Eat This, Not That this Holiday Season (From Men's Health Magazine)

Eat Healthy this Holiday Season

From Men’s Health Magazine

            You’ve all heard it before; most people gain weight over the holiday season, and avoid those sugary and fatty foods at all costs if you don’t want to be making a new year’s resolution to lose weight. Well it’s true, the average person consume an extra 600 calories per day in the timeframe between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not only that, but due to the stresses of the holiday season and the hectic schedule, more people abandon their workout routine during this time, compounding the problem and adding to their weight gain. So when you’re making the decision about what you should or should not eat this year, here are a few better choices to make.

-          Worst Holiday Beverage: Hands down it’s Egg Nog, with an average of 350 calories and 19 grams of fat per serving. Switch it out for some homemade hot chocolate and you can save yourself 15 grams of fat, and it tastes better too!

-          Worst Holiday Appetizer: Crab Cakes. While certainly one of my favorites, these tasty bites pack a whopping 400 calories and 19 grams of fat per serving, and that’s before you add any sauces to the mix. Try a simple shrimp cocktail and save yourself over 200 calories and 18 grams of fat.

-          Worst Holiday Party Snack: Spinach and Artichoke dip. Now I know what your thinking, spinach and artichokes=healthy. But this dip blows any health benefits from the vegetables out of the water, packing an artery clogging 11 grams of saturated fat per serving! Try wrapping melon in prosciutto (Italian cured ham) and save yourself nearly 200 calories and one triple bypass!

-          Worst Holiday Side Dish: A baked potato with butter and sour cream. Depending on your portion size of butter and using full-fat sour cream, you could be looking at nearly 20 grams of fat almost all of which is saturated. Try chopping some red potatoes into ½ inch pieces, toss lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast them for 45 mins at 375 degrees. You’ll save nearly 300 calories and people will be amazed at your cooking skills!

-          Worst Holiday Main Course: Prime Rib. I know this might seem like blasphemy to some of you, but the old standby is one of the worst offenders, coming in at 750 calories and 45(!) grams of fat per serving. Try a simple beef tenderloin (if you can afford it) or stick with the turkey and you’ll save yourself lots of time in the gym come the new year.

-          Worst Holiday Dessert: Pecan Pie with Ice Cream. If you serve this, you might as well give out gym memberships for gifts, because at 65 grams of fat and 810 calories, you’d be better off eating the prime rib listed above. If you do need to have a dessert this holiday season, stick to fruit and maybe some frozen yogurt, your heart and your waistline will thank you.

A New Addition to the Aspire Family!

There's a new member of the Aspire Chiropractic Family! At 3:15 on December 1st, Dr. Brenda gave birth to a healthy 7 lb baby boy! Please help us in welcoming Jameson Higgins. Dr. Brenda and the new baby are both healthy and happy as she was only in labor for four hours, and managed to deliver a healthy baby WITHOUT the use of drugs or being at a hospital, as Jameson was delivered with the help of a midwife. The first thing he received once he was out of the womb? Not a vaccination, but an adjustment to get his power turned on! Way to go Dr. Brenda and Jameson!

Looking for Gift Ideas?

Purchase a Gift Certificate from Aspire!

Massage gift certificates are available for 30, 60 and 90 minute sessions with Andrea.

Purchase a gift certificate for First day services, First adjustment and a 30 minute massage.

Gift certificates for packages of adjustments are also available!

Give the gift of health with Aspire Chiropractic today.

Call (651)294-2332 for more details

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Have a safe and healthy holiday from your friends here at Aspire Chiropractic! Make healthy choices when eating and make sure you get your SURGE training in as well to work off those excess calories.

Happy Thanksgiving from Dr. Brenda, Dr. Matt and Andrea

Testimony of the Week and Thought for the Day

Grace, a 6 year-old female came to our office with bilateral earaches, pressure in both ears and a mild fever. She told us that her ears "feel funny" and it was hard to hear. She received one adjustment and her symptoms cleared up within one day!

