Sleep habits: Pillow and positions matter

By: Brandi Scholssberg RGJ



Sleep habits, including the position you sleep in most often, may affect your quality of life during the waking hours, as well as at night. These habits can be among the most difficult to break, but being aware- and prepared with the proper pillow- can help.

"The way you sleep at night can make a big difference in how you feel during the day," said Gary Standifer, lead physical therapist of Carson Tahoe Therapy at Carson Tahoe Regional Health care. "Depending on the position one rests in, sleeping can contribute to a range of daytime symptoms."

Among these, according to Standifer, who specializes in treating spinal conditions, are neck pain, lower-back pain, headaches, numbness in the arms and hands, and respiratory issues.

"Sleeping in the correct position can not only reduce pain," he said, "but also help you wake up feeling rested and refreshed."

Experts in the field of sleep health report sleeping on one's side is one of the most common positions and, when done properly, can keep the spine in a neutral position and result in a night of quality sleep.

"When sleeping on your side, it is recommended to bend slightly at the knees and hips," Standifer said. "A pillow placed between the knees may reduce discomfort by placing the hips and spine in better alignment."

Sleeping on one's back also can lead to a good night's sleep if the right steps are taken to ensure healthy body placement. This may include a pillow placed under the knees to maintain the normal curve of your lower back. If you suffer from lower-back discomfort, a small rolled towel under your lower back can provide additional support.

"A down side of sleeping on your back can be increased snoring," Standifer said, "which may disrupt not only the sleep of those around you, but also your own sleep."

Experts seem to agree that stomach sleeping is the worst of the three positions when it comes to overall health, due to the increased strain this position can place on a person's neck and lower back.

"Sleeping on the stomach may also make breathing more difficult as the ribs cannot fully expand due to pressure," Standifer said. "If you must sleep on your stomach, a pillow placed under the lower abdomen and pelvis can reduce strain on the lower back."

As for pillows, they support your head and neck throughout the night. These should be selected based on your typical sleep position. For example, experts suggest stomach sleepers use a very thin, almost flat pillow, whereas side sleepers may find they need taller, firmer pillows, and a back sleeper may do well with a thin-to-medium fill pillow.

"Choosing the correct pillow is not enough- it must also be used correctly," Standifer said. "A pillow should support one's head and neck but not be placed under the shoulders.

"To avoid a muscle and joint pain," he added, "a pillow should keep one's head aligned with the spine."

28 days really can change your life...

After giving birth to Emma, Dr. Amanda wanted to get rid of that last few pounds of baby weight. She found out about an awesome 28 day Wellness Program that teaches you nutritional & lifestyle principles of cleansing to experience more energy, mental focus, & fat loss. She decided to give it a go and after seeing her success, some of our patients decided to go through the program also. I, along with a second group of our patients am now going through it. So far everyone who has done it has had amazing results: weight loss, healthier skin, better sleep, confidence, overall just feeling better! I have really enjoyed talking to and hearing from everyone about their experiences through the program, so I am going to share mine with all of you!

To those of you going through the program right now, if you have any questions or want any of my creative recipes, call me at the office. My hours are Monday-Friday, 7:15am-1:00pm. To those of you who are interested, you can contact Dr. Amanda or me for more information. Stays tuned for more stories from me next week, and remember you can do anything for 28 days.
-Amanda H.-

The Dangers of Sugar to Your Health

This addictive commonly used food feeds cancer cells, triggers weight gain, and promotes premature aging.
Death by sugar may not be an overstatement-evidence is mounting that sugar is THE MAJOR FACTOR causing obesity and chronic disease.
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Is sugar a sweet old friend this is secretly plotting your demise?
There is a vast sea of research suggesting that it is. Science has now show us, beyond any shadow of doubt, that sugar in your food, in all its myriad of forms, is taking a devastating foil on your health.
The single largest source of calories for Americans comes from sugar--specifically high fructose corn syrup. Just take a look at the sugar consumption trends of the past 300 years.

• In 1700, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.
• In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per year.
• In 1900, the individual consumption had risen to 90 pounds of sugar per year.
• In 2009, more than 50 percent of all Americans consume one-half pound of sugar PER DAY-translating to a whopping 180 pounds of sugar per year!

