What kind of fish oil?

Fish oil is made up of EPA and DHA.  If you want to reduce inflammation Metagenics 6:1 fish oil is great, as EPA directly reduces inflammation. Brain function is heavily dependent on DHA so a high concentrated DHA is great for mental health, cognition, and memory. General health support where you can reap benefits of both is where a traditional 3:2 blend fits in. 

3,000mg per day is a good amount. If you take less you are not likely getting the full benefits. It may be ok to take more but realize that fish oil is a natural blood thinner so watch how much you take if you are on a blood thinner. If you are not sure how much, ask a nutritionist, naturopath, or chiropractor. Often times labs or other simple tests can help with the appropriate dose.

Should it be a capsule or liquid? Personal preference. At Backbone you can get either. The quality must be high. It should be purified to remove mercury or other contaminants. If you have tried fish oil in the past and got the "fish burps" then you need the best quality. You can also try taking capsules and freezing them first. If that doesn't help then you may have a gut problem (weak digestion). 

For maximum benefits combine fish oil with 45 minutes per day of moderate exercise, healthy eating habits, chiropractic care, adequate sleep, multivitamins, and personal time to reduce stress.

New Injury vs Chronic Flare Up, part 1

Many people come in to see me with back pain. I always ask if they have ever had the problem before. There is a reason why I ask and why it is important. You may have just injured the area or you may have exacerbated a problem that was already there.

There is a drastic difference between a fresh injury and a flare up of a chronic problem. 

A fresh injury that gets treated properly can greatly reduce the amount of scar or fibrous tissue making the recovery shorter and with better strength. An improperly treated problem becomes a chronic battle with painful flare-ups for the rest of your life. It would be like going to the gas station to have air put into a flat tire every week instead of removing a nail and patching the hole.


An acute flare up of a chronic problem means the pain is not from fresh damage to the original tissue but is from inflammation. Pain is just 1 sign of inflammation. The others being redness, swelling, heat, and loss of function. Just because the pain goes away does not mean the problem is really fixed. It is just less inflamed. Fixing the problem is an entirely different animal. Scar tissue can be dealt with but not the same as a fresh injury.

In part 2 of this topic I will address why scar tissue forms, why it is a problem, and most importantly how to correctly address dealing with it. Until then, stay healthy my friends.

Dr. Christian Cohen

Debunking Organic Food Myths

If this is healthy- why is he wearing a mask?

I never really know if I should laugh or cry when I hear someone talk about "regular" vs organic food. We come up with lots of reasons for not buying organic: cost, availability, not visually appealing, and so on. The organic section in the grocery store is called "health" food. What does that make the rest of it? Yes, you got it - unhealthy food. The truth is...organic food is REAL food that has not been doused in bug spray and weed killer or worse had it genetically fused into it.

The 2 biggest things I hear why someone doesn't eat organic:

  1.  There isn't really any difference. They just want more money.
    Well, if I handed you an apple and told you I hosed it in bug spray first, would you eat it? I don't think so. If I gave you a choice of 2 apples and one had bug spray and the other cost 30 cents more which would you choose? I have posted before about the damage pesticides and herbicides do to the hormone system. The 30 cents somehow seems insignificant after reading this.
  2.  It costs too much to eat organic.
     This one is a bit tricky to just throw out. Yes- real food costs more per fruit or vegetable BUT you also get more nutrition out of it so after a couple months of eating real food your appetite will naturally drop and the cost of food per month will not really change. This is also a very short sighted response. Is it better to save a few bucks now and spend vastly higher amounts on unnecessary illnesses, lost time at school or work due to doctor's visits, and generally lower health status?

Real Food Has No Bug Spray!

The good new is that there are solutions:
  1.  I very highly recommend my friends at Terra-Organics for a great way to shop for fruits, veggies, and some other miscellaneous items. You tell them what you want and they deliver it. It doesn't get much easier than that.

  2.  Use the web to find great recipes with lower cost items. I love a black bean chili (in fact, I have a pot full on the stove right now simmering for dinner). Beans are an amazing source of high quality protein. Great for lowering cholesterol, improving your waist line, and saving money.

