Obama's view on Chiropractic

Almost every one of my practice members will be voting for Obama very shortly (as will I). For my vote there was no hesitation, but as a Chiropractor, this cements the deal. This letter was drafted to the ACA (American Chiropractic Assoc.) in response to numerous requests to Obama and McCain for their positions on healthcare. McCain= NO RESPONSE. Obama, the following:





Dear Friends,
I am glad to have this opportunity to again share my thoughts on the role doctors of chiropractic play in the American health care system. As I have said before, doctors of chiropractic play an important role in our health care system, and my commitment to you and your patients remains strong.
As I have said, I believe steps should be taken to acknowledge the important care provided by doctors of chiropractic. We need to knock down unreasonable barriers of access and discriminatory insurance coverage so Americans in need of quality chiropractic care can access it without difficulty. We need to expand the range of chiropractic services covered by Medicare, facilitate integration of doctors of chiropractic into the health care systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, and allow commission of doctors of chiropractic as officers in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. And again, under my health care plan, many, if not all, chiropractic services would be included in the benefit package offered in the public plan.
America faces challenges both at home and abroad. To remain competitive, we must ensure that our health care system is accessible for every American. That is why my plan ensures quality, accessible heath care for all Americans. Doctors of chiropractic will play an important role in achieving this goal. I look forward to a strong relationship with the ACA as we build that future together.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama

Prescription drugs more accessible to teens than beer

From USA Today:
Prescription drugs more accessible to teens than beer
By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY
What is easier for a typical teen to get his hands on: a six-pack of beer or a bunch of prescription drugs?
More teens now say it's easier for them to acquire prescription drugs — usually powerful painkillers — than it is to buy beer, according to the 13th annual survey on attitudes about drug abuse, out today, from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
Parents also are ignorant about their teens' use of drugs and alcohol, says the survey of teens 12 to 17 and their parents.
Almost half (46%) of teens surveyed say they leave their homes on school nights to hang out with friends — and sometimes use drugs and alcohol. But only 14% of parents say their teens leave home to hang out with friends.
HEALTH BLOG: Drugs and alcohol making news
Teens still say it's easiest to buy cigarettes and marijuana. But for the first time, they say prescription drugs not prescribed to them are easier to get than beer, the survey says.
Their main source of drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin and Ritalin: "the medicine cabinet," says Elizabeth Planet, director of special projects for CASA. "Another big source of these drugs are their friends."
Says CASA president Joseph Califano,"These parents are passive pushers by not taking care of their drugs."
The survey did not delve into the precise reasons teens take these drugs, but they may think that because the medications are prescribed, they're safer than alcohol or illegal drugs such as marijuana, Califano says.
They're not, says Ralph Lopez, a New York pediatrician who specializes in teens and a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Drugs such as Vicodin — a commonly prescribed pain pill that causes a drunk-like feeling — can be detrimental to the still-developing teenage brain and can impair judgment in people who already are prone to mistakes in judgment. The drugs increase "the risk for accidents, sexual activities (and) more drugs," Lopez says.
The survey comes at a time when teen use of illegal drugs is actually down, says Tom Riley, spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"While teen use of illegal drugs has gone down in recent years, the one category that has gone up is teen abuse of prescription drugs," Riley says. "Americans are in denial about how widespread this problem is."
Many recommend locking up drugs. But the best way to prevent drug abuse is good old-fashioned parenting, Planet and others say.
"We know from our research that parental engagement — being involved in your kids' lives, monitoring what they're up to — is a very key component in teen substance risk."
The telephone survey reached 1,002 teens and 312 parents this past spring. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.

Similarities Of Diets In Our Ancestors

This is from the Weston Price Foundation website: For more information and literally thousands of health related articles goto: http://www.westonaprice.org/

