Sweeteners That Steal Your Quality Of Life

What the Average Consumer Needs to Know About Artificial Sweeteners

In light of the obesity epidemic of recent decades, it is clear our sugar intake has increased drastically, including our intake of artificial sweeteners.

  

There are many who believe that artificial sweeteners are the solution to our obesity epidemic, but are they really a lesser evil? Did you know that aspartame was initially developed as a medical treatment for stomach ulcers? This means your tabletop sweetener or that can of diet coke you've just consumed was originally intended to be a prescription drug.

  

Aspartame and saccharine are the most common artificial sweeteners encountered on a daily basis, and they can usually be found in your breakfast cereal, diet sodas, tabletop sweeteners and more. While they may well be low in calories, what is the price you pay for the alternative? Medical studies have indicated a possible connection between aspartame and migraines, and headaches. Sucralose, an active compound in many commercial sweeteners on the market, has also recently been found to trigger migraines.

  

Depression can also manifest from the consumption of artificial sweeteners. Regular dosages of aspartame have been found to decrease serotonin levels, which is the main cause of depression in the brains of mice. Individuals suffering from mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, are advised against the regular consumption of artificial sweeteners, since they are more sensitive to the adverse effects of aspartame.

  

There have been numerous studies and discussions about the carcinogenic properties of artificial sweeteners. Whether aspartame or saccharine causes cancer is the subject of much debate, with numerous studies yielding inconclusive results. One Argentinean study cites aspartame usage as the main cause of urinary tract tumors. Others suggest the FDA re-evaluate their position on the safety of aspartame in light of recent studies on animals, linking cancer risks to artificial sweetener consumption.

  

Additional health risks may be caused by the consumption of artificial sweeteners. One possibility is that the long-term intake of aspartame may impair the liver's antioxidant status and could lead to liver injury.

  

Those suffering from fibromyalgia should also be cautious with their aspartame intake, since it may induce a curable but chronic pain.

  

Many switch over to artificial sweeteners for weight loss purposes. However it may be the sweeteners themselves that contribute to obesity. With the rise of the obesity epidemic correlating with the use of artificial sweeteners, studies have been conducted to ascertain whether there is a link. Some theories postulate that sweeteners such as aspartame induce hunger cravings, causing people to eat more and therefore gain weight, however, some results thus far have been inconclusive.

  

  

 

How Safe is Your Omega 3 and Fish Oil?

Where Does Mercury Come From Today?

One of the greatest sources of human mercury exposure today is from the consumption of fish, although some plants and animals also contain some mercury due to bioaccumulation of mercury from the soil, water, and air.  Fish contain mercury because the waters in which they swim in (i.e., our oceans, lakes, and streams have become polluted with mercury and other contaminates from common industrial processes, like coal plants and gold mining, and natural earth processes, like volcanoes. This mercury and pollutants (demonstrated in the drawing below) become deposited in the fish, with larger fish containing more, simply due to their ingestion of smaller fish that also contain mercury.

In addition, pregnant women and young children in America are advised to avoid eating fish with the highest level of mercury contamination we commonly eat, which include shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and albacore tuna.

 

The table at the bottom shows which fish are high, moderate, and low in mercury so you can make the best choices for your health.  The demonstration on the right shows the food chain affect of why some fish contain more mercury than others. Choose low-mercury fish and shellfish most often.

Did you know that Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of fat that your body cannot make on its own and, therefore, must obtain from food? This makes these fats "essential" and a mandatory item that we need to eat in our diets almost daily.
Omega-3 fatty acids are composed of EPA, DHA, & ALA. Brains lacking DHA are more likely to be prone to depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. ADHD is also associated with low blood EPA and DHA, while depression can be reduced with EPA + DHA treatment.  Also, people with mild Alzheimer's disease given EPA + DHA supplements have been shown to have improved cognitive scores after 6 months of treatment.

Remember, beginning from the day you were conceived, your body accumulated DHA and EPA in your central nervous system cell membranes because of their importance for normal brain, eye, muscle, and nerve functioning.

Decreased Inflammation Scientists are now discovering that almost every major disease that inflicts modern day society is related to increased inflammation. Enhanced inflammatory processes are usually found from heart disease, to cancer, to diabetes, to Crohn's disease, to pancreatitis.   

 

Omega-3 DHA is required to produce one member of a family of compounds called resolvins that participate in the body's response to inflammation. The DHA-derived resolving, in particular, helps to reduce inflammation brought about by ischemic insults (reductions in blood flow).  EPA also helps to temper inflammatory responses by decreasing production of pro-inflammatory compounds such as cytokines. In most diseases, cytokines are a major issue that underlies the damaging processes in the body. As such, EPA is also beneficial.  

