Thyroid Problems (why do I still have sx when my lab tests are normal?

In 2010 a very ground-breaking book was written by DR. Datis Karazian, one of the world’s foremost authorities and researchers on thyroid metabolism and disorders. Thyroidbook.com

In this book of the same title doctor Karazian very methodically explains the physiology and interaction of the thyroid gland and it’s influence on the rest of the endocrine system and how this can affect overall health and function. He organizes thyroid metabolism problems into 7 main categories This article is the first in a series of articles that will help the chronic thyroid patient understand why they continue to have thyroid symptoms despite medical care and what can be done to correct it.

#1 secret to overcoming chronic thyroid symptoms:

Is understanding that laboratory  ranges are too Broad! As a result is that they miss find body dysfunction every day. Laboratory ranges are based on the averages of all the sick people who went to medical clinics last year, the ranges differ one lab to another and differ state to state. Does it make sense to use the date of sick people to set the standard for what health should be? No. A better range for blood testing is the functional range, is a national standard that is set by a regulatory committee based on the data of healthy people with no symptoms. let’s look at some scenarios that are common in the patients that I see highlighting the differences in the laboratory vs functional ranges.

 Most likely, your M.D. has only ordered one thyroid test, which is TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone).  If you are lucky, maybe he has have ordered a couple more.  From your M.D.’s perspective, if your TSH level is within that very wide lab range of .35 to 5.0, you’re normal, there’s nothing wrong with you!  BUT—and this is a HUGE “BUT”—the OPTIMAL LEVEL or “functional level” for TSH is 1.8 to 3.0.  So you could still be “normal” in the medical doctor’s eyes but abnormal in the functional or optimal range.  This is huge! And one of the reasons you have been so frustrated with your M.D. based care.

 It’s only when that range is above 5.0 that the medical doctor will put you on a thyroid hormone such as Synthroid or the generic, levothyroxine. BUT, as I mentioned, in a medical doctor’s eyes, if your thyroid TSH is within .35 to 5.0, YOU ARE NORMAL!  There is NOTHING wrong with you.  “It’s ALL in your head!”  “You don’t need medication, because you don’t have a thyroid problem!”  Even though you still may have all the thyroid symptoms: extreme fatigue, hair falling out, etc., you’re NORMAL!  Well…you and I both know that you are not “normal”. If you were, you would not be suffering from symptoms!  You could be within the “normal” TSH range of .35 to 5.0 but still be outside the optimal range of 1.8 to 3.0.  Your TSH level could be at 4.2, and that’s why you’re having the problem; it’s outside the “optimal” or “functional” range.  The same is true for any other of the thyroid blood tests such as Total Thyroxine (TT4), Free Thyroxine Index (FTI), Free Thyroxine (FT4), Free Triodothyroxine (FT3) and the three or four other tests that need to be run on your thyroid to get to the EXACT cause of your problem. 

If you are sick and tired of BEING sick and tired I would recommend you order doctor Karazian’s book..if you are close to our Kirkland WA office…call our office  at 425-821-1101 for a Free Consultation and Report of Findings.  Just ask for our “2 Free Visit Internet Special!”

DR. Michael Taggart D.C.

Applied Kinesiologist, Functional Endocrinologist, Functional Neurologist in training

Why are Glutens on the Rise???

You hear a lot more these days about people developing problems with wheat. It could be a sensitivity that the person developed or a full blown genetic problem in which you can not digest gluten (which is the protein component of wheat and other gluten containing grains). When this happens it is called Celiac disease. One thing that always bothered me about gluten problems is there are so many ancient texts including the bible referring to wheat as the “staff of life”. So if wheat is supposed to be good for us, why are so many people getting sick from it?

Something Changed…….

