How we think and how we process the world around us has a tremendous effect on our health and our happiness. In celebration of this time of Thanksgiving, take some time out for yourself and contemplate all the many things that you have to be grateful for. If you find the task difficult, keep at it – it will get easier. Then, make it a daily habit – you will never be sorry that you decided to make gratitude a daily part of your life!
Research done by Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto with water crystals is fascinating but his research teaches some important health lessons as well. Dr. Emoto has studied the effects of positive energy and negative energy on water. Some of his research has included music and some of his research has included messages given to water. What does that have to do with us – with you and me? Our bodies are 70-80% water. So what holds true for water also holds true for us. For example, Dr. Emoto and his colleagues found that water droplets would form widely different crystalline patterns after being exposed to different kinds of music. Exposure to acid rock would result in a very disrupted crystal while a Mozart symphony would result in a beautifully formed crystal. Below, we have included a blog post written by Dr. Sabrina Chen-See written about Dr. Emoto’s work as well. We hope you will read her blog post and then think about what you are surrounding yourself and your life with and what affect your attitude and gratitude can have on your health. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Emoto’s work, you can read his book Hidden Messages in Water.
Want to know the secret to changing your mental state, your luck, your future and life for the better? It’s simple… it’s by expressing gratitude.
As seen in Dr. Masaru Emoto’s water crystal research, exposing distilled water to the words “Thank You” overnight resulted in a physical change to how the molecules behave. Water exposed to positive words like, “Love”, “Kindness”, “Peace” and “Joy” formed beautiful, intricate snowflake-like water crystals. When exposed to negative words like, “I will kill you”, “War” and “Stupid”, the water crystals would be dark, asymmetrical, ugly blobs.
Gratitude has incredible healing properties. Microwaved water will not form crystals. However, after being blessed, it will then form beautiful crystals. This is scientific proof that the energy of our food is better in meals that are made from scratch with love and in meals that are blessed before consumption. Dr. Emoto concluded the first round of research with this summary:
“If thoughts can do this to water, and we’re 70-80% water, then what is the effect of thoughts on us?”
How do you harness this power of gratitude and channel this power into transforming your life? For lasting change, consider starting a gratitude journal. My gratitude journal is a pocket book with pretty designs throughout. Each morning, write a positive affirmation or quote for the day, such as:
“Always end the day with a positive thought.”
“No matter how hard things were, tomorrow is a fresh opportunity to make it better.”
As the quote says, end the day with something positive. In the gratitude journal, write out 5 things you are grateful for, or something/someone you love. The last thoughts you have before falling asleep repeat themselves 20, 000 to 40, 000 times per night. Journaling like this can make changes to your outlook immediately, and lets the universe know that you are open to abundance. Keep it up for 30 days to ingrain it as a daily habit and continue the rest of your life for ongoing healing of your mind, body and spirit.
To supercharge the power of gratitude, you must take action and show your gratitude each and every day. I’m not talking about making a show of gratitude for recognition. I’m talking about letting the source of what you’re grateful for knowing that they are appreciated, and supporting their efforts. If someone was kind to you, thank them directly. Written thanks (ever notice pretty “Thank You” cards?) are more lasting than a verbal “thanks”. If it was a stranger you’ll never see again, pay it forward with a kindness to another stranger. If you’re grateful for a beautiful sunset or clean air, do what you can to support our environment, to preserve or improve it for future generations. If you’re grateful for your wife/mother preparing meals for you each and every day, support her by setting the table, washing dishes, etc. The key is to help out because you’re grateful, not because you’re obliged to do it. If you’re going through health challenges, you can still be grateful for all your body is doing to heal itself. Support your body by loving it, feeding it good food, resting, chiropractic care, exercising and positive thoughts. If you’ve been blessed with talents and special gifts, show your gratitude by developing them and using them for the betterment of yourself, your family, society, humankind and the planet. – Dr. Sabrina Chen-See
What do you call it when your feelings affect what, when and how you eat? In healthcare circles, we refer to this very common phenomenon as “emotional eating.” Over time, it can become a very destructive pattern that leads to poor nutrition and unhealthy weight gain. If you suspect that you may be prone to emotional eating, the key is to recognize the kinds of circumstances that trigger it and then to use a handful of mindfulness strategies to change your behavior in ways that protect your health.
