Kick the Soda Habit!!

May 092013

Popular Beverages, from least to most sugar per oz, left to right. Please note, Vita Coco is sweetened with fruit juice and uses that as its sugar source.

Giving Up Soda, Once and For All

by Jolie Patel, (the doctor’s wife, writing about health care with a family perspective)

I can’t remember exactly when I stopped drinking soda, but it was sometime in the late 1990′s. I was a faculty member at a community college and taught a course on college success strategies When we discussed money management, I remember saying to my students, if you buy a bag a chips and a soda with lunch everyday, that’s $1.50. Multiply that by 20 odd days a month, 12 months a year. $360 a year on soda. Wouldn’t it be great to have $360 to spend on clothes, entertainment, books, whatever. But really, chips and soda is it worth $360 a year? The reality of what I was saying hit me. $360 a year..even as a single person with a good job, I could find things to do with that money. By the way, it’s about $600 a year today.

I stopped drinking soda (chips too). I didn’t really miss it all that much. Along the way, a funny thing happened. When I was at someone’s house about a year later, I had some soda. Blahh, I didn’t even like it anymore. It tasted so incredibly sweet, it was like eating sugar, even the diet soda, to me it tastes sweeter. Over the years, I have tried soda on many occasions, it’s not for me. I still like the idea of flavored drinks. 15 years ago there were not many options other than Gatorade. Not an option. It’s not a drink I like and changing one high sugar, chemical laden drink didn’t seem to do it for me.

As I have gotten older and become a parent, I have realized there are many more reasons to avoid soda other than the cost. Chemicals, sugar, artificial sweeteners, you know the drill. None of these things are good for us. As parents, Vijay and I have decided not to give the kids artificial sweeteners. The research on artificial sweeteners indicates that they exacerbate the very problematic behavior they were created to reduce (sugar consumption). While we don’t want our kids sugared up, we truly believe that if it is choice between naturally occurring cane sugar and artificial sweeteners, sugar will win hands down. Due to the tremendous amount of sugar in today’s beverages, soda is a once in a great while indulgence.

I recently went to the drugstore to buy a whole bunch a drinks, in preparation for today’s blog. I had the kids help me and they were amazed by the amount of sugar in some of these drinks. I have seen blogs citing this, but I really wanted to see for myself. Like the kids, I was floored by what I found. It made me think about the people who don’t add sugar to their coffee because of the health concerns, yet from the amount of these beverages that are sold in the U.S. we, as a culture, don’t have a problem drinking up almost a 1/4 cup of sugar in one sitting.

Drink	Drink Size (oz)	Oz per servings	Servings per container	Tsp Sugar per bottle	Tsp sugar per 8 oz
NeuroSonic	14.5	14.5	1	2.25	1.24
Gatorade	20	8	2.5	8.75	3.50
Vita Coco*sugars from fruit juice	16.9	8	2	7.5	3.55
Arizona Green Tea	23	8	3	12.75	4.43
Pure Leaf Sweet Tea	18.5	8	2.5	11.25	4.86
Honest Tea Tea with Lemonade	16.9	16.9	1	6	2.84
Nesquik Low Fat Chocolate Milk	14	7	2	12	6.86
Vitamin Water	20	20	1	8	3.20
Coca Cola	20	20	1	16.25	6.50

Being married to a doctor, when I have overindulged on sugary sweets, I have heard many times over the years, “Do you know what eating that much sugar at once does to your pancreas?” (A quick lesson in human biology, the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone involved in the regulation of blood sugar & the development of diabetes). Imagine how much damage it does in liquid form, when it has a fast track to our bloodstream. Imagine what happens when that much sugar is pumped into the little bodies of our children.

Whether you drink the diet or regular version, soda really has nothing to offer you in terms of health promotion. The sugared stuff is a high calorie harmful drink. The diet version, started to provide an alternative for sugar, may cause more health issues than the original. Is either form really worth it?

I would like to challenge you to try to give up soda…for a month at least. If you choose to give it up, pay attention to your triggers? Why specifically are your drinking the soda? Drinking for caffeine? Try a cup of coffee or tea instead. Looking for something refreshing? Try carbonated waters if you miss the carbonation (I do). Remember that sugary sodas do not quench your thirst, just like salt, sugar will make you more thirsty. Remove the soda from the fridge, so it is not there in front of you every time you open door. I promise a follow-up blog with idea’s for soda alternatives.

