Mick’s up With Germs

Have you noticed lots of people out sick at work and school, during this past couple of months?  I have.  In fact, at our office, we've all noticed.  I overheard one of my coworkers ask, “Why is everyone sick right now?”  So, I decided this would be a good topic for a Mick’s up Life.

Let’s think about it for a minute. 

With all the many different celebrations going on over a 2 month period, candy and desserts are everywhere!  Not many of us can say we didn't sneak a candy or two from the Halloween bowl.  At Thanksgiving time, so many wonderful homemade desserts surround us (not to mention the carbs ingested before we even reach dessert), and then during Christmastime, we are bombarded from both sides, with candy in the stockings and punch and pastries on the table.

My neighbor friend and I were just talking about this.  Sugar is the main ingredient of those beloved confections, and as we know, sugar is an inflammatory, dragging down our immune systems.

Next, let’s step outside to take a look at the temperature.  With the chill in the air, some of us get scared inside to snuggle up (with a sugar-laden hot chocolate and/or latte, perhaps?), cozily soaking in the glow of the lights of the season… when we’re not scrambling for time to run the kidderz to their new school-year events, shopping for all those aforementioned celebrations, and running to parties, plays, and just plain busy-ness of the holiday season.  With all that happening, how many of us are keeping up with our exercise routines?  Plus, we are trying to cram so many activities into a day, we might not even be getting the amount of sleep (or at least not good sleep!) that we need.  Again, our immune systems are jeopardized.

Oh, can you step outside with me one more time?  When you feel that chill, what do you notice yourself doing?  Do your shoulders tense up?  Are you rubbing your arms to keep warm?  I am!  (In fact, I was doing that at my desk at work for a while, until the temperature got regulated.)  You know what else?  The season, along with my job, keep me at the computer longer.  Do I have perfect posture at the computer?  No!  Do you?  Maybe for a short period of time, but if you’re there, or in any position, for an extended length of time, you just might find your upper back and neck getting tight, stiff, and uncomfortable.

When we are tense in our upper backs and necks, do you know what might be going on inside?  There is more opportunity for our vertebrae to shift out of place.  Do you know where the nerves serving your sinuses and face and throat are directed from?  That’s right!  Those vertebrae that are being affected by the tight muscles have a very close relationship to those nerves.  Hmmmm… yes, you probably guessed it.  If there is pressure on the nerves in that region, you could be finding yourself having sinus issues, headaches, throat problems, etc.  For that reason alone, a visit to your chiropractor would be a wonderful gift to yourself, not to mention a boost to your immune system.

Yes, those things did happened to me this season, too.  I fought off a nasty cold and fever, but it was a quick, easy fight.  I got myself back on track (and drank lots of extra water!), keeping the immune system enemies at bay, especially sugar.  It’s really amazing how much quicker the healing process is, when sugar is taken out of the equation.

So, let’s try to be sure this is a jolly season. 

• Let's reduce stress during these months, no matter how crazy things get, and that includes minimizing physical stress (you know, the posture thing we were just looking at)… and remember to sleep… sleep well.
• Say “Merry Christmas” to you our chiropractors more often at this time of year.  (In other words, schedule more visits.  This can help with the sleeping, too!) 
• Make better choices of what snacks we enjoy, foods we prepare, and drinks we consume, in order to eliminate (or at least minimize) sugar (look for alternatives, and be sure to read all ingredients!).
• Enjoy our coffees (again, look for alternatives for flavorings)  healthier hot chocolate (make your own mix), but in moderation, because as we know, nasty things thrive in an acidic environment, which these yummy concoctions do, unfortunately, promote. 
• Finally, let’s remember to take time to do some quick interval exercising (only 15 or fewer minutes of your day!), and be sure to fit in stretches.  (The stretches can help with that upper back/neck tension thing we previously touched on.)

As it is said, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

"When it snows, 

she has no fear for her household."

Proverbs 31:21 (NIV)

~

Mick’s Sum up with Toxins

Blah!  Blah!  Blah! 

Is that how you wish you could respond, when you hear people start talking about toxins? 

Me, too!

The problem is, I've learned too much in the last 1 ½ years to allow myself to ignore it.  It's a slow, agonizing death, to plead ignorance. 

Do I want my kidderz to end up like typical Americans:  sluggish and unmotivated, at best; fighting chronic disease, most likely; or worst-case, suffering and dying from cancer?  No way! 

I've found I can do something to try to help them avoid living like that, and so I'm on a mission to do so.

Recently, I overheard someone say, when approached by an Isagenix distributor talking about toxins, that they believe if we eat right, we can avoid toxicity, and so a detox is not a necessity.  Oh, dear!  If they only knew. 

That is what triggered me to write this post.  I want to offer some information, and put some resources in front of you, so you can make an educated decision for yourself.

Yes, eating right is one great way to keep the level of toxicity lower in the body.  However, most of us have already put toxins in our body since a young age, and we're still being bombarded every day with more!  Because of that, our bodies get overwhelmed with toxins, and they do their best, but still end up with challenges.

"With the increase of toxins within the environment and foods we eat, it is not surprising that the majority of people are at a level of toxicity that is past the point that the body's own natural detoxification system can cope with." - ecomall

As I listed out in Mick's up on Toxicity, there is a multitude of challenges you could be facing, due to toxicity.  Inflammation plays a big part.  Plus, our bodies are meant to be in a neutral state, but we tend toward acidic.  Toxins, food choices, etc., increase the acidity, and so nutrition can help with swinging the pendulum more toward alkaline.  However, that is not the topic I'm focusing on at this point.

