Inspiration: Live the life you are capable of living

"There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that is less than you are capable of living" --Nelson Mandela

Make your health a priority, live the life you are capable of living. 

Learn more about true health at www.DrKehres.com.

Inspiration: If you don't like where you are, change it

Ready to make your health a priority? Contact us at 989-607-4322, Midland chiropractor and Saginaw chiropractor. 

Visit our health blog at www.drkehres.com.

Healthy non-alcoholic holiday drinks - sparkling water

Are you looking for a healthy, non-alocholic drink to enjoy this holiday season? Especially with my wife being pregnant, this has been a priority for us this year.

I was recently on NBC 25 with different, delicious drinks and a few of our favorites.

Cascade Ice comes in four flavors, citrus twist, lemon zest, lemon lime and mixed berry. It is organic and has a very short ingredients list (always a good thing!). In Michigan, it is available at Kroger, click here to see where it is sold in other states.

Perrier sparkling water is available at most grocery stores and served in some restaurants. Plain sparkling water is delicious and you can add your own flavoring through fresh or frozen fruit, but they also offer a variety of flavors. Pink Grapefruit is Jen's favorite. The ingredients list for their flavored sparkling water contains "natural flavors" which is very broad and undefined, but it still makes this drink a better option than the majority of other holiday drinks. And Perrier is often easy to find in glass bottles, which is always the best option (safer than plastic). There are a variety of other healthy sparking water brands available, these are just a few of our favorites. 

Earlier this year we went to Europe, and many of the restaurants we went to for dinner served water in wine glasses and sparkling water was always available. This simple change of glassware made drinking just plain water more fun. Add some fruit to garnish the drink, and you have a very healthy and easy to make non-alcoholic holiday drink!

Saginaw Chiropractic office collects Christmas gifts for Underground Railroad

Thank you so much to everyone who donated Christmas gifts for the Saginaw Underground Railroad! 

We received a lot of great presents dropped off to Kehres Health & Chiropractic, thanks to Dr. Fritz & Dr. Harpham for delivering the gifts today! 

We look forward to partnering with another local non-profit next Christmas at our Saginaw chiropractic and Midland chiropractic offices. 

Medicine is not healthcare -- food is healthcare

Learn more about nutrition and true health.

5 tips for staying healthy for the holidays

 

If a seed falls on cement, it cannot grow as it is not in an accommodating environment. You can do the same thing with your health, make your immune system strong as cement to prevent sickness and the growth of disease. 

Here are my top five tips for staying healthy this holiday season: 

1. Nutrition - sugar depresses your immune system and grains cause inflammation. 80% of your immune system is in your stomach, take care of it and you'll do your immune system a favor! Learn more about nutrition at DrKehres.com.   
2. Remove stress - stress depletes nutrients. The holiday season can get busy and hectic, but dealing with stress in a healthy way and having a positive attitude can directly impact your health. This also means removing physical stress. We all know that being in pain can affect your mood and it also affects your health, the sooner you can get out of pain, the less stress you will have (physical and mental). Call your chiropractor for natural pain treatment.   
   
3. Vitamins - people tend to get sick more in the winter, this is also when we get six less hours of sunshine a day. A coincidence? I think not. The flu follows the cycle of the sun.  Especially if you live in the north, be sure to supplement with high quality Vitamin D3. Probiotics are also helpful to keep your stomach healthy (where the majority of your immune system is).    
4. Sleep - your body repairs when you sleep. Turn off the TV, get off your computer (after reading this of course) and aim to get in bed by 10:30 pm.  
5. Exercise - exercise helps with digestion and lymph flow. Get moving to strengthen your immune system!  

Wishing you a very healthy and happy holiday season from all of us at Kehres Health & Chiropractic! 

 

Vitamin D3 for seasonal affective disorder

Do you feel like this lately?

'Tis the season for seasonal affective disorder (SAD)! Tired, depressed, foggy, blah, lethargic?

It's called SEASONAL affective disorder for a reason. What do we do differently in the winter? We move less and we don't get sunlight aka Vitamin-D3! Both exercise and Vitamin D helps boost mood, increase energy and improve brain function.

Get moving and start supplementing with Vitamin D-3 ASAP!

