Epilepsy, Food Sensitivities, and Heavy Metals

November has been selected as "Epilepsy Awareness Month" according to the Center for Disease Control.  This year, their focus is on seizure recognition and first aid. 

There are four main categories of seizures include:

• Generalized Seizures - affect entire brain
• Partial Seizures - affect part of the brain
• Non-Epileptic Seizures - not caused by epilepsy, but other things such as diabetes, fever, etc
• Status Epilepticus - a seizure that lasts more than 5 minutes

Epilepsy affects more than 2 million in the United States, and some patients can experience over 100 seizures in a single day. 

The CDC recommends that a person seek immediate medical care if someone has a seizure that meets any of the following criteria:

• If the person is pregnant
• If they injured themselves during the seizure (falls, broken bones, etc)
• If this is the first time they have had a seizure
• If the seizure continues more than 5 minutes (Status Epilepticus)

Anything that disturbs the normal pattern of the brain can trigger epilepsy.  Trauma, illness, brain damage, abnormal development, food intolerances, and heavy metal toxicity can all be factors with epileptic patients.  It is estimated that over 75% of patients with epilepsy do not know what is causing their seizure activity.  Patients are generally provided with toxic medications that attempt to alter the seizure activity without identifying the underline cause of the problem.

From a Complementary and Alternative standpoint, I often find that patients are able to reduce the frequency of their seizure activity through dietary modifications and removing heavy metals from the body.  Certain food intolerances such as gluten, caesin, corn, or soy can be a major "triggers" for patients with epilepsy. 

Heavy metal toxicity can induce a myriad of problems in our bodies, from epilepsy, to infertility, dementia, autoimmune diseases, and more.  Once of the most common ways that we experience heavy metal toxicity is through our teeth.  Mercury fillings, gold crowns, and other metals that are placed in our mouth have the ability to "leak" into our bodies and accumulate in various organs, including the brain.  The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology has an amazing video in regards to the effects of metal toxicity in our bodies.  Click HERE to view it.

I invite you to share this newsletter with your friends and family, and encourage them to speak to a doctor that can help them with the nutritional, dietary, neurological, and toxic burdens that they are experiencing.  To contact The Hayden Institute, click HERE.

"The Chiropractor's Creed" a Poem and Philosophical View to Health

While at a friend's office this past week I saw sign on her wall that caught my attention.  This poem, originally found in the book, Chiropractic Thots, was entitled "The Chiropractor's Creed" and was written by Dr. J G Gregorson.  Later, this poem was borrowed by Dr. B.J. Palmer, and made popular under the new title of, "The Truth."

"We Chiropractors work with the subtle substance of the soul. We release the imprisoned impulse -- the tiny rivulet of force -- that emanates from the mind and flows over the nerves to cells and stirs them into life. We deal with the majestic power that transforms common food into living, loving clay; that robes the earth with beauty, and hues and scents the flowers with the glory of the air." 

"In the dim, dark, distant long ago when the sun first bowed to the morning star, this power spoke and there was life; it quickened the slime of the sea and dust of the earth and drove the cell to union with its fellows in countless living forms. Through eons of time, it finned the fish and winged the bird and fanged the beast. Endlessly it worked, evolving its forms until it produced the crowning glory of them all. With tireless energy it blows the bubble of each individual life and then silently, relentlessly dissolves the form, and absorbs the spirit into itself again."

"And yet you ask "Can Chiropractic cure appendicitis or the flu?" Have you more faith in a spoonful of medicine than in the power than animates the living world?"

What are your thoughts?

146 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health - Preparing For The Holiday Season

We are nearing that time of year again!  The weather is getting cooler, holiday decorations are slowly making their way from the attic, and soon we will be attending parties and celebrating my favorite 3 months of the year.  Growing up, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were always my favorite holidays because I felt like I was eating for 3 months in a row without stopping.  Even though I still enjoy eating more than I am used to, in my "older and wiser" years I have learned that my body responds better when I prepare myself nutritionally for these upcoming months.  This month's newsletter will hopefully help you to do the same, so that you have the opportunity to avoid the seasonal colds, weight gain, and lack of energy that are so common this time of year.

146 Reasons Sugar Ruins Your Health

Sugar tastes great!  It stimulates various pleasure centers of the brain, and often triggers certain memories and can affect your mood.  As great as sugar makes us feel in the moment, it also has some devastating effects on our health.  Below is an excerpt from a list by Dr. Nancy Appleton on the effects sugar has on every one of us.

• Sugar can suppress the immune system.
• Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
• Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
• Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
• Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).
• Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins (the "good" cholesterol).
• Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
• Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
• Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
• Sugar may make eyes more vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration.
• Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.

To see the rest of the list, as well as the references, CLICK HERE

What Do We Do About It?

First of all, we should be aware of our state of health.  Are we where we want to be with our weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc? Are we sick? or have cancer? If we are not as healthy as we would like to be, then the best answer is to avoid what is going to make us worse.  It sounds easy enough until someone places a big ol' pumpkin pie with a lot of whipped cream on it in front of me (my favorite in case anyone was wondering.)  Avoidance is defiantly the best option for reducing the effects of sugar on our body.  If it doesn't get in, it cannot hurt us.

Nutritional Support

When I know I will be "cheating" with my normal dietary patterns, I make sure to compensate nutritionally through supplements.  Knowing the effects sugar has on our body helps me to be more prepared nutritionally before I indulge in that pumpkin pie.

• A-F Betafood (Betafood) - These nutritional supplements assist in carbohydrate (sugar), and lipid (fat) breakdown in the digestive track.  They also help support gallbladder function to reduce acid reflux, heart burn, gas, belching, and waking up at night.
• Cataplex B /Cataplex G - Cataplex B and G are large spectrum B vitamins as found in whole foods.  B vitamins are needed in order to breakdown sugars, balance blood sugar, and support the pancreas.  They also help with restoring energy and strengthening the adrenal glands.
• Trace Minerals B12 - This broad spectrum mineral supplement helps to replenish the minerals that are disrupted and displaced from sugar.  Minerals are needed for hormone and neurotransmitter production, as well as health bones and connective tissue.  For example, children that are exposed to too many sugars at an early age, often have teeth that do not grow straight, and develop more cavities.  Sugar displaces minerals in the body.
• Gymnemia - This is my emergency tool!  This herb can actually make it where you cannot taste sugar.  When I have had more than I should, and cannot stop, I chew one of these up, and for approximately 2-3 hours your taste buds cannot perceive sugar.  (I normally have some in the office for demonstration purposes if you ever want to try it.)

Now that you know what sugar does, and how you can be better prepared when you face it, have a great time getting reading for the best time of the year!  If you have any questions or would like to talk to me more specifically about what we can do to help you with your health goals, my contact information is HERE.