Michael Schuneman, DC

Today I wanted to share with you about a wonderful organization based in Colorado Springs that I have the privilege of working with.  It is called Structure for Wounded Warriors.  It is a non-profit “established to provide military personnel, veterans, and surviving spouses suffering with physical and/or emotional injuries alternative methods of care and programs that may not be covered by insurance.”  They do an excellent job helping wounded warriors get the care they need to have the best chance of recovery.

Volunteers from Structure for Wounded Warriors were also the official massage therapists for the Air Force Wounded Warrior and the Marine Wounded Warrior Teams for the Warrior Games 2013.  They continue to work with the Wounded Warrior Teams at training camps also.  My first opportunity to serve with them was actually at one of the training camps during the summer.  I was able to give adjustments in between their events and see some of the practice too.  Then last week there was another training camp here in Colorado Springs and I got to serve as part of the rehabilitation team, working on the warriors in the evening after the camp.  Both experiences were awesome.

It is inspiring to me to talk to these men and women about competing in their various events.  All have had great challenges to overcome, but they don’t let that stop them.  I am proud to have the opportunity to associate with these warriors and to help them through chiropractic care.  I respect them for their courage to continue to move forward with their lives in spite of limitations.

Please take a moment to visit the Structure for Wounded Warriors website and learn more about this wonderful organization.  Our soldiers and their families deserve all the support we can give them in return for their service protecting our country.  Consider giving a donation or volunteering your time to help out.  Thank you!

Who is in charge of your health? Is it your doctor? I ask this question because I think many believe that their doctor or the medical/’healthcare’ system is responsible for their health. There is no doubt that doctors and the ‘healthcare’ system can have a big impact on your health. I use ‘healthcare’ in quotes because what we have in this country is not actually a health care system at all but a sick care system. However, whatever it is called it is not responsible for your health. YOU ARE!

I believe that we have an over-reliance on the sick care system in this country. I believe that many have abandoned the responsibility for their health to someone else. This is a dangerous thing. No matter how well-meaning others are they will not have as big of an impact on your health as you will. While there will always be a need for some sick care, our over-reliance on it is proving to be deadly for many.

New estimates from a study published recently in Journal of Patient Safety suggest that medical errors contributed to the deaths of at least 210,000 people per year in the US. An estimate of 440,000/year is a more probable estimate but still is likely to be an underestimation. Again this is not to say the sick care system is ‘bad’ but people do make mistakes. Also if you truly want health you are not going to find it through a sick care system; you need a health care system.

So what makes a health care system? Well you actually don’t really need a ‘system’ per se to have health. Health is made up of all the little choices you make day to day. What you eat, how much you exercise, how you control your stress, and how much sleep you get are all things that contribute or detract from your health. Now healthcare professionals are a great resource to help you in living a healthy life, but it is not their responsibility to ‘make’ you healthy.

As a chiropractor, I not only offer guidance and advice on living a healthier life but help the body to be the best it can by removing nerve interference. I do not do the healing, just like drugs or other procedures don’t do the healing. The body does the healing! And the body has the best chance of healing when it can communicate effectively. When the bones of the spine are misaligned or not moving properly it puts stress on the nerves, the communication/control system of the body. When nerve messages are interfered with the body cannot function at its best. We call it a state of dis-ease, which over time, if not corrected, leads to disease.

I encourage you to take control of your health! And if you do, you will have little need for the sick care system. If you would like to learn more about true health and chiropractic call our office and we would be happy to talk to you more.

I recently read Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating, by Jeffrey M. Smith. I realize that this book is now several years old, but I hope many people have had the opportunity to read it. If you have not had the opportunity to read it, I would highly suggest it, if for no other reason than to get another perspective on the issue of genetically modified foods that seems to be absent from the mainstream media.

I will admit before even reading Seeds of Deception I had reservations about genetically modified foods though I don’t know I could have told you why. Call it a gut feeling, but altering the genome of plants and other organisms in such a drastic way just didn’t seem right. While we have come to know many things about biology and how our bodies function, there is still so much that we do not know. This is my main concern: that putting foreign genes from one organism into another may have effects that we have not even considered or may not even be able to detect yet. And these thoughts were given more background and evidence after reading Seeds of Deception.

