Blog

Subject: WHO WILL WIN?

We’re #1 - ???uh, yeah.

“It is hard to ignore that in 2006, the United States was number 1 in terms of health care spending per capita but ranked 39th for infant mortality, 43rd for adult female mortality, 42nd for adult male mortality, and 36th for life expectancy.³ These facts have fueled a question now being discussed in academic circles, as well as by government and the public: Why do we spend so much to get so little?” http://healthcarereform.nejm.org/?p=2610

18,000 Americans will die this year - just because they are underinsured

“According to the Institute of Medicine, "lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States. Although America leads the world in spending on health care, it is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage." Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations Institute of Medicine, January 2004.http://www.iom.edu/id=19175  http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/facts/sicko

We want to hear from you – tell us your health care complaints or horror stories!  Kind of like Michael Moore from the movie Sicko (which you should see if you haven’t – rent it today!) – we want to know what your experience has been in using your insurance, not just with Apple – but at ANY health care provider!

Ok, and just to be fair &to keep the positivity flowing – we’d love to hear the flip side – tell us your stellar stories about a GREAT health care insurance experience!

The best way to really have an effect on something is to look at it without boundaries.  By taking a truly honest look at health care in the USA – the good, the bad & the ugly – only then can we have some impact & advocate for change! 

I can tell you from the doctors point of view – we see people who really really need care and have a very appropriate chiropractic condition (such as sciatica) – yet they still get a letter from their insurance saying: “Not Medically Necessary”. 

Even though Apple has jumped through every hoop requested & our notes are way above par for what even the grand daddy of them all (Medicare) requires.  It seems insurance is such a tangled mess that if someday chiropractic were not covered – it could only help.

We hate to see these people have to pay out of pocket and because of that – we have set up some pretty flexible payment plans & we work hard to make sure everyone can get the care they need.  On the flip side – even with private pay accounts – the insurance companies continue to require records be sent and continue to put HOOPS in front of these accounts. 

DID YOU KNOW that even if you are paying your doctors office directly – all of the same rules apply as if you were billing your claims out to your insurance!

SEE MICHAEL MOORE’S movie: SICKO and you will be as fired up as we are at Apple!  WE JUST WANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOU AND PROVIDE THE BEST SERVICES POSSIBLE!  Please help us ‘inform’ the insurance companies about the consumers experience – take 2 minutes & share your story!!!

Here’s to your 100 year lifestyle!

POST A COMMENT:

- In the TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THE www.appleforhealth.com you will see the words: Login.

  If you’re a member, just enter your user name & password.

  If not yet a member, just click on “Become a website member” & enter your info.

- THEN click on the tab: APPLE BLOG

- Scroll down to the blog post you’d like to comment on, & click on comments on the bottom of that post & ENTER YOUR COMMENT!

 

The real question in American Health Care is: WHO WILL LOSE?

The choice is in your hands.

Dr. Daniel Richter

The common viewpoint is on health is interesting to me. Most people have grown up thinking about their health according to the medical/drug model, "Something went wrong in my body and it needs to be fixed." I hear “I caught a cold” or  “I'm taking this pill to fix that problem” quite often. People can go online and self-diagnose their supposed symptoms and see what medications would be recommended to treat their symptoms. Then, they go to their MD and request said medication. We have been brainwashed by drug companies advertising on the television and internet so much that it is normal to accept taking another pill for the rest of our days. Tell me, how is it normal to be on so many pills for the rest of your life???

So what is the alternative? The answer lies in knowing how your body works and the process of PATHOLOGY.  Pathology is the progression of how the body deals with stress and breaks down. The chiropractic viewpoint on this process is a bit different than the medical model. Take a look with me.

Your body is designed to heal itself. It has many “built-in” mechanisms to help deal with all the stressors put on it. These stressors can be many different things such as viruses or bacteria, repetitive use/motion, over-use, trauma, lack of sleep, bad thoughts, toxins (including preservatives, additives, medications, alcohol, smoke...etc.)  All of these stressors cause our bodies to react. This reaction can cause additional symptoms which make us feel "sick" or increase pain levels...etc.  We call this a state of "dis-ease."  When we experience this dis-ease for a very long time without healing we say it has then progressed to a "disease."

Instead of focusing on the SYMPTOMS and how to alleviate them, we should be focusing on healing the problem that CAUSES our symptoms. High cholesterol is not a problem, it is a symptom of something causing excess cholesterol.  Cholesterol lowering medication does not fix the problem, it artificially adjusts the symptoms to a  “normal” level. Having a fever and feeling "sick" is not a problem, they are symptoms of something causing you to feel that way. Aspirin or Tylenol will not fix the problem which makes you feel sick, it just removes the symptoms.

Do you see and understand the differences? Drug companies make money by exploiting symptoms and marketing medications you must take for the rest of your life (remember: they do not heal the problem). Think about it...if they healed your problem they would be out of business.

But....what if there was a way to support your body so that it can deal with these problems and heal them properly?  Would this be of value to you? What if there was a way to actually prevent symptoms from arising in the first place?  How important would this be to you?  Would it be worth anything to you to not have to take 12 pills a day for the rest of your life?

