Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

Monday, September 17, 2012

Complete Wellness Helps out Gold Hill Elementary 5th graders!


Books!  Do you remember those?  The hard bound covers filled with pages with words that opened up worlds to millions of people?  Before Kindles and Nooks and TV and social media we found out about our world and expanded our imaginations through books.  Mr. Smith at Gold Hill Elementary, even with all the tech-savvy gadgets he uses for his classroom, knows the importance of them and wants to expand his homeroom library.  Complete Wellness Chiropractic wants to help him in this mission.

For every new patient appointment made between September 10-21st 100% of the proceeds from that appointment will go back to his classroom.  Who do you know that could benefit from chiropractic care?  A co-worker?  Your spouse?  Your children?  It’s always a good time to refer to our office, but now is an even better time!   

Monday, July 9, 2012

Why Wellness Works-shop TOMORROW NIGHT!


TOMORROW - July 10th @ 6:30pm

Think you know what health really is?  

If you built two houses, one house with good materials and another with bad materials would the houses be different? 

The wellness workshop is 60 minutes of hardcore health exploring what it takes to live with good materials in today’s society. 

What is the gold standard of health in all aspects of your life and how are they all achievable? 

We will also go through the role chiropractic care plays with your family working towards improving health and vitality. This workshop sets the concrete foundation necessary to dive into deeper topics on creating lifelong abundant health.

Please call to reserve your spot!
704.899.5000

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Who wants to WIN a Grill???

 
With grill season beginning, Complete Wellness Chiropractic wants to give patients
the chance to win an awesome gas grill! This year is our 3rd annual Great Grill Giveaway!

HOW IT WORKS:
Patients who get adjusted between July 2nd-July 18th will earn one ticket towards the grill drawing. 
Patients who refer a friend or family member to our office will receive ten tickets.
For those who attend one workshop or Pathways Connect, you will receive two tickets, but if you bring someone with you, you will receive ten tickets! 

PRIZES:
First prize is our great gas grill of course!
Second prize is a grill basket which includes grill tools, Mac's sauces and spices, sparklers, and more! 

The grill will be at our office starting on Monday, July 2nd, so make sure you stop by to see the grill and get an adjustment to receive a ticket.

 RAFFLE:
Customer Appreciation Day will be Thursday, July 19th, which will be the day of the
Great Grill Giveaway drawing. Come in for some fresh fruits and juice and see if you will be the lucky winner of the grill or the grill basket!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tips: Where do you carry your wallet?

Alright guys, where do you carry your wallet? If you answered 'in your back pocket' you may want to reconsider that decision. Think about it... 
















You have major sciatic nerves that run down each leg. And when you sit you're crunching those nerves between your wallet and bone. Not to mention that by keeping your wallet on one side, your pelvis is elevated abnormally. Over time this can create permanent postural misalignments as your body tries to adapt to your incorrect posture. 

And don't even think about carrying a thin wallet in your back pocket. Even the thinnest wallet will still elevate your pelvis abnormally and cause microtraumas every time you sit.

Just carry it in your front pocket!


Thanks to Stephen and Katina who benefited from this advice and inspired this post!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Patient of the Month - Jack!


Jack has seen some great changes since beginning chiropractic care, and we would love to share them with you as well!

"I had terrible pain in my neck that ran down my arm like electric shocks. After treatment, the pain slowly went away and overall health improved. 
I also noticed fewer colds, etc."

Jack is also a graduate of the Functional Movement program!
Balance increased by 10%!
Flexibility increased by 40%!
Coordination increased by 25%!
Strength increased by 60%!
Posture increased by 10%

Congratulations to Jack and all the rest of our patients who have seen the benefits of consistent chiropractic care.  Healing takes time and your health is worth it!

Monday, June 4, 2012

OPC 3


In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier was leading an expedition up the St. Lawrence River. Trapped by bad weather, Cartier and his crew were forced to survive on a ration of salted meat and biscuits. Cartier's crew began to suffer from severe deficiency of vitamin C and showed symptoms of scurvy. Many crewmembers died before the surviving members encountered a friendly Native American who saved most of their lives. He told them to make a tea from the bark and needles of the pine tree to cure their malady. They complied and, as a result, Cartier and many crewmembers survived.

