Back to School Health Planning

‘Tis the Season.

All of the stores are lined with back to school supplies of all kinds. Parents are frantically searching for every last item on the list: pens, #2 pencils, notebooks, colored dividers, snack size bags, tissue boxes, backpacks, and new clothes. By now, most families are starting to feel ready for the start of school.

In addition to all the back to school hype, doctors and schools are pushing kids to come in for checkups, “wellness” visits, and immunizations. These visits cover the basics in terms of a child’s health and clear them to participate in PE class, but visiting a doctor does not provide health for the coming year. Health is the responsibility of the person themselves, and children’s health is largely the responsibility of the parent. Furthermore, health is defined as more than just your blood pressure level, vision, and reflexes.

So do your wellness check if you need to for school. But to support your child’s actual physiology and health status, there are some things you should be doing daily - or at least consistently - for them and for you.

1. Get adjusted. Chiropractic adjustments increase your immune response by 200%. Get your kiddo adjusted a few times before school starts, then shoot for weekly after that. Stay ahead of the coming cold and flu season.
   
2. Cut out the sugar. Do not send cookies in your child’s lunch! Not only will the sugar interfere with your child’s focus and processing ability, it will sabotage their immunity. Cliche though it may be, send them fruit instead.
   
3. Give them probiotics. The gut is 80% of the immune system, so support it. Probiotics give the gut good bacteria to help it function at its peak.
   
4. Cut out the dairy. Generally speaking, dairy is not the superfood we’ve been led to believe. Dairy is a primary cause of inflammation in the body which can lead to all manner of degenerative diseases. Many families report their children focusing better when dairy is removed from their diet. It is not a necessary staple in the diet, so leave it out. You can get protein and calcium from many other sources that help the body absorb those nutrients. Cow’s milk? It’s a maternal lactation for baby cows.
   
5. Vitamin C. This is the obvious immune support supplement. Eat oranges or strawberries. Take a plant based vitamin C supplement. Or send a bottle of water with Emergen-C in your child’s lunch instead of sugary juice boxes.
   
6. Get them to bed early. Their bodies need to rest to function properly. This includes your teenagers – especially teenagers. Teach your kids good habits with regards to their health. Adequate sleep is essential for every system in the body.
   
7. Exercise! Go for a walk as a family after school. Not only will you get the benefits of exercise, but you’ll be getting some much needed sunshine as well.
   
8. Vitamin D. Get as much of the sunshine vitamin in as you can before winter sets in. Check out my post about all the benefits there are in getting your Vitamin D.
   
9. Send them healthy lunches. I know this is easier at the start of school than at the end! Plan ahead so you don’t end up resorting to the regular peanut butter and jelly every time. Look up healthy lunches on Pinterest and get creative. Get your kids involved in the process. Fuel their brains with the good stuff!

Good health doesn’t come from a pill, a shot, or a checkup. It comes from daily habits that come in small, seemingly insignificant steps. The cumulative effect, however, is well worth each effort.

8 Tips To Get Better Sleep

It seems today that everyone is exhausted. We are addicted to coffee for the artificial buzz it gives us. Starbucks lurks around every corner for the morning espresso to wake us up, a cappuccino gets us through the afternoon slump, and the evening coffee we need to get through the demands of the evening. We desperately seek out our precious coffee and energy drinks in an effort to just to get through the day.

Friends, that is no way to live. And if you’re reading this, chances are you are one of many who are looking to feel human again. So, here are a few things you can do.

1. Go to bed early

Stop with the late night Netflix binges. Being out all night may have been a breeze in the younger college days, but in truth, that is really hard on the body. Your adrenals require you to sleep not only for a minimum of 8 hours. They require it during a certain time as well so as to be in step with your circadian rhythms. Typically the hours between 10 pm and 2 am are the most important for adrenal rejuvenation. So go to bed early.

