Wellness Choice Center – Newport Beach Chiropractor

Posts Tagged ‘costa mesa chiropractic’

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Hippocrates has said ‘look well to the spine for the cause of disease’ and every day in my practice I see how global and segmental misalignments of the spine, weak muscles, and poor posture will not only cause musculokeletal and spinal pain, but also dis-eased organs.  It’s true that Chiropractors specialize in the spine and can help various spine related conditions, but it’s important to know what controls every single vital organ in your body actually sits inside of your spine. The brain controls everything and the way it does that is by sending energy/signals down the spine through the nervous system like a river to all the organs and cells in the body. Sometimes because of stresses in our lives, the spine will shift out of place and create a weak/poor posture. This can cause dis-ease. I see how chiropractic care is helping patients with migraine headaches, sinusitis, allergies, and much more every day. I just came across a study that proves just that.

This is a 2009 study involving 83 patients with symptoms of digestive pain in the central chest or epigastric area of more than 2 years’ duration and it was published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
“Patients were managed conservatively using spinal manipulative therapy and soft tissue techniques. Exercise and other home-based treatment elements were not included in treatment protocols.”

71% of the patients reported an improvement in the average severity of their symptoms.
29% of the patients remained unchanged.
No patients reported any worsening of symptoms.
45% reduced their use of dyspepsia drugs.

Chiropractic Manual Therapy has been the most natural and non-invasive therapy that can restore your body’s natural ability to heal itself. The nervous system is a highly specialized system and an interference with the nervous system can start the dis-ease process. Stop it before it’s too late.

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Your brain controls every function in your body. Every single cell in your body depends completely and 100 percent on the energy it gets from the brain. By that I mean your organs are in constant communication with your brain, and the way they do that is through your spinal chord.  Your posture is a representation of your spine and if you have a poor posutre with weak muscles and lack of support, it can create kinks in your spine and therefore damage the nerve flow or effectiveness of communication between the brain and your vital organs.

Sometimes because of the stresses in our lives, physical, emotional or chemical, our body gets weak negatively influencing the structure of your spine, your posture and therefore the health of your vital organs.

If you suffer from poor posture and it’s creating aches and pains in your back, be sure that it is also effecting your overall health. Get your spine checked by a chiropractor who specializes in correcting and rebuilding your spine.

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A few days ago an article came out on Science News about the direct relationship between patients who have short leg and their likelihood of developing Osteoarthritis in the hip and knee.  This study shows that early preventative strategies may be possible. “Most pediatricians adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude for children with limb misalignment when they’re growing” says Dr. Cooke. “If we can spot factors creating changes in alignment early in bone development, theoretically we could stop or slow down the progression of osteoarthritis.”  At a recent seminar I attended last month, a study was presented on leg lenth inequalities that discussed early correction is more beneficial than ‘wait and see’ protocol.

Leg Lenfth Inequalities are not easy to detect, only an expert eye or x-rays can determine the exact measurements of the inequality. A small leg length differential can be corrected with a shoe insert, while a bigger one can be corrected with surgery. This condition most often gets ignored unless you or your children are being seen by an expert chiropractic physician.  Here in my Newport Beach practice, I often see adults with Osteoporosis who have significant Osteoarthritis. As an older adult a heel lift can help prevent the Osteoarthritis from getting worse or help with symptoms, but it is always better to get your spine checked and correct the leg length in younger kids to prevent arthritis to begin with.

William F Harvey from Boston University, currently at Tufts Medical Center, was the lead author on the paper, which was recently published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Queen’s University was the only Canadian university involved in this international study.

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MSG is Monosoduim Glutamate which is food additive and flavor enhancer that is harmful to your health. MSG has no flvaor in itself, it neurologically causes you to experience more flavors of the food that contains it.

MSG is commonly added to Chinese food, canned veggies, soups and processed meats. FDA has classified MSG as ‘generally safe’, but due to its controversial nature, it also requires that the products containing MSG have it listed on the label. The FDA has been reciving many reports on adverse reactions to food that contain MSG. These reactions (MSG symptom complex) include:

Headaches
Sweating
Lethargy
Loss of memory
Numbness, tingling or burning in face, neck and other areas
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Chest pain
Nausea
Weakness

the list goes on and on. An older study that the FDA forgot about, linked MSG to obesity. Dr. John Olney conducted a study on mice using MSG.  As the experiment progressed, he noticed that the mice fed with MSG became morbidly obese.  Another study discovered that animals fed MSG soon after birth preferred foods that were high in carbohydrates and low in nutritional value.

