ProActive Health Blog by Dr. Cohen: Learn something about your body!

Metabolism Imbalance Increases Risk of Liver Cancer

May 4, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest

Our primary goal when a patient walks in the door is to help you feel better whether that means get you out of pain or have you finishing the marathon without injury. Yet we’re not called ProActive for nothing: our goal is to make sure we catch system problems before they become serious.

For the last few weeks, we have been doing screenings for metabolic imbalances (officially called Metabolic Syndrome or Prediabetes). ProActive Chiropractic focuses on this important condition that affects 30% of the population because metabolic imbalances have been shown to dramatically increase the likelihood of a person developing diabetes, stroke, and heart attacks.

We will continue doing these three minute complimentary screenings in our financial district office for our patients and the community at large during May. Recent research shows a direct link between metabolic imbalances and the development of liver cancer so we will continue the focus for the rest of the month.

Chiropractic Care Minimizes Risk of Injury in Elite Athletes:Team USA Athletes Tout Benefits

May 1, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest

Did you know that the U.S. is the current world champion? Yes, our National Bobsled & Skeleton Team took this honor recently.

Since the addition of chiropractic care to its medical team in 2010, these teams report that injuries have significantly decreased and athletic performance has skyrocketed.

“For sports that focus primarily on power and speed, like bobsledding and skeleton, a team approach to healthcare has proven to be most effective,” shares Eugene Byrne, MD, an orthopedic surgeon who also serves as the team’s chief medical officer. “Repeatedly, the athletes are jostled back and forth during runs, resulting in excessive stress endured by the lower body. Due to advanced ability in addressing musculoskeletal and neuroskeletal conditions, doctors of chiropractic provide essential care to the athletes.”

Known for its challenging physical nature, both bobsledding and skeleton athletes rely upon their exceptional athleticism in order to excel. Chiropractic care helps athletes to optimize performance by providing techniques to maximize muscle control, strength, and restoration as well as to correct imbalances and misalignments experienced after crashes.

Dr. Andrew Cohen, in the financial district of San Francisco, supports athletes of all types with one goal in mind: to get them back to work and back to play. He does this, in part, by working with other providers whether medical doctors, physical therapists, acupuncturists, personal trainers, and/or massage therapists. Dr. Cohen’s unique approach of integrating sports chiropractic and applied kinesiology typically has patients feeling dramatically better after the first visit.

Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

April 6, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest,Nutrition

There are a number of reasons why people can’t lose weight. Typically, we are told it is because we eat more calories than we use. That “diet” model has its place, but in many ways is outdated. Let’s look at another common cause of inability to lose weight fast.

This month we are focusing on a common culprit for stubborn weight loss: Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome, also know as pre-diabetes, affects up to 30% of of the U.S. population and the symptoms range from inability to lose belly fat to increased likelihood of heart attack and/or stroke. Metabolic syndrome is basically an “unhealthy metabolism.” This is the term we will use in the rest of this post.

An unhealthy metabolism consists of a variety of symptoms that, when combined, amplify one another.

These include:

high blood sugar
increased blood pressure
excess body fat around the waist
and/or abnormal cholesterol levels

The excess body fat around your waist is what you’re trying to lose, right? When it’s isolated as a symptom to fix without considering the big picture, the lack of progress becomes overwhelmingly frustrating. Essentially, your metabolism is confused so your body thinks it needs to hold onto the fat even though you are exercising and eating well.

An unhealthy metabolism disrupts your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar. Normally, your pancreas releases insulin which allows sugar to get into your cells. When your metabolism is damaged, your cells become “insensitive” to insulin and therefore sugar in your blood can’t get into your cells. That sugar floating around in your blood is converted into fat to be stored. You feel tired all the time and you end up with ever increasing fat stores around your mid-section. Sound familiar?

Besides the frustration of being unable to lose weight, an unhealthy metabolism makes it up to 4x more likely you’ll develop heart disease (which leads to heart attack and stroke) and up to 30x more likely you’ll develop diabetes.

Some of the symptoms of an unhealthy metabolism are elevated blood sugar, increased blood pressure (hypertension), excessive body fat around the waist, and/or abnormal cholesterol levels. Some of these issues you can identify on your own, but others need to be evaluated by a doctor.

If you have a family history of diabetes, stroke and/or heart attack, it is especially important that you regularly check for the warning signs of metabolic syndrome (an unhealthy metabolism). At ProActive Chiropractic we are running a free “Healthy Metabolism” screening in April. We can help you determine how healthy your metabolism is. And depending on the results we can help you with a solution to regain control of your health.

