Detox Myths Debunked

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Lots of people like to do "cleanses" or detoxes at this time of year. But since our moms taught us not to give in to peer pressure, before jumping on the detox band wagon, you have to ask yourself: What are these cleanses anyway, are they healthy, who should do one, should I do one and how does one even do a cleanse? Well, I'm glad you are thinking so critically, and as always I'm only too happy to help. Here's the REAL deal with detox:

Let me take a minute to just review a few important things about the digestive system so that you will understand my position on detox. Let’s review digestion 101: We eat yummy stuff, the food we eat is processed in the gastrointestinal system and the nutrients are absorbed into our blood and go straight to the liver for detox. (They do not pass go, they do not collect $200.) In the liver bad stuff is neutralized and the neutralized waste is eventually excreted by the kidneys.  The left over bulk in the GI tract goes through to the colon for elimination. We could go into great detail about this but let’s not. The key point here is that the Liver, Kidneys and Colon are detoxing us all day every day - essentially removing waste and toxic stuff so we can run like the finely tuned machines that we were meant to be.

In a perfect world our bodies would do all the detoxing that we need, but you will agree that pollutants are everywhere: In our air, food, water and products in our environment. Our bodies neutralize toxins but over-exposure to toxins can be damaging and toxins build up over time. But is detoxing or cleansing the answer? Looking at some of the protocols out there I cringe. Some are downright dangerous and can lead to many side effects including muscle wasting, energy depletion and nutrient depletion.

My recommendation: A detox lifestyle. You guys know me well enough by now to know I’m not a big fan of diets and fads. I think they don’t usually provide sustained results and are usually more trouble than they are worth. Lifestyle changes however are my jam, I’m all over that! A detox lifestyle? What in tarnation is that? It’s just a simple eating plan focusing on foods that support the kidney, liver and colon. It also includes adding in specific supplements for nutritional support of the kidney, liver and colon, and of course as with most of my recommendations, we recommend a holistic approach.

But what foods support healthy liver, colon and kidney function? Here is a list of foods to consider adding: A plant based diet is generally recommended. Try adding fruits and vegetables such as Belgian endive, artichokes, cruciferous veggies, radishes, beets and beet greens, apples, grapes, onions, walnuts, avocados, citrus fruits, celery, asparagus, melons, hazelnuts, eggplant, cranberries and purple fruits and veggies - e.g. blueberries.

Generally, digestive health can be aided by adding an anti-inflammatory supplement, an antioxidant supplement, a probiotic, a multi vitamin and fiber to the daily routine.  Additionally, check your produce department and spice rack for things like aloe, garlic, dandelion, curcumin, green tea, rosemary and ginger.  There are some herbs that can help, but be sure to talk to a health care provider who is experienced with herbs, in order to ensure they are appropriate for you before starting anything like that.

There are holistic and supportive therapies for improving the body’s ability to detox. Some studies mention that massage therapy, heat therapy (e.g. deep infrared sauna therapy,) essential oils and exercise can aid the detox lifestyle. Other studies confirm benefits from stress reduction activities such as breathing exercises, walks in nature, exercise, music, dance, singing, meditation, laughing, journaling and taking a nap.

And one more thing: You have to drink water. That’s a whole other article for another day.

There are real benefits of a detox lifestyle. Some studies show that a detox lifestyle can reduce cravings, help with weight management, increase nutrients, improve mental clarity, reduce inflammation and even help improve chronic conditions. Patients also report that they feel good physically and emotionally.

Do you want more information about transitioning safely and easily to a detox lifestyle without significant side effects, and without losing the joy of food? Please join us for our #Power_Transformation workshop on April 1, or call us in office.

Please, please, please do remember that it's absolutely impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I'm superwoman it's true but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your healthcare provider. We are happy to address your personal concerns, call us in office (860-589-1491) to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for your attention!

The happiness recipe continued ...

Thanks for coming back to look at part two of the happiness recipe. The article was running long but I know everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what the LOVE HORMONE does so here it is. Do comment on our Facebook page. We love getting your feedback.

