Sitting on the Job?

Sitting is one of the WORST possible things you can do for your health. Not only from a physical aspect but also a biochemical aspect.

"Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to do one thing: move," says James Levine,M.D., Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and author of Move a Little, Lose a Lot. "As human beings, we evolved to stand upright. For thousands of generations, our environment demanded nearly constant physical activity."

Women's Health Magazine says:

Instead of This:
Sitting at your desk
83 Calories burned per hour
Do This:
Stand at your desk
115 Calories burned per hour

Instead of This:
Riding the elevator
128
Do This:
Take the stairs
509

Instead of This:
Talking on the phone seated
102
Do This:
Pace while chatting
147

Instead of This:
E-mailing a coworker
96
Do This:
Walk to his or her office
128

Source: Women's Health Magazine

Wellness on the Rise

Our “health care” system is failing and it’s no surprise why. Currently in the United States 95 cents of every health care dollar is being spent on treating illnesses or conditions after they occur. This means that LESS than 5 cents on every dollar is being spent on health education and prevention. This is staggering knowing that we are spending almost all of our health care costs on diseases and conditions that are completely preventable.

“Right now, some 75 percent of health care costs are accounted for by heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and obesity. What these five diseases and conditions have in common is that they are largely preventable and even reversible by changes in nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle,” Said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Author, M.D. and Founder of Preventive Medicine Research Institute Dr. Dean Ornish agrees saying, “Studies have shown that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90 percent of all heart disease. Thus, the disease that accounts for more premature deaths and costs Americans more than any other illness is almost completely preventable, and even reversible, simply by changing lifestyle.”

True prevention isn’t going to your doctor to have lab work done, mammograms, vaccines or taking any sort of medication. True prevention is about living a natural lifestyle, keeping your body moving correctly, exercising, eating healthy, managing your stress and breathing healthy.

As President Obama said in his speech to Congress earlier this year: “[It is time] to make the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that's one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control.”

Health Tip: No More Vegetable Oil

If you are going to accomplish just one health task today, it should be to throw out all the vegetable oil in your kitchen. It is one of the unhealthiest things you can have in your home.

Vegetable oil is loaded with Omega 6 fatty acids, which throws off your Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid ratio. When you overload your system with excess Omega 6’s, as they are found in vegetable oil, it throws off the ratio in your body causing a great amount of inflammation throughout your body. Inflammation can lead to almost any disease, including cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and depression.

Replace vegetable oil with extra virgin olive oil for anything with low to no heat. If you are cooking anything above 110 degrees (to the point it will steam) use coconut oil.

Happy Fathers Day!

The bond between a family is like no other, and it gives people the power to do incredible things. Dick and Rick Hoyt are one of the amazing examples of a family who has given each other the ability to achieve something they would have never been able to do without the other. 

Dick Hoyt’s son, Rick, was born with cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or talk. In 1977, when Dick was 40 years old, Rick asked his dad if he would run with him in a local 5k. Dick already had heart conditions and was not a runner but agreed to enter the race with his son. The Hoyts came in second to last in the race, but when they got home that night Rick typed to his dad, “When I’m running, it feels like my disability disappears.” 

As of August 2008, Team Hoyt had competed in 984 fitness events, including 229 triathlons, 6 of them being IronMan competitions and 66 marathons.

How's Your Running Form?

Running can be a great way to get exercise given it’s done right. Every time your feet come into contact with the ground it disperses the impact throughout the rest of your body. Our bodies are made to run a specific way but with all the new types of un-natural footwear and altered postures most people tend to run with bad form and posture.

 

Altered running postures are ultimately going to lead to sprains, strains, fractures and eventually degeneration, typically in the hips or low back, which causes many runners to give up running for the rest of their lives.

If every single joint in your spine and hips isn’t moving correctly eventually the joints are going to degenerate. This is because the impact between your foot and the ground needs to be evenly dispersed throughout your body joint by joint, if any of these joints is fixated or stuck the impact is going to go to this same joint over and over causing it to degenerate.

Click here to view a video from New Jersey Sports Medicine and Performance CenterNew Jersey Sports Med Gait Video. After watching this video pay close attention to your form the next time you are out for a run.

Sprinters Versus Marathon Runners

What does your dream body look like? Are you setting the right goals and taking the right steps toward achieving this body?

Different types of workouts and exercises will cause your muscles to develop differently. For example, sprinters are built for speed and power where as marathon runners are built for endurance. Because of this, sprinter’s muscles tend to be much larger and burn fuel at a very fast rate, whereas marathon runners tend to have smaller muscles that burn fuel at a much slower rate.

