You may remember the public health slogan, “Vitamin D helps build strong bones”. This message could be seen on colorful school posters and heard on radio and television programs as early as the1950s. Getting enough Vitamin D was a major health issue, primarily for its role in preventing childhood rickets, “softening of the bones”.1

Most recently, and quite dramatically, vitamin D has been strongly associated with reduced cancer risks, preventing autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, preventing cardiovascular disease, and even helping to prevent diabetes.2 Vitamin D seems to be a one-stop shop for helping combat many serious chronic diseases, and yet vitamin D deficiency is common in the United States.3 Very few foods are natural sources of vitamin D. The primary source of vitamin D for humans is sunlight – sunlight causes cells in the skin to produce vitamin D.

But most of us do not spend enough time outside to get sufficient sunlight to provide us with our normal daily requirement of vitamin D. Supplementation is needed, in the form of fortified foods such as milk and in vitamin/mineral tablets. Interestingly, meeting our vitamin D and calcium daily requirements is only one step on the road to healthy, strong bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium from the intestinal tract. Also, vitamin D helps bone cells utilize calcium to build new bone. But – in adults, new bone will only be built if there’s a need for it. Mechanical stress causes the body to produce new bone – and the best source for this kind of bone-building mechanical stress is exercise.

Yes, the E word. It is not enough to passively swallow a bunch of supplements every day. We need to exercise regularly to get the most out of the nutrition we’re providing our bodies. When we exercise – particularly when we do strength training and other gravity-resisting activities such as running, walking, and bicycling – our bodies react not only by building new muscle but by building new bone as well. This response follows a physiologic principle known as Wolff’s Law – bone remodels along lines of physiologic stress.

Put another way, bone responds to mechanical challenges by building more bone. The result is more dense, stronger bones. Such bones are significantly less likely to fracture. And. logically, exercise helps prevent loss of bone mass, a primary cause of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and older adults. Chiropractic health care helps provide assistance to these metabolic processes. All of our metabolic activities are directed by signals from the nerve system. Our nerve impulses tell our cells when to start and when to stop these complicated biochemical processes. Chiropractic care helps ensure proper flow of information throughout the nervous system, helping us maintain optimal physical health and well-being. Your chiropractor is an expert in nutritional health and will be able to recommend a program and plan that will be right for you.

1Lins P: Vitamin D physiology. Prog Biophys Mol Biol 92)1:4-8, 2006 2Cavalier E, et al:Vitamin D: current status and perspectives.Clin Chem Lab Med 47:1, 2009 3Holick Me, Chen TC: Vitamin D deficiency: a worldwide problem with health consequences. Am J Clin Nutr 87(4):10805-10865, 2008

For more information on health please contact Dr. Jason Fowler at Dr. Jason Fowler

Being an informed patient is an empowering concept.1 In the modern healthcare marketplace, the doctor-patient relationship has become a two-way street. It’s no longer a situation in which the doctor tells the patient what to do. Today, patients can be full partners in managing their care and well-being.2

What does it take to be an informed patient? An informed patient is one who can participate in a meaningful way and not be merely the passive recipient of the doctor’s instructions and recommendations.

The first key is to identify a doctor, a chiropractor or family physician, depending on the circumstances, in whom you have confidence. Here are a few essential points to consider:

The doctor has spent enough time with you on the first visit. The doctor has focused on you, and has not been distracted by all the other things happening in the office. The doctor has satisfactorily answered all your questions. The doctor’s recommendations are clear, and you understand what the next steps are going to be.

The questions you ask are not just to keep talking and capture more of the doctor’s time spent with you. An informed patient does some preparation – some homework – before the actual office visit. The Internet offers a lot of valuable information on both chiropractic and medical treatment. And, it is important to remember that not all information is accurate and authoritative – consider the source of the “information”.

Consider the author’s background and affiliations. Consider the potential for bias. Is the site itself up-to-date – for example, are there “dead links” on the site.

