Why read this blog?

If you are new to this blog, here is my pitch to get you to read the rest of it and take a golden nugget or two.

• My kids are 9,7, and 4 (20 years of parenting) and not once have we needed to give them a drug for any ailment they or we have come across. Not even a drop of Tylenol, nada, zilch, zero. No we don’t live in a bubble, we live in the City of Chicago, and take them to 3^rd world countries regularly, as rustic world travel and hiking is one of our favorite hobbies. My wife works in the E.R. here in Chicago and prescribes medicine every day she works to people who need it, but we still practice natural options first, unless it’s a true emergency or if natural, non side effect options are not working.  In the last 20 years, for us, it has never failed us.  We are also not closed minded and realize that tomorrow or next year, may be the first time we need medicine.  We are happy it is an option if ever necessary.
• I have been in private practice seeing all ages for nearly 17 years, and there is a good reason we are successful. Its not because we are nice and play fun salsa music, although that helps, as music has been a part of healing for 1000’s of years.  Ok, my pitch is over….wanna learn more on how to crack the natural code?  Read on.

1) People still have the germ theory all wrong

Germs don’t cause disease in and of themselves.  Louis Pasteur, one of medicine’s famous, clearly pointed out in his writing that it’s the soil, not the seed.  Meaning, the bad guys will go where the environment is ripe for infection.  In Chicago, there is a reason that rats are more likely to be in the alley, as that’s where all the garbage is!  Or, if you have a classroom of 28 3^rd graders, why do only 2 kids stay home sick on any given day?  Did the rest of the kid somehow mysteriously avoid or not touch the 2 kids who were sick?  No, the two kids who were stayed home sick were simply better soil or hosts for the bacteria, virus, fungus, etc to make a temporary home.  The other kids were less attractive to the invader.  This is the point that Pasteur was trying to make but today’s culture wants us to believe that our bodies are unintelligent, non-adaptive creatures, that need more synthetic chemicals to get through the winter.  Fortunately, this manipulative advertising is starting to fade and even the common Joe is starting to figure out that better immunity is not created from getting a 10% discount on your groceries at Jewel by getting a flu shot….you’ve seen the signs…talk about manipulative legalized drug dealing.  That type of practice is illegal in most industrialized nations.  On a side note,   2016, was the second time in the last decade that less people elected to get the flu shot than the year before.  Also, even the CDC itself reports on their website that is was about 41% effective for all ages.  Meaning not effective for about60% of the people who took it.  Everyone has side effects and some worse than others.  Side effects include seizures, death, rash, fever, nausea, and much more.  I can’t imagine have a tool in my clinic that has a potential for serious side effect, and is only 41% effective…ugg. Here is a link https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2015-2016.htm

We do not depend on a synthetic dose of toxins to build our families immunity.  If you like synthetic and 41% odds, well, then you should stop reading this blog, and go get your grocery discount at Jewel.  (btw..i only go to Jewel for food as a last resort)  We generally buy at a local farmers market when in season, whole foods, Marianos, and a bit a Trader Joes.  We Never go to Costco, and never buy food in bulk.  We generally do every other day to buy food for the next 48 hours, as to keep it fresh, which is important when you buy non-GMO, organic food.  These foods don’t last as long without all those preservatives.  Plus, we actually like going to the grocery store together and teaching our kids or letting them teach us how each selection will not only taste good but be of use to their body.  My 4-year-old already knows that walnuts look like a brain, and they are good for your brain too!  Too cute!

Teach your kids that dirt is good, and getting messy is good, and good for your immune system too.  It’s nice if you can teach them to clean up their own mess, but that’s for a parenting blog.

We need to empower ourselves and our children by teaching them that what you choose to eat, how you choose to move your body, and challenge your mind,  how much sunlight you get, the structure and function of your body, how you sleep, how much love, etc, all have an impact on your ability to adapt to your environment.  Those who sit around all day on their phones, eating processed food for breakfast lunch and dinner, rarely play outside, will not be as strong to defend themselves against the organism looking to make your body a host.  If everybody was the same, then all kids would get sick at the same time, including the teacher.  These fundamental lessons will also get you, the parent back to proper thinking, and stop depending on Clorox wipes and flu shots, are focus more on what makes the body healthy from the inside out, not the outside in.

2) Proper sleep

Adults should be sleeping 5 – 7 hours a night without waking up, and with no assistance to fall asleep from screens, unless a kindle, or chemicals like Tylenol Pm.  Just like a cell phone, you need to charge at night.  If you are not waking up fully recharged, then that will be a major roadblock for your immunity.  You also should not depend on caffeine to get your day started.  It’s ok to have a cup, but you should not absolutely need it.  If you feel you need it, then you probably are addicted to it, and you most likely need more than one cup a day, which isn’t great for your adrenal glands and will lead to chronic fatigue syndrome.  Remember, you may be getting 5 to 7 but honestly ask yourself if you are waking up at night interrupting your cycle of sleep.  If so, that is not optimal and will affect your energy and immunity for the worse at some point.

