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I can't imagine my life today if I wasn't getting adjusted regularly.  Ever since my first chiropractic adjustment, when I was 21, I've been getting adjusted at least twice a month.  Doing the math, I've had at least 750 adjustments in my life and probably a lot more.  Where would my health be if I hadn't been getting adjusted for the past 32 years?

Well, for one thing, I'm sure that I would be on some kind of daily medication regimine for pain relief, headaches, sinus, allergies, vertigo, acid reflux, ED, sleep disorder or some other common medical malady.  All of those drugs have side effects that actually initiate even more medical conditions.  Fortunately, for the past 32 years that I've been a chiropractor/student I can honestly say that I have taken fewer than a dozen NSAID's, (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs), per year.  By and large, I just haven't needed them.

Here's my point, how many of you are suffering needlessly, taking dangerous drugs or having unnecessary surgery because you only go to the chiropractor when your back is hurting... REAL BAD?  I know many people have "used" chiropractic in the past and are happy with their results but are you guilty of under utilizing chiropractic?  Have you failed to take advantage of the wellness benefits of regular chiropractic care?  I have a saying for those of you who are skeptical:

IF YOU KNEW WHAT I KNEW ABOUT HEALTH, THEN YOU'D DO WHAT I DO!

If you think it's a good idea to maintain your car, home, teeth and eyes and have annual medical examinations then why don't you consider maintaining your spine and nervous system on a regular basis?  Why do you wait until a crisis before you consider spinal maintenance?  If you truly want to live a "wellness" lifestyle then you need to be under regular chiropractic care. 

There are six primary nutritional recommendations that I make across the board to my patients.  I consider these six crucial to good health and well being.  The nice thing is that these six recommendations are inexpensive and have multiple benefits to one's well being.  Here they are:

1.  A "good" multivitamin/multimineral.  The emphasis here is on "good"!  There are several companies out there that are really good at selling bad vitamins.  They spend a lot of money on TV, radio and print advertising vitamins that are essentially worthless to the consumer.  They travel through the body whole and are passed into the toilet undigested because they are made up of inorganic and synthetic vitamins and minerals.  The body intuitively knows the difference between digestable and undigestable matter.  Don't believe me?  Go to a water treatment facility and ask the workers what they regularly clean out of their filters from the backwash... undigested vitamins!  We recommend whole food supplements vs manufactured synthetics.  Your body recognizes real food and, voila, it digests it.

2.  Magnesium.  It has many benefits but the primary reason I recommend it is because magnesium is to your heart what calcium is to your bones.  It has been said that we could virtually wipe out cardiovascular disease, (stroke & heart attack), within six months if people were consuming enough magnesium in their diets.  But don't expect the medical community to promote this "wonder mineral" because it would also wipe out the cardiovascular industry in the process.  One popular statin drug alone makes $10 Billion a year selling essentially what I believe is poison to an unsuspecting public.  This drug causes memory loss, back pain, weakened immunity, hormonal imbalance and an increased likelihood of contracting cancer.  All of this could be avoided if one would simply take magnesium on a regular basis.

Some of the other benefits of magnesium include improved sleep, help for constipation or irregularity, it is known as "natures tranquilizer", it is a natural liver detoxifier, it helps with nervousness, anxiety, irritability, low energy, fatigue, muscle tension, spasms and cramps.  It is also helpful for diabetes and asthma.  And it is as important for strong bones as is calcium.

3.  Water.  I talked about this in a previous blog entry, "Do You Drink Enough Water?", so for more detail check out that entry.  Simply put, water flushes toxins out of your body.  You need at least 8-10 glasses a day to maintain health, more if you are heavier than the standard 150-180 pounds.

4.  Fish Oil/Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's).  The reason they are called "essential" is because our bodies cannot live without them.  Our brain and nervous system is composed of fat molecules that need good nutritional fats in our diet to keep us healthy.  These fats support a wide range of physiological functions.  EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexanoic acid) are important inflammation modulators and brain food respectively.  Although the FDA will not promote this idea, innumerable double blind studies have shown fish oil to be an important nutrient for heart health.  I recommend 3 servings of "oily" fish per week or take a good supplement.

5.  Fiber.  One of the most important things that you can do for general health and well being is keeping your gut in good working order.  If you are not moving your bowels at least one time for every meal that you eat then you are building up waste and toxins in your alimentary canal (the gut).  These toxins, over time, will break down the lining of the gut and lead to other potential disease processes.  This breaking down of the gut lining is known as "leaky gut syndrome".  Leaky gut syndrome can lead to secondary health problems associated with auto-immune disorders and generalized inflammation.  In addition to these two problems, fiber is also known to be helpful in preventing cardiovascular disease.  So between the magnesium, fish oil and fiber you've got three healthy tools to combat cardiovascular disease, the #2 killer in America.

6.  Iodine.  We have an epidemic of people who suffer with low thyroid and breast cancer.  These are conditions that respond positively to iodine therapy.  Unfortunately, what once was a staple in medicine has been relegated to the back shelf due to fears of iodine toxicity or allergic reactions which are rare.  Ironically, iodine is an incredibly safe mineral that is essential to good health.  The FDA currently recommends 150 mcgs. of iodine daily which is enough to keep you from getting a goiter but not enough to keep you healthy.  The typical Japanese diet consumes approximately 12 mgs. per day (or roughly 80 times our recommended daily allowance-"RDA").  They get the iodine primarily from fish and seaweed.  Current research suggests 12 mgs. is an ideal daily dose to help maintain healthy thyroid and general organ function.  Iodine is a natural detoxifier of many poisons including radiation fallout from a "dirty bomb".  One of the most important benefits of iodine therapy appears to be as a preventative for breast cancer.

