Archives for November 2018

Baby Boomers vs. Their Parents

– Which Group is Healthier?
– Don’t Wait for a Crisis
– Easy FitNESS Acronym to Remember

Which Group is Healthier?
Unhealthy lifestyles have caused too many members of the baby boom generation to be in worse health compared to their parents during the same stage of life.

A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine reported only 13% of today’s baby boomers are in excellent health while their parents’ generation was 32%. Comparatively speaking, 39% of today’s baby boomers are obese and 16% have diabetes. The previous generation’s numbers for these same conditions are 29% and 12% respectively.

According to Dana King, a professor at the West Virginia School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, today’s baby boomers are twice as likely to use a cane or walker than the previous generation. “It’s not too late to adopt new, healthy lifestyle habits and make a difference in your health,” said King.

Don’t Wait for a Crisis
What will it take for you to make the lifestyle changes you know you need to make to improve your quality of life? Will you wait for a severe crisis that leaves you with permanent damage and a future of disability or will you make a quality of life, Lifestyle Care, choice that will ensure your quality of life for the remainder of your years.

Easy FitNESS Acronym to Remember
The acronym FitN2ESS can get you on the right track immediately. To get and stay healthy and fit you need neurology, nutrition, endurance strength and structure.

Neurology: Every cell tissue and organ needs innervation, nerve supply, to function properly.

Nutrition: Choose quality calories over empty calories every time you make a food choice and drink plenty of good clean water.

Endurance: Cardiovascular exercise including walking, running, riding a bike or swimming will prepare you for the marathon of your extended life.

Strength: We have all seen an older person struggle to get out of a chair. Don’t wait until you lose your strength to try and get it back. Strength train now.

Structure: The health and function of your posture, spine and nervous system will determine how active and healthy you can be as you age.

If your posture appears to be changing don’t waste another minute and schedule a chiropractic check-up. Lifestyle Care can improve your health dramatically. It is very important that today’s baby boomers learn from our current generation of seniors and super-seniors who were blindsided by their extended lives. You cannot blame your genes for your current health condition. Adjust your lifestyle and optimize the expression of your genes so that you can enjoy the quality life you deserve.

How is Stress Affecting You?

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– Stress Is A Nerve System Reaction
– The Pre-stressed Nerve System
– Remove The Underlying Problem

April is National Stress Awareness Month. Have you ever wondered why stress affects everyone differently? How is stress affecting you?

It is well documented that high levels of stress can contribute to heart disease, cancer, headaches, ulcers, backaches and nearly every condition known to mankind. How can stress cause so many unique problems in different people especially since the stress reaction is the same for everyone?

Stress Is A Nerve System Reaction
Stress is a nerve system reaction that causes your heart to beat faster, your muscles to be tense, your stomach to tighten, and your hair follicles to stand up, all as a way to prepare your body for an emergency. When you interpret a situation as stressful, whether it truly is or not, your brain triggers this reaction by sending a signal over your spinal cord and nerve system to every cell of your body. In prehistoric times, this would have been the perfect reaction to escape from a hungry dinosaur, but in today’s stress filled world and no Tyrannosaurus Rex, this chronic reaction can cause pain, sickness and disease.

The Pre-stressed Nerve System
Where your body breaks down from stress may depend on whether or not you have a condition in your spine known as “vertebral subluxation.” A vertebral subluxation is a spinal injury that interferes with the normal function of your nerve system which can affect your health on every level. If you have this condition in your spine, your body is already pre-stressed.

Many people deal with stress through meditation, exercise and healthy food choices. These are all very good things to do as part of your lifestyle, but if your nerve system is pre-stressed, the slightest deviation from the perfect stress management plan can send you into a frustrating, uncomfortable, or painful tailspin. Removing this pre-stress causing subluxation can improve your resistance to daily stressors dramatically.

Research shows that it only takes the weight of a dime to reduce nerve transmission. Additional research has found that nerve compression can exist without pain and can cause deterioration within two weeks.