I think I need to take my dog for a walk, she looks like she's suffering from seasonal affective disorder too...

Tips for preventing winter falls

Wow, it's icy outside! (In Michigan)

Falling on ice can be very devastating for many people, from broken hips to compression fractures in the lumbar spine. 

Do you know the best way to prevent falling on ice?

Take very small steps and strengthen your legs!

Small steps keep your feet under your body and allow your foot to maximize it's surface area, making you much more stable. The farther your foot gets in front of you the greater your risk of falling.

Also, do body weight squats on a regular basis to keep your legs strong, if you start to fall strong legs will help you get your feet under you again preventing you from falling.

Eat Local Michigan bags are now available!

We now have Eat Local Michigan reusable grocery bags! 15" canvas bags with long straps, they are perfect reusable grocery bags, lunch bags or for shopping at the farmers' market.

Available at Kehres Health & Chiropractic in Saginaw or online, click here to purchase an Eat Local bag or shirt.

Proceeds go to the Michigan Farmers' Market Association.

Junior League of Saginaw's Festival of Trees - 2013

Here is our Kehres Health & Chiropractic "Have a Very Harry Potter Christmas" tree for the Junior League of Saginaw Valley's Festival of Trees.

Did you go to the festival this year? If so what was your favorite tree?

Here is the tree from the 2011 Festival of Trees and 2012 Festival of Trees.

Grass Fed Beef for Sale at Kehres Health & Chiropractic in Saginaw, MI

Guess who has local grass fed beef by the pound?! Kehres Health & Chiropractic in Saginaw, MI does.

We literally have hundreds of people we meet who don't want to buy quarter of a cow and are only looking for a few pounds at a time. We now have that for you!

We will carry burger, steaks, soup bones and everything else. If you have something specific please let us know.

The ground beef will be $5.50 per pound and the steaks will vary depending on size and type. $5.50 is more than reasonable for local, drug and hormone free, grass fed beef!

There is no better way to make a community healthier than to eat local and support local farmers. #eatlocalMI

Happy Halloween from Kehres Health & Chiropractic!

Recipe: Grass-Fed Beef Chili

Chili is a healthy, protein packed food that is perfect this time of year. It can be made with grass-fed beef or venison, and these ingredients are typically easy to find organic. 

Here is our go to recipe:

• 2 lbs. grass-fed ground beef (or venison)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 15 ½ ounce cans red kidney beans, drained
• 1 28 ounce can tomatoes, cut up
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder

Cook the beef and onion until the meat is browned, drain off excess fat. Stir in beans, tomatoes (undrained), green pepper, celery, tomato past, garlic, salt and chili powder. 

Cover and let simmer for 1 - 1 ½ hours, stir occasionally. Makes 10 - 12 servings. If you want to make in a crockpot instead, cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

(If a less thick chili is desired, substitute one 8 ounce can tomato sauce for the tomato paste and do not drain the kidney beans.) 

See more Kehres Health recipes at DrKehres.com. 

Is Butter Bad for You?

Simply looking at the butter from grass-fed cows it's easy to see the difference in color. Grain-fed butter is a dull white color.

It depends what kind of butter it is!  

Butter was given a bad rap in the 1950s when Americans started their fat-phobia phase. This inspired a common, but untrue, belief has been that butter causes heart disease, cancer and obesity.  

But if this were true, how would some of the world's healthiest populations have always had butter as a continuous staple in their diet? It just doesn't make sense, or does it?

There is a huge difference between grass-fed cow's butter and grain-fed cow's butter. It is like calling a golf cart and a Cadillac the same thing just because they both have a motor.

Cows are meant to eat grass. When they eat grass, they are healthy and produce healthy butter. It also means they are getting exercise and living in an environment that they should be living in. Grain-fed cows are fed an unnatural diet, typically don't have much room to move around and are at a higher risk for disease. This, in many cases, causes acidosis in the cow leading to liver problems, nutrient absorption issues, digestive problems, dehydration and many other issues that can be fatal. Grain-fed cows do not produce healthy butter.

