Most people have heard of CBD and we did a podcast on CBG in December of last year.  Now, we bring you CBN and it’s potential to change your life especially if you have anxiety and sleep. Great new research out there.

In this podcast we talk about how a spine gets so weak that the little movements cause pain.  We also talk about how to become more durable and get your life back.

For more info about CBD go to Sucavu.com

or SLCSAW.com

This is a great charity project. We talk about the need for these kids and how nice it is to give. All the details are inside if you want to participate by donating pajamas or books. Who doesn’t like buying PJ’s? 

Would you like to be Healthy, Wealthy, Well respected, and Well loved? If that sounds like a life you’d like, then this email will have a profound impact on you and the people around you.

Can you imagine skiing down a mountain at 100 years old?

Here in Salt Lake there is a local gentlemen who is still skiing at 101. Would you want to be water skiing, climbing mountains, and lifting weights at 100 years old? It’s possible.  First, we need to get you into a blue zone. 

What’s that? A blue zone is a designation by Dan Buettner and his crew that studies populations with a high percentage of centenarians (people 100 years old).

The researchers found populations all over the world, then traveled there and studied the people, what they ate, how they lived, who their friends were, etc. They wrote a book about it if you want more. It’s called the Blue Zones.

In a strange twist of fate, when they launched their project to improve the health of the US, it was across the street from my office. That’s were I saw the pictures from his travels, and of healthy centenarians.

The presentation was a big media event. They had all the local news organizations and hospitals represented and speaking about their roles. 

According to the CEO of Allina hospitals, the U.S. healthcare system costs 2.5 times more than any other country and we get to be #24 on the list of countries for longevity.

Basically our medical money is wasted.  The nice thing is he recognizes the problem and wants to do something.  They are looking to “focus upstream on wellness because according to the CEO, 60% of the resources are wasted in chronic diseases.

Here are some of my notes from the book BlueZones.

The 4 BlueZones are Loma Linda, California; Okinawa, Japan; Saldinia, Italy; Northwest corner of Costa Rica.

In Sardinia, the cheeses were very high in omega-3 fatty acids (decreases inflammation and pain) compared to our cheese which is higher in omega-6 fatty acids (pain, inflammation).  Why?  Because their animals are still grass-fed.  Most of ours are grain fed.  Products from grass-fed animals are healthier for you.  They also drink wine regularly.

In Okinawa, they have a saying they say before every meal, kind of like our Grace.  I couldn’t repeat the Japanese, but this was the rough translation.  “Stop eating when your stomach is 80% full,” they say that before each meal.  It takes 20 minutes before your stomach realizes what you have eaten, so the message here is...eat slowly.  If you remember to stop at 80% you will consume about 400 calories less per day which = about 8lbs. a year.

Also, they have a social circle that is setup when they are 5 years old.   Basically, given friends that they are expected to take care of for life.  Dan had slides of a group of ladies that had been getting together regularly for 96 years.  They all were 101.

They also have an “ikigei”.  The rough translation is “why I wake up in the morning?”  Their purpose. What is your purpose?

Off the cuff, he said the longest lived people sleep 7 hours a day.

In Loma Linda, they were only the 7th day Adventists.  They took their diet from the bible.

Grains, seeds, nuts, green plants, no meat, and some fish.  They had regular routines they followed and they focused on keeping the sabbath.  They focused on God, family and going for nature walks together.

In Costa Rica, they had a special diet, very hard water, family focused, a light dinner, dry climate, strong social network, worked into older age and had a strong PURPOSE in life.

Dan Buettner summed up his findings for living to 100 and beyond in a few simple terms.

#1 Move naturally.  They didn’t run marathons or any other extreme.  They all lived in walkable communities.

#2 They had the right outlook.  They had positive attitudes and lived a downshifted life.  They either prayed everyday, or napped, or meditated.

#3 They didn’’t diet.  They ate wisely.  They also ate a lot of plants.  They followed the 80% rule and ate slowly.  This may surprise some of you.  They had a few alcoholic drinks / night.  Mostly wine.

#4 They put their family first.  All of them.  Grandparents on down.

