Remind Yourself of "Why"

Before you try to make a change in your life, you have to make sure you know why you're doing it first.

Are you happy with your life and happy with where you are today? Are you happy but could be even happier with some kind of change? Figure out WHY you want to make that change.

It could be for your own enjoyment of life, your family or other relationships, for finances, or for your job.

Once you figure out what's going to inspire you, then you're going to be able to move in a direction towards change.

Add Gratitude to Your Life

"I have a simple gratitude habit that I have been following nearly every day for three years. When I sit down to eat dinner, I say one thing that I am grateful for happening today.

Why does it work?

1. It is a good idea to force yourself into a positive frame of mind at least once per day.
2. The individual impact of any one piece of gratitude is small, but the cumulative effect is huge.
3. You start to realize how insignificant monetary things are for your day-to-day happiness.
4. I have stuck with the habit because it is stupidly small.
5. I have stuck with the habit because it is perfectly tied to another behavior - eating dinner."

#begratefullyaligned

Link: https://jamesclear.com/gratitude-habit

The Benefits of Chiropractic Care

When people think about chiropractic they typically think about adjustments being made to the spine.

But did you know that chiropractic was originally based on getting people healthy through trauma, thoughts and toxins? Reducing physical stress, getting people moving better, reducing mental stress, getting people to be happier, and then removing toxins through nutrition and through our environment are all ways to help people get healthier.

The foundation of chiropractic is improving total health, and that foundation has never been more important than it is today.

The Science Behind Gratitude

"The benefits of practicing gratitude are nearly endless. People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.

And gratitude doesn't need to be reserved only for momentous occasions: Sure, you might express gratitude after receiving a promotion at work, but you can also be thankful for something as simple as a delicious piece of pie."

#begratefullyaligned

Source: https://www.happify.com/hd/the-science-behind-gratitude/

Stop Eating Cereal for Breakfast

Stop eating sugary cereal for breakfast!

Cereal is not healthy and should be treated as a dessert, even Kellogg agrees!

Link to Article: https://newfoodeconomy.org/kellogg-sugary-cereal-healthy-label

Bad and Good Sleeping Posture

This is bad sleeping posture.

So what is good sleeping posture? We strongly recommend sleeping on your back as its easiest to keep the spine neutral as you sleep.

Your mattress and pillow choices can also help your posture.

From: https://physioworks.com.au/
Select a firm mattress or an ensemble that does not sag. If necessary, place a board under your mattress. You can also place the mattress on the floor temporarily if necessary. If you've always slept on a soft surface, it may be initially painful to change to a harder surface. Try to do what's most comfortable for you.

The human neck curves slightly forward (to sustain the weight of the head when upright), and it is very important to maintain this curve when in a resting position. If the height of the pillow is too high or low when sleeping, your neck is bent abnormally out of alignment, causing muscle and joint strain. You can even wake with headaches.

Poor pillow support can also cause narrowing of the air pipe, resulting in obstructed breathing, and sometimes snoring, which can hinder sleep.

Spinach Blueberry Muffins -- kid approved

Recipe adapted from Yellow Brick Home

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk (almond, coconut or regular)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsps cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 8 oz baby spinach, pulsed or blended 
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries 
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oat flour

For both the spinach and oat flour, my blender worked great! First I put oats in the blender dry and pulsed until it finely ground into a flour and removed from blender. Then I used it to fine chop the spinach (or use a food processor if you have one). 

Instructions

Our kids loved so much, they snuck a
muffin right while I was taking a picture ;)

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Mash the bananas, add oil and mix together
• Add applesauce, vanilla and milk to the bowl, and mix everything together
• Mix in eggs
• Add cinnamon and baking soda
• Then add the finely chopped spinach and frozen blueberries
• Lastly, add the wheat and oat flour, and stir until combined
• Spoon mixture into lightly greased muffin tins, I used mini muffin tins
• Bake for 20 minutes and check for done with a toothpick

After cooling, I froze in a Stasher silicone bag. They work great as snacks and in lunchboxes! 

How to Stay Aligned While Standing

How to stay aligned while standing:

1. Stand tall!
2. Extend your head directly up (think balloon lifting your head with a string in the top of your skull) - but keep your chin tucked in. Avoid tilting your head forward, backward or sideways.
3. Your earlobes will line up with the middle of your shoulders.
4. Keep your shoulders back, your knees straight and your back straight.
5. Let arms hang naturally down the sides of the body
6. Lightly draw in your core stomach muscles. Avoid tilting your pelvis forward.
7. Avoid locking the knees
8. Ensure your feet arches are in a neutral (not flat) position.
9. Stand with weight over the center of your feet.
10. Stand with your feet slightly apart (shoulder-width).

