Are You Healthy, or Just Not Sick?

Are you happy or just not sad? Are you full of energy or just not tired? Which would you rather be? Is there a difference between being healthy and just not sick?

If you lack symptoms does that mean that you are healthy? It's a question we need to examine as society continues to have increased levels of preventable diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. We all know someone who was "perfectly healthy" and then was suddenly diagnosed with cancer or heart disease. Often the first sign of heart disease is death!! The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory has been proven wrong by the increasing incidence of preventable diseases. If we wait until it is broken, it is often too late.

Most people have recognized that in order to live a long and healthy life, our everyday choices must be congruent with our long term goals. If you are reading this article, it is likely that you take great interest in living a healthy lifestyle. There is a continuum between illness and wellness and the choices we make each and every day affect which direction we are moving along this continuum. Are you healthier today than you were 5 years ago? Which direction along this continuum do you see yourself moving toward?

Our bodies were created from two cells, surely we have the ability to be self-healing and self-regulating. When you cut your finger, do you have to spend any time thinking about it healing or does it happen all by itself? When you are digesting food, do you have to think about the right breakdown or enzymes to digest the different proteins, fats and carbohydrates? There are millions of processes going on constantly. What organizes all these functions?

Your nervous system controls and monitors the functions of your 100 trillion cells at all times. It regulates all all body functions and helps us relate to our outside world. It is the master system and without it, we would not be alive. Your spine protects the nervous system and that is why its function and alignment are integral to good health.

When our x-ray machine was having difficulties, I called our electrician to see if he could find the source of the problem. When he arrived at our building he went straight downstairs to our fuse box. Why did he go there when the problem was with the x-ray machine? He knew that he had to check the power source first and when that was okay, he could check the actual x-ray machine. How is your fuse box? When was the last time you had your spine and nervous system checked?

Why do we brush our teeth? Well that's easy, to prevent cavities, you say. Everyone seems to take good care of their teeth. If our teeth wear out, there are always alternatives. Have you ever thought of the alternative to your spine wearing out?

If you are interested in achieving optimum health you are probably already eating properly, exercising, getting enough rest, maintaining a positive mental outlook, etc. If you want to continue moving toward the wellness side of the health continuum, it's time to get your spine checked.

Dr. Jason Plotsky

13 Key Habits To Help You "Seize the Day"

I believe there are certain habits that will enable us to live life to its fullest, making the most of every opportunity. These habits are not personality traits! They are little choices that we internalize into habits. Here are 13 of my favorite habits that help me seize each day:

1. Be an inverted paranoid: I believe the whole world is conspiring to do only good things to me.
2. Be a quick forgiver: I don't have time to waste in unforgiveness.
3. Be optimistic: Believing the best of people and circumstances is a sure way to find the best.
4. Be thankful: I always give thanks, keep my eyes on God as my provider, and keep a smile on my face.
5. Be an encourager: Encouragers make me feel better, stronger, and more capable of accomplishing my dreams. I want to do the same for others.
6. Be spontaneous: I have a sense of urgency and a do-it-now attitude.
7. Be a giver: My greatest joy is giving!
8. Be positive: Being positive has the potential of turning the worst situations into victories.
9. Smile a lot and laugh at life: Adversity is a steppingstone, not a roadblock. Why not laugh in the midst of challenges?
10. Live life with enthusiasm: I will only live once, so why not give it my all?
11. Enjoy life: I truly enjoy life.
12. Find a hobby you enjoy: No matter where I am, I have something I like to do.
13. Look for people to help: I get up every morning excited about the person I might help that day.

This article is taken from the Success Magazine blog. It is written by Paul J. Meyer.

Make Your Own Flu Vaccine

Winterize Your Immune System

The flu is a topic that comes up a lot at this time of year. We'd like to take a moment to address some of the issues around it that might be of concern to you. First, we would like to discuss immunity. If I had the flu and spent an entire day in an enclosed room with 30 people in close proximity, would everyone in the room get the flu? Most would agree 'no', 'some' maybe but not 'all'. Most people would agree on the reasoning behind why not everyone contracted the flu in this case. It is the state of each individual person's immune system that determines whether or not they contract it. I like the analogy of what came first, the rats or the garbage?

