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What Happens When You Intermittent Fast?

What Happens When You Intermittent Fast?

by | Jul 8, 2020 | Informational, Nutrition, Weight-Loss, Wellness

What Happens When You Fast? The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

A recent study by the National Institute of Aging published in the New England Journal of Medicine points to a range of health benefits related to intermittent fasting. Weight loss is one of those benefits but there’s more to it than simply losing weight. Let’s take a look at what happens when you intermittent fast.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating that includes a certain number of hours or days during which you eat little or no food. IF schedules are usually written with two numbers, the first indicating the number of hours you fast and the second the number of hours you can eat.

Some of the most common IF patterns are 16:8 (16 hours of fasting with an 8-hour eating window), 18:6, and 20:4. Another popular pattern is the circadian rhythm fast, or 13:11. This pattern emulates your body’s internal clock by fasting roughly from sunset to morning.

Is Intermittent Fasting Healthy?

You should always consult with a healthcare professional before starting a new diet or exercise plan but the science behind fasting shows that intermittent fasting is a healthy way of eating.

The idea behind IF is that your body’s insulin levels drop when you’re not eating food. When those levels go down enough, for a long enough time, your body will start to burn fat to create energy.

A Harvard research study indicates this can help slow the aging process and lead to lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels.

How to Start Intermittent Fasting

The easiest way to start an intermittent fasting routine is to pick an eating pattern that’s not too much of a change from your normal lifestyle. If you typically eat 3 meals a day in the morning, mid-day, and evening, making the switch to a 20:4 pattern could be challenging.

Start by alternating days. Eat normally one day and follow the fasting routine the next. The goal isn’t to lose weight immediately, it’s to get accustomed to the new way of eating. After a week or two, move to fasting every day.

Once you feel comfortable with the pattern, you can move to a longer fasting window. You can also dial in your nutrition as you go, avoiding certain foods to help maximize your results.

What Happens When You Fast?

What does intermittent fasting do to the body that helps you lose weight? Once your insulin levels drop during a fast, your body starts to convert stored glucose into energy.

When you repeat this process daily, your body will get accustomed to it and switch into “fat burning” mode more quickly. This is why following a pattern is so helpful – it trains your body to expect it.

Longer fasting periods give your body more time to burn off those excess pounds to create energy.

Intermittent fasting also lets your GI tract rest and repair itself while you’re in the fasted state.

Where to Turn for Help Getting Started

Knowing what happens when you fast probably makes intermittent fasting sound pretty good. It can be an effective way to lose weight and feel healthier but the eating and fasting pattern is only part of the solution.

Fasting for 16 hours and then gorging yourself on burgers and pizza isn’t going to be very helpful.

If you want to learn how to get the most out of intermittent fasting, Amazing Life Chiropractic and Wellness can help. We’ll help you design a nutrition and wellness plan that fits your lifestyle perfectly.

Get in touch with us today to learn more.

Obesity and it’s Connection to Nutrition

Obesity and it’s Connection to Nutrition

by | Jul 6, 2020 | Informational, Nutrition, Weight-Loss

What’s the Relationship Between Nutrition and Obesity?

Over the nearly two decades from 2000 to 2018, the obesity rate in the U.S. increased from 30.5% to 42.4%. And severe obesity rose from 4.7% to 9.2%.

There are several causes of this obesity epidemic but one of the most common is nutrition, or more accurately, the lack of it.

Let’s take a look at the relationship between nutrition and obesity.

Nutrition Is a Double-Edged Sword

Your relationship with food is like any other relationship in your life — you can nourish it or you can neglect it. When you respect it and put some effort into it, nutrition can help you live a longer, healthier life.

If you don’t respect it and take the path of least resistance, it can lead to many health-related problems, including obesity.

Obesity Contributes to Many Other Health Risks

Obesity goes beyond simply being overweight. The clinical definition of obesity is based on your body mass index, or BMI. A normal BMI is in the 18.5 to 24.9 range, overweight is 25-29.9, and obese is anything over 30.

Obesity has many side-effects, including conditions such as:

  • High cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure

It’s not all about your physical health though. Being overweight can also lead to mental health troubles like depression and low self-esteem.

These health problems can become a vicious cycle. Obesity makes you feel physically unwell, which contributes to feelings of depression. You ease those feelings by eating more of the junk food that led to the obesity problem in the first place, and so on.

Is Proper Nutrition Enough to Deal With Obesity?

