Lifetime Wellness Chiropractic

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Please meet another member of the LWC team!  Mollie, our afternoon doctor's assistant joined us in December and has since brought tons of enthusiasm and positivity to the team.  Mollie grew up in Maine and is the youngest of 8 brothers and sisters!  Currently, Mollie lives in Renton with her beautiful 17 month old son, Milo.  Please join us in welcoming Mollie to our team.
 
The doctors at LWC will be hosting a special day.  Some of you have participated before.  The day is called Bring a Friend Day.  If you have a friend or family member who you feel may benefit from chiropractic care, sign them up and bring them with you to your appointment.  It is an opportunity for you to recieve a complimentary adjustment.  Your friend will recieve a consultation with the doctor and a computerized scan of their spine at no cost.  For your participation in the event, both of you will leave with a Starbuck's card to go and enjoy a coffee.  Dr Deam's BAFD will be held all day on Friday, February 27th.  Dr Denniston's BAFD will be in March 14th between the hours of 2-6:00PM.  Sign up with the front desk soon.  Spots fill fast!
 

    

 Can't I Just Adjust Myself?
 
"Doc, usually I can get that one by myself, I just turn my neck like this.  See?  Or twist my back like this.  See?  And then I get all these great pops and cracks.  Pretty much I can adjust myself, right?"
 
After being in practice for some time, statements like the ones above are very common.  Patients often perceive that contorting their bodies into Cirque-du-Soleil-like positions that result in popcorn sounds ruminating from various parts of their spines is equivalent to a chiropractic adjustment.  After I kindly let them know there is no need to demonstrate their techniques for me, I gently educate them on the difference between a chiropractic adjustment and a lay mobilization.  I do not spare any details regarding the dangers of adjusting one's own spine.  If you or one of your loved ones is a "self-cracker" please read below.
 
A chiropractic adjustment is a specific force delivered to a spinal vertebrae for the purpose of accomplishing a number of things.  Decreasing muscle spasming, breaking up tiny scar tissue adhesions, reducing inflammation, and most importantly, restoring proper nerve flow to the body are the results of a professional chiropractic adjustment.  During the four years of post graduate work it takes to become a chiropractor, hundreds of hours are spent diagnosing the area of the spine that may need to be adjusted and then hundreds more yet practicing specific intentional, restorative adjustments.
 
It is important to understand what to do during an adjustment.  It is equally important to understand what not to do.  The wrong line of drive, an inappropriate force, too much rotation, and contraindications to adjustments are all things that a chiropractor must be aware of before he or she ever lays hands on a patient.  Consequences of inappropriately applied adjustments include muscle strain, ligament sprain, and hypermobility (loose joints that create instability in the spine).  More serious issues include nerve compression, fracture, and stroke or paralysis.
 
Some random pops or cracks in your spine do not constitute an adjustment.  The pops and cracks are merely gas release from the inside of the joint that relieves a little pressure very temporarily.  When a chiropractor makes an adjustment, the pops and cracks are a by-product rather than the objective.  Many effective chiropractic techniques don't elicit those sounds at all!
 
It may help to understand that even chiropractors can't adjust themselves.  They must visit their local chiropractor just like you.  They know the dangers involved with trying to adjust themselves and understand that only a professional, who has properly diagnosed the health of their spine, should ever be attempting spinal adjustments.  After all, the spine encases the most important system in one's body: the nervous system!
 
So take heed.  Leave the adjustments to the chiropractor.  Learn how to stretch and strengthen properly and those skills will take you much closer on your journey to a healthier, more highly functioning spine and nervous system.

 

 50 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health 
 
We know all about the adverse effects sugar can have on our weight and energy level.  In addition to these, sugar has drastic effects on your body's natural physiological balance.  There are probably many consequences that excess sugar can have on your overall health and wellness.  Read below for a list of these consequences, abstracted from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.
 
  • Sugar is an addicting substance
  • Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol
  • Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
  • Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, asthma, and multiple sclerosis.
  • Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and bad cholesterol and can decrease good cholesterol.
  • Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
  • Sugar can increase your blood pressure.
  • Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder, and stomach.
  • Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Chrohn's disease, and Ulcerative Colitis.
  • Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin level and eventually diabetes.
  • Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
  • Sugar can cause emphysema.
  • Sugar can contribute to Osteoporosis.
  • Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
  • Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.
  • Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's Disease.
  • Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's.
  • Sugar can weaken eyesight.
  • Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness.
  • Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
  • Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.
  • Sugar can damage your pancreas.
  • Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.
  • Sugar can cause varicose veins.
  • Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.
  • Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function. 
  • Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
  • Sugar contributes to obesity.
  • Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.
  • Sugar is enemy #1 of bowel movements.
  • Sugar can cause food allergies.
  • Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.
  • Sugar can lead to cell death.
  • Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress leading to aging and increased susceptibility to cancer.
  • Sugar can cause premature aging.
  • Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
  • Sugar can lower your vitamin E levels.
  • Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves which can alter your mind's ability to think clearly.
  • Sugar can cause depression.
  • Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing hormone growth.
  • Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
  • Sugar can lead to dizziness.

If sugar can do all of this in adults, imagine what excessive sugar consumption is doing to the younger generation!

  • Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy. 
  • Sugar dehydrates newborns.
  • In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.
  • Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
  • Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
  • Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect school grades, and can contribute to learning disorders.
  • Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.

Scary but true!  Cutting the amount of sugar in your diet can dramatically effect weight loss, energy level, concentration, health, and overall function of your body.  This doesn't mean that you can never again have a cookie or piece of candy, it just means moderation.

 
 
*Sugar factoids for this article were taken from Lick the Sugar Habit by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D