The granddaughter of one of our patients was diagnosed with a brain tumor this past January. The little girl’s dad has put together a website to help raise money for research on her particular kind of tumor. Here’s an excerpt from the website:

On January 7, 2008, our lives were changed forever when our 10 year old daughter Emily was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in her left thalamus. Emily’s brain tumor, a pediatric low grade astrocytoma (PLGA) is the most common type of childhood brain tumor and yet, has historically received little, if any, dedicated funding or research. Consequently, there are few treatment options available, and those that are available are invasive, toxic and mostly ineffective.

Emily is determined to change all this and she has set her sights on raising $1 million to help fund PLGA dedicated research by December 31st, 2008. We, her family, have partnered with The Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity (founded in August 2007) to help raise money for dedicated PLGA research with a goal of developing kinder, gentler and more effective treatments, AND a cure, for the thousands of PLGA children around the world.

Please visit Emily’s website, www.colorforacure.com. You can buy a pixel of color for just one dollar. Each dollar - every cent - goes to PLGA research, and each pixel is added to a picture which is gradually completed as the goal of a million dollars is approached. You can make a difference in a child’s life, and make sure you tell a friend!

Our post on the Organ Clock, or Horary Points, continues to be our most-visited post! Since there seems to be so much interest in this topic, here is a list of links, all related to the organ clock. Please leave your comments, suggestions for other sites about the organ clock, or suggestions for future posts!

Acupressure for Daylight Savings Time and Jet Lag

7 keys to understanding the Classical Chinese Medicine concept of organs

Horary Clock

Learning how to keep life in balance

The Time of Our Lives

The Ying Qi Cycle

Understanding the Horary Cycle of Healing

Horary Clock / 24 Hour Clock

What is APPLIED KINESIOLOGY?

Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a system that evaluates structural, chemical and mental aspects of health using manual muscle testing with other standard methods of diagnosis.

The doctor using AK finds a muscle that is unbalanced and then attempts to determine why that muscle is not functioning properly.  The doctor works out the treatment that will best balance the patient’s muscles.

Treatments may involve specific joint manipulation or mobilization, various myofascial therapies, cranial techniques, meridian and acupuncture skills, clinical nutrition, dietary management, counselling skills, evaluating environmental irritants and various reflex procedures.

AK uses the Triad of Health.  That is Chemical, Mental and Structural factors that balance the major health categories.

The Triad of Health is interactive and all sides must be evaluated for the underlying cause of a problem.  A health problem on one side of the triad can affect the other sides.  For example, a chemical imbalance can cause mental symptoms.  AK enables the doctor to evaluate the triad’s balance and direct therapy toward the imbalanced side or sides.

AK skills are developed and approved by the International College of Applied Kinesiology Board of Standards.  These skills are refined from many disciplines including Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Medicine, Dentistry, Acupuncture, Biochemistry, Psychology, Homeopathy, and Naturopathy etc.  Members of these professions share knowledge through the publications and conferences of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK).

A Doctor using AK during an examination will add a new dimension to standard diagnostics.

Summary:

AK:

• Is a diagnostic system using manual muscle testing to augment normal examination procedures.
• Was founded and developed by Chiropractor Dr. George J. Goodheart, Jr.
• Skills have been further developed by members of the ICAK
• Is a postgraduate specialty.

From The International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) website

Dr. Thomas Kerr uses AK as a non-invasive diagnostic tool during all adjustments and procedures.

How many visits does it take to have a well-adjusted spine? It depends on your definition of well-adjusted. For many patients who experience complete pain relief after their first adjustment, the answer might be one. But if you understand you can have a problem even without pain, you’ll see that it takes a lifetime of minor tune-up visits to be at your best. These minor tune-ups also prevent many of the problems that can show up in your 40s and 50s.

It’s important to look at the big picture to understand what is going to take place during your lifetime. This can help you see how chiropractic can work to preserve many of your body’s functions and prevent degeneration of your spine. Degeneration is when your bones and the surrounding tissues deteriorate. This can lead to major problems for you later in life. Two basic principles form the underlying theme to lifetime care and a well-adjusted spine:

1. Balance is better than imbalance.
2. Mobility is better than immobility.

Notice that these two principles do not mention being pain-free, because simply being pain-free doesn’t mean you are in perfect health. Pain is the weakest basis for evaluating long-term wellness. Obviously, pain is an important indicator of a problem and needs to be addressed, but dealing only with pain is not the main principle of chiropractic care. That’s because right now, you may have a poorly functioning spine, full of degeneration, but not feel pain.