Some 400 years later, Professor Jacques Masquelier of the University of Bordeaux, France, read a book by Cartier detailing their expedition. He concluded that pine bark not only contained some vitamin C, but obviously was a good source of bioflavonoids, whose effects are similar to those of vitamin C. Further studies and research revealed that the pine bark contained an array of proanthocyanidins complexes. These compounds were also found in a variety of plants, including grape seeds, cranberries, peanut skin, lemon tree bark and citrus rinds. Masquelier termed the active ingredients of the pine bark "pycnogenols", which today are referred to in the scientific community as oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs. 


Benefits of OPC-3:
Demonstrates anti-inflammatory activity
Powerful free radical scavenger
Supports cardiovascular health
Helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels
Helps maintain healthy circulation by strengthening capillaries, arteries, and veins
Supports healthy blood vessel dialation by promoting healthy nitric oxide levels
Supports healthy platelet activity
Helps maintain joint flexibility
Helps reduce mild menstrual cramping and abdominal pain
Helps support visual health and acuity
Supports a healthy complexion
Supports healthy blood glucose levels
Supports sperm quality

Monday, May 21, 2012

Let's Get Moving!

Our Movement Workshop is tomorrow night (Tuesday May 22 @ 6pm), so we decided to take some time out to go over some of the benefits of getting active. 


Did you know that if you took a 30 minute brisk walk everyday you could: 

  • Prevent up to 91 percent of cases of obesity and type 2 diabetes
  • Prevent up to 50 percent of all cases of heart disease
  • Reduce risk of stroke by 25-30 percent
  • Prevent up to 50 percent of all stroke deaths
  • Reduce congestive heart disease deaths by 63 percent
  • Reduce hospital readmission for heart failure patients by 70 percent
  • Normalize blood pressure and reduce risk of developing high blood pressure
  • Restore or maintain heart and blood vessel health
  • Restore and maintain normal cholesterol triglyceride levels
  • Reduce risk of breast cancer up to 60 percent
  • Reduce pancreatic cancer in overweight people by 50 percent
  • Reduce lung cancer, even in smokers by 72 percent
  • Prevent up to 50 percent of colon cancer
  • Reduce risk of developing, and improve outcomes of these with, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
  • Prevent osteoporosis and increase new bone formation
  • Increase strength, flexibility and balance
  • Decrease gallbladder removal by 20 percent and decrease gallstones
  • Improve digestion and decrease indigestion
  • Improve bowel function and elimination
  • Increase immune system function
  • Increase macrophage (anti-tumor) activity and antioxidant levels
  • Decrease all-causes of mortality by 67 percent in general population    
  • Prevent up to 47 percent of cognitive impairment, prevent u pot 62 percent of Alzheimer's and 52 percent of dementia
  • Improve physical function in older adults
  • Decrease chance of ever being in a nursing home
  • Decrease rate of aging 
  • Enhance learning by 12 times
  • Increase dopamine and serotonin levels 
  • Decrease depression by 20 percent, including relapse
  • Increased growth and healing hormones 
  • Decrease stress and body breakdown hormones
  • Decrease body fat, obesity, and weight gain 
(taken from Innate Physical Fitness by James Chestnut)


Being active and moving provides your body with necessary nutrients. Exercise is a requirement for your body, not just a means to 'look good'.  If the above didn't inspire you to move, maybe this will!
 
We do not stop exercising because we grow old.
We grow old because we stop exercising. 

 

Monday, May 7, 2012

Why Do You Need Probiotics?



Probiotics are the 'good' bacteria that live in your gut. And like all things in the body, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained to keep you healthy. A poor diet, alcohol, prescription drugs, traveling, frequent illnesses, antibiotics, and aging are some of the factors that can create probiotic deficiency in your body. 

Some symptoms of probiotic deficiency can include bad breath, frequent colds or illnesses, indigestion, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, gas, nausea, fatigue, IBS, and yeast infections.

We get our first good dose of probiotics during vaginal birth, and then through breast milk. This gives our digestive tracts a healthy start. 

Probiotics are essential to helping us digest foods and helping us absorb the nutrients in our foods.


Probiotic benefits:
  • provides beneficial bacteria to help maintain optimal bacterial balance
  • promotes a strong immune system
  • promotes bowel regularity and stomach comfort
  • promotes colon health
  • supports a healthy gastrointestinal tract
  • supports healthy teeth
  • supports a healthy urinary tract
  • supports the body's normal resistance to yeast
  • supports a healthy upper digestive tract 

It is important to supplement with probiotics to ensure that your body is functioning optimally.  We offer our patients high quality Innate Choice probiotics as a healthy lifestyle option!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fam Jam is THIS Saturday!

