Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Chiropractic Care and Massage Therapy





Philosophy of Chiropractic Care and Massage Therapy

The philosophy of Chiropractic care is based on the knowledge of the body to heal itself, as the body has its natural intelligence to control all body operations. The spine structure affects the nervous system and any abnormality in its structure can affect your health. Massage therapy restores and promote balance and well being of the body. Chiropractic care and massage therapy both offer physical and mental cure.

Common Pain On Neck and Back Is A Sign of Distressed Spine

A pain at your back and on your neck or even a headache can be distressing that affects us from time to time. Well, we should not be taking this for granted or neglect this conditions as this can affect our spine. Chiropractic care and massage therapy is best used in combination which gives a powerful healing avenue to ease your pain on many levels. Your pain can be the result of a traumatic injury or illness that both therapy when combined can give you speedy recovery and pain free life.

Benefits of Combining Chiropractic Care and Massage Therapy

Massages therapy complements chiropractic care treatment. It is essential for the muscles that are attached to the bones and the joints to be stretched and relaxed to aid in the  shaping of the skeletal system. To safeguard the free flow of the nerve impulses and the circulation of the blood and lymph, it is necessary to achieve proper positioning. Chiropractic Care requires a diagnosis to identify and treat a particular acute muscle or joint pains, loosening of deep muscle tissue and adjustment of spine structure. And chiropractors are trained and licensed to diagnose problems just like medical doctors. Here are some benefits that your body will get from a massage with chiropractic care:


  • strengthens your body shape
  • it boost the efficiency of the treatment
  • comforts muscle tension and pain
  • interrupts anticipated pain and injuries
  • gives you overall comfort and pain-free body


Friday, 8 March 2013

Bach Flowers: Your Best Alternative to Address Trauma





Is Bach Flower therapy similar to Homeopathy?

Yes! But there are significant differences. Dr. Edward Bach, studied homeopathy before he discovered Bach Flower therapy. He discovered that the use of the principle of dilution to make their extracts, is one of the similarities of homeopathy and Bach Flower therapy. The method of dilution differs,  Homeopathy uses a stronger dilution than Bach Flower therapy.  But both alternative therapies complement each other as one treatment.

Bach Flower therapy concentrates on the emotional and mental well being of an individual. Believing that an individual’s health is affected by emotional imbalance. It uses all natural unharmed plants, flowers, shrubs and trees.  This therapy lets you eat and drink anything you want. Just anything! And this can also be given to babies and even expectant mothers, risk free. No overdose and completely no harm.

Do Bach Flower Remedies help address trauma?

In the belief that mental or emotional anguish results in disease or illness and the unparalleled energetic properties of a plant can be used to remedy an imbalance the restore the “wholeness” of one self. Dr. Bach made a combination of five flowers called Rescue Remedy to be used address trauma and more serious situations. A healthy mind is essential to have a healthy body.

Only naturally grown flowers in the wild are found to be the only ones suitable for the preparation. A precise procedure is done to achieve the liquid called the mother tincture, filtered and mixed with brandy, used as preservatives. The remedy is to be taken orally or can be applied directly to pulse points. Because it does not contain pharmacologically  relevant remnants of the flowers, they are considered safe to take with other combinations. It is so safe that even small babies and expectant mothers can take this. Dr. Bach has identified 12 "Healers" and 26 "Helpers" for a total of 38 remedies to choose from to address a particular characteristic or emotional state.

Bach Flowers Address Different Psychological Causes of Diseases

Bach’s 38 flower medicine addresses different psychological causes of diseases for all ages, depending on the degree of emotions of every individual patient. For most children, the most common disorder is the attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). All other illnesses or disorders like anxiety, insufficient interest in present circumstances, loneliness, oversensitivity, despair and overcare for the welfare of others can be treated depending on the acute problem at hand. It is individually tailored and adjusted during the course of treatment.

