What comes to mind when you think about inflammation? Hot and red swelling? Maybe a sprained ankle, or a hurt knee, or possibly even the swollen ankles you pregnant ladies might have had? What you might not realize is that inflammation is involved with most if not all of the disease processes. Some inflammation related to local injury can be good for the general healing process. However, most of the inflammation in the body is problematic.
The suffix "-itis" denotes inflammation, so any condition or disease ending in "-itis" is specifically related to inflammation. i.e. bronchitis (inflammation of the air passages in the lungs), sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses), arthritis (inflammation of the joints), diverticulitis (inflammation within the digestive tract), prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate). However, if a condition does not end with this suffix it does not mean that inflammation is not involved. Here is a list of just a few diseases and conditions that are or can be caused or promoted by inflammation...
acne
allergies
asthma
cancer
chronic pain
diabetes
endometriosis
fibromyalgia
headaches
heart disease
high blood pressure
injury
...and this is just a small sample of the conditions related to inflammation.
After seeing this list, don't you think it would be a good idea to try to avoid things that promote inflammation in the body? The good news is that there are some simple changes you can make with your diet and lifestyle that can help decrease overall inflammation. Whether or not you already suffer from one of the conditions above, your current and future health will benefit from less inflammation.
Next time, we will review some things that you can do to help decrease inflammation.
I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!
http://www.acucaretotalhealth.com/
Live Well.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Shopper's Guide to Pesticides
In a perfect world, we would all be eating only organic foods. Foods with no hormones, pesticides, anti-biotics, or any other chemicals. Hopefully, someday it will be the only option. But for now, we still have to choose. Unfortunately, the healthier option is still more expensive, but I still highly recommend shopping at Trader Joe's. The organic foods are very reasonable in price compared to any other grocery store I have visited. (I should ask for a stipend from Trader Joe's for the amount I promote them!)
I have a lot of people who tell me they want to start buying some organic foods, but can't afford to do too much. Last year, I gave a top ten list of foods that you should try to buy organic. Recently, I found a good list from the Environmental Working Group that shows different types of produce with the highest and lowest amounts of pesticides. If you can try to buy organic produce from the list that contains the highest pesticides, you will help to cut down your exposure to these chemicals. Here is the list.
Just remember, a little change in your diet, household items/products, or daily environment can go a long way in the health of you, your family, and future generations.
Live Well.
I have a lot of people who tell me they want to start buying some organic foods, but can't afford to do too much. Last year, I gave a top ten list of foods that you should try to buy organic. Recently, I found a good list from the Environmental Working Group that shows different types of produce with the highest and lowest amounts of pesticides. If you can try to buy organic produce from the list that contains the highest pesticides, you will help to cut down your exposure to these chemicals. Here is the list.
Just remember, a little change in your diet, household items/products, or daily environment can go a long way in the health of you, your family, and future generations.
Live Well.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Vitamin D...Part 2
After quite a long break from blogging, I am back. At least I have a good excuse for not posting...After issues with infertility and waiting on the adoption list, Dawn and I are finally parents!!! Zachary William was born on St Patrick's Day and weighed 5 lbs 1 oz and was 17.5 in. We now know why we had to wait for so long. Zack is truly a blessing and we couldn't imagine our lives without him! He is now 3 weeks old and we are having so much fun spending each and every day watching our son grow!!
Now back to the business at hand. Considering I started giving you information about Vitamin D about 2 months ago, I'm guessing you are more than ready for me to finally finish the topic. In the first post about Vitamin D, I talked about the importance of Vitamin D and health issues that have been associated with Vitamin D deficiency. All that information is great, but you are probably wondering how you know if you are Vitamin D deficient and what you should do about it.
Finding out your Vitamin D level is as easy as a simple blood test. You can have your blood drawn at your doctor or at our office or there is even at-home Vitamin D test kits that you can order on the web. However, you need to make sure you get the right type of Vitamin D levels checked. 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D is the proper form of Vitamin D that is best used to check for Vitamin D deficiency. If you go to your doctor, make sure you ask for this form of Vitamin D to be tested and not 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D. Normal, healthy levels of 25(OH)D is between 50 and 80 ng/mL. Any levels below 50 ng/mL may be considered deficient.
Fortunately, if you find out you are deficient or if you live in areas of little sun, you can supplement your diet with Vitamin D to improve your level. Vitamin D3 is the most useable form of Vitamin D in humans, so make sure you supplement with Vitamin D3. The FDA suggests supplementing with 400-600 IU of Vitamin D daily, but studies have shown that higher doses are needed to achieve optimal levels. Here is what Dr. John Jacob Cannell MD, the director of the Vitamin D Council, suggests...
