Soccer Kids Need Protection

In the mid 1980s, soccer passed baseball at the most popular team sport in the US. There are local soccer teams, school soccer teams, AYSO soccer teams, and many other leagues. Soccer is a relatively safe sport that children of all ages can master. Children as young as 3 years old are playing soccer and as they get older, some children play on multiple teams in any given season. Soccer is seen as a safe sport for children of all ages because it is a limited-contact sport. Despite its limited-contact nature, playing soccer does put your children at risk for injury. With the increasing number of children playing soccer, chiropractors everywhere are recommending that parents consider the potential injuries that their children can experience when playing.

What is the risk?
There are three basic movements in soccer; kicking and dribbling the ball with the feet, trapping (which is akin to catching the ball without using your hands), and heading the ball (which is the deliberate use of the head to redirect the ball). Heading is the act that causes the most frequent injuries. The injury does not result directly from the ball contacting the head, but rather from the increased risk of collision when two players attempt to head a ball.  Without proper instruction, heading can lead to injuries because of improper technique. The chiropractic community recommends that children not be taught to head the ball until at least age 10. This recommendation is based on the maturation and development of the spine.

Are helmets a solution?
Some school districts and athletic associations now require that very young soccer players wear helmets. While the helmet does protect the head, it does not protect the spinal injuries from heading. There is also concern that the helmets provide a false sense of security.

Prevention is the best approach.
The best way to manage any sports activity is to prevent the injury in the first place. There is no special equipment to purchase or additional education or training necessary. Parents and coaches already have what they need right at their fingertips.

• If children must use the heading technique, teach them the correct way to do it.
• Use smaller balls for younger players
• Pad goal posts and require mouth guards and helmets for the youngest players
• Ensure that your child has plenty of rest and does not over do it – one game per week is enough
• Choose a broad spectrum of sports to develop the entire body.

Chiropractic Care Can Help...

Doctors of chiropractic are trained and licensed to treat the entire neuromusculoskeletal system. Chiropractors are specially trained in sports medicine and injury prevention. They can provide advice to coaches and parents on training, nutrition, and injury prevention. Has your child been injured while playing soccer or any other sport? A visit to the chiropractor can get your child healed and back on the field.

Distracted Eating = Overeating

With few exceptions, distractions are rarely healthy, whether it's being distracted by screaming kids while driving, distracted by mindless e-mail in the middle of your busy work day, or distracted by a loud noise just as you're about to clean your sharpest knife. Being distracted while eating is also a big no-no, says recent research; in fact, it can lead to an all-too-common habit: overeating.

As reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people distracted during eating tend to feel less full after eating and also have more difficulty recalling exactly what they've eaten. The study assessed how playing solitaire on the computer during a fixed lunch, eaten at a fixed rate, affected food intake and memory of what had been eaten (courtesy of a taste test 30 minutes later). Participants not assigned to the study group ate the same lunch at the same rate, but without the distraction of the computer game.

The study authors' conclusion says it all: "These findings provide further evidence that distraction during one meal has the capacity to influence subsequent eating. They may also help to explain the well-documented association between sedentary screen-time activities and overweight."

Eating without distractions isn't only a good way to avoid overeating; it's also beneficial for your overall health and wellness – whether it's eating away from your desk at lunch, giving yourself a much-needed break from the daily grind; or sitting down at the dinner table for a family meal instead of gluing yourself to the couch and watching TV. Your doctor can tell you more about the dangers of distracted eating (and overeating in general) and help outline a sensible nutritional plan for you and your family.

Getting in Shape: Keep It Simple!

Complex does not mean better. You are about to discover simple exercise strategies that can be done easily, quickly and with great results, even if you are a beginner. So, what should you be doing? Good question. Let's get into some simple fitness tips and strategies to help you reach your goals.