11. When standing for sustained periods, shift your weight from one foot to the other, or stand in walk stand and rock your weight from your front to back foot.

8 Tips to Sit Properly

Most of us spend most of our day sitting, and so how you sit can have a huge impact on your posture and your health. We are huge advocates of standing desks, but in some cases that isn't possible.

So, how do I sit properly? Here are 8 tips:

1. Pull your shoulders and your neck and head back. Take a deep breath, expand your chest as much as you can. This will automatically correct your posture.
2. Adjust the chair height so your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are in line (or slightly lower) with your hips.
3. Sit up straight and keep your hips far back in the chair.
4. The back of the chair should be somewhat reclined at a 100- to 110-degree angle.
5. Ensure the keyboard is close and directly in front of you.
6. To help your neck stay relaxed and in a neutral position, the monitor should be directly in front of you, a few inches above eye level.
7. Sit at least 20 inches (or an arm’s length) away from the computer screen.
8. Relax the shoulders and be aware of them rising toward your ears or rounding forward throughout the workday.

Poor Posture While Working

For those working long hours in open offices at laptops instead of at monitors with ergonomic setups, the transition to so much screen time creates wear and tear. Poor posture also can evolve into a permanent stoop, Chang says, as the muscles and ligaments grow accustomed to the position and ultimately make it more difficult for the spine to straighten appropriately; other changes, such as bone spurs and even the reshaping of vertebrae, are also possible.

The result of all this time spent peering at screens, and the subsequent aches and pains, has led to a rise in products designed to improve posture, from sleek tech devices to body braces. Though some research has been done on the usage of tech wearables to monitor posture, the long-term results remain murky, and another NIH study that looked at the efficacy of posture-correcting braces suggests that their greatest benefit could be the increased self-awareness that comes from wearing one. "The latest theories of the utility of a back brace is that it is effective in reminding the patient that they should maintain proper posture and lifting technique, especially in those times they are most active," Chang says.

Follow the link for more: https://www.greenwichtime.com/lifestyle/article

The Importance of your Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is the main source of communication between the body and the brain. 

Through chiropractic care, we improve the health of the entire body - muscles, joints, and internal organs - by addressing the health of the spine.

The Primary Purpose of Eating

Most of the talk around nutrition revolves around weight loss.

And while being overweight is definitely a prevalent issue - especially in American culture - the primary purpose of eating is to provide our bodies with the things they need to function, to heal, and to prevent disease.

If you're not seeing success on the scale, it might be time to flip the script by thinking about your health first and then the number on the scale.

Causes of Inflammation

Causes of Inflammation

Medication Covers Up Sickness

Medications don't make us healthier humans, 

they treat problems and help people cope with symptoms.

Yes, there is definitely a time and place for certain medications. However, exercise, nutrition, stress management and avoiding destructive habits - that's where health begins.

Stop The "Just Pop a Pill" Mindset

We must break the "just pop a pill" mindset.

Opioids are legally made and and legally prescribed but they are tearing people's lives apart. We see people with opioid addictions on a regular basis.

It only takes two rounds of taking opioids to get severely addicted, and the devastation these drugs can bring quickly snowballs downhill from there.

If you know someone who is heading towards an addiction or is already addicted, you have to take massive action to get them to change. Sometimes rehab is the only option.

Steps towards prevention is the best option, and reducing pain can be done naturally through:

1. Anti-inflammatory diet
2. Anti-inflammatory supplements
3. Anti-inflammatory spices/herbs
4. Proper joint mobility
5. Proper muscle flexibility
6. Positive mindset

Pain Leads to Worse Things

Have low back pain?

Believe it or not, that pain can create trouble for more than just your back.

Connected to your spine are nerves, and those nerves go to your internal organs. Back pain creates inflammation, and that inflammation can affect the nerves traveling to your organs, creating, for example, issues in the stomach and the processing of food.

Income Spent on Food

🙁 ☹️ 😧 😲

Eat Greens, Every Day

Eat greens, every day.

A study published in the Dec. 20, 2017 issue of Neurology, by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found some impressive results correlated less cognitive decline with eating more green, leafy vegetables.

People who ate one serving of leafy green vegetables daily performed substantially better on cognitive tests so much so that it would put them at an equivalent of 11 years younger than others their same age who were not eating greens on a regular basis.

The Impact of Financial Stress on Your Health

Stop over spending, your health will thank you.

Chronic financial stress is one of the biggest forms of stress that leads to health problems down the road. And it’s generally self-inflicted stress just so someone can pretend like they make more money than they do.

