It's that time of the year when we are told that we need to get our flu vaccines. The banners outside drugstores hail, "Get Your Flu Shots Today!!" We are also told that a bad flu season is ahead of us again. However, studies show that the flu vaccine program is not very effective. We are also subjected to fear tactics to force us into getting flu shots. For instance, the CDC regularly says that 30,000- 50,000 people die each year from the flu! Wow! That's alot of people.   Unfortunately, these statistics are skewed, using combined deaths from other causes. According to the U.S. National Vital Statistics System, yearly flu deaths in 2010 were 500. That's 500, not 5,000. In some years it was only 200-300. As a comparison, over 1,800 people died from hernia surgery and over 800 women died from childbirth. In 2013, over 3,600 people died from asthma and almost 3,000 died from peptic ulcers. 
   The best vaccine program that I recommend is evidenced based, common sense, and incredibly safe: optimize your vitamin D intake. That means have your blood levels checked (you can do it yourself: www.grassrootshealth.net).
Even though the laboratory range is 20-100 ng/L, no one should be below a level of 50 ng/L. The OPTIMAL range (not just normal) is 50-80. Magnesium must be taken with vitamin D, as should vitamin K2. 
   The body will normally absorb the sun's UVB rays and convert cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D. In just 20 minutes the body can produce 10,000-25,000 IU's of vitamin D, more than what is in 200 glasses of milk! Recent studies show that the minimum dose should be 5-8000 IU per day! Not the measly 800 IU that we are told is the RDA.
   By the way, in 2014, a Canadian study published in the journal Nutrient, determined that the Institute of Medicine seriously miscalculated the RDA for vitamin D by a decimal place!! That's being off by a factor of 10! The RDA was calculated at that time to be 800 IU. It should have been 8,000!
   So, get your D levels checked. If it's low, contact a Vitamin D literate practitioner and get your level optimal!!

   It's back to school and back pain from school backpacks is very common and the month of September usually brings children into our office with symptoms of back pain, but also neck and shoulder pain. More than 14,000 children have back pain from backpacks every year. A recent study in the June 2016 Spine Journal researched the effects of backpacks in over 5000 children in Italy, ages 6-19. They found out two major findings: 1) that the duration of use was more prone to causing back pain compared to weight of the pack, and 2)  girls had more intense and frequent pain than boys, In addition teen girls were at more risk to suffer serious pain. 
  Choose a good fitting backpack, limit your load and pack  it correctly, and choose wisely what really needs to be in the pack. I

Things to do to limit back pain:
1.  If you do not need to carry your backpack, then put it           down, and do not carry it for long periods without a rest.
2.  Carrying more than 10% of your body weight in a pack          can be harmful.
3.  Use a pack with wide, padded straps
4.  Use a pack with chest and hip straps to keep the pack           snug and close to the back.
5.  Use a pack with multiple compartments for better load
     distribution.
6.  Keep the pack from hanging no more than 4 inches               below your waist.
7.  Use both shoulder straps and do not sling the pack over
     one shoulder. You want an even and balanced load.
8.  You might try a pack with small wheels on it when                   carrying heavy longs for long periods.

Check out the new webpage at the bottom of the menu list!

Mayonnaise and tuna fish have gone together for years. However, for someone who is sensitive to eggs, or just wants a change, here is a great substitute for mayonnaise in your tuna fish! Just use avocado. I call it a "tunacado"! Delicious and nutritious. The avocado supplies you with healthy oils and fats, the tuna provides the protein.

Ingredients for one:
    •    1 cans of flaked light tuna
    •    1/2 ripe avocado
    •    1/4 cup chopped celery
    •    1/4 cup chopped red onion
    •    1/8 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
    •    1/2 tsp dijon mustard, optional
    •    1/4 tsp cumin, optional
    •    salt and pepper, to taste. I like to add jalapeno pepper

Instructions
    1.    In a large bowl, mash up avocado with the back of
           a fork or potato masher.
    2.    Add in tuna, celery, red onion and walnuts. Mix well.
    3.    Add in dijon, cumin and salt and pepper. Mix well.
    4.    Serve on bread, top on salad or eat plain.
    5.    Will keep up to 1 week in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