We changed and so did wheat. Botonists have identified almost 30,000 varieties of wheat. With the advent of modern farming, the number of varieties of wheat in common use has been drastically reduced. Today, just a few varieties account for 90 percent of the wheat grown in the world. When grown in well-nourished, fertile soil, whole wheat is rich in vitamin E and B complex, many minerals, including calcium and iron, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. Proper growing and milling methods are necessary to preserve these nutrients and prevent rancidity. Unfortunately, due to the indiscretions inflicted by contemporary farming and processing on modern wheat, many people have become intolerant or even allergic to this nourishing grain. These indiscretions include depletion of the soil through the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals, high-heat milling, refining and improper preparation, such as extrusion. The damage inflicted on wheat does not end with cultivation and storage, but continues into milling and processing. A grain kernal is comprised of three layers: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. The bran is the outside layer where most of the fiber exists. The germ is the inside layer where many nutrients and essential fatty acids are found. The endosperm is the starchy middle layer. The high nutrient density associated with grains exists only when these three are intact.

Flour was originally produced by grinding grains between large stones. The final product, 100 percent stone-ground whole-wheat flour, contained everything that was in the grain, including the germ, fiber, starch and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. Without refrigeration or chemical preservatives, fresh stone-ground flour spoils quickly. After wheat has been ground, natural wheat-germ oil becomes rancid at about the same rate that milk becomes sour, so refrigeration of whole grain breads and flours is necessary. Technology’s answer to these issues has been to apply faster, hotter and more aggressive processing.

Since grinding stones are not fast enough for mass-production, the industry uses high-speed, steel roller mills that eject the germ and the bran. Much of this “waste Product” – the most nutritious part of the grain – is sold as “byproducts” for animals. The resulting white flour contains only a fraction of the nutrients of the original grain. Even whole wheat flour is comprised during the modern milling process. High-speed mills reach 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and this heat destroys vital nutrients and creates rancidity in the bran and the germ. Vitamin E in the germ is destroyed – a real tragedy because whole wheat used to be our most readily available source of vitamin E.

Literally dozens of dough conditioners and preservatives go into modern bread, as well as toxic ingredients like partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and soy flour. Soy flour – loaded with antinutrients – is added to virtually all brand-name breads today to improve rise and prevent sticking.

People have become accustomed to the mass-produced, gooey, devitalized, and nutritionally deficient breads and baked goods and have little recollection of how real bread should taste. Chemical preservatives allow bread to be shipped long distances and to remain on the shelf for many days without spoiling and without refrigeration.

The most practical option is to buy organic 100 percent stone-ground whole-wheat flour at a natural food store. Slow-speed, steel hammer- mills are often used instead of stones, and flours made in this way can list “stone-ground” on the label. This method is equivalent to the stone-ground process and produces a product that is equally nutritious. Any process that renders the entire grain into usable flour without exposing it to high heat is acceptable.

Ok, you’ve got your nutritious wheat, now the problem might be your body.

You may have developed a “Leaky Gut” where the barrier that keeps undigested food particles from entering into the blood stream to early from the intestines- has become damaged due to unfriendly microorganisms. Your body will treat these particles as an invader and the immune system will go to work to destroying them. Now here is why this is a big deal, this process will create inflammation which can cause pain, that’s why as a Chiropractor, I care about this! People come to me with pain, it’s not always neuro-musculoskeletal. Inflammation can cause problems with organs, it can effect your brain function. Your chronic tiredness, joint pain, exzema and asthma that has not responded to anything you have tried may be a food sensitivity!

If you are suspicious about wheat and its effects on you, there is a simple test you can do. Don’t eat ANY gluten based grains for 3 weeks, if you notice some changes you are on the right track. If after 3 weeks, you are not sure of any difference, then at the end of 3 weeks eat a LOT of gluten and if your body starts feeling bad again that’s a clue it’s part of your problem.

If you have confirmed the link, it’s a good idea to have some special testing done to see if it’s a sensitivity or is it genetic. We use a company called Entrolabs that has a very accurate test that looks for the presence of antibodies to gluten and will also determine if you have a genetic problem. If it’s just a sensitivity then healing the gut with gluten avoidance and supplementation may help you to be able go back to eating gluten. If it is genetic, then it’s a lifelong avoidance. You can Google “gluten” and find oout which grains have it and which don’t.

