Water......When and How Much?

Good afternoon everyone,

       Last week, we spoke a bit about essential fats and bad fats.  This week we are going to talk briefly about water (which is one of the most essential substances that we can put in our bodies).  Everyone at one time or another has heard that they should drink more water.  Well that's great, but when should we drink this water and how much should we be drinking everyday?  Oh Yeah....and why should we have to drink so much water anyway?

1)  When?--- We should try to drink most of our water in between meals (also try to drink an 8-12 oz glass 1/2 hour before we eat any meal).  We should only drink one glass of water with a meal, because excess water while eating can cause poor absorption of the nutrients ingested. 

2)  How Much?--- We should try to drink 1/2 oz of water for every pound that we weigh.  (example:  100lbs would need 50 oz. of water throughout the day)

3)  Why?--- 1.  Proper hydration makes us less hungry (reason for drinking 1/2 hour before we eat) and therefor can actually help lose or keep our weight down. 
                    2.  The same center in the brain that controls histamine release (this is what causes allergies), also controls thirst function.  So it is possible that some of our allergies may only be caused by histamine release as a result of dehydration.
                   3.  We are about 70% water....so by drinking more water, we are giving every part of our body more of what it is made of. 
                   4.  Water helps digestion and filtration through your kidneys (urine should be a faint yellow or mostly clear)

Two points to close:  First is that the only thing that counts as water is water (not coffee, tea, lemonade, soda or any other substance) (caffeine drinks actually do the opposite and remove water from your body).  Second is that if you wait until you are thirsty to drink, than it is too late and you have some catching up to do (REMEMBER WITH ANY PART OF YOUR BODY:  IF YOU WAIT FOR SYMPTOMS TO OCCUR THEN YOU HAVE ALREADY WAITED MUCH TOO LONG)

If you have any questions about any of the information in my blogs or you would like me to write about a health topic that interests you, then just email me at drjeff@brucechiropracticonline.com to let me know.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff


Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Eat More Fat....Get Healthy

Good Morning Everyone!

         So what is the deal with fats?  What's good and what's bad?  What should we cook with?  Well.... Here are the quick answers:  Good fat is essential omega-3 oil (source: fish oil, olive oil (uncooked),  flax seed oil, wheat germ oil, sesame seed oil, black current seed oil).  Bad fat is saturated (such as butter and vegetable oils) and trans-fat (hydrogenated oil).  Tip:  even if the label says "0 grams trans-fat," it still can have trans-fat (you have to check the ingredients for any type of hydrogenated oil).  Here is the why: 

This is a cut-out of the membrane of a human cell (which we are entirely made of).  Trans-fat and saturated fats make this membrane stiff and unhealthy....Therefor the cell itself cannot function to the best of its ability. (Result:  you will not function as well as you can and you are less able to fight of disease)  Omega-3 fats make this membrane loose and healthy so that the cells can "eat" and discard waste (just like we do).

So with good omega-3 fats, we know that we are giving our cells better function.  Therefor our bodies can fight off disease and dysfunction. 

So for the last answer to the question above:  We should cook with the most stable of oils which would be coconut oil and or butter.  WHAT!!! you just said that saturated fat (i.e. butter) is bad.  Yes, but it is the lesser of the two evils.  Dr. Jeff...Why don't we just cook with olive oil or one of the other good ones?  We can't use those to cook because they will turn to Trans-fat when heated in a pan (which is much worse that saturated fat...i.e. butter).  Tip:  A healthy butter substitute to use with half the amount of saturated fat is called "GHEE."  This is a product that you can find at Wegmans or Wholefoods and it is a byproduct of heated butter. 

So Eat More GOOD FAT!

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff

Please make sure that before you try any new foods as a result of this blog to check and see if you are allergic to any of the products.

Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Don't Get Down on Your Back!

Good Morning Everyone!

        There are many people that come to see me for low back pain.  They get better and then later in that year or next year the pain comes back.  Often, many of those patients are a little upset or frustrated with their bodies because they feel that this should not be happening to them.  According to a study that I was reading this morning;  "Two thirds of the people who have had back pain in the past can be expected to have some symptoms every year."  Point here is to not get frustrated, because they are not alone.  The simple fact here is that once the original integrity of a body part is interrupted, there is always a small weakness there (that goes for everyone under any type of care). 
        Holy depressing blog Dr. Jeff!  I know it sounds depressing, but the positive aspect to this is that there are worse things.  A spine can be easy to deal with as long as you make it a point to get it checked from time to time during the year.  Regular maintenance can help to prevent problems from reoccurring, and can also make recurrences that do happen less severe than they would have been. 


Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff

Study:  McGorry RW, MSBE, PT et al.  The relation between pain intensity, disability, and the episodic nature of chronic and recurrent low back pain.  Spine 2000;25(7): 834-841.

Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Chiropractic: Good for Chronic Spinal Pain and Your Immune System!

Good Morning Everyone,

      We are in the season of colds and flu, so our bodies may need some extra support for the immune system.  I was reading a study on the effectiveness of chiropractic care compared to acupuncture & drugs(Celebrex or Vioxx) for the treatment of chronic spinal pain.  The study had two great points:  1) Spinal manipulation (chiropractic) provided the highest satisfaction as compared to drugs (Celebrex/Vioxx) or needle acupuncture.  2) The chronic mechanical spinal pain syndromes that people suffer from also compromise immune function!  So chiropractic works better to reduce chronic spinal pain and with less spinal pain the immune system functions better! (Not a bad deal!)

Yours in Health,

Dr. Jeff

Study Source:  "Long-Term Follow-up of a Randomized Clinical Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Medication, Acupuncture, and Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Mechanical Spinal Pain Syndromes," Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, January 2005, Volume 28, Number 1

Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.

Focus

Good Morning Everyone,


      Wow!  It's 2011 and I have to say that I am very excited to get into it.  My son is finally sleeping through the night (a long 7 months!) so my wife and I are going to have more energy to go after what we want this year.  We both have goals that we will be working on and as we get started I am reminded of one major ingredient to success.  That ingredient is FOCUS!  Recognize what you are supposed to be doing and focus so that you can be more efficient and successful.  That goes for everything from washing the dishes to doing the fun stuff that you enjoy.  Yes, you should even focus on boring things such as washing the dishes, because you will get those things done faster.  This will leave extra time and focus for the things that you do enjoy. 


You might be saying:  Thanks for the info again Dr. Jeff, but what does this have to do with by back again?


      I am so glad that you asked and it comes right back to what I have talked about before.  This weeks topic will help reduce mental stress (which in excess causes problems that you may com to see me for) as you will get more things done in less time and leave more time for simple relaxing & the activities that you enjoy.


So lets remember to FOCUS this year!


Yours in Health,


Dr. Jeff

Any medical information provided in Doctor Jeff's Blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. Any information provided is not meant to diagnose, treat or manage any specific disease/condition.Doctor Jeff's Blog respects the confidentiality of individual patients and site visitors. All clinical anecdotes are compliant with HIPAA regulations.