In this episode, Holly Dersham speaks with Dr. Ellen Kernodle, DC, a chiropractic practitioner dedicated to removing spinal fixations and nerve interferences, allowing her patients to achieve their best possible health. They discuss:
- Chiropractic and Traditional Medicine
- How To Find a Good Chiropractor
- Strategies For Maintaining Health in Your 50+s
- Sugar’s Effect on the Body
- Supplements: What Works and What Doesn’t
- Achieving Hormonal Balance
About Dr. Ellen Kernodle
Dr. Ellen is a holistic chiropractor helping patients overcome, not mask, symptoms. Inspired by a chiropractor’s impact on her own mother’s chronic illness symptoms, she is well-aware of how the body is entirely connected and how each part affects the whole. She received her Doctorate of Chiropractic from Life University and is trained in Diversified, Thompson, Activator, Toggle, and Extremity chiropractic techniques, along with muscle work and soft tissue therapy. As such, she is extremely well-versed in the body’s unique functions and works to educate her patients, aged 1 to 99, in the ways of maintaining balance in all aspects of healthy living.
Learn more about Dr. Ellen Kernodle at Well Health Centers: https://wellhealthcenters.com/springhill
TRANSCRIPT
Intro (00:00):
You are listening to her time to retire, a podcast dedicated to helping women gain the knowledge, confidence and support they need to achieve financial success and emotional fulfillment when planning for retirement. If you are ready to finally take charge of your financial life, then keep listening.
Your hosts are Glenn Price and Jonathan Scott, founders of Keystone financial resources in Brentwood, Tennessee. Both men specialize in crafting individualized retirement plans for women, and have a passion for helping women discover and achieve their retirement goals.
Glenn is a husband and father of four, who was taught early in life through his relationship with his grandmother, how a woman can not only take charge of her own destiny, but also positively influenced the lives of her family and friends that surround her. Jonathan, husband and father of three, attributes his own success to the strong women in his life, including his wife Brooke and his mother Suzanne.
Both men, together, want to help more women live out their dreams in retirement. As always, if you have retirement questions their phone lines are open at (615) 661-9554 or you can visit their website to browse information, view upcoming events or subscribe to the her time to retire weekly newsletter. Just visit www.Keystonefinancialresources.com. Now relax, and enjoy the conversation.
Holly D. (00:01:26):
Well, welcome to her time to retire. I am Holly Dersham, I’m a new face and voice here on our podcast and video platforms, for those of you who have been listening or watching us for a while. I’m the chief operating officer at keystone financial resources. And it's very cool, I’m super excited to be on this side of the camera today.
I actually was a part of creating this podcast when we launched it a couple years ago, right in the middle of lockdown actually, is when our first episode came out. So this is my first time getting to interview somebody on the podcast which I’m excited about. I saw the topic for today, which is women's health, and I snatched it up as quick as I could. It's a topic that I’m very interested in and passionate about myself, and so I knew this is one that I wanted to be a part of with our guest and expert speaker Dr. Ellen today.
So I want to read you all her bio just so a little bit about her background, expertise. She's a super smart lady, and then we'll dive in and talk about women's health today. Which is going to be applicable to all women of all ages, but specifically we're going to talk about issues around that 50 plus demographic. So lean in, grab a notebook if you want to take some notes on this today, I know she's got a lot of really good nuggets for us.
So Dr. Ellen received her doctor of chiropractic from Life University in Marietta Georgia. Prior to that, she earned her bachelor of the arts from DePauw university in biology and Bio-chem. She married her husband Jake in August 2017, and they have a 14-month-old daughter named Elizabeth.
Outside of the office, Dr. Ellen loves gardening, kayaking generally anything outdoors. Dr. Ellen is trained in diversified Thompson, activator, toggle and extremity chiropractic, oh my gosh. Along with muscle work and soft tissue therapy. She loves working with families from a few days old up to 99 years old. Do you have a patient who's 99 years old?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:03:19):
Not at my clinic right now, but we have had patients who are 99 or one clinic has someone who's older.
Holly D. (00:03:24):
That's amazing. Are you serious?
