Someone hacked this account and posted on this site. The post was immediately removed.
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Stop Low Back Pain Today
Stop Most Low Back Pain Today
 |
| Remember to Stretch |
| Exercise is a three-step process: stretching, exercising, and abdominal strengthening. Stretching prepares you for the work of exercise, and is done first — before anything else — gently and gradually. You may be tighter than usual on a particular day. This is not important — you should never try to stretch to where “you think you should be”. Just stretch, making sure to pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s easy to injure a muscle if you’re thinking about something else, or if you’re rushing, trying to squeeze in some stretching before dashing off. |
Back pain affects 60 to 80 percent of U.S. adults at some time during their lives, and up to 50 percent have back pain within a given year. Some of these problems are easily treated and low back pain never return, but in twenty percent of patients low back pain becomes chronic and the person continues to have recurrences and exacerbation (episodes).
Effective treatment of uncomplicated low back pain involves treatment in a chiropractor’s office and beginning and continuing an exercise program. A recent study conducted by the Medical Research Council, a research organization based in the United Kingdom, has found that patients given a combination of spinal manipulation and exercise experienced greater improvement in back function and greater reduction in pain compared to those treated with spinal manipulation or exercise only.
Much mechanical lower back pain is associated with tight leg muscles (hamstrings and quadriceps) and weak abdominal muscles. Leg muscles need to be stretched and abdominal muscles need to be strengthened to avoid recurrences of low back pain. This is a daily event. We recommend that a person spend about the same amount of time each day on their back doing exercises as they do brushing their teeth. (4 min a day)
People are generally not aware of these relationships. You may know you “should be exercising”, but you may be unaware of the importance of stretching. Also, abdominal strengthening is usually the last thing a person thinks of when he or she thinks of doing exercise.
Abdominal strengthening helps support the lower back. Spinal muscles are not designed to carry your body weight. If your abdominal muscles are weak, then your back muscles will be used to carry your body weight, and eventually you’ll have low back pain. Abdominal strengthening not only helps keep your lower back healthy, but also helps maintain good posture. Postural benefits include an easy, relaxed gait; muscles that are long and supple, rather than short and tight; and an open chest that allows for easy, smooth breathing. Your body is continuous. Everything’s connected. A lower back problem often affects many other areas. By making sure to stretch daily and by including abdominal exercises in your home exercise daily routine, you can help ensure having a low back that works.
As a Huntsville AL Chiropractor, Madison AL Chiropractor, Decatur AL Chiropractor, Millar Chiropractic. we have tried this program successfully on many patients.
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A New You - Your New Reality
A New You - Your New Reality
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| 120-Day Makeover |
| Your body's cells and tissues are constantly undergoing replacement, remodeling, and makeovers. For example, your red blood cells - the cells that carry oxygen from your lungs to every other part of your body - replace themselves every 120 days. Other cells with such a high rate of turnover include the cells lining your gastrointestinal tract - stomach, small intestine, and large intestine - and hair cells. Ultimately all of your body's cells die and are replaced. What this means is that the "new you" doesn't have to be the same as the "old you". As you get healthier - eat more nutritious foods, exercise regularly, and get sufficient restful sleep - your new replacement cells also become stronger, fitter, and healthier. For most people, chiropractic care is an essential ingredient in becoming healthier. Chiropractic care helps improve the functioning of your nerve system, which in turn helps every system of your body function more effectively and efficiently. With respect to health and well-being, chiropractic care helps your desire for a "new reality" become a reality. |
Is it possible to create "a new you" personal reality? So-called unscripted reality television shows say you can - "The Biggest Loser" being one of the more popular of these tell-all and show-all programs. But most of us realize that these shows don't closely represent reality as we experience it. What causes us to tune in anyway? The answer is that even though reality shows may be scripted or controlled, they do contain an element of reality regarding the actual problems of the participants/contestants. We empathize with their struggles, and hope to discern some new knowledge that may help us overcome our own hurdles. But can a real person, in real life, make long-lasting changes in lifestyle, health, and wellness? "A New Reality"
The provisional answer is yes.1,2,3 A real person can lose significant weight and keep it off. A real person can become physically fit, even though she hasn't exercised for 20 years, or ever. A real person can create a nutritional food plan that covers all the basics and also tastes great. A real person can sleep seven or eight hours a night, most nights, and have the ongoing experience of feeling well-rested. A real person can enjoy meaningful and fulfilling relationships with family and friends. In short, a real person can design and have a real life, even though from today's perspective such a rewarding life might seem an impossibly unattainable goal.
