workplace today is what? LAZINESS. You have to work at it. You have to be willing to pay the price. Success comes at a price. Success is not a technique or found in a piece of equipment. It can’t be found in a code either. Success isn’t a lottery. It’s called work for a reason. This may include taking time away from your family or skipping out of your buddy’s golf tournament once in awhile.

6. To be successful, you must think success.

98% of the population think crap and call it the facts. Examine how you think. What you thinketh, you becometh. It will cause you to act differently. Believe you are going to heaven – you will be happier. Your thoughts are the prophets of the future. You can’t think you are going to fail and eventually succeed. If you step up to bat and think you are going to strike out, you probably are going to strike out.

7. This is a critical step to success: Live inspired – become inspiring.

This is a choice –not a trait or inheritance. Inspire your family! In the movie, “Secretariet,” the mom wants to live the dream. Her husband wants her to stay home. However, he acknowledges and commends her on showing the kids how to live the dream. The true reward is the purpose – not the money, which isn’t the cure.

8. Be coachable.

Most people aren’t coachable and don’t listen. The truth is that no one in history has ever achieved extraordinary success without a coach. The secret to being amazing is the ability to “copy genius.” When we were in school, we were taught not to copy. However, in the real world, it’s okay to go out there and copy successful people.

9. Romans 8:28: “All Things Work Together for the Good.”

In other words, do all the steps necessary for success all the time.

10. Develop the constancy of purpose.

This requires time and repetition. Be consistent. All professions have some sort of repetition. Focus fades. Make a five year plan for success. You will love the results when you stay focused on that plan.

11. Financial Responsibility.

Financial security = success. If you cannot save money, the seed of success is not in you. Poor is a condition- no one is poor. We may be broke, but not poor. Broke is a situation – it can be repaired. How are you at repairing it? Are you living within your means? You can’t be spending more than you are making.

12. Please God.

Everything begins with God. There is no such thing as great without a great God supporting it. You must have a strong foundation. Ask yourself: What is your purpose on this planet? What if you live without spiritual purpose? Accomplishing nothing in life requires no prayer. What game of success do you want to play? If you want to win at the game of success, Please God!

Is your low-back pain getting to be more than a minor inconvenience?

2011-05-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

Today, we’re going to discuss low-back discomfort or low back-pain. Without question, the most common causes of low-back pain is a spinal misalignment and a sprain or strain of some sort. This could be acute, like a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall or a lifting injury. It can also be a minor repetitive sprain, strain or and overuse syndrome. You may do many little things over and over to eventually cause damage to your low back and pain sets in. The second most common cause of low back pain would be that a lumbar disk herniation or what people call a disk bulge. For those who don’t know, a sprain or strain involves a partial tear in a muscle, tendon or ligament. You sprain a ligament and you strain a muscle. When your back is out of alignment, it’s called a spinal subluxation. Sub means partial and luxation means dislocation, so it's a partial or minor dislocation of your vertebrae.

To help alleviate low -back pain that is the sprain or strain variety, first and foremost, we do spinal adjustments to get the vertebrae back into a more proper position. This helps to alleviate pain and increase range motion. I can also perform the Graston Technique to help those injured muscles, tendons and ligaments heal more also do a variety of techniques to help heal the soft tissue and reduce inflammation. This includes electrical muscle stimulation, cold laser therapy and applying ice to the area. In most cases patients feel improvement with each visit and with minor on complicated cases patients are doing quite well in just a few weeks.

A disk bulge is happens when one of the disks or pads in between the vertebrae you can squish out and put pressure on the spinal cord or nerve and cause a significant amount of neck pain. This in most cases involves leg pain of some sort. Whether its numbness, tingling or weakness or sharp pain radiating down one or both legs. Many people call it a slipped disk, but the disk doesn't actually slip. It bulges out almost like stepping on a melted ice cream sandwich. The disk is comprised of two parts. The outer is a ring-like structure like an onion ring. The inner portion is a gel-like structure that is used as a shot sorption. When a disk bulges, the gel structure begins to leak through the ring-like structure and hits on the nerve.

To help with a disk bulge, First and foremost, I would perform axial decompression on the patient's neck. This is a very gentle form of specific computerize traction which helps take pressure off to disks and helps take pressure off the nerves. It also helps reduce muscle spasm and more importantly reduce the neck pain and the arm pain. Spinal adjusting will help also cold laser for pain.

Disk bulges can be quite severe and incredibly painful. If someone is very acute, meaning the injury is quite painful and it may take a few weeks before you begin to feel more comfortable. However, if you are fortunate and catch the disk bulge early, some began to feel relief of pain within the first few visits. In most cases, even a severe disk bulge can be significantly improved between four and seven weeks.

Last week, we discussed mid-back pain and how getting adjusted can take pressure off the nerves going to certain organs and consequently improve how that organ works. The same thing happens in the low back. We all know the nerves come out the spinal column and go to various organs. In the upper low back the nerves come out and the spine and go to the large intestines, reproductive organs and upper legs. In the middle aspect of the low back, the nerves come out the spine and go to the large intestines, bladder, muscles of the lower back and legs. The lower portion of the low back the nerves come out and go to the intestines (prostate for men) and lower legs. So when people with digestion issues or reproductive issues come in, I focus on adjusting low- back subluxations, so I can help the body restore proper nerve supply to these organs. Proper nerve supply is needed for proper organ function. Also, anyone with radiating leg pain should be examined immediately, because it could be a subluxation or disk herniation. As we discussed earlier, with a disk herniation or misalignment, the spine can also cause pain, discomfort or numbness and tingling in the legs.

In closing, remember that spring and summer just around the corner and that means landscaping projects, softball leagues, house remodeling projects and many other activities that involve your mid back. Don't spend this short summer season in pain if you don't have to. Keep your spine in shape like getting adjusted now and then and enjoy life to the fullest.

Foods - The Good, the Bad, and the Ripoffs

2011-05-07T22:44:00.000-05:00

Today, I’m going to discuss food, you know, the line item that’s knocking a hole in your budget. I’ll identify some foods that are a complete waste of money. But (to borrow a line) “I’ll be fair and balanced,” so I’ll also have a list of good foods, too. First of all, did you know that even the lowest-priced supermarket is brimming with complete rip-offs? From health foods that aren't healthy to gourmet foods that aren't gourmet, every store is chock-full of items that can be a big wallop to your pocketbook, unless you know the secrets to shopping wisely.

