Spring, or winter or whatever this is, is just about over.  Soon the temperature will warm up, the sun will be shining and the green plants will start to grow. This is the time of year our bodies naturally start to rejuvenate. So how can we take full advantage of this wonderful time of year?

1) The first thing to do is to plan to be outside.  One of the benefits of summer is that sun exposure on our skin triggers our natural production of Vitamin D.  Have you ever noticed how often you have a cold or the flu in the summer time? Practically never.  That’s because your blood levels of Vitamin D are much higher in the summer, even if you supplement with Vitamin D in the winter months.  Get outside, get some sun.  This alone will start to trigger deep healing that can only occur with optimal Vitamin D levels.

2) Get outside (AGAIN!)  Your body craves physical activity.  During the summer walking becomes much more common and you can be outside most of the day without problems because its so darn nice out! Get outside and walk, shoot some hoops, toss a football around or do just about anything.  The extra summer time activity will improve blood flow, strengthen the heart and muscles and give your body extra energy as it adapts to the new found exercise!

3) Eat that local produce!  Summer is great because there is much more local, fresh produce to eat! Hit up your farmers market, grown your own or run down to the store and see what local food they have.  Food that is fresh is much more nutritious and nourishes your body in ways that food shipped halfway around the world simply cannot match. They don’t call it salad season for nothing!

 

This is how you start to set your body up to maximize summer healing! Of course regular chiropractic treatment to keep the nervous system healthy, massage to manage stress and your other wellness routine activities are still essential for optimal health but this is by far the best time of the year for reach for the stars and feel great.

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High blood pressure is a major problem in the United States and industrialized nations in general.  Increased blood pressure causes the blood to flow to hard and fast through the maze of arteries and veins which can damage the delicate inner linings of the blood vessels. Over time this leads to hardening of the arteries and formation of clots which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

There are myriad ways to medically decrease blood pressure but many medications come with a host of unwanted effects ranging from mild stomach pain to internal bleeding.  If you have high blood pressure and want to lower it naturally without drugs the two most important places to start are diet and exercise. which I’ll cover in more detail in another post. Below are 3 great ways to lower blood pressure naturally.  Mix them in with your diet and exercise modifications and it will greatly increase the effectiveness of these methods.

1) Vitamin C + Garlic

Garlic and Vitamin C are both very protective of the lining of the blood vessels.  Taking the 2 together naturally relaxes the blood vessels as well as promotes healing of the inner linings as well.  You can take both in tablet form or combine them in meals with foods that are high in vitamin C such as brocolli, cauliflower or potatoes with garlic.

2) Baking Soda + Apple Cider Vinegar

Combining a teaspoon of aluminum free baking soda with a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar mixed in water once or twice a day helps create an alkaline environment in the body.  This promotes cellular healing that is very important for blood vessels under increased pressure due to high blood pressure.  The mixture is extremely safe and easy to take daily.

3) Chiropractic Adjustment in the Upper Cervical (Neck)

It has been shown numerous times that adjusting the C1/C2 vertebrae (the top 2) can lower blood pressure between 10-20 units within 1 minute of administration of the adjustment.  I have done this one in my office many times.  It is thought that stimulation of the Vagus nerve is responsible for the drop in blood pressure but the exact cause remains unknown.  Making chiropractic a regular part of your wellness routine insures this critical area is addressed.

Conclusion

There you have it. 3 simple, time tested ways to lower blood pressure without a ton of toxic drugs.  Try adding these 3 things to you wellness routine and clean up the diet and get on exercise program and watch your blood pressure drop. Mine is currently 110/72 on average and I do all 3 on a regular basis.  For more information on diet and exercise download my recipe book at our website or the top of this page.  You can join the Arvold Chiropractic Weight Loss group on Facebook for tips on exercise.  We can always be reached at 715-246-7500 for questions or help setting up a diet and exercise program as well.  Reference this post for quick response.

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Watch TV or surf the internet for 20 minutes or so.  It won’t take you long to find advertisements for a new wave of medications.  They treat Low T, erectile dysfunction, lower energy, low libedo, etc…

What all of these conditions have in common is that they are all linked to low blood testosterone levels.  And while taking a pill to cure erectile dysfunction or rubbing on a gel to increase testosterone sound like a good idea on the surface the truth is they ultimately lead to the body not making its own supply of this important hormone.

So what is a man to do? Making these 3 lifestyle changes will lay the foundation for natural testosterone production for life and they are actually pretty fun to do.