Your new reality is possible, but it doesn't come for free. If no effort were involved, every person in the developed world would be living happy, creative, self-fulfilled lives right now. You can see that is not the case when you look around at your workplace, the local market, or the shopping mall. How many people appear to be happy and engaged? How many appear anxious or stressed? Many times, anxiety and stress far outweigh happiness and enjoyment. For many, our default way of being seems to include worry, disorganization, disorder, and breakdown. These conditions lead to anxiety, which leads to stress, which leads to more worry and anxiety. When they form, these negative habits of thinking and action are habitually ineffective; they continue to be negative influences on our lives until we abolish them. In terms of health and well-being, our negative habits lead to the opposite conditions - we aren't healthy and we don't feel good about ourselves.
The world around us works the same way. Every moment, the universe is tending to greater entropy - the breakup of organized energy patterns and greater disorder. On the other hand, life has the power to reverse the natural tendency toward entropy. Life creates structure. Life creates organization. Think of honeycombs. Think of dams. Think of skyscrapers. Think of human endeavor.
Why then do human lives often seem to fall apart so easily? The missing secret ingredients include intention, planning, effort and mental state. And not only the effort required to keep the whole thing operational. Extra effort is called for to really make a difference. Extra effort that we take on our own behalf. In order for us to create a new personal reality, extra effort will be required. Weeks, months, and years of extra effort. This sounds like a lot. It is. The good news is that the payoff can be huge. The real payoff is the person you become as part of this process of renewal. You become your authentic self and reach "Your New Reality".
For years as a Huntsville AL Chiropractor, Madison AL Chiropractor, and Decatur AL Chiropractor, of Millar Chiropractic Clinic. we are often asked questions about how does one reach that reach that new reality. We often tell our patients to start today by following their DREAM. Where "D" stands for Diet (any thing you eat is your diet); "R" stands for rest (that includes sleep and rest at peace; "E" stands for Exercise; "A" stands for adjustments to keep the system optimally working; and "M" stands for mental state (perhaps the most important of all).
1Totsikas C, et al: Cardiorespiratory fitness determines the reduction in blood pressure and insulin resistance during lifestyle intervention. J Hypertens 29(6):1220-1227, 2011
2Lohmann H, et al: Fitness consultations in routine care of patients with type 2 diabetes in general practice: an 18-month non-randomised intervention study. BMC Fam Pract 11:83, 2010
3Ryan AS: Exercise in aging: its important role in mortality, obesity and insulin resistance. Aging Health 6(5):551-563, 2010
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Natural Order of Things
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| Getting Healthy and Staying Healthy with Chiropractic Care |
| Nutritious food and regular exercise will only go so far if your nervous system is not working properly. Spinal nerve irritation can block the free flow of information between your brain and the rest of your body, interfering with healthy functioning and leading to a wide range of diseases. Irritated nerves cause too many nerve signals or too few nerve signals to flow between the brain and the body. Information transfer is either speeded up or slowed down - either situation leads to a breakdown in communication and results in various disorders and diseases. Your chiropractor is a specialist in detecting and correcting spinal nerve irritation or nerve interference. Chiropractic adjustments help restore normal nerve transmission, helping restore optimal health and well-being. |
The natural world functions very well on its own. Left to their own devices, members of the tens of millions of species on our planet thrive and prosper without relying on outside agencies.
In order to grow abundantly, plants consume carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients from the soil. Likewise, herbivorous animals consume plants whereas carnivorous animals consume other animals. Insects eat a wide variety of foods, including plants, fruit, other insects, detritus (dead leaves, stems, and twigs), and even blood. Many types of bacteria and fungi recycle decomposing matter. Whales, among the top predator in the oceans, may consume more than a ton of plankton per day in addition to fish, squid, and other crustaceans.
Every member of every species except humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) obtains everything it needs from the environment. Modern humanity is the only species for which the abundance provided by the global ecosystem is insufficient.
For instance, mountain lions, raccoons, and coyotes don't need sleeping pills. But humans spend more than $1.5 billion per year on the sleep aid Ambien. Dolphins, antelope, and bluebirds don't have problems with blood glucose levels. In stark contrast, the annual cost of diabetes medications in the United States was $12.5 billion in 2007. In the wild, oak trees, tuna, and elephants don't need nutritional supplementation. Humans, however, spend more than $23 billion annually in the United States alone. What is wrong with this picture?
