60 Day Turnaround

In my doctor’s report, I talk about who you are, about who you are as it relates to your belief about health, and how that impacts your decisions.  Many of you have not seen a doctor’s report in years, which is sad.  It focuses you on your goal of care.  It keeps you motivated regarding your other health decisions.

So what I am referring to is this:

Each and every one of us who is acting under the medical mindset, the medical model, which says “I am fine because I am symptom free” is at fault for the state of health in our nation.  Every minute that you use symptomotology to drive your desire for greater health, leads us into a doomed place.   A place where medication becomes absolutely necessary.  Because it is in this complacency, this place where we believe that we are well, simply because we do not ail; this is the place where we let ourselves continue on a path that is creating deficiency.  The alternative is to live in a lace of constant pursuit, where we are well because we know that we are doing what we can to be well.  It is not a lack of aspiration to be medicated that will keep us from medication… it is an aspiration to be well. 

My point is, so many of you are coming to get adjusted every week, yet you don’t do anything else I teach.  Thus you are really assuming that you are fine, though the likelihood is that you are developing illness, slowly.  I say come learn to detox, and you ignore me because you don’t see a need to detox.  I say that the absolute best form of exercise is the short burst of intense exercise.  But instead of a bunch of followers, I get a handful, and a bunch of people who go about their usual routine.  If you don’t trust me, come to a workshop and you will be changed.

I tell you that you should be taking juice plus, because I, without a doubt, believe you should.  I put someone in my office to talk with you about it, and you ignore them and the information.  And the reason why I get this, is because you feel you are fine without it.  I understand the feeling, it is so extremely confidence building when ever we are feeling good that you think “how could there be anything going on, I feel great”.  It is easy to say “Man I am healthy, thanks Dr. Eric for your help” but then fail to follow 80% of what I actually say to do.

But here is the real kicker.  Then, all of a sudden, something starts to fail.  And before I can even be told what is going on, you are at a hospital, you are taking meds, you have a surgery scheduled, and you have decided that chiropractic has failed you.  Well, it will fail me too if I suddenly give up on every other area of health.  It is not the stand alone path to health, it is a necessary component which is a piece of many others.

So then you come in, telling me you are taking some meds and scheduled for surgery, I am thinking.  STOP.  Let’s figure out what we can do about it, about your spine, about your nutrition, your sleep, etc.

If you ever have an area of concern that you would like to speak about, but you don’t want to bring it up in the adjusting room.  Simply email me,  and I will make a time to speak with you.  I don’t believe you would need for me to handhold you the whole way through… but maybe a little while; and surely you can gain some insight from our workshops.

So who are you?  Are you the person who thinks you are doing everything fine, when in reality your diet, exercise, stress are so bad you are RUNNING towards disease?  Or are you the person who is motivated to do everything right, even though you feel perfect.  You are stuck with the belief that you will always be better off if you put your health.   ALL of your health, first!

Be well, be changed..  Dr. E

This Daily Sprout is going to serve two purposes… 1. I want to see what is on your mind, and 2. I am actually trying to secure a ride from the airport next Monday morning at 8am (yes, that means I won’t be in until about 9am).

Let’s hit the first point.

IF you had an hour to ask any health questions you have, or have had.  What would you ask?  For some of you, the questions are immediate, and complete.  You know what you want to know, you have a list.  A well established list.  You would run down the list in no time, and in so doing, continue the well defined path towards health that you are on.

But for many (most) of you, I doubt that you would have any clue what to talk about.  You don’t really have a health plan, just a random group of ideas, thoughts, and random occurrences.  I want to make sure you have a moment to think about that, and to realize that our office provides more guidance than that.

First, let’s think about the areas that you might need to consider, and these go way beyond the obvious, but the obvious first.  Diet, what is a good diet?  When someone says to me, “I have a pretty good diet”, my first thought is, do you even know what a good diet is, or are you trusting most of the cultural education out there?  Is a good diet in your mind a diet rich in low fat and diet foods?  Exercise, how important is it?  I have bad knees, what should I do?  I can’t lose weight even though I exercise.

I have food allergies, what do I do about that?  Can I ever heal, how would I heal from that?  My parents are bad genetic risks, how does that effect me?  Is there a way to avoid that, what determines if I have their same genetic problems?  How specific can we be to develop a plan to avoid genetic pre-disposition?

