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Children, ADHD, and Sensory Disorders


It is any parent’s greatest wish to see their children happy and healthy. There is nothing more joyful than seeing a carefree, innocent smile light up your child’s face. Read more

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Children, ADHD, and Sensory Disorders

April 30, 2013 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP ADHD, Brain, Children, Chiropractic, Wellness Leave a comment  

It is any parent’s greatest wish to see their children happy and healthy. There is nothing more joyful than seeing a carefree, innocent smile light up your child’s face. We love our children so much, and we never want to see them hurt or sick. There are far too many children who struggle with their health and performance. ADHD and related disorders are an increasing epidemic that children and families struggle to overcome every day.

ADHD and sensory disorders are primarily neurological in nature. Similar to a car, the neurological system has a “gas pedal” and a “brake pedal.” A person can develop a functional imbalance of the brain and nervous system, but this imbalance can often be partially or completely corrected. An accumulation of physical, chemical, and emotional stressors can cause someone to become stuck in the gas mode, without the brakes engaging. Physical stressors include high-intervention pregnancy and delivery, intrauterine constraint, car accidents, falls, and other traumas. In 2008, the British Medical Journal noted that children with head injury or burn injury were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD by age 10.

Children with a diagnosis of ADHD, ADD, or autism spectrum disorder are often locked in a “fight or flight” state. Due to their altered brain function, they are easily over-stimulated by people, noise, lights, and even their own clothing. This may lead to a separate diagnosis such as SPD, or sensory processing (formerly integration) disorder. Often a child with ADHD/ADD also has headaches, postural problems like slouching, sleep disorders, and difficulty with managing emotions. The child’s symptoms can be very disruptive for families and cause poor performance in school, reducing a child’s potential to be their best.

Healthcare providers understand that neurological integrity plays a significant role in children’s learning and behavioral patterns. Doctors of chiropractic offer a non-drug and non-invasive alternative for people with ADHD and spectrum disorders that targets the underlying problems, not just the symptoms. Chiropractic care is designed to rebalance, calm, and organize the nervous system, so the function of body and brain both improve. Many parents have noted that their child’s medical diagnosis is downgraded or removed completely once they begin a program of chiropractic care.

Most people are familiar with the hands-on chiropractic adjustments that intend to create motion in joints. The key difference with our office is that adjustments are made with a gentle, low-force mechanical impulse device. Our protocol recommends that a person be adjusted differently every visit. This breaks the nervous system out of its unhealthful patterns and creates the potential for continuous improvements in body function and state of well-being. Regardless of the chiropractor’s technique, a gentle modified approach is always used, and children typically love to get adjusted.

If you are a parent concerned about your child’s health, please understand that there is hope. Restoring neurological integrity through chiropractic care may be the missing piece of the puzzle for your child. Call our office today at 651-757-5096 for a complimentary consultation. There is nothing that brings us more joy than seeing a child increase their vitality and capability. Our goal, like yours, is to maximize children’s potential to be their best.


Top 3 Diet Changes to Make: 3 of 3

February 14, 2013 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP Balanced living, Brain, Healing, Immune System, Nutrition, Wellness Leave a comment  

In previous posts, we discussed the importance of cutting way back on sugary foods, and switching the meats you eat. The third big diet change is to make peace with fat.

Since the 1950′s, fat has had a bad reputation as a killer. But just because “every knows it,” doesn’t make it the truth. Actually, I used to believe that fat was bad, but then I learned things like this:

  • About 60 percent of your brain is fat (hmm, you’ve got my attention with that!)
  • Fats help with brain function, absorbing vitamins and antioxidants, clotting blood, and building cells.
  • Fats have other surprising functions: for example, coconut oil has antiviral and antibacterial properties.
  • Trans fats, not saturated fats, are linked to heart disease and cancer.
  • In those African and arctic populations where the diet is primarily fat, meat, and milk, people are actually quite healthy!
  • Americans eat more fat-free, low-fat foods than any other country, but we are the world’s fattest population (because of all the low-fat, high-sugar foods).

