Patients and Friends: From now until the 31st, we would like for you to come in and invite your friends to come in for a Complimentary Chiropractic Exam. This includes examinations of the spine, posture, muscles, joints, nerves and even spinal x-rays if they are needed. This is a total of up to $198 of services we will provide at no charge to your family and friends. We are sure you know two people who would appreciate the opportunity to take this step towards better health. In fact, it could be the most important gift anyone has ever given them. Come in to see us at Harbor Family Chiropractic and bring a friend. We want to see you have a well adjusted 2010. Call 949-515-5170 for an appointment.
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Can you tell the holiday food myths from facts?
1. Nothing good can come from eating that slice of pie.
False. A slice of pumpkin pie can give you half your daily requirement of vitamin A, as well as 3 to 5 grams of fiber, which can lower cholesterol, blood pressure and even your risk of diabetes. Sure, a slice of pecan pie is full of fat, but it’s heart-healthy unsaturated fat. The pecan pie also has 3 grams of fiber, and 20 percent of your daily requirement of selenium, a mineral that’s been shown to lower the risk of lung, colon and prostate cancer.
2. Stuffing can be part of a healthy holiday meal.
True. Stuffing is rich in antioxidants, especially if you make it with dark breads such as wheat or pumpernickel. Throw in some oysters, and you’ll be getting your daily allowances of B-12 and zinc, and most of your daily iron requirement, too.
3. You can get something healthy out of those scrumptious potatoes.
True. Even when drowning in marshmallows and sugary sauce, a medium-sized sweet potato can give you three times your daily requirement of vitamin A and almost half your daily requirement of vitamin C, as well as that all-important fiber. Mashed potatoes are also full of fiber, and the milk or cream used to make them so creamy and dreamy will give your calcium requirements a real boost.
4. Giving in to all that tempting food will destroy your diet.
False. You can indulge – but in moderation. Don’t deny yourself a small taste of your favorite holiday foods, and you’ll keep yourself from feeling deprived, thus preventing a binge later when your hunger and frustration catch up with you.
Meditation May Produce Significant Structural Changes in Brain.
Meditation has been practiced for centuries as a way of
balancing a person’s physical, mental and emotional states.
Previous studies have shown that meditation can produce
profound alterations in brain activity. Similarly,
experienced meditation practitioners have reported
changes in mental function that continue long after
actual meditation ceases, which implies that the practice has
long-term effects. However, the majority of these studies
have been performed on monks and others for whom meditation is a central focus of their lives. As such, the practice of meditation by the general population may yield different results.
To investigate the theory of whether meditation as it is usually practiced in the United States could produce similar changes in the brain, researches performed magnetic resonance imaging tests on 20 meditation practitioners and compared the results to 15 people who had no experience with meditation or yoga. Members of the meditation group practiced Insight meditation, which focuses on the cultivation of attention and “mindfulness” – a specific, nonjudgmental awareness of present stimuli. Each member had practiced Insight for an average of 9.1 years, and currently practiced approximately six hours per week.
Analysis of the MRI images revealed that certain regions of the brain related to somatosensory, auditory, visual and interoceptive processing, such as the right anterior insula, the right middle and superior frontal fulci, and the left superior temporal gyrus, were significantly thicker in meditators than in control patients. The analysis also showed that differences in cortical thickness were more pronounced in older, more experienced meditation practitioners, which suggested that meditation could reduce age-related thinning of the frontal cortex.
“Our initial results suggest that meditation may be associated with structural changes in areas of the brain that are important for sensory, cognitive and emotional processing,” the scientists concluded. “The data further suggest that meditation may impact age-related declines in cortical structure.”
Keep your Head on Straight.
Present information on normal placement of the upright spine reveals the importance of head position in relationship to your body. It is of extreme importance that the position of the cervical spine allow for your head to sit back atop of your shoulders.
Sadly, the effects of gravity, poor posture, the weight of the head, or past trauma will cause neck and skull misplacement leading to something called “Forward Head” syndrome, meaning the forward displacement of the head where your chin is out in front of your shoulders and chest that causes pathological tension on the spinal cord and brain stem.
Rene Cailliet, M.D., director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California, wrote about the effects of forward head syndrome in his book “Rejuvenation Strategy.”
Incorrect head positioning leads to improper spinal function.
- Incorrect head positioning leads to improper spinal function.
- The head in forward posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine.
- Forward head posture results in loss of vital lung capacity. In fact, lung capacity is depleted by as much as 30 percent. Loss of lung capacity leads to heart and blood vascular problems.
- The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel peristaltic function and evacuation is a common condition that comes with forward head posture and loss of spinal lordotic curves.
- Forward head posture causes an increase in discomfort and pain. Freedom of motion in the first four cervical vertebrae is a major source of stimuli that causes production of endorphins in production many otherwise non-painful sensations are experienced as pain.
- Forward head posture causes loss of healthy spine-body motion. The entire body becomes rigid as the range of motion lessens. Soon, one becomes hunched.
As the above comments by Dr. Cailliet show, it’s incredibly important to restore the skull and cervical spine back to their normal position, which can be focusing on four areas:
• Correcting the position of the skull
• Adjusting pertinent cervical vertebrae
• Rehabilitating the musculature in the back of the neck and upper shoulders
• Correcting any imbalances in posture i.e.: high shoulder, torso rotation, lateral head flexion or rotation.
Such treatments can only be offered by highly trained Chiropractors. Remember, standard manipulation and physical therapy will not resolve forward head posture, and neither will taking medications or having surgery for the resulting effects of this condition.
HFC using Social Media.
Harbor Family Chiropractic is now using Social Media to stay in Constant Contact with you. We love having the opportunity to get feedback from you and also being able to provide you with valuable information surrounding Chiropractic Care. You can follow weekly blog posts here on our WordPress blog. You can follow @HarborChiro on Twitter. Become a Fan on Facebook of Harbor Family Chiropractic and after that, suggest to all of your friends that they too, become fans of HFC. If you’ve had a good experience with us, we would love for you to write a review for us on yelp.com as well. Stay Connected with Dr. Gillis and the practice on LinkedIn. You will also be able to follow us on CostaChiroTV on YouTube and Vimeo. Stay tuned and Stay Connected with us via Social Media. We realize that the way we communicate is changing and we want to communicate with you!