Healthy Changes for Kids
Kids these days are more likely to be found in front of a television or a computer than playing outside. This sedentary lifestyle, along with poor diets, has resulted in a nation of overweight and obese children. Diseases that used to be seen almost exclusively in adults are increasing in alarming numbers among children. As a result, the use of medication by children is rapidly rising also. It is more important than ever to teach children the importance of a healthy lifestyle including regular exercise, a balanced diet, and preventative care.
Statistics show that in 2001 about 17% of children were classified as overweight or obese, and the numbers have increased since then. Just like adults, overweight children are at an increased risk for many diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, among others. Recent research has also shown a link between depression and being overweight. Because of the growing numbers of children with these health conditions there has been a drastic increase in the numbers of children taking medication.
Data taken from 2002 and 2005 shows that the number of kids taking medication for high cholesterol increased by 15% and the number of kids taking medication for diabetes increased a whopping 103%! Unfortunately most of these kids will be on these medications for the rest of their lives. However, a change in lifestyle can help get children off medications as well as prevent them from getting these diseases in the first place.
The cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle are exercise and diet. Thirty minutes of exercise most days of the week will help to decrease body fat. Simple activities like taking a walk as a family, playing basketball in the driveway, or biking instead of being driven to school are all ideas to incorporate activity into a child’s life. Changing the family diet to one made up of mostly whole, unprocessed foods is incredibly beneficial.
In addition, children need to be educated about the importance of taking care of their body as a whole. A healthy body first needs a healthy and optimally functioning nervous system. The nervous system is responsible for every message sent down from the brain to the rest of the body and every message from the body back up to the brain. When a child experiences a subluxation this information is impeded and the organs innervated by the nerves affected do not function properly.
Upper cervical chiropractic care corrects these subluxations to restore communication between the brain and the body. The doctors at The Specific Chiropractic Center are trained to detect interference in the nervous system and have vast experience working with children to insure that your child goes through life with a healthy nervous system.
Helping your child achieve optimal health through exercise, diet, and chiropractic care is one of the best things you can do for them. Establishing a healthy lifestyle will result in better health now and as they grow.
Sources:
Depression study sees body fat link, The Associated Press, 12/02/08
Keeping Kids Free of an Epidemic of Diabetes, U.S. News and World Report, 12/01-12/08/08
Number of kids on medication jumps alarmingly, Liz Szabo, USA Today, 11/03/08
Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity (http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/)
How Do We Approach Our Children’s Health?
Recent press reports concerning children and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines have re-opened discussions on the levels of medical intervention our children require. An Associated Press report in October of 2008 claimed 7,000 children visit emergency rooms each year due to complications or reactions from OTC medications. Drug companies reported that such medicines were ineffective in children less than four years of age, often with dangerous side effects.
Conflicting reports on the efficacy of such remedial health care increases confusion about how to treat and protect the fragile nature of a child’s developing body. One trend sees parents seeking symptomatic relief from chiropractors for children with common ailments like ear infections, asthma, headaches, and colic. In this way, it is easy to understand how individuals might misinterpret how chiropractic care affects our musculoskeletal and nervous system’s ability to promote general health.
General practitioners are trained to assess and treat such common ailments, and should be allowed so to do. In turn, a Doctor of Chiropractic knows the symptoms and associated complications of spinal neurology and neuro-muscular stress. The primary reason for wanting children to visit such a professional is the prevention or treatment of known conditions that can benefit from specific adjustments.
Children are not adults, and should not be treated as such. Administering adult-strength medications, even in smaller doses, can have serious complications. By the same token, children do not have unique physiological characteristics that accelerate their healing process. Their bodies simply haven’t had the opportunity to develop sufficient antibodies and disease-fighting abilities that adults take for granted when they ail. Knowing this helps us understand why children seem to get sick more often.
The dominant chiropractic concern for children is upper cervical specific subluxation, which concerns the misalignment of the first two vertebrae in the neck, which can contribute to neurological dysfunction. The potential for these traumas begin at birth, since labor sometimes stresses the spine and especially the upper neck of a newborn baby. Such stressors increase the potential for nerve damage or other misalignments later in life.