SIMILARITIES OF TRADITIONAL DIETS
Since there is no single essential food, good nutrition requires that one be aware that whole foods nearest their natural state are best able to supply essential nutrients for the highest state of well-being. Dr. Price's primitives demonstrated that there are many dietary patterns which meet the needs of the body. Where optimum health was maintained, however, all dietary practices showed the following similarities:
In general, all the native foods were found to contain two to six times as high a factor of safety in the matter of body building materials as did the displacing foods brought in by civilization.
All groups studied consumed minerals and fat-soluble vitamins from high vitamin butter or from sea foods, cod liver or seal oil, or animal organs with their fat.
Foods were grown on soil which was naturally high in minerals, and no chemical fertilizers or pesticides were used.
All food was eaten liberally in the natural season in which it grew.
Sweets (even good, natural sweets) were used rarely or sparingly, only for occasions of ritual, celebration or special feasting.
In each diet there was some daily source of raw, unaltered protein from sources such as meats, sea foods, nuts, cheeses, eggs, milk, or high quality sprouted seeds. (Foods containing essential amino acids must be included in the food choices for each meal, or it will be impossible to assimilate the total values of the incomplete proteins. It is important to balance the amino acid patterns when vegetable proteins are eaten.) Some sort of sea plant or mineral was a part of most diets. Inland sea deposits were treasured and used thriftily.
Methods of food preservation and storage were used which altered the nutrients very little: Earth storage, drying, freezing in the cold climates, or making nutrients more available by culturing, pickling, fermenting, or sprouting.
Each life style was such that people engaged in vigorous physical exercise on a regular basis, either in work, play, dances, games, sports, or hunting and food-gathering.
All had access to pure air and sunlight. Even in the 1930's, Dr. Price perceived the problems of air pollution and lack of sufficient radiant energy from the sun, due to pollution already present at that time. The situation is far worse today, and that has affected the deterioration of our food quality and our health as well.
Each group observed periods of partial abstinence from food, or regulated periods of under-eating. For some, this came about as a natural result of summer crops being in short supply before the new crops were harvested. For others, certain rituals began or ended with days of fasting. Still others taught the value of periodic under-eating by taboos or other means.
Some diets contained some form of ferments. This would include milk cultures, pickling, and other methods of fermenting. Dr. Pottenger recommended using some of these foods for both children and adults to aid in maintaining good gastric acidity.
They all breast-fed their young. Most of them fed special protective foods to their young of child-bearing age in preparation for conception, pregnancy, and lactation. Most of them had some means of spacing the children at least three years apart, to protect the health of the newborns and their mothers.
All ate whole foods, not fractionalized parts of foods. They did not remove the fiber content of their natural foods by refining them. Most foods were eaten raw or very gently and lightly cooked.
Last but not least, the primitives were able to instruct their young in these important principles, thereby protecting their genetic heritage. They ate the foods of their ancestors.

Chiropractor cares New York City's Homeless

Please go to the link below and watch the video. There are great Chiropractors all over the world. Find them, work with them, and enjoy the one side effect of Chiropractic care: HEALTH


http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/a-chiropractic-touch-for-aching-homeless-backs/index.html

Chiropractic heals the blind

I will let this story speak for itself....

Hot Town Summer In The City

Medical researchers are growing increasingly excited about a wonder drug that may significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other diseases -- sunshine.A recent study found that men who are deficient in vitamin D, which your body produces in response to sunlight, have more than double the normal risk of suffering a heart attack.In fact, men with vitamin D levels below 15 nanograms per milliliter had 2.5 times the risk of having a heart attack or dying -- even after controlling for all other possible risk factors such as hypertension, obesity and high lipid levels.
Another study found that low levels of vitamin D increased the risk of diabetes, and yet another linked vitamin D deficiencies to an increased risk of dying from breast cancer.These findings all join a growing body of evidence indicating that an adequate level of the vitamin, which many people can get from 20 minutes in the sun each day, is crucial to maintaining good health.
Sources:
Los Angeles Times June 10, 2008
Archives of Internal Medicine June 9, 2008; 168(11):1174-1180

A little motivation from #23

Listen to the greatest ever give us all a little perspective on hard work. Take a moment to think of your mentor/hero/person you admire, and imagine how hard they must have worked to achieve their successes.

ICPA - Holistic Pediatric Healthcare

Dr. Larry Palevsky is phenomenal Homeopathic Medical Doctor practicing in New York. He is a strong proponent of Chiropractic care for children. If you are a parent take a few minutes to listen to his explaination of some common childhood ailments.

New Study: Chiropractic care lowers blood pressure. Can this be true??

