Getting Started the Right Way

Several years ago I had a patient that came in after moving from North Carolina to Chattanooga.  I was asked to provide continuity of care based on her previous chiropractor's findings.  During the consultation she revealed that her previous chiropractor had put her on three supplements that were special formulated by the doctor with his own label.

She relates that when she started taking the supplements she felt great.  When asked what she was taking the supplements for she had a vague understanding that it was for pain.  She said that after 3-4 weeks she seemed to be getting less relief and maybe some side effects (nausea, irritability, restlessness, etc,)  I asked that she bring in the bottles.

When the patient returned for her next visit, she brought the three bottles of supplements.  I reviewed the labels.  Each bottle had thirty (30) ingredients most of which were herbs.  I asked for her to leave me the bottles until her next visit.  She agreed saying that because she felt bad she quit taking them anyway.

That evening I made a list showing each the ingredients in each bottle, arranged side by side so the patient could compare apples to apples (that is a nutritional joke).  After all was said and done each bottle was a duplicate of the other two except for one ingredient per bottle.  Except for the different ingredients every thing else was an herbal stimulant or a fiber.  After I showed that to the patient she agreed to let me order one tablet that had all three supplements in it, just to lower her level of herbal stimulation.

Needless to say the shotgun approach is not the recommended course.  Next week: Do It Right.



Needless to say

The Return of Back Scratch

I am back.  I have been gone because I was depending on other people to publish my articles for me.

I am going to allocate a specific time each week to update and publish this blog.  

More and more of my time is spent in counseling and recommending proper nutrition for my patients and their family (and some of their friends).  

With this in mind I am going 
to discuss this weeks - 

"HOT TOPIC"

"INFLAMMATION" !!!

More and more research is showing that the root cause of many of the chronic diseases is inflammation.  This includes cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, dementia, digestive problems, etc.  By far the most common complaint I see is digestive problems.  I am finding that digestive problems serve as the jump off point for many more serious diseases.

My philosophy is that whole food nutrition provides phytochemicals necessary for the absorption of the nutritional value of the plant involved.  As opposed to a pharmaceutical that is a chemical reproduction or synthesis of one aspect of one nutritional aspect of the whole plant. 

In my opinion, pharmaceutical drugs taken to address diseases do not address the causes of the inflammation.  Most seem to be designed to suppress the inflammation.

The problem is "chronic" inflammation.  Inflammation of itself is your body's best defense against "invasion".    Invasion comes in many forms:

germs

harmful toxins

environmental pollutants

injury

stress, and others.

The body, through its innate intelligence, responds to these invaders by way of the immune system, the vascular system, and the many biochemical reactions which work to remove the offenders and protect tissues from damage.

In the next few weeks I will be explaining these processes and how proper nutrition can assist your body in healing, not just feeling better.