Grace was exhibiting early symptoms of an ear infection, and had she visited her pediatrician, she would have likely received a course of antibiotics that may or may not have killed the bacteria causing her body to exhibit symptoms. She also would have most likely been prescribed a fever reducing medication, when fever is the exact thing your body should go through when fighting off an infection. So why in the world would you want to do these things to your child when a simple adjustment is enough to clear the infection? Because it's what we've been brainwashed to believe is the "only way". What's wrong with letting the body do what it is designed to do? Fight off the infection. Remember, your body needs no help, just NO INTERFERENCE!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

Kids and Chiropractic (One DC's Opinion)

Kids and Chiropractic: Why Every Child Needs Adjustments

As you have probably heard in our office numerous times, we love adjusting kids and turning on their nervous systems, but many of you still wonder whether or not chiropractic care is beneficial for your kids. So let’s put this one to bed right now, IT IS! Just like you, your child needs no interference in their nervous system in order to promote optimum functioning of their nervous system and all associated organs (read: EVERYTHING ELSE IN THEIR BODY!) So how does a child get misalignment in their spine? Just like you, the everyday trauma of being a child can take quite a toll on a child’s body, and the constant tumbles and head bumps can lead to numerous misalignments and cause nerve damage. Left uncorrected, this nerve damage will cause the organs to function poorly and the body to develop disease. Just because your child “looks fine” or is not currently expressing symptoms is no measure of their true health. It’s how they are healing and functioning on the inside that counts, and the ONLY way to ensure that their body operates the correct way is to make sure their nervous system is free and clear of interference.

From birth to death, the power of the nervous system is the most vital component in keeping us healthy, so get yours “turned on” with Aspire Chiropractic today!

Aspire's Open House is this Wednesday, so get your new patient appointment scheduled today!

The Skinny on The Flu Shot

A lot of information is floating around out there about whether or not you should get a flu shot, hopefully we can shed some light on what is the best choice for you to make. Today we're going to take a look at some of the research that's out there and hopefully provide you with a fair look at the flu shot debate!

As a chiropractic office, we tend to push people towards more natural care. That is, we would like to give the body a chance to do what it has evolved to do, which is use its own innate ability to fight off infection and build immunity as a defense against intruding pathogens. One of the ways the body does this is by exposure to offending viruses in a natural manner. We need to trust that our body has this ability and provide it with all the tools we can to make that battle as easy as possible. As you know the immune system, like every system in the body, is controlled by the nervous system (here is a basic article on the interaction of the two, from a neuroimmunological point of view), and any impact on it will have an effect on the body's ability to handle and fight off disease. So keeping the spine and nervous system free of interference and misalignment while reducing stress should be paramount in your seasonal battle with the flu.

But why should you avoid the flu shot? Doesn't it help your body fight off the flu?

The short answer is yes, the flu shot injects inactive (dead) viruses into your system, which your body will react to and produce antibodies towards. The long answer is much more complicated, as these things often tend to be. While they are injecting you with a virus, there is no clear indication that the virus you are receiving will be the major strain of virus during that year's flu season. The CDC bases their projections for that year's flu season on their best educated guesses by looking at prevalent strains in different areas of the world that have their flu season before the USA. So at best, it's a guess, and at worst, you're protected against a strain that won't be around that year. On top of that, the flu virus mutates so rapidly, and there are so many different varieties of it that any immunity you happen to build will be useless come the next flu season, which is why doctors insist on you receiving a flu shot every year. The only way to get natural AND PERMANENT immunity is to recover naturally from the flu. Also, to inactivate the virus, the manufacturers kill it with formaldehyde and preserve it with a mercury-based preservative known as thimerosal (although you can request thimerosal-free vaccines now).

Here is a link to a study on vaccination and pregnancy.
Here are the CDC guidelines and a Q & A on the flu shot

So what about the medical model? For those of you that choose to go this route, I encourage you to do all the research you can and not just blindly go with whatever your family doctor tells you to do, which applies to all people that choose to follow the natural route too! You have to make the best decision for your family and your body, and if that means you wish to have a vaccine then by all means do what you feel is right, just make the best decision you can and I'm sure it will be the right one for you.

NEW WINTER HOURS AT ASPIRE!

Aspire Chiropractic has new winter hours:

• Monday 8:30-11:30, 3:15-6:15
• Tuesday 3:15-6:15, Doctor's Report @ 6:15
• Wednesday 8:30-11:30, 3:15-6:15
• Thursday 3:15-6:15, Doctor's Report @ 6:15
• Friday 8:30-11:30
• Saturday 9:30-11:00

Thanksgiving Hours:

• Closed Thanksgiving Day
• Friday November 25th 9:30-11:00
• Saturday November 26th 9:30-11:00

Open House November 16th and JUST TRY IT, with Aspire Chiropractic!

OPEN HOUSE WITH DR. MATT!

Aspire will be hosting an open house on Wednesday, November 6th during treatment hours (8:30-11:30 and 3:15-6:15). Bring your friends/family and let them see the office and meet Dr. Matt and Dr. Brenda. We will be having free refreshments and healthy foods for all during that time as well, so come out and see Aspire!

