Get To Movin', Your Brain Will Love It

The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS), which is the master control system for the entire body. It sends and receives a complicated frequency of signals within the body that dictates the function of the tissues & cells. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) bathes, feeds, & protects the brain and spinal cord. Exercises that enhance the flow of CSF through the CNS are very important health strategies.

The CSF maintains the electrolytic environment of the central nervous system by cleansing metabolic waste products from the brain and spinal cord. This rinsing process also plays a large role in stabilizing the critical acid-base balance throughout the CNS. It also provides valuable supply of essential nutrients to neuronal and glial cells. CSF also provides a medium to transport hormones, neurotransmitters, releasing factors, and other neuropeptides.

The Dangers of CSF Stasis

When the CSF flow becomes stagnant, it is classically referred to as CSF stasis. CSF stasis has been associated with vertebral subluxation complex, mechanical tension on the spinal cord, reduced cranial rhythmic impulses & restricted respiratory function. Reduced rates of CSF diffusion through key regions of the brain are a causative factor involved in degenerative disease.

The CSF has two major pumps that help to establish healthy flow. The pump at the top of the spine is the occiput bone, which makes up the lower portion of the skull. Flexion and extension motions of the occipital bone upon the atlas help to pump CSF through the brain and spinal cord. The other pump is at the bottom of the spine in the sacrum. Flexion and extension of the sacrum is also critical to help pump the CSF.

Sedentary lifestyles and bad postural habits create an environment ripe for CSF stasis in the spinal cord. Sedentary lifestyles create poor core strength and muscle imbalances that lead to chronic subluxation patterns throughout the spine. Sitting for long periods contributes to poor sacral motion and to accelerated degenerative changes in the lumbo-pelvic region.

Spinal Motion Encourages CSF Flow

Sedentary lifestyles and poor posture contribute to the formation of forward head posture. Forward head posture is characterized by occipital bone subluxation patterns. The majority of these subluxations have the occiput stuck into extension on the atlas bone with dense ligamentous scar tissue.
This is also the most subluxation pattern found in whiplash like traumas.
Healthy CSF flow depends upon a continual approach to minimize subluxation through corrective chiropractic techniques and specific spinal exercises.

Chiropractic adjustments are designed to release the ligamentous scar tissue that is locking the region in place. This allows for better neurological function through healthy proprioceptive patterns. Additionally, these adjustments help reinforce healthy soft tissue formation in the subluxated regions. This new healthy tissue will allow these regions to have normal, healthy motion.

Wobble board exercises help to restore and reinforce healthy sacral movement and initiate the CSF pump. The wobble board has a very small center of gravity that creates a greater challenge to the coordinating centers of the brain. This results in increased receptor information from the sacral region that allows a greater degree of range of motion and a further CSF pumping effect.

Repetitive cervical traction exercises put motion into the occipital region. This motion helps to traction the occiput creating a pressure change, which helps facilitate the CSF pump. This allows cleaner CSF to flow into the brain stem region providing fresh oxygen and nutrition. Additionally, the traction helps stretch chronically tight upper cervical muscles and ligaments and allows new tissue to form with greater elasticity.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/034308_exercise_cerebrospinal_fluid_flow.html#ixzz1i4GCKPMx

Fighting Fatigue with Nutrition and Activity

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that courage is only the second virtue in a soldier; the most important one is endurance of fatigue. Nowadays, fighting fatigue has become equally important for a growing army of people too busy or stressed to get adequate rest. In fact, according to a 2007 survey by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), more than half of American women report getting inadequate sleep. And when too sleepy to function, 66 percent choose to “accept it and keep going.”

Other cultures approach the problem a little differently. Many countries actively practice siesta—a 15- to 30- minute afternoon nap. Several recent studies support the beneficial effect of 10- to 30-minute naps on alertness, performance and learning ability.

Caffeine Quick Fix
In the United States, however, it is caffeine—not naps—that helps 78 percent of people cope with their responsibilities. The benefits of caffeine are real: It improves mood and cognitive performance,6-9 and coffee consumption can potentially decrease insulin secretion and liver cancer risk. On the negative side, regularly consumed caffeine can increase anxiety,
risk of headaches and the inflammation process.14 Cola beverages, but not coffee, also have
been associated with an increased risk of hypertension.

Caffeine is considered toxic—causing arrhythmia, tachycardia, vomiting, convulsions, coma or even death—only in amounts exceeding 5g. While the risk of toxicity is rare, the pervasiveness of caffeine warrants some caution. Many soft drinks, for example, contain only between 20 mg and 40 mg of caffeine per an 8-oz can;16 however, today’s specialty coffees can be very potent—ranging from 58 mg to 259 mg, and even up to 564 mg, per dose.

Food for Energy
Instead of using caffeine to push ourselves to perform despite fatigue, preventing energy drops is a wiser approach, health experts advise. Aside from sleep, our performance—and even our mood—depends on balanced blood sugar levels.