As a species, humans have the unprecedented ability to manipulate and drastically alter the world in which we live, some for the good but some for the bad. Also aside from epidemic infectious disease, and unlike any other animal on the planet, there exists no natural check on the human animal. As populations expand, resources become more and more scarce. Populations flocking to urban enclaves not only leave behind the countryside but also local sources of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry. So canning, packaging, and transportation of food over long distances become necessary to supply the food needs of the cities. But only calories and not much else are obtained by these methods. Energy is provided but food quality and nutritional value is substantially reduced.
Chronic disease becomes widespread. Diabetes, cardiovascular disorders including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke, and obesity are all the direct result of a severely compromised food supply.1,2,3
Our disconnect from the natural world poses many additional challenges. Our bodies were designed to meet the demanding physical requirements of a hostile environment. But for the most part we don't do physical work anymore. If we don't find satisfactory substitutes for strenuous physical activity our musculoskeletal, metabolic, and endocrine systems easily deteriorate. The consequences include osteoporosis, chronic aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems, and anxiety and depression. In cities, we spend our days sitting and at working computers and meetings. All along our muscles slowly deteriorate and become less and less effective. And we haven't even talked about stress and what that can do to the human body.
It takes a lot of effort to maintain good health when we're so far removed from the natural world. We need to make sure our diets are fresh and healthy and we need to get sufficient and regular strenuous exercise. The short- and long-term benefits include happiness, self-esteem, and ongoing well-being. So think DREAM - Diet, Rest, Exercise, Adjustments, and Mental State. Balance yourself and enjoy the Natural Order of Things.
1Kesse-Guyot E, et al: Adherence to nutritional recommendations and subsequent cognitive performance: findings from the prospective Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals 2. Am J Clin Nutr Nov 24 2010 (Epub ahead of print)
2Wolfe AR, et al: Dietary protein and protein-rich food in relation to severely depressed mood: A 10 year follow-up of a national cohort. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry Nov 22 2010 (Epub ahead of print)
3Pekmezi DW, Demark-Wahnefried W: Updated evidence in support of diet and exercise interventions in cancer survivors. Acta Oncol Nov 24 2010 (Epub ahead of print)
For Information or Appointments at any office call
Toll Free 1-800 Go Chiro 1-800 462-4476
We are Huntsville AL Chiropractors, Madison AL Chiropractors, Decatur AL Chiropractors, Millar Chiropractic.
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Do You Have Good Posture?
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| Chiropractic Care Helps Create Good Posture |
| Most of our daily activities work against good posture. We spend large portions of our days sitting in an uncomfortable chair, peering at a computer terminal. Muscles tighten and joints get stiff as we make our way through our daily tasks and responsibilities. Neck muscles, lower back muscles, thigh muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings), and calf muscles shorten, lose their mobility, and become stiff and sore. Aches and pains add their burdens to chronically poor posture. Over time we become even less of the person we were meant to be. Chiropractic care helps you reverse these downward spirals. Chiropractic care helps you restore good posture by relieving mechanical stresses and strains and by causing your musculoskeletal system to become more flexible and resilient. The result is improved range of motion, reduced pain, and an enhanced sense of well-being. |
Has your mother ever told you to "sit up straight and stop sloughing"? Well, mine did. I also remember long ago and far away, a fourth-grade teacher saying "stand up straight - you look like a pretzel". The unthinking adult only offered criticism. All I could do was snap to attention and try to unkink myself.
Most of us think good posture involves sucking in the stomach, thrusting out the chest and pulling back the shoulders. Informing a person that he needs to improve his posture usually results in a sudden, robot-like increase in stature, the person stiffly incorporating most or all of these muscular stresses.
As a direct result of our weak relationship to sound concepts of what good posture actually is, most people have protruding stomachs, slumped shoulders, and necks that protrude far in front of their body's center (forward head carry). Aside from perpetually unattractive aesthetics, chronic inefficient posture places ongoing strain on back and neck muscles. Poor posture also interferes with normal functioning of your heart and lungs. Metabolic processes deteriorate owing to lack of normal oxygen supply. Poor posture not only leads to musculoskeletal problems like chronic back and neck pain and degenerative disc disease but also is implicated in gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases and many other disorders.