During the open house we will also be kicking off our year-end promotion: JUST TRY IT! For all of those people in your life who have ever been curious about chiropractic and what it could do for them, here's their chance to get their questions answered and learn more! For just a $45 donation to the Coach Freddie Weinke Youth Football Camp, all new patients will receive their first day services (Exam, x-rays, consultation and Doctor's Report) plus a FREE first adjustment! This offer is valid through 12/31/2011 and cards for this deal can be picked up starting November 1st, 2011 at our office.

Coach Weinke is currently the running backs coach at Division III nationally ranked St. Olaf College and has previously payed in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. His Youth Football Camp serves the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and provides instruction on football technique and drills to underprivileged youth. Aspire has been a sponsor of this camp in the past and is proud to be involved again this upcoming year!

For more information on the Open House and to get scheduled, call us at the office (651) 294-2332 or email us at aspirechiropractic@gmail.com

Testimonial of the Week 10/24

Here is the Aspire Chiropractic Testimonial of the Week for October 24th-October 30th:

• 29 year old female that presented to the office with a chief complaint of neck and shoulder pain and tension related to chronic anxiety and stress. The patient was on a couple of different anti-anxiety medications and was having difficulty working due to the stress. After three months of care and removing the interference from her spine and nervous system, she was totally pain free! Under her doctor's advisement, she also began to wean herself off of the prescription medication for her anxiety and has since stopped taking it altogether. He was unable to offer any explanation as to why she was no longer suffering from the anxiety. Who do you know that needs this kind of help? Contact Aspire Chiropractic today!

Information on a single patient case of anxiety helped through chiropractic care.

Testimonials of the Week (10/10-10/17)

Here are our testimonials of the week for the weeks beginning 10/10 and 10/17:

• 25 year-old female patient presented to our office with a chief complaint of right sided neck, shoulder and arm pain. During exam and consultation she revealed that she was suffering from painful menstruation and an irregular monthly cycle, and that in fact she had been worried as her current cycle was not on time and she was having pelvic pain. After receiving her first adjustment, she began her period, since that time, it has been very regular and has been pain free! She has also been able to resume her regular social activities as her neck and shoulder pain has subsided, and she has noted that she sleeps much better on days when she receives chiropractic care.
• 31 year-old mother of two (children 5 and 2 years old), and they all come in for weekly adjustments. Her children have never been vaccinated and they have had very little in terms of childhood illnesses outside of the normal sniffles and colds. Mom's back pain and chronic yeast infections are gone since beginning care. Any time the kids are demonstrating symptoms, mom brings them into the office for adjustments instead of to the pediatrician who would only prescribe drugs and recommend shots for the kids. 

Who deserves to know these stories? Who can you share the power of chiropractic with today? Contact Aspire to learn more today!

Chiropractic Helps with Bedwetting

Did you know that some children with Nocturnal Enuresis (Bedwetting) have been helped through the power of chiropractic care and getting their nervous systems turned on? Here are a few case reports on children that have been helped:

• Case #0991: Five year old female who had been wetting her bed for six months. She was prescribed antibiotics for what MDs diagnosed as a bladder infection. After the second chiropractic adjustment, she stopped wetting her bed for three weeks. She had a bad fall and began to wet her bed again. After her next adjustment, she has remained dry.

• Case #0419: Nine year old male who wet his bed almost every day of his life. After the first six months of chiropractic, he would be dry for the next day or two. A change in adjustments to the sacrum resulted in greater improvement. He is now dry for one-half to two-thirds of the nights between the adjustments.

• Chiropractic adjustments: (Adjusted) C1 and C2 approximately three times/week. After two weeks of care the bed-wetting began to resolve and was completely resolved after six months. She was also leaving special education classes to enter regular fifth grade classes. Seizures were much milder and diminished to 8-10 per week after one year of care. Patient was also released from psychiatric care as "self managing." Her resistance to disease in-creased and she can now ride a bike, roller skate and ice skate like a normal child. After medical examinations, she is expected to be off all medication within a month.

How can the power of Chiropractic change your child's life?

Sources: Marko, RB Chiropractic Pediatrics Vol. 1 No. 1 April 1994
Langley C. Chiropractic Pediatrics Vol 1 No. 1, April, 1994.

Chiropractic and the Active Athlete: Why Should You Get Adjusted?