A sample rip-off list comes with a couple surprises – for example, did you know that gluten-free bread may not be the bargain you expect or that cereal packages with cartoons on the front are red lights for rip-offs? The good news is there's a long list of items that not only give you a good bang for your buck but a boost to your health as well, such as blueberries, cinnamon, and sweet potatoes. When it comes to the price of food, I think it's extremely important to remember that a food cannot be judged by its sticker price alone. Whether or not you're actually getting any nutrition from it is far more important. Believe me, a diet consisting of daily $1.99 hamburgers and other fast foods, while appearing to be frugal, is far from it when you consider what these foods are doing – or not doing – to your health.

While trying to list every single food that's a complete rip-off would result in a very thick book, I firmly believe it's safe to say that virtually all processed snacks and the majority of processed, pre-packaged meals are a massive waste of money. These types of foods consist mainly of fillers and additives, and very few actual nutrients. So while “Funyuns” made it onto the list of rip-offs, I can't think of a single chip or puffed snack that doesn't belong on that list. I also hate to tell you but the same goes for virtually all breakfast cereals, whether they have cartoons on the box or not. Most cereals are frightfully high in sugar, and any nutrients they boast are in the form of suboptimal synthetic additives, or worse. For example, iron fortified cereals can contain actual iron filings, which is a far cry from the iron you get from iron-rich vegetables like spinach. If you haven't seen the video clip on the Internet, take a look now – you'll probably never buy another box of cereal again, and rightfully so.

All organic foods aren’t on the ”A” list! I contend that some organic foods are real rip-offs, when their conventional counterparts are already grown using low amounts of pesticides and the food in question must be peeled anyway, such as bananas. The Environmental Working Group is a reliable source when trying to decide on what to buy organic. According to their latest pesticide review, the following foods rank as the most pesticide-free produce, even when conventionally-grown, so you can save a few bucks by opting for the conventionally-grown version of these: onions, avocadoes, watermelon, pineapple, mangos, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, egg plant and cantaloupe. Frozen sweet corn was on the EWG list, but I've removed it to avoid confusion. I do NOT recommend consuming non-organic corn and even organic corn should be consumed sparingly.

The foods you want to splurge on by buying organic are foods that have permeable or edible skins, and/or that are conventionally grown with higher amounts of pesticides. Based on the EWG's report, the top 12 foods to buy organic include: grapes, potatoes, kale/collard greens, cherries, spinach, sweet bell peppers, nectarines, blueberries, apples, strawberries, peaches, and celery.

When it comes to meats and fish, a lot of what you find in your local grocery store is not worth their price when you consider their nutrient to contamination ratio. Yahoo Health' rip-off list includes swordfish, which is still considered a luxury by many. But when you factor in the high amounts of mercury you get from that swordfish, it just doesn't rank so high on the wish list anymore. Why would you want to pay $20 a pound or more knowing it's so contaminated that children and pregnant women shouldn't have a single serving of it? The same pertains to farmed fish. Nature didn't intend for fish to be crammed into pens and fed soy, GM corn, antibiotics, poultry litter and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result of this practice, farmed salmon, for example, is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT.

As for meat, I advise everyone to avoid conventionally-raised beef because cattle were designed to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. Compared with corn-fed beef, organically-raised grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Conventionally-raised beef is also very high in pesticides (due to eating conventionally grown grains, and perhaps even genetically modified grains). In fact, non-organic meats can have up to five times more pesticides than non-organic vegetables!

This is why I recommend always buying organic, grass-fed beef. If you have to choose between buying organic beef or organic produce – get the organic beef. It'll give you the greatest bang for your buck in terms of health benefits.

You can't tune into the news an day without hearing about rising food prices. IS THERE ANY HOPE? Rest assured, by knowing what foods to spend your money on, you can still protect and optimize your health without going bankrupt in the process. Men's Health magazine offers a list of 40 nutrient-dense food items – and that's really the key here. By opting for foods that are rich in vital nutrients, your body can thrive. This will automatically cut down on the inevitable health care costs you'd incur by making foolish dietary choices. There’s also a list of foods rich in nutrients that can help stave off a majority of health problems – foods that really give you lots of value.

As I've said on numerous occasions, one of the primary risk factors of diseases of all kinds is chronic inflammation in your body. Low inflammation levels and a strong immune system typically go hand in hand, and together these two factors lay the groundwork for robust health.

Some foods are both inexpensive and highly nutritious, while others do cost a bit more but can go a long way toward healing your body of chronic inflammation and boosting your immune system naturally, without resorting to either supplements or drugs.

In closing, we’ve developed a list of high value foods.

Unpasteurized (raw) grass-fed milk

Raw organic milk from grass-fed cows contains both beneficial fats, bacteria that boost your immune system, and a number of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Although raw milk availability is limited in the US, depending on where you live, you can locate the source closest to you at RealMilk.com.

Whey protein

Even if you don't have access to raw milk, you can use a high-quality whey protein derived from the milk of grass-fed cows to receive much of the same health benefits. Whey protein contains beta-glucans and immunoglobulins, which protect your immune system and support your body's natural detoxification processes.

Fermented foods

One of the most healthful fermented foods is kefir – an ancient cultured, enzyme-rich food full of friendly microorganisms that balance your "inner ecosystem" and strengthen immunity. Besides kefir, other good fermented foods include natto, kimchee, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut, and olives.

Raw organic eggs from pastured chickens

Raw, free-range eggs are an inexpensive and amazing source of high-quality nutrients that many people are deficient in, especially high-quality protein and fat. To find free-range pasture farms, try your local health food store, or go to http://www.eatwild.com or http://www.localharvest.org

Grass-fed beef or organ meats

Grass-fed beef is very high in vitamins A, B12 and E, omega-3 fats, beta carotene, zinc and the potent immune system enhancer CLA (conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid). But don't confuse "organic" with grass-fed, since many organically raised cows are still fed organic corn, which you don't want. However, most grass-fed cows are raised organically

Coconut oil

Besides being excellent for your thyroid and your metabolism, coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which converts in your body to monolaurin – a compound also found in breast milk that strengthens a baby's immunity.

Berries

Blueberries and raspberries rate very high in antioxidant capacity compared to other fruits and vegetables. They are also lower in fructose than many other fruits.

Broccoli

Broccoli contains the highest amount of isothiocyanates, a cancer-fighting compound, of all the crunchy vegetables. Studies have shown that just 10 spears a week (5 servings) can make a difference in your health.

Chlorella

This single-cell freshwater algae acts as an efficient detoxification agent by binding to toxins (most of which promote chronic inflammation), such as mercury, and carrying them out of your system. The chlorophyll in the chlorella helps you process more oxygen, cleanses your blood and promotes the growth and repair of your tissues.

Tea

As for beverages, clean pure water is a must for optimal health, but if you want another beverage, a good choice with added health benefits is high quality herbal teas.