1) Eat Enough Fat

One of the worst pieces of dietary advice of all time is to eat a low fat diet.  The research is astonishingly clear that not only is low fat dieting bad for overall health but in terms of testosterone production it essentially shuts it down completely.

The human body needs saturated fat and cholesterol in order to product enough testosterone. Cholesterol is a precursor of testosterone and eating it makes it much easier for the body to jump start T production.

That being said the wrong types of fats will harm health and testosterone production, namely trans fats.

So where should you get your dietary fats? Coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil are a great place to start.  Also adding avocado, eggs, chia seeds and nuts provides a good source of healthy fats.  Grass fed butter is another healthy, testosterone boosting option.  Stay away from processed oils and fried foods.

2) Resistance Training

Getting in the gym and lifting some weights has been shown again and again to boost testosterone levels.  You do need to stress the body enough to get this effect so as a guideline shoot for lifts that active multiple muscle groups (squat, bench press, pull ups, etc…) and aim for a weight level that you can do 5-7 reps with at 3-4 sets.

Another type of exercise to mix into your exercise program is sprints.  They are very anabolic and cause a similar spike in T levels.

The main type of exercise to stay away from? Long distance endurance type exercise.  This doesn’t mean don’t cardio but stay away from long (in excess of 30 minute) runs or other endurance type training.  It can cause a significant drop in T levels over time.

3) Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is incredibly important to optimal testosterone production. It is during sleep that the body produces most of it’s testosterone.  Not only is the amount of sleep important but the quality is important too.

Some very common things that disrupt sleep include coffee, alcohol, stress and many medications.  You may not have problems falling asleep when using these substances but it is very unlikely you are sleeping well enough for optimal T production when using them regularly.

One last thing to be aware of is that using a screen such a TV, computer or phone within an hour before bed can also disrupt sleep.  Wind down with a book or some other non-electronic activity before bed for deeper sleep.

Conclusion

These are the basic 3 things to change before you start taking pills, gels or other treatment options for low T.  In a lot of cases these 3 things alone can make a huge difference.

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Several years ago I had my first real case as an intern fresh out of school.  The man came to the office I was working at literally hunched over and inching forward though our door.  He was clearly in tremendous pain and could barely move.

An MRI confirmed that he had a disc herniation at three levels of his lumbar spine.  They looked like a little stair case on the MRI each one getting progressively worse.  His medical doctor told him his only hope to be cured of this pain was a triple lumbar fusion.  This is a procedure in which they basically add bone and make it so there is no movement in the areas fused.  These surgeries have a shockingly low success rate, down in the 20% range.

The doctor I was interning with told him to forget about the surgery.  He also told him he would need to treat him 2-3 times a week for as long as it took to get better.  We also applied traction and on occasional some electrical muscle stimulation.  And so it began.

It was a grueling process to be sure but over the course of 3 months his lower back pain and leg pain subsided.  He regained normal range of motion and was, as far as anyone could tell, back to himself. I still remember the last day I treated him.  He walked through the door of the office and threw his hands up in a “viola!” motion and said how good he felt.  The doctor I was interning with said “Now don’t think your going to go chopping wood all day or go for a 5 mile hike.”  He was telling him that yes you are doing much better but don’t forget you still need to be mindful of your body.

The point of this story is that he could have had the surgery and spent those 3 month (or more) recovering from it but with conservative chiropractic treatment he was able to heal naturally without even drugs, other than the occasional Advil.

I’ve not yet seen a case as bad as his in 7 years of practice but I have treated hundreds of herniated discs.  If you have back pain associated with herniated discs or degenerative disc disease in the neck or lower back you owe it to yourself to explore chiropractic to treat it. It could end up being the best decision you ever make.

Call either of our offices to set up an appointment or just walk in.  We can help get you back to being your best.

Glenwood City 715-265-7500

4 Corners 715-246-7500

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Ear infections are a common part of childhood.  Part of the reason is simple.  As a young child the Eustachian tubes, or the tubes that connect the outter ear to the inner ear, are nearly horizontal.  As a person ages the growth that occurs in the skull causes the tubes to angle downward allowing the ears to more easily drain.

In these early years though when the tube is closer to horizontal fluids may not drain efficiently and infections occur more frequently, especially during colder times of the year when the immune system is already busy fighting off other infections.

As a person who as a child had plenty of ear infections, and subsequent visits to the ear doctor and 8 sets of tubes put in I can tell you how much pain, emotional distress and irritating follow visits happen when you go down the usual path with ear infections.  I suffered frequent ear infections and not until I outgrew them did I learn how great chiropractic treatment is for ear infections.