Athletes in this country come in all shapes and sizes, from the 4 year old kicking her first soccer ball to the 85 year old grandfather throwing a strike at the bowling alley, all athletes put a tremendous amount of stress on their bodies. This stress can manifest itself in injuries of all sorts, from little aches, pains and post-competition soreness, all the way to ruptured ligaments and broken bones. So why should athletes of all ages consider chiropractic care? Here's a few reasons:

• Faster Recovery Time: When used in conjunction with post-workout therapy, chiropractic may reduce recovery time and allow the athlete to return to the gym, field, etc, more quickly.
• Better Posture: Chiropractic focuses on improving spinal position and posture which enables the athlete to be better aware of their body positioning during play, possibly giving them a competitive advantage over their opponents.
• Injury Prevention: Athletes under chiropractic care have better joint flexibility and decreased pain in joints after athletic competition.
• Improved Performance: A study published in Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation in 1991 showed an increase in performance of several aspects of athletic competition (kinesthetic perception, power, reaction time, agility and balance) showed an increase of 18% in these areas in athletes undergoing care after only 6 weeks of treatment. The non-treatment group showed an increase of only 1% over the same time frame.

Here is perennial NFL All-Pro and Hall of Fame member Jerry Rice giving his testimonial on how chiropractic has helped him and how it can help you!

From the seasoned athlete to the beginner, everyone can improve their performance through the POWER of chiropractic!

7 Benefits of Chiropractic for Seniors

Many seniors are unaware of the outstanding benefits that are possible through regular chiropractic services. Here is a list of seven of the most frequent benefits that chiropractic services will provide for seniors.
1. Pain Relief
Chiropractic services is the most effective and safest forms of health care to treat pain due to spinal related conditions. Chiropractic is so effective because most causes of spinal disorders are related to abnormalities of the spine and the surrounding soft tissue structures. Anti inflammatory medication and pain relievers merely mask the symptoms and have many undesirable side effects.
2. Increased Range of Motion of the Spine and Extremities
Chiropractic services has been shown repeatedly to increase not only the range of motion of the spine but also in the extremities. Increasing a person’s range of motion can positively and drastically affect lives in many ways. In many cases, an increase in range of motion immediately follows chiropractic adjustments. This is one of the reasons why many top professional sporting teams have team chiropractors.
3. Increased Balance and Coordination
Many problems in balance and coordination in the aging population have been shown to come from injury or degenerative changes to the cervical spine (neck region). Studies have shown that chiropractic services can help restore balance and coordination by stimulating the joint receptors (mechanoreceptors) in the cervical spine. This stimulation is thought to restore or normalize joint receptor functioning which leads to improvements in balance and coordination.
4. Decreased Joint Degeneration
A subluxated (misaligned) spine is much like a misaligned wheel on an automobile. This misalignment will cause the spine (and the wheel) to wear out prematurely. Since all moving parts will eventually wear down over time, it is very important to get your spine aligned periodically. Chiropractic services decreases spinal degeneration and other arthritic changes by normalizing the spinal alignment and reducing spinal stress.
5. Increased Health and Well-Being
Chiropractic is far more than mere pain relief. Feeling good, staying healthy and doing the things that make us happy are what keeps us looking forward to each new day. Regular chiropractic care increases the quality of life and increases health and well being.
6. Decreased Incidence of Falling
Injuries due to falling are extremely common in the elderly population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are responsible for 90% of the 850,000 bone fractures which occur annually among Americans past the age of 65. Chiropractors reduce the risk of falls by normalizing the mechanoreceptors of the cervical spine by administering chiropractic adjustments. They also prescribe stretching and exercise programs to increase strength, flexibility, mobility, balance and coordination.
7. Keeps Seniors Out of Nursing Homes
While studying at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, I had the opportunity of meeting the president Dr. Ian Coulter. Dr. Coulter was involved with many research projects studying the benefits of chiropractic care and exercise. In 1996, he published an interesting study in the Journal, “Topics of Clinical Chiropractic” called “Chiropractic care for the Elderly.” The key points he noted in this study were:

• 44% of those who used chiropractic care reported having arthritis compared with 66% in the non-chiropractic care group
• those who used chiropractic care were more likely to do strenuous levels of exercise
• at three years follow-up, less than 5% of those who used chiropractic care lived in a nursing home while a staggering 48% of those who did not use chiropractic care did live in a nursing homeat three years follow-up, only 26% of those who used chiropractic care were hospitalized compared with 48% of those in the non-chiropractic group

There is no need for seniors to suffer needlessly. Chiropractic services provides amazing benefits and has an outstanding record of safety and effectiveness. Ask your family and friends for a chiropractor that they recommend. Take action now and make an appointment to see if chiropractic can help you!

