Will The True Chiropractic Lifestyle Please Stand Up?

In the past, I often had patients that would wait for two weeks with some sort of pain before calling me for an "urgent" adjustment.  Sometimes, that same person would ask me something like, "Doc, are there any exercises that I can do that will stop this problem?"  The other common question was, "Are there any supplements that I should be taking considering that this keeps happening to me"?

At this point, I would worry.  I'd worry that I hadn't done my job in explaining what I offer as a chiropractor.  I'd worry that if I didn't recommend a supplement or an exercise that they would go away.  Or that if I recommended a supplement or exercise and their problem didn't disappear, that the patient would figure that I didn't know what I was talking about and go somewhere else.

But where would they go?  To the chiropractor down the street who just makes sure that he recommends enough things or difficult enough things that the patient won't comply and so he can always blame the patient? "After all, Skippy, how can you expect to get better if you don't stretch 3 hours every day like I told ya' to?"

In my own life, I can see that what we are doing as a society is contrary to a logical expectation for a healthy life.  This is constantly beaten to death in the popular media, so I won't waste your eyes reading another rehashing of all the bad stuff we do.  But as I pursue my post-graduate studies in functional medicine so that I can help those with metabolic problems, immune over-reactions and various toxicity-related pathologies  and as I continue to learn about the musculoskeletal movement pattern deficiencies that lead us like a herd of buffalo into "inevitable" and "normal" arthritic states and varying levels of "stiffness of old age" so that I can reverse that process for my patients... As I study more about how to truly help my patients, with the chiropractic adjustment that resets the microcomputer that controls the body and removes communication interference and stress from the body... Well, I am dumbfound by how screwed up we really are.

I currently am almost 47 years old.  I stand six feet tall.  A few years ago, I weighed about 215 pounds. I ate pretty well, not too many snacks, high quality veggies, good protein, blah, blah blah.  I would get out and play with my kids on the weekends and do the office warrior thing during the week.  But I figured I was "one of the smart ones" who got adjusted regularly, didn't drink to excess, didn't take drugs, didn't eat a bunch of polyunsaturated fats, or avoid fruits and veggies.  I had a small dessert after every dinner, sure, but I didn't jump at a pharmaceutical or run to the MD for every little problem. Surely, I wouldn't develop serious health problems, right?

I have to say, that as I read recent news items like the one that says 1 in 3 Americans will be diabetic by 2050 I started to wonder if I was going to be that "one" after all.  Well, I am coming to the conclusion that we are more screwed up that we even know.  And it is deeper than the dessert, or the exercise, or the prescription drug. It is in the very core of our societal being.  Chiropractic absolutely has it right.  But even chiropractors can miss the big picture... after all, we are human too.  The issue is around what is tolerable, what is unhealthy, what concerns us enough to do something different.

We have all had indigestion.  We've all had a headache.  If you have one, and you take something (or not) and it goes away... No harm, no foul.  This is par for the course.  This stuff just happens.  But if it doesn't go away... Well, NOW we've gotta do something about it. And what are you going to do?  Really... what?  Go to the drug store?  See a doctor? Heaven forbid that you body should adapt and it goes back to once a week or once a month like it was before it "wouldn't go away".  And on we go... Then, you turn 45 and it starts happening once a week again and every once in a while you'll have it two days in a row.  Must be getting older, right?  Par for the course.  Now I see what my dad was always talking about...

No, it is time that we finally go back and relearn the lessons that chiropractors have been teaching us since DD Palmer  and his son BJ Palmer first developed this wonderful approach to real health.  A symptom is not an enemy, it is a signal.  Symptoms are our friends!  Unless we don't heed the message.  If you ignore a warning light in your car, you will be sorry.  We understand that.  The car may even seem to be running fine when the low oil light comes on. But if you don't add oil, you will be sorry.  Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, or next month, but you WILL BE SORRY.

