Dr. Mike's Chiro Thoughts

Our Sweet Society

2012-02-21T10:51:00.001-08:00

This week's blog post comes as a request from a patient and blog reader. Her specific question is regarding Agave as a natural replacement for sugar. Before I get to Agave in particular, I feel like I need to lay out a little ground work on sugar in general.
I think that we could all agree that most Americans eat WAY too much sugar. It's one of the many reasons that rates of Type 2 Diabetes and other conditions such as Syndrome X and other auto-immune diseases are on an exponential rise. However, most people don't realize how much sugar we are actually consuming.

What you need to realize is that I'm not just talking about sugar from candy bars, suckers, and Froot Loops. There's hidden sugar all around us. Most bread and grain products are chock full or sugar in the form of added sugar and the carbohydrates that are broken down into sugar in your digestive tract. Not to mention other foods that have added sugar and processed carbohydrates to make them taste "better".

The other thing about sugar is that not all sugars are created equal. Most sugar in food and candy these days is in the form of Fructose. Now fructose is different than table sugar (sucrose) and very different than the sugar that our bodies require for basic cellular function (glucose). The increase in consumption of fructose, I believe, can be directly linked to the rise in diabetes, obesity, etc.

When fructose is digested in high quantities, your liver is actually doing a lot of the work. When your body breaks down fructose, it needs to treat it kind of like alcohol, which is why it gets broken down in the liver. Also, excess fructose gets easily converted to fat, which tends to accumulate in the gut (if you are a male or a apple shaped female) or in the butt and thighs (if you're a pear shaped female). And we all know that an increase in bodily fat is NOT a good thing.

So what about Agave?

Sad to say, agave isn't that great of a substitute. Yes, it comes from a plant (just like High Fructose Corn Syrup). But, just like HFCS, it needs to be processed. And, unless you're being very careful about the source of your agave syrup, there are almost as many harmful chemicals used to extract the syrup from the agave plant. (For a refresher on HFCS click here.)

One last comment on agave. When you buy agave syrup, you're actually getting a much higher dose of fructose than necessary. In fact, you're getting more fructose than high fructose corn syrup!

So what's a better substitute? Something natural like raw honey (which doesn't require chemical prcessing) could be a good substitute, however, honey is quite high in fructose so you will need to use moderation. Also, an organic sweetener like stevia can work wonders.

Pregnancy & Chiropractic

2012-02-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

I actually can't believe that I haven't blogged on this topic yet!

When a woman is pregnant, there are all kinds of changes going on (needless to say). These changes drastically effect the body's biomechanics and the alignment of the spine. This means that pregnancy is possibly the most important time for a woman to receive chiropractic care, especially if she is experiencing any back pains.

When a woman is pregnant, hormones are released that prepare the pelvis for delivery of the baby. One of the main functions of these hormones is to loosen the ligaments and tendons holding the pelvis together. However, the tendons and ligaments of the whole body are affected as well. As you may have guessed, this makes it a lot easier for joints to become misaligned.

Along these same lines, it's also vital to keep the spine and pelvis in correct alignment so that the baby is able to pass through the birthing canal with as little resistance as possible. By keeping everything in correct alignment, you are helping the body, in a natural way, to create an optimum environment for the baby and the mother, not only during childbirth, but also during all of the stages of pregnancy.

There are also some specialized techniques that some chiropractors can use during pregnancy. For instance, if a baby is flipped breach, some chiropractors have been trained to use specific adjustments and methods to help the baby flip over. Also, if a mother is overdue, there are some techniques that can naturally help stimulate the birthing process.

I know that if you were to ask my wife if getting regular chiropractic care during pregnancy was a good idea, she would emphatically say "YES!" In fact, she has said on multiple occasions that she was very glad to be married to a chiropractor when pregnant (not only for her back but also for her ankles which were taking the brunt of the extra weight).

Not only is it a good idea, it's very safe and natural for the mother and for the baby. It's more safe and natural than taking Tylenol for those aches and pains. And if anyone says that you shouldn't go to the chiropractor when pregnant, ask "why?" And if they tell you why they think you shouldn't go, have them talk to me. I'd be more than willing to share my opinion and experience.

Start your Day with Cereal?

2012-01-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

Just today, I read an article about the most unhealthy cereals for kids (or adults for that matter). I thought they did a good job of portraying how detrimental sugar laden cereals can be. However, the one issue that I have with the article is the suggestion of "healthier" cereal options.

Now, don't get me wrong, a bowl of Unfrosted Mini Wheats is going to be much better than a bowl of Froot Loops Marshmallow. You're getting MUCH less sugar. But when we look at foods that are healthy for your, we don't only look at the sugar content. You need to look at the food as a whole.

Most cereals are carbohydrates, and simple carbohydrates at that. Simple carbohydrates have little to no nutritional value to them. They get broken down into sugar in our digestive tracts and not much else. So, even if you're choosing a bowl of Cheerios, you're still getting more sugar than your body needs in the morning.

One other aspect that cereals are severely lacking is in the Vitamin and Mineral department. You may have noticed that most cereals are "fortified" with many vitamins and minerals. That means that they add vitamins and minerals to the cereal. That's good right?

Not so much. The reason that the cereal industry fortifies their cereal is because of what happens in the processing of the cereal. When making a cereal, they start out with a relatively healthy grain that is full of minerals and vitamins. In order to get it to the correct size, shape, texture, and flavor, they need to completely change the grain. And, in may of those steps, most, if not all, of the natural vitamins and minerals are lost. So, they just replace them. The issue with the fortification of vitamins and minerals is that they are all created in a lab and most are indigestible by the human body.

Finally, the ingredient that most cereals are severely lacking is healthy protein. In order for you to start your day off right and not have the 10:30 crash is to get protein in your breakfast. Good sources of healthy protein are organic, free range eggs and meat, nuts, and raw milk and raw milk products.

So, if you're one of those people who's been eating Lucky Charms every morning since you were 2 and need to have multiple cups of coffee just to get through the day, try at least one day a week with replacing that bowl of fortified sugar grain with a healthier, protein option.

Chiropractic & Stress

2012-01-03T18:18:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since my last post. The holiday season was a little hectic and the blog kind of fell to the wayside. Anyway.

As I'm sure you all know, the holiday season can be a stressful time no matter what your situation. And now that the holiday season is officially over, there's some things that you can do to de-stress.

Most people don't associate chiropractic with being a de-stressor, however, regular chiropractic care is one of the best ways to ensure that stress doesn't take a stranglehold on your body.

When your spine and nervous system are correctly aligned, there won't be any disturbances with the connection from your brain to your body and vice versa. When your body and brain are able to communicate without any interference, it can deal with other problems more easily.

When your spine is lined up, it also isn't pulling on muscles, ligaments, and tendons abnormally. If these soft tissues aren't being stressed in different directions, it is much easier for your body to relax and to feel relaxed.

There's another realm of medicine that we have talked about briefly called psychoneuroimmunology. This basically states that when your body is able to correctly communicate with itself, it makes you have a better outlook on life. Essentially, you feel happier. And when you feel happier, you tend to be less stressed.

So, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that if you feel stressed or even overly stressed, try getting a chiropractic adjustment along with your massage or meditation or deep breathing. It will probably help more than you might think.

Buyer Beware

2011-11-29T09:05:00.001-08:00

This is a topic I have been meaning to write about for some time now. When you go to the grocery store, if you're like me, you try to buy things that are as healthy as possible. However, when you're looking at a package that says "All Natural", you still need to be wary.

Ideally, "All Natural" would mean that the product would be healthy for you. Sometimes, that's not the case. Typically, "All Natural" means that there are no food products that don't exist in nature. However, "All Natural" products could still contain items that have been modified, sprayed, changed, or created in a lab somewhere.

For instance, I've commented on how High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for you, but it would be considered "All Natural" since it comes from corn. Another example that I've written about would be with Genetically Modified (GMO) products. All these products are still grown in a farm or greenhouse somewhere, but have pesticides put into their genes.

Another reason that "All Natural" foods may not be such a great choice is their nutritional value. Something that is "All Natural" can still be high in sugar, fat, salt, simple carbs, etc. In fact, that goes for organic products as well. No matter if it's "All Natural", organic, or not, you still need to look at the nutrition facts. You need to be very mindful about what you're buying, and not just trusting that the product is good for you because the manufacturer put a fancy decal on the box.

So, what's the best way to avoid all of this trouble? Buy as many fresh products and try to avoid anything in a package.

Soy you Think it's Good for your Body?

2011-11-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

These days, it seems like more and more people are realizing that milk doesn't sit too well with them. So what to put in that glass or pour over your cereal? Many people are turning to soy. But, is soy such a good alternative? I think you can probably guess where I'm going with this one.

I have a couple of issues with soy, the first being a good replacement for milk. First of all, soy isn't the complete food that it's cracked up to be. For something to be a complete food, it needs to be a food that you could survive on without eating anything else. Soy is not a complete food for a number of different reasons. It does NOT have a complete and full spectrum of vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Also, the protein in soy may be a decent protein, but it is highly indigestible by the human digestive system. (In fact, the most digestible soy products are fermented soy products such as miso.) You will NOT be getting the required nutrients that your body needs and craves from being on a strict soy diet. It could even lead to serious malnutrition diseases by being on a strictly soy diet.

The second big reason that I'm not much of a fan of soy is because of what are called phytoestrogens (I'll call them PEs cause it's easier to type). PEs are structures naturally within the soybean. PEs are exactly what they sound like, estrogen compounds. Now, most people know that women have higher estrogen and men have higher testosterone. But men also have estrogen. When you increase soy intake, you are also increasing your estrogen intake with PEs. In men, this could lead to hormonal changes that give higher levels of estrogen. Not only that, but higher estrogen levels in women can be a big deal as well. Higher estrogen can lead to things such as an increased risk for breast cancer or infertility. Not to mention that if you give your baby soy formula, you will be exposing them to much higher levels of estrogen in the form of PEs before their little body can handle it.

Finally, the last big issue that I have with soy is actually with US soy. Any soy that you buy that was grown in the US is going to be GMO (genetically modified), unless it is certified organic. If you want to read why GMO foods are such a detriment, just re-read my blog titled The Breakdown on GMOs.

So the next time you decide to swap out your milk for soymilk or baby formula for soy formula, just remember, there are better options out their. Try coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, or even try to get away from the milk dependence that we were brought up with.

Just a Reminder

2011-10-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

I would just like to take this opportunity to give a reminder to anyone who follows my blog:

Your questions and comments are always welcome.

Whether you agree, disagree, have a quandary, or simply have something to say, I look forward to people commenting on my blog. It means that the information is getting out there.

I will do my best to respond to your comments as swiftly as possible and make a solid effort on further explaining myself or answering any questions that may have been posed. Even if the comments are to blog posts from last year.

One of the points of this blog is to start discussions and there's no better place to hold or continue a discussion than in the comment section.

I hope that everyone's health continues to reap life's benefits. Especially with Halloween coming up!

Are You on Schedule?

2011-10-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

I decided that I wanted to give a sneak peak of my upcoming Vaccination Education Class being held at the office on Wednesday, October 26th at 6pm. So, my blog topic for this week is going to deal with the ever expanding vaccination schedule that we are to adhere to.

Ever since the first vaccines arrived way back in the late 18th century, there have been more and more vaccines added to the mandated list from our Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Back in the mid 20th century, it didn't seem like such a big deal. You'd just get a couple shots and call it good. Today, that's a whole different story. Here's a look at how that vaccination schedule has changed over the years:

1980 - 20 vaccines

1995 - 40 vaccines

2011 - 68 vaccines

Now, I do need to state that these numbers may not be accurate. The reason is, these numbers are the number of vaccines that someone is recommended to receive by the time they turn 18. These numbers don't even accout for voluntary vaccines such as the HPV vaccine or Gardasil (future topic). They also don't account for the adult vaccines that are recommended (flu vaccine, shingles vaccine, etc.)

As you can see, the number of vaccines that are recommended has skyrocketed over recent years. I was able to do a little calculation, and by the year 2020, at this rate, our children will be required/recommended to receive 80 vaccines before the age of 18!

Now. if you don't think that's an issue, consider all of the stuff that gets put into vaccines and how much is getting put into your infant / child over that 68 vaccines time period. Ingredients such as:

Formaldehyde

Aluminum
Mercury
Phenoxyethanol (ingredient in antifreeze)

Peanut oil

Latex

Human and animal cells

So if you'd like to find out more about vaccines, the vaccine schedule, or the new WA State Vaccine Laws, stop by the clinic if you're in the area on the 26th at 6pm to learn more and to join in on a hearty discussion.

Chronic Ear Infections - Just a Phase?

2011-10-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, I was sitting in church with the family and there was a prayer request for a little girl who would be going through surgery to put tubes in her ears because she had been suffering from chronic, multiple ear infections. I have to say that my heart went out to her even though I had never met her before and wished that I had met her previously. The reason is simple. I believe that no child should have to get tubes put in their ears.

Even though the surgery seems relatively simple and harmless, you're always going to be messing with the body's natural state. You have a barrier (ear drum) between your outer and inner ear for a reason. One reason is so that you can hear, the other is to prevent things from getting into your inner ear. Most of the time, tubes are put in the ears to prevent build up in the inner ear. But why is there buildup in the first place?

What I would have told these parents to try (assuming they hadn't already) would be to get rid of the cause of the buildup. Like so many other western medicine remedies, you treat the symptom, not the cause. As a chiropractor, I like to treat the cause of the problem, preferably with minimally invasive procedures.

So, what could be the cause of the buildup and chronic infections? 3 Things:

1) Diet. Most food that we and our children eat (mainly store bought dairy and foods with gluten) are high in sugar and cause general inflammation in our bodies. The bacteria that are responsible for many ear infections like this. They feed off of the excess sugar, multiply and cause our body to react by sending inflammation and mucus to the area to stop the bacteria. many times, this inflammation, mucus, bacteria mixture travels up a tube in the back of the throat called the Eustachian Tube to the inner ear. The tube gets blocked, more gunk builds up, and you get an inner ear infection. So, if you get rid of the offending bacteria, no more infections right? If only that were the case.

2) Over Prescription of Antibiotics. So when you take an antibiotic to kill the "bad" bacteria, it's all good right? Wrong, you're also killing off the millions of good bacteria in your body that we referenced in an earlier post. These good bacteria (probiotics) help fend off further infections. When you take an antibiotic, it is ESSENTIAL to build the good bacteria back up by taking a probiotic to help fend off future infections. Also, when you take an antibiotic, some of the bad bacteria are going to survive. They stick around and multiply and can cause future ear infections unless further steps are taken. When this happens, many pediatricians prescribe another and another round of antibiotics. The circle continues until the last resort is tubes. Or is it?

3) Spinal Subluxation. In the upper portion of the spine, there are nerves that travel into the ears and throat. If there is some sort of irritation to those nerves, the area that the nerves go to will also be irritated. This means that the ear, throat, or Eustachian Tube can be more easily irritated and more prone to ear infection. I don't think that it's a coincidence that Dr. Stemp (the other chiropractor at Cascade Chiropractic & Massage) never had an ear infection growing up with both parents being chiropractors.

So, what would I have told the parents of this little girl?
#1) Stop all dairy and gluten intake for your daughter for at least 6 months and supplement probiotics.
#2) Let me take a look at her spine and ears.

