Spring Cleaning 2013

We are bombarded with toxins everyday from pollution, pesticides, and chemicals as well as the natural toxins that our bodies produce.  A detox (AKA purification or cleansing)  will offer your body the extra support needed to flush out all of the built up toxins and minimize excess weight!

Toxins can contribute to a wide range of conditions including:

• Stuffy Head
• Fatigue
• Digestion of GI problems
• Food Cravings
• Weight Gain
• Reduced Mental Clarity
• Low libido
• And more…

We have 2 different detoxification options available at Hamm Chiropractic & Wellness; we have the 21 Day Purification program from Standard Process or the 10 Day Clear Change Program from Metagenics.  If you’d like to know more about these programs and how you could benefit from a detox give us a call at (608) 835-BACK (2225).

Dr Daniel Hamm

Healthy Breakfast 101

We’ve all heard it before, “You better eat a good breakfast”.  Most people understand the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, but how many people actually know what a healthy breakfast is?

There’s no doubt that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It’s your chance to give your body the fuel it needs to get through the morning.  Not only do you NEED the fuel for energy but studies show that eating a good breakfast will boost your metabolism.  If you skip breakfast your body can go into “starvation mode”, meaning your gonna burn less fat.  This is a mistake that dieters often make, they think they should skip breakfast to lose weight but it often backfires on them.  Regularly eating a healthy breakfast will often set you up for continued good diet choices throughout the day.

While any breakfast is often better than no breakfast there are some foods that you want to avoid because they’re high in sugar, sodium, saturated fats, and calories.  Limit the amount of sugary cereals, high-calorie and carb-loaded pastries, and fatty meats like bacon and sausage.  Too much sugar or simple carbs in the morning will often lead to a dreaded energy crash mid-morning.

The two important nutrients that you should include in your breakfast are protein and fiber.  These foods will help to keep you feeling full and energized throughout the morning until lunch time.  Protein can be sourced from low-fat meats, low-fat dairy, eggs, or nuts.  Great forms of fiber are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  Getting a good breakfast in can be pretty simple.

• Pre-hard boil some eggs so you can grab one in the morning with some Greek yogurt and honey.  
• Overnight oats is a simple recipe that will be ready for you in the morning with some easy preparation the night before.
• My personal favorite is a fruit smoothie with Greek yogurt and a scoop of SP Complete powder for added nutrients.

All of these options offer the necessary nutrients to give you a proper start to your day!!!

 

 

 

 

– Dr. Danny

          “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will  interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

-Thomas Edison

Unleashing Your Inner Doctor

Many people don’t realize or appreciate the power that we have to regulate our own health and healing.  Our bodies are self-healing and self-regulating and part of our job is to assist our bodies in it’s natural healing power!  What am I talking about?  Well think about if you cut your finger…does the band-aid that you put on the cut cause the skin to heal?  Of course not, your body starts an amazing healing process almost immediately.  It starts by stopping blood flow to the area to prevent bleeding, then dilates the blood vessels to allow the necessary helper cells to come in and clean the area and prevent infection, and as a final step new cells will grow to replace the damaged tissue.  Amazing right!?!  Now if our bodies are free of interference we are essentially able to defend against illness without the use of drugs or chemicals.  The key in that last sentence is “free of interference”, meaning ridding yourself of toxins, stress, inactivity, and nervous system impingement.   Basically, to ensure you’re body is firing on all cylinders follow these simple steps:

1. Eat and drink right – Consume nutritious whole foods, eliminate the junk food
2. Practice stress reduction – don’t take life too seriously
3. Exercise – get out and move EVERYDAY
4. Get Adjusted – Regular chiropractic care will ensure a healthy, optimally functioning nervous system

If you have any questions about these simple steps to staying healthy give us a call at 835-2225 or visit our website.

Dr. Danny

Spring Cleaning 2012 – Standard Process Purification/Cleanse

We are bombarded with toxins everyday from pollution, pesticides, and chemicals as well as the natural toxins that our bodies produce.  A detox (AKA purification or cleansing)  will offer your body the extra support needed to flush out all of the built up toxins and minimize excess weight!

Toxins can contribute to a wide range of conditions including:

• Stuffy Head
• Fatigue
• Digestion of GI problems
• Food Cravings
• Weight Gain
• Reduced Mental Clarity
• Low libido
• And more…

Dr Hamm will be hosting a purification workshop on Monday, March 26th at 6:30pm so you can learn more about the Standard Process Purification Program and how it can benefit you!  Call today to reserve your spot!

Staying Active in Winter

With the temperatures plummeting and the snow finally falling  many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes.  But, hibernating is for bears. As humans it’s important to stay active through all four seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the Winter months.

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t give you an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads.  Wisconsin offers many great outdoor activities that will get your heart pumping in the cold.  Snowshoeing, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating are some of the more popular winter sports that can be enjoyed in Wisconsin.