The problem with our society is this dialogue about what is normal.  Stop it, folks!  It is normal for indigestion to occur when you are not digesting properly.  But just because someone downplayed it in your youth, on a commercial, on the radio, the billboard and everywhere else in our society... that doesn't mean you shouldn't do something about it.   And I don't mean to buy something, a Rolaid or a Tums.  Come on, what does the signal mean? Do you buy duct tape to cover that pesky oil light?

I am highly trained to provide biomechanical input with gentle, focused and controlled forces into a complex human machine and remove hurdles to a more complete and vigorous expression of that machines inborn capacity to function and heal. But beyond that miraculous thing we call the chiropractic adjustment, I help my patients on a path toward a chiropractic lifestyle where natural healthy expression of life is actually  achievable. You won't find that in an M.D.'s office.  When you find yourself there, you can be pretty sure that you waited too long to do something right.

Everyone needs a great chiropractor just like he needs advice from a friend.  Everyone needs a chiropractor, just like he needs a good meal and a glass of clean water.  Everyone needs a chiropractor like he needs a brisk walk every day.  Everyone needs a chiropractor like he needs a challenging puzzle, a funny story, a pleasant holiday with the family.

Our problem is that we still see not having a chiropractor, or good healthy food in rational quantities, or a lot of clean water, or frequent exercise, or intellectual challenges, or not provideing for times to relax alone or with friends and family... We see these things as an optional.

And they are... Just like diabetes. Optional.

Edward Harriott, DC
Mission Viejo Chiropractic
24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(949)360-1112
http://www.mvchiro.com

Massage Therapist Calendar Up To Date as of 8:30 pm, 11/2/10

If you care to schedule an appointment for massage, as of this evening, the online calendar represents the latest existing appointment distribution and a request for an open appointment is likely to be confirmed exactly as you request it.

I hope you can take advantage of my new LOW LOW massage and/or chiropractic rates.

See you soon,..

Thought Fructose was the Good Sugar? Think again

Dr. Harriott's Comments:  In general, a good rule of thumb is that anything real sweet is not something you want to eat a lot of.  Tone it down or turn it down... for good health. =================================== Fructose Linked to High Blood Pressure

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: July 01, 2010 Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner People who consume the amount of fructose found in two-and-a-half regular soft drinks a day appear to have a higher risk of hypertension, a cross-sectional study showed. Consumption of at least 74 grams per day was associated with 26% to 77% greater odds of crossing various thresholds of elevated blood pressure (P<0.05 for all), compared with lower levels of consumption, according to Diana Jalal, MD, of the University of Colorado Denver, and colleagues. "Limiting fructose intake is readily feasible, and, in light of our results, prospective studies are needed to assess whether decreased intake of fructose from added sugars will reduce the incidence of hypertension and the burden of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. adult population," they wrote online in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Action Points   Explain to interested patients that this cross-sectional study could not establish a causal relationship between fructose consumption and hypertension. Point out that not all previous studies exploring the link between fructose and blood pressure have identified a significant association. There has been a recent increase in the consumption of fructose in developed nations due primarily to the addition of table sugar or high fructose corn syrup to soft drinks, bakery products, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, and candies. At the same time, the prevalence of hypertension has been rising. However, epidemiological studies have yielded conflicting results as to an association between the two trends. To explore the issue, Jalal and her colleagues used data from 4,528 adults without a history of hypertension included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2006. The majority (61%) had a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg. Another 30% were prehypertensive (systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mm Hg). The rest of the participants had either stage 1 or stage 2 hypertension (6% and 2%, respectively). Fructose intake was determined through a self-administered dietary questionnaire. Consumption of natural fruits was excluded to isolate intake of added sugar. Median intake was 74 grams a day. Increasing systolic blood pressure was associated with increasing fructose intake, a trend that reached borderline statistical significance (P=0.05). After adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, physical activity, smoking, total kilocalorie intake, and dietary confounders including total carbohydrate, alcohol, salt, potassium, and vitamin C intake, as well as other factors, fructose intake of 74 grams per day or higher was associated with higher odds of elevated blood pressure at the following thresholds (P<0.05 for all): 135/85 mm Hg: OR 1.26 140/90 mm Hg: OR 1.30 160/100 mm Hg: OR 1.77 Additional analyses showed that fructose intake was associated with systolic -- but not diastolic -- blood pressure. The reason this study, and not some previous studies, found an association between fructose consumption and hypertension could be because of the high level of consumption in the current study, according to Jalal and her colleagues. In addition, some previous studies looked only at soft drink consumption or included naturally occurring fructose from fruit in their analyses. There are several possible mechanisms that might explain the positive association between fructose and blood pressure, the authors wrote, "including stimulation of uric acid, inhibition of [the] endothelial nitric oxide synthase system, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, or by directly increasing sodium absorption in the gut." The study was limited, they wrote, by the inability to establish a causal relationship between fructose and blood pressure using cross-sectional data, the reliance on self-reports, and the possibility of confounding by glucose in the foods assessed on the dietary questionnaire. The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Jalal reported no conflicts of interest. One of her co-authors is listed as an inventor on several patent applications for lowering uric acid as it relates to blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. He is also author of The Sugar Fix. Primary source: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology Source reference: Jalal D, et al "Increased fructose associates with elevated blood pressure" J Am Soc Nephrol2010; DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2009111111.

