It’s That Time Again

If you’ve been a regular reader you may recognize that this is a repeat article on seasonal affective disorder or S.A.D.  This condition is more commonly referred to as the “winter blues” and it is characterized by a sense of depression that starts in the fall and ends in the spring and is accompanied by decreased energy and initiative.  While this condition is commonly treated with prescription drugs and antidepressants, often its ‘cure’ is intimately related to its cause.

The reason many people get S.A.D. in this part of the country at this time of the year is because the weather forces us into hibernation with a deficit of sunlight exposure.  Regular exposure to sunlight stimulates our skin to release vitamin D.  In truth, vitamin D is less of a vitamin than it is a hormone precursor.  Optimal levels of vitamin D simulate and balance our hormones to help regulate our normal physiology.  When we are lacking adequate sun exposure causing a deficiency of vitamin D, our hormones become imbalanced resulting in depression, fatigue and numerous other problems.  If you worry that you suffer from these winter blues and weekend trips to the Bahamas are not an option you can try a couple options.  First, you can supplement with vitamin D.  While this often works, you need to take much more vitamin D than is in your multivitamin as it does not get into the system easily.  When supplementing, you do need to practice caution because it is possible to get too much vitamin D and the only way to truly know your level is a blood test.  The second option is the use of light therapy using a light box that runs about $60 and is intended to provide synthetic sunlight.

I repeat this article because it affects so many people this time of year.

Boost Your Immunity

In the past couple articles, I’ve discussed how sugar decreases a person’s potential for wellness by compromising the immune system and limiting a person’s defense.  In this article, I’d like to point out one of the many ways to strengthen the immune system and improve defense.

One of the studies that inspired me to pursue chiropractic in the first place was performed in 1989 by Ronald Pero, Ph.D.  Dr. Pero was the chief cancer prevention researcher at New York University.  Since cancer is recognized as an immune system problem, Dr. Pero decided to check the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to people in the general population and to people with cancer or other serious disease.  In a 3 year study of 107 individuals who had been under regular chiropractic care for at least 5 years, he found that this chiropractic group had a 200% greater immune function than the general public.  More than this, he found that the chiropractic group had a 400% greater immunity than people with cancer and other disease.

In his conclusion, Dr. Pero reported, “I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group to experience a 200% increase over the normal patients.”

In addition to regular exercise, proper diet and reduced stress, maintaining the proper function of your spine and nervous system through regular chiropractic adjustments is proven to be a vital component of optimal health and wellness.

Sugar - Part 2

If you missed last week’s column, I picked on sugar.  If you missed it, that’s o.k. because this week I’m going to do it again!

Last week I reported how cutting sugar in schools improves student performance and behavior.  We all know that sugar contributes to obesity and of course is the main cause of type II diabetes.  This week I’d like to talk about how sugar adversely impacts your body’s defense or your immune system.

I’ve heard it reported that the amount of sugar in a single soda (which is about 12 teaspoons!) will virtually shut down your immune system for about two hours.  This makes you much more susceptible to all types of infection.

Did you know that about 75 years ago the Nobel Prize was given to Dr. Warburg of Germany when he discovered that sugar caused cancer?  Dr. Warburg reported that almost anything can cause cancer, but that there is only one prime cause and that is the fermentation of sugar in normal body cells.

A similar 2004 study concluded that women who ate more sugar-laden foods were nearly three times more likely to develop colon cancer.

We all know that sugar is bad for us, but hopefully this information can serve as motivation to avoid the sweets more often for better health.

Sugar

Despite the reported side effects of psychosis, mania, and hallucinations, over 4 million children in the U.S. are using prescriptions of ADD and ADHD medications.

An Atlanta, Georgia school principal has taken on an alternative approach.  What did he do in his school . . . banned all sugar.  After overcoming his own health problems with diet and exercise, Principal Butler requires physical exercise in his school and they have enforced a policy of no sugar.  Instead, the lunch room serves healthy lunches and snacks.

According to Butler, after adopting this simple policy in his school, just in the first year standardized test scores improved 15% and discipline problems decreased by 23%.  As an added benefit, student health has improved dramatically and obesity is virtually non-existent in his school.

Principal Butler also notes, “In nine years we have saved $425,000.  We’ve done that not by cutting back, but by having more fruits and vegetables.”

Hopefully, in time, all schools will follow the practical lead being taken by this Atlanta school.  But until that happens, we can all develop similar policies in our own homes.  If you want to see changes in your kids, start with yourself – be the example that you want to see in them!

Billfold Pain

A recent study in Spine Journal revealed that the annual cost of low back pain was a staggering $90.7 billion in this country alone.  While countless studies has shown the efficacy of chiropractic as a treatment for back pain, the Manga report done in Ontario demonstrated that: “(1) chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management for low back pain;   (2) that spinal manipulation is less safe and effective when performed by non-chiropractic professionals;   (3) that there is an overwhelming body of evidence indicating that chiropractic management of low-back pain is more cost-effective than medical management;   (4) and that there would be highly significant cost savings if more management of LBP was transferred from medical physicians to chiropractors.”

This week I would like to share a tip that can often be a complicating factor of low back pain for the men out there.  When you sit, please take your wallet out of your back pocket.  I cannot tell you how many times I have seen this simple modification help resolve and prevent back pain from reoccurring.  When you sit, you put about 12 times more pressure on your pelvic joints and sitting on a wallet on one side can throw you out of alignment.  I always tell patients that sitting on a wallet is like driving your car with 18 inch tires on one side and 14 inch tires on the other – it will always throw you out of balance and create excessive wear-and-tear on your pelvic joints and lumbar spine and discs.