7 Tips to Grocery Shopping (Without Harming Your Family)

There are many approaches to grocery shopping.  Some shop based upon the coupons they have clipped that week, some plan ahead with a list, and some shop by the seat of their pants.  However, there are ways to shop that will not only save money, but will increase the health of your family as well.  Here are seven tips:

1.  Plan meals one week in advance.  Planning organizes your kitchen and saves money.  It enables you to clip coupons for the week ahead and to plan for healthy meals.

2.  Always have a list.  Being prepared helps you avoid spontaneous buys (which really add to the bottom line).  It also helps you focus on the healthy choices, rather than the hugely promoted “junk foods”.

3.  Shop in the outskirts of the store.  The healthy whole food products are located around the perimeter.

4.  Buy organic.  Certified organic produce is guaranteed not to have pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or use ionizing radiation.

5.  Avoid processed foods.  Anything that is canned, packaged, or wrapped is a processed food and as far as the FDA is concerned, the package label can be “anything goes”.  First, there is no requirement on revealing if genetically modified organisms (GMO) are in the food.  Second, there are no standardized serving sizes and many companies will use a serving size so small that any attempt to calculate actually calories consumed can become a daunting task.  And thirdly, things such as trans – fats may not make the nutrition label at all, if the amount present in the serving size falls under the minimum FDA requirements.

6.  Avoid genetically modified organisms (GMO).  The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has stated that “GM foods pose a serious health risk.”  There has been very little research on the dangers of GM foods in humans, but animal studies have shown smaller brains, livers, and testicles, partial atrophy or increased density of the liver, odd shaped nuclei, and other anomalies in animals consuming GM foods.

7.  Read labels for “at risk” ingredients. 90% of corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed is genetically modified.  If the nutritional label contains these items, it is a safe bet the food contains genetically modified ingredients.

Use these tips to save money, shop healthy, and shop wise!

 

Preventing "Crick in the Neck"

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This comes from the blog "Chiropractors Write Hand".  I was interviewed for the article and the author (Deborah Tukua), did a great job providing insight from a patients point of view.  Click here for the article, "Preventing Crick in the Neck".

 

Dr. Tom

12 Things You can do to Help Your Headaches

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Nine out of ten Americans suffer from headaches.  Some have them occassionally, some are frequent – even occurring daily.  Headaches are debilitating.  They can cause a loss of concentration, throbbing, pounding, nausea, moodiness, inability to work, and a diminishment in quality of life.  Most Americans use over counter pain medications in the form of aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or a variety of muscle relaxors to combat a headache.  The problem is that this only covers up the symptom and the headaches will return.  There are also side effects from use of over the counter pain medication listed above including ulcers, liver damage, and kidney failure. 

Here are 12 tips to help naturally control your headaches:

1.  Avoid Stress:  Anything that boosts your stress levels will aggravate a headache.  Tension headaches occur with increase in muscle tension at the base of the skull or the upper neck.  Migraine headaches are caused from altered blood flow from within the brain itself.  Stress changes both the tension of the muscles and the amount of blood flow to the brain.  Control of stress will mean less muscle tension, balanced blood flow and less headache.  Exercise, consistently good diet, proper sleep, and a healthy spine and nerve system are ways to help your body disappate stress.

2.  Heat:  Statisically, headaches increase by 7.5% for every 9 degrees of rise in temperature.  As summer approaches, monitor your time in the sun.  Drink a lot of water and allow your body time to cool off in the shade.  

3.  Strong Smells:  Pleasant smells like perfume and deoderants, or toxic smells like paint or gasoline can be triggers for headaches.  If you are sensitive to smells, avoid them.

4.  Hair Accessories:  Believe it or not - pulling your hair tightly into a pony tail can trigger headaches.  Let your hair down...literally.

5.  Cheese:  Certain aged cheeses have a chemical called tyramine which, when broken down, creates a protein that some people are sensitive to.  Blue cheese, cheddar, brie, feta, mozarella, parmasean, and Swiss all contain tyramine.  The longer a cheese ages, the more tyramine it has.  

6.  Red Wine:  Tyramine is also found in red wine, beer, and hard liquors according to the University of New Hampshire.  If these trigger your headaches, avoid them.  

7.  Diet Soda:  Diet sodas contain a toxic chemical known as Aspartame.  It is also known by the trade names of Nutrasweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal Measure.  According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, a professor of neurosurgery at the Medical School of Mississippi, an excess of Aspartame kills neurons (brain cells).  This can result in headaches in addition to a host of neurodegenerative diseases.  Watch for more on Aspartame in another post.  For now, ditch the diet pop.

8.  Caffeine:  Caffeine can both be the cause and the cure for headaches.  According to a Norwegian study, those with low caffeine consumptions tended to have more chronic headaches and those who consumed higher doses of caffeine tended to get occasional headaches.  Their recommmendation:  If you have chronic headaches (more than 14 headaches per month) increase your caffeine intake slightly.  Occasional headache sufferers should try cutting back on caffeine.  

9.  Pain Medications:  I know, these are supposed to help headaches, and many do.  However, if you take them consistently, it can lead to rebound headaches.  If you can, it is best to avoid them.

10.  Skipping Meals:  Low blood sugar is a problem that is interpreted as a chemical stress by your body.  Headaches are often the first symptom of low blood sugar.  Be sure to eat three balanced meals a day.

11.  Dehydration:  Much like low blood sugar, dehydration is also a chemical stress to your body that can trigger headaches.  Children and seniors are more susceptible to dehydration, especially on hot days.  The best way to judge your level of hydration is through the color of your urine.  White or pale is good, dark yellow is bad.  Plan your water consumption throughout the day so your urine is consistently pale yellow or clear.  

12.  Subluxation:  Poor posture, inadequate movement of the spinal bones (vertebrae), stiff neck, and poor range of motion are all causes of headaches.  Subluxation is most often the underlying cause of most of the "triggers" noted above.  This means that if the subluxations are removed or reduced, you are less susceptible to stress, heat, strong smells, etc. that are the "triggers" ofyour headaches.

There are many more causes for headaches, these are some of the more common ones that I see on a daily basis in practice.  Hope this helps!

 

Dr. Tom