The welcome news is that achieving good posture is not that difficult. Work is required, of course, as well as consistent attention. But the work is not hard - it is merely new and different, for most of us. As we can guess, the key element in good posture is a properly curved spine. Importantly, that doesn’t mean straight or rigid. Normal spinal alignment is one of curves all stacked over each other.
The main consideration here is how to get your spine aligned without tightening all your muscles and holding your breath.1 The solution requires a little imagination. Picture in your mind a string dangling from the sky down your body to the floor. The taught string goes from the sky, to your ear, to your shoulder, to your hip, to your ankle and to the floor.Your body if then aligned over itself is in "Good Posture"
Another piece to the posture puzzle is to allow your shoulder girdles to rest on your rib cage. You don’t have to press your shoulders down to do this - just don’t hold them up. Most of us unconsciously tighten our neck and shoulder girdle muscles all day long. By starting to be conscious of what’s going on, we can start letting go of tight shoulder girdle muscles. The shoulders will then gently descend and come to rest on top of the rib cage, where they belong.
By paying attention to these basic postural corrections, over time we can develop a posture that is fluid and efficient. We will appear taller, comfortably reaching our full height with grace and ease. Tension and anxiety begin to reduce and we sleep more restfully at night. Good posture is good health.2,3
1Movahed M, et al: Fatigue sensation, electromyographical and hemodynamic changes of low back muscles during repeated static contraction. Eur J Appl Physiol Sep 30, 2010 (Epub ahead of print)
2Edmondston SJ, et al: Postural neck pain: an investigation of habitual sitting posture, perception of 'good' posture and cervicothoracic kinaesthesia. Man Ther 12(4):363-371, 2007
3Prins Y, et al: A systematic review of posture and psychosocial factors as contributors to upper quadrant musculoskeletal pain in children and adolescents. Physiother Theory Pract 24(4):221-242, 2008
For Information or Appointments at any office call
Toll Free 1-800 Go Chiro 1-800 462-4476
We are Huntsville AL Chiropractors, Madison AL Chiropractors, Decatur AL Chiropractors, Millar Chiropractic.
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
New Beginning
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| Chiropractic Care and Long-Term Health |
| Achieving long-term health does not imply that you will never get sick. Achieving long-term health does not imply that you will never have a neck or back problem. Achieving long-term health does mean that you will get the most out of what you've got; you will be much healthier than otherwise; and you will feel better about yourself, have more energy, and get more out of life. Chiropractic care is an essential component of achieving long-term health. Making sure you eat good food, drink plenty of water, and eat several portions of fresh fruits and vegetables each day is a very good place to start. Adding a daily program of 30 minutes of regular, vigorous exercise is the next key piece in achieving good health. Chiropractic care is the important link that brings everything together, enabling your body to make the best use of your nutrition and exercise. Chiropractic care helps ensure that the various parts of your body are working in harmony to achieve your long-term goals in health and wellness. |
The time is always right to begin returning to good health. Regardless of whether your issues involve weight, exercise, diet, blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic pain, now is the time to begin taking action on your own behalf creating your new beginning.
You are not alone. Literally hundreds of millions of people worldwide have various chronic complaints and illnesses.1,2,3 Some problems are more serious than others, but everyone eventually wants to find a better way to manage their health problems. Eventually everyone wants to actually begin to be healthier and feel better.
For some it takes a life changing event, a heart attack, an illness, or worse the loss of a loved one. For others, they just come to the self realization that they must make a change. They realize that if they do not change, then their life will be cut short and they won't have those extra years to live with family or friends.
Of course, a healthy diet and regular vigorous exercise are the key elements in any process of returning to good health. People know this, but for the most part this knowledge alone does not do any good. The deep truth is that feeling good and actually being healthy takes a lot of effort. It's much easier to pick up dinner from a fast food restaurant than to spend precious time planning and shopping and preparing meals. It's much easier to sit on your couch and watch people on TV trying to lose weight than to actually do the work of losing weight yourself. It's much easier to spend 30 minutes watching the news for the third time that day than to put on your workout clothes and go for a brisk 30-minute walk.
We are all slaves to our habitual ways of thinking and habitual ways of living. Just as in physics, people have inertia. Newton's First Law of Motion states that a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion, unless it is acted upon by an external unbalanced force. We will do the same things we have always done, achieving the same results we have always achieved, unless we make an active choice to engage in new thinking and new activities.
