You Deserve The Best Of You

Fine! I'll weigh in.

2008-06-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was grabbing a little bite to eat at the grocery store and happened upon the newest issue of Time magazine with a cover article on immunization. I don't like wading into this, or really any argument for that matter, because one of the greatest things about this country is that we are each entitled to have our opinions and make choices based on them. Well, for the most part.

The growing number of people that are deciding against vaccinations for religious or philosophical reasons "is a trend that's working in the microbes' favor--and against ours." Those malicious 2-3%, clearly in league with the microbes to bring about the downfall of humanity (sorry, I couldn't resist some sarcasm), are hiding behind "a fragile shield" that there won't be much of the critter out there to cause illness. The author points to a recent measles outbreak, 64 cases so far this year, which was brought back from Europe "where the bug was thriving among intentionally unimmunized people in Switzerland." Further, of those infected in this country, only one was vaccinated.

So, my question is...what's the big deal? Why are the 97% of people that at least have most of their vaccinations so scared? You're protected, right? Isn't that point of the shot? The author writes, it seems to me in passing, that parents can decide to "opt for the vaccines and face the potential perils of errant chemistry or to decline the vaccines and face the dangers of the bugs." It's a turn of phrase that's clever, and I'll highlight it in case you missed it--there's "potential perils" to a shot and "dangers" to germs. In fact, both are potential. Many things in life are and you must weigh the risks personally and make the choice on how to act. You could stub your toe and break it walking around your bedroom, does that mean you shouldn't get up?

The author quotes a parent angry that someone would be "messing with people's lives like that," before discussing how health officials and school boards have threatened to take moms and dads that choose not to have their kids immunized to truancy court or subject them to "sincerity" interviews. Or, as one such parent said, "People are calling us bad parents, saying it's child abuse if we don't vaccinate our children." That's not "messing with people's lives" or impinging upon their personal freedoms, right?

In the introduction, the author correctly states that survival for bacteria and viruses amounts to "finding a pristine human home to provide for your every need, from food and nutrients to shelter against biological storms." And, "viruses and bacteria have had millions of years to perfect their host-finding skills; our abilities to rebuff them are only two centuries old." (Forgetting, of course, those tens of thousands of years where the species survived without medical intervention.)

Should you vaccinate your children? I don't know. I'm not afraid of germs, but I can't tell you what to think. As with everything else, it's about you.

Duh!

2008-06-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

A world-renowned neurologist is presenting findings at a conference this week regarding the power of music on the brain. I would assume that the speech will contain snippets from his book on the same subject, one I may pick up considering my affinity for neurology.

Now, as great as I'm sure Dr. Sacks is, I've got to say that I'm not sure we don't all know this already. I mean, doesn't each of us have a song or two that helps us in nearly every situation?

Working out? Something with a little thump.

Playing cards with friends? Tunes to provide a backdrop to conversation.

Relaxing? Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.

In my opinion, music is shared experience and emotion. It helps us grieve. It can give us strength to fire through that last mile. How could that not be therapeutic?

Chiropractic Is Not My Job

2008-05-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

I wrote this several months ago and posted it as an "easter egg" on the ABLE Chiropractic website. As I have been closing down the company over the last few weeks, I have been unable to sit down and blog. Soon enough, I will be back to post quirky articles and occasional essays, as well as launching a new website. I often tell people that what I write--online, in newsletters and for health classes--is a window into my brain and this one is unmatched in that respect. Enjoy.

On a soccer trip to St. Louis at the age of fourteen, I visited Union Station with my grandparents and purchased a book called Rare Air by Michael Jordan. I'll freely admit to being a child of the Nike generation, as most men my age are. If we were at all "into sports" growing up, there was no individual that personified immense talent coupled with a will to win more than #23. The work revolves around pictures taken by Walter Iooss, a renowned photojournalist for Sports Illustrated that followed His Airness around on and off the court for the 1992-93 season. The mostly autobiographical writing by Jordan amounts to little more than captions for Iooss' stunning snapshots, almost like the explanations provided in an encyclopedia.

I read the whole thing in a day, which says something considering I was a kid whose attention didn't focus on much other than a round ball at my feet. Fascinated by the insight into my idol's character and mentality, I gobbled up each word and rushed on to the next. One phrase that stuck with me is "Basketball is not my job." He went on to explain that when most people talk about what they do for a living, there is an air of obligation instead of enjoyment. To him, dealing with endorsement responsibilities and answering the media fit that description. The game was fun and he couldn't justify attaching a four-letter word like "work" to it.

