Tag: Antioxidants

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The Genetics Excuse

A lot of people that I come into contact with truly believe that within their family history lies their fate. In other words, because in their family history there are instances of  heart disease, arthritis or cancer, there is nothing that they can do to prevent themselves from getting these diseases.

While it’s true that some of us carry genes that make us more susceptible to cancer, heart disease,and diabetes just to name a few, it is also true that for these genes to cause disease, they must be turned ON. In fact recent research has shown that genetics contributes only about 30% to disease susceptibility while an individual”s environment contributes upwards of 70%. So, as long as these genes are turned OFF, you are safe.

Now, you might be asking yourself, what is it that turns these switches “ON”?

The answer is several factors contribute:

  • STRESS
  • PHYSICAL TRAUMA
  • ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS
  • NUTRITION

At True Health, we address all of these factors with our patients from the initial visit. Through specific chiropractic adjustments, we correct and restore normal structure/function to your spine and nervous system resulting from years of repetitive stress, tension, and countless traumas. Through our purification program, we eliminate toxins stored in your body from the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, and the water that we drink. And finally, we offer easy to implement nutritional advice and high quality whole food supplements.

The truth is that our genes are being changed moment by moment by the environment of our thoughts and feelings as well as the environment of our families, homes, work, friends and where we live. We assign mental and emotional meaning to facts that are as important to gene activation as the facts themselves. Even the thoughts you are having about the coming week are wired into your brain and act as stimulus for genetic expression.

Environmental changes that make it easier for people to overeat, and harder for people to get enough physical activity, have played a key role in triggering the recent surge of preventable disease. So, if we become more aware that our environment – the physical, social, political, and economic surroundings – greatly influences how much we eat and how active we are. We can continue living our life the same way, or we can make a change now to ensure good health for years to come.

The Bottom Line

What science tells us is that healthy environments and lifestyles can counteract any gene-related risks.

What you can do:  maintain normal structural alignment coupled with a healthy lifestyle so that your body is the best it can be to throw off potential illness.

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True Health Food Rules

TRUE HEALTH Food RulesSomewhere along the line we lost track of the idea that our food should be our medicine. In fact today, it’s quite the opposite – our modern eating habits are polluting our bodies, making us more susceptible to many preventable illnesses and diseases. We are no longer getting the nutrients from our food that are necessary to function at our optimal level. The water we drink and the food we eat are loaded with toxins, robbing us of our innate self-healing abilities.

It can be extremely confusing to attempt to keep up with the latest fads in diet or what you should or should not eat. The war on fat led to the explosion of empty (“fat-free”) carbs, food which is heavily processed and stripped of any nutritional benefits. This fat-free lifestyle has resulted in sky rocketing obesity rates. Our diet today is leading to increases in chronic degenerative diseases, and even more alarming, they are occurring at a younger age. Our lifestyle choices are pointing us directly to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune, inflammatory and neurological diseases.

It is a shame that modern medicine has largely ignored one of the best weapons against disease- nutrition. By utilizing these 10 food “rules”, we hope to guide patients to regain control of their health by eating well and by eating clean, health promoting foods.

1. Eat REAL Food

This means Grass-fed Meats/Butter and Wild Fish and Game/Free Range Eggs. Increase Colorful Fruits and Vegetables (Polyphenols = antioxidants / anti inflammatory)

2. Minimize GRAINS (including whole grains)

An excess of breads, pastas, cereals can lead to leaky gut syndrome which can lead to unwanted inflammation.

3. Add NATURAL FATS (coconut/avocado/olive oil, butter)

These natural fats help to provide immunity, development of the nervous system, and protection from micro-organisms. Avoid industrial vegetable and seed oils (soy, corn, canola, sunflower).

4. No LOW FAT or FAT FREE Processed Foods

None. Most low fat or fat free foods add sugar and chemicals to make up for the loss in taste.

5. Re-think BREAKFAST (Protein/Fat not Carbs)

No cereals, toast, or sugary yogurts. Instead, aim to fill up on protein. Better choice: Smoothies.The 3 main ingredients should be plants, fat, and protein. Any combination of several greens, avocado, coconut oil, and a little fruit will work. (When smoothies have no protein, they’re just fructose)

6. Cut Out Unnecessary SUGAR

Go plain whenever you can and sweeten it naturally, you’ll use a lot less. Eliminate any sugary beverages, stick with water with lemon and teas. Use dark chocolate as your go to treat.

7. SATURATED FATS and CHOLESTEROL are Vital for Optimum Health

Cholesterol helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system. Saturated fats promote the body’s use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver and contribute to strong bones.

8. Modern SOY Products are Dangerous

Modern soy foods, such as soy protein powders and soymilk, block mineral absorption, inhibit protein digestion, cause endocrine disruption, depress thyroid function and contain potent carcinogens.