The goal of any treatment is to get the ear to drain more efficiently.  One large part of the problem with ear infections is pulling on the Eustachian tubes by the other soft tissues on the skull and upper neck i.e. the muscles.  These are often the result of neck joints being out of place.  This is precisely what chiropractic treats.  One the neck joints are moving normally again there is naturally less pull on the thin and easily stressed Eustachian tubes and the ear can drain much better.

Also, a gentle tug on the earlobe can actually adjust the Eustachian tube itself. This is often accompanied by a slight popping noise as the pressure built up in the ear is released.  If you know someone who suffers from ear infections, chiropractic is the logical place to start when trying to lessen the pain and pressure associated with ear infections.  Don’t hesitate and call our offices today.  We can help get you on the path to living with fewer ear infections.

Glenwood City- 715-265-7500

4 Corners- 715-246-7500

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If you suffer from migraine headaches you know how intense the pain can be and likely would do just about anything to avoid having them or to at lease reduce the frequency.  While much of the actual cause of migraine headaches is not that well understood by medicine one thing is for sure, there are several things that can trigger them.

In today’s article we’re going to look at 3 very common migraine triggers and how to avoid them as best we can.  These are things which are easy to identify and with some practice you can basically eliminate or reduce your exposure to them and have few migraine headaches.

1) Wheat

Wheat contains gluten which is a very inflammatory protein that causes an increase in inflammation in the body which certainly makes you more susceptible to migraines.  Other proteins in wheat attack the intestinal lining which can lead to increased food sensitivities which can also be a trigger for migraine headaches.  Bottom line is cut wheat out of your diet and you are going to decrease the likely-hood of having a migraine just from the reduced inflammation and affects on your mood.

2) Caffeine

Caffeine might seem like an odd addition to this list because caffeine is usually an ingredient in headache medicine however caffeine does several things to increase the chances of you having a migraine headache.  First of all caffeine ingestion causes the release of stress hormones into the bloodstream which results in the nice little rush you get from a cup of coffee. However if your drinking lots of coffee, soda, tea or any other drink with lots of caffeine your keeping your stress hormones elevated all of the time!

Caffeine has a half life of 6 hours, so lets say you drank 3 cups of coffee each with 100mg of caffeine at 8am, 10am and noon.  By bed time you still have plenty of caffeine in your bloodstream elevating stress hormones and preventing deep sleep. This is important because sleep is a potent stress reducer.  See how downing lots of coffee can be a big problem?

Lastly, if your already under stress from work, your family, or some other situation that is ongoing caffeine will not only increase your stress hormones but actually amplify the stress you already had before the caffeine.  Its like having too many pots boiling on the stove and you keep any of them from boiling over.  Bottom line, if migraines are a problem for you, cut back on the caffeine.

3) Poor Sleep

This one goes hand in hand with #2 but in addition to caffeine poor sleep can also be caused by a few other things.  The worst of these and probably the sneakiest is blue screens.  This means smart phones, computers, TV, and basically anything else that has a screen.  It releases blue light which slows the release of melatonin from the pineal gland.  Melatonin is the reason you get sleepy and sink into the regenerative levels of sleep so if its not being secreted guess what? You wont sleep well and you will increase your stress levels.  Its a perfect cocktail for another migraine.  So do yourself a favor and cut back on the screen time an hour before bed.

 

There you have it.  3 triggers for migraine headaches that are under your control.  Cut back on the caffeine, take the steps to sleep better and quit eating so much wheat and you should see less migraines over time.  Don’t expect overnight results but in the long run this should really help you reduce the frequency of your migraine headaches.  Thanks for reading!

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While getting ready to make a stir fry for some lunches this week I realized I was getting a bit bored with my usual spices and flavorings.  Every once in a while you need to mix it up with your food or things get boring and so sorting though my pantry looking for something new to use I stummbled upon one of my new favorite seasonings… Honey!!

This recipe is an instant favorite in my home and I’m posting it here so you can enjoy it too!

Honey Ginger Beef Stir Fry

1 lb beef chow mien meat

1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 small onion chopped

1 cup broccoli florets

2 cups long grain brown rice

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

3 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

 

In a medium pot add the rice and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and cover, simmer until water is absorbed and remove from heat.  Let sit covered for 20 minutes.  Add olive oil, salt and pepper.