  3.  Most importantly: Decide to be okay with it! 100 years ago almost 25% of a family's annual income was spent on food. Today it is closer to 10%. Food (and I use the term loosely) has become overly-available and inexpensive and we are paying for it with our waist lines and our health.

As always, I remain available to answer questions one-on-one or in a group health talk. Reaching me is easy.  Stay healthy my friends.

In health,
Dr. Christian Cohen

How do you value health care?

  This last week we saw a large number of clients with drastically different insurance benefits as we start 2012. Less massages, tighter limits on adjusting, less rehabilitation and all for more money. It is not really shocking to see premiums and deductibles get bigger while coverages and limits get smaller. After all, insurance companies are a business and have to answer to shareholders first and you, the patient, later.

 More and more, people are referred to as "non-insured" - insured patients. These are people with such large deductibles or ridiculously low limits that they have essentially no coverage. For example, someone might need $1500 worth of care and have a $3000 deductible. Or they may require 24 visits to fix a problem and their insurance will only pay for 8. 

 What do you do when presented with this situation? Sadly, many people never address their health care budget with the doctor's office and simply continue to suffer with a problem they should have fixed. In my office, we recognize that each person's financial situation is as different as their health concerns. This is why as a progressive and concerned provider office, we have options to work with every budget so each person can be treated with respect and dignity to get the care they need without feeling like a charity case.

 I am not trying to do a commercial. Many offices will work with a patient financially. Very few are so cold as to turn away a suffering patient. My point is that it is up to you as a patient to bring up any financial concerns and even better - propose a solution that is fair and reasonable to both you and the doctor. This way you get the care you need and the doctor gets to stay in the business of helping people.  



In health,
Dr. Christian Cohen

Make Procrastination Work for You

Chances are, you are making (or just made) resolutions for the new year. Some of the most popular resolutions are to eat healthier, exercise more, and lose weight.  For improving eating habits, the best thing may be to procrastinate. Procrastination has gotten a bad rap for so long that it is time we start leveraging it to our advantage for a healthy lifestyle. 

I used to eat ice cream like it was going out of style. I would get a pint of Ben & Jerry's cookie dough and down it in a single sitting after dinner. I didn't even bother with a bowl. I knew the whole thing would be gone. And this wasn't once in a while- it was every day. The thing was...I liked it. Who doesn't love rich, sugar and fat-laden ice cream? To make it worse, as soon as I "decided" I couldn't eat ice cream anymore it was the only thing I wanted.

As my waistline grew and my blood sugar climbed I knew I had to do something different. I was reading a book called Body by God by Dr. Ben Lerner. He suggested procrastinating. So I did. I would walk to Baskin-Robbins in Gig Harbor for a scoop. I had to wait 15 minutes to get to my ice cream (and I was walking 15 minutes each way for it). Then I decided to up the ante. I would say to myself, "I can wait an extra day".  Then it became 2 days, then 3 days. Then I was procrastinating to eat ice cream only on Sunday. When I got a Friday craving for ice cream I would put it off until Sunday. Don't get me wrong, I ate ice cream on Sunday and I was guilt-free. I was leveraging the power of procrastination to my advantage. 

Then a funny thing happened. I realized one Monday morning that I had missed my Sunday ice cream!  I was doing a lot of weekend travel for work and would be flying home on Sunday nights. It was purely by accident that I missed my dose that week. The next thing I knew it had been weeks since I had ice cream at all. Now it has been years since having ice cream (although I do enjoy a semi-annual bowl of coconut milk ice cream, sweetened with agave instead of sugar). I successfully leveraged procrastination to eliminate a bad food habit! 

You can do the same thing. Take a food you know is bad for you and just start procrastinating. Get to the Oreo cookies later. Save that pizza for another day. Put the sweets away for a while. It works if you just get to when you get to it.  Of course, you can call me now to help you through it and get some measurements to track how well procrastinating can work for you. Call me at 253-858-2474 and I will not procrastinate in helping you reach your goals.

Thrive, Don't Just Survive the Holidays

So many people go through Thanksgiving and Christmas and just plan to put on extra weight, let their cholesterol climb, and add inches to the waist. 

