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A Lasting Holiday Health Plan

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The holiday season has begun and now is the time to commit to a lasting holiday health plan. Enjoy the healthiest holiday season ever and start your new year with a mindset of staying healthy for a lifetime.

The Lifestyle Care Continuum

The three elements of the Lifestyle Care Continuum are Crisis Care, Critical Transition and Lifestyle Care. Too many of us make unhealthy choices during the holidays which results in a crisis, and then use the crisis to motivate us to get healthy again. Every year millions of people begin exercise programs, diet plans, and chiropractic regimens to get themselves healthy. When you choose to live your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle, you will get off the roller coaster ride and enjoy good health without extreme ups and downs and, you will never feel deprived.

The Critical Transition is the transition from Crisis Care to Lifestyle Care! To help you make this transition, remember this acronym for FitNESS every time you are faced with a choice during the holidays or any other time that you feel tempted or get off track.

FitNESS: Neurology, Nutrition, Endurance, Strength, and Structure.

Neurology comes first for a reason. Muscles are attached to bones and controlled by nerves. In fact, your nervous system controls and coordinates all of your conscious and unconscious functions including your muscles, organs, and systems. You must have a spine and healthy nervous system for your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, your brain to work right and your balance to be stable. The transition from Crisis Care to Chiropractic Lifestyle Care will keep your nervous system functioning at its optimum potential and is the foundation for everything else that follows. This is one reason why many of the top athletes in the world utilize chiropractic care to optimize their training and fitness program.

Nutrition comes next. Make healthier food choices this holiday season and as a part of your lifestyle. Learn to love the things that are good for you. It is true, you are what you eat. Consuming a diet filled with organic fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and very low in sugar, white flour, white rice, and pasta, should be your lifestyle and not just as a weight-loss crash. This will sustain you not just while getting into shape but as you stay in shape. It’s making your new shape your lifestyle.

Endurance develops through cardiovascular exercise which includes walking, running, hiking, bike riding, and ellipticals that will increase your heart rate and strengthen your cardiovascular system. Start slow and steady, be consistent and as time goes on increase the frequency, intensity and duration of your endurance training.

Strength gives you confidence and is necessary if you want to be independent as you age. Whether you use weights or you do strength training through yoga, Pilates or other types of plyometric training, it is important to keep yourself strong as a part of a lifestyle.

Structure is also vital, especially when you consider the overuse of technology, cell phones and computers. Even children are developing postural imbalances at a very early age and it is wreaking havoc on their health and posture. When it comes to your 100 Year Lifestyle fitNESS plan, having a healthy, straight, strong spine and posture is vital to your quality-of-life in the short and long-term. This is another reason why chiropractors have become the central figure in the healthcare team for millions of people including nearly every professional and collegiate sports team.

Statistics show that you will probably live longer than you ever thought. If you want to get there in style with health and vitality, you must make your lifestyle fitness a priority. Any time of year is the right time to shift to a lifestyle of fitNESS and enjoy the journey on your way to a sensational century.

Schedule an Appointment for yourself and your family today and give the gift of health and chiropractic this holiday season.

Booming Chiropractic Industry Celebrates 124th Birthday

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The chiropractic profession is booming as it celebrates its 124th birthday. Both the care and the trust have become the first choice for millions of individuals, families and athletes of all ages who line up for care.

There are many reasons for this growth, including chiropractic’s timeless holistic principles, supportive research and patient satisfaction. Additional factors also include the eye-opening challenges of our aging population, pediatrics, athletic performance, concussions and a rapidly growing distrust of the status quo.

Let’s explore a few of these in more detail now.

A Healthy Spine and Nervous System is Essential. Period!

It is an indisputable scientific fact that a healthy spine and nervous system is essential for a healthy life. Through every phase of growth and development, and as you age, keeping your spine and nervous system healthy must be a priority.

Chiropractors work great independently or in conjunction with other allopathic providers when necessary, while prioritizing the health of their patients. With some of the lowest malpractice rates of any health care profession by far, this drugless profession has stood its ground against Big Pharma’s bullying and brainwashing, and the public is responding – even paying for their care out of pocket when necessary!