Matcha tea is the most nutrient-rich green tea and comes in the form of a stone-ground powder, completely unfermented. The best Matcha comes from Japan and has up to 17 times the antioxidants of wild blueberries, and seven times more than dark chocolate. Tulsi is another tea loaded with antioxidants and other micronutrients that support immune function and heart health.

Krill Oil

Krill oil is the only dietary supplement that makes it to this list, and that's only because the ideal food source for these essential omega-3 fats has been destroyed by widespread pollution. The dangers of eating fish simply outweigh the benefits due to the toxic mercury levels they now contain, with very few exceptions.

Antarctic krill oil is a pure marine oil loaded with powerful antioxidants and omega-3 oils, with NO heavy metal contamination.

I hope you'll find these suggestions helpful in making the most of your food budget in these economically challenging times.

10 things you can do to be healthier and fitter (Part 2)

2011-04-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

Today, I’m doing the second part of a discussion we started last week about “10 things you can do to be healthier and fitter.” We talked about the first five in our last blog, and today we’re going to finish up with the last five

But first, let’s review some very frightening statistics. In today's world, it's harder than ever to keep your weight under control, as evidenced by the fact that more than 2/3 of all American adults are now overweight or obese.

In fact, in an alarming bit of information, the Centers for Disease Control statistics revealed that in the U.S., the number of obese people actually outnumber overweight people. And in 2011, one of three children is now overweight or obese; nearly triple the rate from 1963. The plain, unvarnished truth is the US has predominantly become a nation of fat and obese citizens.

Let’s review the first five items we discussed last week. The first thing to help you keep off weight is you must eliminate fructose from your diet. This is important, Number two that you must plan your meals. Very crucial. Number three is avoid all sodas, even and especially diet sodas. Number four is be sure to eat plenty of organic vegetables. Number five deals with proper exercise.

Now, we’ll discuss the last five things to keep pounds off.

Number six is to avoid drinking fruit juice. I thought that fruit juice was good for you. Fruit juice is probably the most requested drink by children of all ages, not because it quenches thirst, but because it tastes good. And fruit juice, it turns out, is not one of the best things you can put into your body, especially for children. Yes, I can hear all the fruitarians screaming that I am wrong and there are unusual situations in which this isn't true. For someone who is normal body weight with no insulin resistance it might not be a major problem, especially if you're drinking freshly squeezed organic juice in moderation.

However, that is clearly a very tiny minority of the population. Drinking fruit juice is only slightly different from drinking soda. Both deliver a massive dose of sugar to your body unbound by any of the slow-releasing mechanisms provided by nature. So when you think of fruit juice, you should think of soda.

You should certainly by now be aware of the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, but please understand that simple fruit sugar extracted from fruit has virtually identical side effects and negative effects on your biochemistry. This means fruit juice will cause a major spike in your insulin levels. This is important because elevated insulin levels are one of the primary drivers for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and weight gain.

Number seven is avoid eating outside of your home. There's a reason your favorite restaurant food often tastes better than your home cooked meals: many times it's loaded with extra calories in the form of sugars, hydrogenated fats and artificial flavor enhancers like MSG.

And since most restaurants purchase the bulk of their food in advance, and frequently rely on frozen, pre-cut and pre-cooked foods, the chances are high that your restaurant meal is simply processed food, nutritionally far inferior to anything fresh and organic you can make at home. And unless your favorite restaurant is advertising its free-range meats and organic vegetables, chances are also high that you're consuming feedlot animals and conventionally grown vegetables that have been drenched in antibiotics and pesticides respectively. Neither are good for maintaining optimal health.

I'm not suggesting you never eat outside of your own home; I understand the pleasure and social importance of eating out occasionally. My suggestion is merely to keep eating out to a minimum, and try to frequent restaurants committed to buying organic and serving minimally processed meals. The other very real hazard of eating out is the temptation to order an innocuous looking dessert that is anything but innocuous when it comes to the caloric punch it packs.

Number eight is a no-brainer. Literally. Avoid excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol is converted by your body into simple sugar, and it turns out the metabolic pathway converting alcohol into its simple sugar components is the same pathway your body uses to convert high fructose corn syrup into its component parts.

In a nutshell, you are basically ingesting fat. So any advances you may make by watching your diet will be more or less instantly wiped out by a night of binge drinking. I recommend no alcohol consumption at all, since it is a neurotoxin whose drawbacks far outweigh even the benefits found in a glass of red wine (one of the healthiest options when it comes to alcohol consumption).

But again, alcohol equals body fat unless you are in the minority and have a super-production of alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH), the enzymes that break down alcohol in your body. Most likely you are not in this minority.

Number nine is avoiding consuming fast or processed foods. We hear all the time but somehow, the message is not strong enough. There’s a recent article by Time Magazine has summed up the problem of fast food nicely. I encourage you to revisit both if you haven't been keeping up to date on all the health problems associated with consuming fast food.

Number 10 is avoid condiments and idle snacks. Cutting all of these things out would save you about 330 calories a day. That translates to a loss of about 1 pound every 10 days, or about 36 pounds a year. How much weight do you need to lose? How long would it take you to reach your goal by cutting out these unnecessary condiments?

For some final thoughts, if you're like most Americans, you probably have between a few and several unnecessary pounds you'd prefer not to be carrying around every day. I'm here to tell you that not only is it possible to take off the extra weight with a little thoughtful planning, it is also possible to keep the weight off simply by following a few sensible guidelines above.

Every purchase you make is a vote with your pocketbook about the kinds of food these manufacturers will continue to make.

The bottom line is very simple here, folks. Think VERY carefully about what you're eating so you and your family can take control of your health before someone else takes control of it from you.

10 things you can do to be healthier and fitter (Part 1)

2011-04-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

Today, we’re going to talk about getting fit and keep off those unnecessary pounds. I recently read an article by a person I really respect, He wrote about the 10 things that can pack on pounds. I think for today’s discussion that I’ll put a positive spin on it and begin the discussion about 10 things you can do to be healthier and fitter.

Actually, since there’s a lot of material to cover for one blog, we’ll cover first five important things to do this week and we’ll follow up with the last five next week.

We certainly hear about obesity being an epidemic around the world but especially here in the US. In today's world, it's harder than ever to keep your weight under control, as evidenced by the fact that more than 2/3 of all American adults are now overweight or obese.

In fact, here’s an alarming bit of information; the Centers for Disease Control recently revealed statistics citing that in the U.S., the number of obese people actually outnumber the number of merely overweight people. And in 2011, one of three children is now overweight or obese; nearly triple the rate from 1963. The plain, unvarnished truth is the US has predominantly become a nation of fat and obese citizens.