It is possible to go through the end of the year and actually come out healthier! Here are my top 7 health tips:

1. Stay hydrated. Drinking enough water is a natural appetite suppressant. It reduces joint and muscle pain, improves digestion, and flushes the body.
2. Don't skip breakfast. Breakfast gets your metabolism revved up and keeps your blood sugar stable. Wild swings in blood sugar can add inches to your waist quickly.
3. Try a new twist on old recipes. Instead of smothering sweet potatoes in sugar (marshmallow) try mixing in cinnamon and raisins or baked as "fries" coated with a mix of lime juice, olive oil, and a pinch of crushed red pepper.
4. Avoid the eggnog. I gave up eggnog 2 years ago as it is so terribly unhealthy. This year I have a great alternative. Metagenics Ultrameal + 360 Eggnog protein shake tastes great and lowers cholesterol at the same time!
5. Commit to exercise daily. This one is very manageable if you plan for just 10 minutes on the busiest days and 45 on all others. Just decide you will do something everyday and then do it.
6. Keep eating your veggies. Raw, steamed, roasted, baked, grilled - have them however you enjoy them. Just keep them going in. Half you plate in veggies every meal.
7. Breath. This time of year is stressful for many people. Deep breathing reduces stress and helps manage weight, blood pressure, and improves cardiovascular function.

Of course, if you prefer some customized health advice, call me at to set up a time just for you. Most of all, Merry Christmas and stay healthy my friends. 

In health, 

Dr. Christian Cohen

Flu Shot? No Thanks, I don't want the flu.

So it's that time of year when many patients come to me and ask, "Doc, should I get the flu shot?"
Since the laws regarding my license do not give me prescriptive authority (I cannot tell them yes or no by law).  I respond with, "Well, do you want the flu?".

Puzzled, they look at me.  So I explain, there are several questions that each person should be asking their MD before getting any vaccine. My list goes something like this:

• What is in the shot besides the virus? Most have additives that I wouldn't touch, much less let someone inject into me.  Check out some of the ingredients here. Pay attention to Thimerosol (Mercury) which is know to cause brain (neural) damage and is linked to Autism.
•  What is the risk to me if I don't get the vaccine? Are you an otherwise strong individual who is not likely to die from the flu? Uncomfortable for a few days? Yes.  Death, not so much.
• Who should not get the vaccine? People with certain allergies, history of reactions to vaccines, people with a compromised immune system.
• How effective is it really? Polio was already on the decline according to government statistics prior to the introduction of the vaccine by Jonas Saulk. 
• What are the potential side effects?  This is a standard risk to benefit question that should be very straight forward and easy to answer.
• Last is one of my favorites, "Doctor, have you had this vaccine?" Obviously, many won't even answer the question. That alone should be a huge red flag. 

What do you do if you are sitting nose-to-nose with your doctor and they are pressuring you into a vaccine you don't want? There are 2 different ways to deal with it.

1.   If you don't mind some confrontation- these 4 words are the most powerful that can be spoken to any doctor: "I DO NOT CONSENT."  Bam! Procedures halt in the throws of it all.
2. If you don't like confrontation- simply ask the question, "Doctor, are you willing to personally take full responsibility for any and all adverse reactions?" If the answer is no, well, you get the idea.

 So what are my options besides just accepting whatever happens to float on by? Well, try boosting you immune system so it can effectively fight off any virus. This can be done (and is done all the time) without so much as a hint of symptoms. How do we accomplish such a marvelous feat? Try any of my favorites. In fact, try them all. You can only get healthier because of them!

• Proper diet (no sugar, remove allergens, lots of veggies)
• Regular exercise (daily not annually)
• Take a daily Multivitamin/Mineral (Usana)
• Detox
• Massage
• Get enough rest
• Get adjusted
• Use natural immune boosters

Want more specific help? I am here to serve your health needs. Simply call 253-858-2474 to schedule a time just for me and you. 

In health, 
Dr. Cohen

Bug Spray and Hormones

Have you heard the radio ads recently talking about the choice or organic food and food produced by "conventional farming"?  Organic (that is, USDA Certified Organic) food is free from pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals. Conventional farming methods employ the use of weed killers and bug spray on your food. (Yes, you read that correctly- bug spray.)

