Phillips Chiropractic

Chiropractors, like Dr. Phillips, are committed to making sure their patients know the importance of drinking plenty of water daily. The chant is “Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!” For humans to survive, they need air and water (in that order). So, it would seem that drinking enough water would be as visceral as breathing in enough air, but a surprising 75 percent of individuals in this country have mild, constant dehydration. (Most people are not breathing enough either, but one issue at a time.) You you cannot maintain or regain good health without drinking an adequate amount of water. Drinking plenty of water benefits every cell, tissue, and organ in your body and maintains the proper function of every system. Your saliva, and the fluids surrounding your joints, are primarily water. Water balances the temperature and metabolism of the body, and keeps the blood circulating. Drinking plenty of water daily has been shown to improve nutrient absorption and toxin removal, and to reduce heartburn, hypertension, exhaustion, headaches, and even back pain.

When it comes to conditions created by dehydration, athletes are especially at risk. Researcher, Susan Yeargin, assistant professor of athletic training in Indiana State’s College of Nursing, health, and Human Services, said of athletes,”Physiologically, their core body temperature could be higher than it should have been if they were hydrated. Their heart rate will be higher, and they’re going to perceive that they’re working harder than they actually are.”  According to researchers at Indiana State University, a high percentage of collegiate and professional athletes begin the season dehydrated, putting their health at risk even before they begin strenuous workouts. In fact, Pre-season physical examinations, in fact, found that 80 percent of football players exhibited dehydration.

Confused about how much water is enough water? Chiropractors, like most health care professionals, advise no less than eight, 8-ounce glasses of water daily for quite a few of our patients, but for our patients who are athletes, or for individuals who carry around excess weight or exercise or work where it’s hot, we recommend even more. How can you find out if you, personally, are drinking an adequate amount of water? The color of your urine is a good gauge. If it is a light, pale yellow, it’s evidence that you’re well-hydrated!

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Balanced Choices Are Keys to Good Health and Longevity

Dr. Jamie Phillips

Last week I saw an article on sciencedaily.com how caffeine reversed memory loss in aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The article began with the angle that “Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup.”  It went on to report on back-to-back studies published online July 6 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that demonstrated that caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice that had developed symptoms of the disease.

However, before you decide to add an extra cup of coffee to your daily intake, let me, Dr. Jamie Phillips add that also on the website, under “Related Stories,” were at least two articles regarding studies that professed to prove the not-so-healthy effects of caffeine, “Morning Jolt of Caffeine May Mask Serious Sleep Problems,” and “Coffee Consumption Linked To Increased Risk Of Heart Attack For Persons With Certain Gene Variation.”

Nearly any point of view, I’ve noticed, particularly when it has to do with age-related health issues, can be confirmed, or at least given credence, by other related studies. The “good/bad” studies related to caffeine naturally aren’t, of course, the only ones. Even so, it did get me to thinking about the probability that there will not ever be just “one thing” that will with absolute certainty help we, humans, to live longer, healthier lives. We are dynamic, biological creatures. We aren’t raised in unnatural confinement We are free to participate in life. And, let’s face it, though Alzheimer’s disease is likely on the rise, obviously we, cage-free humans, have not been “artificially induced to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease,” therefore caffeine isn’t entirely the “one thing” that is going to reverse or prevent it.

Our body is an elegant, complex system that is based on homeostasis, that is to say, balance. Consequently good health is about a healthy, balanced approach to living, as opposed to our being briefly convinced by the latest health study and “doing” or “overdoing” one specific thing under the illusion that it will reverse all of the other over-indulgent and harmful things we have done to our bodies.

I believe, as a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, that every single day we have an opportunity to make decisions that will assist us to live longer, healthier lives, healthy choices for our body and mind. We know what actually “feels” life enriching and what doesn’t when it comes to what is good for our body. So, I just wanted to pass along a little something for you to keep in mind the next time you consider having that extra cup of coffee or second glass of red wine. Neither one of those things is the “one thing” that will do “everything” for your age-related health issues.