In this pre-stressed condition, your body becomes more vulnerable to outside stresses. The location of the subluxation can determine what types of symptoms, if any, you experience. For example, someone with nerve interference in the upper part of the neck might feel headaches, have allergies, or a stiff neck. Because the nerve fibers that come out of the upper neck also go to the entire body, pressure here can literally cause or mimic nearly every symptom or disease you can name.

Interference to the nerves in the lower back may cause a backache, leg problems and also affect ovary, prostate, bladder or bowel function. Interference in the middle of your back may affect your heart and lungs or cause tension, stomach problems, and digestive disturbances.

Remove The Underlying Problem
Like most serious conditions, vertebral subluxations can cause stress for decades without any symptoms. The birth process, childhood falls, sports injuries and poor lifestyle habits are just a few causes of subluxations. Rather than getting to the cause and removing this underlying problem, many people attempt to chase their symptoms away with drugs, or another type of quick fix, and then wonder why their condition returns. Removing the cause and optimizing the function of your nerve system is a better immediate and long-term plan.

Regardless or your symptoms, a chiropractic examination can locate pre-stressed areas in your spine that may be affecting your health on every level. Don’t wait for a crisis.

Avoiding Everyday Health Traps

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– Are You Heading For An Everyday Health Trap?
– Fix Up Your Workspace
– Stretch and Watch Your Posture
– Adjust Your Lifestyle

Are You Heading For An Everyday Health Trap?
Do you sit at a computer and talk on the phone all day? Do you wedge the phone between your ear and shoulder while you write? Is your desk, chair, keyboard or monitor too high or low? Do you text, surf the internet or watch movies with a hand held device? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then pay attention to this article and learn how to avoid these everyday health traps.

The health traps above cause repetitive strains that can have a similar effect on your body as a car accident, only it takes longer. Where a car accident takes a split second to cause injuries and health problems, repetitive strains may take a week, a month, 6 months or a year. The effects on your body can even lie dormant for decades without giving you any notice of a problem. Or, they can become sudden and dramatic.

Repetitive strains can cause vertebral subluxations in your spine that interfere with the function of your nerve system and affect your health on many levels. Headaches, neck pain, low back pain and herniated discs are just a few of the problems that can arise. Because your nerves control everything in your body, your organs and systems may be affected also. These symptoms and injuries can hamper your career and cost you a lot of unnecessary expense, time and suffering.

Here are 3 simple things you can do to avoid and prevent these everyday health traps:

Fix Up Your Workspace. Don’t wait for your company to do this for you or for a crisis to force you to do it. Back pillows, wrist rests, and headsets are not very expensive and can make a big difference. If you buy them yourself, you can take them with you if you change jobs or work from home. If you use a laptop, try standing at a counter instead of sitting at your desk. Move around your workspace instead of sitting during a call. Don’t underestimate the value these small changes can make on your body. Do them immediately.

Stretch and Watch Your Posture. By stretching your neck, shoulders and back periodically during the day, you will keep tension from building up in your muscles. Have you experienced soreness after a workout? The same lactic acid buildup that causes soreness after exercise causes muscle fatigue and weakness from these health traps. When texting and working with your handheld device, straighten up and be conscious of your posture, raising the device to eye level. If straightening up is uncomfortable, then you are way overdue for a chiropractic check-up.

Adjust Your Lifestyle. Avoiding everyday health traps can be as simple as adjusting your lifestyle. Having the awareness that you are doing things on a daily basis that may deteriorate your health and quality of life as you age will help you make changes in the moment that are good for you long term.

How long have these unhealthy everyday health traps been a part of your lifestyle? How many months or years of these unhealthy habits have you accumulated? If your answer is more than 30 days, then now is the time for a chiropractic check-up. Whether you have symptoms or not, you can prevent underlying health problems from becoming permanent by taking these appropriate action steps right now.

Innate Life Expectancy

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Innate Life Expectancy

– You Have the Blueprints to Live to 100
– You Have Been Given Advance Notice
– FitNESS

You Have the Blueprints to Live to 100
From the moment you were conceived, you were blessed with the blueprints, the intelligence, and the Innate Life Expectancy to live an active healthy life to 80, 90, 100 years and beyond; maybe even way beyond.

