Well I Finally Did It!

    Thank you, thank you, thank you one and all. On Saturday March 7, 2009 I received my certificate as a Master in Advanced Clinical Training in Nutrition Response Testing™. That thank you goes to my family, my staff, my patients, and all of you in my Inner Health Circle™. A special thanks to my wife and family for putting up with me traveling an extra weekend every month for the last six months. Another special thanks goes out to our team in both of my practices for putting up with a compressed schedule (4 days into 2.5) one week every month. To all of our wonderful patients for putting up with my time away, a special thanks goes out to you also. I really did this all for you. You see the true reason for my sacrificing the time, energy, and expense to attain this goal is precisely this: The more that I learn, the more that I can help! As I have said so many times before, "It is my Joyful Obligation to do this for you".
     O.K. so here are the details; I received a score of 98 on my final practical (alright I kind of "choked" on one question). Dr. Bryman, the lead instructor (a practitioner of over 50 years) who presented our certificates at the ceremony on Saturday, stopped and smiled before calling my name. He then said he "would miss my numerous multi-part questions about the material in each session".  I just want all of you out there in the "circle" to remember that I asked every one of those questions for you. I needed to know that I knew as much detail as I could about the material, so that when I tell you something in Health Hints, or when I test a patient at the Center, I know without a doubt that I am dead on, 100% right.
     So what is next for me you might ask? Well I will first give you the immediate retort that I gave to one of the administrators just before graduation. I said "I'm going to Disney World". Of course I am not. I will complete my 1.5 remaining modules to become certified in Wellness Science, then my book, and then I have some surprises in store for you.
     Once again I say thank you one and all. Now I have to get out there, and help more and more people begin reaping the benefits of our new Health and Wellness paradigm. Remember, here at the Center we don't treat disease and sickness, we assist your body in attaining Health and Wellness by using "targeted functional nutrition™" and lifestyle change.

Eat Right: The Little Guy at the Salad Bar

     I love to watch people. This in part is due, I am sure, to my training as a Chiropractor, where it is very important in assessing patients to see how they stand, walk, and move. I have written in the past about my many observations of people in restaurants. Usually on such occasions I am observing adults, however on a recent visit to a local restaurant I had the occasion to watch a young (probably about 9 years old) boy fill his plate at a salad bar. With all due respect to this young man I must say that I often find it challenging to find good "real whole food" to eat at a salad bar, however this little guy must have been working hard to do just the opposite. He managed to find the highest glycemic (fastest breakdown of sugar) foods on the bar. He filled his plate with cottage cheese and apple butter (an old Pennsylvania Dutch favorite) and grapes. This little guy was eating pretty much pure sugar. This is precisely why we have the epidemic of obesity not only in our adult population, but in our children as well. I recently read some studies on childhood obesity, and the statistics are frightening. Not only are approximately 60% of our children considered clinically obese, but the likelihood of their being diagnosed with Type II diabetes has increased by 32.8% for males, and 38.5% for females above our current horrible rates. Oh and by the way, speaking of lifetimes, these have been affected too. Because of the terrible "non-genetically congruent" lifestyles that these young people now have they have dramatically adversely affected their longevity. For children born in or after 2000, according to the Briefing on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Nutrition males have cut 11.6 years from their lives and females have done even a better job as they have shaved 14.3 years off their life expectancy.
     So, please catch my passion, it is contagious, and I know you can see why I am so anxious to spread the word. Please share this message with as many friends and family as you can. They need to hear it. This has now become your "Joyful Obligation" to tell as many others as you can. It may sound a little extreme to some of you right now, but many of you who either are patients of ours or have been Inner Health Circle Members™ for a while, realize we are in a battle for our health and our lives. It truly is my belief that we can, will, and for that matter MUST win this battle. Thank you for ENLISTING as a new recruit.

Think Right: Recession Proof Your Health

     Many of my Inner Health Circle™ Members have voiced concern regarding the current economic difficulties being portrayed in the news today. I want you to know that I am not here to either refute or to compliment these reports. What I am here to say is that for the most part you have very little or no control over any of these events. Therefore, why become wrapped up in the whirl-wind of unending reports of how horrible the economy and your life really are? This apparent down-ward spiraling cluster of events can be very enticing to become drawn into because all of your "friends" are constantly comparing notes with you to see if your life (excuse me for a moment on this one) "Sucks" as much as theirs does. CAUTION: DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN IT! You can't change the failing economy. This problem started decades ago and has been spurred on be an oblivious group of, in my opinion, disingenuous politicians who saw reelection as their sole purpose for their visit to Washington and not the common good of their constituents and the country. O.K., I will get down off of my soap box for now.
     What you need to realize is there are certain things over which you have NO control. The first is the economy. I'm not asking you to be oblivious to what is going on around you. Do what you can to prepare for the coming events. You certainly can't change your I.Q. either. Click here to test your IQ. You also can not change your E.Q. Click here to learn more about Emotional Quotient. The one thing that you can change is your H&W Q. What the heck is that you say?  That is one that I came up with for everyone in my Inner Health Circle™. It means your "Health and Wellness Quotient". This quotient can be measured like the other two. Things that we use in the Center to gauge a patient's improvement are good indicators of your progress. The most obvious is your weight. Another would be your B.M.I. (basal metabolic index), and your percentage of body fat. Let's also look at some of the more subjective indicators such as your energy level, sleep patterns, and overall mental attitude and clarity of thought. Please read a patient's story. These are all indicators of your H&W Q.
     So let's recap: Most of you have lost money in the stock market or in your 401K, you may not want to invest in the stock market right now. You can't move because real estate prices have plummeted. We have established that you can't raise your I.Q. or your E.Q. You also may, and probably will, have to work longer than you had planned. (Don't fret, there are studies I have read in the past that indicate that you will live longer and have less of a chance of developing dementia if you remain employed longer.)  So what is left to do? You MUST invest in YOUR HEALTH! You need to keep studying so that you can RECESSION PROOF YOUR BODY! You, now more than ever, need to "Live a Longer Healthier Life", and I plan to help you do just that. Top of page

Here's Her Story It's Sad But True

     On the flight to Clearwater I struck up a conversation with the woman across the aisle from me. She appeared to be in discomfort. It turns out that she was coming down to a hospital in Sarasota to attend a program on the muscular "disease" that she has been diagnosed with. It all began when she was a Massachusetts police officer and had surgery on her hand. From there it was a downward spiral of chronic system-wide pain and ultimate disability. She took herself off some of the terrible drugs that they put her on due to the horrible side effects. The diagnosis given to her for the condition was what I consider a "garbage diagnosis". One that is given when "they" don't know what it is.
     So here is the deal. After a few minutes of questioning, and listening to this poor woman, it became apparent to me that she was suffering from a chronic systemic exposure to either an overwhelming immune burden, which dated back to her hand surgery some 8 years ago, or to a systemic heavy metal load. While questioning this poor soul it came out that the property behind her home was an abandoned metal disposal site. So what you say? Well the kicker is that her drinking water came from a well on her property. Interestingly, the woman who originally had the house she now lives in, died of - guess what? You got it, the big C (cancer). Hmmmm... Could there be a relationship here? I wonder... Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as if any of her Doctors ever listened to her, or questioned her about any of this.
     This is why this work has truly become my "Joyful Obligation". You see there are only a handful of us out there doing this type of work. Top of page

Parting Thought

Be kinder than necessary
because everyone you meet is fighting
some kind of battle.