Good fats are the most lacking nutrient in the American diet. These include the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. These are “essential” fatty acids, which means that our bodies can’t make them from other sources, but need to ingest them directly. EPA and DHA are the key components of “fish oil,” but if the product label doesn’t specify the amount of EPA and DHA, don’t buy it – look for a manufacturer with better standards. ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) is another omega-3 fatty acid that has fewer functions in the human body, but the body can only convert about 5% of ALA  into DHA or EPA. This is why vegetarian sources of omega-3 fatty acids, like flaxseed or chia, are not the best choice. Speaking as a former vegetarian (or pasta-tarian), I know some people don’t like to hear that, but it’s the honest truth.

We should avoid the cheap, popular seed oils like canola and soybean oils. These are oxidized and harmful by the time they get to the store shelves. PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids) are healthful in their natural state, when they are protected by the plant or seed that contains them. When PUFAs are isolated in a bottle, they are easily oxidized by light and heat, so storage and cooking make them unhealthy. Oxidized fats (just think of them like metal – oxidized metal is rust) are linked to chronic inflammatory conditions like joint pain, chronic fatigue, heart disease, diabetes, weakened immunity, even cancer.

Cooking with fats requires using them at the right temperatures to minimize oxidation. For frying at high heat, use coconut oil, expeller-pressed naturally refined grapeseed oil, high oleic naturally refined peanut oil, high oleic naturally refined safflower oil, and naturally refined sesame oil. Medium-heat fats include butter, ghee, extra virgin naturally refined olive oil, naturally refined walnut oil, and expeller-pressed naturally refined peanut oil. Oils from fish, flaxseed, hemp, and unrefined EVOO/safflower/sesame should not be heated.

The truth is not always convenient, but think of this: your family’s health is worth taking the time to read labels. Make the switch from bad fats to good fats over the next 60 days.


Insights on Fibromyalgia and Chiropractic

December 12, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP Aging, Balanced living, Brain, Chiropractic, Healing, Spine, Stress Leave a comment  

It’s not in your head! This condition can be truly debilitating. Women are ten times more likely than men to suffer from fibromyalgia. Aside from widespread pain and the presence of “tender points,” fibromyalgia often involves morning stiffness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, and irritable bowel symptoms. Fibromyalgia is often associated with car accidents or other whiplash-type neck injuries. Damage to the neck increases an enzyme called NMDA. NMDA increases inflammation, which creates more NMDA. You can see that this can develop into a vicious cycle. The result of this chronic inflammation is increased sensitivity to pain, which is a key feature of fibromyalgia.

Essentially, fibromyalgia is considered a malfunction of muscles, connective tissue, and nerves. Understand that muscles do not malfunction due to bad luck or random chance. Muscles receive their commands to contract or relax from nerves. Like muscles or any other body part, nerves do not malfunction solely due to bad luck, bad genes, or random chance. Nerves malfunction when there is an overload of physical, mental, and chemical stress. The symptoms can appear as chronic muscle tension, headaches, digestive problems, or persistent back pain.

 

But wait – we are missing a step here. What happens to transform stress overload into chronic health symptoms? The body suffers from a loss of its inherent self-healing, self-regulating powers. Often, stiffness and fatigue appear. Mental focus decreases. The person feels like they are aging faster. It’s like their power is slowly being drained. What they are feeling is exactly what is happening, from a clinical perspective. The person’s nervous system is malfunctioning and losing power due to an overload of stress. We name this condition of nervous system interference “subluxation,” which literally translates into “a condition of decreased light.”

Fibromyalgia can be a disheartening, life-limiting condition. Many people find only a bit of relief from drug treatment, or they prefer a drugless approach to improving their health. For these people, natural chiropractic care may be a safe and effective form of relief. Balancing and strengthening the nervous system through chiropractic care can be accomplished using precise, gentle forces, without the need to twist the spine or create noise in the joints.

Treating subluxation is known to improve flexibility, decrease muscle spasm, and normalize pain response. As a result, people notice that they feel like they are standing taller, have more stamina, and their thinking becomes sharper. Ultimately, they feel more capable of responding positively to life’s everyday stresses and trials. This is the benefit of having a balanced nervous system.


Spinal Neural Integration: A New Health Care Field?