Sugar is loaded into your soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, and hidden in almost all processed foods-from bologna to pretzelts to Worcestershire sauce to cheese spread. And now most infant formula has the sugar equivalent of one can of Coca-Cola, so babies are being metabolically poisoned from day one if taking formula.

No wonder there is an obesity epidemic in this country.

Today, 32 percent of Americans are obese and an additional one-third are overweight. Compare that to 1890, when a survey of white males in their fifties revealved an obesity rate of just 3.4 percent. In 1975, the obesity rate in America had reached 15 percent, and since then it has doubled.

Carrying excess waeight increases your risk for deadly conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes.

In 1893, there were fewer than three cases of diabetes per 100,000 people in the United States. Today, diabetes strikes almost 8,000 out of every 100,000 people.

You don't have to be a physician or a scientist to notice America's expanding waistline. All you have to do is stroll through a shopping mall or a schoolyard, or perhaps glance in the mirror.

For more on this please go to: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx

Study: Breast-feeding would save lives, money

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, Ap Medical Writer – Mon Apr 5, 1:53 pm ET
CHICAGO – The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women fed their babies breast milk only for the first six months of life, a cost analysis says.
Those startling results, published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, are only an estimate. But several experts who reviewed the analysis said the methods and conclusions seem sound.
"The health care system has got to be aware that breast-feeding makes a profound difference," said Dr. Ruth Lawrence, who heads the American Academy of Pediatrics' breast-feeding section.
The findings suggest that there are hundreds of deaths and many more costly illnesses each year from health problems that breast-feeding may help prevent. These include stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma, juvenile diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and even childhood leukemia.
The magnitude of health benefits linked to breast-feeding is vastly underappreciated, said lead author Dr. Melissa Bartick, an internist and instructor at Harvard Medical School. Breast-feeding is sometimes considered a lifestyle choice, but Bartick calls it a public health issue.
Among the benefits: Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight infections; it also can affect insulin levels in the blood, which may make breast-fed babies less likely to develop diabetes and obesity.
The analysis studied the prevalence of 10 common childhood illnesses, costs of treating those diseases, including hospitalization, and the level of disease protection other studies have linked with breast-feeding.
The $13 billion in estimated losses due to the low breast-feeding rate includes an economists' calculation partly based on lost potential lifetime wages — $10.56 million per death.
The methods were similar to a widely cited 2001 government report that said $3.6 billion could be saved each year if 50 percent of mothers breast-fed their babies for six months. Medical costs have climbed since then and breast-feeding rates have increased only slightly.
About 43 percent of U.S. mothers do at least some breast-feeding for six months, but only 12 percent follow government guidelines recommending that babies receive only breast milk for six months.
Dr. Larry Gray, a University of Chicago pediatrician, called the analysis compelling and said it's reasonable to strive for 90 percent compliance.
But he also said mothers who don't breast-feed for six months shouldn't be blamed or made to feel guilty, because their jobs and other demands often make it impossible to do so.
"We'd all love as pediatricians to be able to carry this information into the boardrooms by saying we all gain by small changes at the workplace" that encourage breast-feeding, Gray said.
Bartick said there are some encouraging signs. The government's new health care overhaul requires large employers to provide private places for working mothers to pump breast milk. And under a provision enacted April 1 by the Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting agency, hospitals may be evaluated on their efforts to ensure that newborns are fed only breast milk before they're sent home.
The pediatrics academy says babies should be given a chance to start breast-feeding immediately after birth. Bartick said that often doesn't happen, and at many hospitals newborns are offered formula even when their mothers intend to breast-feed.
"Hospital practices need to change to be more in line with evidence-based care," Bartick said. "We really shouldn't be blaming mothers for this."

