chiropractic Archives - Page 3 of 9 - Community Chiropractic

Light Up Your Life

December 8, 2011 By Pam Jarboe, DC Leave a Comment

Post by Julie Pampinella

For many, the onset of winter and shorter days brings on feelings of fatigue, sadness, anxiety and depression. Day Light Classic affects SO many, apparently, that many health insurance plans actually cover most or all of the cost of a light box. I was so excited to discover that this year – and want to pass this info on to you!

I decided to experiment with a light box this year to manage mild fatigue and sleep pattern disturbance related to the shorter, darker days. My insurance is HMO Blue, and not a fancy plan, either. I called them and they told me that light boxes are listed as “durable medical equipment,” and told me my plan fully covered a certain dollar amount of durable medical equipment every year, with no out-of-pocket costs. (Queue angels singing…)

HMO Blue requires a letter with a diagnosis of a “depressive episode” (there is no diagnosis code for seasonal affective disorder) from a licensed therapist or primary care physician for a light box. I called a local medical equipment distributor and was told to bring the letter and my insurance card in, and they would get it approved by my insurance, place the order and the light box would be delivered to me. It took about two weeks, but today I received a very happy looking “Day Light Classic” in a bright yellow box.

I am looking forward to adding light box therapy to my current self-care regimen (chiropractic adjustments, Vitamin D, Omega 3’s, and exercise) to move through the season with increased energy and mood. I plan to sit for 20-30 minutes a day, and figure that will be the perfect opportunity to begin meditating regularly!

If you are fighting the winter blues, having trouble sleeping, and want to improve your mood and energy, don’t wait — call your health insurance provider to find out if a light box is covered! You may be two weeks (or less) away from seeing the light!

Giving Thanks

November 23, 2011 By Pam Jarboe, DC Leave a Comment

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

One of the original chiropractic teachers talked about the light within us as our Innate Intelligence. He proposed that lack of adaptation to our life stresses — physical, chemical, mental and emotional — block this Intelligence from being expressed. He hoped that chiropractic would be a means for people to express more of their inborn potential or to shine their light. Today we, Dr. Steve and I, give thanks to our many mentors who have helped our lights to shine so that we can bring our very best to you, our community.

May your light shine through today and every day of your life. May you find ways to remove any of the “clouds” that block your light. May you find tools that amplify the gifts that you were innately born with. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, 2011, Community Chiropractic offers gratitude for our community and our ability to participate and be of service to it.

May all of us be well, happy, and in peace on this day and every day.

About Vitamin D – Part Three

November 16, 2011 By Pam Jarboe, DC Leave a Comment

As we wrote about last week, vitamin D is an important ingredient of human nutrition, which is in the form of vitamin D2 and D3. Vitamin D is required by the human body in small quantities; but, a regular intake of the foods containing vitamin D is necessary for good overall health. Because we spend so much more time indoors or blocking sunlight when we are outside, the production of vitamin D in the human skin has reduced drastically.

Foods That Contain Vitamin D

• One of the biggest food sources of vitamin D is the oil that is derived from fish such as Cod. Most of the fish that contain a generous amount of fat prove to be a good source of vitamin D.
• The cod liver oil that is derived from the cod fish, if consumed regularly and periodically proves to be very healthy for the body, especially for the skin.
• Herring also provides a good quantity of vitamin D.
• Some fish become good sources of vitamin D, only when they are cooked. Some of the prominent examples are: Salmon, Mackerel and Eel.
• Canned Sardine and Tuna are also very good sources of vitamin D.
• Some people are always surprised to hear this, but an egg consumed every day also provides the required quantity of vitamin D in the human body.
• Cooked beef, liver and some specific types of mushrooms are also very good vitamin D food sources.
• It is also advisable that if possible, one should stand in the fresh morning sunlight for about 10 to 15 minutes every day, in order to generate natural and adequate quantities of vitamin D in the skin itself.

About Vitamin D, Part Two

November 9, 2011 By Pam Jarboe, DC Leave a Comment

Lack of Vitamin D — Symptoms

There are many factors that lead to the presence of symptoms due to lack of Vitamin D. Some of these reasons are given below.

• Lack of foods rich in vitamin D in your diet.
• Minimal exposure to sunlight.
• Failure of kidneys to convert vitamin D to its active form.
• Dark skin shade in people.
• Inability of digestive tract to absorb vitamin D.
• Using too much sunscreen.
• Age and hereditary conditions.

If you are displaying lack of vitamin D symptoms, you need not worry too much because there are many cures and remedies available to you.

Depending on your age, severity of symptoms and hereditary factors, your doctor will prescribe certain medications and vitamin supplements to you to reduce and eradicate these lack of vitamin D symptoms. S/he will either provide you with some long term solutions, or alternately even give you some short term solutions, depending on which will suit you better.

About Vitamin D, Part One

November 2, 2011 By Pam Jarboe, DC Leave a Comment

Vitamin D is very commonly known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’ because it is produced in the body as a result of direct exposure to sunlight. The main purpose of vitamin D in the body is to make use of the calcium available in the diet to strengthen the bones and teeth. If a person is displaying some symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, it generally implies a lack of sunlight.

Vitamin D deficiency symptoms are seen in many people across the world and people showing such symptoms usually have weak bones, and this leads to soft bones and skeletal deformities. There are a multitude of other health problems as well, that can be curbed by effectively noticing and curing symptoms for lack of vitamin D. You can ask your doctor to check your levels of Vitamin D.

Some Common Symtoms of Deficiency

There are a host of easily distinguishable vitamin D deficiency symptoms that you should look out for:

Rickets: This is one of the biggest lack of vitamin D symptoms. Weak bones that get hurt easily or fractured regularly are one of the biggest effects vitamin D deficiency causes. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is seen mostly in elderly people.

Skin pigmentation: If a person regularly notices pigmentation on their skin, it is very likely that this is being caused by lack of vitamin D. Depression as a result of this is also a commonly observed symptom.

Inflammatory bowel disease: People experiencing inflammatory bowel movements must also beware, as this is also widely recognized as one of the lack of vitamin D symptoms.

Obesity: People who are obese must also be very careful about their intake of vitamin D, as obese people are more prone to showing symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.

Other lack of vitamin D symptoms include knock-kneed appearance, low blood calcium levels, high blood pressure, tuberculosis, depression, bowed limbs, chronic fatigue, type I diabetes and chronic bone pain, muscle pain or joint pain. More on symptoms of low vitamin D levels to come next week!

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