by Dr. Chris Van Wyk on March 31, 2009
Have you ever eaten a pomegranate? They are the fruit with the little red seeds in them.
Well, it turns out that pomegranate juice has some pretty powerful health benefits. Some research was done a few years a go and I want to share with you some of the findings because they are pretty interesting.
Check out the benefits discovered in the research study:
* After one year of pomegranate juice consumption (3 ounces per day), systolic blood pressure decreased by 21%.
* After one year of consumption, the antioxidant health status increased by 130%.
* Oxidative stress is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. Consumption of pomegranate juice lowed the oxidative stress levels in the blood.
* A significant decrease in the LDL cholesterol levels after 6 months of consumption.
* Was shown to decrease atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries.
So let’s recap the benefits really quick. By consuming only 3 ounces of pomegranate juice daily, over time there is a good chance you would obtain the following health benefits:
* Lower blood pressure
* Increased antioxidant health status
* Decreases carotid artery atherosclerosis
* Lower oxidative stress levels
* Lower LDL levels
Those are some good benefits, so I’d recommend you consider adding this juice to your diet. You can buy pomegranate juice in your local grocery store. I think the main brand is “POM.”
Have a great day!
Dr. Chris Van Wyk
Van Wyk Chiropractic
by Dr. Trevor on March 20, 2009
This is pretty cool. One of the greatest football players in NFL history has decided to publicly endorse his support for chiropractic care and the chiropractic profession.
Jerry Rice, one of the best wide receivers to ever play in the NFL, and also a star on the popular television show “Dancing with the Stars” has teamed up with the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress to let the public know about the positive benefits of chiropractic care.
Check out some of Jerry Rice’s comments:
“My first experience with chiropractic care was right before the 49ers were to play the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII in 1987. A couple of our key players were injured and a chiropractor turned things around. I quickly became a believer and ever since I have had the benefit of chiropractic care.”
“Football is a very rough and vicious sport. I took some vicious hits from players nearly twice my size. Thankfully, I had the durability to withstand these tackles or I would have never succeeded or lasted as long as I did. Chiropractic was the key to keeping me in the game.”
“Dancing with the stars was every bit as exhausting and challenging – though not nearly as brutal as football. It required many hours of practice. I had aches and pains that I never had before. Again, chiropractic made the difference – and kept me dancing and in competition.”
If you’d like to see the video of Jerry Rice talking about chiropractic care, it’s on YouTube. Just Click the link below to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=jerry+rice+%2B+chiropractic+care&aq=f
Did you know that most professional athletes receive chiropractic care on a regular basis to keep their bodies healthy and performing at their best? It’s true.
And even though none of us are professional athletes, that doesn’t mean that we don’t suffer from stress, aches and pains, stiffness, fatigue, soreness, or other problems.
The cool thing is chiropractic care will improve our quality of lives and keep our bodies healthy just like it does for pro athletes. I hope you understand that chiropractic care is for much more than just pain. It can keep your body healthy and functioning at its best.
The patients we have in our office that include regular chiropractic adjustments as part of their overall health plan are happier, less stressed, don’t get sick as much, sleep better, are more productive at work, and don’t have as many aches and pains.
The days of chiropractic care being thought of as a treatment only for back pain are over. That thinking is severely outdated. Chiropractic care has been proven to do much more than that, so please take advantage of all of the benefits that chiropractic care can offer you.
Have a great day!
Dr. Trevor Van Wyk
Van Wyk Chiropractic
by Dr. Trevor on March 9, 2009
When cooking, adding spices to the food really enhances the flavor and makes the meal more alive and fulfilling.
Today I wanted to share with you 3 spices you should be using consuming on a regular basis because of their health benefits.
The first spice is garlic.
Various studies show that garlic can prevent heart attacks, strengthen the immune system, as well as help the body fight diseases such as colon, breast, prostrate, and throat cancers. Researchers are conducting further trials to uncover more of this pungent spice’s medicinal benefits.
The second spice is chili pepper.
This hot spice is loaded with capsaicin, a compound that triggers the body to produce more heat and, thus, burn more energy. In 2007, in an article published in Physiology & Behavior, research teams from the Maastricht University in the Netherlands and the Laval University in Quebec, Canada reported that capsaicin may help fight obesity. Moreover, their findings indicated that capsaicin has cancer-fighting properties as well.
The third spice is ginger.
Last year, an article in Food and Chemical Toxicology revealed that various studies have found that ginger can lower both blood sugar and cholesterol levels. It also has powerful antioxidant properties that protect against the toxic effects or radiation treatment, ulcers, and skin diseases.
The powerful qualities of these three spices should encourage you to use them in your cooking. Not only will they enhance the flavor of your meals, they will also provide many health benefits. Hopefully, this would help you get into the habit of “spicing up” your life with foods that are good for you!