Dr. Ellen K. :03:27):
Yes.
Holly D. (00:03:28):
That's so cool. Her goal for her patients is to remove spinal fixations and nerve interference, allowing them to achieve their best possible health. So Dr. Ellen, I would love if you would share a little more about your story. What inspired you to become a chiropractor? I feel like most people don't wake up and say I want to go to chiropractic school, so there has to be a story here.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:03:51):
Yes, there definitely is. So I had, chiropractic's really been part of my whole life. I was adjusted as an infant, as a young kid, all kind of that and I really didn't start to have an interest in becoming one until actually it was college.
My mom started to go through a whole storm of health issues, a lot of autoimmune disease, thyroid issues, chronic pain type situation and it got really bad. It was to the point I was afraid to come home and visit from college, because I was afraid, I’d be the one to walk in the door and find her dead, like that's how bad things were getting.
And then kind of through a whole, really God's grace directing us down here, my parents moved down here and they started finding some doctors and chiropractors who really helped.
So I came down to visit on spring break, and I went to two appointments with my mom in one day. First, we went to her neurologist, who by all accounts very lovely lady, top of her field, very caring and compassionate, but she couldn't really do anything other than offer my mom pills and pain medication to mask everything until the end. Until either a side effect killed or something else got her.
And then of course we were all crying and very upset, left that appointment. And we went to the chiropractor that she'd started going to, and he first sat her down, calmed her down and he said Tammy hold up your hand, Tammy's my mom, and she went like this.
Now, for those of you who are listening not seeing, my mom's a hairdresser and I’m sure you've all seen where they have to draw the hair up and do that, my mom hadn't been able to do that for about three years without her hand like clawing from the neurological wow stuff she had going on.
And she did it perfectly steady all that and he's like look we are making progress, we are doing good, you are healing, you are getting healthy. And that for me was just light bulb turned on, lightning bolt to the head, it was like I’m not going to medical school, I’m going to chiropractic school.
So within a week, I had withdrawn my application from the med school I was accepted to, and put one in at life university and no looking back since then. Haven't regretted a single day.
Holly D. (00:06:02):
You're kidding, that's amazing. So your mom's story totally is what inspired you?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:06:07):
Yes, 100%. Just seeing the hope and true healing that can be offered through removing interference in the body, to actually allow the body to heal. And most people don't think about chiropractic that way, they think of it very oh, I got back pain, I have sciatic pain, I have neck pain, which we're very good at that. Like that is our bread and butter and I work with that every single day.
Headaches are a really big one, it's cool to have someone who's just resigned themselves to headaches every day, they're like this is just my life, and they go from that to I can't remember the last time I had a headache. So I mean, that's a big part of it too. But truly, opening up the body to healing is been a wonderful thing. And so, what we do at our clinic is we work from the idea that the brain controls everything in the body.
Like if your brain cannot communicate with your body, you're dead, you're done, that's it. And then the brain sends out the messages through the spinal cord. So your spinal cord runs in the spinal column, all these little movable bones sending nerves out to the rest of your body.
So as the spine is protecting that very important part of your body, it can also move and start impinging on nerves. People have all heard the idea of a pinched nerve. So my job as a chiropractor is to go in and find those specific areas that are no longer moving and maybe causing nerve interference, and fix those with the adjustment, so that then we can restore communication between the heart and the rest of the body.
Holly D. (00:07:34):
Sounds like the messages get jammed up somewhere.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:07:37):
Yes, that's a very good way to put it. A lot of people will use the kinked hose example, you know if you put a kink in the hose, the water can't get from point a to point b.
Holly D. (00:07:46):
Makes total sense.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:07:47):
Yes. We remove the kink and the flow's restored. So a lot of people, it's really easy to get the heart, the nerve to your heart runs out about around here in your neck. You cut the nerve to your heart, you're dead.
What happens if you just pinch it a little bit? Well, your brain can no longer regulate. You can start developing things like high blood pressure, cholesterol, different types of heart disease, that sort of thing.