Fam Jam is this Saturday and we are so excited for all the wonderful events, bands, activities, and all of the amazing prizes!  The Children's Attention Home is a great cause to raise money for, and our goal this year is $10,000. We are expecting a great turnout this Saturday, and rain or shine, we will see you there!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Pathways Connect - A Great Start!

Pathways Connect is an educational outreach program connecting local families and the empowering and emerging paradigm of wholism. Through this connection families will find the information and support they need for making informed health and conscious living choices.

Twice a month, we meet to connect and share information and discuss topics presented in Pathways to Family Wellness magazine (a great magazine put out by the ICPA). 

This past Saturday was our first meeting of the year, and it was a fantastic inaugural event! We had 8 members gather to cover "Mindful Mothering," "On Language Development Imagination is More Important than Knowledge," and we also talked about co-sleeping. We all benefited from some practical knowledge about raising children with the help of a mom who has already raised 3 children, including twins!

The next gathering will be April 28th.  
Please RSVP to our office, as space is limited. 
704-899-5000  
Children are welcome!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Parent’s Guide to Chiropractic


Most people recognize the value of chiropractic care for adults. But a more normally working nervous system can help everyone. Before subjecting their child to risky drugs or hoping it’s “just a phase they’re going through,” wise parents consult our office.

Chiropractic care for children is different from that for adults. Tailored to their age and weight, their adjustments often require no more pressure than you’d use to test the ripeness of a tomato. Children in our office enjoy their chiropractic care and look forward to their visits.

Can you recognize the signs of spinal nerve interference in your children?

Proper maternal nutrition, exercise and regular chiropractic care help create the best opportunity for healthy prenatal growth. Baby clothes, bassinets and car seats are also concerns. These are important, but consider the trauma of the birth process.
Pulling, forcing and twisting a baby from the birth canal are still too common. Cesarean section, forceps, suction extraction or eager hands can do unseen damage. Even “natural” birthing methods can cause subluxations.

Subluxations are areas of your baby’s spine that interfere or distort controlling nerve impulses between the brain and body.

With vital neurological signals compromised, your child’s health is impaired from his or her first breath. Other problems can appear years later.

Only a chiropractic examination can tell if subluxations are involved.

Many infants and toddlers will rub or tug at their ears. If they can talk, they complain. If they can’t, their crying makes us feel helpless, even desperate.

Subluxations are often found in children who suffer from chronic earaches. An impaired nerve supply can make their middle ears and eustachian tubes susceptible to fluid buildup or even infection. Traditional treatment usually involves the antibiotic amoxicillin. The result? A recent study showed that children taking amoxicillin compromise their immune system function. They are twice as likely to have recurring ear problems than those taking just a placebo.

Instead, restoring proper nerve supply with safe and natural chiropractic care has helped thousands.

Without the language to explain what’s wrong, some newborns exhibit unexplained crying, a lack of appetite, allergic reactions or other difficulties.

Newborns and infants often show a tendency to hold their head to one side or prefer breastfeeding from one side.

These are ways they cope with abnormal spinal function and an impaired nervous system.

Chiropractic care has been shown helpful for infants suffering from colic. As subluxations are reduced, more normal sleep patterns emerge. Many parents notice that other aspects of their child’s health improve as well.

Chiropractors are alert to the many ways nerve interference can negatively affect your baby’s health. As children grow and explore their world, crawling leads to walking. Walking leads to running. Tricycles lead to bicycles. Before we know it, their mobility and curiosity produce a whirlwind of nonstop activity.

Along the way they lose their balance. They fall. They slip. They trip. They stumble. They tumble.

A kiss and a bandage may be comforting, but what about the unseen injury to their spine?

Even though your child’s young body has tremendous capacity to adapt, uncorrected subluxations can set the stage for problems often seen later in adults.

Regular chiropractic checkups during this time of rapid growth are essential.

What’s the difference between children who seem to get “the bugs that are going around” and those who don’t?

Spinal subluxations can hamper your child’s ability to ward off infection. Weakened by a compromised nervous system, his stomach, lungs, nose, ears and throat can welcome viruses and other microbes.

Restoring the integrity of the nervous system and the workings of every cell and tissue is what chiropractic care is all about.

Many parents who consult our office report that their children miss less school and seem healthier than other children.

