Our Excuses Are Invalid. Here Is Why…

2 Mar

Most people have heard of Facebook.

Chances are, you have also heard of Pinterest.

It doesn’t matter if you have or not, what matters is this… On both Facebook and Pinterest there is a viral theme called, “Your excuse is invalid.”

Basically, people post pictures of someone doing something that by all appearances, they shouldn’t be able to do.

For example, consider the South African sprinter who just became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic games.

He had both his legs amputated at 11 years old and now runs using carbon fiber “legs.”

His nicknames are: The “Blade Runner” and “The fastest man on no legs.”

Think about this for a minute, the guy has NO LEGS and yet, he made the South African Olympic track team.

How many times have you started to eat well… and then quit?

How many times have you started an exercise program… and then quit?

How many times have you decided to improve your health and life… and then quit?

Why did you quit?

Not enough time? Too tired? Was it too hard?

ENOUGH!

Just think about the Blade Runner. That’s right, your excuse is invalid. It’s 100% made up in your head.

Not everyone has the genetics to run in the Olympics. But we can all be BETTER. We can all be HAPPIER. We can all be HEALTHIER and in BETTER SHAPE.

Lastly, your excuses (and mine) are invalid. ☺

Sincerely,

Dr. Binder

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Are You A Dog Lover?

1 Mar

If you are a dog lover, here’s a silly question… If your dog was in pain, what would you be willing to do to take away that pain? The answer (of course) is ANYTHING. You would do anything it takes to make your loving pet feel good. That’s why it was no surprise that this story went viral on the internet. The post about it on Facebook got over 207,000 likes and 116,000 shares almost instantly.

The story is about a Wisconsin man, John Unger, and his dog, Schoep. John rescued Schoep 19 years ago when he was only 8 months old. They instantly became best friends and went through almost two decades of ups and downs together.

In his old age, Schoep has become riddled with arthritis. It is so bad that he has a very hard time sleeping. John discovered that Schoep feels better in water, so he takes him into Lake Superior at night and holds Schoep up while he sleeps.

A photographer, Hannah Stonehouse-Hudson, is John’s friend and captured one of the “Schoep sleeping moments” with an incredible picture. In the picture, Schoep is out cold with his head resting on his owner’s chest. Partially submerged, the warm lake water soothes Schoep’s aches and pains enough so he can rest peacefully.

It is a picture of polar opposites; both heartbreaking and wonderful all at the same time. It’s heartbreaking to see Schoep in the final stages of his life, and wonderful to see such an incredible loving bond between a man and his dog. Because Schoep trusts John enough to fall asleep while his owner holds him up in the lake, you instantly know the love that was given during all those years to create that trust.

John Unger is reported as saying that he will do whatever he has to do to give Schoep relief from pain. He credits Schoep with saving his life 19 years ago when a relationship failed.

According to an interview with John Unger in the Huffington Post: After breaking up with his former fiancée, Unger had been having suicidal thoughts. “To be honest with you, I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t have Schoep with me (that night)… He just snapped me out of it. I don’t know how to explain it. He just snapped me out of it… I just want to do whatever I can for this dog because he basically saved my [behind].”

Every night, John carries his dog into the waters of Lake Superior and holds him up while he sleeps. Yes, he stands in the lake water while his dog sleeps every single night.

Photographer Hannah Hudson said, “I want people to identify with this photo, and remember a time when they felt safe, loved, and cared for… Then I want them to channel those feelings and pay it forward! There is way too much negativity in this world – maybe with this one photo we can start to change things just a tiny bit.”

We just “paid it forward.” You should, too.

To watch the video and see the picture, go here.

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At Risk For Kidney Stones? Don’t Drink This…

1 Mar

According to Loyola University Health System, do NOT drink iced tea if you have a history of kidney stones. Iced tea contains high concentrations of oxalate, one of the key chemicals that lead to the formation of kidney stones, a common disorder of the urinary tract that affects about 10 percent of the population in the United States.

Though hot tea also contains oxalate, it isn’t as easy to consume a quantity large enough amount to encourage the formation of stones. “For many people, iced tea is potentially one of the worst things they can drink,” said Dr. John Milner, Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL. “For people who have a tendency to form kidney stones, it’s definitely one of the worst things you can drink.”