Holly D. (00:08:10):
So what are some of the specific things that women in this around 50 age, what are some of the specific complaints they come to you with?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:08:23):
A lot of neck pain, headaches, from most of us sitting at a computer doing this all the time.
Holly D. (00:08:29):
I know.
(Inaudible 00:08:29):
Actually, I met a chiropractor at a ladies networking event I was at a few weeks ago, and she told me that they had seen toddlers with arthritis in their neck already, from being on a device since they were an infant.
Mind-blowing to me that we're even having problems like this, but it makes sense because our heads are always turned down or at work on your keyboard or on your phone.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:08:56):
Yes. The body is meant to move, and we don't live in a society that's very conductive to that, because everybody's sitting still working.
Holly D. (00:09:03):
Yes, that's crazy. So carry on, sorry. Neck pain?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:09:06):
So a lot of neck pain, and thyroid's always a big one. Everybody's coming in with thyroid and hormone issues, which has a lot to, again, do with the body. Same idea with the heart you've got nerves leading out to the thyroid, thyroid can't communicate with the brain, and the thyroid really is a master gland in the body.
It controls the up regulation and down regulation of really just about any system you can name, it's connected and it really influences people's hormones, which of course, women in kind of the 50+ category.
Holly D. (00:09:38):
We're already susceptible.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:09:40):
Yes. We've all had to deal with it a lot of our lives, but that's always a really big topic.
Holly D. (00:09:46):
Yes, that's amazing. So I want to talk about three areas today that you and I have kind of discussed a little bit ahead of time. First is sugar, second is supplementation, and then third are hormones. I want to circle back on that topic. But I feel like before we dive into these three, I think we just need to go ahead and address the elephant in the room that some people have had bad experiences with chiropractors.
How do you overcome that? Because I know there's so many fantastic chiropractors out there. But there's also some not so great, just like any industry. Even ours with financial advisors, there's some great ones. But there are definitely people who have taken advantage of others as well.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:10:30):
Yes, there's always a few bad Apples in every bunch. Personally, at my clinic, when I have someone come in who hasn't had a good experience with a chiropractor. First, I thank them for giving us another chance and say I’m sorry that you've had that experience.
At our clinic, we do a very thorough history and exam in the beginning, which really helps me pinpoint what exactly they need or even if maybe chiropractic's not for them, that's very rare, but it does happen.
We usually end up taking x-rays, they're usually indicated so I can actually see the spine, see what's going on, and really just having an open and honest conversation about what I’m going to do, what they liked, what they didn't like, that sort of thing.
So really, if you have had a bad experience with chiropractic, well, you can come see me. But get on their website, look at their credentials, see what they say, read their reviews. Find somebody who states something about healing and really caring for people.
I mean, anybody can say that, go and give the office a try and if don't like it, walk back out. But there really are a lot of good chiropractors out there. Chiropractic is extremely safe and effective, that's been proven over and over.
Holly D. (00:11:47):
And we actually met through one of our employees here at Keystone, who has been seeing you for several years, I think. She's been with you for a long time.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:11:55):
She's been with us for quite a while.
Holly D. (00:11:56):
Yes. And she's had a great experience.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:11:58):
She has. We love having her in the office, so she's a joy.
Holly D. (00:12:01):
That's great. All right, let's jump into it. Let's talk about sugar, how do you live without it first off, because we're all so addicted to it, right? And then it's almost impossible to avoid, because it's literally in everything we eat. It's almost like part of the DNA of our society now.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:12:20):
It really is, sugar is in everything. I challenge you next time you go to the grocery store, actually pick up the container, flip it over and read it. If you see anything ending in the words Ose fructose, sucralose, manos any of those, that is sugar your body will break it down and it will raise your blood sugar. And that really kind of gets into the whole three points it's all connected, because your hormones chase blood sugar.
Holly D. (00:12:44):
Interesting.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:12:45):
Yes. We've all heard of insulin, cortisol all that kind of stuff. They're really about keeping the balance in the body, your body's meant to function at a very fine point of balance. For example, PH, you go point two, points one way too acidic, you're dead. Point two points the other way, basic, you're dead. So that's really what the entire body is about, is maintaining that perfect balance of life, it's really cool once you start studying it.
