Why NOT to Bake With Most Nut "Flours"

 It has become popular to bake cookies, cakes, etc. with almond “flour” or other nut “flours,” particularly in the Paleo community, which advocates avoiding grains. With the exception of coconut flour, which does not readily oxidize, using nut flours for baking is hazardous, because all nuts contain unsaturated oils. These oils readily oxidize at room temperature when nuts are ground into flour.

Oxidized oils (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils take on oxygen across their carbon-carbon double bonds) are highly inflammatory and very unhealthy.

When dough is made by grinding nuts into flour in a cookie, etc., recipe, and baking it, the heat of the oven accelerates oxidation of these oils.

What can you do if you don’t want to use grain flours for baking?

All nuts contain some combination of saturated, MONOunsaturated, and POLYunsaturated oils. Baking with coconut flour, which contains almost 100% saturated oil, is safest, because saturated oils will not oxidize. 

    

What's Medicare Done For You Lately?

If you have a question, you can call Medicare (1-800-MEDICARE), and you will reach an actual person, who will answer your questions with patience and courtesy.

Your annual deductible is just $166.00!

        When Medicare receives your Doctor's Statement for your chiropractic care, they process it first, then they automatically send it on to your supplemental insurance for that part of processing. You don't have to do a thing!  

Medicare covers chiropractic care, but currently, only for treatment to the spine. It doesn’t cover extremities, exams, or adjunct therapies. Yet. But we’re (your chiropractors) working on it.

Agroforestry---An Ancient Science

 Agroforestry - growing crops or pasturing food animals near or among  trees - has lots of advantages. Trees give protection from wind, help hold soil in place, help reduce runoff water loss, and their roots help enrich the soil with microorganisms. Deep tree roots capture leached nutrients. Tree leaf litter decays & enriches the soil. Trees offer habitat for birds & other natural predators of food crop insect pests, thus reducing the need for artificial insect control. Agroforestry has been used for centuries in many countries around the world. One source of more information:  http://www.worldagroforestry.org/about/agroforestry-our-role  

Jaw Pain That Just Won't Go Away

Persistent pain in the region of the TMJ (temperomandibular joint) that isn’t resolved by treatment focused on the joint itself may actually be due to aberrance of the temporal cranial rhythm. I see this fairly frequently in my practice. Balancing the temporal rhythm will often bring relief.

Spinal Stenosis

Photo by E. Quinn: Yosemite High Country from trail to May Lake High Sierra Camp

Spinal Stenosis

An abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal is called spinal stenosis, and it may result in impingement or pressure on the spinal cord. Often it develops with advanced age, and can cause constant pain or paresthesias in the legs or feet, arms or hands. Although is can occur anywhere in the spine, a common site of spinal stenosis is in the lower lumbar or sacral area of the spinal canal.

Stenosis, or narrowing of the passageway of a nerve or nerves, can also occur elsewhere, such as in the neural foramen, where the spinal nerves come off the spinal cord and exit the spine through openings on either side of the vertebrae.   

Sometimes careful, gentle, precise chiropractic adjustments can help relieve the symptoms, but in more severe or advanced cases, chiropractic usually is not an effective solution. Sometimes surgery can be done to enlarge the narrowed passageway and relieve the impingement.

F = M x A (??-Remember this?)

Photo by E. Quinn: High Sierra Meadow

F = M x A 

Remember that formula you learned in high school physics, “Force is equal to Mass times Acceleration (F = M X A)?” This is the basis of the effectiveness of the Activator adjusting instrument. A hand-held tool that delivers a metered impact in less than 3/10 of a second, the Activator instrument creates sufficient force (F) to precisely re-position, or adjust, bones, because of its high acceleration (A). The patient, however, doesn’t feel the adjustment as forceful, because it is so quick. Just a quick but firm “tap” in the right place by a trained Activator Chiropractor makes the adjustment, relieves pain, and restores equilibrium to the affected joint.

Hip Replacement

Photo by E. Quinn: High Sierra Wildflower Garden

Hip Replacement

As they heal from hip replacement surgery, patients often come in with pelvic or low back discomfort. The repaired hip is relieved from long - standing pain in the affected joint, but post- surgery gait disturbances inevitably happen while the hip is healing. Gait disturbances have a destabilizing effect on the pelvis, often reverberating to the lumbar spine. Activator chiropractic offers gentle, corrective support and relief.