Not only is it the obvious stuff that causes toxicity in our bodies, but it's the sneaky stuff, too:  candy and sugar, artificial sweeteners, fillings, chemicals, vaccinations, antibiotics and other medicines, grains, processed foods, deoderants, soaps and detergents, cosmetics.  The list goes on and on, but don't get overwhelmed.  Just start somewhere!

Do you want to go days, weeks, months without a headache?  Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?  Do swollen, achy joints drag you down?  Are you living in a fog?  Does the thought of living with Alzheimer's scare you?  Are you wondering if... when... you will hear the doctor say the word, "cancer!?"

You don't have to sit around and let these things happen to you.  You are not a victim, or at least you don't have to live like one.  Take some precautions, and make some first steps to changing your lifestyle for the better.  I won't lie.  It's not easy... but it can be simple.

Why do I believe you can't just rely on eating the right foods to keep you from being toxic?  "Your fat cells can accumulate numerous types of toxins." - Tom Venuto

"Body fat functions as a storage mechanism not only for things you need -- such as essential vitamins -- but also things you can do without: environmental toxins, for example. A significant loss of body fat sometimes evacuates some of these stored toxins into the blood or tissues. While it's not possible to avoid environmental pollutants, the benefits of body fat loss far outweigh the potential risk of releasing toxins from the fat cells." - Emma Roberts (Livestrong)

"The highly intelligent immune system will not allow the removal of excess fat and water if the level of toxins that is stored in the fat and water may put your life in jeopardy by their release into the bloodstream." - Healing Naturally by Bee

What this is telling us is that the toxins are stored in our body, unless we do something to get rid of them.

So, what is a person to do?  One thing, the person I mentioned above was correct in saying, to watch your food intake, BUT I must also add... detox your body.  Because I know I'm surrounded by toxins, and because I know I splurge now and then (eating sugary foods), I prefer to detox on a daily basis.  I mention some resources in in Mick's Sum-up for the Week.  (Hint: The picture in today's post has something to do with an ingredient used in most detox protocol.)

I encourage you to look into it.  My hope is that you're not still thinking, "Blah!  Blah!  Blah!"

On a side note, but not at all less important, I must go on to say...

Even though we work hard to live healthy lives, we do eventually die.  (It's worth doing our best to live at our best, so we can pass on the message of the Gospel and build up the kingdom of God.)  So, we must put effort into planning for our eternity, too.  We might suffer here on earth, but we don't have to suffer for eternity.  Make the right choices now.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth

into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 

who through faith are shielded by God’s power

until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 

In all this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith

—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—

may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 

Though you have not seen him, you love him;

and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him

and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 

for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.



1 Peter 1:3-9

~

What’s the Mick’s up on Sugar and Toxicity

As we learned from Dr. Fred Roberto in Mick's up on Fuel, sugar acts as a toxin to our “amazing human engine.”  If something causes inflammation, or acidity, or addiction, wouldn’t you consider it a toxin?

“I was so shocked to find out how toxic and poisonous many experts believed it was…. From what I read, I was also encouraged to understand that I wasn't just some freak that had no self-control, sugar was actually doing things in my body that was causing me to crave it like an addict.” (Samantha Taylor – Sugar Addiction Solution)

When comparing people’s lives before and after sugar, the negative effects on the body with and the positive benefits without sugar are certainly obvious.

For you moms out there:  “I have a 5 year old and we were having a hard time getting him to listen, he was bouncing off the walls; he was driving me crazy.  When I started to get free from sugar I thought maybe it would help my son as well so I stopped giving him all the sugary snacks.  Right away I noticed a change in his behavior, all of a sudden he was calming down and he is listening better.  It's amazing how much easier it is being a mom and I am also amazed at how much less sick my kids get now; less fevers and colds.” (Kim - former sugar addict for 20 years)


For those of you dealing with headaches and/or other health issues:  “I felt really unhealthy; I just didn't feel good, it was hard to get out of bed, I was having a hard time concentrating and I had a headache every day.  I literally thought if the way I felt continues, I didn't know how I was going to make it through the next five years.  I felt so bad, I even went to a doctor to see if something was wrong with me and he didn't find anything.  It never occurred to me that sugar was causing these problems…. Now… I have lost the last 15 lbs that I could NOT lose for 10 years, I have more energy so I can run 3 miles a day, I feel good about myself, no more headaches and I am happy.” (Kathy – former sugar addict for over 40 years)

Another interesting thought is addiction to caffeine.  Be careful with that, too.  A lot of times, caffeine is accompanied by sugar, as in energy drinks.  Some warnings about those are in the USAToday article "Young athletes and energy drinks: A bad mix?"  If we’re taking care of our bodies with good nutrition and correct sleep, we should not need sugar and caffeine to keep us going.  If a recovery drink is needed, choose coconut water, which is a healthier choice and doesn’t include the negativity of sugar and caffeine. Think long-term.  Think of your cellular health.

I hope by now you’re convinced of the urgency to decrease your sugar intake.  When you choose to do so…  “Remember you are detoxing off a poisonous substance…your body was all out of whack from having blood sugar spikes to insulin surges, and your body needs some time to balance back out.” (Samantha Taylor - Sugar Addiction Specialist)

Do your body a favor.  Lay off the sugar!

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

Exodus 20:3 (NIV)

~