One of the main differences between grass-fed butter and grain-fed butter is the Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio. When you have more Omega-3's compared to Omega-6's, it helps to reduce inflammation. Grains increase the amount of the unhealthy Omega-6's leading to excess inflammation. Cows that are fed grass have 50 percent of their fat in the healthy Omega-3 form, while cows fed grains have almost none. This makes grain-fed butter very inflammatory, potentially leading to many health issues from fibromyalgia to cancer.

Eating grass-fed butter on a regular basis can have many health benefits:

• Full of Omega-3s: reduces inflammation, therefore reducing pain and disease. 
• High in CLA: has been shown to help with weight loss and to prevent cancer.
• Contains Vitamin A: provides positive benefits for your eye health. Vitamin A is what gives grass fed butter the bright yellow color.

The two types of grass-fed butter that I typically buy available locally: Kerrygold and Thomas Organic Creamery.

The next time someone tries to tell you butter is bad for you, you are welcome to teach them about the differences between grass-fed and grain-fed cows. And don't even get me started about margarine and other fake butter... it is even worse than butter from grain-fed cows.     

World Map of Obesity... USA leads

Go USA!!! uh...wait... this isn't a good thing to be leading the world in...

We spend way more money than any other country on our health care system yet this is where it gets us.

Kids Run the Nation - Saginaw, Dr. Kehres

I have done hundreds of health classes now, but I think Kids Run the Nation - Saginaw was my favorite group so far!

What an awesome group of kids with lots of great questions!

"Can you build a gingerbread man using ginger?"

The sooner you can teach kids about nutrition and exercise, the better. 

Kehres Health & Chiropractic intern Jeff Janis

Dr. Fritz, Jen and I had a great time at the Saginaw Valley State University football game tonight to watch previous Kehres Health & Chiropractic intern Jeff Janis play! They had a great win over Northwood and Jeff had two touchdowns!

If you haven't been to a game before, it's a lot of fun!
  

If people got as excited as dogs did to go for a walk...

If only people would get this excited to exercise, the world would be a much healthier place!

Can you imagine people jumping up and down and shaking their butt every time someone says "Do you want to exercise?"

Read more about health tips we can learn from dogs. 

The Prescription Drug Culture in America

Drugs, drugs, drugs! Take more drugs! We are crazy about drugs. Have an ache? Take a drug. Throat hurt? Take a drug! Low energy? Take a DRUG! Think you might, possibly, potentially have a problem? Take a drug, MAYBE it will help your potential problem! Want to get off all your drugs? Take a drug to help you get off your other drugs! Have a side effect from that drug? Here's another drug to help with your side effects!

The US is 5% of the world's population, but we take the majority of the drugs in the world!

We take:

• 80% of the world's pain killers!
• 99% of the world's Vicodin

We have:

• 4 million kids on Ritalin
• 22 million women are on anti-depressants
• 32 million Americans are on Statins  

Learn more about true health to avoid prescription drugs. 

Watch this video by Bryant Gumbel on Alex Rodriquez and drug culture in America:

Had your tonsils, appendix or gallbladder removed? Read this.

If you have had your tonsils, appendix, gallbladder or any other organ taken out of your body that's a HUGE sign that you have an auto-immune problem. When someone has an auto-immune condition, their immune system attacks their own organs, which is obviously not a natural processed.

The foods you put into your body are the #1 cause of auto-immune conditions. Certain foods cause inflammatory reactions in people and their body attacks the food particles and tries to remove them from your system. Sometimes your organs get stuck in the cross fire and get damaged.

The way to fix it? Remove the foods that are causing the reaction! Grains are typically one of the main culprits, along with many other highly processed foods!

Inspiration: RS Trust

Marrianne in an eksoskeleton

This is one of the most amazing and inspirational videos I've ever seen, especially since I know Marrianne personally. Every time my wife and I go to England we meet up with her and her fiancé Andy who made this video. She is one of the most positive and inspirational people I have ever met.

Watch the video here.

In 2004, Marrianne was paralyzed from the shoulders down in an auto accident and this video shows her amazing progress.

In 2005, The Rooprai Spinal Trust (RST) was formed. Their goal was to mirror Marrianne’s positive outlook, aid her quest for progress and help others affected by spinal cord injury. Along the way Marrianne has become an inspiration for people with similar injuries and many others as well!