There you have it in brief soundbites, my top six nutritional recommendations.  Contact me for more specific information on these products.

There have been those times when I wish I knew the information that I'm about to share with you, but of course, I was much younger then.  Actually, I happened upon this cure a couple of years ago while I was performing "surgery" on an ingrown toenail.  (Do not try this at home)!  I needed a little liquid courage to help me dig in and cut out the offending toenail so I happened to have a bottle of Crown Royal which was gifted to me a year earlier. 

I started off conservatively and took two shots of the fine whiskey while I sanitized my tools.  After a half hour I realized I needed to be a lot number than I was so I took two more shots.  Naturally, I started limbering up at that point but it still wasn't enough so after a total of 7 shots I was able to finally perform the task and removed that pesky ingrown toenail.  It gave me relief for about two or three weeks but I ultimately had to have it removed professionally.  Should have done that in the first place but I digress.

When I'd completed the "surgery" it was late and I needed to get to sleep.  The good news is that I had the sense to think about the horrible hangover that I was facing in the morning and I remembered that certain nutrients help to mitigate the pain.  At that point I took a tablespoon of Natural Calm powder and 4 capsules of magnesium citrate.  Added together, the two forms of magnesium citrate totaled 1200 mgs.  The Natural Calm dissolves in water and is absorbed immediately and the capsules can take up to several hours to be absorbed.  So for me it was a little "Now and Later" hangover remedy.

Much to my surprise, when I woke up the next morning and after carefully opening my eyes, one at a time to be safe, I realized that the magnesium citrate had done its job.  I had no hangover and actually felt pretty good except for the sore toe.  So, being the scientist that I am, I decided to recreate the experiment a second time three weeks later, without the surgery of course and using a different elixir.  I chose Margarita's this time.  I'm happy to report that my magnesium citrate tonic worked again and in time, again and again.

I'm not alone in my appraisal of this tonic.  I've had several cooperative friends who were also willing to try this experiment and each have reported the same positive results.  With this in mind, I'm not advocating alcoholism or increased drinking but in the event you overindulge this is a remedy worth remembering.

The whole purpose of this article is to introduce you to one of my favorite supplements that I use in my practice and promote to each of my patients.  Please check out my blog for further information on the importance of getting magnesium in your diet.

One of the easiest ways to stay healthy is by drinking water.  I know that sounds too easy but the facts back up that statement.  Let's think about it, what would happen to a pond or a small lake if the fresh water supply dried up?  At first, the pond would stagnate, then it would become polluted and finally it would dry up.  Our bodies work the same way because our bodies are made up of approximately 65-75% water, our brain is made up of about 85% water.  It only makes sense that if we don't replenish our body with fresh water it will begin to stagnate and then become polluted.

According to a 2004 study, if people would just drink 40 ounces of water a day, (that's just 5 - 8 oz. glasses), they could reduce bladder, prostate and colon cancer by 50%.  That same amount would reduce breast cancer in pre-menopause women by 34% and post-menopause women by a whopping 78%.  Further studies indicated that increasing that quantity by 2-3 more glasses a day would improve each of those totals another 10 - 20%.  To me, that's a good enough reason to make sure that I'm drinking plenty of water every day.

Frankly, I try to drink 2 glasses of water when I get up in the morning just to get the cleansing and flushing process started.  Many experts believe that ideally you should drink 50% of your body weight in ounces to promote detoxification.  In other words, if you weigh 200 lbs. then you should consume 100 ounces of water per day.  Personally, I find it hard to drink 1 gallon of water a day since I weigh around 250 lbs.  My goal is to drink a minimum of 10 glasses or 80 ounces per day.  You should see to it that you consistantly drink 8 - 10 glasses of pure water every day.

Just for your information, only water qualifies as water.  Milk, juices, sports drinks, soda, coffee, tea & alcohol are not water.  Each have their own properties that offset the positive effects of water, be it protein, sugar, caffeine or alcohol, each of these require additional water to properly process them.  You can drink these but make sure that you're getting the prescribed amounts of water in your diet.  You'll be healthier for it.

Welcome to my new website.

 I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciate you checking out my new website.  I plan on posting a tremendous amount of health news in the coming weeks and months that I hope will be helpful for you to live a longer, healthier and happier life.  I have some controversial viewpoints on health care that have served me and my family quite well over the past 28 years.  I guess that's why they call what I do "Alternative" health care as opposed to "Orthodox Medicine".  But that's alright because they used to call chiropractors 1) Quacks; 2) Unscientific Cultists; 3) Charlatans; 4) Snake Oil Salesmen; 5) Witch Doctors & 6) "Rabid Dogs".

Believe it or not, those were the terms the AMA used in their publications to describe Chiropractors, (we have the documents on record from the federal court case we won against them).  On many occasions, I have heard my profession described in those terms.  We've come a long way and now, not only has the AMA quit defaming my profession but they have actually thrown accolades in our direction and are now beginning to cooperate with us professionally for the well being of our mutual patients.  Alternative health care has now become mainstream.

Stay tuned for the upcoming topics.  I've wanted to write a book about natural health care for years and even have a book started with the chapters all laid out.  This blog gives me an opportunity to start laying out the body of the material that I ultimately hope to publish.

Yours in health,

 Dr. Brad