At worst, it would do nothing and we would look into some other, more natural remedies. At best, she wouldn't get ear infections anymore. Just the thought that this might work over needing to put your child under anesthesia to have surgery would make me try it as a parent.

Ice or Heat? Which is Better?

2011-09-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of questions as a chiropractor about what to do when you get hurt, what exercises to do, what's the best posture, etc. Probably one of the most frequent questions that I get is whether to put heat or ice on an area. And I have to say, it's a very good question, and it basically boils down to one thing:

When in doubt, use ice.

In fact, I rarely tell my patients to put heat on an area unless it is a chronically tight muscle that needs a little coaxing into relaxation. I know, heat usually feels better than ice, but the problem that I have with heating a general area is the effect that it has on swelling.

Now, don't get me wrong, swelling is an essential part of the healing process. Without some swelling, your body would not be able to repair the damaged structure. However, when you put heat on an area that is already swollen, it causes more fluid to go to that area which can increase the pressure and pain in the painful area.

If a patient and I find that ice is not working for the area, I usually tell them to do both. You can put heat on the area (best form would be a hot bath or hot tub) but then put the ice on afterward, and always end with ice. You will still get the relaxing feeling from the heat, but also the anti-swelling effect of the ice. This alternating of heat and ice can actually help the flow of the fluid that is bringing healing components to the damaged area.

So why err on the side of ice?

It has to do with the swelling in the area. When your body gets injured, it needs to send fluid (swelling) to that area to help it heal. The issue with that is most people don't move correctly when hurt. When this happens, that swelling stagnates in the area and can cause issues such as an increase in pain, irritation to nerves, and/or decreased mobility. And correct mobility in an injured area has been shown to help in the healing process and help prevent issues down the road

It also helps that ice dumbs down and numbs the pain a little bit.

It boils down to this. Anytime you injure your body, it's essentially like spraining your ankle. I guarantee you will not see a coach or an athletic trainer put heat on that sprained ankle. They put ice on it to keep the swelling at a manageable level so that they are able to prevent immobility to the injured joint.

So, the next time you get an injury, put some ice on it. Just remember that 20 minutes should be plenty of time, but you will need to do it more than once. Give yourself at least a 40 minute break before you put the ice on again. An BE SURE to have some sort of barrier between your skin and the ice. For instance, a t-shirt works really well.

And if you want to do a little gentle massage of the injured area while icing, fill up a little Dixie cup with water, freeze it, rip the bottom of the cup off so that the ice is exposed, and rub the hurt area with the exposed ice for about 10 minutes making sure to keep the ice moving at all times.

(In this picture, they ripped off the top. I find it easier to rip off the bottom, that way, the ice won't fall out, and you can put the leftover ice cup inside another Dixie cup and place in the freezer for later)

And as always, questions and comments are always welcome. (If you have a question that you don't want seen by other people, feel free to e-mail Dr. Mike at mjenstaddc@gmail.com)

Why So Many Allergies to Peanuts?

2011-09-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article last week by Dr. Tim O'Shea, a chiropractor who's big on educating people about vaccinations (you can find his website here), and I thought that I would share some of the main points.

Dr. O'Shea goes into detail on his theory about why there are so many allergies these days to peanuts. I won't go into all of the specifics, but he points out that peanut allergies, anaphylaxis, and death from peanut allergies has significantly risen since the mid 1900s. His theory; the use of what is called excipients in vaccinations.

The thinking of the drug world is as follows: in order to get the best response from a vaccination, there needs to be a strong allergic response to the vaccine, which in their minds means a stronger immunity to whatever is being administered via the vaccine. One way to get that stronger allergic response is to add an excipient, a molecule to increase the immune response. The preferred excipient today; peanut oils.

Now, if you're a parent and have done any research on what to feed and what not to feed your baby, you'll know that you shouldn't feed peanuts to your child until they are at least 1 year old. The main reason is that the digestive system of a baby is still being formed and small proteins can pass from the gut to the bloodstream. Peanut proteins are capable of causing a higher immune response, which means that babies shouldn't eat peanuts due to the possibility of getting these inflammatory proteins into their bloodstream.

But what about the peanut oils in the vaccines? It's been shown that even the most refined peanut oils contain inflammatory peanut proteins. However, we all know that vaccines don't get ingested with the possibility of the peanut proteins getting blocked by the gut, vaccines are directly injected. That means that the inflammtory peanut proteins go straight to the blood stream.

Now this isn't just the theory of a man trying to rid the world of vaccines, it's a shared theory by people in the medical community as well. Helen Fraser, a researcher, agrees with Dr. O'Shea and even goes on to say, "The peanut allergy epidemic in children was precipitated by childhood injections" (her book can be found at Barnes & Noble).

Children these days are getting an exorbitant number off vaccines by the time they turn 18. And most of these vaccines contain peanut oils to increase the immune response, not to mention other poisonous chemicals. For example, in 1980, a child was to receive 20 vaccines from birth to 18 years of age, today, that number has increased to 68! And that doesn't even include the flu vaccine!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this: Is it just coinicidental that there has been an increase in allergies and deaths due to peanuts at the same time as there has been an increase in vaccines? I don't think it's coincidence. But if you want to find out for yourself, more power to you.

(If you would like to read Dr. Tim O'Shea's full article, you can find it on his website here)

The Chiropractic Sports Physical

2011-08-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I remember going in to see the family doctor to get the "OK" to play school sports. I remember that he would check my blood pressure, listen to my heart and lungs, do a few quick tests, and say that I was good to go. I remember it being not such a big deal, but he was checking for some important information. I do, however, remember that he didn't do so much with my posture or spine. I'm guessing the reason would be that he wasn't qualified to to so.

Being in the chiropractic field as I am currently, I realize how important it is for kids to get their posture and spine evaluated prior to engaging in any sports. The sad thing is that most kids don't get their spine evaluated. I believe that if more parents were to bring in their children for a spinal evaluation, some injuries could be prevented.

If a child's skeletal system is not properly aligned, there is going to be an undue amount of stress on areas that aren't used to having as much stress from sports. For instance, baseball players typically bat from one side of the plate, which means swinging and twisting only one way constantly. If there is a misalignment of the pelvis or spine, the body won't be able to move like it's supposed to. That can lead to a higher propensity for injury. Or, for a sport with a lot of running like soccer, any misalignment of the spine or the legs can possibly lead to hip, knee, or ankle injuries.

Many professional, and even college, sports teams have their own personal chiropractor on staff or at least within reach. This tells you that the best of the best know how important it is to keep the spine and body in line when performing physical activities such as sports.

So, if you're bringing your child in for their yearly sports physical with their family doctor, I would highly recommend and even urge you to bring them in to the chiropractor. It is important to make sure the body's organs are funtioning correctly, but it's equally important to have their spine functioning correctly.

Your Sunscreen May Be More Harm than Good

2011-08-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I had blogged about the importance of getting unimpeded sun to up your Vitamin D levels. And, if you remember, I mentioned that it's all about moderation. You don't want to bake in the sun for 3 hours without any protection. However, a lot of the protection (sunscreen) on the market may be more detrimental to your health than beneficial.

In the beginning of July, there was a research article released by a Washington-based non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group that pointed to a health-hazard possibility of many sunscreens. In their research, they determined that 4 of 5 national brands of sunscreen do NOT adequately protect from "harmful" UVA and UVB rays and that the sunscreens actually may contain harmful chemicals.

Some of those harmful chemicals are:

Oxybenzone (aka: Benzophenone-3) - linked to allergic reactions when exposed to sunlight; hormone disruptions; cancer

Ensulizole (aka: Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid) - known to produce free-radicals (cancer causing agents) when exposed to sunlight

Padimate O (aka: PABA) - research has shown this chemical to cause DNA damage, estrogenic activity (increased estrogen levels), and allergic reactions

Octinoxate (aka: Octyl Methoxycinnamate) - most widely used sunscreen ingredient; estrogenic effects, disruption of thyroid hormone and brain signals

As you can see, many of these ingredients may even cause that from which you are trying to protect yourself, skin cancer. These are just some of the chemicals that are placed in sunscreen to help "protect" yourself from the "harmful" rays of the sun.

I you do need to use suncreen and you want to avoid any potentially harmful chemicals, try to find ones without the four chemicals listed above. A good way to do so is to go to a health foods store or supplement store. One other great source is to use a natural or organic baby sunscreen. My wife, son, and I use an organic sunscreen that we bought at Babies R Us. It's a little more expensive, but at least we're not contaminating our bodies with chemicals that may actually cause cancer when exposed to sunlight.

Why do Chiropractors use X-rays?

2011-08-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Chiropractors have been making use of x-rays for a number of years. In fact, the advent of x-rays and chiropractic were in the same year, 1895. In chiropractic school, one of the first set of courses that we get started on is how to read x-rays. But why do so many chiropractors use x-rays? Do all chiropractors use x-rays? And is it safe?

First of all, not all chiropractors take x-rays and some chiropractors take a lot of x-rays. Now, I can only speak for myself, but I fall somewhere in the middle. My main reasons for taking x-rays on a patient is to rule out any serious condition that may need treatment from another professional, and also to get a physical picture of the alignment of the spine. In some cases, just doing the consultation and examination may not give me all of the information I need, so I take x-rays. This allows me to help the patient better visualize what their spine looks like as well.

Some chiropractors practice techniques that require them to take more x-rays than I do. Some even like to take x-rays before an adjustment and after an adjustment. This, for their technique, may allow them to see the changes that have happened following the treatment. Personally, I don't use techniques that require that many x-rays because of safety issues that may be present.

With the advent of the new body scanners in the airports (which you can opt out of, by the way), there has been more focus on the amount of radiation that a person receives. It is true that x-rays use waves of energy that penetrate your body using minimal radiation. The waves that pass through your body show up as the darker areas on the x-ray and the whiter areas are where the waves didn't pass through the body as well.

When I am x-raying a patient, I will maybe take two sets of x-rays, which equates to a couple normal days of radiation. You see, when you are just walking about, living life, your body is soaking up radiation from our daily environment. One set of x-rays is equivolent to about a day's worth of normal radiation. So you see, it's really quite minimal. The problem is when you are getting multiple sets of x-rays or going through the body scanners often at an airport. That little bit adds up and may lead to problems in the future.

So what I'm really trying to say is this: I use x-rays in my practice on a minimal basis to 1) rule out any serious conditions, 2) visualize the alignment of the spine more specifically, and 3) allow the patient to physically see their spine. Since chiropractors mainly work with the spine, it sometimes helps to see the spine and give the patient a little input as to what their spine looks like.

Beat the Heat

2011-07-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

For those of you up in the Pacific Northwest, you may be thinking "what heat?" That's a legitimate question. However, it does seem that the rest of the country is experiencing not only a summer, but a blistering one at that. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get some up in the PNW sooner or later. And when we do, I want you to be informed on the best ways to keep your healthy body healthy during the hot summer.

First of all, you don't need to avoid the outdoors. Getting outside to get some fresh air and soak up the rays to increase your body's Vitamin D levels is always essential. But when it's hot out, it's a little harder to do so. What you can do is sit outside in the shade or go to a more breezy area (like the beach) so you can still get your outdoor time. You also don't need to lather on the sunblock (future topic!). Get 10 minutes of sun before putting on the block. You can still get outside when it's hot out without roasting.

Try to keep the house cool. One of the best ways to do so is to limit cooking in the house as much as possible. Using a grill or having chilled or room temperature meals will help keep the heat levels down.

Don't be afraid to sweat. Just like every other process that your body undertakes, sweating is a natural and good thing. Yes, it may look unappealing and cause olfactory tingling odors, but sweating is your body's natural way of cooling yourself down. Try to avoid using anti-perspirants which typically use chemicals or substances to either stop the sweat glands from producing sweat or even clog them up. Embrace your sweat, don't try to hide it.

Finally, stay hydrated. When people overheat, it's more than likely due to the fact that their body has lost too much fluid. When your body is optimally hydrated, it is able to perform all of the necessary, health-oriented functions possible, including keeping itself cool. A good rule of thumb for water consumption is to drink half of your body's weight in ounces per day (ie: 150 lb person should drink 75 ounces of water per day). However, if you've been sweating a lot of that water off, been out in the sun for a while, or done some travelling lately, you can always up the intake.

So instead of running and hiding from the heat, embrace it and find ways to beat the heat and stay healthy while doing it. Of course, when all else fails, you can stop by the clinic for an adjustment. We have air conditioning.

Our Germaphobic Lifestyle

2011-07-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

So this topic may be a little controversial, but I'm OK with that. I firmly believe that this topic is necessary to be addressed. And that topic is the fact that we, in general, are so afraid of any germs that we try to kill all of them without even thinking about it.

Because of what we've been told by western medicine, we need to kill the germs to stay healthy. Use hand sanitizer religiously, wash your hands before and after you eat, don't eat that off the floor, etc. is what we hear all the time. The fact of the matter is that germs are actually good for you. If you remember my previous blog about probiotics or gut bacteria, this isn't the first time that I've preached pro bugs. With these germs though, it's a little bit different.

At any given point in time, a healthy person actually has thousands to millions of germs living on or in them. Most of the time though, they're not sick. Why? Because your immune system is working. When your immune system is subjected to germs, it can build up a natural immunity to those germs, thus, making you healthier. You can ask my wife. One of my favorite things to say is that "It's building your immune system". That's why I don't care if my apple slice just fell on the floor, it's still good. That's also why I don't mind if my 14 month old son sticks dirt or bugs in his mouth. It will build up his immune system.

However, possibly the most important reason to not be so germaphobic is because of something called "super bugs". You see, whenever you use something minor like hand sanitizer or some heavy hitter like a broad spectrum antibiotic, you're killing most of the germs. Most, not all. That's the kicker. Some of those bugs are genetically resistant to the sanitizer or antibiotic. These "super bugs" live, multiply, and spread. That's why we have been having trouble getting newer, better, more powerful antibiotics and why there are thing like MRSA. It's because we are so germaphobic and try to kill off every little germ. And these "super bugs" are very serious and life-threatening.

Of course, I'm not telling you to sneeze into your hands when you're sick then shake as many hands as you can or don't wash your hands after using the rest room. Just don't reach for the hand sanitizer every time you walk by someone who coughed or don't go running to the pediatrician for amoxycillin every time you think your child might have an ear infection. Germs are good for you. They build up your immune system.

You Work on Those Too?

2011-07-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

When most people think of chiropractors, they think of the back and neck, or spine. And that's true. Chiropractors specialize in treatment of the nervous system. And a great deal of the nervous system is protected by the spinal column. And it is essential to have your spine checked by a chiropractor, especially if you are experiencing any symptoms. However, most chiropractors also have a great deal of training in what are called the extremities.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term extremities, it basically means your arms and legs. When chiropractors are adjusting the spine, we are making sure that the joints of the spine are moving correctly. And we all know that we don't only have joints in our spine. You have joints in your shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers, hips, knees, ankles, feet, toes, jaw, and skull. And yes, most chiropractors have the knowledge to treat and adjust any misaligned joints of the extremities.

Before going to chiropractic school, I didn't even realize that some of the joints in your extremities can affect nerves that travel into those extremities. For instance, part of the nervous system that travels from your neck down to your fingertips runs right behind the collarbone close to your shoulder. If your collarbone or shoulder are out of alignment, it can cause symptoms and even mimic carpal tunnel syndrome. Another problem that plagues many people is what is known as TMJ. Many times, a simple misalignment of the jaw can cause excruciating pain when talking, chewing, or yawning. And at the school that I attended, we had a pretty extensive course on adjusting the jaw.

