Six Wellness Blogs You Don't Want To Miss

Bonfire Health: A few Gonstead Chiropractors from the east coast who blog daily about being active about your health on a daily basis; includes a dish of the day, a thought of the day, and a movement of the day.

Wellness Mama: A Fantastic website and community for moms all over with greta information on natural living, health, motherhood, fitness, gardening, and so much more! I have found an abundance of wonderful healthy recipes from this blog.

Balanced Bites: Written by the author of "Practical Paleo," she has numerous simple and super healthyrecipes and also lots of info on sugar detox

PurelyTwins: An outstanding selection of homemade raw food desserts and fitness ideas. So many ideas I would never think about doing! The photography is beautiful too!

BodyRock.tv: Some of the best interval workouts I have found on the web!

Whole 9: An excellent Paleo website and community! Join the Whole30 program or check out their grand selection of recipes and fitness ideas.

Starting on the Red Raspberry Leaf

This week I started drinking the ever so delicious red raspberry leaf tea. I went to our local health food store and bought the loose leaf Frontier brand in bulk. I was super surprised with how cheap it was!...and so much better than the tea bags. I actually just enjoyed the plain red raspberry leaf tea with out anything blended with it. Although I can see myself getting tired of it pretty quickly. I will probably add some peppermint or nettle to it and maybe change up between drinking it cold and hot. I also am loving my Teavana perfect tea maker for brewing up a lovely cup of this each afternoon. If you are a tea lover and have not heard of Teavava and their wonderful products you should definitely look into it. The picture above is the perfect tea maker in use. You just pour the loose leaf tea inside the maker and pour boiling water over top. Let it steep for the suggested time and place the maker over top of your mug and it strains out the bottom. Super slick!

...and about the red raspberry leaf tea...It is known as the herb for pregnancy. It helps tone the uterus for labor and helps reduce the pain during and after birth. It also helps give you more effective contractions during labor and can help prevent postpartum hemorrhage. It is rich in vitamins A, B complex, C and E as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It also is a great treatment for anemia, leg cramps, and works as an anti-inflammatory. Not like this is already the most awesome tea for women, but it also helps with the production of breast milk!

If you are pregnant and wondering when and how you can start drinking it too here are some thoughts...

Some people who have had previous miscarriages or preterm labor should probably not drink it until they are in their 3rd trimester. Obviously consulting your midwife or doctor first would be the best, but I have heard of people sipping a small cup from the time they find out they are pregnant. So I think it just depends on you and what you are most comfortable with. I started a thread on Mothering in my due date club and got a lot of great ideas and stories. You can check that out here. I also read about someone who made a really strong infusion and mixed it with orange juice to freeze into Popsicle to enjoy during and after labor. Yum!

Madagascar

Sorry this post has been long coming. But here it is nonetheless.

About two months ago (at the end of October) I had the fantastic chance of going to Madagascar for a Clinic Abroad with Palmer College of Chiropractic. We spent two weeks in Madagascar providing care for those who could not afford it--in orphanages, schools, towns and small villages. It was amazing. So here's a brief breakdown for y'all who have been patiently awaiting this post.

Madagascar is quite the trek from good ole Ioway, right here smack dab in the middle of the US. It ain't no hop skip and a jump away. We're talking serious business here. 10 hours in a plane to Paris, France. 7 hour layover in Paris, which by the way, not that impressive. At least judging by the airport. Then 14 hours, across Africa in its entirety, on a plane that seems to have just been refurbished from a junkyard and purchased on eBay, flown by a pilot who just finished his last training flight on Playstation (honestly think we skipped like a rock when we landed). So...after roughly 35 hours of transit (including the 2.5 it took to get to Chicago from D-port) we arrived in Madagascar...and lets not forget that we arrived in Madagascar at 4 in the morning their time...making it 8 hours ahead of Iowa...you do the math because it hurts my head to do it all over again.

