Jun 25

Low Vitamin D Levels?

By Body

Low Vitamin D Levels

During your most recent physical you may have been told that your vitamins D levels were too low. If you happened to mention it to you friend there is a good chance they may have had a similar experience. So why all of a sudden do we have a nation of Vitamin D deficient people? In truth what has actually happened is that physicians have begun to test for it as a normal screening process and finding that indeed many people do have lower than acceptable levels.

These lower levels are a result of gallons of sunscreen, limited exposure to the sun, dark skin and/or limiting your consumption of the foods that contain Vitamin D. We have consistently been warned about the negative effects of the sun and have dutifully slathered our children and ourselves with sunscreen to prevent skin cancer. Despite its effectiveness it has also had some negative drawbacks. Vitamin D is one of the fat-soluble vitamins, which means that it is stored in our fat cells and released when it is needed. The sun is unfortunately one of our best sources for this vitamin, which is integral to many bodily processes.

Normal Levels of Vitamin D contribute to:

  • Decreased risk of fracture due to osteopenia or osteoporosis
  • Decreased dental cavities
  • Reduced incidence of heart disease and diabetes
  • Decreased levels of C-reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation in our body. High levels of C-reactive protein increase the chance that we will develop a disease.
  • Prevention and treatment of depression
  • Reduced risk of allergies especially in adolescents and children
  • Regulating cholesterol levels in the blood

Foods such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna, shitake mushrooms, egg yolk, milk, cheese and yogurt contain vitamin D but studies show that in general you’d have to eat an uncomfortable amount to fulfill all of your daily Vitamin D requirements. Since Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin in order to achieve maximal absorption I recommend that you take it with whatever meal contains the largest amount of fat.

The amount of Vitamin D you need daily is dependent on how deficient you are. In general a minimum of a 1000 IU/day for children and 1,500 to 2000 IU/day for adults if your blood levels are normal. If you are deficient you doctor may put you on a prescription of 50,000 for eight weeks prior to putting you on a maintenance dose. Having a blood test and talking with your physician is the best way to determine your specific needs. On your next physical make sure to have you Vitamin D levels assessed so that can ensure you are taking the proper amount.

Feb 04

What’s All The Fuss About Wheat?

By Body

What's the Fuss About Wheat?Everyday at least 2 and sometimes as many as 10 people will ask about the effects that wheat may or may not be having on their health. Wheat is one of the most prolific and over used ingredient on our planet. It is estimated that 4 out of 10 people have wheat sensitivity. So why has this seemingly benign plant that has sustained generations of humans suddenly the bad guy?

In order to get the full flavor we have to take a look at the history of wheat in our culture. When I was growing up you could drive through farm country anywhere and see miles of four-foot high amber waves of grain flowing in breeze. Today they are whopping 18 inches high. This is due to the immense genetic changes that wheat has undergone in the last fifty years.

Wheat has been genetically modified, hybridized, cross-bred and introgressed to make the wheat plant resistant to environmental conditions such as drought, diseases and fungi. All of the changes have been beneficial in terms of the increase in yield from each acre and there is a significant reduction in diseases affecting the plant. Each acre now yields about ten times the yield of the same acre in the past, which has been very benefit to developing countries with limited available land for farming.

Scientists were so intent on increasing the yield of a crop that there were no animal or human safety tests conducted or required on the new strains that were created. After all it looked, performed and tasted just like wheat and that seemed to be enough. The problem is that each time a new modification of wheat occurred 95 % of the protein expressed in the offspring were the same but 5% were unique and not found in either of the genetic offspring. Our body does not recognize these unique proteins and see them as foreign invaders. Small changes in the structure of wheat will lead to a significant immune response to wheat protein for some and for others no response at all which is what creates part of the confusion. Your response depends on your genetic make up, sensitivity and the strength of your immune system to respond.

Wheat is also found in foods that you wouldn’t even consider which further magnifies our exposure to these protein molecules. It is found in salad dressings, canned and commercially prepared soups, instant drinks, condiments such as soy sauce, Worchester sauce, teriyaki and horseradish sauce and ketchup. Additionally it is found in dips, gravy mixes, luncheon and prepared meat patties, beer as well as synthetic and imitation chesses. This is not to mention the cakes, pastas, cereals and breads that we expect to contain wheat. So you can see wheat is everywhere and our bodies constantly have to deal with the bombardment of these protein molecules and some of use deal with it better than others.

