60 Day Turnaround

Well, it has been an interesting three days.  It was Thursday evening when I received a call at the office from my wife as I was finishing the shift, and preparing for a doctor’s report.  She (Laura) was very upset, and felt confident that Ansley had broken her leg.  She was driving her to the office so that I could look at her, but more importantly so she could have me with them for a trip to the ER.

When I first checked Ansley out, I felt confident that she did not break her leg, she was calm and seemed fine.  Then… well then she moved her leg, and the crying was severe.  So, sure enough, after 5 hours in the ER, we came away with a spiral fracture of the right tibia, a possible salter harris fracture in the growth plate of the tibia as well (at the ankle).  Pretty bad break, and no real knowledge of how it happened.  However I have a point I would like to get to.

So my goal is to use this as an education piece.  We teach a lifestyle and a philosophy that governs that lifestyle, so when problems arise, so do questions as to how you should respond.  Ansley had never had a drug in her life, and the pursuit of that lifestyle is important, however the value of a drug for pain relief when you have a broken leg, is a little more important than a philosophical focus.

So we gave her a hydrocodone/tylenol mix in the ER, strong stuff, but I wanted to be sure that we gave her enough to get her home comfortably and into bed.  The nurses thought we were barbaric for simply letting her go as long as we did without pain meds (we held off until they were ready to cast her, as we wanted to make that part as comfortable as possible).  From that time, we have given her three doses of ibuprofen (infant version with the oral syringe), very low doses, and have done it only when it has been absolutely necessary.  Why?  We want her body to heal as well as possible, and according to articles like this one, we realize that sometimes a simple drug like ibuprofen can inhibit healing.

The body works best with NO interference, not just reduced interference.  We are designed to heal on our own, and when we interrupt that healing, we have no idea what the outcome is.  So comfort, but only the amount that is necessary.  I will say, it is difficult when your children are in pain, but being wise to find other solutions will always bring the better outcome.  She has now learned how to move without contracting her leg muscles (not walk, she is in a wheelchair), but roll over, sit up, and scoot along on her bottom.  By working to teach her how to control whether she contracts her leg muscles or not, she has been very successful in NOT creating additional pain.

From here on out, the focus will be minimize meds, adjust regularly, a high level of nutrition in all areas, and a ton of rest.  Simple basic rules to health, live them out and trust.  I’ll keep you up to date as we go along… oh, and she fell from a playset wave ladder, no rungs in the ladder, just footholes, one of which we believe she got caught in as she fell, thus twisting and bending her leg, causing the break.  Brooke will be 7 in January and still has had no meds ever.  Should she fall off a horse one of these days (pray no) and break something… she’ll be medicated too.  It’s not a badge, it is simply a pursuit.  Be well, be blessed!

-Dr. E

Here are your top ten reasons to do the Total Food Makeover (and for those who read this from other parts of the country/world – reasons to at least get the Max Living Nutrition Plans book and follow along)!  So pay attention, and get out your notebooks!

#10: Because you want to find out if they are lying when they say tasteless food really tastes good.

You have been told by all of those ridiculous people who eat cardboard that it tastes really good once your taste buds have changed!  Come on, what a bunch of garbage, it can’t be true… or can it?

#9: You heard they keep the lights out during the presentation, and you are sure you can catch some good sleep on the HealthSprout couches.

Granted, the couches in our office are pretty enticing, and the lights are often dim during a slideshow, however, the energy and zest (oooh, solid grammar use) with which we present, will keep you on the edge of your seat!

#8: You want to get the first class in, get as much information as possible, before having to commit the $40.

Free.  Everyone loves free, especially if you can milk free for as much as possible.  And yes, we do a Q/A session after every workshop, which means you could literally ask ALL of the questions this coming Monday at 7pm.  I mean ALL of them.

#7: You have never been able to get the “swimsuit” time (early Spring), to cause you to lose enough weight and or inches to feel comfortable in the bathing suit you want to wear, so you figure starting now will make it easier!

While having the bathing suit body you want might improve your self image and self esteem, the goal that we have is to help you find health… not thinness.  That being said, about 70% of the class lost over 10# last year, with some attendees working on 80# at ten months into the change. Notice that was some, meaning plural.

#6: You heard that Dr. Eric buys you groceries on one of the two shopping excursions to Kroger and Trader Joes.

Well, I have no clue where you heard that.  I might ask you to buy some of my groceries.  I will however, help you to save money in your pursuit of healthy eating.  This I can do for sure!!

#5: Because this Letterman style top ten has you so intrigued you can’t wait until Monday night!

