Pain Relief Chiropractic

If you have a garden or plant flowers, then you know how much of a pain weeds can be.  They pop up everywhere and pulling them is not only time consuming but it can be brutal on your hands and back.  Most of the time, weed picking involves a slumped over (bad) posture.  Spend an hour or an afternoon picking weeds and you might feel some serious back pain!

But, the alternative, spraying toxic weed killing chemicals, has a serious down side.  These chemicals are not a joke. Not only are they toxic to weeds, they are bad news for humans and pets, too.  Getting them on your skin and inhaling them can be bad for your health. Then, there are the environmental issues of putting those chemicals into the ground.  Rainwater washes them everywhere… into gardens, the food supply, the water supply, etc.

There is another way! Most people do not know the power of vinegar to kill weeds!  Vinegar will even do it without all the potential hazards of the powerful chemicals.  All you have to do is spray the vinegar on the leaves of the weeds until they are wet.  In a few days, the weeds will be dead!

There are two things you should know about using vinegar to kill weeds:  1) Vinegar is activated by sunlight.  So, check your weather report and try to pick a day when it will be sunny and not raining.  2) Vinegar does not discriminate!  It will kill ALL plants that it is sprayed on.  So, only spray it on the weeds you want to kill. Do not get it on your flowers, tomato plants, etc.

Besides being safe and effective, vinegar is pretty cheap.  All types of vinegar will work and white vinegar is usually the cheapest.  If you spray it on and it rains and the weeds do not die, it is easy and inexpensive to simply do it again.  FYI: Vinegar is great to use to kill the weeds that grow in sidewalk cracks!

For most people, Vitamin D levels drop considerably in the winter (or summer if you live in the Southern Hemisphere).  Vitamin D is very important for both muscle tone and health, and recent research suggests it’s important for the immune system.  Obviously, the winter is an important time to keep your immune system as strong as possible so you can fight off the common cold and the dreaded flu.  Now, some new research shows how much Vitamin D the average person needs to maintain optimal levels. According to the recommended levels in this new research, it is believed that 30-50% of Americans and Canadians are deficient.  In order to raise your Vitamin D levels into the optimum range throughout the year, the Endocrine Society has recommended the following daily intake levels of Vitamin D (from all sources):  Children under one years old: 400-1,000 IU/day; Children 1 to 18 years old: 600-1,000 IU/day; Adults: 1,500-2,000 IU/day.

Is All Vitamin D Created Equal?

Research published in the June edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that Vitamin D3 supplements could provide more benefit than its close relative, Vitamin D2.  This is important because it is difficult for most people to get enough Vitamin D through food and sunshine, especially during the winter months.  Many foods are fortified with Vitamin D, but it is usually in the Vitamin D2 form.  The research shows that Vitamin D3 is better at raising the Vitamin D levels in your blood when given as a supplement. Dr. Laura Tripkovic explains: “We know that Vitamin D is vital in helping to keep us fit and healthy, but what has not been clear is the difference between the two types of Vitamin D. It used to be thought that both were equally beneficial, however our analysis highlights that our bodies may react differently to both types and that Vitamin D3 could actually be better for us.”

To get their results, researchers analyzed the results of 10 studies with a total of over 1,000 people.  They stated, “Vitamin D3 could potentially become the preferred choice for supplementation. However, additional research is required to examine the metabolic pathways involved in oral and intramuscular administration of Vitamin D and the effects across age, sex, and ethnicity, which this review was unable to verify.”

Is Vitamin D Really That Important?

According to the National Institute of Health: “A growing body of research suggests that Vitamin D might play some role in the prevention and treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, multiple sclerosis, and other medical conditions. Laboratory and animal evidence, as well as epidemiologic data, suggests that Vitamin D status could affect cancer risk. Strong biological and mechanistic bases indicate that Vitamin D plays a role in the prevention of colon, prostate, and breast cancers.”

In a world where there is so much disagreement, here is a statement we can all agree on: No one wants cancer.  If there is a simple and inexpensive way to help prevent it, why not do it?  While there is great buzz about “cancer genes” and how much of a role they play in an individual actually getting cancer, there should also be great buzz about eating right, reducing stress, getting the proper amount of sleep, and doing all the other things that help optimize your immune system so you can live up to your full genetic potential, whatever that potential may be for you.

That being said, there are several studies on the subject of “grilled meat.”  In the research, the various authors discuss heterocyclic amines (HCAs). HCAs are SUSPECTED human carcinogens (cancer causing) formed in muscle foods (meat) during high temperature grilling or cooking.  One study, published in the Journal Food Science, studied the effect of marinades rich in polyphenolic antioxidant containing spices in HCAs.  According to the study: “The marinades were formulated according to the package label instruction in an oil, water, and vinegar mixture, and the steaks were treated for one hour prior to grilling.  All three marinades: Caribbean, Southwest, and herb, significantly decreased the imidazo-azaarene HCAs (MeIQx, PhIP) as contrasted to controls and liquid blanks.  The Caribbean mixture showed the highest decrease in the total HCA content (88%), followed by the herb (72%) and Southwest (57%). With a few exceptions, there were significant decreases in HCAs for treatments with only the marinade bases (ingredients without any spices/herbs).  As measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the marinades contained considerable amounts of the polyphenolic antioxidants carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid with Caribbean being the highest.  Commonly available spice-containing marinades can be effective inhibitors of HCA formation and provide reduced exposure to some of the carcinogens formed during grilling.”  

Does this mean if you marinate your steaks one hour before grilling them in this Caribbean mixture you will not get cancer?  No.  Does it mean you will… for sure… reduce your risk?  Can’t say that either.  But it’s pretty safe to say this:  Science and research are not perfect.  They are only as good as the imperfect humans doing the research and interpreting the data.  Every month, there are studies that say what we believed last year (“proven” in a study) was wrong.  But that doesn’t mean you should throw your hands up in the air and ignore everything and eat junk food and sugary drinks all day.  Try eating natural foods over processed foods.  Exercise moderately instead of sitting on the couch.  Think positive thoughts more than negative thoughts. And maybe… just maybe… if you eat steak… consider a Caribbean marinade one hour before. 