"If you have little UVB exposure, my advice is as follows: healthy children under the age of 2 years should take 1,000 IU per day—over the age of 2, 2,000 IU per day. Well adults and adolescents between 80–130 pounds should start with 3,000 IU per day while those over 130 pounds but less than 170 pounds should take 4,000 IU per day. Those over 170 pounds should receive 5,000 IU per day. Two months later have a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D blood test, either through ZRT or your doctor."
With springtime hopefully around the corner, do your best to try and get 15-20 minutes of sun exposure per day. If not, you should consider supplementing your diet with Vitamin D3.
Live Well.
Now back to the business at hand. Considering I started giving you information about Vitamin D about 2 months ago, I'm guessing you are more than ready for me to finally finish the topic. In the first post about Vitamin D, I talked about the importance of Vitamin D and health issues that have been associated with Vitamin D deficiency. All that information is great, but you are probably wondering how you know if you are Vitamin D deficient and what you should do about it.
Finding out your Vitamin D level is as easy as a simple blood test. You can have your blood drawn at your doctor or at our office or there is even at-home Vitamin D test kits that you can order on the web. However, you need to make sure you get the right type of Vitamin D levels checked. 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D is the proper form of Vitamin D that is best used to check for Vitamin D deficiency. If you go to your doctor, make sure you ask for this form of Vitamin D to be tested and not 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D. Normal, healthy levels of 25(OH)D is between 50 and 80 ng/mL. Any levels below 50 ng/mL may be considered deficient.
Fortunately, if you find out you are deficient or if you live in areas of little sun, you can supplement your diet with Vitamin D to improve your level. Vitamin D3 is the most useable form of Vitamin D in humans, so make sure you supplement with Vitamin D3. The FDA suggests supplementing with 400-600 IU of Vitamin D daily, but studies have shown that higher doses are needed to achieve optimal levels. Here is what Dr. John Jacob Cannell MD, the director of the Vitamin D Council, suggests...
"If you have little UVB exposure, my advice is as follows: healthy children under the age of 2 years should take 1,000 IU per day—over the age of 2, 2,000 IU per day. Well adults and adolescents between 80–130 pounds should start with 3,000 IU per day while those over 130 pounds but less than 170 pounds should take 4,000 IU per day. Those over 170 pounds should receive 5,000 IU per day. Two months later have a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D blood test, either through ZRT or your doctor."
With springtime hopefully around the corner, do your best to try and get 15-20 minutes of sun exposure per day. If not, you should consider supplementing your diet with Vitamin D3.
Live Well.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Disconnect in order to Reconnect
I know I told you that this post would be more about Vitamin D, but I thought first I would write about something I learned in Mexico. I had a great time spending time with my family in Huatulco for the week. This is the second time we have been to Hualtulco. The reason we love it so much is that besides the weather being 90 and sunny everyday, it is very uncommercialized. You won't find any high rise hotels or McDonalds. But the best part is that we did not have internet, television, phones, or newspapers. We were completely disconnected from the "real" world. And it was great! It is amazing how much time there is in a day to do other things when you don't have the use of all those things. We found ourselves reading a lot, playing games, telling stories, and just spending quality time with each other.
Being there was literally like going back in time 20 years. Yes, things definitely did take longer without all the updated technology. Just going out to dinner took an extra hour, but we just called it being on Mexico time. There were always very few tables full at the restaurants, so I am guessing most families were home having meals together. And as we walked around town, we noticed the schoolyards and the playgrounds were constantly full with kids of all ages playing even until after dark. How many of you can remember playing capture the flag or at the neighborhood park until you ran home for dinner or it was too dark too see? I'm guessing most of you. Or how many times have you wondered how we got by without our cell phones or the internet? But we did.
Believe me, I am as big of a fan as anyone of the internet, cell phones, and all the other technological advances that we all are able to enjoy everyday. I mean, I am writing a blog that can only be read on the internet. However, being in Mexico made me realize how much of our lives are spent on the computer or e-mail or on the phone or watching television. And when we got back from vacation, it was the same news in the newspapers and the internet and the same "reality" shows on tv. Oh, the outrage of The Bachelor! The lesson here is that we need to take a day from time to time to just slow down. Our society is so fast paced and we are all so "connected" that we tend to forget that life can actually exist without all of this.
Challenge yourself and/or your family to "disconnect" for one day. Turn off the tv, turn off the computer, turn off your cell phone. Don't worry, I promise that all the same e-mails, texts, voicemails, and news will still be there the next day. I think you will find how much time you will have to do other activities like taking your dog for a walk, playing games with your family, visiting a neighbor, writing an actual letter to a loved one, enjoying a family meal together, etc. All those things that we used to do everyday that we just don't have "time" to do anymore. Who knows, you might actually find that you like it and start to do it for longer periods or more often. Just make sure you check the internet occasionally for the newest post on my blog ;)
Live Well.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Importance of Vitamin D
What better time to talk about the importance of Vitamin D than in the middle of winter? So, my next couple posts are going to be about Vitamin D (deficiency, benefits, dosage, sources, etc.).
