Nutrition

How To Break a Sugar Addiction

Are you trying to break your sugar addiction? 


Sugar is added to everything, not just candies and desserts. Studies continue to show not only is sugar addictive but also has a  negative impact on the brain. Daily sugar consumption impairs memory, learning, decision making, impulse control, and more.

Research now shows reducing added sugars from about 27% of daily calories to 10% can begin to improve your health in as little as 10 days. Some ways to break your sugar addiction include intermittent fasting, and replacing calories from sugar and refined carbs with vegetables and healthy fats

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Healthy Through the Holidays

There’s no doubt about it – the holiday season is the most challenging on our health. All the family get-togethers, the mall-hopping and hustle and bustle of shopping decreases our workouts and distracts us from the things that keep us healthy. Increasing the chances that we’ll make poorer choices for ourselves and our families.

At Your Home

“There’s just too much to do to without worrying about eating healthy, too!” Is that what you’re thinking? Well, if it is you’ll be surprised to learn that with just a few simple modifications in your busy schedule eating healthy can be the least of your concerns.

Turn your Sunday afternoon into “Preparation Day” and prepare your menu for the week. o Pre-cut vegetables o Bake or BBQ chicken for lunch. Wash, cut and bag your lettuce

  • Prepare baked meals and store them in the refrigerator or freezer
  • Make homemade soups, giving your children healthier snack options
  • Go to your local grocery store and get a fresh roasted Rotisserie chicken and a bag of pre-cut salad and have a healthy meal.

No matter what your schedule looks like, with a few healthier options you and your family can beeating healthier and feeling better.

At a Party

If you’re going to attend holiday parties, here are some healthy ideas.

  • Before you leave for the party eat a small amount of protein. A piece of baked chicken or a small portion of cheese will help decrease cravings for the carbohydrate appetizers sure to be offered
  • Offer to bring a veggie platter with hummus or a soy based dip
  • Alternate every alcoholic drink with a glass of water before and after; this will help to eliminate a majority of the empty calories found in most alcoholic beverages.

At the Office

Do you work in an office where the holiday treats just Through the Holidays keep pouring in? It’s difficult to resist what’s so readily available. Here are some ideas for the workplace:

  • By keeping slices of cheese, a piece of chicken, hardboiled eggs or celery sticks and a jar of peanut butter in the employee refrigerator; the protein will fight off the carb cravings while the snack takes the edge off the hunger.
  • Keep a bowl of apples next to the treats, providing you with a healthier option

If vendors annually gift you with sweets then post a sign at the front desk: that while you are grateful for the boxes of goodies and the recognition, you are considering the health of your employees and would ask that instead they:

  • Bring a coat for the local homeless shelter or the Salvation Army,
  • Bring a new unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots
  • Or bring a gift card from the local grocery store for Meals on Wheels or your local shelter

Also, consider that this time of year is the cold and flu season, and eating healthy is not the only thing to consider in the office. Avoid weakening your immune system by:

  • Washing your hands with soap and warm water,
  • If you are not the only one using the headset and receiver at your desk, keep it clean with Windex or rubbing-alcohol and a soft cloth.

Out and About

There are several things you can do to keep this time of year from becoming a trial on your health, and one of the most important things is eliminating stress. More often than not, holiday stress is caused by the things that we haven’t accomplished weighing on our minds. Help to avoid this by making the most of your downtime.

In Summary

Dr. Ries cares for more than just your spine. Your Doctor of Chiropractic is dedicated to your overall health and wellness and wants you and your family to enjoy a peaceful, joyful and healthful holiday season.

Don’t forget to take a moment today to schedule for your regular Chiropractic check up. This will usually be the time when a list of “a million other things you could be doing” enters your mind. Instead of letting it ruin your mood, make the most of these few minutes.

Carry a note pad and jot down that list of things you “could be doing”; this will help to ensure you don’t forget to do them later:

  • Work on your Christmas list; write down one or two items for each person and then be sure to stick to it
  • If you find yourself standing around waiting at a store or in the mall, look for items nearby that are on your Christmas list. Make a note of the cost and the name of the store then, when you’re ready to do your Christmas shopping, you’ll have your own price comparison list
  • Carry a box of Christmas cards with a pen inside and jot thoughtful notes to loved ones
  • Take advantage of gift-wrap services being offered by local schools and churches. The cost is usually only a dollar or two per package and the time saved is certainly worth the expense.

Remember that the busier you get the more likely that something will get missed. Stress during the holidays can wear you down and ruin the joy of Christmas, so be sure to make lists and help to eliminate a lot of that added stress.

Most importantly, don’t forget your regular Chiropractic visits and keep you and your family healthy for the holidays.