Why drive a car or buy a house that’s more than you can afford when it makes you be on a very tight and stressful budget for the rest of your life? Is this lifetime of stress really worth it?

No, it’s really not.

1. Sell your house and buy a smaller cheaper one well within your budget
2. Sell your car and buy a cheaper used one
3. Stop shopping daily on Amazon for things you don’t really need

The Importance of a Good Diet

You can drive a car fast or slow and eventually it will need a tune-up.

But fill the tank with junk, sawdust, and dirt and you won't make it out of the parking lot.

Exercise is VERY important to a healthy life, but the food we ingest makes an immense and immediate change to how our bodies function.

Get Moving!

One of the aims of chiropractic care is to get people moving better.

But why is that important for people who aren't professional athletes?

The more you move the longer you live!

Movement is anti-inflammatory, especially inside joints. Lack of motion increases pain signals inside the joints leading to the feeling of pain.

Chiropractors get motion back into joints that aren't moving and help to break the inflammatory cycle reducing pain and preventing long term joint problems.

Healthy Doesn't Have to be Hard

You can try to choke down raw kale or you can find a recipe that makes it taste delicious.

Healthy doesn't have to be hard.

Releasing Stress Hormones

When you are stressed the best thing that you can do is exercise.

Our bodies have a stress response mechanism called "Fight or Flight."

What this means is that when someone got stressed out they would either fight the other person or animal or run away. In our world that seems silly, but stress at work, home, or that we place on ourselves all trigger this reflex, releasing stress hormones.

If those stress hormones aren't dealt with by a massive use of energy, they build up and cause damage.

Looking to release these hormones? Don't fight...exercise!

Exercise Reduces Risk of Disease

Improving your fitness reduces the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease.

Exercise improves white matter in the brain which is highly correlated with improved brain function. White matter is comprised of millions of bundles of nerve fibers used by neurons to communicate across the brain.

If you find yourself out of breath throughout the day during simple tasks like going up the stairs, it's time to get into shape otherwise you are setting yourself up for reduced brain function!

Tips:
-run up stairs at your house instead of walking
-take a fast lap around the grocery store before shopping
-Make physical work park of your regular routine: Home improvement projects, gardening, carrying wood or anything that makes you use your muscles.

Avocado, The Good Fat

An avocado (or two) a day keeps the doctor away!

Fat is the most satisfying thing you can eat so when you are trying to cut carbs and lose weight you need to make sure to increase healthy fats like avocados.

Moderate to high fat diets have consistently shown to be the most beneficial when it comes to weight loss. Many experts suggest getting anywhere from 40-50% or more of your daily calories from healthy fats. For someone eating 2,000 calories a day this would equate to 88-111 grams of fat per day. Most people are nowhere near this and if they are it's not healthy fat.

One avocado has around 21 grams of beautiful, healthy, oh-so-tasty fat.

The Truth About ADHD

This is worth a read:

"By the time they reach high school, nearly 20 percent (1 in 5) of all American boys will be diagnosed with ADHD. Millions of those boys will be prescribed a powerful stimulant to "normalize" them.

A great many of those boys will suffer serious side effects from those drugs. The shocking truth is that many of those diagnoses are wrong, and that most of those boys are being drugged for no good reason—simply for being boys. It's time we recognize this as a crisis."

"In 4 years, sales of ADHD drugs have grown by 89%"

Taking young kids (especially boys) out of a physically active play focused routine and putting them into a structured environment where they have to sit and be quiet is a bad combination. Kids need activity and exercise on a regular basis to function normally.

Read the full article here: https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/

The Importance of Vitamin D

As different parts of the country get varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year and everyone's skin pigment is different, the best rule of thumb is to go outside and get some sun (without suntan lotion, as it prevents 95% of Vitamin D production) until your skin turns light pink -- not red. In sunny Florida, this may be only ten minutes, but in Michigan in the winter it could be 45 minutes.

Don't get a chance to get outside? Supplement with Vitamin D.

Most people need between 2,000 IU to 10,000 IU of Vitamin D a day to achieve beneficial levels. However, the average American only gets approximately 300 IU a day from their diet -- which is why deficiency and disease linked to low Vitamin D levels is so prevalent.

When a plant is sick, the first thing we do is water it and move it into the sun. These should be the first steps humans take as well to prevent sickness and promote wellness.

Good Sources of Fiber

Do you know how much fiber you're ingesting each day?

For many of us, it's "not enough."

Research has shown it's massively important for good health and most people need between 40-50 grams of fiber per day.

