Month: June 2014

Dr Beecher’s June 2014 Monthly Chiropractic Newsletter

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“Realize that everything connects to everything else.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

  Tired?  Fatigued?  A Little Overweight?

Do Lazy People Eat

Junk Food or Does Eating

Junk Food Make People Lazy?

Study offers surprising answer…

 

Also this month:

• WARNING: New research shows coughs and sneezes travel much further than expected!
• The Shocking Cost of Obesity! How much more will an obese child pay in medical costs over his or her lifetime compared with a child of normal weight? You will probably be surprised.
• Awesome Person Alert! If you found a stranger’s wallet with money in it and no one else knew, what would you do?  What this person did is incredible…

Houston – Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  People have debated this question for millennia and there is still not a clear answer. However, there is another debate that is probably much more important to you.  Knowing the answer to this other debate may give you more energy, improve your health, and make you feel much better.

What is this debate?  Here it is…

Does Junk Food Make People Lazy

or Do Lazy People Eat Junk Food?

There is a belief that people who eat junk food and become overweight do so because they are lazy.  But, a new study conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found the opposite to be true.

According to Science Daily,  “Life scientists led by UCLA’s Dr. Aaron Blaisdell placed 32 female rats on one of two diets for six months.  The first, a standard rat’s diet consisted of relatively unprocessed foods like ground corn and fish meal.  The ingredients in the second were highly processed, of lower quality, and included substantially more sugar – a proxy for a junk food diet.

            “After just three months, the researchers observed a significant difference in the amount of weight the rats had gained, with the 16 on the junk food diet having become noticeably fatter.”

Dr. Blaisdell reports that the rats on the “junk food” diet became obese while the rats on the healthier, more natural diet did not. The researchers also noted that as they gained weight, the rats on the junk food diet demonstrated impaired physical performance and required more rest to perform basic tasks. This suggest laziness and fatigue are caused by eating poorly and gaining weight, not the other way around.

In this study, “junk food” was described as, “highly processed, of lower quality, and included substantially more sugar.”

Most Americans eat a diet high loaded with processed foods that contains a lot of sugar and most Americans are also either overweight or obese.  In fact, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 2 in 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese and more than 1 in 3 adults are considered obese.  More than 1 in 20 adults are considered to be extremely obese.  About one-third of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be overweight or obese and more than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese.

One of the most common complaints many people have is being tired and fatigued. Next time you go out to eat, just eavesdrop on the conversations taking place around your table. EVERYONE IS EXHAUSTED.

So, is it your fault if you are overweight, tired, and fatigued?  Perhaps not. Processed, high-sugar content foods have been heavily marketed for decades, especially to children.  They are much more accessible and cheaper, and many times, food labeling can be misleading or even deceptive.  If you do not have a degree in biochemistry, you can easily be fooled.  To make things even worse, serious evidence is accumulating that sugar is very addictive.

According to a WebMD article on sugar, “Sugar fuels every cell in the brain.  When you overload on sugary foods, it may alter the parts of the brain that control how much you eat.  In lab studies, rats that binged on sugar had brain changes like those of getting off drugs.  In humans, just seeing pictures of milkshakes triggered brain effects like those seen in drug addicts.  It was strongest in women whose answers showed they were more hooked on eating.”

Clearly, quitting a diet of processed and sugar-filled food is not an easy task for many people, which is why so many people try and fail.  Many end up quitting for a certain time and falling back into their old ways.  This is referred to as the “yo-yo effect” and can lead to serious weight gain.

Understanding this issue is the first step to making a lifetime change, a change where you finally lose weight and keep it off.  Just as important, your energy levels will rise so you will not constantly feel tired and fatigued. Oh, and another thing, you may not get sick as much…

The researchers at UCLA found that the rats on the junk food diet grew a large amount of tumors throughout their bodies by the end of the study.  Those on the more nutritious diet had fewer and smaller tumors that were not as widespread.

If this research is correct, processed foods high in sugar are the cause of weight gain, fatigue, and may contribute to serious health problems.

On top of all that, they are most likely very addictive.

What About Exercise?

There is no doubt exercise is good for you.  There is plenty of research in that regard.  But, there is one thing you must understand:  You cannot exercise away a bad diet.

This is probably the most common misunderstanding and mistake when it comes to losing weight and increasing energy.

Eating processed foods full of sugar will create weight gain and fatigue no matter how much you exercise.  In fact, eating poorly will make exercise extremely difficult because of the fatigue it causes.

If you want to lose weight and have more energy, it is highly recommended you cut processed foods that are loaded with sugar from your diet.

One more thing:  New research shows that the average lifetime medical costs for an obese child are $19,000 higher than those of a child of normal weight who maintains normal weight through adulthood.  These are direct costs and are probably higher when factoring in indirect costs.  Cutting processed foods that are high in sugar from your child’s diet could have a huge impact on their life and healthcare costs.

 

            Don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We’re here to help and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in providing you natural pain relief.

Inspirational Story Of The Month

(Names And Details May Have Been Changed To Protect Privacy)

 

 

Awesome Person Alert!

If you found a stranger’s wallet with money in it and no one else knew,

what would you do?  What this person did is incredible…

 

It’s a very old and commonly used ethical question.  If you found a bag of money and no one knew, would you keep it or return it?  A quick Google search of this topic reveals many important things…

First, there are a lot of people who jump into the legal debate.  In other words, whether they keep or return the money is solely dependant on what they are legally bound to do.  They say, if it is legal, they will keep it and vice versa.  The situation gets more complicated depending on the amount of money in the bag.  For example, it is much easier returning $20 than it is $1 million.  What if the person who finds the money is poor?  Does this mean it is okay to keep someone else’s money?  It all depends on your situational ethics.