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At one time or another, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) impacts and estimated 90% of women and nearly 20% of those women afflicted experience severe to debilitating symptoms. Telling a woman that her PMS is “just in her head” can be not only just plain hazardous, it’s also just plain non-factual! There are physiological causes of PMS in most cases, including one that you might find surprising — spinal misalignment. That’s right. Your back could actually be the culprit. Spinal misalignment, expressly in the lower back, can commonly generate a wide variety of female health conditions in addition to Premenstrual Syndrome, such as pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, incontinence, and even infertility.

Are you wondering how chiropractic can ease the symptoms of PMS? Chiropractic treatments get rid of nerve disturbance in your body. Every cell, fiber, tissue, organ, and system in your body is instructed and regulated by your nervous system. This includes your reproductive system. If your reproductive system isn’t performing correctly due to nerve interference, it can cause a myriad of symptoms such as those connected with PMS. You would most likely experience agitation, pain, heavy bleeding, or severe cramping if your reproductive system were overactive. Missed periods or infertility can be caused by an under-activity reproductive system. The good news is that if nerve impedance is causing your PMS symptoms, then chiropractic care can assist because adjustments restore unimpeded activity to your nervous system and, therefore, assisting it in functioning more normally.

In conjunction with improved general health, many women experience an improvement in their reproductive health, as well, while under chiropractic care. So, if you’ve been thinking that your PMS is just in head, think again! And, make an appointment to see your Santa Barbara Chiropractor as soon as possible. Chiropractic management offers  an all natural answer for PMS that could assist you in avoiding periodic misery, without medication, and keep you symptom-free and energetic all month long.

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Doesn’t it seem that healthy lifestyle information is everywhere you look these days? There are magazines and TV shows all about healthy foods and beneficial exercises. There are even recipes for nutritious meals in the newspaper. But, even though more Americans today are aware that eating nutritious meals, getting exercise, and keeping their body weight down is essential for health and longevity, a new study reported in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine has found that the number of middle-aged and older Americans who have adopted a healthy lifestyle has actually declined substantially in the past two decades. Using data from a large government health survey, researchers found that in 2006, only 26 percent of Americans ages 40 to 74 said they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. That’s down 16 percent from the 42 percent who responded in the 1988 survey! When it came to exercise, the same kind of decline was reported. Only 43 percent said they worked out at least 12 times per month, versus 53 percent in 1988. Not surprisingly, the rate of obesity in the United States went in the opposite direction, from 28 percent in 1988 to 36 percent in 2006.

The findings were based on data from the National Health and nutrition Examination Survey, a regularly conducted government health survey. Researchers focused on surveys conducted between 1988 and 1994 and between 2001 and 2006, which together included more than 15,000 Americans between the ages of 40 and 74. They looked at rates of five lifestyle factors involved in preventing a range of health risks: maintaining a normal weight, getting regular exercise, eating enough fruits and vegetables, not smoking, and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol.

Though the study cannot tell us why healthy lifestyle habits are on the decline, lead researcher, Dr. Dana E. King, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said that one reason may be that these changes are just difficult to make. “People’s increasingly hectic lives may be making it hard to fit in regular exercise, or to sit down to healthier, home-cooked meals rather than eating take-out.” He suggested some simple steps can make a difference. “It’s not hard, for example, to take some fruit to work with you, instead of going to the vending machine.” (Parking a little farther away from your destination and walking a bit can help, too.) Most importantly, Dr. King stressed that “it’s never too late” for middle-aged and older adults to make lifestyle changes for the better. In fact, in an earlier study, King and his colleagues found that when middle-aged adults newly adopted a healthier lifestyle — including regular exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables — their risk of developing cardiovascular disease or dying over the next several years fell by as much as 40 percent.

If you think about it, there aren’t many things in life that carry an “it’s never too late” guarantee. So, why not start today, no matter what your age may be? Your healthy future is depending on you!

Technorati Tags: cardiovascular disease, healthy lifestyle, middle-aged adults