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Begin with the End in Mind

People are living longer, but they are not living better. Nursing homes and assisted living centers are popping up like coffee shops on every corner and in every community. The current generation of seniors were blindsided by their extended life span. They had no idea they were going to live this long, meaning they didn’t prepare to ensure long, quality lives.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” This was their motto and they defined broke as excruciating pain or severe life-threatening conditions. With increasing life expectancy, this is no longer an acceptable approach! The burden on society and the younger generations is too great and the suffering, squandered wisdom and human potential is immeasurable.

We now have a generation of drug-addicted, neurologically damaged seniors and children who have blindly followed this allopathic, pharmaceutical driven model. People are rebelling by making different choices.

Chiropractors are filling the void, providing both proactive and reactive solutions to solve these problems. By keeping health care costs down and empowering people to function at higher levels, they are improving quality of life with a goal of 100:100, 100 percent for 100 years.

Styles and Specialties

Chiropractic works with the body’s innate intelligence, its inborn ability to adapt, heal and function properly. The profession has matured over the years with hundreds of different styles and specialties called techniques.

In the old days, people might say that they saw a chiropractor and it worked or didn’t work for them with the assumption that all chiropractors did the same thing. This is no longer true with gentle techniques for babies, children and fragile seniors to more traditional styles, instrument-based and extremity adjustments.

There’s a technique for everyone. Having a chiropractor and utilizing chiropractic care throughout one’s lifetime can speed healing and lead to a healthier life.

Chiropractors specialize in vertebral subluxation correction, pregnancy, pediatric and family care, Functional Neurology, concussion care, sports and performance-based care, generational care, disk injuries, accident recovery, nutrition, fitness and more.

Finding the techniques or specialty that works best for you and your family is important.

Schedule an Appointment

Frustrations with the Status Quo

The status quo in health care has let us down in so many ways. We have become a drug culture where pharmaceutical advertising has brainwashed us. They led us to believe that there is a pill for every ill. We believe that numbing pain to feel better now is the ticket to health.

Conflicts of interest between drug companies, politicians and policy have led to…

Toxic food and water are unsafe. Untested vaccination schedules are being tolerated and mandated without efficacy. This contributes to these unhealthy trends. The Food and Drug Administration has dropped the ball as I’ve heard many patients state that the FDA should stand for Financing Drug Addiction for their role and lack of oversight on all of these issues.

Stephen Covey, bestselling author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People said that “some people climb the ladder of success, get to the top and realize that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.”

We have an entire healthcare system with a ladder that is leaning against the wrong wall.

History

The first chiropractic adjustment was given in 1895 by a man named Daniel David Palmer to a partially deaf janitor named Harvey Lillard. Palmer noticed a vertebra out of alignment in Lillard’s back. Lillard explained that he had moved the wrong way, heard a pop, and then lost his hearing. Palmer had Lillard lie down on the floor and performed the adjustment. When Lillard saw Palmer again, he said he could hear once more, and he was no longer in pain. This experience led Palmer to open the first school of chiropractic two years later.

The younger generations are looking for a better way, and the common sense and care that chiropractors provide is providing hope, healing and a solid answer for the future.

The 100 Year Lifestyle Way

The 100 Year Lifestyle is all about living a healthy, passionate, prosperous life for 80, 90, 100 years and beyond. A healthy spine and nervous system so your body is able to adapt is an essential piece of the puzzle along with a long term vision, clean environment, quality relationships, life-long learning, healthy habits, exercise, good nutrition and safe, quality health care.

As the chiropractic industry celebrates its 124th birthday, consider how it might change your life. Once you begin to put yourself first and take care of your body BEFORE a crisis happens, only then will you be able to live your healthiest, happiest, and longest life.

Your 100 is coming; you make the call!

Schedule an appointment for you and your family today.

The Triune of Triathlon

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The Triune of Triathlon includes the three sports of swimming, cycling and running that create one of the most challenging and fulfilling competitions one can find. It is also one of the fastest growing sports across the country. The key to success in triathlon is to condition your body in all three sports in order to perform at your best.

