May I Help You?

May 21st, 2010 | Comments Off

Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone to do it. ~Author Unknown

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. ~Benjamin Disraeli

It is often tempting, as a health care professional, or simply as a caring human being, to help someone by giving them what I think they need. Regardless of whether it comes from education and training or not, the gesture, no matter how well intended, can be disempowering.

It implies that something is lacking, that something needs to be fixed. It is a pushing against what is, in that moment, the person, the self. And pushing against only ever meets with resistance by what is. It is somewhat of a quantum expression of Newton’s third law of motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It implies that, I know better/best what that person’s being requires. It is an easy trap to fall into when I am the professional and someone comes to me with pain or injury. It appears obvious that the resolution of that pain, the changing/healing of that injury is what needs to happen. And that may be a significant part of it. Physical pain, however, does not exist in a vacuum, in the absence of emotional, mental and/or spiritual distress.

It is also easy for a person to become their malady, problem or illness, both for those around them, and for the person him/herself. Cultivating the ability to notice the things about ourselves that are not crying for attention, that are not needing to be fixed, can be valuable in getting through a health (or other) challenge relatively unscathed. I often tell my patients that if we are alive there is far more going right with our body than wrong!

The change, the healing that is sought, only comes in beginning from the point of accepting what is, of the acceptance of the whole person, the knowing that they are not flawed or needing to be fixed to be enough. If I can connect to that place with respect, with honor, with acceptance of what need represents that person in that moment, and with unconditional love, I not only give people what they truly need, but they are empowered to trust themselves in the process — empowered to see the whole of themselves as more significant than the part in need.

©2009 Carrie A. Mayes All Rights Reserved. Feel free to use this article if full attribution is given to Carrie A. Mayes with the following description: Carrie Mayes D.C. is a chiropractor working with people to attain higher levels of health, feel better and enjoy life more. You can find out more about Carrie at www.mayeschiropractic.com.

Daylight Saving Time and Health (yes, it matters)

March 23rd, 2010 | Comments Off

And yes, I have spent the past ten mornings feeling an hour behind and, no, I haven’t figured out yet how not to be influenced by Daylight Saving (officially, no “s” on the end) Time. Also, too many other people I know haven’t stopped complaining about and being frustrated by it either. Despite the appeal of having “another hour of daylight”, logic tells me that you cannot just change a clock and expect the body (and the rest of the natural world) to change as easily. So I decided to do a little investigating and it turns out that I am right. What follows are research findings on the effects of DST on our health and safety. It is interesting to note that the same difficulties and hazards in adapting to time change do not occur in reverse as benefits (with one exception) in the fall when we go back to “real” time!

● When clocks are set ahead an hour in the spring, accidents go up according to a 1998 study. Sleep deprivation is considered the most likely cause of a 17 percent increase in accidents on the Monday following the time change. The study found no significant reduction in accidents in the fall when clocks are set back an hour.

● There is a higher incidence of workplace and occupational accidents, particularly in industries like mining and transportation, for about two to three weeks right around this time.

● The time change can have a negative impact on scholastic performance, as with teenagers taking tests during this two-week period.

● The chance of a heart attack goes up during the first three weekdays after the springtime shift to DST. In this case, the heart attack risk declines in the fall on the Monday after clocks go back and people get an extra hour of sleep. Interestingly, the effects in this area are less on people over the age of 65, who tend to be retired and less tied to a time schedule.

● An Australian study showed an increase in the incidence of male ( I don’t believe that females were part of the study) suicides after the DST shift.

● Losing an hour of sleep contributes to sleep debt, which manifests in waking up tired, needing caffeine to get going and nodding off during the day. Some other “subtle” signs include: irritability, depression, inability to focus, inability to multi-task and anxiety.

● And if your health isn’t enough to make you think twice about it, your wallet might be! Economists have found that sleep-deprived traders typically produce “large negative returns on financial-market indices” in the week after the shift to DST.

● While people often dismiss the time changes as “only an hour,” the research shows that many people never adjust their biological timing for the lost hour of sleep all through the summer and fall. “It’s too early to say whether DST has any serious long-term impact on health,” one researcher said, “but our results indicate that we should consider this seriously.”

So, after all is read and done, I’ll say once again, we really should leave “time” alone since we usually get in trouble when we mess with mother nature. There are still only twenty four hours in the day…we’re not saving anything. Instead, it’s costing us our health and well being!

©2010 Carrie A. Mayes All Rights Reserved. Feel free to use this article if full attribution is given to Carrie A. Mayes with the following description: Carrie Mayes D.C. is a Traverse City, MI chiropractor working with people to attain higher levels of health, feel better and enjoy life more. You can find more information at www.mayeschiropractic.com.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. You should not stop taking any medication without first consulting your physician.

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE GERM

March 8th, 2010 | Comments Off

Everywhere you turn people are concerned about germs and “catching” something from someone else. The reality is that our immune system is designed for the challenge of every kind of germ when it is functioning properly.

It is not about the germ. It is about the state of the immune system when we encounter the germ. Otherwise, we would all be sick all of the time, because germs are everywhere. We would not expect to throw a handful of tomato seeds on our tile kitchen floor and expect them to grow into tomato plants. Why not? Because everyone knows that seeds need soil, water and sunlight to grow into plants. Likewise, you cannot throw a handful of germs at someone and expect them to get sick. Unless their immune system is not functioning as it was intended and provides the necessary conditions for the germs to grow into sickness.