#5 They had a strong sense of belonging.  All but 5 of them believed in God.  Being religious adds 4-7 extra years to your life.

#6 They hung out with the RIGHT people.  Positive people like them.  He noted that you are your peer group.  Smokers tend to be with smokers.  Overweight people cluster together or influence others in the group to gain weight.  

There is a lot of wisdom in these few things. Read the book or just take and apply these few things.

-

P.S. Bonus for you if you want a better life as you age. I’ve talked to a few patients about this and it fits well in to todays email. I was listening to an interview with Darren Hardy, publisher of success magazine, about who had the most impact on his life. Darren has interviewed the most successful people over the last 20 years for his magazine. Just Goggle him.

By pure happen stance, he learned of a centenarian who was very private, very wealthy, well respected, and well loved. He did not want to be in the magazine, but Darren interviewed him for his own personal knowledge. The interview is short but fascinating and here is what 100 years of wisdom has to say about success in anything you do.

#1 only a few things matter — to anything.

Find those few things, stick to them, then master them.

What is your end game? 

Where do you want to be in 2 year, 5 years or maybe 10 years?

Do you have your future planned? Are you retired? Working? Skiing? Maybe...you see yourself playing with grandkids. 

Are you healthy?

Most people would say yes, of course. The tough reality is that most people over 65 y.o. aren't very healthy. I have a lot of experience with older patients and finding someone vibrant, energetic, and not taking medications is rare. They exist and they have some commonalities. 

What if you could predict your health in 2 years? 

This test may do it. Holmes-Rahe Life stress inventory. 

https://www.stress.org/holmes-rahe-stress-inventory/

Stress is a big part of everyone’s life. It seems to have the ability to over rule most good healthy life habits. Take this test and see how you fair.

What Does Your Score Mean?

150 points or less = a relatively low amount of life change and a low susceptibility to stress-induced health breakdown

150 to 300 points = 50% chance of health breakdown in the next 2 years

300 points or more = 80% chance of health breakdown in the next 2 years, according to the Holmes-Rahe statistical prediction model

If you are constantly frustrated or stressed you are being reactive to life. Being "reactive" means that you wait for life to push you around and then you respond. That could mean waiting until your boss tells you to do something, or it could mean you wait until your out of underwear to do laundry. I used to wait until the last minute to study for an exam. 

I see this every day in the office. People wait until they have pain, before coming in.  

Being "reactive" is a much more stressful way to live. Unfortunately, human beings seem to be hard wired to be reactive. How often have you goofed off all day, then 10 minutes before a project is due, you sit down to do it. 

This is a paraphrase of what I heard a pastor say about relationships and being a better person.

-Self control is the opposite of being impulsive. It is to be disciplined and invest your time and energy wisely. The best way to do that is to invest small amounts of time over a long period of time. If you lack self-control you are always reacting to life around you. In a twist of irony, you will also try to control other people if you lack self-control.

So, let's go proactive for a minute. At work you could be doing the projects ahead of schedule. You'll look like a super hero and drastically up your job security. You could plan your meals on a schedule.  

If you know your lifestyle produces poor posture or you have old injuries, getting adjusted before the pain hits, is a better plan.

Same goes for eating nutritious food before you need a bigger pants size, or exercising regularly so you don't have a heart attack climbing stairs. 

This is one of the main reasons so many people have health problems, they are reactive and wait, and wait some more until the body breaksdown.  

You might be thinking " that sounds so boring". Maybe, until you think about how much more peace it brings to your life. Our lives run more effectively and smoothly with order. 

Think about this. Would you want to drive to work with no traffic lights? I can't even image the chaos that would bring here in Salt Lake.

If you want more peace in your life,

#1 Get up earlier. Even 15 minutes will help. This will give you a little more time to plan.

#2 Plan your top 3 things to do each day. Really successful, high level achievers have very short to-do lists. 

#3 Be on time. Everything in your day will be smoother if you are on time. If you are perpetually late, plan to leave 5 minutes or even 10 minutes earlier.