November 28, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP Balanced living, Brain, Chiropractic, Healing, Immune System, Spine, Wellness Leave a comment  

Imagine if I told you about a new field in health care. A specialty called spinal neural integration. The focus of this new field of health care would be to restore spinal neural integrity. Spinal Neural Integrationists are doctors that specialize in maximizing the function of the nervous system. These doctors correct spinal joint misalignments, removing spinal nerve irritation and spinal nerve pressure. Once the spinal nerve pressure is reduced, the nervous system is able to function at a more optimal level.

Key research has shown that because the nervous system controls and coordinates the function of every system in the body, reduction of spinal nerve pressure can improve the overall health of the body. Increased function of the immune system  is quite common, as well as the improvement in function of many other vital systems in the body.

 

Spinal Neural Integrationists recommend periodic check-ups to promote health and vitality, not treat disease or sickness. Early reports of this new health field have been highly regarded. The general public, in their quest for ways to enhance their health, have been flocking to see Spinal Neural Integrationists. Patients proclaim that they have more energy, have less colds, and just lain feel better. Spinal Neural Integration is the wave of the future. I am sure just reading about this new form of health care makes you excited to learn that there is a way to improve the health of you and your family.

Does this new field of health care sound familiar to you? It should. You see, all I really did was rename chiropractic. Chiropractic is spinal neural integration. Chiropractic promotes health by improving the integrity of the spine and nervous system. So why aren’t more and more families flocking to the chiropractor? They are. It’s just not happening fast enough. Chiropractic, based on the successful reputation it has built, is in danger of being pigeon-holed as some sort of therapy for neck and back pain. Chiropractic works great for musculoskeletal disorders. But that is not the reason that I adjust my family or my patients. I adjust the spine to improve the function of the nervous system and improve the function of the body in turn, improving health.

If there were an article in the paper or a news story on television telling us all about the health benefits of spinal neural integration, I am sure millions of people worldwide would begin care with a Spinal Neural Integrationist. Chiropractic is already here for you and your family. Tell others. Let’s not keep the best thing in health care a secret. The health of our society depends on it.


ADHD and Spectrum Disorders: Restoring the Neurological Connection

September 7, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP ADHD, Babies, Balanced living, Brain, Children, Chiropractic, Healing, Posture, Pregnancy, Spine, Stress, Wellness Leave a comment  

It is any parent’s greatest wish to see their children happy and healthy. There is nothing more joyful than seeing a carefree, innocent smile light up your child’s face. We love our children so much, and we never want to see them hurt or sick. There are far too many children who struggle with their health and performance. ADHD and related disorders are an increasing epidemic that children and families struggle to overcome every day.

ADHD and spectrum disorders are primarily neurological in nature. Similar to a car, the neurological system has a “gas pedal” and a “brake pedal.” A person can develop a functional imbalance of the brain and nervous system, but this imbalance can often be partially or completely corrected. An accumulation of physical, chemical, and emotional stressors can cause someone to become stuck in the gas mode, without the brakes engaging. Physical stressors include high-intervention pregnancy and delivery, intrauterine constraint, car accidents, falls, and other traumas. In 2008, the British Medical Journal noted that children with head injury or burn injury were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD by age 10.

Children with a diagnosis of ADHD, ADD, or autism spectrum disorder are often locked in a “fight or flight” state. Due to their altered brain function, they are easily over-stimulated by people, noise, lights, and even their own clothing. This may lead to a separate diagnosis such as SPD, or sensory processing (formerly integration) disorder. Often a child with ADHD/ADD also has headaches, postural problems like slouching, sleep disorders, and difficulty with managing emotions. The child’s symptoms can be very disruptive for families and cause poor performance in school, reducing a child’s potential to be their best.

Healthcare providers understand that neurological integrity plays a significant role in children’s learning and behavioral patterns. Doctors of chiropractic offer a non-drug and non-invasive alternative for people with ADHD and spectrum disorders that targets the underlying problems, not just the symptoms. Chiropractic care is designed to rebalance, calm, and organize the nervous system, so the function of body and brain both improve. Many parents have noted that their child’s medical diagnosis is downgraded or removed completely once they begin a program of chiropractic care.


Top 10 Solutions for Stress

March 21, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP ADHD, Balanced living, Brain, Chiropractic, Digestive Health, Healing, Nutrition, Stress, Supplements, Wellness Leave a comment  

Aside from making you grouchy, stress can damage your body. High levels of stress hormone can damage your brain and your digestive tract. Signs of stress overload include fatigue, insomnia, food cravings, weight gain, muscle & joint pain, anxiety and focus issues, lowered libido and weakened immunity.