With puberty come hormonal changes, a new self-consciousness, awkwardness and a lack of coordination. A host of nonspecific aches, pains and muscle spasms often appear.

These so-called “growing pains” may be common, but they are not normal.

That they seem to resolve on their own is merely a tribute to the adaptive qualities of children’s growing bodies. Uneven leg length, unbalanced hips and other underlying spinal distortions often go unnoticed.

We see the results years later in adults with chronic, expensive and hard-to-correct problems.

Parents who want their children to enjoy their fullest potential consult our office to help assure proper growth and development.

Aches and pains at any age are signs that something isn’t right. It’s convenient to treat the symptoms with a couple of aspirin or some other medication.

But should you?

Worse, what do you teach your child when you help her feel better by taking a drug? How will you explain the difference between a “good” drug and a “bad” drug?

Virtually every drug has side effects. Will your child be the one to experience the stomach bleeding, liver damage or other side effects from popular over-the-counter pain relievers?

Rather than dangerous symptom-treating, the chiropractic approach detects and helps correct the underlying cause. Without drugs.

A common symptom during adolescence, especially in girls, is an abnormal sideways curvature of the spine called a “scoliosis.” Alert parents may notice that a high shoulder or low hip make clothing fit poorly. Back and leg pains may be present.

A thorough chiropractic examination can help detect scoliosis in its earliest stages. That way, corrective action can begin with a program of specific chiropractic adjustments.

Adjustments help reduce subluxations and improve spinal structure and function. Muscles can strengthen. Posture can improve.

Safe and natural chiropractic care has helped many young women avoid braces, surgery and the psychological effects of this underlying deformity.

We have high hopes for our children. Above all we want them to be happy, be healthy and reach their fullest potential. Raising children is a big responsibility that can produce extraordinary joy and satisfaction.

Along the way you’ll make many choices on their behalf. Will you allow needless antibiotics to tamper with your child’s immune system?

Will you agree to ear surgery to install an artificial drainage system? Will you consent to the use of Ritalin or other personality-altering drugs? Or, will you trust the ability of their body to heal naturally, unhampered by subluxations?

Please choose wisely.

Traditional symptom-treating is expensive and unattractive. That’s why more and more families include a chiropractor on their health care team.

We look at the total you. We recognize the self-healing properties of the body. We know that regardless of their age, a subluxation-free nervous system gives your child the opportunity to be their very best.

Schedule an appointment for your child or grandchild today!
704-899-5000


taken from http://joshuagelber.com/health-facts/children/parents-guide/

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

How Can Stretching Help with Depression?

Stretching, in its ease of use and portability, can be a great solution in the fight against depression. How? Behold some of the many potential effects:
  • Stretching just before bed can lead to a better night’s sleep. This in turn will help your body balance its hormones, including cortisol. We now know that cortisol is a hormone associated with stress, being fearful, depression, and a host of other undesirable states. Worse – and not surprisingly, studies are indicating that elevated cortisol levels seem to increase our cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods. Which leads to the next bullet point…
  • By helping you get a better night’s sleep and thus regulating your hormone levels, stretching can also offer the extended effect of helping you maintain your weight. None of us needs a study to know that when our weight is at a level we feel comfortable, we are far happier and far more resilient against feeling depressed.
  • While a good night’s sleep is one way to regulate our cortisol (see first bullet point), slow stretching and yoga in of themselves help to reduce cortisol levels as well, through the stress-reduction benefit of lengthening and consciously relaxing our muscles, and breathing smoothly. And when you’re less stressed, you’re probably also less depressed. Or, at the very least, you know that if you are MORE stressed, almost certainly you are vulnerable to be more depressed!
  • Mindfulness – that is, being mindful and engaged in life’s activities (all of them, including the more mundane) – tends to be quite the opposite state of mind than that of depression. When you’re mindful, you are focused, aware, calm, and involved. When you’re depressed, you’re blah, stressed, and detached. So any activity, such as yoga or stretching, that can momentarily pull you into that mindful state, can also help keep you there and prevent you from returning to that depressed state.
  • Stretching, by virtue of it alleviating physical stiffness, increasing blood flow, calming the central nervous system, and refreshing weary and fatigued muscles, can only help relieve the physical sensations associated with depression, leading to a sense of increased sense of well-being and the ability to extract joy and pleasure from what you’re doing.
  • It’s been shown that an increase in gratitude can help offset feelings of depression and in fact elevate one’s happiness. What better way to cultivate that gratitude than in becoming attuned to the miracle of your body’s abilities through stretching? Feeling your muscles stretch, listening to yourself breathe, watching small improvements from one stretch session to the next, sensing an improved posture in yourself…..all of these things serve to interrupt the bombardment of outside information and bring us back to the sweet simplicity of re-connecting to that inner dialogue with your own body and mind.
  • Finally, stretching simply FEELS GOOD. It’s one activity that we can all do for ourselves, any time, any day, in any number of ways, and best of all, the relief is almost immediate!
taken from http://www.theflexibilitycoach.com/articles/Articles_PDF/Can_Stretching_Alleviate_Depression.pdf

