The “battle of the bulge” is one I’ve been fighting all of my life.  I can never remember a time when small was a word that was used by anyone to describe me.  Short is a descriptive term I have heard a lot, but never small.  Believe me, as a child growing up in the South, I lived for dessert.  Nothing was better than Granny’s peach cobbler or Mom’s coconut cake.  I ate plenty of macaroni and cheese, fried chicken and homemade buttermilk biscuits along the way as well.  What I did not realize at that time was that I was filling myself full of carbohydrates and fattening myself every step of the way.  I believe I have finally found the key to winning the battle since I am approaching 40 and have vowed to be in the best physical shape in my entire life when I hit that mark.  I have been changing my diet for several years now and have discovered that restricting my intake of carbohydrates to only whole grains and those that come from vegetables and some fruits provides me with proper nourishment, mounds of energy, and the much sought after trimmer waistline. 

There has been quite a buzz lately in the media about carbohydrate addiction.  Carbohydrate addiction is defined according to Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller, founders of the Carbohydrate Addict’s Network, as a compelling hunger, craving, or desire for carb-rich foods.  They go so far as saying that people who are carbohydrate addicts have an escalating, recurring need or drive for starches, snack foods, junk food, or sweets.  There is a physiological explanation for this.  If the body produces too much of the hormone insulin, a condition called hyperinsulinism results.  Since insulin is the hormone which tells the body when to take in food, those with hyperinsulinism take in entirely too much food.  Once food is eaten, insulin tells the body to store the food energy as fat.   Too much insulin leads to too strong an impulse to eat too often and the body stores too much food energy as fat.  This might explain why more than half of the people in America are overweight.  The typical fast food “combo” includes a small amount of protein, large amount of bread and fries, and an enormous sugar-sweetened drink.  Three fourths of the meal is laden with carbohydrates, waiting for fat storage since there is no way a consumer of that meal will burn all of the carbs for energy. 

Overconsumption of carbohydrates has also been blamed for the overwhelming majority of Type II Diabetes cases.  When people are diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, they are told that they can control this disease with diet, but many of the diets they follow disallow only sugars.  Very few of them take into account the hidden carbohydrates found in breads, pastas, fruits, potatoes, popcorn, rice, and breakfast cereals.  These carbohydrates act just like sugar when they hit the digestive tract.  Unless controlled carbohydrate eating is the rule, Type II diabetics will continue on the merry-go-round of peaks and valleys of blood sugar levels.

The answer to solving the problems like obesity, Type II Diabetes, and carbohydrate addiction is adopting a low-carb lifestyle.  Many of the controlled carbohydrate diets have come under fire from people who reject them and are stuck in the low-fat model of eating.  The one thing to watch in a low-fat lifestyle is the enormous amount of sugar that is used to replace the flavor of fats.  Take a look at the labels of many of the low fat prepackaged foods and see how much sugar there is in them.  The words “low fat” can often be replaced with “high sugar” and there is no wonder why Type II Diabetes has become such a problem today.

One major champion of the low-carb lifestyle was Dr. Robert Atkins, who died last week after hitting his head on icy pavement.  He did studies in his own clinic about the effects of a low-carb eating regimen and had astounding results.  Many were apprehensive about his work because they erroneously assumed that he advocated eating large amounts of meat and fat while eating absolutely no carbohydrates.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  There is an enormous difference between eating a controlled carbohydrate diet and eating a high protein, high fat diet.

 Medicine is paying attention to and actually changing its mind about controlled carbohydrate eating.  In this month’s issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a paper was published citing a study done by Bonnie Brehm, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the college of nursing at the University of Cincinnati.  The study randomized women whereby half went on a low fat diet and half went on a very low carbohydrate diet.  The researchers had hypothesized that the low carbohydrate participants would cause detriment to their cardiovascular profiles (cholesterol levels, for example), and that the low fat dieters would not.  The researchers also assumed that the low fat dieters would lose more weight and body fat.  The study shows that the low carb dieters lost much more weight over the period of the study and that neither group did any harm to their cardiovascular profiles.  This is significant research because there are few randomized studies to follow regarding restricted carbohydrate eating.

It is probably too late not to beat the proverbial dead horse, but it is important in today’s environment to watch our bodies before they start to fall apart and we wish that we could buy more time for them.  One very easy way is to control our intake of carbohydrates to protect our health in more than one way.  Control insulin levels while you lose unwanted pounds and still eat luxuriously.  Treat your body well.

The Burning Bowl ritual is a year-end release work which is very appropriate in preparation for a new beginning and for bringing new good into your life.  Rituals make things real for us, and the burning bowl sends a clear message to our subconscious minds (where the “hidden” patterns of thought operate to create or attract experiences into our lives) that we are truly serious about the new decisions we are setting out to make.

Rituals, in general, are important in our lives because they give us occasion to slow down for a few moments, and they provide the opportunity to reflect, to assess where we have been and where we are going.  Rituals are a way of honoring our journey.

Just as we must clear out closets and drawers to make space for new items which come into our lives as we receive Christmas presents, so too must we make internal space available for the spiritual gifts of the season.  Christ is born anew in you, and so today you get a chance to clear out everything unworthy of the expression of God that you are so as to create a place within you that there might be room in the Inn, so to speak.

The best place to begin the releasing process is with forgiveness.  If there is anyone you feel strong negative emotions toward, put their initials at the top of a blank sheet of paper.  Jot down anyone and everyone who is problematic in your life, anyone you feel resentment toward or anger about.  Remember that you release these emotions to free yourself of them because having resentments toward another is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die.  The major relationships in your life might be OK just now, but scan your awareness for anyone, even a minor character in your life, who interferes with your peace of mind and sense of being a loving person.

