A Great Way to Keep Cool This Summer!

Our bodies are really amazing!! Don't you agree?? Unfortunately, it seems we only recognize the complex function of our bodies when they seem to not be working right. We rarely stop and acknowledge how truly awesome they are.

For example, who hasn't complained of the heat yet? Even though we finally just got warm. Yet never has the beauty and wisdom of our bodies' design been more apparent. Our bodies are designed to function perfectly despite all kinds of fluctuations in weather. Human beings are warm-blooded creatures, meaning their primary source of heat comes from within them. This heat is created by our natural body processes. All mammals and birds share this characteristic, while all other animals are cold-blooded and function less than perfectly based on fluctuations in the weather.

Given the heat of summer the fact that we are able to self-generate warmth may seem inconsequential, but soon enough we will be digging our snow shovels back out of the garage and this function will again become ultimately important. For now however, our bodies face quite a different challenge, that is, keeping us from overheating!

In fact, our bodies are so fantastic that despite extreme external temperatures, we, for the most part, maintain a consistent internal body temperature (commonly thought to be 98.6, but this is just an average, most people are higher or lower than this at any given point throughout the day). Yet, there is a precise temperature at which your body processes work best. What that number is for you cannot be known by the educated mind. Yet, your body knows it and it is at this specific temperature that all the functions of your body will occur most effectively and efficiently.

Oddly, the miracle of temperature regulation within your body does not occur where you think it would. You would probably think that the skin would be your thermostat. In this way, if your skin sensed that the environment was hot or getting hotter it could relay messages inward, but that's not how it works. Your body's thermostat is really located at the base of your brain, in a structure known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus monitors the temperature of your blood and triggers changes in the diameter of the blood vessels to make appropriate changes as necessary.

For example, in these lazy, hot days of summer, our internal temperature can easily begin to rise. Of course increases can happen for lots of reasons besides it being hot outside. Exercising can cause your internal temperature to rise as can normal body processes the produce a lot of heat such as digestion. In these cases, your hypothalamus is able to signal your blood vessels to expand, which increases the volume of blood moving through them, carrying more blood to the surface of your body so the heat can dissipate. The end result is you are cooled. All of this occurs without any conscious involvement on your part and it occurs most effectively and efficiently when your body is able to clearly communicate with itself. This communication requires your nerve system and the only way to ensure that your nerve system is clear is to have your spine checked by your chiropractor on a regular basis.

So it just makes sense, if you want to stay as cool as possible this summer, include regular chiropractic adjustments in your weekly routine. In this manner, you will ensure that your body is clearly communicating with itself, keeping you as cool as possible and allowing your body to operate at full efficiency no matter how hot it gets.
Have a great summer!

How are your children???

Reliance on labor-saving gadgets such as cars, escalators and remote controls has taken away any natural ways of getting exercise making the current generation of children probably the most sedentary in history.

Fewer than 1 in 4 children gets 30 minutes of ANY activity everyday (the absolute low end of the acceptable range) and the older they get the LESS they exercise.

More than 25% of girls and 17% of boys do not get even two bouts of physical activity a week.

In the '60's and '70's, about 5% of children were overweight; today that number is closer to 35%.

Does all of this have an effect on your child's spine? You better believe it! Many people understand that when their child is active, whether it be in solitary, physical activity such as biking or in-line skating or in team sports such as soccer or football, he/she may be creating subluxations or misalignments in their spines. Subluxation refers to the condition in which one or more of the bones of the spine misaligns and interferes with the communication from the brain to the body choking the life off. Subluxations generally have few symptoms and therefore necessitate periodic check-ups to not only help you feel better but also to prevent future problems before they occur and keep your nerve system in tip top shape so that you enjoy a better quality of life.