Here at Complete Wellness Chiropractic, we offer a comprehensive stretching program called Functional Movement that works one-on-one with you to establish good stretching habits and routines. We work on balance, posture, flexibility, strength and coordination through a series of stretches that you can weave into your already existing daily routines. This is a great way to get yourself moving and to maintain all of your progress!

Call today to make your appointment!   (704) 899-5000

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Eating Well on a Budget

by Judith Fertig
http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/Natural-Awakenings/March-2012/Eating-Well-on-a-Budget/

In tough economic times, many families include food in their spending cuts. How can we tighten our budget and yet still eat well?


Six months ago, Josh Viertel threw down the “value meal” gauntlet in a major way. The Slow Food USA president challenged cooks around the country to create a family-friendly feast for under $5. Many responded, sharing their tips and tricks at SlowFoodUSA.org/5Challenge. Here are some favorites.

 
Setting a Budget

Five dollars per meal for 21 meals a week, plus snacks, neatly totals the $125 weekly food budget set by the Leake family, of Charlotte, North Carolina. Lisa and Jason Leake, parents of two young daughters, first explored what it would be like to eliminate processed food from their diet, which they describe in their blog at 100DaysofRealFood.com. Their success led to the additional challenge of eating real food on a budget.

“Having a realistic weekly budget is helpful, because you can’t go too far over budget before you realize you are in trouble,” advises Lisa Leake. To make it even easier to stay on track, she makes it a habit to shop near home and uses cash instead of credit.

 
Seasonal Shopping

“If we shop for seasonal produce and freeze or can surplus from our local farmers’ market, we can eat well all year and still eat frugally,” advises Rebecca Miller, a macrobiotic and healing foods caterer from Overland Park, Kansas. “When fresh blueberries are $3 a cup at the grocery during the off-season, for example, we can still enjoy canned berries in recipes or thawed from the freezer on our morning oatmeal.”

 
Eating Down the Fridge

Seattle-based Kim O’Donnel, author of The Meatlover’s Meatless Cookbook, blogs about family meals for USA Today. “I regularly emphasize what I call ‘eating down the frig,’” she says. “That means making use of what we’ve got on hand, like generations before us that also went through food shortages. We’re just out of practice.”

One way to help ourselves learn, says O’Donnel, is to stock a “smarter” pantry. Staples include different varieties of dried beans; lentils; quickcooking grains such as quinoa, bulgur, couscous and purple barley; garbanzo beans; brown and black rice; and a few BPA-free canned goods like tomatoes, black beans and chickpeas.

“If we take our time and watch for good deals, we can build a pantry at a low cost,” she says, because such ingredients are basically “blank slates.” As just one example of a low-cost, pantry-based meal, O’Donnel might start with cooked red lentils, then add fresh ginger and garlic, sautéed onion with cumin, and fresh spinach and tomatoes, and then serve it with whole-wheat pita bread.
 

Ingredient-First Cooking

Jane Zieha, a certified public accountant, knows that feeding people and watching the bottom line can go together. She owns the acclaimed Blue Bird Bistro, in Kansas City, Missouri. An avowed all-natural, organic, sustainable and local foods passionista, Zieha has stayed true to the principles of her Pennsylvania upbringing.
Eat healthy for cheap “I didn’t eat like anybody else growing up,” she says. “We never ate packaged food. We ate what was fresh. When I was old enough to go to a friend’s house for dinner, I was surprised at how they ate.” Today, both at home and at work, Zieha continues to select the best that local farmers can provide. “I don’t start with a recipe and then find the food, like most chefs and restaurants do,” she explains. “I find the ingredients and then go from there.”
 