Original article by Dr. Paul Zemella

Chiropractic Boosts Immunity

Original Article by Dr. Paul Zemella


The nervous system and immune system are hardwired and work together to create optimal responses for the body to adapt and heal appropriately. Neural dysfunctions due to spinal misalignments are stressful to the body and cause abnormal changes that lead to a poorly coordinated immune response. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to boost the coordinated responses of the nervous system and immune system.
The autonomic nervous system is hardwired into the lymphoid organs such as the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and bone marrow that produce the body’s immune response. Growing evidence is showing that immune function is regulated in part by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.
Subluxation is the term for misalignments of the spine that cause compression and irritation of nerve pathways affecting organ systems of the body. Subluxations are an example of physical nerve stress that affects neuronal control. According to researchers, such stressful conditions lead to altered measures of immune function & increased susceptibility to a variety of diseases.
Inflammatory based disease is influenced by both the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Nerve stimulation directly affects the growth and function of inflammatory cells. Researchers found that dysfunction in this pathway results in the development of various inflammatory syndromes such as rheumatoid arthritis and behavioral syndromes such as depression. Additionally, this dysfunctional neuro-endo-immune response plays a significant role in immune-compromised conditions such as chronic infections and cancer.
Wellness best chiropractor analyze the spine for subluxations and give corrective adjustments to reduce the stress on the nervous system. A 1992 research group found that when a thoracic adjustment was applied to a subluxated area the white blood cell (neutrophil) count collected rose significantly.
In 1975, Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor in Environmental Health at New York University, began researching the most scientifically valid ways to estimate individual susceptibility to various chronic diseases. He has conducted a tremendous amount of research in this area that includes over 160 published reports in peer reviewed journals. Pero and his colleagues discovered that various DNA-repairing enzymes could be significantly altered following exposure to carcinogenic chemicals. He found strong evidence that an individual’s susceptibility to cancer could be determined by these enzymes. Lack of those enzymes, Pero said, ‘definitely limits not only your lifespan, but also your ability to resist serious disease consequences.’ To support this argument he found a substantial amount of literature linking various kinds of spinal cord injuries and cancer. Pero found that these injuries led to a very high rate of lymphomas and lymphatic leukemias. This understanding led Pero to consider best Chiropractor care as a means of reducing the risk of immune breakdown and disease.
Pero’s team measured 107 individuals who had received long-term Chiropractic care. The chiropractic patients were shown to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care, and a 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer or serious diseases. Interestingly, Pero found no decline with the various age groups in the study demonstrating that the DNA repairing enzymes were just as present in long-term chiropractic senior groups as they were in the younger groups.

Dr. Zemella's Website

9 Supermarket Strategies Designed to Make You Spend More (Link)

Here's an interesting article on how the supermarkets get you in the door, and get you to spend more than you intended.

Learn more about the right way to shop at this weekend's Total Food Makeover! Call (651)294-2332 for more details.

CANCER FEEDS OFF OF SUGAR

It's as simple as that, cancer feeds and grows off of sugar and uses it as it's main food source in the body. This theory was developed back in 1924 by Dr. Otto Warburg, a Nobel Prize winning cell biologist, and published in his 1924 paper "On Metabolism of Tumors". In fact, some new/alternative therapies for treating cancer involve starving the body of all sugar and carbohydrates, then feeding the patient a "smartbomb" sort of cancer drug. This treatment is covered with a special coating that stays intact in the body until it reaches an area of no oxygen. Since cancer is an anaerobic (no oxygen) mass of cells, the oncologists were able to specifically target it through the use of this drug. Unfortunately, there has been little further research made available on this type of care, so we are left with our traditional types of chemotherapy, which are incredibly toxic and hard on the body. 

So what should you do?

Be smart about your sugar and carbohydrate intake on a daily basis. While they do provide us with energy, sugar and carbs provide virtually no nutritive benefit, and processed sugars (HFCS, white sugar, etc.) are the worst offenders in this category. Natural sugars from fruits, vegetables, honey and molasses are a good part of a healthy diet and play an important role in providing us with the energy we need to get through the day, but we have to be thinking: ALL THINGS IN MODERATION! Sugar does not cause cancer, but if it enables it to grow, why would you give it the fuel it needs to proliferate? So if you are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with  cancer, you need to make the best decisions you can about what you feed your body, so do your research and give yourself the best chance you can to fight it off!

Learn More About This Topic at Aspire Chiropractic's TOTAL FOOD MAKEOVER on October 8th at the Danna Agency, call (651) 294-2332 to reserve your spot today!