The concern about "conventional" foods is that the chemicals in them are categorized as endocrine disruptors. This means they interfere with hormone production and signaling, cause cellular damage, tumors, cognitive problems, ADD, and learning disabilities.

Hormone disruption for men means less testosterone. When it drops sex drive goes down, muscles gets smaller, and you get fat stores in the chest/pectorals. That's right guys- man boobs. For women, interference with estrogen balance leads to a list of symptoms: meunstral  cramping, endometriosis, and breast cancer. There is also a strong link between xenoestrogens and thyroid problems.

The good news is that you have a high level of control over your exposure to these terribly damaging chemicals. Here is a list of common offenders and healthier options you don't have to go searching for:

Personal care products: lotions, shampoo, conditioners, facial cleansers, etc. that contain ANY kind of "parabens".  Replace with Sense Products from USANA Health Sciences.

"Conventional" foods: produce with bug spray on it, meats injected with growth hormones, antibiotics, and who knows what else.  Replace with organic produce and grass-fed (free range) meats.

What should you do if you are already hormone imbalanced and you suspect xenoestrogens? You may do well to perform an "Estrogen Detox". This is accomplished without much difficulty as your body is supported nutritionally to rid the offending chemicals and restore proper hormone balance. Many hormonally related symptoms simply disappear. My favorite is to use Estrium, a protein-based neutraceutical shake from Metagenics.

Want specific help? Visit me here to learn about working with me or call 253-858-2474 and we can easily set aside a few minutes just for you!

In health,
Dr. Christian Cohen

Fear of the Unknown

So I have to give fair warning - I am on the soapbox for this post...

I have a patient who's 1 year old has lost a few ounces of weight since her last check up. A few ounces doesn't sound like much but for a 1 year old it is significant. At the pediatrician's advice she took the little one to a nutritionist.

Here is where it gets interesting: the nutritionist discovers that I have her on a high protein, loaded with nutrients, low glycemic shake to supplement her eating but doesn't know Metagenics as a company or product (by her own admission to the patient/mom). Her advice- stop taking the high quality shake and instead use carnation instant breakfast.

Really?

Ever see the ingredients? Milk, sugar, maltodextrin (sugar), lactose (allergen to many people), natural and artificial flavor (hidden things like MSG, flavor enhancers, etc), corn starch (sugar-based thickening agent), wheat starch, salt, and the cheapest (read that worst quality) "nutrients" they can shove in just to say they are there. The form of zinc that they add is essentially a form of rust. Vitamin D without the co-factors necessary to absorb and use it.
 
Did I mention the kid is gluten sensitive? Breaks out in a rash every time something is ingested that has wheat in it. And the nutritionist was put off by the fact that I worked with the mom to get the kid off gluten.  This is the equivalent of saying to the poor mom- stop giving the kid food and nutrients and start with a healthy dose of crack instead.

So here is what happens- I advised mom on simple, healthy eating changes for the whole family not just the baby and mom says the baby is already doing better (eating regularly, active, and better mood). This is just in the last week so it is too early to see an appreciable weight gain but it is coming. And, it is healthy weight. We want the baby to become strong and healthy not fat and "up to normal weight".

Helping clients with Body Composition change is something I excel at. Whether you want to trim down the body fat, add some bulk, or just get to an ideal weight I can help. Nutritional work with me does not require you to come in for adjustments. Diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes are important.

Call me to schedule your nutritional consultation and get on the way to your healthiest ever.  I Love This!

An Ounce of Prevention.

  Saturday night at The Art Space Gallery @ Backbone Art Reception, a very nice lady I met explained to me about her bad back and the problems she had with it. When I offered to help improve her spine (really her whole health), she declined because "it isn't acting up right now".  

  

  To me, this is the same as saying, "I'm not going to brush my teeth until they hurt."  The sad truth is pain is not an indication of poor health any more than no pain is an indication of good health.

  Pain is a sign of inflammation. It is to stop us from causing further damage to ourselves. That's all. Having no pain and thinking you are healthy is like sticking your head in the sand.

  Many people have cancer and don't know it. For a majority of heart attack victims, the actual heart attack is the 1st "symptom" of heart disease. Clearly the injury to the heart didn't begin at the moment of the heart attack. We all know this. Don't fool yourself into thinking that no pain = health!