How can you get in the preventative, health-oriented mindset? It's so simple you will be amazed.
· First, remember that you are what you eat! So, eat healthy foods. Consider that everything you eat will either increase your health or decrease your health. That doughnut and coffee for breakfast vs. a banana with natural peanut butter can make a difference.
· Second, take good vitamins and supplements. Start taking a whole-foods based multivitamin. Also take two pearls of fish oil every day (from cold water fishes). 
· Third, exercise daily. Move your body...go for a walk, get to a gym. Sweat and get your blood circulating. This helps with weight issues and helps to detox your body. 
·Fourth, get adjusted by a chiropractor on a regular basis. Why? Adjustments enable your nervous system to function at 100 percent thereby letting all the instructions coming from the brain go to the whole body. When your body gets proper instructions, it is better able to deal with any stressors put on it. This includes your immune system – your nervous and immune systems are intimately connected.  

Remember, a preventative/proactive approach to maintaining your health can yield a fuller, richer lifestyle than a react and treat style of "sick" care. Furthermore, treating symptoms does not help to heal the cause. Consider the alternatives. Please feel free to stop by and ask us questions regarding HEALTHcare vs. SICKcare. Consults are always free.

By Dr. Carrie Brazzale Researchers say first-time moms average a 24 percent shorter labor when under chiropractic care. Your labor is likely to progress even more rapidly if you have already given birth and receive chiropractic care. Currently, the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association recommends that women receive chiropractic care throughout pregnancy to establish pelvic balance and optimize the room a baby has for development throughout pregnancy. With a balanced pelvis, babies have a greater chance of moving into the correct position for birth- so, the crisis and worry associated with breech and posterior presentations may be avoided altogether. Optimal baby positioning at the time of birth also eliminates the potential for difficult labor and therefore results in easier, safer deliveries for both the mother and baby. If you are pregnant, one of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to see a doctor of chiropractic. Chiropractic care gives a pregnant body what it needs: a flexible and balanced spine, hips, pelvis and body structure- all essential for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Please visit http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/Pregnancy-and-Adjustments/ for further information and research on the importance of chiropractic care during and after pregnancy.

By Dr. Carrie Brazzale Researchers say first-time moms average a 24 percent shorter labor when under chiropractic care. Your labor is likely to progress even more rapidly if you have already given birth and receive chiropractic care. Currently, the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association recommends that women receive chiropractic care throughout pregnancy to establish pelvic balance and optimize the room a baby has for development throughout pregnancy. With a balanced pelvis, babies have a greater chance of moving into the correct position for birth- so, the crisis and worry associated with breech and posterior presentations may be avoided altogether. Optimal baby positioning at the time of birth also eliminates the potential for difficult labor and therefore results in easier, safer deliveries for both the mother and baby. If you are pregnant, one of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to see a doctor of chiropractic. Chiropractic care gives a pregnant body what it needs: a flexible and balanced spine, hips, pelvis and body structure- all essential for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Please visit http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/Pregnancy-and-Adjustments/ for further information and research on the importance of chiropractic care during and after pregnancy.

By Dr. William Seder

In honor of June being National Stress Awareness month, let's discuss an underrated dilemma affecting everyone: STRESS!

Life is full of pressure, frustration and stress. Worrying about job security, being overworked, driving in rush-hour traffic, arguing with your spouse, even dealing with medical bills- all these create stress.

With too little stress, life can be dull and boring. While, on the other hand, too much stress from everyday life can severely affect our health. A recent survey conducted by the American Psychology Society reported that more than half of all Americans are concerned about the stress in their everyday lives. Most people are feeling overscheduled, overextended and overstressed.

By far, the most commonly reported source of stress in people's lives is workplace stress. According to Gallop, 80 percent of employees suffer from job stress, with nearly 40 percent reporting that they need help in managing their stress. According to a Princeton Survey Research study, three-quarters of employees believe that there is more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Many studies suggest that stress is a contributing factor in the development of chronic and degenerative conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes. High stress levels at work also lead to job burnout, reduction in productivity, poor health, job dissatisfaction, absenteeism and increased turnover.

If stressful situations pile up one after another, your body has no chance to recover. The long-term continuous activation of the stress response system can disrupt almost all of your body’s processes. 

Here are the ways different systems of your body respond to stress:

Digestive System: Stomachache or diarrhea is very common when you are stressed out. Stress hormones slow the release of stomach acid and the emptying of the stomach. The same hormones also stimulate the colon, which speeds the passage of its contents.

Immune System: Chronic stress tends to dampen your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and other infections. Typically, your immune system responds to infection by releasing several substances that cause inflammation. Chronic systemic inflammation contributes to the development of many degenerative diseases.

Nervous System: Stress has been linked to depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and dementia. Over time, the chronic release of cortisol can cause damage to several structures in the brain.  Excessive amounts of cortisol can also cause sleep disturbances and a loss of sex drive.

Cardiovascular System: Stress causes an increase in both heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Each person may react to a specific stressor differently. Some people are naturally laid-back about almost everything, while others react strongly at the slightest hint of stress. 