And though that is going to be the top reason for some of you to come, it is really only the fifth reason for most.  But… it is a pretty good reason.

#4: You normally have small group on Monday nights, but you have been so bored with your latest Bible study, that you would use any excuse to get out of it.

Now, I have had some boring studies, I will admit that.  But, shame on you for finding a perfectly good escape, and not sharing it with the rest of your group!  Your ENTIRE small group belongs here.  You think they don’t care about their health.  No seriously, I mean this.  You have people all around you that you never take a serious attempt to invite them to our office or our education.  I hate to say it, but they are likely developing disease of some type, that our care and education would fix.  I mean this (I know, I said it already).  Our testimonials go deep, real deep.  Don’t you think that everyone you know could benefit from what we do… and instead you are making judgement as to what they will choose to do, before giving them a chance.  Invite someone.

#3: You were part of the last Total Food Makeover, and you can’t imagine missing out on the ridiculously good pot luck dinner finale.

Yep.  For anyone who is trying to eat healthy along this path, that one get together, where you get to share with so many others, is worth it.  You know, it is common for people to feel like they are eating only 5-7 foods on a regular basis in this diet.  But then they get to a pot luck, and realize that they are all different groups of 5-7 foods.  And viola, you now have 50 different foods to eat daily.  Pretty cool, and yep… all included.

#2:  You are dying to find out what kind of diet sits on the other side of the healing diet.

This is such a fantastic question, which is why I would recommend all of my recent hair analysis people would come to this, and figure out where to go from here.  You know who you are.  It is time to take the next step, and this will help you get to that next step.  Eating clean is such a difficult proposition, but it is life and death important.  I sometimes wonder if my few mistakes here and there will still show up in some form of disease.  It is that question that drives me forward.  Not to insulate from all disease risk, but to insure that i have the best opportunity at leaving a valuable mark on the world while i am here.

And the number 1 reason why you should do the Total Food Makeover…

Because you want to be considered for the upcoming YouTube Series, “The Diaries of The Pantry”!

Yeah – its true, I am doing this great new series of videos where I will come into your home, video tape the whole thing while I talk to you about your diet, and then go through your pantry.  Though we might not like what we find, we will make big change.  And we might just fill up some charitable food pantries (bad food is still better than starvation).  And sure enough, I plan to start with my Total Food Makeover Participants!

Sign up today, email us at info@healthsprout.com or do so in the office.  It will be awesome, and honestly, it is for everyone.  Why do you think I teach it? For me and my family to get better.  Love you all – Dr. E

So what am I up to now?  I know it sometimes seems like I can be a broken record, from talking about Love and Passion, to getting a little bit whimsical, and now Adventurous?  Where does it stop?  Well, for me, when it comes down to you, never.  You see, I realize that so many of us get caught up so much in the day to day, that even as good ideas are spawned from these articles, they quickly disappear into a pile of paperwork, and three scroll downs of emails.

Which leaves you… bored.  I agree, there are boring moments in life, that if I let them, would take charge.  However, I have such a strong belief that God is an adventurer, a risk taker, a passionate pursuer of life!  I can give examples, look how often underdogs are thrown into crazy situations in history.  I like David and Goliath, but you can go much more recent into American history to see the same.  Our country’s independence, the battle over freedom against the British.  In history we can find so many examples of this.

So let’s jump straight into seeing how this impacts you.  I mentioned I was going to re-read Wild at Heart, and so as I have been working through it, all I can think of is that there is a much greater adventure for all of us, than this often boring current cultural life.  Go back 100 years, and life was so much more full… full of risk, full of reward, full of daily adventure.  Sure more people died from these risks, but living was really living!

You might be wondering what I am advising you to do.  And honestly, I don’t have an answer, I just know that I would love for every one of you to do more tomorrow, than you are today.  Whether it be a real pursuit of adventure, or just the next step to be able to pursue adventure.  I am in Charleston as I write this sprout.  I just finished helping another Garage Games event, and I can tell you, this is some pretty adventurous stuff!  But, it isn’t “it”.  This is really just another proving grounds, that opens the door for greater adventure.  Which brings me to the most important question, are you physically prepared to take on a challenge?

In October, I am heading up to Kentucky for a championship race, a 24 hour adventure race through a territory that I have never seen before.  100 linear miles of flat non-differentiated land (little topography to navigate by).  This would be the adventure to many, but as I line this up, it still isn’t all that God would call of a man to aspire to.  There is more, but I feel confident that my steps in doing this, are preparing me for something bigger, better and more important.  Who knows what.

