DAY 96 - Chiropractic History: a Short Version

This is not just a short version; it is my version of Chiropractic history.
  
The healing art and science of Chiropractic was founded in Davenport, Iowa in 1895 by Daniel David Palmer. Palmer believed that virtually all disease was caused by displaced vertebrae that disrupted the function of spinal nerves innervating the organs and tissues of the body. His new practice caught on. By 1897 he had established the Palmer School of Chiropractic, and by 1906 he was charged with practicing medicine without a license.
  
Given that chiropractors used no drugs, and practiced no surgery - hardly practicing medicine - it was clear that the real complaint of the medical community in Iowa, was that doctors of chiropractic (DCs) were a competitive threat.
  
Dr. Palmer had hitched his wagon to something big. Turns out that cultures around the world had successfully used spinal manipulation for millennia. While it was far from correct to think that most all diseases were caused by spinal problems, it was spot on to recognize that aberrations of spinal mechanics can negatively influence the function of related organs and tissues, and can cause or contribute to a wide range of diseases and dysfunctions.
  
As the next century rolled by, the chiropractic profession grew; a lot. In the 1960’s the American Medical Association (AMA), in collusion with other medical groups, created and carried out plans to boycott and destroy the chiropractic profession. Surprisingly, justice was served in 1987 when in federal court the AMA was found guilty of antitrust violations in its attempt to eliminate the chiropractic profession.
  
It is important to know that from the early 1900’s there were medical doctors who valued chiropractic, referred patients for chiropractic care, and received chiropractic treatment themselves. In many instances, medical societies made it difficult for these MDs and scorned or threatened them for associating with chiropractors.
  
Things are better today in 2011. Why just today I treated a medical doctor and her daughter.

DAY 57 - A Real Gift This Holiday

This piece was first published in the Ventura County Star on December 25, 2001 with the title
"Make a pledge this holiday season to take care of yourself".

Give the gift that everyone wants to receive, but that we’ve never seen advertised. Give the gift that we all can afford to give, and that we can’t afford not to give. What is it? The gift of your own health and well being.

There are cultural voids and misconceptions that either interfere with giving this gift, and more often, simply make its giving inconceivable. One factor is that our culture doesn’t focus on health. We are fixated on disease, its treatment, and the covering of its symptoms with medications. Also, we have little or no life-experience showing us that daily health practices result in a better life. Additionally, most of us would not intuitively think that improving our own life, would be a gift to others.  Finally, try as we might, we still believe that a gift is a physical object; love is great, but where are the presents?

Ask your mother, your father, your spouse, your brother, your sister, your child; “Would it feel like a gift to you if I had less pain, felt more rested, was happier, stopped smoking, began exercising, lost weight, recovered from chronic illness?” If these people are feeling loving toward you, the answer will be YES. Turn it around. Is there anyone, family or not, that would be giving you a wonderful gift by becoming healthier?

When a child cries from the pain of an ear infection, struggles to breathe with the wheezing of asthma, or cries in fear of a painful medical treatment, we too feel pain. When that child, in a healthy state, smiles and giggles we feel her comfort and joy.

How painful to watch an adult, limping in pain, hunched with pain, breathing or swallowing with difficulty, depressed by chronic pain, hooked to tubes and monitors. How uplifting to watch a spry, happy elderly person hiking, dancing, or playing with a small child.

The gift of your health is a blessing to all; each and every day. It is a blessing for the future because it reduces the probability of you becoming disabled, suffering with chronic disease, or dying early. Your commitment to health also reduces the risk that your loved ones will have to suffer with you during a prolonged illness or premature death.  In a still larger sense, the more days of your life that you are healthy, the greater your ability to contribute to others. The more days ill, or in a bad mood generated by poor health, the more that others will have to contribute energy to accommodate for you and lift you up.

We each have a choice, not a guarantee, but an opportunity to give the gift of our health to our family, our friends, and to the world in which we live. There are few gifts that we will ever give that will be more important or more appreciated.

Each time you wish out loud or to yourself that others would begin to make changes to regain their health, remember that someone may be wishing the same of you.

It is critical to understand that the absence of obvious and active disease is not the same as optimal health. Our bodies gradually, often imperceptibly, lose function and reserves until they periodically, and then ultimately breakdown. Conditions and practices of daily living are the keys to health. How many of these are regular parts of your life: loving relationships, organically grown food, low sugar and starch consumption, aerobic and stretching exercise, plenty of rest and sleep, hope?

Give a gift that really matters.

DAY 45 – Sugar Makes for a Lousy Gift

I just wanted to dash this off to you cuz I know that we are already deep into the “Holiday Season”.

Don’t think it is lost on me that the word “holiday” comes from “holy”, and that “holy” means “sacred”; but it is more than apparent that in America, holidays are mostly about gifts. You didn’t ask for my advice, but you don’t have to read this either, and I am speaking to the universal “you” anyway; so here goes. Sugar is a lousy gift.

Let me count the ways:

First off, don’t you want to give something unique and possibly personalized? Sugar is not unique; it is ubiquitous! No matter the form or the flavor, it is still just sugar; and folks eat that every single day; hardly special.

Many people admit to being addicted to sugar. Many of those same people say that they really want to stay away from the stuff. Do you give booze to your alcoholic family and friends? Me neither.

Sugar makes people sick; that’s not a hypothesis, it’s a fact. Consider a few of the major diseases that disable and kill Americans and that are known to be fueled by excessive sugar: heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, obesity, and dementia. Obviously you aren’t wishing any of those on your loved-ones. But, are you facilitating them?

Obesity and overweight are talked about so much in our culture, that most of us are numb to the real meaning. The real meaning is that 2/3 of American adults (age 20-74) are either overweight or obese and are therefore seriously, or significantly unwell. Sugar plays a powerful role in this dangerous condition of our citizenry and of our Country. Disease and danger are not gifts.

It is both common, and understandable, that many people feel that to give sugar on a “special occasion” is perfectly reasonable. In fact, to question sugar gifts on “special occasions”, while historically would have been considered un-American, in today’s social climate, might now be considered terrorism. But back to the point; given that adults stop for sugared drinks each day on their way to work, and kids start their days with Pop Tarts, there is no way to imagine sugar being consumed just on “special occasions”. We are actually not far from a continuous IV drip (intravenous).

Your one little sugar gift does make a difference. Millions are giving one or more little sugar gifts.

It is not my intent to make your “holidays” more difficult than they may already be. I sincerely hope that the opportunity to consider the clear and present danger of sugar is a gift for you during this beautiful time of year.

PS – My wonderful wife suggests that I include the disclaimer/clarifier that I eat sugar. She’s right!   

Additionally, I am not judging those who give or eat sugar gifts. I am simply trying to address critical issues of our time in the hope of reducing suffering. It’s a tricky, if not scary job for me.