What should you drink to stay properly hydrated?  SPRING WATER.☺

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8 Interesting Facts About Dreams.

28 Feb

Dreaming is one of the most mysterious and interesting experiences in our lives. During the Roman era, some dreams were even submitted to the Roman Senate for analysis and dream interpretation. They were thought to be messages from the gods. Dream interpreters even accompanied military leaders into battles and campaigns! But, what do we actually know about dreams? Here are a few interesting facts about dreams:

  1. Within 5 minutes of waking, half of your dream is forgotten. Within 10 minutes, 90% is gone.
  2. Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorders).
  3. In our dreams, we only see faces that we already know. Our mind does not invent faces. We see real faces of

    real people whom we have seen during our lifetime but may not know or remember. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces throughout our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.

  4. The most common emotion experienced in dreams is anxiety. Negative emotions are more common than positive ones.
  5. You can have four to seven dreams in one night.
  6. Animals dream too. Studies done on many different animals show the same brain waves during dreaming

    sleep as humans. Watch a dog sleep. Their paws move like they are running and they make yipping sounds

    as if they are chasing something.

  7. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a normal stage of sleep characterized by rapid movements of the eyes.

    REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20-25% of total sleep, or about 90-120 minutes of a night’s sleep. During REM sleep, the body is paralyzed by a mechanism in the brain in order to prevent the movements which occur in the dream from causing the physical body to move. However, it is possible for this mechanism to be triggered before, during, or after normal sleep while the brain awakens.

  8. Dream Incorporation. Our mind interprets the external stimuli that our senses are bombarded with while we are asleep and makes them part of our dreams.
  9. Dream interpretation has many forms. In one technique, everything in your dream in considered an aspect of you, including people, places and events. If your mother shows up in a dream, it may be a symbolic representation of the mother (care giver or nurturer) inside of you.
  10. Dream Control. Lucid dreaming is a technique that can be practiced over time,           acquiring the skill to make decisions in a dream. This technique may be useful in helping individuals avoid conflict an negative emotions associated with their dreams.

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Are You Tired All Day But Can’t Sleep At Night?

27 Feb

Are you tired during the day, but then can’t fall asleep at night? Do you lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling,

wondering why you were falling asleep at work? Do you wake up more tired than when you went to sleep? How about this one…

Do You Look At The Clock And Calculate How Many Hours Of Sleep You Could Get If You Fell Asleep Right Now?

If you do, you are not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Insufficient sleep is a public epidemic. An estimated 50-70 million U.S. adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder.”

The CDC recommends school-age children (5-10 years) sleep 10-11 hours, teens (10-17 years) sleep 8.5-9.5 hours, and adults sleep 7-9 hours per night.

Of course, everyone is individual. Some people need more sleep, and others need less sleep.

One thing is certain: If you are not getting the proper amount of sleep you need, there are health risks.

Barring a health condition that may cause an inability to sleep, stress may be the biggest cause of insomnia.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms: Difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, and feeling tired upon waking.

Some of the consequences of insomnia are: Sleepiness during the day, general tiredness, irritability, and problems with concentration and or memory.

You May Suffer From “Adrenal Fatigue”

According to Dr. James Wilson, author of the book Adrenal Fatigue: 21st Century Syndrome, 80 percent of people will suffer adrenal fatigue at some point in their lives.

Adrenal glands help your body handle and deal with stress. The more stress you experience, the more your adrenal glands have to work. There is a point when the adrenal glands become over-worked. When this happens, it is VERY bad for you and your health.

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This is a condition called, “Adrenal fatigue.” The adrenal glands secrete cortisol, a powerful hormone that is responsible for gluconeogenesis and activating anti-stress and anti-inflammatory pathways. Cortisol prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation.

Small increases of cortisol have some positive effects including a quick burst of energy for survival reasons, heightened memory functions, a burst of increased immunity, lower sensitivity to pain, and it also helps maintain homeostasis in the body.

But, it is important for the body to have a decreased or “no stress” period so its functions can return to normal.

When constant stress is present, high cortisol levels remain in the blood stream.