While cautioning against seeking quick blood-sugar boosts, experts recommend juices, such as pomegranate, instead of caffeine or sugar, for those in urgent need of re-energizing.

The key to properly preventing blood-glucose slumps— which can lead to fatigue, headaches, craving sweets, depression, irritability and a host of other symptoms—is the old-fashioned basics of proper nutrition. In one study, a breakfast rich in fiber and carbohydrates caused higher alertness, while high-fat meals led to lower alertness and higher caloric intake throughout the day. Another study showed that protein-rich or balanced meals, which cause less variation in blood glucose levels, improved cognitive performance.

Inadequate glucose is not the only thing contributing to fatigue. It can result from anemia—iron, B12, B6, or folic acid deficiency as well. Omega-3 fatty acids, leafy green vegetables, and vitamins C, E and B12 have been shown to improve memory and cognitive functioning.

Moving the Body
Even with adequate sleep and nutrition, our lack of motion can regularly put us to sleep. To prevent mental fatigue, try starting the day with exercise, taking frequent 5- to 15-second microbreaks (shoulder rolls or stretching) throughout the day, getting up and walking every two hours, and, of course, taking advantage of the lunch
break to “do the opposite” of what your job entails. For people with mentally challenging occupations, experts suggest a walk or other physical exercise; for those doing physically taxing work, some brain-stimulating activities, like puzzles.

Imbalanced body postures, such as slouching also require the body to consume more energy. In addition to adopting an “energy-efficient” standing position, with feet shoulder-width apart, and sitting straight, which helps improve circulation, take frequent 60-second “Stand up, Perk up” breaks that combine relaxation, breathing and stretching.

To those in urgent need of quick re-energizing, consider aerobic exercise instead of coffee. It’s quick and easy—and it stimulates brain chemicals that give us a lift.
Whether re-energizing through sleep, nutrition, exercise or—better yet—a combination of all three, it’s clear that fatigue should not be taken lightly. It’s connected with depression, and antidepressants are now the fastest-growing prescribed class of medications. Instead of taking stimulants, opt for proper exercise, adequate sleep and a balanced diet.

Source: American Chiropractic Association

Happy Holidays from Magna Chiropractic

8 Dangers of Diet Soda

You’ve probably noticed I mention diet soda quite often as something you need to eliminate from your diet as quickly as you can. It is a huge peeve of mine (along with a few others, like agave). I know many people enjoy diet soda and feel it is a “freebie” because it contains zero calories. What many people fail to realize is diet soda can be very detrimental to their health. It is also not beautifying at all- in fact it will diminish your beauty. ~ Health Freedoms

Why is diet soda unhealthy? Let me count the ways!

1. Neurotoxic

While artificial sweeteners may be a zero calorie alternative to sugar, they are in no way healthier. Diet sodas may use a variety of artificial sweeteners in place of sugar, including aspartame, which acts as a neurotoxin.

Also known as NutraSweet, aspartame originally received FDA approval for use in carbonated beverages in1983, and it still remains the most commonly used sweetener in diet soda. Annually, reactions to aspartame result for a majority of the adverse reaction reports made to the food and drug administration.

Made from L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanyl-methyl-ester, aspartame is 200 times as sweet as sugar and contains negligible calories. Once in the human body, aspartame breaks down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Methanol is a wood alcohol poison that, when heated above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (the human body temperature is 98.6 degrees), converts to formaldehyde. Aspartame is also an excitotoxin that builds up in the brain, and can excite brain neurons to the point of cell death.

2: Causes Headaches and Other Symptoms

Another artificial sweetener commonly used in diet sodas, sucralose, may cause a host of health problems including headaches.

Made from a modified sugar molecule, sucralose is supposed to pass through the body unabsorbed. Because sucralose is relatively new in the market still, its long-term effects have not been measured. Some evidence1 suggests sucralose may cause migraines, gastrointestinal issues, and thymus gland damage. Sucralose may also intensify sugar cravings, increase appetite, and trigger insulin release.

3: Acidifying

Soda is made up of a number of acidic chemicals. It is one of the most acidic substances humans ingest. The acids in diet soda demineralize the bones and teeth, and can lead to fractures and osteoporosis. Acid in the body also can lead to a number of health conditions such as inflammation and corrosion of body tissue. When your body is overly acidic your skin will not be as beautiful or youthful. It will contribute to looking older.

4: Caffeinated

Many diet sodas contain caffeine, which is an artificial stimulant and an addictive substance. Caffeine also excessively taxes the liver and can hamper its ability to cleanse and filter toxins from the body. Additionally, caffeine can trigger stress hormones, which can result in chronic stress and weight gain. Caffeine is also a diuretic, which dehydrates the body. It’s best to avoid caffeine in all its forms, particularly diet soda.

5: Increases Risk of Obesity

Studies show that although diet soda has no caloric value, it may have an impact on insulin similar to sugar ingestion. This is most likely due to the cephalic phase insulin response in the brain. When you taste the sweet in diet soda, your body perceives it as sugar and causes the pancreas to release insulin just as it would if you were consuming actual sugar.