 

Even though omega-3s, specifically EPA and DHA, are incredibly beneficial for your health, your doctor's recommendations to take fish oil and eat more fish as a solution may not be in your best interests. This is because of contamination issues that you can't see, smell, or taste, but still has detrimental effects against your health.  (Disclaimer: We are not your physician nor are we providing medical advice. This is simply a reminder, it is your RIGHT to ask for further information from your doctor when they recommend any drug or supplement. Always follow your doctor's recommendations.)

 

 When you were a kid, your parents probably told you that fish was "brain food" and you probably didn't really comprehend what this meant, until now. Fish is considered healthy for our brains because it contains our star omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA, which (as you learned above) are important for disease prevention, brain development, memory, and prevention of neurocognitive disorders, like Alzheimer's disease.  However, lately we're learning that some fish, and too much of these fish, may actually be harmful to our brains.

 

Government health agencies, including the American Heart Association, do recommend that fish be eaten twice per week to supply your body with essential omega-3 fatty acids. However, it makes this recommendation with a qualifying statement:"Some types of fish may contain high levels of mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls),dioxins and other environmental contaminants. Levels of these substances are generally highest in older, larger predatory fish and marine mammals."

Have you ever heard of the term "Mad as a Hatter?"  Previously,  this was the main cause of mercury poisoning as  the phrase referred to the severe brain and nervous system damage that occurred in workers who made felt top hats. These men and women became mentally ill and were often given the label, "mad," as in "crazy." The cause...mercury poisoning. Thankfully mercury is not used in the process anymore, but it still has the same effects in our bodies, albeit from other sources.    

Excerpts & charts from: What Your Doctor Never Told You About Fish Oil; Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD, CSCS and Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS 
                                               [You may need to adjust your zoom feature to read this chart]

 

 

 

There Is A Cure for Belly Fat!

You can drop 4 to 9 lbs. a week without dieting!  

Click forThe Belly Fat Cure Book

For years, experts have told you that you're overweight because you eat too much and don't exercise enough. They were wrong. The truth is that you are eating foods packed with hidden sweeteners that deliver a belly-fattening Sugar/Carb Value.  

This simple guide makes smart eating effortless and affordable. It includes more than 1,500 options customized for: carboholics, meat lovers, chicken and seafood fans, chocoholics, fast-food junkies, and even vegans! What are you waiting for? Dig in. That is just what Robin did...see her  testimony below.
 

Hi, my name is Robin, and I have been struggling with my weight for some time now. My schedule with children who are involved in many activities has made many diets almost impossible to do. Dr. Kathi knew my plight and suggested the book, The Belly Fat Cure, by Jorge Cruise. I bought the book and many things changed in my life.  My eyes were opened to the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in foods that advertized "fat free" and organic. No wonder people are overweight. It started to really upset me and I decided to make a change in my life.

Two ingredients were sabotaging my efforts
I saw that there was sugar in almost all the foods I was eating and carbohydrates are in everything as well. These two ingredients were sabotaging not only my efforts to lose weight, but they were sabotaging my immune system. Until recently, every bug and virus my children brought home, I would most certainly catch. I would be just as ill as they were. For example, last month my son was very sick with a high fever; however, while I have been on the Belly Fat Cure, unbelievable to me I didn't get sick!    

  

I have lost 12 pounds so far and in all the right places One question I ask myself each time I feel the need to get a food that I don't need is "Are you hungry?" The answer every time on this diet has been "No!"

It is not easy to change your thinking or the way you eat...but it has some really neat side affects such as:  

• I feel better and I have more energy - as Dr. Kathi can attest to - my energy levels have been low for many years.
• I have lost a couple of nuisances that actually surprised me. I was waking up every day with congestion and a cough which has completely disappeared.
• My nose would also run when I was cycling and these past two cycling classes I noticed I did not need my tissue.    

The book is simple to follow and it has fit nicely with my schedule. I am sure my insides are screaming a big "thank you" for making this change. I am shouting a huge "THANK YOU" to Dr. Kathi and Jorge Cruise for turning my life upside... in the right direction!

 

Pregnancy & Chiropractic

During pregnancy, most women experience a number of neuromuscular and biochemical problems which respond favorably to gentle, safe, noninvasive chiropractic care.  

 

The neuromuscular and biochemical problems include the release of the hormone relaxin which causes muscle and ligament relaxation, allowing joints to more easily misalign,

increased weight gain, increased demand and fatigue on spinal and pelvic muscles; increased stress on spinal and pelvic ligaments; increase in lumbar and thoracic spinal curves which further increases the above; increased joint stress and occurrence of vertebral and sacroiliac joint misalignments; change in weight distribution; increased demand and fatigue on spinal and pelvic muscles; increased stress on spinal and pelvic ligaments; increase in lumbar and thoracic spinal curves which further increase the above; increased joint stress and thus occurrence of vertebral and sacroiliac joint misalignments.

 

The above changes primarily affect the pelvic and spinal ligaments, muscles, joints, and other supportive soft tissues.  