A large source of Vitamin D in humans comes from the UV rays especially UVB from the sun. In fact, you can meet the daily requirement of Vitamin D by giving your skin 15 minutes of sun exposure every day. Easy enough for those of you who are living in Florida or Arizona. But for all the rest of us who are stuck in the typical winter climate, we only have a 6-8 month window where we actually have a chance to get 15 minutes of sun per day. I don't think the sun even came out the entire month of January this year in Chicago! With this lack of sun, comes a Vitamin D deficiency.
We all know about the importance of Vitamin D and calcium with keeping our bones healthy and strong. However, more and more studies and research are coming out showing the importance of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has been thought to be linked to depression, anxiety, mental disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, autoimmune disorders such as MS, chronic pain, many cancers, fibromyalgia, asthma, and many other health related issues. In fact, there is a much greater prevalence of many of these in the northern states compared to the southern states. Just look at this eye-opening map of MS prevalence in the US (the darker the shade, the greater the prevalence of MS)...
Figure 1: Prevalence map of MS (cases/100,000) in the USA
References:
PM Rothwell, D Charlton. High incidence and prevalence of multiple sclerosis in south east Scotland: evidence of a genetic predisposition. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1998 64: 730-735.
IAF van der Mei et al. Regional variation in multiple sclerosis prevalence in Australia and its association with ambient ultraviolet radiation. Neuroepidemiology 2001 20: 168-174.
Pretty crazy, huh?
So, how many of you just feel blah during the winter months? Well, it is more common than you think and could definitely be due to a simple vitamin D deficiency. There is even something called SAD, seasonal affective disorder, which is a general depressed feeling which is more common during the winter. The good news is that even if you can't get enough sun light during the winter months, there is a way to get enough Vitamin D. Here is a good article that was published in the Chicago Sun-Times about some ways to help beat SAD.
Next time, I will review the recommended daily doses of Vitamin D compared to what you actually should be getting as well as giving you the proper test to know if you are Vitamin D deficient.
I am off to Mexico in 3 days...strictly for the benefits of Vitamin D research, of course!
Live Well.
A large source of Vitamin D in humans comes from the UV rays especially UVB from the sun. In fact, you can meet the daily requirement of Vitamin D by giving your skin 15 minutes of sun exposure every day. Easy enough for those of you who are living in Florida or Arizona. But for all the rest of us who are stuck in the typical winter climate, we only have a 6-8 month window where we actually have a chance to get 15 minutes of sun per day. I don't think the sun even came out the entire month of January this year in Chicago! With this lack of sun, comes a Vitamin D deficiency.
We all know about the importance of Vitamin D and calcium with keeping our bones healthy and strong. However, more and more studies and research are coming out showing the importance of Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has been thought to be linked to depression, anxiety, mental disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, autoimmune disorders such as MS, chronic pain, many cancers, fibromyalgia, asthma, and many other health related issues. In fact, there is a much greater prevalence of many of these in the northern states compared to the southern states. Just look at this eye-opening map of MS prevalence in the US (the darker the shade, the greater the prevalence of MS)...
Figure 1: Prevalence map of MS (cases/100,000) in the USA
References:
PM Rothwell, D Charlton. High incidence and prevalence of multiple sclerosis in south east Scotland: evidence of a genetic predisposition. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1998 64: 730-735.
IAF van der Mei et al. Regional variation in multiple sclerosis prevalence in Australia and its association with ambient ultraviolet radiation. Neuroepidemiology 2001 20: 168-174.
Pretty crazy, huh?
So, how many of you just feel blah during the winter months? Well, it is more common than you think and could definitely be due to a simple vitamin D deficiency. There is even something called SAD, seasonal affective disorder, which is a general depressed feeling which is more common during the winter. The good news is that even if you can't get enough sun light during the winter months, there is a way to get enough Vitamin D. Here is a good article that was published in the Chicago Sun-Times about some ways to help beat SAD.
Next time, I will review the recommended daily doses of Vitamin D compared to what you actually should be getting as well as giving you the proper test to know if you are Vitamin D deficient.
I am off to Mexico in 3 days...strictly for the benefits of Vitamin D research, of course!
Live Well.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Our New Office!
I am super excited to announce that we have moved into our new office! It is our 3rd and hopefully final move in just over a year. For those of you who don't know, we had a fire that destroyed our original building in November of 2007. We scrambled over night and were seeing patients in a different office the morning after the fire. It was a make shift office that we had to use for over a month while we renovated another office. In January of 2008, we moved again into the renovated office. The office was temporary, so another doctor in our practice took the opportunity to build out new office space in a nearby medical building. It was a very long process, but she did an amazing job and as of this past Monday, February 2, we are officially in our brand new office. Thanks Dr. Renee!
