Health - It Takes Discipline

You want something good but are you disciplined enough to achieve it?

Most good things in life don’t come easy.  We must be consistent and chip away at it little by little. The recognition or fulfillment comes after the work is put in. 

As a chiropractor I’ve met many people who want better health outcomes but only few of them are willing to put in the effort to get it.  

Whether it is being consistent with their chiropractic adjustments, at home exercise, kicking the sugar habit or laying off alcohol, staying on track takes discipline, and this is really evident for health.

You want to lose weight, you better have a regimented meal plan and fight off those food cravings.  You need discipline. 

You want to gain muscle, you better have regimented work out schedule and follow through on those days you don't feel like moving.  You need discipline.

You go to the chiropractor and you want to be pain free, let your nervous system start working so your body can start healing from the inside out so you can get off those medications your on.  Well you are going to make it to your appointments, even if the playoff game is on and the leafs are actually playing in it.  You need discipline.

The bottom line discipline seems to breed success.  If you want something you have to do something, and nine times out of ten it needs to be done consistently. 

If you are having trouble with the big things then start small.  

Ask yourself can you commit to getting up at the same time every day, making your bed each morning, shave etc. the list goes. on.  

Start small and build on it.  Build tolerance, and eventually challenge yourself with the big goals. 

It's Not "Old Age"

Have you ever met someone who looks young for their age?

What if that vibrant 65 year old is what 65 is suppose to look like? 

I operated a practice in Wasaga Beach (a retirement town), and it’s no secret that the demographics in Newmarket and Aurora are slightly younger.

“It’s old age” (referring to their complaint), said 80% of people over age 50 who came into the our office on the first visit. 

Is it really old age? 

Fact - There are people the same age that don’t have the same problems.  

If old age was the cause, wouldn’t every one your age have the same conditions?  

Obviously conditions can be associated with age, but let’s be clear, they are not caused by age. 

Most conditions are multifactorial, with lifestyle playing a huge role. There is another major thing that most of us do, and that's delay. 

When the alarm bells are ringing (pain, stiffness, sore, achey, etc.) we tend to put the ear plugs in and disregard what our body is trying to tell us.

I mean we are all guilty of the “it will get better on it’s own”  or “it’s not that big of a deal” mentality now and again.  

As a chiropractor I have had the opportunity to get to know many great people of all walks of life. Some treat their body like a temple and it shows.  They may be in their 70’s and doing things that most people in their 40’s couldn’t fathom. 

Others treat their body less than optimally, reaching for the the bottle of over the counter meds at the first onslaught of pain or stiffness.  Short term this isn’t going to be an issue, but since our health is cumulative, our body will eventually have to repay it’s debt.  Most of the time these people are on 10+ prescriptions, and the multiple visits to the family physician and pharmacy are the only excitement they will see all week. 

With this being said there is one thing that still blows my mind, and that is how resilient the human body can be. 

People that are on walkers able to walk again, people that can’t turn their neck are able to drive again, people that thought their life was over, getting their life back again.  Truly these are what are called chiropractic miracles.  

Too often a visit to the chiropractor is a patient's "last hope" because they have "tried everything".  A lot of times it's too late to help correct the problem.  Rather than choosing chiropractic because you are out of options and your back is against a wall, start thinking of seeing a chiropractor as an option at the start rather than at the end.

The thing is age is just a number. If you fall burden to your age, you will fail to take action and your health will suffer.  Where you are now does not have to be where you are going. This resilience is what makes the human body so amazing.

No matter your starting point you can always better your future.  A few simple changes could possibly change the trajectory that you are on. 

Your Posture May Affect Your Brain Function.

Tablets, video games, and smart phones are all fun to use and can make life a little bit easier, but with regular use can be a pain in the neck— quite literally. Using hand held devices forces us into a posture where we tilt our head forward to look down. This posture has become so common that researchers have coined the terms iHunch and iPosture to describe it. What many people do not realize is that this type of posture can negatively impact your child’s overall health. For every inch that your child’s head is forward, 10lbs of strain is added to their spine, muscles, ligaments and spinal cord.  This can cause common symptoms such as headaches, neck soreness, numbness and tingling, but research also shows it can impact your child’s mood, memory, behaviour and performance. 

How Posture May Affect Brain Function. - Mood, Behaviour, Memory, Performance

The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord. Our spines have the very important job of protecting the spinal cord so that our bodies can function properly. When the bones of the spine are out of alignment, or when the curves of the spine are straighter than they should be, this can wreak havoc on the way the entire brain and spinal cord function. Unfortunately the posture that is assumed when regularly using hand held devices forces the neck curve to straighten, and sometimes even reverse. This problem is becoming so common that it is now referred to as “Text Neck”. And this condition is becoming more and more common in children.

Not only can “Text Neck” cause symptoms of pain in the head and neck, but this type of posture has also been related to changes in behaviour, mood, and memory. Researchers from Brazil found that subjects with a forward head posture and forward dropped shoulders was more related to depression. In another study subjects were given instructions to sit up straight with good posture during a mock job interview. Results showed that subjects who slumped had higher rates of fear, worse mood and lower self esteem. On top of that, a German study found that poor sitting posture can negatively affect memory. Preliminary research also shows that poor posture can affect behaviour and cause individuals to become less assertive. What is interesting is that as the device size gets larger it caused subjects to become even less assertive. Finally, a Japanese study from 2009 showed that students with improved sitting posture had increased academic and writing productivity. Therefore having better posture, or should we say normal posture, will increase overall performance.

What causes poor posture:

Phones, tablets, videos games, reading, sitting for long periods, computer use, injuries, backpacks

Poor posture can lead to:

Aches, pain, fatigue, nerve and disc compression, early arthritis, asthma, carpal tunnel type symptoms

At home posture screen for you and your family:

If you would like to assess your posture at home, Click Here for an easy to use posture checklist. 

Supercharge Your Smoothie

Let’s face it, getting quality whole food nutrition all the time consuming. 

A good quality blender can be a time saver and in the long run a potential life saver if you are using it to make green drinks (not margaritas). 

Here are a few additives that I like to add into my smoothies that don’t destroy the taste but help to supercharge it even more. 

Collagen - Great for skin and joints collagen consists of the building blocks of your body.  You can gnaw on a beef bone with tendon and ligaments attached or use the hydrolyzed version that does not affect the flavour what so ever. 

Tumeric - Waking up with a headache, feeling tired and foggy or a lot of chronic joint pain throughout your body you should consider this.  This is a natural anti-inflammatory and can help lower your risk of some major lifestyle conditions. Look for one with black pepper for better absorption. 

Greens supplement - The more the merrier. I tend have the habit of putting it in there even if I’m using a ton spinach or kale. 

turmeric,  greens supplement,  hydrolyzed collagen

Here’s one of my favourites that I make variations of regularly. 

Handful of spinach

Handful of kale

1/2 avocado

1/2 banana

1/2 orange

4-5 strawberries

water

1 scoop of tumeric

1 scoop of greens powder

1.5 tbsp of hydrolyzed collagen.