Check out this link to the WI DNR website for more information regarding trails in your area.  If you don’t have the equipment yet give REI or Rutabaga a call.  They offer affordable rentals for most equipment so you can try these activities out before making a financial investment.

Previous Post

We Have Moved!

As many of you already know Autumn Woods Chiropractic has moved and been re-named as Hamm Chiropractic & Wellness.  Although we loved our old location we found a great new spot that we were able to gut and build exactly as we needed it!

Of course we plan to continue offering high-quality chiropractic care, postural and extremity rehabilitation, and massage but we will be putting a much larger emphasis on overall “wellness”.  This means we’ll be embracing the steps it takes to live a healthy, pain-free, energy-filled lifestyle.  If you have any questions regarding exercise, nutrition, or any other of the building blocks necessary to re-claiming your health please do NOT hesitate to call us at (608) 835-2225!  Meanwhile here are some pics of the new place to hold you over until you get a chance to stop in.

Battling Inflammation: The Natural Approach

It’s no secret that inflammation is an important topic today, and it has every right to be.  Inflammation has been linked to almost every disease including chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, cancer, and Alzheimer’s.  Controlling and eliminating inflammation will lead to a healthier and happier population.

Unfortunately NSAIDs are the go-to treatment of choice for most inflammatory processes that we deal with today.  Nearly 14 million people turn to NSAIDs for relief from headaches, sports injuries, and musculoskeletal pain.  NSAIDs are a class of drugs that do effectively reduce acute pain and inflammation but long-term use comes with many side effects.  In the United States alone they are responsible for more than 100,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths each year.  Common NSAIDs that you may use are: Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Aspirin, Bayer, and Excedrin.

So what other approach can be used to battle inflammation if NSAIDs aren’t the best answer?  A proper diet aided by select supplements can effectively reduce inflammation and the associated side effects of inflammation.  Many Americans eat diets rich in linoleic acid, a precursor to chemicals that cause pain.  Oils, grains (wheat, rice, oats, corn), and packaged foods all contain linoleic acid.  Arachidonic acid, commonly found in fatty meats, chicken skin, and farm raised fish, is also a direct precursor to the inflammation and pain causing chemicals known as prostaglandins.  Linoleic and arachidonic acids are types of Omega-6 fatty acids.

The best approach to eliminating inflammation is making the lifestyle changes necessary to reduce our consumption of Omega-6 fatty acids and increase the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids we consume.  Omega-3’s are the “good fats” that we get from green leafy vegetables, flax seed, fish, and fish oils.  Fish oils contain EPA and DHA which can reduce inflammation and improve cognitive health.  One study conducted by neurologist Joseph Maroon showed that 2g of EPA/DHA daily reduce joint pain and the need for NSAIDs in 59% of patients with neck and low back pain!

From a dietary perspective, we need to consume more low-calorie, nutrient dense foods, such as lean meat, fish, skinless, chicken, vegetables, and fruit.  Eliminating inflammatory foods such as grains, cereals, pastas, sodas, coffee, and partially hydrogenated oils (margarine) is also a necessary diet change.  Corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil and deep frying oils are all pro-inflammatory and should be avoided when cooking.  Instead cook with coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or butter. Supplements that compliment an anti-inflammatory diet are a multivitamin, magnesium, fish oils, vitamin D, and probiotics.

There are many other natural anti-inflammatory products that can be helpful in acute situations such as turmeric, boswelia, and willow bark.  In fact, willow bark has been shown to be just as effective as or even more effective than Motrin but without the side effects and toxicity.

Basically, reducing inflammation, chronic disease, and chronic pain all boils down to living a healthy lifestyle.  Eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep.

For more information of the fight against inflammation check out www.deflame.com or call Autumn Woods Chiropractic at 608-835-2225.

 

 

 

Dr. Danny

Exercise: The Perfect Stress Reliever

Have you ever had that afternoon when you were too stressed or tired to go to the gym or go for a run or bike ride?  But then when you were almost defeated, just about to resort to the TV,  you got a short burst of motivation, got off your butt, and headed out the door for some much needed exercise.  How glad were you that you forced yourself to get out and move?

Well, studies show that exercise can help with relieving stress in more ways than one.  First off it helps to bump your production of endorphins,  the hormones that give the “runners high” sensation.  As these “feel good” hormones increase, cortisol, the “stress hormone” actually decreases with exercise.  So, up with the good hormones and down with the bad!  Besides hormonal benefits there is also the mental distraction that comes with exercise.  All of the worries from the day can be left behind for that time that you’re running, biking, swimming, lifting weights, or doing your activity of choice.  Allow your mind to slip away and focus on all of the positives in your life!

Improvements in overall health and physical appearance (superficial yes, but can help decrease stress) are also pretty significant bonuses for getting off the couch.  Combine  exercise with a complete, well-rounded diet and you’ll be on track to living a happier, stress-reduced life!!!  Next time that the couch and American Idol are about to win the battle over an afternoon workout just remember how great it feels to work up a sweat, get your heart pumping, and clear your mind!

 

 

 

 

Dr. Danny