BBQ SAFER WITH LESS HEALTH RISKS

You probably did not know that cooking meat (red meat, pork and chicken) at high temperatures like on a BBQ causes cancer-causing heterocyclic amines(HCA) to form.  These are the same chemicals found in cigarette smoke and have been shown to cause cancer.  There are tricks to preventing these HCAs from forming, they are:

• Eat less meat: Research shows that heating vegetables at high temps does not form HCAs so if you add more veggies to the meal you will eat less meat and still be satisfied.
• Turn the TEMP down:  Temperature is the most significant determinant of HCA formation.  The higher the heat, the more HCAs.  Cook at lower temperature over a longer period of time to lower HCA development.  Dropping the temp by 100 degrees cuts HCA formation by two-thirds.
• Turn your meat often. Flipping your burgers, chicken, etc will prevent the heat within the meat from hitting those high temps that can start to form the HCAs.
• Marinade your meats.  Marinating beef overnight with teriyaki or tumeric-garlic sauce has shown to significantly reduce HCA formation.  AVOID high sugar and/or fructose sweetened marinades because they can actually triple HCA production.  The best marinades are red wines which reduce HCA formation by 88 percent.
• Go skinless.  Less HCA production if the chicken is skinless.
• Choose good side dishes: Foods like blueberries, blackberries, red grapes, kiwi, watermellon, parsley, and spinach greens help reduce HCA affects.  Drinks like tea, red wine, and beer also do the same.
• Eat Veggies.  Cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and other cruciferous veggies have a chemical called sulforaphane that helps neutralize the HCAs.

In Conclusion:  You can continue to enjoy your BBQ with less risk to your health by following these simple tips.

Why You Should Not Wait Til January To See A Doctor

I always like to keep my patients, friends and family up to date with the insurance world so they can SAVE MONEY.  Here is a little food for thought:

• Most people's 2011 insurance benefits end on 12/31/2011, they DO NOT roll over to 2012.
• New benefits that start in 2012 most likely will have higher co-pays and deductibles.
• Most people have met their required deductibles and out-of-pocket expense limits by December and therefore have no out-of-pocket cost between now and the end of the year.
• Many health issues do take time to get resolved.  Therefore you should be very proactive to get your health issues addressed ASAP in December.
• Many physicians work longer hours at the beginning of December to make sure they can accommodate New Patients.  I make it a rule that if a New Patient calls today they will be seen the same day if they wish.
• Making excuses why you have to wait til after the holidays WILL in most cases cost you a lot more money!! I see it every year and sadly there is nothing I can do to help.

It is your choice but if money is a concern for you like it is for most I hope you will use this information to your benefit.

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON!!

Steps to Stay Healthy during Cold and Flu Season

REMEMBER: people DO NOT make you sick.  It is your bodies inability to fight off the invader that lets you get sick.  Follow these rules to stay healthier:

1. Chiropractic Adjustments help keep your nervous system and immune system working at their optimal levels.
2. Drink lots of Pure Water.  Water in coffee and tea is not as beneficial.
3. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.  Fall/Winter foods like Chili are not as healthy.
4. Daily Vitamins A, C, E, Selenium, and immune Builder.  Buy your vitamins from doctor's office.  Most vitamins in big retail stores are inferior because they are bought in bulk with more effort put into their marketing than health value.
5. Stretch EVERYDAY and exercise at least three times per week for 30 minutes.
6. Fresh Sunlight.  Get outside for walks so the sun can hit your face and produce Vitamin D.  (Windows block the beneficial rays of the sun)
7. Fresh Air.  Get outside for fresh air.  Keep home and office window cracked slightly so fresh air will mix with stale recycled dirty furnace air.
8. Use room humidifier in bedrooms to put more moisture in the air if needed. 

Take this advice for what it is worth.  I have followed these principles throughout my career and have never missed a day of work in 11 years due to illness.  I have never had a flu shot either. 

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Auto Accident Info You May Not Know

Did you know that the typical symptoms from even the most minor auto accident can take six months to a year to present themselves?

From the mild fender bender to the complete collision most people are fortunate enough to walk away from their car accident with seemingly minor injuries.  At least that is what they think.  The truth is that although a person may not break a bone or have major cuts and scrapes there is no question that their body has sustained an injury.  Soft tissue injuries related to auto accidents can lead to such symptoms as headaches, neck and/or back pain, fibromyalgia, etc.

Again, these symptoms in many cases do not appear for at least six months after the accident; therefore in most cases a person that has enjoyed relatively good health has no clue as to why they are now having problems.  In most cases the person will just assume it has to do with their age.

Have you ever watched television when they show a crash test simulation with a dummy at the wheel?  That is what happens to the human body during an accident.  The energy of the impact travels through your body at rocket speed and is over in a millisecond.

If you are braced for impact at the time of the accident because you know you are about to hit someone or about to get hit then the probability for injury rises greatly short and long term.  The rigidity of your musculoskeletal system at the time of impact has no give so therefore bone breaks, muscle tears and/or sprain/strains can occur.

If you have been in any auto accident, boating accident or bad event tubing and/or skiing (same principles apply) please do yourself and your family a favor and get evaluated by a chiropractor as soon after the episode as possible.  A chiropractor can detect if their is a musculoskeletal injury from the accident that needs to be corrected so that it does not lead to symptoms down the road.

