Health Tips Newsletter

July 1, 2008

Health Tips Newsletter Archives

Happy Fourth of July!

(Sing along with Tessa!)

She's a grand old flag, She's a high flying flag,
And forever in peace may she wave.
She's the emblem of, The land I love,
The home of the free and the brave.
Every heart beats true, For the red, white, and blue,
With never a boast or a brag.
Should old acquaintance be forgot
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

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More About Office Hours

Our retreat to Joni and Friends in Indiana was relaxing and satisfying. Thank you for allowing me to do that, and being flexible.

Part two of the Waln family summer vacation schedule will be a trip to a cabin in Michigan with both of my sisters and their families. My brother and his family can’t make it up from Florida for just a short weekend, and I’d like to say that he will be missed but with 8 cousins ranging from 3 months old to Christopher’s 5 years old, I’m not sure we’ll have any time to contemplate anything different!

So, the office will be closed Friday, June 27th through Monday, June 30th and I’ll be here bright and early Tuesday morning. Friday will be the July 4th holiday but I will be open Saturday July 5th.

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Celebrate Freedom

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I’m happier when the temperature is below 70 rather than a typical hot July day and I’ve never cared for the idea of losing a finger to illegal activity, but it’s in the top few partly because it’s one of the few holidays still celebrated on the real day, partly because family and friends gathering around a charcoal grill is so precious to me, and mostly because it’s such an amazing event in the history of the world: America forming a more perfect union by increasing personal liberty and declaring freedom from tyranny and oppressive government.

Maybe this is also a good time to declare your freedom from pain, illness, and even hypertension.

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Chiropractic and Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is rampant in the world today. In the US, it affects about 25% of the total population,¹ 31% of all adults,² increasing to about 59% of the adults aged 60-69 and an incredible 75% of the adults over 75 years old!³ High blood pressure, if left untreated, can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or kidney failure, to name just a few consequences. This is why high blood pressure is often called the "silent killer."

Clearly, this is a problem. The problem compounds when people are quick to accept a prescription for hypertension medication. Even without counting side effects, insurability is big problem for anyone on medication. Life insurance becomes more expensive and if you ever find out you need to buy your own health insurance, finding an affordable policy will be a hard task.

Why not explore other options?

The Nervous System’s Role in Blood Pressure
While it’s natural for us to think immediately of our cardiovascular system when someone mentions “High Blood Pressure,” hypertension is not just about clogged arteries. Our central nervous system plays a significant role in our blood pressure.

The sympathetic nervous system – sometimes referred to as the “fight or flight” part – directly effects our blood pressure, as when an external stressor triggers a sympathetic nervous system response, our blood pressure responds in a parallel fashion.⁴ In other words, our natural response to stress is an increase in blood pressure.

Chiropractic’s Effect on High Blood Pressure
We can help normalize the sympathetic nervous system through chiropractic adjustments⁵ due to the muscle spindle afferents and Golgi tendon organs stimulated by the manipulation.⁶ And, randomized studies show that chiropractic care can produce an immediate reduction in blood pressure.

The most recent study, conducted at the prestigious University of Chicago Medical School, was significant because the drop in blood pressure produced by a specific chiropractic adjustment was consistent and equivalent to combining two anti-hypertensive medications.⁷ The subjects’ blood pressure dropped an average of 14 systolic points and 8 diastolic points for those receiving chiropractic care more than the placebo group*! "This procedure has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination," states study leader George Bakris, MD, director of the University of Chicago Hypertension Center. “...[I]t [the chiropractic procedure] seems to be adverse-event free. We saw no side effects and no problems."⁸

So, make an appointment today! Chiropractic is helpful for a myriad of conditions⁹ such as high blood pressure, and is preventative as well, as it’s been shown to have a significant effect on the immune system.¹⁰ And, please pass this on to someone you love who is suffering from high blood pressure.

*Note: If blood pressure is 120/80 (normal), the systolic is the 120 and diastolic is the 80.

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Diet

We’ve been talking a bit about diet and there is a plan unfolding here. I’d like to share tips on a healthy diet, followed by supplementation, and then go through some conditions that can be helped by better diet choices. This letter we’ll continue with one more part of a healthy change to your diet.

Eat Grass.
Well, grass fed meat, actually. Modern feedlot meat is 20 to 24% fat partly because the animals rarely get a chance to move around but mostly because they eat a corn heavy diet. By contrast, wild game is 2 to 4% fat.¹¹ We talked previously about increasing omega 3 fatty acids¹² and decreasing omega 6 fatty acids. Eating fish was presented as one way to accomplish the former and switching to olive oil was a way to accomplish the latter*. Switching from obese cows to grass fed beef and wild game will help accomplish both as well.

When a cut of meat is 20% fat and that fat is all saturated fat and omega 6 fats,it becomes clear why red meat has a badreputation. It is undeserved, as lean, grass fed meat from an animal that was given room to roam is incredibly healthy.

*Note: You can review any of our past newsletters by clicking "Health Tips Newsletter" in the left-hand column or "Health Tips Newsletter Archives" in the Table of Contents.

 

There are two potential obstacles people encounter when they switch to healthier meats:

1. Cost. Grass fed beef can be costlier and more difficult to find than “obese” meat, but it’s getting better. Sam’s club carries grass fed-beef at a good price. There are “co-ops” that truck-in large quantities such as the Wallace Farms co-op, which distributes in several Chicago suburbs (www.WallaceFarms.com).

You can also easily stock your freezer at a reasonable price through companies such as these:

• www.tallgrassbeef.com, started by Chicago’s own Bill Kurtis, and
• www.texasgrassfedbeef.com.

You might also try buffalo, which is another great, healthy choice. Here’s what the USDA says of buffalo: “Bison is a deeper red color before cooking because there is no marbling [white flecks of fat within the meat muscle]. Bison is said to have a sweeter, richer flavor than beef.”¹³

2. Taste. Some people state that the natural taste can be “gamey.” I happen to prefer a “wilder” and richer flavor, but for those who need some help making the transition, using a marinade (and attention to cooking) will make your meal every bit as enjoyable as your former steaks.

Preparation note: Grass-fed beef and wild game cook faster and can dry out if prepared like a “regular” store-bought steak, so use a lower heat when cooking, and use one of the wealth of marinade recipes available (I heartily recommend TheSpiceHouse.com) to keep your meat juicy.

Here's one of my favorites:

Just olive oil is a good choice as well. It adds a nice flavor, softens the texture, is simple, and healthy. Milk and mustard has been recommended to me but I’ve never tried it.

Plan ahead
A prime rib or other tender, fatty cut of beef can be marinated for a half day and much longer it will start to get soggy. Lean beef and other grass fed red meat should be marinated longer because the muscle is denser. 12 hours up to 48 depending on desired texture and amount of marinade flavor desired. Discover what we were meant to eat before the indians bio-engineered corn and we made obese cattle raised in crowded pens the new norm. Get some for Independence Day, there’s just enough time.

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Humor

Standing on the tee of a relatively long par three, the confident golfer said to his caddy, "Looks like a four-wood and a putt to me." The caddy handed him the four-wood, which he topped about fifteen yards off the front of the tee. Immediately the caddy handed him his putter and said, "And now for your really good putt..."

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Thanks for reading. Call me for an appointment today; your body (and your blood presssure) will thank you!

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