Triathletes spend months of training and dialing in their nutrition leading up to the race. There is a lot of planning that takes place in order to prepare your body to endure the many miles you will cover with limited food and water. It would be extremely difficult and dangerous to show up at the starting line unprepared.

On the day that an athlete signs up for their first event, there’s usually no way they could complete the race and it seems like a crazy idea. But as they train, their body steadily changes and come race day they are primed and ready to go. This phenomenon that happens in endurance sports is the change that occurs in an athlete over time. Getting ready for a race doesn’t happen in one day, one week, or even one month.

What exactly is this phenomenon that enables your body to adapt to the training and compete? It is a second Triune of Triathlon that is as follows…

Innate Intelligence: Your body has an innate intelligence that is allowing it to adapt and change according to your training and nutrition. This intelligence conditions your muscles and improves the metabolic pathways to use your energy stores effectively throughout the race. Your body will adapt as long as your nervous system is healthy.

Interference: There can be interferences to your body’s ability to adapt. These can be lifestyle related such as lack of sleep, poor nutrition, over training, alcohol, work and relationship stress. There can also be nerve interference. Dysfunction in your spine and nerve system has a negative impact on your body’s ability to adapt to your training and may lead to injury or poor performance. Since your nerve system controls your body’s ability to adapt, interference here will slow your training plan and you will not get the maximum benefit out of your workouts.

Adjustments: Remove the interferences in your lifestyle and in your nerve system to optimize your training. By eliminating the things that are holding you back, and making small changes and corrections, you will improve your overall health, respond more efficiently to your training, eliminate and prevent injury and optimize your performance.

The chiropractic care our office provides addresses this triune to help Triathletes and all other types of athletes heal quickly from injury, adapt to their training and perform at their highest level.

Casual athletes and anyone for that matter who addresses this triune as a foundation of their health and lifestyle, often sees great results.

Many people begin to feel less pain, have more energy, take less medications, sleep better and set personal records in the gym. Others have more stable emotions and improve their relationships with their family and loved ones. Others see allergies clear up and their immune systems get stronger. Kids often become more focused, stand up straighter and demonstrate a greater sense of well-being.

Just as training consistently will allow you to race at your best, getting checked for nerve interference regularly will allow your body to function properly so that you can achieve optimal health and peak performance.

Whether you’re thinking about taking on a Triathlon, or you just want to get more out of life, apply this triune. Take your Innate Intelligence out for a test drive and you will be blown away by your own capabilities. Remove the interference from your life and make the critical transition from crisis care into lifestyle care. Adjust your lifestyle and enjoy a sensational century.

Artificial Intelligence versus Innate Intelligence

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With all the talk about AI, Artificial Intelligence, it will never be able to compete with the awesome power of your body’s Innate Intelligence! Acknowledging this reality will empower you to take charge of your health so you and your loved ones can perform at 100% for 100 years and beyond. And the numbers back it up, big time!

The following calculation was performed by Yale University biophysicist Harold J. Morowitz and published way back on February 11, 1976 in the New York Times.

“A pound of human flesh is worth about $111,475 and a whole body around $6 million. And those prices only cover raw materials, hormones, proteins, enzymes, RNA, DNA, amino acids, and other complex biochemicals that are the stuff of life,” Dr. Harold J. Morowitz said.

“Fashioning the $6 million chemical shopping list into human cells might cost $6,000,000,000,000 [six thousand trillion dollars], Morowitz estimates assembling the resulting heap of cells into tissue, the tissue into organs, and organs into a warm body might drain all the treasuries of the world, with no guarantee of success,” Morowitz concluded.

“Morowitz was prompted to do the calculations by the popular saying that the materials which make up the average human body are worth only 97 cents. This piddling sum only reflects the market value of basic atomic elements—carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, iron, phosphorus, calcium, sodium—found in the molecules of the average body.  A more appropriate measure, Morowitz thought, would be the retail cost of complete human biochemicals, most of which can be purchased from chemical specialty supply firms, so he began checking catalogues.”

“The prices ranged from a modest $2.95 a gram for hemoglobin [the blood’s oxygen-carrying substance] to $17,500,000 a gram for prolactic, a hormone that stimulates and helps regulate milk production by the female breasts. Other items in a do-it-yourself human kit would include DNA, at $768 a gram, crystalline insulin for $47.50 a gram, alkaline phosphatase at $225 a gram, and acetate kinase for $8,860 a gram, Morowitz found.”