Meanwhile in a large pan add the butter and heat over medium heat.  Cook the beef until almost no pink remains.  Add veggies, increase heat to medium-high and cook stirring constantly until the veggies are tender crisp, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the curry, ginger, salt, pepper and honey and stir to mix.  Serve over the rice.

 

I hope you love this recipe as much as my family does.  Don’t be afraid to mix it up and try different veggies, meats and amounts of seasonings.  This recipe is super easy to make and very tasty.  Check back often for new recipes and health posts at at our website and be sure to share with family and friends!

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Have you ever noticed problems tend to build up over time before they are bad enough for us to really do anything about them?  It can be slowly accumulating debt, house repairs that go undone before finally collapsing or our own health.

In all of these cases the problem in question is no accident.  Small steps build up to the final result.  The good news is that same is true of fixing problems, or better yet, never having them in the first place.

This article isn’t about money or homes.  Its about your health.  We all know that our health is important but sadly we are led to believe that much of our current health status is beyond our control.  Its genetics, they say or a simple fact of aging.  But the truth is in most of the time its the little things we do day in and day out that ultimately end up deciding if we are healthy or unhealthy.

Maintaining your health is a choice you make every day but things do we really need to be aware of and take steps to make sure we are addressing every day?  From my personal experience and from working with patient’s over the years I think there are 3 levels of decisions we all need to make daily in order to have good health.

1) Diet and Exercise

This one comes as a surprise to no one.  Eating enough high quality, nutrient dense food is essential to giving our body the building blocks it needs for optimal health.  Exercise is our way of telling our body we need it functioning at a high level.  I go into much more detail about healthy diet on the Cooking Chiropractor blog and you can even download my cookbook from the website www.cookingchiropractorblog.com.

Exercise is also a no brainer.  It can be as simple as a 3o minute walk to start and slowly building up from there.  There are so many options out there for exercise that you can build a program from scratch based on your starting point, however it may be best to hire some help and look into a personal trainer.  Either way, the important message is that you NEED to exercise.

 

2) Chiropractic and Massage Therapy

Modern life is hectic and stressful for most of us.  That’s just a fact.  When we get stressed we release stress hormones that cause the muscles to tighten up.  This contributes to the many different aches, pains, headaches and other ills we feel physically in our bodies.

Chiropractic care is the single most important tool for normalizing the muscles and the skeletal system and reducing stress on the nervous system.  Each visit to your chiropractor builds on the one before and because you constantly introduce new stress both physical and mental into your life making chiropractic a regular part of your life is very important if you want to keep you body working well.

Along with chiropractic massage is a very important aspect of managing the body.  Massage does the heavy lifting in terms of relaxing muscles and working on specific muscle groups that need extra attention.  Working in monthly massage can dramatically increase the effects of chiropractic care and also do wonders for reducing overall stress and tension.

3) Sleep and Stress Management

Stress is an insidious killer in today’s society.  Often times we have so many little things going on that pile on us and before we know it we are completely stressed and don’t even know why.  Some simple steps to reducing stress include reducing caffeine intake, spending more time out doors away from electronics and regular exercise.  However, all of this is for nothing if you are not sleeping well.  Sleep is when our bodies repair from the day and as such we need regular sleep to make all our efforts at health come together. 8 hours is optimal no matter who you are.

 

Conclusion

Well, there you have it.  My 3 pillars of good health and honestly I don’t think any of it is really a big surprise unless  you have never been to a chiropractor or massage therapist (yes you are missing out).  Make an effort to improve these 3 areas of your life and you will see improvements in your health but you need to realize its a process.  Getting 1 good night of sleep, eating a healthy meal and getting adjusted once won’t make much difference if your in terrible health, used to eating Doritos and sleep 3 hours a night.  If you need help in any of these areas call my office 715-246-7500.  I can help you get any of these areas going or help point you towards the resources you need.

