Chiropractors Brighton and Hove

It depends on which foods have been canned, but fresh is always best!

Canned foods undergo a heat process which destroys nutrients and affects food to varying degrees  -  depending on which food it is.  Fruit and vegetables are more easily affected than beans.

Fruits and vegetables are especially important sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients like carotenoids and flavonoids. Vitamins and phytonutrients are especially susceptible to degradation from heat, which robs food of vast amounts of nutrients.

Heating does not damage protein, fiber, and minerals in the same way as it can damage vitamins and phytonutrients. You can expect to receive the protein, fiber, and mineral benefits from canned beans-in much the same way as you would receive from dry beans cooked at home.  Unlike fruits and vegetables, beans cannot be eaten raw. Beans have to be cooked (or processed in some other way, like sprouted); not only do they have to be cooked, they have to be cooked for a fairly extensive period of time, so if enjoying canned beans is a more convenient option, then use with confidence and enjoy, however any additives should be observed and avoided if possible.  Obviously, organically grown is best.

Chiropractors at Chiropractic Life are committed to the Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well system of living.  Consult us today for the health you want tomorrow.

• Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton
• Helen Taylor - Chiropractor Brighton

Proud manufacturers of Stimuli

Brighton and Hove Chiropractors

I am delighted to introduce Brian and Phillipa Murdock from Western Australia (Karen’s brother and sister-in-law) – people who are doing something about the health of our environment!  Brian and Pip are Proud manufacturers of Stimuli a highly concentrated premium organic soil and plant conditioner made from fish and kelp. They are passionate about health and convinced great health begins with healthy soil. Brian and Pip have four children and the family get regular Chiropractic Care.  Brian (congratulations on your birthday today brother!) and Pip have worked tirelessly collecting unwanted fish heads from local fishermen to developing this fish soup for the soil.  Last time I visited them, Brian was keen to show me his homemade manufacturing plant (located on his farm).  I wasn’t as enthusiastic to smell the new product as he was to show it to me, however I was amazed to discover how delicious it smelled!  No sign of fish at all!!  I believe it was something to do with the molasses he was using.  Brian had collected a unused chocolate making vat and used it to create the manufacturing plant for Stimuli.

Why organic? and how does food relate to Chiropractic? The following information was sourced from http://www.drglennfredericksen.co.uk/uk-organic-food-labelling/

Readers of this blog will be well aware of our Eat Well, Move Well Think Well motto and eating organics is all about eating well.  Many will counter that it is more expensive, however that is not necessarily correct and if we consider the long term benefits to individual health and to the environment, it is definitely cheaper.  The effect of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, drugs and chemicals on our health cannot be measured – the sickness and chronic ill health we see around us, is testament to that fact!

As consumers in the UK have you ever wondered what the organic codes mean on your food labels? Any organic product sold in the UK must have a code or logo identifying the organisation that has accredited that product with the organic status. There are currently 10 such organisations in the United Kingdom including the Government’s DEFRA. All ten organisations adhere to the strict EU organic standards but some such as the Soil Association,  employ further requirements to ensure a higher standard or organic produce. The list below is from About organics and shows you the code and the organic accrediting body.

• UK1 - DEFRA
• UK2 - Organic Farmers and Growers (OF&G)
• UK3 - Scottish Organic Producers’ Association (SOPA)
• UK4 - Organic Food Federation (OFF)
• UK5 - Soil Association Certification Ltd (SA Cert)
• UK6 – Demeter / Bio-Dynamic Agriculture Association (BDAA)
• UK7 - Irish Organic Farmers’ & Growers’ Association (IOFGA)
• UK 8 – (see note below) - Food Certification (Scotland) Ltd
• UK9 – Organic Trust Ltd
• UK10 - CMi Certification

At Chiropractic Life we are not only interested in your spinal health, but your whole of body health and what you eat, how you  think and what exercise (or not) you are doing.  Your spine houses the nervous system which controls and co-ordinates virtually every cell, tissue, muscle, gland and organ and system of our entire body and is affected by – what we eat, what we think, whether we exercise or not.   The best part of this idea is that it is sooo simple. Eat natural organic foods, Exercise regularly, Enjoy good company- sharing positive mental attitudes and most importantly make sure you have your nervous system  checked regularly by your Chiropractor.