So, if you are having arm or leg pain, tweak your ankle, or have carpal tunnel syndrome, it wouldn't be a bad idea for your chiropractor to take a look. A lot of times it's cheaper than seeing an MD or you could even avoid surgery.

Your Gut is Leaking!

2011-07-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

So, I fully intended to write about this topic during our Healthy Eating Month in June, but didn't get around to it. That's OK, because every month should really be healthy eating month anyway.

Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS). I know, it sounds made up, but you can look it up, it's a real syndrome. Now the official, medical version of LGS is a very serious and possibly life-threatening state. However, I argue that most Americans have some sort of LGS going on. It all begins with our diet.

The foods that we are constantly surrounded with in our society (starches, sugar, lab made fats and chemicals) are constantly trying to be digested by our digestive system. The problem is that most of this junk is very difficult to digest, if not impossible to digest. It does help if you get the natural enzymes and bacteria to aid in the digestive process, but most of us are lacking in those as well. So what happens when you can't digest those foods?

It turns into sludge. That undigested, rotting "food" just sits and sits in your large intestine waiting to get passed out. But it takes too long to pass through because it is sludge. Sludge doesn't move very well, so it kind of just sits there. And when it sits in one position for too long, it can irritate and even perforate, or bore holes, through your digestive tract. No too bad of a thing right?

Wrong. That sludge is essentially toxic to your blood stream and right on the opposite side of your intestinal wall, is your blood stream. The smaller particles of the sludge leak (LGS) out of your gut into your blood stream and wreak all kinds of havoc. It has been proven to lead to plaque build up in arteries, chronic general inflammation, and acidosis among other things. So essentially, LGS can lead to almost any disease that plagues your body (Diabetes, fibromyalgia, hyperlipidemia, heart disease,etc.). In my opinion, it is one of the main causes of the exponential increase in the chronic diseases that we see these days.

So, how do you prevent LGS? It's as simple as eating healthier. More whole fruits and veggies, fewer simple carbohydrates (cookies, breads, potatoes), healthier fats (fish oil, lean, grass fed red meat and poultry), and more water help promote a healthy gut and better movement of food through our gut so we don't get that rotting sludge building up and infecting our blood.

Our Plastic Society

2011-06-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

This week's Healthy Eating Month post isn't going to focus so much on food, but what we keep our food in. The Tupperware, Rubbermaid, and plastic food container business makes millions each year. They are cheap to make, affordable, reusable, and do their job. The only problem is that they are not good for your health.

Plastic containers of all sorts contain cancer-causing chemicals. It's actually been proven since 1987 that some plastics have cancer causing agents when breast cancer cells were being cultured in plastic test tubes. The researchers noticed that the cells grew like gangbusters and finally found the cause; chemicals being leached from the test tubes were "feeding" the cancer cells.

Since 1987, there have been numerous studies showing the link between plastics and cancer. The sad thing is that the word hasn't really gotten out until recently. If you recall, over the past few years, there has been an insurgence in the effort to remove the chemical BPA from plastics. If you especially look at baby food storage containers, if they are plastic, most will say "BPA Free". However, that doesn't mean that all plastics are BPA free and free of other cancer causing chemicals. One good way to tell is to look at the recycling number on the bottom.

BPA containers (avoid at all costs): #3, 6, or 7
"Generally safe" containers: #4 or 5
"Safest": #1 or 2

With that said, you should never heat anything up, or put something hot, in a plastic container. Anytime you add heat to plastic, it WILL leach some chemicals out of the plastic into the food or drink. It doesn't matter if that chemical has been linked to cancer or not. Any lab produced chemical is a foreign substance to your body and should be avoided.

So what should you use?

Glass and ceramic containers are a far better option as opposed to plastic containers. So if you need to use the microwave to heat up your left over frittata, take it out of the Rubbermaid, put it on a glass or ceramic plate, then nuke it.

Food Substitutions

2011-06-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

At Cascade Chiropractic and Massage, we are celebrating Healthy Eating Month all throughout the month of June. To go along with that, all of my blog topics for the month will deal with healthy eating of some sort. This week, I'll be focusing on some easy, healthier food substitutions that you can do to cut down on the junk and increase the healthy factor.

Over the past fifty years or so, Americans have gotten used to eating traditional foods such as mashed potatoes, white bread, milk, and other "staples". The problem is that most of these traditional foods aren't that great for you, especially when you consider the fact that most nutritional value has been processed out of the food. So, here are some suggestions for substitutions for those foods that offer a higher nutrient load.

Mashed Potatoes:
White mashed potatoes have little nutritional value and usually get high calorie fillers added to them. Instead of using potatoes, try blanched pureed cauliflower with greek yogurt and some seasoning. Or, you can use sweet potatoes / yams instead of the traditional Russet or Yukon Gold. Both substitutions pack more vitamins and minerals into them.

Flour:
Bleached all-purpose flour has arguably no nutritional value whatsoever. So when baking, try substituting ground millet, spelt, or almonds for the flour. You may need to do a few test runs before you get the ratio correct. Or, if that's just a little too crazy for you, stay away from the bleached junk. Use unbleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour.

Cheese:
If you're making an omelet, frittata, or quiche, there's almost always cheese involved. Cheese does have some nutritional value, but its hard to digest. Try using cubed extra firm tofu. It won't melt like the other stuff but has a similar texture to a softer cheese and is much easier to digest.

Rice:
Rice is another one of those foods that has some nutritional value (ie: calories and few vitamins) but it's typically eaten as a filler. If you want to bulk up on protein especially, try using quinoa. It's a superfood grain that is chuck full of protein and other essential nutrients.

Milk:
The milk that you buy in today's grocery store is a far cry from the stuff from the milk man or straight from the udder. The process of pasteurization does kill off any potentially harmful microbes, but it also kills the good ones and completely changes the enzymes within the milk. That's one of the reasons so many people these days are either lactose intolerant or lactose sensitive. So here are some dairy-free alternatives (listed in order of my favorite to least favorite): Almond milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, and soy milk.

Feel free to add any other substitutions in the comments area!

My Beef with BMI

2011-05-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article yesterday about overweight America that was talking about the issues that Americans face and the poor food choices that we are surrounded with. It was a really good article until I got to the section that explained how to tell if you, or someone you love, is overweight. They suggested using the BMI calculation, or Body Mass Index calculation, to tell if you are overweight. And, as you can tell by the title of this post, I have some issues with that. But first, I should probably explain what BMI is and how you calculate BMI.

BMI, as I said earlier, stands for Body Mass Index and is a standard way of coming up with a number that tells you if you are underweight, overweight, obese, or at your ideal weight. BMI takes two factors into account; height and weight. What happens is that your take your weight (in pounds) and divide it by your height (in inches) squared then multiply that number by 703. Here's the standard rundown for BMI for a Male and female adult:

Male and Female Adult
0 - 18.5: Underweight
18.5 - 24.9: Normal
25 - 30: Overweight
> 30: Obese

If you're interested in your own BMI you can go to calculate-bmi.com to see where you come out instead of doing the calculation on your own.

But why do I have a beef with BMI?

One reason. It's far too generic. Taking into account only the two factors of height and weight is borderline irresponsible. For example, I had a classmate in chiropractic school who was "ripped" for lack of a better term. And since muscle weighs quite a bit, he was a little heavier, but by no means unhealthy or overweight. In fact, he was probably one of the healthiest in our class. However, according to the BMI calculation, he was almost obese!

If you also don't take into account what your gender is, you're making a big mistake. Science tells us that women are supposed to have more fat in their bodies than men. The reason is that women go through much more stress than men in everyday life. Constant hormonal changes due to menstrual cycles needs slightly more fat stores and it's vital to have more fat stores for pregnancy.

So what's a better way to tell if you are overweight or in your ideal range?

One slightly better method is called the Waist-to-Hip Ratio. It is slightly better able to take into account body shape and distribution of weight, which are much better indicators of health. Click here to calculate your Waist-to-Hip Ratio.

However, possibly the best calculation is to determine your percent of body fat. Now to get a very good estimation of your percent, it can take quite a few tests and money. Therefore, it's not the most feasible method.

But, probably the best way to determine if you are of a healthy weight, is to look in the mirror and also to examine your lifestyle. By leading a life that focuses on healthy eating and regular exercise, you will be hard pressed to get into that obese range.

What's that Noise?

2011-05-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

One of the most frequent questions that I get as a chiropractor is what the popping sound is when we do an adjustment. No, it's not actually "popcorn" like we tell many kids. There is a physiological explanation to the "pop" or "crack" of a chiropractic adjustment.

First of all, when I explained what a subluxation is in "What is a Subluxation Anyway?", you may recall that, with a chiropractic adjustment, we are basically moving a misaligned bone back into place. When bones are misaligned like that and "stuck" out of position, they need a little coaxing to get back in place. And that takes years of training and continual learning to get down pat. That's called the chiropractic adjustment.

With a chiropractic adjustment, in order to move the bone back in place, the joint that joins the two bones needs to slightly gap apart. When that happens, little air/gas bubbles rush into the space that has just been opened a little bit and that is when you get the "pop" or "crack" sound. It's a lot less scary than most people think. The bones aren't crunching together or grinding against each other. There isn't any breaking or fracturing happening. It's simply air rushing into a newly opened space. When that happens, the bone is more easily able to get back into alignment.

As you can see, it's a pretty simple and gentle occurrence. The sound is usually what catches people off guard and gives that bit of a fear factor. And, if you were wondering, why a neck adjustment is so much louder than one in your midback or low back, it's simply an issue of proximity. Your neck is just simply much closer to your ears. So it's not that the "pop" in your neck is louder, it's just perceived as louder because your neck vertebrae are right by your ears.

So if you've ever been a little apprehensive about that sound, it's just air/gas bubbles moving around. Simple as that.

One Key to Perfect Posture

2011-05-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

So my topic for this month's Blog Talk at the clinic (on Wednesday the 18th at 6pm) is "The Power of Perfect Posture". And I thought it would be the ideal time to talk about a much overlooked and essential anatomical feature that has a great deal to do with our posture. Our feet.

Even though our society as a whole is getting more and more sedentary, we still spend a great deal of time on our feet. And, our feet play a very vital role in our posture. I especially think this is an appropriate topic given the fact that it is now flip-flop season in much of the country. First, a little anatomy.

Did you know that there are not one, not two, but actually three arches in your feet? It's true. We not only have the main arch along the inside of the foot, but also one along the outside, and one along the ball of the foot.
The bad part is that most shoes do NOT provide support of any kind to the former two arches. Some are very good at giving ample inside arch support but there are few flip-flops that do so.

Since we typically do not get enough support for our multiple arches, most people will have decreased or even collapsed arches. When this happens, we typically get pronated feet. It basically means that your flat feet cause your foot to lean toward the middle of your gait. When this happens, it can have other ramifications.

Anytime that you are on your feet, your body's weight is being supported by your feet and the arches in your feet, or at least the arches that should be there. So if your feet are pronated, for example, it can put more stress on your ankles, knees, hips, and spine all the way up to the base of your skull. It's a lot like a building. It could be perfectly level in the beginning but then ground settling and changes in the earth may cause the building to sit crookedly and over time, even the smallest beams can become warped and cracked. Therefore, if the base of your body is out of alignment, your spine is more susceptible to imbalances such as subluxations.

So, the moral of the story is, if you have chronic knee, hip, low back, or even neck pain and nothing seems to be helping, it's worth getting your feet looked at. Because a sturdy foundation can only be good for the weight it supports.

What's the Difference?

2011-04-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Alright. It's time for some Chiropractic Philosophy. This time I'll be addressing a topic that's kind of a heated topic within the chiropractic realm. That is the difference between an adjustment and a manipulation.

I just want to state right off the bat that the two terms, in my view, are NOT interchangeable. There is a difference and a rather large difference I believe. However, when it comes to insurance companies, there is no such difference.

A manipulation of a joint is not what I do. A manipulation is basically making a joint, or area, move for the sake of getting motion into that area. There is no specific force, direction, or necessarily even specific intention involved. You just get the area moving. It's kind of like when you crack your knuckles. You're not studying where exactly the joint is fixated, or stuck, which way it needs to move,and how much force to use. You just crack your knuckles.

An adjustment of a joint is completely different. Yes, with an adjustment, you get the joint moving again, but that's about where the similarity with a manipulation ends. A chiropractic adjustment has years of book learning and physical training behind it. There's a reason that I went to undergraduate college for three years then got my Bachelor's and Doctorate at chiropractic school during a rigorous three and one third years of year round schooling. That's because there is a LOT to be learned about the human body, how it works, and how to fix it when it's "broken".

In chiropractic school we are taught to perform chiropractic adjustments, not manipulations to just get an area moving. With every chiropractic adjustment that I do, I take into consideration which joint I am trying to move, why it needs to move, which direction it needs to move into, how much force to use based on the joint, body type, and fixation, and I have the intention of moving the joint to remove any irritation from the surrounding structures (ie: nerves). As you can see, there's actually quite a big difference.

So if you've been hearing the two terms being used interchangeably, especially if you follow chiropractic laws or insurance jargon, just remember that there is a difference. And, if you see a chiropractor who says that he/she uses manipulation, don't hesitate to ask why they don't call it an adjustment. It's what chiropractors have been calling it for the past 125+ years.

UPDATE: WA State Vaccine Fight

2011-04-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have seen, I posted about an issue in the State of Washington where there was a bill trying to restrict the personal decisions of parents and require them to get their children vaccinated without the choice of religious or philosophical exemption. Since then, there have been some changes.

First of all, the Senate Bill (ESB 5005) passed on March 25th. That means, 90 after the adjournment of the session, the bill becomes law. Now if the session adjourned that day, the new law would take effect on approximately June 23rd.

Secondly, the bill was slightly changed since my last posting on the topic. The philosophical exemption is still gone. The religious exemption was left on the books, it's just been changed. You need to prove membership in a church that does not allow medical care. Also, the medical exemption is still on the books. For both the religious and medical exemption, you will be required to visit a medical practitioner (eg: MD, DO, ND, NP), get a signed piece of paper stating that you have been informed and educated on vaccines (not necessarily the detriments of vaccines), then meet the religious exemption requirement or prove that your son or daughter's health is in danger when receiving a vaccine.

However, for those of us who do not belong to a church that prohibits medical care, myself included, that creates a bit of an issue. Forget about the right to choose what you deem necessary for your children for a second. You will be required to pay for an office visit to a medical practitioner to maybe get a piece of paper signed saying you are exempt for a medical reason. Not to mention, they typically give vaccines while at the hospital after the baby is born. And if you have time to get that separate office visit done in the couple minutes between the birth and the administration of the Hep B vaccine, more power to you.

The only way to fully get around the new law is to home school your children.

Finally, I've had a few people ask what we can do in the meantime. Sadly, there's not much. As I've been told by higher ups, there will be litigation in the court system against the Constitutionality of the bill. One way to help support is to join the Yahoo group Fundamental Rights Coalition of WA to stay up to date with what is going on. You can also contact your legislator on the issue. At the end of the post, I will list which legislators voted for restricting our rights and which voted against restricting vaccination exemption.

