My Letter to the Citizen: Wellness Should Be A Choice

I wrote a letter to our local paper, The Citizen regarding the fluoridation issue. Auburn has not had fluoride in the water supply since the early 1970's. A voter referendum is required if the public wants to reinstate this practice. It is hard to gauge the public's opinion. There have been a few letters in the newspaper both pro and con. A very short debate was played on the public TV station, and one public meeting was held by a group of medical professionals. Overall I feel the public is ambivalent. It doesn't matter enough.

I hope we keep fluoride out of the water. There are plenty of ways to take care of children's teeth and supplying fluride to your own individual water supply at home is a viable option that would not burden the tax payers.

Here is the letter:


Dear Editor:

Initiatives to stop fluoridating water have worked in over 70 cities in the U.S. alone. The following website lists all the successful campaigns since 1990: http://www.campaignfortruth.com/Eclub/100702/fluoridevictories1.htm.

Numerous health care professionals, physicians and chiropractors have banded together to educate the public on this important issue. David Kennedy, DDS, from San Diego, California, has a DVD series in the editing phase that will be for sale to the public regarding this safe water initiative.

It may be helpful to apply fluoride topically to the teeth. However, why must every cell in the body be exposed? Imagine the consequences to the brain (Alzheimer’s?), thyroid, and reproductive organs. This is similar to the second hand smoke dilemma. Why must our entire population be subjected to it? Albany, Ithaca, and Amsterdam recently became fluoride free. We should be proud that Auburn was ahead of them decades ago.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lisa Ann Homic, M.Ed. D.C.
Homic Advanced Chiropractic
22 State Street
Auburn, NY 13021
(315) 277-1362

Click Here For Info on the Fluoride Action Network

Are We Misled by Cholesterol Fears? Using Wellness Principles to Assess the Pros & Cons

Do You Really Need a Statin Drug for Cholesterol?

50% of all heart attacks are suffered by people with low cholesterol.

Statin drugs are damaging to muscles. Your heart is a muscle. Is that why there is an increase in congestive heart failure?

There is a relationship between statin drugs and dementia.

Find out about important cholesterol research that was ignored in the 1950’s because doctors thought it was too confusing to explain to patients.

Would You Rather Decide For Yourself?

Schedule an appointment for an eye-opening DVD – CD presentation.

There are safer, common sense alternatives!!

Call (315) 277-1362

or Email

Get Out of the Holding Pattern: Wellness Needs a Plan

Watching planes take off and land at an airport is a moment of awe. They are choreographed very well. Any mishaps would be a tragedy. When there is trouble, delays are necessary and planes have to circle in the air until a better window of opportunity exists to take the decent.

Pilots flying in holding patterns do not have much time. Choices have to be made quickly. If you are in your own holding pattern, what reason finally motivates you to change course?

When I wrote my E-Book, Shuffle Syndrome (http://ShuffleSyndrome.com), I had the holding pattern in mind. Much like a holding pattern, I coach people who are stuck, but wanting a change.

Here is a brief example:

Client #1 wants to get a better understanding of what happend to her health. "Nothing ever bothers me, but all of a sudden I have no energy." She has visted a number of doctors who have found nothing significant in medical tests. One doctor suggested she exercise more, another said if nothing improves in six months a follow up thyroid test would be recommended and another doctor prescribed an anti-depressant. I told her we would look at the events in her life as they coresponded to the "Spinergy System." I wanted her to think about the things that were depleting her SPINE ENERGY. As a chiropractor and wellnesss coach, I look at the stressors that may be sabotaging mind and body balance and what can contribute to nervous system "back firing." Vaugue illnesses are increasing, becoming the new disease of modern living. Baffled doctors are not prepared to address stress and most do not have the time to question patients on life-style situations or follow up on non-medical problems that are affecting health outcomes .

Thinking about SPINE ENERGY is an organized way to delve into shuffle syndrome or problems that keep someone stuck in a holding pattern.

S -structure of the spine, subluxations causing unhealthy patterns in the body
P -personality, passion, sources of your personal power
I -innate intelligence, your inner wisdom that keeps you healthy.
N -nervous system, responds to your mind and body changes
E -evolution-personal growth that can transform a person