What Causes Emotional Eating?
Studies have shown that many different feelings can trigger emotional eating—anxiety, loneliness, sadness, boredom and anger, to name a few. While these types of negative emotions can sometimes be triggered by traumatic life events such as the loss of a job, a divorce or a death in the family, they can also be a response to exhaustion or the pressures of daily life. It is also true that many people will over-indulge when they’re celebrating, especially in social settings. This is hardly surprising—after all, we learn early in life to associate food with special occasions like birthdays and holidays.
When we eat for reasons like these (that is, for reasons other than being hungry), we usually do so without thinking very much about it. At its best, emotional eating can be a “food fling”—an occasional indulgence. But at its worst, emotional eating can become a mindless, automatic activity that we use regularly for coping, distraction and avoidance. Food can become both a reward when things are going well and a consolation when they’re not. This is the kind of pattern to look out for.
The Warning Signs
Awareness is the first step. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help determine whether you’re an emotional eater:
Now What?
If you suspect that you’re an emotional eater, there are several do-it-yourself behavioral interventions that you can use to break the pattern. In general, these are designed to promote mindfulness, reduce the damage caused by emotional eating or help build new habits.
The Comfort Food Trap
When we eat emotionally, we also tend to reach for so-called “comfort foods” that usually contain large amounts of sugar, fat or salt. So it’s a nutritional double-whammy: we’re eating when we’re not really hungry AND we’re also eating calorie-dense foods that aren’t very good for us.
It turns out there are a number of physiological reasons why many of us crave things like chocolate and macaroni and cheese when we’re down. Over the past few years, scientists have found that particular types of food can indeed have a very real influence on our state of mind through mechanisms such as brain chemistry and blood sugar levels. In part two of the Mood Food Connection, we’ll explain in more detail how the foods we eat can affect the way we feel.
If you’re interested in learning more about healthy weight management techniques that help you feel and perform at your best, call or visit our office today! We’re here to help!
Only a few decades ago, telephones were relatively large objects that sat on a desk or a tabletop. Remember those? You picked them up when you needed to call someone, and you never really thought about them at other times, unless the telephone actually rang, indicating that someone was calling you. The very idea that someone could become addicted to a telephone (old-school references to teenage girls aside) would have seemed absurd.
But now, with our mobile phones giving us access not only to voice communications but also to the Internet, it’s quite a different story. In one study conducted by phone provider Gazelle, researchers found behavior that certainly sounds like addiction–-70% of users check their mobile phones compulsively within minutes of waking up, 51% check them while on vacation, and 44% admit to feeling extremely anxious and irritable if they CAN’T continually check their phones. Another study indicates that the average college student uses his or her smartphone for over nine hours a day—longer than most of those students spend sleeping! So it appears that describing modern Americans as addicted to their mobile phones is not hyperbole.
What does science say about mobile phone addiction?
It has been well established that people can become addicted to behaviors in much the same way they can become addicted to substances like drugs or alcohol or nicotine. Many mobile phone users, deprived of their phones for a few minutes, begin to show signs of withdrawal. For such people, losing their phone or having its battery die can literally provoke a panic attack. And research has suggested that this seeming addiction to one’s smartphone increases depending on how many apps one uses, especially email or social media apps. The study of college students mentioned earlier, for example, found that they spent an average of 94 minutes a day texting, 48 minutes sending emails, and 38 minutes checking Facebook.
Checking for messages and responding to them can definitely become a compulsion. One study by Atchley and Warden (published in the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition) offered students a “delayed gratification” test. They were told that they had received a text message from a significant other, and that they could either reply immediately and be paid $5, or wait several hours and be paid $100. Most chose to reply immediately.
