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FLU VACCINE EXPOSED - video from ThinkTwiceGlobal!!! If you are faced with the big decision whether to accept the flu shot (because it is really up to you), you might ask yourself this question: "Do I feel lucky today?" Also, you need to ask your nurse or better yet your doctor if he or she accepted the flu vaccine or the H1N1 vaccine. The statistics say different. There is no such thing that "goes around" or "catching the flu". What  matters is the environment or the host. It is true, while you struggle with a weak immunesystem, a systemic conditions or the false sense of security by relying on drugs, you are more suceptible to infections virulent or bacterial. Thers is a lot of common sense coming out and sound knowledge from the fact that 70 percent of doctors and nurses, and 62 percent of other health care workers do NOT get the yearly flu shot. The reasons why they opted to not get vaccinated were:

• They didn't believe the vaccine would work

   

• They believed their immune systems were strong enough to withstand exposure to the flu

   

• They were concerned about side effects

   

During the last month we have seen a surprising large influx of patients with various neuropathic conditions. It has been shocking really to see how many people go thru day by day with these daily limiting conditions. Neuropathies are preventing people from performing at their jobs, lifting their kids, spending quality time doing outdoor activities and sleeping. More tragic yet, is the fact that chiropractic care is not being suggested as a treatment option by their primary care physician and patients are faced with a gloomy future and long-term high-risk drug and medication use.

Peripheral neuropathy is a disorder of the peripheral nerves—the motor, sensory and autonomic nerves that connect the spinal cord to muscles, skin and internal organs.  It usually affects the hands and feet, causing weakness, numbness, tingling and pain.  Peripheral neuropathy’s course is variable; it can come and go, slowly progressing over many years, or it can become severe and debilitating. One finding is that the longer the condition persists or recur, the chance of permanency increases.

Peripheral neuropathy is common. It is estimated that upwards of 20 million Americans suffer from this illness. It can occur at any age, but is more common among older adults. A l999 survey found that 8-9% of Medicare recipients have peripheral neuropathy as their primary or secondary diagnosis.  The annual cost to Medicare exceeds $3.5 billion. Peripheral neuropathy has always been present, but has not received much attention, arguably because drug companies are not successful in producing a drug for it. It is apt to be misdiagnosed, or thought to be merely a side effect of another disease like diabetes or cancer or kidney failure. There are many causes of neuropathy.  Approximately 30% of neuropathies are “idiopathic,” or of an unknown cause. In another 30% of cases, the cause is diabetes. Other neuropathy causes include autoimmune disorders, tumors, heredity, nutritional imbalances, infections or toxins.

Some types of peripheral neuropathy can be cured, however, many more can be helped if treated by a chiropractor, because many neuropathies are caused by structural issues. The medical approach is directed at medicating for the disease process (ex. diabetes) and at reducing symptoms with the medications. On the other hand, because neuropathies are poorly understood, the chiropractic approach is proving highly effective in patients with neuropathies. But it is extremely important to get examined by an experienced chiropractor as soon as you notice the symptoms before the disease has a chance to cause permanent damage.

Now, the chiropractic approach deals with a particular, common structural situation called a vertebral subluxation.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential, whatever that may be.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as exercise routines, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  People usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness. As an example, try to "feel" your liver. What's it doing right now? You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less. To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to a connection between the spine and something like a neuropathy, for example, of any kind.  Certainly, every part of the body must have connections to the nerve system so that vital information may be transmitted between the brain and the cells. There are some who would attempt to review the possible nerve connections between a nerve root and specific organs or tissues, but this ignores the multitude of variables that determine the expression of function. The question of how your individual body carries out the myriad of activities just to maintain life is enormous and would require your Creator’s (or creator’s, for the agnostic) knowledge, or at least far more than our educated knowledge of the complexities of life.

Now that you have more information about the body and vertebral subluxation, how do you make use of it?  Are there reasons for the symptoms you are experiencing?  Even though they may be beyond our ability to identify, yes, there are; but pinning them down is not relevant to the matter of whether you will benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations. Vertebral subluxation is, in and of itself, detrimental to your life. It is not valid or reliable to try to connect it to a neuropathy or any other organ or tissue conditions. In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person’s spine checked by a chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible. The term for this procedure is “adjustment.”