If you have or have had any of the following, it may be a sign that you are suffering from stress:          

• Headaches
• Sleep Disturbances
• Fatigue 
• Anxiety
• Stiff Neck
• Back Pain 
• Weight Loss or Gain
• Relationship Problems    
• Sinus and Allergy Problems
• Shortness of Breath   
• Mood Swings   
• Digestive Problems

Job stress costs American businesses hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The American Psychological Association estimates that 60 percent of all absences are due to stress-related issues. The New York Times reported in 2004 that “Workplace stress costs the nation more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work, and the stress-reduction industry that has grown up to soothe workers and keep production high.” The same figure was quoted by Forbes Magazine, NPR, and MSNBC, among others. The $300 billion price tag comes from the American Institute of Stress (AIS), which reports that the cost includes, “accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, direct medical, legal and insurance costs, workers' compensation awards as well as tort and FELA (Federal Employers’ Liability Act) judgments.” 

Workers reporting themselves as “stressed” incur health care costs that are 46 percent higher, or $600 more per person, than other employees. American businesses spend more than $26 billion each year in disability payments and medical bills for stress-related conditions. It is little wonder, then, that the rising cost of health insurance has become the single biggest expense facing many American businesses. 

Cardiovascular disease, America’s number one killer, affects 71 million Americans each year, and costs the nation nearly $400 billion in treatment and lost productivity-and that’s only one of many conditions proven to be related to stress. Like every other national expense, the health care costs of stress have to come from our pockets, in the form of taxes, increased product costs, and health insurance premiums. 

Current estimates say that stress costs every person in America $195 per year, or $780 for a family of four. This does not take into account the extra expense incurred by the effects of stress on other conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, and chronic pain. According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greater for workers reporting high levels of stress.

Stress not only affects your health and your pocketbook, but it seeps into every aspect of your life, slowly sapping the joy out of your day-to-day activities. In fact, stress-particularly financial stress, is one of the most common reasons why families split apart. It is also the leading cause of a whole host of psychological, emotional and social ills, including violence, depression and substance abuse.

Unlike most other diseases that affect Americans, there really isn’t any routine medical treatment for stress. Some doctors will prescribe antidepressants, such as Zoloft or Prozac, while others will prescribe an anxiolytic medication, such as Imipramine or Buspar. Because stress is due to an emotional reaction to life events and is not a biochemical condition like diabetes, drugs have a limited ability to alleviate stress.

The most effective way to help relieve stress is through changes in lifestyle behavior. Here is a crash course in stress busting 101! 

You can combat the symptoms of stress by-
· Exercising regularly
· Choosing the right foods (less soda, coffee, sugar and processed foods)
· Developing habitually healthy habits
· Learning to balance your response to stress
· Receiving regular chiropractic care
· Massage therapy

Additionally, chiropractic care enables your nervous system and spinal column to operate at its maximum capacity helping to unlock your body’s potential to battle stressful situations.

Click this link for some additional easy stress reducers.  By developing a better stress response system, we can choose to live a happier, healthier life and let the little stuff go.

by Dr. Daniel Richter DC

Many people these days are experiencing digestion issues such as bloating and heartburn. It seems that the more people I talk to, the more I hear about them taking Prilosec – the little purple pill.  Unfortunately, Prilosec might be the absolute wrong thing to be taking.

Let's talk digestion in general terms: digestion first starts in the mouth were chewing and saliva start the breakdown process of the foods we eat. The swallowed food is then called a bolus and resides in the stomach where it is further broken down by powerful stomach acids and enzymes. As the bolus exits the stomach it enters the first part of the small intestines called the duodenum. In this section, additional enzymes and bile from the liver/gallbladder are added for further breakdown. From there, the  bolus of food, now called chyme, is passed into the small intestine where absorption of the nutrients takes place. It should be noted that the chyme should be acidic for this absorption to occur. Next, the unabsorbed parts of the chyme passes into the large intestine. The large intestine extracts water from the unabsorbed chyme before it exits the body.

Heartburn occurs when some stomach acid leaks back into the bottom of the esophagus and starts to eat away/digest the base of the esophagus. This is likely due to a weak stomach valve at the end of the esophagus, or the food/bolus not being digested properly and residing in the stomach. If the food is not  broken down properly, possibly due to not enough acid, the resulting bolus will sit there longer. The little available acid will get pushed into the esophagus and cause heartburn. Usually it's not because you have too much acid. To test this, place a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar in an eight ounce glass of water and drink with your meal. If your symptoms improve, you don't have enough acid in your stomach (remember Prilosec decreases stomach acid). Do this over a few meals to test for sure.  There is a simple all-natural solution to help with this problem if you find the vinegar test works.

If you get bloated after you eat certain foods you could have another problem. One possibility is a food sensitivity. A food diary might be a good place to start to track down what your sensitivity might look like. It could be gluten, yellow No. 5 food dye, dairy, MSG, or....etc..  Another possibility could be bad bacteria in the gut. There is a simple solution for this also...and its all-natural as well.

I'd be happy to discuss any digestion issue you might have to help get you back on track. Give my office a call at 920-553-0328.