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Owning Your Health
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| Chiropractic Care and Lifetime Health |
Regular chiropractic care is a key ingredient in the mix of
activities that result in lifetime health. A healthy diet -
consistently eating balanced, nutritious meals with plenty of fresh
fruit and vegetables during the day - is very important. Regular
vigorous exercise - three to five times per week for at least 30 minutes
a session - is another important component. Getting sufficient rest,
more often than not, is another critical piece of the health puzzle. If
you're doing all these things, you're doing a lot. When you add regular
chiropractic care to your weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedule, you're
substantially enhancing the value of all your other health activities.
In a word, by helping to maintain the health and proper
functioning of your body's master system - your nerve system - regular
chiropractic care helps you get the most out of your diet, your
exercise, and your rest. Regular chiropractic care helps make it
possible for you to function at your maximum, and when that's happening
you are likely to be enjoying peak health and well-being. |
Recent discussions in the scientific literature are focusing on
monitoring and possibly improving cardiovascular health in children.
There's been a lot of conversation and a lot of controversy. An article
in the Journal of the American Medical Association1 argued
that universal screening of children could result in young people being
put on cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. And, according to
certain experts, there just isn't sufficient medical evidence to justify
such prescriptions.
These are not new proposals. In July 2008 the American Academy of
Pediatrics recommended that some children as young as 8 be treated
aggressively with cholesterol-lowering drugs.2 Soon
thereafter, in November 2008, researchers recommended that statins be
prescribed for millions of healthy people with normal cholesterol
levels.3
What's going on here? Healthy adults and healthy children should
take drugs? How can we make sense of these medical controversies and how
can we take action that is actually appropriate to the health and
well-being of ourselves and our children?
First, it's very important to take responsibility. That's
difficult, because it seems that we live in a culture of denial. No one
is responsible for anything. "Twinkies made me do it." "I have bad
genes." "It's not my fault."
A person's health is usually evaluated in the same way. Who is
responsible for a lifelong two-pack-a-day smoker developing lung cancer?
The tobacco company, of course. Who is responsible for someone gaining
50 pounds in a year? Well, the fast food chain is responsible. Who is
responsible for hundreds of thousands of Americans developing diabetes
each year? Candy manufacturers, naturally. Throw in doughnut-makers,
too.
But, people are actually responsible for their own actions. Going
further, in many cases people are partly responsible for the diseases
and disorders they develop. It's not that I'm a bad person, but I may be
making choices that aren't in my own best interests.
"Lifestyle health" is a relatively new term being used by many
researchers and health practitioners. From a lifestyle perspective, many
cases of diabetes, overweight and obesity, and high cholesterol are
caused by lifestyle choices. High-fat diets, high-sugar diets, lack of
daily fruits and vegetables, and lack of exercise will cause people to
develop diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.
Lifestyle health is directed at causing people to choose healthy behaviors.4
So taking statins when you're healthy to prevent high cholesterol
and associated cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders is highly
questionable. Giving medicines - whose long-term effects are largely
unknown - to children makes even less sense.
Am I going to choose risky behaviors for myself and recommend
risky behaviors for my children, causing us to possibly need medications
down the road, or am I going to choose and recommend healthy lifestyles
and take responsibility for my health and well-being and that of my
children?
Statins like Crestor and Lipitor have certainly helped millions
of adults with serious health problems. Still, taking these medications
is like slamming the barn door after the horse has run away.
Let's see. If I'm healthy now, will I choose to maintain my good
health by regular exercise, a consistent healthy food plan, and
sufficient rest? The choice seems clear.
1Psaty BM, Rivara FP: Universal screening and drug
treatment of dyslipidemia in children and adolescents. JAMA
307(3):257-258, 2012
2Daniels SR, et al: Lipid screening and cardiovascular health in childhood. Pediatrics 122(1):198-208, 2008
3Ridker PM, et al: Rosuvastatin to prevent vascular
events in men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. NEJM
359:2195-2007, 2008
4Chan AT, Giovannucci EL: Primary prevention of colorectal cancer. Gastroenterology 138(6):2029-2043, 2010
It is important to note that chiropractors seek the origin of
illness in order to eliminate it, instead of simply treating the
symptoms.
Like other health-care providers, we follow a standard routine to
gain information about the patient. We consult, review the case history,
conduct a physical examination, and we may request laboratory analyses
and/or x-rays. Unlike other health-care providers, however, chiropractic
physicians also conduct a careful analysis of the patient's structure
and pay particular attention to the spine. We also ask you about your
life- Do you eat well? Exercise at all? How do you deal with stress? Do
you have children? What do you do for work? And so on.
Both infants and adults can benefit from ongoing chiropractic
care. In the chiropractic world, keeping the problem fixed and
preventing its reoccurrence is just as important as the initial remedy.
When the body heals and maintains itself well, there is another
level of health that goes beyond "asymptomatic" or "pain-free" which
reveals an opportunity for vitality.
