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Posture is no Co-incidence.

When I am out in public, especially in a city like New York, I see a broad variety of humanity. A lifetime of neglect can be seen everyday when we walk down the street. We come across people with horribly distorted postures, how did they get this way? Some were probably traumatized, but most cases developed slowly on a day by day basis.
Nothing is an accident, how we live in our bodies is determined; however, it is largely unconscious

Our posture gets distorted from two things:
Bad habits, which we can change as we become conscious of them.
Internal spinal tensions, and subsequent compensations.
How do we know which is which?….duh, start paying attention!

Habits that we can’t seem to easily break, usually have an underlying spinal tension as the cause. Unresolved, the constant response to pull on the spinal system is to change posture to alleviate this disturbance.
The purpose of my chiropractic work is to release those tensions, and help you to gracefully undo those compensations. It will take time as each distortion and the compensations needed will release only when the body can accommodate such change.
The work is the work. So far there are no shortcuts to this natural healing process. There is much we can do to help this positive change along. I educate people in the details of how to sit, stand,and even sleep.
There is no hiding from poor spinal management or it’s consequences.

Zinc and B12 are an important team for your mental and emotional well being.

In “The Townsend Letter of Doctors “, I was reading about all the B12 health benefits: everything from fighting anemia to memory and mood elevation. While I don’t practice psychiatry, the function of the central nervous system is key in my practice.
One study caught my eye. This one, (Mitsuyama et al) brought up the issue of how important zinc is in getting the B12 across the blood-brain barrier and into the central nervous system. No matter how good your B 12 status, if Zinc isn’t available the vitamin won’t arrive where it’s needed. Without B 12, the brain is vulnerable to a host of mental and functional difficulties.
Various obstacles exist to Zinc’s availability: mercury, cadmium and copper. How do we know if you have adequate Zinc? I have a simple, cheap and direct test at my Union Square Spinal Care office. A weak solution of Zinc is given to patients to swirl around in the mouth. I time how long it takes for any taste to develop. The more deficient a person, the longer it takes to notice.
Zinc supplements are cheap and effective. Who is most likely to develop Zinc deficiency? People exposed to cadmium, lead and copper like mechanics, plumbers, electronics technicians and those in the dental industry. Cigarette or marijuana smokers are exposed to cadmium and should also be checked regularly.
So before resorting to powerful medications consider increasing B12 and evaluating Zinc availability.

Ignore Your Health, It'll Go Away

I was walking in the West Village last weekend, when the sight of this ice encrusted car caught my attention. I had to take the photograph you see above. As you can see the vehicle in the background is free and clear. The past weeks of snow, freezing rain, partial thaw then re-freezing created this miserable condition. Yet it is the result of doing nothing that made the difference between the two vehicles.
I constantly urge my patients to keep the small problems small. Stay of aware of your body, and take action early. Get the exercise, the massage, of course see me; before you have to take drastic action and see a surgeon! The owner of the car may have to wait for the Spring thaw, the owner of our bodies (that's us) don't get that luxury.

Self Assessment, an important starting place

“Know Thyself” is credited to Socrates. In ‘The Art of War,’ Sun Tzu wrote: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” And, John Lennon; “How can I move forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing?”

Living in the information age, what tools do we have to assess ourselves? Tests should be simple, inexpensive, and accurate. Equally important, they must point to solutions that allow us to determine choices.
-What small changes will greatly improve your condition (ex: quit smoking)?
-What large change will be worthwhile (ex: you may really need a surgery)?

I am currently reviewing several symptom survey forms that "cast a broad net" over a great variety of health issues.

Importance of Iodine and Iron to Child Health Recognized in EU

Positive European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims linking iodine, iron and child development have been adopted and written into the EU legislature.

Commission Regulation (EU) No 958/2010 of 22 October 2010 refusing to authorize a health claim made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to child development and health relevance.


The new claims state:

* Iodine contributes to the normal growth of children
* Iron contributes to normal cognitive development of children

Let's start with the IODINE:

In my office, Union Square Spinal Care, I often test for adequate Iodine with a simple test you can do at home.
Take regular Iodine tincture (2%), and paint a one inch square on the skin, where it won't rub against skin or clothing. Observe how long this takes to absorb. I you can still see it after 24 hours, then your nutritional status is good. Of course the faster it is absorbed, the greater the body's need.

My secretary recently did this test, and to our amazement the Iodine coloration was gone in fifteen minutes!

Another patient of mine started a daily supplement as a result of this test; she dropped nine pounds of fat in just a couple of months without any other dietary changes or exercise.

I have been very impressed with the Iodoral brand formula that is a combination of Iodine and Iodide. Do a quick "google" search, and you will see the expert agreement here. What isn't being brought to light is the simplicity of iodine deficiency testing, that I just described.

Magnesium, an Ally in Need of Defending

There is a call for us to intervene with the FDA and US Attorney General to change standards and regulations on Magnesium in our drinking water. Historically, Magnesium was in salt, today's table salt is really "industrial waste". With artificially low standards set by our government we have lost another resource for thi...s vital mineral.
I had done hundreds of hair mineral analysis tests, and never found anyone with sufficient Mg to balance the other minerals. Don't overlook the fundamentals of good health.
Look up this site: http://www.mgwater.com/legal.shtml