2. Pay back your sleep debt

If your body is chronically exhausted, it would do you well to repay it as much lost sleep as you can possibly fit in. Come on now - doesn’t marathon sleeping sound like a blast?

3. Create a routine

Just like babies, having a sleep routine can help prepare your subconscious for sleep, which will help facilitate better sleep.

4. No screens before bed

The bright lights of your phone, tablet, computer, or tv will interfere with your circadian rhythms and it will most certainly interrupt your sleep. Place your phone in the other room while you sleep, and keep it out of your going to bed routine.

5. Take magnesium

From a biological standpoint, there are things you can do to support your sleep cycles as well. If your body is deficient in magnesium, and it likely is, you may experience interrupted or difficult sleep. There are many magnesium supplements out there (such as Calm) - but make sure you get a good one.

6. Get adjusted

This goes without saying. An adjustment can help work out any subluxation (read: “kinks”) that may be in your body and help you sleep more comfortably. Furthermore, every adjustment brings balance to the body as a whole, and you will sleep better for it.

7. Don’t eat after 6 pm

Not only can this help you with weight loss goals, but not eating after 6 pm can help you sleep as well. If you are making your body do the work of digesting while trying to go to bed, you may find yourself having a hard time falling asleep.

8. Don’t go for the sleep aids

Advil PM and other such sleep aids may help you GET to sleep, but they interfere with your REM sleep, which is the rejuvenating sleep that your cells need. They may be a quick fix, but they are definitely not a long term solution.

Sleep is unbelievably important to your health. Make it a deliberate and well thought out priority, and you'll reap the benefits.

The “Natural” Topic of the Decade: Toxins

While it may not be in the mainstream news, it’s a budding topic of discussion in many parts of our culture today. It’s a good thing, too, because the topic of toxins deserves some serious attention. Many stores are stocking “non-toxic” home cleaners, “aluminum and paraben-free deodorant”, and organic food is increasing in popularity and availability as more consumers demand it.  

Consumers are all asking the same question, which demands a qualified answer: How can we expect to be knowingly full of toxic, unnatural chemicals, yet remain completely healthy? We know that at some point the liver gets overworked, right? There is a “too much” level of toxicity. Parabens, propylene glycol, polysorbate 80 and polysorbate-20, and aluminum chlorohydrate are examples of several toxins lurking in your everyday products. Each of these is a known carcinogen, so it makes sense to at least try to avoid them, right?

Now, it’s true that any toxicologist will tell you that it is the dose that determines toxin. Your toxin exposure from your kitchen cleaner in one day is probably pretty low and it’s nothing to be concerned about. However, when compounded by repeated exposure several times a day, in addition to all of the other toxin carrying products you may have in your house, your house becomes a liability to your health.

There are many places that we get exposed to toxins. Below is a list of a few places you are exposed to toxins, what you can to do avoid them, and how to replace them.

1. Household cleaners. Like we listed above, many of the household cleaners that you use on everyday surfaces leave behind a sparkly clean surface, right along with a whole host of carcinogenic toxins. Switching to natural based cleaners is very simple, and it doesn’t need to be expensive. White vinegar, for instance, is a very cheap and effective household cleaner. The internet is full of effective cleaning recipes for the home that are based in vinegar.
   
2. Makeup. It is estimated that the average woman puts about 5 pounds of sludge on her face a year. Makeup, of course, does not look like sludge, but the level of toxicity and heavy metals in it sure does. Even today, in 2016, most mainstream lipsticks have dangerous levels of lead in them. This is partly because cosmetics are not regulated for carcinogens even though they contain them, and ingredients are not listed on most makeups. Consider switching to a natural makeup line, or use mineral makeup. On days that you are not going out, give your skin a breather and leave the makeup off.
   
