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Some of the Ways the B Vitamins Benefit Your Body…

11 Jan

Though you may commonly see foods or drinks touting they contain one or more of the various B vitamins, you may wonder what they do for you. While they play a number of roles in keeping you healthy, here are some of their more important jobs:

  • Thiamine (B1) plays an important role in both the creation of new cells. Like all the other B vitamins, it also helps in the process of turning the food you eat into energy.
  • Riboflavin (B2) helps to transport oxygen throughout the body and also assists in removing free radicals that may damage cells.
  • Niacin (B3) supports over 200 chemical reactions in the body and is believed to improve cholesterol levels.
  • Pantothenic Acid (B5) is critical for the production of the sex and stress-related hormones in the adrenal glands.
  • Pyridoxine (B6) helps produce mood and sleep regulating hormones like serotonin, melatonin, and norepinephrine.
  • Biotin (B7) is called the beauty hormone as it is associated with the production of healthy hair, skin, and nails.
  • Folate (B9) helps reduce the risk of birth defects in developing fetuses and may also help adults lower their risk for depression and memory loss.
  • Cobalamin’s (B12) most important job may be its role in the production, repair, and maintenance of red blood cells.

 

Man Saves 400 Pound Bear from Drowning and 14-Year-Old Saves 20,000 Pets’ Lives!

7 Jan

When you think of a hero, what type of person do you think about? If you are like most, you picture someone with a gift who can do things most people cannot. They are special… NOT like you, right?

Well, what if that type of thinking and definition was DEAD WRONG? In other words, what if most heroes were average people JUST LIKE YOU? What if you have everything it takes to be a hero, but you just don’t know it?

You do. These two stories will prove it.

Several years ago, a nearly 400 lbs. (~181 kg) black bear somehow ended up in a residential neighborhood in Alligator Point, Florida.

Wildlife officers rushed to the scene, and their plan was to shoot the bear with a tranquilizer and relocate him. Good plan — but like many plans, it didn’t go so smoothly.

After the bear was shot with the tranquilizer, he ran into the nearby ocean in an attempt to escape. As he swam into the water, the tranquilizer started to make him drowsy. He started to slow and would inevitably fall asleep and drown.

That’s when Adam Warwick, a biologist with the Wildlife Commission, sprung into action. He leaped into the water and swam in front of the massive bear. He said it was a spur of the moment decision, and he had a lot of adrenaline pumping when he saw the bear in the water.

Warwick grabbed the huge bear by the scruff of the neck and started to pull him to shore. The bear actually tried to climb on top of Warwick, but he was too weakened by the tranquilizer to do so. Warwick suffered minor cuts and scrapes from the bear’s claws but he was able to get him to shore and save his life. The bear was later transported to Osceola National Forest.

I know what you are thinking — you could never jump in the ocean and pull such a heavy animal to shore. I bet Warwick thought that too. Well, here is a story that ANYONE can do. How do I know? Because it was done by a fourteen-year-old….

Lou Wegner used to believe that shelters were safe places for animals to live until they found a home. That opinion changed after he volunteered at one and found out countless dogs and cats are put to sleep every day.

“It was heartbreaking. All these dogs crying in their cages. Knowing they would be put down broke my heart,” he said. So Lou did something about it. He and some of his friends started Kids Against Animal Cruelty when he was only fourteen years old. Two years later, their Facebook page has over 15,000 likes and has become the fastest growing animal rescue in the country. Besides finding homes for as many animals as possible, his goal is to get more people to adopt from shelters, to spay and neuter their pets, and to educate them about pet responsibility.

Since Wegner started Kids Against Animal Cruelty, other teens have set up chapters of the group around the country. Wegner hopes to eventually have a chapter in every state in order to make a bigger difference.

We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and getting them feeling better! We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger! Don’t be a stranger. You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!

How Important Are Music and Art to Your Happiness?

5 Jan

Here is something you will find very interesting, especially if you like to listen to music or look at art.

Researchers have reported the first real-world demonstration of what happens in the brain when people observe artwork.

A team of University of Houston scientists analyzed brain activity data collected from more than 400 people who wore EEG headsets as they viewed an exhibit at the Menil Collection, offering evidence that useable brain data can be collected outside of a controlled laboratory setting.

The researchers said that conducting a study in the lab is artificial and they wanted to look at how to measure brain activity both in action and in context.

Compared with baseline readings, they found significant increases in functional, or task-related, connectivity in localized brain networks when the subjects viewed art they considered aesthetically pleasing.

By looking at brain activity alone, the researchers could predict with 55 percent accuracy whether the participant was looking at a complex piece of art, a moderately complex piece of art, or a blank wall.

Researcher Dr. Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal notes, “I don’t think we will understand the mystery [of how art is created]. The conception of art is a very individual process, built on the artist’s experiences, skills, memories, values and drives. But we will know what happens in the brain. We might find that there are people who are very attuned to visual art, or to music, or poetry, and there might be an underlying common neural network. If we know that, we could optimize the delivery of art for therapy, for teaching.”

