Vitamin Enhanced Water: Hydrate or Hype?

You hear it all the time. Drink plenty of water. Be sure and get your vitamins. Getting both in one fell swoop seems like the perfect solution, and on the surface, vitamin enhanced water seems like a dream come true. But when it comes to nutrition and overall wellness, these drinks fall short of what you can get from your faucet. 

Tap water doesn't contain vitamins, but it also doesn't contain sugars and artificial sweeteners. Most people don't really need the vitamins they get from enhanced waters. Getting vitamins from foods is best, but if you're falling short on your nutrition requirements a multivitamin is preferable to vitamin enhanced water.

 

Vitamin enhanced water is sold under a lot of names. Vitamin Water, from Glaceau is first to come to mind. SoBe Life Water is also popular, as is Propel, a product of Coca Cola which includes electrolytes. Normally, it takes an intense workout of an hour or more before extra electrolytes are necessary.

What is most important, for those who do drink vitamin enhanced waters is the purpose they expect them to fill. Generally, eight to ten glassed of water per day is the standard recommendation, and the best way to replenish is through plain old H2O without anything extra. If the tap water in your area doesn't taste right, a faucet or pitcher filter can help to make it taste more pure.

But those who don't like plain water often want to spruce things up, and many are reaching for vitamin enhanced waters to do it, which can put a lot of extra sugars or artificial sweeteners into their diet. If enhanced waters are meant to replace the original, they are not worth it. You spend a lot of extra money to load up on harmful sugar and chemicals for a relatively small benefit from whatever vitamins are included.

 

If you have to spruce up water, a bit of fruit juice or a slice of lemon, lime, or even cucumber are better choices than an enhanced water, and far less expensive.

 

But for some who are trying to lick the soda habit, enhanced waters is a better choice. Eight ounces of Coca Cola, for example contains 105 calories, the same amount of Vitamin Water has just 50. There are also low calorie or no calorie versions of both soda and enhanced waters, but most contain potentially harmful artificial sweeteners that have been found to increase cravings for high calorie foods.

 

If these "waters" are consumed, it should be in moderation, and the vitamins they do include shouldn't be counted on to replace healthy foods like fruits and vegetables which have numerous benefits beyond their vitamin content. Ultimately, drinking more regular water should be the goal, especially if you want to lose weight and improve your overall wellness.

While moving toward a healthier weight is always good, there can be challenges that can be addressed by a chiropractor. A person's center of gravity can change, and this can throw off the body's alignment. Not everyone thinks of seeing a chiropractor in order to help them deal with different weight fluctuations, but it can be an important part of the journey to wellness.

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Protein: It's Not Just For The Hardcore Carnivore

Chiropractic medicine encompasses more than just bone and joint manipulation. Chiropractors realize that the whole body is a single entity, and that self-healing comes from the inside out. A proper diet is an important factor in anyone's search for wellness.

So, one of the things our practice discusses quite a bit is protein. Maybe, for your heart's sake, you are cutting back on red meat, or maybe on meat altogether. So, you are out of luck when it comes to protein, right? Not at all!

Protein, which is composed of amino acids, is vital for the proper growth and function of the human body. It is also essential for losing weight and keeping it off. Meat is the richest source of protein, but vegetarians can still get all they need of this essential nutrient.

Dairy and eggs are a great way to include protein in the diet. Vegans who choose to eschew dairy will have a harder time getting enough of the amino acids that they need, but with a little care, they too will be able to complete their protein requirements. The recommended daily amount of protein is 46 grams for women and 56 grams for men.
Here are some great non-meat sources for protein:

• Cheese. Low-fat mozzarella or cottage cheese provides the most protein of all the cheeses. Each has 32 grams of protein per 150 calorie serving.
• Tofu. A 50 calorie (3 ounce) serving of Tofu has around 7 grams of protein
• Beans. You can expect to get around 15 grams of protein from each half cup serving of beans. Mature soy beans, kidney beans and white beans are the best source.
• Spinach. Over 7 grams of protein are in one cup of spinach. Here's the odd part - cooked frozen spinach is your best source of protein. Raw spinach contains around 3.5 grams or half as much as the frozen.
• Eggs. There are 6 grams of protein in one large egg. Two thirds of that is contained in the white.
• Milk. Whole milk has about 14 grams of protein per cup. Skim and Soy milk can provide about 8 grams per cup.
• Broccoli. This nutritional powerhouse won't let you down when it comes to protein. It contains about 4.4 grams per one cup serving.
• Nuts and seeds. The most popular and readily available are sunflower seeds and peanuts which both contain 7 grams per ounce. Are you a fan of mixed nuts? They’re not all created equal, protein-wise, and come in at about 4 grams per ounce.

Looking for more ways to get more protein? Just ask on your next visit. We’re always here to help.

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Acai: Miraculous Weight Loss Miracle, Or Just Hype?

Acai. You see it everywhere – cleanses, weight-loss supplements, infomercials and talk shows.