It is not unusual for parents to bring an infant to an upper cervical specific chiropractor. More importantly, as the child advances through growing pains and puberty, the likelihood that such initial trauma may be complicated by accidents and “growing pains” through adolescence increases dramatically. Minor subluxations accumulate over time, just like hairline cracks in eggshells compromise the integrity of an egg.
Most parents rarely consider a chiropractic evaluation for their child until a trauma is experienced, a sports injury, for example. Often, initial chiropractic assessment may reveal dormant traumas that have no symptoms, but may require additional chiropractic support to reverse. These realities raise the level of awareness parents should consider for their child’s overall health.
Should nature be allowed to take its course? In terms of chiropractic care and nervous system health, perhaps not. Some measure of prevention is certainly worth many times its weight in post-traumatic cure. Despite debate on the efficacy of such, one opinion regarding kids and chiropractic is universal, that such procedures are safe and effective for children, as much, if not more, than they are for adults.
Sources:
New warning given on cold medicine for kids, Associated Press, October 8, 2008.
Why Should Children Have Chiropractic Care?, Jeanne Ohm, D.C., located at http://www.icpa4kids.org/why/whychiro.htm
Feb
Posted by shawn ·
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Filed under Live Life , Wellness
Tagged with Chiropractic, Health, Wealth
Gaining Wealth Through Health
We are living in stressful times. Each day brings with it more bad news about the economy, housing prices, and unemployment. Americans from all walks of life are scrambling to hold on to what they have financially. As investments are decreasing in value it is difficult to know what to do with our money and how to insure that we have enough to live comfortably now and later in life. Unfortunately, we as individuals can’t control our economy but we can focus on one thing that can possibly bring us wealth both literally and spiritually: our health.
The cost of healthcare in the United States has been rising exponentially for years yet at the same time the average American is becoming less healthy. We are a country full of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. The cost to treat these diseases is overwhelming both state and federal budgets, as well as increasing health insurance premiums. Healthcare spending has increased from $700 billion in 1985 to almost $2 trillion in 2008. Both our healthcare system and our economy need an overhaul, but how best to do this? Focusing on preventative health, rather than costly treatments, will reduce medical costs and keep money in our pocket. Investing a small amount of money to keep from getting sick is much more cost effective than trying to undo the damage after a diagnosis. In other words, health brings wealth.
In the TIME magazine article “From Health to Wealth”, Bruce Pyenson, a health consultant actuary is quoted as saying “Good health has a value in dollars”. He notes that a healthy person’s retirement savings should be ten times their final salary but a person with a chronic disease needs significantly more money to pay for healthcare costs in retirement.
Upper Cervical Specific Chiropractic care fits into the model of cost-effective preventative care that will save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run. A study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine in 2004 compared costs of healthcare between patients with chiropractic coverage and those without. The authors concluded that access to chiropractic care may reduce healthcare costs when compared to traditional medical care.
Upper Cervical Specific Chiropractic adjustments allow the nervous system, and therefore the body, to function optimally. Removing nervous system interference by correcting subluxations has been shown to positively affect the immune system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, improve joint health, and increase energy. When your nervous system is functioning optimally your body is able to better handle the physical, emotional, and chemical stresses of life that, with a compromised nervous system, may result in sickness and disease.
Committing to a chiropractic lifestyle now will pay dividends both in your body and in your pocketbook! Do not be like the majority in our country who work the first two thirds of their lives to accumulate wealth while sacrificing their health and then spend the last one third of their lives spending everything they saved to get back what they lost while trying to build wealth…Invest in your health today!
Sources:
From Health to Wealth, Dan Kadlec, TIME Magazine, 9/22/08
Health takes a hit as economy creates more stress, Sharon Jayson, USA Today, 10/07/08
Is Healthcare Armageddon Next?, Bernadine Healy, M.D., U.S. News and World Report, 10/13-10/20/08
Comparative analysis of individuals with and without chiropractic coverage: patient characteristics, utilization, and costs., Legorreta AP, Metz RD, Nelson CF, Ray S, Chernicoff HO, Dinubile NA., Archives of Internal Medicine. 2004 Oct 11;164(18):1985-92.