Let’s examine some general ideas about what happens to the body during the first six decades of life.

Childhood and the Teen Years

Arthritis is considered to be an older person’s disease, but it can start as early as childhood. Here’s how: In your first two decades of life, you will have indirect and direct stresses. Indirect stress is poor posture and direct stresses are sprains and strains from sports activities or other childhood traumas. These stresses, if left untreated, can lead to degeneration and other problems – such as arthritis – down the road.

Poor posture is very subtle and rarely causes pain, yet it can lead to degeneration. It is important to have your feet, the foundation of your posture, evaluated. Flat feet can cause one leg to act shorter than the other one, which affects the pelvis and spine, as well as putting excessive stresses on your knees and hips. These stresses can lead to weaknesses that could make you more susceptible to injuries and/or degeneration (more about this later), and also can cause stress in your spine, which can create chronic misalignments. If you’ve ever said to your chiropractor, “My back is out,” chances are, it all started with your feet!

Recent advances in technology have provided us with the ability to take a digital image of your feet. This will help us determine if custom-made, flexible orthotics (shoe inserts) would be beneficial for you. This is the starting point to the support that will pay off for you in the later decades of your life.

Your 20s and 30s

This period of time is when your chiropractor can start to see the early stages of degeneration and arthritis that actually had its beginning in your childhood and teens. You may begin to experience diminished flexibility and joint aches and pains. Athletic performance typically begins to decline. You might say, “I just can’t (run, jump, swim, stand) like I used to.” The early signs of joint degeneration begin to appear on X-ray. These are all signs of long-standing physical decline, yet you still don’t have pain most of the time.

Symptoms flare up occasionally but are usually manageable with the types of care chiropractors provide. Again, pain is a late response to the process and is a poor indicator of health when you are trying to prevent degeneration and maintain overall wellness. A few visits to your chiropractor may provide temporary relief from your symptoms, but to get to the root of the issue and maintain overall wellness for a lifetime, a few visits won’t be enough.

Your 40s and 50s

This is the time frame during which we start to see the effects of arthritis. Generally this is when your activities start to become limited because of reduced muscle flexibility and joint pain. Chronic pain is commonplace and destruction of cartilage in the knees and hips often results in joint replacement surgery.

At this point, your chiropractor can work to fend off the debilitating symptoms and help you maintain as much function as possible. Treatment can help you get your life back and slow down the effects of your arthritis.

How to Prevent or Slow the Damage

A well-adjusted spine is possible to attain! Using a combination of proper diet, exercise, regular chiropractic adjustments and custom orthotics if necessary, you can have an active role in preventing damage (or slowing down the wear-and-tear process).

Diet

This won’t mark the first time you’ve heard how important it is to eat nutritional foods and maintain a proper diet. Yet, it plays a vital part of your overall health and one that is within your control and yours alone. Your chiropractor or nutritionist can suggest what you should be eating, but it’s up to you to actually follow this plan and choose a healthy lifestyle. It may seem harder than it is – just start small with one healthy choice (veggies instead of fries for dinner tonight) and you’re already moving in the right direction. Build on those moments and continue to make healthy eating choices and you can see a major improvement not only in your body, but in your overall health. The five keys known to contribute to longevity are:

1. Don’t smoke.
2. Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
3. Drink plenty of water.
4. Drink alcohol in moderation.
5. Get regular exercise.

Exercise

Getting exercise on a regular basis goes hand-in-hand with proper nutrition in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Here are some easy tips to get you started:

• Start slow, gradually increasing the intensity of your workout.
• Always warm-up and cool down when working out.
• Drink plenty of water (8 ounces before you work out, 8 ounces while you work out and another 8 ounces after).
• Listen to your body – stop exercising if you experience pain or dizziness.
• Wear proper-fitting, supportive athletic shoes.

Chiropractic Adjustments

Being evaluated by your chiropractor even when you are pain-free can have a very valuable payoff in the later years. Healthy joints, muscle flexibility and a healthy nervous system will allow you to continue to exercise and be active, which we all know contributes to overall health.

