Welcome and thank you for joining me on what i hope will be an entertaining,informative, and grammatical error filled journey. I’ll be discussing mostly chiropractic,nutrition,fitness,the latest research on overall wellness and how we can all live healthier lives without needless drugs and unnecessary surgeries....and of course all happenings at www.wpbchiro.com

Well partially :)

9 in 10 Americans Eat Too Much Salt

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/06/25/128103187/5-surprising-salt-sources-in-food

Thought I'd add this for your enjoyment as well...No surprise here....

Pepperoni "Flavored" Sausage = 610 grams of sodium

Unless you've taken Organic chemistry some of the ingredients in this Kraft lunch product will be foreign to you... btw... what exactly is "pork water"?

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.aspx?SiteId=1&Product=4470002410

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20100615/proposed-dietary-guidelines-take-aim-obesity So schools are doing away with Physical Education classes. Recent studies claim that children age Zero to Six Spend As Much Time With TV, Computers and Video Games As Playing Outside... (I know,I know. It's hard for a kid age Zero to play much outside... but I bet he'll be Tweeting in no time!) ..

According to a report from CNN:  Access to soda machines in school has nearly doubled from the late 90's to today. This has prompted an increase in consumption of sugary beverages by children nationwide. With a number of diseases and conditions linked to excess sugar consumption, these facts have lawmakers, school officials and parents concerned.

I see kids in my office all the time and one of the first things I ask is "What did you have for breakfast today?" Many say "I didn't have breakfast" or usually it's something unhealthy... for many of these children a bowl of Cap'n Crunch & a glass of O.J. would be a step up. The best (worst) answer... "Strawberry soda & a bag of Fritos"

You Need Sun! 10 Healthy Tips to Get It

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/you-need-sun-10-healthy-tips-to-get-it.html

Here comes the sun, doo da doo doo
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Dr. Paul Schiffman is a Chiropractor in West Palm Beach... e-mail him at WPBchiro.com

Neck Pain: The Right Pillow

Choosing the right pillow can improve the quality of your sleep and prevent or reduce neck pain. There are many pillow options to choose from. The goal is a pillow that gives you good support as well as a restful night's sleep. The basic rule is to find a pillow that keeps your neck in that neutral position. Here are some choices.

Feather pillows. The old-fashioned feather pillow may be the right choice for you, (as long as you aren’t allergic). I’m not talking about the expensive soft Down pillows, I mean the Firm mostly Feather pillows (at least a 75/25 feather to down, if not more) This pillow allows your head to sink in and assist in promoting a healthy cervical curve. These pillows can be molded to fit the shape of your head and are more forgiving than foam.

Orthopedic/Chiropractic pillows. These are designed to maintain the natural curve of your neck. You need a healthy curve or beginning to get your curve back to really enjoy the benefit. People with a straight or reverse  cervical curve will find these pillows uncomfortable.

Cervical pillows (Same idea as “Chiropractic” pillows) These are roll-shaped pillows designed to relieve neck stress and neck pain by maintaining the natural shape of your head and neck while you sleep.

Water-filled pillows. Water pillows supports your neck by absorbing and redistributing weight. Supposedly one advantage of the water pillow is that you can customize the amount of support it provides: the more water you add, the firmer the support, remove some...well...you get it. People who get sea-sick just watching “Deadliest Catch” should skip this one.

Had a friend in college who thought that a beer filled pillow would be a great idea...wonder what ever happened to that guy.

Using a pillow while sleeping on your back. When lying on the back, a pillow should support the natural curve (lordosis) of the cervical spine, with adequate support under the head, neck, and shoulders. Placing a couple of pillows or even a couch cushion beneath the knees further alleviates any back strain, and is the gentlest position on the back.

Using a pillow while sleeping on your side. When lying on your side, a pillow should support the head and neck such that the spine remains in the neutral position. Weight should be evenly distributed so as not to create unnatural bending or pressure. Placing a pillow between your knees promotes the neutral alignment (and keeps that top leg from falling over and twisting you back).

