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Archive for Fitness

Improving Brain Health

by DrGroz
May 18th, 2012

This is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. My paternal grandfather died from Alzheimer’s almost 20 years ago and my 90 year old maternal grandmother was just recently diagnosed as being in the early stages. I think Alzheimer’s is one of the worst diseases that humans face today. It’s horrible for the person’s family and friends, as their loved one slowly slips away mentally. I used to joke that it’s easy for the person with the disease. They just forget everything. But my grandmother knows that she can’t remember many things. It’s very frustrating for her, especially since she is still in great shape physically. Her physical health can put many 40 year olds to shame.

I’m always researching ways to improve my brain health. I don’t know how hereditary Alzheimer’s is, but I have it on both sides of my family so I’m not taking any chances. More and more studies and research are coming out showing that we can improve our brain health. I’m attaching a link to an amazing article by Dr. Mercola, giving nine tips for a smarter you.

I also talk about this article in my podcast, so if you haven’t already, please go to the home page and subscribe in the top right corner. My podcast gives simple tools and tips for a healthier you.

Here are Dr. Mercola’s Nine Tips for a Smarter You…

1. Exercise

2. Animal Based Omega-3 Fats

3. Sleep

4. Coconut Oil

5. Vitamin D

6. Optimize Your Gut Flora

7. Vitamin B12

8. Listen to Music

9. Challenge Your Mind

Now, these simple things are good for so many other things, besides just brain health. So I encourage you to incorporate them into your daily life, if you haven’t already. You’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/17/good-brain-health-tips.aspx?e_cid=20120517_DNL_art_2

Categories Chiropractic Referral, Diseases, Fitness, Spine Health, Wellness
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Stress Management Tips

by DrGroz
May 2nd, 2012

Let’s face it: we live in a stress filled world. There’s not a whole lot we can do about that. But there is a lot we can do to deal with and manage that stress. Did you know that chronic stress is at least a contributing factor, if not THE primary cause, of over 90% of all illnesses and diseases? It is also the cause of vertebral subluxations, which interfere with the proper function of the nervous system. When the messages coming from the brain get scrambled going to the body, all kinds of negative effects can happen, from pain, numbness and muscle weakness to heart disease, digestive issues, and cancer. Stress truly is a killer. So what can we do about this killer? Here are some simple tips that you can do every day to help manage your stress level…

1. Take a few deep breaths. Oxygen getting into the body is an immediate stress reducer.

2. Smile!!! Robert Cooper, Ph.D., author of The Power of 5, says that “smiling transmits nerve impulses from the facial muscles to the limbic system, a key emotional center in the brain, tilting the neurochemical balance toward calm.” Not a fake smile, either, but a genuine smile. Plus, smiles are contagious. If you smile at someone, they will, more than likely, smile back, thus reducing their stress level as well. Win Win!

3. Make sure you’re getting adequate rest! Seven hours of sleep minimum at night is essential for good health and stress management.

4. Drink plenty of water! A good rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of pure, filtered water each day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking at least 75 ounces of water a day. More if you are exercising or if it’s hot outside. Water nourishes the body and calms it down.

5. Avoid violent TV, internet, news or books, especially before bed. Those violent, negative thoughts and images add stress to our bodies and minds. Negativity breeds more stress.

6. Homeopathic remedies, especially Rescue Remedy by Bach’s, help reduce stress. I use it whenever I feel stressed.

7. Aromatherapy. Many essential oils help reduce stress. These include anise, basil, bay, chamomile, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, rose and thyme. Place some rock salt into a small vial. Add a few drops of oil and take a whiff a few times during the day. The rock salt absorbs the oil, so there’s no chance of spilling.

8. Put fun time in your schedule every week. The old adage, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, holds true. Also makes Jack totally stressed! Do something that you find fun every week! Go for a hike, get outdoors, have a game night. Whatever you find fun. Your body needs to be recharged at regular intervals to manage the day to day stress that we throw at it.

Hope this gets you started. Next time, I’ll have more. Make it a great day!

