Healthy Thoughts by Dr. Helena

Happy New Year!

Each year has me organizing my work space and "cleaning house" both at the office and at home.  When I first joined Dr. B in practice here in Whitehall, I wrote a lot of articles for the Beacon and for Tidbits.  I thought I would share as the information doesn't age.  

Enjoy!

Yours in Health,

Dr. H

This year marks my 30^th year under Chiropractic care.  I am proud of that.  Chiropractic transformed a sick kid to a healthier one that could enjoy life.  After 2020 it became abundantly clear that now is the time to take responsibility for our health and wellness.  Stress that is out of our control will occur.  All we have control over is how we respond to it.  Are our thoughts positive or negative? What are we going to do about it?

When life gets stressful I aim to do MORE of the good stuff.  I ultimately want to make my mind and body stronger to contend with any stress that comes my way.

During times of stress;

 I get adjusted MORE.

I pray MORE.

I journal MORE.

I exercise MORE.

I sleep MORE.

I read MORE.

I chose to watch shows that make me laugh and I chose to eat better.

Listen to your body.  What is it saying and what do you need right now? If what you are watching, listening to or reading is causing you to lose sleep it is crucial you reevaluate what you are doing.  Making yourself sick serves no one.  As a Chiropractor my purpose is service to humanity.  How can I serve others if I’m not taking care of myself?

Many times in my adulthood, I’ve had to reevaluate my life which helped me make better choices.  I will be writing a series of articles to help you reevaluate where you are right now and where you want to go.  Remember, health is a work in progress but as long as we choose to take steps towards better health, we will reap the benefits. 

Practice members have asked us if we are returning to pre-covid scheduling policies. The answer is "No."

We will continue scheduling by appointment only through the end of 2020.

As a reminder, because we take care of a lot of people in our community, it is crucial that you cancel Massage and Chiropractic appointments immediately if you suffer from any of these following symptoms:

+Fever of over 100 degrees

+Difficulty Breathing, fatigue

+Cough

+Loss of taste and smell

or other Flu-like symptoms

(Please see the CDC website to learn more about CV-19 symptoms.)

If a person you have had contact with has these symptoms or tests positive, it is important you cancel your appointments immediately. You will not be charged the cancellation fee for your massage. You are welcome to schedule again once you receive a negative CV-19 test or symptoms are gone for 14 days.

Thank you for your understanding!

Everyone at BFC

Health Tip #3

Known as the immune system’s protective shield, Thieves is one of the best essential oils to use for self-care. It is a blend of cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, lemon, and rosemary. 

I personally use Thieves in one form or another every day, whether it is my Thieves toothpaste and floss or thieves lozenges.  You can use Thieves spray on pillow cases or as an air freshener.  I use Thieves Household Cleaner to clean toilets and floors and we use Thieves essential oil in the diffusers at the front desk and in the massage room. You can also consume Thieves in capsule form or put a few drops in a glass of water or stainless steel water bottle.  Thieves is so versatile, easy to use and it smells amazing.  

Not everyone realizes Thieves is consumable.  When I'm feeling run down and I need a lift, I make my own capsule of Thieves.  If you want a really powerful and potent combination, purchase capsules and fill with these essential oils:

Thieves

Frankincense 

Oregano

Lemon (There is already Lemon oil in Thieves, but I will add a few drops for the extra benefits of citrus.)

If you are interested in Thieves products and/or Young Living, let me know.  I've been a distributor for Young Living since 2008.

Yours in Health, 

Dr. Helena Beacom, DC

Health Tip #2

It is common in conversations hear things like, “It’s a virus, there is nothing you can do.”  What we have to start realizing is that every day we can have healthy habits that will keep our body healthy and also help us fight viruses and bacteria.  Our body is well equipped to do so.  Your immune system was made to take care of foreign particles and it does an amazing job every minute of every day.  Your immune system takes care of your body whether you have symptoms or not.  You benefit from a boost to your immune system with each adjustment, according to independent researcher Ron Pero which is a fabulous beneficial side effect to your care here.  People often ask me, “What can I do at home?” 

Here is Health Tip #2:

Consuming Coconut oil daily. 

In the 1980s, coconut oil was considered bad because it is fat.  That was the start of the low fat, high carbohydrate, trans-fat, boxed food generation.  However the make-up of coconut oil is similar to some of the fats that make up your brain tissue.  Now there are studies showing how the consumption of coconut oil helps to reverse some components of Alzheimer’s disease.

(Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28421789)

According to this study, at least two fatty acids in coconut oil, and their monoglycerides, have antiviral properties.  These components of coconut oil will cause breakdown of the virus membrane, inhibit virus maturation and prevent binding of the virus proteins to the host cell membrane.  In another small study, coconut oil consumption also showed an increase in immune system cells in HIV patients.

(Source: https://www.icp.org.ph/2020/01/the-potential-of-coconut-oil-and-its-derivatives-as-effective-and-safe-antiviral-agents-against-the-novel-coronavirus-ncov-2019/)

What is the best way to add Coconut oil to your diet? Buy organic, virgin coconut oil.  You can put coconut oil on toast or sauté food with it. Sometimes I take a spoonful of coconut oil and dip it into raw honey and eat it.  It is delicious!  I consume coconut oil in my coffee each morning. 

Dr. H’s Power Coffee

Brewed organic coffee of choice

Spoonful of coconut oil

Spoonful of honey (If you don't want sugar in your diet, omit the honey.)

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Milk of choice

Let coconut oil melt and blend all ingredients together, otherwise melted coconut oil will pool on the top of your coffee.  Enjoy!

I love to eat.  I love to try new foods.  People often assume I'm a vegetarian and I never eat meat or dessert. My husband is always amused by this! On Saturday we found a Persian restaurant in Grand Rapids.  I tried everything on the plate and I had to have the Baklava.  I enjoyed all of it with no regrets. 

Just for the record, my favorite thing to order at Old Channel Inn is the fried walleye and at Bone Ends is the Morningstar Chicken BBQ salad.  

I'm not afraid of food per se and I'm definitely not afraid of fat.  I eat coconut oil and a raw egg daily.  I consume fat from beef, chicken, pork and dairy.  I eat full fat Greek plain yogurt and if I drink milk I opt for full fat milk.  

WHY?

The brain and the nervous system are made of fat.  Cholesterol is one type of fat in your brain.  The fat in coconut oil is similar to fat in your brain.  There are studies using coconut oil to help with brain regeneration and it's showing promising results.  It has also been shown, people on long term cholesterol medications are prone to dementia.  The cholesterol meds do a great job of destroying the necessary cholesterol in the brain.  Hormones in the body also need fat to work properly.  By avoiding fat, you can set your body up for hormonal issues.

I am afraid of trans fat; aka Crisco.  I avoid hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats.  These fats scrape your blood vessel walls and are the cause of clogging of the arteries, not saturated fats.  How could a food item from a box ever be healthier then farm raised produce or meats?  It can't.

I am afraid of processed carbs.  I eat them sparingly.  I found when I eat chips at night before bed, I wake up feeling terrible.  It just isn't worth it to me.

Here are rules I follow:

I don't eat fast food.

I don't eat out often.

I don't drink soda.  I live on lemon water.

I rarely eat at night before bed.

We buy chicken, pork and beef directly from farmers that feed their animals right.

I avoid GMOs and eat as organic as possible. 

I limit sugar and processed carbohydrates (unless I'm in New York.  Then I enjoy every bite of pizza, bagels and Italian food.)

I don't count calories. I monitor but don't stress about my weight.  I stress more when I don't fit in my clothes right.  

I exercise three times a week.  Sometimes I exercise more but I don't stress about that either.  I recognize the more weight lifting and biking I do, the more muscle gain I will have.  Muscle weighs more then fat.  As a result, I will fit better in my clothes but possibly weight more.

I try hard to make my plate colorful.  Since my son prefers raw vegetables, it pushes me to eat more too.

I consume home made pickles, drink Kombucha and I love sauerkraut. We are canning more and more of our own home grown produce.

I like food too much to stress about it.  If I'm on vacation I allow myself to enjoy.  I listen to my body and try to balance eating what my body is asking for with trying different things. 

If I'm not happy with what I ate today, I remember tomorrow is new day.  

It is time to have a better relationship with food but to do that we have to start buying and consuming better food.  To purchase junk food and put it in your pantry and then try to avoid eating it is just too hard!  Stop putting it in your grocery cart and you will be one step closer to success. 

I choose food based on how I feel when I consume it.  If I feel like garbage I really limit that food item.  I let myself enjoy "bad" foods in moderation.  I make them the minority of my diet and focus on what foods I really feel good eating.  The more you do this, the more you crave the good stuff!

The details of nutrition can be quite overwhelming but making one change at a time isn't that hard if you want it bad enough.  We are never too old to make changes to our diet and health.  

What you put in your body can also determine how fast you respond to care here at BFC.  You need proper nutritional building blocks to heal.  Eating real food will help your body in more ways then you can imagine!