CAN CHIROPRACTIC WELLNESS CARE REALLY BE THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH? ...STUDIES SAY "YES"

Chiropractic Influence on Oxidative Stress and DNA Repair

There is a growing body of evidence that wellness care provided by doctors of chiropractic may reduce health care costs, improve health behaviors, and enhance patient perceived quality of life. Until recently, however, little was known about how chiropractic adjustments affected the chemistry of biological processes on a cellular level.

In a landmark study published this week in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (JVSR), chiropractors collaborating with researchers at the University of Lund found that chiropractic care could influence basic physiological processes affecting oxidative stress and DNA repair. These findings offer a scientific explanation for the positive health benefits reported by patients receiving chiropractic care.

The researchers measured serum thiol levels in 21 patients under short-term chiropractic care and 25 patients under long-term chiropractic care. The results were compared to those of a non-chiropractic treated control group of 30 subjects. Long-term chiropractic care of two or more years was shown to re-establish a normal physiological state independent of age, sex, or nutritional supplements. Symptom-free or primary wellness subjects under chiropractic care demonstrated higher mean serum thiol levels than patients with active disease, and produced some values that were higher than normal wellness values.

Serum thiols are primary antioxidants, and serve as a measure of human health status. The test provides a surrogate estimate of DNA repair enzyme activity, which has been shown to correlate with lifespan and aging.

Dr. Christopher Kent, one of the authors explained, "Going through life, we experience physical, chemical, and emotional stress. These stresses affect the function of the nervous system. We hypothesized that these disturbances in nerve function could affect oxidative stress and DNA repair on a cellular level."

"Oxidative stress, metabolically generating free radicals, is now a broadly accepted theory of how we age and develop disease," Kent continued. "Oxidative stress results in DNA damage, and inhibits DNA repair. DNA repair is the mechanism which fixes the damage caused by environmental impact."

Chiropractors apply spinal adjustments to correct disturbances of nerve function. "Chiropractic care appears to improve the ability of the body to adapt to stress," continued Kent.

The study was a collaborative involving Camgen, Inc. of Victoria, B.C. Canada; Chiropractic Leadership Alliance in Mahwah, NJ; Biomedical Diagnostic Research, LLC in Chesterland, Ohio; and Department of Cell and Molecular Biology of Tumor Immunology, University of Lund, Sweden.

JVSR is a peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to subluxation-based chiropractic research affiliated with the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA), an international organization representing doctors of chiropractic. WCA promotes the traditional, drug-free and non-invasive form of chiropractic as a means of correcting vertebral subluxations that cause nerve interference. By Medical News TODAY, March 07, 2005

Your Maximized Health Mentor,

Dr. Craig

A Boy, Antidepressants, and Murder!

Depression is tough. There’s no more challenging part of life than to have your physiology working against your emotions and causing you to live in a world and a mind you don’t feel like you fit into. Today, doctors and drug companies have convinced hundreds of millions of people that they have a disease that needs a drug. Long gone are the days of therapy and getting to the underlying cause of the problem.

Science shows that the truth of the matter is that the chemical imbalance that induces depression is a side effect and not the cause. There’s a reason the imbalance is there and just attempting to put a patch on it with powerful, mind-altering drugs known for extremely dangerous side-effects is not a good solution. There are a number of causes of chemical imbalance such as: chronic stress, emotional trauma, physical trauma, inadequate nutrient intake, a lack of fitness, severe spinal subluxation, and toxicity. These are areas that should be addressed first when treating depression.

According to an article by the Associated Press, a teenager, Christopher Pittman, contends antidepressants drove him to kill his grandparents. "I took everything out on my grandparents, who I loved so very much," wrote Christopher. "When I was lying in my bed one night, I couldn't sleep because the voice in my head kept echoing through my mind, telling me to kill them."

Joe Pittman, the father of Christopher, believes his son killed because his sense of right and wrong was clouded by Zoloft, an anti-depressant drug. Christopher was living with Joe Pittman's parents in hopes of turning his life around. Christopher told defense experts he felt abandoned by his mother and his relationship with his father was rocky. A month before the slayings, Christopher was hospitalized in Florida, where his father lives, after he threatened to kill himself. The boy was prescribed the anti-depressant Paxil, but soon another doctor prescribed Zoloft.

Karen Menzies, one of Christopher's lawyers and an attorney specializing in lawsuits against anti-depressant makers, said medical research has established support for the Zoloft defense. During the three years that Christopher has spent in jail awaiting trial, the FDA has become increasingly wary of doctors prescribing Zoloft and other antidepressants for children. In October, the agency ordered the medications to carry "black box" warnings — the government's strongest warning short of a ban — about increasing the risk of suicidal behavior in children. "The science has been out there for a while. The prescription drug companies have been able to hide it," Menzies said. In April, a Santa Cruz, CA jury acquitted a man of attempted murder after he assaulted his friend, then blamed the episode on Zoloft.

Christopher's maternal grandmother, Delnora Duprey, of Wildwood, FL said her grandson no longer uses any medication and is the "sweet, quiet, laid-back" boy she knew growing up. "He's the old Christopher again." She believes Zoloft is what caused Christopher to kill his grandparents because he loved them both, especially the grandfather he called "Pop-Pop."

Menzies said that Christopher is getting good grades and behaving behind bars. Duprey says the "whole entire family is behind Christopher 150%."

Stress management, testing to see if there are food allergies and heavy metal poisoning, addressing toxic intake of bad food choices, herbal formulas, exercise, chiropractic care, and actual counseling by trained mental health professionals, and not drugs, are the first steps to recovery. All of these things alone or combined have proven benefits. In fact, double-blind studies comparing placebos or exercise to anti-depressants always reveal same or similar results. . .without the violence.

Your Maximized Health Mentor,

Dr. Craig