Have a HAPPY, HEALTHY Long Weekend.

Enjoy spending time with your family, friends and the Great Outdoors!

#WellnessDoc #healthylifestyle 

Bad Genes?  You can beat them!

I hear it a lot from patients, "The problem runs in my family so I can't do anything about it."  Not true I say!  An example is new evidence regarding heart disease is showing that even a family history of heart attack can be cut in half with exercise and a healthy diet.  If you have a family history of heart disease put this list on your fridge and live by it.

-3 non-starchy vegetable servings /day
-3 of fruit
-1/week of nuts
-3 of fish
-2 of dairy
-3 of whole grains
-no more than 1 serving red meat/week, and of course no trans fat, no sugar sweetened beverages, no more than 2 grams of salt daily

Also, you gotta exercise.  The study only looked at one bout of exercise per week showing a benefit but other studies have shown the best outcomes with 4 x's per week.  That will take the belt size down which is a big risk factor as well.

Back problems, bad knees, arthritis, weight loss issues, you name it.  I've heard it blamed on genes and yes they are a factor but you can minimize that factor.  That's what we do here at South Centre Clinic!  We look for the weak links in your health based on your current and past history, lifestyle and family history and we provide non-drug, non surgical ways to strengthen those weak links so you can be you healthful best!

Live better, live longer!  Yours in Health, Dr. Darrell

Foods to Soothe Digestion Problems

Bloating and gas can come from a variety of foods.   It can also change over a life-time.  Sensitivities change over time for a variety of reasons.  One common reason is changes in digestive enzymes.  Sometimes foods that you've consumed for a long time can become problematic to your digestive system.

I often recommend a high quality probiotic to see if a patient is missing some key gut flora before trying to eliminate foods.  If you've already tried a probiotic it's time to start eliminating foods that may be difficult for you to digest.  A place to start is dairy.  Lactose can become difficult to digest as you age.  Specifically cow milk and soft cheeses such as cottage cheese, ricotta etc.  Hard cheeses such as cheddar may still be OK.

Next you can try eliminating wheat, rye and barley.  If you notice a change there you may want to go through with a gluten elimination to see if there are any sensitivities related to this specific protein.  Remember though, just because it's gluten free does not mean it's healthier for you.  A lot of gluten free processed food is actually quite terrible from a nutritional perspective.  It's often high in corn meal, sugar etc which is not great for cattle or for you.
If the above does not help after a four week trial try eliminating, each group one by one, the following grouping of foods:

onion bulbs
broccoli, kidney beans, soybeans
apple, mango, watermelon
agave syrup, high fructose corn syrup (this should be eliminated from everyone's diet!), fruit juice concentrate
cherries, peach apricot, plum, sorbitol, erythritol

So many people pop pills and drink potions to counter these symptoms when the symptoms are simply your body talking to you.  It's your body saying, "I can't handle this!"

Listen to your body.  Dr. Darrell

Preventing Bone Loss the Right Way

Using Drugs for Osteoporosis makes your body keep low quality, low strength old bone.  It makes the next bone density test look good but does much less in terms of preventing fractures.  As with all drugs they also have side effects.
Dr. Genuis from the University of Alberta has some great ideas from his research.  I've combined his research with some of my own to come up with a better way for those who want to prevent bone loss.
It comes down to getting enough weight bearing exercise (sorry swimmers) and the right nutrition.

Yes you need calcium but you also need Vitamin D (supplement), strontium, vitamin K, and essential fatty acids.

The sun around here is not going to cut it for Vitamin D.  The wavelength of light we get is fine for giving you a burn but apparently is not great at converting to Vitamin D3.  This is one you will need to supplement.  I like the Vit D3 drops for convenience.

Strontium is found in spinach, whole grains, and seafood.

Vitamin K is in green leafy vegtables, broccoli, Kale, cabbage, asparagus and olive oil

Omega 3 fatty acids are good for so many things.  You can add bone strength to the list.  Fish or fish oils in supplement form are "essential!" Omega 6 will do the opposite so stay away from safflower oils, corn based chips and snacks, potato chips and pork.  Foods like nuts also have Omega 6 but they have off-setting benefits as well so go ahead and eat them in moderation.

Dr. Genuis has also come up with the heel drop exercise to stimulate bone strength.  You get up on your the balls of your feet and let your heels drop.  100 a day oughta shake a few fillings loose!
I prefer a run or weight training but in a pinch a few heel drop sets can fill the gap.

Get Strong!  Dr. D.

Morin's Morning Smoothie

A great protein and veggie hit to start your day!

1. 1/2 cup Frozen Berries 
2. 1/2 frozen Banana or preferable 1/2 of a Avocado
3. Bunch of organic Kale 
4. 2 Tbsp. Flax oil
5. Protein powder or Plain greek yogurt 
6. Almond milk (enough to make it smooth)

2017 is going to be Great! 

Your WellnessDoc team is here to Educate, Empower and Encourage you to achieve your Health & Wellness goals.  Lots of great information on getting active, healthy eating, chiropractic care, positive living & more on our WellnessDoc Pinterest page.

https://www.pinterest.com/wellnessdoc0944/

Bone Up!!

I've got a bone to pick with current management of osteoporosis! It's always a drug with medicine. For some reason, when you suggest something other than a drug or surgery for problems it's seen as primitive or un-sophisticated. Either that or the medics think that it's just too hard for someone to do. 

OK so drink milk right! Wrong. Large scale studies have shown that milk slightly increases osteoporosis! WOW, and how long did milk producers feed us that! It's white and looks like bone but it has omega 6 which increases bone resorption. Omega 3 on the other hand decreases bone resorption. Yes, fish oils which don't look at all like bone and have no calcium are better for you than milk for your bone density. The best thing in milk is the Vitamin D3 that they add to milk. You are better off just taking your own supplement instead. 

Drugs do a great job making your bone density tests look good but not as good a job actually preventing fractures. Your bones are always being replaced by new strong bone (slower as you get older) and removing old bone. Drugs work by reducing the rate at which your body removes the old bone. In other words, you get a build up of old bone which make the re-test of density look good but does little to prevent fracture risk. The old bone is brittle so it's acutally not great at preventing a fracture. Drugs also (and always) have side effects. Softening of the jaw bone, etc.

Next week I will go over how to prevent bone loss in a natural, effective way. 

Yours in Health, Dr. D., The Wellness Doc