Caring for my practice family, helping them to live better and educating people about the beauty and magnificence of the human body is what I was made to do. It's what I went to school for and the way I do good in the world. Chiropractic is not my job.

Did Mom Make You Smarter?

2008-05-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

In light of the fact that Mother's Day is around the corner, I figured it appropriate to highlight this article discussing a new study from Canada and Belarus that found a link between breast feeding and intelligence. In monitoring around 14,000 babies for a period of 6 1/2 years, the Belarussians found that mothers encouraged to nourish their children naturally were more likely to do so throughout the first 6 months of life. And, when the children were given IQ tests later, they scored "about 5 percent higher in IQ tests and did better academically."

In light of these results and a recent study that showed omega-3 fats may help prenatal brains, don't you think it might be nice to give Mom something more than flowers and a card?

Velkommen til Danmark!

2008-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

An ongoing Gallup phone poll of 100,000 people found that about half of Americans are struggling through life. These findings were publicized this morning by Good Morning America, who highlighted the fact that the two most common worries are money and health. (I'd like to give you the percentages, I just couldn't hear them as I was walking out the door.)

Reading through the findings further, one would find that about half of respondents to the 70-question survey also have some sort of chronic condition like diabetes or heart disease, "in part because of their poor choices." Continuing from the article:

"Many are stressed, worried and overweight, all factors which lead to illness and, ultimately, lifelong health conditions," [Healthways consulting firm President Ben] Leedle added.

You mean lifestyle is a key factor in how well we live? D'oh! Once again, the evidence points to the best practices largely including the most basic solutions. Mind what you eat. Exercise. Don't smoke. In short, take care of your body beyond just heading to the doctor when symptoms get to where you can't bear them. It is the simplest path to healthier and happier days. Really.

Is it easy? Not at first. Getting out of those old habits is difficult. You have to keep pushing forward on the path even when you don't want to. You have to realize that (to borrow from a colleague's blog) "nobody is going to care as much about your health as you do. Not your doctor, not the government, and not the pharmaceutical industry." And until you make the commitment to you, nobody else can help no matter how much they want to. You have the power, I know--absolutely and unequivocally--you can do it.

Or you could just try moving to Denmark, where 83% of the population is thriving.

It's Not Just Your Heart That Benefits

2008-04-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

The findings of what amounts to a pilot study (50 subjects) were released today showing that people with higher body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height to weight, had less of the chemical markers that indicate good brain health. According to the article, most of the changes were evident in the frontal lobe, which is responsible for higher thinking processes (say, understanding the principles of mathematics), emotional maturity and short-term memory amongst many others. The possibility exists that these changes make the individual more susceptible to age-related brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's. Further, it may be worthy of consideration to see what it does to younger brains (those studied were all middle-aged). Perhaps there could also be a demonstrable link to learning difficulties.

Interesting, especially on the heels of what Yahoo! Health says is the basically the death of the "fit but fat" theory.

Standing

2008-04-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

I pace when I'm thinking. Part of my mental process as I prepare for health classes or even while writing these blogs involves getting up periodically and walking about. Something about movement helps my brain string words and thoughts together more effectively. Always has, probably always will.

Late last week, I was in the midst of something and managed to settle in front of the large windows in the clinic reception area. Contemplating appropriate phrasing or distilling a complex topic into simple terms requires some level of mental quiet, yet it never fails that something else jumps into that conversation and shouts its (seeming) importance. It's one of those moments where all the background noises in the brain get their chance to sneak to the front and, at the time, I was slightly annoyed by it. Yesterday I received an email that asked a question that makes it more appropriate:

"What do you stand for?"

The author's point was to state that it's far better to avoid being against something, you will not be bound up by negative energy and opposing force. It's the way things work, we all have experienced it. So, these five words prompted me to tell the world what popped into my head that day, which is exactly what I'm standing for...

I love you.

You read that right. Even though I've probably never met you, I love you. No matter what you think, how insecure you feel, you are the most amazing thing ever created. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. I know what you can do and I hope you live your life to the fullest.

You should enjoy every moment you can with those you love, savoring every second of this precious human life. You are the greatest invention of all time, no one is better. Seize this day and make the most of it. You will be great. (You already are.)

"Do you live in an environment with gravity?"

2008-04-24T08:15:00.001-07:00

I tend to ask this question in jest to skeptics wondering if everyone can benefit from chiropractic care. Though it sounds like an opening from a old-time snake oil salesman about to dazzle the masses with unverified claims of "stupendous" results, it's meant to provide levity. It's a fun way for me to begin a discussion of biomechanics and the subtle, profound effect the pull of the earth exerts on us at all times.

