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All I can say is “I Told You So!”

Sitting has been become the new smoking says Dr. Anup Kanodia of Ohio State University. Several recent studies are in agreement with him suggesting that sitting lowers your life expectancy, more so than smoking.  So if you're sitting and smoking – you're toast :)

Various studies, including this Australian one from last year which found that every hour of (seated) TV watching we do cuts about 22 minutes from our life span. 

But, it's not just longevity that is affected.

One of the first things I teach during a new patient exam is the fact that we are not genetically designed to be sitting.  I'm asked all the time why our population has so many back and joint problems and the answer comes down to a pretty simple concept – living against our genetics.  As animals we were designed to be out running around, hunting animals, chasing deer, climbing rocks and picking berries; not sitting down all day.

But we spend as much as 80 per cent of our working day sedentary, sitting and unsurprisingly a similar percentage of humans experience back pain.  Being sedentary is also putting the ‘sit' in obesity, as our ability to burn fat is essentially turned off when we're stationary for extended periods. Some research even suggests that it leads to the dreaded middle age spread by the mechanical pressure sitting puts on our fat cells.

“Sitting may have more to do with obesity than [lack of] physical activity,” says Professor Adrian Bauman of Sydney University's School of Public Health.  “It is almost like sort of owning a really cool sports car and letting it idle all day long,” James Levine, an obesity expert from the Mayo Clinic, recently told NBC News. “The engine gets gunked up. That's what happens to our bodies. The body, as we know, simply isn't built to sit all day.”

So get your butt outta that chair already.  I'd be happy to write a letter for your employer!

Your brain is your body's control center. It sends and receives signals from the brain out to the body and from the body back to the brain.  Since your spinal cord is the core pathway from the brain, any injuries or undue pressure on the spinal cord or nerves (from the spine) can disrupt normal functions and send signals back to your brain that something is wrong. Many problems can result, including pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia or lethargy.  Chiropractic care is the science of identifying misaligned vertebrae (spinal bones and joints), correcting these misalignment's and maintaining the health of your spine for the rest of your life.  For natural depression remedies contact our office or schedule a visit today!

Fish oil or Omega 3 Fatty Acids have been promoted as a potential cure for virtually all diseases — but the latest study says it can cause Cancer.  Don't believe it.  First off, valid scientific decisions are made on bodies of valid evidence from controlled trials showing cause and effect not on single correlational studies showing possible associations.  This is why Family Health Chiropractic only recommends a few products.  This is also why it is extremely important to purchase a High quality supplement – not simply any vitamin from the drug store or local vitamin shop!

Fish oil or Omega 3 Fatty Acids are Essential nutrients.  Essential nutrients cannot possibly do harm to the organism for which they are essential. It makes no biological sense. 

For those of us interested in positively and optimally altering body composition and maximizing our training efforts, fish oils offer many advantages:

 
2. Fish oils turn on the lipolytic genes and turns off lipogenic genes. That means that the genes responsible for burning fat are activated and the genes responsible for fat storage are turned off, which means there is an increased utilization of fat stores from the adipocytes.

3. Fish oils diminish C-reactive proteins. This a newly identified risk factor associated with various inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and diabetes. The DHA fraction of the fish oil seems to be one most responsible for that protective effect. DHA also has best ability to reduce blood pressure.

4. Reduced inflammation from physical training. EPA has the greatest effect on reducing inflammation through its downstream metabolites known as resolvins. Resolvins may be the key to the beneficial actions of fish oil in human diseases.

5. Pain management from the reduced inflammation. While fish oils reduce pain and inflammation themselves, they are also displacing other more pro-inflammatory fats out of the cell membranes, having an additive effect. When people improve their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, they report a noticeable improvement in pain.

6. Increased focus. EPA regulates blood supply to the brain which is essential in maintaining focus in weight training sessions. DHA is important in brain membranes, memory and cognitive function.

7. Fish oils increase serotonin levels(the happy neurotransmitter).Therefore, fish oils will decrease incidence of depression, anxiety, panic attack and reduce carbohydrate cravings.

8. Fish oils will improve your cardiovascular risk profile. Fish Oils will lower VLDL, triglycerides, homocysteine, fibrinogen and increase HDL levels. Combining fish oils with plant sterols will improve lipid levels even more than either alone.

9. Fish oils can also decrease blood pressure. These include increases in the vasodilatory compound, nitric oxide, reducing vascular inflammation, blocking the constrictive elements in the vascular wall such as the calcium channels reducing blood viscosity, and inhibiting a blood vessel constrictor (thromboxane). Lipoprotein (a) is another CVD predictor that can be lowered by fish oils (a 19% reduction was seen with natural, stable fish oils and just 4% with a highly purified fish oil).

10. Fish oils are a great stress fighter .Supplementation with n-3 fatty acids inhibits the adrenal activation of steroids, aldosterone , epinephrine and norepinephrine ( catecholamines) elicited by a mental stress, apparently through effects exerted at the level of the central nervous system. Therefore, for the same amount of stress, one will produce fewer stress hormones if consuming fish oils on a regular basis.

If there is one supplement that makes me cringe when patients tell me they're taking it, it has to be calcium. “Why do you take calcium?” I have to ask. “To build strong bones.”

I don't think it's working. As a nation we have the highest consumption of calcium supplements, yet the highest rates of osteoporosis. We also have the highest consumption of cow's milk and the highest rates of bone density issues. And we have the highest consumption of bone density drugs, yet still the highest rates of bone density issues along with a plethora (yup…a plethora) of side effects including rot jaw, osteonecrosis and even more brittle bones because of the drugs.