Healthy eating habits will make a big difference in how you look and feel, especially if you’ve been eating poorly for a long time. The more extra pounds you’re carrying around, the quicker you can see improvements when you change your diet.

That’s not to say it’s easy. Learning how to eat properly and putting that knowledge into action by following an effective weight loss program will take some effort and willpower.

What’s the Relationship Between Nutrition and Obesity?  

Don’t expect to make the change overnight but a few simple adjustments over a few weeks can make a world of difference.

Improving your nutrition is only one half of the equation though. The other half is exercise.

There are plenty of diets to choose from but weight loss ultimately comes down to burning more calories than you take in. What kind of food you eat to get those calories plays a big part in it too.

You might get the same number of calories from a couple of slices of pizza or a salad and lean chicken breast but we probably don’t need to tell you which of those two options is better for you.

Where to Turn for Help With Nutrition and Obesity

If you want to solve your nutrition and obesity problems, it can be overwhelming. The internet is full of conflicting information and there are thousands of books on the topic, many of which also contradict one another.

How do you pick out the accurate advice and set the rest aside? Amazing Life Chiropractic and Wellness can help.

We’ll show you how to improve your health through an effective nutrition and wellness plan that will help you lose weight, feel better, and live a happier, more fulfilling life.

Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help.

The Importance of Nutrition

The Importance of Nutrition

by | Jul 3, 2020 | Advice, Informational, Nutrition, Wellness

The Importance of Good Nutrition: 4 Reasons to Watch What You Eat

Have you heard the expression, “You are what you eat?”

It was first coined in 1826 by food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. His idea was that the food we eat affects who we become physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Today, the importance of nutrition is clearer than ever before. We live in a country where 42% of adults are obese and conditions like heart disease and diabetes run rampant.

How strong is the connection between good diets and good health? Let’s take a look at some key benefits of healthy eating.

The Importance of Nutrition

The foods you eat today affect how you’ll feel tonight, tomorrow, and into the future. Here are 4 ways your diet can make or break your overall health.

1. Nutrition & Disease

While a nutritious diet preserves your health, a poor diet is the root cause of many diseases and ailments.

Common health problems that result from poor nutrition include:

  • Becoming overweight or obese
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Tooth decay
  • High cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Cancer

Good diets, on the other hand, give your body the tools it needs to prevent disease and maintain your health. Limit your consumption of sugar, sodium, and saturated fats while boosting your intake of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

2. Nutrition & Weight Control

Being overweight leads to an array of health problems, from foot pain to diabetes. The importance of nutrition includes not only what you eat but how much you eat.

The average American consumes over 3,600 calories per day—far more than the recommended 2,000. The majority of these extra calories come from processed and refined foods.

A key focus of good nutrition is weight control by controlling your daily calorie intake. It also involves switching bad fats, like deep-fried foods, to good fats like avocados and olive oil.

3. Nutrition & Brain Health

The benefits of eating healthy aren’t limited to physical effects.

Two-thirds of people who eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily report no mental health problems. A well-balanced diet includes healthy fats, complex carbs, and essential vitamins and nutrients.

These keep your mind sound and your mood stable—and not just today. Research suggests that good nutrition can ward off cognitive decline and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Nutrition & Longevity

We all want to live a long, healthy, and happy life. Our eating habits can have a direct effect on how long we’ll live and how good our quality of life will be.

A pattern of overeating places stress on the body and could contribute to a shorter lifespan. Eating modest portions of nutrient-rich foods while reducing processed foods can have a positive effect on our longevity.

Improve Your Health With a Nutrition & Wellness Plan

The importance of nutrition can’t be overstated.

A healthy diet helps you ward off disease and maintain a healthy weight. It keeps your mind sound and can even contribute to a longer life span.

Why, then, do so many of us struggle with a poor diet? Could it be that you need some expert guidance to improve your eating habits?

Here at Mill Creek, we believe that good nutrition is a vital component in achieving optimal health. Click here to learn more about our customized nutrition and wellness plans.

Benefits of Nutritional Detox

Benefits of Nutritional Detox

by | Jul 1, 2020 | Informational, Nutrition, Weight-Loss, Wellness

The Benefits of a Nutritional Detox: Your Body Will Thank You

By this point, we’ve all heard about the awesome results a detox can have for your body. But have you considered wading in and trying it for yourself? With so many mental and physical benefits to be had, there’s all the reason in the world to consider a detox process. Treating your body the right way can help relieve a multitude of difficult problems. For anybody still on the fence, join us, today, as we break down five of our favorite detox benefits for a nutritional detox.