Actual cases of food allergies that Dr. Taggart was able to help:

Sleeping was a problem due to my allergies. Focus was a problem at work. Since beginning chiropractic care, I can now work longer hours and I feel great! I’m less fatigued and more aware. I’ve stopped taking my mid-day naps….ha ha ha…. no joke! I get up in the morning feeling ready for my day. I couldn’t be happier with the care I have received. C.P.

By July, I will be off all my asthma medications, I can exercise now without having an asthma attack. H.N.

If you believe you are having food allergy issues or have unexplained pain syndrome and would like to be evaluated, give us a call and mention this blog for a free consultation.

www.lakewashingtonchiropractic.com     

Dr. Michael Taggart       (425) 821-1101

Chiropractic success with Fibromyalgia!!

Dr. Taggart has spent 15 years studying what effects the body and nutrition can have in their part of Fibromyalgia. Here are some success stories from actual patients that have Fibromyalgia and been helped from Dr. Taggart;

“I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 30 years ago and suffered from moderate to severe pain, particularly in my legs at night, which affected my sleep and quality of life very negatively. It didn’t even occur to me to go to a Chiropractor for fibromylagia, but I developed some severe lower back pain which got my attention and got me into the chiropractic office. In the three months of care I have received not only has the lower back pain gone away, but my fibromyalgia and hence my quality of life has improved at least 60-70% – and no pain meds! I have slept better and have lots of energy to spare.” 06/16/09

” I am a long time patient of Dr. Taggart. Five years ago I decided I didn’t need chiropractic care any longer. After all, I felt great. My fibromylagia pain had lessened. I was able to speak comfortably in public after network with Dr. Taggart. All was well. The next year I had my first case of pneumonia and was unable to work for 4 weeks. At least once a year (twice one year) since then, I experienced respiratory illness, severly limiting my breathing capacity. Early last summer, after another pneumonia, I came back to Dr. Taggart for help. I signed up for long term therapy, following the prescribed program. Despite my daily work with young children who frequently have colds and the local illnesses that are inevitable in a childcare setting, I have not been ill, not a sniffle, a cough, or a fever once since my continued chiropractic care. I thank Dr. Taggart working with me over the past eight months, for my strenghthened immune system! A health year – Yea!” (01/08/09)

Get Control of your Allergies!!

Up to 50 million Americans, including 2 million children, have some type of allergy. According to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, they are a major cause of disability in the U.S. In fact, it has been estimated that allergies account for the loss of over two million school days per year.

Your immune system is the most important method of combating allergies! It recognizes and destroys bacteria, viruses, pollutants, pollen, dust, dander, and artificial substances. There are many influences to how well your immune system works, ie; your diet, genetics, emotions, nervous and endocrine system.

 

The most common immune system disorder is the allergy that occurs when the immune system overreacts to an allergen and the body produces too many neutralizing chemicals (especially histamines) in response.  More recently Canadian researcher Lorne Brandes, in an article published in the May 1994 journal of the National Cancer institute, has produced research showing that certain antihistamines (Claritin'”, Hismanal” and AtaraXT”) make cancerous tumors grow faster in lab rodents and antihistamines can cause serious heart problems. There is increasing evidence that the cause of allergies is childhood vaccinations; they cause immune system abnormalties. 

 

Prescription medicine, whether by a doctor or over the counter, do not cure allergies, they only address the symptoms. Chiropractic is a method of health care that permits your body to function at its best. That is especially important if you suffer from allergies. A healthy immune system means high resistance to disease and infection, better ability to deal with stress, and greater health and well-being. Please note that the chiropractic approach is to remove vertebral subluxations, a common spinal distortion that puts stress on your nervous system. Freed of nervous system stress, your body will work more effectively to neutralize the allergy-causing chemicals in your environment.  
The emphasis on allergies must be on building a healthy body, not on trying to use evasive tactics by eliminating all the allergens. Here is a list of some thing you can do to control the allergens around you;