Texting Syndrome

Photo by E. Quinn: Pywiack Dome, across Tenaya Lake, Yosemite High Country, Yosemite National Park, CA

Texting Syndrome

More patients are coming in now with hand soreness and pain, often localized in the middle joint of the thumb, at the base of the thumb, or in the muscles that join the thumb to the hand. It’s no surprise that these parts are being overworked by frequent texting. I’ve noticed that the rate and intensity with which some texting is done is pretty amazing. Texting syndrome may soon surpass carpal tunnel syndrome in the litany of hand complaints. Be kind to your hands! 

Simple Strengthening For the Low Back

Strengthening the muscles that support the low back is an essential part of relieving low back pain and keeping a healthy, resilient, less vulnerable low back. Sometimes physical therapy is prescribed, and can be very helpful. However, when the underlying framework---your bones and joints---is skewed, or out of proper alignment, exercising will be less effective. Before beginning an exercise regimen, it is important to get your frame checked and balanced. This is my specialty, as an Advanced Proficiency Rated Activator Chiropractor. I then show patients simple strengthening exercises to help their adjustments hold and lessen the vulnerability of their low back.   

MSG---Just Say "NO!"

Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer commonly added to many fast foods, canned & processed foods, salad dressings, bouillon cubes, seasonings, etc., is an excitotoxin which can over-stimulate the heart, be a trigger for migraine headaches, and has been associated with facial pressure or tightness and paresthesias such as burning, tingling, or numbness. Some people react to it more strongly than others. It is definitely wise to avoid if you are a migraine sufferer. 

How Well - Educated is Your Doctor of Chiropractic?

The D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic) is a 4 - year doctoral degree. Prerequisite for entry into the doctoral program, most chiropractic colleges require an undergraduate degree with rigorous science training in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Embryology, Microbiology, Physics, Physiology, Mathematics, and Statistics, virtually identical to the basic science requirements for entry into medical school. After being admitted to a  chiropractic college, science training continues with Neuroscience, Physiology, Pathology, Clinical Medicine, and Physical & Differential Diagnosis. During the final 2 years of a 4 - year professional program, chiropractic education specializes in Musculoskeletal Conditions and Diagnosis, with a full year of Clinical Internship under the supervision of licensed D.C.’s, whereas in medical schools, specialization becomes directed more into Pharmacology and Surgery.

Enthesopathy---What Is It?

Tenderness or soreness in the area where a tendon attaches to bone is called “enthesopathy.” It is a specific part of a musculoskeletal diagnosis, and may extend the time needed for a condition to heal. Some insurances, including Medicare, may allow additional treatment to resolve the problem.

Low-Force Chiropractic for Seniors

"Special Considerations of Low-Force Chiropractic for Seniors" was a talk I gave to my professional women's networking group. I enjoy serving elders in my practice, and Activator Chiropractic is especially suitable for them because it is gentle, safe, and comfortable. Medicare patients are welcome in my office.

Facet Compression Syndrome

In the spine, the parts of the vertebrae that touch are the facets. If you look at the vertebrae one-on-top-of-the-other, they are separated by the discs, so the bones do not touch. But behind the vertebrae, at each spinal level, are projections from the main, roundish, vertebral body, somewhat like little bony “feet,” and these parts, the facets, DO touch each other, on both the left and right sides of the spine. If the facets get jammed, or compressed, the surrounding soft tissue---muscles, etc., gets affected, tight, somewhat like a clinched fist. This is painful, and needs precise, directional release. I find facet compression frequently in patients with back pain, and am able to successfully release it with my Activator Chiropractic Method. 

Hiking Sticks---The New Walking Aid for Elders!

Are you an elder, or do you know an elder, who has reached the point of being a bit unsteady on their feet and could benefit from a walking aid? Consider those boring, stodgy old walking canes no more, and go get a hiking stick! Every 20-something in the Sierra hikes with one or two; almost no one attempts the Pacific Crest Trail or the John Muir Trail without one anymore. Elders can join the “hip” crowd with a stylish hiking stick, many of which telescope down to fit into a carry bag or backpack. 

Sugar and "Pancreatic Panic"

One way to think about what sugar does to our bodies is to imagine how it affects our pancreas. As sugar content in the blood goes up, the pancreas springs into action, since one of its jobs is to secrete insulin to balance blood sugar levels.

Simple sugars, simple carbohydrates, and high-glycemic index foods cause a rapid spiking in blood sugar, which demands a quick and equal response from the pancreas. Somewhat like the response at a fire station when a call comes for a building on fire. Another way to think of this is “Pancreatic Panic.”

Keep on eating sugars, over-taxing your pancreas, and at some point the pancreatic cells that secrete insulin begin to ‘wear out,” they begin to not work as well. This is part of how Type II Diabetes develops.