Weight Management

One of the biggest benefits of a nutritional detox is also one of the most obvious. Changing your diet to eliminate toxins from your body allows you to drop all of the things causing weight gain and fat maintenance.

Instead, what you’re left with is a healthier gut biome and a body that isn’t constantly struggling against the substances you are eating. When your diet shifts to detox intake, your weight will also be less likely to fluctuate.

Increased Energy

Looking for an energy boost? Sugary drinks and strong coffee can do a lot of harm to your body, especially over time. On the other hand, the natural energy boost of a whole body cleanse detox has been well documented. And, what’s more, it’s not causing your body long-term harm.

Learning how to detox your body means clearing out all of the sugar and caffeine and other things that cause energy slumps when they run out. Instead, you’re left with a more stable, more sustainable energy source throughout the day.

Clear-Headedness

If you want to deal away with cloudy headedness and absentmindedness, a whole body detox has a lot to offer you, professionally. Many times, detoxifications will include a mental component, as well, waking you up and sharpening your thought process.

Going back to the question of sugar crashes, sudden drops in your energy from a lack of stimulants can also affect your mind. This is part of what makes detoxification such a positive experience. It brings out the best in your body, but also your mind.

Healthier Internal Organs

The whole point of a detox is to help your body flush out the toxins that are inside of it and might be doing it harm. These are your “waste removal” organs, and this cleansing gives them the break they need from the toxins that build up in and around them.

Your body can accumulate more toxins than you might expect. A detox is a good, active way to flush out these toxins so your internal organs can work more efficiently.

Clearer Skin

For thousands of people, the quest for clearer skin can seem like a neverending journey. All of the skincare products can come and go, but if your diet isn’t playing along, skin problems can and will still develop.

Detoxes are a great way to cleanse your skin when all else fails. With as little as a strict detoxification diet, you can see near-perfect results with your skin-clarity. A word of warning: as the detox process works its magic, your skin may flare up initially, before later clearing up, again, after completion.

Detox Benefits

A detox food plan can take any one of a dozen different forms. What’s important is to get one that helps flush out toxins, encourages natural energy, and benefits your body in ways that matter to you.

Ready to learn more about nutritional detox and its benefits for your body? Check out some of our other blog posts, today, and find out more about our nutritional detox services (as well as many others).

Understanding Rotator Cuff Strain

Understanding Rotator Cuff Strain

by | Jun 29, 2020 | Informational, Injury

Rotator Cuff Strain

We take our shoulders and our free range of motion for granted until there is a problem.  Whether because of age, bad posture, or overuse, suffering from an acute or chronic rotator cuff strain or injury makes simple daily tasks nearly impossible and even sleep can be disrupted until a solution or treatment is found.  It’s estimated that over 2 million people per year seek treatment for problems associated with their rotator cuffs.

Our rotator cuffs are made up of a group of muscles and tendons that hold the upper arm bone (or humerus) in the socket allowing us to raise and rotate our arms.  People that participate in jobs or sports that require a lot of overhead movement are far more susceptible to rotator cuff strain, as are people suffering from arthritis and inflammation problems.

What Are the Symptoms?

Starting as a dull ache and progressing to sharp pain, rotator cuff strains limit full movement in the shoulder causing pain and weakness that may get progressively worse if not proactively addressed.  Left undiagnosed and untreated, these symptoms can impact daily activities and may make sleep much more difficult, as well as routine self-care such as dressing, combing or brushing hair, and bathing or showering.

What Are the Causes?

Often rotator cuff strain happens when someone repeatedly performs the same task, such as through work (carpenter, house painter) or sports (tennis, softball or weightlifting).  It can also be the result of an acute tear from lifting something heavy or a bike or car accident.  And age can certainly play a role as muscles tend to weaken and arthritis appears.  Some causes include:

  • Tear of the muscles or tendons that make up the rotator cuff
  • Overuse accompanied by:
    • Tendinitis – inflammation of a tendon that often affects joint areas subject to overuse and injury 
    • Bursitis – painful irritation of the bursae, the small fluid-filled sacks that cushion joints
  • Impingement Syndrome that occurs when tendons in the shoulder and rotator cuff rub against the shoulder blade causing inflammation and weakening
  • Arthritis or bone spurs in the shoulder joint

Do At-Home Tests for Rotator Cuff Strain Work?