Our understanding of genetics and gene expression continues to expand. It was thought that the genome had lots of genes, and each gene would express a specific protein. However, now we know it is much more complex than just one gene will make one protein. There is a complex process that the body goes through to produce a protein and many more proteins are made by the body than there are number of genes. Information from a gene is processed and rearranged many different ways according to what the body needs. There continues to be evidence that our environment has an enormous effect on gene expression. So just because you have this or that gene does not mean you will express it. All these factors play into why genetically modified foods have the potential to cause unknown negative effects. Just because a gene creates a certain protein in one organism does not mean it will produce the exact same protein in another. And then even if the desired protein is made, are there other proteins being made as well? Or are natural proteins of the organism now limited, stopped, or produced in excess?

I believe these are good questions that should be answered. Unfortunately they have not been answered. Genetically modified foods continue to have too many unanswered questions when it comes to safety. Even the concerns of scientists tasked with testing the safety of genetically modified foods have largely been ignored. Yet we are assured that genetically modified foods are perfectly safe. While it may be coincidental or caused by many factors, I find it very interesting the rise in food allergies and sensitivities and chronic diseases in the United States began accelerating after the introduction of genetically modified foods.

I recommend avoiding genetically modified food as much as possible. The problem being is that they are not labeled in the US, making it virtually impossible to know if you are avoiding them or not in most processed foods. In general, reduce the amount of highly processed food and eat as fresh of food as you can get. Avoid crops that now consist of a large proportion of genetically modified foods such as soybeans, corn, and canola. And if you really want to know what goes into your food, grow it yourself. Here are a few more tips on avoiding genetically modified foods from wikihow.com that seem reasonable.

For thousands of years, medicinal uses of honey have been reported. Honey traditionally has been used to treat all sorts of ailments, but what does research and clinical trials actually say about the use of honey? The results may surprise you, what has been documented on the uses of honey.

Uses of Honey

Antibacterial

First off, the antibacterial activity of honey is fairly well documented with multiple studies looking at this aspect of honey. Honey has been shown to inhibit the growth of many types of bacteria including Salmonella, Shigella, and E.coli. The exact way that honey works as an antibacterial agent is not specifically known. Some contributing factors may include its acidic pH, low levels of hydrogen peroxide produced by honey, and a number of other antibacterial substances collectively called inhibine. Honey has also been found to have antifungal properties as well.

Gastroenteritis

One of the many uses of honey is to help with gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is an infection of the stomach or intestines and often causes pain and diarrhea. E.coli and Salmonella are common culprits in causing gastroenteritis. In one clinical study a bland diet and 30 mL (approx. 2 Tbs.) of honey given three times a day was effective in resolving the problem in 66% of patients and gave relief to an additional 17%. A study of infantile gastroenteritis found that honey was beneficial in a group of patients 8 days to 11 years old. Honey was used to replace the glucose portion of the standard electrolyte-containing rehydration solution recommended by the World Health Organization and the average recovery time was significantly reduced. Now there is some concern over giving honey to infants less than 1 year old because of the possibility of the infant getting botulism from spores that could possibly be within the honey. While infant botulism is rare, to be on the safe side I recommend not giving honey to infants less than 1 year old.

Gastric Ulcers

Gastric ulcers happen when the mucus lining the stomach thins and the gastric acid begins to break down the sides of the stomach. It is now known that most ulcers are actually caused by an infection from bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. Honey has been shown to not only reduce the secretion of gastric acid but also to inhibit the growth of H. pylori. In a study of 600 gastric ulcer patients treated with eating honey there was an 80% recovery rate.

Wound Healing

The most incredible uses of honey have to do with wound healing. Honey had been used for thousands of years in dressing wounds. For example, directions for using honey were found in a papyrus record dating between 2600 and 2200 BC. Besides honey’s antibacterial properties, there are several other reasons it works well for wound healing. According to one review on the uses of honey, “honey is an effective treatment of wounds because it is non-irritating, non-toxic, self-sterile, bactericidal, nutritive, easily applied and more comfortable than other dressings.” In addition to keeping wounds clean and effectively removing many types of infection, honey was shown to help skin grafts be accepted more quickly and also to debride wounds effectively. Debridement basically means removing dead or damaged tissue, which allows the healthy tissue to come through and more quickly heal.

