Archive for April, 2010
Here’s another research finding to file under “Duh, you think?” Recent scientific research found that junk food is addictive. Hey, mom, don’t blame your kid when he has a meltdown when his “fix” at McDonald’s is replaced by a nutritious home-cooked meal that includes (yikes!) vegetables! And, you dieters out there, stop beating yourself up when you find that no matter how many fresh fruits and vegetables you add to your diet, you still find yourself at a midnight In-N-Out Burger drive-thru. It’s an addiction, man!
The study found that eating junk food can actually change the chemistry in your brain. How? High-calorie foods affect your brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin, and can lead to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction. Plus, foods stripped of healthy nutrients, like junk food, make you more hungry because your body “thinks” you need more food when, in fact, what you really crave is more nutrients.
Chiropractors, like me, work with our patients to achieve overall health through regular chiropractic care, a nutritious diet, good hydration, and daily exercise. If any one of these components is missing, your good health and longevity are at risk. See your chiropractor today. He or she can help you “kick” your junk food “addiction.” For more on this study, go to reuters.com.The “hottest” buzz word on the internet today is Social Media. For those of you who would like to consider Social Media marketing as part of your overall chiropractic internet marketing strategy, but aren’t quite sure what all the buzz is about, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.”
Social media marketing may seem familiar in some ways to other chiropractic marketing strategies you’ve engaged in in the past, and yet unfamiliar at the same time. In the “familiar” category, you wouldn’t consider any type of marketing plan without taking the time to understand what you’re doing and what you want to get from it. It’s important to ask yourself, “What are my goals?” Once you’ve decided what you want, it’ll be easier for you to use social media to your biggest advantage.
When you are ready to begin your social media effort, but before you start, it will be crucial for you to make certain that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, i.e., be certain that your name or the name of your clinic is procurable so that you can use precisely same name on each and every one of the social channels you desire to use. When you’re ready, there’s a service, which is totally free, that can help you with your search. That who is knowem.com. This service will find out where your name is and/or if it’s available for use or not on a sufficient number of social media sites.
The next step, once you have all your social media accounts secured, is to choose where you want to be active. Beginning with only a small number of social media sites is preferable because, let’s face it, you have a clinic to run and patients to see. You won’t want to get active in too many social media sites. How do decide which sites are best for you? Choose the social media site where the most action is, which are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube
What successful social media activity will do for you is build a true presence in your community. What you don’t want to do is “sell” on your social media sites, which is to say don’t sell your clinic, don’t sell services or products, don’t sell anything! The benefit of social media is for you to go out and network with the community. Sure, let them become aware what you do, but do it by becoming a participant. There is actually no difference between the way social networking works and the way you normally network offline. It is important to be clear on this point, people on social media do not want to be sold to! What might be a beneficial idea to think of social media sites like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around chatting about who they are and what they do, and then a person asks you what you do. Or, maybe you start the conversation by (just) stating, “Hi, I’m Dr. ____. The same dynamics apply with social media. Social media sites should be handled the same way you’d “work” offline networking opportunities to promote yourself, i.e., answer the questions and concerns that let people know who you are and gets them interested in the who that’s you!
“Move it or lose it” captures the chiropractic philosophy in a nutshell, especially when it comes to aging. As we age, our joints lose much of their “natural” mobility mostly due to wear and tear over the years and age-related moisture decline. Unless we, boomers, make a concerted effort to get regular exercise and stretch daily, and perhaps to get periodic chiropractic manipulation to maintain or increase joint mobility, boomers are cruising towards a future of mobility-related disabilities that will be costly both in healthcare needs and quality of life in general. Which direction are a large number of baby boomers cruising? According to new study, the number of middle-aged Americans with certain mobility-related disabilities, (including walking a quarter-mile and climbing 10 steps) is on the rise. That’s right! The study, based on a National Health Interview Survey carried out each year from 1997 to 2007, which included up to 15,000 individuals annually, revealed that more than 40 percent (that’s too close to half!) of 50 to 64 year olds reported having problems with at least one of nine physical functions and many reported more than one difficulty.
There was also an increase in the number of people using special equipment, like a cane or wheelchair, to get around. Moreover, an increased number of people reported needing help with daily personal care activities, such as getting out of bed and moving around the home. “This a disappointing trend with potentially far-reaching and long-term negative consequences,” said Richard Suzman, director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging, which funded the study. “If people have such difficulties in middle age, how can we expect that this age group — today’s baby boomers — will be able to take care of itself with advancing age? If it continues, this trend could have a significant effect on the need for long-term care in the future.”The researchers note that the study was based on people’s self-reports, which could affect the results.
For more on the study, which was published in the April issue of the journal Health Affairs, go to LiveScience.com.
As a chiropractor who believes in the human body's ability to heal itself, often with the aid of natural, non-invasive, drug-free chiropractic treatment, I am always dismayed, but never surprised, at some of the pernicious claims and tenacious effrontery of drug companies when it comes to pain killers, in general, and the "treatment" of a number of conditions that don't get any better with drugs or are made worse by them. And, as a chiropractor who has helped hundreds of headache sufferers not only get temporary, but permanent relief, when I read about a drug study for yet another pain med that will likely keep headache sufferers numbed to their pain, but in the process numb to the rest of their life as well, I feel like shouting from the rooftops: "Try chiropractic first!" But, today, when I read about a study, sponsored by Merck (who also makes the product), I really felt compelled to say that this particular study is shamefully playing to the fears of migraine sufferers when, in fact, the drug itself only offers "less severity" at best when it comes to a migraine headache.
The study, conducted by Dr. X. Henry Hu of Merck & Co.and colleagues, found that one in five migraine sufferers had "avoided" a work-related commitment because they were afraid of getting a migraine, while 27 percent reported canceling a work commitment for this reason, and round 28 percent said they had avoided or canceled social commitments due to fear of migraines.
I have treated many patients who told me how much they'd "feared" the onset of a migraine and limited their activities in life because of that fear, so I do understand how devastating the fear of migraines can be. And, yet, the only "solution" this study offered?
This study is "important," said Dr. Hu, because the unpredictability of migraines could contribute to people's anxiety and fear about them and early treatment with migraine drugs called triptans can help reduce headache severity. "Because of the lack of predictability of future migraine attacks, migraine sufferers may benefit from increased education on the importance of keeping medications available at all times," he and his colleagues concluded.
My conclusion? If you suffer from migraines, give your chiropractor a call today!
SOURCE: Headache, published online March 25, 2010.