Consider these statistics:

– 100 year old people are the world’s fastest growing group with an expected increase of 746 percent between now and 2040. This number is staggering.

– The May 2013 cover article of National Geographic focuses on the probability that some of today’s children will live to be 120 years old.

– The British Medical Journal recently reported they expect 50 percent of the babies born since 2000 to live into their triple digits.

There have even been some experts who have said that we have the potential to live to 150 with quality years. More important than just getting to 80, 90, 100 years and beyond is getting there in style with the health and vitality that would make every one of those years enjoyable. This is what The 100 Year Lifestyle is all about.

You Have Been Given Advance Notice
Unfortunately, many of today’s generation of seniors and Superseniors are not experiencing the health or the joy of their extended life span. Too many of them are rotting away in nursing homes unable to capitalize on their golden years. Their plight has skewed our view of aging giving many of us trepidation and fear about the reality of our extended life span. Don’t be afraid. Have no fear. It is not because of their age that these people are suffering. Their generation had no clue they were going to live so long. They were blindsided by their extended lives; many of them living 50 years longer than science thought they could.

We are the first generation in history that is getting the advance notice that whether we like it or not, want to or not, we will probably live longer than we ever thought. Our generation must live differently by nurturing our Innate Intelligence and our Innate Life Expectancy through healthy choices rather than relying on drugs and surgery after we become sick or injured.

FitNESS
The acronym “FitNESS” will help you simplify and remember the health care and lifestyle adjustments to be fit and healthy for a lifetime.

N – Neurology – Your nerve system controls and coordinates the function of every cell, tissue and organ of your body. Keep yours at optimal health and peak performance levels with Chiropractic Lifestyle Care.

N – Nutrition – Make healthy food choices by choosing QCs (quality calories) over ECs (empty calories) while also avoiding white sugar, white flour and genetically modified foods.

E – Endurance- Do at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 4 times a week.

S – Strength – Add strength training to your exercise routine to remain self-sufficient and independent as you age.

S – Structure- A healthy structure and spine is vital to living an active, healthy life.

A chiropractic examination will evaluate the health of your nerve system, structure and spine. That will help you with 2 out of the 5 above. You can obtain nutrition and exercise strategies through our educational programs, these health articles, 100 Year Lifestyle books and other media. Your job is to make different choices for yourself and your family so that as you age, you enjoy your Innate Life Expectancy to 100 years and beyond. You deserve it!

Health Care Leadership Adjustment

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Health Care Leadership Adjustment
Contributed by Dr. Eric Plasker

– We Are In Desperate Need of Health Care Leadership
– The Current Health Care System Needs An Adjustment
– A Philosophy Will Optimize Your Health

We Are In Desperate Need of Health Care Leadership
Our world is in desperate need of health care leadership. Costs are rising into the multiples of trillions while the quality of the care is questionable at best. In my research for The 100 Year Lifestyle Second Edition, I was blown away by the research and how the numbers have changed in just the 6 years since the first edition was published.

You would think with all of the cost increases that have occurred we would see improvement. We have not. Life Expectancy in the United States has worsened moving from 37th place in 2006 to 51st in 2012 compared to other countries. Infant mortality has dropped to 45th compared to other industrialized nations. Where is all this money going? There are growing concerns that the Affordable Health Care Act will actually drive the costs up even more while the quality of the care continues to decline.

The Current Health Care System Needs An Adjustment
Our health care system needs an adjustment. The core problem is one of philosophy. Our current system is Crisis Care only. “Health Care” education is primarily done by drug companies whose ultimate goal is to sell their drugs to consumers. The side effects are scary and you can learn about them from any drug ad you watch on television, hear on the radio or see in a magazine.

