Twelve months ago on January 1, 2013, many of you created goals for yourself for that year. Some of you achieved these goals, while others will carry them into the 2014 year because you never made them happen. There is a high likelihood that many of these goals were health related, and yet the theme stays similar each year: unaccomplished. We have this dream and hope for something bigger and better each year, but we do not always achieve those results. This year, I wanted to write and article to help my patients asking themselves how to stick to my New Years resolutions.

Sometimes I feel personally responsible when you do not achieve your health goals because maybe I did not challenge you enough.

As I was debriefing at the end of the year I thought, how can I make the quality of my clients’ lives better while helping them achieve their health goals for the year? Many of you have shared your goals with me, which include running marathons and 5ks, eating paleo for breakfast and dinner, lose or gaining 15 pounds, doing a triathlon, completing a cleanse, and the list continues.

In 2014, we are going to make it easier for you to achieve your goals by holding you accountable. Of course, our new space opening in March 2014 will be the epicenter of health in Atlanta, as the amenities will encourage a healthy lifestyle. Jessica is also training to become a clinical nutritionist, so all of you will have a resource to learn how to eat cleaner and learn the nutrients your bodies are craving. Even so, we want to continue to go far beyond these programs.

Challenging You

By January 15th, we are asking every client to e-mail us your top 2 health goals for the 2014 year. We are going to keep track of them and do quarterly check-ins to see how you are doing. You will also have the opportunity to be part of a forum where many of us can work together to help each other with our goals. People can share recipes, training ideas, best exercise classes, and steps they are taking to become healthier. This group will be a place where you will be inspired to step out from the World that is constantly marketing misinformation to you about how to lead a healthy life. We will provide feedback and ways to help you reach your goals and not let them become more resolutions that never get accomplished.

As a chiropractor, my mission has always been to have the World look at my community and ask, “How is this community so healthy without utilizing as many drugs and surgeries as the rest of the country?” I want the public to see that the body heals itself from the inside-out, and with proper preventative care and proactive living, we can live our greatest lives.

Please send your goals to us by January 15th, and be as specific as possible. For example, rather than saying you want to lose weight, write down how much weight you want to lose. Instead of deciding you want to eat paleo, include which days you will commit to eating a paleo diet every week.

For 2014 my goals:

1. Do a cleanse in March (minimum of 3 days)
2. Complete an Ironman by December 31, 2014

Closing Thoughts

Start your 2014 health planning early and share your goals by commenting below! If you still are unsure about the health side, still feel free to speak opening about your other New Years resolutions.

Many people who come to our office who have lived a typical American lifestyle usually have osteoarthritis in their spine and are overweight by the time they are 50 years old. The question I want to bring to the table is whether osteoarthritis and obesity is a good thing or a bad thing?

The common excuses why people think they have arthritis or obesity are age and genetics. Are there people in their 50’s with no osteoarthritis in their spine who are fit? Yes! Is it due to age? No. Is this related to genetics? No. When it comes to arthritis the only way it can be considered related to genetics is if is a rheumatoid arthritis. So when it comes to osteoarthritis the only way it can happen is due to poor biomechanics and according to the Mayo Clinic is the wear and tear arthritis.

The Question Remains, Is This Bad?

Osteoarthritis is not a bad thing, but it is not good to have arthritis in the spine. In fact, the reason osteoarthritis happens is because the body thinks it is under a physical stress, and it is so smart that it starts to adapt by building more bone. This reaction is the body’s protective mechanism against improper posture, so while arthritis shows the body is working properly, it is not healthy to have.

For example, if the Hoover Dam was built with the wrong curve, then it would not be able to support the water and would break. If the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was built with the wrong degree angles, then it would fall. The difference between humans and those architectural structures is the body has a power inside of it called innate intelligence, so instead of the neck or low back collapsing when it loses its normal angles, it builds bone, which is called osteoarthritis.

This is similar to the person who eats an inflammatory diet filled with grains, processed foods, and sugars and then becomes obese. Is the process of building fat cells a bad thing? No. However, is it good to be obese? No. The body detects a stress, which is a harmful diet filled with toxins, so it creates fat cells to put around the gut and organs as a protective mechanism.

What Next and How to Think of Your Health?

Looking at innate intelligence and the protective mechanisms of the body, we notice that symptoms are signs of stress. Unfortunately our healthcare system looks at the body wrongly and has a goal to treat symptoms rather than correct the cause.

If your front left tire is worn out, yet you put all the tires on the car at the same time, then would just replacing the front left tire be the solution to prevent it from wearing out faster the second time? Of course not. You would think “Why did this tire wear out faster then the other tires?” most likely the answer is in the alignment of the car, so the problem is not the front left tire but the alignment of the car.

Similarly with osteoarthritis, the problem is not the bone spurs and degeneration but the improper biomechanics in your spine. My article “What is Corrective Chiropractic?“” shows what an abnormal spinal structure looks like and what can be done to correct its alignment. Walking against gravity all day and having poor posture will wear out the spine much faster.

In the obesity example, the problem is not the fat cells but what causes the fat cells is usually a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Unfortunately, many people want to treat the symptom and remove the fat either through drugs, liposuction, tummy tucks, and gastric bypass; instead of going to the cause of weight gain. Unfortunately now people will take drugs to reduce fat cells instead of going to the cause which will usually be their diet and sedentary lifestyle.

Look at the following list of the most common symptoms people experience, and think about what causes them. Our country is addicted to taking pills, and most of those pills are designed to remove the symptom but NOT address the cause. Drugs are not necessarily bad, but we need to really think about our health and what is the underlying CAUSE of these symptoms.

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• High blood sugar (diabetes)
• Low serotonin (depression)
• Low melatonin (sleep trouble)
• Acid reflux
• Digestive disorders

Are You Treating Symptoms or Chasing the Cause?

To close, if your car’s engine light appears would you put black tape over the light and keep driving, or would you get the car checked? Most people would get their cars checked, as the engine light is a symptom to an underlying problem. Sometimes when any of the above symptoms occur most people put black tape over it and ignore the problem. We need to look at the causes to eliminate our symptoms.