Blog

It is this time of year that I like to find time to be thankful for my Dad.  He’s always encouraged and continues to support me in my life.  He’s forever willing to listen to me and offer good sound advice in life’s challenging times.  He has instilled within me the strong belief that I can do anything I set my mind to and it is because of him that I became the healthcare practitioner that I am today.  With that, I’d like to acknowledge him and say THANK YOU Dad!

As I’m sure all of you have a father, take the time to say Thank You to yours.  Like last month’s Mother’s Day, you don’t have to go out and buy him anything, as I’m sure he already has enough.  Just take the time to let him know that he’s been important to you in your life and I’m sure he’d appreciate that.

My Offer To You

As a gift to ALL Fathers who are not currently a Practice Member, I offer you the opportunity to schedule an Exam and Consultation with me before the 30th of June.  This is my way of saying that I value all the father’s out there and I wish to help them for what they do in our lives.  This is a $225.00 value and it will allow you to find out if there are any unknown health concerns that might be sneaking up on you.  I will take an hour and a half to fully evaluate how all your major organs and systems are doing, and see if your nutrition and elimination systems are working properly.  I will then take the time to inform you of the options you have to help your current state of health, and the opportunity I can offer you if the circumstances allow for it.  Otherwise, I will make the appropriate referral to the qualified healthcare provider of your choice.

As a gift to ALL the Fathers who are currently a Practice Member, I will offer you a FREE hour consultation to discuss any aspect of your health you are not currently happy with and would like to change.  The hour consultation can be used to discuss exercise, diet, proper foods to be eating, detoxification or any other topic that is of a concern for you.  During this 60 minutes I will help you strategize a plan to change these concerns and get you moving in the right direction.  This will allow you to continue improving your health more fully.  This must be taken advantage of before the 30th of June.

If you know of any fathers who do not currently subscribe to this newsletter and would like to help them, please forward this information to them and ask them to go to www.spineboy.com/newsletter and sign up.  You’ll be helping them a great deal.  And it’s really a painless procedure.  Simply type your e-mail address, your first and last names, and then hit subscribe.  It’s that easy.

Be mindful, This offer is good until the last day of June.  The appointment must be made during that time period. As of June 30th, this offer will expire.  So pick up the phone NOW while you are motivated and call the Office at 561-2225.  Tell us you want to take advantage of the Father’s Day Special.  Your health will improve and you just might learn something that will literally change your life.  Call today and take advantage of this unique offer.  You’ll be happy you did.

As always, we offer Potential New Practice Members the opportunity to participate in a FREE Healthcare Class offered at the Pooler Office on Tuesday Night at 6:30 pm.  Since seating is limited, please call the Office at (845)561-2225 to register for your spot.  There is no cost for this class and it is a great way to have your health related questions answered without the obligation for purchasing something.

Parents play an important role in helping kids reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Temptation appears around every corner.  The kitchen is full of sweet and salty snacks, and television is constantly transmitting messages about the biggest burger, the gooiest desserts or the largest cup of soda that can be purchased for under a buck.  Kids and adults are faced with tough decisions every day about what to eat, when to eat it and how big a portion to take.  As parents, and more importantly, as adults, it is our job to make sure our kids are winning the battle of the bulge and growing into adults who make smart, healthy choices.

Families that have successfully tamed the calorie and junk-food beast have several things in common.  First, the kids realized there was a problem with their weight and took the initiative to do something about it, independent of their parents.  It’s a delicate line for parents to walk, since you don’t want to pressure your kids to lose weight and overeat more.  Kids who successfully kept off the pounds also drew tremendous support from their parents and siblings, especially when the family adopted all aspects of the struggling child’s new, healthy lifestyle.  Parents can help set the tone for success by having healthy, low-calorie foods in the house, exercising with their kids and helping control portion size.

It’s also important for families to develop a health regime that works for them and is conducive to their lifestyle.  For some, this might involve nutritional counseling, joining a sports team, or counting calories and measuring food portions.  Staying connected with others fighting the same battle also is a great form of moral support and encouragement.  It’s also important to give kids time to lose the weight and remind them that success is not just measured on the scale and that gradual weight loss is one of the keys to long-term success in weight management.

5 Comments Parents Will Choose to Avoid

1) “You’re just big boned compared to your brother or sister.”  Comparisons of any kind between siblings can cause major problems in any family, but especially when weight is involved.