• Regular adjustments from your Chiropractor
• Try Quercetin, it has bioflavonoid which slows or prevents release of histamines.
• Omega 3 fatty acid combats inflamation. Flaxseed oil is a good source of this.
• Do a saline nasal flush, this helps drain and flush out bacteria.
• Take 1-2 teaspoons of locally grown honey a day. It has low levels of pollen and helps the body build its immunity.
• Bathe your pets regularly to keep the pet dander down.
• Drink plenty of HOT teas with an anti-oxidant, like green tea.
• Intake your vitamin C to boost your immune system.
• Take Raw Adrenal Gland to help support the Adrenals.
• Wash your bedding once a week in hot water, cover your mattress and pillows with an anti-allergen cover and increase showers to twice a day.
• Vacuum and dust your house as often as you can.
• Eat food with natural anti-histamines like garlic, onions, citrus fruits, etc.
• Get allergy tested and find out what you are allergic to so you can avoid it!

Here is a success story written by Dr. Taggart’s patient……..

“I feel great! I have been a chiropractic client for about 9 years but only within the last year and a half been with Dr. Taggart. During this time I have seen a huge improvement in my physical wellbeing. This includes a major decrease in my allergy symptoms and an increase in extracurricular activities.

My seasonal allergies, which normally required daily medication to control, now are only manifested during unusually high pollen counts. I have also noticed that my food allergies have become tolerable. Where I could not eat fish or poultry without experiencing an allergic reaction, I can now enjoy these foods in moderation.

My biggest change has been the ability to enjoy sports again, from mountain biking to weight lifting; I feel a greater core stability and increased confidence from living pain free.

Thank you Dr. Taggart. I appreciate the improvement and look forward to a long term healthy relationship.” 06/08

What Can a Chiropractor do for Me?

The nervous system controls and coordinates all organs and structures of the body. When your spine has a vertebrae or disc that is even slightly misaligned, it can cause irritation and interruption to the nervous system. It only takes the pressure of a “dime” on a nerve to cause it to lose communication.

Chiropractors gently move the vertebrae or disc back into place so it is not interfering with the nerve.

Here is a list of  “Chart of effects of spinal misalignment” that shows detailed areas affected and the most familiar symptoms that occur and what can happen to the spine if left untreated:

 

Success story from an actual patient of Dr. Taggarts:

” I started seeing Dr. Taggart after many years of low back pain, hip pain, headaches and, more recently, restless legs. After the first few visits, the headaches stopped. I have had a decrease in the hip pain and low back pain is no longer constant. I no longer have restless legs at night and not only can I get to sleep faster but I can now sleep through the night without pain. I also have more energy than in the past. Before my visits it was difficult to take walks for more than a short distance without having low back pain. Now I can actually take the dog for walks and feel good doing it. There has definately been an increase in quality of life for me.”

Genetically Modified Food..You must Read!! (Part 2)

GMO food is causing devastating offspring defects and death in new research study.  Just about EVERY species of animal that is offered a GMO food versus a non-GMO food will avoid the GMO one. Many times they will do this to the point of starvation, as they have an intuitive sense of the danger of this food.

This study, which was conducted by the Russian equivalent of the US National Association for Gene Security, has not yet been published, but its findings were recently announced. It’s anticipated that the details will be published later this summer. “Russian Scientists Find Third Generation of Hamsters Sterilized by GM Soy“.

In a two year study, they used hamsters for the first time. One group of hamsters was fed a normal diet without any soy whatsoever, a second group was fed non-GMO soy, a third ate GM soy, and a fourth group ate an even higher amount of GM soy than the third. (You can view the whole study at Mercola.com)

The scientists noticed a problem that the second generation had a slower growth rate and reached their sexual maturity later than normal. By the time the third generation came along nearly ALL the hamsters lost the ability to have babies. Only a single third-generation female hamster gave birth to 16 pups, and of those, one fifth died.

In short, nearly the entire third generation of GM soy eaters were sterile!

But it doesn’t end there.

In the GM soy-fed groups they also found a highly bizarre, extremely rare phenomenon – hair growing inside the animals’ mouths. 

Study author, Dr. Surov says “… it’s a very rare phenomenon but he had never in his life seen more hair in mouths of hamsters than with these GM soy-fed, third generation hamsters.”