Chiropractic Life enjoys helping people with a natural approach to health and well-being, focusing on healthy nervous systems in conjunction with nutritional and exercise advice. CALL NOW to schedule your free (no obligation) consultation to see if we can help you  01273 208188

Brighton and Hove Chiropractors

In a recent post we talked about the health benefits of cruciferous vegetables which are rich in antioxidants and help protect our body’s cells from damage.  This week I discovered the following recipe which not only packs a perfect healthy punch, but is also extremely delicious.  Now that the weather has turned a little cold (a bit too soon for most of us!) having a good soup on standby is the perfect solution for a quick, nutritious meal.

Cream of Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup

• 2 Medium red onions – finely chopped
• 2 large clove garlic – finely chopped
• half teaspoon dry English mustard powder
• 1 cauliflower
• 1 head of broccoli
• 2 medium potatoes – peeled and cubed
• Enough stock to generously cover the vegetables
• 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

To Serve
Coarsely grated mature cheddar

Preparation:

1. In a large saucepan smelt the butter and add the onion, cooking slowly until translucent.  Add garlic over low heat being careful not to burn.  Stir in the mustard powder.
2. Prepare cauliflower and broccoli into florets and steam until almost tender.  Add to the onion and cover with the vegetable stock.  Add the potato and bring to the boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is cooked.
3. Puree the soup and add the wholegrain mustard and bring back to the boil, reducing the heat and simmer for further five minutes.
4. Serve in bowls sprinkled with the grated cheese, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
5. Note:  I used the vegetable water from steaming the cauliflower and broccoli and had previously cooked the potatoes (in their skins) and used this water too.
6. Please note that using unrefined, untreated (looks grey or brownish) full spectrum sea salt you are adding more minerals to your soup – therefore it will be much more nutritious.  Table salt at best has two minerals – unrefined, untreated has 84 different minerals.  Interestingly, the flavour from unrefined and untreated sea salt is delicious!
7. All organic vegetables were used to make this delicious soup and organic cheese to serve.
8. To make the stock I used Kallo Organic Vegetable Stock Cubes and A. Vogel Organic Herbamare – herbal seasoning salt.

Enjoy!

Remember the Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well System of Living!

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

• Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Glenn Fredericksen - Chiropractor Brighton

Brighton Chiropractors

Brussel sprouts are just arriving in shops on the stalk and are particularly wonderful to eat right now.  A cruciferous-rich diet which includes cabbage, brocolli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, cress etc  has shown a reduced risk of many cancers. Cruciferous vegetables are also rich in antioxidants that help protect your body’s cells from damage.  The body’s detox system requires ample supplies of sulfur to work effectively, and Brussels sprouts are rich in sulfur-containing nutrients.  Sulfur is connected with both the smell and taste of Brussels sprouts, and too much sulfur aroma is often associated with overcooking of this vegetable. Our body’s detox system needs strong antioxidant support especially in the initial stages.   Brussels sprouts are able to provide that kind of support because they are an excellent source of vitamin C, a very good source of beta-carotene and manganese, and a good source of vitamin E. Brussels sprouts also contain a wide variety of antioxidant phytonutrients, including many antioxidant flavonoids. There is also evidence that the DNA in our cells is protected by naturally occurring substances in Brussels sprouts, and since many environmental toxins can trigger unwanted change in our DNA, Brussels sprouts can help prevent these toxin-triggered DNA changes.

It’s best to eat these veggies raw or only lightly steamed to retain the phytochemicals that make cruciferous vegetables special in terms of health.

To read more about the health giving properties of these lovely little brassicas click here

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

• Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Glenn Fredericksen - Chiropractor Brighton

Brighton Chiropractors

Salt drying in Guérande, France

When most people in the western world think of salt they think of  sodium chloride — a highly refined, processed white substance that is devoid of nutrients. Modern table salt is so devoid of nutrients, in fact, that in the early 20th century, doctors noticed that people who ate white table salt started to suffer chronic degenerative diseases such as goiter. This was caused by the lack of iodine in the salt.  What is not commonly understood, is, that salt has been washed, refined and treated and has had chemicals put in it to make it pour smoothly and you are left with a pure white deadly substance devoid of any nutrition.  Salt found in it’s natural state contains approximately 84 different minerals and after “purification” you end up with only one mineral -  sodium chloride or at best two after the addition of iodine.  That’s two minerals and eighty two minerals missing!!!!!!  Iodine is a naturally occurring mineral in the ocean. It’s abundant in seafood and in full spectrum sea salt, but it’s completely missing from refined white table salt.  White salt is just like white sugar: it’s missing the key supporting minerals and nutrients your body needs to protect and enhance your health naturally.