Motion is life to a joint and to a person. A properly balanced body absorbs and disperses stresses, while an imbalanced body absorbs and accumulates those stresses. Those stresses begin in the feet and can affect your entire back and neck. Custom-made orthotics can be a great addition to your chiropractic care. That’s because the effects of your chiropractic adjustments can last longer if your body is supported between visits. Orthotics work to support all three arches of your feet, which supports your foundation and your entire body.

The key to a well-adjusted spine is starting early and continuing to keep your body in balance. This is a lifetime’s approach to overall wellness and health.

By Dr. Brian Jensen

From To Your Health
April, 2008 (Vol. 02, Issue 04)

From icanhascheezburger.com

According to Jin Shin Jyutsu, Inc., the purpose of Jin Shin Jyutsu is to release the tensions that cause various physical symptoms. The body contains energy pathways that feed life into all cells. When one or more of these paths become blocked, the damming effect can lead to discomfort or pain. Jin Shin Jyutsu, like acupuncture and acupressure, reharmonizes and balances the energy flows.

The acronym for remembering the attitudes associated with each finger is “Get rid of Worry FAST.” W is for Worry (thumb), F for Fear (index), A for Anger (middle), S for Sadness (ring), and T for Trying To (little).

For each attitude, there is a “quickie” hold and a longer sequence. The “quickie” hold involves holding one finger with the fingers of the other hand. For example, to hold the left thumb, wrap all four fingers of your right hand around your left thumb. The longer sequence is a combination of fingers that you hold one after the other. For example, the longer sequence for Worry is to hold the thumb, then hold the middle finger, then hold the little finger.

How long should you hold a finger? If you have plenty of time, hold each finger until you feel a pulse arrive in the finger. If a finger is already pulsing strongly when you first touch it, hold the finger until the pulse calms down. Another way to hold the fingers is simply to hold each finger for two or more breaths. You will find this very meditative and relaxing. Holding individual fingers and the finger mudras before falling asleep is an excellent practice.

The ten fingers are said to regulate 14,400 functions within the body. The different ways of holding the fingers influence the body on a variety of levels, but they are all effective. Choose a style that feels most comfortable and satisfying to you.

Worry: The “quickie” is to hold the thumb. The sequence is thumb, middle, little finger.

• Additional benefits: for depression, hate, obsession, anxiety, self-protection, to revitalize physical fatigue, for the back of the head, breathing, and digestive discomforts.

Fear: The “quickie” is to hold the index finger. The sequence is thumb, index, little finger.

• Additional benefits: for timidity, mental confusion, depression, perfectionism, criticism, frustration, digestive issues, elimination, wrist, elbow, and upper arm discomforts.

Anger: The “quickie” is to hold the middle finger. The sequence is little, ring, middle finger.

• Additional benefits: for feeling cowardly, irritable, indecisive, unstable, not alert, overly emotional, general fatigue, eye issues, forehead discomforts.

Sadness/Grief: The “quickie” is to hold the ring finger. The sequence is thumb, index, middle, ring finger.

• Additional benefits: for negative feelings, common sense, excess mucus, breathing, ear discomforts.

Trying To/Pretense (cover-up): The “quickie” is to hold the little finger. The sequence is little, ring finger.

• Additional benefits: for “crying on the inside and laughing on the outside,” feeling insecure, nervous, confused, issues of “why am I here,” calms nerves, aids bloating.

Click the links for the original article and more information about jin shin jyutsu.

For hay fever sufferers, European clinical studies have demonstrated that butterbur, a flowering herb, can be as effective as the leading allergy drugs Zyrtec® and Allegra®.

This represents a remarkable breakthrough for all allergy patients—they can now be free of the debilitating side effects of traditional antihistamines used to treat allergies, including palpitations, severe drowsiness, and fatigue.

Additional research has identified rosmarinic acid as an aid in normalizing the inflammation and immune response that accompany allergic reactions. Together, these two botanical agents offer great relief for many of the nearly 40 million Americans now suffering from allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

For the complete article and additional supplement information, check out the Life Extension Foundation.

Spring is here, and while you are busily engaged in spring-cleaning your home, why not give your body a little spring-cleaning, too?

What is Cleansing?

Cleansing is a dietary practice more commonly known as a detox diet or fast. It is used to promote health and healing by reducing toxic intake and removing toxins from the body. The concept of cleansing has a long history in natural medicine and has been practiced for thousands of years. Many alternative medical practices, including naturopathic, Chinese and ayurvedic medicine, still utilize cleansing as part of their healing traditions. Today, cleansing has become extremely popular, with several detox programs on the market. The wide variety of cleansing programs or detox diets include different combinations of therapeutic components such as cleansing herbs, juice or water fasting, whole-food or raw-food diets, colonic irrigation and hydrotherapy.