My point is this, there is a world out there that calls you, beckons you, and your story is written on it.  Do you really believe that the whole story is to operate within a suburb of Atlanta, on a computer, on a phone, with a bunch of people in an office, or between your kids weekly activities?  Is that the extent of it?  Though these might be INCREDIBLY noble and praiseworthy causes… have you filled your spirit for adventure?

I just want to get you thinking about the preparation for whatever that adventure might be.  Step one, come hang out with me Wednesday at 11:45am for 20 minutes to learn how to add 4-8 minutes a day of incredibly valuable exercise, which will begin to prepare you for anything you might pursuit!  Be well, be blessed!  Dr. E

The office will not be open until 9am on Monday – September 26th.  At which time Dr. Levi will be in.  Dr. Eric will be in at 3:30pm in the afternoon until normal closing time of 6:30pm.

We apologize for any inconvenience this creates, we will have normal hours the rest of the week!

Tomorrow- Saturday, Sept.24th

DAY Edition – January 16, 2008

Compiled by Dr. Levi Alday

REPRINTED 09/21/2011

It is Not About Your Diet

While in the past we grew used to the Cancers and the Heart Attacks, many scientists and the public alike have begun to wonder about the diseases of the new millennium.

In recent years, for example, Autism has gone from 1 in thousands to 1 out of 166 children total and 1 out of 100 boys!

One in three adults develop autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Lupus, a disability in which the body’s immune system starts to attack itself.

Americahas more degenerative diseases, like Heart Disease, Cancer, Arthritis, Diabetes, and Alzheimer’s than any other country in the world. That’s changing. Other countries are catching up to theU.S.as they adopt our “health care” model.

Even more puzzling is the number of people suffering from seemingly mysterious diseases such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.

Now add on the new or constantly increasing presence of diseases like Depression (six out of top ten medications sold today are for depression), ADD / ADHD (in both children and adults), Asthma (has increased in children more than ten times in the last decade), Acid Reflux, Thyroid failure, Parkinson’s Disease and so many others. You have to ask yourself “What on earth is going on!”

Two key reasons – we are poisoned and we are Subluxated.

Nearly 4 billion prescription drugs are ingested in theU.S.each year, more than 70,000 chemicals are used commercially, more than 3,000 chemicals are added to our food supply, and over 10,000 are used in food processing, preserving, and storage.

Today keeping your family healthy, avoiding suffering, and preventing disease is not as simple as eating the perfect diet and exercising. And it certainly is not making sure you have had more drugs.  At the fear of sounding self promoting, clearly it is Maximized Living or death.

We tell our kids “If everyone was jumping off the roof, would you do it also?”

Yet as adults you are actually jumping off the roof with everyone else when you are taking medications and are not being adjusted.

BE DIFFERENT, BE UNCOMMON

Dr. Eric will be in Adjusting from 9am to 9:30am, this will be his last time here until he returns from vacation.  It is short and sweet, so get in early if you want to get adjusted.  Otherwise, Dr. Levi will be in all next week, normal hours.

First off, don’t you miss my workshop on Wednesday September 28th at 11:45am on Burst Exercise!  It is my daughter Ansley’s birthday, so I could be running off to spend time in her class with her, or I could be teaching you.  I choose to teach you (then run off and pick her up from class), so be sure you are here!

NEXT – I will do this workout next week in Hilton Head, so it is designed to fit my ability to accomplish this work with the items I will have on hand.  The great news is that I stay in the same place, so I know my exact 400M route for running, which is awesome!

This workout is going to challenge you to keep up with your intensity; we do these workouts in CrossFit, and we hate them the most, because the built in rest, only recovers you enough to make you go harder when you stop resting.  So we will have a set amount of work that needs to be accomplished, followed by a set time for rest.  This will continue for a total of four rounds.

Here is the work:

Run 400M (run, walk, crawl… whatever it takes)
Walking Lunge Step 20 steps (lunges, but alternate legs, and make forward progress, so it is like you are walking but every step one of your knees is touching the ground)
20 Burpees (lie on the ground with your chest touching the ground, then finish by jumping slightly and clapping your hands over your head; the faster you go the better, so if you can fall to the ground and catch yourself, touch your chest then pop up from that position)
20 Squats

REST – 2 minutes

Keep track of your time for your splits (each round) as well as your total time, and post it to the comments here.  This should make you work really hard on your runs because you will have rested for 2 minutes.  So be sure that you really push yourself on that part.  Once you are done, you will be almost half way through your round (based on time).

All of these movements are functional ways to move your body through your environment; strive to do them well!