By the time we made it to our hotel, we were too excited to sleep. Holy cow we were in Madagascar. I mean...who goes to Madagascar? Our first town was the capital city, Antananarivo. Welcome culture shock. Little island off of Africa, that is a French Colony. Crazy stuff. Very urban town with very European traits. And NO stop signs or traffic signs of any kind...they just honk...and pray that the other car can translate said honk. Anywho...on with the story. Our first two days were spent acclimating to the time and culture. A buddy of mind and I wanted to check out the city from our hotel and didn't even make it two steps outdoors before we were met by hagglers/beggars/street merchants who wanted to sell us anything and everything. Not quite what wer're used to around here. The first day I survived the rookie mistake of brushing my teeth with the tap water...a mistake I did not repeat. However, when someone suggests eating Chinese food...make sure you're not in a third world country...because I GUARANTEE that is NEVER a good idea. Next up, we went to the 'market' in the city. I mean 3 miles of shops that are shacks lined up next to each other. Everyone there is bargaining, even if you merely glance at something they want to offer you 'good price'. Entertaining to say the least...until it almost became a sport. But fun...and some pretty sweet stuff. Next day, tour the city and lemur park. The city of Antananarivo is pretty sweet with lots of history, most history I cannot repeat, not because it is sacred or anything, just because I had absolutely no clue what the translator was saying. So, moving on to lemur park! These guys are pretty fun and cute to see. They seem to enjoy hanging out and eating mangoes and watermelon, and jumping large distances from tree to tree, or running, which is entertaining to watch. If you ever get the chance to watch a lemur run, I suggest you take it. Next day in Antananarivo, clinic day at the orphanage. YES. Finally, what we came for. We drove to an orphanage outside of town (sorry but I cannot remember the name), and it was pretty sweet. We adjusted little kids all day and the employees and teachers at the orphanage. The place didn't even seem like what you would think is an orphanage, it just seemed like a school--all the kids were very happy and excited to see the Americans, and they all seemed really close and loved it there. We were also able to donate $1,500 US dollars, or the equivalent of $100,000+ to them, which depending on how they use it could pay the electric bill for the entire orphanage for the next 4 years. Needless to say they were pretty excited. It is amazing to see where the money is actually going to help.

After our time in the capital city we hopped on the eBay airbus and headed to the very northern tip of Madagascar to the city of Antsiranana. Now this city is what you see when you think of 'Africa'. It was amazing. Very rural, lots of beautiful scenery and mountains. Loved it. After our travel day we jumped right in and had a clinic day in town. Hundreds of people lined up to see the doctors from America. They were pretty excited. Our first two days of clinic in Antsiranana were in the same location, so it was pretty fun to see repeat patients and the amazing changes that they experienced just from the one adjustment. The next day we traveled to a small town about an hour away. We were at a school where mainly adjusted kids 12 and under. Some of the cutest kids I've ever seen were in this town. After this small town we were in a lepor colony for a day. There we saw patients outside underneath a mango tree. I wish we were two days in this town because it would have been amazing to see the changes in the patients from one day to the next, like the 12 year old boy I had who had not been able to hear out of his left ear for a while. From here we were back at our original location in Antsiranana for our last day of clinic. Again, pretty amazing seeing the changes that the patients had from their repeat visits. After our last day of clinic we had our one and only free day of the trip, where we took the time to go swim in the Indian Ocean. Man...beautiful water and sand. Some people had the attitude that its just another ocean...but I'd say how often do you get to swim in the Indian Ocean? Pretty cool stuff. After our free day...travel day. Hooray. I loved Madagascar, don't get me wrong, but was I ever excited to see Stephanie and Will...and eat food...food that I actually knew what it was...and knew for a fact wouldn't kill me, or at least make me wish I died. The good news is my immune system is now a tank, and nothing can bring me down. But what an amazing experience. I don't think this blog post or the random pictures can even describe the trip. Its almost still surreal to me, just thinking, 'wow, I was in Madagascar...how crazy is that???'

Hope this post finds you all well.

Thad

click here to see more pictures.

You are Amazing.

Your Body is a MIRACLE.

It is nothing short of amazing, but sometimes we forget, are misled, or sometimes we can get caught up in the trials and tribulations of life and lose sight of or even question this.

But if you really stop and think about it, you will be amazed at how everything works so well. Did you know that you pump 2,000 gallons of blood through your body every single day and usually don’t think about a drop? You breathe 20,000 times every day and do not think about it once. We all go through amazing changes in our bodies from birth to adult, everyone goes through puberty at roughly the same time, and all of this happens without any oversight, no meds, nothing - it just happens. And we don’t question it. Our bodies are so smart that even slightly before we start exercising, our blood pressure goes up; and if we get a cut on our finger, it heals. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?! On a normal day, you don’t think about even one of the trillions of chemical reactions that take place in your body every single second of every single minute of every single hour of every single day of every single year of every single lifetime… Just stop and think about that and how incredible your body and this life is.