3. Personal care products. Along the same lines as your makeup, your personal care products should be as natural as possible. Our skin is our largest organ, and it absorbs everything we put on it, both good and bad, so we need to be deliberate about products we allow on it. This includes your shampoo, face wash, body wash, lotions, and especially your deodorant. Finding a natural deodorant that works can sometimes be tricky but this is the most important of all. The underarms sweat because they are a primary route for toxins to escape via the lymphatic system. When we block them from being able to function, we encourage toxins to build up in our lymph system and breasts.
   
4. Buy organic. Yep this again. Buy and eat your food in the way that is as close to its natural state as possible. Shop for your vegetables in the produce section rather than the canned foods aisle. When you can’t buy everything organic, just do the best you can as often as you can. A little bit goes a very long way.  
   
5. Home Air. Inside your home, the air can be very toxic. This can be remedied simply by using air purifiers, cleaning vents in your home regularly, using air cleaning plants indoors, and avoiding “air fresheners” that aren’t natural, including most scented candles.
   
6. Get the metal out of your mouth. Amalgam fillings - also known as silver fillings - have been proven to cause a whole host of problems because they are mercury. For those who do not know, mercury is the most dangerous heavy metal for all living things. It destroys everything. If you have any, get them removed by a biological dentist right away. A regular dentist is not trained to do it correctly like a biological dentist is.
   
7. Avoid being on long term medication. Most pharmaceuticals warn that they can cause liver failure. This is because the liver is the organ that processes and filters out toxicity, and pharmaceuticals are known to overload the body with those toxins. Medicine can be life saving when used in acute emergency situations, but long term use can have disastrous consequences to your health.

It’s worth it to discuss with your natural healthcare provider the benefits of doing a detox. Detoxing the body makes your organs function more effectively, it improves your quality of sleep, clears your skin, sheds unwanted pounds, clears your brain fog, gives you energy, and makes you healthier. There are many types of detox programs out there so do your due diligence before starting one. As always, let your true health be your motivation.

You Can Be Skinny and Unhealthy

Most people take a very superficial look at their body and determine whether it is healthy or not. They look in the mirror, at the scale, and at their pants size and decide if they are in need of physical improvement or not. We all cognitively know that weight is not the sole determining factor in our health, and yet we continue to rely unrealistically heavily on it. Even medical doctors rely heavily on the BMI scale to tell if a person is considered to be healthy. They check blood pressure, pulse, respiration, height and weight, look for presenting symptoms of illness, and decide whether to give you a clean bill of health or not. “Lose a little bit of weight and you’ll be back in balance.”

I’m about to burst your bubble. Ready? Here’s a bit of news for you: You can be skinny and unhealthy. Your BMI, your blood pressure, your pulse, and your respiration are all good things to know, and they can certainly tell you a thing or two about the state of your health. What they cannot tell you, however, are many things that severely affect the way your body functions.

They cannot tell you about the toxicity levels of your fat cells. They cannot tell you about your adrenal function (indeed, there is no medical test to determine the function level of the adrenals). These tests cannot tell you about your heavy metal toxicity or how nourished with iodine your thyroid is. It cannot tell you about the integrity of your gut lining or whether you get enough vitamin D.

Furthermore, you can be skinny - and very fit - yet have high toxicity accumulating in your liver. Or people with perfectly healthy BMI’s, good blood pressure, and regular pulses can have severe leaky gut and not know it.

Let’s reorient our definition of health. When you focus on being fully healthy - truly healthy - your weight will come down as a result of good decisions. Do a detox twice a year. Get adjusted. Take proper amounts of iodine. Get some sunshine every day. Eat a plant based diet.

Yes your blood pressure will come into balance and your pulse will regulate. On top of that, you’ll be healthier.

And as an added bonus, you’ll likely lose weight as you pursue health. 

The Importance of Postpartum Planning

These days, modern expectant parents are overloaded with information when it comes to childbirth. They attend childbirth classes, read books about what labor will be like, they hire a birth doula, and they practice labor skills. They can spend hours researching options for their birth plan... and they should! The birth process is so important!