By the way, no one is going to make any lasting changes in their lifestyle - for example, by choosing a healthy diet and daily exercise - merely because someone told them they needed to do it. If you're chronically overweight, your doctor has told you every year that you need to make changes. Every year at your annual physical she tells you to begin regular, vigorous exercise and adopt healthy eating habits. Do any of these admonitions ever make a lasting difference? They don't, not because they are bad advice, but because they were not a match for your own world view. Real change, lasting change, has to come from within, from your own personal choice.
When a person is actually ready to choose to revamp her lifestyle with respect to achieving good health, there are many possible steps to take. Chiropractic care can be an important and critical component of an overall health improvement strategy.
1Temple R, Murphy H: Type 2 diabetes in pregnancy - An increasing problem. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 24(4):591-603.
2Li S, et al: Genetic predisposition to obesity leads to increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetologiz Jan 26, 2011 (Epub ahead of print)
3Urquhart DM, et al: Increased fat mass is associated with high levels of low back pain intensity and disability. Spine Jan 25, 2011 (Epub ahead of print)
For Information or Appointments at any office call
Toll Free 1-800 Go Chiro 1-800 462-4476
We are Millar Chiropractic Clinics, Huntsville AL Chiropractors, Madison AL Chiropractors, and Decatur AL Chiropractors, Millar Chiropractic.
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Weight Loss That Stays Lost
Weight Loss That Stays Lost
Protein and Carbohydrate Food Combining - The Secret to Weight-Loss Success
Combining portions of carbohydrate and protein in six small meals each day is the healthy benchmark of food plans that work. Insulin control is achieved by protein-carbohydrate combining. Insulin helps muscle cells absorb glucose, improving your metabolic efficiency and, ultimately, helping burn more fat.
“Portions” of protein are about the size and thickness of your palm - this translates to approximately 3 oz. of protein for women and 4 oz. of protein for men per serving. Portions of carbohydrate are about the size of your fist.
It’s a pretty simple system, and once you’ve gotten into the rhythm of eating six small meals each day, it all becomes effortless and joyful.
America’s weight problems are now so well-known they’re even fair game for jokes at the Oscars. “Americans really know how to fill up a seat,” jibes Ellen DeGeneres, host of the 2007 Academy Awards.
The statistics are alarming. Sixty-five percent of Americans - 130 million in 2001 - are overweight. Fifteen percent of American children are overweight (up from four percent only 20 years ago). Healthcare costs related to overweight Americans has ballooned to $117 billion (that’s billion) in 2003. And the numbers keep going up. The scales don’t lie.
And yet, diet and weight-loss books fill our nation’s bookstores. Low-carb diets. High-protein diets. The cabbage soup diet. The grapefruit diet. The raw foods diet. Most people we know have tried one or more of these. The new diet works for a while, then we can’t take the deprivation any longer and break the diet. Then, horrifyingly, all the weight we lost comes right back, and we’re right back where we started. Or possibly even a few pounds heavier.
The very good news is that a real, long-lasting solution exists. The basics of this healthy approach to long-term weight loss have been known for decades. This solution is not a diet. It doesn’t have a catchy name. There are, though, a few “magic” secrets to this food plan that works.
“Secret” Number 1 – eat six small meals throughout each day, separated by 2.5 to 3 hours
“Secret” Number 2 – combine protein and carbohydrates in each meal
“Secret” Number 3 – drink plenty of water (eight to ten glasses) throughout the day
“Secret” Number 4 – eat two portions of vegetables each day
“Secret” Number 5 – take one day off each week (a “free” day) and eat whatever you want
Why combine protein and carbohydrate at each meal? This critical combination feeds our muscles by providing the amino acids (from protein) necessary to build and maintain muscle tissue, and the carbohydrate needed to shuttle the amino acids into the cells. If the carbs aren’t there the protein doesn’t get used. There’s also a human performance benefit – eating balanced meals enables better cognitive/mental function. So we’re not only getting healthier on this food plan, we’re getting smarter!1
Why eat six times a day? Studies have shown this approach results in a faster metabolic rate, a lower percentage of body fat, and reduced “bad” cholesterol levels, all while maintaining lean muscle mass.2,3 Each meal contains approximately 300 calories (proteins and carbohydrates in each meal are in “portion” sizes). That’s it! This sensible, easy approach to food allows you to eat everything – there are no restrictions. And, on your free day you can indulge, or not, letting your natural instincts guide you.