This may be a good place to begin the discussion of 10 things we can do to start reversing this trend.

· The first “must do” thing to help you keep off weight is you must eliminate fructose from your diet. You've gone to all the trouble of getting some exercise. But despite sticking to your new plan you discover the pounds are not coming off. You ask yourself, "Why?"

It’s important to understand and know that while exercise is important and crucial for weight loss and I am a major fan, the foods you choose to eat are three times more important for controlling your weight than your exercise. It's very easy to sabotage yourself with sugary foods and exercise beverages. Especially beverages containing high fructose corn syrup. These drinks include "vitamin water", energy drinks, and similar types of recovery drinks. You need to avoid these drinks and ignore the slick marketing messages that suggest you need them because you workout.

· Number two is that you must plan your meals. It's said that failing to plan means you're planning to fail. When it comes to meals designed to promote your health and eliminate unwanted calories, you're going to have to heed this advice. The problem is, if you fail to plan your meals you are basically eating according to either your emotions or whatever whim may come over you around mealtime. Both of these can mean added calories, poor nutritional choices and a growing waistline.

I do advise some general principles to follow when planning your meals, but the takeaway message to this nutritional no-no is you need to think independently of your shifting moods about what you will be consuming for up to the next week in advance -- in order to keep your plate free of unnecessary calories. This means shopping in advance with specific meals in mind and it means putting your intended meals down on paper and sticking to your meal schedule. You've probably discovered that both of these things are much harder in practice than they are in theory. There's a reason for that. Processed food manufacturers are spending a lot of money, billions and billions of dollars each year, to convince you that their food will satisfy you emotionally. Processed foods are not the answer. Processed foods are part of your growing waist line problem. Remember this truth as you take on the billion dollar advertising industry while you take control of your health!

· Number three is to avoid all sodas, especially diet soda, In my opinion, this is one of the primary health threats. Did you know that just one can of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar? This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake (which is more than double my recommended daily allowance to begin with). Within 20 minutes of drinking that soda, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat. It ‘s a proven fact that sugar increases your insulin levels, which leads not only to weight gain, but also high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, premature aging and many more negative side effects. In fact, sugar is so bad for your health in so many ways, I've created an entire list outlining the ways sugar can damage your health.

Some people laugh when I say it, but diet soda is even worse! Billions of dollars worth of advertising tells you that diet soda gives you all the pleasure of a sweet beverage without any of the calories. But is the marketing too good to be true? Are the makers of diet sodas actually lying to you? In a word, yes! In fact, just the opposite now appears to be true. Drinking diet soda actually is positively linked to weight gain. It turns out the latest research shows that your brain can tell the difference between real and artificial sugar, and not only are artificial sugars less satisfying to your brain at a cellular level, they also increase your craving for the real thing. So artificial sweeteners and diet soda in particular, must be avoided if you don't want to crave sugar. By the way, craving sugar is one of the surest ways to add extra calories to your diet. So avoid diet soda if you care about keeping your weight in check.

· Number four is be sure to eat plenty of organic vegetables. This is very important. One of the best ways to improve your health is to make sure you're eating plenty of fresh, minimally processed high quality vegetables, ideally locally-grown and organic, with a majority of them consumed raw. One simple way to boost your vegetable intake is to juice them. Juicing organic vegetables is something that I highly recommend to anyone working to restore or improve their health. I am firmly convinced that juicing is one of the key factors to giving you a radiant, energetic life, and truly optimal health. I simply do not know of any other single nutritional intervention that has a more profound influence on health than eating and/or juicing fresh, organic vegetables. And for every vegetable you pack onto your plate, you'll have less room for all those other simple carbohydrates that can expand your waistline.

· Number five is to make sure you do “Peak 8” exercises once or twice a week. “Peak 8”-style exercises have many benefits, the biggest being it naturally increases your body's production of human growth hormone (HGH), which plays a significant role in the aging process. We call it “Peak 8” because if you graph your heart rate, you will see that it peaks eight times during the workout. This technique is exponentially superior to regular cardio workouts and you're doing yourself a great disservice if you ignore it. The nice thing about “Peak 8” exercises is that you can perform them with many types of exercise; with or without equipment. So, while having access to a gym or exercise equipment will provide you with a larger variety of options, you don't require either. You can just as easily perform “Peak 8” by walking or running outdoors. Another benefit is in the time it will save you. Instead of doing an hour-long cardio workout, you'll be done in 20 minutes or so. The actual sprinting totals only 4 minutes! Keep in mind however, that you should only do “Peak 8” exercises once to twice a week, occasionally three times.

Well, that’s all for this week. Next week, we’ll continue discussing the subject of “10 things you can do to be healthier and fitter.”

Frozen Shoulder can be painful without proper treatment

2010-05-27T08:21:00.000-05:00

Today, we going to discuss something called "frozen shoulder," something that few people have heard about unless you’ve experienced it. But if you'v had frozen shoulder or know some who has, you know it can be very debilitating.

A frozen shoulder is a shoulder joint with significant loss of its range of motion in all directions. The range of motion is limited not only when the patient attempts motion, but also when someone attempts to move the joint fully while the patient relaxes. A frozen shoulder is also referred to as “adhesive capsulitis.” It actually affects more than 9 million people annually – about 2 percent of the population.

Ask a dozen people what causes frozen shoulder and you will probably get a dozen answers. They could all be both right and wrong at the same time. Meaning that what caused the condition in one person may not be the same cause in another person.

Some of the various suspected instigators of this disease are previous injury to the general shoulder area, Hormonal imbalances, especially in the thyroid gland, Repetitive motion or strain without proper stretching and rest, Frozen shoulder is the result of inflammation, scarring, thickening, and shrinkage of the capsule that surrounds the normal shoulder joint. Any injury to the shoulder can lead to frozen shoulder, including tendinitis, bursitis, and rotator cuff injury. Frozen shoulders occur more frequently in patients with diabetes, chronic inflammatory arthritis of the shoulder, or after chest or breast surgery. Long-term immobility of the shoulder joint can put people at risk to develop a frozen shoulder. There are more, but you get the idea.

Earlier, I stated that frozen shoulder pain is one of the most common shoulder conditions and one of the most disabling. It owes its name to the fact that the sufferer has the affected shoulder range of motion severely limited. Typically the person affected has trouble reaching up for cupboards, shampooing, steering the car wheel and so on. This is made even worse by the long recovery times to regain full range and mobility.

While the cause of frozen shoulder pain is largely debated among various health professionals and lay people, there is agreement of the progression.