2) “Maybe you could try a different diet.”  While this might sound encouraging, it insinuates that the child isn’t trying hard enough or that what they are doing isn’t good enough.

3) “I didn’t like my body when I was younger either.”  This comment promotes the idea that poor body image is O.K., which could cause problems later in life.

4) “You’re so great at (fill in the child’s preferred sport)!  Maybe you should try to take it to the next level.”  Some kids have a natural competitive streak while others do not.  It’s important to understand what will motivate your child and keep them positive.

5) “You look wonderful!  Have you lost weight?”  While this might seem like the perfect thing to say to someone trying to lose weight, it often can have a detrimental effect if that’s the only thing you are praising about your child.

Stay positive and get in the trenches to fight the battle with your kids.  Now is the time to begin a family legacy of healthy eating habits and regular exercise that can be passed down from generation to generation.

If you need help in understanding Nutrition and Exercise that is right for your children and family, please call the office and schedule a time for us to discuss your concerns.  Another option is to come to one of our FREE Health Care Classes scheduled every Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm in the Pooler Office.  Simply call the Office and schedule yourself for this FREE Service.  For a schedule of topics and dates, go to www.spineboy.com and click on FREE Health Care Class Schedule and Topics under the Main Menu on the Home Page.  And please forward this information to anyone you know who would benefit from it and encourage them to come to a FREE Health Care Class.

Steroids are organic compounds that are produced naturally in the human body.  They’re also produced by other animals, plants and fungi.  Within humans, steroids are used to produce several different hormones that are important to the body’s proper functioning. Outside of natural human physiology, there are also drugs called anabolic steroids, whose purpose is to increase ...

Read More >>

Being connected is very important in our modern world. Could you imagine how you’d feel if you left your cell phone at home? For teenagers, a cell phone is much more than a tool. For teens, cell phones are status symbols, but they also represent a connection to the tribe, a connection to their human network. For teens and adults, cell phones are lifelines. What about web connectivity? Many of us begin to experience withdrawal symptoms if we’re separated from our Internet connection for more than an hour. Others check their email every few minutes, ongoingly, throughout the day, every day.

We may feel secure if we’re well connected in the external electronic world, but it’s even more important to be well connected in the internal physiologic world. In the external world we think in terms of networks, primarily in terms of Internet connections. In the internal world networks are the key, too – neurologic networks, of which our nerve system is comprised.^1,2

The nerve system consists of the brain, cranial nerves, spinal cord, spinal nerves, and miles of peripheral nerves which connect the spinal cord and spinal nerves to every other cell in the body. In the body, the rules are simple. If a cell is not connected to the nerve system, the cell’s activities become disorganized and it becomes diseased and eventually dies. In a related scenario a cell may be connected, but the nerve signals it is receiving are inaccurate or inappropriate, due to problems within the nerve system itself. The results are the same –  the cell’s activities become disorganized and it becomes diseased and eventually dies. If enough cells are affected, the person develops symptoms and becomes sick.

“Problems” within the nerve system often result from spinal subluxations – a loss of full mobility between one or more pairs of spinal vertebras, with associated spinal muscle tightness or spasm, spinal joint inflammation, and spinal nerve irritation. The free flow of information between the nerve system and the rest of the body becomes compromised. Both ends of the network receive inappropriate, ineffective information and the result is a “system crash” in the form of symptoms and disease.

Chiropractic health care is especially designed to restore effective connectivity and communication between your nerve system and your other body systems.³ Your chiropractor specializes in identifying the spinal subluxations at the root of the problem and using gentle, safe, effective methods of care to restore proper balance to your spine and nerve system. Optimal functioning begins to be restored and improved levels of health and well-being are the natural result.

¹Coward LA: The hippocampal system as the cortical resource manager: a model connecting psychology, anatomy and physiology. Adv Exp Med Biol 657:315-364, 2010

²Saur D, et al: Combining functional and anatomical connectivity reveals brain networks for auditory language comprehension. Neuroimage 49(4):3187-3197, 2010

³Taylor HH, Murphy B: Altered central integration of dual somatosensory input after cervical spine manipulation. J Manipulative Physiol Ther

Not many people like doing housework. For most, it’s a real pain in the aaah … what’s the word? Sacroiliac. But it’s not just the disruption it causes to your longed-for life of leisure; it really can be a pain. Literally. The activities you carry out around the house may not seem too physically demanding, but ...