I have shoulder, knee, and ankle issues… how do I deal with those?  Does all this toxic stuff mean anything?  Why do adults develop allergies to things they were never allergic to before (nuts, bee stings, dust, etc)?  I feel more tired in the afternoons now, than I ever did… and its never been good!  Sometimes I wake in the morning, and feel like I never went to sleep… why?  I spent some time in a Turkish prison, could that be a health problem?

You speak against medication, so what medications are really ok?  Why don’t you give your kids homeopathic treatments for their symptoms?  Your family takes juice plus, and fish oil, why?

So, a lot of questions about health that can be thrown out without much thought.  Have you considered these?  You should take a look again, and see what areas you really have some questions.  Or if it is simply application of what you now know you should do, then you need to go a little further trying to understand why you fail at changing yourself.

So here is the deal, if you think you would like to spend some time with me, asking questions about anything you like, then let Loree know, and she will put you on a list.  Tell her what you want to talk about, and then I will pick someone from that list.  I will then have you supply me whatever history (lab reports, your personal history, prior efforts to correct or effect this area, and current efforts) you have to supply.  I will be ready for our conversation, and I will be prepared to advise you.  I’ll give flight details and so forth, to whomever it is that chooses to pick me up, and then you get the first adjustment when you get me to the office.

A couple parting things, I hope none of you spent any time in a Turkish prison, and I reserve the right to pick based on my perceived level of your driving skills, as well as your relationship status and gender (I have personal rules that might apply).  If nobody wants to hang out with me, no worries, I have a ride… just figured this would be a value to some of you.

Be well, Dr. E

What in the world is SMOG?  And why is it so ridiculously prevalent in Atlanta?  Well, actually… I don’t care about its prevalence today, that is important, and it relates to our topography, our weather/wind patterns and our sad state of air pollution.  My interest in this quest is to understand its impact on you.

The wikipedia definition of smog lists that it is “a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog“.

That’s a good definition, but at first glance, I have no idea what it does to me!  So let’s take a look…  Photochemical smog is the key, and in that category we have things like ground level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide.  All are considered hazardous pollutants, that can be seriously damaging to your health.

Ground level ozone, which used to be a common by-product of many air filters.  If you own an air filter, and don’t know for sure that it does not produce ozone, then you need to check it out.  Ozone causes respiratory irritation which increases asthmatic and allergy symptoms, it can reduce lung function and increase respiratory infections, and can cause long term loss of lung function which could ultimately result in cancer.

Chronic exposure to sulfur dioxide is associated with lung irritation and early death (EPA Study), which can happen in any area with a high level of smog, especially if exposed to that smog for multiple days at a time.  Nitrogen Dioxide, though a bad character too in this story, is readily detectable through its aroma, and even if you have no idea what to look for, if you smell it, you’ll want to get away from it.

Forbes Magazine listed Atlanta as the most toxic city in America in their article on 11/4/2009.  Whether they would list it that bad today is really moot, the problem with toxicity in an environment, is that even if the toxic load stops today, the toxic environment does not!   It hangs around for awhile… which, as I have told some of you at times, is likely going to be the reason that eventually pushes me out of this town.  I am staying for now, but I don’t foresee the rest of my years in “Woodstockopolis”.

So what can you do about this?  Well, for one, don’t contribute.  Their are a plethora of online resources on how to reduce your toxic footprint.  Reduce your total driving, figure it out, it is worth it.  Second, make sure that you are a detoxifying machine!  I think that we will see more supporting evidence of this in the near future, but your ability to remove toxins is the KEY to surviving in an environment that is not your own.  Detoxification comes from your digestive tract, your lungs, your immune system and your liver and kidneys.

The best way to improve all of that at once, is to enhance your nervous system.  Get adjusted regularly, and reduce your stress.  Next, support the ability of your body to build detoxifying enzymes. Eat as many greens as you possibly can, and when that has been tapped out, it is time to consume juice plus, and from time to time, you should take daily detox for a month – three.  Just to insure that you are getting the benefit of your inherent detoxifying systems.

I love learning more about clean living, I hope you could grow to love it too!  Be well, be clean – Dr. E

This is the most current update on the aquaponics work, I will update this again when we get some more substantial progress from here. – Dr. E

Our family has believed in a holistic health care lifestyle for many years. Daily, our hearts and minds live with the peace that God gives us. Our bodies thrive on a diet of local and organic fruits and vegetables, as well as organic kosher meats, beans, nuts, and sprouted grains, dairy, and a small amount of ice cream thrown in!