Stage one: A freezing phase; Symptoms being acute pain, tending to be worse at night making sleep hard if not impossible. Range of motion has not yet become restricted much, if at all.
Stage two: A frozen phase; Symptoms being lowering pain levels but with your range of motion becoming severely limited. Most people find this to be the hardest phase to cope with.
Stage three: A thawing phase; Symptoms being as the name implies, a gradual diminishing of the remaining pain along with a freeing up of movement again.

Before we discuss treatment; it’s very important for people with a frozen shoulder to avoid reinjuring the shoulder tissues during the rehabilitation period. These individuals should avoid sudden, jerking motions of or heavy lifting with the affected shoulder.

Now to treatment. We have had tremendous success with Graston Technique. Graston is an innovative, patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization that enables clinicians to effectively break down scar tissue and fascial restrictions. The Technique utilizes specially designed stainless steel instruments to specifically detect and effectively treat areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation. For patients, this means:

Decreases overall time of treatment
Fosters faster rehabilitation/recovery
Reduces need for anti-inflammatory medication
Decreased pain and increased function
Improves or completely resolves chronic conditions thought to be permanent

Since the metal surface of the instruments does not compress as do the fat pads of the finger, deeper restrictions can be accessed and treated. When explaining the properties of the instruments, we often use the analogy of a stethoscope. Just as a stethoscope amplifies what the human ear can hear, so do the instruments increase significantly what the human hands can feel.

On the average, we have nearly a 75 percent success rate with a 15-week treatment, twice a week.

Sleep disorders can be alarming

2010-05-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

Today, I’m going to discuss a valuable commodity that everybody needs and most of us can’t get enough of – sleep.

As a general rule, adults need between six and nine hours of sleep a night. Most adolescents and teens do best with at least nine hours a night. There are, of course, exceptions. Some people can function well on less than six hours and others need more than nine.

Generally, there are a few things that affect your sleep requirements, including illness, emotional stress, and the time of year (some folks need more sleep during winter months). If you’re pregnant you might require more sleep, especially during your first trimester.

So, how do you know if you slept enough? The easy answer and the best answer is you feel tired when you first wake up, you probably aren’t getting sufficient sleep. It’s best to observe how you feel immediately upon awakening rather than after you’re up and moving around.

Those first few moments of wakefulness, before your mind fully kicks into gear, are a better measure of how your body is feeling.

Here are some tips for getting a good quality night sleep:

Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to your brain and it will take longer to fall asleep.
Wear socks to bed. Your feet will often feel cold before the rest of your body. A study has shown that wearing socks reduces night waking.
Get to bed fairly early. Our systems, particularly our adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
In order to get the highest quality sleep, you need to be in a room that is dark as possible. Even the slightest bit of light can disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm and production of melatonin and serotonin, two hormones vital to your health. Many people are not aware that exposure to the smallest amount of light at night will cause your body to shut down further.

For most people who don’t sleep well, it has become a pattern and not just an occasional night of restlessness. A chronic lack of high-quality sleep simply cannot be recovered. You can’t stockpile a supply to use later, nor can you pay your body’s sleep debt back. You may feel rested and sharper after sleeping in, but the benefit is temporary and can be compared to depositing money in your account then withdrawing it again a day or two later. Most sleep is lost forever, and persistent lack of sleep has a cumulative effect when it comes to the havoc it can wreak on your health.

Sleep deficit can have serious and far-reaching affect on your health. A single night of sleeping only four to six hours can impact your ability to think clearly the next day.

· Good sleepers and poor sleepers experience about the same number of daily minor stressful events, but good sleepers are less disturbed by them. Poor sleepers experience life events as being more negative than do those who sleep well.

· Sleep deprivation can cause changes in your brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders.

· Sleep deprivation puts your body into a pre-diabetic state, and makes you feel hungry, even if you’ve already eaten.

· Interrupted sleep can dramatically weaken your immune system

Exposure to light while your body is trying to sleep activates your stress response and weakens your immune system, which is why irregular sleep cycles can lead to stress-related disorders including:

· Constipation

· Stomach ulcers

· Depression

· Heart disease

A disrupted body clock can wreak havoc on your weight. Losing sleep raises levels of two hormones linked with appetite and eating behavior. Sleep deprivation reduces leptin, a hormone that tells your brain you’re satiated, and increases ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger.

Lack of sleep can also destroy your memory. If your internal clock isn’t functioning properly, it causes the release of too much GABA, the brain inhibiting neurotransmitter. According to the results of s study, an excess of GABA inhibits the brain in a way that leads to short term memory problems and the inability to retain new information.

Most often, you can tell people do or don’t sleep well just by looking at them Sleep deprivation ages you. Lack of sleep interferes with metabolism and hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of aging and the early stages of diabetes. Chronic sleep loss may speed the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and memory loss.

We adults aren’t the only ones with sleep problem. There is a lot of evidence that younger people also have sleep disorders. According to a 2007 survey of 12-to-16 year-olds, 25 percent fell asleep with the TV, computer, stereo, iPod headphones or other electronic gadgets on. The same survey revealed these teens only received four to seven hours of sleep each night.

The hormone melatonin is produced later at night for teens, which can make it hard for them to fall asleep at an earlier hour. This temporary adjustment in their body clocks is one of the reasons young adults don’t get the amount of sleep they require. In addition to a shortage of rest, the quality of sleep these kids get can be very poor.

Chiropractic care is great for patients who have sleep disturbances. Spinal adjusting takes pressure off the nervous system and reduces spinal pain which will increase comfort and restore a patient's normal sleeping pattern. It's not uncommon for patients who will begin care with headaches or lower back pain to comment that they sleep much better since they‘ve been getting adjusted.

Melatonin and fish oil are also great supplements to help with disturbed sleep.

I also recommend meditation or relaxation techniques to help quite your mind. Many people try to go to sleep with a thousand things floating through their head. Stress about the work day, plans for the weekend or how your kids are getting to baseball practice are things that can keep the brain awake and not allow patient's sleep. It's important to learn how to shut off the brain when it gets to be too active.

Dealing with Childhood Stress

2010-05-12T00:36:00.000-05:00

As providers and caretakers, adults tend to view the world of children as happy and carefree. After all, chirldren don't have jobs to keep or bills to pay, so what could they possibly have to worry about?

Plenty! Even very young children have worries and feel stress to some degree. Stress is a function of the demands placed on us and our ability to meet them. They understand and feel the stress of their parents – relationships, separation and financial.

Sources of Stress

Pressures often come from outside sources (such as family, friends, or school), but they can also come from within. The pressure we place on ourselves can be most significant, because there is often a disparity between what we think we ought to be doing and what we are actually doing in our lives.