ProActive Chiropractic, in the Financial District, strives to empower people in our community to lives of vitality and ease. Life does NOT need to include pain, limitations, and daily Rx medications. There are natural and easy solutions to most people’s health problems. Let us share the answers with you.

The Emotional Side of the Chiropractic Approach Highlighted on Dr. Phil’s Show

April 2, 2012 | Filed under: Celebrities and Chiropractic,General Interest,Pain Management,Stress

I look at health as a combination of three components:

structural health (meaning your muscles, nerves, ligaments, spinal disks, etc.)
chemical health (nutrition, supplements, toxins in your environment)
emotional health (because your emotional state can put stress on your body that shifts its focus away from maintaining health or healing)

This philosophy is the foundation of Applied Kinesiology which I incorporate with chiropractic medicine. At ProActive Chiropractic, in the financial district of San Francisco, I teach people ways to take better care of all three health components. My teachings range from advice on how to eat better to stress management tools to assistance in getting to the bottom of emotional triggers. I work with other health care providers from nutritionists to psychotherapists to fully address these key components to health.

For some reason, we grow up believing that our physical and emotional health function in different spheres. Evidence proves otherwise. As we address their emotional triggers, patients often are awed by the degree to which their emotional health impacts their physical health. The most common physical manifestations triggered by emotional stresses are headaches and back pain flare ups.

The emotional side of health is addressed last week on the Dr. Phil Show. Watch now:

Call our office (415-762-8141) today to schedule an appointment to have a doctor finally look at the bigger picture.

Professional Basketball Athletes Rely Significantly on Chiropractic Care. Shouldn’t You?

March 26, 2012 | Filed under: Celebrities and Chiropractic,Dr Cohen,Sports

As we follow our March Madness brackets and watch teams win or lose, it’s easy to forget what these athletes go through in a game and the efforts of their health care professionals that keep them in the game. We are reminded of how hard the players are on their bodies when we think about the Carolina Tarheels. They lost after being down to their third-string emergency point guard due to two serious medical injuries (Kendall Marshall with a broken wrist and Dexter Strickland with a torn ACL). This is not a common situation in basketball. Most of the time, players are kept in play. “A key piece factor in keeping players in the game is a team chiropractor,” states Dr. Andrew Cohen of ProActive Chiropractic in the Financial District of San Francisco who works with many Bay Area athletes.

“Chiropractic care helps to give a team and athlete a competitive advantage in whatever sport they participate in. Specifically, it helps to enhance endurance levels, assist in the recovery from many structural injuries and achieve overall peak performance,” shares Dr. Craig Buhler, who for 26 years served as the DC for the Utah Jazz, treating countless athletes including NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton. “By including chiropractic into an athlete’s regular health practices, one is able to maximize training and optimize functional balance and skill.”

Recently, all-star point guard for the Chicago Bulls and former National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose shared his success with chiropractic care in recovering from back spasms that forced him to the bench. In an interview with ESPN, Rose says, “The whole week I was seeing a great chiropractor, (Dr.) Stuart Yoss. He did a great job on getting me back.” After missing five games, the longest in Rose’s career, he has returned to play in optimal shape.

Chiropractic care is an important component of sports injury treatment. Professional athletes across the spectrum of sports, including those with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, professional golf and others, rely on the unique care of DCs to help manage and prevent injuries. Many college and high school teams are also recognizing the value of increased access for their athletes.

“A collaboration of several healthcare professionals is key to caring for elite sporting teams,” shares Dr. Buhler. “Chiropractic is an essential component to this healthcare team and, as it continues to become more apparent, athletes are recognizing the value it has for accomplishing their goals of staying in the game and playing at their best.”

To learn more about chiropractic and sports and how quickly you can get back competing visit: www.ProActiveSF.com and www.Yes2Chiropractic.com. Dr. Cohen specializes in getting you back to play as quickly as possible in as few visits as possible.

Soda Anyone?

March 19, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest,Nutrition

It takes 50 minutes of jogging to burn off the extra 250 empty calories (meaning no nutritional value) in a bottle of soda, not to mention the other issues such as damage to your teeth and blood sugar shifts. Diet soda isn’t a better option for those focused on maintaining their weight.

Refills anyone?

High Cholesterol Drugs Cause 100,000 New Cases of Diabetes!