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Chiropractor Fort Bragg – Is Plant-based Meat A Healthy Alternative?

If you have switched to the new plant based hamburger alternatives, you need to watch this video now. Don’t get fooled because it has the word plant in the package. Just click on the Red More Button in your email or the image below if you are on our website.

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What is the Flora Story?

We hear lots of talk about “Flora” or intestinal bacteria. Or maybe you’ve just heard that we need acidophilus or bifidus to help with digestive disorders. So what is it?

We have a natural ecological system in our body referred to as “flora”. This is mostly in our skin and our mucus membranes (mouth, nose, vagina and intestines primarily). Other tissues such as the blood, brain, heart and muscles are supposed to be free from microorganisms. This flora consists primarily of bacteria, with a few fungi, yeasts and other microorganisms. Some of these bacteria may surprise you. Our natural healthy flora contains species of streptococcus, staphylococcus, E. Coli, Enterobacterium and more than 200 other bacteria.

As recently as last month an article appeared in one of the medical journals stating that flora balance will be used in the future as a way of assessing risks for a variety of health conditions, but especially colon cancer and other intestinal-related diseases. This comes as no surprise to the thousands of natural healing practitioners who have recognized the importance of floral balance for decades!
So if an imbalance of the flora (called “dysbiosis”) is a marker for disease, what occurs in our lifestyle that alters this balance? Many things. Antibiotics are the worst culprit. According to one authority, it takes approximately 1 year of pro-biotic therapy (restoring the destroyed healthy flora) for every dose of antibiotic taken. Coffee has been reported to contribute to dysbiosis. Many of the processed foods are to blame as well. Another interesting finding is the lack of eating fermented foods. Sauerkraut, yogurt (more on yogurt later), pickled vegetables (including ginger), sprouted grains, nuts and seeds, miso, Umeboshi plums, and soy sauce are examples. Fermented means “pre-digested” which then become “pro-biotic”, meaning they restore floral balance. In addition to being pre-digested they support healthy digestion because they are so enzyme-rich. However, it is ruined by pasteurization and canning.
The body is an amazing machine and the role of healthy flora is no exception. There are many benefits to flora. The most important beneficial effect is that it keeps competing pathogens in check. In other words if your “good” or “friendly” bacteria are in high enough concentrations the “bad” or “pathogenic” bacteria don’t get out of control and cause disease. Flora is needed to synthesize or make vitamins such as Vitamin K, Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins, and to excrete excess vitamins. Flora is also needed to stimulate the development of certain tissues in the intestinal tract and in the lymphatic system. The immunological response is also highly dependent upon normal flora. Flora cross-reacts with certain pathogens preventing “invasion” by them, referred to as “natural antibodies”

So to address this issue of dysbiosis, we need to know how to restore the balance. First, eliminate the offenders. Then restore the missing microorganisms. This is referred to as pro-biotic therapy. The most common sources of probiotics are in pill form called lactobacillus acidophilus. There are other forms such as bifidobacterium bifidus and streptococcus faecium. Yogurt has long been known as the premier food source of probiotics, however recent research is discounting that. It appears that because of pasteurization there is minimal survival of the important microorganisms. Couple that with the sugar (which contributes to the “bad bacteria” colonizing), and the chemicals (dyes and flavorings) in yogurt, it is quickly becoming a deleterious option.

Another term coming to the limelight is “Prebiotics”. As we have come to understand flora better, we realize that as live microorganisms, they need certain foods or nutrients to survive and proliferate.Prebiotics are just that. They improve the chances of the probiotics sticking and growing.
Conditions often associated with dysbiosis include: chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory or autoimmune disorders, allergies or food intolerances, antibiotic use, “anti-ulcer” medication use, unexplained rashes, unexplained fatigue, malnutrition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, vaginal infections and others. Although there may be other underlying causes for those conditions, it is wise to rule out dysbiosis as one of them. If you feel you may have dysbiosis contact a trained physician to assist you in restoring balance. It is more complicated than just grabbing a bottle of a probiotic.

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Sugar is Killing Us!

Sugar harms your health in many ways. Most people know this, yet few control the intake of it. Worse yet, they are given to children in greater and greater quantities. An example is soda pop: more than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States are soda. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000 and that number is rising every year. That means every man, woman and child consumes at least one 12-ounce can per day. Obviously not everyone consumes sodas – many people drink more than their share!