Genetically modified crops weren’t released until 1996, starting with GM soy, corn and cotton. Modified canola came about a year later. This is less than one generation in human life. We are still a long time out from seeing the effects in humans, but if the effects are anything like the effects on numerous types of animals, we could be looking at sterility on a grand scale as our great-grandchildren grow up and begin to try to procreate…

Surov’s hamsters are just the latest animals to suffer from reproductive disorders after consuming GMOs. In 2005, Irina Ermakova, also with the Russian National Academy of Sciences, reported that more than half the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. This was also five times higher than the 10% death rate of the non-GMO soy group. The babies in the GM group were also smaller (see photo) and could not reproduce.  

In a telling coincidence, after Ermakova’s feeding trials, her laboratory started feeding all the rats in the facility a commercial rat chow using GM soy. Within two months, the infant mortality facility-wide reached 55%. When Ermakova fed male rats GM soy, their testicles changed from the normal pink to dark blue!

Central Iowa Farmer Jerry Rosman also had trouble with pigs and cows becoming sterile. Some of his pigs even had false pregnancies or gave birth to bags of water. After months of investigations and testing, he finally traced the problem to GM corn feed. Every time a newspaper, magazine, or TV show reported Jerry’s problems, he would receive calls from more farmers complaining of livestock sterility on their farm, linked to GM corn.

In Haryana, India, a team of investigating veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM cottonseed suffer from infertility, as well as frequent abortions, premature deliveries, and prolapsed uteruses. Many adult and young buffalo have also died mysteriously.

It’s important to realize that the key to ending the ongoing atrocity of GM foods lies not with government, but with you and me.

Consumers are going to have to drive GM foods out, and we CAN do it.

Through educating yourself, your family, friends and community about GMOs, and most importantly of all, through the food purchases you make, you can stop this unregulated science experiment.

You CAN avoid GMOs, if you know what to look for.

First of all, remember there are eight genetically modified food crops:

1. Soy
2. Corn
3. Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)
4. Canola (canola oil)
5. Sugar from sugar beets
6. Hawaiian papaya
7. Some varieties of zucchini
8. Crookneck squash

Based on this list, anything containing soy or soy derivatives should be avoided, as well as anything containing corn, the most obvious ingredient being high fructose corn syrup.

The easiest way to avoid ending up with GM foods in your shopping cart is to do some pre-planning using the free non-GMO shopping guide, available at http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/.

Consumers have tremendous power, Europe managed to reach their tipping point in April of 1999, ELEVEN YEARS AGO(!), within a single week of negative media which swayed the shopping habits of consumers enough for food companies to commit to stop using GM ingredients.

We can do it!!!!!

Is Fibromyalgia a Brain Problem?? (Part 2)

     Last week we talked about the causes of fibromyalgia, neurologic and metabolic. We discussed that the normal functioning brain has a rhythm of stimulation from one lobe to another, like the chambers of the heart that contract at different times. If one areas function is diminished, it alters the balance in the brain and can cause symptoms and health problems. The mid-brain or mescencephalon over-firing is the area of the brain that we address with therapy. High mescencephalon output is associated with these symptoms; pain, light sensitivity, inability to sleep, irregular heart beat, increased warmth or sweating of hands, urinary tract infections.

    Now let’s talk about the other cause, metabolic. Your body is a virtual chemical factory, these chemical substances that your body makes allow nerves to talk to each other (neurotransmitters), digests your food (HCL, pepsin), controls you endocrine system (hormones), is part of your immune response to fight off invaders (White blood cells, antibodies), and carry oxygen on the red blood cells( hemoglobin) and so many others. Specific lab testing can determine which systems have problems and from that information specific nutritional therapy restores the balance.

    For example you may have gut problems due to unhealthy organisms living in your intestines or in your stomach , fungus, abnormal bacteria, parasites, these invaders are going to give off toxins that will impair your digestions, stress your liver and cause inflammation in your brain. There is a lab test that can detect this problem, it’s from a company called Metametrix.