Meat as a Condiment

More expensive ingredients, such as heritage turkey, can bring more flavor and texture to an entrée as an ingredient instead of a standalone part of a meal, advises Zieha. She might feature heritage turkey in an enchilada filling, pasta or savory bread pudding, so that a little goes a long way.

It also makes sense to shop for varieties of fish or cuts of meat that aren’t widely popular or that take longer to cook. Slow Food’s Viertel, who shops near Brooklyn, New York, remarks:
“I buy ‘trash fish’—sea robin, squid, mackerel, sardines—because they are cheaper and I believe, taste best. The same is true of the other meats I buy. I never cook pork chops or filet mignon; I cook oxtail and short ribs.”

Then, O’Donnel adds, the frugal cook turns bones of roasted poultry or trimmings from a whole fish into a delicious stock. Any homemade broth can be just the frozen asset we need for yet another tasty “value” meal.

Cookbook author Judith Fertig writes at AlfrescoFoodAndLifestyle.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

AMA Site Recommends Mandatory Vaccine Experimentation

The Cruel Science Experiment They Want to  Force You to Take

By Dr. Mercola
A paper published by the American Medical Association's Virtual Mentor is concerned that current enrollment in vaccine trials is extremely low.1 The proposed solution? Creating a federal law that would force each individual to make a "mandated choice" to participate in vaccine trials. Such a law would give drug companies a more or less guaranteed supply of human guinea pigs. According to the featured paper:
"... The lack of animal models that can reliably predict vaccine efficacy means that development still unavoidably relies on testing of novel vaccines in healthy individuals... In recent decades there has been a distressing decline in the numbers of healthy volunteers who participate in clinical trials, a decline that has the potential to become a key rate-limiting factor in vaccine development. ... The modest financial remuneration commonly provided often means that students and the unemployed make up the bulk of volunteers. As a result, the risks of developing a health intervention that would benefit the whole population are carried disproportionately by some of society's most poor and vulnerable. This is a situation few would judge to be fair or ethical. Compulsory involvement in vaccine studies is one alternative solution that is not as outlandish as it might seem on first consideration. Many societies already mandate that citizens undertake activities for the good of society; in several European countries registration for organ-donation has switched from "opt-in" (the current U.S. system) to "opt-out" systems... and most societies expect citizens to undertake jury service when called upon... Mandatory involvement in vaccine trials is... perhaps more akin to military conscription... In both conscription and obligatory trial participation, individuals have little or no choice regarding involvement and face inherent risks over which they have no control, all for the greater good of society."

Medical Tyranny of the Worst Kind!

From my perspective, the idea of compulsory involvement in vaccine trials "for the greater good of society" is not only outlandish, it's a complete abomination. It's tyranny of the worst kind, and the epitome of a heartless system based on broken ethics. Sadly, there are signs that we're already sliding in that direction. For example, consider the fact that the US government has already ok'd the testing of the incredibly controversial and dangerous anthrax vaccine on infants. And the fact that when 14 babies died in an Argentinean vaccine trial, the drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, was fined a measly $250,000.
Again and again, we see that life is not valued as highly as the prospects or promises of financial profits... Human experimentation -- the practice of subjecting live human beings to science experiments that are sometimes cruel, painful, or deadly -- is a shameful part of U.S. history that you won't find in most history or science books. But it is a practice that is still continuing to this day, and if Susanne Sheehy and Joel Meyer, the authors of the featured paper, have anything to say about it, medical experimentation on ALL infants would not only be possible, it would be mandatory! Folks, this is an absolute nightmare; one that I hope will never actually come to fruition.


Know Your Rights!

While you may one day have to opt out of vaccine trials for your child, we're not quite there yet. However, you do need to educate yourself about your rights when it comes to vaccinating your child.  There are currently three different types of exemptions you can use to avoid vaccinations of all kinds:
  • Religious exemption
  • Medical exemption
  • Philosophical/conscientious exemption

Unfortunately, the religious exemption is being targeted for elimination by lobbyists working for pharmaceutical corporations and medical trade associations funded by Pharma. In some states, like New York, parents are being grilled about the sincerity of their religious beliefs by state officials and denied religious exemptions to vaccination for the purpose of barring their partially vaccinated or unvaccinated children from attending public schools. All 50 states allow a medical exemption to vaccination if you or your child has a verifiable medical reason to defer or avoid use of one or more vaccines. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have eliminated most of the officially recognized contraindications for vaccination, to the point that almost no medical condition qualifies for a medical exemption to vaccination... Still, depending on where you live, you may have the option of using a philosophical or conscientious belief exemption. This exemption, like the religious exemption, is under attack by forced vaccination proponents. Only 18 states (listed below) still allow conscientious, personal or philosophical belief exemption to vaccination. These states come the closest to protecting a citizen's right to exercise voluntary, informed consent to vaccination in America:
Arizona California Colorado
Idaho Louisiana Maine
Michigan Minnesota New Mexico
North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma
Rhode Island Texas Utah
Vermont Washington Wisconsin