Sometimes our irritations are not about the person as a whole, but just a particular situation where he or she “has let us down” by not being considerate, accountable, sensitive to your needs, or whatever it might be – perhaps by infringing on your boundaries or even not measuring up to your standards or the expectations you had of them.  It might be someone irritating at work or maybe just an annoying acquaintance that seems to be unavoidably present in your life.

Don’t feel totally free from the need to forgive, however, even though you can’t think of a particular individual.  If you don’t feel strong repelling emotions toward an individual, you might find that you do have such emotion toward a group of people – racial or religious bigotry, for example, or clerks or food service people who are not service oriented, government employees, the IRS, lawyers, salesmen, telemarketers, the medical establishment, politicians, in-laws, the conspicuously wealthy, people receiving public assistance, slow drivers, nosy neighbors, etc.

If you can’t relate to any of that, ask yourself what situations come up in your life which really irritate you.  Fill in the blank: “Don’t you hate it when X happens.”  For example, you have scheduled an appointment with someone and you are in that person’s office when the phone rings.  You have to sit there and listen to a one-sided conversation for five minutes.  In another example, you go to your doctor’s office for an appointment and still have to wait 1 and ½ hours before you get to see the doctor.  You make an appointment to get your car repaired, and it takes them 4 days instead of 1 to get the job done.  You are in the only open checkout line, buying something that you need badly and you are in a hurry, of course, then the cashier calls for a price check for the slow person in front of you.  What if the scanner scans the item for regular price when there was a sign that said it was on sale for much less?  In short, what are the typical situations which you feel resentment or upset toward?

Try to get clear in your mind precisely what it is that frustrates or irritates you about the person, group of people, or situations which push your buttons.  What is it that you feel when you interact with this person or group, or how do you feel when you encounter this situation?  Get clear in your mind and state clearly on paper the exact cause of the irritation.  That cause will be the feelings which stir your emotion. Jot down what your feelings are as clearly as you can.  If you are unsure of what you feel, just note the situation for the time being.

Be aware that behind feelings is a belief that is a part of an old pattern of thinking.  Typical patterns, which you can think of as scripts, revolve around issues of trust.  For example, the fear of being taken advantage of, the fear of being discounted, the idea that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, the fear of abandonment – behind every experience is one of these old beliefs in operation, even though at the conscious level your spiritually-aware rational mind recognizes the pattern of belief as untrue.  At the conscious level you know that, but someplace inside and old part of you has not received the message yet.

Now focus on your heart and ask what that person or group has come into your life to show you or to teach you.  Know that behind appearances is a message with a true blessing – one, when understood, enables you to perceive a false belief so that you can release it.  This feeling is there to develop a soul quality in some way.  Whatever negative emotion you feel signals a false belief, and that belief which is undoubtedly beneath the surface of your awareness is blocking the full experience of abundance in your life.  Remember that every experience in life is an experience which resonates with meaning – the Universe is always trying to communicate with us, so just be willing to release this pattern of thought and experience today.  Write it down.  God within you will provide the insights you need as you decide it is time for you to release this excess baggage.  As you see your forgiveness paper go up in smoke in a little while, know that it is being dissolved through this prayer ritual and everything that needs to take place for your new freedom unfolds easily, in divine order.

Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of Unity Church, said that we should each spend a half an hour daily forgiving everything and everyone who came into our life that day who was capable of evoking negative emotions.  To forgive is to give truth for error.  The truth is that everything happens in our lives so as to bless us.  Once we integrate this paradigm shift into our consciousness we see that we “own” the experience by right of consciousness – it is our experience, and so it is our blessing.  Make sure you forgive yourself for unworthy thoughts and behaviors as you do your forgiveness work, otherwise the residue of guilt will draw punishment.  Just know that, like everyone else, you have done the best you can and that now, as God in you works to create more awareness and you become more practiced in the exercise of your spiritual understanding, you are destined to do better.

The rest of this exercise in unburdening ourselves tends to lighten because we tend not to feel so unworthy about other areas where release is in order.  So let’s have fun doing our house-cleaning as Spirit guides us in sweeping over our souls.  Please don’t use this as an opportunity to beat yourself up for your perceived defects – that is a major old pattern to release.  During the time we focus on what we no longer need, remember that defects are merely calls for adjustment – we have all that we need to perfect every defect.  That’s why defects draw our attention.

Draw a line under your forgiveness statements and begin writing your list of those things in your life which you are now willing to release.  I’m going to talk all the way through this exercise while you are writing to help you think of things which you might otherwise leave out.  Just keep writing, and don’t worry too much about the form.  After all, this will all soon be burned.

Begin now by writing down whatever tops your list of most burdensome or worrisome things in your life today.  Write them out and let these be at the top of your list.  Remember it is the worry you are releasing or the burden.  The thing itself is neutral until you put a judgment on it.  After you have the ones that come to your mind most quickly, add any others that fit your experience from the suggestions I now make:

Enemy thinking – viewing other people as threats or obstacles, the idea of competition (there really isn’t any), aggressive thinking, arguing in your mind, responding in your thoughts to hurts or imagined hurts, swelling on being right at the cost of being happy, making the other person wrong so that you can make yourself right.  Making God wrong so that your position is self-righteous.

Limitation thinking: using the “facts” to limit the possibilities in your life such as, “the economy is slow, there are no jobs out there”, “I am too old to get a job”, “there is no need for what I do”, “nobody values what I do enough for me to earn a comfortable income”, “I’ve been out of school too long to be a successful student”, “there’s no future in doing (fill in the blank)”, etc.  “This is cold season.  Every time I sneeze I realize that I am getting a cold.  If my head gets stuffy, I will have cold symptoms for X number of days.”

