May is Here!

Next to Fall, this is my favorite season.  It is kind of  like the first couple of days of the State Fair when everything is fresh and clean and smells brand new!

In that same vein, I have brought you a new and fresh ENewsletter.  I think that you will enjoy this issue!  Some of the material you may already have heard about or been aware of, but there is material in this newsletter that I know that you have never thought about.  Even I learned some things writing this ENews.

I have revisited the topic of herbal therapy.  I cannot stress enough that herbs are drugs and they should be given the respect that they deserve.  Just because something is reported to be natural does not mean it is safe, especially when you combine it with prescription drugs.  I know that some patients think that it is empowering not to tell their doctor about other treatments they are doing, but it is foolish and dangerous.

I know that no one likes to be told how to take care of 'their own person', but when you read the article on hygiene, it may help you to change your mind just a bit.  I have a plaque hanging in my clinic bathroom that says, "Germs Spread Disease Without Prejudice. Please wash your hands".  I would encourage you follow the 4 guides and stay as healthy as you can be!

Eileen brings you a fabulous artichoke salsa this month.  It stands alone and it also goes with just about anything you can cook.  You will like this one!

I have included new information on the significance of whiplash trauma.  Research continues to support chiropractic's claim that it is more than a simple sprain or strain.  Whiplash actually makes your body work differently.

Finally, I think that I have laid to rest some of the ideas that people may have regarding our ability to actually 'detoxify' our bodies.  The body is really in charge of that process and I think that we often are simply getting in the way in our attempts to fix what isn't broken!

I hope you like what you read!

Dr. Frisch

How Safe is 'Natural'?

As a chiropractor, I am considered by many to be a 'natural health' practitioner.  This essentially means that I do not prescribe or administer drugs during the course of a patient's treatment.  I do not mind being called a natural healer, but that is fairly self-limiting and somewhat inaccurate!  I do suggest drug use with some patients, if their condition will improve and resolve faster or more completely with the use of a drug.  Does this make me a traitor among the ranks of true natural practitioners?  Maybe, but I think that I can live with that moniker!  There may be risks with using drugs, but the risks taken by 'natural practitioners' may be just as great and you may not know it!

Drugs in their essential forms are often plant or bacteria-based.  Penicillin, you must remember, originated from mold, which is a living thing.  How much more natural can you get than being 'alive'?  Current drug research, however, often does use synthetic properties to make the drugs that benefit our society.  At that point, technically, they have left the 'natural' model of care and entered the synthetic model of intervention. They still do, however, apply chemistry concepts to improve the living organism...YOU!  

One of the greatest fears of the medical profession is that they might administer a drug (chemistry) to you, which has an adverse reaction because you may not have told them that you are taking a 'natural' supplement.  In a study published in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy¹ it was found that 12.9%-13.9% of elderly people take herbal supplements, with glucosamine, echinacea, and garlic being the most common.  That might not seem like a big deal, but it was reported that 50.9% of the national respondents did not tell their medical doctor that they were taking supplements.  

Adverse side-effects can and do occur when taking supplements.  They are not to be used like candy, but they unfortunately often are.  Liver failure is one of the more common side-effects of herb usage.  Ginkgo biloba, as an example, is a natural herb that is used to 'improve brain function and memory, reduce vertigo (dizziness) and ringing in the ears.  Ginkgo, though, has a fairly strong inhibition of platelets and those people already on blood thinners are at a great risk for hemorrhage.  There was a recently published study by the University of Arizona Health Services Center and the Sarver Heart Center² that echoed the interactions between Ginkgo and prescription mediation.  Ginkgo can be dangerous when used wrong.

A 2006 study published by the University Medical Center in Princeton stated that of 121 patients studied, 61% took daily supplements and a large number took more than one.  Within that distinct group, 12% of the patients were at a great risk for drug interactions and they did not know it!

As I leave this topic, I would like to stress to each of you that you share with your doctor what you are putting in your mouth.  You may think that you are doing the right thing, but your actions may actually put your life at risk.  After all, who would have thought that the leaves of a tomato plant, often used for rheumatic conditions, could be responsible for a rapid heart rate, breathing disturbances, spasming and at higher doses....death!  Be smart and tell your doctor what home-health interventions you do use. Your life may depend on it!

1. Bruno, J., Ellis, J. 2005. Herbal use among US elderly: 2002 National Health Interview Survey. Ann Pharmacother. April 39(4): 643-8. 