The truth is that the best tool that we have against any germ/virus/bacteria is the strength of our own immune system. And we do have control over helping to ensure its optimal functioning. Our control comes in the form of our lifestyle choices regarding nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep, etc. So the question is, “How do we keep our immune system in prime condition to react to any germ/virus/bacteria that comes along?” Following is a list of some of the lifestyle factors that affect the immune system:

STRESS ~ Everyone has some stress, but consistent feelings of fear, worry, anxiety and depression decrease immune function. This includes the fear of the flu that is hard for most people to escape. Stress is not just a mental and emotional feeling. Stress has far reaching consequences on the biochemistry and functioning of the physical body. Some reports show that up to 90 percent of illness and disease are stress-related.

SUGAR ~ Eating the amount of sugar in a can of soda pop depresses the immune system for up to 5 hours. Sugar assaults the immune system in at least two ways. First, sugar competes with Vitamin C for entry into cells and wins. Vitamin C is needed for white blood cells to combat viruses and bacteria. Second, sugar raises insulin levels, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn inhibits the immune system.

CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS ~ Studies do show that people who get adjusted regularly have improved immune system function. In May 2008 one of these studies was published in the journal, Chiropractic & Osteopathy. This study used biochemistry to show the body’s enhanced immune response following a chiropractic adjustment.

SLEEP ~ During our nightly sleep our bodies repair the everyday wear and tear damage that occurs throughout the day. When the body doesn’t get enough sleep and becomes over fatigued it is more difficult to fend off colds, flu and other illnesses.

WATER ~ Drinking plenty of water each day is important to immune function. Virtually all body processes, including eliminating toxins from cells, require water.

EXERCISE ~ Exercise helps the immune system by improving circulation throughout the body. When the components of the immune system circulate properly, it is better equipped to detect an illness before it gets a chance to spread. Exercise also helps counteract the effects of stress and leads to better sleep.

VITAMIN D AND PROBIOTICS ~ More and more research is pointing to these two components as critical players in a properly functioning immune system. Vitamin D is supposed to be manufactured in our skin as a result of exposure to sunshine. Those of us living in northern climates are almost guaranteed to have low levels of Vitamin D, which can be checked by a primary care physician. Probiotics are the “good” bacteria in the digestive system. The intestinal tract is a major component of overall immune function and ensuring that enough probiotics are present can help the immune system function optimally. Both of these can be taken as a supplement, as food sources are not likely to provide what is necessary for optimal functioning.

It is clear that there are many more variables involved in health and disease than whether or not a person is exposed to a germ. We would be well served by putting our efforts into making lifestyle choices that strengthen our immune systems against any and all illness and disease.

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©2009 Carrie A. Mayes All Rights Reserved. Feel free to use this article if full attribution is given to Carrie A. Mayes with the following description: Carrie Mayes D.C. is a Traverse City, MI chiropractor working with people to attain higher levels of health, feel better and enjoy life more. You can find more information at www.mayeschiropractic.com.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. You should not stop taking any medication without first consulting your physician.

CARING FOR OURSELVES

February 1st, 2010 | Comments Off

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is our duty to the rest of mankind to be perfectly healthy, because we are ripples in the ocean of consciousness, and when we are sick, even a little, we disrupt cosmic harmony. ~Vedic Verse

“If you really cared about me, you would_______________.” How often have we heard it said, said it ourselves, or wanted to say it but refrained? The question here is: If you said that to yourself, how would you fill in the blank? Eat better? Not do so much? Take time to exercise? Travel more? The list of possibilities is endless and only you know the real answer.

I often see people in their early fifties who complain that their health and body went downhill in very unpleasing ways when they turned fifty. What I say to them is this, “It is not turning fifty that caused a decline in your health and body; it is what you did for the first fifty years. Now, how would you like the next fifty years to go?” The truth is that there are so many variables in our lives and everybody is running around doing pretty much the same thing that we rarely attribute our choices and lifestyle to our ultimate health outcomes. And our choices and lifestyle ultimately have more to do with our health than any other set of variables, including genetics. People say, I got diabetes or I had a heart attack, removing us from any connection to the development of the condition. It would often be more accurate to say, I created diabetes or I prompted a heart attack. Every choice we make is a choice for or against our own health and well-being. Lifestyle choices include diet, exercise, sleep, and stress-management among others. A medical doctor once told me that 80% of the people she saw in her very busy practice were there for conditions and diseases related to their lifestyle choices. Meaning, in reverse, if they changed their lifestyle choices soon enough, they could change the condition themselves without medical intervention.

As a character in the novel Shantaram muses, “I smoked in those days because, like everyone else in the world who smokes, I wanted to die at least as much as I wanted to live.” Our health and lifestyle choices reflect our self respect, our care for ourselves, our desire to live vibrant, lengthy lives. Consciously completing the statement, “If I really cared about me, I would ___________________,” can guide us in being more self-respectful.

©2009 Carrie A. Mayes All Rights Reserved. Feel free to use this article if full attribution is given to Carrie A. Mayes with the following description: Carrie Mayes D.C. is a chiropractor working with people to attain higher levels of health, feel better and enjoy life more. You can find out more about Carrie at www.mayeschiropractic.com.