Stay Healthy For The Holidays!

Ok, here are some of the most up to date tips to stay healthy for the holidays. To be healthy you have to make healthy choices and do things that everyone else is not. Healthy is a choice, and a little planning, but it is well worth it. Your health is your biggest asset. Here’s to an amazing holiday season…

DON’T GET SICK- IMMUNITY•
One of the reasons sickness, as well as all other diseases, rise during the holiday season is due to poor lifestyle choices. These poor choices are in the areas of, not getting adjusted, poor nutrition, allowing stress to run rampant, failing to exercise, etc.
• Eliminating sickness and disease by increasing and maximizing your health and functioning of every cell, organ, and tissue of the body. Studies have shown that those under Chiropractic care had an Immune System 200% stronger than those who did not receive care, and 400% stronger immune systems than Cancer patients!

EXERCISE/CARDIO• 20-60 minutes per day
• Burst/Surge Training Classes, Burns more calories
• Releases endorphins so you will not eat as much
• Increases metabolism/less fat storage
• Detoxifies through sweating
• Increases body temp to destroy virus and bacteria

Food and Damage Control
Remember Acid/Alkaline Balance• More acidic you are (“Food By Man”, Processed foods, sugars) The more likely bacteria, virus, fungus, cancer, inflammation, and disease will spread and develop.

WATER
Keep your water intake high. Try to consume 8-8oz. glasses per day, or 1/2 gallon. Not only will you be more hydrated, but it will also give you the feeling of fullness. Sometimes when you are thirsty, your body may perceive it as hunger. So keeping your water intake up will curb your appetite, and case you not to eat as much

HOLIDAY PLANNING• Holiday Plan Of Attack Eat your normal meals the day of the holiday
• Fiber drink, to give you feeling of fullness so you do not eat as much, plus preps the body to digest and push out the bad/processed foods
• Eat protein first, then veggies, then carbs/desserts
• ENJOY YOURSELF


www.lifestylechirocenter.com

How Much Vitamin D Should You Take?

The hot topic in nutrition these days is Vitamin D because of all the known benefits. Healthy levels of vitamin D have been shown to protect against infection, boost immunity, and prevent cancer. While we do get some vitamin D in our diets, the majority needs to be derived from supplementation or sunlight. Supplementation then, is most important in the northern latiitudes in the winter months.

The best review I have seen of achieving adequate Vitamin D status is from Dr. Mercola from Mercola.com.

Read on...

There are also several good reference reviews available below. Read reviews of the latest literature on Vitamin D and its health benefits:

Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention


Ecological Studies Of Ultraviolet B, Vitamin D And Cancer Since 2000

Vitamin D and Breast Cancer

Vitamin D: What is an adequate vitamin D level and how much supplementation is necessary?

Vitamin D and respiratory health

Fight The Flu With 4 Easy Steps

All we have been hearing for months now is the impending pandemic of H1N1. With "flu season" upon us I want to address some of the issues surrounding swine flu and begin to flesh out the fact, from the fiction. We are bombarded constantly by the antibacterial and antiviral messages on product marketing and drug ads on TV. The media and CDC say the best thing to prevent the feared flu bug is get the vaccine. Then there is nothing to worry about. But is this the whole truth? What if our bodies were designed to fight the flu naturally?

Consider this...
All schools of health thought are agreed upon this principle as sound.
Germs exist. We do not deny their presence.
We deny them as a cause of dis-ease.
If the germ theory as the causation of disease were true, there’d be no one living today to believe it; for germs have been existing for millions of years as has the man they are supposed to kill.
Germs exist. They are scavengers, refuse eaters, live upon dead waste matter.
It is a natural law that without them we would all have been dead long ago. - Dr. BJ Palmer "The Bigness of the Fellow Within"

Yes, I know that the flu virus has been analyzed, studied and researched to the nth degree. We know what it looks like, we know its mutations, we understand it has many forms and we give it various names to represent this. But should IT be our main focus as the CAUSE of sickness?

When it comes to sickness and disease, our focus is misplaced. Our nation prescribes a pill for every ill and continually looks for an "outside" method of treating our symptoms. The US makes up about 5-7% of the worlds population yet we consume 65-75% of all the world's drugs...and are getting sicker! If more medication were the answer to better health, shouldn't our rates of chronic sickness be decreasing?

Health is expressed from within a person and the BEST way to fight disease is to prevent a suitable environment for any bacterium, virus, germ, bug, or whatever you want to call it. Why is it when someone carrying the flu sneezes on two different people, one gets sick and the other one does not? What is it about one individual that prevents sickness from occurring? Is it primarily the microscopic bug that causes one to be sick, or is his/her rundown body and immune system the primary factor? That is the question we need to ask. You see, when we look at a landfill teeming with rats and flies, we don't assume that the rats and flies CAUSED the garbage to pile up and start to rot, do we? First the garbage rotted leading to a habitat for the rodents and bugs.

Our quick-fix culture would have us believe that we can live our lives the way we want to rather than follow the natural laws governing health. If sick, pop a pill or if we want to prevent sickness, get a shot. I contend that neither of these options are in the "operator's manual" for our body.