     A lot of people who have fibromyalgia have been thru a lot of stress just prior to the onset or stress from how much the syndrome has altered their lifestyle. This stress if prolonged will cause problems with the adrenal gland, causing them to go into over-activity and then finally exhaustion as the adrenal burnout.  Some symptoms of adrenal dysfunction are: can’t get to sleep or can’t stay asleep, slow starter in morning, afternoon fatigue, dizziness when standing up quickly, afternoon headaches, perspire easily, under high amounts of stress, and weight gain. The most accurate way to test adrenal gland function is through salvia analysis, we use a company called Diagnos-Techs.

    Every fibromyagia patient that we see goes through very thorough neurological and metabolic testing before we start treatment. In this way we have all the information we need to begin successful treatment.  If you would like to know more about our Fibromyalgia programs go to our web site at www.lakewashingtonchiropractic.com  click on the link for Brain Based Therapy, watch Dr Johnson’s fibromyalgia video. To see our latest fibromyalgia success story go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4dc4pUDnVQ

Is Fibromyalgia a Brain Problem?? (Part 1)

      Fibromyalgia is a form of generalized muscular pain and fatigue that affects almost 5 million Americans. There is no one special lab test that makes the diagnosis, the diagnosis instead depends mostly on a person’s complaints. Pain is the most prominent symptom of fibromyalgia, and it generally occurs through the entire body, although it may start in one region such as the neck and shoulders, and spread to other areas over a period of time. The majority of patients with fibromyalgia experience moderate to severe fatigue. Along with decreased exercise endurance, and the kind of exhaustion that results from the flu or lack of sleep are very common, At times, the fatigue is more of a problem than the pain. Abdominal pain, bloating, alternating, light sensitivity, inability to sleep, abnormal heart rhythm, constipation and diarrhea, migraine headaches and muscular tension headaches are all part of the fibromyalgia syndrome. Officially in the medical realm there is no known cause; however recent studies have shown a growing body of evidence for two main causes neurologic and metabolic. Let’s talk about the neurologic cause first. 

      Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in those parts of the brain where pain is processed. This is not a disease, it’s a functional problem. 

     There are neurologic pathways that connect on area of the brain to another, when one area of the brain understimualtes another area of the brain it can cause other areas of the brain to over fire. This over-firing can cause exaggerated pain response in the body. The area that overfires with chronic pain patients is called the mescencephalon or mid brain. This is the area of the brain that the nerves come out of that go to the organs of the body, heart digestive, eyes etc. High output from this area of the brain over-stimualtes the adrenal gland increasing levels of chemicals that nerve fibers are very sensitive too, hence the whole body pain expression. The key to successfully helping a fibromyalgia suffer is to re-establish balanced brain function, lowering the high mescencephalon function restore proper organ function and dampens the pain response. Detection of brain imbalance can be determined with standard neurological tests and the therapy is totally painless and all natural. Your brain can be re-habed just like other body parts. Next week we will talk about the metabolic component.

To learn more about Brain Based Therapy go to our website at www.lakewashingtonchiropractic.com

Geneticaly Engineered Food??!!

What does GMO mean? Genetically Modified Organism is the most common usage (though ‘manipulated’ or even ‘mutated’ might also be appropriate!) The acronyms GEO (Genetically Engineered Organism) or simply GM or GE are also used.

Genetic engineering is a radical new technology that forces genetic information across the protective species barrier in an unnatural way.

Why be concerned? One of many good reasons is that these laboratory-created mutations are unlabeled, virtually untested and on grocery shelves everywhere. This a very irresponsible way of introducing a food supply without long term testing! 

A 2008 World Bank report concluded that increased biofuel production is the major cause of the increase in food prices. Monsanto has been at the heart of the lobbying for biofuels (crops grown for fuel rather than food) — while profiting enormously from the resulting food crisis and using it as a PR opportunity to promote GM foods!

 

“The climate crisis was used to boost biofuels, helping to create the food crisis; and now the food crisis is being used to revive the fortunes of the GM industry.” — Daniel Howden, Africa correspondent of The Independent.    

US government data shows that in the US, GM crops have produced an overall increase, not decrease, in pesticide use compared to conventional crops.