Got Colic? Here's a Natural Treatment that really helps

Probiotic Reduces Crying Time in Infants With Colic
/www.Medscape.com

June 17, 2010 (Stockholm, Sweden) — One week of supplementation with the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis reduced crying time in colicky babies by 74%, compared with 38% with placebo, according to a double-blind study presented here at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition in Istanbul, Turkey.

"The data with L reuteri are convincing and confirm, in a placebo-controlled study, our earlier data with this probiotic [Pediatrics. 2007;119:e124-e130]. We believe these results will have an impact on the treatment of infants with colic," study presenter Francesco Savino, MD, PhD, from the Department of Paediatrics, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, University of Turin, Italy, noted in a statement issued by Swedish biotechnology firm BioGaia AB, the developer and marketer of the probiotic.

In the study, 50 infants with confirmed infantile colic were randomly assigned to L reuteri Protectis (5 drops, 108 colony forming units/day) or placebo drops for 21 consecutive days. The primary outcome was a reduction (by day 21) in average crying time to less than 3 hours per day, which is the limit of colic, Dr. Savino noted.

With L reuteri, "we saw improvement after 1 week, and at the end of the study there really was a significant effect," he told conference attendees. In addition, 84% of the L reuteri–supplemented infants reached the primary outcome by day 21, compared with 43% of infants in the placebo group (P < .05), he reported.

At baseline, median crying time per day was 370 minutes in the probiotic group and 300 minutes in the placebo group. On day 7, crying time had been reduced to 95 minutes in the L reuteri group and to 185 minutes in the placebo group (P = .082).

At the study's end (day 21), there was a significant difference in median daily crying time between the groups; it was 35 minutes in the L reuteri group and 90 minutes in the placebo group (P < .05), Dr. Savino reported.

He also noted that on days 7, 14, and 21, the proportion of infants responding to the supplementation, defined as a 50% or greater reduction in median crying time, was significantly greater in the probiotic group than in the placebo group.

In an email to Medscape Gastroenterology, Eamonn Connolly, PhD, senior vice president of research for BioGaia, in Stockholm, Sweden, said complete data from the study are scheduled to be published in a medical journal shortly.

Mechanism of Action Not Clearly Established

The effects of L reuteri noted in the study "could be due to a change in the intestinal commensal bacteria," Flavia Indrio, MD, PhD, who has studied the gastrointestinal effects of probiotics extensively, noted in an email to Medscape Gastroenterology. Dr. Indrio is a pediatric gastroenterologist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Bari in Italy, and was not involved in this study.

"The crying infant who received L reuteri showed a reduction in Escherichia coli in the intestinal microflora, compared with the infant treated with placebo," said Dr. Indrio.

