Alternatives

Did you know that American's spend nearly $33 billion on alternative health care every year?  This represents about 11% of the total "out of pocket" health care costs incurred in the United States.

People continue to wake up to the fact that traditional health care, though very beneficial in emergency situations and in treating disease once health fails, continues to fall short in promoting and improving health and preventing disease through wellness care.

Alternative medicine fills this gap quite admirably, and people are willing to pay for it.

Most private pay insurances have little or no coverage for alternative medical care. Even company-provided health care plans allow for only limited exposure to alternative care providers.

The good news is that the cost of alternative health care, in general, is much less expensive than traditional health care. Chiropractors, acupuncturists, naturopaths, etc are very cost effective alternatives. Such physicians teach concepts of structural health, energy health, emotional stability, exercise, and the value of making good nutritional choices.

Preventing disease should not be aimed at the eradication of a particular bacterial or viral strain. Instead, resources should be spent on improving the overall health of the population through making good health-promoting choices.

Find a chiropractor or naturopath that you trust and like. He/She will be able to assist you with much of your healthy choices.  Even though you may be required to cover the cost on your own (thanks to your crisis-minded insurance plan), the benefits to your health are well worth it, and staying healthy will save you tons of money in the long run.

 Keith Biggs, DC
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
www.therapeuticfoods.blogspot.com

biggschiropractic@gmail.com

Diabetes Drug May Kill You

CNN has published a recent article in which they bring into question the drug Avandia. GlaxoSmithKline produces Avandia, which is used for treating diabetes. It appears that GlaxoSmithKline might be involved in somewhat of a cover-up. Avandia might be responsible for causing heart attacks in its users, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) doesn't want you, the consumer, to know about it.  GSK asserts that the drug is "safe".

Now, what is the definition of a "safe" drug?  What ratio of dosages to fatalities is considered simply a statistical anomaly or an acceptable loss? At what levels do we finally determine that a drug that was thought to be a lifesaver is actually a killer?  GSK, who has invested substantial amounts of money on the drug would like you to think of Avandia as safe, regardless of the risks. After all, business is business. Deaths are expected and acceptable as long as the bottom line is good...

The truth is that there is no such thing as a safe drug. All drugs are artificial chemicals that nature did not design to be used in the body. They might cause some positive physiological reactions, but they will ALL cause negative ones as well, and some reactions are deadly.

If you are using Avandia, contact your MD and consider using an alternative. Better yet, if you are a diabetic, start eating better, exercising, and loosing weight. Maybe you won't need any of the diabetic drugs.  You are certainly going to be healthier either way.

Keith Biggs, DC
eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic@gmail.com

Asthma and Kids

I remember long ago hearing the adage that "you are what you eat". Though it is a common phrase, too few of us actually take it to heart.

Another way of looking at it is that if you eat healthy, you are more likely to be healthy. For example.... kids that eat diets that are rich in fruits and vegetables and fish are less likely to develop asthma and wheezing symptoms. Think about it. If we as parents would simply alter our diets and help our children to do the same, we could prevent the development of asthma in those that we love the most, not to mention eliminating the damaging side affects of the long term use of steroids and other pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of SYMPTOMS associated with asthma (medications don't treat asthma. They relieve the symptoms so as to support the unhealthy condition...).

Parents, take a stand! Make a decision to eliminate one unhealthy food today, and replace it with a healthy food choice!  Your kids deserve the life of health that you will be giving them. Think of your grand kids. They will also benefit from the good diet habits that you help to instill in your children. If that is not enough, think of yourself. As you help your children to avoid asthma through healthy eating, you will improve the odds of you not dying from heart disease at a premature age!

If your children already suffer from asthma, do not be discouraged. Change their diets right away. Help them to learn to eat healthy. Also, take them to your chiropractor. Adjustments of the mid back and ribs has been shown to open air passageways and to promote a healthy immune system. The Chiropractor will also have additional information regarding potential alternatives to the long term use of medications. Don't wait for the next miracle drug. It will not cure your child's lack of health. Asthma is NOT the result of a drug deficiency, that is for sure.

Sickness and disease is often the result of choices that we make. Choose wisely!

Breast Feeding Helps To Prevent Asthma in Children

Biggs Chiropractic & Acupuncture Web Site

Mothers who breast feed their children for 4 months or longer help to prevent asthma in their children. A recent study of 4,000 children in Sweden showed that of those that were exclusively breast fed, 12% developed asthma by the age of 8.  Of the children that were not breast fed, 18 percent developed asthma.

This study confirms what nature tells us, if we would all simply listen. Now, pay attention, because I am going to simplify this for everyone so that we can all understand...

Man, no matter how educated, advanced, or intelligent he becomes, cannot produce a nutrient supplement or food replacement that is better for babies than what nature provides for them through mother's milk, period.

Life is amazing. A mother's body produces the perfect food for her baby. 

The following is true also, by extrapolation.  The best foods for adult humans are not genetically altered or processed. They come from simple God-given sources.  The closer that we stick to nature in our eating habits, the better off we all are.

