Part of our services at Haas Chiropractic is to evaluate life styles and eating habits of our patients. We put together diet surveys which I evaluate and determine if the patient needs First Line Therapy, which we have two certified Lifestyle Therapists to assist with our patients nutritional needs.

The most common denominator in our patients profile is sugar. Americans have become so dependent upon dietary sugar that many health care professionals are considering it our country's number one addiction.

In the 1980's and 90's, the average American's sugar consumption was 20 pounds annually. Today the annual consumption is 156 pounds annually despite the increase in public awareness of it's harmful effects. Paralleling this increase of sugar rides obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, all related to excess sugar.

Sugar damages the body by creating a rapid release of insulin and a quick rise and fall of blood sugar. Chronic use causes insulin resistance which can lead to higher levels of glucose and insulin.

In addition, consumption of excess dietary carbohydrates can stimulate fat generation, resulting in elevated cholesterol, and increased VAT (visceral adipose tissue) which is linked to cardiovascular disease, increased inflammation and metabolic syndrome.

Excess sugar consumption also effects dental health, immunity (impairs the body's resistance to infections), Candida (yeast overgrowth), and can influence mental and emotional wellbeing such as attention disorders, depression and anxiety.  (pop in schools?)

Realizing that reducing sugar intake could have positive effects all across the health spectrum, the first step would be to identify what the sources are in your diet.

Plain sugar and sweet foods like pastries and candy only contribute about 10% of overall sugar intake. Higher contributers include sweetened beverages like soda and juices as well as sauces and dressings.

So read the lables on processed foods. you may see sugar listed three or four times using different names like fructose, dextrose, corn syrup, sucrose aand cane sugar.

HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) may be especially damaging as clinical research now shows that HFCS may present more health risks than regular cane sugar.

For those of you that take sugar substitutes, (artificial sweeteners) promote weight gain and interfere with appetite control mechanisms causing you to feel hungry and eat more.

In conclusion, people should regulate their intake of food, read labels, and make more meals at home. Use natural varieties of sweetners like stevia, agave, molasses, honey, fruit and cane sugar. Remember portion sizes in relation to your body size. I always remember the example of a father and son going to an ice cream parlor and both ordering the same size ice cream when the father is four times the size of the son.

Dr. Rick Haas 

The Gallup Organization preformed a nationwide demographic study to determine opinions of users and non-users of chiropractic services. Overall, 90% felt that chiropractic health care was effective: more than 80% were satisfied with the treatment they recieved; 75% felt that most of their expectations were met during their series of visits. Then, 68% said they would likely see a doctor of chiropractic again for treatment of a similar condition, 50% would likely see a doctor of chiropractic for some other problem chiropractors treat, and nearly 80% of the chiropractic users felt that the cost of chiropractic treatment was reasonable.

The RAND Corporation Study found for overall care, 92% of the patients choose the care as either excellent or the best. This was a Los Angeles Patient Satisfaction Study.

Canadian Armed Forces Pilot Project in Military Medicine 2006 at the Archie McCallum Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, stated: 94.2% of the military personnel and referring physicians 80% expressed satisfaction with chiropractic services.

Another review in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2006, confirmed the findings elsewhere in the literature. Of the 23% of the adult population who have visited a chiropractor, overall rates of satisfaction are once again quite high. Eighty-three percent of the patients were satisfied or better and less than 10% was dissatisfied, which is quite low. This is remarkable given the fact that much of the financial burden of care was borne by patients and the majority of care was for difficult chronic problems of the neck and back.

Lastly, Consumer Reports in May 2009, stated that 88% of those who tried chiropractic manipulation said it helped a lot, and 59% were completely or very satisfied with their chiropractor.

In revieving the safety of cervical adjusting: no one pays closer attention to injury statistics than Malpractic Insurance Carriers. Chiropractors pay the lowest premiums of any physician. Specific safety studies performed by Scott Haldeman MD/DC reviewed malpractice claims over a ten year period for 134.5 million cervical manipulations showed 23 cases of stroke or vertebral artery dissection and of this group 10 of the patients had complicating facors of high blood pressure, use of oral contraceptives, and a history of smoking, all of which are associated with vascular disease.

The actual incidence of stroke or VAD following cervical manipulation was found to be one per 5.85 million cervical adjustments. That means the average chiropractor could work for 1430 years before they might be involved with this type of litigation. Chiropractic is very safe.

The World Health Organization states that 1800 class hours in manipulation are necessary before medical doctors can claim to offer chiropractic manipulation. In the last five years, other professionals have been manipulating.  If they do, they should be held to the high standands of the chiropractic profession.