Pulse3 Run for Your Heart Race

Congrats to everyone who participated in the Saginaw Ymca and Pulse3 Foundation Run for Your Heart Race today! Kehres Health was proud to be part of it for the third year in a row. 


Our favorite Runners Performance Store team was there in full force!

Sherrie, one of our great Kehres Health massage therapists, working on the Saginaw Sting bee. 

One reason why Saginaw County has a 40% obesity rate?

I think I found out why Saginaw County has a 40% obesity rate, which is the highest in Michigan.

We have the highest concentration of Oreos per person! 

 

Want to decrease Saginaw's obesity rate? Visit Kehres Health & Chiropractic, learn more at DrKehres.com or come to a free health class in Saginaw, MI by Dr. Dan Kehres. 

Upcoming health events in Saginaw, MI

Just looked at the calendar and there are tons of exciting things coming up!

Lots of awesome health classes coming up around the Great Lakes Bay! We are getting ready to kick off a six week extreme makeover series in Saginaw, MI at a local church, I'm teaching a business class for health majors class at SVSU, a health class at the Saginaw Culture Club, an assisted living center and many other locations along with the classes in our office!!

Get your family and friends on board and get them to a class! If you want us to come out and speak at your business, church, school or gym in Saginaw, MI or surrounding areas let us know. Our mission is to make the Great Lakes Bay healthier and we are starting to see that happen!

Visit KehresHealth.com for our upcoming class schedule. 

Health makeover series at St. Mark Lutheran Church iin Saginaw

 
Tonight we kicked off a 6 week health makeover series at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Saginaw, MI.

Can't wait to see the changes in this group over the next few months!

Are you interested in making your health a priority? Come to a free health class at Kehres Health & Chiropractic in Saginaw, MI. Or contact us to set up a free health class at your church, group or office. 

ACHOO! Relieving allergies the natural way [NBC 25]

As seen on NBC 25, written by Joel Feick 

Local honey at the Saginaw Farmers' Market

It's more than just a tasty treat to put on your toast. Honey may have medicinal benefits, especially when it comes to allergies.

But it has to be local honey.

That's according to Dr. Dan Kehres, a Saginaw area chiropractor and natural living advocate. Dr. Dan preaches a healthy lifestyle and has long been an advocate of locally grown food. He feels it's better for you if it's grown near you.

Which brings him to honey. He loves it and feels it can help you if you suffer from allergies. He talked about it during a segment on NBC 25 Today.

Although there is no scientific research linking honey consumption to reduced allergies, Discovery Health agrees there appears to be a link.

"Local honey is produced by bees usually within a few miles of where the person eating the honey lives. There's no real rule of thumb on how local the honey has to be, but proponents suggest the closer, the better. This proximity increases the chances that the varieties of flowering plants and grasses giving the allergy sufferer trouble are the same kinds the bees are including in the honey they produce. After all, it wouldn't help much if you ate honey with spores from a type of grass that grows in Michigan if you suffer from allergies in Georgia."


Read more about natural allergy remedies, see other NBC 25 segments with Dr. Dan Kehres.
 

Inspiration: It is not enough to have a good mind...

Are you using your mind to talk about insignificant gossip or are you using it to better yourself and the world around you?

Life is full of distractions especially with technology, those who can put those distractions behind and focus are the ones separate themselves from the pack.

6 health tips I learned from my dog

Happy Friday and Labor Day weekend!

6 health tips I have learned from my shih tzu:

1) Always stretch first thing in the morning and after laying down
2) Drink water right after you wake up
3) Always wag your tail (be happy) it will cheer up everyone around you
4) Ignore the loud barking dogs (negative people) and keep moving forward
5) Hide your 20% snacks around the house so others don't steal them
6) Be an MSU fan! Go State!

We hope everyone has a safe, fun and sun filled weekend!

It's not a magic pill, but will help you lose weight [NBC 25]

As seen on NBC 25, written by Joel Feick 

photo by Joel Feick, NBC 25

By now you've seen those e-mails and infomercials about amazing diet pills. Saginaw chiropractor Dr. Dan Kehres says there's no quick, easy way to lose weight. It's still requires proper diet and exercise. But Dr. Kehres (and Dr. Oz) likes CLA.