Prescription Drugs now Responsible for more Deaths Annually than Auto Accidents

Total Food Makeover with Aspire Chiropractic

Take charge of your unhealthy eating habits with a TOTAL FOOD MAKEOVER through Aspire Chiropractic!
Featuring the best-selling Maximized Living Nutrition Plans the Total Food Makeover will teach you about:

• Toxic Foods - How to identify and eliminate them from your shopping list, and replace them with healthy options you will LOVE!
• Diet Myths - Fat does NOT make you fat, and high cholesterol does NOT cause heart disease...learn the truths!
• Cravings - How to beat food addictions once and for all in 3 simple steps

• PLUS - Learn to save hundreds of dollars every year at the grocery store - WITHOUT compromising your health

21st Century Foods-

Toxins exist in 3,000 food additives, preservatives and colorings for use in the food supply. The average person will ingest 140-150 pounds of additives and chemicals every year, creating a serious imbalance within the body. FAT is created by the body to safely store the toxins and protect your body. TOXIC CELLS block nutrients, rob your energy, contaminate your body, affect your moods and have been linked to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity.

So the big question is: "Can I rid my body of toxic chemicals and overcome modern diseases?"

YES! - our Advanced Nutrition Plan was designed to do just that, and there are only 3 simple rules to follow:

1. Detoxify your body
2. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins
3. Reverse the true causes of disease to feel great about yourself

The Total Food Makeover will take place on October 8th from 10AM-1PM at the Danna Agency in St. Paul, located at 3629 White Bear Ave, 55110. This event has an attendance cost of only $40 and includes the Maximized Living Nutrition Plan book. Accountability partners may attend for $10. To pre-register for this event contact Aspire Chiropractic at (651)294-2332.

Maximized Oxygen & Lean Muscle

The best method for intake, usage and storage of oxygen is through movement and the best method for movement is exercise. At Aspire Chiropractic we practice what we call the 5 Essentials of Maximized Living and we are really excited to launch our new MaxT3 / 6 minute work-out program focusing on Essential #4, Maximized Oxygen & Lean Muscle! You can get on track to better health and get in shape with Dr. Matt starting Monday, September 12th at 6:15pm and continuing every Monday evening until further notice. The more the merrier, so feel free to bring a friend if you'd like. We're on a mission to help as many people as possible live a longer, healthier life!

Exercise has many benefits. It helps control weight, it reduces stress and fatigue, and it combats health conditions and diseases such as depression, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon). A 2010 survey from the from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 24.8% of Minnesotans are obese. If you're concerned about your weight and want to know what a healthy weight for you would be, check out this BodyMass Index Table provided by the National Institutes of Health.

Sources: MN Dept of Health, Maximized Living, National Institutes of Health, CDC

Celebrate JazzFest with Aspire this weekend!

If you're a fan of jazz, you won't want to miss the Selby Ave JazzFest this Saturday, September 10 from 11am-8pm. This celebration of music, art, and the community is free and open to the public; there will be wonderful music from a variety of jazz musicians, tons of vendors, art, and fun family activities. The Selby Ave JazzFest is an annual event that happens the second Saturday in September, it first took place back in 2002 and has drawn a crowd ever since. This year's musical line up will be Dick and Jane's Big Brass Band, The Lex-Ham Community Band, Walker West Music Academy, Salsa Del Soul, Jazz Heritage Showcase, and Gerald Albright. Be sure to stop by Aspire Chiropractic's booth if you make it out, we'll be there trying to get the word out in the community about chiropractic and the 5 Essentials of Maximized Living. Hope to see you there!

Free Radicals and the Power of Antioxidants

In my re-cap of Aspire Chiropractic's workshop last week I mentioned how heating your food in a microwave can cause free radicals to form. So what are free radicals? Free radicals are the cause of the aging process. Free radicals steal electrons from molecules in your body and in turn, the molecule missing an electron becomes a free radical and steals an electron from another molecule causing a chain reaction to occur. Free radicals can cause damage to DNA, lipid components in blood, and proteins; damage to DNA can cause cancer, damage to lipids can cause heart disease, and damage to proteins can cause autoimmune disorders and Alzheimer's disease. The greater amount of free radicals in your body the more likely it is that they could cause serious damage.

So how can you stop free radicals from forming? You can't stop free radicals from forming as it's a part of living. Every living creature produces billions of free radicals every second. However, you can stop the chain reaction of free radicals with antioxidants; when a free radical steals an electron from an antioxidant the antioxidant becomes a free radical but it doesn't seek to find another electron, thus stopping the chain reaction. Note: an antioxidant molecule can only stop the chain reaction of a single free radical so it's important that you have a supply of antioxidants available to help reduce free radical activity. Visit your local Maximized Living doctor to find out how you can get the antioxidants needed to help fight the chain reaction of free radicals in your body.



