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.  

Inflammation - Part 3

Over the last two weeks we have discussed the dangers of inflammation in the body and the research that all disease begins with some level of inflammation.  We have discussed how oils (corn/vegetable) and all grains (even the healthier ones) contribute to this inflammatory process.  Today I’d like to talk about what you can and should be doing to reverse this process and “deflame.”

Turns out, Mom was right again – you need to eat your fruits and vegetables.  These are nature’s anti-inflammatories and eating them regularly will decrease your risk of nearly every disease.  To get the real value of these foods you should eat most fruits and vegetables raw or lightly steamed.  Cooking at high temperatures breaks down the enzymes and fiber that you are trying to get.  How much should you eat?  This recommendation has changed and they are now saying that you should have 5-13 servings every day!  If you are eating organically, you can likely get away with just five servings, but if you are eating traditional non-organic sources, you should eat more because the organic sources are much richer with the desired vitamins and minerals that promote health.

Before you panic at this amount, an apple is considered to be two servings.  This means that if you commit to having a raw, organic source of fruit or vegetable with every meal of every day you will be covered and on the pathway to better health.

Inflammation - Part 2

Last week we began the discussion of how to reduce inflammation in the body in order to help prevent all forms of disease.  In our diets, with every bite we eat or sip we take, we are either deflaming or inflaming.  Since the diseases that result from chronic inflammation develop very slowly until it’s too late, learning to make the right choices can be the biggest factor for better health.

Last week we discussed that all grains, even whole wheat, will increase inflammation in the body.  

This week, it should not come as a surprise that all oils dramatically increase this same inflammation.  In the 70’s and 80’s, we were sold the lie that margarines, corn oils and vegetable oils were good for us.  The truth is that when we use these trans fats, it is like drinking arthritis and disease.  In fact, all oils, all fried foods, and all foods made from oils such as salad dressing and most pre-packaged foods will increase inflammation in the body.  Corn oil specifically will cause a 70:1 ratio of inflammation.  This means it would take nearly 70 servings of broccoli to balance the inflammatory effect of one tablespoon of corn oil!

The lesson here is the same as with grains – moderation and good choices.  When using oils we should gravitate toward products such as extra virgin olive oil (11:1 ratio) or better yet, coconut oil.  When using olive oil, be careful not to cook at high heat as olive oil will degrade into a trans fat (hydrogenated oil) at extreme temperature – try not to let it smoke. 

Inflammation - Part 1

If there were one thing that every person could do to promote health and prevent all forms of disease it would be to “deflame”.  Nearly all experts agree that the common denominator of every disease is inflammation in the body.  Chronic inflammation will cause everything from pain and arthritis to cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.  In the next few weeks, I will be discussing how to decrease inflammation in the body.

Most of the process of reducing and avoiding inflammation in the body will start with diet.  Stated simply, we need to increase the foods that decrease inflammation and decrease the foods that promote inflammation.  One food that promotes inflammation may surprise you is grains.  But whole grains are supposed to be good for us, right?  The nutrients and fiber in whole grains certainly are beneficial and whole grains are much better than white bread and products made from white flour.  However, all grains are inflammatory.

Most grains contain two ingredients that are the source of the problem.  You’ve likely heard of gluten.  This protein will often cause a type of allergic reaction in the body that begins in the bowel.  

Grains also contain a substance called phytic acid that will reduce the absorption of calcium, magnesium and zinc.  Likewise, all grains will cause the pH of our body to become more acidic which is known to cause inflammation.

Limiting the intake of grains is a great solution for reducing inflammation.  In the next few weeks I’ll discuss other strategies.

Weight Loss

Certainly there are several effective strategies out there to help with weight loss and promote a healthy way of eating.  I came across this recent study and wanted to share it with you to prevent self-sabotage when it comes to preventing weight gain.

Researchers from Northwestern University have found that eating at the wrong time leads to more than twice as much weight gain as when eating at appropriate times.  These findings were consistent in all the subjects studied.  So what is the wrong time to eat?  Apparently eating after dark is the problem. While still uncertain to the ultimate cause, they believe that metabolism slows at night in response to darkness and circadian rhythms in the body. Calories taken in after dark will not be burned up and will be moved to storage instead.  While we all have different sleep patterns, nighttime is a time for rest and for the body to repair and recharge.  Regardless what time you actually go to sleep, at night your thyroid functions at a lower level dropping your body temperature, lowering your metabolism and encouraging sleep.  This lowered thyroid function and metabolism is likely the cause of this dramatic difference in weight gain at night.

I suspect many of us are guilty of late dinners and evening snacks, but hopefully knowing that these habits deliver twice the punch will make us all modify our habits and plan meals accordingly.  

What Would You Pay for Optimal Health

What would you pay for a pill if you knew it was guaranteed to slow or even stop your brain from aging?  Well, there is no such pill, but the great news is that based on recent information, you don’t need a pill and it doesn’t cost anything to maintain healthy mental function.  Researchers have determined that the primary thing you need to do for your brain is to exercise your body!

Physical exercise is an essential of wellness.  Most people are aware that exercise is critical for maintaining weight, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, decreasing stress, decreasing pain and even preventing many cancers.  But if these benefits are still not enough to get you going, one 2008 study showed that just walking briskly for 45 minutes three days per week improved “mental fitness” in just six months time. 

A similar study released last September showed that 20 minutes of any exercise per day resulted in improved cognitive function and memory.  The best part of this study was that these benefits persisted even 12 months after exercise had been discontinued!

Regardless of your reasons, the message here is that exercise works and the results are long-lasting.  If you’re not exercising now, it’s time to start.  This study and most others suggest that you need to commit to at least 120 minutes of exercise per week in order to get the best results.

Good luck and always remember that your body was designed to be self-healing.  Practice a healthy lifestyle and let health happen.