Stress can affect anyone who feels overwhelmed — even kids. In preschoolers, separation from parents can cause anxiety. As kids get older, academic and social pressures (especially the quest to fit in) create stress.

Many kids are too busy to have time to play creatively or relax after school. Kids who complain about the number of activities they're involved in or refuse to go to them may be signaling that they're overscheduled.

Talk with your kids about how they feel about extracurricular activities. If they complain, discuss the pros and cons of quitting one activity. If quitting isn't an option, explore ways to help manage your child's time and responsibilities so that they don't create so much anxiety.

Kids' stress may be intensified by more than just what's happening in their own lives. Do your kids hear you talking about troubles at work, worrying about a relative's illness, or fighting with your spouse about financial matters? Parents should watch how they discuss such issues when their kids are near because children will pick up on their parents' anxieties and start to worry themselves.

World news can cause stress. Kids who see disturbing images on TV or hear talk of natural disasters, war, and terrorism may worry about their own safety and that of the people they love. Talk to your kids about what they see and hear, and monitor what they watch on TV so that you can help them understand what's going on.

Also, be aware of complicating factors, such as an illness, death of a loved one, or a divorce. When these are added to the everyday pressures kids face, the stress is magnified. Even the most amicable divorce can be a difficult experience for kids because their basic security system — their family — is undergoing a tough change. Separated or divorced parents should never put kids in a position of having to choose sides or expose them to negative comments about the other spouse.

Signs and Symptoms

While it's not always easy to recognize when kids are stressed out, short-term behavioral changes — such as mood swings, acting out, changes in sleep patterns, or bedwetting — can be indications. Some kids experience physical effects, including stomachaches and headaches. Others have trouble concentrating or completing schoolwork. Still others become withdrawn or spend a lot of time alone.

Younger children may show signs of reacting to stress by picking up new habits like thumb sucking, hair twirling, or nose picking; older kids may begin to lie, bully, or defy authority. A child who is stressed may also have nightmares, difficulty leaving you, overreactions to minor problems, and drastic changes in academic performance.

Reducing Stress

How can you help kids cope with stress? Proper rest and good nutrition can boost coping skills, as can good parenting. Make time for your kids each day. Whether they need to talk or just be in the same room with you, make yourself available.

Even as kids get older, quality time is important. It's really hard for some people to come home after work, get down on the floor, and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day — especially if they've had a stressful day themselves. But expressing interest in your kids' days shows that they're important to you.

Help your child cope with stress by talking about what may be causing it. Together, you can come up with a few solutions like cutting back on after-school activities, spending more time talking with parents or teachers, developing an exercise regimen, or keeping a journal.

You can also help by anticipating potentially stressful situations and preparing kids for them. For example, let a child know ahead of time (but not too far ahead of time) that a doctor's appointment is coming up and talk about what will happen there. Keep in mind, though, that younger kids probably won't need too much advance preparation. Too much information can cause more stress - reassurance is the key.

Remember that some level of stress is normal; let kids know that it's OK to feel angry, scared, lonely, or anxious and that other people share those feelings.

Books can help young kids identify with characters in stressful situations and learn how they cope. There are many different resources that you can find at your local library or online.

Most parents have the skills to deal with their child's stress. The time to seek professional attention is when any change in behavior persists, when stress is causing serious anxiety, or when the behavior is causing significant problems in functioning at school or at home.

If you need help finding resources for your child, consult our office or website, other mental health professionals, or the counselors and teachers at school.

H1N1 - The Sequel

2010-05-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

Does anyone remember the big H1N1 flu scare? Of course. Who could forget? The hype, though not the flu, reached epidemic proportions. Although we are far removed from H1N1 of the winter or whatever the flu outbreak prediction of the upcoming winter will be, I thought my readers might like a little recap of events gone by.

The drug companies and the government did a great job of frightening people into buying a flu shot, telling us that we were all going to die from the H1N1 flu. Depending on what you read, we can all remember the estimates of a hundred thousand to several million people were going to die because of this flu pandemic.

The Reality

Updated Estimates from April 2009 – March 13, 2010

Using that same methodology, the Centers for Disease Control recently updated the estimates to include the time period from April 2009 through March 13, 2010 ..

• CDC estimates that between 43 million and 88 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred between April 2009 and March 13, 2010. The mid-level in this range is about 60 million people infected with 2009 H1N1.

• CDC estimates that between about 192,000 and 398,000 H1N1-related hospitalizations occurred between April 2009 and March 13, 2010. The mid-level in this range is about 270,000 2009 H1N1-related hospitalizations.

• CDC estimates that between about 8,720 and 18,050 2009 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April 2009 and March 13, 2010. The mid-level in this range is about 12,270 2009 H1N1-related deaths.

Even if these estimates were accurate, this would still, according to their own statistics stating that the flu kills 36,000 Americans a year, put us squarely in the middle of the mildest flu season in recent memory.

How was the determination made that someone actually had H1N1? Well, the BinaxNOW antigen test.

How many people do you know that were diagnosed with the H1N1 flu that actually had this antigen test performed? Most people that I spoke with said they been diagnosed with H1N1 by symptoms alone. The symptoms of the flu are:

• A fever or feeling feverish/chills

• Cough

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nose

• Muscle or body aches

• Headaches

• Fatigue (feeling very tired) and diarrhea

In reference to the above statistics and question the fact that 88 million people got this diagnostic test to prove that they had H1N1.They certainly did not. The CDC hospitals all just estimated by looking at patients and deciding they had the flu and randomly called it H1N1.

And of course relating to the deaths, were they actually caused by the H1N1 flu? Were they caused by the regular flu? How many people were already in a “de-conditioned” state and this was the final thing that caused them to die?

By de-conditioned state, these would be patients who are possibly the elderly, have pneumonia, have cancer, have progressive diabetes or other serious health concerns who get infected with a virus that is called the flu. This is the final thing that causes them to pass away when in reality they have a lot of health concerns that can certainly contribute to their death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) changed the definition of a pandemic to get it to the ultimate level of what they call a “level six” pandemic. Apparently, there are six different levels to a pandemic and when it gets to a level six, it’s supposed to be the most dangerous and deadly. Level six is when most countries had automatic supply orders set up with vaccine companies to be filled by the billions. What we didn't find out until later is that many of the people who sat on the World Health Organization were basically in bed with vaccine manufacturers and got millions of dollars in kickbacks for changing the pandemic to a level six so the vaccines had to be made.