Why would anyone want to eat salt that’s been artificially enriched with one mineral when you could be eating salt that naturally contains eighty-four minerals? I believe the answer is simply because most people don’t even know!   You may have noticed many companies claiming to offer “sea salt”  but virtually all salt is sea salt because it all came from the sea at one time or another in the Earth’s history.  The term “sea salt” is actually quite meaningless because processed salt can still be called “sea salt” even though it is devoid of all the original minerals.   The way to tell if your salt is really full-spectrum salt is to look at the color. If it’s pure white, it’s not full-spectrum – if it’s grey and or sandy coloured it still contains essential minerals.  Only full-spectrum salt fulfills your body’s true salt needs.

There is one other source of excellent full spectrum salt which is obtained from the Himalayas.  This salt is pink in colour and is the result of millions of years of compression under the earth’s surface.  It contains (like seas salt) an almost identical set of elements to those that naturally exist in the blood.  This salt is from a time in earths history when the earth was pristine and contains no impurities.  Unfortunately with our oceans becoming polluted with rubbish and oil spills sea salt may soon no longer be available to us pure and clean, which leaves Himalayan crystal salts!

Click here to obtain more information

Chiropractors at Chiropractic Life are passionately committed to helping you  Eat Well, Move Well and Think Well!

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

• Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton
• Dr Glenn Fredericksen - Chiropractor Brighton

Chiropractors Hove

Is this where the obesity gene comes from? What are we teaching our children?

“I believe most people understand that epidemic obesity is overwhelmingly accounted for by too many calories in, too few calories out. But in many quarters, there is surprising resistance to that notion” ~ David Katz MD

The forces conspiring to impose the global health threat of obesity upon us will be difficult to change but they are unmysterious. Conditions of modern living account for, and demystify, obesity. The explanations are…everywhere. So, too, are the opportunities to do something about it!

Time to consider Lifestyle Changes – this is the only thing that will save people from modern diseases -  Eating Well, Moving Well and Thinking Well!

Visit our clinic for a personal consultation with one of the Doctors of Chiropractic  to begin along the path to true health and wellness.   Chiropractic Life is passionately committed to your success and provides specialized care for many health problems not commonly associated with the spine.

CALL NOW to schedule your free (no obligation) consultation to see if we can help you.  You’ll be glad you did!

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Glenn Fredericksen - Chiropractor Brighton

Hippocrates - “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food “.

Chiropractors Brighton and Hove

We have all heard the saying “we are what we eat” but the Doctrine of Signatures takes this one step further to reveal how aspects of certain plants and vegetables mimic different parts of the human body and that the pattern contained within the plant is a signal to the user of the benefit which may be obtained from eating it. This has aroused interest in modern times but there is evidence of it’s use since  the early Middle Ages.

Several years ago someone sent me this information in an email which I found endlessly facinating and I wanted to share it with everyone, however, two years have passed and I have been unable to locate the original author.  I confess to using some images and material which may be found on the internet for this blog post, and although I have searched in vain I have been unable to source the original (although many copies were evident) and if anyone knows who the original author is, I would appreciate the information.  It is possible that this information has originated from Don Tolman although I have never seen evidence to support my suppositions.  Don, if you are reading this, please contact me!

In addition – I have no scientific proof of the following information, however I have enjoyed considering the possibilities and hope you enjoy too.

The following is a sample of just some of many Whole Food Signatures.

When a carrot is sliced it looks very like the human eye with the pupil, iris and radiating lines.  Didn’t out mothers urge us to eat carrots for our eyes?  Perhaps mothers knew about the Doctrine of Signatures?  But then mothers know everything!  Research confirms that carrots enhance blood flow and function of the eyes.

Science confirms that tomatoes are indeed excellent heart and blood food .  A Tomato has four chambers and is red!

