The other day I was having lunch with a practice member (thank you, Leah!) and she was remarking how difficult it was to make an appointment from a mobile device. So, I went searching for a solution and came up with this:
Dr. Gary has returned and in the office today, Thursday, January 23rd, for regular hours.
Look forward to seeing you soon!
Dr. Gary will be out of the office from 1/7/14 through 1/22/14. He will return to work on 1/23/14.
Grace Enriquez, L.Ac., will be working with Dr. Gary’s NAET/allergy patients during that time, and also working with her own Acupuncture clients. If you need a Chiropractic appointment, call our officemate Dr. Julie Robotham at 805–371-6144. Dr. Julie is in the office all day Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings.
To make an appointment, click on the “make an appointment” tab.
Have a terrific 2014!
Dear Friends,
I will be out of the office from Sunday, January 5th through Wednesday, January 22nd. BUT, I won’t leave you abandoned! I have recruited my office colleague Dr. Julie Robotham to cover any Chiropractic problems my practice members might have — you can contact her by calling (805) 371‑6144. She’s in all day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and in most mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons my other office mate, Dr. Nancy Doreo, might be available in a pinch.
My NAET practice members will be served by my old friend and colleague Grace Enriquez who will be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-noon and 2-6pm. Grace previously worked for me from the early 2000s until 2008 when she decided to go to acupuncture school (she’s a licensed Acupuncturist). She took the initial NAET trainings back in 2004–2005 and was certified as my assistant and is now certified as an NAET practitioner. Grace is an excellent NAET practitioner and I feel confident she will be able to take care of your needs. Grace will also be the person answering the phones and monitoring the messages on voicemail.
The trip I am taking will take me by ship from San Pedro down the Pacific Coast and through the Panama Canal eventually ending in Miami. From there, we will spend a few days in southern Florida with my wife’s mother and her brother and his wife. Then, back to work on Thursday, January 23rd. If I get the opportunity, I will post pictures along the way to this website.
An interesting article in Men’s Fitness Magazine (not posted on-line yet„ but on the bookshelf) about the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic who was, two years ago, so ill he didn’t even rank in world tennis. After his Serbian Medical Doctor did muscle testing on him and found that he was gluten sensitive, Novak went gluten-free and a year later was ranked #1 in the world. He just fell to #2 a few weeks ago.
Maybe it’s time to have your family tested to see if they are unknowingly suffering from food sensitivities.
What makes the US Healthcare system so expensive, and why did I drop my standard office charge to $40 from $60?
Well first, if this topic interests you, I recommend you to The Incidental Economist which has a series on this topic. It helps answer the question of why we spend more on so-called “health care” (really, sickness care) than all other nations on the planet, and yet we are ranked 39th in overall health, with Slovenia being right after us. And, oh by the way, this series of articles was written 2006. And the trends remain the same.
As to why I reduced my basic office charge from $60 when I was located in Westlake Village to $40 here in T.O. three years ago. Simply put, my overhead has dropped by 1/3rd and I am interested in helping more people. By keeping costs down, I can serve more people. And I appreciate the help you have given me in the pursuit of my goal. Thanks, so much!
A recent article on Medscape Medical News brought a horrific statistic to the forefront: 180,000 deaths due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer – all associated with increased body-mass index (and all associated with insulin resistance)..
Beside the body-weight index, the consumption of sugar does some pretty bad things to your immune system – the one in your gut called “GALT” (not John – Gut-Associated Lymphatic Tissue)
But even worse than sugar is your body’s response to it: spiking the hormone insulin.
Some of the conditions insulin (too much or too little) is involved in producing:
Some things that will help balance insulin, decrease insulin resistance and increase sensitivity:
Here’s an excellent article worth reading: http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/5/2/109.pdf
Picture By Victovoi (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The ProblemWith the fourth mildest winter in recorded history behind us, the seasonal allergy problem is, so to speak, in full bloom.
An interesting article was published on March 13th in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Allergies: The Season’s Public Enemies” by Laura Landro made some interesting observations:
As many as 30% of children and up to 40% of adults suffer from seasonal allergies that cause reactions such as sneezing, itching, stuffy nose, and watery eyes. Trees are one of the earliest plants to release pollen, followed later by pollen from grass and flowering plants. For example, high concentrations of tree pollen in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday came mainly from juniper, elm and maple trees, according to data compiled by the National Allergy Bureau, part of research group American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Ditto for Atlanta, where the top
offenders were pine, oak and birch.
photo by Phillip Bouchard on Flickr
In the beautiful City of Thousand Oaks, California, this can be a problem (yes we have AT LEAST 1000 Oak trees, and hundreds of persons reacting to them).
And it appears the season will continue longer than usual.
The article in the WSJ talks about the typical treatments: antihistamines including eye drops, nasal sprays and the like can reduce the symptoms of allergic rhinitis otherwise known as “hay fever”, but that doesn’t solve the real problem — what’s actually creating an abnormal immune response on some people when it doesn’t in others. Various medical treatments including subcutaneous(under the skin) or sublingual (under the tongue) immunotherapy works, but takes awhile to work — again, according to the WSJ article:
Unlike medication, allergy shots can potentially lead to lasting remission of symptoms after three to five years.
So, if you have time enough to wait, this might be a viable choice.
Most people don’t know that acupuncture has been one of the most high effective methods of treating allergies for centuries. In an interesting article entitled Acupuncture and Traditional Oriental Medicine for Seasonal Allergies, author Jillian Capodice, LAc demonstrates a number of research articles on the subject. The efficacy of acupuncture in regard to seasonal allergy is also mentioned on the prestigious WebMD site in an article entitled Relieve Allergies the Natural Way.