You might also want to release habits such as smoking, excessive intake of coffee or colas, drinking too much alcohol or doing anything excessively (and obsessively).  Whatever repeating patterns there are in your life which interfere with your joy, that get between  you and fulfillment in your relationships, or which sabotage whatever you wish to achieve or be…what are the patterns that lead to your showing up in the world in a way not worthy of who you really are and who you are becoming?  Perhaps you want to release commitment avoidance so that you can be a person who says “yes” to life.  What patterns can you track which create the most negative thinking?  Release these patterns, these addictions.  You might also find that in some cases you avoid commitment, and in others you over-commit.  Release the imbalance. 

Look at the words you use.  Some of them could be replaced easily and the release would create a tremendous difference in your perceptions.  Eliminate the word “try” as in “I will try to do X”.  There is no try.  You either do something or you don’t.  “Trying” prevents us from ever achieving our goals.  “Try” is a word that signals commitment avoidance, lack of confidence, and it undermines our success.  Another word to release is “need” as in, “I need to do X”.  Use “choose” instead, because “choose” takes the activity from the realm of mandatory into the realm of choice, where it belongs.  “Want” is another word to release.  Remember that Conversations With God makes it clear that we cannot have what we “want”!  As long as we want, we acknowledge lack.  So instead of saying “I want X”, say “I choose X”.

Eliminate all but the most literal descriptions of how you feel or what you are experiencing – don’t use clichéd metaphors to describe your feelings.  There are probably thousands of phrases which send a negative message to our subconscious minds:  “This is just like pulling teeth”, “I don’t believe it.”

Eliminate fear statements:  I can’t do X, because I am afraid that if I do X will happen.  Certainly acknowledge your fear, but then take time to recognize it as a fear, a worry thought, and not a necessary outcome.  Affirm the outcome that you choose rather than the outcome that you fear.  Eliminate words like “unrealistic,” “ought,” “should,”; eliminate scripts like the one that says my duty is to please, or try hard; I must be strong; I must be perfect.  Eliminate life scripts like “Life is hard,” “I have to do it myself,” “This is too good to be true,” etc.  Release the “Until” script:  When X happens, then I will be happy, or safe, or free (when my kids are grown, when I retire, when I have X number of dollars in the bank, when I get the promotion, when I finish school, when I meet my soul mate, then . . .) Claim whatever it is that you envision now.  You don’t have to wait unless you think you have to wait, to experience joy, love, peace, abundance, fulfillment, etc.  Eliminate “once and for all” thinking – in truth, nothing happens once and for all, and we simply discourage ourselves by thinking that it does.  Let go of the need to control, to change others, to have definitive answers, release the fear of change, the sense of not being enough – not good enough, attractive enough, thin enough, smart enough, strong enough, rich enough, healthy enough, educated enough, loveable enough, talented enough; I’m not creative, I’m not organized.

Eliminate this morning the filter that prevents you from seeing the peace that is already there (or order, harmony, blessings joy, beauty, fulfillment).  Eliminate the idea that joy comes from the outside rather than the inside.  Eliminate the tendency to look exclusively outside yourself for healing, joy, fulfillment, love, etc.

Eliminate the tendency to measure your worth b y what you do; release the distrust you have for anything that can’t be proven or seen; let go of the need to be more, to do more than you can do; set free the compulsion to commit without thinking; and, conversely, to say no automatically; say goodbye to the need to believe that you are responsible for bringing happiness or safety to others – over care; false gods (giving something or some person or condition more power than you give to God).  Release self-righteousness, guilt and self-condemnation.

Release what Caroline Myss calls wound-ology – the sense of being permanently warped by your past; the sense of being a victim in life.  Release willfulness, discontent, resistance, depression, being against rather than for, the need to know before you can move forward; let go of being a truth seeker in favor of being a truth finder; release the idea that you are stuck.

Give up the idea that your life (or marriage, or church, or your job, or body, your income, etc.) is already as good as it can be.  Release the current limits of your imagination.  Release the idea that you can’t be who you are, that it is not safe to be fully yourself.  Release the idea that what you don’t release today will never be released, release the idea that it will soon be too late to do what you have to do, that you are unlucky, that you are destined to failure, that you inherit limitations in health or appearance or opportunities.

Now take just a moment once again to center yourself within, and to confirm your conscious choice to release the patterns or judgments written on your list.  Bless them for what they have taught you about yourself, for they have helped you clarify your values and priorities – and have helped you to better know who you really are and what you are becoming.  And so, with a grateful heart, let us all now release that which no longer serves us well, and that which has outgrown its usefulness.

Do you ever have trouble finding just the right gift for the person who has everything?   One suggestion is something that will not only be unique for the person who has everything but will benefit him or her as well.  That gift is the gift of therapeutic massage.  I have written in the past about the need for humans to deal with and reduce stress rather than carry it around and hope it will go away.  In addition to my regular chiropractic adjustments, one of my favorite ways to reduce stress is to have full body massages.  This idea is foreign to many but as massage becomes more readily available to us it would be helpful if more people understood what it is and how it can be beneficial as part of a regimen of natural health care.  I was surprised to learn recently that when some people hear the word “massage” they think of massage parlors that were actually just covers for brothels in days past.  Therapeutic massage is as far from a brothel as is a doctor’s office, and I thought I would share some information on the subject with you.

Massage has been used for thousands of years as Chinese medical texts document.  Many different methods of massage were used to loosen muscle tissue and to relieve pain.  The techniques that most massage therapists use today are based on the principles of Swedish Massage which was developed in the late 19^th century by a Swedish gymnast named Per Henrik Ling.  The system developed by Mr. Ling is a systematic application of pressure and motion on the muscular and ligamentous tissues in the body in an effort to relieve tension in these areas.  While that seems simple enough, there is much more that happens as a result of getting a massage than meets the eye.

 A tremendous amount of research has been done on the effects of massage on the body.  Massage can relieve muscle tension related to stress as well as muscle soreness from overworking.  A trained massage therapist can locate stress points in the body and work them out so that the body’s response to stress and muscular soreness is much more palatable.  Sometimes massage therapists work on trigger points, which are areas of the muscle where blood is not flowing properly and knots form.  This sometimes doesn’t feel great at the moment but a tremendous sense of relief is the result of a good trigger point session.  If you get a deep tissue massage to work on really stubborn areas, the body might feel a little bit sore as a result.  Drinking plenty of good, clean water will help to rinse away any toxins that might cause this soreness.

Massage has been shown to stimulate the flow of the lymphatic system, and this eases the elimination of toxic substances that would otherwise tend to build up in the body.  There are entire massage techniques which are built solely on the different methods of aiding lymphatic drainage.  This helps the immune system work more efficiently.  Increasing lymphatic circulation can also reduce edema (swelling) in certain instances.  With less edema comes less pain.

When you get massaged, you go into a state of deeper relaxation than normal.  As you become more relaxed, you tend to breathe more deeply. Having deeper respirations increases the body’s rate of oxygenation and thereby promotes a clearer mind and a more restful state.  The body’s  healing processes are sped up if the body is resting.  That is why one of the cornerstones of good health is the assurance that you get plenty of rest.

Massage also promotes the release of chemicals called endorphins in the body.  Endorphins are hormone-like chemicals produced in the brain that have a close functional relationship to morphine.  This makes the brain a factory for its own pain-control substances.  The other phenomenon associated with endorphins is that they serve an antidepressant function.  Heavy exercise also produces endorphins and results in the infamous “runner’s high.”  Massage is a way to experience the pain-relieving effects of endorphins without the vigorous output on your part.

The potential benefits of massage are numerous, and can be more completely explained by a trained massage therapist.  Always ask about a therapist’s education, certification, and licensure.  Although Georgia doesn’t have strict licensing requirements for massage therapists, graduates from approved schools can take a national certification test which is standardized and assures you that basic knowledge about specific techniques is mastered.  With many natural aids to healing available to us, we can bring about a better state of being and thereby make our world a little bit better place to live.  Treat your body and your spirit well.

I am acutely aware that school is in full swing.  Moms have been pouring into our office requesting letters for their children to be able to carry safer backpacks to school this year.  Although it came around more quickly than usual, it’s that time of year again – new school schedules, football games, band practice, studying for exams, and homework.  All of this means that your kids will be carrying heavy loads all around with them in their backpacks, and this can pose a serious health risk to them if backpack safety is not addressed by you. 

I have seen a number of children in our area with scoliosis, a lateral curvature of the spine, and they certainly don’t need to be carrying backpacks loaded with heavy books and other items all over the place.  I took the liberty of weighing a child’s pack in our office just before school was out last year, and was astonished to find that a 60 pound child was carrying a hefty 27 pounds on his back.  This could bring about strained muscles at the very least and become quite uncomfortable for him.  I have learned that some children are “punished” by being denied access to their lockers, thereby forcing them to carry all of their books around all the time during their time of punishment.  Some children think it is cool to play the role of martyr and compete for parents’ attention by seeing how many books they are “required” to bring home.  Either way, children are carrying too much around on their backs.  Although children definitely heal faster than we do, long-term stress-type injuries can occur when they require their bodies to do more than they were designed to do.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were over 12,000 visits to emergency rooms alone in 1998 for backpack-related injuries to 5- to 18-year-olds.  This figure does not take into account the number of visits to general pediatricians, orthopedists, or chiropractors. 

There are several sources for the safely allowed amount of weight for children to carry on their backs.  The range is 10 to 20 percent of their body weight.  Keep in mind the fact that children’s bodies vary in muscular composition, and some are inherently heavier than others and have larger frames.  According to Mark D. Widome, M.D., a general pediatrician and professor of pediatrics at Penn State’s College of Medicine in Hershey, PA, a good rule of thumb is to allow 15 percent of the child’s body weight in his backpack.  This means that the 60 pound child I mentioned before should carry no more than 9 pounds on his back.   

Weight is not the only hazard with backpacks.  It seems that kids think it is “cool” to wear the backpacks on only one shoulder.  The trouble with this is rather obvious, but kids do it anyway.  A functional scoliosis, which is one that develops as a result of some outward stress as opposed to a congenital scoliosis which one is born with, can develop as a result of carrying heavy weight on one side of the body rather than distributing weight evenly.  There are two solutions to this problem: 1) distribute weight evenly, and 2) carry the weight for equal amounts of time on both sides of the body.  Most of us pick up objects habitually with one hand or the other, so solution #2 is not really a viable one unless you are very well-disciplined and can remember to pick up the heavy object with the opposite hand each time you carry it.  There is usually no one to walk behind your children all day at school and remind them to switch hands.

Backpacks can become a problem for those other than their carriers, too.  Imagine walking down a very crowded hallway full of children when one of them suddenly turns to yell at a friend and swings her 20 pound pack, hitting you squarely on the shoulder.  This is a real issue in crowded schools.  Kids are unaware of the bulk on their backs, and can pose hazards to their neighbors.  Bulky packs are a problem in the classroom when they aren’t in use.  Unless plans have been made for storage, backpacks are often dropped beside desks and create tripping hazards.  The best solution to this and many other backpack-related issues is to purchase a small backpack which can easily fit under a desk or chair.  This will leave the aisles clear and make it much safer for everyone to walk in them. 

Backpacks are available with lumbar supports and multiple compartments to help distribute heavy loads more evenly.  For heavier loads, a hip strap is available to help keep the pack close to the body. This allows some of the weight to be carried by the hips rather than overloading the back.  Look for a pack with wide, padded shoulder straps that are easy to adjust.  The American Chiropractic Association has information regarding a line of backpacks made by an Australian company for Samsonite.  The line of packs, called Chiropak, is designed for comfort, efficiency, and protection for the spine against the damage that can be caused by overstuffed packs.   The correct way to carry heavy loads is to carry them close to the body, so heavier books should be inserted into the pack first.  To decide which pack is best for your child, have the child try it on for comfort first, then put a few books or something moderately heavy in it to see how your child will go about carrying his or her load.  Make sure the pack can be carried with the child standing upright and not leaned over forward or off to one side.