And the problem with our society right now is we usually tend to stress out at one end or the other of kind of our range. So usually, when you're taking in all that sugar, sugar itself is very inflammatory, it's going to cause a lot of pain, sore, achiness just whole-body inflammation if you're dealing with things like gut issues, weight gain or for some people uncontrollable weight loss.
Digestive issues, brain fog, concentration issues, you're probably dealing with a hormone sugar imbalance just caused by overall inflammation in your body, and it just really spirals from there.
So the main thing is, one of the biggest things you can do for your health is to start cutting out the sugar in your body now. Some things that's easy throw the candy bars out the window.
Holly D. (00:14:03):
Yes, how do you do that? Tell us the secret.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:14:06):
So it actually is getting easier to do, more people are waking up to it, and as consumers demand better products, that drives better production. Big thing to do is start going clean, start eating just whole foods, meats, vegetables, get your sugar from your fruit. A natural sugar that you're also getting the nutrients and the vitamins and the fiber with.
And then really start like I said reading the ingredients, pick it up, flip it over. If you can't recognize a lot of the ingredients, it's probably not good for you. Just that over produced manufactured over processed junk really clogs up the body and does a lot of damage.
Holly D. (00:14:46):
Now, let's talk about busy lifestyles, because I don't know a woman who isn't busy, I’ve yet to meet one. So I know for me, this can be overwhelming, because it's like, and especially as a mom which you can relate to, you're just always on the go, right?
And you always have somebody to take care of, and something to do, and work-life balance or stay-at-home mom. No matter what situation you're in, it's just busy. So when we're talking about whole foods and clean foods, what are some easy like grab and go breakfast and lunch for those busy daytime hours? What are your go-to's?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:15:22):
One of my biggest go-to's is a healthy protein shake. I know a lot of people are like oh, protein, overload protein, that's bad for you, yes, it is. So what you want to do is find a good, I prefer plant-based protein shake. We actually carry a brand in our office called neutrodyne, very much really like their products.
So that's really easy, because if you're like me and a little lazy about it, you can throw it in some water, shake it up, there's your meal, there's your breakfast and it's a great way to start your morning especially breakfast really. So getting a good protein shake, you can make them fancy, you can put coconut milk with some frozen berries and an avocado, and that's actually what my little girl drinks for breakfast right now. She loves it, she'll hear that blender going.
Holly D. (00:16:12):
Avocado, she loves it?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:16:14):
Oh, she drinks it up.
Holly D. (00:16:16):
That's so great.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:16:17):
If you don't make her one, she'll steal yours. So we make her one with ours.
Holly D. (00:16:20):
That hilarious. So one of our owners here, Glenn, all of our listeners have totally you all have heard him on other podcast episodes. We always give him a hard time, because we'll see him in the kitchen all the time, and he's a very healthy eater, and we just call it everything shake.
I mean, he literally just can of tuna, avocado, like literally, I’m just kidding about the tuna. Whatever he can find that's like healthy and high in good fats, he just throws it in the blender and sit back for lunch every day.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:16:47):
That's awesome. That is one way to do it.
Holly D. (00:16:49):
It makes it so easy though, it's not time consuming.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:16:52):
No, not at all. So that really helps some other grabs and goes, personally I’m a Costco lover. They have a lot of good things. So one thing I can think of that's on our grocery list, is actually their little avocado mash packets, they come in little perfect portions. Already they're seasoned a little bit, so if you don't like plain avocado, that helps a lot of people. I just use that for veggie dip.
When you're looking at your vegetables, and I know everybody's going to say but this takes time, meal prep. So what we do is we bring everything home from the grocery store, and it all gets sort of prepared right there. Like you buy a head of broccoli, wash it, cut it up, we use green bags, put it in the green bag then it's ready to grab and go.
So to get your healthy snack, you don't have to pull it out, chop a little bit off, do that kind of thing. Carrots are always great, they're easy because they come pre-washed and you can just grab a bag. Another good one is doing up boiling a big thing of chicken, because then you can heat it back up, eat it itself. You can throw it cold on a salad that sort of thing.