Saturday, 16 February 2013

Functional Medicine: Your Key to a Healthy Lifestyle


How Functional Medicine Restores Health

There is a  significant increase in the number of people who are diagnosed with complex, chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness and autoimmune disorders.  Functional medicine uses tools to diagnose the cause of one’s disease to help  people restore health. There are those who think that they can be cured immediately, but that’s not how this  works. It takes a lot education concerning the multi causal factors that influence our health,  family health history, genetic predispositions, environmental and lifestyle factors that can influence the disease process.

A lot of people misconstrued Functional Medicine as  Alternative Medicine. Functional Medicine’s main focus is addressing the root cause of a disease and is less concerned with identifying a set of symptoms to designate an illness. It can be a combination of Laboratory assessments, Herbal Therapy (Chinese Medicine), Vitamin Therapies, Lifestyle Modifications, Dietary Regimens, and Physiotherapy (Western Medicine). Functional Medicine practices a holistic approach. It is patient-centered care which promotes that the body has an innate ability to heal and each body is as unique as our fingerprints so each treatment protocol is unique to each individual.

Dr. Debbie Novick, a doctor in Chiropractic Medicine, with so much dedication to helping people, is committed to her service in Chiropractic Care, Homeopathy, Bach Flower Remedies and Functional Medicines. Her advocacy in keeping people healthy has inspired her to gain the highest honors during her studies.    

Important Facts to Remember:


  • Dietary imbalance and too much exposure to pollution may cause some symptoms common in chronic diseases.
  • The goal is to achieve vitality not only the absence of disease.
  • Self discipline is necessary. What you eat and absorb is what you are.  An unhealthy diet may contribute to hormonal imbalances , immune disorders, heart problems, etc.
  • Environmental  factors can cause cancer and contribute to Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimers and Dementia.
  • Patience is a virtue when deciding on the best medicine.  The holistic approach to healing gets to the root cause instead of just treating the symptoms of a disease.

Functional Medicine focuses on addressing the following disorders:


  • Hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances
  • Oxidation-reduction imbalances
  • Detoxification
  • Immune imbalances
  • Inflammatory imbalances
  • Digestive, absorptive, and microbiological imbalances
  • Structural imbalances from cellular membrane function to the musculoskeletal system

Applying Functional Medicine principles to address chronic disease ultimately leads you to a healthy mind and body.

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

Aging Gracefully Through Exercise: How Seniors are Benefitted


As people grow older, having an active lifestyle becomes more important. This is because exercising regularly can help maintain independence and boost energy. Aside from that, it helps manage symptoms of pain or illnesses. It is even possible for exercise to put on hold some of the symptoms of aging. Exercise is good for the body, mind, memory and mood. For people who are either healthy or are having illnesses in their lives, there are a lot of ways on how to be more active, confident and fit in life.

Benefits of Senior Exercise (Physical)



    It reduces the negative impact of chronic diseases and other illnesses. Seniors can benefit from exercise as it improves their immune system, gives them better bone density, lowered blood pressure and improve heart health and also better digestion. Other chronic conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis and obesity can be ameliorated through physical exercise.

    It helps lose or maintain weight. Metabolism slows down as people age, which has made healthy weight maintenance a challenge for many. Yet physical exercise can help increase metabolism as well as help build muscle mass by burning calories. Overall wellness is improved if the body of a person reaches a healthy weight.

    It improves the flexibility, balance and mobility for elders. Getting enough exercise will improve the posture, flexibility and strength of seniors. This in turn will then affect their balance and coordination. Chronic conditions such as arthritis can be alleviated by doing strength training.


Benefits of Senior Exercise (Mental)



    It improves the sleep of seniors. It is not a clear consequence of aging for people that are having poor qualities of sleep but it is nonetheless important for being healthy. Most of the time, exercise will improve a person’s sleep and allow them to fall asleep quickly and more deeply.

    It is beneficial to the brain. Exercising regularly is beneficial to the brain’s functions and helps keep it active. This will result in letting the person prevent cognitive decline, dementia and memory loss. Brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease can even be slowed by exercise as well.

    It improves self-esteem and mood. The endorphins that are created through exercise can help people feel better for themselves and will also reduce the feelings of depression. People will be more confident in themselves as they feel strong and active.


Image Source: Angora37
                                ElenaRay


About the Author:

Dr. Novick is the leading expert on Gluten Free Living and a Trusted Chiropractor in San Diego. Dr. Novick takes the time to create an individual treatment plan tailored to your specific health needs using holistic, natural therapies such as homeopathy, bach flowers, functional medicine or chiropractic care which nurture the body’s innate health system, and address the root cause of each person’s individual health issues.

Friday, 30 November 2012

6 Ways To Become Successful in Your Weight Loss Routine

Weight loss programs are sprouting here and there but are not all effective as they promise. Many times you hear people say “I’ve tried this and that but nothing has changed.” To make matters worse, some people gained all the weight back and more, after painstakingly going from one to another fad diet.

A lot of people have become gullible victims of outright weight loss scams and programs that promise quick and easy weight loss.  What everyone is not aware of, is that the main foundation of a successful weight loss program is a diet that teaches you to choose the foods that increase your metabolism, requires that you eat frequently (every 2-3 hrs throughout the day,  a healthy tailored exercise program, as well as providing strategies that effectively allow you to change your relationship to food leading to permanent lifestyle changes. This is how you will achieve optimal weight and transform your health and wellness.

So how do you successfully make these permanent lifestyle changes? Here are some  helpful strategies to take into consideration in order to be successful at achieving optimal weight.

1. Be Committed

For permanent weight loss to occur, it is going to take some serious time and effort, including a lifetime of commitment to achieve success. Be certain that you are ready to commit to making permanent changes and that you are able to do this for reasons that will keep you motivated and on track.

In order to stay committed to achieving optimal weight, the first thing that you need to do is to stay focused. It will take a lot of physical and mental energy for you to change old habits that you have created and cemented into your subconscious mind. Create a plan for yourself, first and foremost,when you are planning to apply new weight loss strategies, address stress factors such as relationship conflicts and financial challenges. Although not all of these stresses  could really go away fully, being able to manage them will allow you to focus more on achieving a lifestyle that is healthier. After you are prepared to start your weight loss plan, set a date and then  stay commited to get started.


2. Find What Motivates You

No one can help you achieve optimal weight. If you are determined  to undertake exercise and dietary changes It has to begin within you. Figure out what is going to give you that desire to stick to achieving your goal of reaching your  optimal weight. Create a list of reasons that you consider important to aid you in staying focused and motivated, whether it is a vacation with the family or to just enjoy better health. It is these reasons or goals that you are motivated to find ways to reach your desired weight. More so, it is from these desires that you stay the course and avoid temptation that derails your plan.

As you take responsibility of your own actions you will  get closer to your optimal weight. In addition, having friends and family around you that support you and encourage you is crucial. Surround yourself with individuals who will encourage and support you by uplifting you. The ideal people would be those who are willing to listen to your feelings and concerns and will spend time exercising with you and joining you in your choice of foods. A support group also provides you with accountability, which further serrves to motivate you and stick to your goals.

3. Set Goals That are Realistic

Although it may seem like something obvious,  not everybody knows how to set realistic goals. In the long term, it is good to just aim at losing 1 or 2 pounds each week, although you may start losing more than that at first if you really make significant changes. In order to lose 1 to 2 pounds in a week, you will have to burn 500 to 1,000 calories over that of what you consume in each day. This can be achieved by having a low glycemic diet and consistent exercise.

Whenever you are setting goals, you must always think about the process and its outcome. Being able to exercise regularly is one example of a process goal, while an outcome goal is that of  dropping 30 pounds. It is not really necessary to have an outcome goal, but it is important to have a process goal because being able to change your process is one of the keys to losing weight.

4. Start Eating Healthy Foods

Strictly follow a healthy eating lifestyle that is able to promote weight loss with the inclusion of eliminating food with high glycemic index. You do not have to give up on satisfaction, meal preparation and taste is absolutely possible in order to to achieve a low glycemic program . Eating more plant-based foods is one way to start lowering your high sugar intake. Aim for variety in order to help you in achieving your goals without having to lose nutritional value or taste.