Read More >>

Your Discerning Small Intestine

Welcome to June!  As we move into the summer months, the energy of the body shifts from that of the expansive Wood Element represented by new growth, to the next of the Five elements, this being the Fire Element.  Fire represents heat, maximum expansion, and how this pertains to the body.  This Element is composed of the Small Intestine and the Heart as primary organs.  Other related organs are the major endocrines, which include the Thyroid, the Adrenals, the Ovaries and the Testes.  For the purposes of this newsletter, we will be focusing on the two major organs.  The Small Intestine represents the Yang energy or the forceful energy of the element, while the Heart represents the Yin or yielding energy of the element.  This issue will be devoted to the Small Intestine, and next month’s issue will cover the Heart.

The consciousness of the Fire Element has to do with Spirit, or self-awareness.  It is the “I am” consciousness.  The Yang activity of the Small Intestine pertains to the intellect, awareness and discernment.  This is important when appreciating that the Small Intestine is where the majority of your nutrients are absorbed from the Digestive System into the blood stream before being transported to the Liver.  The Small Intestine would need to have great discernment if it is to truly regulate what comes into the blood stream and what is kept out.  There is a special part of your body known as the Enteric Nervous System which, like a second Brain, helps determine what the body lets into the blood stream, and what it lets pass through the digestive system to excrete.  Therefore, the discerning aspect of the Small Intestine is vitally important if you want to avoid health imbalances.  Keeping the Enteric Nervous System functioning at its highest level is necessary for that to occur.

The primary emotions associated with the Fire Element are Joy and Sadness.  The natural emotion is Harmony, as the joy state provides harmony in all the processes of the body-mind complex.  It will neutralize any excess activity.  Pathologically, when one lacks joy or harmony and it involves issues of the Heart, this can lead to chronic depression creating further disharmony.  The chief emotions leading to disharmony within the Small Intestines are the feelings of being “Lost or Vulnerable,” with the minor emotions associated with the feelings of insecurity, abandonment, desertion, absentmindedness or unrequited love.  When one feels insecure or vulnerable, they tend to get “butterflies” in their stomach.  Actually this is the Fire Elements “vulnerability” that is feeding the emotion of “low self-esteem” from the Earth Elements Stomach.  This often leads to binge eating associated with sugar, as the taste of sweets will satiate the low self-esteem.

The main sense organ associated with the Fire Element is the tongue related through talking, along with the main sense associated being touch.  People who talk a lot, but never really say anything of substance are usually feeling vulnerable or insecure.  Likewise, people who don’t talk at all are usually withdrawn as they won’t engage in conversation due to the sense of being vulnerable.  Many times, one with a feeling of vulnerability and insecurity simply needs to be touched or held.

The main taste associated with the Fire Element is that of bitter, and the main fluid associated is that of sweat.  Physical areas governed by the Small Intestine are the Unilateral Pelvis (right or left), the knee and the pubic symphasis.  Any conditions involving the pelvis usually has a Small Intestine component to it.  Muscles governed by the Small Intestine are the abdominal muscles and the quadriceps of the anterior thigh.  People who have anterior thigh problems, pulled quadriceps muscles, or people who have abdominal hernias or muscle pulls related to their abdominals need to consider the health of their Small Intestine.

The Small Intestines main function, as mentioned, is related to the absorption of all the final breakdown products of the food we eat.  In a normal healthy individual, proteins get broken down into amino acids, fats into free fatty acids, and carbohydrates into glucose.  All of this occurs before the food-stuff enters into the part of the Small Intestine known as the jejunum. Once these final breakdown products are created, true absorption into the body will take place, as the food-stuff will now pass through the intestinal wall, and enter into the blood stream.  Any difficulty with this process will lead to symptoms.  Symptoms of Small Intestine imbalance can range from simple gas and bloating a little while after eating, to actual indigestion, or maybe true abdominal pain.  Conditions such as Tropical Sprue or Celiac Disease results in malabsorption of food leading to multiple nutritional deficiencies and further disease.  Another condition is called Whipple’s Disease.  Consider the fact that many times these conditions are brought on or exacerbated as a result of taking antibiotics.

Of Note, the use of Antibiotics will create a deficiency in the absorption of your B vitamins.  Since your body requires B vitamins for so many vital functions, including normal nerve transmission and regular heart rhythm, one would need to take a Probiotic to help repopulate the normal flora needed to allow for proper absorption and assimilation of your B vitamins, along with the rest of your food.  And as mentioned and will be discussed in our next issue, a lack of B vitamins cause irregularities in Heart function.