Some studies show that drinking diet soda may increase the incidence of obesity and/or prevent you from losing weight. In fact, researchers at the University of Texas Health Center made some startling findings when testing the link between obesity and diet soda.

Obesity risk increased as followed:

26.5 percent for people drinking up to ½ can of diet soda per day, and 24 percent for regular soda drinkers consuming up to one can per day
54.5 percent for one to two cans of diet soda per day as opposed to 32.8 percent for those drinking the same amount of regular soda
57.1 percent for people drinking more than two cans of diet soda per day as opposed to 47.2 percent for people drinking the same amount of regular soda

In other words, diet soda consumption had a higher correlation with obesity rates than consumption of caloric soda containing sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

6: Increases Toxic Load

There’s not a lot that’s natural in diet soda. Here are just a few of the ingredients you may find:

Carbonated water
Artificial coloring
Phosphoric acid
Potassium benzoate
Citric acid

Doesn’t sound so delicious and healthy, does it! It sounds nasty, and that is because it is indeed a nasty product. Diet soda places a significant toxic load on your liver and can contribute to toxic sludge in your intestines. You are much better off drinking pure, filtered, non-tap water.

7: Increases Risk of Heart Disease

A study at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine4 showed that people who drank diet soda daily had a 61 percent increased risk of a cardiovascular event. The study followed more than 2,500 participants for about nine years, during which 559 vascular events occurred. Even accounting for age and other risk factors, the risk with diet soda consumption appeared to be at least 48 percent higher. With that kind of risk, why take a chance on diet soda?

8: May Contribute to Metabolic Syndrome

A study at University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health in 2008 linked diet soda to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic disorders including obesity, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides and hormone resistance. According to the study, consuming diet soda increased the risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 34 percent, which was higher than the elevated risk from consuming two other unhealthy types of foods – meat (26 percent increased risk), and fried foods (25 percent increased risk).

With all of these health risks, you have to ask yourself, is diet soda worth it? Avoiding soda may be one of the best things you can do for your health and beauty.

http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/12/12/8-dangers-of-diet-soda/

10 Reasons Parents Should Consider Chiropractic Care For Their Children

Some adults may wonder why more and more children are starting to see chiropractors. That’s a good question and the answer is simple: whether we have a large spine or a tiny little spine, if that spine is creating nerve distress then our magnificent bodies cannot operate smoothly…

The nervous system is the ‘Master Controller’

The nervous system is the master controller of our body and if its communication channels become fuzzy, distorted or damaged then we experience all sorts of communication errors. For babies and children, this ineffective communication may play out as colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed, poor sleep, developmental delays, digestion issues, asthma, behavioral problems, low energy, inability to concentrate, headaches, etc – the list is endless. In fact, regardless of what the end result or symptom may be, all roads lead back to the nervous system – to the body’s ability to self-regulate and function at a peak level.

While chiropractic may be able to help with a number of health issues, our focus is not treating or curing ailments; our focus is ensuring the nervous system has every opportunity to work efficiently and effectively.

Can you cook at night with the lights out?

For example, imagine your nervous system is like the lighting system in your home. If the lights start to dim, you might not be able to cook dinner very well, you may start banging into furniture, you may trip and hurt yourself, you may feel frightened, etc. Exactly how the dim lights influence you will vary but the issue is still the same – there is a communication problem between the wiring and the intended outcome which needs detecting and fixing.

In the same way, chiropractors spend years studying the nervous system to be able to detect and correct these ‘communication errors’ in the body.

Another question you may ask is…

“How do little kids get nerve irritation?”

Nerve irritations (or vertebral subluxations) occur as a part of normal daily life. They result from physical, chemical and emotional stressors or ‘insults’ to our health, such as bad posture, prolonged postures, sleeping on the tummy, knocks and falls, poor food choices, dehydration, exposure to chemicals and toxins, and stress and anxiety. Even before these lifestyle stressors have an impact, nerve irritation can occur in the uterus from awkward positioning, restriction of movement, and exposure to toxins, and from birth complications such as long labours, very fast labours, or forceps or caesarean delivery.

When we appreciate how important the nervous system is and how easily it can be hindered and impaired it makes sense that all children deserve to have a well-adjusted spine and nervous system … it makes sense that chiropractic is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

10 reasons parents take their children to see a chiropractor:

1. To maximize their child’s neural plasticity (brain and nerve development).
2. To enhance their child’s overall health and well being.
3. To strengthen immunity and reduce the incidence of colds, ear-aches and general illness.
4. To help with colic and Irritable Baby Syndrome.
5. To help with asthma, breathing difficulties and allergies.
6. To improve spinal posture.
7. To improve their child’s ability to concentrate.
8. To assist with behavioral disorders and enhance emotional well being.
9. To help alleviate digestive problems.
10. To assist with bed-wetting and sleep issues.

Your child’s health is their greatest asset.

Source: http://welladjustedbabies.com/why-parents-take-children-to-chiropractors/#ixzz1forzsBwf