 

 Genetic modification is a crude and imprecise way of incorporating foreign genetic material (e.g. from viruses, bacteria) into crops, with unpredictable consequences. The resulting GM foods have undergone little rigorous and no longterm safety testing, but animal feeding tests have shown worrying health effects. 

 

GM contamination of conventional and organic food is increasing. An unapproved GM rice that was grown for only one year in field trials was found to have extensively contaminated the US rice supply and seed stocks. 

 

InCanada, the organic oilseed rape industry has been destroyed by contamination from GM rape. In Spain, a study found that GM maize “has caused a drastic reduction in organic cultivations of this grain and is making their coexistence practically impossible”.  More seriously, in 1989 there was an outbreak of a new disease in the US, contracted by over 5,000 people and traced back to a batch of L-tryptophan food supplement produced with GM bacteria. Even though it contained less than 0.1 per cent of a highly toxic compound, 37 people died and 1,500 were left with permanent disabilities. More may have died, but the American Centre for Disease Control stopped counting in 1991.

The big biotech firms pushing their GM foods have a terrible history of toxic contamination and public deception. 

GM is attractive to them because it gives them patents that allow monopoly control over the world’s food supply.

Presently certified organic foods are the best bet for the anti-GM consumer. However, even with the best intentions, companies attempting to exclude GM ingredients from their products have found cross/contamination from GM crops.

Taking care of your immune system with regular Chiropractic adjustments is the most effective proper fuel for immune system boosting!!

 Only one study has been published on the direct effects on humans of eating a GM food. It found unexpected effects on gut bacteria, but was never followed up. 

GM expert at Greenpeace International, Dr Jan van Aken, said: ‘Genetically Engineered food appears to be acting as a birth control agent, potentially leading to infertility.

The History of Chiropractic

The actual health care profession of chiropractic dates back to 1895. However, some of the earliest healers in the history of the world understood the relationship between health and the condition of the spine. Hippocrates advised: “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.”

Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer discovered the specific spinal adjustment in 1895. He was also the one to develop the philosophy of chiropractic which forms the foundation for the profession.

D.D. Palmer came to the United States from Canada when he was 20 years old. In 1885, D.D. became familiar with the work of Paul Caster and learned the techniques of magnetic healing and two years later he moved to Davenport Iowa and opened the Palmer Cure & Infirmary.

On September 18, 1895, D.D. Palmer was working late in his office when a janitor, Harvey Lillard, began working nearby. D.D. realized that Lillard was deaf but had normal hearing for most of his life. Lillard communicated that while he had been over in a cramped, stooping position, he felt something “pop” in his back and when he stood up, he realized he couldn’t hear.

D.D. ran his hand down Lillard’s spine and felt one of the vertebra was not in it’s normal position. D.D. racked it into position by using the spinous process as a lever and soon Lillard’s hearing was restored.

D.D.Palmer coined the term chiropractic from the Greek words, Chiro, meaning (hand) and practic, meaning (practice or operation).

He renamed his clinic the Palmer School & Infirmary of Chiropractic and in 1898 he accepted

his first students.

The medical community, afraid of his success and discouraged by its own failure to heal diseases, accused Palmer of practicing medicine without a license. Palmer defended himself and cautioned against introducing medicine into the body saying it was often unnecessary and even harmful.

In 1905 D.D. Palmer was indicted for practicing medicine without a license. He spent 23 days of a 105 day sentence in jail and paid a $350 fine.

From 1906 to 1913, D.D. Palmer published two books, “The Science of Chiropractic” and “The Chiropractors Adjustor.” He died in Los Angeles at the age of 68.

D.D. had a son, Bartlett Joshua, who was as enthusiastic about chiropractic as his father and he continued his father’s work. B.J. is credited with developing chiropractic into a clearly defined and unique health care system. He is also instrumental in getting chiropractic recognized as a licensed profession.

Although the profession has advanced tremendously since the days of D.D. and B.J., the basic tenets and understanding of chiropractic as a drug-free method of correcting vertebral subluxations in order to remove nerve interference still stands.