In the meantime, have you ever contemplated giving up soda? If you have, what has stopped you, or what have your experiences been?

Jolie Patel (1 Posts)

Jolie Patel is a counselor and educator by trade, having been a faculty member at the College of Lake County and Oakton Community College. She also served as the Director of Program at the Counseling Center at Illinois Institute of Technology. She holds a M.A. in Clinical Psychology and completed doctoral coursework at Loyola University, Chicago. Presently, she is homeschooling three precocious children and working at her husband's (Dr. Vijay) practice. There she has found a place where her interest in living a healthy life can merge with her passion for education. She is particularly interested in how to make healthy lifestyle choices practical for those with busy family lives.

Get Outside and Walk Already

Exercise, Healthy Living 1 Response »

Apr 182013

Take advantage of the warmer spring weather and take a walk!

by Timothy Kolbaba, D.C.

In case you haven’t noticed, spring is here! This might be a shock to anyone who has been outside lately. It’s still freezing and just downright cold. Many of us have been hibernating indoors, eating lots of unnecessary calories, sleeping for longer hours, and engaging in sedentary behavior. I know I got caught up on my movie watching and sleep. Some of you may even be a little depressed from being without the vitamin rich and energy carrying sunlight all winter long, a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). According to the CDC, one in ten people over the age of 18 are clinically depressed. This number of depressed people tells me one thing. It’s time to get up off the couch and get moving again.

Before you know it, the birds will be chirping for no reason, the sun will be shining without interruption by snow clouds, and the days will be longer. We already had our traditional “springing” forward an hour for daylight savings time. So it’s time for a new hobby, activity, or exercise that involves being outside. Patients in my office are always asking me what they should be doing to get into better shape. I ALWAYS recommend walking.

Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. It’s easy, fun, allows for alone time (I call this time “me” time or Tim-me time) and gives you an opportunity to burn some calories while getting some exercise. Walking does great things for your body and mind. The top three killers in the world are heart disease, circulatory issues in the brain resulting in strokes and respiratory illnesses. Amazingly, all three of these conditions can be combated by simply walking every day. Walking allows for better circulation and helps build up the muscle tissue in your heart. Good circulation is also very important for lung health, brain health and even helps with mental health. Walking can even help improve your mood and make you less depressed.

Many of us suffer from bone density loss from being inactive and not doing weight bearing exercises such as walking. It use to be a prevalent problem in the elderly, but recently conditions like osteopenia and osteoporosis are showing up in middle-age and even in young adults. When I see a patient with either of these conditions in my office, I put them on two great supplements and instruct the patient to walk. If the patient adheres to this protocol for 6 months, they will see significant progress in fighting bone loss.

The three main minerals that make up bone are calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. So, when a patient presents with bone loss, I put them on a supplement called Cal-Mag by Douglas Labs. This supplement, if you couldn’t tell by the name, has calcium citrate (a form of calcium that is highly absorbable) and magnesium. There is only one problem. The body also needs vitamin D to absorb calcium in the gut. You can get vitamin D three ways: through the skin (sun light), through diet or through supplements. If you are not getting enough vitamin D, the body can’t form enough of the hormone called calcitriol (active vitamin D) which is needed to absorb calcium in the gut. This then results in insufficient calcium absorption from the diet causing the body to take calcium from your bones. So, I put my patients on Vitamin D3 with K2 by OrthoMolecular Products. These two supplements coupled with weight bearing exercise such as walking will fight the bone loss and help make new bone.

So how long or how far should you walk a day? I know we live in a fast paced society here in the Chicagoland area. But just 30 minutes a day can really impact you and over time lower your risks for the top three killers in the world. It’s just that simple.

I practice what I preach. Besides motorcycling, walking and running are my favorite ways to get outside and enjoy this body of mine. I recommend you do the same. If you have any questions about anything in this blog, let me know. Until next time, get outside and walk already.

Dr. Timothy Kolbaba is a practicing chiropractic physician at West Dundee Physical Medicine. This blog is offered to educate readers on physical medicine as well as drug free, natural medical alternatives. It is for informational purposes only and not intended to substitute for medical advice from a licensed medical professional. Call today (847-844-7900) for an appointment. If you live outside our treatment area, please contact the American Chiropractic Association for a chiropractic referral.