In the study patients under Chiropractic care (through adjustments of their upper cervical spine), saw marked decreases in blood pressure. The average drop in BP was an amazing 17 points (the same affectivness as taking 2 medications).
What does this all mean? Is Chiropractic a cure for high blood pressure? Can I stop taking these drugs?
As my patients already know, Chiropractic doesn't cure anything!!!! Not low back, pain, headaches, neck tension, asthma, cancer, etc.
However, the miracle of Chiropractic is it removes interference in the nervous system, thereby it improves the funtion of your nervous system, and your body works better. Chiropractors have been screaming this in the Unbited States for over a century, and occasionally a study like this comes out and MD's everywhere look skeptically and scratch their head.
Here is the link http://i.abcnews.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4520614&page=1
What baffles me is that for each of these great Chiropractic stories that comes out, at the end they always quote some supposedly all knowing Medical Doctor, to interpret the results. To go to your medical doctor and ask questions about how Chiropractic works is as ridiculous as asking your favorite carpenter a plumbing question. They simply are not trained to answer the question intelligently. If you would like to prove this ask your MD how much Chiropractic training they received in medical school (theory, technique, the whole shabang). It is the same amount of surgical training I received in Chiropractic school. ZERO!!

If you want your body (or that of your family and friend) to work better have them checked by a Chiropractor to see if they can help. It is a drug free way to better health.

Chiropractic Kid in California

Is Chiropractic for kids? Yes, but don't take my word for it. I don't know this kid or her dad, but it is always great to see a child describe their experiences. This girls sentiments ring true with me. I have gone to the Chiropractor my whole life and I still get adjusted once a week to this day. Like the girl in the video says, "It feels good and makes you healthier". I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Holistic Approach to Ear Infections (Free Lecture)

Where: Whole Foods Market

1575 Fairway Rd. Jenkintown, PA 19046

When: Wednesday March 12th 2008 @ 11:30am

Details:

No more Tubes, no more antibiotics: Holistic treatments for childhood ear infections.

During this lecture participants will learn about some of the medical myths concerning this very common childhood ailment. We will explore the most common causes of ear infections, as well as learning about the most effective treatment options and prevention measures. This is a "must attend" workshop for any parent of young children.
This lecture is part of the OneFit Mama lunch and learn series at Whole foods (every second Wednesday a new topic by a differnt speaker). For more info visit http://www.onefitmama.com/ or call (215) 886-2869.

Upper Cervical - Montel Williams

Amazing Chiropractic results for TV host Montel Williams

Montel Williams suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (an autoimmune disease where an individual's body attacks the protective layer around the nerves). Like many autoimmune diseases, the severity varies with each individual. Often patients are prescribed heavy amounts of powerful drugs to suppress their immune system, in hopes to slow the progress of the disease. As Montel Williams discovered maybe there are other less volatile ways to get the body to work better........

Recreational drugs less likely to kill than Prescription drugs

Readers,

I am choosing to reprint this article in an attempt to cause you to think of things in a different way. Like this blog, the article is written so that certain habits that have become very common place in our society, such as prescription drug use, may be looked at through more educated eyes and addressed with renewed vigor.

The following article is written by Christopher Kent a Chiropractor and Lawyer. His remarks may cause you to feel an emotional response. GOOD! Citations for Dr. Kent's statistics can be found at the bottom of the article: Enjoy....

Recreational Drugs FAR Less Likely to Kill You than Prescribed Drugs!

By Christopher Kent, D.C., J.D.
Recreational drugs, including cocaine and heroin, are responsible for an estimated 10,000-20,000 American deaths per year [1,2]. While this represents a serious public health problem, it is a "smokescreen" for America's real drug problem. America's "war on drugs" is directed at the wrong enemy. It is obvious that interdiction, stiff mandatory sentences, and more vigorous enforcement of drug laws have failed.

The reason is simple. Cause and effect have been reversed.

The desire to solve problems by taking drugs is a product of our culture. When a child is taught by loving parents that the appropriate response to pain or discomfort is taking a pill, it is obvious that such a child, when faced with the challenges of adolescence, will seek comfort by taking drugs.

Drugs are Dangerous Whether Pushed or Prescribed

While approximately 10,000 per year die from the effects of illegal drugs, an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that an estimated 106,000 hospitalized patients die each year from drugs which, by medical standards, are properly prescribed and properly administered. More than two million suffer serious side effects. [3]
An article in Newsweek [4] put this into perspective. Adverse drug reactions, from "properly" prescribed drugs, are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. According to this article, only heart disease, cancer, and stroke kill more Americans than drugs prescribed by medical doctors. Reactions to prescription drugs kill more than twice as many Americans as HIV/AIDS or suicide. Fewer die from accidents or diabetes than adverse drug reactions. It is important to point out the limitations of this study. It did not include outpatients, cases of malpractice, or instances where the drugs were not taken as directed.

