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What are Probiotics?

The beneficial bacteria that make up the bulk of your gut flora are called “probiotics.” These tiny symbiotic organisms provide a wide range of benefits to your health, including keeping your digestive system healthy, aiding in nutrient absorption, boosting your immune system and even helping guard against cancer.

The benefits of probiotics were first discovered by Dr. Eli Metchnikoff, who studied the lifestyle of Russian peasants found to be living unusually long life spans. He noticed that their diet consisted of large amounts of fermented milk, which carry high levels of probiotics, and linked their longevity to this diet.

The two most common types of probiotics are bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which can be taken either in food or as a supplement to help balance our gut microflora after an illness or course of medications such as antibiotics. The excessive use of antibiotics can lead to a proliferation of problems, as they not only wipe out the bad bacteria, but take out the good as well. This allows for opportunistic organisms to gain a foothold, such as candida, a naturally occurring yeast that lives harmlessly in the digestive tract. If it is able to grow unchecked by good bacteria, it may transform into fungal form and cause all manner of health issues, such as tiredness, fuzzy thinking, leaky gut, etc. Probiotics ensure that harmful microbes are kept in check in your digestive system.

The body normally carries over 400 different strains of these microorganisms in its digestive tract, amounting to 10 trillion in total. This is 10 times more than all the cells in your body. Though the greatest concentrations of probiotics live in the colon, they reside in many other parts of the body as well, helping to support the immune system.

Up to 80% of our immune response is dependent on probiotics, which stimulate the production of macrophages, T-cells and cytokines. They also produce natural antibiotics that fight many pathogens that have developed a resistance to standard antibiotics. And if a pathogen develops resistance to one of the antibiotic chemicals produced by the probiotic, it has the ability to adapt that chemical to one that is more effective in fighting the pathogen, which standard antibiotics are unable to do.

Studies have found probiotics to be antagonistic to many types of cancer, stimulating the production of cancer-fighting chemicals in the body, leading to the shrinkage of tumors and encouraging cancer cell death.

Probiotics also help fight against viruses, including colds, flus, herpes, rotavirus and ulcers. In a study done on 2- to 5-year-old children in India who were given either probiotics or placebo for 6 months, those taking the probiotics had fewer cases of cold, flu, fever and diarrhea than those taking placebo.

Probiotics can naturally be found in different fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchee, kefir, miso, kombucha and sauerkraut. Look for labeling that states “live active cultures” on the package to ensure you are getting useful probiotics in your food.

Rest & Digest, you know you want to!

The parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, and the enteric nervous system comprise the autonomic nervous system in the body. The autonomic nervous system is continuously active and is responsible for unconscious regulation of our glands and organs. The parasympathetic nervous system takes care of “rest and digest” activities, such as salivation, tears, sexual arousal, urination, digestion and defecation. These activities are complementary to those of the sympathetic nervous system, which activates processes associated with the “fight or flight” response.

The natural opposition of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems provides both quick responses when needed, and slower responses for less urgent needs. These systems act something like an accelerator and a brake for our body, and help maintain balance, or “homeostasis”. The parasympathetic system is like a brake and helps you save energy, lower blood pressure, decrease heart rate, and it allows digestion to start. It helps return the body to a state of balance after a period of higher sympathetic nervous system activity.

Chiropractic adjustments have been known to affect the autonomic nervous system by promoting parasympathetic system activity and down regulating the sympathetic nervous system. For example, pain receptors are part of the sympathetic nervous system. A chiropractic adjustment may be able reduce the firing of the pain receptor by decreasing input to the spinal cord, thus reducing the sensation of pain.

The parasympathetic nerves originate in the spinal cord and in medulla, part of the brain. The main parasympathetic nerve is the vagus nerve, which is also known as cranial nerve X. The vagus nerve sends information between the brain stem, hypothalamus, and primary organs and glands.

The main functions of the parasympathetic nerves are to conserve energy, so it promotes passive activities. Physical and emotional withdrawal, as well as the negative emotions of shame, hopelessness, disgust, and despair, is also associated with the parasympathetic system. Interestingly, these functions develop later in life than those of the sympathetic nervous system. This is because the inhibitory responses of the parasympathetic system are not conducive to exploring, which is necessary for young mammals in order to be able to grow and learn effectively.

Vegetables: Raw, Canned, Cooked or Frozen — What’s the Difference?

There can be a major difference in the nutrition of the vegetables you eat, depending on what form you eat them in. The vegetables supplying the most nutrients are generally the ones that are the freshest and least processed. Now what does that mean?

The nutrients in any vegetable begin to deteriorate as soon as it’s harvested, including those all-important cancer-fighting antioxidants. The sooner a vegetable is eaten after it’s picked, the more nutrients it has. Having a home garden is ideal, as you can simply walk out your door, pick what you need and plop it straight into the cooking pot or salad bowl. Of course, not everyone has the space or time for a garden, so what’s the next best thing?