Holly D. (00:17:55):
Even during your dinner?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:17:57):
Yes. We do a nice stir fry with it. So finding those things that are very versatile really helps, and then you figure out how what fits into your lifestyle. Like we know on Thursdays, we're going to do a crock pot meal because everybody comes home late. So the last person to leave the house turns it on, and that's what we have for dinner.
Holly D. (00:18:18):
So smart. And I think that makes it easy, because a lot of times when you are in a hurry, it's easier to grab the unhealthy thing. But if you just take a little bit of time for preparation, to get those ready for the week, then you're setting yourself up to have a successful week, and be able to avoid more of the sugar than you probably would otherwise.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:18:39):
Yes, 100%. And like I said, reading the ingredients. And I also wanted to put a plug in. So our office actually has a website called Fooduniversity.tv. It's about 45 minutes’ worth of a video of our CEO Dr. Ben, he's kind of the starter behind the whole well franchise. Talking about a lot of this and going into a lot more in depth, because you could do a whole series on this topic and still not cover at all.
So if anybody wants to learn more about that, I really encourage you to go check out Fooduniversity.tv. Make sure it's dot tv, dot com takes you somewhere else.
Holly D. (00:19:12):
Noted. It might not be the right guy.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:19:15):
Yes. If it looks a little weird, don't look at the dot com.
Holly D. (00:19:18):
All right. Let's talk about supplementation. So a couple specific things you and I had discussed were bone health especially for women, healthy body mass, okay. What types? I feel like if you walk down a supplement aisle or you go to whole foods, there's just so much. And so how do you know what you even need?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:19:40):
Right. That's a big question too, so one thing I do want to say about supplements is you got to pick a good brand. Personally, I’m a fan of neutrodyne, that's what we sell in our office, it's practitioner exclusive, so only a practitioner can sell it. Which is nice, because then you get some guidance as to what do you actually need? Because you can easily fall down the rabbit hole, and you're suddenly taking 20 supplements a day.
And yes, that's just not needed you're not doing anything there. So you get what you pay for. A lot of people they'll look at some supplements and be like well, I can find that cheaper. Well, you might be taking something that your body can't actually absorb, and then yes, you paid less, but you're still wasting your money.
So some good ones to be on is one a good, solid everyday vitamin. The sad fact is there's something called nutrition depletion, that's really a problem in our food. And so basically, what it is, and what an Apple is today is not what it was say 20, even 15 years ago, because it's not getting as much nutrition, because the ground's been overgrown, you can get into all the environmental stuff about that. So I really recommend a good solid everyday essential type vitamin to cover all your bases, because you can't eat enough anymore to actually make up for that nutrition loss.
Holly D. (00:21:02):
Yes.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:21:02):
So that's always really a good one.
Holly D. (00:21:04):
So everybody needs to be on a vitamin. No matter what, no matter how healthy of an eater you are, you're not getting all the nutrients you need.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:21:12):
No, there's probably a hole somewhere. Now, maybe there might be someone out there who has figured it out, if so, please let me know. But no, we actually sell one in our office, we call it an everyday essential. It's actually a little packet of about I think it's six vitamins.
But it covers what I’m going to talk about, the fish oil, some of the collagen that sort of stuff, vitamin d. And I like it because it's a grab-and-go packet, I know I’ve got pretty much everything I need for the day. I don't have an array of bottles sitting on my counter to take a bunch of different things.
Holly D. (00:21:42):
That's so nice. And plus, you're busy and on the go, so you can just grab it and take it with you and get it down the hatch whenever you can, whatever you have a minute.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:21:50):
Yes. It makes a big difference. One thing to talk about is fish oil, so we kind of touched on it, earlier inflammation is a huge thing in our society and it's causing a lot of issues. So fish oil actually decreases that inflammation in your body helps repair some of that damage too.