But, if you’re needle-phobic like me, you are probably looking for another way to deal with this problem.
© nebari — Fotolia.com
There are a number of techniques that utilize principles from acupuncture without actually using needles. The premier technique is called “NAET” — an anacronym for “Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique”. It uses another form of treatment to stimulate acupuncture points, specifically points on the back called “Shu” points which connect with the various energy meridians on mammals, including humans. This treatment is a form of acuPRESSURE which is the manual stimulation of acu points with pressure.
NAET seems to have a balancing effect on the Autonomic Nervous System. It can desensitize your response to environmental (and other) allergens quite quickly. However, one must also keep in mind that other issues need to be addressed for a “permanent” elimination.
That will be the subject of our next post.
I was interested and excited to see the article “Relieve Allergies the Natural Way” on WebMD.com. The article is talking about alternative methods of dealing with seasonal allergies, something to be concerned about since the “season” will shortly be upon us.
Some of the treatments, other than the standard allergy medications, mentioned are:
But I found this part very interesting:
Interestingly, what you don’t eat may be even more important than what you do eat. The reason, according to Hardy, is that food intolerance may be far more intimately entwined with seasonal allergies than we realize.
“You have to really look at your diet and cut out any foods that seem to provoke even a mild sensitivity, such as occasional hives or even stomach upset, ” says Hardy. In doing so, she says, you can literally lighten the burden on your immune system, which in turn may help reduce the impact of seasonal allergic reactions.
According to New York University allergist Clifford Bassett, MD, if you suffer from ragweed or other weed pollen allergies, “you should avoid eating melon, banana, cucumber, sunflower seeds, chamomile, and any herbal supplements containing echinacea [ed: interestingly, some recommend echinacea for seasonal allergies], all of which can make symptoms much worse,” he says.
Additionally, there are other conditions, such as chronic mold allergies and histadelia, the later being a problem with methylation, that can result in seasonal allergies.
The article mentioned other treatments, such as acupuncture. But there were also a few NOT mentioned: Chiropractic adjustments have a wonderful impact on rhinitis and sinusitis, not just in seasonal allergy. And NAET — Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique, which is based on both Chiropractic and Acupuncture principles, works extremely well at not only eliminating the sensitivities but preventing their return.
There are a few other treatments for rhinitis and sinusitis as well, but we’ll reserve that for another time.
An interesting article today from Yahoo Health entitled “Social Rejection Can Cause Physical Pain” which talks about an experiment of people experiencing actual physical pain as the result of rejection. Here’s some really good advice noted in the article:
To recover from that pain, it’s best to rely on healthy coping skills that allow you to better relate to people or avoid those you can’t seem to get along with, says psychologist Jeffrey Rossman, PhD, director of the Life Management at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts, and a Rodale.com advisor. “Don’t give up trying to connect with others and try not to be hard on yourself. Learn what you can from your experience.“
Here are some ways to cope with social rejection—or avoid it in the first place:
Don’t take it personally. There is some logic to that old standby, “It’s not you, it’s me.” There are a lot of reasons why relationships end, or never get going in the first place, says Rossman, and often it has nothing to do with you. “A boyfriend may be afraid of making a long-term commitment for reasons that are entirely about him,” he says. “His ending the relationship may be because he’s not ready for the kind of committed relationship you are wanting and ready for.” And the same holds true when you try to make friends with people who seem uninterested in becoming your friend. If you’ve tried to befriend a coworker or neighbor who continually rejects your efforts, move on. “You can’t be friends with everyone, but you can be friends with a few people you are compatible with,” Rossman adds.
Look inward. That being said, sometimes it is you. Rossman notes that there are certain personality types that are more susceptible to rejection than others. They usually fall into the “Type D” group, “d” meaning “distressed.” These people are usually more prone to worry, irritability, and gloom, and they’re more socially inhibited than others. Also, “they tend to not share these emotions with others, because of fear of rejection or disapproval,” Rossman adds. If you fall into this group, try to spend time with current friends who are more outgoing. Their social ease may make it easier for you to develop new relationships
Research shows: Be true to yourself and you’ll be happier with others.
Find self-esteem boosters. One of the best ways to protect yourself against the painful effects of rejection is to improve your self-esteem, says Rossman. You can always exercise, which has been found to boost body image and self-esteem. Another way to boost your self-esteem is to find a hobby or activity that makes you feel good about yourself, whether it’s volunteering at a nearby animal shelter or taking an art class at the local community center.
Know the warning signs. DeWall notes in his study that negative and painful reactions to social rejection could lead to aggressive or antisocial behavior. Even if you don’t feel like you’re in pain every time you get rejected, Rossman says there are a few warning signs that might indicate that you’re handling it badly:1. You find yourself withdrawing from people and forgoing activities you have enjoyed for fear of rejection.
2. You expect rejection and then feel resentful of other people.
3. You end relationships in order to reject others before they can reject you.
4. You provoke conflicts in order to find a reason to end a relationship.
5. You turn to unhealthy behaviors to help you soothe your hurt feelings, such as excessive emotional eating or drinking, drug use, or overspending.
A friend of mine was very successful in the life insurance sales game. When asked why he was the most successful sales person for a major life insurance company, he said this: “ Most people put in 8 hours filled with rejection. Then they quit. I knew I was going to get 8 hours of rejection, so I figured I’d work 10 so the last two would be productive.” Everyone (in his business) has a certain amount of rejection that s/he must endure daily, then you get the payoff. Rejection can either build you up, or tear you down. It’s really your choice as to who is boss of your limbic system.