What is common across all detoxification programs is that you will eat differently, usually much less, so you can support the elimination of toxins from your body. These programs are usually short-term and emphasize whole, organic, non-genetically-modified foods (especially fruits and vegetables) that provide the vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants the body needs for detoxification. These foods, along with cleansing herbs, teas or juices (depending on the program), support the elimination of toxins in a number of ways, such as increasing the frequency of bowel movements and urination and supporting the detoxification functions of the liver. Processed and refined foods and alcohol are limited or excluded from the diet and a higher intake of water is also common.

Why Cleanse?

Cleansing is often used as a way to improve the diet, lose weight, increase energy and improve digestion. Typically, these programs are designed to support the body’s natural cleansing mechanisms in the removal of toxins. This is important because toxin accumulation in the body and poor nutrition contribute to ill health and chronic disease. Our industrial world produces and exposes us to thousands of chemicals through the air, the water supply and our foods. Evidence suggests many of these chemicals can alter or disrupt our immune, endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems.

Fortunately, our bodies have built-in defense systems designed to eliminate toxins to maintain health. However, research shows that our bodies are becoming overburdened by repeated toxic exposure. In addition, many of us are not eating healthy enough to support our body’s detoxification functions. This leads to what researchers call “oxidative stress.” Oxidative stress is thought to be a major contributor to many chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurological diseases, autoimmune diseases and diabetes.

Common Cleansing Practices

Herbal Cleansing
Herbal cleansing is the practice of taking herbs while on a detoxification diet to stimulate specific detoxification organs in the body such as the liver, kidneys or intestines. Herbal detoxification sometimes utilizes herbal teas or herbal supplements. Some examples of herbs used in herbal detoxification programs include milk thistle and cayenne to cleanse the liver, juniper berries to cleanse the kidneys, and psyllium husk to cleanse the bowel.

Colonic Irrigation
Colonic irrigation involves flushing the colon with water to remove toxins.

Fasting
Fasting is the elimination of food and drink (with the exception of water) for a period of time for either therapeutic or religious reasons. Therapeutic fasts are thought to aid the body in eliminating toxins and have been used to treat a whole host of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes, lupus, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, psoriasis and asthma. Therapeutic fasts vary in duration and composition. Some allow patients to drink vegetable and/or fruit juices.

Caloric Restriction
Caloric restriction, applied in alternative practice, is used by life extensionists (people who seek to extend their lives through various practices). Unlike fasting, caloric restriction is simply the practice of reducing dietary calories. It is intended to prolong life by preventing disease and slowing the process of aging. Fasting and caloric restriction are sometimes used in detoxification programs either separately or together, although fasting is more commonly used. Caloric restriction is often used as a follow-up, long-term dietary intervention after a detoxification program or a fast is complete.

Raw-Food Diet
The raw-food diet is based on 70 percent to 100 percent uncooked and unprocessed raw foods. These foods mainly consist of fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains, seeds, nuts and beans. It is thought that heating foods destroys the health-promoting enzymes in the foods – enzymes regarded as important for digestion.

Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is the use of water for healing. It may involve various kinds of bathing in different temperatures, or the use of steam or ice. Some practices include steam bathing, saunas, aquatic exercising, and colonic or nasal irrigation. Sometimes these practices are combined with aromatherapy.

Whole-Food Diet
A whole-food diet consists primarily of natural, unrefined, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean meats, fish and dairy. Proponents of whole-food diets say that the foods should be organic whenever possible. Meats, dairy and eggs should also be organic or free range. Examples of diets that emphasize whole foods are the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet.

Juicing
Juicing is the preparation and consumption of drinks made from whole fruits and/or vegetables. Juicing is common during fasts or detoxification programs because juices are believed to be easily digestible, nutrient-rich, enzyme-rich and supportive of toxin removal.

Before You Cleanse

You should always consult your health care professional before doing a cleanse or a detox diet, especially if you have a medical condition. Detox diets are not advised for children or women who are pregnant or nursing.

From www.toyourhealth.com

The Chinese Acupuncture “Meridian Clock” is an example of a 24-hour cycle which portrays the body’s complete functions as well as its relationship with diet. There are 12 meridians, each taking the lead for two hours during the 24-hour period. Each of the 12 meridians has a dual flow, a coming and a going, marking 24 cycles per day.