5. Staying Active

Although it is possible to lose weight even without exercise, doing this with the help of a low glycemic restricted diet can give you the edge in weight loss. This is because exercise can assist you in burning fat, especially the excess calories that cannot be eliminated just by dieting. Aside from that, exercise provides you with crucial benefits to the body such as improved cardiovascular health and reduced blood pressure. This will also be one of the key factors in maintaining weight loss. Many studies have confirmed that people who have maintained their weight loss regime have been engaging in regular physical exercises.

The amount of calories that you will burn depends on the duration, intensity and frequency of the activities done. A 30-45 minute interval training routine is one of the best ways to reduce body fat. Other non-sedentary  activities can be easy to fit into your schedule. You just have to come up with ways that you can increase your physical activity in a day wherever you are, like park far from entrances to stores and work, take the long way around, go up two steps at a time instead of one, etc.

6. Change your Perspective

Eating healthy foods and exercising  only a few weeks or months is not enough if you want to  successfully achieve long term optimal weight. These habits will have to become a part of your life. Changes in your lifestyle are going to start when you take an honest look at your daily routine and eating patterns. Once you have assessed your personal challenges in losing weight, try to work out on a strategy that will eventually help you change your attitudes and habits which have sabotaged your efforts in the past. You will also have to deal with these challenges if you plan to succeed in losing weight once and for all.


Author Bio:
Dr. Debbie Novick is an expert on holistic approaches to weight loss. She also takes the time to create an individual treatment plan tailored to your specific health needs using holistic, natural therapies such as homeopathy, bach flowers, functional medicine or chiropractic care which nurture the body’s innate health system, and address the root cause of each person’s individual health issues.

Image Source: reduce84098

Thursday, 8 November 2012

Power Foods for New Moms

Dr. Novick specializes in chiropractic care, functional medicine, bach flowers, homeopathy, and gluten free living. She is committed to addressing health issues through holistic and natural therapies and takes time to create a treatment plan tailored to each person’s specific health needs. She also enjoys writing health and wellness related articles.



The best thing new moms can do for themselves and their baby is to eat a healthy diet. Although some of you may already be in a hurry to lose those extra pounds, for new moms, eating foods that boost your energy, such as protein and healthy fats,  at regular intervals throughout the day, will allow you to have the stamina that you need in order to meet the demands of  being a mother. This is due to the fact that eating foods rich in nutrients during regular intervals in a day will keep your metabolism high and give you  the energy you need to keep up in your new role. Below is a list of nutritious foods that will help your body and keep the baby happy and healthy.

Salmon




Although there is no such thing as food that is perfect, salmon comes really close when it comes to the nutrition needs for new moms. Just like any other fatty fish out there, salmon is packed with a type of fat known as DHA. This nutrient is important in developing the nervous system of the baby. And even though all breast milk has DHA, new moms that have more DHA in their diets will provide higher levels of this nutrient for their babies and their own brain..




Lean Beef

For new moms who are looking for foods that will improve their energy levels, foods that are rich in iron should be taken such as lean beef. A newly post pregnant mom that is lacking in iron can feel drained of their energy,  and this makes it hard to undertake the demands needed in taking care of a newborn baby. Iron is crucial for red blood cells to deliver oxygen to your brain and body.




Legumes



Great breastfeeding food such as beans, most especially dark colored ones such as kidney beans are ideal for new moms. This is especially good for vegetarians as these are rich in iron,protein, and fiber as well as being affordable.








Blueberries


Moms who are breastfeeding should secure at least two or more servings of fruits on a daily basis. Blueberries, which are rich in antioxidants, are an ideal selection. These berries are packed with vitamins and minerals that will give you a healthy dose of complex carbohydrates to keep energy levels up and a sharp mind.



