Monthly Archive for March, 2009
Molly Meri Robinson, DC, a November 2007 graduate of Northwestern Health Sciences University, has been offered a staff position at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. She was offered the position after serving as the first doctor of chiropractic in the Traditional Medicine internship program at WHO from March 10 to June 6, 2008. Although there are no internships specifically reserved for chiropractors,
Chiropractors are now eligible to submit applications to the general intern pool.
According to Robinson, in 2008 the Traditional Medicine Program took a total of four interns from thousands of applications they received from around the world.
The Traditional Medicine Program requires a minimum of 12 weeks from interns, although in certain situations, interns may be asked to extend their internship for up to 24 weeks.
“We chose not to extend my internship, but instead I was offered a staff position in the department,” Robinson explains. “The position I return to in January will be very different, as I will be a staff member working on specific chiropractic-based projects.
The reception I have had, both within the chiropractic community and the larger health care arena, has been incredibly supportive and gives hope that the true global integration and acceptance of chiropractic health care might be closer than we could have imagined,” Robinson says.
Source: The Chiropractic Journal March 2009
California Event focused on 1918 flu pandemic
“One Flu over the Duck’s Nest.” The event celebrated the 90 anniversary of the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918, which killed between 25 and 40 million people worldwide, about half a million in the United States. The organizers “wanted to draw attention to a great achievement that is virtually unknown to a public who thinks that chiropractic is about bad backs.”
During the Pandemic, medical doctors in Davenport, Iowa, treated 93,590 patients with 6,116 deaths. At the Palmer College, 1,635 people with flu were adjusted with only one fatality. Outside of Davenport, Iowa, chiropractors adjusted 4,735 flu cases with only six deaths.
Source: The Chiropractic Journal March 2009
The winter 2009 edition of Trends Journal, a publication produced by the Trends Research Institute, lists what it believes will be the ”top trends” of 2009. Among this year’s top trend is “Whole Health Healing,” to which the institute devotes an entire section of the winter edition of the publication. “2009 marks the year of attitude change.” The authors note that the loss of jobs and health insurance, combined with the rising costs of medical care, will drive this change in attitude.
“The philosophy and practice of Whole Health Healing, a first line of defense, requires that the individual assumes responsibility for achieving and maintaining health. To do so entails both an extensive re-education process and an attitude change: that it can be done, that there is a desire to do it, and that how to do it can be learned. But it is an individual choice and an individual search; ordinary channels will not voluntarily provide the necessary information.
Interestingly enough, the Trends Research Institute readily recognizes how this trend will run sideways to the current medical/drug culture:
“This incessant media-promoted, advertising-supported and TV/movie indoctrination that Doctor and big pharma know best, will give way as evidence mounts to contradict both beliefs and people are forced to go it on their own. Bombarded with a steady onslaught of reports of drugs passed by the FDA that should have failed, of drug manufacturers lying about test results, and of ‘independent’ doctors on pharma payrolls or taking kickbacks, aware consumers will embrace the Whole Health Healing concept.”
“As the whole health healing trend grows and more people reject prescription drugs, big pharma will lose big bucks. In concert with big government, major attacks will be launched to kill the movement through legislation that will regulate or criminalize vitamins, supplements, herbal tinctures, etc. Forestalling this movement will require concerted, organized public pressure.”
This prediction is not unexpected, nor is it new. The authors not only anticipate a reaction from “Big Pharma,” but also suggest how to stop any threat that may arise: through “concerted, organized public pressure.”
What isn’t mentioned in this newsletter is the potential effect of the much-anticipated health care reform. But if the Trends Research Institute can see the current health care landscape and recognize what needs to happen, perhaps there is hope for Congress.
Source: Dynamic Chiropractic February 26, 2009
The joy of movement cannot be underestimated as it applies to health and wellness. Understanding the complexity and variety of movements involved in activities of daily living is necessary to the promotion of health and wellness.
Let’s explore some practical ways to get you moving and stay moving, including information on a tool kit inspired by America on the Move. This was developed as part of the Colorado Department of Health and the Environment’s Office of Health Disparities grant CAMINE (Clinics Assisting With More Interventions in Nutrition and Exercise). The toolkit can be downloaded from www.americaonthemove.org.
Motivation
One of the most efficient and effective ways to get motivated is to make some healthy behavioral changes and to help you keep you on track make a health promotion contract. This signifies that you are ready to make small changes for better health. An important part of the contract is that in signing it you agree to change your daily activity level in incremental stages that are tracked in a journal or other record. Be sure to identify potential negative consequences of continuing current levels of physical activity and potential benefits of making a change regarding physical activity, along with potential barriers to making small changes.
One of my favorite motivational quotes is from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: “The greatest of all follies is to sacrifice health for any other happiness.”