  Be proactive. We all know the expression about an ounce of prevention. Prevent sickness and dis-ease. Get a massage and adjustment regularly. Exercise daily. Eat organic fresh veggies and fruits, lean meats, nuts, and seeds. Be informed. Check out FoodMatters.tv, Food, Inc., Super Size Me and other shows that tell the truth about food, farming, and food handling. 

Seek out guidance from specialists and health care providers who go beyond the surface and only treat the symptom. 

As always, my door is open and I love to help people improve their health. Call 253.858.2474 and check out BackboneRestored.com to see what I can do for you.

Don't Be Fooled By Aggressive Ad Campaign

     According to the drug pusher, I mean pharmaceutical manufacturer, "Shift Work Disorder occurs when your body's internal sleep-wake clock is out of synch with your work schedule—your body is telling you to go to sleep when your work schedule needs you to stay awake."

In other words- you work nights and are tired. 

     But don't worry, they have your answer. (No, I won't name the drug- they don't deserve the free ad from me.) They will even do like the crack dealers in the 80's and offer you a free taste in the hopes you get hooked (although they call it a free 14 day trial, very PC).
     The infuriating part is how they make up a condition to sell a drug and then casually ramble through the "possible side effects" as though they should be disregarded.
     Well let's review.  The list includes: serious rash, hives, difficulty swallowing or breathing, allergic reaction that damages the liver and blood cells (and may be life threatening), depression, anxiety, sensing things that are not really there (last I checked these are called hallucinations), chest pain, abnormal heart beat, headache, nausea, dizziness, and trouble sleeping. Be sure to tell your doctor if you develop a side effect that bothers you or that doesn't go away. Of course they push the liability off in a letter to "warn" doctors  (taken directly from their website):

      "Discontinuation of treatment may not prevent a rash from becoming life-threatening or permanently disabling or disfiguring."

    Well, guess what? It is PERFECTLY NORMAL to be tired if you are up all night. Yes, some professions need to be up at unusual hours in the night (Thank You Firefighters, Police, Emergency Room staff). Do we want any of them having suicidal thoughts or hallucinations when they are doing that job?
     How about doing things to protect the body's health and make it stronger and better able to deal with the off-hours? Try things like regular exercise- it boosts energy production. Healthy diet that eliminates processed sugar, reduces high glycemic starches, and includes lots of organic fresh veggies, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and fruits. How about stress reduction like walks or bike rides with friends and loved ones? Of course, my favorites are to have a massage and an adjustment, take vitamins/minerals, and use protein shakes to stabilize blood sugar and maintain healthy body composition. 
     Don't fall for their million dollar ad campaign. Make them realize that people are smart and know when they are being buffaloed. Want options? Call me at 253-858-2474 or check out our new website at www.BackboneRestored.com for resources to help.

Normal or Insane?

I was coaching a client earlier this week about eating habits. He said something interesting to me. He said he just wanted to be able to eat "normal".  He said that meant he just wanted to eat the way he usually does: bread, potatoes, pasta, starches.  Two thoughts occured to me.

First, one definition of insanity is doing the same thing yet expecting different results.  If we eat the way we always have and we expect to change our health, i.e. lose weight, control blood chemistry, have more energy, etc., we might just be insane.

This is the down side to crash diets. For example, HCG works very well at helping a person drop a lot of weight very quickly. The challenge is that it was never intended to be a long term solution. If after a round of HCG a person slowly goes back to their "normal" eating habits, they will also slowly go back to their "normal" unhealthy self. To think otherwise is...insanity.

Second, I realized that in this sense, being normal is not always a good thing. What is normal?

Mirriam-Webster dictionary describes normal as "conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern".  What is standard or regular pattern of health in this country? Let's see...1 in 2 women will get breast cancer, 1 in 3 men will get prostate cancer. 1 in 3 will become diabetic, unless you are of a minority group in which case it is 1 in 2. So, "normal" lifestyle patterns cause "normal" diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.  

If that is normal, I want to be weird. I want my family, friends, patients, and everyone I can influence to be weird with me until healthy is normal again. 