1. Get Off the Machines. Free weights require more muscle activation for stabilization and control of movements, which means you burn more calories with every exercise. Muscles require energy to contract; the more energy you use with a movement, the more calories you burn and the leaner you get – assuming you don't overdo training and maintain good form.
2. Keep Yourself Hydrated. Did you know that being dehydrated makes you fatter? Why? Because muscle glycogen (sugar energy created from ingested carbohydrates)is stored along with water. For every gram of glycogen in the muscle, there should be three of water. Dehydration forces glucose to remain in the bloodstream instead of muscle until it reaches the liver for overflow storage. When the liver is full, the glycogen (sugar) has no place to go but your fat cells. Not good!
3. Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan. How can you hit a target you can't even see? You must set your goals and then document your progress via a journal, computer or cell phone application. This is the only verifiable way you can determine what does and does not work over time. Write down everything, from what you eat to when you eat, training programs, how you felt during and after workouts, etc. Take pictures of yourself as you progress to attach the visible senses to your goal.
4. Focus on the Core. For most people, your workout is motivated (at least to some degree) by the drive to improve your appearance. A prime target related to that goal invariably involves the elusive abdominals. Most people target the midsection with crunches or sit-ups. Although these are good examples of isolation exercises for the abdominals, you should also integrate alternative exercises that develop strength within all muscle groups of the core. This will provide you with the best foundation to push through the tough workouts in pursuit of your best body.

Despite our willingness to blame ourselves, our genetics or our hectic schedules, when fitness or weight-loss failure arises, it's often the result of flawed information destroying achievement potential. It's misinformation swallowing up the fitness hopes of someone with good intentions. Most of the mistakes we make when trying to get in shape involve actions (or a lack of action) that neglect the importance of the critical relationship between eating like an athlete, exercising aerobically in moderation, and challenging muscle. All three elements are crucial if the goal is a long-term positive physical change.

Once you learn to apply these strategies in a manner that fits comfortably into your life, you'll find the payoff for the time you invest in exercise to be significant and extremely rewarding. When you implement these strategies, fitness failure will no longer be an option! Talk to your doctor for more information.

Pediatric Prescription Overload

Our children are becoming addicted to drugs - the legal kind. Pediatric prescription rates are skyrocketing and medical doctors increasingly turn to an ever-expanding medicine chest to treat childhood conditions - many of which have little data to support prescription use in the pediatric population and/or have been treated effectively without drugs for years.

In December 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported the latest findings by Medco Health Solutions Inc., which determined that roughly one in four children and 30 percent of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 are taking a medication for a chronic condition in the United States. Nearly 7 percent of children are taking two or more such drugs, according to the company's research for 2009.

It appears that the growing childhood obesity problem in the United States could be partially to blame for these alarming statistics. For instance, drugs used to lower cholesterol are taken by 10-19-year-olds at a rate 50 percent higher than a decade ago. The concern with this trend is that these drugs are associated with weight gain and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes; meaning that the cure for high cholesterol could actually exacerbate the problem.

The Medco report also indicated that medication use for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) is on the rise, with 13.2 percent of the prescription drug benefit dollars spent in this area. However, the greatest concern could be the spike in use of atypical antipsychotics. Traditionally used to treat schizophrenia, these drugs recently have been prescribed to children for a variety of psychiatric disorders.

Medco also noted in its report that since the FDA issued a suicide warning in 2004 for certain antidepressants, there has been a 23 percent drop in children taking these pharmaceuticals. However, the FDA has expanded to pediatric patients the indications for many new atypical antipsychotic medications, including Abilify, Zyprexa and Seroquel, which has the listed side effects of "signs of diabetes" and "large or rapid weight gain."

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that the percentage of Americans taking at least one prescription drug each month increased from 44 percent to 48 percent from 1999 to 2008. The percentage taking two or more increased from 25 percent in 1999 to 31 percent in 2008. In that same time period, the percentage of Americans who took five or more prescription drugs per month increased from 6 percent to 11 percent. Is it any wonder that in the United States alone, almost $300 billion is spent each year on pharmaceuticals?

The best way to ensure that your child doesn't become part of the pediatric prescription craze is to ask your doctor about drug-free treatment options whenever they reach for their prescribing pad. It's also essential to inquire about the safety record and research supporting the drug's use for children specifically. If you don't get the answers you deserve to hear, get more information before filling that prescription.