    Grains, contrary to popular belief, are not good for us as they supply too much of the inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. People in this country eat far too many in the form of breads, cereals, and yes, my favorite–pasta. Even whole grain pasta is not good. A grain is a grain, is a grain. It still supplies omega-6 fatty acids, even the "natural" whole wheat, whole grain foodstuffs. Even the government's food pyramid is upside down!
    So what are you supposed to do, especially when you like pasta like me? Especially spaghetti and meatballs? I use a julienne vegetable peeler and make zucchini noodles. Use the skin and all and peel right down to the seeds. You can then cut up the core and thrown them in a stir fry or sauce. Take the zucchini noodles and saute them in coconut oil (or olive oil) for 2-3 minutes until just tender, season to taste. and voila– a great tasting and healthy pasta-like dish. You can put them in a stir fry, eat them as a side dish, put spaghetti sauce on them, etc. Sometimes I mix in carrots that are julienned too. Try and just eat!

    Mr. N came into my office with symptoms of one sided headaches and eye pain rated at "10" on a 1-10 scale. He had them for months. His MD told him he had cluster headaches, yet a headache specialist told him he had migraines. The medications did not work and actually made him feel worse. When I examined him for this common malady, I pressed on the one or two spots that I had a strong sense were the culprit, and to Mr. N's relief, the pain was exactly reproduced. He was relieved because he knew that if I could touch his pain, I could relieve it.
    That is exactly what happened. He had a painfully stiff cervical facet joint, a joint in the neck spine that commonly refers pain onto the head and face, including the eye and forehead. He also had painful muscle knots, called trigger points, that when pressed upon, did the same thing. After releasing tension in both the joint and muscle trigger points, Mr. N commented that his headache was down to a "2" on the same 1-10 scale. I am confident that after a bit more treatment and exercise/posture instruction, his headaches will be a thing of the past.
    Although headaches are no laughing matter and should be properly assessed, the more commonly and innocent causes should be looked for and treated using safe and effective techniques. "Cervicogenic" headaches, or headaches having their origin in neck (cervical) structures, are incredibly common and often overlooked by the medical profession. They are often over-medicated and cause much unneeded suffering and disability, yet respond wonderfully to chiropractic care. Have a headache? Get your neck checked.

The Four Agreements, a great little book written by Miguel Ruiz, is a gem containing bits of practical wisdom. I highly recommend people read it and contemplate the power in its simple messages. Make these four agreements with yourself and see how it effects your life:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word Speak with Integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. 

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering. 

3. Don’t Make Assumptions Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform you life. 

4. Always Do Your Best Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret. 

On of THE best ways to exercise is with high intensity interval training. One simple and fun way that I train is to mix up different exercises as intervals. Remember, the idea is to do short bursts of intense movement, followed by rest. Using a stopwatch, the intervals I often use are 30 seconds of exercise, followed by 90 seconds of rest. I do 6-8 intervals depending on how intense I work out or how I feel that day.

For instance, I commonly go to the local high school track to exercise. I will lightly stretch for just a few minutes and my first interval will be a 30 second run on the track. I stop and walk for 90 seconds. The next interval I do consists of fast push-ups on the grass for 30 seconds. I then walk for 90 seconds as rest. I then do another run for 30 seconds after which I rest for 90 seconds. Next, I will do pull-ups on the soccer goal posts for 30 seconds and rest with a 90 second walk. Get the idea? I run again for 30 seconds, then rest for 90 seconds. I will do another interval of push-ups for 30 seconds, then rest. Finally, I will run one more interval for 30 seconds, then rest. Done! If I feel I still have energy in the tank, I will run another 2 intervals and call it a day. Try it. It's a great work-out and it's fun to mix and match exercises. You can try other exercises to your liking (bridges, lunges, jumping jacks

1. run for 30 s, rest 90s
2. push-ups for 30s, rest 90s
3. run for 30 s, rest 90s
4. pull-ups for 30 s, rest 90s
5. run for 30 s, rest 90s
6. push-ups for 30 s, rest 90s (stop here if tired)
7. run for 30 s, rest 90s
8. run for 30 s, rest 90s