Dr. Chris Van Wyk
Van Wyk Chiropractic
by Dr. Trevor on February 28, 2009
I came across a really cool chiropractic success story and I wanted to share it with you. It’s really interesting.
12 years ago, a man named Doug Harkey, had a problem with his left eye. One day it instantly stopped working and he became blind in that eye. Recently, Doug was making a routine visit to his chiropractor. But the results from this “normal” chiropractic adjustment were anything but normal. After the chiropractic adjustment, Doug was no longer blind in his left eye.
Here’s how Doug describes what happened:
“My blind eye started watering after I left my chiropractor’s office and it watered for 45 minutes straight. It started making my good eye water too. I went to wipe my right eye – and I could see out of my left eye again.”
How cool is that?
The chiropractor told Doug that the adjustments he’d been receiving removed the nerve interference that had prevented his spinal column from properly communicating messages from his brain. Once full communication was restored, so was Doug’s eyesight.
It’s important to note that the chiropractor never once claimed that chiropractic care cured Doug’s blindness. What happened was the chiropractic adjustments eliminated the nerve interference that had prohibited his body from operating at peak efficiency. And when operating at peak efficiency, the body can do great things.
Just remember, your chiropractic care is about much more than relieving aches and pains. It’s about making sure body is operating properly. Most people don’t realize that chiropractic care can make your overall body work better. It’s important that you keep your spine, joints, nerves, and muscles healthy since it affects all the other areas of your health.
Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon!
Sincerely,
Dr. Trevor Van Wyk
Van Wyk Chiropractic
by Dr. Chris Van Wyk on February 11, 2009
Chances are you or someone you know drinks coffee. After all, it’s one of the most popular beverages in the world.
According to a study by Finnish and Swedish researchers, there may be a good health reason to enjoy that hot cup of java.
In their study, they found that middle aged people who drink moderate amounts of coffee significantly reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
“Middle-aged people who drank between three and five cups of coffee a day lowered their risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by between 60 and 65 percent later in life,” said lead researcher on the project, Miia Kivipelto, a professor at the University of Kuopio in Finland and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
The study, which was also conducted in cooperation with the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki and which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease this month, was based on repeated interviews with 1,409 people in Finland over more than two decades.
They were first asked about their coffee-drinking habits when they were in their 50s and their memory functions were tested again in 1998, when they were between 65 and 79 years of age.
A total of 61 people had by then developed dementia, 48 of whom had Alzheimer’s, the researchers said.
“There are perhaps one or two other studies that have shown that coffee can improve some memory functions (but) this is the first study directed at dementia and Alzheimer’s (and) in which the subjects are followed for such a long time,” Kivipelto told AFP.
It’s still unclear how drinking coffee helps delay or avoid the onset of dementia, but we do know that coffee contains strong antioxidants, which are known to counter Alzheimer’s.
Some studies have also shown that coffee helps protects the nerve system, which can also protect against dementia, she said, pointing out that yet other studies show that coffee protects against diabetes, which in turn is known to be linked to Alzheimer’s.
So if you drink coffee, keep doing so in moderation…tell your friends too!
Talk to you soon!
Dr. Chris Van Wyk
Source: Yahoo News, Thursday January 15, 2009
by Dr. Chris Van Wyk on January 29, 2009
Even though we are fast approaching the winter months, it’s still important that you get out in the sun when you can.
It’s well known that there’s a proven association between darkness and depression. And now there’s a new study out that reveals the profound changes that light deprivation causes in your brain.
In this study, neuroscientists kept rats in the dark for 6 weeks. The animals not only showed depressive behavior but also suffered brain damage in regions of the brain that are known to be underactive in humans during states of depression.
Also, neurons that produce the neurotransmitters involved in emotion, pleasure, and cognition began to die. (Not a good thing.)
These dark induced effects may stem from a disruption of the body’s clock. When an organism is not receiving normal light, it may lead to changes in the brain that affect your mood.
Both “Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)” and “Winter Blues” are directly related to a lack of sunlight.
The takeaway message here is this: getting minimal sunlight for prolonged periods of time can negatively impact your mood. Your body is designed to be in the sun and get sunlight. So make sure you take advantage of those sunny days this winter!
Talk to you soon,
Dr. Chris Van Wyk
Sources:
Scientific American, August 2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences March 25, 2008, vol. 105 no. 12 4898-4903
by Dr. Trevor on January 10, 2009
If you have young children or grandchildren, then you’ll want to read this article.
Many patients new to chiropractic care don’t realize that infants, toddlers, pre-teens, and teens get chiropractic care. They often ask, “Why would kids get chiropractic care? Thy don’t have back pain.”
The answer is simple. Chiropractic is so much more than back and neck pain relief. Chiropractic adjustments make the body work better. They boost the immune system. They reduce stress on the physical body. They do all sorts of amazing and beneficial things to keep you healthy.