In one study it was found that that 56% of 8 year olds consume sodas daily and at least 30% of teenage boys drink greater than 3 cans per day. Sixty percent of all public and private high schools and middle schools have vending machines or otherwise sell sodas to the kids. Carbonated soda pop provides more added sugar in the diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined. This has resulted in an increase in obesity, tooth decay, weakened bones and caffeine dependence in our children. For every daily serving of soda consumed the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times. Researchers found that kids that drink sodas consume almost 200 more calories per day than kids who do not. Sugar and corn syrup from soft drinks, juices and the copious teas and sports drinks now supply more than 10 percent of our total calories.

We have turned into a nation that has replaced real foods (such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and meats) with carbohydrates that are refined and treated by the body no differently than eating a cookie. Fat, fiber and protein slow the rate carbohydrates enter the blood stream. This prevents a sudden rise in insulin levels, with a subsequent drop thereafter. Refined carbohydrates (also known as “white trash”) such as cereals, pasta, potatoes, white rice, breads and other refined grains contain virtually no nutrients. We are feeding our bodies empty calories, and then wonder why we have so many diseases!

Grain consumption, especially refined grains, has increased almost 60 pounds per person, and caloric sweeteners (primarily high-fructose corn syrup) by 30 pounds. We consume more total calories (up to 400 more) each day since the government started recommending low-fat diets. Most people don’t realize that “low fat” foods contain more sugar, and “diet” foods contain either high fat or artificial sweeteners.

Sugar harms the body in many ways: it suppresses the immune system immediately and takes 3 days to recover. It can cause a rapid rise in adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and crankiness in children. It weakens eyesight, contributes to gallstones and appendicitis, and suppresses calcium absorption in the bones (in fact, soda is now considered the number one contributor to osteoporosis). Sugar can cause many problems with digestion, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and many other bowel diseases. It interferes with protein absorption, impairs DNA structure, makes your skin age more quickly, reduces learning capacity, increases hormonal imbalance, weakens the adrenal glands (which makes you fatigued, increases emotional instability, causes high blood pressure in obese individuals, induces cell death, feeds cancer cells, contributes to PMS, causes a rise in cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. And the list goes on. This is in addition to the already recognizable causes such as obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.

All of this is accentuated if your body does not handle blood sugar well. Blood sugar is managed primarily by the liver, adrenals and pancreas. A weakness in one of those glands results in a weakness in how the body responds to sugar. The more sugar consumed, the worse the condition. Diabetes and hypoglycemia are at an all-time high.

Eating foods rich in minerals (such as spinach, beet greens, collards, swiss chard, kale, and broccoli) assist the organs in managing blood sugar. They also help to control sugar cravings. Much of the time, the use of “green” mineral supplements is also needed. Greens such as kelp, alfalfa, spirulina and others, tableted, are good sources of complex minerals. Digestion also plays an important role.

Sugar cravings for many people make it difficult to stop drinking or eating sugar. It’s a sign of other imbalances in the body and can be treated through acupuncture, chiropractic, nutrition, herbal b6 medicine or all four. Since sugar causes many problems in the body, it would be wise to reduce the intake of sugary foods. If this is difficult, get help from a professional trained to support you in this area.

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Chiropractor Fort Bragg – High-Fiber Diet Helps Prevents Dementia

Research found that people who ate the most soluble fiber had the lowest incidence of dementia. Watch this video now to learn how to add the best sources of fiber to your diet. Just click on the Red More Button in your email or the image below if you are on our website.

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Riverside Chiropractic – Most people no longer know how to cook

Cooking your own meals is not only easy but very rewarding. The problem is most people no longer know how to do it in a way that tastes good and is healthy. Men are even worse. 25% of men cannot cook at all. How important is it to cook your own food? Watch this video now and find out why cooking is worth the little bit of effort it takes. Click the Red More Button in your email or the image below if you are on our website.

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Riverside Chiropractor Dr. Micah Ries Is Eating Organic Important?

Is it important to eat organic, at least when ever possible?  Watch this video.  As your Riverside Chiropractor I am always here to address any health concerns or questions that you might have.  In Better health, Dr. Micah Ries

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ7VpwPfSsg[/youtube]

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Riverside Chiropractic Dr. Micah Ries Happy St. Patrick’s Day

In this video Riverside Chiropractor Dr. Micah Ries Happy St. Patrick’s Day. The Benefits of Green. Cilantro is More Effective Germ Killer Than Some Antibiotics. New research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry identified a compound in cilantro that kills samonella bacteria.

 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y_L38RKsBI[/youtube]

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Riverside Chiropractic – Your heart will thank you for this one!

A new study has found an association between high blood levels of vitamin C and a reduced risk of coronary artery disease and death from any cause. Watch this video to find out where then best sources comes from. It is less than a minute long. Click the Red More Button in your email or the image below if you are on our website.

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