What You Can Do to Make a Difference

While it seems "old-fashioned," the only truly effective actions you can take to protect the right to informed consent to vaccination and expand vaccine exemptions, is to get personally involved with your state legislators and the leaders in your community. THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY. Mass vaccination policies are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level, and it is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights can have the greatest impact. Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at www.NVICAdvocacy.org not only gives you access to practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community, but when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your fingertips to make sure your voice is heard. So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.

Contact Your Elected Officials

NVIC will help educate you about how to write or email your elected state representatives and share your concerns. You might even want to call them, or better yet, make an appointment to visit them in person in their office. Don't let them forget you! It is so important for you to reach out and make sure your concerns get on the radar screen of the leaders and opinion makers in your community, especially the politicians you elect and are directly involved in making vaccine laws in your state. These are your elected representatives, so you have a right and a responsibility to let them know what's really happening in your life and the lives of people you know when it comes to vaccine mandates. Be sure to share the "real life" experiences that you or people you know have had with vaccination.

Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More

I encourage you to visit the following web pages on the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website at www.NVIC.org:
  • NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
  • If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
  • Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment by doctors or state officials for making independent vaccine choices.

Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One that Will Listen and Care

If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and vaccination. If you are treated with disrespect or are harassed in any way by a doctor (or government official), do not engage in an unproductive argument. You may want to contact an attorney, your elected state representatives or local media if you or your child are threatened. However, there is hope. At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines. So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.
References:

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Vitamin D - A Very Versatile Vitamin!

Vitamin D is our product of the month at Complete Wellness Chiropractic, and for very good reason!  With decreased daylight due to weather and the shortened winter days, it becomes necessary to supplement our bodies when we can't naturally produce this vitamin. 

Did you know that Vitamin D helps...
Heart health
Cell formation and cell longevity
Skin health
Pancreatic health
Aging process
Sleep patterns
Hearing
Reproductive health
Athletic performance
Eye health
Vascular system health
Respiratory health
Immune health
Healthy mood and feelings of well-being
Weight management
Hair and hair follicles
Strong and healthy bones, because vitamin D encourages calcium uptake
Muscles
Proper digestion and food absorption

Vitamin D plays such an important role in keeping our bodies functioning properly that supplementation becomes necessary when our bodies cannot produce enough. Whether you just need a boost for your mood or immune system, our office offers both liquid and powder forms to put you on the right track towards health!


A NOTE ON SUNLIGHT AND VITAMIN D:
To produce Vitamin D, your body has to absorb UVB rays from the sun. The problem is that UVA rays (which cause more damage to your skin than UVB) make up most of our UV sunlight exposure and do NOT help your body to produce Vitamin D. Exposure to sunlight can cause other numerous problems, but if you are determined to get your Vitamin D sufficiency from the sun, here a few guidelines:
     -you'll get the necessary UVB rays between 10am and 2pm (varies according to latitude)
     -40% of your skin should be exposed for optimal Vitamin D output ( "torso produces the 
        most, legs and arms some, hands and face very little or none at all")
     -skin pigmentation does affect the length of time needed in the sun (15 min for fair 
        skin and up to 1.5 hours for darker skin)
      -for people under the age of 20 and over the age of 60, it can take up to 4x as long for 
        Vitamin D synthesis
      -sunscreen with an SPF as low as 8 can block up to 95% of Vitamin D production
     -being in Fort Mill we are able to get UVB rays all year round, but anything north of 40  
        degrees latitude will have certain months where Vitamin D production is not possible
     -higher altitudes (mountains) have more UVB exposure
     -cloud cover and air pollution filter out some UVB rays
     -glass filters out UVB rays completely but NOT UVA rays

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/how-to-get-your-vitamin-d/uvb-exposure-sunlight-and-indoor-tanning/ 
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/04/03/vitamin-d-grant.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/02/23/vitamin-d-part-five.aspx
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/Tanning/ucm116425.htm