The clock delineates which meridian system is activated and dominant at a specific time. Since these cycles happen automatically, we do not have to be preoccupied with them. However, if we know of these cycles, then we can make better decisions when it is generally best to eat, exercise and sleep.

Click for larger image

TIME – MERIDIAN — COMMENTARY
5-7 a.m. — Large Intestine — Drinking water triggers bowel evacuation making room for the new day’s nutritional intake. Removes toxins from the night’s cleansing.

7-9 a.m. — Stomach — Stomach energies are the highest so eat the most important meal of the day here to optimize digestion/assimilation.

9-11 a.m. — Pancreas — The stomach passes its contents on. Enzymes from the pancreas continue the digestive process. Carbohydrate energy made available.

11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Heart — Food materials enter the blood stream. The heart pumps nutrients throughout the system and takes its lipid requirements.

1-3 p.m. — Small Intestine — Foods requiring longer digestion times (proteins) complete their digestion/assimilation.

3-5 p.m. — Bladder — Metabolic wastes from morning’s nutrition intake clear, making room for the kidney’s filtration to come.

5-7 p.m. — Kidney — Filters blood (decides what to keep, what to throw away), maintains proper chemical balance of blood based on nutritional intake of day. Blood to deliver useable nutrients to all tissues.

7-9 p.m. — Circulation — Nutrients are carried to groups of cells (capillaries) and to each individual cell (lymphatics.)

9-11 p.m. — Triple Heater — The endocrine system adjusts the homeostasis of the body based on electrolyte and enzyme replenishment.

11 p.m.- 1 a.m. — Gall Bladder — Initial cleansing of all tissues, processes cholesterol, enhances brain function.

1-3 a.m. — Liver — Cleansing of blood. Processing of wastes.

3-5 a.m. — Lung — Respiration. Oxygenation. Expulsion of waste gasses.

Sources: Organ Clock Image , Organ Clock Info 

Patients afflicted with asthma may benefit from spinal manipulation in terms of symptoms, immunological capacity, and endocrine effects, an audience was told on October 5 at the 9th International Conference on Spinal Manipulation in Toronto. The investigative team, headed by Ray Hayek, Ph.D., has been conducting a trial at 16 treatment centers in Australia involving 420 patients with an average age of 46 in an effort to find out what effects spinal manipulation has on symptoms, depression and anxiety, general health status, and the levels of immunity as reflected by the concentrations of both an immunoglobulin (IgA) and an immunosuppressant (cortisol). This investigation draws from several references in the scientific literature which suggest that different forms of manual therapy (including massage) improve the symptomatology and lower cortisol levels in asthma patients.

Dr. Hayek reported that only the patient group which underwent spinal manipulation (by any of four commonly used manipulative treatment protocols) displayed significant improvement in asthma symptoms and depression and anxiety scores. Simply experiencing structured interviews at the treatment centers or being monitored at home did not yield these improvements. In addition, patients actually undergoing spinal manipulation displayed dramatic increases of IgA and decreases of cortisol through the posttreatment period, suggesting that there were physiological consequences to their manipulative treatments reflecting increased immunological capacities which would be expected to ward off subsequent asthmatic attacks.

These biochemical changes not only suggest that the effects of spinal manipulation are more far-reaching than commonly believed, but that they may be more long-term as well. The gain in immunological capacity achieved with the simultaneous loss of the immunosuppressant cortisol and the increase of the immunoglobulin IgA following spinal manipulation would be expected to reduce the incidence and severity of pathogenic invasion of the airways. There would be less of a risk under these circumstances of compounding the symptoms of asthma.

This followed contacts that the Director of Research at FCER was able to make with the Australian research community in 1995, taking into consideration the expertise of the investigative team as well as the fact that Australia’s 2 million asthma sufferers have given the Island Continent the dubious distinction of being the asthma capital of the world. It has been carried out with the support of research grants exceeding a quarter of a million dollars from both the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) and the National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company (NCMIC).

This research represents one of approximately 50 projects administered by FCER since 1990 in the effort to document both the theory and practice of chiropractic to increase its effective integration into healthcare systems worldwide. The conference at which these results were presented is an international forum which FCER has sponsored at different locations worldwide for the past 14 years.

FROM: Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER)