Childhood Obesity, what does that mean?

I stumbled upon this article yesterday: “Obese Third Grader Taken From Mom, Placed in Foster Care.” The boy was a third grader who weighted more than 200 lbs which is obviously not good. The state took him away and put him foster care. This is not the only incident but it brought up a very interesting topic.

Childhood Obesity has become very prominent over the past few years. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the past 30 years childhood obesity has more than tripled. This is very alarming and bring obese is a precursor for several diseases including cancer, diabetes and many problems.

I do empathize with the parents who are in this situation. Yet the best way for a parent and family to help the child is to change their lifestyle to help encourage change in their children’s lifestyle. This refers to activities in the family, eating habits, hobbies and much more.

So what happened in the past 30 years to make childhood obesity so prominent today? Well lifestyle in general has changed. ‘Let’s Move” is a program throughout the United States that is supported by First Lady, Michelle Obama. The program encourages keeping our youth physically active. They state children today experience a different lifestyle. “Walks to and from school have been replaced by car and bus rides. Gym class and after-school sports have been cut; afternoons are now spent with TV, video games, and the Internet. Parents are busier than ever and families eat fewer home-cooked meals. Snacking between meals is now commonplace.”

So what can parents do? According to KidsHealth, the best way to prevent child obesity is to changing the way your family interacts with one another through eating, exercises, how you spend time together. “Helping kids lead healthy lifestyles begins with parents who lead by example.”

The best practice to raising a healthy child is to lead by example. In January 2012, Dr. Hugh Wegwerth at Bandana Chiropractic and Wellness Center will be hosting a workshop, the “Extreme Makeover”. The Makeover offers an historical view of how our eating habits have changed for the worse as well as simple, easy to implement, baby steps to making healthy living part of your lifestyle. It is free and open to the public, call 651-354-8343 to register today.

Vitamin D3 in a New Bottle

Last year around this time I was sitting in a lecture by guest speaker Dr. Mayer Eisenstein. Our clinic had invited him to Minnesota to give a lecture about Vaccines. I remember him being a very pleasant man with a lot to say.

As he discussed vaccines he brought up a very important vitamin. Vitamin D3. It is something that we get naturally from sunlight. The problem though is that most of us are not outside bathing in the sun anymore, we are spending our time inside. It helps with our immune system and when you are sick you should be getting in more Vitamin D3.

What was recommended is that if you are ill you should be taking in 1,000 IU for every pound you weigh. Example if I weight 150 lbs, which I don't, I should be taking 150,000 IU. The company that Dr. Mayer Eisenstein has offers it in 50,000 IU pills, Home First. We do carry these in our office.

The other one we carry in our office is the Maximized Living Vitamin D3. In a few weeks we will be carrying a newer version of the Maximized Living Vitamin D3. It is the same price but what is the difference? First of all the quantity is the first thing that I noticed.
Our original bottle has 100 capsules while the new one has 33 capsules. So what are the benefits of these new bottles? The new bottle now not only has the 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 but also they have added "1 Billion CFU of powerful probiotics with an organic whole fruit and vegetable blend."

How do you know what is good food?

That's an interesting question. I was reading an article I saw on yahoo about the "5 Worst Fast-Food Breakfasts ( and what you should order instead)" . Interesting article that goes over Starbucks, Mcdonalds, Jamba Juice, Subway and several others menus. I didn't think they could find anything that would be actually "good" but there are a few options. Besides looking at calories you should also look at content of the food you are consuming. A common themed option they approve of is oatmeal which I agree with too. It's a good alternative than any deep friend breakfast. Also when you get anything from Mcdonalds it's not really cooked for you it's usually thrown into the microwave. Same thing goes for any of the sandwiches you pick up at Caribou Coffee or Starbucks right now. How healthy can that be?

First off what is a calorie? I mean in this society we are surrounded by calorie counters. Do they know what they are counting? According to Dictionary.com is the "a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy." Now that we got that on the table how much energy does your body really need? Well if you try out the Calories Per Day Calculator  it gives you an idea and that varies by several factors such as your height, current weight and how active you are. So my final conclusion, as nice as calorie counting may seem if you aren't watching what you eat and how active you are, you're not necessaricly being healthy.

You can eat 1500 calories of candy for the day and all your meals but is your body receiving everything that you really need? You rather eat that 1800 calories of healthy stuff and trust me your body will appreciate it more. You may also see some results in weight loss too. One thing I noticed is that when I eat more greens, things that don't have preservatives and that are fresh my body responds better. I feel better, not sluggish, not sick and that is how I like it to be. 

Thanksgiving Around the Corner

I have been in this position as a Chiropractic Assistant for almost a year and a half. Honestly I didn't think much of it when I first took the job. To me it was a job, but I have learned a lot since then and seen miracles happen every day. Our doctors genuinely care about their patients and about everyone getting better. If you want to get better the doctors will work with you to make it work. This November we asked a few of our patients what they are thankful for health wise:

Since July when I started treatment I've lost 33 lbs. I have terrible arthritis that had started causing some debilitating (sp) symptoms. Dr. Hugh started adjusting. I feel 100% better. 

Thank you,

Maggie A.

I have fewer headaches + much better range of motion.

Toni T.

Lasting + continued relief from leg pain.

Ability to walk pain free!

Medication free.

K. 

More energy!

Sleep well!

Matt L.

Sleeping better

Left leg better

Thankful for everything in my life !

Lu D.

I am thankful that I can say I am doing everything possible to avoid a heart attack in the future with adjustments and education in living healthy : eating, exercising, stress relief.

Cindy M.

I don't have headaches anymore and I have more energy. :)

Bree Ann B. 

My smiles form so much easier. Now I just gotta fix the teeth :)

Justin P.  

My daily tension headaches have gone away! 

Mary G.

Better low back - recovers more quickly after workout, walking 

Ron B. 

My neck and arm are not hurting, less headaches.

Jean P. 

I can move my body.
I am breathing better.
Fruits and vegetables make me look better -- people are telling me my skin "glows"
I can't dance yet - but I CAN WALK.

Mary Lou K.  

I am able to sleep faster and better.
I have less chronic pain.
I sue better form when working and am aware of how I lift and my posture.

11-22-11

more energy
better posture
healthier body

Paul M.   

The First Wealth is Health - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The First Wealth is Health - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 This is something a lot of us take for granted and don't take care of it. 

Imagine getting a brand new car that is worth well over $60,000. What do you do? Do you just put whatever gas into it when you know it needs premium unleaded gas? Do you just leave it outside all the time to endure all nature has to offer as far as weather? Will you wash it? How often will you maintenance it?

Of course you are going to take care of that car! It's a valuable item and something worth that much needs the best of care. Now reconsider that and put yourself in the picture. Your health. Even if you had the money for the most expensive car in the world but you were sick all of the time, in pain all the time and tired all the time would you be able to enjoy that nice car? Would you be able to enjoy life in general? Probably not. You will try but still won't be satisfied. 

Your health, your body to be more exact is that expensive car. In fact the most valuable thing we own is not a car, a house, a computer or anything else. It's our own body. If we are not taking care of it then just like a car it's going to break down, it's going to have problems, it's going to get sick and leave us unhappy with it. 

Think of a used car that you just picked up. A junker to be more exact. It's always needing to go into the shop to get repaired. The blinker it's working, it's making a lot of noises, the power steering isn't working etc. We can list a lot of trouble that goes on with a car. Our body is like that. It all breaks down to how we take care of it. We can't enjoy that car if it's not working at 100% nor can we enjoy our life unless our body is at 100%. 

It's time to think twice about everything you do. I'm not saying quit eating the things you love, or not to do things that you want to. I'm saying you need to take care of your body. Everyone's body is like a car, we need take care of it from day 1. That's why a car loses value as soon as you drive it off the sales lot.

Diabetes is up 700%

Diabetes is up 700% according to the Maximized Living Blog article just recently published.

This article was very interesting for me to read because my grandma died of diabetes and my family (according to the doctor) is at high risk for getting diabetes. This honestly has me concerned. Especially since I would like to live a long time and I would love if my loved ones will live a long healthy life. What is a healthy life? One that doesn't require me to not be naturally living, no drugs, no oxygen mask, no wheelchair. I mean who wants to retire to nursing home? Most people want to retire, travel, do the things they love, and spend time with their loved ones.

On November 22nd, 2011 Maximized Living is hosting a free webinar about Diabetes and things you can do to reverse it and/or prevent it. We need to stop accepting things as they are told and explore other ways to take care of themselves. Meaning I can sit here and accept that I will get diabetes and die because the doctors says I will get it and I should just accept it. If you're like me you learn it's your life, it's your health, don't let anyone tell you how to live it.

If you have or know someone who have diabetes or prediabetes you should come in to a Maximized Living Clinic and learn about natural ways to stand up for your own health. If you  are in the Twin Cities area you can come in for a free consultation at Bandana Chiropractic and Wellness Center in Roseville Minnesota. Call 651-646-2050 and mention this blog.