After a decade of treating these injuries I can tell you that the early a problem is diagnosed and treated the better the long term outcome is for the patient.

Sports and Chiropractic

In today’s world children are asked to play sports at a level that has never been seen before in history.  Long gone are the days of playing seasonal sports for just fun and exercise.  Today children are pushed to excel in whatever sport they or their parents choose for them to play.  The season no longer ends at a certain point in the year, instead clinics and travel programs pick up so the kids in many cases literally have no break.

I am not here to judge whether or not this is right or wrong.  No, I have written this in order to educate parents about how Chiropractic care can and will help their children not only perform at an optimal level but also help to prevent injury.

Did you know that each year more than 3 million sports related injuries are reported in children under the age of 15.  These children are treated in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics across the country.  Fortunately, with proper treatment these injuries will not be career ending.

Chiropractic care very simply is all about structure and function.  The body MUST have proper structure in order to function at 100%.  If a child’s skeletal structure (spine, hips, pelvis, etc.) does not have perfect structure then not only will they not be able to perform to their fullest potential but they will be risking injury as well.  I use Michael Phelps as an example.  He is arguably the best swimmer in the world, yet he made sure that he was checked and adjusted before each race at the Olympics on the side of the pool to make sure that he would perform at his best.  This is just one example.  In today’s world at least 95% of all professional and college athletes use chiropractic to make sure that they are able to give 100%.

Injury prevention is maybe even more important of a reason to see a chiropractor.  If the biomechanical structure of the body is not correct then the possible of injury rises dramatically.  A trained chiropractor will assess for these imbalances and advise on the best way to correct them.  However, if an injury has already occurred and the athlete is in pain then chiropractic treatment can get an athlete back to playing much quicker than other forms of care. In many cases without the need for prescription medication that only mask the symptoms of the injury and provides no long term correction.  In these cases a subsequent injury can occur quickly to the athlete because the real cause of the problem was never treated.

Other Professionals and Teams who use Chiropractic regularly include: US Olympic Team, Detroit Tigers, Lions and Red Wings, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Charles Barkley, and Arnold Schwarzenegger just to name a few.

Why you should have a Chiropractic evaluation even when you feel well

Question: Why should I come and see a chiropractor if I feel good and have no pain or symptoms?

Answer:  Maintenance!!  Every physician in the world knows that symptoms come at the very end of the disease process and yes even pain, discomfort, headaches, sciatica, etc are disease processes.  They have a starting point that usually is not felt in any way, shape or form. And an end point, the first symptom.  The only exception to this rule is traumatic injury which can take perfectly healthy tissue and damage it causing immediate or delayed symptoms.

Question:  How long does it take for the symptom to arise after the condition begins?

Answer:  It can literally take as little as a day to as long as multiple decades for a little condition to become a major symptomatic problem.

Question:  How do I know if this is occuring in my body?

Answer:  Unless you have symptoms you will not!!  Only a well performed evaluation including x-rays (minimal views are needed) will give your doctor clues as to what is happening within your body. 

Can it be fixed if I wait til there is a symptom and how long will it take?

Depending on the problem it possible can or cannot be fully corrected.  In most cases the problem can be treated and the symptoms reduced or eliminated.  Of course, the treatment plan is more intense and the costs are much greater at that point.

The point of this post is to emphasize the point of MAINTENANCE HEALTH.  I want to encourage people to be PROACTIVE about their health rather than REACTIVE to their symptoms. 

Some simple examples:

1. Brushing your teeth.  If you do not have a cavity today then why brush your teeth?  To prevent developing a cavity.
2. Annual physical.  If you feel fine why go have an annual physical?  To catch any possible problems at the earliest stage possible.  This is why so much research is done to develop tests that can find problems earlier and earlier.  The earlier it is found, the easier it is treated, with the best prognosis.

At the end of the day our health is the most valuable part of our lives.  Cherish it and protect it because if you wait until it is too late to have that evaluation you may be sorry.

Headaches/Migraines

Stop suffering from Headaches/Migraines.

Chiropractic is a great way of treating a person's headaches.  

Why?  

Because of the direct relationship that the upper cervical spine and/or occiput (back portion of the skull) have on the brain stem.  The brain stem sits down into the 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae and has 12 cranial nerves.  These nerves go back into the head and control everything in our head including the eyes, ears, nose and mouth.  They also have a direct affect on whether our capillaries in our head our dilated (open) or constricted (closed) thus affecting the blood flow.  By adjusting the spine the pressure on these nerves is lessened and the signal to the affected vessels is improved, causing vaso dilation and improved blood flow.  In simple terms, less throbbing/pounding in your head.

Another aspect of headaches is what is called the cranio/sacral pump.  This simply means the relationship between the head and sacrum (end of spine) that creates the movement of our spinal fluid.  If there are restrictions in other areas of the spine between the head and butt the fluid does not move as it should thus contributing to a person's headaches.

Finally, many peoples headaches are simply due to the fact that they have so much musculo/skeletal restrictions in their back.  Their life creates stress either physically or emotionally that over time just leads to so much muscle spasm (tense musculature) in their neck and upper back that the result is aheadache.

Headaches have been successfully treated with chiropractic for over 100 years.  Whether the cause is believed to be stress, hormone, work related and/or considered inherited, properly applied chiropractic care has tremendous success rates.