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your problem, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life. With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask yourself, then, would be, is someone with for instance peripheral neuropathy better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open? It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise. It’s not that you should see a chiropractor FOR your symptoms – you should visit one in an effort to be free of vertebral subluxations, even WITH those symptoms. Chiropractic is not about treating symptoms or any medical therapeutic-model or medical condition. It is entirely separate in its goal – and healthier outcome.

Sorry folks for the delayed with this post. However, with all the hoopla it is fantastic to more and more people with increased knowledge of the minimal threat the flu has to healthy people. It statisticly is less of a threat than tuberculosis deaths or traffic accidents in the US. There are always going to be threats of flu pandemics, real or created, but that is another story. There will always be potentially toxic vaccines that are peddled as the solution. But you must know that you can distance yourself from the media-hype and the whole drug-solution trap by following some simple natural health principles that Dr. Becky and I live by. I have not known anybody “catch” the flu who are living by the simple steps below. You can avoid getting the flu as well without getting vaccinated The following simple guidelines will keep your immune system in optimal working order so that you're far less likely to acquire the infection to begin with.

• Optimize your vitamin D levels: Optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of ALL kinds, and vitamin D deficiency is likely the TRUE culprit behind the seasonality of the flu -- not the flu virus itself. This is probably the single most important and least expensive action you can take. Here is a link on how to have your vitamin D level monitored to confirm your levels are therapeutic at 50-70 ng.ml and done by a reliable vitamin D lab. If you are coming down with flu like symptoms and have not been on vitamin D you can take doses of 50,000 units a day for three days to treat the acute infection. Some researchers like Dr. Cannell, believe the dose could even be as high as 1000 units per pound of body weight for three days.
• Avoid Sugar and Processed Foods. Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately, and as you likely know, a strong immune system is key to fighting off viruses and other illness. Be aware that sugar is present in foods you may not suspect, like ketchup and fruit juice.
• Get Enough Rest. Just like it becomes harder for you to get your daily tasks done if you're tired, if your body is overly fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu. Be sure to check out this article Guide to a Good Night's Sleep for some great tips to help you get quality rest. In addition, we have been seeing great fantastic results using the O-Tropin from Orenda International. Patient are thanking us for getting them started on the O-tropin because now they can finally sleep better. O-Tropin is a mixture of natural ingredients, herbs and amino acids which wakes up your pituitary gland and balances out your various hormones in your body.
• Have Effective Tools to Address Stress . We all face some stress every day, but if stress becomes overwhelming then your body will be less able to fight off the flu and other illness. If you feel that stress is taking a toll on your health, consider using exercise, yoga, pilates, meditation or a simple prayer. We have various specific suggestions for you if you are ready to change.
• Exercise. When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads.
• Take a good source of animal based omega-3 fats like Krill Oil. Increase your intake of healthy and essential fats like the omega-3, which is crucial for maintaining health. It is also vitally important to avoid damaged omega-6 oils that are trans fats and in processed foods as it will seriously damage your immune response.
• Wash Your Hands. Washing your hands will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. Be sure you don't use antibacterial soap for this -- antibacterial soaps are completely unnecessary, and they cause far more harm than good. Instead, identify a simple chemical-free soap that you can switch your family to.
• Eat Garlic Regularly. Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. And unlike with antibiotics, no resistance can be built up so it is an absolutely safe product to use. However, if you are allergic or don't enjoy garlic it would be best to avoid as it will likely cause more harm than good.

• Regular Chiropractic Care. Numerous research studies point to the efficacy of restoring your normal nervous system balance and removing interference to the transmission of nerve signals and impulses to various and vital cells and organs. One of the most important studies was performed by Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University. It showed the positive effect that chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health.

• Avoid hospitals and vaccines. In this particular case, we would also recommend you stay away from hospitals unless you're having an emergency, as hospitals are prime breeding grounds for infections of all kinds, and could be one of the likeliest places you could be exposed to this new bug. Vaccines will not be available for six months at the minimum but when available they will be ineffective and can lead to crippling paralysis like Guillain-Barré Syndrome just as it did after the Fort Dix outbreak in 1976.

I have now been bitten. I have the bug and suffering from being infected. No, not the swine-flu or anything ridiculous like that. I am taking about running and running mini-marathons. This infection actually improves your health, helps you lose weight, lubricates your joints and makes you stronger.

