Families who eat nutritious food together, are physically active together and live smoke-free lives are well on their way to reducing their risk of heart disease and stroke. Studies show that families who sit down to regular meals together tend to eat better. Like most Canadians, you’re probably juggling work and family life, leaving little time to cook and eat together. Here are some simple ways to plan ahead to make your meals heart healthy.

Tip 1

Plan dinner around the day’s schedule. On activity nights, cook a casserole in the crock pot (started in the morning), which will be ready when everyone gets home. Take healthy snacks such as single-serve yogurts, cottage cheese, cheese sticks, homemade mini oatmeal muffins, pre-cut vegetables and fruit to calm the munchies before dinner.

Tip 2

Set menu themes to encourage everyone to be home for the meal. Spaghetti and meatball Tuesdays, home-made pizza Fridays, Sunday pancake brunches are just some ideas.

Tip 3

Let each member of your family take turns choosing their favourite recipe for dinner. Get children involved in the cooking. If they make it, they’re more likely to eat it!

Tip 4

Plan family picnics and outings so that you can all sit down and eat together. Take this opportunity to catch up on the day’s events and news with the whole family.

Tip 5

Reassess your family’s schedule. If you’re out most nights of the week, maybe cutting back on one or two activities will allow you to spend more time eating and being together.

Abstract

Objective: To provide supporting evidence on the effectiveness of chiropractic care in relieving asthma and allergies and overall improvement in a pediatric patient’s immune system and health.

Clinical Features: A 7-year-old male was presented by his parents for chiropractic evaluation and possible care. The suffered from chronic colds, allergies, and asthma since the age of 5 months. At the time of initial evaluation, the patient was on a 1x/day dose of prescription Alavert for allergies and Albuterol for asthma. The patient’s illness caused him to miss approximately 1–2 days a month of school due to colds and symptoms of asthma. His parents also indicated that his health problems resulted in monthly visits to his medical doctor.

Interventions and Outcomes: The patient was cared for using specific, low-force adjustments with the Activator Instrument to address areas of vertebral subluxation in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral spine. Within two weeks of initiating chiropractic care, the patient was able to discontinue his allergy and asthma medications (as decided upon by his parents) and the use of his nebulizer. In the first 5 months after beginning chiropractic care, he has had only wellness checkups at the medical doctor. In the past school year, the patient has not missed any days of school due to illness.

Conclusion: This case report provides supporting evidence that chiropractic care can help balance immune system functioning and relieve asthma symptoms as well as colds and allergies. It is recommended that further research be done on this subject to support the findings of this case study.

Joel Alcantara, DC ¹, Laura Van Roo, DC ² and Rosemary E. Oman, DC ³

1. Research Director, International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, Media, PA and Private Practice of Chiropractic, San Jose, CA, USA
2. Private Practice of Chiropractic, Janesville, WI, USA
3. Private Practice of Chiropractic, Chur, CH, Switzerland

Accepted for publication, Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health - Chiropractic, 2009.

http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/chiropractic-care-of-a-pediatric-patient-with-asthma-allergies-chronic-colds-a-vertebral-subluxation.html

As an avid runner & chiropractor, I am constantly observing the human form, mechanically and neurologically. I watch runners, I know my body, and I choose to empower myself and others to have the best potential in their running careers. http://joshuagelber.com/health-facts/for-runners/

“When health is absent Wisdom cannot reveal itself, Art cannot become manifest, Strength cannot be exerted, Wealth is useless and Reason is powerless.” ~Herophilies, 300 B.C.

Chiropractic is based on 4 basic principles:

1.The body is a self-healing and self-regulating organism

2.The nervous system is the master control system of the body.

3.Nervous system interference caused by misalignment of the spine (subluxation) can result in malfunction in the body and possible symptoms like pain.

4.Removal of subluxations by the Chiropractic adjustment allows the body to heal, control, regulate and function optimally.

The consequences of chronic & severe neck pain can be very serious. Some people are unable to work & may lose their jobs. Others cannot enjoy a social life, travel, or sports. Others may become irritable or depressed & develop marital & family problems. The financial consequences can also be dire. Help is available, start by viewing Dr Josh’s unique approach on his website.

Are you suffering from headaches, nagging back pain, or chronic fatigue? These examples could be preventing you from performing everyday activities of life: i.e. not able to play the sports you want to; not able to play with your kids; can’t focus on work; not enough energy to have a full day. Dr Josh offers a unique approach that sets him apart from other chiropractors. Take a look at our website & see why. http://www.joshuagelber.com/ 

Acute bronchitis refers simply to inflammation of the trachea or bronchial tree. The cause is usually infectious, but allergens and irritants can produce a similar clinical picture. The most common infectious agent is typically a virus.  That’s why antibiotics are ineffective.  However, over 80% of bronchitis patients are prescribed antibiotics.   It is estimated by the National Center for Health Statistics that 5% of the U.S. population experiences bronchitis each year.

Instead of taking ineffective drugs that bring potentially serious side  effects doesn’t it make sense to do things to improve your immune system?  With a healthy immune system your body has the ability to fight off the virus.  This is why chiropractic has been shown to be effective in helping people who suffer from bronchitis.  Chiropractic research indicates that people under chiropractic care have immune systems that perform better.

The lungs and bronchi have an extensive supply of nerves that communicate with them.  What would happen if the nerve supply was interfered with communicating with the lungs and bronchi?  It may lead to respiratory problems, bronchitis or respiratory infections.  Several studies demonstrate the effectiveness of chiropractic care and improved respiratory function, breathing difficulty and bronchitis.

References:

A comparison of the effect of chiropractic treatment on respiratory function in patients with respiratory distress symptoms and patients without.  Hvlid, Bulletin of the European Chiropractic Union, 1978.

Treatment of visceral disorders by manipulation therapy.  Miller, Goldstein, The Research Status of Spinal Manipulation Therapy, Bethesda Dept. HEW 1975.

Somatic Dyspnea and orthopedics of respiration. Masarsky, Weber, Chiropractic Technique, 1991.

Chiropractic and  lung volumes. Masarsky, Weber, ACA Journal 1986.

Chiropractic management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Masarsky, Weber, JMPT 1988.

Lung function in relation to thoracic spinal mobility and kyphosis. Mellin, Hagula, Scand, Rehab. Med., 1987.

I’ve decided to keep a running log of my running, well, log!

Last Thursday, Jan 5th 2011, marked my first coaching session as a clinic instructor with Running Room Canada.  I’ve got a class of 20 inspired runners of various skill levels, with a goal of completing a 10-kilometre “Race”, or improving on their times from previous 10km races.

It feels great to coach in a new environment outside of my clinic, and I get inspired by other people’s running improvements and accomplishments!

We run 6km 3 in a row this week, and next week the distance begins to build slightly.

More to come soon!

Yours in health,

Dr Joshua Gelber

Dr. Joshua Gelber is a pediatric and family chiropractor in midtown Toronto, in the Annex neighbourhood.  He runs a traditional practice focusing on the long-term solution for chronic pain, low back pain, neck pain and headaches.  He also deals with Digestive disorders.