Remember that “as the twig is bent so grows the tree.”  Take the extra time to weigh your child’s backpack.  Discuss these safety issues now, and you just might save some serious trouble down the road.  Treat your body and those of your children well.

I was having lunch one day last week in a local Mexican restaurant, and couldn’t avoid hearing a conversation between a few ladies from an office here in town who were celebrating a co-worker’s birthday.  The mood was festive, and the conversation was a little loud.  One of the women asked another to pass the “pink stuff” for her iced tea.  That was the beginning of this week’s column.  I was surprised at the length of time these women spent discussing the merits and perils of artificial sweeteners.   One of them said she had heard that the “blue stuff” caused brain damage and that saccharin caused cancer in rats.  I decided to do a bit of research on my own about this subject and share it with you. 

Years ago a large study was done on the carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effects of saccharin.  A huge alarm was sounded when, indeed, saccharin was determined to cause cancer.  I was a teenager then, and winced at the thought of how many of those tiny white saccharin pills my granny used to dissolve in gallons of tea on Sundays.  I was certain that I was about to come down with some rare form of saccharin-imposed brain tumor.  Lo and behold, someone let the proverbial cat out of the bag and educated the public about the fact that the amount of saccharin that was administered to those poor lab rats was equal to about three hundred times their body weight.  I imagine that anything would cause cancer if it was given in that dosage to anyone.  Panic was widespread and nobody would go near saccharin due to cancer-causing fears.  Studies were done to prove that it was safe, and saccharin was removed in May 2000 from the list of carcinogens. Alas, the “pink stuff” can be consumed without fear once again.

The difference between the upset over the alleged cancer-causing properties of saccharin and the buzz about aspartame’s being a neurotoxin is that some of the facts about aspartame are pretty sobering.  There never really was any information other than the results of a heavily weighted Canadian study to back the panic caused by the saccharin scare.  There are facts about the properties of aspartame that are disturbing.  Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid.  Upon metabolism, this produces methanol.  Methanol further breaks down to produce formaldehyde, and this is where the problem seems to be.  It is a bit unsettling to realize that when aspartame is ingested formaldehyde is being produced in the body.  There is a whole host of other alleged problems with the sweetener, but they are based on rumor and can be read at your discretion if you log onto holisticmed.com.  The fact that aspartame breaks down ultimately into formaldehyde is undeniable, and is an issue to be reckoned with.   The FDA has established an acceptable daily intake amount (ADI) of aspartame.  The most important thing to realize is that if you use the product, do so in moderation.  One or two diet sodas a week shouldn’t be a problem, but beware if consumption is much higher than that.  There is also the issue of phenylketonuria (PKU) for those who cannot metabolize phenylalanine, which is one of the two components of aspartame.  If you have PKU, you already know it.

There is a sweetener called stevia which is available in health food stores and is a natural sweetener.  It is actually a plant which was used by Guarani Indians to sweeten bitter teas.   Stevia is available in many forms as an alternative to artificial sweeteners.  I have tried it myself, but I found it to have a strange aftertaste.  It is sweet, though, and it is all natural.  It shouldn’t be too controversial since there is no chemical company involved and no stock prices to watch as the result of its sales.  It is no different from any other spice in that sense.  Several companies will package the stuff, but none of them can take the credit or the blame for having created it.  There is some scuttlebutt about how the FDA wants to keep it out of the mainstream since it will provide some competition for aspartame, but no ill effects have been determined to be caused by its use. 

Other sweeteners are available on the market today.  Sucralose, which is being marketed as Splenda, is now available widely.  Sucralose is made from sugar by a process which alters the chlorine atoms in sucrose.  The jury is out on this product since it is being marketed by a chemical company and the FDA hasn’t stated the safety of altered chlorine in the body in this particular form.  Stay tuned for more conclusive research on this product. 

There is no easy answer to the question about which sweetener is better for you.  It seems safest to shy away from the ones with the most processing involved.  Moderation is always the best route to take when you are dealing with anything that is not completely organic, and of course you should do your own homework to be sure you feel comfortable with what you are placing in your body.  I’m just thankful that those tiny little saccharin pills can bring the sweet memories of those Sunday afternoon dinners of my childhood without the bitterness associated with fear.  Treat your body well.

Part of the wondrous world of studying the human body and how it works is learning that we can indeed take an active role in helping to prevent our own diseases.  I have written recently about how toxins are partially responsible for the enormous increase in cancer rates in the United States in recent years.  When we take responsibility for our health and enable ourselves to rid our bodies of those toxins, we make room for healthier tissues to flourish and create an internal environment in which chronic diseases do not feel encouraged to take hold.  Another way that we can be proactive in disease prevention is through consuming enough substances called antioxidants.  We all have seen the ads in the produce aisle in the grocery store encouraging us to get at least 5 servings of fresh antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables for good health.  What are antioxidants anyway, and how do they affect us?

In order to address the antioxidant issue you’ll have to bear with me and allow a little bit of high school chemistry to come through.  Beware that this is a ridiculously oversimplified explanation of what actually goes on in our bodies, but I think you will get the idea.  Antioxidants are substances which scavenge free radicals from our bodies.  Free radicals are substances which are formed when weak molecules break apart in one of the thousands of biochemical reactions that happen in us every minute.  Normal metabolism creates chemical reactions in which one substance is turned into another to perform some very important function in the operation of our systems. Molecules are filled with electrically charged particles which strive to bond with each other in an effort to become stable.  Weak molecular bonds break and allow unstable particles called free radicals to form.  The free radicals search for electrical particles called electrons on the outer surfaces of other molecules and they steal them in an attempt to stabilize.  This then forms another free radical searching for another molecule from which to steal electrons and a chain reaction begins.  Free radicals continue to form and on and on it goes.  Out of control, free radicals will damage our living cells and alter their ability to perform as they should. Metabolism creates free radicals that our bodies’ antioxidant supplies should take care of, but environmental factors such as pesticides, cigarette smoke and radiation create additional free radicals that are sometimes too many for our own systems to handle.  If too many free radicals are in our bodies, the cellular damage they cause leads to serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.

