Tomatoes for Health

I was recently surfing the web for tidbits of information that I could include in my weekly health tip when I came across a great article on tomatoes at www.pagewise.com. Tomatoes were not even eaten in the US until the early 1800s, when an eccentric New Jersey gentleman Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson brought them back from a trip overseas. It seems Gibbon was a bit of a showman, he announced an amazing display of courage would take place on September 26, 1820. He shocked his hometown of Salem by consuming and entire basket of tomatoes in front of a crowd of spectators, expecting him to keel over any second. Obviously, he didn’t and since then tomatoes have been a staple of the American diet and with good reason. Tomatoes are high in Vitamin C and provide 40% of the RDA. The most important part of the tomato is the lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that gives the tomato its red color. Lycopene may be as much as twice as powerful as the anti-oxidant Beta-Carotene. Research studies have shown consuming tomatoes to be helpful in the fight against prostate, stomach, endometrial and lung cancer. Lycopene has also been linked to increased activity levels in senior citizens. The brighter the red in the tomato the higher the lycopene. In an unusual turn about as far with cooking vegetables goes, eating most vegetables raw is the way to go, but cooking tomatoes releases even more lycopene. Olive oil with tomatoes increases the lycopene absorption in the body. While nothing beats a fresh, ripe tomato, studies also show that canned and jarred tomato and tomato sauce pack the same nutritional benefit. Personally, a large thick slice of a Jersey Beefsteak tomato with a little cracked black pepper, sea salt and a dripping of olive oil in between two slices of toast, spread with a smattering of mayo is a little bit of heaven on earth. You have to love the Jersey Tomato Sandwich.

Thought for the Week: "External, material objects are never the cause of disease, merely agents waiting to cause specific symptoms in susceptible hosts." ------- Andrew Weil, M.D. (What did he say? He said, things like germs do not cause disease, people with weak immune systems allow germs to overtake their body, and then they become sick.----Dr. J)

Chiropractic Thought for the Week: "A spinal adjustment from your chiropractor may not make your symptoms go away, but it is not meant to. A spinal adjustment opens up the life channels of your body (nerve flow) and improves your overall health and it does that every time in every body." ----- Reggie Gold, D.C.

Diabetes

According to legend, in the very old, old days, testing for diabetes involved dipping one's finger in the patient's urine. If it tasted sweet, a diagnosis of diabetes was more than likely made. Thank God for technology. Diabetes is a serious health problem that involves elevated blood sugar levels. Glucose (sugar) is extremely important for our bodies to function. Glucose in the blood, supplies our body's cells with energy so that our bodies can function and be alive. Every food that we eat, once digested breaksdown into glucose or blood sugar. This primarily includes carbohydrates, but it also includes fats and proteins, though at a much lower level. Once the food is broken down into glucose, it then flows through our body in the form of blood sugar. Too much sugar in the blood can lead to damage to brain tissue and damage to many other organ systems in the body including the cardiovascular system (Heart, Veins and Arteries), kidney problems, vision trouble and damage to the nervous system. There are two types of Diabetes. Both have to do with a problem involving insulin. Insulin is an important hormone ( Ok, what hormone isn't important?) that lowers the level of sugar in the blood, preventing the sugar from getting to higher dangerous levels. When food is broken down in the body an organ called the pancreas manufactures and secretes insulin to normalize and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes is due to the pancreas malfunctioning. When sugar is in the blood stream, the pancreas does not manufacture insulin. The blood sugar levels than shoot through the roof, damaging health. Type 1 diabetics have to take man-made insulin through injection to lower their blood sugar levels to normal levels. The trick in this equation is to not let the blood sugar sink to low. Too much insulin for the amouint of food taken in will result in lack of sugar in the brain tissue, which causes a Type 1 diabetic to become confused, sweat and pass out. If sugar is not given to the diabetic at this point, their brain can shut down and go into a diabetic coma, which then could become deadly. Type 1 Diabetes is reliant on strict management of food intake to insulin injection ratios. Type 2 diabetics have a problem with insulin resistance. The Type 2 diabetic's pancreas functions normally, it's just that the insulin cannot make its way effectively into the body's cells. Depending on the amount of insulin that makes its way to the body's cells, the higher the blood sugar level. Type 2 diabetes is brought on by obesity (insulin cannot get through the fat tissue), lack of exercise and poor nutritional habits. Type 2 diabetes is controlled by losing weight and proper management of diet with a sound exercise program. Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, thirst, excessive appetite and blurry vision. Type 2 diabetic symptoms may be more subtle as well. That is why if you are overweight, blood sugar testing should be done on a preventative basis.