Children are different, but while they are still growing, which they typically do keep growing up to even 21-22 years of age when the bones fuse and you are done growing, 9-11 hours of sleep a night is a good start.  So if your 6-year-old is going to bed at 930pm and waking up at 5 or 6 am, then they are only getting 8-9 hours of rest a night, which isn’t ideal for their immune system.  Think of it as they will not wake up fully charged.

Speaking of Charge….Charge your cell phone in a different room in which you sleep!  Such a simple technique to provide a better and healthier circadian rhythm.  If you watch your cell phone as the very last thing you do before bed, you are confusing your pineal gland, and deregulating the melatonin response, which is terrible for proper rest!  Do this today!

3) pH Balance

check your saliva with easy to use pH strips you can suck on for 20 seconds to see if you are headed towards an acid internal environment or alkaline. If you are more alkaline, then this will help your body recover from almost any inflammatory condition naturally, improving your sleep, metabolism, and immunity.  Check out our blog on pH to learn more on this immune-boosting tip

4) Get adjusted with regular Chiropractic Care

The secret sauce!…..more and more people are seeing doctors of Chiropractic not just because of neck or back pain or headaches, but because it does such an amazing job of helping people, including infants, sleep better!

It works by restoring proper alignment and tone of the musculoskeletal and nervous system, which not only helps adults significantly reduce pain and stress symptoms, but helps restore better immunity and rest!   Read our blog on kids and immunity to learn more  http:_________________

5) Take a vacation/Have fun

More and more people are saving their time off or trading it in for money, but when you go, you Grow!  Decompress on enjoy your life!  Studies for decades have shown the benefit of laughter for immune system function.  When was the last time you truly laughed your ass off!  So call your bff or significant other and go on a girls night out or date night, etc!  If you are a city dweller like me, try to schedule some serious disconnection trips to pure nature like your local state parks, Colorado, or Costa Rica, and just unplug.   In fact, even 30 minutes a day just touching the grass  ( a technique used by professional athletes called grounding) is amazing stimulating better immune function.  City dweller, take heed!

6) Exercise

Some of you simply need to quit making excuses and do something a few times a week, even if its just walking your dog for 45 minutes.  Others, like me, probably already love to exercise, but at times you go too hard.  If you are feeling fun down, but can at least get out of bed, try a light workout, like a 20-minute jog or easy row machine, but don’t go for a personal record at Orange theory that day.  You may get the record, but your body will have a hard time recovering and potentially make your illness last longer than it should have.  Use some common sense here!

7) A short list of superfoods and supplements we love

• Catalyn (my favorite multivitamin from Standard Process), nondairy probiotics, Vitamin D (5000 IU/day) especially in winter, Omega 3 fish oil supplement  (Innate Choice is my favorite brand…small batch from Canada)
• Ginger, lemon juice, cayenne pepper teas or smoothies….great for anything with a cough.  My kids love that!  Organic Avocados, pumpkin seeds,  red beets (everyone in my family eats at least one beet a week), lentils, green vegetables, garlic, onions, and other cruciferous vegetables ….There are truly tons of nutrition boosting ideas, and countless blogs and resources.  Mercola.com and DrAxe.com are probably the most comprehensive sites on the market that I trust if you want to dig more into this.

8) Chemicals to try to remove from your home which weakens your immunity

• Don’t use antibacterial soaps…just use plain unscented soap….you don’t want to destroy all the good bacteria in your home.
• Mainly clean your counters with soap and water. If you require a deeper cleaning use products from Meyers or Melaleuca, which don’t have dangerous chemicals for your kids or your immune system.  Melaleuca also has a great natural laundry detergent.
• Try makeup or skin care products that are more natural and organic. We recommend companies like Beauty Counter or Melaleuca
• Filtered water….I love the company Clearly Filtered.

9) Minimize your pain relievers

We teach our patients to try to minimize pain relievers to only a 5 to 10 times a year.  Not only to pain relievers reduce your energy and weaken your immune system, but they can also damage your kidneys if you have taken more than 300 in a year or 1000 in a lifetime according to the AMA.

Finally, remember that it is ok and necessary to get sick every now and then and healing requires time.  So yes, you make need to just take the morning off from work, sleep in, drink some lemon juice with ginger tea, take a bath and turn off your cell phone.  We forget how intelligent our bodies are if we listen to them and give them a chance to work properly.  In Chiropractic we say, that the body doesn’t need any help, it just needs no interference.  So, remove the interference and let the body do its thing!!