Another study conducted in Spain found that over 40% of the young adults they tested spent more than four hours per day on their mobile phones, and that many of them felt so offended at not receiving an expected reply to a text or phone call immediately that they described their feelings as “deeply upset and sad.” This study also found that mobile phone addicts tended over time to neglect important responsibilities like studies or work in favor of time spent on their phones. Some subjects in the Spanish study, when deprived of their phones, displayed symptoms of “anxiety, irritability, sleep disorders or sleeplessness, and even shivering and digestive problems.”
It is important to remember that most of the studies cited in this article are preliminary, meaning that the results have not yet been replicated by follow-up studies. Thus while we can say that mobile phone use is associated with feelings and behaviors we can legitimately describe as signs of addiction, we can’t say for sure yet whether mobile phone use causes those feelings and behaviors. But the research is certainly pointing in that direction.
This is why it’s so important to be self-aware about how you use this technology! The next time you are at a party or in a restaurant and you find yourself communicating with your phone more often than you communicate with your family and friends, the reason may NOT be that your family and friends are boring. It may be that you have developed a few compulsive habits about your own mobile phone use that you might want to look into!
The modern American diet is laden with over-salted, over-sugared and over-processed foods. Sodas, fast food and pre-packaged feasts are all contributing to an epidemic of weight gain and poor health, including chronic cardiovascular and metabolic conditions (such as high blood pressure and diabetes) as well as chronic musculoskeletal problems (such as knee and low back pain).
Most of us recognize that eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet is necessary for maintaining optimal health and managing your weight. But the unfortunate truth is that most of us still crave a juicy cheeseburger or candy bar over a salad. In fact, unhealthy foods can actually be habit-forming for some people, making it difficult for them to make necessary changes.
The good news is that you really can learn to crave more healthful foods while curbing your desire to gobble up junk.
Try, try again.
Although the body does naturally seek out salty and sweet flavors, you didn’t exit the womb needing potato chips for survival. This was a food you tasted and decided you enjoyed. Some foods are an acquired taste—think coffee, tripe or caviar. Chances are you didn’t immediately love any of these foods the first time you tried them (and maybe you still don’t).
Most people need as many as 10 tastes of a single food item to get used to the flavor. This means you don’t have to eat 10 whole plates of Brussels sprouts, just taste a tiny forkful of someone else’s from time to time. With each bite, your taste buds will know what to expect and you will be less likely to react with pursed lips. And, yes, eventually you may even learn to enjoy it.
It takes time.
You can’t learn to play the piano in one evening, and you probably won’t learn to love a tofu stir-fry that fast either. Take comfort in the fact that you will eventually come to enjoy healthy foods such as fresh fruits and legumes.
In a 2014 study by Tufts University in Massachusetts, researchers scanned the brains of adults who were eating a diet high in protein and fiber, which is found largely in fruits and vegetables. The study found that after 6 months of healthful eating, the area of the brain often cited as the “reward center” became activated when participants viewed images of healthy foods. And that’s not all—their brains became less “turned on” by unhealthy foods such as chips or candy.
Get creative with your cooking.
No food is exciting to eat when it’s boiled plain or zapped in a microwave. Instead, try roasting, sautéing or grilling your vegetables and proteins (chicken, fish or even buffalo, for example). Longer, slower forms of cooking work to caramelize the foods. This draws out the food’s naturally occurring sugars and enhances the flavor.
Choosing the right seasonings can also dress up an otherwise bland course. Try a pinch of ancho chili powder or sriracha sauce if you’re looking for spice, or sprinkle on a little cinnamon or turmeric for some exotic flair.
Even as adults, a surprising number of our beliefs are shaped by “casual” or “informal” sources of information, including watercooler conversations with colleagues at work, social media exchanges with friends and family and pop-culture references on TV. Most of the time, we’re not aware of the cumulative effect that this sort of information has on our view of the world—or how much of worldview is really second- or third-hand. Not surprisingly, this is even true when it comes to heath and healthcare.
According to the Pew Research Center, people look to a variety of sources for health-related background, advice and support. For example:
While access to high-quality health information is undeniably a good thing for the public at large, it can be difficult for most people to judge the accuracy and appropriateness of what they read or hear. This is particularly true on the Internet, where the flow of new misinformation is often accelerated and amplified and where old ideas and misconceptions can be easily repeated and sustained.