Fatigue is a very common complaint many people suffer from. From not being able to get up and moving in the morning without a cup of coffee to mid-afternoon drowsiness fatigue is everywhere and affects just about everyone at one time or another.
So why is everyone so tired? When you were a kid you popped out of bed full of energy and ready to attack the day with endless enthusiasm. Where did that energy go? More importantly what caused it to disappear and can we get it back? Fortunately the answer is YES!
For most people the cause of fatigue is a series of lifestyle changes that steadily come on over the years. Think way back to when you were a little kid. What did you do all day? What kind of things did you not do then that you do now? Here’s my quick list…
When I was a kid I
Exercised everyday- I played sports, played outside, rode my bike everywhere, lived at the YMCA during the summer… in short I was moving a lot, every single day of the year.
Went to bed on time- I didn’t really have a choice on this one. I mean I would have loved staying up all night playing Nintendo and watching late night TV but up until high school or so it just wasn’t happening. My parents saw to that.
Drank no caffeine- Maybe if I was lucky I got some coke or mountain dew here and there but by and large caffeine was not happening… ever. No coffee, espresso, red bull, no nothing.
So this leads us to what happened since then. Most of us stop exercising daily if at all. This is a big problem since our bodies create energy based on need. No input of regular physical activity, no need for physical energy. You literally need to exercise to let your body know you need more energy.
Sleep is also critical. Sleep is when we do most of our regenerating and regulating our hormones and other bodily processes. Skipping sleep is literally guaranteeing yourself you will not have enough energy.
And lastly most of us start drinking some sort of caffeinated beverage regularly. This is problematic because of several reasons but most important is that caffeine stimulates our bodies to release cortisol which makes us feel more awake. However this is normally for emergency situations so to your body drinking caffeine is like crying wolf when there is no actual danger. This stress accumulates over time and damages our physical health and our ability to sleep.
So in a nutshell if you are tired of being tired and want some real energy the time is now to start evaluating how your living because the key to real energy and vitality is in how you go about you day to day life. Making a few small changes can have a big impact.

 

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Carbohydrates get a lot of press these days and for good reason. Of all the major macro nutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) carbs have the greatest potential to derail your weight loss efforts, cause high blood sugar and metabolically cripple your body’s hormone systems.
That being said for optimal health we do need some carbohydrates. Just not as much as the government food plate says and when you eat them is also very important.
Before I tell you the 2 optimal times to consume most of your carbs let’s quickly review what happens when you eat a meal heavy in carbohydrates. After you eat something high in carbs (a potato, banana, fruit juice, etc…) it is broken down into glucose in the stomach and intestines and then absorbed into the blood. This triggers the release of insulin, a hormone which transports sugar from the blood into the cells for use as energy.
Problems arise when we frequently eat carbs and our blood sugar remains high for long periods of time. This is the root cause of diabetes, when the body can no longer properly regulate the amount of sugar in the blood.

So when should you eat most of your carbs to minimize the negative effects and reap all the positive effects of carbs such as weight loss, energyproduction, hormone regulation and improved sleep?
1) Within 1 Hour of Working Out- immediately after a hard workout your muscles are craving carbs to replenish glycogen stores. Glycogen is the stored energy supply in the muscles and needs to be replenished following a workout.

The spike in insulin from eating carbs after a workout also halts the release of cortisol (stress hormone) which then prevents further breakdown of muscle tissue allowing you to recover more quickly from intense exercise.

2) An Hour Before Bed- the insulin spike from eating those carbs an hour before bed will do 2 things for you that are good. The first is make it easier to fall asleep because the resulting crash in blood sugar will make you sleepy. Second, once you are asleep and the blood sugar crashes your endocrine system jumps to life and increases output of Human Growth Hormone which slows aging and helps regenerate the body.

So there you have it. The 2 optimal times to be consuming most, if not all, of your carbs. The rest of your meals should focus on healthy fats and proteins and generally exclude carbs. For further nutritional guidance call our office at 715-246-7500 or email cookingchiropractor@gmail.com. For a free cook book with 21+ free recipes, visit www.arvoldchiro.com and sign up for our email updates.

Thanks for reading.

 

Dr. Austin Erickson, DC

Arvold Chiropractic Blog

Avoid Back Pain with These Exercises

Posted by Austin Erickson | 0 comments

This week we have a special blog post from Glenwood City trainer and wellness coach Sandy Kopecky.  Sandy regularly works with people to not only increase their strength and endurance but also to help stabilize shoulders, low backs, necks and … Continue reading →

Looking for an Energy Boost? Try These 3 Power Packed Snacks

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Power Packed Snacks! Having a mid day energy drop?  Rather than reaching for a coffee, soda or sugar laden snack why not have something loaded with nutrients your body needs AND tastes great? It’s incredibly easy to bring these portable, … Continue reading →

Banish Low Energy With These 7 Common Sense Steps

Posted by Austin Erickson | 0 comments

How many people do you know who are really healthy? They have natural energy and a glow about them that just radiates good health? If your having trouble thinking of many people you know like that you are not alone. … Continue reading →