#4 Plan on being healthy. This is of utmost importance and and the same time one of the most difficult things. Being unhealthy is fast, cheap, and easy.

If you go through life doing what you want, when you want, with no regard to the future, it may turn out very different than you'd do hope.

Your priorities will determine your future. 

If you want a retirement, you'll save money. If you want to know your kids, you'll spend time with them. If you want a great marriage, you'll spend time with your spouse. Pretty obvious, I know, but do you do it.

When it comes to health the same rules apply. They are just often forgotten in our rush, rush society.

This is very difficult, especially in health care because there is no immediate consequence or reward. If you are grabbing a burger at a fast food place, you'll feel the same tomorrow as right now.  I take supplements every day, but I don't feel different from day to day.

It takes vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc to run your body. Just like it takes gas to run your car. You need raw materials to grow, repair and keep moving. So how does that affect you over time?

If you don't put enough in, nutrient deficiencies happen over time. You have reserves in which to draw upon, so you can eat junk food for awhile, but it does catch up with you, generally not until you're over 30. I see this more and more with each mineral analysis I do with patients. 

The most common cause is lack of nutrient density. The food we eat simply doesn't have enough nutrition in it. If it's processed at all, it most certainly won't.

So what can you do? 

This is a 5 step basic formula that I use.

#1 Get your spine checked by a chiropractor every month or so. Once every 5 years isn't often enough. Physiological joint destruction starts happening in 1-2 years after an injury, if left untreated. Pain isn't always present, especially if it happened when you were young.

Once degeneration gets a raging head start on your body, you won't be able to undo it. You can only manage it. 

#2 Eat more organic, whole foods (lot's of nutrients). No more junk food (no nutrients.) It's called junk food for a reason. The simplest way I’ve found for someone who wants to learn, is the Purification Program.

#3 Do a hair analysis to look for toxic metals and mineral deficiencies. I do 2 a year. I can 99% guarantee you have some deficiencies. It is the simplest, cheapest and easiest way to get your energy systems back online and working again.

#4 Do a parasite cleanse. Yes, I know it has a certain ick factor. It is important for a lot of people to do at least once. I may have picked up a parasite in the Dominican. I also got food poisoning about 3 months ago and my guts were not right until I did the parasite cleanse and the purification program.

#5 Work towards simplifying your life. "With a clear a purpose installed as the heart of simplicity, you live a life that is unified and focused; everything flows out of this center, and you move steadily and directly towards your goals.” (The spirituality of simplicity) Stress really is a killer.

To be healthy, wealthy, wise, or self-controlled, it takes a conscious choice to pursue those things. They don't come automatically. It's human nature to rebel against those. It's much easier to wait until things breakdown before we notice them. 

Try and do small things everyday. Your future will thank you. 

-

P.S. My formula= Better body function (get adjusted) + better nutrition + yearly (and daily) detox + periodic parasite killing + simplying life + Bonus points if you can be active every day.

This simple formula will take you a very long ways in your health journey.

As people age, they have fairly common complaints. #1 is they hurt a lot more, and #2 they are more tired. One of the prime reasons people die from cancer is because they run out of energy. How do you lose energy? They have energy drinks, right?

I found out 5 years ago I was running on my reserves. I was very tired and felt like something just wasn’t right. I had massive stress at the time. So, I did some testing. It was surprising to see how low my mineral reserves were. Minerals are important because they are the backbone of your energy systems.

It takes vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc to run your body. Just like it takes gas to run your car. You need raw materials to grow, repair and keep moving. So how do you lose them?

You don't put enough in or you use them up faster than you add them.  It's really that simple. Nutrient deficiencies happen over time. You have reserves in which to draw upon, so you can eat junk food for awhile, but it does catch up with you. I see this more and more with each mineral analysis I do with patients. 

The most common cause is lack of nutrient density. The food we eat simple doesn't have enough nutrition in it. If it's processed at all, it most certainly won't. Our supplement company started in the 1920’s because Dr. Royal Lee noticed that the sick people in his life were nutrient deficient. He is one of very, very few people I’d consider a genius. His accomplishments in many fields of study and inventions are incredible. 

