Dr. Craig's Transformational Living News
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How Sustainable Are Your Health Habits?

During these times of focus on creating a resilient and sustainable environment and economy, how does your health fit into this model?
By Craig Weiner, D.C.

The buzzword is Sustainability... with regards to our local community economies, our water supply, our overuse of fossil fuels, the way in which we over farm our oceans and toxify our food supply with pesticides, GMOs and antibiotics. Can we maintain the manner in which we are currently acting for at least the next 7 generations? In so many ways I think we are seeing that the answer is No. We have lived for the past several generations in a state of delusion, seeing only the upside of the natural bell curve, using resources to the point of near depletion, ignoring the gentler warning signs and then getting determined to alter the course we have created, often when it is already too late. This path is one that has been repeated with regards not only to our environment, but to our bodies as well.

Perhaps you have already taken some steps with regards to your effect on the world around you, as it does return to affect you in a boomerang fashion. Perhaps you recycle, you don't use plastic water bottles, you have chosen to grow your plants and vegetables without pesticides, you use healthy non-toxic cleaning products, you buy your produce primarily locally and perhaps through a neighborhood CSA, you now occasionally take the bus or bicycle instead of driving to the store or work...I think that you will find that these steps awaken you to a way of living that minimizes the footprint that you are having on your surroundings and raises in your biochemistry, neurotransmitters of satisfaction and peace as you take actions that are congruent with your beliefs.

What you will notice, is that as you take actions that make your environment a more sustainable one, it will have a direct result on improving your health as well. For example, as you educate yourself further on these subjects I promise you that your curiosity and learning quota will rise. As you begin to appreciate the difference in the taste and quality in locally raised golden-yoked eggs and fresh garden grown produce (vs. shipped transcontinental-picked-before-ripe food), you can't help but consume greater amounts of it. Well a recent British Medical Journal study points out that Dementia can be reduced by 21% just by increasing education and consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables which can have a lowering affect on diabetes and depression. (Did you realize one of every 10 Americans now have diabetes!)

Another recent study shows just changing white rice to brown rice can have a 36% lowering diabetes rate. Another supports the theory that Reservatrol from blueberries and red grapes (and yes, in red wine) has a tremendous affect on lowering inflammation on the body.

So, lets take a look at some sustainable measures that can be started today and really maintained for a lifetime, instead of some short episodic burst of post New Years Eve destined-to-fail-resolutions:

Sustainable Health Measures Suggestions:

1. First tip is START SMALL! Make sure whatever step you take does not feel overwhelming... it will likely never continue for long.
2. Do something outside in nature each day. Sit outside, take a walk on the beach, in the woods, keep it simple, but get out of the house. Studies continue to show the healing affects of being outside the home and in a greener environment.
3. Find one product that you use (household cleaning, skin care product etc, that has a chemical ingredient that you can't pronounce) and educate yourself on a healthier alternative. Under current laws, the government has little or no information about the health risks posed by most of the 80,000 chemicals on the U.S. market today.
4. Each season, plant one new food/herb that you put into your diet and enjoy how it grows and tastes. As your garden appetite grows, you will find more of your lunch and dinner plates filled with fresh organically grown foods that nudge out the less healthier options. (Especially at zuchini harvest time!). Remember, Hippocrates said "Let Food be thy Medicine and Medicine be thy Food."
5. Begin at least one time per month take an alternate form of transportation somewhere that you would drive to...walk, cycle, bust, train, whatever and notice how different the trip is and how much new you experience.
6. Find one way each day to treat yourself and another with kindness, face to face, on the phone, in an email, it really doesn't matter, just do something each day that is done with heartfelt and purposeful intent.

Transformational Dialogue with Grethe Cammermeyer, PhD., R.N.

How Do I Know What's Best For My Parents as They Age?

Tuesday, August 31, 6 - 7:30 pm
benefitting the Whidbey Camano Land Trust's purchase of the Trillium Woods

Aging is not a linear journey that we all experience through a known and unknown trajectory. How, where, and with whom we spend those last years is ambiguous, uncertain and unsettling. Asking the right questions, finding the best support and planning the future is a journey we all take.

Dr. Grethe Cammermeyer RN, PhD has a 45 year history in nursing focusing on neuroscience nursing. Specific elder care includes caring for an aging father and mother in law for 7 years, then opening an adult family home for the past four years. She recently completed the Gerontology Certification Course through the University of Washington. Net Proceeds will benefit the Whidbey Camano Land Trust's preservation/purchase of the Trillium Forest on Whidbey Island. $15 suggested voluntary contribution.

September's Transformational Dialogue will be a conversation with Robert Jangaard, N.D. on Tues. September 28.

Sustainable Chiropractic Thoughts for you...

Fact: A loss of the natural curve in the neck predisposes your neck ligaments to a higher risk of injury in the event of a trauma. In other words, if due to poor posture or a previous history of whiplash or neck injury, should you be in another car accident (the average for Americans is every six years!) you are more likely to be more severely injured as a result.

Studies also show that forward flexed neck postures result in potentially damaging disc mechanics which is a predictor of early disc degeneration and thinning.

In other words, working with a chiropractor and changing your postural habits at the computer and while sleeping can help to restore a more normal and protective neck curve that reduces the load on your spinal discs which results in a healthier neck over your lifetime.

Back to School is coming quickly...
Backpack Safety Information.

Fact: Heavy backpacks have a destructive impact on the posture and spinal health of children.

Fact: 55% of students carry more than the national guidelines of 10-15% of their body weight.

Fact: Over 7,000 emergency room visits per year are estimated to result from book back related injuries.

Fact: The average load carried daily is 21 lbs and over one third of students carried more than 30% of their body weight.

Prevention Tips: Make sure your children keep to the national guidelines of under 10-15% of their body weight by putting their pack on the scale. Make sure they use BOTH shoulder straps, not just one, and make sure upon buying a new pack that there is plenty of shoulder strap padding. Pack the heaviest books closest to their body. Don't be intimidated, encourage them to avoid slouching, our parents did!

Current Research of Interest:

"Poor diet and physical inactivity may soon be the leading causes of death in the US," study authors Haomiao Jia of Columbia University and Erica Lubetkin of the department of community health and social medicine at City College of New York warned. Reported by the Los Angeles Times.

"If you're trying to bring your blood pressure to healthy levels, a new study suggests that how much you weigh is more important than how fit you are." Click Here to view Reuters report.

Middle-aged and older adults who live near high-traffic roads may have a heightened risk of dying from heart disease -- but the odds seem to go down if they move to a less-traveled neighborhood, a new study finds. Click Here to view study in Epidemiology

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