The best way to help fight what has happened is the good old grass roots movement. Spread the word. Let your friends and family know what's happened in WA State. Of course, if anyone has comments or questions, please feel free to comment below.

Yea Votes (voted to restrict vaccination exemption):
Representatives Alexander, Anderson, Bailey, Billig, Blake, Carlyle, Chandler, Clibborn, Cody, Dahlquist, Dammeier, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Eddy, Finn, Fitzgibbon, Frockt, Goodman, Green, Haigh, Haler, Hasegawa, Hope, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Hurst, Jinkins, Johnson, Kagi, Kelley, Kenney, Ladenburg, Liias, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, Miloscia, Moeller, Moscoso, Nealey, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Probst, Reykdal, Roberts, Rodne, Rolfes, Ryu, Santos, Seaquist, Sells, Smith, Springer, Stanford, Sullivan, Takko, Tharinger, Upthegrove, Van De Wege, Walsh, Wilcox, and Mr. Speaker

Nay Votes (voted to keep philosophical, religious, and medical exemptions as they were):
Representatives Ahern, Angel, Armstrong, Asay, Buys, Condotta, Crouse, DeBolt, Fagan, Hargrove, Harris, Hinkle, Kirby, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, McCune, Orcutt, Overstreet, Parker, Pearson, Rivers, Ross, Shea, Schmick, Short, Taylor, Warnick, and Zeiger

The Fad Diet Frenzy

2011-03-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

It seems like every couple months, there's a newer, more effective diet that's the rage of Hollywood. The diet gets really popular because of the star power and press it receives, hangs around for a few years, then flickers until no one even thinks twice about doing the diet again. These are known as Fad Diets.

Just like anything else (Pogs, Furbies, Pet Rocks, etc.), most diets that use some product or service fall into the fad category. Most of these Fad Diets are loosely based on science, if they're even science based at all. The problem is that most of the time, these diets are such a drastic change in your normal dietary patterns that they will make a difference, but it is commonly short lived.

For example, one of the biggest diets on the scene right now is the HCG Diet. The HCG diet is loosely based on the premise that getting a regular supplement, or even injection, of HCG, aka Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (a normal physiological hormome most prominent in pregnant women, it's actually the hormone that's tested when a pregnancy test is performed), will help someone in their quest for weight loss. However, when you actually start looking into the diet portion of the HCG Diet, the daily caloric intake (how many calories you eat) is severely restricted. And if anyone severely restricts the amount of food they eat, they're at least going to lose some weight. Not to mention that severely restricting how much you eat is unhealthy. Your body needs food.

On the unhealthy note, some fad diets are just plain dangerous. Remember the Atkins Diet. Basically you wouldn't eat any carbs and then load up on proteins. It didn't matter if the protein was bacon or quinoa. But of course more poeple are going to eat bacon and other "unhealthy" meats instead of quinoa. These unhealthy proteins can lead to severe problems like atherosclerosis (plaque in the blood vessels) and other diseases. In fact, Mr Atkins himself died from complications typically linked to a diet rich in high fat foods.

So the next time that you hear that Scarlett Johansson used the X Diet to lose 15 pounds for her next role or Ryan Reynolds tried the Y Diet to beef up for his next gig, just pass it off as another one of those tricky Fad Diets. After all, you know what you should and shouldn't be eating. Just listen to that little voice in your head and reach for a handful of sugar snap peas instead of a handful of Cheetos.

Sit Up Straight!

2011-03-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

With me hosting my 2nd blog based class tomorrow about the American Sedentary Lifestyle, I figured that it would be the perfect opportunity to address one of the aspects of our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, sitting at work.

As most people know, there are far more jobs that require people to sit at work than there used to be. With the advent of technological advances in computers and robotics, our jobs require us to sit a lot more than before. We are able to communicate and calculate using our work computers instead to getting up and physically going somewhere. There have also been robots taking over jobs that have long been held by people, and then of course we need people to use computers to control the robots, which means more sitting.

And all this sitting is not so great on our bodies because it decreases our mobility and can lead to chronic problems. The good news is even if you do need to sit all day, there is a proper way to do so.

First thing first, make sure you have a good chair. One that changes heights, back angles, has adjustable arm rests, and a back that goes up to at least your shoulders is a good start. Even better would be a chair that has an adjustable lumbar support. If your chair doesn't have a lumbar support, you can easily add one by taking a towel, rolling it up, and placing it right in the small of your back.

You also need to make sure eveything's is ergonomically set up. Having your screen at eye level prevents you from looking down and forward the whole day. Make sure that your keyboard is set up so that you are not straining to use it. Make it sit at a comforatble angle for you shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Just make sure that it's not sitting too low that you have to hunch over to type comfortably.

Finally, and the previous two go hand in hand with this, make sure that you have proper posture. By having everything in the correct place, you should be sitting tall with your shoulders back and your head directly over your shoulders. Most people will be slumped forward with no lumbar curve, their shoulders rounded forward, and their head way in front of their shoulders. This position only leads to trouble. Take a look at the picture for a good reference:

Of course, you should always get up and move around whenever possible. Stretch, go for a walk on your break, take the stairs, etc. It's pretty easy to add that tiny bit of exercise and you'll be doing your body a world of good by adding that little bit.

Fight for What you Believe In

2011-03-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

If there's one blog that I want you to read, it's this one. The reason is that there is a serious issue going on in the State of Washington right now. Our governor, Chris Gregoire, has initiated a bill to the state House and Senate that would abolish a right of choice of it's citizens. House Bill 1015 and Senate Bill 5005, if passed, would do away with the right of the parents of a child to choose whether or not to have their child vaccinated for religious or philosophical reasons.

Now, I'm not going to argue that I want these bills to be shot down because my son isn't vaccinated or because of the potential harm that vaccines pose to people, especially infants with a developing immune system, that can be found in my previous blog. This blog topic is going to focus on the principle of the presented bills.

First, these bills would take away the right that parents do currently, and should always have, to make a decision on what they deem best for their child. Whether it is because of religious views or philosophical views, you should never be forced to do something to your child that is potentially harmful.

Secondly, if these bills are passed, the governement is saying that they know what's best for your child and that your child needs to be protected via vaccination which has been proven to be harmful. I don't know about you, but I think I know a little bit better what is best for my child than a group of politicians being lobbied by pharmaceutical companies.

Thirdly, the proposed bills, if passed, would be in contradiction to the 1st and 14th amendments. Whether you are religious or not, you know that we have the right to religious veiws, and if your religious views go against vaccination, the governtment isn't able to usurp those views (1st Amandment). Also, "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" is directly from the 14th Amendment. It sounds like if these bills are passed and become law, then the law would be in violation of the US Constitution.

I know this blog sounds very political. However, whether you are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, whether you are against vaccination or for it, the principle is that we should never be forced to do something that is potentially harmful to ourselves or our children.

If anyone would ilke some more information on what you can do to help defeat these bills and keep the law the way it is, please feel free to e-mail me and request more info at menstad@nwhealth.edu.

Runnin' On Empty

2011-03-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

I know that during these dreary, cold winter days, it's more difficult to keep those energy levels up. But, if you're not careful, you could be on the slippery slope to chronic fatigue.

Fatigue is an ailment that affects most, if not all people, at some point in their lives. The key is to not let it stay for a prolonged period of time. The reason that fatigue is so damaging to you health is because it is a negative stressor on your body. It does things such as release cortisol, the stress hormone, decrease metabolism, cause dehydration, headaches, anxiety, and a whole lot of other unhealthy things. When your body gets into a rut of chronic fatigue, you will not only feel crummy and tired all the time, but your body will be running at a sub-optimal level. And this sub-optimal level could actually lead to stress related diseases such at Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and others.

So what can you do to fuel up your tank? Here's a couple easy, everyday changes that you can make to your routine to help boost your energy levels. Now, they may be difficult at first, but once you do them for a while, it will be like second nature, and before you know it, you'll be able to feel the extra energy.

1- Get more & regular sleep. Our bodies function on what's called a Circadian Rhythm. When you get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep by going to bed and waking at the same time, your body will be able to get into a groove and you will feel more rested and energized.

2 - Exercise. It kind of sounds counter productive. Use energy to get more energy? But it's true. When you exercise regularly, you increase specific hormones which in turn can increase your metabolism and you also get more oxygen into your system for better cellular recovery and energy levels. The key is to not overdo it and give yourself some recuperation time.

3 - Drink! Just water though. Anytime that you feel thirsty, your body is telling you that you are at least mildly dehydrated. And even mild dehydration can lead to stressors such as anxiety, depression, aggravation, and other energy suckers. So make sure you're drinking at least 64 ounces or water per day.

4 - Chow down. Food is energy. And your body needs the right kind of food to keep up your energy levels. You should be eating a large breakfast (Breakfast like a King) with foods that have a low glycemic index. This essentially means that the food will be digested and broken down for a longer period of time. It's like a time-release capsule, you'll be getting the energy (calories-yes you need calories) for a longer period of time instead of all at once like if you were to eat a 3 Musketeers. In general, low glycemic index foods include proteins, fats, and complex carbs.

So you can try all four right away or just try one of the suggestions and see how you feel after a week, then a month, then a year and I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference.

Poppin' Pills

2011-02-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

So here's a little fact to get started. Did you know that in 1970, there were 2 Billion pills prescribed in the US? Seems like quite a bit right? But, in 2007, there were 113 Billion pills prescribed! So, that must mean as a society as a whole, we're getting healthier right? Not quite.

Chronic diseases (Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, heart disease, etc.) have been on an exponential rise for the past few decades. We've also seem a new epidemic never witnessed before in the event of Childhood Obesity. And, of course, these problems aren't just due to the over-prescription of medication, it also has to do with poor diet, lack of exercise, environmental toxins, and the like, but I think that the Rx meds have a little to do with it as well.

If you watch even only half an hour of TV per day, chances are you see at least one commercial for a new prescription medication. What I want you to do next times is block out all the fancy "benefits", catchy music, and bright colors aimed at making you want to try the new drug. Just listen for the boring drone of the side effects voice and see how "good" of a thing those drugs can be. In fact, most drugs have serious side effects that need another drug prscribed with it to counter-effect the acts of the first drug. Also, most of the time, many of the side effects of drugs sound like symptoms of chronic diseases.

So, you tell me, do you think there might be a slight connection between the two? The fact is, the American society as a whole is a reactionary society when it comes to health. If something's broke, fix it. Don't worry about trying to prevent something bad from happening. Prevention is what Chiropractic is all about. Maintaining health is what Chiropractic is all about. Eating what's good for your body, exercising, and keeping a positive mental outlook will help prevent most, if not all' of these chronic diseases from happening in the first place.

All the information you need is actually already there. It's inborn into your brain. All lot of the time, if you sit down and use common sense about what your body needs, you'll be able to make the right choice.

If anyone's interested in a good book to look into, check out Overdosed America. It delves way more in to the topic than I can in the blog.

Disclaimer: This should in no way be a recommendation to stop taking any of your prescribed medicine. There is a time and place for some.

The Breakdown on GMOs

2011-02-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

This week's blogpost brings awareness to another acronym that doesn't get much press but is most likely a part of all Americans' life. GMO. GMO stands for genetically modified organism. There's also GEO, or genetically engineered organism, which is essentially the same thing. The reason that I wanted to talk about GMOs today is because we consume a lot of them in our diet without even knowing it.

Many food products and additives today are made from plants that are GMOs. Now, this doesn't sound so harmful in and of itself, until you to start to look into what a GMO plant is. If you look into the side that supports GMOs, they will say that they are able to produce bigger and better yields of the crop. This is true about the bigger crop, but not necessarily the better part.

You see, when you genetically modify or engineer a plant you are changing the basic properties of that plant at the genetic level. In most cases today, especially corn and soy, these GMO plants are chemically changed to have anti-microbial / pesticidal qualities bred into them. They are typically known as "Round-Up Ready" versions. That means that if you are trying to avoid harmful chemicals such as pesticides, you won't be able to get away from them in GMOs, they are genetically bred into the plant.

Now, there are many different problems with this, the main one being that these chemicals are literally part of the plant now. That means that most corn, and other products, that we eat today are completely different from what our forefathers ate even 50 years ago.

Also, the companies that own these GMO seeds have a patent on them. And if, per chance, some of the GMO seed were to end up in an organic farmer's crop, the organic farmer probably won't know it until the GMO company tests their crops then can sue the farmer for "illegally" using the GMO seeds without paying for them. And these GMO companies are huge with lots of connections, so they typically win out. If this sounds like a conspiracy theory, there's a lot of evidence that shows these facts. Movies like Food, Inc. and The Future of Food have addressed these issues and there are a plethora of court cases dealing with this fact.

There are also health implications when you eat GMO foods. Anytime your body eats something that is not a food (pesticides, food coloring, preservatives, fake sugars, etc.) your detoxification systems (liver and kidneys) need to get rid of it. And in most cases, they can't get rid of all of that junk, so it builds up in your body. There have been studies that have linked these chemicals to serious disease processes like Diabetes, Infertility, and Alzheimer's to name a few. In fact, some countries, mostly in Europe, have banned these GMOs simply because there have been too many detrimental health implications.

So if you really want to make an effort to not eat as many GMO products as possible, read the label before you buy it. Most products will say that they are GMO or GEO free. Also, organic products should be GMO free. Finally, just a little tip, my wife found out that all of Trader Joe's named products are GMO free.

Here's another link to the Future of Food video on Hulu that I posted earlier. I'm posting again just because I think everyone should watch this. This is a feature length documentary so plan to set some time aside to watch the whole thing.

The American Sedentary Lifestyle

2011-02-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

With the innovation of TV, computers, and video games, it's no argument that the American society has become more of a sedentary society. Most people sit at their jobs or in school, come home and sit in front of the TV, then go to bed. Of course this means that we aren't getting enough exercise when we are stationary all day long. However, there are other detriments to sitting for a majority of your awake time.

When you're sitting in front of the TV or computer, most people tend to snack more. Now, this wouldn't be too big of an issue if people snacked healthily and in moderation. But that's typically not the case. Most snackable foods are stuffed with simple carbs, fat, salt, and sugar. And when you sit around and eat these types of food that are supposed to be converted into energy, your body stores them as fat. Not only fat in the beer belly or thighs, but more dangerous fat that surrounds and can restrict our vital organs. One way to help get rid of that fat is to get up and move around.

When you're sitting, you're not moving and not getting the essential exercise that your body needs. Exercise helps keep your blood flowing, increases your metabolism, releases feel-good chemicals like endorphins and enkephalins, reduces body fat, and has many other benefits. There are companies, schools, and programs that have realized that when people exercise, they are generally more productive and happy. Programs like the NFL's Play 60 have really made an effort to promote kids getting up and moving around for at least 60 minutes per day. There are a plethora of other programs by schools, businesses, and organizations that are helping to fight the sedentary lifestyle that most Americans have become accustomed to.

Finally, there's actually recent research that suggests that sitting too long during leisure time can increase your risk of premature death. They studied two different groups of people; those who sat for more than 6 hours per day and those who sat for less than 3 in their leisure time. And the surprising fact about the study was that it showed that the increased risk for premature death had nothing to do with exercise. It was purely if you sat for more than six hours, even if you exercised.