In light of new media trends, we thought it might be a good idea to share three facts about chiropractic care in the 21st century—facts that sometimes get lost in all the “noise” about healthcare.
Chiropractic care is NOT on the “fringes” of modern healthcare. And it hasn’t been for years.
According to the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, chiropractic is the third largest primary healthcare profession in the U.S. (surpassed only by medical doctors and dentists), with over 70,000 active licenses. In addition, the National Center for Health Statistics has reported that 8.5% of the American adult population used chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in 2012—and that this percentage was significantly higher in many regions of the country.
Chiropractic care has a proven track record in treating a variety of musculoskeletal conditions—particularly back and neck problems—without the use of drugs or surgery.
Over the years, teams from leading academic institutions have published study findings that document the effectiveness chiropractic care in a variety of well-respected, peer-reviewed journals. Public health and consumer research organizations have also regularly reported on the high level of patient satisfaction achieved by chiropractic physicians.
Back in 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services delivered to Congress a report that detailed its findings from a “demonstration project” designed to assess the effects of expanding Medicare coverage for chiropractic services. As part of this work, researchers conducted a satisfaction survey of chiropractic patients. Here’s an excerpt of what they found:
“Sixty percent of respondents indicated that they received ‘complete’ or ‘a lot’ of relief of symptoms from their chiropractic treatments. Satisfaction with care was high, with 87 percent reporting levels of 8 or higher on a 10-point scale and 56 percent indicating a perfect score of 10.”
Interestingly, the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center came to a very similar conclusion based on its own survey data. The Center reported that a larger percentage of patients (59%) were highly satisfied with the back pain treatment and advice they received from chiropractors than were satisfied with the care provided by any other type of healthcare professional. By way of comparison, 44% of patients were highly satisfied with care provided by a specialist physician and only 34% were highly satisfied with care provided by a primary care physician.
Chiropractic care is increasingly provided as part of an integrated, cross-disciplinary approach to the treatment of musculoskeletal problems at leading medical centers and local clinics.
Here’s just one example: At the prestigious Cleveland Clinic, “Chiropractic physicians are established members of the mainstream medical team. They treat problems involving the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, cartilage and nervous system.”
There is no doubt that patients (and their families and friends) can benefit from reading and hearing the personal anecdotes and stories of others. At the same time, it is important to be aware of the larger patterns and trends as you consider your own healthcare options. Remember—facts are your friends! As chiropractic physicians, we’re experts in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal problems, and our goal is to help you recover as quickly and completely as possible!
For a sport with a relatively short history (it began in Southern California in the 1930s), beach volleyball has become immensely popular in the U.S. and around the world. So much so that the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was founded in 1983 to promote the sport and its athletes, and it became an official sport of the Olympic Games in 1996.
The AVP has always recognized that playing on an uneven surface puts a great deal of strain on the bodies of even well-conditioned athletes. So in order to help reduce the risk of injury and prolong players’ careers, the AVP hired a chiropractor named Tim Brown as its first Director of Sports Medicine. Another chiropractic physician named G. Douglas Andersen took over this role a couple of years later. It has become standard practice for a team chiropractor, along with all the necessary adjusting equipment, to accompany the team across the country to each competition on the AVP tour.
Chiropractor Allen M. Manison regularly works with beach volleyball players. He says, “When one considers volleyball injuries, usually the shoulder is the region that gets blamed most. This makes sense as we usually envision volleyball players ‘spiking’ the ball. The rotator cuff and other structures of the shoulder take a beating from the high force and movement that is required of the shoulder.” However, other parts of the body are prone to injury as well. Manison says “I have seen more neck, knee, hip, low back, toe, foot, ankle, and elbow injuries than I would’ve ever imagined! Shoulder injuries are actually about half of the way down on the list of injuries.”
Manison continued, “The beach volleyball game involves tremendous stresses on the body. First, it’s two people per each side of the net, so each athlete has to cover large areas in very short periods of time. Second, the athletes are throwing their bodies around in sand, which certainly does not help with movement. Third, although the sand gives way, the athletes are barefoot and are not getting lots of support for the aggressive maneuvers they are making while they play. Fourth, there is sometimes very little rest as winning teams need to keep playing, and without enough rest and recovery, the risk for injury is increased.”