According to about.com, patients with thyroid problems who are facing weight loss challenges may be helped by the dietary supplement conjugated linoleic acid - known as CLA -- which is reported to help body fat in people who are overweight.

A study, published in the Journal of Nutrition found that CLA reduces fat and preserves muscle tissue. According to the research manager, an average reduction of six pounds of body fat was found in the group that took CLA, compared to a placebo group. The study found that approximately 3.4 grams of CLA per day was the level needed to obtain the beneficial effects of CLA on body fat.

Dr. Kehres, who's a regular contributor to NBC 25 Today says he likes CLA because it's all natural.

Check with your doctor before changing your diet or taking any supplement.




Want to learn more about weight loss? Learn about nutrition and exercise.

How Raising Cattle has Changed

In 1850, before the introduction of anything that resembled factory farming or feed lots, how long did it take cattle to reach full size only eating grass? Four to five years.
 
Today, with a factory farming, grains, hormones and all the other medication how long does it take cattle to reach full size? Only 14 months with the help of grains, drugs and lack of exercise. 

If the cattle you eat is sick, how do you think that affects you?

Besides eating healthier meat, eating local it is often easier and more affordable to buy meat in bulk from a local farm that does not give any antibiotics to their animals.

Learn more about the risk of eating meat with drugs.

Looking for healthy meat from a mid-Michigan farmer? Contact Garrett Cattle Company in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan at 989-944-0124 or orders@gccorganics.com.

Inspiration: A tiger doesn't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep

To be successful in life you have to separate yourself from the pack and ignore the negativity along the way.

When you begin to separate yourself the critics will start to give their negative opinions to try to stop you or slow you down. “You're wrong,” “that will never work,” “there's no way,” “why are you doing that?”

Unfortunately, when people start second guessing themselves that is what typically stops them from doing what they really want to do.

Block them out and stay focused on your goals!

Recipe: Broiled Sockeye Salmon

Tonight for dinner, we broiled a piece of wild caught sockeye salmon in a marinade of freshly squeezed orange juice, minced ginger and balsamic vinegar.

Recipe:

• 1 filet of sockeye salmon
• 1 full orange squeezed
• 1/2 inch of ginger peeled and minced
• 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ideally, mix all the ingredients together and marinate salmon for four to five hours (I was hungry and only let it marinate for 20 minutes).

Place salmon on broiling pan and cook 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until it flakes.

Serve with a slice of fresh orange to squeeze over the salmon. Enjoy!

Prevent heart attacks through diet [NBC 25]

As seen on NBC 25, written by Joel Feick 

Dr. Dan says these foods can lead to good heart health
 
Saginaw chiropractor Dr. Dan Kehres says the quickest way to good cardiovascular health is through your stomach. What you eat can lead to great heart health.

Dr. Kehres, who appears regularly on NBC 25 Today, says blueberries, almonds and dark chocolate are foods you should include in your diet. He calls it part of a Polymeal. He says following it can reduce heart disease by 75%. He also loves anything that's homegrown. He's even printed up some t-shirts that read "Eat Local."

He also says red wine in moderation is good for your heart.

Check with your doctor before changing your diet dramatically. But the Polymeal diet is packed with nutrition. It's something to consider.

Watch the July 30, 2013 NBC 25 segment: 
 

When it comes to prescribed medication, do your research

The death toll from illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin is around 10,000 people per year in the U.S.

The death toll from prescribed medicine in the U.S. is around 106,000 per year. (And this is only the recorded or correlated, where as it's easy to tell if someone overdosed on cocaine)
 
I remember working a health fair in Florida across from a pharmacy. I was watching people drive up to the window and get their bags of medication and then driving off. It scares me to think how many of those people are taking the medications and driving around especially with all of the side effects they have. I meet people all the day who start taking a blood pressure medication and then pass out within the next few days because their blood pressure dropped too low.

We know alcohol distorts our ability to think and react but so do many (legal) medications.

Do you research, learn about true health. Medication should be a last resort, not a first line of defense. 

Eat Local Michigan: The Maple Grille

Another amazing dinner at The Maple Grille LLC tonight! Look who is wearing a Kehres Health & Chiropractic Eat Local shirt... owner and chef Josh Schaeding.

Learn more about The Maple Grille at www.themaplegrille.net