1Fischer K, et al: “Carbohydrate to protein ratio in food and cognitive performance in the morning.” Physiol Behav 75(3):411-423, 2002
2Jenkins JD, et al: “Nibbling vs. gorging: metabolic advantages of increased meal frequency.” NEJM 321(14):929-934, 1989
3Verboeket WP, et al: “Influence of feeding frequency on nutrient utilization in man: consequences for energy metabolism.” Eur J Clin Nutr 43(3):161-169, 1991
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
Protein and Carbohydrate Food Combining - The Secret to Weight-Loss Success We want a food plan that will work in the real world. We want to be healthy (and lose weight if necessary), and we want to feel free-and-easy about the food we eat.
Severely restrictive diets – high protein/low carbohydrate, very low fat, or dairy-free – just don’t cut it. Whatever weight you lose on the diet you put right back on once you’ve quit the unrealistically limiting “program”.
Combining portions of carbohydrate and protein in six small meals each day is the healthy benchmark of food plans that work. Insulin control is achieved by protein-carbohydrate combining. Insulin helps muscle cells absorb glucose, improving your metabolic efficiency and, ultimately, helping burn more fat.
“Portions” of protein are about the size and thickness of your palm - this translates to approximately 3 oz. of protein for women and 4 oz. of protein for men per serving. Portions of carbohydrate are about the size of your fist.
It’s a pretty simple system, and once you’ve gotten into the rhythm of eating six small meals each day, it all becomes effortless and joyful.
America’s weight problems are now so well-known they’re even fair game for jokes at the Oscars. “Americans really know how to fill up a seat,” jibes Ellen DeGeneres, host of the 2007 Academy Awards.
The statistics are alarming. Sixty-five percent of Americans - 130 million in 2001 - are overweight. Fifteen percent of American children are overweight (up from four percent only 20 years ago). Healthcare costs related to overweight Americans has ballooned to $117 billion (that’s billion) in 2003. And the numbers keep going up. The scales don’t lie.
And yet, diet and weight-loss books fill our nation’s bookstores. Low-carb diets. High-protein diets. The cabbage soup diet. The grapefruit diet. The raw foods diet. Most people we know have tried one or more of these. The new diet works for a while, then we can’t take the deprivation any longer and break the diet. Then, horrifyingly, all the weight we lost comes right back, and we’re right back where we started. Or possibly even a few pounds heavier.
The very good news is that a real, long-lasting solution exists. The basics of this healthy approach to long-term weight loss have been known for decades. This solution is not a diet. It doesn’t have a catchy name. There are, though, a few “magic” secrets to this food plan that works.
“Secret” Number 1 – eat six small meals throughout each day, separated by 2.5 to 3 hours
“Secret” Number 2 – combine protein and carbohydrates in each meal
“Secret” Number 3 – drink plenty of water (eight to ten glasses) throughout the day
“Secret” Number 4 – eat two portions of vegetables each day
“Secret” Number 5 – take one day off each week (a “free” day) and eat whatever you want
Why combine protein and carbohydrate at each meal? This critical combination feeds our muscles by providing the amino acids (from protein) necessary to build and maintain muscle tissue, and the carbohydrate needed to shuttle the amino acids into the cells. If the carbs aren’t there the protein doesn’t get used. There’s also a human performance benefit – eating balanced meals enables better cognitive/mental function. So we’re not only getting healthier on this food plan, we’re getting smarter!1
Why eat six times a day? Studies have shown this approach results in a faster metabolic rate, a lower percentage of body fat, and reduced “bad” cholesterol levels, all while maintaining lean muscle mass.2,3 Each meal contains approximately 300 calories (proteins and carbohydrates in each meal are in “portion” sizes). That’s it! This sensible, easy approach to food allows you to eat everything – there are no restrictions. And, on your free day you can indulge, or not, letting your natural instincts guide you.
1Fischer K, et al: “Carbohydrate to protein ratio in food and cognitive performance in the morning.” Physiol Behav 75(3):411-423, 2002
2Jenkins JD, et al: “Nibbling vs. gorging: metabolic advantages of increased meal frequency.” NEJM 321(14):929-934, 1989
3Verboeket WP, et al: “Influence of feeding frequency on nutrient utilization in man: consequences for energy metabolism.” Eur J Clin Nutr 43(3):161-169, 1991
Copyright 2011 Millar Chiropractic Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this website including all links to other pages or websites herein including but not limited to text, graphics, images, comments, statements, or information from doctors, host or guest, and other material contained therein (Content) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not use this Content for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of Content you have seen, read or heard.
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