We live an active lifestyle with a three year old and a one year old, running, walking, jumping on the trampoline, and chasing kids around the backyard. Through extensive research, we have chosen to only put organic and natural ingredients in and on our bodies—including no vaccinations for our healthy children, and many doses of elderberry and oil of oregano when we get the annual sniffles!

We are thankful for the medical and scientific advances, but only resort to them when we are in a crisis mode, which (thank the Lord) has not happened frequently. Most recently, we have added the chiropractic services the good Dr. Eric provides—while we have utilized chiropractic care for nine years, we discovered the excellence Dr. Eric provides and are now a part of this wonderful community!

While it has taken years of “weaning” off the easy, the fast, the cheap lifestyle we grew up on, our family has committed to treat our bodies like the temples they are and look forward to the benefits of health and wellness both now and in the future! Our children enjoy a childhood free of ear infections, the yearly flu, obesity, allergies, and instead focus on living happy little lives. We enjoy the benefits of a healthy immune system, circulatory, nervous, and digestive systems which allows us to enjoy the blessed life God has given us!

-Maureen and Tim Goodwin

– A family that commits to health from the top down, is always going to get more of it than most will ever attain.  Commitment is lifelong, and this short testimonial proves it.  Though they have not been patients in my office for long, they have been in the chiropractic lifestyle a long time.  We strive for an excellence in care that not many doctors pursue, and we internalize that need for excellence, so that in the midst of a busy day, with 100 adjustments on either side of the patient lying on the table, we still see that patient for who they are, what subluxations they are facing, and how they can be best served by us.  It takes a lot of focus in the middle of a busy day, but it is our commitment to excellence, that has us working hard.  We are thankful for families like the Goodwins, that make our mission possible!  Be well, and consider, your invitation to any random person for Christmas in July, could turn them into a committed healthy person.  Be Blessed – Dr. E

The Update on the Aquaponics system going into my back yard, I will update another one today as well with some more of the progress.

A couple quick points:

1. The food for the plants in the grow bed, is entirely supplied by the fish in the pond
2. To preserve organic as best as possible, concrete is being used in all of the construction, to avoid plastic as much as possible
3. In an extra hot year like this one, having the roots have constant access to water, insures strong plant growth
4. Two options exist with a system like this, and all it takes is planning the timers on the pumps

a.  Flood and drain – where the beds are filled with water, then drained

b.  Always on – keeping a steady 4″ base of water in the grow beds

Either way, this is a great way to grow your own organic vegetables at better than great growth rates and production.  The system will take some equalization once we get the fish in, and the water turned on.

There is a new article in the Wall Street Journal from 2 days ago, entitled “To Heal a Heart, Train Harder” with tag line “Not just for athletes, intense exercise replaces slow, steady regime”.  YEAH!  CrossFit making its way into the cardiac rehab units of the Mayo Clinic!

Oh yeah, getting ahead of myself.  So the Mayo Clinic is one of the notable clinics that has been utilizing this type of cardiac rehab, and in their case, for FOUR years!  Their Dr. Squires comments: “There’s been a natural progression over time of what we’ve thought exercise for patients with cardiovascular disease should be, If you go back 50 years, people were told to hardly do any exercise for weeks after a heart attack. Gradually we learned that was wrong.”

We have a fear mongering society.  I have said this repeatedly, and I will say it forever more.  We use disease as the motivation for fear that literally destroys us.  Whether it is a fear of  the disease (like heart disease in this case) that paralyzes us to think that anything wrong that we do (exercise to hard), will kill us (release a clot, or stress the heart and cause V-fib); or if it is that we think that measles will be our undoing (so we poison ourselves with toxic chemicals in vaccines), when so many people have fought measles off without any issue, by building a STRONG immune system.

Our answer is to build our bodies, not sit and let them rot.

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology presented a 107 patient study which showed that utilizing a high intensity training regime for cardiac rehabilitation improved overall oxygen uptake (which improves tissue utilization and overall healing), when compared to a moderate exercise aerobic regime.  This comparison was drawn while utilizing exercise that burned equal calories.

When we tell you that you should NOT be spending 30 minutes performing exercise routines on an average basis, we mean it!  You should spend 10-12 minutes average, with short high intensity bursts, followed by recovery periods.  This is why Maximized Living teaches BURST training, and this is why we more specifically teach CrossFit.  Because it works, not just for fitness, but for maximal healing benefit.