Conclusion

These are only some of the uses of honey. It amazes me that this natural substance which has been used for thousands of years is not more widely known for its healing properties. I believe that natural approaches to healing are the best choice. Chiropractic is another natural approach to health that recognizes and invigorates your body’s own healing potential without drugs or surgery. Contact our office if you would like to know more about how chiropractic can help you.

References

Jeffrey AE, Echazarreta CM. Medical uses of honey. Rev Biomed 1996; 7:43-49.
Zumla A, Lulat A. Honey-a remedy rediscovered. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Vol. 82, July 1989.

Many people think of chiropractic for only back pain, neck pain, or other types of aches and pains. No doubt chiropractic does an amazing job with those aches and pains; however the best benefits of chiropractic come with wellness care.

So what is chiropractic wellness care anyway? It is regular chiropractic check-ups, even when you feel ‘good,’ to keep your body functioning at its best. How you feel is important, however it is not always a good indication of sickness or health. In fact, in a number of cases the first sign of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US, is actually death. High blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’ because the damaging effects of the disease are often not accompanied by outward symptoms. While spinal subluxation – misalignments of the spine that interfere with the body’s natural ability to heal – is often accompanied by pain, it is not always the case. So just because you feel ‘good’ does not necessarily mean you are healthy.

Regular chiropractic wellness care helps to retrain the muscles and ligaments supporting the spine improving the body’s biomechanics. All this keeps your spine aligned and moving properly allowing the signals sent through the nerves, the body’s communication network, to proceed without interference. Only when the spine is aligned and moving properly can the body’s innate intelligence to be expressed unhindered. This allows the body to function as it should and you can be truly healthy. I have personally observed that those who receive regular chiropractic wellness care are sick less often, feel better, and can handle the stresses of day-to-day life better.

I am committed to bringing better health and a better way of life to my patients by teaching and practicing the true principles of chiropractic wellness care. To learn more about how you can function and feel better contact our office today!

Yes! I definitely think the US has a prescription drug problem!  And the biggest problem isn’t out on the streets.  It is coming out of doctor’s offices because of what is being taught in medical schools and included in medical guidelines.  Now just so you understand, I am not against all medication use and I do think there are definitely situations where medicine needs to be used.  However, I most assuredly believe prescription drugs are being grossly overprescribed by doctors today.  And I think the biggest problem is how much influence pharmaceutical companies have over doctors, guidelines, and the public in general.

Our Prescription Drug Problem

There is no doubt that pharmaceuticals are big business.  According to the World Health Organization’s website “The global pharmaceuticals market is worth US$300 billion a year, a figure expected to rise to US$400 billion within three years.”  And the US has six of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.  In 2011, the pharmaceutical industry, in the US alone, spent almost $29 billion dollars on marketing.  The majority of that marketing is directed at physicians and pharmacy directors, but a sizeable $3.7 billion was spent on direct-to-consumer advertising.  The US is one of very few countries that actually allow direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs contributing to our prescription drug problem.

Doctors

How do pharmaceutical companies persuade doctors to use their drugs?  Well as mentioned before, they spend a lot of money marketing to doctors.  This marketing takes the form of direct face-to-face contact between drug reps and doctors, mailing drug ads to doctor offices, giving free samples of drugs, and even ‘educational’ meetings describing the use of a specific drug.  In a national survey of physicians, 87% reported having regular contact with pharmaceutical representatives; while in a study of primary care clinics in Michigan, 72% of physicians that discussed drug reps reported regular contact with 62% reporting meeting with more than 10 reps a week.  And 77% of physicians said they found the information that was shared as ‘useful.’  In that same study the authors note that most of the consultations they observed focused heavily on medication use to the “near exclusion of other considerations, such as diet and lifestyle” for the treatment of chronic diseases.  Chronic disease is largely a result of lifestyle factors and when modifying these factors is not the focus of treatment, this is a problem.