So even if you don't want to miss that favorite show of yours, you can do some crunches or lunges while watching, or make sure that you go for a half hour walk outside before or after the show. Just getting started is half the battle, and once you do, it will become second nature before you know it.

The 33 Chiropractic Principles

2011-02-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

This week, I decided to present a little more education about chiropractic as a whole. Last year, I did a series in our office newsletters listing the 33 Chiropractic Principles. I decided that I would post all 33 in this blogpost. So feel free to read them all in one sitting or split it up. And, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them in a timely manner.

The original 33 Chiropractic Principles were originally penned by a chiropractor named Ralph W. Stephenson in 1927. His work has inspired chiropractors to reach beyond merely treating back pain, to look at the infinite possibilities of a well-adjusted spine and nervous system.

1. THE MAJOR PREMISE. A Universal Intelligence is in all matter and continually gives to it all its properties and actions, thus maintaining it in existence.

2. THE CHIROPRACTIC MEANING OF LIFE. The expression of this intelligence through matter is the Chiropractic meaning of life.

3. THE UNION OF INTELLIGENCE AND MATTER. Life is necessarily the union of intelligence and matter.

4. THE TRIUNE OF LIFE. Life is a triune having three necessary united factors, namely Intelligence, Force, and Matter.

5. THE PERFECTION OF THE TRIUNE. In order to have 100% Life, there must be 100% Intelligence, 100% Force, 100% Matter.

6. THE PRINCIPLE OF TIME. There is no process that does not require time.

7. THE AMOUNT OF INTELLIGENCE IN MATTER. The amount of intelligence for any given amount of matter is 100%, and is always proportional to its requirements.

8. THE FUNCTION OF INTELLIGENCE. The function of intelligence is to express force.

9. THE AMOUNT OF FORCE CREATED BY INTELLIGENCE. The amount of force created by intelligence is always 100%.

10. THE FUNCTION OF FORCE. The function of force is to unite intelligence and matter.

11. THE CHARACTER OF UNIVERSAL FORCES. The forces of Universal Intelligence are manifested by physical laws; are unswerving and unadapted, and have no solicitude for the structures in which they work.

12. INTERFERENCE WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF UNIVERSAL FORCES. There can be interference with transmission of universal forces.

13. THE FUNCTION OF MATTER. The function of matter is to express force.

14. UNIVERSAL LIFE. Force is manifested by motion in matter; all matter has motion, therefore there is universal life in all matter.

15. NO MOTION WITHOUT THE EFFORT OF FORCE. Matter can have no motion without the application of force by intelligence.

16. INTELLIGENCE IN BOTH ORGANIC AND INORGANIC MATTER. Universal Intelligence gives force to both organic and inorganic matter.

17. CAUSE AND EFFECT. Every effect has a cause and every cause has effects.

18. EVIDENCE OF LIFE. The signs of life are evidence of the intelligence of life.

19. ORGANIC MATTER. The material of the body of a "living thing" is organized matter.

20. INNATE INTELLIGENCE. A "living thing" has an inborn intelligence within its body, called Innate Intelligence.

21. THE MISSION OF INNATE INTELLIGENCE. The mission of Innate Intelligence is to maintain the material of the body of a "living thing" in active organization.

22. THE AMOUNT OF INNATE INTELLIGENCE. There is 100% of Innate Intelligence in every "living thing," the requisite amount, proportional to its organization.

23. THE FUNCTION OF INNATE INTELLIGENCE. The function of Innate Intelligence is to adapt universal forces and matter for use in the body, so that all parts of the body will have coordinated action for mutual benefit.

24. THE LIMITS OF ADAPTATION. Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a universal law, or Innate Intelligence is limited by the limitations of matter.

25. THE CHARACTER OF INNATE FORCES. The forces of Innate Intelligence never injure or destroy the structures in which they work.

26. COMPARISON OF UNIVERSAL AND INNATE FORCES. In order to carry on the universal cycle of life, Universal forces are destructive, and Innate forces constructive, as regards structural matter.

27. THE NORMALITY OF INNATE INTELLIGENCE. Innate Intelligence is always normal and its function is always normal.

28. THE CONDUCTORS OF INNATE FORCES. The forces of Innate Intelligence operate through or over the nervous system in animal bodies.

29. INTERFERENCE WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF INNATE FORCES. There can be interference with the transmission of Innate Forces.

30. THE CAUSE OF DIS-EASE. Interference with the transmission of Innate forces causes incoordination or dis-ease.

31. SUBLUXATIONS. Interference with the transmission in the body is always directly or indirectly due to subluxations in the spinal column.

32. THE PRINCIPLE OF COORDINATION. Coordination is the principle of harmonious action of all the parts of an organism, in fulfilling their offices and purposes.

33. THE LAW OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY. The Law of Demand and Supply is existent in the body in its ideal state; wherein the "clearing house," is the brain, Innate the virtuous "banker," brain cells "clerks," and nerve cells "messengers."

Crash Course on the Necessity of Crawling

2011-01-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

My infant son had a pretty big milestone this past weekend where he began crawling. While my wife and I were "baby-proofing" the last few days, I realized that his milestone would be the perfect opportunity for me to expound on why this is not only a good way for babies to maneuver around, but it's also essential for their development on a few different levels.

I'm sure that the majority of the population views the crawling stage as simply another stage that a baby goes through. However, I can't tell you how many times I've heard or even witnessed a baby who doesn't go through that crawling stage. And it's a little bigger deal than you may think to go straight to walking or to scoot on their bum instead of crawling. Crawling is an essential stage that babies should go through because it helps develop their motor skills, brain development, and spinal curve formation.

When babies are crawling around, they use new muscles that they haven't used previously. Muscles in their arms and upper back and muscles in the hips and legs allow them to propel forward. They are also using muscles in their abdominal region and "core" to keep up their belly and support the weight of their midsection. Also, they are using tiny muscles throughout their body to help steady themselves while moving and to provide balance. Crawling helps to coordinate these muscle movements and prepares them better for the walking stage.

A large part of the crawling stage is the brain development of the baby. The "cross-crawl pattern" is very essential to developing the child's brain. This pattern is when a child moves one hand forward while moving the opposite leg forward. This process helps stimulate communication between the right and left hemisphere of the brain through a structure called the corpus callosum. This structure is the main communication link between the two sides of the brain. It's essential to make the connections as strong as possible and one of the best ways to do so is to have your baby crawl.

Finally, the last essential of the crawling stage that I'll address is the development of the spinal curvature. When babies crawl, their heads need to be up and their bellies will sag a little bit. When a baby looks up, it helps to develop the cervical curve (neck curve). This curve is crucial because it helps support the weight of the head throughout the rest of that child's life. The sagging of the belly help to develop the lumbar curve (low back curve). This curve is essential because when the baby starts to walk, it better supports the weight of the whole body. Curves help support weights much more efficiently than straight lines. Just look at bridges; most bridges have a curve underneath or above to help support the weight of traffic.

So, if you have a child that doesn't seem to want to crawl, get down on the floor and show them how. It's more important than you may have thought.

What's Safe in Medicine Today?

2011-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

As I expected, my blog about vaccination has drawn the most ire from some people and also the most comments. That's one of the reasons that I wanted to talk about safety issues in medicine this week. Vaccines aren't the only portion of western medicine that need to be looked at as being harmful to your body and to society as a whole. However, with that said, there are some safe options available as well.

I first want to state that I in no way intend to bash the western medical world as a whole. There is a time and place for western medicine, especially in the event of trauma and life threatening illness. However, where the western medical world has gone wrong in my opinion is that they take these same acute injury principles and apply them to non acute situations. Perfect example being in most Type 2 Diabetes cases. There are many medical doctors out there who jump to prescribing insulin, Metformin, or other drugs to help with blood sugar levels. But, when you look at the actual physiology and research about Type 2 Diabetes, you will see that the best way to reverse and stop the effects of Type 2 Diabetes in most cases in by a healthy diet and exercise routine. You should ALWAYS try a healthier alternative to fixing a problem before drugs or surgery unless it is a life or death situation.

The reason that you should start with a more "conservative" treatment is because of all the adverse effects of drugs and surgery. Around 200,000 Americans will die due to adverse effects of prescription drugs this year. If that number seems high, you can check for yourself. The information is out there, it's just not being distributed. That number doesn't even include death due to surgery mishaps, over the counter drugs, or international statistics.

Also, there is a reason that the average older American is on 8 prescription medications. Most often it's because one drug will have a severe or quality of life depleting side effect. Therefore, they will give you another drug to stop that side effect which will typically have another side effect so they give another one and so on. If you ever want to know some of the side effects of the more popular drugs, just sit and listen to one of the many ads on TV or radio and pay attention to the "____________ may cause...".

But not all treatments have all of these deaths and side effects right? If you look at the "alternative medicines", you'll find that most are very safe and, in a lot of circumstances, just as effective if not more effective.

Chiropractic, for example is one of the most safe modalities of health care out there. There are reports of minor side effects in as few as one in 3 million treatments, others show fewer than that. One way to look at it is to compare the malpractice insurance that doctors and other medical personnel pay each year. Malpractice insurance is a requirement to practice medicine of any kind and it's in case something "bad" does happen under your care as a doctor. Many medical doctors pay tens of thousands of dollars each year for their malpractice insurance, depending on their profession. My malpractice insurance is about $1400 a year. The reason that there is such a discrepancy is because chiropractic has far fewer cases of adverse events than western medicine, and there's the numbers to prove it.

So, before you pop that next Lipitor or get scheduled for your next surgery, ask yourself if you have tried other less invasive treatments and if the side effects are really better than trying to live a healthier life.

Bad Bacteria? Not All of Them!

2011-01-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

Growing up I thought that all bugs and microbes and germs were bad for you. That's why you always washed your hands and sneezed into your shoulder and took antibiotics when sick. What I didn't realize at that time (which may have grossed me out) is that people normally have a couple pounds of bacteria living inside them and on their skin. However, that's a good thing because these bacteria are good for you. Most of these bacteria are located within our digestive system, mainly the colon. These good bacteria are known as Probiotics.

There's been more awareness of the necessity of Probiotics within the recent years with products like Activia getting more air time. But that doesn't mean that everyone knows about them or why we have them. There's a number of different reasons that we have millions of bacteria living within our colon.

The main reason is that we NEED them. We live in a symbiotic relationship with these bacteria. They need us because we give them food through our diet and we need them to help with many different bodily processes. Some of the bacteria help us digest food like green leafy vegetables, some help kill of potentially harmful bacteria, and others actually help with the movement and absorption of the food that we eat.

So you can see that these bacteria are pretty beneficial. With that said, most people are deficient in the amount of bacteria present. This is partially due to the American diet, but mostly due to the over prescription of antibiotics. Antibiotics are really good at their job. They kill the bad bacteria in most cases. However, they also kill off the good bacteria that you need. A lot of times, you will probably weigh less after taking antibiotics because you've killed and passed the good bacteria that were helping you.

So if you've taken any antibiotics recently, it's a necessity to take a Probiotic supplement. Yes, you can get some good bacteria from eating yogurt or drinking kefir or kombucha, but it's not enough. You need to replenish that whole store of good bacteria.

You can find Probiotics at any supplement or health foods store. And typically, a good rule of thumb is that good Probiotics should be refrigerated.

My Chiropractic Story

2011-01-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

I just realized that some of the people who read my blog don't even know my chiropractic story. And since it's the perfect way to start off the new year, I'll do just that. Hopefully this doesn't bore anyone.

When I started looking into colleges to attend back at the beginning of high school, I recall looking into colleges that had a well respected biology department. In didn't know why at the time, but I kind of always wanted to do something in the medical field. In fact, as a kid, I remember playing quite a bit with a doctor's kit.

Then I got hurt in soccer practice my junior year of high school. A teammate (who probably weighed 2X what I did) and I collided and I honestly thought I had broken a couple of ribs. My mom decided to take me to the chiropractor she had been seeing mainly for some low back issues. They took x-rays. Of course, no broken ribs. He then went on to describe that I had some subluxations in my spine and ribcage that were causing these issues. We did a couple of treatments and I was without pain after just 2 or 3 treatments. What was even better, was that I realized I wasn't getting my "normal" 2-3 headaches per week.

The doctor and I got to talking more about chiropractic and why it's such an essential profession and what chiropractic school would be like. He also informed me that chiropractic uses the body's natural healing ability and that's why we don't need to use drugs or surgery. I decided that it sounded like a pretty good fit and started looking into colleges that offered pre-chiropractic majors (by the way, there's no such thing as a pre-chiropractic major, Biology major does more than fine).

While in college I took a lot of Chemistry along with Biology and began learning about medical drugs and surgery. From hearing how foreign these treatment options are to our bodies and learning all of the negative side affects of many of them, I definitely knew that becoming a chiropractor was the perfect fit for me. And ever since then, it was a lot of hard work and studying and now I finally get to see chiropractic in action everyday that I work. It truly is amazing.

What I now know after being in practice, is that the reason I wanted to do something in the medical field is because I wanted to help people get and stay well. And there is no better profession than chiropractic to do that. The fact that chiropractic enhances the body's innate ability to heal itself without intrusive means actually gives more validity and proof to the effectiveness of chiropractic when you actually study the anatomy and physiology of the human being.

So it's all because I got hurt playing soccer. I think it was worth it.

If anyone feels inclined to share their story of how they were introduced to chiropractic, you are more than welcome to comment.

Resolve your New Year's Resolution Disappointments

2010-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolutions have been going on for ages. They've also been broken for ages. If you've struggled with making New Year's Resolutions and breaking them in the first week or sticking with them for two months then falling off, you don't need to be so hard on yourself for not doing what you planned. That just adds extra stress and more pressure to get it right next year.

If you want to get started on keeping your New Year's Resolution this year and incorporating that into your everyday life, you need to start small.

Begin with something that seems easily attainable for you. Even if it almost seems like a joke because it's so easy, start with it. When you are able to stick with one simple resolution, it makes it that much easier to make and keep bigger resolutions.

So, if you've struggled with breaking your New Year's resolutions in the past, try making your 2011 resolution something as simple as going to bed at the same time each night. Before you know it, it will be second nature to go to bed at the same time each night. Then next year you can up the ante a little bit. OR, you can even do a Mid Year's Resolution to add on top of your easily attainable New Year's Resolution.

When you succeed at even something that may seem trivial or just plain simple, you're going to feel better about yourself and you can pat yourself on the back for doing something better for you and your body. And when you feel better about yourself, you're not only going to be a happier person, you're going to be a healthier person as well.

10 More Easy New Year's Resolution Ideas:
1 - Eat one fresh fruit or vegetable wth each meal
2 - Don't go grocery shopping when hungry
3 - Park further from the door
4 - Switch to organic butter
5 - Go to bed thinking about what you're thankful for
6 - Start a family game night once a week
7 - Read a book each month
8 - Drink 8 eight ounce glasses of water per day
9 - Start taking Vitamin D supplements
10 - Go for a 30 minute walk outside 3 times per week

What Happened to the Flu Season?

2010-12-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or does it seem like there's no flu season this year. Especially when you compare all of the hype that was going on last year with ~~the "Swine Flu"~~ H1N1, it seems like the media forgot about it this year. The truth is, there is always a flu season. But, that doesn't mean that we need to get all worked up about it.