Getting started
The first step after you have indicated a willingness to increase your physical activity is to get a baseline assessment of your current activity. Our Creating Wellness Assessments do just that. From there, with guidance from your coach, you can determine 2 or 3 small steps to take and create new habits from before moving on the next steps. This may be in all three dimensions of wellness or in just one or two depending on your individual results and personal goals.
Sustainable Activities
The only good activity is one that is enjoyable, at least if it is to be sustained. Incremental intensity is also important especially is you have been leading a sedentary lifestyle. Here are some light, moderate and more vigorous activities that should be paced in the beginning so as to avoid injury.
|
Light Activities
|
Moderate Activities
|
Vigorous Activities
|
|
Bowling |
Aerobics (low impact) |
Aerobics (high impact) |
|
Canoeing |
Backpacking (<10 lb. load) |
Backpacking (>10 lb. load) |
|
Dancing (slow) |
Ballet |
Bicycling |
|
Golf (riding in a cart) |
Baseball or Volleyball |
Circuit training |
|
Horseshoes |
Basketball (leisurely non-game) |
Elliptical jogger |
|
Pilates |
Chopping wood |
Judo and karate |
|
Tai chi/qigong |
Dancing (fast) |
Jumping rope |
|
Walking |
Gardening |
Kickboxing |
|
Yoga |
Golf (walking) |
Racquetball |
|
|
Ice/inline skating |
Running |
|
|
Jogging |
Skiing (cross-country) |
|
|
Rowing |
Snowshoeing |
|
|
Swimming |
Soccer |
|
|
Tennis (doubles) |
Stair-climber machine |
|
|
Waterskiing |
Tennis (singles) |
|
|
Wrestling |
|
If backsliding occurs, look at your contract to yourself and review the consequences and benefits then make another attempt until it becomes habitual to participate in your chosen activity. Remember that like many other behaviors, making a change may take several attempts.
Source: Dynamic Chiropractic February 12, 2009
Cardiovascular disease remains the number-one killer in our society, claiming the lives of one of every two men and one of three women. High cholesterol is a cardinal risk for heart attack, stroke and other vascular diseases, and patients typically have a number of questions about cholesterol. Studies suggest 90 percent of individuals with high cholesterol can reduce it into the ideal range with basic nutrition and lifestyle modifications.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty, waxy material that is found in high-fat meat and dairy products, as well as egg yolks, organ meats and shellfish. Our bodies make additional cholesterol in the liver when we eat foods that contain a lot of saturated fat such as beef, pork, lamb, high fat dairy products, chocolate(made with cocoa butter), and possibly cocoanut and palm oil. Eating trans fats(hydrogenated fats) found in many fried foods, cookies, pastries, muffins and shortenings also increases the body’s cholesterol production.
How Does the Liver Handle Cholesterol?
Most of the cholesterol you eat is absorbed and transported to the liver. Once in the liver, cholesterol, as well as the additional cholesterol your liver makes when you eat foods high in saturated fat and/or trans fats, is transported out of the liver in a carrier vehicle known as VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein).
The VLDL looks a bit like an egg. Its outer shell is made out of protein and the inside of the shell contains cholesterol, where the white of the egg would normally reside. In this model, the yolk represents triglycerides (the saturated and trans fats you consume form triglycerides, a storage form of fat within the liver). As the VLDL circulates through the bloodstream, the triglicerides are taken up by your fat cells (and your fat cells in turn get larger) and your muscles.
Fat is the primary fuel that muscles burn when you are at rest and during light to moderate activity. Thus, the more muscle mass you have, the fasted you burn fat, even when sitting in a chair. Once the triglycerides are removed from the VLDL, the remnant particle is known as the LDL cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol that promotes heart attack and stroke.
How Does LDL Cholesterol Promote Heart Attack and Stroke?
Although various body tissues remove LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream and then use it to make cell membranes, bile acids, vitamin D and various hormones (e.g. estrogen, progesterone, cortisone, testosterone), once the tissues have acquired all the cholesterol they need, they stop extracting LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. Any extra LDL cholesterol continues to circulate in your arteries.
This is where the trouble begins, as LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the walls of the artery, causing progressive narrowing of these important blood vessels. It’s a bit more complex than this, but the bottom line is that excess LDL cholesterol causes narrowing of your arteries. Once 85 percent of the artery is blocked with LDL cholesterol plaque, symptoms start to occur, such as angina and transient ischemic attacks (resembling mini-strokes).
In up to 40 percent of cases, the first symptom is a sudden-death heart attack. Waiting for symptoms to occur is not a good idea. A good idea is to keep your LDL cholesterol level within the safe and desirable zone, which is under 2.5mmol/L (96mg/dL). If you already have had a heart attack, stroke or heart operation, or have diabetes or kidney disease (including kidney transplant), you should aim for an LDL cholesterol level at or below 2.0mmol/L (77mg/dL).
Source: Dynamic Chiropractic January 1, 2009