Certainly physical forces such as twisting, hitting and falling can cause a subluxation. However, inactivity can also be a culprit of this condition that clearly reduces the body's potential to function optimally. Unfortunately, because a subluxation is many times not associated with symptoms in young children they and their parents are not aware that this condition has occurred. Have your children's spine checked for subluxation. Prompt removal of this interference will allow your children to reach their maximum potential in ever aspect of their lives.

He who must not be named

No, not Voldemort. Cancer.
Just to read that word invokes a heavy amount of fear much less to say it or to hear that a loved one is suffering from it. An interesting experiment was done some years ago at Ohio State Penitentiary. Volunteer convicts were purposely injected with cancer cells. The scientists wanted to see if they could promote cancer in an apparently healthy person. They found that those men who had a history of cancer, began to develop cancer again as a result of the implanted cancer cells. Tumors actively began to grow in these subjects and they had to be surgically removed from the convicts. Those results were not particularly surprising. What did come as a surprise to the researchers was that healthy prisoners, with no history of cancer did not develop cancer after the implantation of cancer cells. Within a few weeks every trace of cancer was gone. Their bodies apparently killed off all the cancer cells. A conclusion that could be drawn from this study is that the human body has the ability to destroy cancer cells within the body whether they are manufactured there or are introduced.

Next they did something even more interesting. In those patients who had fought off the cancer cells, they introduced more. Their thinking was that while the body had fought off the first"dose", it was now weakened and more susceptible and perhaps they could grow a tumor in those individuals on the second try. To their surprise, the patients' bodies got rid of the second group of cancer cells even faster than the first! The body was better at fighting cancer from the experience of having done it before.

There are a few important lessons that we can learn from this and we had better learn these lessons because despite the research and upon cancer detection and treatment, the disease is becoming more and more common. The first lesson is that the body has an inborn ability to resist cancer. Rather than developing treatments for cancer, like harmful radiation and powerful drugs that have many side effects, we should be trying to develop ways to boost people's immunity and resistance to cancer. In actuality, the body's immune system doesn't need boosting. It is perfect to begin with and its resistance is high enough to start with. Perhaps we need to remove interferences to its perfect expression. Most cancers develop later in life. Is that a coincidence or is it because we have spent a lifetime interfering with the body's ability to be resistant to cancer and destroying the immune system? Maybe carcinogens, those substances we take into our body that supposedly cause cancer aren't really "carcinogenic" or cancer-causing after all. Maybe they help break down the body's inborn resistance to the disease or malfunction. Possibly the greatest destroyers of the body's resistance to disease are all the drugs and medications that we as humans ingest. Maybe vaccinations injected in the first year of life set the stage for a break down in immune response. Or perhaps it is something else or a number of things in combination. Perhaps it is spinal cord pressure that causes the glands and cells that produce anti-cancer chemicals in the body to malfunction.

Whatever it is, it is apparent that the cause comes from within. More than likely, it is a combination of a number of factors that lead to a breakdown in the ability to attack and remove cancer cells. But rest assured that these factors are all within the body and treatment and cures that come from the outside are not the answer. The answer is in staying healthy, and upper cervical chiropractic should be an important part of any program to stay healthy.

Just Toss it and Get a New One!

It is difficult for some of us who have been around for awhile to realize that we live in a throw-away society. We shake our heads at the younger generation who want to throw things out when they do not work and who look at us curiously when we suggest they try to get them repaired. Yet the young people have kept up with the times. Things are no longer meant to be repaired. If something breaks down, you might as well replace it. Recently, our computer's laser printer was in need of repair. Twelve years ago this item would have cost close to $1,000 so the thought of having it repaired made me anxious. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the parts to repair were only about $200. However, for about the same amount I could buy a whole new printer!

The cost of two hours of labor to have a watch or DS game system repaired would actually be more than just buying a new one. After 10 years the manufacturer of my fitness watch just stopped making parts to repair it. I am not sure whether we are forced to buy new ones because they no longer make parts or if they no longer make parts because everyone just buys a new one. This is especially true in business where costs of new machines can be written off as an expense but it is also true in the home. It does not pay to repair a broken DVD player or most small appliances. Added to that is the fact that we have more electric appliances now than we ever had in the past.