Here is what he said in an article in 1960. “Number One Ailment—Malnutrition”

 “We must look scrupulously at our health problem, realizing the healthy individual is not beset with complaints of chronic fatigue, nervousness, and digestive disorders. These are simply the first signs of health inefficiency; the first signs of chronic malnutrition,”  -Dr. Lee

He was talking about a study with 500 people. 97% of the people had digestive problems, 75% had nervous disorders, and nearly that many had fatigue. 

Think about how much less REAL food people eat today. I’d say nearly all people are running low on vitamins and minerals. 

The next most common is a high burn rate. People don't rest much any more. Go, go, go is a way of life. This is what happened to me 5 years ago. I was burning through more than what I could take in. Remember that minerals are needed for energy. 

Be careful how you use your energy. There are many ways to waste it, such as:

-Stressful people 

-Exercising past your ability to recover 

-Being over committed

Nutritional deficiencies can complicate the first problem of toxicity.

Dr. Nuzum is a toxicologist with 7 doctorates. "If you are nutrient deficient, you are a toxic sponge." To give you an example, if you are iodine deficient, you will soak up fluorine and chlorine and block the function of iodine. That spells bad news for your thyroid. We will get to more issues of detoxification later, but we have a few things to cover first and to get you ready for that.  

Aging. We all do it, but some do it better than others. We are going to explore this topic and give you some insights about healthy aging.  

The great thing about this job, is that I get to meet a wide variety of people. I think every one has something to teach me.  The super healthy and the super sick both offer lessons.

A couple of months ago I had someone come in that was "too late", much too late. Advanced neurological destruction and severe liver problems. Those are hard ones, because there is a point of no return for the body.

One of my pet projects over the last 20 years has been to find as many ways to prevent problems as I can. I think it's important because it can keep you from jumping the rails and going off course. 

Health is a nebulous concept, like wisdom. There is no end point to arrive to. But, we definitely know what unhealthy is. That's pretty easy. 

You have pain.

You are over weight.

You are chronically tired.

You have diabetes.

You have XYZ disease.

There are more than 10,000 labels of problems I can give a person in the insurance code book. To my knowledge there isn't a code for "healthy."

Being healthy is when your Mind, Body, and Soul are at peace with one another.

You know veggies are good for you and cupcakes aren't.  The basics aren't hard to understand. It gets tricky in the modern world with the temptations from advertising everywhere. Your friends will tempt you at work and the sirens song of sugar is always playing. 

When I was reading yesterday I came across this from C.S. Lewis. I thought it was a good way of looking at temptations. 

"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. 

Only those who try and resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. 

You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later."

You might be thinking, "that's all well and good, but I don't know how to exercise, I don't know how to cook, and my spouse isn't on board."

In modern society, you'll always encounter roadblocks...always. I have them too. You'll also constantly have temptations.  You will fall off the wagon, every one does. The difference will be if you get back on. 

It's actually good for you to fall off every once in a while. It makes you appreciate the wagon more.

Ultimately, you are responsible for you. You are a priority. You are "the" priority. If you are ill, everyone around you suffers. If your spouse refuses to get on board with doing healthy things, then let it be and focus on you. Maybe, slip an extra life insurance policy in there :)

You can't force someone to believe something. It won't work no matter how hard you try.  Have you ever tried to force some one to believe anything? What happens, they dig their heels in against you. Just like trying to push a dog forward, they resist.  Try pushing a string. 

You can't force people to believe in chiropractic, in organic food, or even God, for that matter. I get the "I don't believe in chiropractic" all the time. That's nice. Can I change that person's mind? Probably not. I actually can, but they have to crash and burn first, then try all other options. 

Then we run into the problem of "it might be too late."

So how can you help yourself?

The first step is to just be aware that learning is a life-long process that never ends. 

Look within...If you are unhealthy, realize you need to learn more. Remember the naive person is the intelligent person. They recognize they need to change something. I'm learning more about toxic metals every day.  Where ever you are on your health journey is perfect for you, as long as you are learning to be better.