Do your best to evaluate the doctor’s recommendations. First, what are the expected results? How quickly will you begin to feel better? Are there potential side-effects of the recommended treatment? What are the alternatives?

Alternatives may include other forms of therapy within the doctor’s office and may also include consultation with another specialist. The main point is not to be left with a confusing array of choices. Have enough information to go forward with a treatment plan that makes the most sense, both to your doctor and to you.

If a prescription is involved, make sure you write down the exact spelling of the medication and the exact dosage and frequency. Prescriptions are usually scribbled, and both doctors and pharmacists can make a mistake. Don’t let your doctor simply hand you an illegible piece of paper. Insist on ensuring that you understand what is being prescribed, and be sure to ask your doctor about potential side effects, risks, and interactions with any other medicines you may be taking.

As in all your relationships, the doctor-patient relationship is based on clear communication and mutual trust and understanding. You can help your doctor help you by being informed and participating in the decision-making process.

1Informed Consent. “Ethics in Medicine”. University of Washington School of Medicine. http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/consent.html#ques1 2″Be an active healthcare consumer”. Agency for Healthcard Research and Quality. http://www.ahrq.gov/path/beactive.htm

For additional information on health feel free to contactDr. Jason Fowler www.lakestlouisdc.com

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It’s the rare child who actually wants to eat fruits and vegetables. Kids are bombarded by television and radio ads for cereals, candy, and chips that contain huge amounts of sugar and large quantities of saturated fat. The sugar craving begins in childhood – kids quickly develop a taste for sweets. To a child’s sugar-sensitized palette, the complex sugars contained in fruits and vegetables are a poor substitute.

We can carry these habits into adulthood and our long-term health suffers as a result. Twenty-four hours is not enough time in the day for most of us, and many consistently choose fast foods as a means of satisfying our need for food and a method for limiting the amount of precious time we spend on meal preparation.

But fast foods are not really food in the sense that the nutrition they provide is minimal. Fast foods are essentially empty calories.

In the 1950s and 1960s a well-known health-related slogan was “an apple a day makes the doctor away”. This advice represented ancient folk wisdom. Today, decades of research has shown that apples, and all fruits and vegetables, have remarkable health-promoting and disease-fighting properties.

Most fruits and vegetables are packed with magical biochemicals called phytochemicals – “phyto” means plant. Phytochemicals give fruits and vegetables their color, so the more colorful a food, the more phytochemicals it contains.

Ongoing research studies have shown that phytochemicals – of which there are thousands of varieties – provide protection against the development of many chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis.1,2

Many phytochemicals are antioxidants and neutralize free radicals in human cells. Others have anti-inflammatory properties, and these help slow the aging process.

Fruits and vegetables are so important for our health and well-being that many national organizations have promoted the “five to stay alive rule” – the recommendation is to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables each day.3

Portions could include any of these – an apple, an orange, a banana, a cup of grapes, a cup of blueberries, a yam, a couple of carrots, a couple of tomatoes, and a couple of tablespoons of broccoli.

For many of us, “five to stay alive” would be a radical departure from our old habits. It might take a little effort to develop new shopping and eating habits, but once you’re in the groove it is likely you’ll be feeling so much better you’ll wonder why you didn’t start this healthy-eating plan sooner.

Your chiropractor is an expert on nutritional health and will be glad to help you create a food plan that works for you and your family.

1de Kok TM, et al: Mechanisms of combined action of different chemopreventive dietary compounds: a review. Eur J Nutr 47(Suppl 2):59-59, 2008 2Ware WR: Nutrition and the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: Association of Cytochrome P450 CYP1B1 With the Role of Fruit and Fruit Extracts. Integr Cancer Ther December 2008 3Liu RH: Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: mechanism of action. J Nutr 134(Suppl 12):3479S-3485S, 2004

For more information on health and nutrition please contact Dr. Jason Fowler at www.lakestlouisdc.com