What About Music?

One thing is clear, our eyes are amazing and very complex. Here is something you probably know: Pupils reflexively adjust— getting bigger and smaller— based on the amount of light available at any given time. Light makes them contract and darkness makes them dilate.

Now for something you probably do not know: Pupil size is also controlled by thoughts, emotions, and mental effort. For example, pupils dilate when viewing an exciting image or while working on a difficult mental task—like a hard math problem.

Sounds can also affect the pupil. For example, pupils can dilate when a person listens to two people argue. Everyone knows that music can create strong emotional reactions in people, but pupil dilation in response to music had not been systematically studied until now. In a recent study, a joint research team from the University of Vienna and the University of Innsbruck, both in Austria, found that listening to a romantic opera dilated listener’s pupils.

In participants who claimed music plays an important part in their lives, the research team observed the participants’ pupils dilated to a greater degree during more arousing parts of the opera compared with calmer sections.

In other words, it seems the more importance you place on music, the more of an emotional impact it may have on your life. The team notes future studies will involve other musical genres so they could see how the results from this study extrapolate.

Lead researcher Dr. Bruno Gingras adds, “Our research clearly demonstrates that pupil size measurement is a promising tool to examine emotional reactions to music. Moreover, because pupil responses cannot be voluntarily controlled, they provide a direct access to listeners’ preconscious processes in response to music.”

What About Sad Music?

In 2013, a team of Japanese researchers found that sad music might actually evoke positive emotions… which is why such songs are so popular. The researchers explain that sad music evokes contradictory emotions because the participants in their study tended to feel sad music to be more tragic, less romantic, and less blithe than they themselves felt while listening to it.

According to the researcher team from Tokyo University of the Arts and the RIKEN Brain Science Institute: “Music that is perceived as sad actually induces romantic emotion as well as sad emotion. And people, regardless of their musical training, experience this ambivalent emotion to listen to the sad music… Emotion experienced by music has no direct danger or harm unlike the emotion experienced in everyday life. Therefore, we can even enjoy unpleasant emotion such as sadness. If we suffer from unpleasant emotion evoked through daily life, sad music might be helpful to alleviate negative emotion.”

It should be noted that other research has shown possible negative effects associated with listening to sad music in some people. According to researcher Dr. Suvi Saarikallio, “Analysis showed that anxiety and neuroticism were higher in participants who tended to listen to sad or aggressive music to express negative feelings, particularly in males. This style of listening results in the feeling of expression of negative feelings, not necessarily improving the negative mood.”

Don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We’re here to help and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in providing you natural pain relief.

Do You Want to Be Healthy and Happy? Really… Do You?

4 Jan

Let me ask you an important question. It might change your life.

Here’s the question: If you could have anything, what would it be?

Most people say they want some huge amount of money. If they had enough money, all their problems would be solved and they would be happy. While I will agree having money is better than being poor, having money will not bring you the happiness you think it will.

Why? Because there are other things you must have to be happy that money cannot buy. Ironically, if you have the other things, money tends to come as well.

Probably the most important thing you need to be happy is AMBITION. Ambition is a powerful force that turns hopeful wishes into reality. But it must be the correct ambition.

The correct ambition leads you on the right course to have a wonderful life. Legitimate ambition says you only want something at the service of others… not at the expense of others.

If it is your ambition to be great, you must first find a way to serve others. If it is your ambition to be wealthy, you must first learn how to give. If it is your ambition to be healthy, you must first learn to stop doing the things that make you sick.

Ambition is at the core of every success, while wishes and wants without the correct ambition are completely worthless.

The greatest ambition you can have is to stop doing the things that make you sick and start doing the things that make you healthy.

Every day you are faced with simple choices. Should you eat healthy food or junk food? Should you exercise or sit on the couch? Should you think positive thoughts and live a positive life or should you be negative and full of stress?

All of those things are really just simple choices, and if you make the right simple choices every day for just one month, your life will change. You will see results, gain momentum, and notice the things in your life that you really want being created and achieved.

The correct ambition and intention is the key. The rest will follow.

Sincerely,

Dr. Binder

The Cholesterol Controversy!

28 Dec

With all the hype about cholesterol, where does the truth lie? On one hand, some doctors recommend EVERYONE be placed on a statin (cholesterol lowering medication) regardless if their cholesterol levels are high or not. On the other hand, some experts report that statins are unnecessary and cholesterol is both essential and good for us. So, where does the current research fit into this picture?

Let’s look at a July 2015 Harvard School of Public Health publication that reported “….it would be cost effective to treat 48-67% of all adults aged 40-75 in the [United States] with cholesterol-lowering statins. By expanding the current recommended treatment guidelines and boosting the percentage of adults taking statins, an additional 161,560 cardiovascular-related events could be averted.” The authors of the report start their discussion by recognizing the “new cholesterol treatment guidelines have been controversial” and seek to weigh the pros and cons of their recommendation. They point out that on one side, “there is strong evidence that statins reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke” and on the other, they report that “…more people would be at increased risk for negative side effects, such as memory loss, type 2 diabetes, and muscle damage.”