Grow Your Own Super Foods in Your Home Garden This Year

NaturalNews) When most people think of the term "superfood," they think of exotic fruits or imported vegetables from places with foreign names and distant locales. In reality, many of the foods you likely eat and even grow in your own garden are superfoods.The common definition of a superfood is any food (fruit, vegetable, etc.) that you can consume that has a high concentration of nutrients and anti-oxidants. Many of these are probably foods that your mother told you that you had to eat if you wanted to leave the dinner table or to grow up to be big and strong.Here is a list of superfoods that will grow in just about any location in the northern hemisphere with a growing season of 3 months or more. If you start from seeds, you will likely need to start them indoors before the spring thaw to maximize your growing time outdoors.
Broccoli - is probably the best-known and most often cited superfood that is commonly grown in home garden plots. Broccoli has several benefits including being a great source of antioxidants.
Carrots - are likely the other most well-known of superfoods that are commonly grown and eaten in the U.S. Carrots are thick with phytonutrients, antioxidants, and nearly every vitamin you can name.
Garlic - a favorite spice for cooking, this stuff is loaded with nearly everything good for you that you can imagine. It's a known cardiovascular booster, an anti-microbial, and more.
Green Beans - have to be one of the easiest things to grow and are grown both in garden plots and potted indoors to vine up walls or along racks. Beans are good for kidney stones, arthritis, and are packed with minerals.
Spinach - isn't just for Popeye, Olive. It's a very easy plant to grow, gives edible leaves throughout the season, and has some of the highest concentrations of vitamins A and C and folic acid you can get.
Squash - of nearly any type is great for you. Acorn, Butternut, Pumpkins, and many others are packed with fiber, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, potassium, and much more.
Tomatoes - are everyone's favorite garden vegetable (fruit, actually) to grow and the subject of intense scrutiny and competition. Tomatoes are also full of antioxidants, vitamin C, and light acids that aid digestion. These are just a few of the many superfoods you can grow in your own garden this year to promote better health. Gardening can not only be a fun, healthy way to spend your spare time this summer, but it can also lower your food bills, raise your health and nutritional levels, and bring your family closer together!Start gardening and grow your own superfoods this spring!

Chiropractic Road to the Olympics

North American DCs are poised to make their mark at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
By Caitlin Lukacs

If you’ve ever had an Olympic dream, you know about all of the hard work and training it takes to get to the Games. The same holds true for members of the medical staff. Olympic-caliber athletes need medical care in the unfortunate event of an injury, but they also need help pushing their bodies to perform at their maximum potential. Doctors of chiropractic who specialize in sports injuries and physical fitness are the ideal practitioners to provide that care, being uniquely equipped to handle both injury and recovery treatment, as well as to help athletes prepare for the competition. And the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) agrees.

Since the 1980 Games, when George Goodheart, DC, was selected to be Team USA’s chiropractor for the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., DCs have been included on the U.S. Medical Team. In 2008, a record number of four chiropractors were sent to Beijing, China, with Team USA for the Summer Games. There were approximately 600 athletes to care for on the U.S. team. This winter, the USOC will take five DCs to Vancouver, Canada, for the 2010 Olympics. They’ll have about 200 athletic competitors to work with.

“Chiropractors have really come a long way in terms of the Olympic Games,” says Michael Reed, DC, MS, DACBSP, medical director for the USOC. “And the demands of athletes are one of the main reasons why.”

Simply put, elite athletes are asking for chiropractic treatment. Sports-focused DCs are able to treat pain and injury with spinal manipulation, but they are also trained in many other modalities that help athletes avoid injury and prepare their bodies for competition—including taping, icing and stretching, explains Dr. Reed. At the 2008 Summer Games, for example, the U.S. beach volleyball team requested that Ernest Ferrel, MA, DC, CCSP, serve as the medical staff member to accompany them to their matches.

Preparing for VancouverOne of the five DCs chosen by the USOC to work at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Blase Toto, DC, DACBSP, will be working at the medical clinic in the Olympic Village in Vancouver. The clinic will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. He’ll provide care for several different sports teams, including figure skating, hockey and curling, as well as for those athletes whose sport does not have a team chiropractor.

“These athletes are used to receiving chiropractic care at their home training centers because they know that it helps them to perform at their top level,” Dr. Toto says. “Since we’ll all be there for about a month, the athletes will need someone to continue their regular chiropractic routine.” In addition to maintenance and performance care, Dr. Toto will also be available for acute-injury treatment.

Richard Robinson, DC, CSCS, who practices in Calgary, Canada, will attend the Olympics with the Canadian team and work with the freestyle skiing, speed skating, women’s ice hockey and alpine ski teams. “I wasn’t hired by the Canadian team just to treat injuries,” he says. “I was hired because the team recognized the value in what I do to make them go faster and perform better. If we plan to treat injuries after they’ve happened, we’re already too late; we need to get to the Olympics performing our absolute best.”