Using a pillow while sleeping on your stomach. STOP right there. Try to avoid sleeping on your stomach if at all possible. You’re jamming your neck one way or another, many times putting undue stress on one of your shoulder joints and promoting stress on the arch in your low back.

Otherwise...sweet dreams.

Thanks to Dr. Mark S. Scherer for the Pillow Lecture!

Whole Foods Market's Policy on the Use of the Word "Organic" on Personal Care Products

We believe that the "organic" claim used on personal care products should have very similar meaning to the "organic" claim used on food products, which is currently regulated by the USDA's National Organic Program. Our shoppers do not expect the definition of "organic" to change substantially between the food and the non-food aisles of our stores. Accordingly, the following requirements apply to all personal care products which use the word "organic" in any way on the product label.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm

Man! You have to watch your back while your washing your back with these shady companies products.

So the organicconsumers.org people are suggesting some brands to boycott and some brands to buy... I use 3 of the products on their "bad" list. Doh! ... Not any on the good list. I'm not advocating any kind of a boycott, but I do find it interesting that you can click on a link & be taken to each brand's entry in the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Safety Review Database where you'll find a hazard score for each product and ingredient.

Your friendly local West Palm Beach Chiropractor, Paul Schiffman D.C.

Drugmakers spent $1.2 billion on ads during the first quarter of this year, up 3 percent over the same period a year ago, according to data from Kantar Media.

So I thought to myself  "Self, do the ads motivate people to ask for medicines by name?"

The folks at Thomson Reuters asked more than 3,000 people in the U.S. about drug advertising. Here's what they discovered...

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they've seen, heard or received some kind of advertising for a prescription drug in the last six months. People who made more money and those with the most education were a little more likely to say they'd been exposed to an ad.

How fair are the ads, you ask? A little more than half the people surveyed say the ads properly balance the information about risks and benefits. Nineteen percent said risks were overemphasized, and 27 percent said the benefits were overplayed.

The Food and Drug Administration isn't so sure the TV and radio ads are doing the best job on balance, so the agency is proposing some new rules.... To save you all the mumbo jumbo from the link, here's the gist ....

The proposed rule would implement a
new requirement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act),
added by the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007
(FDAAA), that the major statement in DTC television or radio
advertisements (or ads) relating to the side effects and
contraindications of an advertised prescription drug intended for use
by humans be presented in a clear, conspicuous, and neutral manner.

So, what do you think?.... not sure... turn the TV on, wait for the 1st commercial break then get back to me :)

As always, your friendly West Palm Beach Chiropractor

Dr. Paul Schiffman

An initial review has found the diet pill Qnexa to be safe and effective, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report released this morning.

Oh, really...Safe & effective huh. How well did that work for Fen-Phen?

However, the FDA's look into two previous studies involving Qnexa found a high rate of participants who dropped out due to adverse effects. Some participants taking a high dose of the pill lost an average of 10 percent of their starting body weight.

Did I mention that Qnexa is a combination of the amphetamine phentermine - which was in the troubled diet pill Fen-phen .  That was pulled off the market because of possible heart damage.  It also contains topiramate an anti-convulsant.

According to the report, 18 percent of participants taking a high dose withdrew from trials after experiencing mild side effects (mild!?!?) such as tingling of the hands and feet, headache and constipation. And, around 40 percent of all participants either taking high or low doses of Qnexa did not complete the study for various reasons.

Among patients given a full dose of Qnexa (15 mg Phentermine plus 92 mg Topamax), 2.1% and 2.6% dropped out of the study due to cognitive side effects such as “disturbance in attention” or “forgetfulness” compared to 0.3% and 0.8% of those given the placebo reports TheStreet.com.

This had not been previously disclosed by Vivus, the company developing this drug.

At least put some stipulations as to how people will have access to it....such as:

You can only get 1 pill a day

It's 2 miles away....

and you have to walk there to get it.

Learn more about healthy nutrition at WPBchiro.com