They had no evidence or indication that they needed to move this to a level six pandemic. The vaccine manufacturer literally made the billions of dollars worth of H1N1 vaccine that went around the world. The excess vaccine still exists now throughout the world. In the United States, we literally have millions and millions of dollars worth of on H1N1 vaccine left over.

Prediction

I would like to predict what is going to happen this fall and this winter. I’m going to look into my magic crystal ball and try to explain what might happen. The date today is May 6, 2010, and I predict one of two things is going to happen;

Number one. The experts are going to tell us that the H1N1 scare is still a significant threat and they are going to recommend that everybody get the H1N1 flu vaccine from last year. Especially are elderly, pregnant women and children.

Or number two. The medical community will urge those of you who got the H1N1 vaccine to get a “booster” as the effectiveness may have diminished.

Or number three. They are going to come up with any new virus/flu threat that is going to kill intensive thousands are hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps an H2N2 flu bug. As you know, they had the bird flu, then the H1N1 flu and now they’ll have to come up with another flu. It will scare the daylights out of us so the vaccine manufacturers can make more money off of us and our government, and make a entire new supply of more worthless vaccinations.

Stay tuned.

Stay away from Trans fats

2010-04-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

Trans fats are formed when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil during food processing in order to make it solidify. This process, known as hydrogenation, makes fats less likely to spoil, so foods stay fresh longer, have a longer shelf life and also have a less greasy feel.

Trans fat are known to increase your LDL levels, or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering your levels of HDL, known as "good" cholesterol, which is the complete opposite of what you need in order to maintain good heart health. It can also cause major clogging of arteries, Type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.

Typically, what’s good for food manufacturers’ profits is not so good for your body, and could quite literally kill you. Among women with underlying coronary heart disease, eating trans fats increased the risk of sudden cardiac arrest three-fold!

Even if you don’t have heart disease, you need to avoid these fats like the plague. Even the Institute of Medicine said your intake should be “as low as possible.” They were given the opportunity to establish a “safe upper limit,” but declined doing so because, quite simply, there isn't one!

The end result of the hydrogenation process is a completely unnatural fat that causes dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level.

Trans fats have been linked to:

• Cancer -They interfere with enzymes your body uses to fight cancer.
• Diabetes - They interfere with the insulin receptors in your cell membranes.
• Decreased immune function - They reduce your immune response.
• Problems with reproduction - They interfere with enzymes needed to produce sex hormones.
• Obesity
• Heart disease - Trans fats can cause major clogging of your arteries.

It's no surprise that trans fats are found in fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, and doughnuts - as well as cookies, pastries and crackers. In the U.S., French fries typically contain about 40 percent trans fatty acids and many popular cookies and crackers range from 30-to-50 percent trans fat. Doughnuts have about 35-to-40 percent trans fatty acids.

With all the bad press trans fats are getting, many food manufacturers have removed them from their products. But there’s an important caveat you should know. The FDA allows food manufacturers to round to zero any ingredient that accounts for less than 0.5 grams per serving.

So while a product may claim that it does not contain trans fats, it may actually contain up to 0.5 grams per serving. If you eat a few servings, you’re quickly ingesting a harmful amount of this deadly fat.

So to truly avoid trans fats, you need to read the label and look for more than just 0 grams of trans fat. Check the ingredients and look for partially hydrogenated oil. If the product lists this ingredient, it contains trans fats.

Why saturated fat is not bad for your health

2010-04-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

Read my lips! Saturated fat is not a bad thing for your health!

If you visit a doctor, most will give you one piece of advice that remains pretty constant. You should sharply limit your intake of saturated fats. But will saturated fats really increase your risk of heart disease and raise your cholesterol? In a word, “no.;” in fact, humans need them. Yes, I’m going on record and this will shock a lot of people, but saturated fats are not the cause of heart disease.

So what kind of foods actually do contain saturated fats? Saturated fats come from dairy, as in butter and milk. and also in meats. So I recommend the grass-fed organic beef, naturally raised lamb, and organic raw dairy products (butter, cheese, milk, cream) and coconut oil.

There are several factors that make saturated fats important:.

1. Decreased cardiovascular risk factors. Saturated fat plays a key role in cardiovascular health. The addition of saturated fat to the diet reduces the levels of a substance called lipoprotein (A) that correlates strongly with risk for heart disease. Research has shown that when women diet, those eating the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat, lose the most weight.

2. Stronger bones. Saturated fat is required for calcium to be effectively incorporated into bone.

3. Improved liver health. Saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from alcohol and medications, including acetaminophen and other drugs commonly used for pain and arthritis.

4. Healthy lungs. For proper function, the airspaces of the lungs have to be coated with a thin layer of lung surfactant. The fat content of lung surfactant is 100 percent saturated fatty acids. Replacement of these critical fats by other types of fat makes faulty surfactant and potentially causes breathing difficulties.

5. Healthy brain. Your brain is mainly made of fat and cholesterol. The lion’s share of the fatty acids in the brain are actually saturated. A diet that skimps on healthy saturated fats robs your brain of the raw materials it needs to function optimally.

5. Proper nerve signaling. Certain saturated fats, particularly those found in butter, lard, coconut oil and palm oil function directly as “signaling messengers” that influence metabolism, including such critical jobs as the appropriate release of insulin.

7. Strong immune system. Saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil play key roles in immune health. Loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in white blood cells hampers their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

A misguided fallacy that persists to this day is the belief that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. This is simply another myth that has been harming your health for the last 30 or 40 years.

The truth is, saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet, and they provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances. When you eat saturated fats as part of your meal, they slow down absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption and for a host of other biological processes.

Most people have heard of the ”lipid hypothesis.” If not by name, you’ve certainly heard of the concept behind the “lipid hypothesis,” and that is dietary fats causes heart disease..This flawed theory was largely spread by Ancel Keys, a diet researcher for whom military K-rations are named It was because of the lipid hypothesis that Americans were soon encouraged to substitute vegetable-based fats for animal fats, and to avoid red meat completely.

However, when Keys published his analysis that claimed to prove the link between dietary fats and coronary heart disease, he selectively analyzed information from only six countries to prove his correlation, rather than comparing all the data available at the time -- from 22 countries.

As a result of this "cherry-picked" data, government health organizations began bombarding the public with advice that has contributed to the diabetes and obesity epidemics going on today: eat a low-fat diet. Of course, as Americans cut out nutritious animal fats from their diets, they were left hungry. So they began eating more processed grains, more vegetable oils and more high-fructose corn syrup, all of which are nutritional disasters.

Keys believed that dietary fat was causing heart disease in Americans back in the 1950s, and he soon got others to jump on the bandwagon. Even the American Heart Association, which concluded in 1957 that “the evidence that dietary fat correlates with heart disease” does not stand up to critical examination and changed its position in 1960.