Sources: A Legacy of Wellness, Maximized Living

Sustainable foods

I had the opportunity to watch a documentary last night called Food Inc. For those of you who are on the fence about eating organic foods and grass fed meats this film does a good job of explaining why you should, but I do have to warn you that there may be some content that is not for the faint of heart. The film featured a farm in Virginia called Polyface Farms. I really enjoyed hearing about this farm and their environmentally-friendly farming practices. The owner, Joel Salatin, explains their farm a bit in the YouTube video below.

You can find sustainable, organic foods in your community by using the Eat Well Guide. This site gives you information on local farmers, farmers markets, co-ops, butchers, caterers, restaurants, and more.

Enjoying the Anytime Fitness 1st Annual Party in the Park!

Anytime Fitness Hero!

5K and 10K Race to support Faith's Lodge

Aspire Chiropractic's Booth

Anytime Fitness 1st Annual Party in the Park

Aspire Chiropractic is a proud sponsor of the Anytime Fitness 1st Annual Party in the Park, a 5 and 10k Race benefiting Faith's Lodge this Saturday, August 27th from 10am-2pm! Anytime Fitness will be giving each runner a gift bag, there will be live music, and their personal trainers will be doing a free bootcamp class, and stretching class. This will be a fun time supporting a great cause! Call anytime fitness at 651-292-1707 for more details or click here to register for the run. Here's a short article CBS did regarding the race "Charity Run to Rebuild Faith's Lodge...". Hope to see you there!

"Honey We're Killing the Kids" Workshop Recap

The EPA estimates that our homes are five to ten times more toxic than the air outside. Toxicity is unavoidable but we can take some steps to make our home and our bodies less toxic. Dr. Brenda Kress talked about some toxins in our environment that we should be aware of and how to avoid them if at all possible during Aspire Chiropractic's monthly workshop last week.

One thing Dr. Kress talked about was the fact that the carpeting in our homes contains harmful chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde. In addition, our carpeting collects dust mites, dirt, pesticides, and other toxins over time. These toxins can be reduced by using a quality air purifier in your home or getting rid of your carpeting all together.

Did you know that the cookware you're using could be toxic? Teflon or "non-stick" cookware emits toxic particles and gases when heated to a certain temperature and can be considered a cancer-causing substance. It is best to use steel or cast iron pans. Also, heating your food in a microwave is not recommended because it can cause free radicals to form but if you choose to use a microwave in your home be sure you use glass containers to heat your food. Heating your food in plastic will mess with your hormones. There are some plastics you should stay away from altogether, those plastics are #'s 3, 6, and 7.

A study by the Columbia School of Health found that 95% of all cancer is due to diet and the accumulation of toxins. Signs of toxicity are headaches, fatigue, depression, allergies or asthma, weight loss resistance, insomnia, hormonal imbalances, and thyroid problems. You can get rid of toxins in your body by getting adjusted regularly to remove any nerve interference along with using a detox kit. If you're interested in finding out more call Aspire Chiropractic at 651-294-2332.

Back to School Fundraiser August 22nd!

Help kids and families in need this school year by participating in Aspire Chiropractic's 2nd Annual Back to School Fundraiser supporting the Wilder Foundation! When you donate a backpack and school supplies for the Wilder Foundation on August 22nd, you will receive a complimentary exam and x-rays worth $250.  A small donation for a piece of healthcare!

Monday, August 22nd

8:00a -11:00a  and  3:15p-6:15p

Monday's Workshop + Dr. Matt's Max Living Experience

Monday's Max Living Workshop "Honey We're Killing the Kids"

Aspire Chiropractic will be hosting their monthly Maximized Living workshop on August 15th starting at 6:15pm. You won't want to miss this month's topic of "Fighting Toxicity in Our Body and Our Homes" covering the most common problems and their everyday solutions! Chemical pollutants are found in our food supply, water, household & personal care products, and medicines & vaccinations; learn what you can do to fight toxicity on Monday evening.

Did you know that everything we flush down the toilet or pour down the drain will end up in our community's sewage system, even if you have a septic system? (Eventually your septic system will be pumped and brought to the sewage treatment system.) Some compounds are biodegradable and will break down and become harmless during treatment, but others are non-biodegradable and can do damage by adding toxins to our environment.

Dr. Matt Gravel's Max Living Convention Experience

"Let's see, the seminar was a lot of fun and very informative. The things that stick out to me the most were the sessions on bringing the fire back to me about chiropractic; getting the idea that we have little understanding of the power we hold in our hands, the ability to change someone's life through the power of the chiropractic adjustment, and hearing stories about how doctors have helped patients completely revolutionize their lives."