March 12, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest,Heart Health

NBC reports that Americans are overusing cholesterol drugs to the extent that they are causing other health problems. “More than 20 million Americans take statins. That would equate to 100,000 new statin-induced diabetics,” according to Americans ‘Overdosing’ on Cholesterol Drugs: Researcher | NBC San Diego

Okay, so let’s break those staggering facts down:

First, 20 million Americans take statins (which are drugs to lower their cholesterol such as Lipitor, Crestor, and Zocor)! To compare this number, that’s the population of San Francisco, L.A., and San Diego combined!

Second, that’s 100,000 new cholesterol drug-causing cases of diabetes!

You can read more on this topic in a New York Times Opinion Page addressing the risk of these cholesterol-reducing drugs.

Notes from Dr. C: Most people can lower cholesterol with diet and exercise. For those who aren’t getting their cholesterol down as quickly as they’d like with these conservative, safe methods, there is scientific evidence that red rice yeast extract helps. There are cases where high cholesterol needs to be managed by medication but that should be after all conservative methods have been exhausted.

I like the natural supplement Cholestar by Apex Energetics which my patients’ lab tests consistently show naturally lowers cholesterol. Schedule a functional nutrition appointment at ProActive Chiropractic to explore other natural ways to improve your health.

Can Chiropractic Help Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysemia?

February 14, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest

Studies show Chiropractic improves quality of life and decreases asthma symptoms in young folks by 34%. What if that was true for older individuals with breathing issues?

A study, published in the journal J.M.P.T., found “preliminary evidence that chiropractic adjustments may have the potential to benefit lung function in patients with COPD who are older than 65 years.”

According to PubMed Health:
“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common lung diseases. It makes it difficult to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD:

Chronic bronchitis, which involves a long-term cough with mucus and Emphysema which invlves destructions of the lungs over time. Most people with COPD have a combination of both conditions.”

“These are exciting finding because COPD has no cure, and it seems chiropractic can safely alleviate suffering for this large group of individuals,” says Dr. Cohen of ProActive Chiropractic in the Financial District of San Francisco. Dr. Cohen has had great success helping children with asthma through a combination of chiropractic adjustments and nutrition. He is watching this growing body of research as it unfolds so if you know anyone suffering from asthma or COPD looking for non-medical alleviation of symptoms, contact ProActive Chiropractic for a risk-free consultation.

That’s Gross, But I Love It! A Visual Reason to Eat Real Food, Not Processed Food. “Mouth to Anus” Video Showing How Your Body Processes Food

February 13, 2012 | Filed under: Nutrition,Video

During the Vitality Voyage Cleanse/Detox we discuss nutrition including how processed foods affect on the bod differently from fresh whole foods. I have also posted previously about how the color in processed foods can contribute to ADHD.

This video illustrating the contrast really drives the point home. Enjoy:

TEDxManhattan 2011 Fellow Stefani Bardin created a video that was shown at TEDxManhattan about her latest “smartpill” project on processed and unprocessed food.

Stefani is producing a body of work that explores the influence of corporate culture and industrial food production on our food system. These investigations take the form of single and multi-channel videos and immersive and interactive installations. Her current project is working with gastroenterologist Dr. Braden Kuo at Harvard University where they just completed the first ever clinical study to use the M2A™ and SmartPill devices to look at how the human body responds to processed versus whole foods. She is an Honorary Resident at Eyebeam Art +Technology Center in New York and teaches in the School of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons The New School for Design and in the Food Studies Program at The New School for Public Engagement.

Be Efficent if Your Eating Flax, Go Ground!

February 10, 2012 | Filed under: General Interest

It’s common to see crackers, breads and energy bars with whole flaxseeds. This is a perfect example of the food industry focusing on “health words”, in this case flax, rather than what is actually good for you.

Don’t take my word for it…

Does ground flaxseed have more health benefits than whole flaxseed?

from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. at mayoclinic.com

Most nutrition experts recommend ground flaxseed because your body is better able to digest it. Whole flaxseed may pass through your intestine undigested, which means you won’t get all the health benefits.

Flaxseed is high in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and phytochemicals called lignans. Flaxseed is commonly used as a laxative (to improve digestive health or relieve constipation). Both flaxseed and flaxseed oil have been used to help reduce total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol levels and, as a result, may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Although flaxseed oil also contains omega-3 fatty acids, it doesn’t have the beneficial fiber that the seeds have.

Final thought from Dr. Cohen: If you eat fish, I recommend an omega-3 fish oil supplement over flax because our body can use it more efficiently.