Of interest, in November 2013, the American Heart Association and others recommended that statins be prescribed for people with a 7.5% or greater risk of heart attack or stroke over a 10-year period (down from 10-20% or higher in previous guidelines), including many with no existing cardiovascular issues. An article in the July edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports the 7.5% was acceptable in terms of cost-effectiveness, “…but more lenient treatment thresholds of ≥3.0-4.0% would be “optimal…and would avert an estimated additional 125,000-160,000 CVD-events.”

The opposing camp regarding cholesterol management says that inflammation is at the core of heart disease and stroke, NOT cholesterol. Moreover, RAISING the amount of cholesterol-rich foods in our diet is reportedly WISE since only a small amount of our body’s cholesterol actually comes from diet and most is produced by the liver. Cleveland Clinic’s cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen says we NEED cholesterol, a theory that is now embraced by the new 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), as they have taken a TOTAL about-face compared with their 2010 recommendations (which had “stood” strong since the 1960s). The DGAC are now stating that “cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”

Other researchers say lowering dietary cholesterol is likely causing far more harm than good. Our cell membranes, as well as activity that goes on INSIDE our cells, our liver (cholesterol is a precursor to bile acids needed to digest the fat we eat), our digestive system, and our brain (which contains 25% of the cholesterol in our body) REQUIRE adequate cholesterol levels. Low levels of HDL cholesterol have been linked to several brain-related malfunctions including depression, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, violent behavior, and suicide. Also, cholesterol provides insulation for our nerve cells and plays an important role in the production of hormones (particularly testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen). Cholesterol is also important for the production of vitamin D, as when sunlight hits our skin, the cholesterol in the skin is converted into the vitamin.

Obviously, we have a choice: limit / reduce our cholesterol or embrace it. Which camp appeals to you the most?

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs. If you, a friend, or family member requires care, we would be honored to render our services.

 YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

Whiplash – What Can I Expect?

24 Dec

Whiplash, or “Whiplash Associated Disorders” or WAD, is the result of a sudden “crack the whip” of the head on the neck due to a slip and fall, sports injury, a violent act, or most commonly, a motor vehicle collision (MVC), particularly a rear-end collision. In describing “what can I expect” after a whiplash injury, one thing is for certain, there are many faces of whiplash, meaning the degree of injury can range from none to catastrophic depending on many factors, some of which are difficult or impossible to identify or calculate. Let’s take a closer look!

Even though the good news is that most people injured in a car crash get better, 10% do not and go on to have chronic pain, of which about half have significant difficulty working and/or doing desired everyday activities. There is a “great debate” as to the way experts describe “chronic whiplash syndrome” (CWS) as well as how these cases should be managed. Some feel there is something PHYSICALLY wrong in the CWS patient, especially if severe neck or head pain persists for more than one year. There is some proof of this as Dr. Nikolai Bogduk from the University of Newcastle in Australia and colleagues have used selective nerve blocks to anesthetize specific joints in the neck to determine exactly where the pain is generated. The patient then has the option to have that nerve cauterized or burned and pain relief can be significant in many cases. Dr. Bogduk and his group admit that these CWS patients have more psychological symptoms, but they feel this is the result of pain, not the CAUSE.

On the other hand, experts such as Dr. Henry Berry from the University of Toronto report the EXACT OPPOSITE. He argues that it’s not JUST the physical injury that has to be dealt with but also the person’s “state of mind.” Dr. Berry states that when stepping back and looking at all the complaints or symptoms from a distance, “…you see these symptoms can be caused by life stress, the illness ‘role’ as a way of adjusting to life, psychiatric disorders, or even [made up by the patient].” Berry contends that it’s important to tell the patient their pain will go away soon, advises NO MORE THAN two weeks of physical therapy, and sends people back to work ASAP.

Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine’s Dr. Michael D. Freeman, whose expertise lay in epidemiology and forensic science, disagrees with Dr. Berry stating that the scientific literature clearly supports the physical injury concept and states, “…the idea that it is a psychological disturbance is a myth that has been perpetuated with absolutely no scientific basis at all.” Dr. Freeman states that 45% of people with chronic neck pain were injured in a motor vehicle crash (which includes three million of the six million of those injured in car crashes every year in the United States).

Here’s the “take home” to consider: 1) CWS occurs in about 10% of rear-end collisions; 2) Some doctors feel the pain is physically generated from specific nerves inside the neck joints; 3) Others argue it’s a combination of psychological factors and care should focus on preventing sufferers from becoming chronic patients.

Many studies report that chiropractic offers fast, cost-effective benefits for whiplash-injured patients with faster return to work times and higher levels of patient satisfaction.

We realize you have a choice in whom you consider for your health care provision and we sincerely appreciate your trust in choosing our service for those needs. If you, a friend, or family member requires care for Whiplash, we would be honored to render our services.

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR WHIPLASH! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 717-697-1888

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