Why? Because Keys was on the committee issuing a new report that a low-fat diet was advised for people at risk of heart disease. Sadly, the theory continued to be accepted as nutritional wisdom, even though clinical trials found no connection.

There are, however, some studies that have found a link between fat and heart disease, and they are often used by saturated fat opponents to “prove” their case. The problem lies in the fact that most of these studies make no effort to differentiate between saturated fats and trans fats. I believe this is the missing link. If researchers were to more carefully evaluate the risks of heart disease by measuring the levels of trans and saturated fat, I believe they would find a completely different story.

My next blog will discuss trans fats.

Fibromyalgia

2010-03-23T14:47:00.000-05:00

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that affects millions of Americans each year and can be both physically and emotionally distressful. Fibromyalgia sufferers experience widespread chronic muscle pain, but localized pain in a series of tender points is another classic symptom.

Recently, fibromyalgia patients have been seeking chiropractic care increasingly often. Because fibromyalgia causes numerous tender points all over the body, many fibromyalgia patients suffer from back pain, neck pain and leg cramps. In an attempt to solve these problems, many sufferers have looked to chiropractors. Because simple adjustments to the neck and spine can restore the carriage of the whole body, a lot of fibromyalgia sufferers find that alignments of the spine can significantly reduce pain all over their bodies.

Many fibromyalgia patients suffer from a condition called upper cervical spinal stenosis. This causes the coverings of the upper spine, known as meninges, to become compressed. This can cause severe, debilitating pain all over the body. Chiropractors can adjust the head and neck so the spine is no longer compressed, helping to relieve the widespread pain symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Numerous studies have been conducted analyzing the benefits of chiropractic care in fibromyalgia patients. A research study asked 81 fibromyalgia patients to indicate drug or alternative treatments that best relieved their pain. Chiropractic care treatment scored surprisingly high in this study. Another study examined the effectiveness of spinal manipulation in relieving fibromyalgia symptoms. After just 15 treatments, fibromyalgia patients suffered from less pain and fatigue, and actually enjoyed better sleep quality.

Call me at 645-8846 if you have any questions or if you want to discuss treatment, or find more information on our website.

Sciatica

2010-03-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

Sciatica is a distracting pain that begins in the lower back and extends down one or both legs. It typically worsens with periods of sitting or standing. The discs between the spinal bones of the lower back are often involved.

Trauma can cause one or more discs to bulge. This crowds nearby nerves, causing irritation and inflammation. Coughing, sneezing or other kinds of movement can be painful. If neglected, the nerve irritation extends down one or both legs along the sciatic nerves. The pain appears in the leg, but the culprit is often the lower back!. Sciatica can worsen with bed rest. Medications don’t correct the nerve irritation caused by a bulging disc. physical therapy merely increases your tolerance to pain. And surgical solutions make irreversible changes to discs or bones. Fortunately, improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of chiropractic adjustments has produced results for millions.

It all starts with a consultation and thorough examination. If we think we can help, we’ll tell you. And if we don’t think we can help, we’ll tell you that too and refer you to someone we think can. For more information or to discuss your personal situation, contact us at 507.645.8846 or visit our website at www.corbettdc.com.

Adolescent Ear Infection

2010-03-09T22:40:00.000-06:00

Chiropractic & Children: A Natural Approach to Ear Infections and Other Childhood Problems

Ear Infections is a primary concern for many children. Disgruntled parents often report that Pediatricians are too quick to prescribe antibiotics and/or to perform surgery. There are many causes of ear infections, these include allergies, teething, fever, and viral infection. In the majority of these cases antibiotics are not indicated. In fact the government recommends that antibiotics not be the first line of treatment because of drug resistant diseases and higher rate of recurrence.

During the birth process the head pushing through the birth canal, and pulling and twisting the baby's head can cause serious spinal trauma that can create spinal subluxation. A subluxation in simple terms is a misaligned vertebrae that can cause nervous system interference, thus leading to decreased immune function, lymphatic drainage and other so called "childhood problems."

A 1987 study showed spinal abnormalities. The authors stated that an unhealhty spine "causes showed that in 1,250 babies examined five days after birth, 95 percent clinical features from central motor impairment to lower resistance to infections - especially ear, nose and throat infections." The authors, who were M.D.s, assert that all children should have their spines checked by chiropractors.

Chiropractors do not check and adjust a child the same as adults. This common misconception often makes people hesitant to see a chiropractor. The fact is that chiropractors have many different ways to adjust the spine. These methods are gentle, safe and are well explained before any treatment is given.

Chiropractic is not a treatment for ear infections. The chiropractor searches for and removes the subluxations that can be causing the nervous system interference, thus restoring the body's ability to heal itself. Subluxations can interfere with the functioning of the eustachian tube, which leads to fluid buildup in the middle ear. A chiropractic adjustment stretches the soft tissue around the ear canal, ultimately allowing fluid to drain and thereby reducing the buildup of bacteria and risk of infection.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics (Oct.97) looked at 400 children ranging from infants to adolescents with a history of chronic ear infections. After receiving regular chiropractic adjustments, within a 6 month follow up including maintenance visits, close to 80 percent didn't have another ear infection.

Chiropractors are trained to deal with many health problems. In an age where papers are loaded each day with the increasing ineffectiveness of drugs, it's nice to know that there is a natural, safe, drug-free and scientifically proven alternative for better health.

Have Your Children Checked For Subluxations. Today. It may be the best health move you'll ever make!

Rotator Cuff Syndrome

2010-03-04T17:40:00.000-06:00

Rotator Cuff Syndrome is basically a strain of one or more of the four rotator cuff muscles in your shoulder. There are many more shoulder muscles but the major ones are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. This group of muscles works together to provide the shoulder joint with dynamic stability, helping control the joint during during rotation. By a strain, I mean microscopic tears in the muscle and in more severe injuries, the muscle could tear more significantly. You can strain your rotator cuff a variety ways, including throwing a baseball, working on a home landscaping project, shoveling snow, lifting something heavy or even in a car accident. If the muscle is completely torn, surgery is necessary. That’s why most of us tend to think of surgery and a very long recover period. However, simple strains can be treated quite easily. An MRI is used to determine the severity of the injury. As a chiropractor, I use the Graston Technique, low-level light therapy, interferential therapy and rehab; also we adjust the lower neck and upper back. The recovery time varies depending on the injury and the number of muscles involved. In general, a patient starts to see improvement within the first few weeks. We’ve had patients resolve a rotator cuff issue within a month, while it’s not unusual to take a few months.