April Ross, a US Olympic Team beach volleyball player, appreciated the benefits of growing up with chiropractic in her home. She said, “I’ve worked with a lot of chiropractors in my career as a professional beach volleyball player and I grew up having one as my dad, so I think my standards are pretty high! … It’s always pleasant going in for an adjustment. I get a lot of whiplash diving around in the sand and as long as I get in regularly to see [her chiropractor] Dr. Callotta I’m able to deal with it so that I can continue to compete. I don’t know what I would do without her. Now that I am heading to the Olympics I’m counting on her to keep me healthy and ready to win the gold!” (Editor’s note: She did win a silver medal!)
Lisa Rutledge, a professional beach volleyball player had this to say about her chiropractor: “I see Dr. J for chiropractic work about 2 to 3 times a week, and honestly, if I could go more, I would. I play beach volleyball and it takes a serious toll on your body. I’m traveling all over the world – I’m going to Moscow, to Rome, to Korea – and 20-hour flights are not fun. So when I get back my body is just out of alignment, it feels weird, it just doesn’t feel right. So as soon as I get off the plane I book my appointment with Dr. J and I get my adjustment and I feel 100 times better. It really does wonders for your body.”
By some measures, your knees are your body’s largest joints, but they are also the ones most likely to be injured. More than 11 million men and women over the age of forty visit doctors every year due to knee pain. Taking care of your knees helps to make sure these vital joints continue to work smoothly and comfortably so that you can continue to live an active lifestyle.
5 Steps to Healthier Knees
Step 1: Stay Active, but Don’t Overdo It. If you don’t put in the time and effort it takes to keep your knees moving, they can start to stiffen, leading to discomfort and increasing your risk of injury. At the same time, dramatically increasing your levels of activity (particularly if you haven’t been physically active for a while) can cause injuries from repetitive strain. If you have never followed an exercise routine, ease into this type of activity slowly. If you work out hard on a regular basis, make sure to include rest days to give your knees a break.
Step 2: Manage Your Weight. Every extra pound you carry puts additional pressure on your knees. A study conducted by Stephen P. Messier of Wake Forest University found that losing even a small amount of weight can significantly decrease your risk of arthritis in the knees. If knee pain makes it difficult for you to lose weight through exercise, try using a stationary bike or elliptical machine to reduce the impact on your joints.
Step 3: Build Muscle Around Your Knees. The muscles that surround and support your knees also help to absorb shock. Strengthening your hamstrings and your quadriceps will help give your knees the backup they need. Talk to your chiropractor or a personal trainer for ideas on the best ways to strengthen these muscles.
Step 4: Don’t Forget to Stretch. While the muscles around the knees do need to be strong, they also need to be flexible. Regular stretching helps to keep these muscles from pulling the knee out of alignment.
Step 5: Don’t Ignore Pain. If your knee is painful, swollen, or making unusual noises, check in with a doctor as soon as possible. These symptoms can be a sign of damaged cartilage, an issue that can be corrected with early intervention. Trying to “push through” pain without knowing what is causing it puts you at risk of additional injury, so never hesitate to consult with a professional if you think there might be a problem.
Chiropractic Care and Your Knees
Chiropractic care is a vital resource when it comes to keeping your knees healthy. Your chiropractor will take the time to examine and evaluate your joints, muscles, posture and biomechanics to determine the root cause of any discomfort. He or she will then recommend and perform manual techniques that will help to bring your body back into alignment. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your lifestyle and receive recommendations on changes that you can make to continue to improve your knees’ health.
Taking good care of your knees takes commitment, but the rewards are well worth it over the long haul. Talk to your chiropractor today to learn more!
Eggs: they’re tasty and nutritious, but for a long time now they’ve been considered a contributor to high cholesterol and heart disease. Recent studies are starting to challenge this assumption, giving egg-lovers reason to celebrate.