So it's good brain health, heart health, joints, I mean it really is a powerful supplement. So having a good fish oil is really important. I actually have something I like called PRM, and we carry it in the office. It's basically fish oil on steroids, so it's a very concentrated form. Good to use if you have an injury you're trying to recover from, or if you have chronic inflammation that you're trying to heal. It's a good one to help overcome that.
Holly D. (00:22:32):
What signs. of chronic inflammation?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:22:34):
Overall joint pain, anybody who ever woke up just feeling like you can't even move, because it feels like you got beat with a two by four. Gut issues, brain fog, dealing with overall can't stay healthy, like you're always sick, you're always battling some cold or another. Really those type of issues hair loss, weight gain, hormone imbalance itself is a sign of high inflammation.
Holly D. (00:23:06):
It's all connected.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:23:07):
It's all connected, we could talk in circles about this the whole day.
Holly D. (00:23:09):
Yes, because that's what we talked about, we talked about hormones and sugar. It's all so integrated with one another.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:23:14):
Yes, it really is. So when people are struggling with their hormones, I really encourage people to not only get adjusted, help clear up that nerve interference so that we can actually get the organs healing and functioning the way they're supposed to.
But really take a look at your diet, and see what you're putting in your body that it has to struggle to overcome to even function. So when we clear out a lot of that junk, it makes a big difference.
Holly D. (00:23:36):
That's amazing. Okay, cool, continue on fish oil. Fun fact too, my dogs love my fish oil.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:23:42):
I bet.
Holly D. (00:23:45):
I’ve started buying them their own fish oil now, and they get their little, you just ask them do you want a fish? And they go crazy, they love it. And it's so good for dogs too.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:23:52):
Yes, it really is. It's a big part, those good fats, we love the good fats. So another thing to talk about is collagen. So a lot of people don't get enough collagen, it's very important for joints, bones, hair, skin, all that.
It makes up a huge part of all of your body. The nice thing is you can get unflavored brands, and you can just dump it in that smoothie that we talked about. And you're not choking down some kind of chalky whatever.
Holly D. (00:24:22):
I’ve seen people put it in their coffee too.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:24:25):
Yes. I’ve seen people do that too.
Holly D. (00:24:26):
Like a powder in their coffee?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:24:28):
Yes. I’m not a fan of that one, personally. But I like plain coffee, so I don't really add anything in. But no, I have a lot of people who really like it that way.
Holly D. (00:24:37):
And I see collagen everywhere right now. Like it's a super-hot topic, it's trending for sure. And every collagen brand says, we're the only collagen that is going to give you x, y and z. There can't be that many kinds of collagen, right? Is this true or not?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:24:54):
No, you really just want to find a good one. Personally, we like Dr. Axe, his ancient nutritionist line they have a very good collagen. I believe they have flavored and unflavored.
Holly D. (00:25:05):
Yes, he's local here too, I think, right?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:25:07):
Yes, he is. And he's actually a friend of Dr. Bens, our CEO.
Holly D. (00:25:12):
That's awesome.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:25:13):
Yes. We all run in small circles, it's crazy who knows each other.
Holly D. (00:25:16):
Yes. So collagen every day?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:25:18):
Collagen every day. Two others I want to talk about are valerian root and ashwagandha. So this really helps with again, getting back to that thyroid idea. If we're always stressed, always running, always on the goal. Our cortisol is sky high; we're really shutting down our thyroid through stress. So these are two things that can really help because they're what we call adaptogens.
So they help the body regulate, they're not going to try to push the body up or push it down, they're not trying to do that. They're just helping the body regulate and find that middle point. So valerian root and ashwagandha, both of those are very good. We sell both of them in a supplement called good night, you actually take it, it helps you go to sleep. And a stress away supplement, which you know what the name says. One to help with stress, one to help you go to sleep.
So those are two really good ones you can find, and they're pretty popular right now too. So it would be easy to find those. Again, do your research on the brand? Look at it, look at where it's coming from, what they say, kind of what their credentials are. Third-party testing is always a good thing to look for and.