You see, you are intelligent, you are amazing, you carry inside of you an intelligence that runs your body and all of those trillions of reactions discussed above. Chiropractors call this intelligence “Innate Intelligence.” It is Innate because it is inborn - you don’t have to learn how to use it - it was there from the second the sperm and egg that miraculously created you met, and actually even before that (somehow, the sperm knew to go toward the egg). That intelligence is carried through your nervous system, which in coordination with your endocrine system is the master regulator/communicator in your body. Your brain, spinal cord, nerve roots, and peripheral nerves make up your nervous system, and that is the big cheese, the CEO, the General, el Jefe. All information about what is happening in the body is sent to the brain through the spinal cord, and that information is used to properly run your body.

The spine and skull are designed to support and protect your nervous system, while giving shape to your body. A solid tube of bone would have been the safest way to protect our nerve system, but that wouldn’t have been conducive to movement or life, so we have joints. Made of much softer tissue, these joints are the inherently the weak spots in the skeletal system. So, if a spinal bone gets jarred from its healthy position (through acute or sustained postural trauma), it causes damage to the joints of the spine. Damage to these joints irritates the nerve system, decreasing your body’s ability to communicate within or to itself, which blocks or disrupts Innate Intelligence. Chiropractic is so simple, it is brilliant. Chiropractic understands that the body is brilliant, and works with it through specific chiropractic adjustments on specifically damaged joints to return proper function to the spine, as well as to remove the irritation to the nervous system, unblocking your body’s life force.

This is why chiropractors do not claim to treat any specific disease, but get tremendous results with many. We restore proper communication to the body, helping the body to be healthier, and HEALTHY BODIES HAVE FEWER SYMPTOMS.

Symptoms are signals telling us that there is something wrong that needs our attention. Not alarms to be turned off with medications that dampen alarms. You get hungry and thirsty because you are getting low on fuel and water that is essential to run your body. What if there was a medication you could take when you felt hungry or thirsty, so you wouldn’t have to be bothered with eating or drinking? How long do you think that would work? It is the same thing with other symptoms! A headache, sciatic pain, breathing problems, poor digestion,etc., are not just bothersome symptoms that need to be quieted with medication - they are telling you that something is wrong and needs to be dealt with by finding the cause - not just by eliminating the symptom.

The body is amazing. Wellness Chiropractors have found their profession by continually asking this question: “How can we help people get as healthy as possible?” The science of wellness is one of understanding what makes people healthy; the science of medicine is one of understanding how to treat disease. These are two distinctly different viewpoints, with distinctly different approaches.

Everyone in modern society must have a chiropractor on their health team, if they wish to be truly healthy. Just like everyone requires check ups from a dentist, natural foods, exercise, and positive self-talk and gratitude with a support group or tribe. This is what I do for myself, and it is what I recommend to my family, friends and patients - because this is what all of the research points to when I ask “How to be the healthiest person?” This may change, but for now this is my best recommendation as a health coach.

Thad

www.hasselchiro.com

Can you hear me now??

What is the main communication center that you have?

Well, when it comes to your body, there is only one definitive answer. Read the following exerpt from www.pennhealth.com;

As the most complex system, the nervous system serves as the body control center and communications electrical-chemical wiring network. As a key homeostatic regulatory and coordinating system, it detects, interprets, and responds to changes in internal and external conditions. The nervous system integrates countless bits of information and generates appropriate reactions by sending electrochemical impulses through nerves to effector organs such as muscles and glands. The brain and spinal cord are the central nervous system (CNS); the connecting nerve processes to effectors and receptors serve as the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Special sense receptors provide for taste, smell, sight, hearing, and balance. Nerves carry all messages exchanged between the CNS and the rest of the body.

…

So that gets a little complex but you can see the point it’s getting at. The nervous system is the master controller of the entire body. Everything that happens inside of you as well as the way in which we perceive our environment is dictated by the function of our nervous systems.

That being said, do you think it would be a great idea to make sure that your nervous system is working at its optimum potential?