Can you join me? Do you have the courage to be weird? It is really not hard. Eat veggies, fruits, and lean meats daily, refuse food with bug spray on it (if you are not eating organic- it is covered in bug spray), shut off the TV or computer, take a multivitamin and fish oil (USANA Health Sciences), avoid sugar, dare I say it...choose to be healthy.

You can do it! I can help. Call, email, send smoke signals, use carrier pigeons- I don't really care how you reach me- just do it. Make the change and choose health!

Suffocating!

Most people I know are actually suffocating. 

I ask all of my patients if they know how to breath. Funny enough, most of them don't. It seems kind of self explanatory- if you just exhaled, inhale and vice versa. Actually, there is a lot more to breathing correctly.

Good breathing requires full use of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a large flat muscle that attaches to the spine, bottom of the rib cage, and sternum. There is an attachment (called the central tendon) to the sack the heart rests in(pericardium).  

A good breath means the diapragm contracts down and pulls air into the lungs. The chest should not have much movement. The belly should protrude out. When you exhale the belly button moves towards the spine. If your chest heaves up and down with breathing you are not doing it right.

Correct breathing improves oxygenation of the body. It helps circulation and strengthens the heart. The heart actually gets a "massage" from the sac it sits in. There is a study that suggests that chest breathing occurs in most if not all heart attack victims.

A strong diaphragm also helps maintain the low back curve (lumbar lordosis). Remember, the diaphragm attaches to the spine? This means your breathing is connected with spine form and function. It also means that if you had a spine injury you may not be breathing well and don't even know it.

When you get overly tired or stressed what should you do? Breath. It helps you to relax.

If you want to practice correct breathing- sit up tall, put your hand over your belly button, and inhale pushing your hand away with your belly. Then exhale and squeeze your belly to bringing your hand towards your spine. Try to inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds.

If this feels awkward to you- congratulations you have now recognized that you have a problem that you can correct. As you practice and progress, maintain the exhale twice as long as the inhale. If you really want to step it up- try this exercise on a Pettibon Wobble Chair with full spinal motion. Not sure what that is? Call Deb at 253-858-2474 and she can teach you. 

Made to be Healthy

Did you know there are 2 completely opposite ways of looking at the body?

A mechanistic view says we are a list of chemicals, parts, and pieces. We are a machine like a car. If a part stops working, pull it out (surgery), chemically force it to do something different (drug it), or manipulate it.  YOU don't get treated- your illness or injury does.

Do you want to have a doctor for each part of the body or condition? (We know how often they all talk to know what is going on with you.) Do you want to treat the body by forcing it to behave differently?  A mechanistic approach is why you may have a diabetes doctor, an oncologist, a cardiologist, a GP, an internist, a gastroenterologist, and an ENT (ear, nose, throat). Each doctor only works with "his part" of the body.     

A holistic (also called vitalistic) view of the body says that YOU ARE MORE THAN THE SUM OF YOUR PARTS.  If you have an illness it is because you are not working properly- you need to be nourished, moved, hydrated, neurologically stimulated, or in some way cared for.  You have a symptom because something is not right. The symptom is not the problem- it is just a signal of the problem.

A vitalistic approach honors you as a complex relation of systems designed to be healthy. That is right, you are made to be healthy.  

I love to know my patients. What is going on with you, your family, your job. When did you eat? How is the stress level? Did you get the raise or promotion? To be the best doctor that I can for each client I HAVE TO know them.

Would you love that kind of doctor and that kind of personalized care? To be treated like a real person and not have a conversation with the doctor's hand already on the doorknob? That is what I want and therefore what I deliver. Want to know more? Come by and sit down with me for a real consultation.
 

Costco-Sized Bottles of Aspirin!?

You know what scares me? Those huge bottles of aspirin you find at Costco or Sam's Club. I mean 500 tablets per bottle. Those things have a shelf-life you know. They should expire before anyone could possibly go through them all.

But then, I know there are people out there who take 8 or more, at a time. Sometimes 3 times per day! The question I have is- why? Even taking 2 aspirins (or Tylenol, Excedrin, etc.) per day for a prolonged time (that being greater than 7-10 days according to most manufacturers) can have side effects. Not just bleeding stomach ulcers but some really nasty things like liver and kidney damage.

