The Current Health-Paradigm Crisis

I just read an article in a chiropractic journal about the ongoing discussions on health care. The premise of the article is that we’re not in a health care crisis, rather we’re in a health-paradigm crisis. I agree with that and here’s why.

The cost of health care in this country is spiraling out of control yet as a whole, Americans experience more illness and disease than the most of the industrialized world. The average American does not take responsibility for his/her health and instead, relies on standard medical care as their primary form of health care. This results in dysfunction, imbalance, and eventually disease. In these cases, doctors must “fix” the patient. This type of healthcare should really be called “disease management.”

Diabetes is a perfect example. Type II diabetes is what’s called a “lifestyle” disease in that it is completely preventable and a result of poor lifestyle choices, specifica

lly diet. I recently read that in 2007,

the direct and indirect costs of treating diabetes were $174 billion. The American Diabetes Association has stated that “One out of every five health care dollars is spent caring for someone with diagnosed diabetes, while one in ten health care dollars is attributed to diabetes.” Here is a disease that is completely avoidable and 20% of health care dollars are spent on treating this disease.

What if we lived in a world where healthy choices were the norm? For example, what would the state of health care look like if Americans ate properly, exercised and slept regularly, plus received regular chiropractic care? I’d like to see that. We, as Americans, should be taking ownership of our health and focusing on wellness care plus the prevention on diseases. In the long run this type of health care saves us tremendous amounts of money. That’s what is meant by a health-paradigm crisis. What do you think?

Back to School!

It’s getting to be that time of year! As you are preparing your children for school, it’s important to get them off to the right start with proper nutrition for their minds and their bodies! When working with children I recommend several whole food nutritional supplements.

1. Chewable Catalyn: This is a pleasant tasting multiple vitamin, mineral and trace mineral concentrate for children who have trouble swallowing pills. Teenagers can benefit from regular Catalyn.


2. Tuna Omega 3 Chewable: This balanced source of DHA and EPA essential fatty acids is essential for brain and nervous system health as well as vision health. The orange flavor passes muster with even finicky eaters.


3. Calcium Lactate Powder: Calcium in necessary for proper bone growth and strength plus is an essential nutrient for the nervous and immune systems.


4. Min Tran: A source of minerals that children need for balanced nervous system function. Minerals are calming to the mind and body. Other things to keep in mind that children need for proper mind and body development include:

• Children need fat in their diet. Fat is essential for a developing healthy brains and nervous system. Nuts and seeds are an excellent snack and pack a nutritional punch with their balanced protein, fat and carbohydrate content. Almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds are excellent choices. Coconut oil is a great addition to breakfast smoothies.


• Never give carbohydrates alone. Children need sustained energy and carbohydrates given alone will only feed hyperactivity and the inability to focus. If you give your child an apple or a banana, give then some nuts and seeds, nut butter, or a slice of deli meat along with the fruit to keep their energy fires stoked.


• I make numerous types of low carbohydrate “granola” or nut and seed bars. I get a lot of inspiration from blogs. A few of my favorites include:

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/

http://www.cookingtf.com/

Contact CCW’s Wellness Coordinator, Jennifer Campbell at ccwwellness@gmail.com for additional recipe ideas.

Cinnamon: Sweet and Spice and Everything Nice...and healthy!

Cinnamon is known as the world’s oldest spice, having been used for the past 2000 years. You may use it in your cooking and baking or to scent your house during the autumn months, but do you know about cinnamon’s numerous health benefits?

I learned about cinnamon’s health benefits several years ago and have tried to incorporate it into my food as much as possible. It’s lovely fragrance makes it even more appealing.

Cinnamon has long been known to help lower blood sugar levels. Although research continues, it’s understood that cinnamon helps insulin work better in your body. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which is released into the blood when you consume carbohydrates. Once the carbohydrates are broken down into their simplest form, glucose, insulin is responsible for bringing the glucose into the cell where it is used for energy production. Diabetes results when blood sugar levels are too high. Research has demonstrated that just ½ teaspoon daily of cinnamon can help balance blood sugar levels. Cinnamon oil is not recommended for internal use.

Cinnamon is also considered a muscle relaxant and digestive aid. That means it can assist with intestinal cramps and gas as well as menstrual and night time leg cramps.

Most commonly I use cinnamon in my morning smoothies but it’s a wonderfully flavorful addition to healthy baked goods. I love meals inspired by the Mediterranean region of the world and cinnamon is often a subtle flavor in many of my main dishes. Regardless of how you incorporate cinnamon into your diet, I highly recommend it.

Brazil Nuts & Selenium

My love of brazil nuts continues to grow. Have you seen these big, but funny shaped nuts? I read yet another article today describing the tremendous health benefits of brazil nuts. Not only are brazil nuts a great source of healthy fat, but they are packed with selenium, an essential trace mineral. Not only does selenium help strengthen the immune system (especially important in this age of swine flu), but also have now been shown to reduce the risk of many cancers as well as thyroid disease, infertility and arthritis. Selenium has also been shown to hinder the replication of HIV in the body. Additionally it has been demonstrated that selenium helps create enzymes in the body that prevent cellular damage due to free radicals. Wow, what a mineral!

When I’m working with patients to balance their thyroid hormones, I recommend brazil nuts because they contain more selenium than any other food I know of. Selenium is important for the thyroid because it helps convert T4 (the mostly inactive form of thyroid hormone) to T3 (the active form of thyroid hormone). So many of the women I treat have such sluggish thyroid glands and most of them are deficient in selenium.

Eating just 2 brazil nuts daily will give you the selenium your body requires. I eat brazil nuts plain but I also put them in my homemade trail mix. Give them a try!