Categories Back Pain, Children, Chiropractic Referral, Diseases, Fitness, Special Offers, Spine Health, Stress Management, Wellness
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Five Pillars of Health

by DrGroz
February 28th, 2012

Health – “A state of complete mental, physical and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization)

Carefully read that definition again. It’s a different way of looking at health than what we are normally taught in society. It says that there is much more to being healthy than just “feeling good.” Drug companies, however, would have us believe that if we are feeling good, then everything is OK; meanwhile, we are chronically stressed, tired, out of shape and stuffing ourselves with all kinds of processed food.

There are actually 5 pillars to health; these are 5 main areas that are intermingled to such a degree that if any one of these is below optimal, it affects the other four. The 5 pillars of health are:

1 Proper nutrition

2 Adequate rest

3 Good, consistent exercise

4 Positive mental attitude

5 An optimally functioning nervous system

Did you notice that there is nothing in that list that takes care of how you “feel”? And there’s no mention of drugs or surgery! So why does our “health” care system put so much emphasis on them?

 

 

 

Categories Back Pain, Children, Diseases, Fitness, Spine Health, Stress Management, Wellness
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Back Pain Prevention Tips

by DrGroz
August 8th, 2011

There’s an 80 percent chance you’ll suffer back pain during your lifetime, for which your medical doctor will likely recommend over-the-counter pain medication or prescription medication to relieve the pain temporarily.  Depending on your doctor’s assessment and how you respond, they may consider you a candidate for spine surgery at some point, an increasingly likely (and dangerous) option.  Then there’s chiropractic, which research and experience show is the safest, most effective option for most cases of back pain.

On the Top 10 list of diseases in America, “back pain” stands at #8, which according to Forbes.com costs over $40 billion annually for treatment costs alone!  Back pain sent over 3 million people to emergency rooms in 2008 at a cost of $9.5 billion, making it the ninth most expensive condition treated in U.S. hospitals.

Here are some tips to help prevent back pain:

1. Maintain a healthy diet and weight at all times.

2. Keep active under the supervision of your chiropractor.

3. Avoid prolonged periods of inactivity or bed rest.

4. Warm up or stretch before exercising or other physical activities, such as gardening.

5. Maintain proper posture.

6. Always wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.

7. Sleep on a mattress of medium firmness to minimize any curve in your spine.

8. Lift with your knees, keep the object close to your body, and do not twist when lifting.

9. Quit smoking, which impairs blood flow, depriving the spinal tissues of oxygen and nutrients.

10. Work with your doctor of chiropractic to ensure your computer workstation is ergonomically correct.

 

Categories Back Pain, Diseases, Fitness, Spine Health, Wellness
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Is Exercise Making You Worse?

by DrGroz
April 25th, 2011


Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your body.

Our bodies are meant to be in motion, not sedentary.  A sedentary lifestyle is a big cause of many of the aches and pains that we experience.  So how can exercising make you worse?

A quick chiropractic lesson:

The spine protects the spinal cord and nerves that go everywhere in the body.  When stresses to the body, whether physical, chemical, or emotional, are more than the body can adapt to, the spine is affected.  Misalignments of the vertebrae, muscle spasms, and/or joint dysfunction are all possible.  This is called a vertebral subluxation.  This puts pressure on the nerves and the nerve flow is diminished, “dimming the lights”, so to speak, to wherever those nerves are going.  This can cause pain, numbness and tingling, muscle weakness, or any other number of problems, as the nerves are responsible for everything we do, see, think, say or be.  Chiropractors find these vertebral subluxations and, by making small adjustments to the spine, “turn on the power” and allow the nerves to function at 100%.

As an analogy, if you were to put a tire on your car misaligned, you know that it will wear out more on one side.  If you never leave your garage, the tire will not wear down.  It’s not moving.  But as you drive the car, the tire starts to wear unevenly.  The more time you spend driving your car, the faster that tire will wear down.  The damage will always be worse than the properly aligned tires.

So look at it this way:

if you are exercising on a misaligned spine, that area is going to wear down faster than other areas that are properly aligned.  This degeneration happens every time, whether we feel it or not.  Now, I’m not saying that being sedentary is better.  What I’m saying is that if you are an avid exerciser, or even a weekend warrior, make sure you are getting your spine checked so it doesn’t wear down faster than it should.  If not, you may not know it until you are in severe pain or bending over to pick up a pen, you herniate a disc.

© Grosboll Family Health Center. All Rights reserved.

Categories Fitness, Spine Health, Wellness
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