If you have a nearby farmers’ market, the veggies from there are usually grown locally and are generally fresher than what you can get at the supermarket. Barring that, the next best choice is, surprisingly, frozen vegetables.

What most people don’t know is that frozen food can often be more nutritious for you than fresh, especially if the fresh variety has been transported over a long distance. If you’re living in New York and are eating fresh peas grown in California, those peas have endured a number of days in a truck before arriving at your market.

Also, any sugars in the vegetable begin to convert to starch from the moment it’s picked, which is why freshly picked corn straight from the farm is so much sweeter than the kind that’s been sitting in the supermarket for a few days. However, frozen peas and many other vegetables are generally flash frozen on the spot where they are harvested, preserving those nutrients.

Cooked vegetables are generally not as nutritious as raw, though if you do cook them be sure to do it only long enough make them tender. The longer they cook, the greater the nutrient loss. There are, however, some exceptions. Tomatoes, for example, provide greater amounts of lycopene when they are cooked than when eaten raw. Cooking breaks down the plant’s cell walls, releasing greater amounts of nutrients. Zucchini, carrots and broccoli are best eaten cooked for this reason.

Canned vegetables are generally lowest in nutrients, as so many vitamins are lost in processing under high heat. The water-soluble vitamins B and C and polyphenols are easily lost when canned or boiled. Researchers at the University of California found that between 85 and 95 percent of the vitamin C in canned peas and carrots were lost in processing. The vegetables containing fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D E and K can be steamed or boiled, however, without losing a great amount of nutrients.

Raw vegetables are generally best, but if you find eating raw veggies unappealing to the point where you avoid them, it’s fine to eat them lightly cooked. Better to get some healthy nutrients than none at all!

Headaches: Not An Advil Deficiency

What is Torque Release Technique?

Can Chiropractors Help With Your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), named from the carpal bones in the wrist that form a tunnel around the nerve leading to the hand, is an injury usually caused by repetitive and forceful movements that result in swelling around the tendons and pinching of the median nerve, causing painful tingling, lack of muscle strength and control in the hand, and pain shooting from the hand up to the shoulder. CTS is a risk to most workers, such as those who work on the computer and also store and assembly line workers, who receive micro-traumas to their hands and wrists on a daily basis due to awkward positioning, forceful and repetitive movements, and stressful activity. [1,2]

The usual treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can extend to heavy medication and surgery, however there are alternative methods of treatment that can alleviate the symptoms and effects arising from CTS. Chiropractic treatment for CTS has been studied against conventional non-surgical medical treatment by Davis et al. [1] and was found to be effective. This offers an alternative to sufferers who are intolerant to ibuprofen, or those who simply wish to avoid treating with medication.

The median nerve in the wrist, which when trapped causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, connects to the spinal cord through the openings in the bones in the areas around the lower neck. If these bones in the spinal cord lose their ordinary position or motion, this can cause problems in the wrists or fingers. Through chiropractic treatment, these bones can be reset to the correct position and can help to treat CTS.

If Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is detected early, then surgery can be avoided, and chiropractic treatment is the leading method of non-surgical treatment. Chiropractic treatment usually involves various methods [3], with a combination of rest, ice, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation, including:

• By chiropractic manipulation therapy of the elbow and upper spine, where the joint’s soft tissue undergoes manipulation [4];
• Nutritional supplements in the diet such as B6, a vitamin that has had long-term promotion in its treatment of CTS;
• Electro-acupuncture treatment; bracing, a technique that has had extensive success, by limiting extension and flexion in the hand, and with compression on the median nerve may encourage recovery and ease the swelling in the tendons;
• Exercises for the wrist and hand designed to encourage recovery;
• Reassessing the ergonomics of the work place to minimize stress the best way as possible.

Recent studies, such as that by J. Burke et al (2007)[5], concluded that using manual therapy intervention such as soft tissue mobilization (STM) has been found to help improve the signs and symptoms of CTS, with improvements to nerve conduction latencies, wrist strength and motion.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can become a serious health problem, and if left too long may require surgery. If it’s caught early, then chiropractic treatment is an effective, drug-free method to ease the symptoms and pains caused by CTS, and provide long-term relief from CTS.

References

[1] P.T. Davis et al., J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1998 (Jun);21 (5): 317-326 (1998)

[2] R.Valente and H. Gibson, J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1994;17(4):246–9 (1994)

[3] R. Perez de Leon & S. Auyong, J Chiropr Med. 2002 Spring; 1(2): 75–78. (2002)

[4] P.T. Davis and J.R. Hulbert, J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1998;21(5):356–62 (1998)

[5] J. Burke et al., J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2007 Jan;30(1):50-61. (2007)

10 Thoughts On Whole Living, December

Lula Loves “10 Thoughts on Whole Living” by Terri Trespicio in Whole Living magazine.