"Out of all the variables that we looked at, fiber intake -- which is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest -- had the strongest influence," a study in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences said. "Essentially, we found that those who had the highest intake of fiber or total fiber actually had an almost 80 percent greater likelihood of living a long and healthy life over a 10-year follow-up. That is, they were less likely to suffer from hypertension, diabetes, dementia, depression, and functional disability."

Avocados, broccoli, berries, nuts and flax are all great sources of fiber!

The Staggering Costs of Diabetes

Pay the farmer now or pay the doctor later.

I’d rather pay the farmer now! How about you?

Soak Up The Sun

The average North American spends 90% of their time indoors, leaving very little time to get one of our body's most crucial nutrients - Vitamin D3 - from the sun.

Our stomach growls when we need more food, we become thirsty when we need more water, we know very quickly when we need more air... but what alerts us when we need more sunlight?

It is estimated that 85% of the American public and 95% of senior citizens are Vitamin D deficient, and this deficiency has been linked to almost every health condition known -- from heart disease to cancer to multiple sclerosis.

Optimizing your Vitamin D levels is one of the most powerful things you can do naturally to protect your health and boost your immune system.

August's New Month Resolution is to "Soak Up the Sun" and focus on getting Vitamin D from the sun, a natural and free source, as much as possible.

Pets and Dust Boost Mental Health

There is nothing healthier mentally and physically than getting outside and interacting with your environment.

Children raised in a rural environment, surrounded by animals and bacteria-laden dust, grow up to have more stress-resilient immune systems and might be at lower risk of mental illness, asthma and allergies than pet-free city dwellers, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

If you are not exposed to these types of organisms, your immune system can't develop a balance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory forces. This leads to chronic, low-grade inflammation and exaggerated immune reactivity that makes you vulnerable to allergy, autoimmune disease and, we propose, psychiatric disorders.

You can read the full article here: https://www.colorado.edu

Nutrition Is The Key To Weight Loss

Exercise is healthy.

But it's not the key to weight loss...nutrition is.

Physical activity reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers, but increasing your physical activity doesn't guarantee you'll lose weight.

The problem is that the more calories you burn during exercise the more calories you are going to crave afterwards. If you aren't eating healthy foods, you are going to magnify the problem with just eating more unhealthy foods. Depending on the kind of exercise you're performing or if you're brand new to exercise, muscle mass can increase while body fat decreases, improving body composition but not decreasing the number on the scale.

Over and over we see people lose weight the easiest by putting their focus 100% on nutrition and not exercise. In fact, many people who see the best weight loss results are only doing low intensity walking, riding a bike, or other similar low-intensity exercise on a regular basis.

Learn how to eat healthy first and THEN implement an exercise routine! Your body will thank you.

Chiropractic Care Over Prescription Drugs

Chiropractic care helps people lead a life without pain, but it helps them lead a life free from the potentially devastating side-effects of prescription painkillers.

Side effects and addiction to pain killers have never been more prevalent that right now. They are easy to get prescribed and are massively addictive, while chiropractic adjustments have been shown over and over to be one of the most beneficial treatments for many types of pain. Adjustments allow the body to heal itself, avoiding the complications that prescriptions can bring.

If prescription painkiller use is required to manage pain, this study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics concluded that even when people were taking pain medications their side effects were greatly reduced when going to a chiropractor.

Please have anyone dealing with chronic pain to consider chiropractic before taking pain medications. Addiction and side effects associated with pain medications ruin lives and kill many people on a daily basis.

Link: https://read.qxmd.com/read/29843912

Roundup Chemical In Your Cereal

Many genetically modified crops (GMO's) are created to be resistant to glyphosate. When glyphosate-containing Roundup is sprayed over the fields, it would kill basically everything in the field except for the crops.

At the surface, this seems like a good solution for farmers to control weeds, but it's a chemical disaster happening to our health because humans are not resistant to glyphosate.

"Out of 61 food samples tested, 48 had some glyphosate in them. The most heavily contaminated were made with conventionally grown -- as opposed to organically grown -- oats."

Source: https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news

Ultra-Processed Packaged Food

"More so than any other Western country, Americans are being bombarded with food products that are high in sugar, saturated fat, salt, and calories. More specifically, after analyzing over 200,000 U.S. packaged food products including bread, snacks, salad dressings, sugary sweets, and sugary drinks researchers found that a whopping 71% were classified as ultra-processed. Furthermore, 86% of the packaged foods sold by the 25 top manufacturers were found to be ultra-processed.

For reference, the term “ultra-processed” was defined as foods that “are industrial formulations made entirely or mostly from substances extracted from foods (oils, fats, sugar, starch and proteins).” These foods are usually created in laboratories and derived from hydrogenated fats and modified starch."

😦😦😦

#eatrealfood

Source: https://www.studyfinds.org/