-Oxytocin

What it does: (This one’s my favorite to talk about as you will see from this being quite lengthy compared to the others but please do humor me.) So Oxytocin: It's known as the LOOOVE hormone ;)  It's produced in the brain and its main functions appear to be its role in childbirth and breastfeeding. It is said to be associated with bonding, attachment and closeness and may enhance the instinct to be protective of others. Oxytocin may also make you kinder and more altruistic. The effect of oxytocin appears to be in opposition to that of cortisol and this may explain how it reduces stress and improves sleep. There are some recent studies that suggest that oxytocin may help reduce cravings and may be helpful for patients with addictions; while other studies show positive effects of oxytocin on patients diagnosed with autism. This all sounds amazing; this all sounds like everyone in the world should go out and get some oxytocin. But how...from where....??? Glad you asked!

How you can get your body to make more of it: Get off social media and actually get social! Spend time connecting with friends and family members that have a positive influence and effect on you. (Please note: If you have a friend or relative that infuriates you, hanging out with them is not going to boost your oxytocin levels people...just saying.) Pick up the phone and call an old friend that you haven't talked to in ages and feel the hormones surge. Another booster: be intentionally kind; Go out of your way to just do amazingly awesome things for as many people as you can. I want to make a disclaimer here. I'm not sending anyone out to do anything weird. That being said, physical contact boosts oxytocin, big time. So: Get a massage, give a high five, hug a friend or family member, shake hands with someone or just cuddle on the sofa to kick up your oxytocin levels a notch. Other activities that appear to boost oxytocin levels seem to boost the levels of the other happy chemicals too. If you feel like you need a shot of oxytocin, try listening to soothing music, doing some exercise (even just a walk in nature can get things going!) Find something very funny to laugh about, deep belly laughs are best. Do some breathing exercises, yoga or meditation type activities are good. Get warm: Warm baths, steams or saunas may help. All of these things appear to have a positive effect on the happy hormones in general.

Foods that help: "Ok, Doc," you're saying. "What about food or supplements that can boost our levels?" I hear what you are saying. We are after all a culture that likes to have the option to pop that pill or in some way ingest that specific thing to get the required result. As always I will not disappoint on the "let your food be your medicine" front, but it's not what you are thinking. It seems that most food stimulates oxytocin production, especially if there is a protein-carbohydrate combination. The trick to increasing the flow of the love hormone is to share a meal with someone or with the family...It appears it's the connections that do the trick with this one.

The recipe: So there you have it folks. It seems to me the bottom line is: Engage in overt positivity, be nice to others, and eat healthily including a healthy balance of fruits and veggies. Exercise, stay connected with those you like and for heaven's sake, laugh. Check how often you laugh now, multiply that by a hundred and maybe you will be close to laughing as much as you should. Drink water, get rest.... Wait a minute... These are all the things we encourage for improving overall health.

Mind BLOWN!

Disclaimer: Remember that it's absolutely impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I'm superwoman it's true but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. We are happy to address your personal concerns, call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's true. I'm on a "Don't worry , be happy," rant again. I've shared the secret actual "How To Be Happy Recipe" below, so please do scroll down to yesterday's post for the details!

Like I said last month, this year we are focused on helping transform lives by transforming overall health. We had our #Power_Transformation workshop last month and it was amazing. Scroll down for the few pictures I managed to take and a picture from our earlier Power Transformation retreat. We were so involved and had so much fun that we almost forgot to take photos this time around! I hope you can come to our next #Power_Transformation workshop on Feb 25th. Scroll down for more information. 

I know I say this all the time, but I want you to know I truly mean it: Thanks again for your continued support. This month we are having our New Patient Recruitment Drive. We invite you to share about us to anyone who you think may benefit from joining the Saporito Chiropractic family. If there is any way that we can be of service to you in any capacity, as always, please do not hesitate to ask.