Grapes hang in a cluster shaped like a heart.  Each grape looks like a blood cell and there is recent research pointing  to grapes as a heart and blood vitalizing food.

Walnuts are a valuable food for brain function and amazingly, walnuts look just like  little brains with  left and right hemispheres, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellum.

Kidney beans draw their name from the fact that they look exactly like human kidneys and actually help maintain kidney function.

Celery and Rhubarb for bones which are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium! If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods help build strong bones.

Eggplant, Avocado and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix  –  How profound is this? – It takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado to maturity!!

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow just like a pair of male testes.  Figs increase the motility and fertility of male sperm.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Todays research shows that onions help clear waste materials from body cells even producing tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Bananas, Cucumber, Zucchini and more target the size and strength of the male sex organ and peanuts have a profound effect on the testicles and sexual libido.  Apparently during the Middle Ages the Church banned men from eating peanuts!

Chiropractors Brighton and Hove

There is an urgent need to re think how we interact with the world around us – to think whether we can reduce, reuse or recycle. There is also an urgent need to stop and reflect where our food comes from, how it has been grown, what impact it has had on our environment, have animals been harmed in the process, how many harmful chemicals have been used in the process, how come we are eating summer food in winter, what has it cost (in numerous ways) to produce this food.  Unfortunately many of today’s children hardly know how food arrives on their plates.  Many of our generation had the privilege of living on farms and being surrounded by nature in all it’s forms but that is not the privilege of many children today. Click on the video below to discover there are some children who all ready want to change the world in which they live!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Glenn Fredericksen - Chiropractor Brighton

Chiropractors Brighton

For many years I have listened to the debate raging about whether eggs were a health food or something that should be avoided or eaten only rarely.  The debate rages on, however my intuition (and logic), which has always served me extremely well, made me realise that eggs are indeed a health food and should be embraced as part of a healthy diet.  Not just the whites, but the yoke and the whites eaten together.  I never could make sense of the fact that people decided to separate the white from the yolk, as in nature eggs occur complete – whites and yolks together – food to sustain a new life.  It just made sense that eating an egg was going to be an excellent source of nutrition!  When our children were toddlers I frequently gave them “coddled eggs” but only and ever from organic sources.  Dr James Chestnut from the Wellness Practice and The Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well philosophy of  living is an enthusiastic supportor of eating the paleo diet, which heartily includes eggs.

One of the reasons eggs get a bad rap is because they are high in cholesterol but they are also high in lecithin which counteracts cholesterol!  If you have concerns about high cholesterol it would be far more advantageous to reduce your carbohydrate and sugar intake and eliminate refined carbs altogether!

Where Would We Be Without the Egg?

Dr. Clare M. Hasler, Ph.D, of the University of Illinois gave a presentation entitled “The Changing Face of Functional Foods” in which she defines ‘functional foods’ as “…those providing health benefits beyond basic nutrition and include whole, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods which have a potentially beneficial effect on health…”

She notes that “eggs have not traditionally been regarded as a functional food, primarily due to concerns about their adverse effects on serum cholesterol levels.” However it is now known that “there is little , if any connection between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol levels”,she states.  She also states that “eggs are an excellent dietary source of many essential components.”

We believe that eggs are one of the most nutritional foods you can eat, provided by nature for us!  Choose organic if possible.  By doing so we are not only consuming the very best there is but we are supporting an industry that treats animals kindly.

Very often many of the pains we experience (including back and neck pain) are the result of poor lifestyle choices.  At Chiropractic Life we hope to empower and inspire you to achieve health through Eating Well, Moving Well and Thinking Well.

Have you almost given up hope of finding a solution to your problem? – Consult Chiropractic Life – Voted Most Loved Chiropractic Clinic in the Whole of the United Kingdom by BestOf!

Visit our clinic for a personal consultation with one of the Doctors of Chiropractic  to find out how your nervous system may be the key to getting well and keeping well! Chiropractic Life is passionately committed to your success and provides specialized care for many health problems not commonly associated with the spine.

CALL NOW to schedule your free (no obligation) consultation to see if we can help you.  You’ll be glad you did!

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Glenn Fredericksen - Chiropractor Brighton