Brown Rice


Cutting back on carbohydrate consumption may be needed if you are planning to lose weight after pregnancy. Yet losing weight very fast may cause your body to produce less milk for the baby. That is why incorporating healthy and whole grain carbohydrates,  such as brown rice, in your diet is a good way to keep your energy levels high. Brown rice also provides your body with the calories that you need in order to produce the best quality milk for your baby.

Healthy Fats




Avocadoes, Coconut Oil, Olive OIl, and Grapeseed oils are very helpful in providing the essential fats your body and brain need to maintain healthy brain function, beautiful skin, reduce pain, and improve immune function.  All of these are important in resotring optimal weight and health post pregnancy. Include them in your cooking every day and both you and your baby will be much happier and healthier.





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jlssls05f.g.77LostNCluelesshealthyfoodieThe Holistic Kitchen LLC

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Celiac Disease – A Common Health Condition In Americans



Did you know that there are almost two million Americans who suffer from celiac disease? Yes, that’s right! However, most of them are not aware they have gluten intolerance; a common dilemma found in the United States and Europe.
“Fasano said that despite how common the condition is in the U.S, he's not surprised that few people have been diagnosed with it.
"The symptoms are so vague and non-specific that it's very difficult to point to celiac disease when you have (for instance) chronic fatigue or anemia or joint pain," Fasano said.”
Despite the fact that it is widespread among Americans, it is not surprising that only a few have been diagnosed with this condition. This is because the symptoms are inexplicable and standard medical tests do not detect it.
“Celiac disease is mainly a gastrointestinal disorder, and when people who have it eat gluten, they experience an immune reaction that damages the intestinal lining.”
The extensive prevalence of this condition motivated researchers to collect statistical data to more accurately estimate the number of celiac disease sufferers in the U.S.
“Dr. James Everhart, at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, along with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic and in Sweden, used data from a large, ongoing national study of health and nutrition.
About 7,800 people participated in the celiac survey, and gave a blood sample that was tested for signs of the immune response to gluten that characterizes celiac disease.
The researchers, who published their study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, found evidence of celiac disease in 35 people, 29 of whom were not aware of their sensitivity to gluten.
Six of the 35 people with celiac disease were not white.
Everhart says that based on the number of non-whites in the study - 4,368 - having just six test positive illustrates that celiac disease is pretty rare among non-whites.
"I think we confirmed the clinical suspicion that this is largely a condition found among non-Hispanic whites in this country," he told Reuters Health.”
The prevention of celiac disease can be managed by following a gluten-free diet as well as a “Leaky Gut” repair program. That is, gluten intolerance patients should refrain from consuming wheat, rye, spelt, kamut, oats, and barley. Celiac disease is quite difficult to detect especially in people who do not show symptoms of any kind. And be aware, this could develop at any age.
"If you don't have symptoms, it's hard to say categorically that identifying you as having this condition is going to do a lot of good at this point. That's for (other) studies to determine," said Everhart.”
The study initiated by Everhart together with his colleagues continues to survey the gathering of more data to determine whichgroup of people is most at risk of succumbing to celiac disease. They are also trying to discover how health differs from those people with celiac disease from those without such condition.  

Researchers have also found that there is a direct correlation between damage to the intestinal lining and the development of autoimmune disease and that there is a much larger group of people that are not celiac but definitely gluten intolerant, that go undetected and undiagnosed far more frequently than celiac sufferers, they estimate that over 40% of the population is at risk 
The statistics show that autoimmune disease is the number one cause of mortality today, this includes Rhumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Diabetes, Hashimoto’s Thyroidits, MS, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Ankilosing Spondilitis, and many more.  There are 56,000,000 people diagnosed and who knows how many others that have not been detected! Is gluten the common denominator in all of this? Are you at risk? Autoimmune disease can be silent until it is too late.

Article Source: today.msnbc.msn

Photo Credit: Flicker.com

About the Author:

Dr. Novick is the leading expert on Gluten Free Living. Dr. Novick takes the time to create an individual treatment plan tailored to your specific health needs using holistic, natural therapies such as homeopathy, bach flowers, functional medicine or chiropractic care which nurture the body’s innate health system, and address the root cause of each person’s individual health issues.