References:

CDC. Current Depression Among Adults — United States, 2006 and 2008. MMWR 2010;59(38);1229-1235.

Effective Detoxification

Healthy Living, Therapies No Responses »

Apr 022013

Detoxification is an important process that all living organisms go through in one form or another annually. Detoxification allows our bodies to feel unloaded, refreshed and re-energized. The optimal time to perform this process is in the spring. Just as spring rains cleanse our air of debris and dust we should clear our skin, digestive tract, and cleansing organs such as the liver and kidneys.

Many cultures recognize the essential nature of detoxification. Traditional detox rituals include fasting, sweat lodges and ritual cleansing. Our increased knowledge of the body and how it works allows modern people to support and nourish our bodies as we detox, no sweat lodges required!

There is no better time than the present to begin planning your jump-start into spring. A cleansing program can help you shed a few pounds and energize you for an exercise plan to get you in shape before Memorial Day.

If you Google ”detox” you will come up with a list of solutions ranging from expensive spas to juice fasts to crazy one food diets . Medical advice is conflicting as to the importance of detoxification and its necessity. Part of this confusion is the wide range of modern-day detoxification rituals. Detoxification needs to be reasonable and safe, using common sense. Any detox program that involves restricting dietary intake to a few ingredients or calorically depriving the body can be dangerous. Be wary of any program that says that their detox system is the only way to go.

There are many high quality, safe detox programs. Key factors to look for in detoxification programs are two-fold. Programs should stress the reduction of exposure to toxins. This generally includes the elimination of the following from your diet:

processed foods
artificial coloring
natural and artificial flavorings
artificial sweeteners
alcohol
excessive caffeine
conventionally grown produce and meats

In addition to the elimination of toxic items, high quality programs include the addition of the following to your diet to support the kidneys and liver:

milk thistle
B vitamins
fiber
lots of clean fresh water
increased consumption of organic fruits and veggies
limited consumption of organic, grass fed meats

It is always recommended that any detoxification program be completed under medical supervision.

In my office, I prefer detox programs that allow patients flexibility to incorporate the plan into their current lifestyle. Many programs have the flexibility to choose one to four week plans, dependent upon how often you detox and your individual toxic load. For a first time detox, my general recommendation is to go for the full 28 days program. This allows a patient’s body time to heal as well as making some of their new healthy eating programs habits. I also tend to prefer programs that combine homeopathic detox with herbal and vitamin supplementation.

Detoxification can be a healthy routine to be completed annually or semi-annually to help maintain optimum health!

This blog is offered to educate readers on physical medicine as well as drug free, natural medical alternatives. It is for informational purposes only and not intended to substitute for medical advice from a licensed medical professional. Call today (847-222-9060) for an appointment at our Mt Prospect or West Dundee, Illinois offices. If you live outside our treatment area, please contact the American Chiropractic Association for a chiropractic referral.

Vijay Patel (28 Posts)

Dr. Vijay Patel earned his Doctorate degree in Chiropractic from National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Illinois. Dr. Patel is board certified in electrodiagnostics by the American Chiropractic Neurology Board. Constantly striving to give his patients the most up-to-date care possible, Dr. Patel attends many post-graduate seminars including such topics as neurology, research review, acupuncture and sports performance enhancement. Dr. Patel currently serves as president of the Chicago chapter of the Illinois Chiropractic Society. He is also a member of both the National College of Chiropractic Alumni Association and the American Chiropractic Association. Dr. Patel owns and practices chiropractic medicine at Advanced Physical Medicine & Therapy in Mt. Prospect and West Dundee Physical Medicine. Dr. Patel is fluent in Gujarati

Omega 3′s as an Anti-Inflammatory

Supplements, Therapies No Responses »

Aug 082012

Omega 3 tablets

I recommend almost all my patients take Omega 3. They get a lot of press and most people have heard of them. I am not going to reinvent the wheel and tell you every benefit of Omega 3′s (there are a lot!). There is a lot of good informatioin about Omega 3s on the web and elsewhere.