A Philosophy Adjustment Will Optimize Your Health
Manipulating body chemistry is not health care. You and your family should consider taking a new philosophical approach to your well-being. Here is a simple philosophy to begin living right away to optimize your health for a lifetime:

1. Innate Intelligence
You have within you an Innate Intelligence. Present from the moment you were conceived, this Intelligence guides the processes in your body that turn food into cells, eliminates waste products, coordinates muscle contraction and communicates with or without your conscious thought to every cell, tissue and organ of your body via your nerve system. As long as there is no interference to this system, you have the capability to heal, feel great, be healthy and function well for a lifetime. Nurture this Intelligence for the development of your human potential and you will set personal records in all areas of your life.

2. Interference
Unfortunately, there can be interference to the communication and expression of this Intelligence within your body. This interference causes dis-ease, weakness, and imbalances within your nerve system that can cause all types of immediate health problems. Or, this interference can lie dormant and asymptomatic for decades, leading to severe health conditions, chronic pain, deterioration and disease down the road.

Nerve interference in the spine is called a vertebral subluxation. Lifestyle interference is a result of poor health habits such as overeating, poor nutrition, excessive drinking, taking prescription or non-prescription drugs, or sitting too much. Environmental interference is caused by toxicity from air, food, water, or chemicals, as well as accidents or natural disasters. All three types of interference can cause pressure in your spine and nerve system and affect your health on every level.

3. Adjustments
Remove the interference from your body through adjustments to your environment, lifestyle, spine and nerve system so that your body can heal itself and function at optimum health and peak performance levels for a lifetime.

Why Posture Matters

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– Success in the Business World
– Depression and Energy
– Aging and Independence

Did you know that your posture today can determine your future success in business, your day-to-day energy levels and how fast you age? Over the course of life, many of us can recall receiving posture reminders such as these:

A parent or grandparent admonishes, “Raise your chin up, quit slouching!”
A teacher demands, “Sit up straight in your chair!”
A drill sergeant commands, “Hold your shoulders back and chest out!”
A dance instructor reminds, “Find your center!”

Since most adults no longer have someone nearby to dole out daily reminders, how does following – or not following – the instructions we grew up hearing early in life affect us in the coming years?

Success in the Business World
Harvard Business School recently distributed an article entitled,“The Power of Posture” stating that your stance, broadly speaking, signals to the world how energetic, confident, and powerful you are. Slumped shoulders, a slow pace, and a sagging belly are taken by the world to mean that you lack confidence, that you don’t have much energy, and that you are probably less important, successful, and powerful as a result.

These impressions may be neither accurate nor fair, but they are the inevitable results of the fleeting impressions. Prior to your next meeting, take a couple of minutes to “power pose” by standing with your feet apart, hands on your hips, and breathe deep while you visualize a successful outcome to the meeting.

Depression and Energy
In the journal Biofeedback, a study found that simply choosing to alter body posture to a more upright position can improve mood and energy levels. The subjects walked down a hallway in a slouched position and then skipped down the hallway.

The whole group reported slouched walking decreased energy levels while skipping increased energy. The participants were also asked to rate their general depression levels. Those generally more depressed noted far lower energy levels after slouched walking than those who were generally not experiencing depression.

Rather than slouching, consciously bringing yourself upright can relieve dis-ease, low mood, and increase energy throughout the day. Try the 50/10 rule if you sit a lot at work. For every 50 minutes you sit, get up and move around for 10 minutes. Walk the halls with a colleague while discussing a project, take the stairs outside for a quick breath of fresh air or stand up and stretch while completing your calls at your desk.

Aging and Independence
Did you know that your posture can predict your future risk of disability? According to a Japanese study just published in Journals of Gerontology Series A the shape of a person’s spinal column may be an indicator of their need for home assistance later in life. If you knew you could do something now to change things down the road, would you do it? No one wants to require help with bathing, feeding, dressing, going to the bathroom and other simple activities of daily living later in life.

To check your posture or the posture of a loved one, take our simple Posture Test. If you mark ‘yes’ to any of the questions, it’s time to get your spine and nervous system checked for imbalances, known as subluxations, whether you feel them or not. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for yourself or someone you know.

The evidence is clear: If you want to live an active, healthy, long life, your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle, you must have a healthy spine and nervous system. Place your success, energy and independence at the top of your list by making your posture a high priority.

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