2. Bressler, R. 2005. Herb-drug interactions: interactions between Ginkgo biloba and prescriptions medications. Geriatrics. April 60(4): 30-3.

Hygiene and Longevity

It used to be that when someone was classified as old they were usually retired, on Social Security and spent their winters 'down South'.  The 'New Old', however has completely shot that theory out of the water.  People are now working long past what used to be considered mandatory retirement.  They are also experiencing better overall health, while living longer than any previous generation.  It has been said that 50 is now the new 35!

While it is true that Medicine has implemented life-saving treatments for cancer and disease, the longevity of America's seniors probably can be better explained by improved sanitary conditions, a focus on diet and exercise and a simple thought process that includes 'being productive and having self-worth'.

I was raised in a household that heralded the line, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".  I don't suppose that having a couple of Laundromats in the family did any damage to that hypothesis, but good hygiene is probably the greatest, single thing that we could do to insure our own longevity.  Diseases like cholera, and malaria can be directly attributed to environmental sources like bad and contaminated water.  These are factors, however, that could be considered outside of our own control.  What I am talking about is how our personal neglect may lead to our own demise.

Washing your hands often is the easiest and most effective way to avoid diseases like colds and influenza.  If you don't believe this, why do you think that when you are sick and call to see your doctor, he or she is usually there, rather than home sick?  That's right, they wash their hands and use bactericide wipes countless times every day.  The simple act of shaking someone's hand can transmit a myriad of bacteria and viruses.  If you touch your eyes, nose or mouth after such a contact....pow...your get an eye infection, a mouth infection, a cold, the flu or worse.  Seniors will usually have better hand washing skills than younger people because younger people don't have enough life experience to realize the significance.  If a young person gets sick, it might mean a day off of work, but if a senior gets sick, it might mean a trip to the hospital and a recovery period in the nursing home.

Brushing your teeth helps to insure that you reduce bacteria in your mouth, under your gums, and in your body.  Gum disease simply means that you have bacteria under your gum line that is not being removed and it is festering.  It results in a loss of bone around the tooth and a weakening of the ligaments that actually hold your teeth in place (Who knew teeth had ligaments?).  If the bacteria infect and erode the tooth area it is called gingivitis/periodontitis and you will need a trip to the periodontist to clean the area and, hopefully, save the tooth.  If the bacteria have done too much damage, you will lose the tooth (or teeth); too much loss and you will end up with dentures!  Everyone hears that smoking is bad for your teeth, but the real reason smoking is bad is that it allows more bacteria under the gum line and it starts the erosion process, even if you brush your teeth 20 times a day!  Research continues to find a substantial link between heart disease and gum disease.  I am not sure if they have quite decided if people who have better oral hygiene also eat better, exercise, get enough sleep, etc and, therefore, have less heart disease or if there is a direct autoimmune or disease process that ties the two together.  Either way, a credible link has been established.

Take a shower and wear clean clothes each day.  We have a multitude of organisms that live in and on our bodies (I know it sounds yucky, but it is true!).  Some of those bugs are necessary and actually keep us healthy, while other organisms that hop on for the ride can make us sick.  We can actually be the vehicle that moves a specific 'disease' around.  Here is an example, the Veterinary School at Purdue University published a paper in 2004 (Vet Microbiol., Nov) that described how we as humans actually carry hoof and mouth disease and infect animals, rather than the other way around.  By not showering, wearing dirty clothes and not washing their hands, researchers were found to even carry the virus in their nasal secretions.  They were infecting healthy animals!   This is only one disease that can be transmitted by humans.  E Coli, Norovirus (think cruise ship), and Influenza viruses are some common others.  Here is a laundry tip for you.  Simply washing your dirty clothes may not be enough to kill the bugs that travel with you.  Research has shown that the heat generated with tumble drying kills many more bad bugs on freshly washed clothes, which are not eliminated by line drying. 

The four simple actions that I have stated will lessen the chances of contracting a disease yourself or sharing a disease with someone else.  These topics seem so simple, but after treating patients for 20 years, I can tell you that a large majority of the population does not follow these criteria.  If you are a patient of mine, you know that I pray for 1- 2 snowstorms each winter.  When people are forced to stay home and not infect society for a couple of days, we do not see the volume of diseases in the Spring and Summer that we do in the Winter, hence the term, 'cold and flu season'.  I think that if we all practice better personal hygiene, we can lessen a number of  active diseases every year.