Competition actually begins a week prior to the opening ceremonies, and Dr. Robinson will be moving into the Olympic Village in the first week of February. “I’ll spend time working in the clinic in the village, but I’ll also be onsite for every training session and competition for speed skating and freestyle skiing,” he says. Luckily, the speed skating events will take place in the mornings, while freestyle will be under the lights in the evenings.

Greg Uchacz, DC, FCCSS(C), CSCS, who practices in Calgary, Canada, will also be a part of the Canadian medical staff. He will focus on the bobsled and skeleton teams and was chosen because of athlete requests. He, too, will prepare the athletes, rather than just treat their injuries. “As DCs, we focus on ensuring that the athletes are performing to their optimum biomechanical function,” he explains. “If you think about athletes as racecars, we are essentially fine-tuning them all the way through training. I’ll be present at competition time, helping to make sure the athletes are in ideal condition by stimulating nervous system responses and stretching, among other things. I’m the last person they’ll interact with before stepping onto the course,” Dr. Uchacz continues.

According to Dr. Reed, each of the five DCs on the U.S. medical team will have slightly different responsibilities come February, but one thing they’ll have in common is competition preparation. Tetsuya Hasegawa, DC, MS, ATC, CSCS, will work with the bobsled and skeleton teams onsite at the sliding center and also out of the Olympic Village in Whistler. Eric St. Pierre, DC, DACBSP, CCSP, CSCS, who is employed by U.S. Speed Skating, will focus his attention on that team from the Olympic Village in Vancouver. Both Drs. Hasegawa and St. Pierre will be expected to care for any injuries, but their main focus will be stretching and other preparatory care—whatever it takes to have the athletes ready to compete.

Dr. Toto will work in the medical center in the Olympic Village in Vancouver and Josh Sandell, DC, DACBSP, CSCS, will be stationed at the performance service center in Whistler, doing recovery work for injured athletes. The fifth DC, Dr. Reed, is in charge of organizing the U.S. medical staff for the Games and providing care for the athletes in the Whistler Olympic Village. “It’s becoming more and more paperwork, but I’ll be available to jump in and treat athletes, if help is needed,” he says.

How They Got ThereAs an athlete, you can’t just sign up to compete at the Olympic Games. It takes years and years of training, and you must prove your skills at Olympic trials or team try-outs. The same holds true for doctors of chiropractic who want to work at the event. The road to the Olympics is a long one, and it often requires relationship building, as well as physical training.
To be considered for inclusion on the U.S. medical staff, DCs must first go through the USOC’s Sports Medicine Volunteer Program—a 15-day rotation at one of the U.S. Olympic Training Centers, in which they treat any athletes that need rehab or long-term care. (DCs can apply for a volunteer position by logging onto www.teamusa.org/medical.)

And it may take years before you get selected to work in an official capacity. Dr. Toto completed the volunteer program for the first time in 1995. In spring 2009, he was invited back to the training center in Colorado Springs. Shortly after he returned home, Dr. Toto received a letter stating that he had been selected to go to Vancouver for the Winter Games. “It had been a goal of mine for a long time, but I didn’t think it would ever happen because it had been 14 years since I’d first worked with the USOC,” Dr. Toto says. “I’m humbled and grateful and excited. I’ve never served in the military, so this is my opportunity to serve my country by caring for the best athletes it has to offer.”

For Dr. Robinson, it all started when he was a student at Palmer College of Chiropractic West. Having always been interested in sports, he worked with the faculty and students to start a sports chiropractic program and student sports council. After graduation, he returned home to Canada with the goal of working with athletes. “I was always looking for opportunities to get involved with sports, and I discovered that there really are a lot of ways to do that,” he says.
About 10 years ago, he started working with a trainer and a strength and conditioning coach who happened to treat elite freestyle skiers. The skiers had never had chiropractic care before, and they immediately noticed a big advantage to their bodies, particularly with the soft-tissue work Dr. Robinson was providing. Within six to nine months, Dr. Robinson was asked to travel with the freestyle ski team, and he began treating them at the national center for winter sports training in Calgary, where he was noticed by athletes from numerous other sports.