According to another AMA publication, drug related "problems" kill as many as 198,815 people, put 8.8 million in hospitals, and account for up to 28% of hospital admissions. [5] If these figures are accurate, only cancer and heart disease kill more patients than drugs. Has the situation improved since the publication of this information? Hardly. Null [6] et al have published the most comprehensive and well-documented study I have seen of deaths associated with medical practice. In this report, their research revealed some shocking facts. The findings are summarized in the abstract:

"A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good. The number of people having in-hospital, adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million. Dr. Richard Besser, of the CDC, in 1995, said the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million. Dr. Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics.

The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million. The total number of iatrogenic deaths shown in the following table is 783,936. It is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States. The 2001 heart disease annual death rate is 699,697; the annual cancer death rate, 553,251."

Drugs Number One Killer

The authors conclude: "When the number one killer in a society is the healthcare system, then, that system has no excuse except to address its own urgent shortcomings. It's a failed system in need of immediate attention. What we have outlined in this paper are insupportable aspects of our contemporary medical system that need to be changed -- beginning at its very foundations."

A recent article in Archives of Internal Medicine [7] stated that in the seven year period from 1998 through 2005, reported serious adverse drug events increased 2.6-fold, and fatal adverse drug events increased 2.7-fold. The authors noted that reported serious events increased 4 times faster than the total number of outpatient prescriptions during the period. Another study concluded that the majority(86%) of the adverse drug reactions for which patients were admitted to a medical intensive care unit were preventable. [8]

One proposed solution to the illegal drug problem was encouraging potential users to ignore peer pressure and "just say no." Interestingly, this strategy is not being recommended for prescription drugs. Bruce Pomeranz, MD , one of the authors of the JAMA paper, said he is not warning people to stay away from drugs. "That would be a terrible message," he said. Lucian Leape, MD, of the Harvard School of Public Health said, "When you realize how many drugs we use, maybe those numbers aren't so bad after all." [4]

Does that mean that the number of deaths due to illegal drugs, suicide, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, accidents, and drunk driving "aren't so bad" either? Does it mean that we shouldn't discourage drunk driving or unsafe sex?

The folly of such double standards should be obvious to all. It is time to address the real drug problem -- the cultural notion that the first solution to seek for relief of life's problems is a drug. That's the drug culture we need to address.

References:

1. "Drug deaths." Globe & Mail (Canada). February 27, 1998.

2. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC. 2007;56(05):93-96.
3. Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN: "Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients." JAMA 1998;279:1200.
4. Kalb C: "When drugs do harm." Newsweek. April 27, 1998. Page 61.
5. "Reaction." American Medical News. January 15, 1996. Page 11.
6. 1. Null G, Dean C, Feldman, M, Rasio, D, Smith D: "Death by Medicine." Life Extension. March, 2004. www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_awsi_death_01.htm
7. Moore TJ, Cohen MR, Furberg CD: Serious adverse drug events reported to the Food and Drug Administration, 1998-2005. Archives of Internal Medicine 2007;167:1752-1759.
8. Rivkin A: Admissions to a medical intensive care unit related to adverse drug reactions. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 2007;64(17):1840-1843.

Delicious snack tip of the week (****SARCASM ALERT Must read*****)

The McDonald's Chicken McNugget came out around 1983. Some estimated facts from the company are: they estimate 20% of Americans eat McNuggets during the year, to the tune of about 4.8 billion PER YEAR. McNuggets are clearly one of the top sellers, and are one of the most commonly consumed foods by children. Lets take a gander at the ingredients of a McNugget (from the McDonalds website):

Chicken McNuggets®: White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, chicken flavor (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola oil, mono- and diglycerides, natural extractives of rosemary). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated corn oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent).

Question: What the heck is dimethylpolysiloxane & for that matter TBHQ?????

Answer: (From Beth Greer)

Then there’s citric acid and Dimethylpolysiloxane (added as an anti-foaming agent). According to the Handbook of Food Additives this “is a suspected carcinogen and an established mutagen, tumorigen and reproductive effector: it’s also flammable.”

If that’s not enough, here’s the kicker: TBHQ is added to help preserve freshness. Pollan says in his book, “Perhaps the most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to ‘help preserve freshness.’ According to A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane (i.e. lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food.”

Wikepedia says:

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, and is particularly known for its unusual rheological (or flow) properties. Its applications range from contact lenses and medical devices to elastomers, caulking, lubricating oils and heat resistant tiles.
PDMS is optically clear, and is generally considered to be inert, non-toxic and non-flammable. It has been assigned CAS number 63148-62-9, and is occasionally called dimethicone. It is one of several types of silicone oil (polymerized siloxane).

Watch what you put into your mouth folks!