I would like to discuss why I think Omega 3 is important for patients who come into see me in my practice. Aside from my wellness care patients, every patient who comes into my office does so because of injury. The pain caused by injury or trauma is the result of the body’s response to injury. When a muscle is injured, the body responds with inflammation around the injured area to help prevent infection; to provide extra blood cells to repair damanged tissue; and help the body heal.

The basic result of this is inflammation and pain. To some extent this is good, it causes us to rest our muscles and allow ourselves to heal. Excess pain however can get in the way of daily life and make our lives miserable.

Enter the Omega 3. These essential fatty acids help reduce inflammation and swelling systemically. Omega-3′s help inhibit our bodies inflammatory response. As we learn more about disease processes, we are beginning to realize that inflammation is not only an issue in injury, but also in a major player in lifestyle diseases. Omega - 3 are a much safer alternative than NSAIDs and should be a first choice in treatment. As I write this, please realize that Omega-3′s are not pain reliever’s like NSAIDs are. They will not make you feel better in 30 minutes. They will however reduce inflammation and less inflammation equals less pain.

As an example of how inflammation effects disease processes, views on heart disease are rapidly changing. Once thought of as a disease related to cholesterol, recent research strongly supports the role inflammation plays in heart disease, rather than solely cholesterol. Omega-3s have a solid research backing their use in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Omega-3s are also strongly related to a reduction of symptoms among those with Rheumatoid artritis.

Does this mean you can make the jump and suggest that all inflammation could be reduced by Omega-3? I don’t think it would be scientifically sound to do so. However, there is much research that still needs to be done. There is enough evidence to support more research in this area. I find from my experience in clinical practice that patients report good results. There is a reason Omega-3s are called essential fatty acids. The body need omega-3 and 6′s to operate effectively. Our bodies cannot produce these fatty acids so we must ingest them in food. We also know from research that the standard American diet leans strongly towards Omega-6 fatty acids and away from Omega-3. There should be a balance between these two fatty acids in our diets and most people are not there. Ideally one would see a 4:1 ratio ofOmega-3 to Omega 6′s.

How to Reduce Omega-6 fatty acids

Avoid fried foods- fried foods are a big offender, its like soaking your food in omega-6
Avoid processed foods-most processed foods are made with inexpensive vegetable oils high in Omega-6 fatty acids (as these are the least expensive oils). Some suggest that by simply eliminating processed foods you can reduce yourOmega-6 intake by up to 1/3.
Reduce amount of conventionally raised, grain fed beef

How to Increase Omega-3 fatty acids

Eating fish just 2 times a week will increase your blood levels of omega-3.
Increase amount of nuts – this is easy, nuts are great snacks; they are also wonderful additions to salads.
Choose oils wisely, this link to the Eating Rules Cooking Oil Comparison Chart can help you with this.
Choose grass fed meat and milk over grain fed for a better omega 3 to 6 profile.
Take a daily Omega-3 supplement.

Dr. Vijay Patel is a practicing chiropractic physician with offices in two locations: Advanced Physical Medicine & Therapy in Mt. Prospect, Illinois and West Dundee Physical Medicine. This blog is offered to educated readers on physical medicine as well as drug free, natural medical alternatives. It is for informational purposes only and not intended to substitute for medical advice from a licensed medical professional. Call today (847-222-9060) for an appointment. If you live outside our treatment area, please contact the American Chiropractic Association for a chiropractic referral.

Maroon JC, Bost JW. (2006). Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) as an anti-inflammatory: an alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for discogenic pain. Surg Neurol. 65(4):326-31.

Rangel-Huerta OD, Aguilera CM, Mesa MD, & Gil A. (2012). Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation on inflammatory biomakers: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials. The British Journal of Nutrition. 107, S159-70.

Keep it honest

Exercise 2 Responses »

May 272012

Dr. Patel finishing the Salute Inc 10K

“Yeah, I need to exercise more.” These words don’t work. To change any behaviour individuals with an explicitly stated goal are much more likely to achieve it.

Those who read my blog and know me, know I love to exercise. Like many, between work and time with my family, I am finding it increasingly difficult to work out.

This past week I made a goal of running 262.2 miles over the summer. That’s my goal. I am putting it out there to help keep me honest. What’s your goal? Post it here in the comments section, put it on Facebook, tape it to your bathroom mirror. Whatever, just make it public and go for it!

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