9. Organic Does NOT Equal Healthy

Organic pasteurized milk, breakfast cereal, chips, cookies, crackers and fruit juice are highly processed, refined convenience foods lacking vital nutrients. Organic meat and milk may still come from animals in confinement and therefore lack vital nutrients for growth and immune function.

10. A VEGAN Diet Can Lead to Nutritional Deficiencies

Vital nutrients found exclusively in animal foods include complete protein, cholesterol and vitamins A, D, B6 and B12. We can’t get sufficient true vitamin A from plant foods, and most of us get enough vitamin D from the sun alone. Vitamin B12 is not absorbed from plant sources, and modern soy products actually increase the body’s need for B12. Those who do not eat meat can have a healthy diet by consuming eggs and  dairy foods from animals on pasture, and by avoiding modern soy foods.

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8 Ways to Avoid Being A Supplement Junkie

nutritional supplements

I should start off by saying that I am not in any way, shape or form anti-supplement. Supplements are a great tool and they serve many people well, especially when used appropriately. But here’s what I don’t understand. People are slowly moving away from treating every minor ailment and condition with a prescription drug (which is great). However, many are replacing pharmaceuticals with natural supplements – which are sadly doing the same thing (albeit usually in a safer way). They are simply treating symptoms and covering up the problem, never truly getting to the cause.

As a chiropractor my viewpoint may be different. After all, our profession was founded on the idea of getting to the cause – we focus on creating health rather than managing disease. I would never associate health as something that could come out of a pill or bottle whether they were natural or not), but as something that is experienced from the inside-out. When it comes to nutrition – the right food turns on the right genes, and create biological signals that create health, while the wrong foods turn on genes that cause disease and create biological chaos.

With that being said, have you been in a health food store recently? Standing in line you can see people whose shopping cart is covered with no less than 30 boxes of different herbs, vitamins, and supplements of all kinds. B-complexes, Glucosamine, Licorice, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Ginko, Garlic, and St. John’s Wort just to name a few. While this is certainly an extreme example, it’s not as rare as you might think.

We have the power to determine how healthy our cells are by the choices we make with our bodies. Our bodies are equipped with an incredible ability to go towards health when it’s supplied with the right building materials. If your cells are like houses, the quality of the cell is dependent on the building materials which are found in our food.

Taking vitamins have become an extra job for some, here’s how to avoid it: Continue reading “8 Ways to Avoid Being A Supplement Junkie”

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5 Tips For Building Healthy, Happy Children

We have the power to determine how healthy we are by the choices we make with our bodies. Our bodies are equipped with an incredible ability to go towards health when they’re supplied with the right building materials. For optimal health, children should eat right, move more, and enjoy life to the fullest (which happens to be the same advice for us adults).

The idea behind these five daily strategies are to build healthier kids, because as we know healthier kids are happier kids, and happier kids are more successful. Continue reading “5 Tips For Building Healthy, Happy Children”

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How to Eat Clean

eat clean

It is a shame that modern medicine has largely ignored one of the best weapons against disease- nutrition. At True Health Family Chiropractic, we hope to guide patients to regain control of their health outside of our office by eating well and by eating clean, health promoting foods.

The first step is to actively remove all of the unhealthy food choices in your house so you have room to fit all of the good things you are going to buy. To successfully improve the quality of what you eat, remember we often eat what’s convenient, and if you buy it and keep it in the house, you’ll eat it – so don’t buy it in the first place. The following are some basic ground rules to follow when eating clean.

Eating Clean Checklist:

  • Eat more organic and/or local fruits and vegetables, and remember the fresher the food, the more potent the nutrients
  • Drink more pure filtered water (Divide your weight by 2, aim to drink that number in ounces)
  • Eat hormone and antibiotic free meats and dairy (Choose products where animals live as close to their natural state as possible -free-range, cage-free, grass-fed, raw milk etc.)
  • Eat foods that have not been genetically modified (Click here for a non-GMO shopping guide)
  • Eat more alkaline foods (lots of vegetables)
  • Lower your intake of inflammatory/mucus producing foods (dairy, sugar, wheat)
  • Eat more raw foods that contain powerful enzymes and phytonutrients (try juicing)
  • Eat more fresh whole foods and less processed man made foods
  • Eat or supplement anti-inflammatory foods (Omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, flax seed)
  • Increase the amount of good bacteria in your GI tract by eating foods high in fiber and supplementing with probiotics
  • Eliminate soft drinks, sugary drinks, and artificially sweetened drinks loaded with neurotoxins
  • Eat a handful of raw nuts/seeds everyday
  • Limit caffeine intake to one cup of coffee/day, instead aim to drink up to 3 cups of green tea

AND For a detailed grocery list of nutrient dense, fresh, whole (or in some cases minimally processed) foods which promote optimal health, click here.