 

These changes cause sprain/strains of pelvic and spinal structures, as well as alteration of the normal spinal curvatures and spinal biomechanics. The result is an increased stress on the body leading to pain and discomfort.

 

Health By Hands Wellness Center can alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms arising from the muscular, ligamentous, and biomechanical stresses encountered during pregnancy. 
We accomplish this through the use of a number of highly specialized procedures and techniques such as:

 

Gentle Spinal Adjustive Procedures - specifically designed for use in the pregnant female assist in maintaining a spine free from vertebral misalignments and fixations - optimizing spinal biomechanics keep pelvis and spine in correct position/posture and assist in pain relief by (1) reflexively reducing pain levels, and (2) reducing spinal and pelvic stresses which produce soft tissue pain keep tissues and biomechanics functioning optimally to minimize complications during birth.    

 

Therapeutic Exercises and Stretches safe for use during pregnancy keep spinal musculature strong, balanced, and pain-free, enable spinal muscles to maintain the spine and body in a neutral, correct posture, and keep mom active and mobile.

  

Soft Tissue Work massage, trigger point work, soft tissue mobilization, etc., keep muscles relaxed and flexible, reduces bouts of muscle aches and pains, and reduces spinal stress. 

 

Dietary and Nutritional Counseling unique to the pregnant mother, prevent neural tube and other birth defects, increase the chances for a healthy baby, assist the mother in maintaining optimal energy levels, keeping  mother happy and healthy during stressful periods. 

 

 

Discover WHY It's Important To Visit Your Chiropractor As Soon As Possible After an Accident...Even If You Don't Think You've Been Hurt

Shortening the Road to Recovery After an Automobile Injury

                                                                   

It's a great success story that most of us probably haven't heard very much about. America's roads have become far safer across the past 20 years. By just about any measure, travelers are much less likely to be injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident than they were in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Fast FactsMotor vehicle accidents by the numbers

• Vehicle miles driven: Americans traveled 2,172 billion miles in 1991 and 2,979 billion miles in 2009. That's a 37% increase.
• Motor vehicle accidents: during the same 1991-2009 period, the number of accidents on U.S. roads actually decreased by 10%, dropping from 6,117,000 to 5,505,000. So even though we're traveling more miles, we're having fewer accidents.
• Occupant fatalities: the number of motor vehicle occupants killed in accidents during 1991 was 31,934. That number declined by 23% to 24,474 in 2009. The fatality rate per 1,000 accidents dropped from 5.2 to 4.4 persons. That means that when we do have an accident, it's become less likely that someone traveling in the vehicle will be killed.
• Occupant injuries: the statistics show an even more positive trend with respect to injuries. The number of occupants injured in accidents fell 29% from 2,850,000 in 1991 to 2,011,000 in 2009. The injury rate per 1,000 accidents declined from 465.9 persons to 365.3. Simply put, our motor vehicle accidents seem to be injuring fewer drivers and passengers when they do occur.

It's likely that this general trend toward safer roads is being driven by a combination of factors. It could be the way we're driving that's producing fewer, less serious crashes. It could be the way our roads are designed, maintained or policed. It could also be the active and passive safety features now included in many of our vehicles. But whatever the reasons, we can all agree that this is good (if under-reported) news for our nation's travelers.

As encouraging as this trend is, it obviously means little to you if you or someone you care about is actually injured in a car accident. Even in cases where drivers and passengers walk away from a wreck believing they're "uninjured", accidents can have profound, long-lasting health consequences for those involved. It's not uncommon for some types of symptoms to appear only gradually days or weeks after the event itself, delaying effective diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms may also come and go intermittently, making it more difficult to associate them with the accident.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to safeguard your health and improve your chances of a more rapid, complete recovery following an auto accident. Clinical studies have demonstrated that chiropractic care can shorten recovery time and decrease the amount of permanent physical damage sustained in a collision.

Take Care of First Things First

Always address any life-threatening injuries first. If you experience (or have reason to suspect) significant bleeding or bruising, broken bones, internal pain, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, or shock, you should seek immediate help from healthcare professionals who specialize in treating trauma injuries.

Recognize Signs that You May Be at Increased Risk of Developing Chronic Problems. Be sure to tell your doctor if any of the following warning signs apply:

• A prior history of back, neck or shoulder problems (including previous injury).
• Distinct numbness, tingling or pain immediately following an accident.
• Increased muscle tension or reduced range of motion after the crash.
• You were involved in a rear-end collision.
• Your head was turned at the moment of impact.
• You have symptoms that don't resolve or that become generalized.

Visit your Chiropractor as Soon as Possible After an Accident. Do this even if you don't think you've been hurt very badly. Research has shown that early intervention in the form of chiropractic adjustment, massage and supervised exercise and stretching programs can make a big difference in longer-term function.