Lets go one step further.  Your own body is its own best healer.  Health and wellness is not the result of a man made medication. Medications are manufactured for the treatment of human beings when health fails, but medications fail to restore health.  At best, they help to control an acute situation or to manage a chronic one.  Health will never be found in a pharmaceutical.

Health is not the merely the absence of disease or symptoms. It is the 100% optimal function of all cells, systems, organs of the body.  Chiropractic adjustments, proper nutrition, massage, whole foods, healthy relationships, work, exercise.  These are what promote health.... along with mother's milk.

--
Keith E. Biggs, DC

3617 E. Southern, Suite 8
Mesa, AZ  85206
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic@gmail.com
Office:  480-985-3334
Cell:     480-375-0068

Live 12 Years Longer

A recent study at the University of Oslo took a look at nearly 5000 British adults. They compared the life span of those that committed 4 common health bad habits to those that did not. The four bad habits are Smoking, Drinking too much, Poor diet, and Inactivity.

On the average, those that did not smoke, drank less, exercised 2 or more hours per week, and included three or more servings of fruits and vegetables lived 12 years longer than their peers that had the four bad health habits.

Though not a guarantee that you will live longer if you comply with good health habits, this is another strong study that advocates a good health lifestyle.

--
Keith E. Biggs, DC

3617 E. Southern, Suite 8
Mesa, AZ  85206
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic@gmail.com
Office:  480-985-3334
Cell:     480-375-0068

FDA Considers Pulling the Plug

The FDA is considering ending trials on Avandia, (see the article "FDA Mulls Killing Safety Study on Diabetic Drug") a new medication for the treatment of Diabetes. There is concern that the new drug is linked to increased heart disease in those using the drug.

I have said this for years. Every drug has the actions that are beneficial, at the expense of actions that are damaging. The positive effects are touted as lifesaving, where-as the damaging results of taking the drug are dismissed as being "side effects." That way, they don't sound so ominous.

The pharmaceutical companies are always under the gun to manufacture the new, latest, and greatest medication. It is the only way that they can survive. The medication is always touted as having wonderful life saving qualities, and the side effects are either non-existent or very minimal. The drug is tested and then released into the general public, where it finally, whether we like to hear it or not, is truly tested... on you and me.

Typically, 5-10 years after a medication is released, we begin to see the true nature of the "side effects". Kidney damage, liver damage, heart disease, immune suppression, etc etc. The medication that was the miracle of modern science only a few short years before suddenly becomes the subject of a medical scandal and the target of legal action by disgruntled patients or survivors of "victims" of the evil drug.

Who is to blame? We are! We keep ignoring the things that help us to be healthy, opting instead for the false promise of health in a bottle. We don't strive for health, but we eagerly ingest or inject medications once we inevitably become sick! True health will never be found in a bottle or vile of medication. Health is found in healthy eating, exercise, nutrition, chiropractic care, acupuncture... all when we are feeling WELL, not when we are finally feeling sick. Every day I see patients that come into me with substantial health issues, the kind that they have ignored for years. They want miracles in exchange for the decades of neglect towards their own health. Often I can give them some relief, and then, they immediately return to their own self-damaging practices and lifestyle, only to repeat the discomfort and increase their health issues.

Avandia is not the solution for diabetes. Sure, it might help some to manage the condition until its negative effects become too difficult to defend legally. But not to worry, there will be a new and improved drug on the horizon that will carry the promise of a cure without side effects.

I Can't Say It Any Better...

John Skipper clearly defines a common problem for those of retirement age. The government doesn't know what to do with you if you are healthy. On the other hand, they will gladly treat you into the grave. Congratulations to Nora Bigger for fighting against the system, for staying healthy in spite of her government!

The government can't seem to figure out that if a person is healthy and NOT receiving costly life-saving procedures and medications, they actually cost a lot less! In one of my recent posts, for example, I talked about the cost of spinal surgery for back pain verses chiropractic care. One surgical procedure on the lower back will cost the taxpayers $30,000-$100,000! On the other hand, a person could see a chiropractor for back pain and in a lifetime would not spend that much money! (not to mention that many people have serious complications related to surgery, such as death, disability, etc, which costs the system hundreds of thousands of dollars per incident.

We are all going to age. The goal is to age in as healthy a manor as possible. We should aspire to a high QUALITY of life, for as long as possible, with a peaceful exit at the end. Who wants to be alive and miserable? NOT ME! Too often, however, modern medicine struggles to keep us alive and miserable for as long as possible. The result is a prolonged life but with a poor quality of life.

Our health care system should be focusing more time, effort and resources on improving the quality of life through PROMOTING a healthy lifestyle and Wellness practices like acupuncture, nutrition, chiropractic, etc. Less should be spent in the struggle to prolong the misery of a chemically supported life.

To some, this will sound harsh. To me, this point of view sounds very humanitarian. Even the most harsh critic, if he would look deep inside of himself, has probably said at least once, when a loved one has passed, "It was their time, they were so miserable, they have gone to a better place."

Life is precious, but there is more to life than just living.

First Post

This is my first blog post! My hope is to open discussions regarding health and wellness, where Ideas can be exchanged, and alternatives discussed. I look forward to learning from each of you. Please share this blog with your friends!
Dr. Biggs