So, following are my 4 Easy Steps to Fight the Flu.
1. Get proper nutrition. Eat a balanced diet, but even a perfect diet in today's world benefits from high-quality supplementation. A bioavailable multivitamin, Omega-3 fish oil, Vitamin D, C, Zinc, probiotics are potent immune boosters. One should avoid taking iron supplements during infection, since it worsens the infection. Avoid foods that suppress immunity, such as high sugar intake and consuming foods or cooking in oils that suppress immunity and increase inflammation—such as the omega-6 oils—corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, peanut and soybean oils.

2. Get Good Rest. Nothing groundbreaking here, right? But also, avoid exhaustion and extreme exercise, both of which lower immunity and greatly increase one’s risk of serious reactions to the infection and even death. Get at least 8 hours of good sleep each night.

3. Get Adjusted. It's simple really...a properly functioning nervous system is essential for optimal immune function. Regular chiropractic care is essential for a properly functioning nervous system. Adjustments remove nerve pressure. Take the pressure and irritation away from any affected nerves and you unleash the innate power of your immune system.

4. Keep Clean. This flu is transmitted mostly by physical contact rather than by being exposed to coughing by infected individuals. You can clean commonly used surfaces, such as computer keyboards, telephone speakers, countertops and door handles with sanitizer cloths. Good hygiene is primarily responsible for the decline in infection disease over the last century and should not be ignored.

Simple lifestyle changes and steps can boost your healing ability FAR better than any pharmaceutical can. The best "doctor" in the world is your own body. Put more emphasis on the natural ability of your body and worry less about the flu bug.

"While other professions are concerned with changing environment to suit the weakened body, Chiropractic is concerned with strengthening the body to “suit” environment.
This is an explanation of the fundamental difference in theory, art, and practice between Chiropractic and other professions." - Dr. BJ Palmer "The Bigness of the Fellow Within"


www.lifestylechirocenter.com

What are the Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?

Question: Is drinking apple cider vinegar going to improve your health? Fix your gout? Balance your blood sugar?

Many people are devoted to their daily shot of apple cider vinegar. According to hearsay… apple cider vinegar is a cure all for a multitude of complaints such as arthritis, poor digestion and dandruff. But what is fact and what is fiction?
The most famous proponent of the benefit of drinking apple cider vinegar goes way back! Hippocrates claimed it would cure many common ailments including ear infections and skin rash. No modern research has yet verified these two assertions.

However, recent studies do confirm that there are some significant health benefits of apple cider vinegar.

It improves insulin sensitivity and management of type two diabetes – How? By taking apple cider vinegar BEFORE MEALS which lowers your ‘glycemic index’ when eating carbohydrates. It’s like magic.

Better digestion - The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar helps prevent necessary gastric acid, (mainly Hydrochloric acid), from leaving the stomach too soon. Food may be more easily digested with fewer unpleasant gassy problems.

Appetite control and weight loss – This alone is worth the price of a bottle. Several trials show that drinking apple cider vinegar BEFORE a meal has the benefit of curbing appetite. Participants noted an increased feeling of fullness and less desire for 'a little more'. Taking apple cider vinegar may support weight loss, in combination with exercise and sensible eating.
Here are some of the more likely stories about apple cider vinegar's healing powers; all based on historical folk remedies and anecdotal evidence.

Treatment of over-acidic conditions of the body, such as arthritis or gout - Although apple cider vinegar is acidic, it leaves an overall alkaline residue after digestion which is healthier for you.
Assisting in the treatment of yeast infections and candida - Although some standard vinegars may exacerbate ‘yeast infections’, women have found douching in dilution of apple cider vinegar to be helpful when treating thrush. Taking apple cider vinegar internally may reduce candida symptoms. It’s cheap and it’s worth a try.

Reducing swelling - apparently apple cider vinegar can REDUCE bruising quickly. Apply vinegar to a cloth and hold to injury for at least an hour. Alleviating dandruff - apple cider vinegar may be a helpful natural remedy for dandruff, because the acids in the vinegar kill the fungus causing chemical imbalances in the skin of the scalp.

How do you get the benefits of apple cider vinegar?
1) Use only raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (available in several varieties from all good health food stores). Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is safe because the acid levels will kill unfavorable bacteria. The living vinegar provides copious quantities of enzymes, malic and tartaric acids, and valuable minerals, including potassium. The 'dead' supermarket varieties of vinegar will NOT contain enzymes and a mere fraction of the minerals of living vinegar.
2) Shake the bottle prior to use to disperse the threads of the apple cider vinegar producing 'bug'. These threads are the living part of the cider and may look unappealing until shaken up.
3) Take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar (plus 1 teaspoon of honey if you prefer) in ½ a glass of pH water prior to meals.
4) If you not planning to eat, brush your teeth AFTER taking the vinegar. Too much apple cider vinegar has been found to damage tooth enamel due to its acidity. Just make sure to rinse after drinking it.
5) You can buy pH tests at the pharmacy, and test your pH. If you have an acidic result, apple cider vinegar may be especially appropriate for your system.