Seriously, Stop taking calcium or drugs to build bones, it's not working.  You're also probably getting more calcium than you think (unless that's actually part of the problem and your diet consists of the absolute wrong things with respect to bone health). Ingesting MORE to build bones works about as well as injecting steroids, sitting on the couch, and expecting your muscles to get really big.

It's like our health care system. We keep providing more “health care” yet we keep getting sicker. Stop the insanity.

If you're going to build strong bones, you're going to have to do 3 things:
1. Gain some weight.  Clarification… gain weight by building muscle or start doing weight bearing (lifting weights, jogging, jumping on a trampoline or standing on a vibration platform) exercises.

2. Get balanced.  With women it's all about the hormones!  If you have hormonal imbalances- the solution is not to take more drugs or soak yourself in calcium.  Basically you have underlying problems that need to be addressed and intoxicating yourself with nasty drugs or unnecessary supplements is not going to work!

3. Start dropping acid.  Yeah man…acid!  If you're body is too acidic, then you're bones will be forced to leach calcium to try and balance it out.  Harmful household chemicals, personal cosmetics and food are usually to blame for our high levels of acidity.  Processed foods, anything with artificial sugar, preservatives and flavoring will cause your body to become acidic. 

Chiropractic can help with Osteoporosis!

Chiropractors do not treat osteoporosis, but we are able to reduce some of the symptoms relating to spinal compression fractures, pain, flexibility and mobility.  Additionally, we offer important advice to help prevent further fractures and loss of bone density. We often identify compression fractures and osteoporosis on x-rays and we are able to advise patients to have further tests to establish the severity of the problem. 

If you or someone you know has concerns about Osteoporosis – contact our Austin Chiropractic office to learn more about natural osteoporosis treatment.

If 25% of your workout time is spent finding a song… You're doing it wrong!

Based on consumer ratings and smart training software, the following songs seem to boost the intensity of workouts and make them feel easier at the same time, try updating your workout playlist with one of these workout songs:

 Black Eyed Peas – Rock That Body (Album Version)

 Matchbox Twenty – How Far We've Come

Junior Senior – Move Your Feet

Michael Jackson –Don't Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

The Sounds – Dance with Me

Madonna – Sorry

KT Tunstall – Suddenly I See

Journey – Any Way You Want It

Jimmy Eat World – Pain

Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces

Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger

Sean Paul – Temperature

Jennifer Lopez – Let's Get Loud

Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal

Johnny Cash – I've Been Everywhere

OK Go – Here It Goes Again

Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

Rihanna – Please Don't Stop the Music

The Offspring – Self Esteem

Rancid – Time Bomb

Outkast – Hey Ya

Chiropractors have been caring for children for more than a 100 years. The problem is that so many people still do not understand the benefit of regular chiropractic care. Many common childhood ailments respond to chiropractic care. If you have not had your child's spine checked by a chiropractor, please take the time to schedule an appointment and get them under care – it can save them from years of suffering.

This article attempts to answer the questions asked by many parents about their children’s spinal health.

Why do my kids need chiropractic?

Children encounter many physical stresses during their growing years.  Fact is, many of the problems we have with our spines as adults started from our early years as children.  Research tells us that abnormal problems in the spine or misalignments will only get worse as time goes on.  However, treating these issues early on, will slow and may even stop early spinal decay.

The earliest challenge our spines face is the position it is forced to adopt in utero or in mommy's belly. Many women will have heard of fetal positions that can cause problems with labor (brow, breech, transverse, posterior, ascynclitic, etc). What is less well known is that these fetal positions can also cause problems in the baby’s spine as well.

Spinal segments can be pushed out of place or jammed by the position of the baby in the womb (especially if mommy was not aligned herself). If this position is less than optimal, it can result in a longer and more difficult trip through the birth canal, which can compound the spinal problems.  It's likely that the reason why so many women have complications in birth is because their spines are not as healthy as they should be!

In this way, even natural birthing methods can stress an infant’s spine and nervous system—not to mention interventions such as induction, forceps, suction, or cesarean section. The latter (which account for an alarmingly large percentage of births in Australia), while appear to offer a less traumatic birth for the child, can actually create additional traumas and compromises to the infant’s future health and well-being.

The cause of many newborn health complaints such as colic, reflux, breastfeeding difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergic reactions, and chronic infections can often be traced to nervous system irritation caused by spinal and cranial misalignments.

Since significant spinal trauma can occur at, or prior to birth, many parents elect to have their newborn’s spine checked right after birth. Many developmental milestones such as learning to hold up the head, sitting upright, crawling, and walking are all activities that are affected by spinal alignment and are important times to have a child checked by a chiropractor. Additionally, falls, sports injuries, playground bumps, heavy school bags and sitting all day in the classroom are all physical stresses to the growing child’s spine and nervous system.

How can I tell if my child has spinal problems?

Unless a child has an obvious problem it can be difficult for a parent to recognise when a child’s spine is not working correctly. There are some signs which can indicate spinal problems. These include:

• disturbed sleeping patterns
• breastfeeding difficulties in the very young
• restricted head or neck movement to one side
• one shoulder higher than the other

Common childhood disorders can also be linked with spinal dysfunction, these include:

• recurrent ear infections
• persistent sore throats and colds
• colic/reflux
• asthma
• scoliosis
• headaches
• bedwetting and/or constipation
• growing pains
• ADHD