The simple fact is, your body is always under pressure to deal with gravity, no matter where you work (pretty much). The tricky thing about that downward force is that it will take every upper hand you give it, whether from poor posture or bad balance. What begins as a slight compensation will slowly degenerate causing pain and interfering with organ function. Darn gravity!

I'm sorry, it's physics. You can't defeat it, you can only make the effort to eliminate it's advantage as much as possible.

Those Crazy Bacteria

2008-04-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

An interesting study from the journal Nature was released earlier this week. Apparently, some "chaps" from Imperial College of London have been attempting to create a world map of metabolism. They've studied over 4,600 people from Britain, the United States, Japan and China (Does four countries seem like a very large proportion of the 195 on earth?) by analyzing their urine and found a handful of compounds that may be indicators of high blood pressure.

They found that genetics were not an issue, instead focusing on diet and...bacteria in the intestines?!?! It appears that certain of these little critters produce drug-like effects as they break down materials passing through the digestive tract. Apparently the depth of the relationship between humans and their gut bacteria is only beginning to be understood, which might be the reason probiotics are becoming more widely known.

The most interesting line from the article, in my opinion, is this:

They hope their findings...can help lead to the development of new drugs to fight high blood pressure or perhaps even non-drug therapy.

Uh, wouldn't "non-drug therapy" just mean eating right?

Enlightenment

2008-04-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

You must get tired of me saying the same thing all the time, huh? I came across several interesting articles today and I can't help but share them. A couple of studies about childhood nutrition have shown a link between eating right and better performance, as well as a direct link between the quality of school lunch choices and childhood obesity. Nice.

Then, I came across two stories on cardiovascular problems that seem to compete with each other. One is about the benefits of statins, the world's best-selling pharmaceutical drugs. The second discusses the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet lowering the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Now, I've probably already said you are the only one who will determine your health a hundred times, but...

Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of New York University's Women's Heart Program, said many patients would rather take a pill than adjust their eating habits. But, Goldberg said, "I always point out to my patients, if you make these changes in your lives, it could ... keep you off medication" in the long run.

"There has to be a greater emphasis on the way we live our lives," she said.

We've already discussed that and I'd find it hard to believe there's a doctor out there that wouldn't say the same thing. Most people want that pill but, when you stack a good diet up alongside the drug, it might be best to look at the effects.

For the diet: lower blood pressure, less risk of heart attack or stroke and possibly weight loss.
For the prescription: lower blood pressure and a bunch of others.

So, I got to thinking about recent drug controversies (which seem to appear more and more often) and wondered if I could come up with a new way of explaining to you the power you have. I ended up with something from a book I'm reading on Buddhism.

Smoothing out the earth with leather sheets
Cannot be done for lack of so much hide.
Just put a bit of leather on your feet;
It's like you've covered the entire world!
-- Bodhicharyavatara 5.13

In other words, when a problem arises you can look to the world or look at yourself. Which is easier, covering everything else or putting on shoes?

&*$@#% Insurance!

2008-04-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

I skim through the local paper pretty much every day, one of the many habits I have to keep myself informed. The left column of this morning's Eagle barked "Plans price medications out of patients' reach," carrying a shortened form of this article from the New York Times about rising prescription drug costs for policy holders with certain conditions. What used to be a $20 co-pay is now a 20% co-insurance that totals hundreds or thousands per refill. It doesn't seem fair, especially when reading this from the article:

Traditionally, the idea of insurance was to spread the costs of paying for the sick.

Here's the thing: insurance providers don't want to pay for anything. Put aside the (natural) feeling that there's some sort of corporate greed behind that statement, they are in business like everyone else. The primary goal of every company is to still be open tomorrow. Thus, they look at trends and make decisions with that purpose in mind. It sounds cold-hearted, but your health is a secondary concern.

You've probably figured that out already, because you're paying for most of your care anyway. You see a certain percentage of every paycheck go into the company pool. You have a co-pay at each visit, after your deductible (which has probably become higher and higher, too) is surpassed. It's not ideal, but it's part of the healthcare system and it's unlikely to change, no matter how many politicians trumpet universal plans.

Each day, I speak with someone that is surprised and often upset (see headline) at their lack of chiropractic benefits. The unfortunate truth is most people don't have much coverage, which requires them to make a transformation. They must become a part of the quickly-growing group of people with a consumer mentality when it comes to their health. You know the type, don't you? No, they aren't the ones that eat organic food, take nutritional supplements and are suspicious of drug makers. Check that, it's not just them. Most of us, with the increase in out-of-pocket expenses, are now asking for the best, longest-lasting results from the care we receive. It's an investment in your health and wellness. We're looking with CEO's eyes for the most cost-effective returns, making value-based judgments.