“The real shocker came when I got to follicle-stimulating hormone at $4,800,000 a gram—clearly outside the reach of anything Tiffany’s could offer,” he said. “I’m going to suggest it as a gift for people who have everything. For the wealthy, there is prolactin at $175,000,000 a gram, street price.”

“Collagen, a fibrous protein “glue” that holds the body together, was a relative bargain at $15 a gram.”

“Using the best scientific estimate of the amount of each biochemical in an average human body, Morowitz calculated that human tissue is worth $245.54 per gram dry weight, based on the catalogue prices. He computed his own 168-pound body weight in grams, subtracted the 68 percent that is water, and multiplied by $245.54.”

“The number literally jumped out at me—$6,000,015.44—I was a Six Million Dollar Man, no doubt about it, and really an enormous upgrade to my ego after the 97-cent evaluation,” Morowitz quipped.”

“From there Morowitz went on to calculate that assembly costs for a human body indeed are incalculable.”

More than 40 years after Morowitz made this calculation, it is still true that the top scientists in the world are not even close to making a single human cell using the raw materials and assembling that cell into a highly functional human being. Yet, your body’s Innate Intelligence makes trillions of new cells for you throughout your lifetime and as long as there is no interference, will keep you functioning at your highest level for a lifetime.

Honor this Innate Intelligence through your lifestyle and health care choices. The chiropractic care we provide will work to optimize the funtion of your spine, brain and nervous system to support your body’s natural ability to heal itself and function optimally.

No matter what your health concerns or goals may be, this approach and care can make a big difference for you like it has for millions of others.

Schedule your appointment today.

A version of these archives appears in print on February 11, 1976, on Page 45 of the New York edition with the headline: The High Cost of Being Human.

Improving Marathon Performance

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Marathons are on the rise and people are striving to improve their marathon performance. If this is you or you know someone who is into extreme sports, you will love the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

Flying through the book because I couldn’t put it down and talking with a good friend and fellow 100 Year Lifestyle Chiropractor, Dr. Dan Traxler of Connect First Family Chiropractic in Sterling, VA, has inspired me to challenge myself with running longer distances. I recently signed up for the St. George Marathon in October. This being my first marathon, I’ve been constantly researching everything I can about how to improve my performance and decrease my chances of injury. So far, I’ve come up with two things, and I believe they are the most important two things anyone training for a marathon, ultramarathon, iron man, etc. should consider; sleep and chiropractic care.

We all know sleep is important, whether we’re training hard or just doing our normal routine, but I think we fail to realize just how important sleep actually is for athletic performance. Studies have shown an increase in sprinting speed by 9% among basketball players who slept two extra hours each night. Their shooting accuracy also improved.1 Imagine carrying these benefits over to running and how your time will improve! It might be difficult to get an extra two hours of sleep every night while you’re training, but even increasing your sleep the week leading up to the event can boost your race-day performance.

A reduction of time spent sleeping reduces your reaction time, regardless of what sport you play or participate in. Just one night without sleep can reduce reaction times by up to 300%.2 If you’re training for a race and you’re also a student studying hard for finals, a CEO running a company, or a mom just trying to keep up with daily life, make sure you’re getting at least eight hours of sleep each night to keep your reaction times on point.

You might think the strongest predictor of sports injuries would be how many hours you practice, and you’d be in the majority. However, studies have shown that sleep is actually the biggest predictor of injuries.3 Without adequate sleep, your body doesn’t have enough time to regenerate cells needed to heal and protect your body. Without adequate sleep, your reaction times are slower, as previously discussed, so you can’t stop an injury as it’s about to occur. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep to keep you healthy and off the sidelines as you train.

Another benefit of getting enough sleep is improved growth hormone regulation. Growth hormone is vital to sustaining athletic performance as it aids in muscle repair, muscle building, and bone growth. Almost 75% of growth hormone is released during sleep.4 Getting a regular seven to nine hours of sleep each night guarantees the production of growth hormone and your ability to recover so you can keep up with your training schedule.

