Hi Everybody,
Here are a few new tidbits for you…
OUR ANTIOXIDANT PAST- In the past, our ancestors used spices like allspice, clove, oregano, pepper, rosemary, sage and turmeric to preserve our foods and keep them from spoiling too quickly. The reason these spices kept foods from spoiling is because they are strong antioxidants. Antioxidants combat the free radicals created when something breaks down and degenerates. Free radical damage is implicated in many of our degenerative health conditions these days, such as cancer, heart disease, etc.
The preserved food was not the only thing to benefit from the antioxidant spices used on them. By eating those foods, our bodies also obtained high levels of antioxidants, which fight free radicals and the diseases they cause inside of us.
These days, we preserve our foods with chemicals. Not only do we lose out on the antioxidant advantage this way, but we are actually taking in chemicals that create even more free radical damage and accelerate the aging process and the deterioration of our cells.
COST EFFECTIVENESS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE- Our biggest problem in the clinic is that it is hard for Americans to understand the usefulness of a health approach that isn’t a one pill or one surgery approach. Most Americans have been raised thinking of health in terms of an EVENT. Their back hurts so they take a pill. Their back really hurts, so they have surgery. The idea of a treatment that takes more than one visit is a foreign concept. The idea of prevention to prevent future recurrences is even MORE foreign. Real health is not an EVENT centered approach, it is an ONGOING approach. Except for accidents, health and disease are not EVENTS that happen all-of-a-sudden, they are ONGOING trends in your body.
Despite the fact that chiropractic and acupuncture usually require multiple visits, and recommend maintenance care, what we do has been found to be very cost-effective.
In fact, Richard Sarnat, MD, the President of Alternative Medicine Integration (AMI) says that “My research, conducted over a ten-year period, utilizing clinical and cost outcomes data from one of the nation’s largest insurance underwriters, suggests that the regular utilization of chiropractic could reduce the need for hospitalization, pharmaceutical usage and overall global health care costs by almost 50 percent.”
THE CHINESE AGREE- It is cliche that Americans are unhealthy, and other nations are following suit. It is simply much easier and more enjoyable, at least in the short term, to ignore your health until there is an EVENT, and then hope their is a pill or surgery to fix it.
Oriental doctors have moved to America to try and make a living here, and many of them have moved back home, saying that it is simply impossible to get most Americans to take any long term responsibility for their health.
In China, it is said that waiting until you have developed a sickness before you try and get help is like waiting until you are dehydrated to begin digging a well. The Okinawans, who have one of the longest lifespans on earth, use acupuncture almost the way we use barbers and beauticians – as a necessity of life.
Hope this helps,
Dr Matt and Dr Robin
mattandrobin@yahoo.com (email)
This week’s bit of Useless Information: There will be a full moon this Friday the 13th. There won’t be another Friday the 13th with a full moon until 2049.
This email is courtesy of Matthew Barnes, D.C. and Robin Barnes, D.C. Neither this nor any of our emails are intended to be medical advice and should not be taken as such. They are opinion and are for informational purposes only. None of the nutrients discussed here are meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.