We should, right? Isn't it our money and quality of life that are at stake?

The bottom line is that, if you let your health be determined by the insurance companies, you probably won't be very healthy at all.

Smart Clothes

2008-04-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

I love technology. Not as much as Kip, but still quite a bit. I mean, my clinic is completely digital (I hardly have to store a piece of paper) and a lot of that is due to the fact that I was a teenager when the internet exploded into the vast, ever-expanding universe that it is now. I've got a laptop, a BlackBerry and an iPod, at least two of which are near me pretty much at all times. I enjoy learning about where the future will take us, whether with cars or skyscrapers or homes.
I recently learned that smart clothes are on the horizon. Scientists in Europe believe it will be possible to embed sensors in your shirt that keep track of your heart rate, blood pressure and possibly even your blood sugar. When your garment detects changes, it will place a call to your doctor and send you a text message to calm you down. I will admit to being fascinated by the possibilities, imagine how many lives could be saved if a heart attack could be detected just a few seconds or minutes earlier, right?
What's next? Having a pair of pants say "Are you seriously going to eat that hamburger?"

CREDO

2008-04-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across these words yesterday and they fit in nicely with something I've been wanting to write about for the last couple of days. Anyone that knows me has heard of my affinity for nuggets of thought (I have seven pages worth stored on my laptop) and, considering the conversation that inspired this particular installment of my blog, I found this one appropriate:

"Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use." William James

This man, besides being the purveyor of an excellent beard, was a psychologist and philosopher around the turn of the 20th century. He brings up a point which I have been alluding to throughout the course of this blog: We are cheating ourselves--and others--because we aren't living our best. To borrow from the kingdom of sports cliches, we're not "leaving it all out on the floor."

I was talking with a patient Monday about his health. He has recently made the decision to increase his exercise activites and change the way he eats, which is a great thing for any doctor to hear. (For a physician that emphasizes personal choices as much as I do, it's hard to hide the excitement! It makes me smile even now as I type.) As he and I continued to discuss our habits, he said "I look at people and I just think 'How can you not?'" That, my friends, is nothing short of brilliant.

We talked for a while longer and I brought up my CREDO, the simple acronym for achieving peak health you can find on the ABLE Chiropractic website. It encompasses the following:

Chiropractic--to restore proper function and help your body clear life's hurdles (quite literally)
Rest--to allow the body to repair and rebuild, is important at any age
Exercise--to improve overall fitness (even for unborn babies)and help with stress management
Diet--to provide the best fuel for the body
Outlook--to remember that positive attitude is important, for the body will go nowhere without the mind

Now, look at that again. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, the first--and often most difficult--step is to make the choice. You already know that you have a profound effect on your health, so ask yourself, and be honest when you answer, "Do I want to go through life 'only half awake' or at my very best?"

"So, what do you do?"

2008-04-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Nobody that has ever met someone new has not heard the question above. It's one of those polite small talk hurdles that have to be cleared when you're trying to figure out how long you will maintain a conversation with a person. It happens all the time, in every walk of life, whether at a Chamber of Commerce function or attending an NCAA watch party at a friend's house. In order to really form any sort of lasting relationship, you have to ask them how they spend their day.

If you're in business, they tell you to have an "elevator speech," a brief snapshot of who you are and what you do so that someone can form a picture of you in twenty seconds or less. (If you've read Blink, you'll know that they've already formed an opinion long before that.) What kind of ridiculous requirement is that? Is it possible to really encompass the entirety of your working worth in that short a time frame? Would you want it to be?

I couldn't tell my story in twenty minutes, let alone twenty seconds (as some who have stopped by my office have learned the hard way!). I have the greatest career in the world! I get to help people live their best life! My work allows a patient's body to perform as it's designed to, with all the wondrous capabilities that I doubt we even begin to understand! Why would I want to try and pare down that enthusiasm for you?

Well, let's try. I'm a chiropr...No, that's not specific enough. I'm a biomechanical arthr...Nope, too technical. I'm in human resources. There! I help humans make the most of their natural, built-in resources. Perfect!

So, what do you do?

It's About You

2008-03-31T06:54:00.000-07:00

If you read my first blog, you know how much importance I place on the individual. If not, you've probably been clued in somewhat by seeing "A Health Perspective Focused Entirely On The Power Of One" at the top of the page. Well, a recent report from the American Cancer Society continues to confirm that the most important factor in good health is...(drumroll)...lifestyle. From the article publicizing the findings titled "You May Be the Key to Cancer Prevention":

"Nearly half of all cancer is related to two things -- tobacco and obesity," said Dr. Jay Brooks, chief of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. "That's something I don't think people truly grasp."