The blueberry-like fruit from Brazil's acai palm certainly is trendy the past few years. You hear a lot about its antioxidant properties and positive impact on your health, but is it really the miracle cure those Internet weight-loss gurus want you to believe?

Maybe.

Acai berries, while high in antioxidants, may or may not be the weight-loss miracle the world has been awaiting. Any diet that incorporates daily balanced servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein promotes wellness and may help you lose weight. But the truth is, most of the research on acai has centered on its antioxidant properties and not on its ability to aid in weight loss. So, if this fruit has any sort of “miracle” weight-loss properties, science has yet to prove it.

Researchers have reached preliminary conclusions on the wellness properties of acai. Most are attributable to its high level of antioxidants:

• Research conducted at the University of Florida suggests that acai might be beneficial in destroying cancerous cells associated with leukemia.
• Acai aids in preventing serious conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
• The properties in acai help to heal and repair skin cell damage and to fight inflammation, making it a popular additive to skin creams and oils in the fight against aging.
• A single serving of acai has almost double the recommended daily allowance of fiber -- meaning it's beneficial in preventing constipation and in regulating digestion.
• Unlike most fruits, acai is high in monounsaturated fats. Foods high in these fats make you feel fuller for longer periods of time.

While clinical nutrition is the backbone of a good chiropractic treatment program and your overall wellness, that is not to say that you should necessarily count on acai as a booster for your weight loss plan. However, science has proven it to be a part of a healthy diet.

For weight loss, it’s better to focus less on hype surrounding one particular food or compound, and more on watching meals and portions and getting regular exercise. After all, those methods are backed by science.

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Easy There, Caffaholics... Put the Cup Down

For some people, especially in an office setting, those one to two cups of coffee a day can be a ritual. It might even be a habit. Caffeine is a part of some people's lives. Co-workers with stashes of “K-Cups” for the machine in the break room… that guy in the next cube with the stash of high-test caffeinated pop.

In a culture in which we see ads on TV for hyper-caffeinated drinks – "five-hour" this, "game fuel" that -- how much is too much?

This guy might have a problem

Caffeine is arguably the most massively-consumed drug in our entire history. No drug is as imposing, or as openly received. Though this certainly makes caffeine accessible, it does not make it free of side effects. Even proper consumption warrants a few more mild issues.

Organically, caffeine blocks a chemical known as adenosine from telling the brain that it needs or wants to relax. Aside from that, caffeine has two other side effects that impede you body from reaching its peak performance: 1) It dehydrates you, drying up water your body needs to process food. 2) It also hinders your body’s ability to absorb magnesium, which supports a healthy gastrointestinal tract, and helps your body metabolize carbs.

Caffeine affects people differently. Some may be able to consume 200 to 300 milligrams a day and face few of the side effects. This is not necessarily a recommended amount, but it is an amount which correlates with wellness, and lessened caffeine dependency.

Unfortunately, many people consume closer to 500 to 600 milligrams a day. The major issues with this intake amount are muscle tremors, restlessness, insomnia, and consistent nervousness including a faster steady heartbeat. Many chiropractic offices find these issues arising more and more in patients as the caffeine standard daily intake increases in our culture.

The most sinister side effect to caffeine consumption is cardiac arrhythmia, where the heart undergoes sporadic palpitations. This is essentially a caffeine overdose. Though it is not quite common considering the amount of people addicted to caffeine, it is still a major issue and intensely lessens your overall wellness.

Caffeine is sneaky, and available in much more than coffee – a list we found on Prevention’s website showed you can find it in Excedrin pain reliever (130 mg in a two-tablet dose), Ben and Jerry’s No Fat Fudge Frozen Yogurt (85 mg in one cup) and even a Hershey bar (12 mg). Now if you keep in mind that a chiropractor might recommend keeping your caffeine intake down to 100-200 milligrams a day (which equates to about 1 cup of coffee)… are you surprised?

Keep in mind that caffeine can affect different people in different ways, and building a tolerance to it may lessen the severity some of the side effects. However, if you consider the dehydration and nutritional consequences we’ve discussed here, it can’t hurt to consider looking at your caffeine intake more closely.

Maybe try it out for a couple weeks. See if you feel a difference. And feel free to let us know in the comments.

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Getting The Most Out Of Your Run

Running and jogging are perhaps the most effective exercises. They require no equipment or special training, and you can do them anytime and anywhere. However, most people don't realize that running is also among the highest impact exercises out there. A high-impact exercise is one that puts the most strain on your body's muscles, bones, or ligaments, and running is perhaps the most stressful of these exercises. There are many things to consider when you regularly practice high-impact exercises, but the most important thing to remember is safety. That's where your chiropractor can come in.

It may seem odd to mention chiropractic and running in the same sentence, but they actually do go hand-in-hand. Because running is so strenuous on the body, it's important to understand the appropriate measures to be taken. Running puts an especially dangerous strain on your spine. When you stand, your spine carries most of your weight. When you run, your weight regularly shifts, and it puts a sort of hammering effect on your spine. This is why it's important to see a chiropractor if you are a runner, or if you just run regularly.

