Tag: Pharmaceuticals

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Healthy is Normal

Healthy is Normal

We are designed to be extraordinary. Every cell in your body is hardwired to be healthy. Unfortunately, in America the expectation is that we are supposed to be sick, and that there is always a solution (usually found in a bottle).

If we think about a flower – the seed contains all of the things that the flower needs to flourish and grow – as long as it gets everything it requires. Now, when a plant starts to wilt, we automatically wonder, “what is it missing?” But when it come to humans, our first thought is “what do I have?” meaning what condition or name is the current state of dysfunction in our body. We want a label – and the pharmaceutical industry is happy to oblige.

The truth is, you are not your condition. You’re simply the culmination of your body’s inability to adapt to the stressors placed upon it on a regular basis. When you come to this realization, it leaves you with 2 choices: remove the stress OR increase your body’s ability to adapt to it. Remember, we are just like the flower – our body has its own requirements – and as long as their fulfilled, the natural, default state is health. We do not have to discover health, we just have to allow it.

One of our body’s requirements (along with proper movement and proper fuel) is proper nerve supply. An impaired nerve system could reduce immune function, concentration, recovery from illness and injury; it could lessen athletic performance and digestive function. It could even alter behavior. Stressors (aka your life) cause spinal shifts within the inner framework of your body. When we look at the nervous system, any structural imbalance that occurs becomes part of your pattern as you get older. This cartilage system, this spine, if it’s shifted, altered or distorted, it’s automatically creating an inhibition or interference in the neurological system. That pattern becomes yours as you get older, and it’s much more difficult to correct or to set right.

The goal in our office is to maintain the integrity of your spine and nervous system. Instead of focusing on the health lost, deterioration created, energy decrease, immune system suppression and all the negative effects of nerve interference and not fulfilling all your requirements, at True Health Family Chiropractic, we choose to focus on the untapped potential for health and vitality available for your body.

All you really need to know is that we all are designed to function, heal and re-create from the inside out. No matter what other steps you add – diet, exercise, meditation – without a proper nerve supply, you can never be at your full potential. If you want to be healthy, you have to have a healthy nervous system.

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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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I Don’t Believe in Chiropractic

believe in chiropractic

“I don’t believe in Chiropractic.” This is something that all chiropractors hear from time to time when out in public or in the office. I always get a kick out of it because after all – I am alive and real AND I am a Chiropractor – so do they not believe I exist? Okay, maybe people don’t question the existence of chiropractors. However, there are many people out there that question the notion that chiropractic is a viable health care tool. That’s fair enough. Let’s take a closer look, though.

Most of this comes from not understanding what chiropractic is. Chiropractic is a “clinical science based on the fundamental laws of biology, anatomy, and physiology” therefore; belief, religion, and/or faith don’t factor logically into the equation. Fortunately – you don’t have to believe in chiropractic – it works regardless of your belief system. In our office we see a lot of pediatric patients – and guess what? They don’t believe in chiropractic. In fact, some (newborns, infants) have no idea what it is – but they still get better, and their health problems still resolve.

The first question I ask when I hear “I don’t believe in chiropractic” is – do you believe you have a spine? That’s an easy one. So, now if we understand that there is a normal range for your spine’s structure, is it reasonable to say that IF your spine is outside of normal, this can lead to dysfunction and eventually pain?

Better yet, if there was a profession that detects and corrects a spine when it is outside the normal range without the use of medications, long therapy or even surgery – would that be a good thing? Well, then you do believe in Chiropractic, especially my type of chiropractic that detects and corrects abnormal structural problems of the spine.

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Weekly Health Roundup

healthWelcome to True Health Family Chiropractic’s Weekly Health Roundup, where we’ll take a look at what’s making news in the world of health.

Research of the Week

A new study finds that over-diagnosis of reflux in infants leads to needless medication, which is generally ineffective and could have long term implications. As I’ve written about before, research shows that parents of infants using chiropractic care for colic reported fewer hours of crying per day and difference was statistically significant. We also know that the addition of probiotics has been shown to help with symptoms of colic.

Interesting Articles

I talk a lot about taking control of your health. The reason being is that today we have infinite possibilities, and and our health can suffer as well as benefit a great deal for it. For example, we have the option of sitting on the couch all weekend watching a netflix marathon, or we can be outside. Here’s a great article that offers 8 tips on how to take control of your health. The article focuses on a excellent concept; health integrity -an honesty to one’s self, a commitment that begins and ends with one’s self, an inner compass that has nothing to do with the outside world.

Food for Thought

Eating fruits and vegetables in season makes sense – they are at their peak freshness and have to travel the least distance to your plate (and they taste better). But how do you know what is in season when? The solution is a food calendar, and Eat Seasonably has created a great interactive one -the pinwheel shows what’s in season by month; the outermost ring shows what’s particularly delicious at that time:

Blog Posts Worth Reading

Blenders and juicers are great tools to help any kid eat more nutrient dense foods. However, lots of parents are unsure as to which is better. This is a great blog post on blenders versus juicers, and which will work best in your house for your kids.

Time Capsule

A year ago on the True Health blog we looked at a natural approach to ear infections. This is one of the most common reasons I see children in my practice –  there is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. Research has shown that close to 80% of children treated with a series of chiropractic adjustments did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits.

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True Health Insurance

Are you one serious illness away from bankruptcy? Many are.

Those of us with “health” insurance policies think we’re protected from the burden of huge medical bills. You may be surprised to learn that’s just not true. In a Harvard University study of almost 2,000 Americans in bankruptcy court, half said that illness or medical bills drove them to bankruptcy. Every 30 seconds in the United States, someone files for bankruptcy because of a serious health problem. Surprisingly, more than 75 percent of those filing for bankruptcy had insurance, losing their coverage during the course of their illness. Thus, they face the double disaster of illness and bankruptcy.

“If you’re sick enough, long enough, you’re likely to be financially ruined,” cautioned Dr. David Himmelstein the lead author of the Harvard study.

Bankruptcy is increasingly accompanying serious health problems. In fact, people who go under from medical debt are mostly middle-class or working-class people who own their own homes. The solution? Don’t get sick, of course. But how?

Keep in mind, health is our normal, natural state. Many people neglect their health, paying attention to it only when their symptoms become unmanageable. By then, problems can become severe, often becoming irreversible. That is why I sometimes sound like a broken record, constantly suggesting preventive and wellness visits, instead of coming in only when pain is present.

This is not simply my opinion. As we’ve discussed before – Chiropractic saves you money in the long term. A 7 year study conducted by an independent physician association found that patients’ regular utilization of chiropractic care reduced the need for: hospitilization by 60%, hospital days by 59%,pharmaceutical usage by 85%, outpatient surgeries & procedures by 62%, and overall global health care costs by 50%.

Visiting our office when you’re feeling great, may sound a little strange to your health insurance provider. It may even sound strange to you. But preventive measures may actually provide more “insurance” than your insurance.