What To Consider

If you suspect you have a Small Intestine imbalance by experiencing 1) lots of gas, bloating or indigestion; 2) the use of antacids from over-the-counter meds to prescription meds; 3) knowing that nuts, seeds or high fiber foods irritate your digestion; 4) a history of Antibiotic intake and didn’t take the necessary Probiotic to counterbalance the loss of friendly bacteria, you’ll want to consider having your Small Intestine evaluated for proper digestion and function.

Nutritional support for the Small Intestine includes a product called Gastrex from Standard Process.  It is designed to help rebuild the lining of the Small Intestine.  This is important for those with ulcers, or regular indigestion.  Another whole food supplement designed to decrease the gas and bloating would be Zypan, also by Standard Process.  It contains pepsin and hydrochloric acid which helps to break foods down to their component parts for optimal absorption into the blood stream.  Helpful herbal remedies from MediHerb are Colax, designed to support bile production and flow into the Small Intestine, and DermCo which helps with healthy intestinal function.  Golden Seal helps to stimulate digestion, cleans the digestive tract, and maintains healthy mucous membranes.  The best herbal combination is available in a product called DiGest Phytosynergist, also from MediHerb designed to support healthy digestion and intestinal function, promotes healthy gastrointestinal tone, promotes healthy intestinal flora, and keeps the Liver functioning well.

Have You Taken Antibiotics In Your Life At Any Time?

The best thing anyone can do who has consumed antibiotics at any time in their life, is to take a supplement called Acidophilus.  This is a Probiotic formula which helps to counter balance the effects of Antibiotics.  It helps to replace the good, friendly bacteria the body needs that will be killed off by the Antibiotic therapy.  Available in most health food stores, it should be kept in the refrigerator, as the cultures are only viable if stored at cold temperatures.  This is a product that all Americans should be taking as a part of a healthy diet.  Failure to do so will result in Food Allergies, Liver Stress, Arthritis, Vision problems, muscle aches and pains, sometimes called Fibromyalgia and skin disorders such as Psoriasis, and Eczema.  We make available a supplement called Ultra Flora Plus, Dairy Free from Metagenics, available in capsule or powder depending upon your preference.  This is the ONE TRUE supplement everyone should take every day.

My Offer To You

If you are a Current Practice Member and suspect that you have an issue with your Small Intestine, you need to have the Small Intestine Check.  If you suffer with any of the above symptoms, or have a history of antibiotic intake, you need to have the Small Intestine Check.  To take advantage of the Small Intestine Check, all you need to do is call The Office at (845) 561-2225 and tell us to schedule you for the Small Intestine Check.  This is a $75.00 value and I will include it with your next visit to the office at no charge.  That’s right, it’s FREE!  But you must act fast.  This offer expires on the 30th of June.  After that the normal $75.00 will apply.  So call the Office today.  Better yet, CALL THE OFFICE NOW!  Schedule your Small Intestine Check before the offer expires.

If you are a Potential New Practice Member, I will offer you the same thing.  Come in as a New Patient, and during the evaluation, I will include the Small Intestine Check as part of the evaluation.  Simply pick up the phone and call the office.  Tell the Office you are a New Patient and want to have the Small Intestine Check with your New Patient Visit.  But you must act quickly too.  For after June 30th, the offer will be gone.  Why wait, CALL NOW!  (845) 561-2225.  We’ll get you in for your evaluation.

Whether you are a competitive athlete in training or a person who just wants to keep fit by visiting the gym frequently, protecting your back and spine from injuries during workouts is not only the most important but your first priority. Studies found that after injuries to the hand, injuries to areas ranging from the ...

Read More >>

Choosing The Best Supplement For Your Body And Your Health   There are hundreds of thousands of vitamin supplements available on today's market.  You can buy them at health food stores, drug stores, grocery stores, various retailers, through health care professionals and on the Internet.   When Choosing A Supplement, How Do You Determine Which One To Buy? The package ...

Read More >>

As a child, you were probably told a few times to “Stand up straight!”, “Sit up straight!” or my favorite "Stop Slouching!" Good posture isn't really about being “straight”. The basis for good posture is a “neutral and balanced” position that minimizes asymmetrical strain on the various joints of the body. That means that we ...

Read More >>

Scoliosis, an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine, primarily affects girls between the ages of 8 and 18. It will often onset with what appears to be a postural distortion: one shoulder higher than the other or the torso shifted or twisted to one side. However, if it is allowed to advance it can become ...

Read More >>