Wow. "Nearly half of all cancer" strikes me as a fairly earth-shattering phrase there. Did you even imagine that you had that much control over whether or not such a debilitating, life-threatening disease could affect you? (Imagine the ripple effect your life has on others!) It continues:

"Not smoking is the single most important thing you can do to lower your risk of cancer," Brooks said.

Poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and excess weight are likely at the root of as many as 188,277 cancer deaths annually, according to the ACS.

The thing is, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, right? You've heard enough about how stress can affect your health or good choices will lengthen your life that it's almost cliche. The truth is what it is, though.

As I've said before, you are the only person that will ever truly know the quality of your time as it passes. I promise that, if you give your best, you will never be dissatisfied. There is no magic bullet, no super pill. You will not get on a treadmill today and lose twenty pounds tomorrow (not in a healthy and lasting way, at least). This is about you and what you want out of life. It may be difficult at times, but as Confucius said, "It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop."

It's No Accident

2008-03-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

I stop at Yahoo! Health at least once a day. When you write a monthly newsletter, teach weekly health classes and have a mild affinity for off-the-wall news, there's a constant need for information. Without this habit, I never would have learned that it's apparently appropriate to blame your neighbors for your exercise habits or that sewer gas may be the reason that Mickey Mouse hasn't aged (which makes me wonder about Disneyland).

What caught my eye today was an interesting study on meditation, a possible link between belly fat and Alzheimer's and, in particular, new findings that show pain still affects people's lives more than a year after a traumatic injury. For me, that last one seems like a no-brainer. Look at the picture above. It makes sense that someone surviving that might have problems for quite a while, doesn't it? From the article:

"I was surprised that the pain was as common and as severe as they reported it to be," said Dr. Frederick Rivara of the University of Washington in Seattle, who led the study.

"The implications are that we need to do a much better job of identifying pain in these patients, treating it adequately and treating it early," Rivara added in a telephone interview.

When you begin to understand the forces involved in a whiplash injury, putting aside any life- or limb-threatening emergencies (which are more immediately important, obviously), it's very easy to see how the body can have symptoms years afterwards. This is why exploring chiropractic options for care often helps people to recover more fully. Though I get adjusted regularly, I still have headaches occasionally that I'm sure stem from my three accidents (and more often from not minding my posture at the computer!), but they aren't nearly as severe or frequent as they were before I ever sought out an alternative to drugs.

What if, instead of just identifying the pain, we looked at the cause of it and focused on that? Maybe some or all of the 63% of people still suffering twelve months later could enjoy a better quality of life, right?

More Than Just Pain Management

2008-03-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

I was informed yesterday by a patient that Good Morning America aired this report during their broadcast regarding chiropractic adjustments helping patients with hypertension. The study was published last year and has slowly gained entry into mainstream media. As further study continues, including larger treatment groups and likely a variety of adjusting techniques, we may better understand the mechanisms.

My clinical experience, conversations with other doctors and various case studies have shown that chiropractic care can have wide-ranging and unanticipated benefits (more later, I don't have much time to write) because it focuses on removing the obstacles to optimal function and not just the symptoms. Sometimes the results even surprise us!

Be All You Can Be

2008-03-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

In the early 1980s, the US Army debuted the five-word slogan above to recruit it's next generation of volunteers. It was a benchmark in advertising that has spawned books and, in my opinion, has been the underlying theme of every sports marketing campaign since. Over the next two decades, it became a part of the American vocabulary, so much so that the power within the phrase has been diluted to a punchline.

Take a moment and read it again. Shed the military images from thousands of commercials (if you can) and try to comprehend it. Think through each word, then the phrase as a whole. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Did you feel it? Did you get the message? The implication is that you could be more than you currently are. Ponder that honestly. Is it true? Are you really fulfilling your potential? Do you enjoy the most out of your life? Could you be better? I can definitely think of some areas I could be.

From this point forward, this blog will center around reaching to be the best you and getting the most out of the one person who controls your life. Whether through tidbits of health information, or brief expressions of my philosophy as a doctor, my intent will always be to enlighten and empower anyone who reads these words. My hope is that, by understanding human capacity and applying it, we can form an army of healthy individuals striving to push to the boundaries of themselves, to conquer their immense lands of dormant ability.

You've got a responsibility to the face in the mirror because you are the only you there will ever be. You are the only one that ever knows if you're leaving something out or falling short, so make the decision. BE ALL YOU CAN BE. That's an order!