Research continues to show us what we are doing right and wrong in the area of hygiene and longevity.  Living a long life is nice, but living a long life that is healthy is better!

Eileen's Corner

 "Here is a nice Spring dish that you will fall in love with.  It is tangy and sweet with just a little bite.  It will be gone faster than you can make it!"

Artichoke Salsa

  (Makes 3+ cups)

 Ingredients:

1- 12 ounce jar of artichoke hearts
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil- liberal coat

Truffle/olive oil  spray- spray lightly (optional)

1 shallot- diced
1 small bunch of green onions chopped.  Do chop some of the green ends also, they add color and flavor.
Chopped fresh Cilantro leaves. A nice sized palm-full.

3-4 Fresh Basil Leaves- finely chopped
Liberal kosher salt            
Liberal fresh black pepper      

Liberal Lowry’s Garlic salt.

Juice of ¼ lemon.

Blending Directions:

"I like to make and present this pretty dish in the same glass bowl."   

Blend the ‘hard’ ingredients first (red and green onion, shallot).

Blend in the oils. 

Add the chopped herbs (Basil, Cilantro).

Add in the soft ingredients (tomato and artichoke) and gently blend.

Squeeze the lemon, add salt and pepper and finish with Lowry’s.

Combine well, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

This salsa makes a great chip dip and side-dish with eggs; or simply rest a crab cake on a mound of salsa for an upscale meal!

Enjoy!

Eileen

Auto Crash Research

Most people seem to think the a crash has to be at a high speed or that a lot of damage must be sustained to a vehicle to sustain injury.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Injuries result from a combination of speed, positioning of the body and mass at the time of impact.  The threshold needed for trauma is actually under 10 miles per hour!  

Whiplash is a distinct entity that injures the supporting structures of the neck and head.  This includes, but is not limited to the ligaments, discs, muscles and even the spinal cord.  The pain generated as a result of whiplash is also a distinct entity.

A recent Swedish study¹ investigated the level of blood flow in the brains of people suffering with chronic pain.  It had been proposed that chronic pain disrupted normal cerebral blood flow and that it might explain part of the process of chronic pain and whiplash.  The study, however, had some interesting findings.

Those persons who had chronic neck pain of a non-specific origin, actually did have altered cerebral blood flow.  The test subjects who had sustained whiplash and also had chronic pain, did not have an altered blood flow in their brains.

This means that the chronic pain process of a whiplash is a distinct and different type of pain process.  Whiplash pain, then, cannot be classified as basic chronic pain, it is different!

A second Swedish study performed in 2006 determined that those people who have sustained a true whiplash have an  altered shoulder proprioception.²  Proprioception is the the functioning ability of a joint in space and the direct ability of an individual to control that function.  Individuals suffering with whiplash are impaired in their ability to control normal arm function.

Impaired function of the arms may be a direct result of trauma sustained to the exiting path of the nerve from the neck.  Small exit holes called foramen are found at each vertebra level.  When the supporting structures are injured, then the foramen are altered and the exiting nerve may be traumatized.  A Yale University study found that this is the exact process that happens on rear-collision  impact.³  They determined that the impact of a collision loaded the joints differently than normal force.  This caused a 'shearing' and destabilizing of the facets and foramen. The C5-6 and C6-7 nerve levels control arm function and these are the most common levels injured in rear-end crashes.  If you have had a crash, fast or slow, and you are getting arm symptoms, this is most likely what has happened.

Whiplash is serious business, luckily enough chiropractic exists and is the most effective treatment for whiplash.  This is not just my opinion, research confirms this fact as well.  If you have been injured or wonder if you have sustained trauma, call your chiropractor!

1. Sundstrom, T., Guez, M., Hildingsson, C., Toolanen, G., Nyberg, L., Riklund, K. 2006. Altered cerebral blood flow in chronic neck pain patients but not in whiplash patients: a (99m)Te-HMPAO rCBF study. European Spine Journal. April.

2. Sandlund, J., Djupsjobacka, M., Ryhed, B., Hamberg, J., Bjorklund, M. 2006. Predictive and discriminative value of shoulder proprioception tests for patients with whiplash-associated disorders. Journal of Rehabilitative Medicine. January. 38(1): 44-9.