This causes all kinds of health problems including: Impaired cognitive performance, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia, decreased bone density, decrease in muscle tissue, higher blood pressure, lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and increased abdominal fat (which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body).

Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat include:heart attack, stroke, metabolic syndrome, increased “bad” cholesterol (LDL), and decreased “good” cholesterol (HDL).

In other words, it is VERY bad. But things can get worse…

If the overload of stress continues, the adrenals become exhausted and actually become resistant to the stress. This can result in hemorrhaged adrenal glands, high insulin levels, atrophied thymus glands, biochemically devastated bodies, a total collapse of body function, or a collapse of specific organs or systems.

Obviously, this is no laughing matter.

STRESS KILLS
So what can you do? Stress reduction is a must,

and since it is virtually impossible to eliminate all stress from your life, you should take measures to minimize it and re-charge your body.

There are several great ways to reduce stress, such as yoga.

Here are the results from a recent study, according to Science Daily: The participants were randomized into two groups. The meditation group was taught the 12-minute yogic practice that included Kirtan Kriya, which was performed every day at the same time for 8 weeks. The other group was asked to relax in a quiet place with their eyes closed while listening to instrumental music on a relaxation CD, also for 12 minutes daily for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken at the beginning of the study and again at the end of the 8 weeks.

“The goal of the study was to determine if meditation might alter the activity of inflammatory and antiviral proteins that shape immune cell gene expression,” said Lavretsky. “Our analysis showed a reduced activity of those proteins linked directly to increased inflammation.”

In other words, this form of yoga practiced 12 minutes a day, everyday for 8 weeks, seemed to reduce harmful stress (a very good result).

Now, check this out… Recent research also shows that telling fewer lies can lead to a healthier life.

In a study, researchers used 110 males and females, between 18 and 71 years old. Fifty-five were told to stop lying completely for 10 weeks and the other half were given no special instructions about lying. They went to a laboratory each week to complete health and relationship questionnaires and to take a polygraph test assessing the number of major and minor lies they had told that week.

According to researchers, the group who stopped lying complained less of headaches, sore throats, tenseness, anxiety and other problems than those who were given no instructions. Results also showed that the non- lying participants had improved close personal relationships and smoother social interactions.

The research has not been published in a peer- reviewed journal, but was presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting.

Researchers also mentioned that lying can cause a great deal of internal stress.

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An Important Message From The Most Famous Chiropractor You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.

24 Feb

There is a very famous person you probably do not know was a Chiropractor.  Here is a quote from one of his shows… let’s see if you can guess who it is…

“You know this is a nation of tired people.

“Everyone is tired.

“Everyone is suffering from that disease I like to call pooped-out-itis.  

“People wake up in the morning they are tired.  They go to bed at night they are tired.  They are tired throughout the day.  And life doesn’t hold much is store for anyone when you are tired all the time.  

“Now let’s find out why people are tired.

“#1 LACK OF EXERCISE.

“#2 EMPTY CALORIES.

“#3 NERVOUS TENSION.”

Know who it is?  It was Jack Lalanne (yes, he was a Chiropractor) and this quote was from the 1950s!  Jack was far ahead of his time. It’s no wonder he was able to perform all those incredible feats of strength and lived to be 96 years old.

Here’s the best part (and how this ties into this month’s newsletter)…

On the same video we pulled the above quote from, Jack says (in reference to something he was reading), “The doctor emphasized the importance of physical exercise.  There is evidence to show that hard physical work is good for us, but moderation and consistency is important.  We ought to play 3 holes of golf every day and not 18 of golf all at once.”

Jack went on to say, “Try to get a few minutes of exercise every day rather than to get a whole lot every once in a while.”

In this month’s Health News & Views, there is information from a new study that says strenuous exercising may be bad for your heart.  It seems that Jack Lalanne had one of the keys to health and success back in the 50s:  Consistency and Moderation.

Eat right, get proper rest, reduce stress, exercise moderately… and do it all CONSISTENTLY.  In other words, be the tortoise, not the hare!

There are no quick fixes.  But, there are long-term solutions  So, start right now.

Watching Your Back,

Dr. Brent Binder

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