Eventually, Dr. Robinson became a contractor to the sports center, treating many of the national team members that came through. For the 2010 Olympics, those teams put in a referral for Dr. Robinson to join the Canadian team’s medical staff. “All of my opportunities have come from word-of-mouth endorsements from athletes,” he says.

Dr. Uchacz had a similar experience. When its time to select the medical staff for the Winter Games, all of the Canadian national organizations for the various sports put in applications for the practitioners that they want to be there. The bobsled and skeleton team requested Dr. Uchacz. That endorsement, along with his training and credentials, secured him a spot on the Canadian team’s staff.

Breast to Bowl: Introducing Baby's First Foods Part 2 of 2

In addition to grains, other protein foods for babies can be: cooked chickpeas or adzuki beans. Both are mild and are great finger foods... babies love to participate in the messy process of eating. Tofu, cut into tiny little chunks, sauteed in olive oil with a touch of tamari sauce is easy to prepare and fun for self-feeding. Brown rice miso soup is also a simple, very nutritious food with protein. Almond butter, cashew butter and sesame butter are terrific sources of protein. Peanut butter is the hardest to digest and most brands are filled with added oil and sugar. Additionally, peanuts are highly allergenic.

Sugar and artificial sweeteners are not good for your baby (soft drinks, cookies, candies, ice cream, etc.). Sugars will only increase your child's susceptibility to hyper activity, lower resistance levels (colds), or slow growth rates. Also, avoid honey as a sweetener before the age of one, it has been known to cause botulism. Natural maple, or brown rice syrups are safer and quite sweet. When using salt to enhance your cooking, sea salt or tamari sauce are much healthier than the table salt.

Also avoid all milk products including yogurt until after age one. (You may consider avoiding them altogether!) Dairy products are mucus producing. They often create allergic responses in babies. Additionally, they are also loaded with hormones and antibiotics, two ingredients your baby can do without. Rice milk, almond milk, and soymilk are much better substitutes (sometimes soy may cause an allergic response as can milk, so start slowly). If you are overly concerned about calcium intake, sesame butter is very high in its calcium content.

Keep in mind, jarred baby food as as good as junk food or fast food, so preparations from scratch are best. Baby food manufacturers make the food to please parents' tastes. Baby food has harmful chemicals like MSG (flavor enhancer). Baby food is 60% water. In meat products, it has five times the salt. Strained vegetables have 60 times the salt too. Your infant's taste buds are not developed until the eighth month. The baby food has only been created to meet your taste, not the nutritional needs of your baby. Remember, the baby food industry is the second largest food industry in the United States. Once your baby gets used to the whole eating adventure, you can get a little baby food grinder and start giving him or her what you eat.

Whether you are vegetarians or not, you may want to consider holding off serving meat until twelve months of age. It takes several days for the intestines to fully digest meat. With a newly functioning digestive system, this can be a stress overload. Also, the meat can be loaded with hormones and antibiotics (the harm may outweigh the benefit). Better sources of protein are available in may other foods. When you do introduce meats, organic meats are preferable, as these animals have been raised on organically grown grains without pesticides and additives. Typically, the animals are also hormone and antibiotic free. In the fish family, use a mild white fish. Shellfish is not as healthy and is known to cause allergic reactions. If you choose to introduce eggs, watch closely for signs of allergy as eggs are hyper allergenic. Children with egg allergies should not be given certain vaccinations (MMR is grown on egg culters).

Just because your child is beginning to eat solids is no reason to hurry the weaning process. The average weaning time around the world is at 3 years of age. If that seems too long to you, consider this; your child's immune system is under developed until 18 months of age. Mother's milk infers natural passive immunity, and contains all of the ingredients for the immune system of your child (B & T Lymphocytes, macrophages, lysosomes etc.). The baby can digest the protein in this milk. Also breast milk will cause the stool to have a unique enzyme that destroys the bacteria involved in diaper rash. In addition to the physiological benefits, nursing your baby provides an emotional bond that is beyond substitute.

Take your time introducing new foods and allow your baby to go at his/her own pace. Children have an innate sense for survival and if only good foods are introduced in their early years, they will soon be telling you what they need. Along with your choices for infant nutrition, keep in mind that the regular chiropractic adjustments remove interference to your child's vital nervous system and allow his/her body to function at its best. Follow your intuition as parents when making health choices for your children; often these insights are our most valueable resource for well-being.