A lot of people call us back doctors. "Oh my back hurts, I better go to the chiropractor", or if you had a cough "but my back doesn't hurt, why would I go?". If the nervous system was in the thumb...I'd adjust thumbs. But its delicate tissues are protected by the spine...and that is why I adjust the spine. Plain and simple.

I have now completed my graduation requirements at Palmer College of Chiropractic, the fountainhead of Chiropractic. I am participating in an internship and seeing patients at Hassel Family Chiropractic in Clive until I graduate in February. Give us a call at 515-224-1111 and lets get that nervous system functioning at optimal.

Thad

What's the Big Idea?!

So...THAT'S the Big Idea. Des Moines...I'll see you in a month. For those of you outside of the DSM area, check here. Real health is not found in a pill, potion or lotion. So check it out.

Thad

Now reading...

A new library branch opened in Davenport and it is so awesome! It is bursting with tons of amazing new books that I just could not walk by with out picking up. So naturally I overwhelm myself by checking out a huge stack of books and hope to get them read by the time they are due back. Not to mention I have a few other books I am thumbing through at home as well. Most likely they will have to be renewed at least once. :) Well anyways, here is the list from top to bottom...

The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp

So far this book has had some good advice on eliminated tantrums. I have heard lots of good stuff about this book from a few friends who have read it so I am really looking forward to digging into it more.

Mrs. Meyers Clean Home by Thelma Meyer

Lots of awesome advice on cleaning from the heart of Mrs. Meyer herself. She is a Mom of 9 and now grandma as well and from Des Moines. She is witty and wise explaining in simple detail how and when to clean and organize just about anything in your home...also with what products as well.

Softies Only a Mother Could Love by Jess Redman and Meg Leder

...fun loving little critters to sew.

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

I actually read this one first and I am pretty much done with it now. I have had this book on hold for a while now so I was super anxious to dig into it. It was full of awesome recipes some of which I will be sharing with you guys at some point. I also enjoyed reading about her experience with food and trying different diets such as vegan, raw foods, etc. and how she found that macrobiotics and listening to her body was key.

Superfoods for Healthy Kids by Lucy Berney

Has over 250 immune-boosting foods and recipes that are appealing to the kiddos. Lots of colorful pictures and faces. That is my favorite part about food/cookbooks; I am definitely drawn to the pictures first. :)

The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket

Stitching, baking, nature, art and the comforts of home...this book just looked like it was full of coolness so I snatched it.

Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori

This book is sooo cute! It shows step for step how to make several little softie friends out of old socks and gloves. I have always wanted to make Will a real homemade sock monkey. Hopefully I get around to it. :)

Apartment Therapy Design Solutions by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

I most likely will just look at all the pictures in this book rather then really reading it. In fact I have already thumbed through it a couple of times. It is a very large book full of awesome designed apartments. I often go to apartment therapy.com for lots of inspiration so I was super excited to see this book at the library.

Yes...you've got one.

Hello Hello-

Its been a while since I've posted, my apologies. I have not purposefully neglected the 2 of you who follow 'my blogging'. I wanted to clear the air a little bit. I know last time I posted it was about the Vertebral Subluxation. Well, lets dive into that a little more. I know some of you were thinking, 'man I hope I don't have one of those', but I have to tell you that there's a pretty good, if not definite chance you have one. I will explain why.

You may be asking, 'but Thad, how can I have one and not feel it?' Well, oh seeker of answers, did you know that there are nine functions of a nerve. And of those nine functions, only THREE of them have to do with sensation. Even deeper, what percentage of a nerve do you think deals with pain? Go ahead, submit a guess. 20%, 34%? Ok, I'll tell ya. NINE percent of a nerve deals with pain. The other 91% keeps your heart beating, your lungs breathing, your muscles firing, your cells communicating. Now, look back and think, is it possible for me to be subluxated and NOT know it?! I think you know the answer.

Now again, only a good chiropractor can find this subluxation. If you think you need a doc, check HERE. At this link you will find some of the best chiropractors in the world. However, if you are in the Des Moines area, I will be back in town in the fall...and we'll talk then :)

That's all I've got for now.

Thad

I've got one...do you??

Hello Folks, and welcome to Official Post Numero Uno from me, Thad.

So, lets try a little word association game. When I say Vertebral Subluxation, what comes to your mind? I know what you may be thinking---what the heck did he just say to me? Yes...I said vertebral. and subluxation. What you may not know, is that this small little complex could be affecting your health in a huge way. Lets dive into it a little bit...