Regards in health,
Dr. Shepherd

P.S. If you or anyone you know would like to attend our #Power_transformation Workshops please just click here

 

My Valentine's Day gift to you: The "GET HAPPY" Recipe

No matter what your persuasion you will agree with me when I say it's time to focus on Happy! You are probably wondering why your trusty neighborhood chiropractor is talking to you yet again about focusing on HAPPY. Well...the World Health Organization says “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” In my opinion this means being HAPPY is a significant part of being HEALTHY, so here are some technical deets on what's going on on your insides and how to use this info to make happy your everyday state of being!

It's all about chemistry people. When we are happy, our bodies produce certain chemicals. Serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins are the key happy chemicals. Funnily enough production of these happy chemicals appears, based on studies, to be associated with healing, improved health and overall well being. If we can get our bodies to produce these chemicals more often, guess what: Instant HAPPY!! Improved HEALTHY!!

So here's the blueprint in a nutshell:

-Serotonin:

What it does: Serotonin helps us feel significant, agreeable, important and sociable. It transmits messages from one part of the brain to another. A small amount appears to be used in the brain and 90% is used in other areas of the body like the GI system and in blood platelets. The bad news is some research states serotonin imbalances can lead to depression. Boo!

How you can get your body to make more of it: Think positive thoughts. Do those "woo woo" Gratitude practices. Get sunlight. Do forty minutes of aerobic exercise. Take care of and protect others. There is even some evidence that watching someone being nice to others can boost your serotonin! WOW!

Foods that help: Serotonin is manufactured from the amino acid tryptophan. Foods containing significant tryptophan content are all protein rich foods. Fish, nuts, eggs, cheese and turkey are all good sources, but of course it's a little more complicated than just increasing your protein intake. In order to get that tryptophan boost: eat your tryptophan containing foods at the same time as carbohydrate containing foods.

-Dopamine

What it does: It's involved in movement, memory, pleasurable reward, behavior, cognition, attention, sleep, mood, learning, enjoyment, bliss and euphoria. Dopamine helps us get things done and helps us achieve more. Not getting enough can result in fatigue, lack of motivation, mood swings and memory loss. Definitely want to make sure dopamine levels aren’t low, but in a healthy way!

How you can get your body to make more of it: Set goals, complete tasks, cross things off the “to do list.” You probably already know this one: You have to exercise, but in order to increase dopamine levels, low impact exercise is just fine e.g. yoga, going for a walk. You don't have to go the extreme fitness route, unless you want to! Other dopamine increasing activities may include: Meditation, hobbies, music, as well as taking on and achieving challenges.

Foods that help:  It seems that all animal products help increase dopamine levels. Other foods include: almonds, apples, avocado, bananas, beets, chocolate (the real stuff not the sugar filled junk!) Beans, green leafy vegetables, green tea, oatmeal, nuts and seeds, curcumas, watermelon, wheat germ and foods high in natural probiotics.

-Endorphins

What it does: Endorphins are the body's natural painkillers! Gotta love that! 

How you can get your body to make more of it: Do strenuous exercise! Use lavender and vanilla essential oils. Endorphins are also produced from laughing, sex, positivity and affirmations.

Foods that help: Spicy food, chocolate, nuts, B vitamins, eggs, avocado, leafy green vegetables, omega 3's and beets.

OK.  This is running long! You do not want to miss my take on the LOVE HORMONE OXYTOCIN, so can you please just check in here next week for the conclusion of this article? Please, please, please? Just click here: http://saporitochiropractic.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer: Remember that it's absolutely impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I'm superwoman it's true, but even that is beyond my capabilities! :) So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your healthcare provider. We are happy to address your personal concerns, call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading!

How are you sleeping? Tips to improve sleep and overall health and wellness

Sleep is so important for our health and wellness. Chronic sleep deprivation can result in increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression heart attack and even stroke. Here are some tips to improve our sleep.

1) What and when you eat can influence quality of sleep. Avoid heavy meals 2-3 hours before going to bed.
2) Foods that help sleep: Oats, malt beverage, honey, carbohydrates and lettuce help sleep
3) Some herbs can help sleep: Chamomile, Passion fruit tea
4) Maintain a consistent sleep schedule all week including the weekends.
5) Make sure of exercise at least 1/2 hour per day, just try to do it more than 3 hours before bed.
6) Try to eat no sooner than 2 hours before bedtime. Try not to go to bed too hungry or too full.
7) Naps are ok but limit them to 30 min.
8) Make sure your room is a relaxing, comfortable oasis.