Researchers also found that this fat could not be exercised off and was extremely difficult to remove through dieting, no matter how astringent. Again, this is reminiscent of the problem in our population. Today, most processed foods contain signifcant amounts of glutamate, enough to produce injuries to our children’s brains similar to those seen in experiemental animals.

Stay away from foods that come in boxes and cans (check this website for a list of food items) and stick to natural and raw ingredients.  Together with exercise, and a clean diet you can stay healthy and disease free.

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Yet another success story from our long time patients. Enjoy!

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Journal of Toxicology and Environmental health did a recent study on mice to determine the negative effects of Splenda (sorry PETA). Splenda is a high-potency artificial sweetener sucralose and the fillers maltodextrin and glucose. This study involved mice and consumption of equivalent dosage of Splenda in their daily diet.  Here are just some of the negative effects of Splenda on these poor animals:

1. Reduction of Beneficial Fecal microflora

2. Increased fecal pH which means an increase in pH of gut flora

3. Enhanced expression genes which reduce the absorption of drugs.

4. Gastrointestinal DNA damage was discovered in the animals

5. Low immune system

As for humans, consider all the above and more. Splenda suppresses beneficial bacteria and directly interferes with the bioavailability of nutrients at doses that are approved by the FDA for use in the food supply! Sucralose ingestion might have clinical significance for humans in the management of many medical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer, in which gut flora play an important role.

There are no substitutes for real and sweet fruits and veggies!

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This year 1 out of 2 women and  out of every 3 men will die from cancer. 40 years ago 1 out of every 30 people died from cancer.  Every year we spend over $60 billion on treatment, cure, prevention, and research of cancer and yet our mortality numbers have gone from 1:30 to 1:2. If you’re wondering WHY Think LIFESTYLE.

I just read a very well researched article about American Cancer Society, it’s money making history and role in Cancer Prevention, Cure, and Research.  According to this article, the American Cancer Society is “accumulating great wealth in its role as a “charity.” According to James Bennett, professor of economics at George Mason University and recognized authority on charitable organizations.”  Since the 1990′s American Cancer Society has spent, on average, 30% of it’s funds on actual cancer treatment, prevention and research.

The rest of the funds raised (other %70 which accounts of billions of dollars) go to pay for overhead, salaries, benefits, travel expenses- now keep in mind that most direct community services are handled by thousands of unpaid volunteers.  I, personally have participated in multiple Relay for Life as cancer is very close to my heart. Please read the full article for more information.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

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“Man ate and drank in the healthiest manner possible during the Upper Paleolithic period [beginning about 40,000 years ago], when humans were nomadic huntergatherers.  About 50%-80% of food came from plants and 20%-50% from animals. People living at this time consumed no grains, and no dairy products other than breast milk.” said Dr. Barry Popkins, a distinguished professor of Clinical Nutrition at University of North Carolina.

He goes on to explain that our fat nation has gained all the weight from the clash between our drinking habits and our biology.  He believes that we in America drink most of our calories, but we don’t cut our food intake. “an average American gets over 450 calories/day from beverages.” We’re drinking our way to obesity. Fruit juice as we perceive to be healthy, still has a lot of calories specially if not taken in moderate amounts.

I am assuming during Paleolithic period, there weren’t any factories that over-processed food and scientists hadn’t come up with growth hormones or genetically modified food either.

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Anti-aging is a hot topic these days. The key is to learn all the natural ways to do it without invasive injections and surgeries. Here are just SOME of nature’s remedies to keep you young!

1. Blueberries and more : Blueberries are the Goddess of Antioxidant- rich food. Antioxidants slow down the process of free radical formation (free radicals are responsible for destroying your cells).  Blueberries are not the only food group that carry a large amount of antioxidants, but those fruits and veggies that are richest in color are also a big source! Prunes, raisins, kale, and spinach are also on the top of the list when it comes to getting rid of free radicals that contribute to your aging process.

2. Green Tea: This magical tea is another super-antioxidant that helps prevent and reduce inflammation and the effects of oxidation (aging of your cells).  If you drink coffee and are thinking about quitting, Green Tea is a great substitute.

3. Garlic: Garlic will not only reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer but it will also prevent cell degeneration (which causes aging).  To get the full on benefit of Garlic, you should take it raw! Just make sure your friends do it with you!

The list goes on and on! Click here for more.  As a rule of thumb, stay away from bad carbohydrates; know that sugar is your biggest enemy, and introduce more veggies and fruits into your diet. Good luck and stay young!

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