A subluxation is a spinal misalignment which causes nerve irritaion or interference. This misalignment is called Vertebral Subluxation. (put it simply vertebra=bone, subluxation=outta whack) Trauma to the spine, either from the accumulative effects of repeated minor episodes or from a single incident, begins a sequence of events which lead to subluxation and disc damage. (We will get to more specific causes at a later post...)

1. Trauma misaligns a spinal vertebra.

2. Picture the intervertbral disc as a jelly donut. The jelly in the middle is the nucleus, and the donutty outside is the annulus. The shifted vertebra compresses the nucleus of the disc forcing it against the annulus (outer rings). The fibers of the annulus become stretched and damaged causing an inflammatory reaction.

3. The inflammed and swollen disc can potentially irritate the nearby spinal cord or nerve roots. To protect the area, surrounding muscles go into spasm to prevent excessive movement and damage.

4. The lack of motion in the subluxated segment inhibits the disc’s normal pumping action causing the disc to dehydrate. The lack of water in the disc causes the annulus fibrosus to crack and fissure (tear). This causes pain because the fibers of the annulus are richly supplied with pain-sensing nerves.

5. The gel-like nucleus begins to seep into the fissures in the annulus. The chemical contents of the nucleus are irritative to the nearby nervous tissues.

6. As more of the nucleus creeps into the annular fissures, the disc bulges, herniates, or even possibly ruptures. This causes direct pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots.

7. Over time, degeneration occurs in the spinal joint, the irritated nerves and those systems which they supply.

The analysis used by Gonstead Chiropractors enables us to determine specifically how a vertebra has misaligned and how the disc has been affected. We then use this information to determine the best approach to restoring proper position and motion of the subluxated segement. In most cases a specific adjustment is warranted. Our adjustment involves great care to ensure a mechanically correct position and precise thrust to provide the most accurate and painless adjustment possible. By removing the pressure on the disc the nucleus will migrate back to the center of the disc. Then the annular fibers will heal with fibrotic scar tissue taking the pressure of the delicate nerves.

The main goal here is removing nerve pressure allowing the body to function at its most optimal level.

So...NOW what comes to your mind when I say Vertebral Subluxation??? Do you have one?

Thad.

P.S. I apologize for the academic nature of my first post. I know what some of you may be thinking...oh man, I hope that everytime Thad posts it won't be soo mindnumbingly boring. And I will tell you now...I can't make any promises, but it will be gooooood stuff.

Emerald

Thought I would share my smoothie for the day... a bunch of frozen peaches, 1 banana, 1/2 an orange, small scoop of spirulina powder, 3 large kale leaves, and a handful of unsweetened coconut flakes. Coconut water would have made it much smoother, but I only had flakes on hand, and I have to admit that it really wasn't delish until I added the coconut. :) Have a splendid tuesday!

Simple Raw Delicacies

1- Carrot Truffles (as shown above); I like to juice carrots in the morning and needed something to do with the pulp...so I found this recipe in Gabriel Cousens "Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine."

-2 cups carrot pulp

-1 cup carob

-1/2 cup raisins, soaked

-1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

-combine ingredients. Roll into balls and chill. (I rolled them in unsweetened coconut for extra flavor)

2-Chocolate Mousse- (My inspiring friend Kathleen told me about this one)

-2 avocados

-3 medjool dates

-1 tsp. vanilla

-1 Tbsp. coconut oil

-2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

-put ingredients in blender, blend and put in fridge for a little bit.

3-Pecan Pie- ( This one is so cute!...I think I heard about it from Natalia Rose's "The Raw Detox Diet.")

-1 medjool date

-1 pecan

-Open a date and pit it. Place pecan inside and enjoy!...luv it! :)

This is soooo ridiculous!...haha, just had to share. I think I had the giggles when watching this. :)

My Everything Smoothie

My smoothies are usually much simpler, but I had fun this morning! It was so colorful so I had to take a picture of it...Frozen mixed tropical blend(banana, mango, pineapple), frozen berry blend(raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry), dulse flakes, goji berries, baby spinach, and water. Then a little more spinach and water was added after mixing a little. There might have been a clementine in there somewhere too, I can't remember. :)

before the blend...

After!