She added that "the target of the L reuteri action could be the intestinal motility pattern, as shown in the study published by me and my coworker in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2008. Another study is running in newborns to confirm this effect."

"Definitely, treatment with probiotics could open a new therapeutic approach in some gastrointestinal diseases," Dr. Indrio concluded.

The study was sponsored by BioGaia, which develops and markets probiotic products. Dr. Savino reports being an independent investigator with no relationship with BioGaia. Dr. Indrio has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. Presented June 10, 2010.

Do you WANT IT? Then, PROVE IT!

Dr. Harriott's Comments:

Dr. Regina Benjamin is currently the Attorney General of the United States. She just announced a new initiative called, "Exercise is Medicine". Nice try Dr. Benjamin, but the problem is that we want people to exercise MORE and take Medicine LESS, right? In what universe can you then say that they can be seen similarly? And how are they similar?

Is everyone ready for the answer? - pause - pause pause.....

The answer is that the powers that be want us to continue to see Medicine as Healthy. This is a transparent effort to shift the population to a healthy lifestyle (because medicine is making our society sicker) while shizophrenically hoping that we will retain our faith in Medicine as a reasonable approach to health.  Pardon my stating the obvious here -

Medicine is NOT HEALTHY..., no, not by a long shot.

Medicine is about sickness, pathology, pain, weakness, inability to function well enough to heal from or prevent illness or injury, or about just being overcome by a traumatic injury or an invading organism your immune system was unable to repel. In adverse functional states like this, at this level of  a loss of health... this is when you might reach for medication to give yourself a helping hand. But ultimately, it is still up to you and your body to restore your health, because I guarantee you,  medicine will NOT create or restore health.

At best, medicine gives your body a temporary "unfair advantage". In most cases, it gives you a crutch so you don't have to heal if you aren't willing to make the changes necessary.  At it's worst, medicine will KILL you.

You see, that "advantage" that medicine gives a person comes at a cost in other aspects of our physiology.  The costs vary from medicine to medicine, disease to disease, person to person, heck, even day to day......   Sometimes the costs are reasonable, sometimes they are not. Most of the time, we can't predict. But this is our health care business...This is our system... Convince the population that you will be there for them, so live your life without worry or concern.  Then, once the person gets sick, he's all alone now. The health team players all dance and behave as though the King Medicine actually is wearing the most amazing clothes and that if you can't see it, well, clearly the problem is with you.

Too late, too sick, too unhealthy, too far gone,...

too bad     :(

Exercise, Good Nutrition, Positive Mental Attitude, a good hug once in a while, a regular adjustment... That is  HEALTH, my friends!!!!!


So, Ms. Attorney General, Dr. Regina Benjamin... let's just leave medicine where it belongs, in the hospitals, the pharmacies and the MD's offices. Please don't associate Medicine with anything healthy because it is confusing.  Dump the "Medicine is Health" program name.  Rename the campaign to something like

Exercise the Health Out of Yourself!!!

or how about a slogan like...

Health IS Exercise
Do you Really Want Health?
Then Prove It....

• Exercise Daily

• Eat well... lots of veggies, less meat, smaller portion sizes on maximum 9 inch plate

• Get enough sleep

• Get adjusted regularly.  A chiropractic adjustment helps to re-boot your awareness of your physical status, your position in space, and allows your brain to re-evaluate it's functional strategies toward emotional stress, movement, posture, healing, gravity, and physical limitations.

• Have fun... do this well and often.

Dr. Harriott

Maps Listings II

I have just added link files to my website for my Google Maps listings to help people find me when they search on Google... You needn't click these now. If you want to see the listing, go to
http://tinyurl.com/2eczcyt


These are the actual links to the files:

Mission Viejo Chiropractor

Mission Viejo Chiropractor

Maps Listing

I have just added link files to my website for my Google Maps listings to help people find me when they search on Google... You needn't click these now. If you want to see the listing, go to
http://tinyurl.com/2eczcyt


These are the actual links to the files:

Mission Viejo Chiropractic

Mission Viejo Chiropractic