That’s why this story is so impressive.

Christian Reyes lost his wallet at a Florida Marlins’ baseball game and the person who found it did something amazing.  He looked in the wallet and found Reyes’ Miami Senior High School student ID card.  He brought the wallet to the school and turned it in.  When he went to the front office, all he said was, “Somebody lost this wallet.  One of your students.  I think it’s one of your students from this school, lost this wallet at the game, and I just want to make sure he gets it back.”

Then, the good Samaritan left, not even telling the office staff his name.  But here is the most amazing part:  When Reyes got his wallet and opened it, he found there was EXTRA money in it and a note.  Whoever found and returned his wallet actually put an extra $20 in the wallet with a note that said…

“I added $20 to it so you know the world is a great place.  Do me a favor, when you get the chance, do something nice for someone else.”

Reyes is reported as saying he is looking forward to holding up his end of the deal.  This is incredible because not only did this kind person add money to the wallet, he did not even tell anyone his name.  He is obviously just looking to make the world a better place and not looking to make himself look good.

But this is not the only good Samaritan case.  According to the Boston Globe, last October, Red Sox player Shane Victorino lost his wallet on a plane.  A good Samaritan actually shipped the wallet back to him from Paris!  Victorino told the press, “There’s honest, trustworthy people in this world.”

Here is one more good Samaritan story that is nothing short of awesome…

A bunch of college kids got intoxicated and were smart enough to not drive home.  They decided to take a chance and knock on the front door of a house at 11:00 p.m. and see if they could get a ride back to their house.              What greeted them when the door opened was a little scary…

You see, the house they chose was being rented out by several professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters and the guy who answered the door was 6’3” pro MMA fighter Jake Gombocz.  As you can imagine, this story could have gone very wrong for these drunken college kids pounding on a stranger’s door at 11 p.m.

But it didn’t.  Jake is a gentle giant and one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Jake offered them a ride home all the way across town.  When the college kids offered Jake money, he refused to take it and told them to pay the kindness forward to someone else.

The most amazing part of all these stories is the good Samaritans did not give their names and did not try to take credit for their acts of kindness.  We only found out Jake’s name because one of his friends was there and posted the story about Jake on his Facebook account.

Maybe these are the real heroes we should pay attention to, praise, and look up to. J

 

We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and

getting them feeling better! We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger!

Don’t be a stranger. You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!

Did You Know?…

The Benefits of Happiness

 

The feeling of happiness – whether you equate it with optimism, joy, well-being, personal achievement, or all of the above – goes hand-in-hand with healthier habits.  People who are in good spirits tend to eat better, exercise more frequently, and get better sleep than those who are not.  This could be because leading a healthy lifestyle helps you achieve your goals, which leads to happiness.  It could also be that such habits lead to better health, which, in turn, lends itself to a better mood and contentment.

Beyond these rather common-sense associations, there’s something more about happiness that makes you healthy.  It appears that a positive mental state may have a much more direct effect on your body.  Positive thoughts and attitudes are able to prompt changes in your body that strengthen your immune system, boost positive emotions, decrease pain and chronic disease, and provide stress relief.  Happiness, optimism, life satisfaction, and other positive psychological attributes are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.  People with a deep sense of happiness and well-being have lower levels of inflammatory gene expression and stronger antiviral and antibody responses.

 

Tip Of The Month

WARNING: Coughs and Sneezes Travel Much Further than Expected!

 

Researchers have known for some time that coughs and sneezes travel quite a distance.  You have probably seen slow motion videos showing the huge droplet mist caused during a sneeze. Well, new research conducted by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shows that coughs and sneezes have associated nearly invisible gas clouds that travel much further than previously thought.  According to Dr. John Bush, a Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT, “When you cough or sneeze, you see the droplets, or feel them if someone sneezes on you.  But you don’t see the cloud, the invisible gas phase.  The influence of this gas cloud is to extend the range of the individual droplets, particularly the small ones.”  The new research shows the smaller particles travel between 5 to 500 times further! Even more shocking is that because particles are suspended in a gas, they are much more likely to be picked up by air circulating systems such as heating and air conditioning vents.  This can spread “germs” throughout an entire building, just about instantly.  Oh the horror!!!  Or is it?

The first thing to understand is while this research is new, the distance traveled by sneezes and coughs is not.  In other words, “germs” from sneezes and coughs have been suspended in small gas clouds that travel large distances and possibly through heating and air conditioning vents since there have been sneezes, coughs, and vents.  Researchers (and you and I) knowing about it is the only thing that is new.  So, two things are clear.  (1)  Knowing about it does not mean more people will get sick and (2), which is the most important, this is just further evidence that “germs” are everywhere.  Everyone breathes them in constantly.  If you are breathing “germs” in all day, and germs make you sick, then why aren’t you constantly sick?

The answer is quite simple.  Germs will never be eradicated, and they should not be.  They are an essential part of our ecosystem.  Beyond living in a bubble, you are always going to be in contact with germs.  So, the best way to deal with “germs” is to make sure your immune system is functioning to your genetic potential.  This is because “germs” easily invade a body with a weak or weakened immune system, take hold, and make that person sick.  On the contrary, “germs” are easily fought off by a strong, well functioning immune system.  This is why), holding all other factors constant, people who do not get enough sleep, drink excessively, smoke cigarettes, have high stress levels, and eat a poor diet (loaded with processed food and sugar) are more likely to get sick when exposed to the same “germs.” Even worse, their sickness can be worse and last longer which is all the more reason to focus on the things you can control like diet, sleep, and stress reduction.

 

Remember, we’re always here to help your body heal

and maintain the pain free body you deserve.

 

This information should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice. Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a chiropractic professional who is familiar with your updated medical history.