Antioxidants are substances which are electron-rich and they neutralize free radicals by donating electrons to make them stable.  Antioxidants have been called free radical scavengers.  They clean up the free radicals and help to prevent the cellular damage that ultimately comes from them. Vitamins A, C and E are all antioxidants.  While they are present in our bodies and in foods we consume, many people supplement their diets with these.  A word of caution, though, is that vitamins A and E are fat-soluble, which means that excess amounts of them are stored in the liver and fatty tissues.  This can create toxicity.  Vitamin C is water-soluble and can be excreted easily if excess amounts of it are consumed.  Many foods are great sources of antioxidants.  That is why the fruits and vegetables aisles in the stores remind us to get 5 to 8 servings of them every day. 

As we age the damage from free radicals is exponential.  It is urgent that we make certain our intake of fresh fruits and vegetables is adequate and that we supplement if we feel it is not.  I personally supplement and eat fresh produce every day.  I know that our over-farmed soil is not as nutrient-rich as it once was, and if you eat at the restaurants around here the nutrients are often cooked out of the vegetables anyway.  Southern cooking (thank God for it) often renders vegetables deliciously overcooked so that the nutritional values are diluted.  Most value is found in raw or only partially cooked produce. 

Hopefully this clears up the matter of free radicals and the relationship between them and antioxidants.  Free radicals cause cellular damage that ultimately results in serious illness.  Antioxidants act as little Pac-Men and get rid of the free radicals.  Get lots of antioxidants.  We humans must do the best we can to keep ourselves healthy and let nature take its course otherwise.  Treat your body well.

A young man came to our office two weeks ago bent over in pain and unable to straighten his posture.  At first glance, we thought it was another classic case of an aggravated bulging disc.  We would have treated it as such until we took x-rays of his spine and discovered a very different situation and an often missed diagnosis.  I know this information might be a great candidate for the bank of useless knowledge for many, but no knowledge is useless and I feel compelled to share some information with you about a condition known as Ankylosing Spondylitis. 

Ankylosing Spondylitis, or AS, is one of several conditions which have a tendency to cause inflammation of the spine and are collectively called spondyloarthropathies.  These include psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and arthritis associated with Chrohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.  AS is a form of spinal and sacroiliac joint inflammation.  The sacroiliac joints are two small joints at the base of the spine which are key in weight-bearing and become very painful when they are inflamed.  The condition causes substantial pain at times, stiffness in and around the spine, and left unchecked will result in permanent fusion or “cementing” together of the joints involved.  “Ankylosing” refers to the process of the fusing together of the spinal bones and “spondylitis” refers to chronic spinal inflammation.  The process of ankylosing eventually results in the complete loss of spinal mobility.

The symptoms most often experienced by those with AS include back pain or sacroiliac joint pain which is worse at night or after long periods of activity.  Often people with AS adopt a forward-leaning posture which naturally relieves the pain associated with the condition.  AS makes standing erect very painful, so curving forward eases this discomfort.  Curving forward, however, tends to compress the lungs and makes breathing sometimes difficult.

Ankylosing Spondylitis is thought to be inherited.  Nearly 90% of those with AS are born with the HLA-B27 gene.  Sophisticated blood tests have been developed to detect the marker for this gene, but it does not definitely predict that a person will develop AS.  The gene is not specific for the disorder.  For example, in the United States, 7% of the population has the HLA-B27 gene but only 1% of the population actually has AS.  Research is active in this area, and it is said that a negative HLA-B27 test is more useful in ruling out AS than a positive one is in predicting it.  X-ray is the gold standard for the diagnosis of AS since the spinal abnormalities it causes are very distinct and can be very easily seen on plain films.  This is one of the very reasons that x-ray is necessary in the treatment of people in a chiropractic practice.  If the aforementioned patient had been treated without x-ray, he would have been treated for a condition he doesn’t have and this diagnosis would have been missed.

Many people with AS are under the care of a medical doctor as well as under treatment with a chiropractor.  Medicines are used to control inflammation but, of course, come with their side effects.  A chiropractor can keep spinal mobility and flexibility for as long as possible and help to create better posture.  Gentle flexion/distraction techniques are available and are very helpful in treating this disorder.  Physical therapy and exercise are also helpful since AS tends to cause a forward posture.  Curving forward results in lung compression, so it is essential that extension exercises and those that expand the lung capacity are prescribed and practiced daily.  Stretching exercises help to improve overall flexibility.  Swimming might be described as the perfect exercise for those with AS and many other conditions because it avoids the jarring impact to the spine that many other forms of exercise create.  Of course, nutrition is also of utmost importance when trying to manage this and any other condition.  One specific area of focus nutritionally has been on leaky gut syndrome, or the inability to digest and absorb foods properly.  Information is available on the proper supplements to use in order to increase absorption of nutrients.  Some very beneficial ones are those that promote healthy bacterial flora and those that aid in digestion, specifically acidophilus and bromelain.  Any time the body is not using the food it is supplied with properly, any of a host of conditions might occur, and AS is one of these.

AS is not necessarily crippling or debilitating.  The main piece of advice for those who suffer from it is to become actively involved in your treatment.  Do all that you can to keep your body active, limber, and in good condition.  Work with a team of healthcare providers, and don’t limit yourself to just taking medications that might or might not be beneficial.  Keep a positive attitude, and treat your body well.

Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I am not a paranoid person.  I do not feel that the world is out to get me, and I am not suffering from terribly low self-esteem.  I without reserve can say that I adore my calling.  I cannot imagine doing anything else.  If I won the lottery I would still be a chiropractor.  I also make every effort not to judge others until they prove to me that there is a reason to do so.  I give everyone the benefit of the doubt.  In a Utopia, others would offer me the same courtesies.  Let me tell you that this is not Utopia.  I have had to endure the sneers of medical doctors whose patients I see time after time but only when I worked in Savannah did any of them acknowledge the good that was done for patients by chiropractors.  Physical therapists seem to feel a need to knock what we do also.  Do not judge so quickly.

In a recent article published be the American Academy of Spine Physicians, a positive patient outcome was reported and a chiropractor forged a friendship with the medical doctor of one of his patients.  I have chosen to share this article with the hope of opening some eyes.  It is entitled “Good Results Speak Loudly”.

“A 51-year-old male had developed low back pain with radiation down his left leg…Initially the pain was intermittent but then became constant.  The patient’s family doctor placed him on muscle relaxants and analgesics (pain medication).  This helped but did not alleviate his condition.  The doctor ordered lumbar spine x-rays, which showed degenerative changes…The patient was referred to a neurosurgeon who found no weakness or sensory deficit.  He placed the patient on two weeks of bed rest, which resulted in little improvement.  When the neurosurgeon saw the patient at follow-up, he recommended more bed rest.  Because the patient had not benefited much from the previous course of bed rest, he asked the neurosurgeon for a referral to a chiropractic physician.  The neurosurgeon was upset.  He said he knew nothing about chiropractors and chiropractic treatment, and recommended that the patient not go to a chiropractor.  Several years prior, a friend of the patient had a similar problem treated successfully by a chiropractor and the patient got the name of his friend’s chiropractor.  He then made an appointment and requested his x-rays from the neurosurgeon.  The neurosurgeon would not give him his x-rays “to take to a chiropractor”.  The patient went anyway.  The chiropractor examined him, repeated the lumbar x-rays, and began therapy.  Within two weeks, the radiating leg pain was gone; by the end of the month, the patient had no lower back pain.  Enthusiastic about his result, the patient returned to the neurosurgeon who was impressed with what the chiropractor was able to do.  He contacted the chiropractor and the two met to discuss chiropractic manipulative therapy.  One week later, the neurosurgeon visited the chiropractor’s office to observe various types of treatment. From that time on, the two doctors referred patients to each other and enjoyed the results of cooperative spine care.  They both benefited as did their patients.”

There is no reason in this world that this cannot be the case here.  I hereby extend an open invitation to any physician or physical therapist in this town who would be willing to come in to our office and observe what we do.  Make your judgments based on your own education and not based on hearsay.  Find out for yourself, first hand, why and how chiropractic works.  I am not seeking acceptance per se, but I am offering a chance to teach other doctors and health professionals what we do and why it works.  I would love nothing more than to have doctors who would work in cooperation with us in offering the best possible options for our patients.  I personally believe that if I cannot provide what my patients are in need of I will go to any extreme necessary in order to find it for them.  I do and have.  Many of my patients have gone to Columbus, Macon, and Atlanta to find physicians who are willing to accept referrals from a caring, responsible, and informed chiropractor.  I chose to be a chiropractor for a reason, and that reason has nothing to do with having a hostile relationship with any other professional.  From the standpoint of consumer, if my doctor would not be open-minded enough to explore all of the possible options that might benefit me I think I would run, not walk, in the direction of one who would.  Keep your focus on what matters most.  Treat your body well.

As promised, this week’s column is a continuation of some work I have done in the interest of women’s health.  My last column discussed the perils of pre-menopause and menopause for women and the need for hormonal balance.  We also explored the Women’s Health Initiative, a landmark study that was cancelled last summer due to the health risks associated with HRT (hormone replacement therapy).  Being blessed with early menopausal symptoms myself, I have a vested interest in finding the healthiest ways to get my body in shape for the rest of my life and maybe you too can benefit from my curiosity.

For obvious reasons, women everywhere are drawn to studying natural alternatives to HRT.  There are several viable alternatives, but why don’t we hear about them without doing a lot of digging?  Why don’t our mainstream medical professionals tell us about the natural alternatives?  I do not particularly subscribe to conspiracy theories and generally furrow my brows when I hear them; however, just a little bit of common sense will make you think about this issue.  Mainstream medicine remains skeptical about natural alternatives to HRT because there is very little published data available to doctors about the efficacy of intrinsic natural hormones like progesterone, for example.  There is little data because there are very few clinical trials.  There are few clinical trials because there is no funding.  There is no funding because most funding for clinical trials is done by pharmaceutical giants with the hope and promise of billions of dollars in return from patents owned by them on the drugs being studied.  Natural hormones cannot be ‘owned’ under a patent, so the injection of millions of research dollars by the pharmaceutical companies simply will not happen.  Synthetic HRT is extremely profitable to the pharmaceutical companies, so they push doctors to prescribe the drugs manufactured by the sponsoring companies.

Without the clinical data available, women are forced to come upon information about natural alternatives as best they can.  There are very few double-blind, randomized studies on alternative therapies.  This negates their promise in allopathic physicians’ minds in many cases.  Having made that disclaimer, here is some information on what have been for me very beneficial alternatives to HRT.  Many women have used these therapies for many years very effectively, and I suggest that you explore them for yourself and discover what works best for you.