Our new website is not complete yet, but you can see some pictures and information at http://www.acucaretotalhealth.com/. I think you will really like the new office and will find it very welcoming and representative of the type of care and treatment you have come to expect. It will not only be a place where you enjoy coming, but it is a facility where you feel comfortable referring friends and family. I hope to see you there soon!
If you have never been to a chiropractor and want to know what to expect with your first visit, view this previous post. If you want to schedule an appointment, you can call our office at 847.888.3131.
Live Well.
Our new website is not complete yet, but you can see some pictures and information at http://www.acucaretotalhealth.com/. I think you will really like the new office and will find it very welcoming and representative of the type of care and treatment you have come to expect. It will not only be a place where you enjoy coming, but it is a facility where you feel comfortable referring friends and family. I hope to see you there soon!
If you have never been to a chiropractor and want to know what to expect with your first visit, view this previous post. If you want to schedule an appointment, you can call our office at 847.888.3131.
Live Well.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Low Back Pain? Don't Stress It.
Happy Wednesday!!
If you are like the majority of people, you will get low back pain at some point in your life. It may be due to a fall, or a car accident, or lifting something wrong. But what about those of you who have had sudden low back pain when bending over to pick up a pencil or showering or just doing your normal daily activities? What most people don't realize is how much stress plays a role in our physical health. You may realize that stress can cause anxiety, high blood pressure, or fatigue, but did you know that it can also cause pain in the body?!
Stress from work and/or personal life as well as stress from your diet can not only weaken your immune system leaving you with less defense against colds and/or infections, but it can also make you more susceptible to pain or injury. Most of us can figure out where the stress is coming from at work or in our daily lives, but what about with our diet? Well, the 4 biggest stresses of our gut through our diet are 1) coffee, 2) pop, 3) chocolate, and 4) alcohol. When our gut gets stressed, then the rest of our body gets run down and fatigued which creates an environment where we are more prone to pain.
When a patient comes to my office complaining of low back pain that just started out of the blue with no trauma or injury ("My back just went out"), I usually address their stress level and diet. Most of the time, the person admits drinking a pot of coffee per day or a 6 pack of coke a day or just got back from a weekend of drinking a lot of alcohol or all of the above. Hey, it's the American diet, right?! If I ask further about their digestion, they usually complain of constipation or diarrhea or both. In these cases, acupuncture and chiropractic manipulation is a very effective treatment at our office, but I also try to have the patient modify their diet by drinking less pop, coffee, and/or alcohol to increase their natural healing ability. The patients that do change their diet usually notice an almost immediate improvement in their symptoms.
Next time you have sudden low back pain, or any sudden pain for that matter, think about the stress in your life and diet. If you have too much of any, try to modify things so that you give your body the best chance to heal!
Live Well.
If you are like the majority of people, you will get low back pain at some point in your life. It may be due to a fall, or a car accident, or lifting something wrong. But what about those of you who have had sudden low back pain when bending over to pick up a pencil or showering or just doing your normal daily activities? What most people don't realize is how much stress plays a role in our physical health. You may realize that stress can cause anxiety, high blood pressure, or fatigue, but did you know that it can also cause pain in the body?!
Stress from work and/or personal life as well as stress from your diet can not only weaken your immune system leaving you with less defense against colds and/or infections, but it can also make you more susceptible to pain or injury. Most of us can figure out where the stress is coming from at work or in our daily lives, but what about with our diet? Well, the 4 biggest stresses of our gut through our diet are 1) coffee, 2) pop, 3) chocolate, and 4) alcohol. When our gut gets stressed, then the rest of our body gets run down and fatigued which creates an environment where we are more prone to pain.
When a patient comes to my office complaining of low back pain that just started out of the blue with no trauma or injury ("My back just went out"), I usually address their stress level and diet. Most of the time, the person admits drinking a pot of coffee per day or a 6 pack of coke a day or just got back from a weekend of drinking a lot of alcohol or all of the above. Hey, it's the American diet, right?! If I ask further about their digestion, they usually complain of constipation or diarrhea or both. In these cases, acupuncture and chiropractic manipulation is a very effective treatment at our office, but I also try to have the patient modify their diet by drinking less pop, coffee, and/or alcohol to increase their natural healing ability. The patients that do change their diet usually notice an almost immediate improvement in their symptoms.
Next time you have sudden low back pain, or any sudden pain for that matter, think about the stress in your life and diet. If you have too much of any, try to modify things so that you give your body the best chance to heal!
Live Well.
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