Look around... If your grandfather is slumped over and in constant pain, and you don't want to end up like that, don't do what he did. If your doctor is overweight, maybe get a second opinion on health advice. If your friends tease you at lunch about eating "health food". They are just mockers and their opinion doesn't count. Wisdom is trying to make the best choice, not the easiest or most popular choice.

Let’s start at the beginning...THE BABIES

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the water contamination from the city I live in. There was fluoride, lead, and copper contamination. Toxins can affect us all. Particularly concerning are the heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium. 

Last week, a patient showed me this article about baby foods and their contamination with these heavy metals.

”One of the biggest worries: cognitive development in very young children.

Babies and toddlers are particularly vulnerable due to their smaller size and developing brains and organ systems,” says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports. “They also absorb more of the heavy metals that get into their bodies than adults do.” -Consumer Reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/heavy-metals-in-baby-food/

Lets try and slow your aging down by limiting your toxic exposure. 

Let's say you go for a hike and every 100 yards you need to pick up a tiny rock and put it in your back pack.  How far could you go? Eventually the weight will start bothering you. 

You have chemicals in you right now, guaranteed. These are like the rocks in the back pack. They come in so slowly that you won't notice them for a while. Over time, though, they cause more and more damage. 

As you age, your body becomes a warehouse of chemicals. It's often said people don't need to be embalmed anymore because of all the chemicals in them. The accumulation and burden of chemicals is the most common cause of cancer. 

Sadly this is happening to babies. Yes, babies.

If you have a baby and are feeding them anything (even organic) in any package please go look at this web page from Consumer Reports. You will be shocked at the number of baby foods that have heavy metals in them. 

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/heavy-metals-in-baby-food/

You as an adult may have a myriad of health problems from toxic metals that you may not even realize you have been accumulating over the years. 

This is why I do 2-3 tissue mineral hair analysis every year. It is the best way to monitor toxic metal exposure.

Let’s go to the end ... THE ELDERLY

The most common toxic metal problem as you age is aluminum toxicity. It goes in you almost every day, and it is very difficult to get out. Aluminum accumulation in the brain is one of the main causes of Alzheimer's. That's why only elderly people get it. It accumulates.

Toxins are every where. I mean every where. Do your part by buying organic products. Use natural cleaners, detergents, soaps, shampoos, etc.  Help your body out by exposing yourself to fewer chemicals. Cancer, the scourge of our time, is often attributed to toxins.

If you use 1 tablespoon of lotion over 5 years, you’ll absorb over 7 gallons of lotion and all the chemicals in it.

Check your skin care products here. Ewg.org/skindeep 

More than 10 years ago the CDC did a study looking at Toxicity. They found an average of 212 chemicals in a persons blood, saliva, and urine. 

If you want to slow down your aging effects try and take in less toxins and increase your bodies ability to eliminate them. 

I use Livaplex from Standard Process, LivCo from Mediherb and I do the Purification Program once a year from Standard Process. I do hair analysis yearly to monitor my levels and I try and buy as many organic products as I can. 

Special interview on living a better and more successful life with...

Dr. Fab Mancini. In the our chiropractic world he is very well known. He is becoming much more well known as a guest and friend of Dr. Phil. He is Fox News’ health expert, he’s on The Doctor’s show and he’s a best selling author.

I had a chance to sit down with him last weekend and record some of his best words of wisdom. More than 30 years of personal development went into his latest book. We summarize the 5 rules to live by. Please, listen and let the words sink in. Your life could change in the next 30 minutes. You will get at least one pearl of wisdom that will make your life better.

Rule #1 Live every day as if it is your last.

Rule #2 Focus on service over survival.

Rule #3 Do what you love and find some one to pay you for it.

Rule #4 Love yourself (accept your imperfections).

Rule #5 Prioritize your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

We go into detail on these topics and give you some action steps.  

”One of the biggest worries: cognitive development in very young children.

Babies and toddlers are particularly vulnerable due to their smaller size and developing brains and organ systems,” says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports. “They also absorb more of the heavy metals that get into their bodies than adults do.” -Consumer Reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/heavy-metals-in-baby-food/