Even if you practice proper running techniques, it's still important to get checked. Improper running techniques or equipment can do drastic damage to your spine and other muscles and bones in your body. For example, wearing the wrong kind of running shoes could cause a misalignment in your spine. The surface on which you run could cause problems as well. Even small things in your daily routine could affect your health, and thus, your running ability -- anything from the way you sit to what you do at work could cause issues.

A chiropractor could help you identify the things in your life that may be causing your pain, or could cause pain in the future. Proper warm-ups and warm-up exercises are also very important. If done improperly, a warm-up could hinder your running ability. You can ask your chiropractor for the most recommended exercises to get you limbered up and to avoid injury.

Running can be great exercise, but it has the potential to cause injury. Checking in with your chiropractor can help you avoid these injuries, by helping you improve your technique so you can get the most out of your run.

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Working On Strength Training

photo credit: photopin cc

If someone mentions weight training to you at the gym, does your mind automatically skip to professional athletes, weight lifters and body builders who spend hours in the gym, building muscle mass?

While that may be accurate in some cases, it’s not by any means a universal truth. Weight training isn't just for athletes. It is for anyone who may want to add it to his or her exercise regimen, or just to help stretch muscles to relieve the back pain that might lead to chiropractic treatment. The training has a number of benefits:

• Conditions muscles to prevent injuries
• Increases your body's muscular strength and endurance
• Gives more refined and shapely muscles
• Improves motor coordination
• Helps the functions of internal organs

The chiropractic benefits of weight training are well-documented. Anyone who combines strength training with flexibility exercises will strengthen their body to combat muscle weakness that lead to back pain. In addition, people who have experienced herniated discs and other problems who added strength exercises to their medical care were able to recover fully without having to have surgery. Immobilization and lack of exercise weaken your muscles. Incorporating strength and flexibility training can be important pieces in the overall strategy to lead a more active and healthy overall lifestyle.

Before Starting Any New Training Exercise

Consult your chiropractor to discuss your exercise regimen. A complete evaluation covers your general health history and your chiropractor can recommend the correct weight fitness exercises that will help you get the most out of your effort. The worst thing you could do to yourself and your body is to go gung-ho into this process without some guidance. It can lead to more serious injuries such as lumbar spine injuries, cervical spine injuries, and shoulder and knee injuries.

Starting Your Training

Your chiropractor and/or trainer can help you determine what amount of weights is best suited to your fitness regimen. They can also counsel you on how you can increase that weight over time to ensure you get the best results while also avoiding injuries.

You also need to make sure to ask about the best exercise routine so that you won't overwork muscles when first starting out. Moderation is key at the moment. You need to perform the proper 10-to-15 minute warm-up exercises on a treadmill or stationary bicycle to raise your body temperature, then adopt flexibility exercises to stretch the body and muscles before grabbing the weights.

Always take the first few training sessions slowly. Be aware of the physical limits of your body and if you feel that something is wrong, stop immediately and rest. Continue with the training by following the set schedule as you slowly add more weights. With consistent weight training exercises, your body will begin to feel better and stronger as you will avoid those body injuries that are detrimental to your health.

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'Tis The Allergy Season - Chiropractic Can Be Your Defense

It never fails this time of year. You’re a little runny, a little sniffly, maybe some congestion thrown in… it is a rite of passage when the seasons change – allergy season. Even bouts with common allergens can take you off your game and keep you from feeling your best, as a result of treatments with medication that can make you drowsy.

The allergens aren’t the only culprit. You also need to think about your immune system, which responds to all kinds of events – both inside and outside the body. Those who suffer from seasonal allergies are people whose immune systems essentially overreact to these common environmental nuisances like pollen, dust, bacteria and so forth. Thus, the body responds with histamines that cause watery eyes and itchy, runny noses.

What does this have to do with chiropractic? Well, the alignment of your spine ensures that your nervous system is communicating properly with the various other systems of your body – including your immune system.

The immune system responds to events in the body, and pays close attention to the nervous system, hormone fluctuations, diet, genes, and emotions; these events affect the health of the immune system. Poor nutrition, a stressful event, or a neurological problem weakens the body, making it more vulnerable to attack from dangerous viruses or bacteria.

The bones of the spine can move out of position, interfering with the quality of communications traveling along the nerve endings, spinal cord and brain. Garbled messages can cause the body to overreact to benign organisms. So, if you have a misalignment or subluxation in your spine (such as in the second cervical or ninth thoracic vertebrae), that could be affecting the performance of your immune systems.

While chiropractic care does not directly treat allergies, your chiropractor can keep your spine in good alignment to ensure your nervous system and other systems function properly. Chiropractic care also reduces the severity of allergy systems by relieving unrelated body pain and improving overall health. Someone who feels good is more likely to exercise, interact with others, and eat a healthy diet.

The spine is the center of your nervous system, which is the most important system in your body and overall wellness. Call us at (614) 436-9070 to find out how we can take some of the hassle out of this allergy season and get you feeling ready to enjoy a healthy, active spring.

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