Wheat sensitivity can present in many ways other than the traditional bloating, flatulence and bowel irritability that we commonly associate with food sensitivity responses. Wheat sensitivity causes an inflammatory response, which in turn lends itself to rashes, joint pain, asthmas symptoms, migraines, lethargy, cloudy thinking, sleep disturbances and many other symptoms.

Consider trying an experiment with yourself and eliminate wheat from your diet for two weeks. If you have sensitivity to wheat you should be able to see a difference in that period of time. In order for it to be a viable experiment you will need to eliminate all wheat from your diet, which necessitates reading labels and avoiding many processed foods.

For a more in depth understanding of wheat and its effects consider reading Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by cardiologist Dr. William Davis. It is an easy read and very informative. For you convenience you can click the link above or you can find it on my website gibsonchiropracticclinic.com and click on the recommended reading tab.

Jan 09

Create Success in the New Year

By Spirit

Success in the New Year

Millions of people all over the world will have begun their new years resolutions on new years day. Statistically most will have failed by the second week of February. Certainly all have good intentions of actually achieving their goal when they begin but we humans are funny creatures in that were not big on “have to’s”. The word resolution is a “have to” all by it self. It is a resolve, firmness and a rigid determination. Most resolutions also involve some kind of loss and as humans we are not really big on that either.

Think about it for a minute. The three biggest resolutions entertained every year are loosing weight, quitting smoking and getting organized. Loosing weight almost always involves a loss of certain favorite foods and decreased portions sizes. Quitting smoking involves having to give up ritual, nicotine and for some an old friend. Organization at first glance may not seem like a loss and despite being helpful on many levels a certain amount of freedom is given up in that to stay organized we now must conform to new organizational guidelines forcing us to give up our precious piles.

I am not advising that you don’t set intentions for your new year but I am going to give you some suggestions that just may make those goals a reality long after February. First, think about one area in your life that you may want to make a change. After all we wear a lot of hats in our life. We are son and daughters, mothers and fathers, workers, partners, spiritual beings, dreamers, physical beings any many more. Pick just one aspect of your multifaceted life to improve that will make a positive change in your life.

Secondly, try to find a way that you can develop a habit for the thing you want to change. Developing a habit will lead to a ritual enabling you to be successful in whatever goal your trying to achieve. In this way you are adding to instead of detracting from and not experiencing loss. For example a good friend of mine wanted to achieve a closer relationship with his wife. They both lead extremely busy successful lives, which often leaves not enough down time together and it was his goal to make more time for them. Prior to this intention he would get up about an hour before his wife, have coffee, read his email and skim the paper. Later she would arise get dressed and they would say their goodbyes and dive into their day.

He didn’t want to give up his “me time” and decided he would continue to get up earlier than his wife, read email and the paper but decided to make his wife a cappuccino just the way she liked it and take it to her in bed and spend time talking and drinking coffee with her before they got started with their day. The first time he did this she was surprised and slightly skeptical but very soon became attached and looked forward to their “special time” each morning. He started that habit last year and it is still going strong, as is their relationship.

Last year I wanted to find more time to write. I was one of those people who wouldn’t get started on a project unless I had a big block of time, which of course rarely happened. Then I was introduced to this technique where you attempt to do projects in 25-minute intervals then rest for five minutes and continuing with as many of the 25-minute segments as time allowed for. This resulted in much more writing time and added to instead of detracting from my day. Subsequently, I have successfully used this technique for all kinds of projects.

Last of all make your intentions a life style change and don’t try to change your whole life at once. It is said that it takes three weeks to make a habit and three months to make a life style change. If you can create passion in what you are trying to change you will develop significantly more compassion for yourself and inevitably have more success than failure. It is equally important to acknowledge each success that you have no matter how small it may seem. Each success is movement in a positive direction. For example if decreasing you weight is your intention focus on the fact that you are healthier, lighter and feeling better not the fact that you didn’t loose exactly 15 pounds by February.

No matter what you are creating in this New Year I wish you abundant success and a happy prosperous, loving new year.