Guidelines

There have been several studies that have looked at possible conflicts of interest for authors of clinical guidelines.  One such study published in 2002 found that 87% of authors of clinical practice guidelines had some form of interaction with the pharmaceutical industry.  The authors of that study concluded that appropriate means for disclosing possible conflicts of interest and ways of discussing those conflicts need to be implemented in the clinical guideline writing process.  Another study looked at the relationship between panel members that recommended changes for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the pharmaceutical industry.  They found that 56% of panel members had one or more financial ties with the pharmaceutical industry.  The DSM contains diagnostic criteria and recommendations for treatment of mental illnesses.  They found that ties were especially strong in the diagnostic areas where drugs are the first line of treatment.  Guidelines recommending drugs as a first line of treatment—even if there may be better options—contributes to our prescription drug problem.

Public

Finally, I find it interesting that the US is one of very few countries that allow direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs.  I am all for patients being informed about what options are available for treatment of various diseases, but I don’t think that information should be coming from advertisements.  Advertisements are meant to sell a product or service; they are not a fair and unbiased source of information.  Why should patients be asking their doctor about prescribing them a certain drug? Because the company that makes the drug told them to?  I find that disturbing.  A prescription drug is supposed to be available only through a prescription for a reason.  A doctor has a responsibility to only prescribe what they feel is best and necessary for their patients.  However I have no doubt that having a patient ask for a specific drug affects the decision process.  In that case, a doctor might feel pressure to oblige a patient’s request even if it wouldn’t be in the patient’s best interest.

Does the US have a prescription drug problem?  Yes, I definitely think so!  I think the people and doctors have been duped by pharmaceutical companies into thinking that the answer to every problem is found in a pill bottle.  The reality is that most drugs merely mask symptoms and do little to address the actual cause of the problem.  Chiropractic provides a natural way to manage your pain, recover from injuries and add years to your life and life to your years – without drugs or surgery.  I look to correct the underlying problem not just treat the symptoms.  To find out more about chiropractic and what it can do for you contact our office today.

References

http://www.pewhealth.org/other-resource/persuading-the-prescribers-pharmaceutical-industry-marketing-and-its-influence-on-physicians-and-patients-85899439814

http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story073/en/index.html

http://www.annfammed.org/content/10/5/452.full

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=194615

http://www.tufts.edu/~skrimsky/PDF/DSM%20COI.PDF

Life is about balance.  Health is about balance.  True health is more than just not being sick.  True health is optimal physical, mental, and social well-being.  This requires balance.  I focus a lot on helping with physical health because that is what most people think of when talking of health, however emotional and spiritual health are equally important.  Each aspect of health will affect the others and you cannot be emotionally or spiritually unwell and stay physically healthy for very long. Speaking of emotional or spiritual health may sound strange to some, but it is really something we deal with every day. I am talking about basic things we do each day that affect our mood and outlook on life. For example, one way to help with emotional and spiritual health is to express gratitude.

What Can Gratitude Do?

Gratitude can have a profound affect on our outlook on life. Take the time to notice and be grateful for things, it will help lift your spirits.  It can get us out of a bad mood and help us focus on the positive rather than the negative.  As we look around us and pay more attention to things, we find that there is a lot to be grateful for.  Sometimes it is big things like a beautiful day outside or getting to spend time with a special person.  Sometimes it is small things such as finding the last couple of bottles of on-sale shampoo at the back of the shelf or getting somewhere on time.  Whatever it may be (and each day is usually full of a mix of big and little things), find it and remember it.  And if you think there is nothing to be grateful for you need to change your mindset.  Like the old saying “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet,” it is all about perspective.

Conclusion

This next week, take our Gratitude Challenge.  At the end of each day, think over what happened and find a few things to be grateful for.  You might want to jot them down on a piece of paper to look over on a bad day.  Remember, you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to be grateful.  If you want more help to reach optimal health and balance, schedule an appointment today.  I work with people just like you to help them realize their full health and potential by focusing on their body, mind, and soul.