As usual, these tips are not for everyone, so be sure to consult your healthcare provider before starting any nutritional program. And do call us at Saporito Chiropractic 860-589-1491 for a nutrition therapy appointment!

Maybe heart disease is not the #1 health risk?

I'm going to make a bold statement here. Some of you won't like it and will stop reading immediately, but a few of you will be curious as to what I could possibly mean and you will hear me out. Please let me just say in advance: Thank you.

"We can be and do and have whatever we want in our lives." We teach this to our children  and our parents taught it to us. But somehow as we have lived life in its beauty of ups and downs we have forgotten this truth. We can be and do and have whatever we want and that includes amazing health and wellness.

The CDC states CV disease is the # 1 health threat. I am going to be controversial here and state that that's not the complete picture. In my opinion dis-stress is what we need to avoid at all costs. If you think about what's actually happening inside the body, you too may come around to my way of thinking... ( but if you don't it's ok! I'm not going to stress over that! ;) 

I know you probably have heard of cortisol: you know that hormone that your body produces in response to stress? Most people think cortisol is the enemy and if we could only stop producing it we'd be a ok! We'll hold your horses dear one! There is more to this story. 

We do need cortisol! You know how when you are running away from those tigers and and other such predators? Cortisol does a wonderful thing: it shuts down non essential services like digestion, immune functions, and growth and repair and focuses our bodies resources on the body parts most needed in that moment, for example : energy to the legs to get out of there.

Having outrun the tiger, cortisol is quickly removed from the system and normal functions return. Yay cortisol! 

Well ok -in addition to this being an oversimplification of things, it is also true that in our lives with our lifestyles things don't tend to go as planned.  In our modern lives the stressful scenario is probably not a predator in the actual sense of the word, but more likely something we are worrying about at home, at work, with our families... You get the picture. We trigger our stress response but never seem to turn it off like we used to once tiger was no longer in the picture. 

Cortisol constantly bombarding our systems has a negative effect on growth and repair, on our immune system on inflammation and on our digestive systems. It's no wonder that some statistics show as many as 50% of Americans suffering from chronic pain, more and more people are being diagnosed with tummy trouble (IBS is more prevalent now than ever before!) And it's no wonder that we just don't seem to recover from little ailments the way we once used to.

If this speaks to you or someone close to you, don't despair. You are not alone. Most of us, myself at the front of the line on this, let stress get the best of us. I believe though that if we can manage our stress better and can allow our bodies to reset the way they very well know how to, then the amazing health we are reaching for will be more easily attained. 

As always these articles are for general information. Do talk to your healthcare provider before starting any health or wellness regimen. If we can be of service in any way please do call us in office, we are happy to help.

Regards in health,

Dr Shepherd

Preventing Alzheimer's Disease

I'm not sure if the prevalence of Alzheimer's is increasing or if it is just that I'm seeing more patients whose lives are being touched by this so very sad condition. Whatever the case is, I felt moved to write a little bit about Alzheimer's from a nutritional perspective.

Here are some dietary do's and dont's that may be key in helping prevent Alzheimer's disease:

1) Supplements: Some nutrients are very important for the healthy function of the nervous system. B Vitamins, magnesium and unsaturated fatty acids appear to significantly aid in the health of the nervous system. Some studies show that antioxidants, Vitamin E and choline are also essential.

2) Avoid: Sugar, additives, preservatives, aluminium  (eg aluminium cooking utensils, cans, etc.,) alcoholic beverages and cured cheeses may also be on the don't list!

3) Eat these: Green leafy vegetables (e.g. watercress and lettuce,) brewer's yeast, nuts like cashews, pine nuts, almonds and brazil nuts and oatmeal.

As always when starting any health program, please do consult your healthcare provider. If you have questions or concerns do call us in office we are happy to be of service.