Quoted from the article:

Roger Solheim, a retired schoolteacher in Rochester, Minn., had double-bypass heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in April. After three weeks of recovery at home, Mr. Solheim, 77 years old, began rehab training at the clinic. His initial fitness level was low, he says. “I couldn’t even go 20 minutes on the treadmill” with no incline, he says.

After about two weeks of moderate training, Mr. Solheim was instructed to mix in periods of more intense exercise. Now he goes for 35 minutes, with one minute of elevated intensity after every five minutes. “Even though [the intense intervals] are hard, they break up the routine,” he says.

He continues to go to rehab three times a week and hits the gym on his own about five times a week to lift light weights and do crunches. “I’m getting my strength back and I’m sleeping a bit better,” he says. He says he is now capable of mowing the lawn again.

One thing I love about Mr. Solheim’s commentary, is his quote “they break up the routine”.  He skims over the fact that the boughts are hard, because they are actually ENJOYABLE.  The reason this is true is because of a number of things, and they are all hormonal.  Your nervous system adapts to stresses, and it releases hormones to do so.

Human Growth Hormone is released in high intensity exercise (produce your own, don’t supplement with it) and it changes your muscle building, fat burning and mood (libido included here)!  Leptin, as most of you should be very familiar with thanks to our leptin crazed education, is THE hormone of fat burning.  High intensity has been shown to help your hypothalmus increase its sensitivity to leptin, helping individuals not feel unnecessarily hungry, for HOURS after exercising at high intensity.

We want you to get the most out of high intensity, and we want it for your families to!  I would recommend that if you haven’t done it yet, try out a CrossFit class for yourself, you won’t regret it.  And for your KIDS, there is a CrossFit Kids Camp for July.  Tuesdays and Thursdays, you get to drop your kids off for 90 minutes, and they do high intensity exercise that is designed just for kids, with some craft time included.  $100 for the month, email info@crossfitgarage.com for more info.

I found this article on Livestrong.com that also touches on the hormonal discussion of high intensity exercise.  I like the idea of reporting this, because it is an endurance based web-site, and they are quietly touting high intensity!

Be well, Be Strong! – Dr Eric

I was in my small group tonight, discussing the book of Matthew, where Jesus is led into the desert to be tested and tempted by the devil.  Our discussion moved towards the discussion of testing God, and identifying the difference between a test and trust.  It made me think of my patients, and the need to be led into trusting God.

Trusting God when it comes to your health looks kind of like this… “I know that I have been designed with a healing power in me, I know that there are laws that God has put into place that govern that healing on this earth, and with that I know that as I pursue health by following these laws, that I will become healthier, and I will heal according to His will.”

Testing is a bit more like this… “God, you have created me to heal, I haven’t trusted you confidently to build my body, instead I have chosen a path of illness and disease mongering.  I want to turn away from that life, so that I might have faith in you; therefore I am going to stop taking all of my medications now, and give my life to you to be healed by your hand”

Does the second paragraph sound wrong?  Not really.  It is easy to look at that and think that the person is making a wise decision, and perhaps they are, but perhaps they are not.  See, the latter individual is ignoring that there might be laws set in place that govern the rate of healing, and the level of healing that can be attained.  This becomes more of a test… even though they didn’t say it, it surely looks a bit like “I am counting on you to heal me, so I am going to move now, so you need to move now too or I might die”.  Not too much unlike, “I’m gonna jump, so I expect you to catch me”.

So our discussion then took us into an area where God says, “Test Me”.  Odd when all other scripture would seem to suggest that testing God is inappropriate.

Malachi 3:10 - ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

The context is that the nation of Israel is withholding tithes from God, and He is a bit angry at them.  So He throws down this challenge of sorts, and what He is saying is, “Give to me what I have told you to give, and see what I can do in return”.  I don’t know about you, but when I consider blessing from God, I have to admit that I would believe the least of what He can give, is money.  Even though the context of the material might suggest money is the blessing.  The reason I would be quick to argue that money is a small blessing in His hands, is that it is the easiest thing to dismiss in times of need.

In other words, if your life is suddenly at risk, and money will protect it; you will give your money freely for your life.  No matter what the case.  Health however.  Health is the hardest thing to get back, once you have lost it.  I would bet that God’s willingness to provide health to a giving heart, is extreme.  You might have already seen the interesting intersection between this idea, and the laws of this world, but I will complete the circle for you just in case.