Have a great week, be sure my interns serve you well, they are here to learn!  God Bless, Dr. E

Dr. Levi

Canadian researchers have found that exposure to commonly encountered chemicals in food are directly related to children developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Pesticides!

“It’s mainly exposure through food. Diet is the driver,” says pediatrician and public health expert Phil Landrigan, MD, professor and chair of the department of community and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. “For most people, diet is the predominant source. It’s been shown that people who switch to an organic diet knock down the levels of pesticide by-products in their urine by 85 to 90 percent.”

MSNBC author, Leah Zerbe says:

Children with substantially higher levels of a breakdown product of neurotoxic organophosphate pesticides were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. The university researchers conclude that parents should buy organic for their kids. Numerous other researchers stress the importance of women eating organic at least six months before conception and throughout pregnancy, too.

This isn’t the first study that has linked this class of pesticides to human health problems. However, other studies looked at farmers or others who work closely with pesticides day in and day out. This study is the first to look at everyday exposure levels in children from around the country. And as it turns out, U.S. kids are exposed to harmful levels of pesticides in their food, day in and day out.

The article also stated that a 2008 Pesticide Residue Report detectable levels of one type of organophosphate alone showed up in 28 percent of frozen blueberries, 25 percent of strawberries, and 19 percent of celery sampled.

Organophosphates have also been linked to childhood leukemia. lymphomas, and bee colony collapse.

Fortunately we have been teaching this stuff for years now and have not been waiting for mainstream media or medical literature to catch up to the principal of eating food, not chemicals. Unfortunately rates of ADHD and chronic childhood diseases have gone up.

Come to our Total Food Makeover on Monday October 3 to find out more about this topic

Curious if you can guess what the tempo, rhythm and key those notes are in.  If you think you know, give it to me when you see me in the office.  For those of you reading from across the state or country, just hum it until you like what you have come up with.  Nobody can tell you your wrong, so just go with it!

It is certainly an odd title for a daily sprout, and the best guess might be that I will be writing about music, but in reality, I am writing about being whimsical.  Yep, whimsical.  The definition is: subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change (there were other definitions that work as well, but this one is pretty good).

So think about it, what comes to mind when you think of whimsical?  Is it someone who suddenly becomes mean and angry when they were perfectly happy a moment before?  I don’t, though that would be perfectly logical from the definition.  I assume that most of us think of someone, who is simply a little ditsy, not quite focused, and easily distracted.  I like this definition a little better: 1: full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims (see whim))  where a whim is a capricious or eccentric sudden idea.  This sets the tone for a more lighthearted nature.  My plan is to build on Friday’s Daily Sprout about Love and Passion, with a little motivation for spontaneity.

I obviously feel there is a need to talk about these things, especially when you read my regimented approach to the best corrective diet, in following the Maximized Living Advanced Plan.  It would be easy to believe that I am a full time supporter of Do This, Do That.  When in reality, I am also a huge fan of “Be Prepared To Do Anything Today”.  Now let’s set some parameters first before taking this drive.

IF you have a task at hand, then I would be focused at that task.  Build times to make sure that your task gets accomplished, and be Nehemiah good about your commitment.  But, what about the times when you are not task oriented?  Are you bored?  Are you boring?  Sitting around watching TV, or perhaps reading a book, but is it predictable?  Are you always doing the same thing?  Could you or the person next to you guess what your next action is going to be? I like the idea of being whimsical, in that I like the idea that God has created a vast world, with an endless number of things to explore and to do.

John Eldredge wrote a book awhile back called Wild At Heart which is an awesome book about the spirit of a man’s soul. This book tells you more than anything, that man is PASSIONATE!  I am about to re-read this book, as it is a book of inspiration.  I want to get a little more whimsical, HAVE A GREAT DESIRE TO BE SPONTANEOUS THROUGHOUT EVERY DAY, and I know this book inspires that.

So as I La, La LA the day away, I will be focused and intent on my purpose, and I will be prepared to do what is called of me in the moments that I may be called, but I will also be prepared for the moment of re-direction, of whim, and passion.  A calling is a mission, but to be in tune with your calling, you should also be aware that it could change… at least be re-directed at any moment.  Be responsive, be adaptable, be excited and be crazy!

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of 09/11 I am reminded that your life here can end at any moment, for any reason.  Be prepared for what is next, and this life is surely preparation.  Live it well and be well for it.  Which reminds me, October 3 at 7pm is the start of The Total Food Makeover.  Sign up now, we could sell out this year… and be sure to follow this and all of our events through our facebook pages: HealthSprout and HealthSprout Events

Be Blessed – Dr. E