Top 10 drugless solutions for stress:

  1. Eat breakfast every day to maintain steady blood sugar levels through the day.
  2. Eat protein and fat with every meal or snack to maintain steady blood sugar.
  3. Get enough omega-3 fatty acids, which are building blocks for your brain.
  4. Take adrenal gland (stress-handling gland) supporting supplements if needed.
  5. Prepare for sleep by turning off lights, using an eye mask, and creating a ritual.
  6. Plan for fun activities; even a 5-minute break can help to re-set your mood.
  7. Exercise regularly with intensity to decrease stress hormone levels.
  8. When you talk to yourself, use empowering words: I choose, I will, I can. A daily gratitude journal can help you shift the words you use.
  9. Perform pattern interruptions – breathe deeply, walk for 5 minutes, or snap a rubber band on your wrist when you feel overwhelmed or anxious.
  10. Get adjusted to reduce the effects of accumulated stress on your body and brain.

Excess stress affects both muscle tension and nerve function. This creates patterns of distortion in your body and makes you use more energy for normal daily tasks. When you re-set your nervous system through chiropractic adjustments, your life starts to work better because your body and brain are working better.


Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Vitamin D

February 9, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP Aging, Babies, Balanced living, Bone Health, Brain, Children, Healing, Medicine, Nutrition, Research, Supplements, Wellness 3 Comments

Would you trust a nutrient with 3000 cancer studies under its belt? In 2009, a very ambitious research team reviewed these studies. Here’s what they found: we could prevent 100,000 people worldwide from developing cancer every year, if we increased our vitamin D intake. They identified ten different ways that vitamin D fights cancer. What a productive little multitasker!

Everyone should know these things about vitamin D:

  1. About 70 percent of Americans are deficient in vitamin D. “Deficiency” means a blood level less than 30 ng/mL, which is based on preventing bone disorders like rickets.
  2. Vitamin D deficiency has no typical symptoms. Like blood pressure, you need to have it measured.
  3. Many chronic illnesses are connected to vitamin D deficiency: heart disease, Alzheimer’s, depression, Type 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic colds and flu, and several types of cancer.
  4. Your skin produces vitamin D from cholesterol if you are exposed to sunlight, but sunscreen will stop you from making vitamin D.
  5. The most recent preventive medicine studies suggest that a blood level of 50-80 ng/mL is associated with much lower risk of chronic illness.
  6. In the northern United States, it is almost impossible to get enough vitamin D from sunlight and foods alone.
  7. Children can easily take vitamin D supplements in liquid form.
  8. You need vitamin D to get calcium from food into your blood, and you need vitamin K2 to transfer calcium from your blood into your bones.
  9. You can request a vitamin D test at your annual physical.
  10. Vitamin D can also be measured in a 5-minute appointment, taking two drops of blood from your fingertip.

Our office carries the world’s premier vitamin D supplement with 3000 IU per serving of vitamin D. The formula also includes vitamin K2, vitamin A, and a blend of immune-supporting, anti-inflammatory ingredients such as turmeric, beta glucan, and grape seed extract. We also provide fingerprick testing for vitamin D.

What gets measured gets managed. How are you managing your family’s plan for creating wellness?


Cholesterol, Statin Drugs, and Heart Disease

January 18, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP Aging, Balanced living, Brain, Digestive Health, Healing, Hormonal Balance, Immune System, Medicine, Nutrition, Research, Supplements, Wellness 1

In 2004, the National Cholesterol Education Program issued guidelines calling for Americans to lower their LDL cholesterol to less than 130 mg/dL. In 2006, a review of the literature found that there was no strong evidence to support the NCEP recommendations. The review noted that dropping LDL cholesterol below 130 mg/dL showed no decreased risk of cardiovascular death in elderly people, and that having high HDL was protective when LDL was around 130 mg/dL.

Every cell in the body needs cholesterol to make the cell membrane flexible and waterproof. Cholesterol is needed for tissue repair. It is the main building block of vitamin D and several hormones which are essential for normal body function. Cholesterol is also a powerful antioxidant.