Holly D. (00:26:23):
I feel like that ties a lot into the hormone conversation, which we're going to go into next. Especially because our listeners, these ladies are already a lot of times dealing with hormone problems, which can cause so many issues with sleep, oh my gosh. I feel like if they're just off even just barely, the first thing to go is your good night's sleep, what is that?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:26:45):
Actually, we're going to go back and talk about cortisol again. And this again ties back into the blood sugar. So we're going to talk about two, we've got insulin versus cortisol. So insulin, when you have that blood sugar spike, your body starts sending out insulin to rain your blood sugar back in. Bring it back down into that acceptable level where your body can continue to function.
Versus cortisol, which is going to increase your blood sugar, it's sending nutrients, it's sending energy out into your body, so that you can basically either fight or flight. It all goes back, I’m sure you've all heard the analogy if you're being chased by a bear, you're stressed out, your body's sending out sugar to all your muscles so you can actually run from the bear.
So it's a good thing to have some stress, we need that. But the problem is most of us are stuck in that fight-or-flight stage all the time, and we're just using cortisol constantly.
Holly D. (00:27:36):
It's part of our lifestyle.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:27:37):
It really is. So what we want to do is help promote that rest and digest, which is the other side of the nervous system and the hormones. So that your body can actually calm down and heal, that's where you heal. So when we're talking about, especially sleep, most people don't know this.
Your body actually needs cortisol to stay asleep. And if you've over produced and used it all up during the day, your body doesn't have any. If anybody's hit that about 2 a.m. 4a.m. Mark where you just wake up and you're just like why am I awake? I’m so tired. But your brain's just going, your body's out of cortisol and it can't keep you asleep.
Holly D. (00:28:18):
Yes. I’ve heard it called tired but wired, and it's so true. It's like you're just physically exhausted, and you're like why can't I sleep? I’m so tired, but it just won't shut off to let you relax enough to go to sleep.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:28:32):
Yes. And that is definitely one of the things that we do. So when we look at the hormones, the thyroid, all that, we got to make sure one, we're not driving our insulin too high.
Because if you're constantly putting sugar in your body, your body's sending out all that insulin trying to keep it down, then you get into insulin resistance, then you lead into the whole spiral of diabetes and other health problems which we don't want that. And then cortisol, you're always raising your blood sugar, so then you've got that inflammation just running wild around your body.
So really finding that balance. So the supplements that we talked about can help with that. Also seeing a chiropractor again, it all circles back to that, can help. So when we do an adjustment, we specifically turn on what's called the parasympathetic portion of the nervous system. And that is responsible for the rest and digest. So a lot of people all get their neck adjusted, and they'll just like relax onto the table, because their body has flipped the switch to we're okay, we're not running from a bear, we can calm down.
Holly D. (00:29:33):
There's no imminent danger.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:29:35):
Yes. So that's a pretty cool part of the job too, when people just kind of relax and they actually walk out of the office smiling.
Holly D. (00:29:41):
They almost come in and leave like a very different person.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:29:45):
They do. We have some people that come in, you can tell who's in chronic pain because they're all like oh, grumpy and mad at the world, which I would be too if I was in chronic pain, and they walk out with a smile.
Holly D. (00:29:55):
And I feel like a lot of times these people, you kind of start to feel like you're crazy, right? Or you go to the doctor and your blood work is fine, and they send you on home, but you feel miserable. Or you have the aches and pains or chronic pain or whatever it is that you're dealing with, headaches, and things like that every day, and you know it can't be normal.
But everything's normal so your regular doctor sends you packing, because there's really not anything in their toolbox that they have that can help you at that point. And so, you start to be, I empathize with them, you start to feel a little bit crazy. So I’m sure when people, by time they reach a chiropractor, a lot of people are probably at that point of desperation where they're like I just need something, I’ve tried everything, nobody can tell me what's wrong.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:30:40):
Yes, so I might as well try you. We get a lot of people coming in like that, and it's just really sad that people have reached that kind of point in their life where they're in tears, just crying just saying please do something so that I can continue to function. Ideally, we'd get them to come into the office before then. But I’m happy to help them when we finally do get to meet them.
Holly D. (00:31:02):
Absolutely. Well, let's talk about hormones and this women around 50 age. We know they're dealing with menopause, hormones, and I know I don't look forward to it at all, first off.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:31:15):
Me neither.