What happens every year during the winter months is that people are more prone to getting sick with the changes in weather, increase in stress, and other factors. When people are more prone to getting sick, more people will get sick. That's why people get the sniffles, sneezes, and coughs right around the busy holiday season. This doesn't mean that we need to rush off to the nearest pharmacy or grocery store to get the latest flu vaccine. (The fact of the matter is that there are dozens of flu strains out there and the flu vaccine typically vaccinates against 3, so chances are, if you were going to get the flu, you'll probably still get it anyway.) The good news is that your body can fight off the flu better than a vaccine can anyway.

When you are able to de-stress, eat healthy, and practice proper hygiene, you won't need to get the flu vaccine, or any vaccine for that matter. You see, you're body is a pretty smart machine. Your body wants to be healthy and when you give it the natural, correct means, it will tend to stay healthy. So what you can do to help your body fight off the flu or any other microbe, is to eat well, think well, and move well.

These 3 things will keep your body in tip-top microbe fighting shape. If you need more advice on how to do the 3 things, look through the previous bogposts, there's plenty of information there. Also, you innately know how to do all three things, just try listening to your body and being aware of what it's telling you.

Merry Christmas!

One Quick & Easy way to Improve Posture

2010-12-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

Over the past year of being in practice, I've come to the realization that most back and neck problems can be traced back to one issue, poor posture. Now, I know that I was NOT the steward of good posture back in the day and today it's difficult to stay on top of always having good posture. However, I do know a few ways to help keep people lined up and sitting straight.

With the exponential increase of sedentary jobs and an overall sedentary lifestyle, people are coming in to see the chiropractor for poor posture related issues. The fact is, it's just plain difficult to keep perfect posture for 8+ hours a day while sitting at your desk. However, if you keep an eye on it throughout the day, it will be second nature over time to sit up straight and tall. In fact, it should become more comfortable to have good posture.

Now I said that there is one very good way to ensure that you have better posture. However, it doesn't always work for everyone. With that said, if you visit The "Back" Page on Cascade Chiro's website, you will find a couple of other good pointers to follow. Alright, so if you are going to do one thing to help with your posture at all times do this:

Pull your shoulders back like you are trying to make your shoulder blades touch while pulling your head back over your shoulders.

If you do this one easy thing whenever you notice that your posture is lacking, you should notice that your overall posture improves as well. Try it. It's pretty difficult to slump or curl your lowback when you're doing it.

So the next time that you find yourself with rounded shoulders, slumping, or a hunchback, just try this easy exercise and hold it as long as you can. Over time, you should notice that it gets a lot easier and you'll start to feel better as well.

What is a "Subluxation" Anyway?

2010-12-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

If you've been to the chiropractor in the past, hopefully you've heard the word Subluxation and hopefully the chiropractor has at least breifly explained to you what a Subluxation is. If not, I'll fill you in.

There's actually been A LOT of debate within the chiropractic world about what a Subluxation is and how to define it. In fact, there are some chiropractors out there who don't even use the word Subluxation because they can't explain it or they don't want to use the term. I am not one of those chiropractors. Personally, I treat patients who have Subluxations by doing a chiropractic adjustment (NOT manipulation - that's a whole other can of worms). I do this because that is what Chiropractic was founded upon way back in 1895. To me, the whole premise of Chiropractic is based upon the Subluxation and, to do away with the term Subluxation is to do away with what Chiropractic was founded upon. OK, enough philosophy for now.

What is a Subluxation?

Technically, the word subluxation literally means "less than a dislocation". When you're looking at a joint, there are 2 bone surfaces touching. When the surfaces are touching as they were meant to be, you have full function and capability. When you have a dislocation, the surfaces are not touching whatsoever. When you have a Subluxation, or less than a dislocation, the joint surfaces are still touching, but not like they are meant to be touching. When this happens, you can get problems.

When it happens in the spine, the vertebrae can get stuck and cause pain, swelling, muscle tightness, loss of function, and other issues not only in that area, but if that causes the nerve in that area to become irritated, all of those symptoms can occur anywhere along the path that the nerve is going. That's why you can have a subluxation in your neck that causes tingling in your fingertips, or a subluxation in your midback that causes heartburn, or one in your low back that causes bed wetting. When the subluxed bone causes an irritation to the nervous system, that is when I refer to the problem as a Vertebral Subluxation Complex (VSC). The VSC is just a way of defining what happens when a subluxation causes problems to the nervous system. Now, there's a whole lot more physiology and biochemistry that goes into it, but those are the basics.

If anyone is still confused about what a Subluxation is or why chiropractors adjust subluxations, just comment and I would be happy to expound. Like I said, it's kind of an iffy topic within the chiropractic world, but I believe it doesn't need to be.

Happy Birthday to my brother Josh!

Healthy Holiday Travels

2010-12-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

I know I will be one of the millions of Americans traveling during the holiday season. I also know that, unless you're in first class, airplane seats are not very comfortable and car seats are one size fits most. That means that on long trips, these seating situations aren't the best on your spine. Even a relatively short flight or drive can cause irritation to your spine, especially with the overly sedentary lifestyle that most Americans lead. That being said, there are a few things that you can do while traveling this holiday season to help keep your spine and the rest of your body in tip top shape.

#1 - Get proper support. Most cars and airplane seats have little to no lumbar support. Even rolling up a blanket and putting in behind the small of your back will help you sit up straighter and take pressure off of your spine.

#2 - Stay hydrated. Water keeps your cells, nerves, immune system, and the rest of your body running at full capacity. By staying hydrated, you will be staying healthy and increasing your energy levels for a trip. It's especially essential with the drier winter air.

#3 - Bring a healthy snack (if possible). Instead of stopping by a gas station for some potato chips, pack some homemade trail mix, granola bars, or dried fruit to snack on. Not only is it healthier for you, but it will keep your energy levels higher for a longer period of time than that processed stuff in bag.

#4 - Avoid staying in one position. When you are stagnant and not moving around, that's when you get cramps, aches, pains, and other issues. Get up and move around, stretch out, and take in some fresh air as much as possible. If you're in a rush and can't make any pit stops, try slightly switching the angle of your seat every now and then.

#5 - Share the load. Don't be afraid to ask for help when lugging around all of the luggage and presents. It's a lot easier to ask for help instead of dealing with pain while you're supposed to be on vacation.

#6 - If possible, split driving responsibilities. When you're the only one driving on a long road trip, it takes a large toll on your body as a whole. If you're able to share driving duties, you will be giving your body and brain a much needed break so that you can recouperate for when it's your turn to drive again.

Have a Happy and Healthy Holidays!

MVAs NOT to be taken Lightly

2010-11-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

With the recent snow/ice storm that we had earlier this week, I figured that there were quite a few fender benders in the area. So, what better time to talk a little bit about the necessity of at least getting a chiropractic examination after a motor vehicle accident (MVA). Being the culprit of a couple accidents and not getting any chiropractic care afterward, I know first hand the essentiality of seeking care even after a minor incident.

The reason that you should at least get a chiropractic exam after a motor vehicle accident is simple, the accident can do moderate to severe damage to your spinal column even if it was considered a minor accident. Anytime that you get rear-ended, t-boned, or anything else, your head and neck are by far the MOST vulnerable part of your body. They aren't restrained by a seat belt and therefore it's essentially easy to get a whiplash injury after a minor accident.

The reason that whiplash injuries need to be taken seriously is because they not only cause headaches and neck pain, they can actually damage the spinal cord itself. When you get a whiplash, your head lurches forward and then backward again. When this happens, you weaken and even slightly tear the muscles and ligaments attaching to your spine. When this happens, you can actually stretch your spinal cord. Now, you may not feel symptoms right away, but down the road a couple days, months, or even years, you could get chronic headaches, neck pain, numbness and tingling in your arms or even legs, loss of function of areas of your body, weakness, arthritis, and many other serious issues.

This is why is is of utmost importance to at least get a chiropractic consultation and exam after even minor MVAs.

In the meantime, if you need to do some sort of self medication at home, ICE will be your best friend. AVOID HEAT AT ALL COSTS. By putting heat on a strained and swollen area, you will only make the problem worse. It's just like if you were to sprain your ankle. You will never see an athletic trainer put heat on a sprained ankle. It's always ice.

So be careful on the roads especially with all of the holiday traveling coming up and if you do get in even a minor fender bender, at least get a chiropractor to take a look. You'll only be doing yourself and your spine some good.

How to be Health Conscious during Thanksgiving

2010-11-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, the holiday of Thanksgiving is about getting together with friends and family and being thankful for what you are given and what you have. But, it has also become a time to gorge on rich food and sit around to watch the big games. It doesn't have to be that way, but it also doesn't have to change that much to make sure that you are being health conscious at Thanksgiving. Here's some quick, helpful tips that you can use to make your Thanksgiving a little bit healthier this year.

1) It's all about portion size. You can still eat the same foods that you do every year, just be mindful of how much you eat at each sitting. Just because there are 15 different samplings to try, you don't need to have a mound of food on your plate. Instead of opting to have enough mashed potatoes to make a replica of Devil's Tower, have a couple tablespoons. Same goes for all the other fixings. Plus, if you don't get enough of one thing, you can have more later.

2) Skip some ingredients. You can still have a tasty Thanksgiving meal without some of the ingredients that are not the best for your health. Try cutting the amount of salt by half. You'll still get the salt you crave, but you'll be better able to actually taste the food too. Also, try leaving the whipped cream or Cool Whip off your pumpkin pie (if it's a good pie, you won't even think twice about the added calories). I'm sure you'll be able to think of other ways to cut a few calories here and there.

3) Get up and move around. During halftime of the football game, trying getting up and doing some dishes. Or, even better, you could go outside and toss around the pigskin yourself. You've got to burn off those extra calories somehow.

4) Try swapping some ingredients. Instead of the marshmallow topping for sweet potatoes, try a dash of brown sugar (or you could go a whole different route and dust them with a little black pepper, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder). Instead of regular mashed potatoes, you could opt for pureed cauliflower. Just steam the cauliflower until soft, puree, add a little something to make them a little more creamy (try Greek yogurt), and season to taste.

5) Finally, be thankful. By thinking about or even going around the table and saying what you are thankful for, you'll be having positive thoughts. And, if you read my previous blogs, you'll remember that positive thinking goes a long way to how your body feels and the overall effectiveness and efficiency of your immune system.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Why Vaccines Aren't All They're Cracked Up to Be

2010-11-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

This week I wanted to delve into the controversial realm of vaccination and immunization. I think that the main reason that it's such a controversial topic is because we have been made to believe that vaccination is a necessary and vital part of our health. I, however, beg to differ.

First off, let me state that I believe there is a place for some vaccines for deadly diseases such as smallpox. But, there shouldn't even be a vaccine for a small, harmless disease such as chicken pox.

That's where our health society has gotten off track these days. They want to vaccinate for every single microbe and virus that they can, just so we can avoid a little discomfort. When I was a kid, I got chicken pox. I don't remember it very much but I do remember that it was uncomfortable. I wasn't in the hospital, I didn't need life support. That's because chicken pox is so harmless. In fact, my parents had me play with my older brother who had chicken pox so I could get innoculated the way that nature intended, by contracting, fighting off, and building up a natural immunity.

One reason that the chicken pox vaccine is such a bad idea (beside the fact that it's a harmless virus) is that it has been linked to an increase in a more serious condition, shingles. Also, these people who are getting the vaccine aren't building up their immunity to the virus like they should.

With most vaccines, you get a shot. How often, if you want to build up a natural immunity, are you going to get a shot of chicken pox or the rhinovirus (common cold)? I would venture to say never. That's because the majority of your immune system isn't even in your blood.

You see, your body is smart. When you get sick, you usually inhaled or swallowed the microbe in question. And for that reason, the majority of your bacteria and virus fighting immune system is actually in your digestive tract. When you inhale or swallow microbes, your body has a much better opportunity to fight off those microbes because you have more capabilities to do so in your digestive tract.

Now, you may have noticed that I have only been referring to the topic as vaccination and not immunization. This may be just semantics but, I don't call it immunization because your body is not building up a natural and full immunity to the virus. Therefore, it is not immunization.

My wife and I just had our first child, and after doing much research and self reflection, we decided to forgo the whole vaccination process. The reason we decided to do so was because we believe that the risks of vaccination far outweigh the benefits. Like I said before, since you are not getting a full immunity to the virus, you still have a good chance of contracting the disease at a later age, which is usually more serious. Also, there are preservatives in all vaccines to make sure that they last longer. These preservatives have been linked to serious health conditions such as Autism, Guillian-Barre syndrome, paralysis, and sometimes death.

So, once again, this is just me stating my opinion and trying to educate people about both sides of an argument. What I want is for people to make an informed decision about their health and their children's health before jumping into doing something just because someone told you to.

Do some research. Make an informed decision.

Quick Tips to De-Stress

2010-11-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

So, November at Cascade Chiropractic & Massage is Stress Less Month. And, we have a few different ways to help you get rid of some of your Holiday stress that will be building up over the next few weeks. We just opened a new Massage and Wellness Center right next door and you can get your introductory, 1-hour massage for just $25. Also, Dr. Larry and I will be putting on a Stress Relief class on the 17th at 6pm. OK, enough of the plugs.

My goal for this week's post to start off Stress Less Month will be to give just a few quick tips on things you can do throughout your day to help you calm down or avoid the impending stress. So, here it goes:

#1 - Practice Belly Breathing. When you are feeling stressed, there's no better way to get calmed down than to do some deep, relaxing breathing. What you do is sit on a solid surface with your back straight up and down, shoulders pulled back, and head over your shoulders. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose making sure that you are not moving your rib cage as much as possible. Focus on your belly going outward while you breathe in. Then breathe out through your mouth focusing on your belly relaxing. Do at least 10 deep, belly breaths and you should feel more relaxed.

#2 - Treat yourself to a massage. An hour long massage is ideal so that you have enough time to let your whole body relax and let the masseuse do the work.

#3 - Focus on that for which you are thankful. Before you go to bed each night, just mentally go through a list of all of the things in your life that you are thankful for. You will be concentrating on that instead of all the holiday plans you need to get done.

#4 - Go for a walk outside (preferably when it's sunny). By getting that fresh outdoor air and sunshine, you will be stimulating the parts of your brain to release feel good chemicals.

#5 - Go on a date. Hire a babysitter, turn your phones off (or at least on silent), go to a new restaurant, and just have a nice, relaxing time with your significant other.

#6 - Delegate your tasks wisely. You don't need to be the one who does all the planning and preparation each year. Ask your friends and family to help you out (especially with the tasks you don't particularly like to do).

#7 - Laugh a little. Studies have shown that just a little bit of laughing each day can raise your serotonin levels and make you feel happier. By laughing, you can decrease your level of stress, even if it's for a short while.

Hopefully these quick tips will help you decrease the regular stress load that you experience throughout the holiday season.

How to Shop the Grocery Store

2010-10-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

I know that a lot of my posts during Weight Loss Month have been about diet, but that's because diet is one of the biggest reasons that Americans are overweight. The American diet is centered on fast, easy, and unhealthy. Along with avoiding fast food and making your own dinners, you need to know how to shop at the grocery store.

You see, grocery stores are smart. They set up the junk food that tastes really good and stimulates the pleasure centers in your brain in the middle of the store and by the cashiers. There's a reason all of the candy is sitting right next to you while you're waiting in line instead of the vegetables. You're more likely to impulse buy a Butterfinger than broccoli. You're also more likely to roam the middle of any store than the sides and back. That's why, if you think about the grocery store you go to, most, if not all, of the processed, chemically enhanced, packaged "food" is in the center of the store. That's where most of the people shop.