Client #1 needs more information regarding health and the concerns of stress. While discussing her activities, she revealed her work schedule has disrupted her sleeping patterns, she is often eating on the run and a recent job promotion put her in a different work atmosphere removing her from public contact which she enjoyed tremedously. She did not realize she would miss it so much. From a chiropractic point of view, a car accident five years earlier began a change in her structural health. She is stiff and sore more often which forced her to give up raquet ball, a favorite game. Computer work, eye strain, and weak shoulders are more evident now that she talked about her daily work duties. Her passion is working with parents of young children. Her personality is very outgoing and suitable for establishing longterm relationships with her clients. Her new job duties did not give her that outlet and she no longer saw the immediate results of her contribution. Her nervous system was overloaded with mental stress, physical stress, and nutritional stress due to poor eating habits. Someone might continue to remain active under these conditions, but eventually the body will give subtle clues that it is getting more difficult to bounce back each day. Coaching with her on the innate intelligence that dwells within her gave her a new understanding of balance and how to tackle her weak spots in ways that keep her enthusiastic about her inner-potential. Although she saw her job promotion as a jump in her career, it still creates stress because it changed her daily functioning. More demands of her expertise, a longer commute, a new group of co-workers who share little in common with her are initial clues to the changes she was experiencing. As she concentrated more on her job, she paid less attention to her meal planning, fitness habits. She even admitted her dog was being neglected and gaining weight. These changes and the underlying problems from the past motor vehicle accident were showing her how small changes eventually disrupted her life in bigger ways.

A six month coaching plan addressed her physical health habits including grocery shopping, meal planning, exercising, her mental health, reconnecting with friends and family. After evaluating how she likes to work, she proposed a way to follow up with her previous clients creating a research project that allows her to complete her new work duties and promote the company's vision.

"Two major learning opportunities occurred. I had no idea I was giving up important things like my social outlets because I was so focused on my job. I also didn't realize my past was catching up to me. A motor vehicle accident and repetitive strain from past jobs had weakened my spine leaving my immune system more prone to allergies, headaches, and fatigue. I thought I was feeling normal reactions to a busy life, but one day it was too much to handle. I feel much more in control as I understand how my actions, no matter how minor add up to bigger changes in function. And I wasn't handling stress well at all. If I had done nothing, I would not have benefitted from the learning situation coaching provides. It took months to work through my wellness plan and I stuggled somewhat to give up emotional crutches (unproductive habits) ... but, it was worth it."

Read about client #2 in the next issue, a tired couple with a newborn infant who wants to be more confident in their future plans since they feel "stuck" and preoccupied.


************These characters are fictional, but inspired by a number of clients experiencing shuffle syndrome.

Create Purpose - Create Your Life with Wellness

Wellness Journey: How's It Going? Real Change Requires Real Change

Rate Yourself on Your Life-Style Awareness

A few weeks ago I reported on my desire to get back into shape. I no longer wanted to be in denial of my poor habits. It was time to end the excuses. The past few weeks I've been slipping into a mode of,"Not now. I'll do better later." We had a birthday party, so there was cake in the house for days and days. Another week we worked late and bought pizza. I stopped exercising because I was behind in my paperwork so I had to evaluate my time management. Working out at home was difficult because my son has no concept of following a workout on television from start to finish. He wanted to jump on the trampoline and kept getting in the way.

A couple bad weeks. . .
I had to get back on the organization band wagon. Getting up earlier was not the end of the world. I watched a different set of work out shows. I was more laid back with the routines. If I was being shoved off the trampoline by my son, I did crunches on the floor or cardio-kicks in the air.

I still felt better since I wasn't snacking. I cheated on pizza and pasta in one week, but I did not have any cravings in between meals. I could feel good about that.

Getting back to working out was tough. I stopped at thirty minutes, too exhausted to complete the hour. Oh, well. It will get easier. I brought home more fruit from the store. Keeping more fruit on hand will help prevent snack attacks.

Just keep doing it. Don't get hung up on the emotional attachments to food. I talk to patients everyday who have such a hard time giving up their bread habit. They are shocked that the nutrition information they received in the past was misleading. Yes, even whole wheat bread is preventing you from burning fat, no matter how much you exercise. Doing housework burns calories, but it's not enough if you want to get in better shape. Don't get bogged down by the myths we believed.

Real change requires real change
How you welcome change determines how fast you change. Don't give up. Get a wellness coach.

Too Stressed or Too Many Ads? In Search of Wellness

ABC news hit the nail right on the head last week in a news report about the huge jump in sleeping pill use. Is life more stressful or do we see drug ads so often that it is easier to talk ourselves into drug use?

Wellness is about self care. Logical action that is nurturing is much more attractive than manipulating your body with chemicals. Addressing why a person cannot sleep is more benefical than just putting yourself to sleep with a drug.

It is much easier to follow the suggestions of an ad. The soothing voice of the announcer helps you feel pampered. The quick promise of relief is very desirable. It sounds so common and simple.

If we are so stressed out, these ads won't let us forget. We are reminded on a regular basis how awful our lives are. Thanks for keeping me informed. The statistics show repitition works. As the frequency of ads increase, so does the profit.

Are we that gullible?

Create Purpose - Create Your Life with Wellness