60 Day Turnaround

Over the years I have had many people come to our office because of high blood pressure, and we have had absolutely fantastic results.  I recently had a discussion with Maggie (one of our massage therapists) about the different causes of high blood pressure, and when chiropractic was more likely to be helpful.  I figured this would be a pretty wise thing to share.

First off, high blood pressure is a real concern.  Much more of a concern than high Cholesterol.  Check out The Cholesterol Conspiracy by Dr. Ladd McNamara, or The Cholesterol Controversy by Edward Pinckney.  Both fantastic books by great authors.  Both give reason why you shouldn’t get caught up in your cholesterol.  But blood pressure has a definite concern, especially when occurring in the average American with their share of scarred arteries.  Perfect ground for a hemorrhagic stroke if not careful.

So why does this condition occur?  Well, the most prevalent reason is the increase in resistance peripherally (around the body), which causes an increased need for blood pressure to drive blood through the body.  Weight alone will do this, thus it makes sense to work to keep the weight under control. – 60 Day is coming

Other causes of blood pressure are a little more intricate, and it is important to note that it is natural for blood pressure to rise and fall based on different lifestyle factors.  It is when it seen to stay high, that we should begin looking for cause.  It is also important to note, that listed in the common causes on the WebMD site is the use of NSAID’s such as ibuprofen or aspirin.

They go on to talk about salt consumption of course, however, I am here to tell you that high salt alone is not bad.  High salt in the presence of other molecules that create a dysfunctional state in the kidney, are likely to result in hypertension.  The one area that I think is really cool to understand however, is how the nervous system works when it relates to blood pressure.

There are baroreceptors in the major arteries, which are measuring pressure and giving that feedback to the brain.  The brain then alters the flow of blood from the heart to accommodate its needs. It is when these receptors are no longer in clear communication, that the body will begin to elevate blood pressure for no apparent reason. These are chiropractic candidates.

Now mind you, not definitive solutions in the chiropractic office, but  we are closer.  The bone that directly impacts this in most people, the atlas.  There is a great article on WebMD that details a 2007 study, where patients had a great change due to atlas adjustments, in their blood pressure.  This study, was actually conducted in the University of Chicago Medical School.

“This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination,” study leader George Bakris, MD, tells WebMD. “And it seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and no problems,” adds Bakris, director of the University of Chicago hypertension center.…

“When the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn’t believe it. It was way too good to be true,” Bakris says. “The statistician said, ‘I don’t even believe it.’ But we checked for everything, and there it was.”

Bakris and colleagues report their findings in the advance online issue of theJournal of Human Hypertension.

Pretty cool to think a little misalignment could be all that there is between you and a perfect blood pressure.  As I would advise for anything however… stay away from pursuit of symptom relief… even if it is blood pressure, and stay focused on the cause!

Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E

The Environmental Working Group is a fantastic organization. I have utilized them for their Dirty Dozen since its inception (the list of the top twelve “dirtiest” foods when raised conventionally).  Actually, just yesterday I was in Publix and a mother’s lack of knowledge became my fortune.  Currently Strawberries are number two on the list of dirty foods (need to be bought organic).  I overhead a mom say to her daughter, “No, those are organic, we aren’t buying organic”, and then they turned to where I was standing, and grabbed some strawberries.

I instinctively looked to where she HAD been looking, and saw the LAST pack of organic strawberries, and scooped them up!  Thank you for not knowing… but how sad.  And therein lies the plight of EWG.  A group of seriously educated scientists, men and women who in the world of pharmaceutical, biotech, or chemical engineering, would each be earning $200-$400k a year.  Seriously, that is how much they pay in that world (do you remember Dr. Amy who worked for me for two years?  She left a $200k income, yes post graduate work done at Harvard in Biochem, and she was in the genetic engineering pharmaceutical family… had enough, and left to become a chiropractor… totally awesome).    My point, these guys are giving their lives to education, and hoping for donations, and meanwhile, 90% of America has no idea about the RIGHT time to buy organic.

EWG does some other great work as well… Skin Deep is their guide to harmful personal care products.  Shampoos, makeups, etc.  The Chemical side of life… exposed.  I remember over a decade ago when the governor of Minnesota, ex-wrestler Jesse Ventura signed a law that limited the use of mercury in cosmetics in Minnesota.  That was back in my “sheltered” days.  I was shocked that such a law should have to exist.

Well, in my email inbox just the other day, i got this news:

Scientists from EWG and Duke University just released a groundbreaking study that found a biomarker of the cancer-causing fire retardant TDCIPP in the bodies of all 22 mothers and 26 children tested.

Compared to their mothers, the children exhibited on average nearly five times the level of this biomarker. In the most extreme case, a child had 23 times the level measured in the mother.

The frightening reality is that many of us are unknowingly exposing ourselves and our families to toxic chemicals in everyday home goods. TDCIPP and/or other hazardous fire retardants are commonly found in furniture, nap mats, changing table pads, nursing pillows and other consumer products. While we are starting to see a shift in the market because of state-level regulations, that progress would be halted if poorly designed new national standards were announced. We need to tell the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect our health and our families’ health right now.

This is a problem with a chemical in nearly every couch in America.  Every seat cushion, everything you sit on.  This is a VERY bad situation.  DO NOT tell me that cancer is a genetic condition.  Cancer is a genetic code turned on by deadly toxins.  And there is a petition to get this out of our furniture, and you need to sign the thing now –

PETITION IS HERE

Well, the next movie night is coming, and this movie is all about chemicals.  UNACCEPTABLE LEVELS is a movie that every one of you needs to see.  So get it set that you and your small group, and your other friends, are all coming here to watch this movie.  Thursday night, September 4th, at 7pm.  It is my Doctor’s Report night, and I am cancelling that because Thursdays are good nights to get people to show up.  I want 100 people to come see this in our office, so you better get your butts in the seats.  I’ll be here leading discussion pre and post movie.