If you take ANY pain reliever as part of your daily routine you have a problem and should actively seek to fix it. Fixing the underlying problem is the smartest thing you can do.

Take muscle and joint pain- there are several causes. If your cause is found and corrected then the pain can go away on it's own. Try any of these: (Realize, too, you may have more than 1 problem).

1. See a chiropractor/ME. (http://www.backbonerestored.com/).
2. Drink enough water (see my blog post about water for all the info).
3. Exercise 4-5 times per week. (start simple and build up).
4. Take supplements - I prefer USANA Health Sciences (http://www.gigharborhealth.usana.com/).
5. Get enough rest/sleep.
6. Take MSM (it is a similar compund to glucosamine and chondroitin but more effective).
7. Increase your fish oil (talk with me, a naturopath, or your doctor as too much can be not good).
8. Take a "greens" supplement to improve your pH (reduce the acid in your system).
9. Increase your salt intake (must be electrolyte balanced like RealSalt or Himalayan Pink- again, ask me if you need help or are not sure).

I get questioned sometimes about taking any kind of prescription or over-the-counter medication.

*Legal Disclaimer - I do not and can not prescribe ANY medication, even OTC.* 

Logic would dictate that if the problem is corrected then the symptom (pain) should resolve as well. If reaching for a bottle is your first reaction then I have to recommend you fix the problem instead of just putting a band-aid over it and pretending it isn't there.
  

Do you know a healthy kid when you see one?

This sounds like the start of a really bad joke. I wish it was. This is the paradigm of "normal" that we need to be cautious of.

So a friend of mine takes her 1 year old son in for his check up with the pediatrician and the doc comments how the little guy is dropping in his percentile of weight. Not that he is undernourished, malnourished, showing any signs of starvation or abuse. He is just not as big "for his age group" as he used to be. 

I know the family and mom feeds the kids typically very healthy. So what happened that he is dropping compared to his "peers"?  I think the answer is easy - like my kids, they don't eat foods loaded with growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals. Growth hormones in meat artificially stimulate our bodies to get bigger faster. Not healthier mind you, just bigger.

Shame on this pediatrician for not looking at anything other than an age-divided height/weight chart before making a comment that has the potential to really upset a good parent. What are we willing to accept as normal? Does being called small compared to a group of overweight people seem a bit off to you to? 

A good doctor asks you about eating and exercise habits, vitamin/mineral supplements, how much water you drink, what kind of things you do to relieve stress, how much rest you get, etc. That is part of taking care of a whole person and being a trusted and learned friend a.k.a. doctor.

Lets Talk Supplements

Supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs, and so on that are meant to help us complete our bodies nutritional needs. They are NOT meant to replace good eating habits. The whole concept seems to be misunderstood.

There are really only a few things to consider about supplements.

1. Quality. My recommendation is USANA Health Sciences (http://www.usana.com/). They are a general health support supplement meant to give you a solid base of nutrition to work from. You won't find a line of targeted amino acid therapy with them, that is just not what they do. What they do have is the best* multivitamin/mineral supplement with a selection of optimizers to expand on an individual's needs.

2. Diligence. It is like brushing your teeth. It has to be done daily. Waiting until Saturday and just brushing for 30 minutes is not the same as brushing every day for 5. Supplements have to be taken daily to be useful. They just can't work if they are not in your body.

3. Consistency. I almost always get asked, "What will I feel and how long will it take?" Generally, you may or may not have a noticeable change. Does it really matter? Are you expecting drastic changes in a day? When change happens over time it is harder to notice.   

The thing to remember is that supplements do not replace good eating. They add to it. And please, don't be fooled by thnking that the foods around today offer a complete nutritional profile. Even the organic stuff (which is almost all I will eat) doesn't have it. Organic means they don't add chemicals and poisons, it does NOT mean that they are complete nutritionally.

Lastly, please don't buy supplements off the shelf at the grocery stores. They offer what is going to make them money not what is going to make you healthy. Some of the poorest quality supplements out there are Centrum, Kirkland Signature (Costco), and pretty much any grocery store brand.*

Do your health and that of your family a great help- use USANA supplements daily. And remember, if you want help determining your nutritional needs I can order labs and blood tests to dial in your specific needs.


