April Newsletter ~ Ventura Chiropractic & Massage

I'm happy to have our April newsletter up and available to all!

Click away! http://www.ventura-chiropractor.com/storage/newsletter-archive/2012%20d%20Apr%20NL%20blue_2page.pdf










chiropractor Ventura

Functional Medicine Chiropractor: Trend-Setting Doctor

Functional Medicine Chiropractor: Trend-Setting Doctor: It is usually not easy setting trends, so it felt great to get this note today, in the form of a Google review , from a thoughtful and lov...

Take the Plunge ... Elimination Diet

I have had another great day at the office; pretty common. That doesn't mean that I am numb to great days at the office. On the contrary, they inspire me.

So I finished seeing patients and was checking my e-mail. And this is what I found from a long-time patient, a married, working-outside-the-home, mother of three.

"Hi Kris,

Well, I’ve decided to take the plunge and do an elimination diet. I’m tired of talking about what bothers my family food-wise and waffling back and forth about what we should eat and not eat.   My husband and son are my main motivation for doing it, but I know the rest of us need it also.  It includes a 2 day detox of green smoothies (for just my husband & I) with the rest of the elimination part being 28 days.  I was wondering if you have a few minutes if you could give me some tips that might help.

I am providing the link for the diet we  are doing.  I also wanted to ask that if you have any extra greens that you give away, if you would consider contributing to our family.  If you don’t, no worries.

The diet is at http://www.nourishingmeals.com/p/elimination-diet.html

We will be going Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free on Friday the 30th, with the above diet starting Monday April 2.

Any advice would be appreciated.

With Love,

A patient

P.S. I may try and document the process for you if you are interested in it for others."

I am thrilled! I have been gently, lovingly talking with this patient for years about the need for more dietary change for her family. She is ready; in her own time! And I am here to support her!

This communication from this patient and what it represents regarding her family's ability to be healthy, and regarding the effectiveness of our healing relationship is an example of what I referred to at the beginning of this post as what makes for a great and inspiring day for this doctor!

Are you ready to take the plunge into greater health for yourself and your family?

The Ornish Spectrum

Dr. Ornish and Dr. Young

DeanOrnish, MD @DeanOrnishMD and I tweeted back and forth today, and he asked me, “How do you usually respond to stressors?”

This is my response to Dr. Ornish, that I also wish to share with you;

The simple answer is that I try to stack the deck to give me, others, and our world the reserves, the resiliency, and the connections to enable us to roll with change.

In my imperfectness, I TRY to get enough sleep, breathe deeply, practice yoga, raise organic vegetables, drink fresh green vegetable juice, eat unAmericanly large servings of green vegetables each day, walk daily, tell others directly of my love for them, hug, wear a peace symbol, show obvious care, see and feel the magnitude of pain and suffering in the world, experience hope, welcome the tears that so often come to my eyes, express gratitude for all that offer me their love. I’m just TRYING.

Knowing of individuals like you, Dr. Ornish, influences my experience of stress. Your rational and loving guidance in our world, is calming and uplifting. What you are doing, interests me enough that I am looking into training to become a certified provider for your program, The Ornish Spectrum.

http://Ventura-Chiropractor.com

Prostate Cancer the Ornish Way

Ornish Spectrum logo

"People often think that advances in medicine have to be a new drug, a new laser, or a surgical intervention to be powerful—something really high-tech and expensive. They often have a hard time believing that the simple choices that we make in our lives each day—what we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke, how much we exercise and the quality of our relationships—can make such a powerful difference in our health, our well-being, and our survival, but they often do."

"More recently, Dr. Ornish and colleagues published a randomized controlled trial in collaboration with Peter Carroll, M.D. (Chair of Urology at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco) and William Fair, M.D. (Chair of Urologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, now deceased) showing that the progression of early-stage prostate cancer may be stopped or perhaps even reversed by making similar changes in diet and lifestyle. This was the first randomized controlled trial showing that the progression of any type of cancer may be modified just by changing what we eat and how we live. What’s true for prostate cancer may be true for breast cancer as well."

With brilliant healthcare pioneers like Dean Ornish, MD guiding us, I don't even have to write a word for this blog. The two paragraphs above are taken directly from his website:  http://www.ornishspectrum.com/proven-program/  Read more by going to this link.

I was fortunate to hear Dr. Ornish speak at the 17th International Symposium on Functional Medicine in 2010! He is a doctor that we can all learn from.

Patients and Friends

Photo by Rob Varela, Ventura County Star

So, I'm driving home this evening, iPhone ear buds in, singing along with the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, when my smart phone makes that little bobbling ring that tells me something just came in from Facebook. Can't check it till I get home, but when I do, here is the message I find from a patient-friend ...

"my 17 year old son came into my office today all excited to show me your picture in the paper. i haven't seen you and jo in quite a long time and you both look so fantastic and young! i enjoyed reading about your experiences in the peace corps...had no idea!"

I share this brief story because it gives you a glimpse into one of the greatest blessings of my life; the blending of my patients and friends; through Facebook and other channels!

http://ChiropractorVentura.info

Spinal Fusion: a Last Resort

In the low back, or lumbar spine, spinal fusion is usually a final attempt to stabilize a part of the spine that just won't heal. Sadly, it is common that individuals undergoing this procedure have never been advised to consider their standard American diet (SAD) as a probable contributor or cause of the inability of their spine to heal. Last ditch surgeries are performed commonly before the patient has made changes in his highly inflammatory diet.

The Ventura County Star recently featured a story on failed fusions.

Diet, including components such as sugars, alcohol, and food allergens such as dairy and gluten (protein in wheat) must be discussed with patients. Common foods in the SAD can interfere, in many cases, with the healing of a low back pre or post surgery.


http://Ventura-Chiropractor.com