New Year's Restitution

I don't know about you, but I am going to need both resolution and restitution in the New Year!

I will need resolution to make change toward better care of myself and the world in which we live. And restitution for the harm that I have unintentionally done to myself for not caring for myself adequately, i.e., not enough sleep, stretching or walking.

My hope is that you have plans, or at least thoughts about expanding the care of yourself, and maybe even our planet.

In 2010, be sure to have your blood tested for the level of Vitamin D; very important to your health.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org 

Wouldn't take too much to increase the amount of stretching that you do each day. From none to 5 minutes would be easy. :)

You could also join Locavore Lite 2010 at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Locavore-Lite-2010/180619179086?ref=ts
Super easy project to eat a little local food and help make our lives and planet healthier! I would like to see tens of thousands of people participate around the world and thousands here in Ventura County. Will you help me spread the word?

In health,
Dr. Young

What a Salad!!!

Butter lettuce, red cabbage, green cabbage, carrot, white onion, red bell pepper, avocado, basil, parsley, brown rice, lemon juice, salt, not a drop of oil, - the best!!!

Joanne, my wife, and I made this salad this morning to take to our office for our lunch. The picture you see is my salad; Joanne has her own.

And every bit of it local!

And there I sit, full and satisfied!

In health, Dr. Young

Cancer Cure

One of the things that is helping our healthcare system go bankrupt is that we keep spending billions of dollars trying to find the magic bullet for cancer prevention and cure. There is no magic bullet. We need to intelligently and loving support our bodies to reduce the incidence of cancer. We already know that what people eat, how much they exercise, and how they feel about themselves and the world in which they live, are some of the most powerful factors influencing cancer. I think we need to face these and invest in helping ourselves make changes in these areas.

What is a Doctor?

Our culture has a tendency to imagine a “good” doctor as somewhat conservative and restrained.

I, personally, am a very conservative doctor, insomuch as my practice is focused on anatomy, systems biology, physiology, and the scientifically validated means of achieving health; like healthy lifestyle. Expressing love for my patients is also an important aspect of my conservative practice.

There are those who would say that I have deviated at times from practicing in a restrained manner. And there is surely some truth to that. Just last week, in fact, I took a little walk on the wild side. I flew to Washington, DC and spent time outside the White House with a placard stating my desire to be President Barack Obama’s chiropractor.

Check out this 41-second video of me at the White House: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NMt_ZnU_70 . I am serious about my desire. Spread the word if you would like to help me.

Surely you can appreciate that it can feel a little risky putting oneself in the public eye in when doing something somewhat unusual.

As chance would have it, I have a current example to share with you of a brilliant and highly-trained medical doctor and researcher, Dr. Kenneth Fine, who is a great doctor, with out being restrained. Here is what might be seen as the conservative Dr. Fine - https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/Frame_OurTeam.htm and https://www.enterolab.com/StaticPages/Frame_Cirrculum.htm . And here is the somewhat unrestrained Dr. Fine, aka Kenny Davin Fine - http://www.kennydavinfine.net As far as I am concerned, Kenny, I mean Dr. Fine, rocks!!!

I am grateful to Kenny for being himself. I don’t know if it has been scary for him, but when I get a chance, I will ask.

I have received an invitation to a medical lecture and a rock concert in Dallas next month. Dr. Fine will be lecturing and Kenny and his band will be rockin’. Now I am trying to decide if I would be a fool to fly to Dallas for two great events, or if I would be a fool not to go. What’s your advice?

And finally, what is a doctor?

National Healthcare Reform

If you didn't see my letter to the editor of the Ventura County Star in May of this year, on national healthcare reform, go to: http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/letters/archives/2009/05/healthcare-refo.html

It is not just our President's top national priority, it is critical to the health of our citizens and our country!

Do You Have a Short Leg?

For many decades, many doctors of chiropractic (DCs) have “measured” the leg lengths of their patients. It is important to understand that “measuring” in almost all of these cases actually meant a visual inspection (looking at) of the heels of a patient lying prone (face down). If one heel appeared to extend farther than the other, then the patient was said to have a “short leg”.

In most cases, a DC, finding a “short leg”, would adjust the spine of the patient, immediately recheck the leg length and find that the legs were even. How could that be?

The distinction that is not often made in chiropractic or orthopedic practice is between an anatomical short leg (ASL) and a physiological short leg (PSL).

An ASL can occur from polio. It can occur from trauma that results in leg fracture and shorting of bone. An anatomical leg length discrepancy is a true difference in length and can be measured using x-ray.

A PSL is not truly short, but rather one side is drawn up in relation to the other by muscular contraction or shortening of connective tissues. When a patient with a “short leg” is adjusted, thereby evening the leg length, what the DC has done is to balance the muscles that support the legs, or to release connective tissue restrictions. A PSL is extremely common.

When a PSL is resolved by chiropractic treatment, the resolution is almost always temporary. There are many factors that result in muscle imbalance and connective tissue asymmetry in the lower extremities, and these must be dealt with to attempt to maintain an even physiologic leg length.

It is valuable to understand that a PSL is just a sign of muscle and/or connective tissue imbalance. It is not the problem.

Rather than checking for a PSL, a thoughtful DC could check for muscle and connective tissue imbalance; the real causes of the PSL. That same thoughtful DC could treat the patient for the imbalance, and then instruct the patient about the causes and self-care measures for resolving the imbalance.

Resveratrol Day 15 w/ Change

Hello Friends!

No clear signs of affect from taking the resveratrol. Time for a change. Today I began doubling the dose. I am now taking 500 mg per day. We shall see; or not see.

Nothing like being alive, seeking answers, doing experiments!!!