In 30 clinical trials that they performed, researchers from George Washington University and Columbia University found that black cohosh and foods that contain phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) are effective in reducing hot flashes and night sweats.  Black cohosh is an herb traditionally used by Native Americans to treat a variety of gynecological disorders.  Other sources for phytoestrogens are flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, soy, clover, and alfalfa.  Phytoestrogens contain among other things chemicals called isoflavones which act like weak estrogens in the body.  They are used primarily to reduce cholesterol, protect against heart disease risk, help prevent osteoporosis, and decrease anxiety, according to nutrition expert Ann Louise Gettleman.  Black cohosh has been used widely in Germany for over 50 years in the treatment of hot flashes.  Studies were performed there in the 1980’s to prove its effectiveness.

One of the components of HRT is progesterone.  The problem with it in HRT is the form that is present.  As stated above, naturally-occurring substances cannot be patented, so synthetic forms of hormones were developed to make the cash register ring.  Progesterone in a natural form is very beneficial to the body, and should be investigated by every pre-menopausal and menopausal woman.  Find Dr. John Lee’s books, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Pre-Menopause.  These books give detailed and sometimes quite technical information about natural progesterone.  Natural progesterone starts with a plant extract and through several steps is converted to a substance that has the same molecular structure and properties as the progesterone produced by the body. It is used in a cream form which is applied to the body usually in the throat and face area for maximum absorption.  According to the Health Science Research Institute, some of the benefits of natural progesterone are that it helps use fat for energy, facilitates thyroid hormone action, is a natural antidepressant, is a natural diuretic, normalizes blood sugar levels, restores libido, helps prevent endometrial cancer, and helps protect against breast cancer.

It is much easier sometimes for someone to give us a magic pill and take away our personal responsibility for our own good health.  The maze of alternative therapies can sometimes be staggering, but at the end of the maze is a healthy, wholesome life that is uncomplicated by synthetic chemicals that do us harm.  There is no magic pill and the responsibility for your health lies with you.  Do some extra work and discover what is going on in the realm of natural alternatives to HRT.  Treat your body well.

In the late 1980’s I worked as a real estate sales director for a firm in Helen, Georgia, and I was the understudy of one Mr. Richard “Dick” Etherton.  He was in his late 70’s, very chauvinistic, and a member of the “Old School.”  I never really figured out just what the Old School was, but I was certain that a young, ambitious, and energetic female was not ever invited to be a part of it.  Dick was angry at the world that he was on his way out professionally and that he, by the order of the owner of the firm for which we both worked, had to train me to take his place.  He was hard on me.  He had a particular penchant for pointing out every little thing I did wrong.  I now understand some of his predicament, but then I thought he was just a grumpy fellow who needed to retire.  Every morning my cheerful greetings were met with his moans and groans about all of his physical ailments as he walked across the floor with an exaggerated limp.  I thought he was making half of it up, but now I know that was far from the truth.  Dick always complained that his gout was getting the best of him.  This was the perfect reason for me to do all of the grunt work around the office and, I thought, a huge excuse for him to have a legal slave.  I did not understand the absolute torture that people with gout actually experience until I started to deal with it clinically.

Gout is a name for a form of joint inflammation (arthritis) that affects primarily the big toe.  The type of pain it causes is inexplicable.  Some compare it to the feeling that the toe is on fire.  Most often the attacks of gout come in the middle of the night with no warning whatsoever and even the weight of a bed sheet on the toe is unbearable.  The affected joint becomes excruciatingly painful, hot, and the skin around it might even turn red and shiny to show the outward signs of the inflammation that is occurring inside.  Gout has been referred to as the rich man’s disease since it is exacerbated by eating rich foods and drinking excessive alcohol, but in recent years it has been recognized to be a complicated and widespread disorder that can affect anyone.  While gout affects mostly men, women are more susceptible to it after menopause.

Gouty arthritis is caused by the deposits in the joints of tiny sharp crystals formed by excessive uric acid in the bloodstream.  Uric acid is formed naturally by the metabolism of purines.  Purines are substances found in certain foods and in alcohol, especially beer and wine.  As the purines are broken down by the body, uric acid develops and in most cases is excreted naturally.  In some cases, though, an excessive amount of the uric acid builds up in the bloodstream and is deposited in joints in the form of tiny needle-like crystals which get into the joints themselves or the tissue surrounding the joints and cause pain, inflammation, and swelling.  The intense pain from gout usually lasts from 5 to 10 days per episode, and there really is no way to prevent attacks once they begin.  Sometimes it can be weeks, months, or even years between attacks at first, but as the condition progresses the attacks get closer and closer together.  Gout can ultimately bring about more intense pain and even joint destruction.  Treatment consists of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and in some cases steroids to control the acute nature of the attacks.  Most doctors suggest a preventative strategy to reduce the amount of uric acid in the bloodstream and, hopefully, squelch the intensity of future attacks. 

Foods which are high in purines and should be restricted or avoided altogether include organ meats, shellfish, red meats, peas, lentils, and beans.  Excessive alcohol intake should also be avoided, especially beer and wine.  No more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women is a safe bet for those who suffer from gout.  Certain blood pressure medications can cause an increase in uric acid levels in the blood.  If gout becomes an issue and you are taking blood pressure medication, check with your doctor to make sure that the medications you are on are not increasing the likelihood of an attack of gout.  It is also a good idea to increase your water intake if you suffer from gout.  Increased intake of water can dilute the uric acid in your body and ultimately decrease the amount that is in your bloodstream.

For the time that I worked with Dick Etherton, I felt that he was a huge cross for me to bear.  His attacks of gout were intensified by his absolute defiance to do anything other than eat three or more portions of red meat every day, smoke multitudes of Winston cigarettes and drink copious amounts of Miller High Life.  I did not realize at that time, though, how much pain he was in more often than not.  I look back and am grateful that he was hard on me, as that helped build my work ethic and character, but I often regret that I was so hard on him, as that just added one more pain to an area of his anatomy that was pain-free before I came into his life.  Treat your body well.