Cholesterol and Your Food
Dieticians and doctors have longed warned their patients against eating foods high in cholesterol, including shrimp and eggs. However, new advice from the scientific advisory panel for the 2015 version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are putting forward a different view. At the committee’s 2014 meeting, it was decided that cholesterol was no longer considered a “nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”
Part of this change in attitude comes from a better understanding of how the cholesterol in food impacts the cholesterol in the bloodstream. While many dieters have a negative view of cholesterol, in reality this type of fat is crucial for building cell membranes, protecting nerve fibers, producing oxygen, and absorbing nutrients. It’s such an important substance that the body creates it on its own in quantities that far outweigh the amount consumed through food.
New Attitudes Towards Eggs
This new understanding of dietary cholesterol’s impact on health adds more backing to a change in attitude towards eggs. For decades consumers have been told that eggs’ high levels of cholesterol make them dangerous for those at risk of heart disease. However, studies conducted in 1999 and 2006 show that eating one egg a day does not cause healthy individuals to have a higher risk of heart disease. Eggs are high in a number of important nutrients, including vitamins B12 and D, folate, and riboflavin, and also offer a concentrated, balanced protein “package” without requiring too many calories.
Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Much of the concern over cholesterol stems from its association with heart disease. So-called “bad” cholesterol can lead to plaque build-up on artery walls, which increases a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke. Other dietary substances, such as trans-fat and saturated fat, cause similar types of damage. However, their role in heart disease risk is often greater than cholesterol, making them a more pressing issue for anyone making changes in their diet.
Keeping Up with Changes in Nutritional Science
Changes in dietary guidelines can make it difficult to create a healthy lifestyle for yourself and your family. While it might seem as though researchers and clinicians are “flip-flopping” on what foods they recommend, these kinds of changes come about as a result of new science and a gradually improving understanding of how food and our bodies interact. It can be frustrating to keep up with the newest nutritional science and to try to translate it into a healthier menu for ourselves and our families. However, having a qualified chiropractor on your side can help you take advantage of the most reliable science. Chiropractic care treats each patient as a whole, and dietary choices are an important part of their overall approach to health and wellness. Your chiropractor can work with you to help you decide which foods (perhaps including eggs) will be most healthful for you and your family
They say you are what you eat, but can your diet really have an impact on the microbes that live in your digestive tract? While thinking about the millions of microscopic life forms (collectively called the human microbiota) living in your gut might make you feel a bit squeamish, this topic has fueled a considerable body of research. The results strongly suggest that a person’s food choices do have a significant impact on their microbiota. And that this microbiota in turn has a real impact on their overall health and wellness.
Diet and Microbiota Content
One of the more recent studies that show the relationship between diet and microbiota was conducted in 2014 by researchers at Duke and Yale. In this study, researchers compared the microbiota of a group of volunteers. For five days, the volunteers limited their diet to rice and vegetables. After eating their regular diet for a week, the volunteers then spent another five days eating only animal and fatty products. The results showed that only three days after each dietary change there was a significant variation in the type of microbiota present.
A Gut-Friendly Diet
Even though the microbes in your gut are tiny, they can have a big influence on your health, particularly when it comes to digestion. Diets that are high in sugar, animal fats, and processed foods provide nourishment for the unhealthy microbes that cause digestive issues. Unfortunately, these foods are also a large part of the standard American diet. It comes as no surprise, then, that doctors see millions of patients every year for issues such as heartburn, bloating, constipation, irritable bowels, and diarrhea. Changing your diet to include foods that encourage a healthy balance of microbes can help keep you at your best.
Keep the following in mind when building a gut-friendly diet:
Your chiropractor can be a helpful resource when working to build a diet that is friendly to your digestive system. Because chiropractic care puts a special focus on lifestyle choices, your chiropractor can provide you with targeted feedback on how your food choices are impacting your overall health. Your chiropractor will work with you to build a food plan that improves your well-being in all areas, including your microbe balance.
Making food choices that positively impact the life inside of you can significantly improve your well-being. Keep your microbiota in mind when choosing your next meal: your digestive system will thank you!