*This statement is not FDA supported. It is not opinion as 3rd party companies have independently ranked USANA as the top supplement. (Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, MacWilliams).

Happy Halloween, Please Pass the Crack.

So I can't figure this out. When did it become completely acceptable to ingest poison simply because we like it?  I mean, crack addicts really like crack but we clearly don't want ANYONE ingesting it and yet we happily allow,even encourage people (especially children) to eat sugar.  

Now, I know someone is going to say crack and sugar are not even close to the same. Indulge me for a second. Sugar has zero health benefits. It causes inflammation that leads to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease just to name a few problems. There is no real reason to eat sugar at all. In fact, as far as effect on health - sugar only kills slower than crack.

I don't know about many others but I personally know 2 (count them, two) people who have been addicted to crack. I know DOZENS IF NOT HUNDREDS of people with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Doctor's offices, medical centers, and hospitals are literally crowded with diabetics, heart disease and cancer patients, stroke victims, and morbidly obese patients. Sugar will damage far more people than crack ever will.  

Let me be clear- I am not referring to naturally occuring sugar like in fruit and some veggies. I am talking about processed, refined, added sugar. Cakes, cookies, pies, candy bars, processed meats (high fructose corn syrup is one of the worst), and boxed "foods" are loaded with it.

Let's stop the insanity of loading up on sugar and then pretending it is a "treat".  At Backbone, we refer to sugar by its correct name - poison. Let's be rid of it. We can recommend and even offer natural alternatives for chocolate, sweeteners, and foods that will build you up instead of tear you down. Healthy eating is a part of treating healthy people.      

You are the Greatest Super Computer

So here is a new concept for some: spine care helps organs function better. 

How does this work? Let me give you an analogy. The nerve system is like a computer.  The spine is the keyboard.  (90% of the information into the brain comes from the many joints, muscles, and nerve endings in the spine).  The brain is the hard drive and processor in one. The organs are the monitor.

So it goes SPINE ---> BRAIN ---> ORGANS. We are input (sensory) driven!

Just like your computer, if the spine (keyboard) is broken then the brain (processor) just doesn't know what to do and the organs (monitor) will give you an "error message". 

What is the "error message" from the organs? There are several things that can show up. High or uneven blood pressure, indigestion (even with a reasonable diet), muscle weakness, respiration, pulse rate, poor posture, glandular or cellular dysfunction, fatigue, or poor breathing. 

Taking a drug (without investigating the CAUSE of the problem is like altering the processor without fixing the keyboard. Surgery is unplugging the monitor (permanently) so you don't have to see the error message. Neither approach deals with the underlying CAUSE of the problem.

What is the take home message? If you don't like what you see on the monitor (organs) - look at the input (spine) to the processor (brain). Get your spine checked! Find the long term solution to your health problems and have your quality of life as high as you deserve it to be.

PS- I know there are doctors out there who will disagree with this since it is not commonly taught anywhere but in chiropracitc schools. I invite them to contact me and I will happily put it in big technical language so they can feel spoken to from 1 physician to another.     

What's the Deal with Rehab?

So most chiropractors offices make you wait until the secretary puts you back in a small room with an adjusting bench. the doc comes in and pushes on all the tight spots until something "pops". Then you leave. Sounds wonderful right?

The idea of just getting adjusted and not doing rehabilitation to strengthen the muscles is so antiquated that it really amazes me that anyone still gets away with it.

If you want the spine to line up and stay lined up then a proper combination of adjusting and rehabilitation must take place. There are lots of types of rehab so the thing to understand is that the rehab we do in the office is for postural muscles.

Postural muscles respond to direct nerve stimulus with the Pettibon Weighting System and the Linked Exercise Trainer. Postural muscles just don't respond in the gym the way phasic muscles do.  Postural muscles need isometric exercises.

The idea of just doing rehab doesn't cut the mustard either. If the joint is not moving properly then all the time spent making the muscle pull on the spine won't move the spine an inch. The combo of adjusting plus rehab is really what it takes to get the job done.