There are three tests that can be tried at home to self-diagnose shoulder injuries and rotator cuff strains.  The problem is that if done improperly you run the risk of causing additional damage or injury to the joint.  Proper diagnosis by health professionals may be the most prudent course of action.

Treatment for Rotator Cuff Strain Including Chiropractic Care

There are some initial things to try at home if suffering from moderate discomfort:  1) heat and cold intermittently, 2) NSAIDS anti-inflammatories, and 3) resting the joint until pain subsides.  If there is no improvement, chiropractic care is the best non-surgical alternative therapy and if further medical evaluation, injections, or surgery is necessary, additional referral in the Mill Creek area can happen upon determination.  

Conservatively, effective chiropractic care to fully restore movement and functioning would include: 

  • Heat and ice treatments
  • Shoulder adjustments
  • Upper cervical adjustments
  • Massage
  • Exercise to restore proper function and mobility

At Amazing Life Chiropractic and Wellness, we approach our patients’ care in a holistic way reviewing lifestyle and wellness goals and tailoring our care to improve a person’s whole life, including nutrition and exercise, as well as using proper body mechanics to avoid further aggravation or injury.

Learn more about rotator cuff strain and chiropractic care at Amazing Life Chiropractic and Wellness in Mill Creek, Washington.  Our goal is to support your healthy lifestyle!

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

by | Jun 26, 2020 | Informational, Injury

Chiropractic Relief for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

If you are experiencing pain in the shoulder, upper chest, or lower neck area and aren’t sure of the cause, you may be experiencing Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.  Especially prevalent in females between 20 and 40 years of age, this somewhat rare syndrome is often overlooked or misdiagnosed when patients present with numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers.  Too often it is dismissed as tendonitis or overuse of the upper extremities.

What is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?

As a group of disorders, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome occurs when the nerves and/or blood vessels that run between the collarbone (clavicle) are pressed on the first rib.  This compression of the nerves causes pain in the shoulders and neck and can cause numbness down the arms to the hands and fingers.

Depending on the structure being compressed, the syndrome manifests in different ways:

  • Neurogenic or neurological—caused by compression of the brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves that originate in the spinal cord and are responsible for muscle control and movement in the shoulder, arm, hand and fingers.
  • Vascular—caused by depressed veins or arteries under the clavicle/collarbone.
  • Nonspecific—defined by chronic pain but a cause can’t be determined.

What Are the Causes?

Most often, the causes of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome are either anatomical or acute.  If someone is born with an anatomical abnormality, such as an extra rib, this syndrome is sometimes the result.  Conversely, if someone experiences acute injuries suffered from a car or motorcycle accident, or sustains some job- or sports-related injuries, this can also lead to the syndrome.  

Lastly, obesity, poor posture, or pregnancy can create a situation where the nerves or blood vessels become compressed.  Often losing weight or giving birth will correct the pinched nerves or vessels completely alleviating the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

How Do the Symptoms Present?

In Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, the symptoms manifest based on type of compression whether that be nerve related or blood flow related and can be defined as follows:

  • Neurogenic

    • Numbness or tingling in the upper extremities
    • Either sharp pain or aches in the neck and shoulder and sometimes the hand
    • Gilliatt-Sumner Hand – a muscle wasting evident in the fleshy part at the base of the thumb
    • Weakened gripping or holding ability

  • Vascular

    • Blood clots in upper extremities
    • Throbbing or pain near the clavicle
    • Numbness or tingling in the fingers
    • Weak pulse
    • Cold or blue fingers and hands
    • Weakness in arm or neck 

Can Chiropractic Care Benefit Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?

Through a well-considered chiropractic care plan that includes manipulation and massage therapy, as well as syndrome-specific exercises specifically developed to alleviate the compression causing discomfort, patients can expect to make full recoveries in most cases.  In addition, treatment options may include manual trigger-point therapy, stretching, and postural instruction.  And with 90% of syndrome cases being neurologic in origin, chiropractic care is uniquely poised to provide solutions.

When evaluating Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, it’s imperative to have an experienced provider like the professionals at Amazing Life Chiropractic and Wellness.  They have an understanding of the unique aspects of this syndrome, but also use a holistic approach when evaluating and developing a treatment plan for their patients.  This includes delving into all components of the patient’s lifestyle from exercise to nutrition. 

Our dedicated team at Amazing Life Chiropractic and Wellness are available to answer your questions and evaluate your healthcare needs.  Call us — Our goal is your good health!