3. Panjabi, M., Maak, T., Ivancic, P., Ito, S. 2006. Dynamic intervertebral foramen narrowing during simulated rear impact. Spine. March. 31(5):E128-34.

Detoxification

I had originally planned this space for a review of new research on vitamin therapy, but I have been having so many patients asking me about all of the supposed detoxification treatments on the internet that I felt that took precedence.  

Now that Spring is sprung, everyone wants to get back in shape and lose that extra 5, 10, or 20 lbs that they accumulated over the Winter.  Health clubs are not ignorant of this.  That is why they offer 'get back in shape' packages.  Insurance companies are aware of this too.  Blue Cross/ Blue shield even offers financial rewards for working out regularly at a health club.  For every legitimate method of getting back in shape, however, there are probably 5-10 fast gimmicks that won't help you get healthy and will merely help to relieve you of some of your hard-earned money.

One of the trends that I have been following lately is the 'Detoxification' of America.  People are being told that they must detoxify their systems if they want to be healthy and they are being told that it can be accomplished by eating herbs, swallowing a pill, soaking their feet and even inhaling gases.  Unfortunately, even the best intentioned person can be fooled by slick marketing.

Before I go any further, let me simply explain the detoxification process in your own body.  You have two very efficient methods of detoxification within your body; one is the Liver (blood) and the other is the Kidneys (urinary).  There are other micro-processes that aid in detoxification, but your kidneys and liver are the main detoxifiers once something is already in your body.  The intestine is for nutrient absorption of what you eat.  What isn't used is pushed through the bowel and out.  The lungs and skin act as barriers to prevent substances from entering in the first place and they are really not part of the detox process. 

Medicine has been working for decades on detoxification methods, but serious research has shown true detoxification success to be minimal to non-existent, with the exception of trying to clear a drug (opiates) out of the blood stream to lessen withdrawal symptoms.  That, however, is not what most people are after.  They just want to be healthier and 'clean out their system'.  

The body actually takes care of itself just fine and any outside attempts to detoxify a substance(s) are usually very ineffective.  A significant number of research studies agree with this line of thinking.

The Journal of Toxicology and Clinical Toxicology (1999) reported a study, in which an attempt was made to use anti-opiate medication to detoxify 12 patients, while the patients were under anesthesia.  It sounded good in theory, but it was totally ineffective and 48hours later there were still drugs in the addict's systems.  Not only did the attempt not detoxify the body of drugs, two patients suffered from kidney failure, one experienced respiratory failure and all suffered with a suppression of thyroid hormones as a direct result of the attempted detoxification.

A German study published in January of 2006 investigated the effects of environmental tobacco smoke on children.  They  were able to detect and label more than one gene responsible for detoxifying the body of environmental (second-hand) cigarette smoke.  When the gene was genetically altered or damaged, an inflammatory reaction ensued.  This resulted in asthma and bronchitis.  If the genes were functioning normally, enzymes cleared the body of the toxins without any outside help! (That's pretty neat!)

There are many more published studies that test the theory of detoxifying the body, but to date, the body is very capable of detoxifying itself and the studies usually fail to provide a reliable detoxification process.  Detoxification, on a general scale, happens through the vascular and urinary systems.  Exercise increases your metabolism and speeds blood flow; this may help clear toxins faster.  Vitamins can help your body to process more efficiently, but they will not speed the elimination of toxins faster than the body can process.  You may drink any number of potions or tonics, soak your feet in detoxifying solutions or sweat to your heart's content, but it does not actually detoxifying  the body...that process happens through the vascular and and excretatory systems.  If you are drinking the chalky substance to cleanse your colon, you are doing just that, cleaning out the tube, but you are not detoxifying the system.  Detoxification is a micro-regulated system that is probably out of your conscious control.

With this information in mind, you merely need to eat healthy, get your rest, exercise regularly and the body will do the rest!  If you see and read about wild claims to detoxify and heal your system, they are likely just that, wild claims.  If you are on an internet site, ask them for their published research.  Medical research is performed under rigid protocols and the results may be published.  "7 out of 10 doctors say"... is not real research!  Be careful of what you put into your body and what you do to it.  A foolish attempt to detoxify your body may result in a visit to a doctor, a mandatory hospital stay, or worse!  Be smart and be safe!

Have a Great Month!

Dr. Frisch