Stay Active. Activity encourages blood flow to the injured area and promotes healing. It also helps prevent or reduce scar tissue formation and maintain range of motion.

Strengthen the Affected Area(s) as Directed by your Chiropractor. Exercise and stretching programs are designed to help prevent future injuries and are an important part of a balanced treatment plan.An auto accident can affect your health (and your lifestyle) for years if you don't receive the proper treatment. So if you or someone you care about has been injured in a collision, please call our office and make an appointment today. Chiropractic care and our effective therapies can help put your recovery in the fast lane!

More information regarding auto accident treatments go to www.healthbyhandswelllness.com click here!

What You Should Know About Orthotics and How Good Spinal Health Starts with Your Feet!

Straight Talk About Foot Orthotics

Improving the quality of life for millions of people

    

Good spinal health is built from the ground up, starting with the feet. For years medical researchers and healthcare providers have recognized that problems there can cause posture changes that eventually trigger a variety of musculoskeletal issues in other parts of the body (particularly the ankle, knee, hip and back). Studies have also shown that even slight foot problems can negatively affect athletes' performance and predispose them to a broad range of sports-related injuries.

 

What Are Orthotics and How Can They Help?

Orthotics are shoe inserts that are specially designed and manufactured to correct an abnormal or irregular walking pattern by promoting proper alignment and balance. They've improved the quality of life for millions of people, and it's become very common for physicians to recommend them to address many different patient needs:

• Reducing pain and/or fatigue
• Providing targeted foot support
• Relieving pressure or stress on an injured or sensitive area
• Preventing or limiting deformity
• Improving foot positioning and function
• Restoring balance
• Reinforcing or supplementing other therapies (particularly chiropractic adjustments)

Foot orthotics are medical devices that can significantly change the way a person stands, walks and runs (and therefore the way his or her body absorbs and distributes related forces). For this reason, it's important that the person wearing them clearly understand their benefits, risks and limitations. It's also important that the person use them correctly.

 

What Every Patient Should Know About Orthotics

1. There is no "one-size-fits-all" answer when it comes to orthotics. What works for another family member or neighbor will probably not work for you. Getting the right prescription for your particular needs is all about working effectively with your healthcare provider to define your own goals and develop a complete understanding of your foot's unique structure and function. For instance, orthotics can be very sport-specific as the performance requirements of a hiker will not be the same as those of a skier or a football player.   
2. Not all orthotics are created equal, and the differences matter. The prefabricated orthotics that can be purchased at shoe stores, pharmacies, and sporting goods stores are not the same as the custom orthotics prescribed by Health By Hands. Do not confuse them! Mass-produced products are tailored for the "typical" foot and are unlikely to address problems specific to any one individual's foot. In some situations, such products can actually make a medical condition worse, cause new problems or increase the risk of injury. So while they're usually less expensive than custom orthotics, they may not actually solve your particular problem.             
3. Orthotics do not actually correct foot or ankle problems. They are intended to realign the structures of the foot to improve function, reduce pain and decrease the risk of injury.        
4. Needs can change over time and your orthotics should too. The structure and function of the foot can change as people age. So too can people's lifestyle and priorities.  Health By Hands can work with you to ensure that your prescription is still the right one for you.        
5. Long-term use of orthotics may pose its own risks. Any time that you provide outside help to the structures normally responsible for supporting and moving parts of your body (casts or braces are good examples), you are essentially asking them to do less. And if you provide that help over a sufficiently extended period, you run the risk that your bones, muscles and connective tissues may become weaker as a result. The unintended consequence is that you may actually become less capable and more reliant on your devices to do the work your body used to do.  Dr. Kathi will talk with you about how to use your orthotics correctly and manage any long-term risk that she believes may exist.      
6. Prescribing orthotics is arguably as much an art as a science. Don't underestimate the role of professional judgment in prescribing orthotics. Experts acknowledge that there are few widely-accepted standards and that we can't always predict successfully how an individual will respond to a particular prescription. In fact, recent research has demonstrated that individuals with the same condition can respond very differently to identical orthotic therapy. There's even evidence that the same patient can respond to a prescription inconsistently or can respond just as favorably to two entirely different (even contrary) prescriptions. This means that some trial and error may be necessary to get the results both you and your healthcare provider are looking for and that good communication is critical. Without accurate and timely feedback from you about how well your orthotics are doing their job, it's impossible for your healthcare provider to make the adjustments that will eventually lead to success.

How Health By Hands Can Help   

There is a close relationship between the way your feet work and the way the rest of your musculoskeletal system supports your body. So even if your feet themselves don't actually hurt, they could be contributing to other health problems that you are  experiencing. At Health By Hands we can examine you carefully, evaluate your situation, and help you decide whether foot orthotics should be part of your broader treatment plan. Call our office 817-930-0600 today to learn more!