5 Simple Stress Solutions

Stress can be a killer - quite literally, research suggests, but it can also make your day-to-day existence miserable. Who wants to walk (or rush) around all day as the oppressive weight of stress takes its toll on your body and mind? Here are five simple strategies to help you deal with stress and get back on the road to health and wellness:

1.Walk it off. There are so many physical and mental health benefits to a good walk; when it comes to stress, it's the perfect opportunity to relax, enjoy the outdoors and reduce your stress, either by forgetting about it for a while or having the chance to process it. In fact, in many cases stress isn't caused by a particular situation, but by the sense that you can'tescape your situation – your too-loud, too-hectic, too-frantic, responsibility-filled day.

2.Talk about it. One of the things that makes stress so damaging is that we often keep it to ourselves. Sometimes talking about how stressed you are (and why) with someone else is exactly what's needed to reduce it or at least understand it a little better - and that's half the battle. Your significant other, a family member, a friend or even a co-worker might be just what you need to get your stress (and how it's affecting you) out in the open. And once it's out in the open, it's easier to deal with.

3.Distract yourself. Stress doesn't have nearly as much power over you if you're not thinking about it. That can be a challenge, of course, especially when your every thought is focused on a particular stressor, but it's worth trying something – anything – to take your mind off your stress. True distraction means doing something that forces you to discard your stress to the greatest extent possible – try a baseball game, a night at the movies (particularly pure action or comedy), or even a good book or board game at home. Anything that requires your mind to focus on something other than your stress.

4.Deal with it. How do we "deal" with stress? It can involve any of these suggestions, but there are definitely a whole bunch more. It boils down to a few simple rules: a) Recognize when you're stressed; don't ignore it or pretend you're "fine." b) Understand why you're stressed; identify the source of the stress and think carefully about why it's affecting you. c) Find a way to reduce the stress (or eliminate it entirely); if that's not immediately possible, at least find a way to manage it so it doesn't continue to build.

5.Find the positives. There's a silver lining to every stressful situation or circumstance, whether it's stress about your job or career, your relationship, your family life, your (lack of) free time, your finances or anything else. It might be difficult to see at first, but it's definitely there. Think of stress as an opportunity to explore creative solutions that will not only ease your stress, but also reduce the chance it will return.

Healthy Snacks for Kids: Nuts and Seeds

Research continues to reveal that nuts and seeds do not deserve

their bad reputation. Absolutely, they are high in fat; but it's the good fat, not the bad, and when eaten in moderation, their health benefits far outweigh the dangers of their fat content. The fact is, the more we learn about nuts and seeds, the more we realize that they're one of the best snack-food options for children.

In 1996, the Iowa Women's Health Study found that women who ate nuts four or more times a week were 40 percent less likely to die of heart disease. Since then, similar studies performed by the Harvard School of Public Health and Loma Linda University in California have found the same. And the Physicians' Health Study (2002) determined that men who consumed nuts two or more times per week had a noticeably reduced risk of sudden cardiac death.

Studies performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Healthrevealed that three times as many people who were trying to lose weight were able to stick to a diet that included moderate fat content in the form of nuts and seeds. Researchers suggested that the fat, protein and fiber in nuts helped the dieters feel full longer, so many felt less deprived and ate less during the day.

Another study of women by the Harvard School of Public Health reported that there was a 30 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in those women who ate five or more 1-ounce servings of nuts per week as compared with women who rarely or never ate nuts.

Finally, studies published in the Journal of Nutrition and elsewhere have found that seeds, flax seeds in particular, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have proven benefits in the fight against heart disease, stroke and other circulatory diseases.

Nuts are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, with 1 ounce of Brazil nuts containing 780 percent of the recommended daily intake of selenium, and walnuts providing the most omega-3 fatty acids of any common nut. Almonds are a wonderful source of copper, magnesium and phosphorous, and provide 6 grams of protein per 1-ounce serving. And the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that pecans contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all nuts.