Sleep is something most people understand when it comes to athletic performance. Something that not many people understand is how chiropractic care can help athletic performance. Chiropractic adjustments balance the body while also enhancing the function of the nervous system, the master control system of the body. The nervous system controls everything; the thoughts we think, our hearts beating, digestion of our food, breathing and muscle contraction. Studies have shown that after a single adjustment, athletes had stronger muscle contractions measured by EMG technology.5 By maintaining a healthy nervous system as a part of a healthy lifestyle, your muscles will be bigger, faster and stronger. Imagine how having faster and stronger muscles will improve your athletic performance!

There you have it. If you’re looking to increase marathon performance, or any other athletic activity, adequate amounts of sleep and chiropractic care are two things you can implement immediately. To find a provider near you, click here. Good luck on your training endeavors!

  1. Mah, C., Mah, K., Kezirian, E., & Dement, W. (2011). The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players. SLEEP, 34(7), 943-950.
  2. 5 Areas Sleep Has The Greatest Impact on Athletic Performance. (2015, September 23). Fatigue Science.
  3. Milewski, M., Skaggs, D., Bishop, G., Ibrahim, D., Wren, T., & Barzdukas, A. (2014). Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes. Jouranl of Pediatric Orthopedics, 34(2), 129-133.
  4. Sleep and Human Growth Hormone. (2019, May 8).
  5. Keller, T.S., & Colloca, C.J. (2000). Mechanical force spinal manipulation increases trunk muscle strength assessed by electromyography: A comparative clinical trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 23(9), 585-595.

The Nerve of Skin

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Your skin is the largest organ in your body and its first line of defense against external threats. The skin communicates with the brain via sensory receptors and plays a significant role in nervous system function. According to the American Physiology Society, “The peripheral nervous system plays a pivotal role in skin homeostasis and disease,” and “the central nervous system is directly or indirectly connected to skin function.” The sensory receptors in our skin receive messages from the external environment and quickly relay them to our brain for processing. Both our external and internal world have a huge impact on our skin.

When either of these systems are not working well, the skin will be affected. It is no wonder that people with nerve system imbalances see their skin conditions improve when they begin receiving chiropractic adjustments.

The skin can exhibit imbalances in various forms of sensitivities. According to a Mayo Clinic study, skin disorders are the number one reason people seek out healthcare professionals.

Because our skin is a vast protective organ, and intricately related to the nervous system, it’s important to consider its relationship to the sun. We’ve all heard that vitamin D is the “sunshine vitamin” and this is because when sunlight hits our skin, it is turned into vitamin D3 through a chemical process within our body.

According to Scientific American, “Getting a little sunshine is important for helping our bodies generate Vitamin D, an important supplement for strong bones, and for regulating our levels of serotonin and tryptamine, neurotransmitters that keep our moods and sleep/wake cycles in order.”

Wearing sunscreen has led to a decrease in vitamin D absorption for a majority of the population, reducing the sun’s positive effects. According to a study in the Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, “Wearing a sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 30 reduces vitamin D synthesis in the skin by more than 95%.”

It is important to allow yourself some sunscreen-free sun exposure daily. Of course, over-exposure to the sun can cause a sunburn, so be mindful when you are out in the sun for extended periods of time and consider the type of sunscreen you use.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting health and the environment, “The Food and Drug Administration has not reviewed evidence of potential hazards of sunscreen filters.” 84% of the 831 sunscreens tested by the EWG were found to contain harmful chemicals.

When searching for a sunscreen, EWG advises using a mineral sunscreen as a safe alternative and they provide an updated list each year of the safety ratings of every sunscreen. Go to ewg.org to see how yours rates and find a safe sunscreen for you and your family.

Adjust your lifestyle, sun exposure and keep your skin communicating with your nervous system. Regardless of the time of year, take a moment each day to absorb the nutrients the sunshine is providing!

http://physrev.physiology.org/content/86/4/1309

https://www.valentgroup.com/top-10-most-common-reasons-to-visit-the-doctor-and-tips-for-prevention/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356951/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-sunscreens-safe/?redirect=1

https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/