My first ever experience with running a mini-marathon was a blast and I can safely say it will not be my last. The Kentucky Derby Marathon and Mini-marathon Festival was a blast…for the majority of the race. There was of course tremendous high anticipation at the starting area. Running the course with 20,000 people who were older, younger including Colonel Sanders, ca 8 Elvis characters and super athletes in wheel-chairs; was an adrenaline rush like no other. And then of course running onto Churchill Downs was spectacular!

It was tough around mile10-12. The mental games set-in. Regardless, I actually felt good. I had no new pains in my back, lumbar spine, knees or ankles. Just minor pressure pains in my feet. If you would have asked me even 6 months ago, that I would complete, run the entire 13.1 mile course and beat my time that I set for a goal, I’d think you were crazy and insane at the same time. Well, it is possible to change you mindset. With enough training, will and determination and great support (from the people you hang around) you can accomplish and achieve what you set out to do. Chiropractic care to my spine, knees and ankles obviously kept me in great shape. My spine felt strong and my knees only had minor inflammation post-race. Loveland massage and Kristine Hammer helped my muscle tissue heal and recover properly during training. Just about a year ago, I recovered from a pulled muscle in my right calf. Cold laser therapy helped tremendously. I also, changed my diet drastically, did a liver and body cleanse in October of 2008 and started working out on a regular basis. On top of all these things I must also mentioned the fantastic nutritional products from Orenda International. These products have kept my body detoxing on a daily basis, provided more stability and improved function to my pituitary gland and subsequent hormone balance. And of course, the superfood, Oki’of which I had pre-race and provided me with vital nutrition in the morning.

As Doctors of Chiropractic, we are also coaches to our patients. Our optimal goal with our patients is to achieve better health and reaching physical, mental and emotional wellness. That is a victory in itself to experience and help patients change, improve and take on new challenges. We are looking forward helping you reach your health and wellness goals!

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In less than one week I will be facing my biggest challenge since the National Chiropractic Boards a few years back. Albeit my preparation is quite different I feel that I am as prepared as I can be. On Saturday, I will be galloping on historical ground as I stress my physical abilities to the max in the Kentucky Derby Days Mini-marathon. As with anything we stress over in life – it never turns out as bad or horrendous as we imagined. Because of this fact, I am looking forward to “getting in the zone” and just let the event play it self out and enjoy the ride.

Over the next few blog entries I will be giving you the secrets to the why and how, but before I get into that I need to back up slightly and set the stage for how outrages this has become for me.

The wonderful game of soccer is a great passion of mine and although I have played soccer on various levels during all my years except the first six years of my life, I never enjoyed just running. Soccer involves a lot of running of course, but with a greater purpose -chasing a ball. Also, I was never a lean, mean runner type, which looking back determined “I could not possibly enjoy running because I can’t compete.” Well, as life goes on your own definition of competing changes and you realize your only competitor is yourself.

Besides my less than ideal body type for 13.1 miles, my knees and ankles have endured a fair share of trauma and stress. In recent years I must confess I let the physical strength and potential of my body go. I became severely de-conditioned. I developed heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. Getting up in the morning was not enjoyable and I certainly didn’t feel my age. My lower back became acute more frequently (which is the reason I got into chiropractic in the first place, but that is a story for another time). More importantly, I began to not enjoy playing soccer anymore. I came to the realization that I had entered a dangerous land of excuses that we hear from patients from time to time. So often do we see patients live a life of reduced potential. ”Oh, I could never do this or that!” or “I have arthritis.” Or “My painful toe prevents me from doing that!” They have “accepted” or “learned to live with it” and more dangerously, they have convinced themselves there is absolutely nothing they can do to improve themselves. This is very far from the truth. For me it became 13.1 miles. How far away from the truth are you?

Several mental realizations came to mind, but I needed to change – change something major. Nobody was going to do it for me. The point I am making is that anybody can improve and change their health and life situation, but you must desire it strongly enough to be willing to change.

As your chiropractor, it is part of our duty to coach and guide along this path. Maintaining your health and wellness takes a great deal of effort - not just spinal health and regular adjustments, but proper diet and nutrition, effective exercise, positive mental attitude and enough rest and sleep are extremely critical. Without a portion of all these factors whatever your health challenges are most likely will continue, maybe with less or no symptoms, but your are not improving your life. On my own personal journey to re-condition my body I have discovered several effective and proven strategies that can for help anyone – not just me. This is what I will be sharing with you in future blogs.

If you are ready to get started on a new page in your life call us for a appointment today! (970) 203 0597

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Dr. Jon-Eirik