There is no age limit to receiving the awesome health benefits of chiropractic care. In our office we see patients from birth to death. Chiropractic care can make a difference at any age.
Now, what about this question: “Are kids who receive chiropractic care healthier than kids who don’t receive chiropractic care?”
What do you think?
A research study was done several years ago to figure this out. Here’s what they found:
1. There is a “definite” correlation between chiropractic care and superior health.
2. 69% of the chiropractic children (kids who receive chiropractic care) have never had an ear infection, while only 20% of the children who only receive medical care.
3. Medical treatment is disease treatment. Chiropractic healthcare is primarily preventative.
4. 95% of chiropractors considered that chiropractic had a positive effect on their children’s health.
5. The study has shown that children raised with getting chiropractic care are less prone to infectious processes such as ear infections and tonsillitis and their immune systems are better able to cope with allergens like pollen, weeds, grasses, etc. compared to children who do not receive chiropractic care.
6. Chiropractors responded that the “recovery time from any trauma or illness by their children was more rapid than that of their children’s peers.”
7. The study has shown that there is validity in the premise that chiropractic has a positive effect on the health status of individuals.”
8. The results of the study confirm the benefits of the chiropractic model of health care on the health status of children.
So there you have it! Chiropractic works great with kids.
If you would like your children or grandchildren to start receiving the benefits of chiropractic care, I’d like to help you get them started.
For the next two weeks, when you schedule your children an appointment, I will do the examination(s) for free. This will help you get them started.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me or call.
Hope to see you soon,
Dr. Trevor Van Wyk, DC
Source: The American Chiropractor, November 2008
by Dr. Chris Van Wyk on December 27, 2008
The Truth About Fat In Your Diet
I found some very interesting information on “fat” in our diet that I wanted to get to your right away.
The question is…”Do we have too much fat in our diets?” The answer may surprise you.
Any way you look at it, there’s a debate over whether or not American’s health problems are consequence of a “high fat” diet.
Here’s the deal: Americans are not eating a diet abnormally high in fat. Before this idea became commercialized, politicized, used to market and sell products, distorted by vegetarian wishes, and adopted by the “mass media,” no one ever really proved that our diets are too high in fat.
The average American averages 35% of their calorie from fat. Seem like a lot? Look closer.
Surviving native pre-agrarian (pre-agricultural diet) cultures average 38% of their calories from fat. It’s not uncommon for them to have 50% of their caloric intake come from fat. And even with this fat intake, they do not suffer from the epidemic heart disease problem afflicting America.
That is our prototypical diet. We’ve eaten this way for millions of years.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are definite problems with modern dietary fat. But lowering your fat intake will only worsen your deviation from your natural diet.
So what should we do?
In today’s diet, we typically eat too many carbohydrates. So try to lower your total carbs and stay away from carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index. Some foods that have a high glycemic index are cereals, potatoes, breads, and pastas.
Fat is not necessarily the enemy. You do not want to give up having fat in your diet. The key is to choose “healthy fats” and monitor your carbohydrates.
Talk to you soon,
Dr. Chris Van Wyk
(Source: The Paleo Diet by L. Cordain)
by Dr. Chris Van Wyk on December 12, 2008
Do you Tylenol when you have pain?
If so, the next time you reach for your bottle of Tylenol, consider this: There is evidence that many people who take maximum doses of this over the counter pain reliever had abnormal livers.
In other words, taking Tylenol as recommended on the bottle can create problems with your liver.
In the study, 40% of participants showed signs of liver damage after just two weeks.
Also, the leading ingredient in Tylenol is acetaminophen, and researchers warned that it’s easy to take more than the maximum daily amount of acetaminophen because its found in other medications that people take routinely.
The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, pointed out that acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure.
So to minimize the risk of damaging your liver, which can happen very quickly, try natural forms of pain relief. Several options are now available in our office or the natural grocery store.
As an example, start taking a high quality fish oil. It has been widely proven to reduce inflammation and should help ease your joint pain.
Just be careful with the over the counter drugs. They can cause some serious problems if they are used too often.
If you have any questions, just email me. I’ll be happy to help you out!
Have a great day!
Dr. Chris Van Wyk, DC
by Dr. Trevor on November 15, 2008
Have you seen or heard about those “detoxifying foot pads” that people are buying like crazy these days? It’s one of the latest health fads.
I’ve had several patients ask me if they worked, but until now, I didn’t know much about them.
However, the other day I came across an article that basically said these detoxifying foot pads don’t work…and they are a scam.
Here are some resources for you to check out if you have bought some of these or were thinking about buying some…or just want to learn more about them!
http://consumerist.com/5038757/gee-whiz-it-turns-out-that-kinoki-foot-pads-are-a-scam
http://doesitwork.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/19/1156772.aspx
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Stossel/story?id=4636224&page=1
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions!
Talk soon,
Dr. Trevor Van Wyk, DC
www.vanwykchiropractic.com