Holly D. (00:31:19):
But there's a lot of symptoms and struggles that come along with that. Is chiropractic able to alleviate some of those symptoms, as they're navigating through that time?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:31:30):
Definitely related to the body aching, soreness 100% can really help with that. I find that a lot of women, a lot of the issues that get contributed to menopause, like the sudden headaches, the loss of energy, the weight gain, all that.
Part of it is rolled into the natural process, but a lot of it is a hormone imbalance that has been plaguing them their entire life and it's finally coming to a head with menopause, and we can really help ease that transition by getting them adjusted, helping them clean up their diet. Getting them exercising and drinking water, that sort of thing.
Holly D. (00:32:05):
That's amazing. I feel like anything at that point to get relief is totally worth it.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:32:11):
Yes.
Holly D. (00:32:12):
That's amazing. And I am six and a half months pregnant, do you guys work with prenatal patients?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:32:17):
I love working with prenatal patients, makes a huge difference. I speak from experience. It's really all about helping that pelvis settle into the correct balance, so that baby can move around, do what he or she needs to do, and really helps with the labor and delivery, because everything's aligned so that the mechanics can actually function to the best of their ability.
Holly D. (00:32:40):
That's awesome. So you see women through every stage of life, even babies.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:32:45):
I do. Oh, my favorite is the first adjustment. When you bring in the little baby. I actually personally adjusted my daughter two hours after she was born, took me two hours to get myself together then I was like okay, let's do this.
Holly D. (00:32:57):
Wow, that is so cool. Now do your kids come in to get adjusted? Do they like it? Or do they not?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:33:02):
She does. Some kids don't, I’m a stranger for the first few adjustments, trying to grab their neck and stuff like that. A lot of touching and if you get somebody in the two to four age, it's like stranger danger, who are you?
Holly D. (00:33:18):
Fight or flight, and they will fight. But no, it's very safe and obviously a kid's adjustment looks, it might sometimes look like an adult adjustment, but it's not. Snap crackle pop don't even always really get a sound out of a kid's spine, and you don't need it.
Holly D. (00:33:36):
Because hopefully you're starting early that they're not going to get those kinds of problems.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:33:41):
Yes. That is the whole goal.
Holly D. (00:33:42):
Tell us how people can contact you, how can they find you where your office is located and all those good things? Anybody who's interested in coming to see you?
Dr. Ellen K. (00:33:51):
Yes. So I am specifically at our spring hill location, Spring hill Tennessee. You can find us online, we have Facebook, that sort of thing. If spring hill isn't a good location for you, the nice thing is I’m part of a larger franchise that's, the well on my shirt so I’m part of the well franchise, so we are a group of like-minded, like trained doctors, like you're going to hear the same thing if you go to any of our clinics.
We have locations all throughout middle, Tennessee and we're spreading out and building more. So I’d encourage anybody to go to the Wellhealthcenters.com. Go to our website, you can find me, you can find other doctors, maybe someone else would be a better fit location wise.
Really encourage you take that next step, we have a new patient special going on right now, I think it's $39 for the first appointment that includes exam, x-rays and your first adjustment. So now's the time to do it.
Holly D. (00:34:41):
almost like nothing to lose, it's $39 to come and just try and see if it's something it really.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:34:46):
Like you said, what do you got to lose?
Holly D. (00:34:47):
Yes, what do you have to lose, that's awesome. Well, this was wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:34:52):
Yes, thank you for having me.
Holly D. (00:34:53):
I really enjoyed this discussion; I think our listeners really will too.
Dr. Ellen K. (00:34:55):
I hope so.
Holly D. (00:34:56):
Thanks for watching today. If you'd like more information about what we do here at Keystone, you can find us online at Keystonefinancialresources.com. And make sure you follow us on our podcast platform as well as social media, so you can see our next episode when it hits.
Outro (00:35:12):
You have been listening to her time to retire, with Glenn Price and Jonathan Scott. Glenn and Jonathan would love to talk to you and answer any of your retirement questions.
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