So, if you want one quick way to start shopping healthier, avoid the center aisles as much as possible. Now of course, there are some very healthy necessities in the center of the store. For example, eggs are in the center of the store I shop at. But they are also right next to the sugar loaded, hormone filled yogurts.

Another good rule of thumb is to try to avoid buying anything that's in a package. Yeah it's typically faster and easier to make something in a package, but that also means that there are usually preservatives and other chemicals to help it stay "fresh". When you prepare your own meals instead of throwing one in the microwave, you know for sure what is going into that meal and, for instance, you know that the chicken is actually going to be chicken and not chicken flavored chicken byproducts.

If you follow these 2 simple suggestions as much as you can, you will find yourself buying healthier food and preparing more homemade meals that can fit into your weight loss diet a lot easier that the stuff in the middle of the store.

Exercising Without Even Knowing It

2010-10-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

Exercise can be a lot of different things to people. For someone, it could be a great release of stress and tension accumulated throughout the day. For another person, it could be their chance for some alone time. But, for most Americans, it's just a hassle. It's just too much work. But it doesn't need to be that way. You can increase your exercise and activity load 10 fold by just doing your normal, daily routines a little differently.

I'm going to give you a list of some small things that you can do throughout your day that will increase your overall activity level which will increase your overall health and wellness.

#1 - Park further from the door. When you park as close to the entrance of wherever you're going, you're robbing yourself of valuable walking time. Yeah, it takes a little bit longer, but who doesn't have an extra 20 seconds here and there to spare.

#2 - Mow the lawn with a push mower. I know that riding lawn mowers are faster and paying the neighbor kid $20 to mow your yard is easier, but this give you the perfect opportunity to burn some extra calories and get outside to breathe in some fresh air (not to mention save $20 every couple weeks).

#3 - Chew your food more than you're used to. It's true that this won't do much for exercise or burning calories, but every little bit counts. Not to mention that digestion starts in your mouth. When you chew more thoroughly, the rest of your digestive system doesn't need to work as hard.

#4 - Add a little spice to your diet. Cayenne pepper has been shown to have fat burning qualities. This is typically in larger amouts, but if you add a little here and there, it won't be doing any harm.

#5 - Take the stairs. Instead of always opting for the escalator or elevator. Use the stairs. Even if you work on the 37th floor, take the elevator part of the way and the stairs for the last 2 or 3 floors.

#6 - Rake the yard. Just like # 2, you get outside, you get your body moving, and you get to enjoy the brisk autumn air.

#7 - Swap your bad-posture-inducing home desk chair for an exercise ball. You will need to rely more on your core muscles and the other muscles in your body that don't get enough attention by sitting on an exercise ball. If you do this at work, you will probably want to only do this for part of the day to start out.

#8 - Start a garden. Once again, you get outside and you're getting some good movement into the joints of your spine and body. Plus, you will be growing all kinds of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices that will be much more flavorful and healthy than what you find in the grocery store.

#9 - If you have kids, play with them! Wrestle around, play catch, kick around a soccer ball, play dress up, and whatever else your kids want to do. It's gets you moving around and burns a couple calories here and there.

There you go. A little extra exercise doesn't need to be time consuming, monotonous, or too much work. By slightly changing your daily routine and habits, you can burn off some extra calories and have fun doing it!

The Detox Diet

2010-10-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Continuing with our Weight Loss Month theme, I figured I would talk about a healhty way to cleanse your system and even lose a few pounds along the way. There has been a lot of talk about famous, fit celebrities and their miracle diets. When you actually look into most of them, they are starving their bodies of essential nutrients when they go on these diets to lose weight drastically. That is not the point of this detox diet.

The Detox Diet focuses solely on giving a cleanse to your system for a short period of time to rid your body of toxins and waste remnants from all of the junk and chemicals that are in our food, drink, and air. If you do the diet, you may notice that you lost some pounds and there's nothing wrong with that. Also, after the Detox Diet is complete, you will most likely feel more energized, has fewer digestive issues, have clearer skin, and clearer sinuses to name a few. I will tell you, you NEED to consult some sort of health professional before doing this Detox Diet as it is not for everyone.

So, here it is. 3 easy steps to follow and it lasts only 1 week. (I'm not going to lie, it's not easy and it can be downright miserable in the first step but you should feel cleaned out and energized when it's all said and done)

Step 1: "The Fast" - On days 1 & 2 of the 7-day Detox Diet, you will not eat any solid foods. (Sounds crazy right?) Drink at least 8, 8 oz glasses of water during the day. With 2 of those 8 oz glasses of water, mix in 1 Tablespoon of psyllium husk (fiber). The purpose of not eating solids, drinking tons of water, and taking fiber is to clean out your digestive tract.

Step 2: "The Cleanse" - On days 3 through 7, you can add in some solid foods. Try as best you can to limit yourself to fresh, organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. If you feel the need for some meat, stick to fresh, wild-caught fish in 4 oz servings once a day. Also, continue with the 8, 8 oz glasses of water per day, 2 with the psyllium husk.

Step 3: Once you've finished with step 2, you're done! But that doesn't mean you can go to McDonald's and gorge because you've been so good for the past week. This is the perfect opportunity to start eating a more healthy, balanced diet. For the first few days, avoid any dairy, wheat, fatty foods, and processed foods as mush as possible and slowly add back in the foods that you eliminated during the detox.

Quick Bits of Info:
- It's essential to drink enough water during the detox to keep your body hydrated, especially during the fasting portion.
- You may want to plan to start the detox during the weekend so you aren't fasting while at work which culd lead to more crabbiness toward co-workers.
- Get plenty of rest (at least 8 hours of sleep) and don't do any strenuous exercise (limit yourself to a brisk walk) during the detox.
- During the fasting step, you will most likely experience fatigue, irritability, and hunger. They should subside once you start step 2.

Finally, remember to talk to a health professional before beginning the Detox Diet to make sure it's OK for you.

Flip your Diet Schedule

2010-10-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Gone should be the days of no breakfast and enormous dinners. But, that's just what our American lifestyle has led us to. We're usually so rushed in the morning that it's just easier to grab a cup of coffee and breakfast bar. Then when we get home from a long day at work, it's just nice to sit down and have a filling, large meal right? These habits might seem correct for your schedule and and your personal apetite, but they are not good for your overall health.

So here's the deal, since most Americans have their diet schedule all backwards, I may as well give some tips on how to turn that around. The easiest way to remember what meal should be the biggest is as follows:

Breakfast - Eat like a King
Lunch - Eat like a Prince
Supper - Eat Like a Pauper

Now, of course this doesn't mean that you can only eat bread and butter for supper and have a 7 course meal for breakfast. It simply means that you should get the majority of your calories for breakfast. And it also means that you should get good calories for breakfast. That means more protein, fruits, and vegetables. Protein in the morning has been shown to increase energy, not only in the morning but throughout the day. That means less of a crash at 11 am. Some good sources of morning protein are eggs, nuts, quinoa, and lean/unprocessed meats (NOT sausage links).

The same standards go for lunch. More calories than supper but not as many as breakfast. You need a pick-me-up in the midday to get you through the strenuous afternoon hours. Sandwich rolls (meats and veggies) are a perfect way to get protein and vegetables in at lunch. Also, a trail mix can be a perfect side dish for lunch or an afternoon snack.

Now comes the biggest difference, no more huge suppers. The reason is that you don't need all of those calories at the end of the day. The more calories you eat at night, the more calories will be going toward storage. And, calories are stored as fat in our bodies. So, one quick way to help you start to lose weight is by sticking to the Pauper Supper method. Of course this doesn't mean that you can only eat nuts and berries for dinner, you can still have the same meal, just scale the portion sizes way down. Try eating about 1/3 of what you would typically eat at night. Now, if you're thinking, "I'll be way to hungry to only eat that much", you shouldn't be if you eat a large breakfast and medium sized lunch. Plus, you'll have homemade leftovers to bring for lunch the next day.

So remember, a Breakfast fit for a King, a Prince's Lunch, and Pauper Supper.

October is Weight Loss Month at Cascade Chiropractic & Massage so all of the posts this month will focus on some type of strategy to aid you in your weight loss.

The Beauty of Breastfeeding

2010-09-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

I first want to state that I am in no way an expert on the topic, however, my wife is currently breastfeeding our first child, and to see the connection that he and my wife get from that action is truly amazing. Anyway, with that said, I have recently been hearing quite a bit about formula and formula feeding, even people denouncing breastfeeding. From a chiropractic and a health and wellness standpoint, breastfeeding should be your only option.

Like I said above, there is a scientific connection achieved between mother and child when breastfeeding occurs. The skin to skin contact and suckling action somehow creates an unbreakable bond that lasts a lifetime. There is plenty of research to back that up. Also, breastmilk contains the EXACT correct amounts of nutrients, minerals, and immune boosting immunoglobulins that a growing baby needs. Yes, breastmilk does make your baby healthy and help fight off all the bugs. Furthermore, there are a plethora of scientific studies showing a positive link between breastfed babies and things such as IQ, healthy weight, attitude, etc. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but in the majority of cases, it's true. Not to mention breastfeeding is FREE. Who can turn down something that's free?

Now, this in no way means that women who do not breastfeed their children are terrible people and should be chastised for their decision. The problem that I have is the reasoning behind the decision for some women (some, not all). I have heard and read of a number of women who make this decision based solely on reasoning for themselves (not wanting to aid the affects of gravity, not having time, etc.). I would just like to have those women really look at their reasoning for not breastfeeding and decide if their decision truly was for the betterment of all people involved. Also, when you look at the health aspect of formula, it's hard to trust that formula is truly aiding in your child's health. Most formulas are made from some sort of alternate source (cow, soy, hemp, goat). Also, most formulas contain particles that are made in a lab somewhere. Whether it's the "vitamins" in the formula or the immune boosting properties. I have a hard time putting chemicals from a lab into my own body, there's no way their going into my baby's body.

However, there are reasons to not breastfeed also. Some women are chemically incapable of producing breastmilk or are physically unable to breastfeed (mastectomy, mastitis, clogged milk ducts, etc.). And in a lot of these cases, these women tried to breastfeed and couldn't. Like I said above, I don't like people bashing others who prefer to breastfeed, but I also don't like people mocking those who don't just for the sake of mocking.

Once more, I just want to state my opinion on the topic. Strictly from a health and wellness standpoint, if you are able to breastfeed, you should. The natural vitamins, minerals, nutrients, immune boosters, and connection that your baby gets from breastmilk from the incredibly smart, precise, working-toward-wellness machine that is the mother's body will undoubtedly aid in the beginning of their long, arduous journey through life

Chiropractic and our Military

2010-09-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

I figured that this week would be the perfect opportunity to talk a little about the essentiality of chiropractic for our nation's servicemen and servicewomen because we are offering a new benefit to all active members of the military. If you are currently an active member of any branch of the military, you can receive chiropractic treatments for only $10. It's just a way to say thank you for your service. Anyway, now that the plug is out of the way, it really is essential that affordable chiropractic care is available to the military.

First of all, if you think about it, most, if not all, people serving in the military are far more active and weighed down by their eveyday gear than your "regular joe". I've heard in mutiple cases where the packs can weigh at least 1/4 of the person's weight. That means if you weigh 200 pounds, add another 50+ pounds to your body and carry that around for multiple hours per day. Now when you have all of that extra weight on you, it really weighs down on your spine. And, unless you are perfectly aligned before hand and have perfect posture, you are bound to get misalignments in you spine which lead to pain, irritation, and swelling in the short term but also may lead to arthritis, chronic pain, and disability in the long term.

The added physical stress isn't the only strain put on your body if you serve in the military. Everyday, someone who served or is serving in the military deals with an increase in emotional or mental stress as well. The toll of seeing things in combat or being overseas for your first child's birth would take cause undue stress on even the strongest willed person. And, if you remember, there's a whole field studying the relationship to mental thoughts and how your body feels (psychoneuroimmunology). The more mental/emotional stress you have, the more pain, stiffness, aching, headaches, etc. you will feel and notice.

Just a few simple reasons why there are hundreds of advocates trying to get chiropractic care covered by programs like TriCare and trying to get chiropractors into VA hospitals. These are some of the people who could benefit the most from and deserve regular chiropractic care.

Getting Finicky Eaters Fascinated with Food

2010-09-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Since we still have Kids Month going on at Cascade Chiropractic & Massage, I'd like to stay with the kid theme. And, we all know how picky kids can be when it comes to food. In fact, an unnamed sibling still prefers a good ol' chicken nugget to to a plate of grilled halibut and steamed broccoli (yum!). Anyway, I thought that I would pass along some tips that I have picked up along the way to aid in the process of expanding and adding healthy options to your child's diet.

1) When it comes to kids only liking the "white bread" options (chicken nuggets, hotdogs, mac 'n cheese, etc.) it really comes down to what you (the parent) are giving them. Yeah, these options are easy, but they are also typically devoid of nutritional value. More ethnic foods will usually have more flavor, nutrients, and use better, more natural ingredients. By introducing your child to ethnic varieties at an early age, such as Indian, Ethiopian, or Japanese food, you are opening their palates to a greater variety of tastier, healthier, less-processed cuisine.

2) The same goes for fruits and veggies. The more you give to them when they are young, typically the more they will enjoy and actually want them later on. I know quite a few kids who prefer carrot and celery sticks over a candy bar every time. Also, it's important to have that variety of fruits and veggies so that they don't get stuck in a rut of only "liking" one type. However, this also means that you need to consciously and wholeheartedly limit the junk that goes into their bodies. There's a reason that candies and sugary things are the smallest portion of the food pyramid. They are to be viewed as luxuries and once-in-a-while treats.

3) One of the best ways to get your child excited about what they are going to eat, even if it's healthy, is to get them involved. Almost every child wants to be able to do what mom and dad are doing, why not let them help plan or even make meals with you? There's a pretty cool resource out there that let kids engage in a nice, healthy competition aiming to plan and create the healthiest meal possible. http://www.zisboombah.com/ is a website that allows kids to login and creat their own virtual meals (with parental oversight of course). These virtual meals can then be e-mailed to their parents and they kids, along with their parents, can share in the opportunity of making a healthy, fun meal.

(By the way, if you haven't tried or even heard of Ethiopian food, I would highly recommend it. Your kids will like the experience because you eat with your hands!)

The Back to School Bugs

2010-09-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

With all of the excitement of buying new clothes, supplies, and books for the new school year, the health of your child tends to fall by the wayside. So, I'm just going to give a couple of reminders of what you can do for your child and what they can do on their own to help fend off the bombardment of germs from their grimey classmates.

1 - Of course we all know the importance of washing hands after using the restroom or before lunch, but how about trying to avoid getting those little grabbers dirty in the first place. You should remind your childrem to sneeze and cough into their arm, not into their hands. It's one of the easiest ways to keep them clean.

2 - Boost their immune system the natural way. In order to make sure that your child gets ample immune boosters, make sure that they are not only getting enough fruits and veggies, but make sure that they are getting a good variety of them as well. Different fruits and veggies have different amounts and kinds of vitamins and minerals that are essential to add oomph to your natural germ and virus fighters.