This phenomenon extends even to automobiles. Of course, we still have auto mechanics but look how many people lease cars rather than buy them. Very few people buy a car with the idea of keeping it 10 to 15 years. Authorities say it is almost always less expensive to repair a car until it rusts away than it is to buy a new one, but we are programmed to get rid of it rather than repair it.

Perhaps the greatest problem, however, is just in the attitude that develops about how we care for things. Why bother taking care of an appliance or piece of equipment if you can just buy a new one. It really does not pay to maintain things or have them periodically checked. Unfortunately, this same attitude often carries over into taking care of ourselves. Even though we realize that they make very few replacement parts for the human body, we are nevertheless not accustomed to taking care of things and we neglect ourselves. The fact that we are constantly bombarded with medical ads for quick fixes for everything from sinus headaches to indigestion only adds to our neglect. Many people do not change their lifestyle after angioplasty or even heart by-pass surgery. They think the magic pill or surgery will eventually come to the rescue of poor lifestyle choices. A wise man once told me that there is a four letter word that no one likes to hear and it's spelled W-O-R-K. There is NO substitute for it. This is the secret: If you don't put the WORK in you won't get the WORK out. No shortcuts.

It is nice to know that at least for now we are not tossed into the trash pile when something goes wrong in our body, but it is more important to realize that we must care for ourselves in order to have a full productive life.

Post-Holiday Thoughts

Soon it will be that time of year again! You will see it and hear it everywhere you go. Maybe you are thinking we are a little late with our holiday edition but holly, garland and Christmas lights are not what I'm talking about. In fact, just after the last bits of holiday paraphernalia are put away, another thing is sure to be seen and heard. You say you still do not know what I'm talking about!!! Well, just think about it. After all the shopping and worrying -- about what to get who, will it fit, do they already have one, can we afford it; and all the visiting -- your friends, your family, your in-laws, your kids; and all the partying -- cookies and milk, nuts and beer, chips and pretzels, dips, vegetables, wine, cheese and crackers (all, of course, before you sit down to a big meal). And after all the last minute rushing around, lost sleep, and I got a million things to do... What on earth could possibly, and only naturally, follow all this?? That's right -- the fever, chills, ache-all-over feeling, coughing, sneezing and complaining of the flu season!

Maybe you have never put these two together before but it seems to me to be more than just coincidence that "flu season" happens to occur just after we've basically stuffed ourselves for weeks, probably since Thanksgiving, totally stressed ourselves out, probably destroyed any semblance of what might have been regular sleeping and exercise routines and, in general, completely abused our bodies. After all, we are too busy seeing people, going places, (mostly Christmas parties...more eat, drink and be merry) and getting things done to consider our health! At least we are still contributing to our health by thinking positively. During the holiday season that should be easy, unless of course you are looking for a parking space at the mall, or it begins to blizzard on your way to a Christmas party. Oh well, so much for positive mental attitude. Unfortunately, in the holiday rush, people also get away from their regular upper cervical check ups. Year after year in this office the number of patient visits drops beginning in mid-December and continues to drop until the new year.

Now I'm not suggesting that we all forgo the preparation, partying or even the panic of the holiday season, but it annoys me that the world would like to con us into thinking that a flu season really exists. They say it just makes sense that at this time of year with its cold weather and what is in nature a time of lean nutrition, that an overabundance of germs would exist and cause many people to become ill. In fact, the opposite is true. The cold weather kills many germs. The flu season is more a function of a society that on the whole has let its resistance be significantly lowered and consequently, is vulnerable to disease -- not just the flu but every disease. If you want to be well, you simply must make your health a priority. Do as many of the things that contribute to attaining and maintaining your health as you can -- namely make good food choices in moderate amounts, exercise regularly, get the rest you need, keep a positive outlook, and of course have your spine checked regularly.