Statin drugs interfere with the liver’s ability to synthesize cholesterol. There is a sequence of 32 distinct biochemical reactions to produce cholesterol, and statin drugs stop this sequence at the third step. The tenth step produces CoQ10 (ubiquinone), which is an antioxidant that all cells need to produce energy from glucose. The heart, since it beats constantly, has the highest requirements for CoQ10. Heart failure is one of the side effects of CoQ10 deficiency. CoQ10 also maintains the integrity of the cellular membrane, which has recently become known as the true brain of the cell. To offset for this side effect, studies indicate 200-600 mg/day of CoQ10 should be taken with a statin drug. Step 30 of the cholesterol synthesis sequence produces a compound that synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight, so statin drugs keep your body from making its own vitamin D. Statin drugs also inhibit nuclear factor kappa B (NFKB), which is a part of the immune system that helps fight infection and cancer.

There are no studies that prove significant improvements in overall mortality for women, or for people over age 65, who take statin drugs. The statin drug companies distort the statistics on mortality. In a study where 100 patients take statin drugs, 2 will have a fatal heart attack, while 3 of 100 people taking a placebo will die of a heart attack. To prevent a single heart attack, 100 people must be treated with statin drugs. The absolute risk reduction is an unimpressive 1%. The drug companies, however, promote statin drugs according to the relative risk reduction, which is a 33% reduction.

In studies on rodents consuming a similar relative dose of statin drugs prescribed to humans, the rodents developed cancer. Statin drugs raise a person’s risk of polyneuropathy (nerve damage) by 1600%. Signs of polyneuropathy include pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, and difficulty walking. The degree of symptoms is proportional to the duration of statin drug usage. Statin drugs are also known to cause myopathy (muscle damage) which is characterized by muscle wasting, weakness, and fatigue.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to be 44% more effective than statin drugs in reducing death from heart attack and stroke. Omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to be 32% more effective than statin drugs in reducing all causes of death.

These facts have been brought to you by the world’s leading medical journals. You want references? We’ve got ‘em!

About the author: Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP, is a wellness-certified family chiropractor at Vital Life Chiropractic in Eagan, Minnesota.


Your Information Highway

January 11, 2012 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP ADHD, Brain, Chiropractic, Spine, Wellness Leave a comment  

Ever notice how traffic backs up if there’s an incident in the ditch distracting all of the drivers? Your body operates on the same principle: If there is interference along your information highway, things don’t work so good (to use a clinical term). Once your information highway is running at top speed, things start to “work good” again. It is as simple as that.

Your nervous system is your information highway. It connects your brain to your body. This is what I share with all of my new clients at their first visit. People are often surprised that there is a neurological connection between the upper neck (Cranial, C1, C2) and common problems like ADHD, fatigue, and sleeping problems.

(scroll right to see the entire image)

Your neurological connections(scroll right to see the entire image)

About the author: Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP, is a wellness-certified family chiropractor at Vital Life Chiropractic in Eagan, Minnesota.

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How Do You Eat an Elephant?

December 28, 2011 Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP Balanced living, Brain, Healing, Posture, Stress, Wellness Leave a comment  

Okay, now that we’ve gotten through the flurry of the holiday season, it’s time to breathe. New Year’s resolutions? Great idea, but they can make you feel overwhelmed. If you find yourself getting anxious about all the changes you want to make, just… breathe. A friend shared with me a complicated scientific diagram outlining the effects of anxiety and how it changes your breathing patterns. Let me explain this without making your brain hurt.

We get anxious and unconsciously start breathing faster, or breathing from our upper chest instead of our belly. We hunch our shoulders and head forward, as if it will make us accomplish things faster. This change in breathing patterns alters our blood chemistry in a way that changes our blood vessel, muscle, and nerve function. The result is that we become more sensitive to pain, noise, and light. What do you call those people? Crabby. Which makes us even more anxious, because we know we’re not firing on all cylinders. So we unconsciously start breathing faster (see above)… and the downward spiral continues.

So how do you eat that elephant? One bite at a time. But first, take a deep breath. Sit tall, shoulders back, and breathe so deeply your bellybutton pops forward. Then, write out your plan for making changes in the new year.

About the author: Dr. Barbara Kaiser, DC, CCWP, is a wellness-certified family chiropractor at Vital Life Chiropractic in Eagan, Minnesota.


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