Then the baby arrives. Now what? Now parents are befuddled. What’s the plan now? What do we do now that baby is here? There needs to be as much attention given to postpartum planning as there is for birth planning.  

Now, it’s important to note that some things can not be planned. For instance, you cannot plan what temperament your baby will have. You can't know which breastfeeding positions your baby will latch the best with for the first 6 weeks. You can not plan which type of pacifier you are going to need because you don't know which one the baby is going to take - or if they are going to take one at all!

However, what you can plan is an environment that caters to you having time to figure out all of these things. This is where postpartum planning comes in.

The first several postpartum weeks should be focused on spending time with your baby. This is a sensitive time where you both recover from birth and learn how to breastfeed.  You get to know your baby's personality. You might even take out a comfortable baby carrier and put baby in it for a walk around the block. You catch up on some sleep, and heal from birth. Your first several weeks at home with baby should NOT be full of of demands and stress. "Have I eaten today? Who is coming to see the baby today? Is the house a mess? Have I showered in a week?”

What all moms need is a postpartum plan, so here are a few simple things you can do to plan for the postpartum period.

1.) Hire a postpartum doula. The postpartum doula is a professional that cares for a new family as they transition during the postpartum period. Her expertise is in helping and affirming new mothers, and creating an environment where moms can relax, heal, and just be with their new baby.

2.)  Before birth, go through your house while you do regular chores and make a "how-to" list for each of them.  What one specific chore makes you feel like the house is in order? Where do you store your bathroom and kitchen cleaning supplies? Where do you store all of your bath towels? Is your washing machine easy to use or does it require a few special instructions?  Where is the extra dishwashing soap? Take your instructions, along with a list of chores that need to be done on a regular basis and put them on the fridge. Then, when you have visitors that want to see you and the new baby, they have ready instructions for how to help you out.

3.) Make extra meals during your pregnancy and place them in the freezer.  When you cook dinner during the last few months of pregnancy, cook a double sized batch, and freeze half of it. Crock pot meals are especially helpful since they are so simple.

4.)  Set very clear boundaries about visiting times. This is a time for you to focus on recovering from birth, resting, and bonding with your new baby. It is NOT the time to be entertaining. Set visiting hours and communicate them clearly to your family and friends what their allowed visiting times are.

5.)  Have a trusted friend or family member organize a meal train for you. There are many different ways to do this.  Some people will use a free website like www.mealtrain.com or something similar. Others will organize one on their own. With a meal train, you have the first several weeks - or longer - of dinners covered. Then when friends and family come to drop off your dinner, they can also help with chores because you have a list on the fridge!

6.)  Be flexible.  It's tempting to speculate during pregnancy what the postpartum time is going to be like. You cannot fully understand what it’s like to help a new tiny person adjust to life outside the womb. It never goes exactly how we think, so be ready for unexpected changes.

Having a baby is the biggest life change you’ll ever experience. Plan to give your baby and yourself as much rest, grace, and attention as possible for several months after birth.

Healthy Travel Tips

Summer is the time for travel, sunshine, beaches, and fun. But all that travel can often times cause stress - and when there is stress, sickness is too quick to follow. Nothing is worse than planning a week of relaxation, only to spend it feeling crummy. So here are some travel health tips for your summer vacation.