"Funny story: On the second day of early morning workouts, the doctors put us through Max T3 training outside the hotel at 6AM. As I am just beginning on my road to a Maximized Life, I am a novice at the T3 training. Well, to motivate me, Dr. Ben Lerner, one of the founders of Maximized Living, placed himself directly to my left and as I was huffing and puffing, getting red-faced and sweaty, Dr. Lerner was doubling and tripling everything we were doing, so I had the founder of the company there to give me motivation!"

- Dr. Matt


Dr. Matt Gravel will be hosting weekly Surge Training sessions based on Maximized Living's Max T3 system beginning Monday, September 12th. It will consist of  a 20min T3 training session followed by a surge up Ramsey Hill (weather permitting). Maximize your exercise with Aspire!

Max Living Convention

Dr. Kress and Dr. Gravel went to the Maximized Living Convention last Thursday thru Saturday and are excited to share some pictures with you!

Getting energized!

Some great speakers!

Nice accomodations.

New Happenings

We'd like to introduce all of you to the new Associate Doctor who has joined our team here at Aspire. His name is Dr. Matthew Gravel and he is a 2007 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport which happens to be the same college Dr. Brenda Kress graduated from a couple of years prior. Originally from Iowa, Dr. Gravel began his experience with chiropractic at age 13, after receiving his first adjustment to correct a misalignment in his pelvis which had been to limp for nearly two years. During graduate school, Dr. Gravel participated in community events to educate the public on the benefits of chiropractic care, including a mission trip to South America, where he provided free care to disadvantaged adults and children in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Dr. Gravel's focus is on spinal corrective care with an emphasis on sports/injury care and extremity adjusting. Prior to moving to the Twin Cities, Dr. Gravel practiced in St. Louis, Missouri for four years, where he focused on total body health care and and pediatric chiropractic. In his free time, he is an avid golfer and college football fan.

Here are some pictures of Dr. Matthew Gravel at the Dragon Festival at Lake Phalen last weekend.

Dr. Matt giving a presentation

Dr. Matt with Dr. Brenda

Welcome Dr. Matthew Gravel, we're glad you decided to join our team!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

Some exciting things have happened over the past couple of weeks for Aspire Chiropractic and myself. Dr. Kress threw the first pitch at the Saint Paul Saints game on Friday, June 24th.

I was asked to be "fan of the game" that same night...

 

And, Justina, our new Shiatsu Massage Therapist, joined our team. Below is a picture of Justina in action at the Honoring Women Worldwide event at Suffrage Garden on June 25th.

I've had a few friends comment on how I look over the past couple of weeks, they've told me it looks like I've lost some weight so I must be doing something right! Not only am I starting to feel better but I guess I'm starting to look better too. In addition to starting chiropractic care a few weeks ago, I've started implementing more healthy and organic foods into my diet, and I've started using household products that don't contain harmful toxins. I haven't totally changed my diet but I've started to gradually work my way to a healthier lifestyle and it seems to be paying off. Even if you aren't ready to jump into better health full swing, I'd suggest starting to make those baby steps, it will give you the push to keep moving forward.

Here's an interesting tip I learned from the Maximized Living Nutrition Book regarding what foods you should definitely buy organic. They call these foods the "dirty dozen".

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (Imported)
11. Carrots
12. Pears

I hope you and yours have a safe and happy 4th!

Take care,

Stephanie

Aspire - Jeff B. Testimonial

Community Outreach

I would like to tell you a bit about Aspire Chiropractic and what makes them unique. Every month Aspire hosts workshops on how to live a more healthy life. They focus on what's called the 5 Essentials; maximized mind, maximized nerve supply, maximized quality nutrition, maximized oxygen & lean muscle, and minimized toxins. Dr. Kress also volunteers her time by offering free seminars to local businesses and organizations throughout the community as a part of her Maximized Living community outreach program. Some organizations are required to have people come in and talk on health & wellness, job safety, or stress management and pay quite a bit for the same kind of seminars that she offers free of charge.

This coming Monday, June 27th, Aspire is hosting a Community Appreciation event where guests are being offered $25 exam and x-rays that will go to support the Highland Friendship Club, a local organization that serves individuals with disabilities from teens through adulthood by providing a range of opportunities to develop lifelong skills, friendships and connections within their community. Dr. Kress has a brother with special needs and she is a part of the Autism Whisperers program so organizations like the Highland Friendship Club are very important to her both personally and professionally. Help Aspire make a difference in the lives of the people that matter most to you and the lives of those with special needs in our community!

- Stephanie