Haas Chiropractic Clinic has always had high standards on initial and followup examinations. This is what is best for the safety and outcomes of our patients. You wouldn't build a house without a plan, and you don't start treating without an examination first. The more information we have on the patient, the better we are able to serve their needs.

Dr. Richard W. Haas DC, FACO

Tension headaches are a pain in the head due to a variety of different reasons. This type of headache is most commonly located at the scalp, temples or the back of the neck.

Tension headaches are a very common health complaint which I find on over 50% of my patients' case history forms. Some patients have had headaches so long and so frequently that it is just normal for them to have headaches.

I would like to talk about the most common causes and the treatments we use at our office for tension headaches.

When patients come to our office for help with headaches, diagnosing the cause is like pealing an onion because the causes are so diverse. Usually, I start with Chiropractic care because that is our foundation of treatment. I don't promise anything, however, most patients get better with Chiropractic care alone.

If the spinal bones of the neck are not moving or supporting the head properly, these misalignments can affect nerves, muscles, and even blood supply to your head.

There can also be a compensation reaction by structural imbalances in the pelvis and lower back which causes the upper spine and neck to put the head off center causing headaches.

The second area I look at is dehydration. Just not drinking enough filtered water can cause headaches. Water is a great diluter and detoxifier.

The next cause would come from the diet. What we eat cancause headaches, such as food allergies/sensitivites (usually it's your favorite food). Also, refined foods including caffine, soda poop, chocolate, all food additives, dairy products, red meats and alcohol.

This usually takes care of over 90% of the tension related headaches, however some other possible causes are: stress/anxiety, hormone imbalances, smoking, poor posture, toxic colon, candida, eye strain, artificial sweeteners, poor diet, heavy metal toxicity, TMJ disfunction, drug withdrawl, poor sleeping patterns, constipation, vitamin A overdosing and high blood pressure.

For most people tension headaches are not something you have to live with. Check out our web-site for more information on how you can be helped.

Dr. Richard Haas

Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice and cereals. Most of these foods are also high in starch. Charbohydrates are not essential nutrients because the body can obtain it's energy from protein and fats, but they are a simple form of energy.

So why are refined carbohydrates bad for you?

When carbohydrates are refined, nearly all of the vitamins, minerals and fiber are removed leaving only calories. Certain products like flour and sugars are refined, then enriched, meaning about 33 nutrients are removed and enriching adds four to six nutrients back into the product. I used to work at a bread factory going through college and can personally attest to that fact.

By consuming a large amount of refined carbohydrates, we are eating nutrient deficient foods and gaining calories. We fill up our stomachs as we starve our bodies nutritionally.

Sugar statistics which are referenced in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Scientific American and the Lancet are:

1) Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious diseases, 2) Sugar causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with the absorbtion of calcium and magnesium. 3) Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function. 4) Sugar can lower vitamin E levels. 5) Sugar can interfere with your absorbtion of protein, 6) Sugar can change the way proteins act in your body. 7) Sugar can make your tendons more brittle. 8) Sugar can cause headaches including migraines. 9) Sugar can alter brain waves which can affect your ability to think clearly. 10) Sugar can cause depression.

So how do you determine if something is a refined carbohydrate?

Look at the ingredients on the label. The ingredients are listed by weight. The higher the weight, the closer to the first ingredient on the list.Words like wheat flour ( as opposed to whole wheat flour), corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and sugar are the most common. These products are typically high in calories and very low in nutrients.

Like exercise, it is the consistency of life style the 365 days of the year that make the difference.

Our office is certified in First Line Therapy which focuses on life style changes and medical foods to improve body composition. Start the year off right and give one of our certified lifestyle educators a call to get you on the road to better health.

Dr. Richard Haas

You may have heard the phrase glycemic index on foods and weight loss programs. Glycemic index is the rate which the food breaks down into glucose in your system. This is important because a high rise in blood glucose triggers the insulin to rise which carries the glucose into the cells of the body. When the insulin response becomes too frequent due to continuous high glycemic food intake, the cells of your body build up a resistance to insulin. This is called insulin resistance which can lead to Type 2 Diabetes. Obesity and cardiovascular disease can be the end result. High glycemic foods also cause a craving for more food. This can lead to excess body fat and weight gain.

Generally, low glycemic foods are healthier because they are whole foods like vegetables and fruits with higher fiber content. This allows the body to digest the food slower which helps you feel more satisfied. These foods break down the sugar slower which makes your system function better with smaller blood sugar swings.

Food combining can help reduce the rate at which glucose is make. By adding a low glycemic food to a high glycemic food you now have a medium glycemic food which is less stressful to your system.

You can Google glycemic foods to get an idea of the foods that would best suit your needs. Remember proper portion sizes this holliday season.

Dr. Rick