1. Plan Ahead.  The worst thing you can do to your health when traveling is to find yourself hungry in the middle of nowhere, and resort to convenience store food. Bring a cooler in the car with you full of healthy snacks from the grocery store (or your garden!) from home. If you are flying, pack snacks in your purse or travel bag that will help you resist the temptation to grab quick and easy food. In addition, planning ahead is better on the budget.
2. Stock up on Vitamin C. For a few days prior to leaving, stay away from too much sugar (see below), and do a little immune support. Pack some Emergen-C along with your healthy snacks and mix one into your water bottle on the go.
3. Eat healthy snacks. This is actually not as difficult as it sounds. Pack bananas, carrot sticks, packs of almond butter, dried fruits, hummus, and lunch meat to graze on in the car, airplane, or hotel.
4. Avoid sugar. This one requires some planning, but it’s vitally important - not just when traveling, but all year round. Drink water instead of soda, and eat fruit instead of sugary pre - packaged snacks. Read my blog about sugar for more information. Sugar is the worst thing you can do to your immune system, so avoid it as much as you can.
5. Get some good sleep. An unfamiliar bed can be a nuisance, and it can be tempting to stay up late for all hours of the night catching up with friends and family. But lack of sleep is killer on the immune system, and the last thing you want is to spend the entire trip sleeping - because you got sick.
6. Get adjusted before you go. Plan a wellness visit before you leave on vacation. A single chiropractic adjustment can increase your immune function by 200%. Increase your odds of optimal immune function by getting a quick wellness adjustment in the days before you leave.
7. Don’t overbook yourself. It’s tempting to fit all the fun things available into your short time off, but overdoing it can be stressful, leaving you needing a “vacation from your vacation.”
8. Practice extra careful hygiene. This should be done every day, not just when vacationing. However, extra care should be taken with little ones when you are in a new place. Small hands like to touch things, and that can be a little extra risky when you are out and about on vacation.
9. Get some sunshine. Read my post about the sunshine vitamin: vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for optimal immune function, and fortunately it’s easy to come by on vacation!

Enjoy your summer - it always goes way too fast! Make sure to take extra steps to support your health while you do so.

How Do You Define Health?

Most people on any given day would define health by saying something to the the effect of: “I feel fine, therefore I’m healthy.” Conversely, when they are lying in bed with a  fever, they would say: “Oh man I’m so sick.”

Neither of these definitions of health and sickness are necessarily accurate. Let’s revisit this. What if we define health through a lens other than our “feeling” on any given day? After all, are “feelings” ever an accurate description of one’s actual health status?

Try this on for size. Let’s redefine health by saying this: if our bodies are functioning optimally, we are healthy. That makes sense now, doesn’t it? Our bodies were designed with very careful and deliberate functions. When those function cease to operate, that is when we really get sick.

So what does this look like on a daily basis? Let’s say you get the flu. Your fever spikes to 103, your throat hurts, and you’ve got a nasty cough. You’re sick.

Except you’re not. Your body is working perfectly to get rid of that virus.

What would happen if you got that flu virus and your body did NOT respond to it with fever (kills viruses and bacteria), increased white blood cells (sore throat), and mucous extraction (cough)? Friend, you’d be very VERY sick if your immune system did not respond to a virus. In fact, you likely wouldn’t survive. The fact that your body is responding to a threat - even though you feel miserable - means that it’s actually functioning optimally: it’s HEALTHY!

Now, let’s say that you are “feeling fine,” but you go for a checkup to find that you have cancer. All this time you’ve felt normal, but your immune system is out of control (which is the essence of cancer… that’s for another post.) Your body is not functioning optimally, so you are sick.

Doesn’t it make sense then, to focus your own health efforts on supporting your body’s various functioning systems?

So how do you support your body to function optimally? Or, better stated, “How can you be healthy?”

The good news? This is not news. You know the answer. You eat whole foods, exercise, get some sunshine, get adjusted, make sure to get enough sleep, reduce your stress, and avoid toxin exposure. (Each of these deserves its own post, so make sure to keep an eye on my blog for upcoming related topics.) A healthy lifestyle does not come in a pill - nobody ever got a headache for a lack of Advil.

A final thought. Your body is your own. You alone bear the consequences of what you do to it. Your doctor doesn’t, so it’s up to you to make the best decisions for you. “As you sow, so shall you reap”, as the parable goes. Taking personal responsibility for your health is a tremendous empowering gift - one that needs to be taken seriously. Fortunately, you already know how to do it. You already know how to be healthy. Now, just do it.