3 - You DON'T always need to get the latest, greatest flu shots. First of all, getting a dead or partially dead virus injected directly into your bloodstream in NOT the best way to build immunity. Secondly, the drug companies make an educated guess about what strains are going to be the big strains to innocuate against. Finally, the flu is a relatively mild sickness. It's best to fight it naturally to build up your immune system for later on in life. (I'll expound more on this topic at a later time)

Of course, like always, there are a ton of different ways to boost your child's immunity for the beginning of school. These are just a few suggestions.

Why Buy Organic?

2010-08-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, there has been a growing "fad" of buying organic fruits and vegetables. But, I argue that it's not just a fad. When there's a fad, there's usually no good, sound reason that people do/buy something. If you can tell me good, sound reasoning for buying a pet rock, I stand corrected. That's why I think buying organic fruits and vegetables is NOT a fad. There are plenty of healthy reasons why you should buy organic.

#1: If a fruit/vegetable is truly organic, then it has been grown without pesticides, hormones, and genetic modifications (hint: future topic). All of these chemicals and changes are good at keeping bugs away and making the food bigger, but they are detrimental to your health. There's a reason that pesticides are constantly being taken off the market and re-invented. It's because they cause harm to your body.

#2: Since organic fruits and vegetables are devoid of these synthetic chemicals, they typically taste like they should. I just read an article yesterday where a group of people taste tested non-organic and organic fruits and vegetables. Every single one they tasted said that it had more flavor and tasted more like the fruit/vegetable should.

#3: By buying organic fruits and veggies, you are helping the environment. Every year, we are inundated with changes to our ecosystem by runoff from fields that are doused in pesticides and other chemicals. Since organic farming does not use these chemicals, you don't get the damage to the ecosystem, mainly our water supply, from these farms.

#4: Bigger is not always better. Just because an apple is huge and looks like it came from a photoshoot, doesn't mean it's good for you. More than likely, that huge, gorgeous apple is stuffed with hormones, pesticides, and altered genetics.

Just because you may be getting more bang for your buck, it doesn't mean that your body is getting more bang for your buck. You always need to consider what is best for your body when you are adding to your body.

Of course, there are more health benefits to eating organic fruits and veggies, but, I can't write a long dissertation for a blog post. So, comments and suggestions are welcome.

The Power of Positive Thinking

2010-08-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

I know that when I'm in a good mood, it's easy to have good thoughts and when I'm having just a whopper of a day (sarcasm) it's pretty easy to focus on everything that's not going so great. And when I think about it, when I'm having those bad thoughts, my body has a tendency to not feel so great either. That's because there is a connection from our brain to our body. The spinal cord. You know, that thing that chiropractors work to keep stress free by keeping the spine in tip top shape. But you don't only feel cruddy when the spine is out of alignment, you can also feel cruddy when your thoughts are out of alignment.

You see, everything your mind does has some sort of effect on you as a whole. You tell yourself to pick up a penny off the sidewalk, your body does it. You ate an apple, your brain tells your innards to digest it. You think good thoughts, your body feels good. In fact, there's a whole realm of study dedicated to your thoughts and how they affect your body and your well-being. It's called Psychoneuroimmunology.

Psychoneuroimmunology is a relatively new area of study but it's been gaining steam within the recent years. The whole basic premise is that your brain (psycho) is connected to your immune system (immunology) via your nerves (neuro). And the main focus of the majority of their studies has been the correlation between your thoughts and your health. And the overwhelming consensus is that your health is directly related to the "health" of your thoughts. Sounds pretty crazy but it's true.

In order to try it out, one easy way to make yourself have positive thoughts, is to think of what you are grateful and thankful for everytime you notice that you are in a crummy mood. Try it out for a couple of weeks and see how you feel. If any readers have any suggestions, feel free to comment because there are a plethora of other ways to increase your positive thought load. One more way to get your lifestyle closer to a wellness lifestyle.

Back to School Backpack Safety

2010-08-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Being a chiropractor, it's almost my duty to be mindful of your spine at all times. That's why it is only natural that I should be concerned with what your child is putting on their back for the majority of the year. The added weight of a backpack on your child's back will change the physical distribution of the weight on their spine and the other joints of their body which means that it will change their posture without them even noticing. And we all know that posture is essential at all times of the day (if you read the previous blogpost, you'll know what I'm talking about). Long-term, poor use of an ill-fitting backpack can lead to spinal health issues down the road. I know I never wore my backpack correctly when I got a little older, so it's important to make sure that your child is taking good care of their back while wearing their backpack.

Here are 5 easy things to keep in mind when shopping for a suitable backpack and wearing that backpack:

1 - Do NOT buy a backpack that is wider and taller than your child's torso. This will only lead to problems like in number 5.

2 - Make sure that the backpack has 2 adjustable shoulder straps with ample padding. By having 2 straps with a good amount of padding, you will be able to distribute the weight of the backpack as evenly as possible. And make sure they use both straps!

3 - Look for a backpack with a padded back. The back padding will protect your child from sharp objects poking through and will add a degree of comfort to the backpack.

4 - Don't allow your child to let their backpack hang below their waistline. By doing so, your child will be putting far too much stress on their upper back which in turn leads to extreme posture changes.

5 - Keep the backpack as light as possible. By putting too many heavy books, pens, pencils, MP3 players, lunchboxes, or what have you in your child's backpack, you will just be adding to the undue stress on their spine.

I hope you found these tips useful. Happy backpack shopping!

The Function of Fluff (Pillows and your Sleep)

2010-08-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, pillows are supposed to be soft, fluffy, and comfortable, but they are also supposed to be functional. They're not just a place to rest your head after a day of screaming kids, phones ringing off the hook, or bosses breathing down your neck. Pillows are actually a postural device.

Yep, a postural device. Think about it. What other part of the day are you in essentially the same exact position for 5-9 hours? There isn't another time of the day. When you sleep, you are basically in 1-4 positions the whole night: on your back, on your right or left side, or on your stomach (a big No-No!). That means that not only do you need a good mattress with ample support, you also need a good pillow.

Now, it does matter what kind of pillow you should get depending on how you sleep. If you are a primarily a back sleeper, you need a "contour" pillow that has a roll to go under the curve of your neck. It also can not be too thick of a pillow. However, if you are primarily a side sleeper, you need a pillow with enough support to support your head. You want your neck to be in line with the rest of your spine, not to be slanted up or down the pillow. In both of these circumstances, the pillow will act as a postural device to keep your spine in correct alignment while you are dozing and dreaming.

If you noticed, I didn't recommend a type pf pillow for you stomach sleepers. And that's because you should NEVER sleep on your stomach. Even if it may feel good, it's not good for you. When you sleep on your stomach, your head needs to be cranked to one side in order to breathe (kind of essential). In this case, you are putting pounds upon pounds of unnecessary pressure on the bones, ligaments, tendons, and joints in your neck and upper back. And that can only lead to bad things down the road.

So if you take 2 things out of this, remember Support for your Side and Bend for your Back. Enough support to hold your head in alignment with you spine for you side sleepers and pillow with a bend or curve to fit the curve in your neck for you side sleepers. And of course, if you have any questions at all, feel free to comment or talk to one of the doctors in person.

Taking the Fishiness out of Fish Oil

2010-08-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Taking fish oil every day sounds appetizing doesn't it? Bring back bad memories when you had to wolf down a tablespoon of cod liver oil? Well, the fact is, your mom was thinking about your overall health when she forced that oily concotion down your throat.

The main health benefit of taking daily fish oil is that fact that it is loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids. The main benefit to taking Omega-3 fatty acids is that they are naturally anti-inflammatory. That means that they can aid is diseases and processes that cause inflammation (also known as swelling). Aruguably, inflammatory processes are THE most common cause of many diseases including Celiac's, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and many more diseases. That can only mean that taking a regular regiment of Omega-3's will help with many of theses diseases.

But Omega-3 fatty acids aren't strictly for reducing swelling. They are also crucial elements in different structures of your body. First of all, most (if not all) cells in your body contain Omega-3 fatty acids in the cell walls and other structures. Secondly, your nerves and nervous system are cushioned by Omega-3 fatty acids. So if you think about it, when you don't get enough Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet (which I can guarantee that at least 90% of the US population does not) you are more prone to cellular malfunction/destruction and nervous system lockdown (that's why fish is typically referred to as "brain food").

There's a reason why drug companies are starting to market prescription fish oils. It's because they have realized how important taking fish oil can be for many different ailments. The fact of the matter is, you don't need a prescription for taking fish oil, we sell them in the clinic and they are readily available at health food stores. Just talk to one of the doctors if you have any questions about what a good fish oil would be. Not to mention there are quite a few choices that eliminate that fishy taste if you're not into seafood.

Bon Appetit!

The Danger of HFCS

2010-07-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I commented on how high fructose corn syrup (or HFCS for all of you abbreviation afficionados) was a topic in and of itself, so I figured I would tackle it briefly this week.

So, HFCS is a sweetener. The main component of HFCS is fructose which is a naturally occurring sugar, typically in something like corn. However, nothing in nature comes with high fructose corn syrup. That means that it needs to be made in a laboratory somewhere. And, we all should know that if something needs to be made in a lab, it's generally not good for you.

The problem with the process of making HFCS is that you need to use different chemicals to extract the fructose from the corn and concentrate it to become high fructose corn syrup. One of those chemicals that is used is (wait for it) Mercury! Yep, the toxic metal that is liquid at room temperature and is being taken out of vaccines because it's so toxic. There was a study recently published in the Environmental Health Journal in 2009 showing that mercury is found to be more than elevated (in some cases more than 10 times greater than a serving of some fish) in some batches of HFCS, even "organic" HFCS.

But it's not all that bad since HFCS comes from corn and corn is all natural like the commercials say. Right? Typically, the corn that is mass produced for uses like HFCS or corn starch or other corn products comes from a Genetically Modified version of corn. In these cases, the corn has typically had its DNA changed to incorporate pesticides and other toxic chemicals. That means that it doesn't matter how much you wash it, the toxic chemicals won't come off, the chemicals are in their genes. There's a very eye-opening documentary about that the genetic modification of food, specifically corn, titled "The Future of Food", which goes into much more depth than I can (it can currently be seen for free on Hulu.com here http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food).

Just some things to keep in mind next time you go to the grocery store. And just so you know, HFCS is a lot more prevalent than you might think, so read your labels.

Why Water?

2010-07-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Why not? I know that water isn't the most exciting, flavorful, or fizzy beverage for which to quench our thirst, but it is, without a doubt, THE best.

It's what our bodies are made up of, besides a little carbon and nitrogen here and there. It may be hard to imagine that more than 70% of our bodies are H2O since we aren't just rippling and floating our way through life, but water is needed in more functions than you might think. It's what our skin needs to stay pliable and taught. It's what our cells need to stay inflated and functional. It's what our lungs and air passages need to stay open and mucousy. There are plenty of other functions to list, but the list would get way too long for entertainment purposes.

So, since we have so much water in us, we probably don't need to add anymore right? Wrong. We lose a lot of our water through everyday activities from breathing to sweating to using the restroom to evaporation. I recently read a medical article stating that the amount of water that we "need" is far less than what we thought. I believe that they suggested that we only need 8 ounces of water per day to survive. But we're not just here to survive are we? We are here to thrive. And in order to thrive and allow your cells and skin and lungs and all other parts of your body to function at their highest capacity, you need way more water than only 8 ounces per day. So, in order to keep pace with all of the water that we lose during the day, you should be drinking at least 64 ounces per day (that's about 8 glasses of water). And that's just water, not any of that other stuff.

But pop and juice and beer and milk are mostly water right? They are. But they also have plenty of other fillers in them. Most other drinks have sweeteners in them whether they are synthetic like high fructose corn syrup (that's a whole other topic) to the lactose found in milk. The problem is, most of that other stuff found in "tasty" drinks, including sweeteners, can have the opposite effect of water. Caffeine, alcohol, and sugar can make you dump water. Plus, you are still adding all of that unnecessary stuff to you body. So, just stick to the water to get your 64 ounces.

The best way to make sure you get enough water during the day is to keep water right in front of you. That way you will be reminded every time you see your glass or Nalgene or stainless steel bottle. In fact, you probably got a little thirsty just reading this. So if you haven't already, get a reusable water bottle and bring it with you to work, school, outings, wherever. Just make sure you try to get that 64 ounces. Your body deserves it.

Kids and Chiropractic

2010-07-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Having our most recent Kids Day at the clinic on Saturday got me thinking about why kids especially need chiropractic.

I know that as a kid, I was all over the place running around, falling, and getting bumps and bruises. (In fact, it's been said that you fall more times in the first 4 years of your life than you do the rest of your life!) Yeah, it may have hurt a little bit for a short time as a kid and maybe gave some outward appearance of minor bodily damage. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Anytime someone falls, bumps into something, gets hit, or anything like that, there's the potential for minor damage to the spine. And over time, that minor spinal damage can add up and lead to things like chronic low back pain, headaches, weakness, asthma, indigestion, and a whole lot of other problems in the future.

The falls and bumps and bruises aren't usually even the most traumatic thing to happen to a kid. Actually, one of the most traumatic events that anyone could go through in their entire life is the birthing process, especially if it was a non-natural process or if the doctors needed to yank and pull on you on the way out. Think about it. How often do you have someone pulling and twisting on your head with multiple pounds of force? Not very often. But most people had this done to them when they weren't even 1 minute old! Now I don't know about you, but based on that, I think that a good deal of damage can be done to an infant's spine in the birthing process.

Those are some of the main reasons why we have a Kids Day. It's important to get those stresses out of the spine especially during the growing periods. That way, we can help prevent some more serious issues down the road and hopefully add some quality to those little lives.

My wife and I just recently had our first child, and one of the first things I did was check his spine because I know how important it is for a child's development to have everything in working order.

So if you thought chiropractic was only for treatment following a car accident or to get rid of that chronic low back pain or crick in the neck, hopefully this was able to show why all people should at least get their spines checked, especially kids.

Fun in the Sun

2010-07-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we have all learned to appreciate when the sun is out. And now that summer is fully upon, that means that we will be getting more and more sunshine. But don't let all of those sunscreen lotion commercials fool you, a little bit of unprotected sunlight for our skin is just what our bodies need.

That's right, it's OK to get some sun without putting on sunscreen. But just like everything else, in moderation. Of course you don't want to lie out in the sun for 6 hours without any protection! You may be wondering, doesn't the sunlight still hit your skin even when wearing sunscreen? It does, but sunscreen blocks the UVA and UVB rays that the sun emits, which is a good thing when you're out in the sun for multiple hours. But those UVA and UVB rays are what our bodies use to synthesize Vitamin D. And Vitamin D is essential for hundreds of different vital processes in our bodies every single second of the day from skin health to energy levels and many more. Therefore, it's not just OK to get some unblocked sun, it's crucial!

So, how much unprotected sun is enough without getting too much?

One rule of thumb is to get at least 15 minutes of unblocked sun on your completely bare legs, arms, and head. Now, I know that my skin can handle a little bit more sun than that, so I usually go at least a half an hour before putting on some sunscreen. It's your judgment call based on your history. Some people burn really fast, others don't seem to burn at all. Just remember, it's all about using common sense and don't forget, a little bit of unprotected sunshine goes a long way toward your overall health and wellness.