This leads us to the second point which is, how strong is your immune system right now and what are you doing to boost it? This is where we focus a lot of attention in our clinic because it can have a huge impact on whether or not someone will stay healthy and thrive throughout the cold months or merely survive. This year, just like every other year, there will be a flu vaccine that always seems to make the headlines. A lot of fear is instilled in us by the media to run in and get it and make sure our kids get it too. It seems good in theory, if we could have a magical vaccine that would prevent everyone who got it from getting sick and had no side effects, including long term, it would be ideal. That's where we begin to have questions. there are 2 types of immunity: natural immunity which occurs when you are exposed to some type of foreign virus (like in the past when most of us had the chicken pox) and your body has the chance to filter it through the skin, your nose hairs, all the way down into the respiratory tract alerting your immune system to send out the armies to fight the invader. You may or may not get ill from this but because it is natural immunity, your body remembers this invader forever and you will have lifetime immunity to it. The second type is artificial immunity which happens when you get a vaccine. A strain of the invader is mixed into a formula with other ingredients (some which are disclosed and others which are not). This is injected directly into the bloodstream and because of it, your body will produce an artificial response but it is likely that you would need booster shots in the future to keep your immunity to this particular strain.

One of our major concerns about the vaccine is just that, it is injected directly into the bloodstream. I have yet to see a list of ingredients to this vaccine. It is very difficult to deem anything safe especially when it is being injected directly into the bloodstream unless the exact ingredients are known.

That being said, we have chosen not to vaccinate our family and just like every other year, we feel very comfortable with this decision. A friend of mine said it well when he explained that it is a gamble either way. If we have to choose whether we're going to gamble on science or nature, we'll always choose nature. We are taking proactive measures to build our immunity to ensure we have a great winter. This does not necessarily mean that we don not get sick once in a while. In general, it is more uncommon for us to get sick than most other households. Our kids however are two and four years old. Their immune systems are in their early development and for the most part encountering new things e very day so it becomes even more important to ensure we are taking proactive measures. They too seem to be sick far less often than other kids their age.

These are the basics in our household:

Probiotics: it is estimated that approximately 70% of our immune system is found in the digestive tract. It is therefore essential to ensure good bacterial flora. Children need billions of bacteria while adults need trillions. We carry a product at the clinic with a high bacterial count in powder form so we put them in the kids' smoothies. We also have capsules as well. If you need some, make sure they have a high bacterial count so purchase them either from a health food store or come in and get some at the clinic. Make sure to keep them refrigerated. The highest bacterial counts we've found have about 50 billion per dose but on average you should get a brand that has at least 15 billion per dose.

Vitamin D: Jason and I are taking about 4000 IU's in the winter. David our oldest boy likes to chew on the Carlson's gel capsules. We squeeze this gel capsule into Alex's mouth. I would recommend at least 1000 IU's for children per day and at least 2000 IU's for adults (doses are age and weight dependent). You can also take more when you are sick (your body produces 10,000 IU's in 30 minutes of sunlight so there have been tests done to show this is a safe amount to take).

Finally, oil of oregano is a natural antibiotic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. It's a must around this household in the winter. If you're ever feeling a sore throat or sniffles coming along, just take a few drops (very strong taste but it works). If not, just repeat every few hours until it's gone. Only do it at the onset of symptoms. It can deplete your good bacteria if you take it for prolonged periods. For kids, because it tastes so awful, you can put it on their chest or on their feet (while they sleep) because it has a strong smell. This product is also available at the clinic and at health food stores. we bring it with us on trips in our travel kit, it works well.

We also take multivitamins, greens and make sure we stay away from sugar especially when we feel our immunity is low. One teaspoon of sugar can suppress your immune system for hours.

Jason and I feel very confident with our decision and the steps we are taking toward optimizing our family's health this season. Make sure you feel good about your decision since how you feel affects your thoughts which affect your overall health... more on that at our Law of Attraction Seminars. Stay tuned for more!

- Dr. Cindy Toner