When you give freely and willingly (supporting a charity, a mission, a church, impoverished individuals, etc) you have an incredible sense of peace.  There is immediate HEALTH benefit in the moment of giving, and that holds true for every person on the planet.  We feel good when we give, just like we feel good every time we give a gift to a friend, we feel even better when it is a more noble gift to someone who really needs it.  You decrease your blood pressure, and your focus and peacefulness increases while your anxiety and stress decreases.  Immune system function increases, and viola, life unfolds for you at a higher level.  The good news is that your wealth likely increases too!

Be well, be blessed, Trust God and Give! – Dr. E

Injuries are a common thing.  Last week, as I review my patients, I can recall no less than 8 brand new injuries that took place.  From car accidents (1), falls <some on stairs> (4), to gardening incidents (1) to working out (2)… and there might be more?  That is a lot of damage done in one week, especially for a summer week where I am seeing on average 20% less people.

So with this much injury happening all around me, I think we should discuss what happens following an injury, and make sure that we are taking all of the necessary steps to heal at our absolute best.  I am first reminded of my eye injury, and the systemic havoc that it played on my body.  For those who are newer to my office, and don’t know the history… it will soon be five years since the day I was hit with a hockey puck from a slapshot.  It hit me in my left eye, cracking my cheek bone on the way in, and rupturing my eye.  It was a 25+ stitch repair to my “globe” (eyeball) to put it back together.  The iris was displaced, so it appeared as though I was looking up, but in reality, that bit of color was simply exploded into the wrong place.

The thing that I often forget about, but was reminded when I got into this discussion on Saturday with one of my patients, was the way I felt following the injury.  Not right after, but months after.  Starting about six months after the injury, and lasting for close to a year, I had acquired such severe body pain, that had I actually opened up and talked about it at the time, I would have said that I had acquired fibromyalgia.  I had taken care of so many fibro patients over the years, that this would be the only way I could have described my symptoms.

Real untouched photo of Tyrone Prothro of the Alabama Crimson Tide

It might have been a small case of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) which is a nervous system/immune system over-response to injury.  It typically occurs in limbs (the pain is there) following minor injuries.  Whatever it was, it was pretty awful.  I would wake up in the morning and moan and groan on my way to the bathroom.  My legs were the primary source of pain, but everything felt stiff.  I was working out the same, but feeling pain like it was ten times the amount of work going in.  So part of my desire today, is to help you understand the different directions that your body could head following minor injury.

First, most injuries = healing.  Normal healing is dependent on a few things, but you will at least head in that direction as the primary movement of your body.  Those factors, however that support moving your WHOLE body towards healing are:

1. nervous system function
2. diet (necessary nutrients as well as avoiding certain things)
3. rest

These are the primary needs for healing.  Notice, there is no need for medication or band aids to heal, kind of cool, those are actually totally unnecessary, and in many cases will actually disturb healing (keep that in mind when you are using the med to gain the rest).  So let’s review this list.  The first is hinged on being a low stress peaceful individual, with normal brain function and normal spinal and nerve function.  This allows your brain to direct healing (mitosis and DNA replication) at the cellular level.

Second, diet.  You need a HOST of nutrients.  Every cell has two layers of fat, so a diet high in healthy fats (coconut oil, avocado, fish, nuts, organic dairy – butter and yogurt are tops); a diet with clean and lean protein and a diet with a ton of vegetables to support the enzyme processes of tissue re-building and inflammation breakdown.  If you adhere to this kind of diet, you are now more likely to be healed properly.  And lastly, the one that I probably did not do enough of when I was post injury/post surgery… rest.

You should really be thinking about 8+ hours of rest as a minimum for as long as it takes to know that you are through the worst.  I actually as so beat, that for the first three months, I averaged about 12 hours of sleep everyday.  It was really weird for me.  I am always working on something, writing on the computer, publishing sprouts, etc.  But all of a sudden I found myself both unable to look at a computer without significant pain, and the feeling of absolute fatigue; there was nothing left to do but sleep!  I just think I cut it off too soon, and likely that was responsible for my 11 month slide into daily pain.

What should you avoid when it comes to healing?  Sugar, excessive lectin (not leptin) foods such as grains, legumes, dairy (other than the good stuff listed above), and potatoes.  These foods, especially when you are susceptible “post trauma”, can do some significant damage.

Bottom line – pursue health, harder when you are hurt if you need more motivation, otherwise pursue it hard all the time.

Take this daily sprout and pass it on, email it out, and help change the world.  Every bit of knowledge is power, and health is the most important thing you have in your life.  Every time, health is it.  Be well, Dr. E