Thought for the Week: "If at first you don't succeed, you are running about average." ------- M. H. Alderson

Chiropractic Thought for the Week: "We don't treat disease, we adjust subluxations in the spine to release nerve interference from the brain to the tissue cells. Then life within does the healing." ------------ Jim Sigafoose, D.C.

The Exercise Ball

Usually playing with a big ball is an activity one would participate with children, probably on the beach or in a park. But not this ball. The new wave in fitness training is the overly large exercise ball. Exercise researchers have decided that the most important area of the body to focus on for overall health and fitness is something called the "Core." The core of the body is the middle of the body, consisting of the abdomen, lowerback, and hips. Performing specific exercises on the ball develops these core muscles. For instance, the exercise ball comes with a routine that will specifically train the ab muscles, the lowerback muscles and the hips. These exercises target those areas. The true value of the exercise ball is that by training other bodyparts on the ball, you indirectly train the core as well. By doing arm curls for the biceps, or dumbell presses for the chest and shoulder presses for the shoulders, the act of sitting or lying on the ball while doing these exercises invoves all of the core muscles. The ball requires balance to sit or lie on while exercising. For the body to balance, the core muscles are used to keep you on the ball. So, while training the chest or arms, the core muscles are also being trained. It is an overall bodyworkout.

As far as rehabilitation or physical therapy goes, the exercise ball may be the saving grace for many a back, hip or leg injury. For instance, just lying on the ball, belly down, has a traction effect on the lower spine that decompresses the lumbar sacral joints. This is very helpful in cases of herniated and bulging discs of the lowerback. The beauty of the exercise ball is for around $25.00, you can have a very valuable exercise tool or rehab equipment in your own home.

Thought for the Week: " I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can........I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could."

----------Watty Piper, The Little Engine That Could

(Yes, I just read this book to my daughter last night!)

Chiropractic Thought for the Week: I'll use the word If, even though there is no if in this situation, it is more like a DOES situation. IF chiropractic care removes nerve interference and has been researched to improve many indicators of immune system function and IF chiropractic care performed on a regular basis allows the body to be healthier, IF chiropractic improves the function and performance of the entire human body by allowing the brain to better communicate with it's body parts, why isn't the entire population of the world under regular care? The answer, the medical profession, the health insurance industry, the governments of nations have not taken the time to fully learn about and understand the proven benefits of chiropractic care, for if they had, there would be no healthcare crisis, as less money would be spent on disease as more people would be healthier. Therefore it is up to the individual chiropractor to teach his practice about health and then it is also up to the chiropractor's practice members to share with their family and friends, that true health comes from within, not from a pill. And what better way to build health from within then chiropractic care for everyone.

Kiss any Frogs Lately?

Kiss any frogs lately? Warts are a bumpy mass of overgrown skin that usually show up on the fingers and feet. Warts are caused by viruses and are easily spread from one bodypart to another and even one person to another. A lot of talk lately has centered around the term HPV and the vaccine that was developed to prevent HPV. Did you know HPV, Human Papilloma Virus is the name of the virus for warts. HPV is warts. HPV is numbered to designate the type of wart. For instance, HPV 2 and HPV 4 are the common wart. Other warts with HPV designation are Plantar Warts, Plane Warts and Venereal Warts. Most warts will die off on their own overtime, but if not, treatment can be as simple as putting an acid type compound on the wart and disolving it. Or freeze therapy. The wart is frozen and scraped off. Plantar warts are more difficult because they are deeper. These usually require surgery. Venereal Warts need the care of a medical doctor. My research did not find any info on whether or not kissing a frog would result in warts. I would suggest a virus free frog.

Thought for the Week: " I hold that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing." -----Thomas Jefferson

Chiropractic Thought for the Week: " Chiropractic cures nothing. What chiropractic does, is provide the best opportunity for the body to heal, to function better day-to-day, to prevent bad things from happening, and to maximize the expression of your potential." -----Don Harte, DC

Video of the Week: You want a great laugh at the expense of our drug taking society, type in this URL address on your computer:

http://www.cafeoflifepikespeak.com/Videos/Licensed%20To%20Pill.swf