Take a step.

Be well and Be blessed!  – Dr. E

I was leaving Helen yesterday, as the end of my Anniversary weekend (18 years) came to an end.  And we stopped in a small diner, and proceeded to order appropriate for the Straight 60.

My first question – “do you have anything that is turkey based for breakfast meat?” “No… well, we have bologna… oh wait, no thats not turkey. Well, deli turkey, but no turkey sausage or bacon or anything like that”.  I could tell she had never been asked this question before, yet she moved around in this environment as if she had grown up inside of these walls.  It simply wasn’t the typical question here.

She did a great job, working with us until we had two omelettes on the way, stripped completely of all bread, until we decided to bring the biscuits home for the girls as that special treat.  It was an enjoyable omelette, they did well.   I found one of the most enjoyable bits, when they brought us our coffee, in these mugs –

A Christmas mug and a Rooms to Go mug.  We laughed pretty hard, and had it not been for the sweetness of this waitress, we would have simply labeled this place as nothing to remember.  But, she worked hard for us, we enjoyed the omelette, found the mugs to be enjoyable, and the comment.  That was the best part.  This was the most enjoyable moment, as we laughed.

At the table next to us, the food came out, and we saw these two large men receive the typical superstar breakfast, served on four plates… pancakes, meat, eggs, bread, more bread, and more grain.  All piled on this smallish table.  Then, “Only Pancakes?!? You must be on a diet!” as she handed the plate over to the one woman at the table.  A stack of pancakes that would make my stomach hurt (though my hollow legged 9 year old would likely make quick work of them), but the diet comment.  It made me realize that this woman, this waitress, is living a life.  Every day she is loaded with interaction, she might have a child or two at home, a family.  She perhaps goes to a church on Sunday on the days she isn’t working, or perhaps she always works on Sunday.

But she is alive and having an impact on herself, and others, everyday.  And yet she probably would look at everything I teach as absolutely foreign.  It made me a little sad, but it made me more concerned.  Concerned with how well we are sharing truth about health.  Without condemning, judging, or creating guilt.  How are we leading this world of ours into a better place?  My mother in law shared this poem on her facebook page the other day.  I thought it befitting for this moment.

A poem from an old man in a nursing home in the twilight of his years.

Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you’re looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . … . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .’I do wish you’d try!’
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . … lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you’re not looking at me.
I’ll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he’ll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don’t mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. …Babies play ’round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future … . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I’ve known.
I’m now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It’s jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. …. . ME!!

We need to all look a little closer at the world around us, and to love those people, and to hate the world they are in.  Love this earth, but hate what is happening to it.  Love the people, but hate the lies that are being told to them.  See them for who they are, and to use love to reach them.

Be well and Be blessed.  – Dr. E

We have been having some absolute fun with dessert this time around on the “Strict 60” (diet of the 60 Day Turnaround).  From the CUPCAKES which you can watch in the back room, to the Xylitol Bark, to the Chocolate Pudding, and now the coconut ice cream.  We have not only been drooling over the evening delights, but we have actually been knocking out the average dessert in 5 minutes or less.

Now, the cupcakes were about 40 minutes to process from start to finish, but everything else has been done in minutes.  Which is awesome when I am constantly driving home how easy it is to do this from a time standpoint.  The Salad from last night is another great example of easy, easy, easy!

So tonight we had a beautiful coconut ice cream for dessert.  My wife used a whole can of heavy coconut milk (from the can it is much more rich in that highly coveted fat from the coconut (saturated… oooooh, the S word).  And she combined it with cinnamon.  Poof, done.  pour it out on some parchment in a bowl, toss it in the freezer, and you are ready to prep it for serving.  Simply, take it from the freezer whenever you want it, toss it in the blender, and viola.  In minutes you have a fantastic, very creamy, coconut ice cream.

My wife went one step further, and she whipped up a chocolate topping for it.  She wanted a “shell” topping, so she took 100% cacao, added some coconut oil and xylitol, and then poured it slowly over the coconut ice cream.  By slow pouring, it froze solid as a crust, within seconds of coming in contact with the cold coconut milk.  That is the beautiful thing about coconut oil.  74 degrees and below, it will harden to solid.  So it is easy to make hard desserts with coconut oil around!

But, I feel like all of this talk makes it seem like you can live off of desserts.  The reality is that we condone a significant amount of fruits and vegetables (13 servings a day, 10 veggie, and 3 fruit – for active people, slightly less for those less active).  In pursuit of that, I often recommend that 60 Day Turnarounders push to develop a habit of two salads a day.  Add some fat and protein to each, and you are in a good place.

This salad happens to be a much more filling one, while still satisfying the needs of the Strict 60 to be effective in balancing hormones and bring about weight loss.  The salad was made by first slicing a butternut squash into chunks, then baking those to a mild tenderness.  Gently sauteing kale and almond slices in olive oil (until the kale is wilted), adding some gorgonzola, and some more olive oil, and viola!  The Butternut squash is gently coated with cinnamon during baking.

Remember to sign up for the 60 Day Turnaround (starting in September) soon! In the meantime – keep up with Dr. Mark’s Blog as he pursuits health through the turnaround, and following the Strict 60.

Be well and Be blessed… and stay the course.  – Dr. E