How Much Money Are You Wasting?

I had a practice member come in that I hadn’t seen since he had moved to Arizona roughly 4 years before. He looked the just the same as I had remembered him - happy, healthy and exuding the glow that someone who loves life does. I told him how great it was to see him and asked what he had been doing to stay so happy and healthy. He told me he had continued with the healthy lifestyle habits he had started while he was a member of our practice, including getting checked by his chiropractor at least once per week.

I told him how I admired his discipline and dedication to constantly improving his health. That’s when he said something to me that I will never forget. What he said was, “You know Doc, I have often stopped to marvel at how much money people are wasting on health club dues, organic foods, bottled water and everything else they do to be healthy.” I was a little confused by his statement since I knew he did all of these things himself, so I asked him what he meant. Now he was the one who looked confused. He replied, “I’m talking about people who do all of those things but don’t go to their chiropractor every week - or those who don’t see one at all.”

Now I understood what he meant. He was saying that without a properly functioning nerve system, all the good lifestyle habits were limited in their ability to affect the change people were hoping for. This is absolutely vital to understand. What good is eating impeccably if nerve interference prevents you from digesting, assimilating and eliminating foods properly? Is it advantageous for a person with a subluxation that affects the nerves to his heart to undertake a running program that jars his body and furthers the irritation? Does someone who is suffering from exhaustion benefit from extra time trying to sleep if his body is so completely out of balance that deep sleep is not possible?

I have had people ask me in the past, “Do you really want me to come in to get checked every week for the rest of my life?” My answer has been, “No, only as long as you want to continue to work toward fully expressing your purpose and potential in life.” You may have gone a week without needing an adjustment, and if you are fine we’ll celebrate! But you can’t know if you’re clear unless you get checked!

Many people are just fine with the idea of taking an aspirin or some other medication every day for the rest of their lives. But those things at best only prevent you from getting worse and may do nothing more than cover up symptoms. They can do nothing to actually improve the long-term situation. I find it curious that people will spend time and money trying to “not die,” but they have a very hard time investing consistently in something that will actually help them to live more fully.

We in chiropractic see the body as a vehicle and we believe that we were all put here for a reason. Our bodies are the vehicles we have been given through which to express our true selves and manifest our purpose and potential in life. It is each of our responsibility to keep our bodies as whole and healthy as possible by living a healthy lifestyle. But, if your brain and body can’t communicate fully, all of those healthy lifestyle habits may be futile. Chiropractic is the crucial the “missing piece” to the life puzzle that makes all of those other things worth investing in.

Do you know someone who has been wasting his or her money? Refer them to our office by going to http://alpainrelief.com/helpafriend/

Locally Grown, Organically Grown - You Are What You Eat

There is much wisdom in the saying "you are what you eat", but food today is not the food of yesterday. We need to actually work at getting the amount of nutrients that's going to help keep us healthy and well.



Our genetic heritage was not designed for an urban environment. Our digestive systems, for example, were not optimized for high-starch diets, fast food, and canned fruits and vegetables. The energy requirements of our cells were designed to be based on glucose metabolism. But glucose was originally obtained from readily available fresh produce and whole grains, in the form of complex carbohydrates. When our tissues were originally designed there were no such things as processed flour or sweeteners.


At the dawn of man, protein sources were derived from the local fauna - the local birds and beasts. These animals were not fed antibiotics and were not raised on pesticide-treated grasses. They were not caged and forced to grow up in close proximity to dozens and hundreds of fellow creatures. They roamed freely and randomly, ranging over wide stretches of open territory. As a result, their value as food sources was very high.


Today, unless we make a special effort, our food sources are significantly compromised. Until recently, those living in cities were only able to purchase produce that had traveled long distances over many days to reach their stores. The nutritional value of these fruits and vegetables was necessarily substantially degraded. The nutritional content of protein sources - meat, fowl, fish, dairy, and eggs - were likewise degraded by chemical additives, antibiotics, and draconian living conditions.


New food-producing methods, available for the last 30 years but much more so recently, have enabled consumers to put high-quality food on their tables.1,2,3 The slogan "eat locally" has become a possibility for even the most entrenched urban areas such as New York City. Farmers markets spring up weekly and monthly in most cities, suburbs, and the surrounding countryside. Organically grown food - produce, fish, meat, fowl, and dairy - is widely available, even in supermarket chains.


We now have more healthy food options than were available at any time within the last 50 years. It is possible to reverse the diabetes and obesity epidemics that have spread across countries like the United States. It is possible to restore health and well-being to millions people across the globe. Chiropractic care can be of great assistance in this process. Your chiropractor is a nutritional expert and will be able to help you design food plans that will work for you and your family.


1Wang SY: Fruit quality, antioxidant capacity, and flavonoid content of organically and conventionally grown blueberries. J Agric Food Chem 56(14):5788-5794, 2008
2Nitika S, et al: Physico-chemical characteristics, nutrient composition and consumer acceptability of wheat varieties grown under organic and inorganic farming conditions. Int J Food Sci Nutr 59(3:):224-245, 2008
3Dani C, et al: Phenolic content and antioxidant activities of white and purple juices manufactured with organically- or conventionally-produced grapes. Food Chem Toxicol 45(12):2574-2580, 2007