Avoiding Skin Cancer

Summer is officially here—and so is the increased threat of developing skin cancer. As the most common of all cancers (accounting for 50 percent of cancer diagnosis in the U.S.) it’s important that we take the time and effort to protect our skin—and our very lives—from harmful sun exposure.

The good news is that there are several simple things you can do to help guard against this deadly disease. Consider the following:

Avoid prolonged, direct sun exposure. A little sun expose is healthy, but it should never lead to a sun burn.

When you must be in the sun for prolonged periods of time to do yard work or attend outdoor events, slip on a long sleeve shirt and hat.

Use sunscreen, especially those that use natural ingredients (these can be found at most health food stores.) Avoid sunscreens that contain a large amount of chemicals.

Stay away from tanning beds and sun lamps. Exposure to these UV rays gives you an 8x higher chance to develop skin cancer and also negatively affects the immune system.

Should you begin to notice unusual spots and skin changes, such as persistent red patches and areas that itch or bleed—don’t wait, consult a dermatologist.

[Source: cancer.org “skin care facts”]

Americans and diet

For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION:

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you

Nutrition myths from the Weston Price Foundation

Nutrition myths from the Weston Price Foundation

For complete references and more information go to www.westonaprice.org

Myth: Americans do not consume enough essential fatty acids.
Truth: Americans consume far too much of one kind of EFA (omega-6 EFAs found in most polyunsaturated vegetable oils) but not enough of another kind of EFA (omega-3 EFAs found in fish, fish oils, eggs from properly fed chickens, dark green vegetables and herbs, and oils from certain seeds such as flax and chia, nuts such as walnuts and in small amounts in all whole grains). (7)
Myth: A vegetarian diet will protect you against atherosclerosis.
Truth: The International Atherosclerosis Project found that vegetarians had just as much atherosclerosis as meat eaters. (8)
Myth: Low-fat diets prevent breast cancer.
Truth: A recent study found that women on very low-fat diets (less than 20%) had the same rate of breast cancer as women who consumed large amounts of fat. (9)

Toddler Tooth Decay

For many parents in the United States, brushing a toddlers baby teeth isn’t always top of mind—but it should be.

If a child is old enough to have a tooth, he’s old enough to get a painful cavity, which is why it’s extremely important that parents teach oral hygiene to their children as soon as teeth begin to emerge.

To help ensure that your child has a healthy smile, do not allow your toddler to fall asleep with a bottle containing milk, formula, fruit juice, or a sweetened product of any kind. If your baby needs a bottle or sippy cup to help them fall asleep, fill it with water. Here’s why: the sugars—even the sugars found in milk—are enough to begin rotting a child’s teeth during sleeping.

To combat tooth decay, begin brushing your toddler’s teeth very early in life.

In conjunction with tooth brushing and dental cleanings, make sure your child receives regularly scheduled chiropractic adjustments to help enhance the rest of your toddler’s health. It’s the simple things like this that will help give your child a healthy start in life.

[Source: Oralhealthamerica.org]

Intestinal Obstruction?

The other day a patient brought in her 8 year old boy bent over in pain, wanting to see if there was anything I could do for him.

The boy was in severe pain, bent over and could not straighten up. I took him back to the consultation room and palpated the abdomen, and there were areas of severe pain. I thought that it could be a case of appendicitis or infection, but there was no temperature and the location of the pain was not quite right.

I told the mom to take the boy to the emergency room immediately, because i could not find the cause of the problem. I told her let me check him chiropractically, because his body would definitely work better if it was free of subluxations.

Checked his cervicals, and adjusted his C1 -the boy commented that the pain was better!

Checked lumbars and adjusted several of them-Pain improved some more!

Adjusted Ilium and Pain improved better still, but wait the boy had to use the restroom

After what seemed to take forever-(because the waiting room was full and I was a bit stressed over that)The boy and mom emerged from bathroom saying that there was no pain of any kind!

Apparently, the adjustment got the boy's body working better and after a rather large BM, cleared the apparent obstruction in the intestine.

Chiropractic Works!

Positively Improve Your life

In a great book by Dr. Robert H. Schuller entitled 365 Positive Thoughts he shares what he believes are some of the keys to living a consistently victorious and prosperous life:

1. LOOK FOR POSITIVES

“Say something positive about every person and/or idea that you are introduced to. Do not reject or disregard a person or idea simply because there is an objectionable element present. Capitalize and cultivate the positive elements.”

2. SEE POSITIVE POSSIBILITIES IN EVERY SITUATION

“In every situation, look for the positive.”

3. THINK IT MIGHT WORK

“Most people get caught up in the, It won’t work syndrome. Change your thinking to, it could work. When facing difficult situations, start listing ways that it might work.”

4. JOIN THE WHY NOT CLUB

“If someone else can succeed and prosper in any given endeavor or relationship, then why not you?”

5. EXPECT POSITIVE OUTCOMES

“Expect positive outcomes knowing that your energy, resources and inspiration come from God’s bountiful storehouse.”

6. LEARN TO REACT POSITIVELY

“Make the best of every situation. Train yourself to react positively.”

Thoughts of worry and negativity will only bring your spirit down and open the door for more negativity to enter your life. Control your thoughts—choose to ponder and believe good things about your situation and refuse to spend any time worrying or thinking negative thoughts. With the right mind set, you will find yourself achieving more and enjoying life on a greater scale.

Avoiding an Adverse drug reaction

Researchers are now estimating that 3 to 6 percent of all hospital admissions are caused by dangerous, and often hidden, side-effects associated with prescription drugs. Even worse, 87 percent of these adverse drug reactions were not listed on the medication’s label.

Between the years 1998 to 2005, hospital admissions—due to negative side-effects stemming from prescription medication—sky-rocketed from 34,966 cases to 89,842. With this came a 2.7 percent increase in deaths directly resulting from an adverse drug reaction. In 2005 the number of Americans who needlessly died as the result of lethal drug-related side-effects reached a disturbing 15,107 souls.

It’s clear that America’s drug-safety evaluation system is full of flaws, making it very difficult to trust the medical community. That’s why every one of us must take our health seriously. If we don’t want to end up a medical statistic we must make permanent, healthy changes to our lifestyle. Healthy eating is a priority, as is exercise. Add regularly scheduled chiropractic adjustments to that mix and you’ll be on your way to a longer, healthier, better quality of life that is adverse drug reaction free.

[Source: Archives of Internal Medicine 9/10/2007]