In short, the worst thing you can do for yourself and your children is reach for junk foods when you need a snack. Nuts and seeds are a convenient, healthy snack food that takes the edge off hunger without the added carbohydrates and sugar of most other snack food options. Your doctor can tell you more about the health benefits of moderate nut/seed intake.

their bad reputation. Absolutely, they are high in fat; but it's the good fat, not the bad, and when eaten in moderation, their health benefits far outweigh the dangers of their fat content. The fact is, the more we learn about nuts and seeds, the more we realize that they're one of the best snack-food options for children.

In 1996, the Iowa Women's Health Study found that women who ate nuts four or more times a week were 40 percent less likely to die of heart disease. Since then, similar studies performed by the Harvard School of Public Health and Loma Linda University in California have found the same. And the Physicians' Health Study (2002) determined that men who consumed nuts two or more times per week had a noticeably reduced risk of sudden cardiac death.

Studies performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Healthrevealed that three times as many people who were trying to lose weight were able to stick to a diet that included moderate fat content in the form of nuts and seeds. Researchers suggested that the fat, protein and fiber in nuts helped the dieters feel full longer, so many felt less deprived and ate less during the day.

Another study of women by the Harvard School of Public Health reported that there was a 30 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in those women who ate five or more 1-ounce servings of nuts per week as compared with women who rarely or never ate nuts.

Finally, studies published in the Journal of Nutrition and elsewhere have found that seeds, flax seeds in particular, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have proven benefits in the fight against heart disease, stroke and other circulatory diseases.

Nuts are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, with 1 ounce of Brazil nuts containing 780 percent of the recommended daily intake of selenium, and walnuts providing the most omega-3 fatty acids of any common nut. Almonds are a wonderful source of copper, magnesium and phosphorous, and provide 6 grams of protein per 1-ounce serving. And the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that pecans contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all nuts.

In short, the worst thing you can do for yourself and your children is reach for junk foods when you need a snack. Nuts and seeds are a convenient, healthy snack food that takes the edge off hunger without the added carbohydrates and sugar of most other snack food options. Your doctor can tell you more about the health benefits of moderate nut/seed intake.

Putting Natural Health in the Spotlight

When Chandra Burnham was a teen, she envisioned herself among the beautiful, intelligent, confident women strutting across the stage in the glamorous pageants she saw on television. When the images of shiny gowns, glamour and glitz would flash on the screen, Burnham was inspired and always in awe. This past October, Chandra was able to see her dream come to fruition. Burnham was crowned Miss South Dakota USA 2011 at the Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center in Brandon, S.D. The crown was her golden ticket to compete in the upcoming Miss USA Pageant, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas and air on NBC in June.

The victory meant more than a crown and publicity to Chandra. It also meant a window of opportunity had opened for her to achieve some of her other lofty goals in life – including promoting her passion for chiropractic care. At age 23, she is currently studying to be a doctor of chiropractic at Northwestern University of Health Sciences in Bloomington, Minn. It is a career that will certainly make her stand out among her peers and other pageant contestants.

These days, she is hitting the books with the same determination that got her the reigning crown at her last pageant. "Your reign in pageants is only a year ... but with chiropractic you also get to reach out to a lot of people [for much longer than just a year]. I don't think you can beat that feeling; I think it's going to be even better than winning a pageant," she said.

The pageant winner makes sure she is just as active in chiropractic organizations as she is in pageant events. She is a member of the Student American Chiropractic Association and attends professional events such as the National Chiropractic Legislative Conference, and also promotes the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit organization that helps increase public awareness of the many benefits associated with chiropractic care.

Even if she doesn't win the top prize – the Miss USA crown – Chandra said the best part for her will be promoting the benefits of chiropractic care as her main platform and knowing that when she becomes a doctor of chiropractic, she will always be a winner in the eyes of her patients.

"People love their chiropractor and what they can do for them," she said. "That's what made me want a job like that. I mean, how rewarding is that?"