Most people think that doing sprint workouts are only for high level athletes, but sprint workouts can be very effective for anyone at any age. Also, they typically take much less time than going for a long run. Sprint workouts can be done not only by running, but by bicycling, swimming, jump roping or any other way you can alternate fast bursts with rest periods.

Pain Killers or Proper Joint Motion?

If someone slaps your arm why does rubbing that area make it feel better? The rubbing motion actually helps to regulate the pain signals going to your brain. Every joint in your body works the same way.

When the joints are moving correctly through their full range of motion it will create the same rubbing motion which will inhibit the pain signals. When a joint isn’t moving correctly the pain signals will travel to the brain causing the sensation of pain. Would taking any sort of pain killers fix the problem or just cover it up?

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President Obama Agrees, Alternative Medicine is Mainstream

Alternative Medicine is Mainstream recently ran in The Wall Street Journal and talked about how alternative medical care needs to be in the forefront in our future national health plan.

President Barack Obama said in his health plan, "This nation is facing a true epidemic of chronic disease. An increasing number of Americans are suffering and dying needlessly from diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and HIV/AIDS, all of which can be delayed in onset if not prevented entirely."

Our "health-care system" is primarily a disease-care system and is one of the worst systems of any industrialized country. Last year, $2.1 trillion was spent in the U.S. on medical care, or 16.5% of the gross national product. Of these trillions, 95 cents of every dollar was spent to treat disease after it had already occurred. At least 75% of these costs were spent on treating chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, that are preventable or even reversible.

In 2004, The Interheart Study followed 30,000 men and women on six continents and found that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90% of all heart disease. Yes, you read it right... Lifestyle could prevent 90% of all heart disease!

Research is finally starting to catch up with the beliefs on which the profession of chiropractic was founded on more than 100 years ago -- our bodies have the innate ability to heal themselves, given there is no stress or interference slowing this process. To achieve the maximal healing potential in our bodies we have to eliminate all forms of stress. These forms of stress come from interferences of the spinal cord, eating unhealthy, moving unhealthy and mental stress. Until you eliminate all these forms of stress on your body you aren’t going to be able to function and heal at 100%.

President Obama also recognizes chiropractic will play a very critical role in the future health of the Unit ed States. 2009 is a year of change -- not only for our country, but also an opportunity for change for your health by taking it in your own hands.

Source: Alternative Medicine is Mainstream, Deepak Chopra, M.D.; Interheart Study, Medscape.com; Letter to Doctors of Chiropractic, Barack Obama, barackobama.com.
Picture compliments of: Martin Kozlowski, WSJ

Got Milk?

Americans have been bombarded with commercials, magazine ads, billboards and many other forms of advertising for milk. All of these ads promote how healthy milk is for us. But could this be false advertising?

The milk found in your typical supermarket is very unhealthy and has been linked to a variety of symptoms and illnesses such as; allergies, gas, constipation, obesity, cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Contrary to popular belief -- drinking milk can actually cause osteoporosis instead of preventing it.

What's so bad about milk? 

1.   Humans are the only species on earth that drinks milk after we go through the infant stage. Many adults actually lose their enzymes to digest milk as they age because our bodies aren’t supposed to drink milk. For instance, approximately 95% of Asians are lactose intolerant.

2.   Cows in natural environments produce 10 gallons of milk per day where as cows that are in modern day dairy farms produce 100 gallons of milk today because of all the growth hormones given to them, making their udders so large they often drag on the ground

3.   The USDA allows milk to contain 1.5 million pus particles per milliliter. These particles come from the growth hormones, antibiotics, and grains fed to the cows.

4.   Cows are forced to eat grains which cause them to become sick. Farmers then give them antibiotics to keep them alive. These grains and antibiotics cause the milk produced by the cows to become very inflammatory, which causes disease.

5.   After cow’s milk is collected it is then pasteurized and homogenized. This process basically destroys all of the healthy enzymes, vitamins, proteins and bacteria.

Does this mean you can’t ever drink milk? No, if you can find raw, organic, unpasteurized and unhomogenized milk, it can provide many healthy benefits. You can also replace cow milk with goat’s milk, or unsweetened almond milk.

Sources: 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Jonny Bowden; The New Wellness Revolution, Paul Zane Pilzer; Origins and Evolution of the Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century, Loren Cordain; Osteoarthritis, Angiogenesis and Inflammation, C.S. Bonnet.